ASHER“Checkmate,” I announced with a small smirk, and when I looked at Finnick, I had to fight a laugh. The poor boy pouted as his big gray eyes stared down at the board and appeared disappointed.“Shoot,” he muttered.“Don’t be sad,” I chuckled, and I reached across the table and touched his arm gently. “You’re making excellent progress, Finnick. You’re learning chess in such a short amount of time. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before you will defeat me.”The young boy didn’t seem all that convinced and continued to study the board carefully without saying a word.Meanwhile, I looked at Finnick and began to wonder whether I should let him win the next time we played. It was incredibly tempting, but I remembered Cassandra’s advice that Finnick was a proud child who wouldn’t be happy if he found out I’d deliberately lost the game.Just as I was about to say something to cheer Finnick up, Cassandra finished her call and entered the room. Her emerald eyes were full of worry
ASHERI considered the idea for a moment before speaking up. This decision couldn’t be a careless one, not if Ector Felix’s life were at stake.I knew at once that Silas’ suggestion for royal healers was out of the question. The Felix family had been banished from Anemond. There was no way we could let something this confidential be revealed to healers I didn’t even trust with my own condition. Ector wouldn’t be welcomed back to the Crescent Pack with open arms. I knew well that the people of the capital wouldn’t be satisfied with his return, not when he’d been so publicly banished by my father.But they didn’t matter.Cassandra and Ector were the only ones I was thinking of.Ector needed my help and I wasn’t about to refuse him medical intervention.“I’ll visit the borders in two days,” I decided. “I’ll need your company as well, Silas, but I want this trip to remain confidential. I don’t want this news to get out to anyone else in Merliscire. Is that clear?”Silas nodded. “Of course
BECKY After my call with Cassandra, I had a conversation with Alpha Rayden, and my departure was quickly arranged. This would be my last night in Wild Crawler, and despite my short stay, I had grown fond of the small Pack. The trees, the fresh air, the seclusion, and the general feeling of hominess made my return to Anemond feel all the more difficult. While some patients could be unreasonable or even extremely hard to deal with at times, most of them had been so kind to me. Anemond had a tendency to treat outsiders with scrutiny and mistrust. Wild Crawler had been the opposite. I’d never felt more welcome in a Pack. In Anemond, I was just a poor commoner with no title and no worth other than my scientific mind. Here, I felt valued and cared for. It would be hard to leave, but I had no choice. I had to get the sample from the lake to the clinic in Anemond so I could conduct the proper research and get a step closer to solving the mystery of this terrible illness. I had to break
BECKYMy eyes widened in surprise and a lump formed in my throat.Had Dickson really just said that?Did he actually like me?I hadn’t expected the healer’s confession at all. I’d thought our relationship was purely professional, but judging by the seriousness of his tone, he saw me in a different light.His intense gaze made me feel dizzy, which prompted me to take a step back to create some space between us.“I think you might be mistaken,” I managed as I stumbled over my words. “Your feelings might not be what you think they are. We’re in a dangerous environment with a high amount of tension. This might be a case of misattribution of arousal.”I’d read much on the subject in a book I’d found in the library in Anemond. People in situations such as ours often found themselves dealing with emotions they weren’t used to because they were under duress.Surely, that had to be the case with Dickson.But he shook his head.“It isn’t a false feeling,” he said slowly with fierce determinatio
SILASMy decision to leave Anemond to visit Wild Crawler territory wasn’t a rational one, especially at such a late hour. But I couldn’t remain calm after learning that the remote Pack was in a dangerous situation. In fact, ever since I’d left the Alpha King’s study that afternoon, the image of Becky kept flashing in my mind.I had initially planned to check on the night training of the royal guards at dawn, but changed my mind upon reaching the training yard. I asked the captain to oversee the training session instead. The captain agreed without question, but I could sense some confusion behind his gaze. He was a good and loyal man, but right now, his concern t didn’t matter much to me. I needed to leave.Instead of taking a car, which would have attracted too much attention, I made an impulsive decision.I decided to shift into my wolf form and run.While it may have seemed foolish and impossible to others, I was an impossibly fast runner. I had trained countless hours to build my m
BECKYI blinked my eyes three times to make sure I hadn’t mistaken Silas’ presence. Despite my disbelief, though, his cinnamon and clove scent lingered in the air and filled my nose until my mouth began to water.He looked just as handsome as ever. His golden eyes practically glowed with warmth and his dark brown hair was swept away from his face. His tanned complexion was as perfect as ever, and as my eyes fell to his full lips, I noticed a small birthmark there I’d never noticed before.Before I could lose myself in the beauty that was Silas Moses I forced myself to focus. Why was the Beta here in Wild Crawler? Had he followed me here? The thought was amusing enough for me to ask it aloud.“Did you follow me here, Silas? Have you been here this whole time?”Much to my irritation, he didn’t answer my question and instead uttered a simple greeting.“Good evening, Becky,” he said softly.His gaze was strange and unwavering, but I couldn’t help but get lost in his long-lashed eyes. I ma
