*Kieran*It’s late in the evening when I finally reach my father’s soldiers. The sun is low in the sky, threatening to set at any moment, and my body is weary after so many days of traveling. I’m grateful to see the men have already set up their camp for the evening. They’ve all shifted into their h
“Come on, Eric,” the first soldier shrugs. “He’ll be the king one day anyway. He might as well hear our concerns.” The gruff soldier, Eric, sizes me up again, but he must decide that I’m good for my word, because he finally opens his mouth to speak. “I haven’t been home in two years because I can’t
*Raven*Melany and I spend the entire day together, and I even have the opportunity to meet her mother, Anya. She invites me to dinner, which I happily accept, not eager to go back to my empty home. When I do eventually leave very late that evening, I realize that the ache of being away from Kieran
We both laugh at this, and she tells me the bears mostly stick to the mountains now, since King Gavin burned down so much of the forest. “So many of the animals left,” she says sadly as we walk through lush trees and overgrown grass. “And how could we blame them? Our water was poisoned, and the for
*Kieran*The sun is high in the sky when we finally reach the castle. After days of travel, my home should be a welcome sight, but I can only think of the lives that were lost to build this place. This is not a home, I realize for the first time in my life. It’s a monument to my father’s ego. This c
They barely respond at all. Mother looks at her nails in boredom, and my father’s face doesn’t change at all. He’s still just looking at me with a stoic expression. “Yes, well,” he says, clearing his throat. “That is, of course, terrible news.” “Terrible,” my mother echoes in a monotone. “Terrible
There’s a loud knock on my front door, and I’m so exhausted I have to actually take a moment to remember where I am. Thankfully, my eyes have gotten very used to the dark, and I manage to make it to the door without turning on any of the lights. Mother is on the other side with a steaming mug of tea
It’s all a bit overwhelming, knowing that I’ve done this, yet the pride swells in my chest nonetheless. When the animals have all dispersed, Mother smiles brightly at me and pulls me into a long embrace. “You’ve done so well, my love,” she whispers into my ear. She pulls back slightly and I see a m
She groans. “I really think that might count as two parties.”With a laugh, I let them lead me out of my new bedroom in my new home and down to the temple to start the rest of my life. Ingrid, Estrella, and Raven leave to join the crowd, but Eva stays with me. According to Snowcrest tradition, she w
CandaceI drag a comb through my thin hair and stare at myself in the mirror on my vanity. More accurately, the new mirror on my new vanity. Hollis and I had to exchange one more goodbye because I had to return to Dun’s Crossing long enough to pack up my life. Some things weren’t worth the trouble o
I press my mouth to hers, mapping the curve of her smile with my tongue. She laughs up into me, breathless with relief. I trace the fullness of her cheek, the slope of her neck. She nips my lower lip. I climb into the bed with her, careful of her many injuries. Someday, we’ll talk about her mother,
Hollis‘Got some more over here,’ Zain calls through the mind-link.I drag the heavy cart across the red-mottled snow toward my Beta. My muscles burn with exertion, but I’m not stopping until this whole battlefield is clear. I won’t let a wolf suffer longer than they have to.Zain nudges ice off a h
“No!” Nessa shrieks. “I warned you about this, about her. She’s twisting your mind.”Eva laughs in her face. “She’s twisting things?”Nessa darts to Soren’s side and grabs his arm. “We can’t stop. Rowena said there would be hell to pay if—”Hollis gestures sharply with the arm I’m not holding onto.
CandaceMy heart hammers in my throat. Our weapons shine dully in the snow, Hollis’s sword dwarfing my dagger. Eva drags her gaze from them up to our clasped hands. My other arm throbs, a reminder that I don’t think I could fight her off if I wanted to.She adjusts her grasp on her knife to a stabbi
Eva scoffs and smashes the hilt of her knife into my fingers around her arm. “When have we ever had trouble talking to each other?”“Exactly.” My fingers throb as I wrap them around my sword. “That’s why it was so hard.”“Bullshit!” Her voice cracks. “Just tell me. Four little words. I found my mate
HollisAt the same moment as I reach the wide ring of defenders and ranged fighters encircling the heart of the battle, Candace limps to a stop at my side. Blood stains her gray coat in a dozen places, and my heart leaps into my throat. I meet her huge, dark eyes. She melts into a human before me. H
There. The break I need. ‘Gavin wouldn’t let you lead, would he?’The shield flickers for a moment, and I crash through it. Sweet air courses into my lungs. I can’t waste the moment, so I charge at her blindly.‘I kept him as my figurehead,’ she howls. ‘I did not need his permission to act. I needed