I wake up feeling queasy in the stomach and a thudding heartbeat. When I stir under the blankets, I almost think with a sinking heart that last night’s rendezvous was perhaps just a dream, a delusion of my bereft mind. But then, I feel the telltale twinge between my legs, the sore ache in my lower back and the tingling of my mating mark. It wasn’t. The thudding in my chest calms slowly, and a relieved smile etches on my lips but it doesn’t remain for long as the nauseous feeling overtakes. I am forced to sit up, my world tilting for a moment from a sudden dizzy spell before I manage to get off the bed on somewhat shaky legs. Astrid and I both want our mate to be by our side, but for some reason, he is neither in the bedroom nor outside. I can’t feel his presence. Pushing back the sinking feeling, I stumble my way to the ensuite bathroom. As I am heaving on the toilet bowl, feeling bile and water force their way up my throat, a soothing arm wraps around my shoulder while another twist

I should have been wary of the good things coming my way because, with my rotten luck, I have never been able to hold happiness back. Ever since I have met Astrid, my good luck has been eclipsed, not that I blame her. I just blame society. One moment I had been asleep in my mate’s arms and the next I found myself alone. Still disoriented, I struggle to sit up. I feel frantic when I find the bedroom door closed. ‘Astrid…what’s wrong?’ ‘Mate is protecting us,’ she whispers, but she sounds scared. With a rabbeting heartbeat as I call out for Isaac, but he doesn’t answer. The screams echo again, piercing the silence of the night. I manage to stand up, but before I am halfway across the room the door opens. Isaac appears in front of me. He is heaving, and bloody and has taken his half-bestial form. His golden and silver eyes tell me that both his wolves are equally in control. He is in his Enigma form. “Isaac…” I whisper, my heart lodged in my throat, too scared to raise my voice.

Astrid growls at the back of my mind. My heart stutters at the sight of him. He is in his human form, looking as healthy and strong as an alpha of his fame would. My gaze drags from his coiffed hair to his neatly trimmed stubble, to his expensive-looking casual clothes. My eyes finally settled on his face, impassive as ever. He has been doing well it seems and that makes the hurt and anger churn even more inside my chest. “What brings you here, Alpha Isaac?” I ask, thankful that my voice had not wavered. My gaze wanders past his shoulder and into the house. I don’t hear or see Isleen. I guess Caius or Harmony has handled that matter. “How have you been?” he asks instead of answering. His voice sounds slightly raspy like it did when he used to stay in his human form despite his beasts trying to take the reins. The grip on the strap of my tote bag tightens. “How do I look?” I can’t bother to keep the venom from my tone because why should I? His gaze softens. His expression chang

[Caius] “Stop pacing around,” my beta, Lorcan mutters. I stop to glare at him, but all she gives me is a baleful look. “You know this would have happened one day or the other,” he points out. “Shut up. How many times will I tell you that I am not thinking about Kathryn,” I growl. He bows his head in submission, but I can see the way his jaw clenches. When I turn around, he puts down the laptop on the coffee table a little too hard then he usually does and stands up. “Alpha Harmony instructed me to take care of you. She worries about you. You can’t cling to that woman knowing the truth that she is another's. She doesn’t even reciprocate,” he says exasperatedly. It’s only our 22 years' worth of friendship that stops me from breaking his neck. “As if I don’t know,” I retort. “And why are you suddenly listening to Alpha Harmony?” The question gets me some unexpected reactions. Lorcan not only gets flustered but also looks away. I raise an eyebrow at his peculiar and unexpecte

His restraint snaps as our lips meet, devouring me hungrily. He lets go of my wrists and gets me out of my clothes. We work in a frenzy, our hands trying to get the feel of bare skin. I realize that I have missed this. My animalistic side has been starving, my heart has been yearning for this intimacy. “The door,” I breathe out between kisses, arching my back as he palms my right breast. Isaac’s frustrated growl makes me giggle. I feel high and feel as if every nerve-ending is alive. He reluctantly leaves the bed and shuts the door before prowling back toward me. “Now you can scream my name as much as you want.” A deadly grin spreads across his lips and the gleam in his eyes makes my heart stutter. “The door is not soundproof,” I retort, gasping when he pinches my nipple. He nips and kisses every inch of my skin. He keeps me teetering at the edge with his fingers and tongue, devouring me slowly and torturously, sucking on my clit until I am writhing under him. I am too far gon