AMELIA’S P.O.V

I locked the bathroom door behind me and let out a ragged breath. I ran my hands through my hair and stared at my reflection in the mirror. If someone had told me one week ago that I would be in the bathroom of a restaurant while meeting with Aiden, I would have called them liars but yet here I was.


“What do you think?” I asked my wolf, Tara rousing her from her sleep. “Do you think that Aiden was lying or Marjorie?”

“I don’t think you should be here with Aiden at all,” she chided and I let out an exaggerated sigh. “ But to answer your question, I don’t think either of them was lying, that is what is so confusing about this.”

My brows furrowed. “How is that possible? They are saying completely opposite things. It makes no sense that both of them would be saying the truth.”


“I didn’t say that they were telling the truth, I said they were not lying,” she corrected and she must have felt my confusion because she explained. “Sometimes we tell ourselves the same thing over and over again so much that it becomes our truth. That must be the case for one of them but unfortunately, I cannot tell you which one. They both believed whatever they were saying.”

I let out an exasperated sigh and muttered enough explicits to make a sailor proud. Even tara felt as helpless as I was.


“What should we do?” I asked and I felt her shrug.

“Follow your heart, as cliché as that sounds, it is the best that we can do. Let things play out and take everything that everyone says with a grain of salt. You have done everything you can for this situation and I think it is time that you took a step back.”

“What do you mean?”

“You need to leave Kaden alone. Give him a break. You are driving yourself insane trying to get to the bottom of this and no one is offering you answers. You will get sick, Amelia, the longer that you do this. I am your wolf and you know that I would never lie to you. The best thing you can do for everyone is to stop.”

“What if Marjorie is right and he gets swept away?”

“Is your faith in your relationship that little?” she asked and I couldn’t respond. “If you don’t trust him then you shouldn’t be in that relationship. He hasn’t given you an actual reason to do that yet and until he does, I don’t think you should consider the worst. Just find something that relaxes you, maybe training or something?”

“That would be fun, thanks Tara.”

She didn’t say anything else as she turned her back to me and severed our connection. I splashed some water on my face to ensure that I was calm and back to reality before I made my way back to the table. To my shock, Aiden was nowhere to be found when I got there and neither was my drink. I looked around wondering if he was playing some wild trick on me but I couldn’t see him.

I managed to sight the waiter who had served us so I rushed up to him. “Did you see where Aiden went?”

He jumped when he heard my voice and took a step back as if he was terrified to be seen with me. He glanced around to see if there was anyone close to us and I found it a bit weird. I was just asking him a question, I wasn’t asking for his kidney or secrets about his life.

“You just missed him, he got a call and had to leave. I don’t know anything else.”

He rushed through his words and all but ran back to the kitchens. I stood there in the middle of the restaurant for a minute longer just staring in shock. By the time I managed to get my bearings, I scoffed and sent a text to Aiden.

Me: Leaving me at the restaurant, really, Aiden? Why did I expect anything more from you?

I saw that he read it but he wasn’t bothered to respond. I had to force down the anger and frustration at the back of my throat as I drove back to the house. It was quiet but Kaden’s scent still lingered in the air. I brought Tara’s words back to memory and repeated them over and over again. I was going to trust Kaden and trust that he had the best interests of our relationship at heart.

I was up the next morning around four and I walked to the training grounds again. When Ian saw me, he gave me a crooked smile. No words were exchanged between us as we set up the training field and I was shocked to see that only three students showed up. He explained that his students didn’t train every day and these were some who needed extra classes. He offered me the chance to leave but I wanted to stay.

It was a good way to relax my mind and get some tension out of my bones. By the time we finished training, my bones were on fire but my mind was slack and empty. It was a good feeling and it was something I wanted to relish in.

“Can I stay back and help you pack up?” I asked and Ian immediately nodded.

“Of course, please, I can use the help. You’re the only person who ever offers to do this. For selfish reasons I might keep you in class longer than necessary.”

I laughed. It was a carefree sound and it echoed through the air. Ian ended up laughing too and soon the only discernable sounds were of us gasping for air. It took us five minutes to calm down and by the time we did, tears had gathered at the edge of my eyes.

“You’re cool, Amelia,” he bumped my shoulder with his. “Have you ever been trained in your wolf form?”

I shook my head. “I haven’t shifted yet. I have my wolf but I haven’t been able to access my wolf fom. I don’t even know if I have one.”

“You definitely do, it just takes a while for others to get their forms. I can train you with that too,” he offered and I shook my head.

“You’re already doing more than you should. Please, I wouldn’t wan to inconvenience you at all.”

“It isn’t a bother at all, it would give me some chance to train my own.”

“Are you sure?”I asked and he nodded. “Alright then, when do we start?”

“I have some work tomorrow but the day after is fine by me. What do you think?”

“I think it is an amazing idea. Thank you again, Ian.”

He waved me off. “Don’t worry about it. Did you drive here? Let me drop you off.”

This time, I didn’t protest. I just thanked him and got into the passenger side of his car.

BLAKE’S P.O.V

Jamal was a good ally but he was a terrible person and after we were done with our plan, I was going to make sure that I never had to see him again. I could tell that he felt the same way considering how he was staring at me with narrowed eyes.

“You are supposed to share intel with us, Blake, not hide it from us,” he chided. “We are a group and if we cannot trust each other then we cannot stand. Why didn’t you tell us that you were bringing the Alpha’s whore?”

Samantha rolled her eyes. “I am standing directly in front of you and you should be bowing down at my feet in thanks. Without me, you stand no chance of getting rid of Gregory.”

Jamal looked like he wanted to spew insults at her but he knew she was right. She was the only person who could get close enough. He settled for muttering a few words under his breath before turning to me. A lesser man would have shit their pants but I had dealt with far worse than Jamal and he didn’t scare me.

“I had to think quickly on my feet and that was exactly what I did. There is a reason that I am going to be Alpha and you aren’t.” I spat before turning away from him. “Samantha has already started with the plan. As at yesterday, she slipped the first dose into his drink and she was smart enough to think of something even better.”

Jamal scoffed. “What could she have possibly done?”

“I started putting the poison on my skin,” she drawled from her position next to me. “Every time he touches me, he gets a mouthful of the poison. It will affect me a little since it will get absorbed into the skin but it is something I can handle. I have the antidote.”

Jamal looked impressed although he wouldn’t say it out loud. Instead, he turned back to me. “Just don’t bring any more people without letting us know first. The more people that are aware, the more likely we are to be found out. This has to go well.”

“It will,” I assured him. “All our pieces are in place, we just have to take the king.”

He nodded and stretched out his hand. I wasted no time in taking it. Once that was settled, I led Samantha to her feet and walked her out of the small hub. I made sure that the coast was clear before we walked out.

“I don’t trust that boy,” she whispered to me as soon as we had gotten away from the hub. “He looks like the kind of person who would turn on us.”

“I know. My plan is to kill him as soon as I get what I want. Besides, he will be a liability and a loose end.”

Her lips pulled up into a cruel smile. “I knew there was a reason that I liked you. If we weren’t in public, I would definitely show you just how much.”

“I’m not touching you until the poison wears off, Samantha. The last thing I want is to get sick too.”

She pouted. “I can’t wait until you’re Alpha. I can get you whenever I want. Will you be getting rid of Brittany?”

“You won’t have to wait for long.”

“Don’t think I didn’t realize that you didn’t respond to the part about Brittany.”

I ran the back of my hands down her cheeks. “Forget about Brittany for now. Focus on the task at hand. I have a new job for you and our victory might depend on it.”

That piqued her interest.

“I do love when I’m needed,” she purred. “Tell me everything.”