Outside, six Deltas surrounded the sedan chair. It would be used to carry me through the procession. It had an elegant open frame, with gold-red tassels designing it. The sedan chair had a roof, and beyond that there was a cushion on the board that I would have to sit on. It was open on all sides, s
Hector’s POVFor two years now I had kept it to myself, the knowledge that Layla was my mate. When I found out my reputation was already set in stone, and anyone who knew of me would’ve said I was cold, powerful and uncompromising. These were qualities they all chalked up to the fact that I had gon
She was mine, but she couldn’t be because she was too young. My Luna would have to be capable and experienced enough to handle pack affairs, not some innocent young girl who had only just come-of-age. And she was disabled too.That was one version of what I told myself.The other was that I’d never
Layla’s POVIt happened so quickly, and as I fell the only thought ringing through my mind was that I had doomed not just myself, but my entire Pack too, as well as the procession. Nothing to see here, just my shitty luck coming into play as usual.My body hit the ground, and the force of impact was
“We’ll proceed with the Procession,” he announced, and the silence that followed this declaration was deafening. This was the first time something like this was happening during a Procession so no one could tell what was to happen next, but it seemed natural that the entire affair should stop if we
Layla’s POVAfter the brief interruption, the Procession continued as planned and I tried to concentrate on everything going on around me rather than the heat I could feel radiating off Hector’s skin as we swayed gently, carried in the sedan chair. He didn’t say anything else after slipping his clo
She gave a low respectful bow before speaking. “It’s my fault Alpha,” she said with a dipped chin. “I’m in charge of watching the Holy Fire. I shouldn’t have neglected it, and now the Moon Goddess is refusing the offering.”The rustle of fabric alerted me to the sudden movement of her assistant The
A pit opened up in my stomach as soon as the meaning of their actions caught up with me, and I clapped a hand on my mouth, watching in horror at the heavy nod Hector gave Theresa to proceed.The assistant took a deep breath, closing her eyes, and I watched her pull the hand with the branch back slow