NINETY-SEVEN | CLOVEN EARTH

Atticus

He’d been in the woods when he’d heard.

Everything was falling into place for Atticus. He’d found something in the forest that could secure a victory against Red Ripper – or at least offer up an easy out if things started to go south. He’d been building up an army, too, preparing to go to war over his mate if he had to.

He’d planned on forming one beneath his parents’ noses, marching on Red Ripper, and destroying them to prove his worth to Lily. Once he’d made her safe again, she’d fall into his arms. She had to. Alpha Idiot would never – could never – match up to him. He was her first mate, and he vowed he would be her last.

The girl had come at night.

Unable to sleep, Atticus had been out in the forest, smacking his knuckles into tree trunks to wear himself out to the point of exhaustion. When weariness was sinking deep into the belly of his bones, he would sneak over to Lily and Maveln’s old cabin and sit on the doorstep. Most mornings, he watched the sun rise there, remem