Ella It’s all come down to this. My mind reels as I stare into the dark forest. For weeks I feel like Sinclair and I have been trapped in the same pattern: flirting, holding ourselves back, slipping up and falling in too deep, then retreating. It’s felt like two steps forward and one step back, bu
I’ve been running for about five minutes, amazed that I don’t feel even a little bit winded, when a piercing howl shatters the air. For one astonishing moment my body stops dead, trembling and quaking as Sinclair’s wolf calls to me. The sound paralyzes me, no doubt giving him a head start as he take
Ella When I realized I was being chased, I threw off my cape and veered off in another direction, hoping that the wolves weren’t close enough to see me yet. If I’m lucky maybe I can throw them off my trail, if only for a moment. I throw down the lantern too. The moonlight is so bright that I can se
I know my reluctance and worry will disappear as soon as I give my wolf free reign, so I give him one last order before transforming. We have to be gentle. He snarls in reply, as if affronted I might think he’d forget. After all, his job is just to catch her, all the rest comes after I’ve shifted
Sinclair The rogues aren’t as smart as they think they are. Their only chance would have been to attack me all at once. Instead they try to lunge at me two at a time, giving each other time to rest and rebound in between attacks. At first – the first five seconds that is – it works. The red wolf cr
Still there’s nothing, and I’m becoming increasingly afraid I’m going to have to break through the rocks to reach her. I begin to purr, hoping this will break through her shock enough to lure her out of hiding. “You did so well evading them and finding a hiding place, sweetheart.” I praise. “You gav
Sinclair “Dominic?” My beta, Hugo, stands behind me, watching me with a worried expression. “We need you in the war room.” “I want to be here when she wakes up.” I insist, keeping my gaze locked on Ella. She’s asleep in my bed, her small body curled beneath the covers. Her arms are bandaged from s
“I think you’re forgetting all your staff – your guards, your doctors, Hugo and Aileen.” Roger counters smoothly. “My people are loyal - you are the only person who knew who also has a vendetta against me.” I combat. “That you know of.” He intones ominously. “Ella was almost killed last night.” I
He shakes his head at me as tears fill his own eyes and he leans forward, pulling me against him while somehow miraculously managing not to crush our children between us as he holds me tight in his arms. “So, I guess it wouldn’t matter,” he murmurs against my hair as I sniff back my tears and nod.
“Even more than the kids!?” I gasp, my mouth falling open a bit. “I mean, the kids,” he says, shrugging as if they’re not much, which makes me laugh. But then he goes a little rigid as he realizes something, raising his eyes to glare at me a bit. “Wait, are you saying you like the kids more than m
Ella “Nope,” Sinclair says, heaving himself out of bed and grabbing his phone off the bedside table as he does. “I can’t live like this, Ella – I’m calling Roger, I’ve got to know –“ “Dominic!” I say, laughing and grabbing for him, trying to catch the edge of his pajamas and failing because I’v
She laughs and I look first at Sinclair, who shrugs, and then back at my sister. “Come on,” Roger says, nodding at the crowds of people waiting to congratulate us and at the small table of refreshments. “Let’s decide this over some champagne.” Sinclair nods at me and I sigh, moving with my famil
The last image, though, lingers. Ariel, with Rafe and Jesse on either side – as they always are – and her two mates behind her. All standing together on a battlefield with Ariel at the center, magic welling between her hands and passing to her brother, to her cousin. Their faces are serious as t
Cora The images of Ariel’s future come in quick flashes, and somehow I get the impression that the Goddess is eager to share these glimpses of her life. The ones that come first are what I sort of expected, especially after seeing some images of Rafe’s childhood and hearing about the ones that
“We are not,” Cora scoffs, gently taking Ariel into her arms as Sinclair and I laugh. Roger grins, leaning forward to kiss me on the cheek before passing Jesse to me. “You know I’m kidding, right, Ells?” he whispers. I smile at my brother-in-law and gently pat his cheek. “When in doubt, Roger,”
Ella Three weeks later – Ariel was born under a waning quarter moon, not a new moon like her brother and her cousin – I stand anxiously in the woods, my little girl held tight in my arms. “I’m sensing some anxiety,” Cora says, grinning at me with a little too much glee as she comes up to my sid
“Oh my god,” I say, the words spilling out of my mouth. “Oh my god,” I sit up straight, staring at Henry, my eyes flicking to his legs – because honestly, I don’t even notice his chair anymore, or think of him at all as someone whose abilities are hindered. Or of me as someone who is able to do an