“What are you doing here?” I ask Heather, as I step back, wanting to put as much space between us as possible without triggering her.“We’re here to see you,” Heather smiles a nasty smile that only illuminates her horrible intentions. “You ran off after the party, and then Troy made that declaration of love for you. That can’t go unpunished.“I told you to stay away from him, but you didn’t listen. You completely ruined my birthday party.”“I didn’t mean to,” I say. I want to say a lot of horrible things to her, but there’s three of them against me and the odds aren’t in my favor.“And I told Troy I don’t want to be with him,” I continue. “So, you don’t have reason to be angry at me now. I’m not your competition.“Troy’s all yours. He’s not my mate. Now, I’m just trying to find my true mate.”“You think I want your leftovers?” Heather asks, her voice pitched in jealousy. “I wanted Troy to choose me. I didn’t want you involved at all. I had him all to myself. I never had to questi

“Wonderful,” Catherine says. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Kole replies.“It’s okay,” I tell him. “I’ll hear her out and then maybe you’ll let us be, right?” I ask. “You can leave us alone to do as we wish.”“Sure,” she shrugs. “Hear me out and I’ll let you decide what to do from there, once you have all the information you need.”It’s not exactly promising, but it’s a start at least. I feel bad though for the way it makes Kole look uncomfortable. It seems like he really doesn’t want me to talk to her. But I already agreed to, so Catherine and I start walking down the river while Kole stays behind.As we walk, I realize she can probably hurt me if she wants to. I have better odds of fighting one person instead of three, but it’s still a risk. I’m still not in the mood for a fight.“It seems like you really think you love Kole,” Catherine says.“Of course, I do,” I reply. “I love Kole. He’s my mate.“I’m sorry if I’ve gotten in between you two, that was never my intentio

KOLE’S POV“How could you do something like that?” Kierra asks me, horrified.She’s looking at me like I’m a monster and I can’t blame her.“I ask myself that every single day,” I say. “And I still don’t have an answer. There is no good answer.”“I just… I can’t…” Tears form as she tries to scramble for words and I feel awful for making her feel this way.I feel even worse about what happened to my pack. How could I do something like that to them?“I’m the reason they’re dead,” I admit, as everything within me hardens so I can face this.It’s difficult to admit to, but it’s the truth. And I deserve the pain this will bring me. I deserve every last bit of it.I know Kierra is going to leave me. Anyone would leave me after that, but especially her. Especially considering her pack was also murdered.I should’ve stayed away from her. This is only going to cause us both so much pain.It wasn’t really my choice though, I know that. I couldn’t have stayed away from her even if I t

“Your mother seems like a wise and wonderful woman,” I say, as I step out from behind the trees.After I left Kole, I didn’t want to go back to my pack quite yet. I’m still not sure how I’d ever face them.So, I came here.Maybe I knew I’d find him here.Maybe deep down I knew there was more to the story.Whatever the reason, I’m glad I came. I can’t be mad at him for what he did. I can’t resent him for something his family has forgiven him for.“She was,” Kole says, as he stands. “She still is I suppose, wherever she is now. What are you doing here?”“It’s a peaceful place,” I say. “And I needed some peace.“Plus, we’re mates. I think that has something to do with it. Life brings us together because we’re meant to be together. You know that.”“I do,” he says as he walks towards me.My heart beats faster as he does so. I just want to be near him. I need to be near him.“I’ve always known that,” he says.“I know,” I reply. “I wish you would’ve known your worth all along to

CATHERINE’S POV“What happened to you?” I ask, as I run up to the fallen wolf.He shifts into a human that I don’t recognize.“I was attacked,” he says. “I was attacked by a vile, awful rouge. And…”His face pales as a different sort of pain overcomes him.“I was attacked by a rouge and by the woman I love,” he says. “I thought he manipulated her and that’s why she’s turned on me. I still think that’s true.“But maybe it’s more than that though because she’s the one who pushed me off the mountain.” He pauses and looks up at me. “Can you believe that? The woman I love pushed me off a mountain. “I’ve known her for awhile now and we were in love. We were finally reaching that sweet point where we could be together. “And all of a sudden this man we’ve never met before comes in and suddenly they’re in love. Somehow he casts this weird spell on her and she forgets all about me. She pushed me off a mountain!”The story sounds familiar. Too familiar. “Is this woman’s name Kierra