"It's obvious something shady is going on, secret meetings, underground clubs, shifting alliances, a compelling mystery, and complex characters all make for a wonderful story and the with a cliffhanger at the end that has wanting the next book asap." Rachel, Goodreads
Published: December 21st, 2021
I moved to a free sink
and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I looked even worse than I
thought. My eye was swollen shut and my other eye was bloodshot. My blonde hair
had started the evening in a ponytail, but now it looked like I’d had the same
hair tie in for days without washing or brushing. It was a chaotic mess. My
lips were caked in dry blood and now that I was starting to pay attention to my
injuries, I realized it hurt every time I took a breath.
“I can’t believe you
made me get in there with you,” I hissed as I turned on the faucet. As I went
through the motions of cleaning up, my mind wandered to Dax’s original
challenger. Who was the Dark Wolf? Dax owed me after what I did. Maybe he’d
tell me.
After I was done washing
my hands and splashing water I my face, I gently dried off with a paper towel.
I tossed the towel in the trash can and turned to Dax. “Who was that male you
were fighting?”
“He calls himself the
Dark Wolf. Stupid name, if you ask me,” he grumbled.
“Who is he, really?” I
asked. “He’s not a Shadow.”
“No, he’s not,” Dax
agreed. “He’s far worse.”
“So, he’s Umbra?” I
pressed.
“He’s none of your
business is what he is. But he did seem to be interested in you. I didn’t
realize it was mutual,” he said.
“It’s not,” I lied.
“Why exactly did he rush
to your side like some kind of knight in shining armor?” Dax asked.
“Why would I know? I
never saw him before tonight,” I replied.
“Well, you won’t be
seeing him again. I won’t have those outsiders here after I’m alpha,” Dax said,
a threat in his tone.
My stomach tightened in
fear at the thought of never seeing the Dark Wolf again. I pushed the idea from
my mind. That was insane. Why should I care about some shifter from another
pack?
Dax took a step closer
to me. “I never really noticed you before tonight. I see that now.”
I lifted my brows. “If
that were true, I wouldn’t have spent spring break in eighth grade recovering
from broken ribs thanks to you.”
“Childhood pranks.” He
waved his hand.
“The way you treated me
wasn’t childhood pranks. You hurt me. More than once. More than just tonight.”
“And tonight you
demonstrated the payoff of all that hard work. All those years of me pushing
you. You haven’t even had your first shift, and you did good. I can’t imagine
how strong you’ll be when your wolf arrives,” he said.
“Is this supposed to be
making me feel better? I’m going to be in pain for days from this,” I said.
He moved closer until
there were only a few inches between us. I sucked in a breath and forced myself
to hold my ground. Was this some kind of bizarre test? Was he trying to see if
I’d flinch? My whole life I’d stood up to Dax, and it had always cost me, but I
wasn’t about to bow to him now. Once he was alpha, I wasn’t going to have a
choice. But he wasn’t alpha yet.
“What do you want from
me, Dax?” I asked. “Your friends aren’t around to see you show off and you’ve
already gotten your blows in. What more could you need?”
He was fast, his hand
moving behind my head and his lips pressing against mine before I realized what
was happening. My eyes widened, and I shoved him, breaking the contact before I
stepped away.
“What the fuck are you
doing?” I took another step back, but I was already prepared to kick him in the
crotch if he came near me.
“Don’t you feel it? The
heat between us? I’ve never seen a woman fight like you did tonight. So much
fire, so much passion. Shit, that stranger saw it in you before I saw it
myself,” he said.
My brow furrowed. “The
Dark Wolf? He saw me cowering in a ball on the ground. You saw me trying to
defend myself. There was no passion in anything I did tonight. It was pure
survival.”
“Think about it, Ivy.
We’d be great together. You’re feisty, smart, and sexy as hell. I’ll admit, you
were always the hottest girl in school, you just didn’t have the status. But
I’m going to be alpha. I’ll have more than enough status for both of us. Plus, I’d
have the authority to wipe your debts. You’d be free,” he said. “Think about
it. We could do great things together.”
It felt like I’d just
been dunked into ice water. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? Sure,
Dax was attractive. And he was going to be the most powerful shifter in the
Shadows. More importantly, being with him would clear my debts to the pack. I
could finally be a full member.
The problem was, I’d be
trading in one type of debt for another. If I was with Dax, I would be his. I still
wouldn’t have the freedom I craved. Besides, even if I wanted to be with him,
which I didn’t, there was no way his dad would support it.
“Dax Carver, you
promised me you wouldn’t be down here all night,” a whiny female voice echoed
around the locker room.
I didn’t need to turn
around to know that Stacey had joined us.
“What’s she doing here?” Stacey said.
“Good night, Dax.” I turned around and Stacey glared at me. I walked past her and out of the locker room without a backward glance.
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Forbidden Sin: January 20, 2022
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The cover looks so pretty, love it!
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