Eden’s POV“ZARA!” I exclaimed.“SHssss,” she said. “She’s sleeping. I saved her.”She?“Oh Zara.” I couldn’t even put into words the love and relief I felt. I don’t know what had tried to kill me baby, but Zara had saved it. Her.Zane had been right. The baby was a girl.“Let me look again,” I said.The baby was curled up, its fist against its chin. Its skin was wrinkly.“She’s not finished growing yet,” Zara said. “She still needs a few months.”Tears brimmed in my eyes. She was perfect.“Zara, do you know what happened?” I asked.“It was a green light,” she told me. “A strange green light. It swarmed around her. Then it descended on her and sunk into her skin. It hurt her, Eden. I could feel it. Her pain. It was killing her. I don’t know for sure, but I think it was a witch’s spell.”A witch’s spell? How strange. Why would a witch want to kill my baby?“Time to bathe.” Murietta pulled on my hand.“I don’t know either,” Zara said. “But don’t worry. I will protect her.”“I didn’t kno
Eden’s POVSeven sons? And all of them dead?At first, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. And Murietta seemed so nonchalant about it, like it was no big deal. She got up off the bed and walked to the wardrobe. She fondled a silk nightgown with her fingertips.“I’m so sorry,” I told her.I thought about the pain I’d felt when I thought my baby was dead. And that was just one child. Seven?“Thank you,” she replied, flashing me a weak smile. “It’s a tough business, the mafia.”I wanted to know more, but I didn’t want to push.“I’m sure it is.”I’d heard horror stories about the mafia. Shootings and stabbings seemed to be common place. The mafia was notorious for hitmen, werewolves willing to kill a target for money. And I assumed the Santonio family, as one of the biggest mafia around, had a TON of hit men.“It was fast, for Billy, Brad, Brody, and Brett.”She fixed me with her eyes, and I saw the sadness swimming in them.“They were killed at point blank. Shot in the head by a hit m
Eden’s POVI didn’t see Murietta for a while after that night. Every morning and every evening we were hauled into the dining room to eat with Demetrius. The mean maids dressed us up like idiots. One night, we were dressed like pirates. I was the ‘pirate wench’ they told me as they tightened my corset. Then she giggled condescendingly. Another night, we were dressed in feathers with wings on our backs. Birds, I assumed.There was no rhyme or reason to it. Especially not when we were wrapped in fur with ears on our heads. Werewolves, the maids told us.Right. But we actually ARE werewolves. So why dress up as them?Murietta wasn’t at any of these meals. Neither was Adrian. We were told that Murietta was looking after him. He was in deep withdrawal still and she was nursing him back to help.The days were odd. That whole place was odd. It was like there was a craziness that permeated everything. No one was free from its touch.The maids – they were all a little nutty. The guards and war
Eden’s POV“Look at the black rock in the water,” I said, pointing to it. I wasn’t sure if this was a good idea or not. But we had to get off this island. And to do that, we needed to get rescued.“What about the rock?” Storm asked, cocking his head to the side.“See how it stands out?”The water was shallow, maybe knee deep. The sand was white and the water was crystal clear. There were some seashells in the water, but they were pale. The black rock was stark and highly visible.Storm nodded.“And you said there’s tons of them, right? These black rocks. At the mountain?”Again he nodded.“I’ve been mindlinking my grandfather and the Silvermist Pack. I’ve been trying to explain where we are. But it’s too vague. There’s too many tropical islands. We have no idea where we are. We don’t even know which ocean we’re in. And without something specific to identify the island we’re on, they’ll never find us.”“The estate is built into the mountain,” Storm said. “It’s clever. They’ve gone thro
