The delicious smell of coffee, bacon, eggs, fruit, and pastries makes me open my eyes after our first intense night together. A night that I feel in every muscle in my body when I stretch out. It’s a delicious soreness that tells me I’ve been thoroughly well-loved by all my mates.Reaching out for them, I discover I’m alone in Jordan’s king-sized bed and the smell of breakfast seems a lot closer than the dining room. My mind mulls over the astounding change over the last twenty-four hours, and I release a content sigh. Yesterday I thought I’d never see their faces, dead or alive. Yesterday, I wondered if I’d be alive this morning, or whether I’d be sitting on the cold stone floor of the dungeon.Today, my heart feels light, and my mates are alive, and we may just have a future together. It’s only the beginning, but at least we’re free to go on this journey as mates. My silk robe feels especially good against my skin, and so does the leisurely walk through my mates’ bedrooms to the
Catch my own father using his trap for the kings. Can I do that?The idea makes me feel like I’ve just plunged into a rushing icy river. I have no idea where the current will sweep me away.On the other hand, my father dropped me in this situation to begin with, just like he tossed me in the pond near our home when I was seven to see if I’d panic. To see if I could swim. I did. Spluttering and splashing, I made it to the water’s edge only to realize I could have stood on the bottom all along. It was shallow.It didn’t make any difference to Mom, though. Her angry shouts rang in my ears and I thought she was angry at me until, in a rare display of fury, she shoved my father into the water face-first. He looked ridiculous facedown in the pond. I tell that story to my mates, who all shake their heads. “If I were your mother, I wouldn’t have stopped there.” Kent’s eyes are flinty.“It takes a lot for her to lose her temper, especially where other people might be watching,” I say.Wi
His hateful words pierce me full of holes, but I stand firm. “What do you mean? What Alpha? Why would you say a thing like that?”Kent’s eyes flash a warning: Cool it.It’s not easy. Steam must be coming out of my ears.My father avoids the question. “Now, you have your dagger, and I’m sure you can get your hands on Wolfsbane somehow.”“Of course.” I playact a bit. “But isn’t that too obvious? And is it wise to make another attempt so soon after I poisoned them?”“Hmmm. Excellent point. I suppose a few days’ delay won’t hurt anything.”“What do you mean? Are you in a rush?” I ask, making sure my voice is level and not too eager. He growls impatiently. “Because the longer you’re there, the greater the risk of you being discovered.”Not true. It took less than five days. “Isn’t the opposite true?” I ask. “If I'm here for a while, they’ll be less likely to suspect my involvement, yes?”My father pauses for a moment before responding. “You do have a point there, Aurora. Just
An hour later, over coffee, Kent is looking over a fairly grim to-do list. “Hanging wouldn’t work,” he says.I shake my head. “Impossible to control. What if it went wrong? How about pretending to feed you wolfsbane?”“We could accidentally swallow it. If I get nervous enough, I might.”I scoff. “You? Nervous?”“Our kingdom and my brothers’ lives are at stake, so yes,” he admits.Like the Alpha my father killed because of me? What did that Alpha have to do with my father? My past, at least before my earliest memories, is a mystery. A big blank canvas. I have no answers to the questions that plague me. And what does any of this have to do with my father becoming power-hungry and wanting to take over the Ruby Nightclaws? Does my mother know any of this? I can no more picture kind, loving Sally Blessing keeping all of this a secret and approving of it than I can fly to the moon.“Okay, so that’s out. Pretending to drown you?”He paces, circling his desk. “Too many variables, es
Me?The daughter of an Alpha?I sink down and Elayna catches my arm as my legs give way. Her hold braces me and her energy is completely different than last night.Is she showing kindness because I don’t carry Haydon Blessing’s blood in my veins? Or is it because I’m royalty, too?“It’s alright, dear. I’ve got you.” Elayna smooths my hair. My mind is a blank. The only thing I can come up with to say is, “Do the kings know?”“Yes. I came to see them this morning when you were still sleeping.”I didn’t even wake up during her visit. Probably a good thing. I would have spoken to my father about it afterward when I mind-linked with him. I have half a mind to shift and mind-link to ask him myself if it’s true.“How long have you known someone stole me?” I asked.“Oh, my dear. Since you were a tiny baby, I’ve heard the rumors. Everyone knew that a powerful Alpha lost his kingdom and his mind when he lost you. I hugged my sons closer to me the night I heard.”“How did you know–”S
