EVELYNThe Alpha King raised a golden eyebrow at me and for a moment, we were frozen. I searched his expression, trying to understand what he was thinking about, but before I could enquire further, he smirked and shook his head.“I thought you knew,” Cole remarked and then he looked away. “You called my name, you apologized, and then you pretended to forget it, believing it was your dear Aiden who saved you.”“Of course, I didn’t know,” I said as the heat of embarrassment ran through me. “You… I was told that Aiden was the one-”“Sure,” he cut me off with another snort. I wasn’t certain why he was acting so strangely. Was he embarrassed? Trying to save face? Or… or was he vexed? Annoyed about this conversation? Annoyed that I’d overheard his conversations?I didn’t care.“And what about the punishment for the Caddels?” I asked boldly. “Was all of that true as well?” Cole frowned. “What?”Anger swelled within me. Was he faking these reactions or did he truly not remember his conversati
EVELYN“Thank you,” the girl stumbled over her words as we rushed away. The village market had grown busy with movement, but we’d managed to slip away mostly undetected thanks to Cole. His wolf form had been so distracting that we’d gotten away without being pursued by House Fox’s guards.While the girl was far less scared than she’d been earlier, there was still fear in her large eyes and her lower lip trembled as she shrank into herself.“There’s no need to thank me,” I said with a shake of my head. “Truly. Tell me, honey, where do you live?”The girl was quiet for a moment. “I… don’t have a home or a family, but I usually stay in a small alley. I have a few friends there.”“Let’s get you there then,” I said. I was sad that the poor young lady didn’t have a permanent place to go and get herself cleaned up and safe, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.The most important thing was getting her far away from those wretched guards, even if her destination was merely an alleyway.A
EVELYNNo matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see anything through the heavy piece of fabric over my face. I tried to struggle and shout for help, but before I could even utter a word, cold steel pressed against my neck.I knew at once from the feeling of the weapon that it was a dagger. A sword would have been too large in such proximity, but it was more than a mere knife.Somewhere near, I heard Cake crying.“I’m so sorry, my lady,” she apologized. “I’m so so sorry, I didn’t have a choice. I’m… I’m sorry.”I heard a scurry of footsteps on cobblestones and knew she had run away. While I was angry at this betrayal of trust, I couldn’t blame the poor girl.Still, thanks to her, I had walked right into a trap.“Who are you?” I demanded. “And what do you want?”My attacker remained silent.“Who are you?” I snarled, again, but instead of a reply, I felt myself being turned around and then pushed forward. A gag rose from my throat as I smelled the damp, filthy odor of a drain.I gritted my
EVELYNTime passed by strangely after I was gagged and blindfolded. Since I couldn’t see or say anything, I had no idea how long it had been since Elsa and Cake had brought me here.No matter how long it had been, Elsa refused to speak to me. After the blindfold had gone back on, she’d scoffed, and that was the last sound I’d heard from her.At first, I wondered why Elsa needed to wait in this narrow alley, but after a while, I realized that Elsa was waiting for the sunset. It would attract too much attention if she kidnapped me and led me through the streets in the daytime. The village was bustling but not enough to move undetected in such a conspicuous fashion.Although Elsa kept silent, she didn’t lower her guard. Every time I adjusted myPosture, even just a little, I received a kick to the legs. Hoping to elicit a response from her, I kept shifting until finally, she spoke.“Stop moving,” she warned me in a cold voice.A shiver ran through me at the sound. This Elsa wasn’t the El
COLEI was furious with myself beyond words.I knew I shouldn’t have let Evelyn out of my sight. I’d known it the moment she’d left the market with the young girl she’d saved from the guard. I hadn’t wanted to let her go but she’d been so insistent on saving the girl that I felt I had no choice.So, I dealt with the guard myself and allowed her to leave.A foolish mistake.I had been overly careless in my choices. I’d waited for her near the entrance of the forest for a long time, but I hadn’t seen her. I hadn’t gotten even a tiny trace of her scent lingering around the forest. She hadn’t returned and I had no idea where she’d gone.When I stormed back to House Fox, she was nowhere to be seen as well. I interrogated her guard at once but Max said she hadn’t yet returned.“I haven’t seen her anywhere, Your Majesty,” the young man informed me with a grave expression on his face. “I’ve been keeping an eye out but she’s nowhere to be found.”Fear coursed through me as if I’d been struck b
COLEI froze in place as I watched Jack Elrod, my elder brother who should have been dead for over a year now, descend from the high pile of clutter in the alley. Even though I should have stopped him in his tracks, all I could do was stand there in shock.I was staring at a ghost. A ghost from the past who should have long since remained gone.Everyone who knew Jack had the same expression as me. Sir Webb, Evelyn, the guards… all stiffened as my brother gazed down at us.I looked at Jack’s chest, where Frank Crawford had stabbed him. He’d assured me a million times over that my brother was dead. It was obvious now that his death hadn’t been as ensured as he’d insisted it was.Jack approached the woman who had held Evelyn captive. “I didn’t expect that working in the palace would make you so weak, my dear Elsa.” Jack’s voice was as soft and measured as ever.The disfigurement on the side of his face was exposed by the twitch of his lips—the scars left by the fire. There were two ways
AIDENHeart thrumming in my chest, I backed toward the front door, where miners were still breaking through despite how many had been killed under the claws and teeth of the guards.Bodies were scattered on the ground and blood was everywhere. Carnage was amuck and the sight of the scarlet pools of liquid was nauseating.Yet, they seemed unstoppable.They didn’t mind the carnage.All that mattered to them was their rebellion.“Your eloquence wasn’t effective, Sir,” Oakley said mockingly as he backed up alongside me, his long claws spread menacingly. Sarcasm laced his tone and sent a wave of irritation through me.Despite that, I didn’t argue his point and instead glanced around, trying to find Peter. The number of miners joining the fight was far larger than expected. It was apparent that the old man was lying when he’d said there wouldn’t be many miners who wished to join the fight.Cries rang out around us and sent a chill down my spine. I hadn’t come to Windsburn Island for this. I
AIDENAs I stared down at the body of the guard, a touch of numbness flooded through me, along with a tinge of guilt.I wasn’t a killer. I didn’t enjoy bloodshed, didn’t crave the feeling of a wolf crumpling under the savageness of my claws.And yet…When I glanced at young Ben’s lifeless form…“Did you not give him a chance to surrender?” Oakley’s voice came from behind me.I hated the playful sarcasm in his tone but didn’t indulge him with a response. Instead, I clenched my fists and kept moving.Now that the gates had been opened and the rebellion was in full swing, I needed to refocus on my mission.I marched ahead and headed back toward the castle. With every step, my mind replayed the moment I’d crushed the guard’s throat with my bare hands. The feeling of killing the guard made me sick— not because I wasn’t prepared for it, but because I knew how weak the guard had been. It had been all too easy to break his neck.Pushing the feeling aside, I swiftly passed through the front d