AnwenI rap on Estrella’s door, the hallway behind me humming with activity. All the delegations are here—including Snowcrest—and the servants race around like ants in a colony, completing final preparations before the welcome ball just getting underway downstairs.She opens the door.“Fuck,” I mutt
She giggles, a sound I can’t wait to hear every day. “I’m certain that made a good impression–at his wife’s funeral.”“Hey, I think he smiled,” I say. “Or ordered me to stay quiet for the rest of the service.”She giggles again. My heart’s going to beat out of my chest and move into hers if she keep
“You should be. She was ravishing that night.” I wrap an arm around Estrella’s waist and pull her close then murmur in her ear, “Keep the talk light until people have time to get drunk. Questions that require specific details are tactless.”She nods.“You lovebirds are sweet,” Evangeline coos.We tr
EstrellaI stare across the ballroom at Anwen, surrounded by gorgeous women. A brunette throws her head back in a laugh and starts to put her hand on his arm, then pulls back. If I wanted to be kind—if I hadn’t already spent three hours stumbling through conversations like some kind of backcountry r
“I do not wish to talk about it,” I say thickly.She nods, smoothes the sleeves of my dress. “Gotcha. Um… I never asked you about the boat ride back to Sundrop.”Her awkward attempt scares a small smile out of me. “Less nauseating, thankfully.”“Goddess, I hear you on that. Father always tries to co
AnwenEstrella never comes back to my side. At first, I’m worried—did something happen? Has Floyd moved from murder to kidnapping? But I would feel her pain, and I know she wasn’t having a good time. Plus, I’m used to running these events on my own. It’s easier to float through unattached, saying wh
Estrella arches up into me. She rotates her wrists in my grasp, struggling to escape, but I hold fast. Clearly, she wants my touch just as much as I want hers. I circle one nipple with my tongue, scrape my teeth across it, pluck the other like harp string. Groans tumble from her lips. She’ll tell me
Estrella“My hair wouldn’t stay. It’s too fine.” Candace runs her fingers through her cornsilk tresses sadly.“You’ve never had your hair braided by Tess,” I say. “She is simply a genius for it. Allow her to try, and you’ll be surprised.”Tess smiles shyly. “I am happy to make an attempt.”Candace g
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