Kamari's Point of View Things took a darker turn than I had initially thought they would. All of the threads were unraveling and I had no means to stop it. To break it a bit. Zayan was in shambles. His cocky sway was gone. Replaced by a hunched look of anger. His once sharp eyes were dull. Even his hair seemed to have lost all its luster. When he spoke, it was always in a low rumble or nothing at all. A simple nod of the head. Nolan seemed unconvinced of the small story Zayan had told us. That he was framed because they thought the story would be most believable. Then it came time for him to tell us that Eris fully believed Arik to be a more worthy man than himself. That broke him more than words could even describe and he resigned himself to one of the guest bedrooms until we could come up with the best course of action. Until then, he wanted nothing more than to throttle the woman. Feared that left in her presence, he would indeed do such a thing. "He got back," I mumbled into

Malakai's Point of View The prisoner's screams had become a melody to me. A sharp-pitched prayer to a goddess that wouldn't answer. The fear of the dungeon was also slowly eroding away. It no longer gripped my chest when I had to go down. On the contrary, a warped part of me enjoyed the sound of my steps as I descended down down down. As if it gave the hurt part of my soul a new meaning to the word. To the sights, sounds, and smells. I was no longer afraid but the person on the other side of this door had to be. Had to fear for their lives. "I see you have been happily mated for four years now. One child born, and another on the way," I flicked my gaze up from the mess of papers Rachel had given me. Noticed more sweat on the man's brow than he ever had before. His mouth was gagged but his neck strained against the restraints we had him in. "I wonder what they would think if they knew what you did. Falsely accusing someone? That is horrible. Especially if you know that person will

Kamari's Point of View The house was in complete disarray. Everything was out of place. Red cups littered the floors and any other open space. Pizza boxes had maggots spilling out of them. It was a far cry from the pack house I could remember. The clean one with fresh-cut flowers and perfumed sprays. This was the first warning sign I got when I walked in. Arik was losing it slowly but surely. Jordan noticed my reaction before I could mask it properly. His face fell. Shook his head and sighed deeply. "He has been a mess. Fired almost all of the staff." I nodded. Tip-toed over the debris as best I could. With my outfit, I felt out of place here in this mess. Hell, even without my clothes I was utterly horrified at the state of the place. "Any particular reason?" I innocently asked and nearly kicked a mound of beer bottles on the floor. Grimacing, I sidestepped it, making sure not to fall over whatever else was around. Jordan gave me a flat look. Stared back up the swooping stairca

Kamari's Point of View Looking Arik up and down, I placed my handbag on the closest chair I could find. Shrugged off my little cardigan and disposed of it over my purse. Once I turned back, Arik was still staring at me. Keenly. Intently. It was unnerving. Never before had he paid this much attention to me. Not the day he rejected me nor the few times we interacted afterward. This time something in him had snapped. Opened him up to me more. I wasn't sure whether I should have been elated or petrified. But I knew where this was coming from. He thought Eris had rejected him as well. Discarded him as she had done with Zayan. Combined with the immense pressure of fucking up another pack, Arik was cracking at the seams and I was lapping it up. In between my sorrow for him, of course. Because some part of me would never stop caring fully. Because some part of me would always be softer than it had a right to be. "If we are going to be spending the rest of the day together, I suggest we

Malakai's Point of View The conversation I had with Kamari left my soul feeling heavy. Maybe it was the fact that I knew what Arik was capable of. Or maybe it was because I knew he was her mate and I was simply scared that she chose him in the end. Arik would never accept the arrangement I had put forth to her. The kind of relationships I knew she would be able to get the most out of. If she went to Arik now and decided he was the one, I might be fucked. Or I could simply chalk up my anxiety and growing rage to the fact that I might lose another ally to the cunt. A future Alpha of Jagged Rock. If they were to be mated, Kamari would become Luna and Arik would get what he wanted. Jagged Rock pack. "We have a problem." I had now resigned myself to the fact that if there was a problem concerning Kamari, Rachel would be the only one to fix it. She has also resigned herself to the fact that I no longer knocked when I entered her office. Simply barged in as I saw fit. Rachel no longer