Alpha of the Northfall pack, Adrian Carter is brash, stubborn, and hot-headed. At 25 years of age, he must now make the most important decision of all: choosing a mate for the biggest pack west of the Atlantic ocean. Fear in the packs is escalatin...
Adira washed her hands with satisfaction as she eyed the clean pile of dishes. Done. Seven more things to do until freedom. How she managed to have a full weekend worth of chores every week, is something she was never going to figure out. Still, Adira loved her tiny cottage.
Even though the stairs leading up to the porch were old and rickety. Despite the overgrown plants that crept up their weathered rocks sprouting tiny white flowers in the cracks. The patio had a small cushioned swing on which Adira read her manuscripts. The front door opened into a hallway, leading into her living room a part of which doubled as the kitchen. She had decorated the cottage whimsically, placing mirrors beaded with tiny crystals near her doors, some plants hanging in her living room, and tapestries on empty walls. The old owners had added hooks on the ceilings and from them, Adira hung fairy lights of warm yellow. The wall opposite the kitchen was filled with shelves bursting with books, their order was impossible to everyone but her, and tiny knickknacks that Adira had collected in her short life.
She absolutely loved her space. Sure, it needed more upkeep than her previous rental apartment had required, but it was hers. Exactly, the kind of cottage her grandmother would have loved. The kind which would fill with love as families grew.
Besides she didn't mind the work. It gave her something to do and a chance to get out of her cottage. Considering that she worked from home as a literary editor, Adira was rarely physically required at her office. She only stepped out when she needed groceries or when she had needed to visit Charlie.
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The thought of his name soured her mood instantly. She had been so sure that years of their friendship would serve as a perfect foundation for their relationship. But she had been wrong. Completely, horribly wrong.
Despite their friendship, Adira and Charlie had struggled to get along as lovers mainly due to the sudden appearance of Charlie's controlling tendencies. The loss of his job pushed Charlie over the edge and Adira became the outlet for his anger. Even now, Adira was unable to look at a bottle of beer without worrying it would be thrown at her face.
Despite months of silence, his parting words of torment did not leave her alone. Her loneliness haunted her just as he had predicted. "Noone will love you," he had cruelly grinned."Look at you. Who would want someone so pathetic and clingy? You think your past makes you stronger. But your past makes you weak and worthless. People don't choose damaged goods."
Every night she tried to remind herself that he didn't know her, but the sad truth was that he had. He had known her and he had loved her for many years as friends and then, briefly as lovers. If her closest friend had truly believed she was that person, Adira did not know how to deny it. So she ran. Better sad alone, than worse together. When he had left her life, he took the meager amount of friends she had, leaving her absolutely alone.
