I had to wait until the morning for my formal audience with Luna Gwyneth. She was adamant that a doctor saw me. What I had to ask her would take less than five minutes yet she was insistent. Fussing over me like a mother hen, I was suffocated by boredom. The blonde twins surrounded Glenn and Rhett in a cloud of tea, coffees and cake until the night grew dark and they finally retired for the night. I felt like a prisoner, restrained by infernal politeness by the time the flaccid doctor arrived and took my blood pressure. He was a bumbling older man with glasses and a limp. Probing me with his instruments and muttering under his breath he took forever. It took all of my patience not to snap at him. One good thing came from the delay. Rhett snuck up and informed me that the twins had mentioned rogue attacks. The disputed forest land was being tested. That doesn’t happen by accident. I doubted they were rogues either, probably some of Austin’s weaker warriors that he was happy to lose i
It is a bright and sunny morning as I sit in yet another meeting. I have sat through dozens now and every moment existing in a room with Austin still makes me tingle with dread. Hugo’s nervous replacement has reported huge improvements in trade with other packs. Clearly, he knew what happened to those who returned without the required discounts. Rustling papers sound like the sizzle the poker made as its bloodied end was placed back into the fire. Austin barely glanced at me these days, leaving me in a peculiar limbo. If he grew completely bored of me, he would probably just kill me. To be too interested in me would leave me the recipient of his disgusting advances again. “What of our latest tracking team Andre?” Austin asked, his bracelets rattling loudly as he pointed down the marble table length. Andre was a huge man, bigger than Alpha Fyrestone. Head Warrior for Greenway even his dull eyes looked to be made from granite, his voice deep with bass . “We sent trackers into the Hi
Felix and I are okay. I have been trying with Matt and Cherry but everything I say seems to land the wrong way. A few weeks ago I could crack a joke and have a dozen people laugh at it, but now I get side-eye and reluctant smiles. Maybe I’m trying too hard. Kate always warned me about pushing. She would always swoop in, change the topic, and bring me back into the conversation. Without her I am flailing, making myself look an idiot to get back into their good books. I may have laughed at Cherry and her red lipstick with Sinead, I complained Matt was a poor fighter compared to Felix to whoever would listen. All these things have a way of getting back to the source. I was reaping the karma of my overconfident bragging. Sinead had taken up with some other friends now, since breaking her nose in warrior training. Rose was in some sort of depressive funk and not leaving her room. I had to make this Assessment work, but it was exhausting. With another joke failing we sat on our usual pi
After my outburst Austin was so smug, he didn’t deem it necessary to upset me any further. In fact he relieved me from scribe duty. Like a racehorse preparing for stud, or the knacker’s yard I was free to use my time as I wanted. Which meant hanging out in the library as unsuspiciously as possible and chatting to Seraphine and Mina. They were so patient with me as I slowly unburdened myself. Sat in the sunny gardens I had nothing left to lose. Austin knew I loved Dex, so I told them everything. Walking through the huge gardens together Seraphine was stunned as I explained how quickly my life had spiraled out of control. Mina gasped when I explained how I had seen Roxie. Neither of them had a clue about demons either. “So why didn’t you rip her face off?” Seraphine asked as Mina shot her a warning look. “What? I would have screamed the house down,” she continued. “She couldn’t you idiot,” Mina said, rolling her eyes, and our conversation continued. Eventually though the day arrived.
So it’s my wedding day. I don’t think there has ever been a less enthusiastic celebration flung together. Father and Rose are pulling it together whilst I sit in my room brooding. They are answering all of Luna Gwyneth's requests. Ensuring the bouquets will be a certain colour, insisting there are exactly thirty torches lit down the aisle, one torch every two rows. She described it one letter as a virginal white procession under the full moon. Even my father sniggered at ‘virginal’. There is no point pretending she didn’t have a mate before me. Like it would even matter anyway. To suggest I’m the virginal element of this set-up would be just as crazy. /Perhaps she is insane/ Alba offers unhelpfully. He is back to his old ways of finding fault with all my plans. His every desire is to take the motorbike and dash over to Greenway. He wants Kate, he is pining for her. Since working out she is probably our mate he has been in a lovesick overdrive. His sensible, Alpha-focused minds
As the cards thundered into Fyrestone my soul leapt at seeing the thick red dust clouds. It was mid-afternoon, the ceremony still several hours away as the sun blazed down upon us. A typical day in Fyrestone of never-ending heat and dust. I loved it. A smile spread across my face despite the fact Austin was sitting next to me. He was focused, his wolf almost constantly at the fore as his blue eyes shone with a vicious glint. He was fired up and ready. I still couldn’t shake the image of his flushed, blissful face as he and Zaw came together in a tangled mess of limbs. Yet that man was gone. Almost wearing a suit of armour he glittered in platinum and gold. Wearing a bright blue military style jacket he was covered in decoration. The Greenway regalia was exotic and bright, shimmering even in the car. I was dressed to compliment him, a delicate sky blue, dripping in diamonds from long extravagant necklaces and bracelets. No brightly coloured jewels, just pure diamonds. I sparkled lik
She looked so goddamn beautiful. I’ve never seen anyone look that good. From the instant she got out of the car my heart practically exploded. Like a magnet my eyes, nose, ears, every sense I possessed was drawn to her. When she lifted those hazel eyes to mine , I swear I felt fireworks setting off in my chest. Alba whirled, sending my heart rate even higher. Everything melted into pure adoration. My radiant, beautiful Kate. The diamonds and pale blue dress made her appear ethereal, as though she was merely a visiting spirit. I couldn’t take her hand for fear of pulling her towards me and never letting go. I had to just look. To try and convey the absolute steadfastness loyalty of my heart for her with my fucking bride next to me. They were chalk and cheese. The way Kate’s long hair tumbled perfectly over her shoulder made me want to slowly lift it up, pull her close and kiss along that soft, perfect skin until she sighed in bliss. Yet instead I had to stand there, impotently w
With Zaw steadfastly remaining outside my room the entire time I was trapped. I tried the windows, they were locked. There was no balcony. The bathroom had no window to open and to break the glass would have alerted the bald psychopath in the hallway. In vain I even stacked chairs onto the bed and tried the ceiling. Diamonds rained down from my hair as I tried to find any kind of access but it was a solid box of a room. I sadly watched the ceremony preparations and as the sun slowly descended so did hope. I took out the map from my bodice, even when folded it was the size of my palm and as thick as it was due to the heavy paper. I placed it inside my shoe, under the arch of my foot. Who knows, maybe I could pretend to lose my mind and throw it at Dex during the ceremony before my throat is slit. I’m getting desperate. Partly because I have the answers to stop Dex making a terrible mistake, opening himself to harm and betrayal from his peers. More than that, I am desperate for hi