BECKY My departure came faster than I was ready for. The night before was sleepless, as I couldn’t relax after everything that had happened between Dickson, Silas, and me. Jasper had told me yesterday that the car arranged for me would be waiting outside of the clinic around 6:00 AM. I stretched my arms up above my head and yawned, then I checked the clock hanging on the office wall. It was around 5:30. I had already packed up my belongings, except for a change of clothes. I would slip into them before I left so I would feel refreshed for the long drive ahead. For now, I decided that I would do one last round and see how the patients were doing. It had been a quiet night in the clinic, but that didn’t mean much. I left the office and walked around quietly. Most of the patients were still fast asleep in their beds and cots, but when I began to walk down the corridor off of the main clinic area, I spotted Angela and Marina. Marina was tucked in, fast asleep, but her mother was awak
CASSANDRA On the morning of Becky’s return to Anemond, Asher arrived at the clinic to pay me a visit. I was surprised when the Alpha King greeted me at the door because just the day before, he’d mentioned that he was leaving Anemond on business for a couple of days. While I’d wanted to know what he was up to, I knew better than to ask. As the leader of Wegalla, there was likely something to handle with the military, especially with Silas’ recent return to the Pack. The Beta had been away to observe the troops on the border and make sure they were up to the Alpha King’s standards, so I was sure it had to do with that. Despite his assurance and calm demeanor when he’d told me the news, that morning when he stepped into the clinic, his expression was strange. “Good morning,” he greeted me quietly, so as to not wake Finnick, who was still fast asleep. “Good morning to you as well,” I replied, and then I offered him a small smile of surprise. “What are you doing here, Asher?” “I want
CASSANDRAIt was a sunny day, the first one in a long time.After the long winter and cold spring, summer eventually came, and it was hotter than it had been in forever.Sunlight streamed in through the clinic window, and I was a little distracted as I stared out at the window at the kids in the yard.Finnick, Lila, Marley’s boys Eric and Adrian, and Dominic were all chasing each other, playing a game of tag with one another. Marco was out there with them too, but he was sitting on a bench alone, meters away from the rest of the kids. He looked lonely and didn’t move as the others played around him.It had been a month since the chaos in Merliscire and Adalyn’s death. I supposed it was still hard for Marco to accept the fact that his mother was gone. She had killed herself right in front of him after holding him hostage and threatening to hurt him. The poor little boy had endured so much trauma in such a short amount of time.He wasn’t a bad kid. He had a mean disposition at times, bu
ASHERIt had been a while since Cassandra entered the building, and with every passing minute, my nervousness and anxiety grew stronger. While I knew she was capable of handling herself, I didn’t like the idea of her being in the House of Moses without me.I began to feel restless. It was a mistake to let her leave with Adalyn alone.I pondered my options for a minute and then decided I couldn’t wait out on the grounds any longer, not when my mate could be in danger. I started to walk toward the building, but before I could get too far, the soldiers guarding us stopped me.At first, they were polite but quickly, they became rude. They shouted and told me to back up. I wasn’t allowed in, not until Lady Adalyn said so.I considered pushing past them but didn’t want to escalate the situation, so I nodded and retreated ever so slightly. All around me, the councilors grew restless. They too, wanted to leave, only they desired to go back to Merliscire. However, when a group of them tried to
BECKYAfter our conversation with Oliver Moses, Dickson and I had been seized by the Moses guards and taken into a room that appeared to be used for interrogation. The door was crafted from iron and there were no windows, so the room was dim and quiet. There were only a pair of chairs, each a little rickety and old-looking. It was a pathetic, desolate sort of place, which was surely on purpose.Time didn’t make much sense in there and I soon couldn’t figure out how long we’d been locked in. My body ached and my mind was spinning out with a million thoughts as I absorbed all of the information I’d heard in the past couple of days.I had thought Oliver Moses would quickly find out the truth or ask me to confront Adalyn again, but Dickson thought the opposite when I presented the idea to him.“Look at this place, Becky,” he said, his voice gloomy and negative. “No one is going to visit us any time soon.”Sadly, he appeared to be correct, and his point was only proven as time went on. Tho
ADALYN Ada. How long had it been since I’d heard that name? My parents had never referred to me as Ada. They had never given me a single nickname or pet name. Mother had always said it was improper to call a child by anything other than their name and Father had never given me enough affection to bother. There were only two people in this world who had ever called me Ada. Asher. And Cora. I tensed as I tried to understand how Cassandra knew this. Had Asher told her about our close friendships when we were young? No, there was no way. Suddenly, I was hit with a realization, one I couldn’t ignore. I stared at Cassandra and studied her carefully. I searched her features, scrutinizing her nose, her mouth, the shape of her eyes. None were familiar, but as I stared at her deep emerald green irises and recognized the hue of them, it all began to make sense. I’d never understood how Asher could fall in love with a common healer. Cassandra wasn’t ugly by any means but to care so deepl
CASSANDRAAdalyn’s golden eyes narrowed and then locked on mine.“Why would that wicked woman come with us?” she demanded as she continued to shoot daggers in my direction.“Those are my terms,” Asher insisted. “You want an audience with me? Those are my requirements.”It was a bold assertation on his behalf. As long as Adalyn had Prince Marco in her grasp, she had the upper hand, but she was far too weak to realize her power. Asher was still the Alpha King, after all, so I supposed that subconsciously, she felt compelled to obey.Silence hung heavily in the air and then finally she sighed.“Fine,” she huffed and then she flashed me a sneer. “Let her come. Perhaps we’ll have some fun with your little plaything once we’re there.”“You won’t harm her,” Asher growled.“We’ll see,” Adalyn said with a shrug. “Come. It’s time we left this musty room.”Her big eyes scanned the room and then she addressed the councilors. “The rest of you shall come as well. Might as well make an event of it.”
