"You must have been through quite a lot.” Barbara's attempt at sympathy would seem like sarcasm on a normal day. But then, Anna was willing to take whatever she was willing to give.“It was quite a lot,” Anna said slowly as they both sat in Barbara's tent, engaging in a scantily worded conversation. “I wonder if I'll ever gather the courage to be able to head down to the stream all alone.”“You'll be fine.” Barbara seemed more genuine that time. She always did when she tried to say words of encouragement. “In no time, you should start getting the hang of it a little bit.”“A little bit? That's encouraging.” Anna commented in silent sarcasm. It would be hard to get over being on the verge of being executed for a crime that she hadn't committed. Yet again, she had something to be grateful to Lucian for.“I know.” Barbara had her eyes focused on some unforeseen object in front of her as she spoke. “It feels like a new beginning in the Lock Heart. There appears to be a momentary aura of p

Her first night in the spacious, cozy room she had been given in Lucian’s fortress had been better than she had expected it to be. She had been quite restless at first, but then she fell asleep after a while of staring at the ceiling of the room.Anna realized that she was up early, as she peeked out of the window to be met by a sight of the Lock Heart territory under the first light of day. She was thrilled by the view from up there and was instantly glad that she had chosen that room after being offered countless choices.The moon’s crescent was still in the early morning sky, and that reminded her of the forthcoming full moon. She wondered what exactly it would be like to finally awaken her wolf. Feelings of curiosity and fear gripped her at that thought. It was something inevitable, and it was for the better. That way she would be better equipped for the revenge mission she had in mind.She sat up slowly to yet another new beginning in Lucian’s pack. It couldn’t be denied, how muc

What had just happened?Anna couldn’t tell how fast she was moving, but it was good that she was moving away from Lucian as quickly as she could. She couldn’t care less about what any of the onlookers had to say at that point, she could do anything to run away from that moment.But then, she couldn’t understand what was with the strange affinity for Lucian that was overtaking her at that point. His strong scent just happened to be stuck in her nostrils, not letting her perceive any other thing in her surroundings, as he was hot on her heels.The fact that she had just said the word mate to him, still haunted her memory tirelessly. And why wasn’t Lucien surprised when she called him Mate? She could finally see the explanation that could finally elucidate Lucian’s preferential treatment towards her. He kept it to himself all the while?Oh no… she screamed as her memory suddenly became so retentive to recall what had happened after she had gotten out of that mud pool. He had been the str

“Finally,” Lex said to him, sounding pleased and relieved.Lucian was unsure how to feel about Anna's reaction to them being mates. She was just as predictable as he had thought she was. Even though the pull was obviously gnawing at her mercilessly, she seemed to somehow hold get fort against it.“You won't have to try to put up with resisting her anymore,” his wolf went on. “That's almost the hardest thing to do. It was much harder than ending all those men Leola had betrayed you to.”But then, it was beginning to seem like the problem of trying to resist had ended, just to give way for another one. She seemed to resist him that time around. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up with that, after waiting so long to have her.“You are worried about her?”“Just a little bit,” Lucian admitted, but he wasn't going to show it in any way. Not to Anna. He recalled how badly it had gone the last time he had let his emotions get the better of him and was determined not to let anythin

“He's all yours,” Audra roared in Elsa's head.Elsa tried to restrain herself a bit more as she recalled how it had ended the other time. But he looked needy and hadn't pushed her away even though she was drawing dangerously close.‘You're smarter than that,’ Elsa reminded herself, as she wanted to wait for more cues to make her move. Lucian looked heavy, and it was just the perfect scenario, but she needed another convincing subtle go-ahead order.“You never need to worry about anything, Lucian,” she stood to her feet, calculating her woes every step of the way. “All you have to do is...” she stood behind him, putting her hands on his shoulders, and rubbing them gently, “is to look how far you have come, and all the obstacles you were able to overcome...”She felt like she could add more to that, to make him give her the cue she was desperately looking for. Her patience was running thin, as she was barely keeping herself from going all in.“Thanks...” he said, through a relaxed sigh.