I wanted to pace anxiously, but I had a strong suspicion that would blow the cover of my fake sleep. I was still peeved with her, but I desperately wanted Blair to show up. She’d think she was the luckiest person on earth, getting two girly, gossipy conversations out of me in just as many days. Not for the first time, I wished Leah knew about us supernaturals. She would be the perfect person to dissect what Isaac meant, down to the tone, tense, and inflection. But, there was no way to fill her in on the drama without the ‘I’m a werewolf, he’s a lycan, and there’s a prophecy that keeps changing about us’ part. But, come to think of it, I wasn’t exactly certain how much her response would change. She would tell me to shoot my shot, fate be damned. As much as I hated fate, I was cautious to agree with that sentiment. Giving fate the middle finger made things go awry, as us supernaturals had just observed. Granted, I had gone on multiple tangents today about fucking fate and ignorin
Isaac POV I stormed down the steps to the basement, flinging insults at myself the entire way. I flung the door to the room I was looking for open, hoping it wouldn’t slam loudly enough for Maise to hear and decide to come investigate. “You all are cruel,” I growled to the room, making sure to take a moment to glare at each and every one of them. “I’m sorry,” Blair insisted, sounding truly apologetic. “This spell is fueled by desire, and it’s the only way we would get true, unfiltered desire out of her. She would be too nervous if she knew.” “Why not Rudi? Or just use me?” I argued. “Is twenty three years of pent up desire not enough?” Blair gave me a knowing glare. “You and Rudi are helping with the spell, first off. Second, a virgin’s desire is always best. Lastly, lust is strongest, and I should hope you haven’t been lusting after her for twenty three years, seeing as she is only twenty three years old.” Kaleb’s smug laughter echoed from across the room. “Besides, we a
Bound to the bed, I lost track of time. I was caught up in the hushed whisper of the memory of Isaac’s touch on my skin. It kept the thrumming of anticipation alive, making the seconds feel like hours, and the hours pass in the blink of an eye. I craved him, and the longer I waited, the more I understood what it felt like to be stranded in a desert. The less likely sustenance seemed, the more it consumed my mind. If my hands were free, I would be tearing out of my own skin, seeking out any form of release. The door creaked open not a moment too soon, as I was just preparing to make myself bloody in search of that freedom. Heavy, calculated footsteps found their way to the end of the bed I had been posed on. The scent carried with them reassured me I had no qualms being his model. The closer he got, the closer my anticipation grew to a fever pitch, zapping through the air with such electricity it could turn lightbulbs on. So this was what true desire felt like. The footsteps ca
To absolutely no one’s surprise, nearly as soon as Isaac pulled me into his arms, cocooning me in his warmth, I fell right to sleep. It was peaceful, and dreamless, just as all my sleeps in Isaac’s proximity had been. When I woke up, though, I was alone. I looked around anxiously, hoping maybe he was just in the bathroom or something. After a bit of investigating, it was clear that was not the case. So, I grabbed Isaac’s shirt from the floor, and made my way downstairs. It was somewhere around the bottom step that I remembered Isaac had friends, and I was fairly certain he was also keeping Blair as a house guest. There was, realistically, only a slim chance we were the only two people here at the moment. But it was a little too late, as I had already been noticed. “Princess!” a masculine voice called. It was familiar and friendly, but not the one I particularly wanted to hear at the moment. I blushed, crossing my arms over my body as if that would hide me better than a shirt
When I reappeared in the main living area - fully dressed this time - a woman had joined Kaleb. I had heard he had a chosen mate that was part of Isaac’s inner circle, but as they had stayed back at the royal pack, I hadn’t gotten a chance to meet her. I could only assume that was the woman he was flirting with, anyway. I had adjusted to the significant size discrepancy between male wolves and my runty self over the years. With women, however, it still threw me off. Maybe it was because my mother had also been a runt, but I had never gotten used to she-wolves towering over me as well. My napoleon complex had apparently come pre-programmed. When she turned to me, though, deep blue eyes abright with excitement, I couldn’t help but mimic her smile. “Hi!” she chirped warmly. “You must be Maise.” Alright, maybe she wasn’t that bad if she supposedly knew I was once the Princess and still used my name. So, I decided I could drop the ‘cross me and I’ll kill you’ defense mechanism and tr
