Eleanor felt him rather than heard him behind her and her scream shook the forest when something hard crashed into her, toppling her over. Panting, she squinted at his eyes that glowed. "Please, don't kill me." "I told you to stay put!" He roared and something within her wanted to keel over, kneel to him, bow to him. She fought against it and snarled at him. "Why? So when you're done with them, you can continue with me as well?! So you can rip me apart as much as it pleases you?! Like hell I will stay put just so you can kill me." He laughed and his voice had her fine hair rising. She was suddenly aware of the fact that he was stretched above her, and how they were melded together in all the wrong places. "Get off me!" He blinked, and straightened faster than she could have thought possible as he pulled himself off her. Cussing at him, she patted down her--his clothing, getting the dust and leaves off it. "You're hybrid?" He stalked away, grippin
Cassy's eyes swung open and she lunged out of her bed, steaming. It didn't matter that her head was aching terribly, or that her shoulder stung horribly. She threw the sheets aside and stomped toward the bathroom. "Luna," Morra said, staring from the corner of her bed where she had been sleeping before Cassy awoke. "You must rest and eat. The physician said you will feel weak for the next few days but--" "I'm fine," she snapped at Morra as she sprayed water in her face, rinsing it. The woman fell silent and Cassy looked at her. She wasn't angry at Morra. Why was she snapping the woman who had stayed by her side when Lino had failed her again? "Sorry. I just...i need to...train. Ready my training gear." A worried look flickered on the woman's face. "You are not well. You should rest. You can train later. The ceremony has been shifted farther to the next seven days. You can--" "What?" Cassy asked, straightened from the cauldron of water. "Who shifted the
Lino watched Cassy storm away from the yard and he turned around, equally fuming. She was mistaken about everything. She did not understand what had happened, and it was more annoying that she would not even hear him out. He had never seen her so angry, and he did not know how to deal with it. His area expertise did not extend to dealing with an angry mate. He had felt her outrage through the bond while he had been on the ride, and it had pulled him all the way back to the castle from where he had been in an important meeting with the few sentries he had left by the borders that were still alive. He had been out there every single day since she had been attacked by the sorcerers. He had hoped to find a clue on who might have sold out details of Cassy's location to the sorcerers. The timing had been off. He had had physicians look at the dead bodies they uncovered everyday and it had been evident that the deaths occured a little after midnight. Not five hours earl
Cassy had been biting her fingers off in her room, nervous and worried. Perhaps she should not have been so harsh. Perhaps she should have considered the fact that he had looked so tired while he had been talking to her. Maybe she had been mistaken about the princess. Maybe it had all been one huge coincidence. She shouldn't have yelled at him that way. She should go apologize to him. She was just wound up tight about everything and the thing with the princess kept popping up. She had every reason to be angry after what had happened, but she should have heard him out in the very least. She had twisted the doorknob and taken the path to Lino's room, only to find that he wasn't in. Then she had walked to the study, but upon turning towards it, she had heard a female's moan. Her ears had perked, and her heart had started to race at the sound of it. She didn't want to believe it. She knew it was coming from his study, but she didn't want to believe it unt
The sound of shuffling feet filled his room and Lino knew it was Kayden. He pulled back from the princess, breathing hard. His vision was stained red and when he peered down at her hand, he saw that he had twisted her wrist. She seemed to notice it too and the moment the pressure of his aura lifted off of her, she fell to the ground, unconscious. “The King will not be pleased—“ “Not right now, Beta!” Lino roared, and Kayden’s head bowed at the command. Lino dove his fingers into his hair as she tried to get his anger in control. He couldn’t. He couldn’t breathe while knowing the woman who tried to kill his mate was still alive. His body was tight with leashed violence. He had to react. He had to do something with himself or he might just kill the woman and bring war to his doors. “Get her out of here,” he said to Kayden. “Do not try to fix her arm until I give the order to. I want her to suffer for what she did to Cassy. No pain reliefs or knock out tonics. I wa
A knock on the door had Cassy looking up from the book she was reading. She didn't need to stand from her chair to know who it was. Her wolf sensed him and she stirred whining and complaining. Cassy ignored both the knock and Pax. Maybe wolves didn't mind their partners cheating on them, but she surely did, and she didn't want to see him. She had gone half way with packing her things when she realized she had nowhere else to go. Her parents would not turn her away, but she didn't want to pressure them into accepting her back into their home. Especially when it was so painfully obvious that they weren't comfortable with the change that had occured with her when she had died. Or maybe it was the fact that she had died at all that was uncomfortable for them to bear. She had considered the Goddess's shelter, but she knew the Goddess would not be pleased with her if she ran all the way over there again to hide from her lying and cheating mate. Their ancestors we
"Where is she now?" Cassy asked, inching towards the door. "With the physician. I...ah...lost control with her. I might have broken a finger...or her wrist." That had Cassy chuckling and she finally unlocked the door. Lino was sitting outside of it, knees folded. Her cheeks flamed when a few maids passed by her room, chuckling at the sight of the Alpha sitting on the floor, pleading with his mate. Perhaps, she could stay angry for longer to see how desperate he could get to have her forgive him. "Come in," she started, but paused at the sight of the tomes in his hands. "What are those?" He winked at her as he straightened. "I told you I had the books you needed." Excitedly, Cassy reached for the books in his hands, but Lino moved out of the way. Cassy frowned, and tried to reach for the book again, but Lino moved away again. "What are you doing?" "You owe me an apology, Cass. You've been so mean to me lately. You've had me stay outside your room, g
"I hate you," Eleanor yelled at the startled hybrid who kept staring down at her like he had never seen her before. No one had ever uttered such mean words to her before. It had struck deeper than any knife could and it hurt so much, she couldn't bear it. Perhaps, it hurt so much because it was the truth. Was that why no one loved her or cared for her like they did Cassy? Because she was nice and oddly gullible? Eleanor always believed that your best qualities are those things that make you stand out from the rest. She didn't want to be like Cassy. She wasn't made to be kind or subservient. She was smart, and a woman who would always go after what she wanted. She was not weak. She was strong. She didn't need to be loved by everyone. She only ever wanted to be loved by that one person. And he was Lino. No one else mattered to her as much as he did. The opinion of other people didn't matter to her as well. But why then, did it hurt so much? She couldn't stop