TWISTED FATES BOOK 1: THE FIRST TWIST by Jacklyn Rogers (read after TXT) 📕

and werewolves don’t have a friendly history. Jareth even asserted that if by some odd occurrence, things did get heated, I was safe. He assured me by explaining that the entire inside of his hotel was warded from any supernatural attacks. The funny thing was that I wasn’t necessarily nervous about the meeting per se. It was something else that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, and it had been eating away at me ever since he told me the name of the Blood Moon Pack’s Alpha. I again tried bringing up my concerns with Jareth, but he reassured me that there was nothing to worry about. So, I chalked it up as my own paranoia.

As soon as we stepped into the elegant five-star hotel restaurant, my senses were on high alert due to two discerning scents that were infiltrating my nose. The closer to our destination we approached, the more intense the aromas became. The first scent was definitely a wolf, male and powerful yet vaguely familiar. The second was female, yet for some reason, her scent made me more agitated. Once we arrived at our table, there were already two others sitting there waiting for us. The first was the seriously hot werewolf, Alpha Montgomery. He stood up and greeted Jareth and me. There was something familiar about him that was drawing me to him. He had a captivating scent that began to envelop me; it was reminiscent of my favorite holiday beverage, peppermint, white chocolate, and whipped cream. That, of course, surprised me a lot. I mean, he’s a wolf, so my first inclination was that his scent should repulse me, but rather it was quite the opposite; it attracted me to him. I stood motionless, staring at his intense black-violet eyes for a brief moment before I noticed his eye color suddenly reverted to an icy blue coloring.

Suspish…

Not wanting to keep staring at the werewolf, I quickly turned away. Oddly, the man seemed to be studying me as well with the strangest expression.

Did he feel this strange pull towards me too? And what the heck was up with his weird eye color changes?  

But just as with everything I encounter, any positives tend to come hand in hand with a negative. My senses picked up the pungent second scent, which was the most problematic. It was a manifestation of my own.

Yes, I am aware of my own scent, and this one was very similar, although there were subtle differences within the fragrance. The similarities were uncanny, and when I noticed who was emitting that odor, my body stilled in revulsion.

The crimson-haired woman looked up at us between her long lashes, and a snide grin crept along her bright cerise colored lips.

“Well, well, well. Long time no see Sammie.”

I snarled at the she-bitch in front of me.

“Hello, Dasha.”

Yep color me, surprised folks.

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This is bad, really bad.

I wanted to lunge for Dasha’s neck, but Jareth quickly held my arm. He shook his head, sending a silent warning that now was not the appropriate time to go Mad Max Beyond Thunder Dome on her ass. So I controlled myself.

For now, at least.

Luckily, my demeanor towards his mate didn’t seem to affect the Alpha, or he just chose to ignore it.  He and Jareth exchanged pleasantries as we were seated while Dasha and I just glared at each other from across the table.

Well, this should be a fun-filled evening.

Not.

It turned out Dasha was not his mate but only the Alpha’s longtime girlfriend, which was why she had accompanied him. I laughed at myself, wondering if the Alpha knew what a conniving bitch she genuinely was. I assumed he didn’t and felt a tinge of pity towards his ignorance. I almost wanted to warn him but then decided against it, seeing that he and Jareth were in the process of going through with their negotiations. I didn’t need to cause any unnecessary problems, and I knew any negative behavior would reflect poorly on Jareth.

Besides, why did I even care?

I’ve never even met this person before, so whatever his and Dasha’s deal was, was none of my concern.

Dinner seemed to drag on as I remained silent, listening to the two men finalize their arrangement. I silently stewed in frustration while sipping on a glass of Merlot. In the end, my irritation with Dasha being so near me was becoming too immense. I decided that it might be safer for all parties if I feigned a headache and retired to mine and Jareth’s room. I leaned over to Jareth and let him know my intent apologizing for my discourtesy to both him and the Alpha.  But of course, just as I stood up, someone else had the same idea.

I glared at her and rolled my eyes.

Annoying much?

“Excuse me, gentlemen.” Dasha stood up and placed her napkin on the table. “I am still feeling a bit jet-lagged from our trip. I hope you don’t mind if I excuse myself and return to my room for the evening” She leaned down and gave Alpha Montgomery a heated kiss while smugly staring at me.

WTF really?!!

As if I care that she’s sucking the face-off of some hot ass werewolf! Wait … what?

OK, clearly he’s hot but still, whatever. Why should I care?

She went to try and slither her way past me.

Instinctively my arm clasped hers as she stepped forward, catching Dasha entirely off guard.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Sammie?” She hissed through gritted teeth. “Get your hands off of me this instance!”

Jareth and Alpha Montgomery both stared at the events that were unfolding in front of them. It was apparent both were ready to intervene any second should the situation escalate.

I glared at Dasha. I was not letting her leave without saying my piece.

“I will release your arm once I’m finished saying what I need to say to you bitch. Because this time, I want to make damn sure you listen before you slither away like the snake you