Page 6 of Stargazer

She got out of bed, fully clothed in a black t-shirt and tiny pyjama shorts that drove my wolf crazy. She could wear a sack of potatoes and I’d still find this girl irresistible and beautiful.

“Well, I guess I’ve got apologies to make and friendships to mend,” she said as she finished off her text and put her phone down, waiting for me to get up. “Are they down there or should you mind-link them to have breakfast with us?”

I could see the mix of excitement and nerves contorting her features.

“They’re around. But I’ll tell them to meet us for breakfast,” I replied, getting out of bed myself.

She nodded and although she was smiling, her eyes and scent held a hint of fear. The last thing I wanted to do was add to that, but I needed to tell her.

Now.

I walked around the bed and over to her and she watched me, unsure of why my expression was no longer calm.

“Vee, I need to tell you something.”

The words were soft and laced with worry as they came out of my mouth.

She stilled. “What is it, Riv?”

I stopped in front of her, picking up her hand to hold it in my own in an attempt to comfort her.

“Amelia is alive. She wasn’t dead the night you saw her.”

I watched the surprise in her eyes but continued anyway, my tone soft and cautious. “You know about the rogues hunting and turning humans. It was a full moon, so we were aware that something could happen. They’d been taunting us for months. I had patrols out and was on high alert the whole pack run. There was nothing we could sense in our territory. But when I went out later, it was because the patrol had picked up on a scent. We followed it, but we were too late. We found Amelia’s body being attacked by a rogue. We fought it off and took it down immediately. But it was too late for Amelia. She was in transition.”

Vee’s mouth gaped like a fish out of water before she composed herself. But not even her attempted composure could stop the tears that trickled down her face.

I stepped closer to her, wiping those tears away and squeezing her hand, hoping to rid her of that pain. Of any pain at all.

“Riv …” she swallowed, “the blood covering you?”

“Hers, from carrying her. But also the rogue we killed and buried.”

“So, she’s alive? She’s a wolf?” Her head spun towards the door. “Is she here now?”

This was the other part I was dreading.

“Yes, she’s a wolf. But she’s not here.”

She turned back towards me confused. “What do you mean?”

“When she woke up and I explained everything to her, and our need to figure out how to stop this, she wanted to play into their plan and join their pack to get us information. She’s on our side. But she’s there … with them. She’s technically a rogue.”

CHAPTER 3

VENUS

I reeled back, shock hitting me like a bolt of lightning.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

My betrayal of River just got worse and worse with each waking moment. Not only was he essentially framed to look like he was responsible for the human attacks and Amelia’s death, but the whole reason I had left—because Amelia was dead—was not even true.

Amelia was alive.

She was a wolf. But she was alive.

I almost couldn’t fathom the truth of this.

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