My stomach clenched as I followed the trail of blood in the tapestry to where a human woman lay. It was sickening to look at. Esme and I stopped in front of the main door, and she took my hand. "Deep breath," she said, her voice low but firm. "Head up, shoulders back... Let's keep you in Mooncrest
Grace As Charles led the enigmatic woman to the seat beside him, murmurs rippled through the hall. I didn't recognize her from the news. Looking closer, the thing I thought was a crown looked more like a piece of jewelry. It was a large stone resting on her forehead, held in place by a thin chain.
"I wouldn't say that is what happened," I said. "You're making it seem like--" "Did you or did you not sign over all governing rights to your former husband?" "That isn't--" "I will entertain only a yes or no answer, Ms. Wolfe." I glared at him. The way he drawled my name, the fact that he was
Grace Her words struck a chord in me, but they didn't make me want to comply exactly. Sean was twisting my words, skewing them. Esme wasn't going to do what needed to be done. She couldn't. She was just a witch. What did she know about werewolf hierarchy and respect? The words were on the tip of m
Mooncrest was mine. "Yes," I hissed. I was the heir. I was alpha. There was no one who could take that from me. Not Eason, not Sean or Esme. If I killed the entire Senate, would they be able to do anything? If I wasn't running Wolfe Medical, there would be no other company capable of saving them
Grace I shuddered. I could almost feel my bones aching the way they had then. My gut churned. My hands shook. I felt every bit of weakness that I had then. "I was so sick. I thought I was going to die. Eason... Eason was there." Had he already been managing Mooncrest, then? Before I had even p
A hush fell over the room. Esme's words hung in the air, heavy with truth and accusation. My chest filled with a flicker of hope. "And how do you plan to ignore the fact that Eason Wolfe left his post." Esme shook her head. "It was a post he was able to fill, not required. Eason Wolfe is not and
Grace "I just--" "Did we not go over keeping you calm?" Esme hissed. "Didn't we talk about not acting like you had a hair trigger?" "He was twisting my words! I had to say something." She stared at me. "What did I tell you about redirection?" I blinked at her and winced as it came back to
I nodded. "Don't let me trip." "I'll do my best." With a shared laugh, we headed out the door. Esme was there at the door, hanging back. Gracian stepped away from me and linked arms with her. "We'll see you soon." I nodded and watched them go. We stood in the foyer of the building. From wh
Grace A month later... After the attack, the remaining members retreated into the cabinet to figure out what to do. After all, the other half and the president had been killed in the attack because they attacked Mooncrest. Luckily, Astarte had simply fixed everything, and aside from the aches an
Fire spilled over the doors as we fought our way down the stairs. Something swiped my cheek, but I didn't heed it. We stumbled over the bodies and slipped in the blood. I tried not to think about how many people I'd killed. I didn't want to think about it. "Back up is coming, but we need time, "
Grace I heard dying screams as I ran. The sound of battle echoed down the hallway. I found Astarte holding a group of attackers off at the door of the other stairs. "There was no way off." Astarte snarled. "Your mother's office! Lock the door." "What about--" "Go!" I bit my lip and ran
"A good PR move comes with a splash of fun." Astarted nodded forward. "I believe you should get to your command room, yes?" I nodded and headed upstairs to my father's office, adrenaline pumping through my veins. An attack, contained or not, was a serious threat. The city needed to be locked dow
Grace As we boarded the crowded bus, a knot of unease tightened in my gut. Astarte made a show of being intrigued. She smiled for every photo and seemed genuinely delighted, all the while, she explained her plan. I promised to help you. PR is important. Having me here will get you attention beyo
"Thanks." "Really well," Xavier said, setting his laptop on the table. On one side was a report on my interview, a headline streamed across the bottom. "Alpha Wolfe: A Beacon of Hope in Dark Times." Below it, a graph charted a dramatic rise in public approval for both myself and Wolfe Medica
Grace A nervous flutter danced in my stomach as I smoothed out the wrinkles on my blazer. I'd rather be orienting all the students, including the bright-eyed Westridge students, but Xavier and Amira swore up and down that this was for the best. Charles leaned into my office and grinned. "Nervous
I set my phone down and scoffed. When had my alma mater allowed so many idiots since I'd been an undergrad? Their loss. The lycans, humans, and witches had no problem. Seraphina, Margaret and I met everyone who had signed on in the conference room at City Hall. The excitement was palpable as the n