Trista’s POV I tossed and turned all night. My dreams were a messed up mix of fragments, bordering on nightmares. But one dream in particular scared me so badly I couldn’t go back to sleep. In the dream, I knelt in the forest while Liam laughed maniacally at the tree line. Rogues crept in from the trees, their eyes glinting in the moonlight. They held knives, ready to stab me. I begged Liam for help but he only kept laughing. Then the rogues all shifted, to tiny little wolf pups. They yipped and ran in circles at my feet. “Eat her!” Liam instructed the wolf pups. They nipped at my ankles. Then Dagny appeared, dressed in a blue robe. “Oh no,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “Don’t eat her. She’s a WEREWOLF!” Then she glared at me; her eyes were fire red. I bolted upright in bed, breathing heavily. The dream filtered away. I could still hear the little wolf pups, yipping and my feet. Could still hear Liam’s maniacal laugh. Could still see Dagny’s red eyes.
Trista’s POV “Good morning, sleepy head,” Johnson called to me when he saw me. Both the children looked so happy. It warmed my heart. How did I get so lucky? My life was like a fairy tale, a real live dream. The complete opposite of what it had been five years ago when I first came to Milan… Five years ago, I stepped off the plane with one goal in mind – to get hired by JL. I went straight to the head office. I was going to tell them about how I’d been treated back in the United States. I’d been fired for no reason! I would explain it all and then convince them to give me a job. “I’d like to see the CEO,” I told the receptionist when I’d finally found the building. She peered at me from over her glasses. “Do you have an appointment?” She looked annoyed. “Well, no,” I said. “But I can wait. Or I can see someone else. A hiring manager?” “I can’t let you in without an appointment,” she said. Then she went back
Trista’s POV“Look out!” I hollered to the man in the suit. The man in the suit had no idea he was being followed! I had to warn him. My voice echoed through the parkade.The man in the suit turned around, his eyes quizzical.The man with the gun quickly fired a few shots at the man in the suit. But the man in the suit was already alert and he dodged the attack.The man with the gun turned to me. He narrowed his eyes with anger in it. Then he pointed his gun and shot me.My visual impairment didn't allow me to move as swiftly as I would have liked. Even though I had my glasses on, all I could do was watch the bullet fly towards me.Pain ripped through my arm.“Oh my god!” the man in the suit yelled, running towards me. I crumpled to the ground, holding my arm. The man with the gun took off.“Just, just stay calm,” the man in the suit said, taking out his cell phone. “I’m going to get you help.”There was so much kindness in his eyes.Yes, it was Johnson.Before I knew it, he was liftin
Trista’s POV My heart lurched. Billy was thrown from the back of the horse. The trainer lunged under Billy and broke his fall. The horse reared up, kicking its front legs in the air. It neighed loudly. I ran to them. Johnson got there first. He dismounted and then lifted Belle from the horse. Belle wailed. She was terrified. Johnson wrapped his arms around her. Billy was on top of the trainer on the ground. I lifted him off the trainer. “Momma?” Billy asked, his face pale and his eyes wide. “I’m….I’m so sorry,” the trainer stuttered, getting up to his feet. He cradled his left arm. “I don’t know what happened. Something spooked her.” “Is Billy okay?” Johnson asked. The horse continued to kick, its nostrils flaring. “Yes,” I said. I checked him over. He wasn’t hurt, just shocked. The trainer, however, didn’t escape the ordeal so easily. His arm was bent in an unnatural way. “Your arm,” I said to him
Trista’s POV A Lycan?If my face was shocked before, well….“Well, I suppose I better fill you in,” she said, smiling sweetly. “Would you like more tea? It’s a bit of a long story.”I shook my head. My thoughts were reeling. She was…she was a lycan? But..but how?“I come from an old Lycan family,” she started. “We were based in the United States, on the West Coast. It was a very, very powerful family, too powerful, actually. We had a lot of enemies, other werewolves that wanted to kill us to stop our power. So, my parents, Johnson’s grandparents, came to Europe to go into hiding. They figured it was the safest thing to do.”I nodded. I had heard about lycans going into hiding. Lycan always had a lot of enemies; werewolves are jealous of their power so they hunt them down. Dagny continued.They first settled in Paris, but it was too big and busy. They longed for the peace and quiet they’d had for so long. So they moved out this way, to the South of France. I lived a ver
Trista’s POV Suddenly, my mind flashed back to the day I met Johnson. The parking garage.The man, with the gun.“You said people were hunting Johnson’s father,” I said. “I think…maybe someone was hunting Johnson, too.” I told her about the day in the garage. Her face turned serious, and a darkness washed over her features. “Do you think…maybe…There might be the connection between these people?”She pressed her lips together. “Because it probably is,” I continued. “Who are these people? What did they want with Steward?” She looked down at her hands. “Were they…were they trying to kill him?” I asked.Then she looked up at me, with a fake smile on her face. “Thank you for the information, Trista,” she said. “I will speak to Steward about it. I’m sure it was nothing. He’ll sort it out.”I snapped my mouth shut. She clearly didn’t want to talk about it. I was offending her -prying into her personal life. Her normal expression returned. “No need for apologies,” she said. We
Trista’s POV Go home? How could I possibly do that? Did she mean back to my pack? Back to Summerset? I was rejected. Exiled. I didn’t have a home there anymore. I carried Billy back to my bedroom, Dagny’s words swarming through my mind. The herbs had made Billy sleepy, and he was dead weight. He was heavy in my arms and I realized that he wasn’t my tiny little baby anymore. He was a young boy now. I laid him down on my bed. He stirred, then curled up into a ball. He looked so much like Liam. The same eyes, the same hair, the same build. Looking at him there, on the bed, he didn’t look like an average five-year-old boy. He looked older. Stronger. More robust. “It must be the Alpha blood in him,” I sighed to myself. My mind turned to Johnson. He had been so calm and collected during the accident. He knew just what to do but the concern on his face – well – that had been the concerned look of a parent. “Johnson
Trista’s POV Liam? Ugh. He was the last person I wanted to talk about. “He made us, well you, a pretty good offer, Trista.” I didn’t want a damned thing from Liam, let alone some sort of business offer. But I trusted Johnson so I listened. “Liam’s been in touch with Stevia Sinclair.” My eyes lit up. Stevia Sinclair? She was the hottest movie star right now. She was a massive influencer with a multi-million social media following. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, knew who she was. Johnson chuckled at my expression. “Looks like Liam managed to secure a deal with Miss Sinclair. She’s agreed to endorse your latest jewelry line. With a few conditions, of course.” I couldn’t respond. How? What? Was this really happening? “It gets better,” Johnson said. “Liam has offered to fund the creation of an independent brand, in YOUR name.” It was a dream come true! My own brand? Endorsed by the most famous movie star on the p