THEO I zipped up my duffle bag, grabbed my suit, and headed towards the door. It was still too early in the morning without my coffee. It would be my lifeline to get through the day. Sleep eluded me for the longest time last night because I could not get her out of my head. Our pack was celebrating, but my I spent a lot of the night covertly watching her. Brynn Fullilove was gorgeous, confident, and intelligent. Sure, she was a bit younger than me, but that did not matter one damn bit. The outfit she wore highlighted her curves perfectly, and she knew how to dance. Her body flexed and rolled with the beat in hypnotizing fashion. All I could think about as I watched her dance with a dude was how much I wanted to be where he was, and I was jealous as fuck that he was the one with his arms around her. I wanted to ask Brynn to dance, but I did not want to make a spectacle of it. If I were to approach her then I wanted it to be a private affair where nosy assholes would not be able to

BRYNN The food was absolutely delicious. My father was known far and wide for his grilling mastery. There was none better in many people’s opinions. He was a good outdoor chef while I was a good indoor chef. Sebastian and I did not eat a whole lot because losing by way of vomit would be a very lame way to go, and one could never live that down even if they died at the ripe young age of ninety-nine. I changed into a sparring outfit which consisted of leggings and a sports bra which covered all of the fun bits. I learned a few years ago that wearing shorts was not the best idea. Maya carefully removed all of the pins before I threw it into a messy bun. My adrenaline was steadily winding throughout my body, so I focused it, keeping it under control. Too much of it would cause me to burn out fast. Too little of it would make me a sitting duck. Everyone was gathered around the training area that my father built. This was my domain where he trained me. Not a single square foot of it had

BRYNN I did not know where I was, but it was dark and cold. The last thing that I remembered was Paise, Momma’s wolf, running with me on her back. It was something we did every Saturday. I could not wait to get my wolf. Would she look like Paise with her beautiful caramel fur or more like Rex, Daddy’s wolf, who was a pure black wolf. Either way, my wolf would be very special to me and be my best friend besides Sebastian and Maya of course. “You sure it’s her?” a man’s voice floated quietly to my ears. “Do you really doubt me?” a woman hissed at him, offended by his question. “No. Nothing like that. The Eyes trust you. We’ve just been waiting a long time is all,” the man said, trying to calm her down. A light turned on overhead, and I realized that I was in some type of room. It was an empty concrete room with one of those bright overhead lights. What happened? How did we even get here? I looked over and saw Momma staring at me. Her lip was firmly wedged between her teeth as if s

THEO The words were out of my mouth before I fully processed what I was even doing. Pain ripped through my chest, erupting in flames along the bond that had not even fully formed. This was unlike anything I had ever felt before. Brynn stared at me with an expression that I could not even place. She bit her lip, but the pain was not affecting her as badly as it was me. Or she was better at masking it. It felt like someone plunged their hand into my chest and ripped apart my heart and soul. I supposed that was what happened when you lost your soulmate. Zen was snarling up a storm. I had never heard him more furious than he was at this moment. There was no doubt in my mind that he would rip me to shreds if he was able to. “I, Brynn Fullilove, happily accept your rejection.” The pain subsided the moment that she accepted it, but I could not shake the feeling that I just fucked everything up. I had no intention of rejecting her. I honestly thought that we could get through the questi

BRYNN I could not think past the numbness that filled me. My body was part of me but separate at the same time right now. Meeting one’s mate was supposed to be a magical experience. It was when two souls came together, combining to make both whole in a way that shifted their reality as they became complete for the first time in their entire lives. I had always dreamed of the day that I would meet my mate. He would be my perfect completion selected by the Goddess herself. My body was filled with undisputable happiness when I realized that Alpha Theo was my mate. It made sense why I was drawn to him over the years and why I had such strong feelings for him. Then he accused me of attacking Veronica and cut me off before I could tell him to put me under an Alpha command. Rejection. Rejected. He did not want me and believed a lie over the truth. I was thankful that I finally saw his true colors even if it broke me that I was not good enough for him. I found myself at Sebastian’s door.