CASSANDRAAdalyn’s face twisted again at Karsh’s cold and daring question, only this time, she didn’t recover and lost any sense of calm within her.“How dare you demean the future king’s mother?” she roared, her golden eyes flashing with anger as she bared her teeth.Despite her outrage and fierce expression, the councilor remained as cool as ever and didn’t even flinch. It was an impressive sight to behold and it made me respect Karsh even more. Adalyn had always been a brat but I had the sense that her ferocity wasn’t something to take lightly, at least not today.“I’m just stating the truth, Lady Adalyn,” Karsh said with a slightly raised chin, his eyes locked on hers. “The king is alive, I can assure you-”Before he could finish his statement, Adalyn motioned with her hand and gave a signal to the soldiers behind her.“Seize that traitor!” she ordered, and her men launched into action at once.My heart raced in my chest as I saw the soldiers approach Karsh, but before they could
CASSANDRAThankfully, Adalyn’s proposal wasn’t as convincing to the councilors as she’d expected. It was clear from the glint in her golden eyes and the proud expression on her beautiful face that she assumed all would accept the idea of Marco’s ascension without complaint, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. The room dissolved into whispers and gasps at once.One of the councilors I didn’t know the name of cleared his throat and all fell quiet.“Pardon me for my bluntness, Lady Adalyn, but it’s absurd to announce a new Alpha King when there is no evidence showing that the king is dead,” he pointed out, his thick dark eyebrows furrowed at her. “We have nothing of the sort before us-”“The forensic report will explain everything-” Adalyn began to say but the councilor waved her off with his hand.“A report means nothing,” he stated boldly, and then he glanced around the room to garner attention from the other councilors. “If the Alpha King is dead, we need to see his co
CASSANDRAOne thing was absolutely certain amongst Asher, the councilors he trusted, and I.Whatever Oliver Moses wanted to do at the council meeting, we needed to stop him. We were in complete agreement but knew we needed others to agree to our cause. We needed the support of other Packs in order to bring him down, and knew we wouldn’t get far without it.“Oliver Moses has quite a number of soldiers stationed in Anemond, especially around Merlisicre,” Karsh revealed solemnly. “If we want to confront the Moseses, we will need a troop of good soldiers of our own.”Though I didn’t want to admit it, the councilor was correct in his assessment. Despite having support from Alpha Gareth, Wild Crawler on its own couldn’t provide enough soldiers. If we wanted to gather real numbers to stand against the Moses soldiers, we needed to contact other Packs and ask for their support.“Your Majesty, it would be best for you to remain in the darkness before the meeting,” Jacoby advised after a moment
ADALYNThis girl was stupid and annoying, to say the least.Yet, despite these facts, I regretted that I had underestimated her. I should have dealt with the tiny redhead girl right after Cassandra Keller had disappeared. Now, she had become a big problem, one I wasn’t sure how to handle.“I was hiding in the room next to yours when you spoke,” Becky chimed in.Father’s face changed when she mentioned the meeting. His complexion paled and his hazel eyes widened, but when he ran his hands through his graying hair, it was clear that he seemed convinced by her words.I had to hand it to her.Placing herself at the scene of the crime was a bold move, one I wasn’t sure how to work around. This was damning to be certain but I had to remain collected if I wanted to make it out of this and continue my plans without interruption.Silas’ little kitten was a true thorn in my side.Father studied the girl’s expression like a fox studying its prey. “I hope you acknowledge that you will be punished