True to my word, I snuck into Isaac’s bed that night. He didn’t complain, and was quickly asleep. If it weren’t for the way he held onto me, I would have tossed and turned all night. Just as the moon was beginning to relinquish the night, I gave up on any attempts at sleep. With monumental effort, I disentangled myself from Isaac, deciding it was time to straighten out all the tangled webs of confusion in my mind. I crept down the hall, finding my way to my room. I swung the door open to see Blair was also wide awake. She had her grimoire laid out before her, and if my familiarity with her magic was correct, she was performing a scrying spell. My entrance broke her concentration, though, and she looked up. Usually, she would chastise me for something like that, but today she said nothing. “Hi,” I whispered, not knowing what else to say. Blair’s lips twitched with the thought of a smile, but there was too much tension in the air to allow it. “Can I ask you a question?” I pro
Isaac POV Magic hummed through the air. The aftershocks of it had been haunting me for hours, now drawing me out of sleep. It was too much, more than I was capable of processing. I reached across the bed, hoping to find Maise, but it came as no shock that she was not there. She had been restless all night. Whether it was because she was a night owl or too lost in her own head, I couldn’t tell. Absently, my hand found Maise’s staking mark on my chest to massage a dull stinging sensation away, but I recoiled at the shock of pain it sent along my skin when I touched it. My eyes shot open. The tang of magic lost its particular flavor of the day - one that tasted like Maise - and corroded into one so vile I wanted to retch. I was far from experienced with managing this particular brand of supernatural energy, my own skills not extending much past scrying, but I knew enough to know a shift like this could only mean bad news. The source of the magical energy that had been swimmi
…And I woke up at home. I was cocooned in a sea of blankets, and was well on my way to becoming one with a bed that had been my haven for so long. I cuddled further into the warmth, sighing happily.This was the most extreme form of physical exhaustion I had ever felt. If this was how people felt after they used magic, I couldn’t understand why anyone ever used it. I’d have to ask Blair about that when I got back to the lycan pack. Back to the lycan pack. Oh. Why was I back in Vermont? How did I get to my apartment? How had I gotten out of the spell Blair and I had cast? The last thing I remembered was the horrifying woman pushing me away from her, but that shouldn’t have been possible; my back was against a tree. I had been cold. So, so cold. But then safe. I sat up slowly, expecting my body to hurt. I felt good, though. Warm, and like my insides were sparkly. It was the most complete I had felt in a long time. An arm wrapped around my waist, pulling my body gently back to
Annalise blinked slowly, as if she had just been struck across the face. "That... is not the turn I expected. Is that not the exact thing Melany and Karabasan did?"I smiled softly at her. "Name one person in this room Fate has assisted, given a better life. All it has done is harm each and every one of us. Is that retribution for crimes that were out of our control, or are we just being used as pawns to put on a show for our dear Goddess? Either way, it's wrong. If the Moon Goddess can take away immortality when her chosen no longer deserve it, we can take away the dealer when it becomes evident the deck is rigged.""No," Annalise declared, eyes darkening. "I can't stand by that. I won't see you destroy yourself and everyone around you the way our parents did.""You think that lowly of her, really?" Rudi scoffed. "You think Maise has the twisted, sadistic mindset to do what your father - what you - did to me? You forget. Fate doesn't only dictate the good. It a
Annalise's exiting statement resounded in my ears. It took me a moment to process what she said, but when I did, I chased her out of the room, catching up with her just outside the front door. It seemed that no matter the species, pregnant being move slowly. "Wait!" I called. "I have more questions!" Annalise turned to face me. "Well, the story is no fun if you are given all the answers." "And you know me well enough to know I don't take anyone's words at face value." "An aspect all good rulers should possess," she touted. "Maybe your mate could learn something from you, but it wouldn't matter. It's not like his words and demands bear any true meaning." A growl built in my own chest, one that made me seriously question whether or not I truly had no wolf blood. "Royalty may be given, but leadership is earned. He has that, I don't." "But you have the power to take it. Why don't you?" "Because I don't want it," I snapped. "Look at what the desire for power turned our parents into."
