Eden’s POVOdd. That was the first word that came to my mind.Astrid continued to inspect the small cave. There was some food hidden in a crevice. Stale bread and berries. She also found some bloodied, dried leaves. She peered into the pot and dipped her finger in it. Then she licked her finger with the tip of her tongue.“Uck,” she winced. “Whatever that is, it tastes like shit.”“What was going on in here?” I asked, bewildered.“Honestly, it looks like someone was taking care of him. See? Someone was using these dried leaves as bandages. He must have been lying over there. On that pile of grass. Where the blood is. And this?” she pointed to the small pot on the ashes. “I think it was some sort of witch’s elixir. Maybe for healing?”“Huh,” I replied.For healing? So someone was taking care of him in here? But why would Zane be holed up here? And with a witch? That just didn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t the witch just bring him back to her coven?The thought of Zane lying here, in this
Eden’s POVAstrid looked away for a moment. I was still on my hands and knees, but I repositioned myself to a sitting position.Zara was still there, in the place of grief. She needed to stay there and I understood. I couldn’t stay there though. It was more her grief than mine.That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt though.Her pain was still mine, in a way. Even though she wasn’t with me, I could still feel remnants of her awful, crippling pain. It still ebbed and flowed inside of me.He was dead.Slade had died.I think I was in denial at first.How could that be? How could he be gone?Astrid said nothing. She only came around behind me and wrapped her arms around me. The torch cast shadows on the wall. The smell of herbs was still thick in the air.How odd, I thought, as I rested my hands on Astrid’s forearms. She rested her head on my shoulder, pressing her cheek into mine. How odd that we’re sitting here, in this cave, and Slade is dead.That was the first thought in my mind. It didn’t
Zane’s POVThere is physical pain. Brutal. Awful. Mind-blowing physical pain. Physical pain so acute it literally makes you pass out from the force of it.And there is emotional pain. Gut-wrenching, horrible, emotional pain that rips your heart in half and makes you lie in bed for days.I’d felt both. The very worst of the physical pain. The very worst of the emotional pain.But nothing, and I mean NOTHING, can even come close to the pain of losing your wolf.I couldn’t even understand it. Not having Slade. I couldn’t comprehend my life without him. He was a part of me. An extension of me. He WAS me, in a sense. It would be like suddenly losing your heart. How can you go on living without your heart?I sat there, on my hands and knees, in front of Lucinda and Sullivan and Brinsle and Callie, with this inexplicable pain ripping through me. I understood why people take their lives when they lose their wolves. Why they’re driven to madness. Why they’re never quite the same again.This wa
Zane’s POVThe bolt of light hurtled towards Lucinda. I watched, shocked. What the hell was Brinsle doing? Was she…was she trying to hurt Lucinda? But why?Before the light could hit Lucinda, though, Sullivan stepped out right into the trajectory of the light. She held up her hand, palm out, and the light hit her palm. Sparks flew everywhere. But Sullivan seemed unharmed.“Enough, Brinsle. Calm yourself,” Sullivan instructed. She was now facing Brinsle. Lucinda was behind them both, standing in front of the fire. All the witches were watching, huddled together, clutching each other, shocked looks on their faces. I raised my eyebrows at Calista to ask ‘what was going on?’ But Calista looked as confused as I felt. “You’ll let them go,” Brinsle said, calmly, her hands still up in the air. Leaves swirled at her feet.“What are you talking about?” Lucinda snapped. “Let who go?”“Zane. And that man,” she pointed to Alpha Miles. “And my brother. You’ll let them go.”“Have you lost
Zane’s POVThe witches huddled together and gasped.Sullivan lowered her hands, a sad look on her face. Lucinda’s expression was unreadable.Brinsle lay in a heap on the ground. They’d overpowered her. She hadn’t seen it coming. Whatever that was, that green shield, it caught her off guard.And now she was lifeless. Laying right beside Beta Brighton. (He was still motionless, although he let out the occasional moan.)Brinsle, on the other hand, was silent.I had no idea if she was still alive or not.“You told me her magic was under control,” Sullivan said, her voice low.“It was,” Lucinda said.“Clearly, it wasn’t,” Sullivan spat back. “We’ll have to send her away now. We can’t help her anymore.”So I guess she wasn’t dead.But now what? Brinsle was supposed to help us escape. What would we do now?I reached for Slade, forgetting for a moment that he was dead. Grief rippled through me. It would catch up with me, this loss. I knew it. But for the time being I was pushing down, away, s
Zane’s POVDie?I didn’t like the sounds of that.I didn’t like the sounds of that one damned bit.But Callie said it was a way out. Maybe it was our ONLY way out. And I trusted her, didn’t I? I’m sure she meant something else. There’s no way she’d actually kill me.It was deceptive. Some sort of deceptive plan. A ruse. A faked death. Something like that.“There isn’t time to think this over,” Callie told me. “If we’re going to do it, we have to do it quickly.”“Do what exactly?” I asked. I figured if I was going to put my life on the line, I deserved a bit of an explanation.Apparently Callie didn’t agree though. “I can’t explain,” she shook her head. “I’m sorry. You’ll just have to trust me. But this will work. I’m sure of it.”She looked deeply into my eyes.Then she reached out, a soft smile on her face. She cupped my cheek in her hand.“Tell Eden I love her,” she smiled.“I will. But you can tell her that yourself. You’re coming, too?”A sadness crossed her eyes. Only fo
Zane’s POVThe bolt of light hit me square in the chest. It felt like fire. It burned, ripping through me much faster than actual fire.I waited for Callie to cast her protective spell.Fuck.This really hurt.This REALLY, really hurt.I was frozen, stunned.“Oh my god!” Sullivan cried.“NO!” Brinsle hollered.My eyes were still locked on Calista’s. Any second now, the spell would kick in and the pain would stop.She kept her gaze on me. But she didn’t move.My body fell to the ground.I felt like I’d been electrocuted. I was vaguely aware of Sullivan and Brinsle rushing towards me. I heard their voices, but they sounded tinny and far away.Ugh.The pain was so intense I couldn’t move. I felt someone roll me over. It was Brinsle, but my vision swam. She looked blurry. She was holding my head.Come on, Callie. Any second now. Please. Cast your spell. This is really painful. I begged her in my mind. I could still see her, standing in the distance.“His heart,” Sullivan said. “It’s stopp
Zane’s POVIt felt strange watching everyone. Only a few minutes ago, I was still with them, alive. It was hard not to stare at my own dead body. Lucinda and Sullivan were arguing. The other witches from the coven were still huddled together, watching the scene unfold with wide eyes. Beta Brighton was sitting up now, a confused look on his face. Brinsle was helping him.Alpha Miles was standing alone. His eyes were fixed on my dead body.And Calista was holding a knife, the silver metal shining in the firelight.I didn’t fully understand what had happened. I thought Calista would save me. I’d jumped in front of Sullivan’s bolt and bam – now I was dead.Calista was casting some sort of spell. A sacrifice, Slade said. No one noticed her at first. She just kept on chanting. But then, a darkness descended. A storm had somehow rolled in, with claps and thunder and lightning. The storm clouds were right above Calista.This caught everyone’s attention. The wind began to howl. All eyes turned
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?