“Anna, where are you?” Her mother demanded to know, sounding exasperated and concerned. “Is the interview not finished yet?”Anna slowly processed those words while she turned to the wall clock whose numbers flowed in the dark. Her eyes widened once she saw the time: 5.03pm.Damn it.How had she not noticed the time?!“I’m on my way.” She promised her mother. “Are the twins okay? Have they eaten?“ She asked while picking up her purse and leaving her home to call a taxi.“They had a snack an hour ago.” Her mother said, sighing heavily. “Just get here, okay?”The call ended and Anna proceeded to do just as her mother had asked for the first time in a long time.…“Mommy,” Andrew sounded excited to see Anna as she entered the house, brushing past her father.“Baby.” She pressed a kiss on Andrew’s head and then on Andrea, hugging them tightly. “Did you have a good day?”They both nodded with smiles on their faces.“Anna,” her father caught her attention, and she turned around. “Why don’t

William opened his eyes to the insistent vibration of his phone. He let out a soft groan, turning his head away from the source and closing his eyes back. In his attempt to get some rest, he was not successful, as the vibration continued to force him back into the realm of reality. He let out a growl, cursing under his breath.“Fucking little…” he muttered as he picked up the phone roughly.It took him seeing the time and date in his phone as well as the multiple missed calls from Lily to remember how badly he had screwed up.How in the world had he forgotten the meeting with Alpha Drake yesterday?!He thought back to how his day had gone, and recalled his need to drink away his frustrations after seeing Anna break down and blame him for her problems. He had tried his best to calm down that guilt that was eating away at him, for the small, very insignificant price of his sobriety.Unfortunately now it was all catching up to him, and he didnt like that at all.Nevertheless, the day mus

Lily regarded her uncle as his brows were furrowed, clearly confused about her words.“If you’re asking about whether he is a threat to our plans,” he eventually said. “I don’t think that he will be.”Finishing off the fruit and grabbing a napkin to clean off her hands, Lily simply asked her uncle the next question. “Does that mean you don’t know about him?”Alpha Drake could tell there was tension in her words now. As much as her words bruised his pride a little, he also didn’t like the implication that she thought he was brushing aside her feelings, knowing how temperamental she truly was.He had to assure her.“Lily, tell me,” he asked her. “Why are you thinking of Ethan being a threat to us? Have you seen anything?”Lily pursed her lips, stubbornly glancing away with her striking eyes.“It’s just a hunch, uncle.” She responded.She very well knew that she couldn’t tell her Uncle Drake about how Ethan had seemed to look through her mask, and truly seen her. And she had noticed he h

Ethan was silently watching Anna and the children as she settled them into their seats from across the table. Already the twins were eating their meals paid for by him.He was pleasantly surprised that she would agree to go out for dinner even though he had sensed some hesitation over the phone. But it didn’t matter. He was going to have to convince her that he meant no harm and use this as a way to get something over William for once. Nothing else mattered but that.“Thanks,” Anna said to him and brought his mind back to reality. He smiled at her in a charming way. “For the meal. They really like it.” She remarked, trying not to look as awkward as she felt.“It’s my pleasure, Anna.” Ethan put on his patented look of innocent concern and leaned forward. “Actually I wanted to ask you a few questions. Don’t take it the wrong way.”So there was something he wanted, Anna thought, beginning to feel wary.She had made this decision to go out for dinner with him because she didn’t think it m

Anna splashed her face in the restroom, feeling like she had just run a marathon.What was wrong with her?As she gazed at the mirror in the low-lit mirror, she noted just how tense her face had become. Instantly, she relaxed it, and tried to think about anything but William and his intentions.Oh, who was she kidding? She didn’t think he could have gone any lower, but now he seemed to be using deceit to get to her. Buying her and the kids meals? What had she been thinking, agreeing to this?She would have to confront him, she decided. Once she got back home, she would stop him and demand he stop acting like such a nice guy. He didn’t fool her anymore, and he wasn’t her boss so as to dictate how she would feel or be in this situation.With that thought, she left the restroom, only to bump into someone she definitely didn’t care for. She nearly would have walked off, because she didn’t care, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her around.“Hey, hey, Babe.”“Dylan.” She greeted the man wi