*Ember*His mate?I sat there, stunned by Alec’s revelation. The warmth of his hand started to seep into me past the cold that had gripped me since I left him with that woman in the village. His purple gaze was so open and earnest. Desperate. He wanted me to believe him, and as much as I wanted to, I resisted. His words echoed in my mind. My emotions felt like a storm rolling and rioting through me as a sense of unease started to come through. Could it be true? Was I truly his mate?“I should have told you”, he said. “The moment that I realized.” Why was he telling me this now? Just as I was making my peace with never seeing him again, whether that be because I would end up in Lukas’ clutches or with the Maidens? “Why… are you telling me this now?”He worked his jaw and tightened his grip on my hand. “Because you deserve to be the first person to know.”I looked away from me. “Wh-What difference does it—”“It makes all the difference, Ember,” he growled. “It
*Ember*Alec left me in the gazebo after fixing my clothes. He kissed my forehead and told me he’d be back when it was time to go. As I looked out over the lake and across it to the mountains, I sighed with relief. All my fears about Alec’s plans for me were gone.Better than that, we were mates. The joy that filled me made my toes curl. My stomach was filled with butterflies at the thought. I couldn’t even feel the soreness from earlier. I was so happy and relieved. Alec wasn’t going to give me back to Lukas. He wasn’t choosing Cassandra over me. He wasn’t going to give me up at all. We would be together just like I’d hoped. I had never imagined that I would have a mate. In all the years of living with the Alpha King, I had never imagined much of a future. Finding Alec had been more than I had ever imagined. Now, there was so much more I could look forward to. I couldn’t stop smiling if I tried. Would I be the next luna of Whitelark? I rolled my lip between my teeth. What did t
*Alec* A few days had passed since we came back from rogue territory. I hadn’t given another thought to that crackpot’s words, but I hadn’t slept easy either. My plan to get Lukas to Whitelark was working, but my stomach churned at the thought of the cost. There was something about the whole situation that felt too easy. Every night I went to bed, I found I couldn’t sleep. Ember was in her chambers. I knew the castle was safe, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of looming danger. As the day that Lukas was meant to arrive drew closer, my sleepless nights turned to anxious fever dreams. I saw my mother and her kind smile. I saw my father and his blood splattered across the ground. I felt the agony of that blade in my back from all those years ago, as if my mind was dragging me through my memories or something inside me was sending me a warning. When the dreams turned from the past, I thought I would at least sleep easy the night before his arrival, but I was wrong. Shadows swarme
*Ember*In the middle of the night, I found myself roused from slumber, a heaviness tugging at my chest like an invisible weight. I opened my eyes and smiled as I felt the warmth of Alec’s body beside me. I knew he’d give in and come to bed with me eventually. I curled closer to him, not wanting to leave his side now that he was here, but the pressure in my chest wouldn’t let up. It was almost like something was pulling me. I sat up, and the sheets slipped down to my waist as I carefully disentangled myself from Alec's sleeping form. The dark circles under his eyes seemed deeper in the cool light coming through the window, but he looked peaceful. If I stayed, I’d probably wake him up, and he was stressed enough with Lukas being here, so I grabbed a robe and slipped out of the room as quietly as I could. Alec didn’t even stir as I closed the door behind me. A faint chill lingered in the air as I walked down the hallway. Soon, I reached a side door that led out to the garden.
*Alec*I jolted awake, my entire body pulsating with an intense pain that seemed to burn through my veins. Every breath felt like I was breathing burning liquid. It felt like someone had poured fire into my veins. I twisted in bed, trying to throw off the sheets, and realized that Ember’s side of my bed was empty and cold. The haze of sleep and agony parted in my mind as my heart started to race. How long had she been gone? Where had she gone?“Ember?” I called, hoping that she had just gone to the bathroom, yet I heard nothing. Her scent lingered in the air, but it was fading too. She had been gone for longer than just a few minutes. Hours maybe. “Rhys!” I called, groaning as I rolled out of bed. My legs buckled, taking me to the ground as the pain pulsed and intensified. My ears were ringing. Everything started to go in and out as if I had suffered a head injury. I heard Ember’s voice, panicked and frightened, but I couldn’t make out her words. I saw flashes of the moon and
*Alec*The shrieks of women greeted me as I thundered to a stop in Moon Haven. Ember’s body shuddered again, but she kept breathing. The sound of her fading heartbeat and soft breathing was the only thing that had kept me going the entire journey. So long as she was breathing, so long as she was alive, there was time–there was hope. I panted, sucking in breath after breath as my heart thudded in my ears and the women scattered from the gardens, darting into their homes with fright. I knew from what my mother told me about Moon Haven that barging in like this was likely to cause more problems between the Maidens and Whitelark, but I didn’t care. “Rash,” a cool voice said from further into the village. “Just like your mother.”My stomach churned as I saw the woman who was speaking. She was beautiful, and I heard my men gasp as they realized the same thing I did: in another life, she could have been my mother. We had the same nose and cheeks. Her piercing purple gaze stared at me w
*Rhys*After Alec disappeared down the dark corridor and Chastine seemed to be frozen in place, I left the building. My alpha had asked me to return to Whitelark, so I would. I gathered those that had traveled with us here and started the long trek home. No one spoke. A solemn silence and anger seemed to dog our every step. I hadn’t told them what that woman said about Ember, and I wouldn’t until I could tell everyone at once. It wasn’t something I wanted to repeat.In the quiet, I took notes for the address I’d have to give and what would be the next course of action. Ember’s fate wasn’t something I could take the burden of, but finding Lukas and making sure that Alec could have the revenge he and Ember deserved, that Whitelark would be ready when war finally came, was my duty as his beta.When we arrived, I gathered everyone in the castle’s main hall. People trickle in, murmuring between each other. The warriors who had come back with me split off to go home and check in with t
*Alec*How long had it been? The windows inside the Palace were weird. I was counting time by how many maidens came in and out. Some of them brought food. Three meals a day, so I figured it had been a few weeks. The others who brought bandages and salves came less frequently. Ember was still a pale, bruised, unmoving form on the bed. She was still breathing. Her heart was still beating; thus, there was still hope. “Still here, I see,” Chastine said as she entered. “I expected you to at least stretch your legs.”I said nothing. The words wouldn’t come as I stared at Ember’s pale face, watching for some change in her status. Chastine sighed and took the chair beside me before offering a piece of parchment to me. “You have another message from Whitelark.”I glanced at it and took it. Rhys had been sending me these messages steadily. This was the third one, so it had likely been about three weeks since he left. The message was what I expected: war was on the horizon. Rhys ha