Hollis“Oh, shit,” Zain whispers.A gasp ripples back through the crowd, and I grit my teeth. I knew I shouldn’t have fucking come. I haven’t been in days. After Rowena’s last “blessing,” I came once or twice to just see if Candace was here, but when she wasn’t, it obviously wasn’t worth my time. Th
I cup my hands around my mouth. “Sounding a little crazy, Rowena.”Scattered laughter ripples through the crowd. I smirk. Candace doesn’t even look in my direction, which can only mean she already knows it’s me. My smirk dies.“Anything else?” Candace asks. “Any real proof?”A woman steps forward. “
CandaceI pace outside the gray and black tent Alpha Cole and Luna Delaney have been staying in, where they took Kash after the ritual. Going anywhere else seemed wrong. My stomach twists and jounces like it did when I let Ingrid convince me to sled down one of the castle roofs during a particularly
“I—” My voice breaks. Oh, Goddess, I’m going to be sick.“Wine?” He grabs a goblet on the bench and thrusts it at me. Red liquid sloshes over the side.I shake my head then clear my throat. “You wanted to speak to me?”“That’s why I’m here, after all. Mind if I sit?”I shake my head. He plops back d
“I knew you’d understand.” Relief crashes over his face. “I don’t give a rat’s ass about Rowena or whyever the hell she’s locked up. I just want to get to know my daughter.”I don’t know the last time somebody smiled like he is while calling me that. I let out a long breath.“It… might be nice to ge
HollisFather and I stride through the campground, on the way to lunch with a few representatives of Lightning Cape. He might be the only person in a mile radius who can think or talk about anything other than Kash’s sudden appearance at the ritual this morning. I’m certainly not. I haven’t seen a g
“We will see,” I say. “Now, about Lightning Cape—”***The lunch lasts forever. Every time I start to get distracted by the whispering farther down the long table we’re eating at, I freeze another piece of ice and let it melt. It keeps me focused. Enough. By the end of the meal, Father is shaking ha
Candace“Thank you.” I smile up at Kash—he suggested I call him Father, but that still seems too strange—as he hands me a bowl of noodle soup in one of the long food tents that’s sprung up in my handful of days in isolation.“Just let me know if you want seconds.” He tosses his hair over his shoulde
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