It seemed to take a long time, but eventually the air shimmered as Elroy's massive wolf form melted away, revealing his chiseled human physique. His eyes, still wild with primal energy, locked onto mine with laser focus. "Olivia," he breathed, pulling away from me just enough to assess that I wasn
The silence hung heavy between us for a few moments until I opened my mouth, desperate to say something—anything—to break the tension, but Elroy beat me to it. “I’m so sorry,” he said. My breath caught in my throat. This was the last thing I'd expected. Elroy ran a hand through his disheveled
The movement outside grew louder in the background, and eventually my skin tightened with anticipation and unease. It seemed like everybody was waking up, and I desperately wanted to check on everyone but I didn’t dare. "We can't just walk out there," I worried, biting my lip. "We’d scare the shit
Suddenly Elroy's eyes darkened, his jaw tightening as he spoke. "That plan will only be an option if everyone is alive," he said. A chill ran down my spine at his words. I couldn’t deny the feeling of power that had radiated off him in waves when he first arrived, or the way I was certain his aura
He finally glanced up at me, but I was too busy processing to say a word. For the second time in the last twenty-four hours, I could feel my worldview somersault. I’d been thinking about it all wrong this whole time. Elroy wasn’t trying to fulfill the prophecy, he was the prophecy. The implicati
For a long moment Fay just looked at us, her expression unreadable as the tension in the air wound tighter around my throat. I wanted to throw myself at her feet and apologize, but it felt wrong for me to be the first one to speak. Instead, Elroy did. "I want to apologize to you and to your pack,”
“You’d face repatriation for anything your pack stole or damaged while in the city, but as your new pack it would be our responsibility to cover those costs. Anything done by ‘Rogues,’ like damage to the outer walls, wouldn’t impact you.” “We’d pay that happily,” Elroy added, “and you would never
Fay returned much faster than I’d anticipated. I gulped, my heart pounding; we were teetering on the edge of a new future, one I wanted to help them reach so bad, but whether or not it happened was up to them. I was so scared they were going to say no. “They want to hear from you before they mak
Olivia POVElroy left with a thousand soldiers the next morning, half on horseback and half in their wolf forms. I supposed I should be curious about the battle strategy, but I wasn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to care.A part of me knew I wasn’t defeated, that I would still fight for wolves’ rights a
She held up a hand. “I said I had to ask. I didn’t say I give him any credit. Officially, I am asking if you’re denying his claims.”“Of course I am!” I threw up my hands. “It’s all just some lie he’s made up to cause trouble.”I put my hands down. “Think about it, if I had someone from my past I lo
Olivia POVRefusing to follow behind Elroy like a naughty child, I swept out of the room ahead of him, though I took care to dismiss Jordan gently. She, like most of the wolves in the room who didn’t fight, looked shaken but still present in the moment. I trusted they could all take care of themselv
He looked at me and then bowed deeply, making several people gasp.“Come with me, Lady Olivia,” he urged, looking up with his hand stretched toward me. “I have gathered an army of Rogue werewolves who call me their king. Come with me and rule them by my side.”I was about to demand just what sort of
Olivia POV“He seems to know you,” Elroy said, and there was some accusation in his tone.“I promise I have no idea—”“Alphas! Betas! Omegas! And ladies and gentlemen!” the man said, his voice easily reaching over the chamber music to every corner of the room.Elroy signaled for the music to stop, a
Olivia POVI had always admired blood woods. Unlike the rather ugly bloodwood trees of southern Africa (so named because they seemed to “bleed” red sap when cut), blood woods’ deep scarlet color, elegantly twisted trunk, and thickly canopied dark green leaves made them a delightful focal point of an
But Jordan was right. What Ines and the others had described was a caste system in all but name.“People aren’t going to like our using that word,” I muttered.“People aren’t going to like a lot of things,” Fay said.“Yes, but there’s a knee-jerk reaction to the term ‘caste.’” I knew we were all thi
Olivia POVI had no idea what to say. I needed to do so many things, but right now I needed this man to continue to be the kind, playful husband he was being. My whole body seemed to light up inside from his touch, and all I wanted was for him to keep smiling and be happy.“Do you mean that?” I aske
“Jordan,” I said, “I think it’s time to hold a banquet.”The low light of my bedside lamp lay across Elroy's face, casting a warm glow on his furrowed brow as we settled down to sleep. It was hard to believe that I’d once been so reluctant to lay near him, and now this protective little cocoon we fo