Long gone were the days of being surprised by anything. I prayed to the moon my days really were numbered, because I couldn't handle this anymore. With weary eyes, I looked up to Isaac, and saw he was able to feel the shock I refused to process. His eyes weren't even for me, transfixed on the names of my mother and supposed uncle. That made me thankful.Yin and Yang. That's what we were. You couldn't have one without the other, and each side held a small piece of its opposite, giving us the power to understand the balance.I looked around the room, and everything became abundantly more clear. Rudi and Kaleb denied the truth of their own destiny as mates because they didn't trust Fate. My cousin, I guess, was Team Fate, and her mate didn't know which side to choose. A human was here, but only because she so easily succumbed to the fleeting desires of that red string. My own mate, even, had no power to work against it. If he did, I wouldn't have been sitting on his lap.Fate controlled
Isaac POV Sitting in the basement, waiting for my mate, I realized something. All the control I always thought I lacked, had always been mine. I had a firm grasp on it, running my world like it was my puppet. My hands were in everything, and my knowledge spanned farther than even I knew. Fate had been a raucous dealer, but I knew how to play my cards. Control had always been my friend.I understood that now, because I felt the loss of it.In this room, Bram held confessions from Alpha King Faolan, and Kaleb knew the secrets of Karabasan. Only Maise had the information to tie them all together. I was at the mercy of whatever they had to share. Never had I sat in a room with no idea what would happen, and I didn't like it.Simply a month ago, I would have infiltrated every single one of these endeavors, but I had given it all up. Willingly, even. All because I needed to remain with a little girl. I adored her dearly and would not change the choices I had made, but the itch to regain th
Several times, everyone asked me if I wanted to stop and see my mother on our drive back to the lycan pack. Several times, I refused. I knew it didn't make the two lycans happy, but I was thankful they didn't press and allowed me the autonomy. I knew it would have to happen eventually, but I wasn't ready to open that door yet. Too many emotions I had worked so hard to eliminate from my life would resurface, and I couldn't handle that. Not with everything else going on.Bram, Isaac, and I had stayed in his Audi, and Blair and Leah had driven my truck up to the pack. I wanted to join my friends, but Isaac wouldn't let me out of his sight. I was a little surprised the witch had been trusted with someone who was essentially a prisoner, but I was happy trust between the two species was beginning to grow. I was also fairly certain Leah would endure the most lenient prison stay. If Benate went against Isaac's orders in the bear pack, Benate would pay for it, not his mate.We got back to th
When I resurfaced from sleep, I was still in fur with Isaac's monstrous wolf form wrapped around me. This was common for us werewolves, to simply say in our furs when a threat was sensed. Our wolves had more acute senses, and stood a better chance if there was a surprise attack. But, I didn't exactly know what the current threat was. It was only a mental battle that was waging. There was a quiet knock at the door before I heard it swing open. Isaac stiffened and growled at the intruder, followed by Leah's yelp and the door quickly slamming shut. When the door opened again, not even Isaac's posturing sent the unwanted guest away. "Stop it," Bram barked. "It's afternoon. She was checking on her friend." Wolves were exceptionally possessive and protective. You only get one mate, after all. They were worth laying down your life for. Add in that he was a lycan, tasked with the life of a runt, and Isaac was even more unreasonable. So, I wasn't surprised when Isaac picked me up by the scru
Isaac ran his fingers delicately up my arm, his eyes once again transfixed on the inky sky. "Something else is bothering you. Mind telling me?""Don't you already know?" I huffed. "You've been in my head since you found me on Church Street."I glanced up just enough to see Isaac purse his lips. "You think very little of me if you truly believe I'd negate your right to the privacy of your own mind."And there it was. Even though he so easily could, Isaac never dug for answers, always waiting for me to provide them. He knew the exact things to say to steer a conversation in the direction it needed to go, but the information I shared with him was always new. Unless he had heard it from a different source, of course. Not only did he want to know my thoughts, but he wanted to understand them, help me dissect them.It was one of the qualities that made him so trustworthy, but I didn't understand why. If my father had that ability, he would use it to control me. From my very limited interact
The sun was rising when I made it to the outskirts of Burlington, but all I saw was King Midas's touch. The city was just beginning to wake up right as I was starting to shut down. My paws felt like lead weights. It was exhaustion that begged me to stop, but not the physical kind. No, I was overwrought with emotion. Emotions I had successfully shut out for eight years - longer if I was being honest. The closer they got to the surface, the more the dam threatened to break.I wanted to lay down and drown in the flood that would ensue. Let it wash away all the trauma and my life along with it. The currents could carry me to the sweet release of oblivion, and the only people that would care would be the ones who abandoned me every step of the way. I certainly wouldn't mind. Not anymore.My entire existence, I had fought so hard for life. As a royal, assassination was a constant threat. Being an undeserving runt only compounded that. As a rogue, everyone and everything had been out to get
I had crammed myself against the passenger side door of Bram's car. I was staring at the man driving in absolute shock, quite certain he was nothing more than a figure of my imagination. He was supposed to be dead. "Call your mate," he said. I blinked dumbly at him. "What?" He never took his eyes off the road, simply repeating his request. I fumbled for my phone, struggling to find the power button to turn it back on. Out of my pocket also came the key to the car that was currently rolling down the twisting state roads of Vermont. "How did you get a key to this car?" He glanced over to me briefly, flashing his cocky grin - one of the few things I vividly remembered about him. "Bram gave it to me when I met up with him this morning. Now, call your mate." I just nodded, not wanting to argue with another one of the dead come back to life. The line had barely started to ring before it was connected. "Maise," Isaac growled in a tone that made it abundantly clear that I was in trouble