ADRIANA’S POVCarlson glowers at me with barely restrained rage in his eyes, I find that I’m not really scared of him. I’m not back at the pack where he could corner me and hurt me, here, anyone could walk in at the moment and if they see him try anything funny. Well, let’s just say Xander isn’t the most forgiving.I’ve come to realize that even if he doesn’t do things because he likes me, there is the alpha part of him, the one that lost control and almost killed Aiden the night he caught me with Aiden after I ran away. That protective side of him, with the possessiveness that alphas had. A kind of ‘she is mine and even if I treat her like shit, it is because she is mine. You have no right to do that’ thing.So yes, I do feel kind of safe in a place that I know more than half of people do not like me, at least it is better than my family. And that is a terrible thought, a very messed up thing to think about.“What do you think I’m doing here?” Carlson finally says, he was eyeing me u

ALPHA XANDER’S POVAdriana’s shitty father is waiting for me when I get to my home office. I don’t know who the hell let him in when I’m not there but the person would pay for it. Just when I enter, I find Donovan nursing a cigarette, he flicks the burning end of it the moment I enter. I glare at him before turning to the man that looked a lot better than he did last week. Though his features still show his age.Being a werewolf must honestly suck.“Ah, you finally accepted my invitation, father in law.” I say in a way of greeting, just because I know it will annoy him, and it did. I pat his shoulder as I walk past him just to set him off. He starts to growl but Donovan’s own growl cuts him off.Though the little fucker annoys the hell out of me, he is loyal when he feels like it and whatever he does, he doesn’t try any shit when we have guests over.“Where is my daughter?” I cock a brow after I settle into my chair. I thought of changing into something more formal before coming to se

ADRIANA’S POV“What did you say?” I ask softly when I finally snap out of my initial shock, the words coming out hesitant.Daciana starts shaking her head but she stops, knowing I heard her perfectly fine and she can’t take it back. Not now, it’s already too late.“Is Xander…” I swallow thickly, unable to finish that sentence. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it!I’m not even supposed to have a mate, I don’t have a wolf yet. It cannot be Xander of all people. He is the worst person to have as a mate. Oh, the moon Goddess really is punishing me, what did I do to deserve this?“Adriana,” the broken whisper makes my heart shatter more and I feel bad. I feel terrible for putting her on the spot like this when she is going through so much, I can’t make sense of the thoughts running through my head. My heart is thudding loudly, unsteady as my mind works faster than ever trying to make sense of this. “I shouldn’t have said that.” she shook her head.“I’m glad you did,” I don’t

ADRIANA’S POVXander stops by the door, not really coming in but also not standing outside. I don’t know how to feel now that he is here and I know he is my mate. He seems normal, I don’t recognize anything out of the ordinary from him, the mate bond seems nonexistent to me and I can’t tell if it is because I don’t have a wolf or something else.I’ve never heard of anyone who got a mate when they didn’t have a wolf, but then I haven’t heard about anyone who didn’t have a wolf either. I’m the only abnormality I know.The slight warmth I felt earlier when he helped me during the scare and emotional breakdown after I heard about my mother is nowhere in sight. There is nothing but anger and contempt in my heart.Daciana looks stuck in the middle and I want to tell her she can go, I’m fine. She already has a lot on her plate and my problems with Xander won’t end anytime soon. It’s better to just let her have a moment of peace. She has been dealing with my shit since I got here. I’m feeling

ADRIANA’S POVI DIDN’T THINK THIS THROUGH! I should have thought this through before I decided to lie to Xander that way. God, I’m so dead.He is still waiting for a reply, but my brain has deserted me. The little traitor that started this and ran away at the first sight of trouble.I knew I was playing a dangerous game, but I didn’t expect him to take it too far. I thought he would just laugh, give his sister a thumbs up or maybe even go and meet her to be sure what I’m saying is right. I didn’t think he would ask me to tell him all that. I just told him what I thought he would like to hear so he would leave me alone. Now it has backfired in the worst way possible.I have to think! I should THINK!!My brain is running, trying to think of all the things I’ve heard people say around my old pack. The other cleaning lady and her friend that come in once or twice a week. They were usually talking about things that made little sense of me. God, I wished I’d paid more attention but I never