KANEThe healer appeared dejected as the Alpha’s daughter stared him down with a vicious expression on her beautiful face, but he seemed to know that it was too late for him to deny the truth.“Please, forgive me, Kiara,” he pleaded pathetically. “This all got out of hand and it didn’t go the way you think. I didn’t do this for revenge or to spite your father. Darwin forced me to administer the poison. He threatened to kill my wife and children if I disobeyed his orders.”Kiara softened slightly but I maintained my ferocity. As cruel as it sounded, I wasn’t going to wilt just because the healer had an excuse. If he was telling the truth I would let up, but until I was certain, I wouldn’t relax.“What does Darwin want?” Kiara repeated herself.The healer simply glanced at her without saying a word.The answer was self-evident. If the Alpha died without a proper heir, Darwin would be the one in power. Kiara would either have to marry him or suffer the same fate as her father. Something
KANEKiara’s plan was far too risky, even by my standards.I hadn’t exactly been known for my self-preservation skills, but then again, I still knew when things were too dangerous to do.When Kiara finished speaking, I shook my head and frowned deeply.“I can’t let you do this,” I said sternly.“I must,” she insisted, answering my frown with one of her own. “You know I must, Kane.”She was incorrect. I didn’t know such to be true. Kiara intended to offer herself as bait. She planned to seduce the truth out of Darwin’s mouth. She would speak with the villain in private and try to irk him into making him confess his disloyalty to her father. Meanwhile, I would summon the key members of the Pack and lead them to the room, making sure they heard what Darwin said.Normally, it would have been a half-decent plan, but the idea of Kiara putting herself in that position didn’t sit right with me.“I know how to protect myself,” she insisted when I fell silent. “Besides, I don’t think Darwin wou
CASSANDRAOutside of the scientific research I’d conducted with Becky back in Anemond, I had known nothing about wielding magic before the fire in the main building at Vlokwell. When I cast the spell to put out the blaze and control and deflect the bullets from Kaleb’s soldiers, I acted completely on instinct. There had been no incantations, no rituals, just pure adrenaline.I didn’t know what to expect when I ordered Raven to show me how to use these new powers, but I hadn’t realized it would be so difficult.As she taught me, using sorcery required willpower, physical energy, strong belief, and determination. To practice certain forms, one needed to believe in what would happen next and be determined to make it happen. It was all bizarre and for someone like me, who had always thought magic powers were merely a fabricated story, practicing sorcery was a challenge.After half a day of attempting different spells and techniques to no avail, I was ready to give up entirely. Still, Rav
CASSANDRAThe next morning, when I walked into the bathroom, I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror and my heart skipped a beat.It was real.I mated with Asher last night.He had claimed me as his under the light of the moon. We had opened the windows and let the cool night air filter into our room as we mated and made love. It had been a special night, one I would never forget. The love within my heart was stronger than it had ever been and I felt like I was finally thawing. I was becoming myself again, the version of myself that had been lost in the inferno. I was healing from my trauma and learning to be alive again.I smiled at my reflection and admired the rosy color of my cheeks. They didn’t look as hollow as they once had and there was a sparkle in my emerald eyes again.As I brushed my long copper hair and braided it, I remembered the other discussion we’d shared last night. We’d reached an agreement that it was time to tell Finnick the truth.He deserved to know that
CASSANDRAUnfortunately, our moment of bliss didn’t last long.The night before we were set to leave the Alpha of Red Stone’s home and head toward Wegalla, an accident happened.We were packing up some of our belongings when we heard a short screech. It was a haunting, terrible sound that stood out in this silent place. It was the kind of noise that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up, and a shiver traveled down my spine.I braced for something horrible, but when we rushed to the window and glanced outside, there was nothing to be seen. I glanced around, waiting for a second utterance, and when it didn’t happen, I thought maybe it had been my imagination.Just as we turned around to get back to packing, a second screech was heard, short but clear.Asher and I rushed out of the room and met the others in the hallway. Everyone else had heard the sound as well. We did a headcount to make sure all were present, but to our surprise, two soldiers of Red Stone were missin
CASSANDRARoxy let out a terrible roar.It was the most horrible sound I’d ever heard from a werewolf and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.The dark-haired warrior sorceress didn’t cry and no tears spilled onto her cheeks, but her sea-green eyes were wide and bloodshot.“No,” she uttered as her full, lower lip trembled. “No, no, no.”She cradled her twin sister’s lifeless body close and supported her neck. When she was balanced in her lap, she raised her fingers and sparks began to fly from the tips. She whispered to herself using words I didn’t recognize. It appeared as if she were trying to cast some sort of spell on Raven. But as the minutes went by, her efforts seemed to be in vain.She was gone.All of us were stunned. None of us had expected Raven to stand in the way of her sister. Everything had happened so quickly that it hardly felt real. Though I hadn’t been Raven’s friend by any stretch of the imagination, I hadn’t wanted her dead. She had put a great amoun
BECKYThis was the boldest thing I’d ever done in my life.I had always been a good girl. I rarely lied and rarely got myself into any sort of trouble. I obeyed the wishes of my mother and everyone else without any complaint.But things had changed. This time, I had lied more than I’d ever done in total over all these years.I had assumed the identity of a royal healer and used my invented position to sneak into the House of Moses. Cassandra had left her official badge in the clinic and I saw no other option than to pretend. So, I did all I could to disguise both myself and my scent. I changed my usual style of clothing to one that was more professional. I switched out my glasses and made sure that my hair was neat and orderly. I had to pass as a royal healer and they often appeared very well-dressed and put together.Dickson had been against the idea when I had proposed it to him. He didn’t like the plan of sneaking in to infiltrate the House of Moses and insisted I could do nothing
BECKYThough I was no stranger to witnessing Adalyn’s awful behavior, this was something else entirely. When she had ransacked our lab and gotten into altercations with Cassandra, she had been whiny, childish, and bratty. But here in Silas’ room, she was acting differently. It was awful and infuriating to see her acting as if she cared about her brother or all of these healers.Strangely, I had the sense that Adalyn was trying to control her father. I thought it was the other way around, but Adalyn seemed to be pulling the strings successfully.Oliver Moses scanned the room and then his son’s lifeless form for a moment and then let out a heavy sigh. He ran his hand through his graying hair and then nodded his head. The pair left the chamber and once the door closed behind them, I shook my head and frowned.As the healers around me let out collective sighs of relief and talked amongst themselves, I thought about Adalyn’s words.A plan?What plan?Mentioning the king and the country in
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