Her steps slowed as she saw that the door to the studio was open. The lock that she’d installed to keep Tais out of the studio was broken.
“Oh no,” she whispered as she pushed open the door to the studio and saw the ruins of her hard work. Everything was destroyed. All her finished glassware, which she’d kept on metal shelves against one wall, was smashed to pieces. The kiln had huge holes in it, as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to the sides, and all her tools were bent.
“How could he do this?” Tonya demanded as she pressed a button on her phone. Miracle couldn’t even answer. Everything she’d made in the last three months was destroyed beyond repair. She’d have to start over from scratch, and she’d most definitely lose clients because of the delay. It would cost her a fortune.
She listened to Tonya inform the head of security about the break-in and destruction, and within an hour the incident was investigated and a report was sent to the king.
“The king sends his apologies,” Ness, the head of security, said as he looked at his phone. “He asks you to send him a list of replacement items and their cost, and he’ll have the money transferred into your account.”
“Fat lot of good that will do with her customers,” Tonya said.
Ness shrugged. “Tais is angry. The king told him to leave you alone, but this is technically his property. The king is being generous in replacing the ruined items. You had to know when you dissolved the mating that he might retaliate.”
Miracle blew out a breath. She had wondered if that might happen, but she hadn’t expected him to destroy her studio. Maybe that was foolish on her part.
“He shouldn’t be allowed to retaliate,” Tonya said.
Ness opened his mouth, shut it, and then sighed. “All I can tell you is to just try and move on with your life. We’ll keep an eye on him, but if you have any other problems, call the security office immediately.”
The security team escorted her and Tonya to the car and then followed them to Miracle’s parents’ home. She stared at the house, knowing her parents were inside, unaware that Tais had done something so cruel. They would be upset for her, and her dad would threaten to shift and tear him apart.
This was her home now, and she was going to do just what Ness had suggested and start her life over.
“What’s the plan?” Tonya asked as she got out of her car and Miracle joined her.
“I’m free. Even though it was a terrible thing that Tais did, he actually saved me from having to go back over there again. I’ll rebuild my business and it’ll be better than before.”
Tonya smiled. “The best revenge is to not let this get to you and to have a better life. Although, I’m still not against making him bleed a little.”
Hugging her best friend, Miracle said, “He’s not worth the effort.”
“Ready for a new start?”
“Definitely.”
Chapter 2
The day after the January full moon, Mack Callahan sat in his bedroom and looked at a photo album his mate, Elise, had made of their mating ceremony. It hardly seemed possible that twenty-three years had passed since they’d gone for a hunt on the full moon and she’d been killed by a hunter’s stray bullet. He’d thought he’d never be able to pull himself out of the depression that losing his mate had sent him into, but then he’d been delivered by an angel on earth – his adopted daughter, Whisper.
The little girl had been shoved into his house by the human government at the tender age of four. He’d agreed to let her stay, and promised to raise her, because of Elise. She would’ve thrown open the doors eagerly and claimed the little girl as her own without hesitation. Mack had no regrets about the life that he had with Whisper and the other two boys he’d adopted, Kross and Kayne. But he did miss having someone to share it with.
As alpha, he was the most powerful male in the pack, and he knew he wasn’t too bad-looking. Dark hair, gray eyes, and a body honed from years of hard work. He was alpha, not only because it was his heritage as the son of the previous alpha, but also because he was a badass motherfucker.
Pardon his French.
His life wasn’t the way he’d planned it, but he supposed that was how things went. If someone had asked him what his perfect life would entail, he would have first asked to not have Elise killed, and then for them to raise a lot of kids and grow old together. But no one asked him. He’d been robbed of his mate far too soon, and he’d never mated again.