Ella is perfectly alert now, but I cease touching her when her eyes fall shut. “Are you sure you’re not too tired for this, little mate?” I ask, eyes narrowed in concern. “We just just go to sleep if you are.”Her eyes snap open. “No, I’m awake.” She answers, responding so quickly I have to smother
Ella“Cora, what on earth is going on?” I demand, staring at my sister in shock and mild outrage. She’s just barged into my suite and announced that I won’t be wearing the gown I had specially made for the ball tonight. She pulled the hanger right out of my closet and tossed the garment bag aside,
Maybe later. He laughs, and I don’t try to hide my disappointment. We’ll be together soon enough. For now just relax – I promise you’ll like this surprise. My wolf is still muttering curses in my head when the makeup and hair teams arrive. They glide inside carrying fancy cases of supplies, all wea
EllaIf I thought the dress my devious friends designed behind my back was stunning on the hanger, it’s nothing compared to the way it looks on me. I’ve never seen anything like it. The pearlescent fabric hugs my curves, the neckline plunging between my breasts and thin straps leaving my back and si
“Well only a monster would refuse such a request.” Cora smiles, moving beside me and looping her arm through my own. “I’ve got you, little sister.”My vision goes blurry, and I look up at my sister with trembling lips, “I love you.”Cora dips her forehead, resting it against my own and swallowing me
“But I am also terrified, because of how much you have given me. How much you and this pup have added to my life. I never knew it was possible to be so happy to be afraid, but I am.” I hiccup. “I’m so thrilled to have so much to lose, and I promise to never take a single moment with you for granted.
Ella“Do we have to stay very long?” I ask Sinclair, snuggling up against his side. We’ve just finished the wedding feast and the party is shifting towards the ballroom. The orchestra is warming up in the distance, and the guests are gradually dwindling out of the great hall, lured by the promise of
Excited muttering bursts throughout the room, as many of the courtiers and refugees are learning this information for the first time. I gaze around at the crowd, watching as fresh hope and anticipation fills their varied countenances. Sinclair is still speaking, describing the challenges ahead and t
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