“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 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

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

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 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