That night I felt lost… like somehow everything had gone from bad to worse in the twinkling of an eye and I was caught in the middle of it all. James' words echoed in my head over and over again…“It was my fault thinking you'd pick me over him”I couldn't explain the situation to James without betraying Kieran and I couldn't help Kieran and myself without hurting James. I hated this feeling of helplessness. Like I was just being tossed by the waves instead of riding them. I didn't hear Kieran returning home till late that night. I felt his lingering presence when he passed my door and I heard his own door when he entered his room and closed it. I still wanted Kieran. Despite it all, I wanted him to comfort me, to hold me in his arms and tell me everything would be fine… but I knew those desires of mine would never be fulfilled. We had been bound by a cruel fate, one I was yet to understand completely. At least I still had Esme, although our relationship wasn't as rosy as it used to

"Jayden was murdered?” I questioned, not believing it myself.“I got a friend to do some digging and we went to check his body in the morgue this morning. He had bruises all over his body and none of them were healed. Meaning he was killed shortly after he received a beating. Werewolves naturally heal faster. To keep it simple, whoever he went to meet beat him up and killed him then hung him from a noose in his own room to make it look like he killed himself”I couldn't find the words to express my shock. Is that what James wanted to tell me? What he meant when he said I wasn't responsible for Jayden's death…The question remained who could possibly want to kill him?“But why?” Esme asked, voicing my thoughts.“That is what we still don't know. There are several possibilities. But he was just a pawn in a much bigger game” Kieran said as he stroked his chin It was then I remembered what I'd wanted to tell him. He was probably right about Jayden just being a smaller price on the chess

Mine?He had called me his... that was all I could focus on. I knew being his mate basically entailed that I was his as much as he was mine. But I never actually thought I'd hear him say it. Meanwhile, Kieran looked like he was ready to rip Adam apart. I knew I had to stop him."Kieran, stop" My voice was very weak but he heard me and his fist stopped mid air right before he made contact with Adam's face. He looked at me and his expression changed in an instant. He looked back at Adam and hit him again, knocking him out before he came to me. "I knew you'd come" I smiled, relief washing over me. "Save your strength" He took off his hoodie and helped me put it on. it was very big on me so it covered me up and I felt less exposed. Kieran's eyes scanned my body, checking for bruises."I'm okay..."His hands cupped my face gently as his thumb brushed over my bruised cheek lightly. I remembered how Adam had hit me and automatically flinched away from Kieran's touch.I didn't want to rem

It felt like deja vu. Just a couple of days ago, it was I who had been the bearer of bad news, but now I was receiving it and it felt worse.“Is he… dead?” I was almost afraid to hear the answer.“No, no he's alive. Someone took him last night. He hasn't returned since then. It's almost certain that he's gone. I guess they didn't want him spilling their little secrets”“But who's they?”“Whoever he's working for, the bad guys, our enemy. It could be anyone really. Till we know we're just walking around in blindfolds while trying to fight a war”“You had someone watching him?”“Yes. Last night after I came here to change, I asked Alaric to keep an eye on him”“And who's Alaric?”“He's my beta. He's in charge of the pack when I'm not around”“What are we going to do now? If we can't find Adam…”“Oh I'll definitely find him, and when I do, I'll make him pay for hurting you. He's going to wish he'd never been born”Kieran's eyes fixed on my cheek. The bruise on my face and the marks on my

I didn't have enough time to look in the other stalls, maybe she was hiding in one of them but I knew there was also a back exit close by. If she'd moved fast enough, she was probably out of the store already. This was the closest I'd ever come to unmasking my stalker, but I'd failed again and she hadn't said anything that revealed her identity. I wasn't even sure if she was human or not, but judging from her choice of words, she seemed to know a bit. “Eva” Esme called out to me again. I could hear her getting closer. “What's taking so long? Do you need some help?”I took a deep breath and let it out. I turned towards the direction Esme would be coming from, giving one last glance behind me. A part of me thought she'd jump out and stab me in the back. I didn't think she had any intent to kill. She only wanted to scare me, but why?“Eva?”“I'm over here” Esme came and took a good look at me. “Oh you look lovely, you should come take a look in the mirror”“No, that's fine. I think i