I yank myself out of his hold.“Interesting,” he says, like he doesn’t believe me. “Any particular reason?”“So that next time my nose misleads me, I can think around it.” I look him up and down before realizing what a mistake that was. He wears a pair of leather pants that cling to every inch of hi
Anwen“Kieran said you had to go?” Baz asks from where he sits on the railing of the balcony attached to my bedroom.“Those were his exact words.” I scowl at my open wardrobe. “Anwen, you have to go to this ball, or it will look bad for all of us. Authority command and all. Who the fuck does he thin
“Channel it?”He nods, stands, and walks over to my wardrobe. “You remember Earson?”“The etiquette tutor with the ears.” I grin. “I think his name was Karson.”“Whatever.” Baz starts pulling things out. “He was the one who kept saying a gentleman is just the cage around the animal inside. So channe
EstrellaTess stands behind me, pinning back sections of my hair in the setting sun. “I wish we’d been here longer already. I don’t know any of their styles.”I frown at myself in the mirror. “I don’t want their styles. I want ours.”“Isn’t the point of this cultural exchange—” She catches sight of
I groan. “I will have someone else finish my hair. I don’t want to hear this again.”“I’ve got you captive now.” She smiles mischievously. “I knew you’d want braids.”“Awful, awful friend.” I shake my head just to mess her up.“I only mean… well, you can feel it already, can’t you? The mating bond?”
AnwenI look up the flight of stairs into the ballroom, my pulse hammering in my mating mark.“Alpha King Isai and Luna Queen Suniva Sollabella,” the page declares.The king and queen appear in the doorway, smiling and waving, both of them dressed like they think any color they don’t wear will disap
“It’s time for the first dance.” Kieran puts his hand out to Raven. “My love?”She takes it with a smile, and they leave.Candace nudges me. “Do you think we’re supposed to dance too?”“With you?” I scoff. “If Kieran wants me to dance, he’d better let me pick my own partner.”Candace sighs. “Always
EstrellaTess laughs and pats my arm. “Now, you’ve shown everyone the real abilities of Sundrop.”“The real abilities to stumble all over each other?” I smile.“Excuse me,” someone says behind me.I don’t know who I think I’m kidding. I recognize Anwen’s voice instantly, and even if I didn’t, Tess’s
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