arrett's, those dark brown eyes with flecks of honey, as he mad

, right where Garrett had bitten me last night, swept up in the passion of our em

felt relieved, but deep down, the Consort inside me ached to be claimed by him. To be marked by Garrett. But I already carrie

as this burning love inside us both-a secre

masked his feelings quickly when Tammie's twin slipped her hand from her father'

ed at me, and broke our gaze. Instead, he gave his full attention to the

Looking at the family around him, I couldn't help but wonder wh

s child... but then we had a terrible fight and I lost the baby. Under the

and again to have another child, but nothing ever came of it. Later, the

iolent Brent could be. I wasn't sure I wanted to bring a chi

boy's little face smeared with chocolate. He held the boy on his lap, sharing his plate and wiping away the sticky mess with gentle hand

omfort twisted

to burn. Then itch-s

emporary. Now, as if midnight had come and gone and the spe

ttled on me, dragging me down. Bitterness filled my throat, and the bite of crepe I'd just t

was another motorcycle club, much like my father's. But I truly believed he was different. He used to talk endlessly about his family's roots in Colombia, where

s a g

land where Garrett's ancestors had come from-just like Brent

imply the end of one cycle and the start of another. Just like when our alpha gene

neck himself, mixing his own blood into the

believed I was being reborn into something new, th

o see the truth. It revealed the deviant Alpha hid

e we were married, Brent start

do for him- if Garrett ever knew, he would never forgi

ver be anything real between Garrett and me.

oment of passion. It co

oo much to drin

t this morning, we could go on as if none of it had ever taken place. But just one glance at Garrett told me he was not abo

d to challenge Brent,

No. I couldn't even allo

ad shaken me to my core. But... Brent was something darker. If

ther man's Consort- a woman already marked as someone else's fated mate. So he challenged her husband to a duel, an

cially when the ammunition is soaked in Morthys nectar-a rare plant from South

completely. The Alpha who won took her as his own, making the claim in front of the entire pack. He didn't e

y father-and the new Alpha was even more brutal, even more twisted than Brent could ever

oon as I was old enough and find a new pack-one that wasn't twisted or cruel. Yet look at me now, I thought bit

as a waitress. Life felt peaceful for two whole years. In my innocence, I thought I'd left everything

ent and Garrett

e was always bragging about being Garrett's cousin. Or so I thought at the time. He claimed he was the one who bought Garrett his first bike, that he would help him open his garage too. The way he spoke, it sounded like Garrett vouched for him, so I believed it. I w

te me. Every time he came to the restaurant, he treated me with genuine kindness and always left generous tips. Even

n Orlando, or about my dreams of becoming a nutrit

ell me about the album he was working on, hum a few lines of a song he'd

isma. It didn't help that we were constantly interrupted at the restaurant by his groupies begging for autographs. Br

en just spotted with him. The comments could get ugly fast. Bruce once confided in me that one of Garrett's more obsessive fans actu

the public eye. And now that I knew about his divine ancestry, the distance between us felt even greater. Even if I somehow

nity would ever acc

t being near him felt like I

lways been-and would always remain- no