Eden’s POV“What kind of fresh hell is this?” Storm asked as we approached the sailboat.Demetrius was waving to us from the deck of the boat. Murietta sat perched on the front. There were four other guards, all in swim trunks, two with masks and snorkels on. And two maids were standing on the water’s edge, both in polka dot bikinis.“There you are!” Demetrius exclaimed. “Come now! This is the Splendor! That’s my boat’s name. We’re going sailing! Take off your shoes, though. No shoes on the boat.”We knew we didn’t have a choice. The maids giggled as we took off our shoes. We walked onto the boat. The maids passed us each a bathing suit.“You can change in the staterooms,” Demetrius beamed at us.A few moments later, we emerged, clad in out bathing suits. Mine was an atrocity. It was way too big and it hung from my hips, sagging in the middle. The straps were way to long and threatened to reveal my chest if I didn’t hold them up. One of the maids came to me and tied the straps togethe
Eden’s POVAdrian?Murietta was talking about Adrian. She had to be. They’d put him in the menagerie.Did that mean he wasn’t addicted to the milkweed anymore? That he was better?Well, relatively speaking. I wasn’t sure which was actually better: being drugged out on milkweed or being locked up in a menagerie.My heart began to race with images of Adrian locked up in that horrific zoo. We hadn’t even seen the whole thing, but we’d seen enough to shake us to our cores.Poor werewolves, with disabilities and malfunctions, all gathered and put behind bars like some sort of pets.Demetrius was a heartless, deranged man. Who collects defunct werewolves? I vowed that I would rescue them all, as soon as we were rescued. I wasn’t leaving this island until I had freed every single person in the menagerie.Including Adrian, of course.“He’s quite better,” Murietta smiled. “The drugs are out of his system. Shame about his wolf though.”“What’s wrong with his wolf?” We were heading back to shore
Eden’s POV“Adrian! NO!” I hollered.Adrian had Storm by the throat. His eyes were full of fury.“You fucking asshole! You did this to ME!” Adrian seethed. Storm said nothing. He only stared back into Adrian’s eyes.“I know,” Storm sputtered. “This is my fault. And I’m so so sorry.”“Let him go, Adrian,” I pleaded. I tried to pry at Adrian’s fingers, but they were locked so tightly around Storm’s throat. Storm’s face started to turn red. Storm wasn’t even TRYING to get away.What was he doing? He couldn’t just let Adrian kill him?“STOP IT!” I screamed at Adrian.Adrian looked at me. Then he released Storm’s throat.“Do you want to see what he’d done?” Adrian asked. “I’ll show you what he’s done!”Before we could reply, Adrian shifted. But it took us a moment to understand what had happened.His clothes fell in a heap on the floor. It wasn’t at all like a normal shift. Usually, the force of the wolf breaking through causing the clothes to rip clean off the body as the wolf’s muscular
Eden’s POVAdrian’s cheeks flushed a deep crimson. He hung his head, looking ashamed.“I haven’t got all day,” Murietta said, exasperated. “Lucia is due to arrive soon. And I haven’t seen her in so long. I can hardly wait. So hurry up and tell them or I will.”We all looked from Adrian to Murrieta. What did she mean, tell them the truth? Storm had run up a gambling debt with the mafia. Adrian had been sold to a playhouse as payment. It was too hard for him there, so he’d started taking milkweed and got hooked. Then Storm, propelled by guilt, had rescued him.What else was there to say.“What is she talking about, Adrian?” I asked quietly.His eyes snapped up then. “I…I…” He looked at Murrieta. “I can’t.” His shoulders slumped forward. “I can’t tell them. You do it.”Murietta laughed, a guttural, condescending laugh.“All right then,” she said, clapping her hands together. “So…picture this…”She began to tell the story, and I visualized it as she spoke.Adrian was brought to the playho
Eden’s POVEighteen today. How the time flies by! It seems like only yesterday I was lying on the bed, crying in agony as wave after wave of labor crashed over me. She was a difficult birth, Jupiter. But I made it through, of course.Who could have known the woman she would grow into?She is standing in front of the full-length mirror, admiring herself in her new gown. She’s glorious. Soft, pink cheeks and glacier blue eyes, just like Zara’s. She is the best of witches and the best of wolves – a unique hybrid that brings out both in this fluid, magical way.“Aunty Brinsle and Aunty Astrid?” she asked, looking at my reflection standing behind her. “Are they ready?”“Yes, love,” I tell her. “They are both waiting.” There’s a gentle knock on the door, and as if on cue, Brinsle and Astrid enter.“Oh Jupes,” Brinsle says, rushing to her side. “Look at you. All grown up.” Tears well in her eyes and she turns away.“I told you, no tears today,” Jupiter scolds Brinsle. But then she smiles sof
