My stomach is coiled tight with nerves as I watch the gates to the BloodCrest estate swing open. I haven’t seen Creed in almost four days but last night he asked me if I still want to help out with the New Moon Festival preparations.Stupid me who has missed him even though he called me often, obviously jumped at the opportunity to be close to him again. Now I don’t know if I should have said I was busy or made up an excuse; not that he would have believed me, though.“Why are you so stressed out?” he asks with a smile in his tone. “I’m not the Alpha of a rabid pack, you know.”“It’s not that!” I exclaim, and it sounds more like a squeak. “I’m just… nervous, okay? All your family members will be there, and some will probably look at me like I’m an outsider.”Creed brings the car to a stop in front of the mansion, unclips his seatbelt, and then turns to me. “An outsider? My pack knows I’m bringing my mate here today. They’re more than excited to meet you, Cherie,” he says as if I didn’

“I swear to the fucking Gods, if you cry, I am not doing leaving the city,” Creed’s voice echoes through my thoughts and I smile even as my bottom lip trembles. It’s only been two whole days without him; calls and texts just don’t cut it! Who would have thought I’d get this attached to him in such a short space of time? I hope the next few days pass quickly because I miss him so much!Sighing, I throw the blanket over my head and groan just as my bedroom door opens… Then I groan again because I know who is standing there watching me with judgy eyes.“Were you about to leave me waiting for you at the gym?” Luka’s accusatory voice sounds and I poke my head from under the covers. He’s standing there with his arms crossed, peering down at me with his eyebrow raised.I promised to train with him today, just to get out of the penthouse, but now I’m regretting it. Ugh, I just wanna stew in my own sadness and stay here until bergamot and vanilla pulls me back into the land of the living.“I

CreedIt’s been two hours since I arrived home, and my anger is simmering below the surface. Something is telling me that the lightning storm was to get me to come home since it happened when she was taken, and because I didn’t listen, Cherie is in terrible fucking danger.I watch as my father paces the floor, one hand balled in a fist and the other holding his cell phone. “For fuck’s sake, Bastien, these are packs under you! Tell me where they’ve taken her!”After some digging, my father found out the truth about the three men and the packs they were under. It’s Silent Shadows territory, and we cannot cross it even if they have Cherie with them.Alpha Bastien lets out a sigh on the other end. “You know I cannot do that, Kai, even if I wanted to. The packs who came to me wanted revenge on a packless wolf who fought under your banner and won through illegal means - I had to give it to them.”My father stifles a growl and tries to control his temper. “That girl was deceived by the peopl

Cherie is fast asleep in my arms. Her breathing is even and calm, no nightmares from what I could tell. She’s peaceful for the most part and there’s even a small smile on her face.Last night the worst possible thing happened to her, and luckily I got there on time. I am still burning with rage and wish I could just unleash it all, but what would it help? Cherie needs me here, she doesn’t need my anger.I pull her closer to me and press my lips against her forehead, inhaling her sweet scent. I admitted my true feelings last night as well, and although I would have loved to hear her say it back to me, I know it would just be her responding due to being overwhelmed. I can wait for her to respond in kind; she is worth the wait. /“Creed,”/ my father’s voice comes through the mind link. /“There is something we need to discuss with both you and Cherie when you’re awake. Let me know when you’re ready.”/I frown at the urgency in his tone. /“What is this about? It sounds serious.”/My fathe

Cherie is Marle’s daughter - my enemy’s failsafe. The fact doesn’t anger me, it’s that those close to me knew about her lineage and decided I would be better off not knowing. How does this help me in any fucking way? My father knows how much I hate lies. Fuck, even Viktor knows how I despise dishonesty but they decided to do it, anyway? Can I still look them in the eye after this? Would I want to?The scream that rips through Cherie’s mother is cut off by my claws as I behead her. Her husband cries out at the sight, so I position the head in front of him so it can stare up at him while I leave him hanging there alone.Sobbing next to the body of his headless wife.I walk out of the dungeon and make my way back toward the edge of the forest. Today went from easy to fucked up within the space of a few minutes. Fuck, I need to calm myself down before heading back in there. The last thing I want is to lash out at Cherie, because I doubt she knew who her mother truly was. There was no m