"Look at that, it healed. I'm going to take that as a sign that the Goddess is in your corner today. Welcome to New York, Luna."Dani's eyes flickered open and she tentatively moved her shoulder, flexing it and then rotating it when she didn't immediately feel pain. Maybe it was a sign that the Goddess was blessing their mission. The thought was fleeting, as Dani's lips curved into a frown. It felt more likely that the Moon Goddess had decided to dangle a bit of hope in front of one of her least favored children before she was crushed completely, her life force snuffed out. Or maybe there was no Moon Goddess.Dani nodded towards Michael and Waylon as she pushed herself into a sitting position, brushing the back of her hand across her mouth, and checking for drool. She was surprised that she had managed to fall that deeply asleep with everything that they were about to face looming over them. However the sleep she's stolen on the plane ride seemed to be exactly what her body needed.
"Miss West." Fern ran into the room, out of breath with a light sheen of sweat glistening across her forehead. "Everyone is rushing around getting ready. It's total chaos downstairs. You're brother and another Alpha are on their way at this very moment. Everyone says that he's agreed to marry Miss Harding and he's coming here to finalize the details with our Alpha." "He's what?" Stella felt vaguely nauseous at the news, her fingernails digging into the bedsheets as she stared at the slight girl who had just slipped inside the door and said those horrifying words in such a cheerful voice."He's marrying Lyra. Alpha Harding is happier than I've seen him in all my life. And we need to get you up and dressed for breakfast. We only have fifteen minutes.""My brother has agreed to marry Lyra Harding?" Stella's voice was incredulous. Fern shrugged as she walked to the closet and disappeared inside before emerging with an armful of light and airy dresses that didn't look like anything Ste
Luca stepped off the jet and onto the runway at Newburgh airport, the limo that Harding had sent for them already waiting a few meters away. "I thought we were going to JFK." Vos picked up his bag and rubbed the back of his neck as he stared out at their surroundings, stifling a yawn. "I thought so too." "Your Beta didn't know that Alpha Harding has been staying in the Chateau. What I believe Lyra calls the 'Villa.' He hasn't been to the Penthouse in several months. Not to worry. Your sister is there as well. I'm certain she'll be overjoyed to see you." "Have you seen my sister?" Luca fixed his intimidating gaze on the driver, his question laced with the tone of his command. "No Alpha." The driver replied quickly, dropping his eyes as he opened the door for them before moving towards their luggage. They hadn't brought much with them, so there wasn't much to take. "She has been-" he paused as if searching for the right word- "sedated, for her own good, and so she's been in her bed
Poor Little Andraste." Dani cowered on her knees, her hair falling in dark waves around her shoulders,her long hair the only protection her bent, naked body had left from his penetrating eyes. At the Alpha's harsh tone, her eyes closed and her head bent further forward. The collar around her neck was excruciating. It had been custom made to fit snugly against her skin so there weren't any gaps that offered the delicate burnt area where it rubbed even a moment's relief. The outside of this collar was studded with diamonds, with one large silver hoop dangling from the front. Today the hoop had a chain through it that was locked into a piece of hardware that was bolted on the floor, which prevented her from moving more than a foot from where she had been placed, or from rising above the half kneel that she was now allowed."I heard you spoke to one of my assistants. A boy.""No. Master." She wouldn't lie to save herself. She knew that that was useless. No matter what she did she was
Luca was pacing back and forth across the floor of the enormous room that he was supposed to be spending the night in. Someone would be there to get him in a few minutes to escort him to the dining hall along with Vos and, he hoped, Stella. But all he could think about was the email from Vos with the attachment of those journals that his father had kept all those years ago. If he wasn't certain that he was being watched he would have put his fist through the wall.He had had a bit of time now to come to terms with what had happened to Dani. He'd had less time to accept that it was Harding who had hurt her. But to find out that she had been taken and abused because his father and Harding had recognized their mate connection long before she or he had felt it was almost more than he could bear. He wanted to destroy the world, or at least, to destroy Harding's world.A knock at the door caused him to stop his pacing, turning to face whoever had come to get him. "Enter." He called, tak
They had stopped two miles away from Harding's compound, parked down an overgrown dirt road that Dani remembered seeing years ago the first time she had been brought into the compound. Thankfully it was every bit as deserted as it had been back then and the little group, which had arrived in the two vehicles, was now huddled together around a clipboard a few hundred yards back from the main paved road."The entire compound is surrounded by open grassy areas. I think this is part of Harding's defensive strategy. He can see any enemies coming before they get to him. But there are older parts of the manor that I believe I know even better than he does. And that is how we're going to get in tonight."Dani had been crouched down, staring at the drawing she had made on the clipboard, but now she stood up and stretched her legs, staring north and west in the direction of the compound."There are catacombs underneath the manor. Harding knows about the most obvious part of them because the d
"Fern. Go upstairs. Change into the outfit that we picked out for this occasion. Quick. Have Sarah take over serving the guests. You should have left the moment you escorted the final guests from the house into the dining room. We wouldn't want the Beta seeing you in your uniform."Stella likely wouldn't have heard Alpha Harding's whispered words if she hadn't purposefully positioned herself as near as she could to her new friend. The tiny maid had nearly melted into the wall next to the door nearest the kitchen and Stella was making a point to stay as close to Fern as she possibly could. Meanwhile Luca was keeping close to his sister's side."Lulu," Lyra flounced across the room and grabbed his arm, hanging on him as he suppressed the overwhelming urge to yank free of her surprisingly powerful grip. "You're already missed so much important time in my pregnancy." Taking his hand she guided it to her small bump. "But no more. Now you'll be here for me. For us.""Aren't you like nine
"It smells like summertime. Like rainbows. Like everything that's good and pure in the world." Waylon was following close behind Dani, as he had been since she first left Alaska, but she had never felt so tempted to give him a good hard smack upside the head. "Head in the game, Parker. What are you drunk?" she hissed the words under her breath as she moved forward through the dark tunnel, her steps slow and silent, her mind vaguely registering her own surprise at knowing his last name. "If I didn't know any better I would think that you just found-" she let her whispered words trail off in the middle of her sentence.No. That was impossible. The odds of what she had almost suggested were a thousand to one and it would be cruel to give Waylon that sort of hope, especially when they were on this sort of a mission and she had no particular reason to believe that it was true. It was more likely that the poor man hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in the last week, since he was so worri