Zane’s POVSometimes, I don’t know who I love more, Eden or Jupiter. What a I saying? I love them equally.I was shocked, of course, the night our baby was born. I couldn’t believe it when Eden said the name, Jupiter. It all came together in that moment. Calista told me that visions always come true. Lucinda has the vision of a young girl born with both wolf and witch, a girl that would rule over both.Lucinda assumed it would be her daughter.She was wrong.It was ours.Eden has witch blood and wolf blood. Jupiter was born with both. She is our daughter and she will one day unite the wolves and the witches. For now, though, she’s just a bright-eyed, mischievous little five year old girl.And she is our world.Brinsle counsels Jupiter on the ways of witches. Sometimes, she takes Jupiter to different covens. The covens welcome her, this little daughter of ours. Astrid is in charge of Jupiter’s wolf training. And of course, Astrid is Jupiter’s god-mother. I know she is in good hands wit
Eden’s POVThe wedding was small but lovely. Zane gave Brinsle away and he was so honored to do so. It was a traditional human wedding, and Brinsle was lovely in her white dress. Adrian was handsome in his traditional human tuxedo. They chose a human wedding because they couldn’t have a werewolf one since Brinsle wasn’t a werewolf and they couldn’t have a witch wedding since Adrian wasn’t a witch. So they chose a human wedding instead.After the ceremony, we all mingled and sipped champagne while the children ran around playing tag on the grassy knoll. I was so happy for Adrian as I watched him great his guests, as was Zane. We both had a soft spot for Adrian and Brinsle. They were family as far as we were concerned.But it hadn’t always been easy. It had been a slow love between Brinsle and Adrian. They were both a bit broken and they both had serious trust issues. Brinsle had a magic that was too powerful for her and a history of lashing out. She had some pretty dark secrets in her
Eden’s POV“Lucia, how many times I have told you – get off the warrior training grounds!”I giggled. Lucia had a basket in her arms. It was lunch for Storm. I was sure of it. Lucia was notorious for this. She’d just scuttle right out onto the field, a basket full of food for Storm, and completely disrupt his warriors.“But it’s lunch time,” she said, cocking her head to the side.Storm was clearly embarrassed as she shook his head. His warriors smiled slyly. They were used to it. Lucia was a doting wife. She brought Storm lunch every day without fail.I was visiting for our monthly dinner date. Once a month, I made the trek out to see Lucia at her pack, the Santonio Pack. It was a bit of a hike, since her pack boundary was up in the hills. We’d chosen the location because of the view. After spending all those years on the island at the estate, Lucia swore she never wanted to see water ever again. So her pack was built up on the mountain on a flat plateau, surrounded only by tree tops
Eden’s POVI cursed Zane. I cursed sex. I cursed every one in that room and the sun and the moon and anything and everything I could think of. I had known pain in my life, really bad physical pain, but nothing had prepared me for the pain that ripped through my insides every time I had a contraction.We were back in my room. The doctor and several maids were by my side, as well as Astrid and Zane. Those were the only two people I wanted in the room with me. I gritted my teeth and did my best to breathe while contraction after contraction ripped through me. Zane wiped my forehead with cold clothes. Astrid held my hand, even though I was pretty sure I’d broken her fingers with my tight grip.I was only vaguely aware of the time, but I knew it was night.“It’s a long labour,” the doctor said. “I’m sorry, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes.”Outside my window, the guests waited with baited breath. It hadn’t taken long for word to spread right after the crowning that the queen was i
