“Of course, I’ll let you know.” The lie felt wrong on my lips, but the fleeting sense of guilt had nothing on the feeling rolling through me right now. Like a landslide, boulders tumbled and collided in the pits of my stomach. I had never been exceptionally skilled at lying, so I added on a few details to make it more believable. “Breyona’s parents are scholars. They’re working with a few of…” I paused and the phrase ‘vampire henchmen’ came to mind, “…my men to search through my father’s family tree.”“By your men I assume you mean the vampire’s currently on your side.” She shifted in the armchair, crossing one leg over another. Her sculpted lips tilted up in a knowing smile, “I don’t fear vampires, Lola. Our ancestors had no reason to fear other species, not when their numbers rivaled the vampire’s kingdom, and the werewolves’ packs. It’s a mi

“When you called me saying you needed my help with ‘magic stuff,’ this wasn’t what I had in mind.” Breyona frowned; her eyebrows gnashed together. She had a gentler version of Asher’s expression, who stood a few feet to her left, so still he looked carved from stone. Her eyes flitted down to the dark bra and underwear combo I wore; the one Asher had picked out just a few weeks ago. “…I really need to start training again. I never realized how many calories shifting burned.”“I hear you and Giovanni train pretty hard already.” I replied smoothly, my lips twitching as I resisted the urge to laugh.She flicked her chestnut hair over her shoulder and scoffed, “Tristan’s an asshole.”Rowena flitted into the room, a blur of auburn hair and pale skin. Like a hummingbird, she was light on her feet. She rummaged through trunks, glass bottles clinking and papers scratching against one ano

“You’re sure you’re alright?” Asher asked for the second time, the only sign of his worry was the crease between his eyebrows and how his attention kept drifting from the road to where I sat in the passenger seat.Cordelia had taken a couple of photos of the sigil on my chest, the one now hidden by the oversized t-shirt I wore, to investigate herself. An ‘x’ with frayed ends like fletching of an arrow, with a long slash that went vertically through the center. I tried not to worry too much that this one had left her stumped, and instead tried to stay optimistic. Breyona had sent the pictures to her parents, who would now be on the lookout for any texts or relics that matched.“It doesn’t hurt anymore, but it is strange…now that I can see this thing, it feels kind of familiar. I’m positive I don’t have any memory of it though.” I wished I could fully reassure him, but the strange feeling bubbling i

“You handled that well.” Asher chuckled, his laugh deep and rich like liquid amber. His breath was hot and curled in the air between us. The cold metal of the car chilled my back, easily seeping through Asher’s sweatshirt. His hand rested on the roof of the car and his eyes were devastatingly serious as he said, “I was going to tell him to take his questions and fuck off.”I always took the chance to toy with my hot-headed mate, especially when he made it so incredibly easy.I gave him a petulant look and tried to push past him, “you never did have any manners.”My back hit the side of the car with a little more force this time. Rather than hurting me, it brought a twisted smile to my face. My head swam with his earthy scent as he leaned in close, always hovering over me. I could feel his fingers tangling in my hair where they hadn’t been before.“You’re wrong, I have some manners.&rdquo

“You’re absolutely positive?” I asked both dad and grandma, who were locked in a staring match that was now going on two minutes.“She never brought Lola to your cottage?” Dad’s lips fell, and everything inside of me regretted bringing this up.From her leaving him years after having Sean, to returning with me in her arms and a shadow hovering over her shoulder. They had been through more than most mated couples, and somehow managed to make it work up until her death. Uncovering her secrets felt like peeling back the layers of my memories until the woman who had raised me was almost unrecognizable.“No, not once.” Grandma replied. She and mom had never gotten along, and it was mom’s refusal to let us see her that drove a wedge in between her and I. Dating Tyler only wedged that chasm open even more.“How old was I when she took me? When she came back, did she act any different? Did I act any diff

It took another hour to fall back asleep. Standing out in the early morning chill, talking about a dead man whose presence still made me shudder, it had chased away the remnants of sleep that weighed my eyelids down. I stayed curled in Asher’s embrace, enjoying the warmth and his woodsy scent as sleep slowly reclaimed me.That morning I was out of bed bright and early, driving to a coffee shop just outside of town but still within the pack’s boarders. We had stopped there on our way in, and Breyona fell in love with their caramel macchiatos and bear claws. It had been a last-minute decision to drive the extra fifteen minutes and grab us one since we’d both be spending the morning with Cordelia.Asher and I had been working on my driving for the last few months, and I’ve improved drastically despite his hesitance on letting me go off alone. Coasting down the winding highway, seeing nothing but dense forest and a few cabins, was much less exhilara

“Wonderful.” I sighed a bit more dramatically than I initially meant to, “The only two people who can help us is a witch who could easily be dead by now and my mom, who actually is dead. Is resurrecting people a thing, or is that just in the movies?”“Just in the movies, dear.” Cordelia replied, not at all disturbed. If anything, my comment gave her an idea. Her eyes lit up with the same mischievous light as grandmas, only Cordelia’s held traces of unearthly magic. “Summoning her spirit, however. That could be doable. I’d need to leave town to get the supplies…but I could have everything ready within a few days.”‘It already sounds like a bad idea…do you really think this is the way to remove your magical block?’ Asher’s gruff voice filled my head, keeping my thoughts from drifting as I pulled onto the highway, seeing Breyona’s car follow behind.I tried to keep my

My hands trembled as I reached up and felt wildly for the seatbelt buckle. My vision was tinted red from the blood that trickled down my face, but I couldn’t—wouldn’t take my eyes off those boots.I must’ve made some sort of sound when the stranger took a step forward, because suddenly they started sprinting. The glass crunched beneath their feet, the sound grinding against my teeth as they got closer and closer.I knew how to keep a level head as my fear turned into full-blown panic, but no amount of thrashing or struggling helped free me from the car. My fingers were slick with blood, making it impossible to find the button that would free me. Spots danced in my vision and every breath took much more of an effort than it should. I knew I had punctured something when the remaining air in my lungs crackled.Something gave beneath my fingers. The click of the seatbelt was the last thing I heard before I slid from the seat and land

I handed the phone back to the cashier, hearing Asher’s objections on the other end, wishing I could soothe that side of him that wanted to shield me from all danger.“Tell him the address, then hang up.” I told the cashier, deaf to her reply because it was Asher’s voice that rang in my ears.“So, should I keep planning my escape, or did you delay my death for the time being?” Brandon asked the moment I was within sniffing distance, unable to keep his mouth shut long enough to let me sort through the guilt that made me short of breath.I rolled my eyes at him, watching as put the gas nozzle back into it’s holder and gestured to the car, “I’d open the door for you, but from what I’ve seen of you and my brother, you’re not into the old-school romance type of stuff. Are you?”I stared at his knowing smile without so much as a fraction of embarrassment on my face.“Those scho

I spun around, nearly bumping into the narrow chest of some man. He placed a hand against the front of the dress shirt he wore, drawing my attention to the rings speckled on his fingers. There were a few on his other hand, which clinked against the glass of alcohol in his hand.There was a big part of me—and Maya that felt infuriated being called ‘little she-wolf.’ We were proud of our title, both of them. We had bled and fought to claim them both, even if they weren’t what we wanted at first. It went against my instincts to hide my position—especially to another werewolf.“She’s good. I can get her whatever she needs, thanks.” I wouldn’t say I was relieved to hear Brandon’s voice, but it did make me feel better that I wouldn’t have to chase this guy off myself.Unfortunately, whenever you mixed alcohol, anger issues, and copious amounts of testosterone, you were left with a person that couldn&rsq