"Please, I have to go home." That's what I told the man in front of me. I begged him to let me go, but in my heart, I pray he never will. 

How crazy is that? How can I feel safer with a stranger I've just met than the man who was supposed to love me until death? Why does he look at me like I'm the most beautiful thing in the world? Does he see the bruises? Is that why he's doing this?

I should've never left the house, but I couldn't let him win. Not this time, but I hadn't counted on this.

"He'll never hurt you again." I want to believe those words, but I don't know if I can. What if I'm going crazy? What if it's all a dream, and I wake up in the nightmare that's my life?

I shouldn't trust him, but gods, why does his voice affect me like this? Why does he smell like lightning storms and heather?

"Nefretiri? Do you know what a mate is?"

No, he didn't just say that!


Life isn't supposed to be this dark. That's what Nefretiri Jordans believed until her world came crumbling down. Her marriage was now a game of slave and master, and she would never win. Not when her husband was cruel enough to bring his mistresses to the house and act like Nefra was nothing more than a servant. She wants to run, but she can't. He'll never let her go, especially not with their new daughter. So, she has no choice but to live in hell and do her best to stay sane.

Unfortunately, that line of sanity suddenly breaks when Ricky goes too far, and Nefra makes a stupid choice. After all, it's just a cake. Who cared about that? 

Fate has a cruel sense of humor, and Nefra quickly learns that nothing is by chance. So, what started as a painful but necessary trip to the store turned into an unexpected adventure. 

After all, she never put mate on her shopping list.

Not that it mattered to Ivan. The Alpha of the Sebryanny Kinzhal pack from Colorado who's slowly coming back from a year of hell. All he wanted was to find peace and figure out what he was supposed to do with his life. The moon goddess had an answer, and she set him up to find the one thing he needed to be saved. 

So, when Nefra crashed into his truck and he saw her, Ivan knew she was his destiny. Unfortunately for him, she's not on board and seems to belong to someone else. If Ivan wants Nefretiri to be his, he'll need to do more than earn her trust. Dark secrets are waiting to devour both of them, and more than one enemy is watching in the shadows to claim what both unknowingly hold. 

Somehow, they must get past their pain to find each other and build something neither believed was possible again. Finally, it's time to put the cards on the table and bet it all. If they win, their lives will be more than either of them could ever dream, but if they lose, the darkness will destroy more than one life.

"Where is everyone?" Ivan placed me at the foot of the stairs. I might have met my match. Ivan's as stubborn as I am.


"Tay's probably still taking a walk with Penelope. Don't worry; Steven and Terry won't leave them. And... yeah, AJ and Vince are still working on Greg's car. Where the hell did they find a hacky sack?"


Ivan glanced at the windows across the house, but all I saw were the plants and outlines of cars.


I was considering buying a pair of glasses. It wouldn't hurt. My eyes weren't that bad, but compared to a werewolf's?


Besides, with magic, the potential consequences are unpredictable.


"That's not everyone, though, is it?" I thought I met more than the ones he'd named... Where was Greg?


Chapter 25 - Pressure point