Eden’s POVI knew we invited a lot of people, but I didn’t really know how many until I saw them all sprawled out there in the garden. Thousands of people, for as far as I could see. Little children waved excitedly as I passed. Little girls giggled and whispered to their mothers:“She’s the most beautiful queen I’ve ever seen.”We walked slowly, through the crowds. I took my time, nodding and smiling as I went along. Everyone smiled back.Once or twice, a strange cramp ran through my stomach and I gripped Astrid’s hand. She looked at me, a worried expression on her face.“Eden, tell me the next time you feel a cramp, okay?” she asked.“Sure,” I said.The walk to the stage took a long time. I was so humbled that this many people had come to see my coronation. Some of them had travelled a very long way. I saw the pile of presents Astrid had commented on. Holy crap was right; it was massive!My eyes swelled. Such generosity from my people.“Oh,” I said, suddenly stopping. It was a cramp
Eden’s POVThe sun burst through the window and I bolted out of bed. I was so happy I could sing. It was here, it was finally here! Coronation day!The baby kicked, really hard. I pressed my hand on my stomach.“No no no,” I said. “You be a good girl and stay in there just one more day.” Then I went straight to the washroom to shower.Zane and I had stayed in separate rooms last night. The girls had stayed in my room with me: Astrid, Brinsle, Murietta, Lucia, and Chloe. We’d played silly games and talked late into the night. It had been a perfect evening, with the exception of a few major cramps. It was probably just too much food I told myself. We had, after all, stuffed our faces all night long.The women were still fast asleep when I got out of the shower. I jumped onto the bed and said in a sing-song voice:“Get up! It’s coronation day!”They all groaned. Astrid rolled over sleepily, tossing her arm over her head. “Not yet,” she said.Brinsle sat up immediately, as did Chloe. I’d
Eden’s POVMy mind reeled. A hundred thoughts ripped through my head. My heart and my stomach hurt.There was a baby?A baby with that…witch?But how? Why? This didn’t make any sense. I looked to Brinsle. If anyone would know, besides Zane, it was her. The look on her face said it all – apologetic.There WAS a baby.“Just listen,” Zane said.“You didn’t tell me?” I asked, embarrassed and angry. “You and…her? She’s carrying your baby?”“Eden, please. Just…come with me. Let’s talk.”But I didn’t want to talk. I wanted to run. I wanted to jump back into the lake and swim away again, like I had all those months ago.Had he been unfaithful to me? With a witch?He rushed towards me then and reached for my hand. But I shrugged him off.“I don’t understand,” I said.“So let me explain,” he told me.“Eden?” It was Brinsle. She was suddenly beside me. I felt like the world was spinning. I felt like I was going to be sick. “Just…just hear him out. Okay. It’s not what you think. I promise.”Her e
Eden’s POV“Excuse me?” I asked.The woman stopped in front of us. I was furious. Who the hell did she think she was? This was a private affair! This was an intimate, royal burial for MY mother. What was she talking about?“I’m guessing my invitation got lost in the mail?” the woman asked sardonically. “Zane, Brighton, Alpha so and so, nice to see you all again. Although I wish it were on happier terms.”I let Zane tense beside me. How did she know Brighton? And Zane? And was that my grandfather she was referring to.“What are you doing here?” Zane said, his voice low.“What do you mean?” she asked. “Of course I’m here. You’re burying my sister.”“This is a wolf’s burial. On wolf territory. You’re not welcome here, Lucinda,” Zane hissed.Lucinda?I knew that name. She was the head of the coven, the Falcon Crest Coven. She was the woman who had kept Zane and all the others prisoners. The woman who had personally provided Skylar with the potion for his warriors.What WAS she doing here?