KRISTINA'S POVDid someone try to kill this innocent animal? It didn't matter. What really mattered was whether or not I had been hallucinating before or not. As far as I knew, nothing bad ever happened here. At least, nothing harmful. I tried to ignore the fact that I'm still clutching my cell phone tightly in my palm while approaching the carcass. Even though the smell hadn't gotten any stronger. And even if it did get worse, I can handle a dead deer. So much easier than a human. This thought made me pause. But what if there are no humans here after all? I don't know how this world works. I didn't study it much, to begin with. What am I supposed to do now? I looked around again. The woods were unusually quiet and dark. The sounds of crickets and other insects echoed through them, along with birds singing their hearts out in the distance, accompanied by small animals running past me. I heard a twig snapping close to me, followed by a series of sharp grunts. It sounded like it came

KRISTINA'S POVThen his face brightened with a smile. "That's all I remember too." "You're smiling," I pointed out. "Do you feel okay?" He shook his head. "No, it wasn't like that. It was more like... well I don't really know how to explain it. More like, it was like when the sun rises over the sea, only brighter, like there's nothing else in my world but the sky, and the world has no reason to exist except for that moment." Nathan smiled as if he had just seen some wondrous miracle. "But when you kiss me, my whole body feels as if I'm floating on air and I can see everything." He looked at his hands and smiled wistfully again. "It's like that every time." "I didn't think you felt that way about anything anymore," I commented curiously. The question itself had been rhetorical, since his mood seemed so different from the last few days and weeks. "After all, you were engaged before, you said." Nathan smiled softly as if remembering fond memories. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Y

KRISTINA'S POVAlpha Laurence reached towards me and undid the ropes holding my hands behind my back. Once they were finally gone, I immediately rubbed my wrists vigorously. I jumped from the ground and quickly sat down, avoiding Laurence's gaze. I didn't dare to even look in his direction. My whole body trembled and I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks. "Please forgive me," he said softly. I didn't answer. "Did you really think that I wouldn't notice?" "What do you mean?" "Do you really believe that I wouldn't have been able to sense what's going on between you and Nathan? After everything that we've been through together, why would I miss it? You are my mate, Kristina. You are not meant for him. I don't think you're ready for marriage, and besides–" That was the moment where I realized that I shouldn't have trusted him. "How can I trust you, if you are such a bad person? Why did you lie to me? And why were you so adamant to keep Nathan locked up here? What were you doing with

KRISTINA'S POV She hesitated again. "We were going to leave together… We wanted to go somewhere safe. We didn't want anyone to know where we were. It just happened so fast." She glanced over her shoulder at the man behind her who had been following them, gun raised. Then she turned back to us. "Now the plan needs some change. But everything that happens next, I need you to believe it's my decision, okay?" Jack stepped forward, his face serious. "Who are you?" he asked. His tone matched his expression; he wasn't shouting, but his tone was definitely not friendly either. Lea still gripped the rifle as if ready to fire at any moment. Neither of them relaxed their attention. Jack was obviously uncomfortable, but I couldn't tell what he thought about the woman before us. He stared at her for what felt like a long time without saying anything. The woman seemed frozen in place and stared straight ahead. I could practically hear my own heart pounding. I kept waiting for the gunshot, but

KRISTINA'S POVI looked him dead in the eyes. I stared into his blue ones that reminded me of the ocean. "Because…" I whispered. "Please… Tell me." He stared at me silently for what seemed like ages before sighing and leaning backwards. "There are many things you don't know about me," he said eventually, avoiding my stare. "Things I haven't even told anyone." My brows furrowed together in confusion. "What do you mean?" I asked cautiously. Nathan met my questioning gaze, almost hesitant to begin. He licked his lips nervously before finally speaking. "When… When we first met." His eyes flickered nervously away from mine. "We fought. I–I tried to kill you, to protect you. To keep you safe–from harm. And, you defended me." "Protecting me from who?" I whispered softly. Nathan's head snapped back up to look at me again, his expression pained. He shook his head lightly. "You won't believe me even if I say it." I sighed at his response but remained silent. It was a conversation best