ANNE The corner of his lips turns up slightly. He leans in, his face disappearing from my sight and down my neck. I breathe, close my eyes, and prepare myself for the sparky waves of pleasure. Zero’s nose touches my neck, earning a low hiss from me. Slowly, he places his lips on my throbbing vein and suddenly, I am too aware of the heat shooting down to my core. My thighs clench around his waist as he opens his mouth and licks my tingling skin. A small loan escapes my mouth, my hands shooting up to hold his shoulders for support. His grip over my waist tightens until I can feel his fingers digging into my flesh roughly. He closes his mouth around my vein before his teeth sink into my flesh, causing me to throw my head back and moan his name breathlessly. He sucks the trickling blood like a hungry beast. My insides twist, my core grinding over his hardening cock for some kind of relief. The intense desire courses through my veins as my body seems to develop a mind of its own

ZEROI don’t know what’s going through Anne’s head. I know she wants me to give up on my plan of putting myself to sleep but she doesn’t understand—It’s not a plan, it’s necessary.I can’t stay here for long. This is not my world. I am in the wrong place. I found her at the wrong time. For some time, I did think about making this time mine. I learned the ways of this world, I forced myself to keep going in hopes that if I stay alive, I will be able to get back at the people who put me through this, the people who killed my mother. It turns out, I was living a lie—once again.This can never be my world. And my mother is very much alive and breathing.It was only me. I was the only one who suffered. Sometimes, I want to feel self—pity and get over this dull, boring ache in my chest but I can’t. It was my fault, to begin with. If I had control over my bloodthirst centuries ago, the Originals would have never found out about me. It’s all on me, so I can’t feel bad.The only thing I can d

ANNEI barge inside the pack house and instantly rush to the Alpha’s office, hoping that Zero was back by now. When I push open the door, I find him sitting on the chair, his eyes fixed on me as if he knew I was coming.I release the breath I held back for some time now before stepping inside. A huge weight slips away from my heart when I see Zero, alive, breathing, right in front of me.“ What are you doing? ” I huff, glaring at him.He scared me for a moment when I realized he had been making all these reforms that he was never interested in doing. I thought he was going to run away while I was gone and when he was done giving all the orders. These thoughts are killing me. Zero remains silent, waiting for me to elaborate on what I am accusing him of, this time. I inhale a deep, necessary breath. My gaze lingers on his face before tracing his body, the desk, and the floor, then rising back to his face.“ Why are you changing the pack ways? ” I ask, closing the door and resting my

ANNE“ You make the worst coffee ever. ” I scrunch my nose in disgust, glaring at the mug of steaming coffee between my hands.“ You didn’t even taste it. ” Zero shrugs his shoulders and comes to stand beside me on the balcony, his gaze resting on the pack residences we can see in the distance.I sigh, turning around and facing the same view as him. The night is silent, calm falling over the whole pack. They sorted out their houses and accepted the place they were allotted but I don’t believe it was only about the residence. It’s much more than that. The werewolf hierarchy rules are etched in their minds. No one can scratch that mindset. Not me. Not Zero. Not anyone else.Sighing once more, I glance at Zero’s side profile. The mark over his neck is exposed. I can see the cute pink bump against his hard skin. This only reminds me of what he said when he left. To say that I am deliberately avoiding talking about it will be an understatement. “ Anne. ” Zero calls my name but doesn’t l

ANNEI didn’t even notice when I started drifting off to sleep while staring at Zero silently last night. He didn’t say anything after I promised to take him on a date.It must have sounded so childish to him that he smiled at me—fucking smiled at me. I groan, embarrassed in myself but I have to go. When I woke up, he was gone and the bed was empty but in my heart, I knew he didn’t leave in the darkness. He left the room when he was sure that I won’t get scared. Today, I didn’t have to search for him at all. I could feel he was in the pack house, probably in the Alpha’s office so I didn’t go there.I took a bath, stole his grey T-shirt to wear, and came down to the kitchen only to come across two very unexpected guests waiting for me furiously.“ You decided to wake up finally. ” Natalie narrows her eyes at me, followed by Giana who looks equally angry.“ Hey there! ” I wave at them awkwardly.Both my friends stay seated on the kitchen stools and continue glaring at me. Sighing soft