Still on his feet, Lucas meets my gaze even though he must smell my anger and possibly his imminent death. I give him points for nerve if little else.He rakes his hand through his hair. “Aurora, you have to understand–”I dig the point of the dagger into his flesh. “I doubt the Alphas will.”He swallows, the motion of his Adam’s apple obvious in his skinny neck. “You could just let me disappear and not tell them.”I press hard enough to draw one crimson pearl of blood, accompanied by the smell of burning flesh and a sizzling sound as silver sears his skin. “HOW LONG? How long have you danced on my father’s strings?”“Please,” he begs.“Oh, now you want to beg after you nearly caused their deaths AND wound me up?”His eyes look like wounded prey. Miserable but still determined to cling to his dignity. “You would never have done it on your own. The massage cream proves it. So does your hesitation in slitting my throat.”Disgusted, I withdraw the dagger. “Then WHY did my father
Give up my mates?It has a cold, sad logic to it.But try telling that to them. I did, and I might as well be talking to their thrones.In the throne room, Jordan is still in full king mode, with Kent and Wiley backing him up. They’ve confined Lucas to his room because he’s agreed to cooperate with them as a double agent and trap my father.He still insists I should run like a coward. Not in my nature, but in this case, discretion may be the better part of valor.Again, try telling that to my mates.“No matter where you run, we’ll find you,” Jordan says, his fingers digging into my shoulders. “And where would you go?”“I have friends in other packs. Or I could cross the fence.”Wiley snorts. “Try to pass as a human in one of those small towns?”“That’s a possibility.”Maybe I could live in one of those hunting cabins humans have. They don’t notice each other sometimes, so I think I could keep a low profile.Wiley bares his teeth. “If you do, we’ll come after you and risk exp
Jordan leads me through Wiley’s and Kent’s bedrooms with his brothers beating us there to make sure everything is perfect. They probably slipped off to prepare the bedroom at some point during all of our plotting and scheming. That makes me lust after them even more.My heart is doing somersaults. I know I want this.With his arm around me, Jordan asserts, “You belong to us. By dawn tomorrow, you won't have any doubts left in that beautiful silver head of yours. Remember what we said we wanted to do to you–all of us together?”“Moon Goddess, yes, please.”Me reclining on Jordan like a queen on her throne while Kent and Wiley take turns driving me out of my mind with pleasure, while I take them in every possible way and Jordan finishes last and best. I’ll feel like Cleopatra at the height of her power and desirability. I think she just might have been a shifter too. My knees can’t hold me up, and Jordan scoops me into his arms, whispering in my ear, “It’s going to be so good. We
Jordan thrusts out his chest. “We dare you to take control of us.”“If you can,” Wiley says with an impish grin.Kent gives me the understated bedroom eyes that always make my knees wobble. “Do your worst.”Relishing my role, I point to him. “I think we have a volunteer–get on the bed. Wiley. Jordan, your seats are ready.”With both his brothers in their chairs, Kent stretches out on the bed, smoothing it around him. I lick my lips and approach him, taking a moment to survey all that manliness displayed before me, his arms extended, his legs open. He looks, oddly, like a medieval painting. Or maybe an ancient Greek sculpture.“Kent, I’m going to drive you out of your mind until you beg for release.”He doesn’t repeat his prompt to do my worst, but his eyes speak volumes. “But first, I need something–and it doesn’t have lavender in it. It’s from Phaedra. Don’t go anywhere.”I dart into the bathroom and return with a bottle of pure sandalwood oil. I pour a generous amount of san
Kent breaks the stunned silence. “We want it said that Alpha Arnold had no knowledge of this wicked plot, and was appalled when he found out. He did what any responsible Alpha would do and exiled Haydon Blessing on the spot. The traitor is not welcome in the Nightstalkers’ kingdom or ours.”The guests’ eyes turn to red and gold. Growls of righteous fury fill the room.Alpha Arnold raises a hand and Kent nods at him, beckoning him. When he approaches us, we move to make room for him. In a solemn voice, he says, “On behalf of our entire pack, I apologize for this betrayal. Haydon Blessing was my friend, but the man I saw tonight was not him. I’m certain that his mate, well-loved in our pack, knows nothing of this. I know this news will break her heart. She will be protected, make no mistake–if the traitor tries to get to her, the entire pack will come after him tooth and claw.”Jordan says in a strong voice, “Make that BOTH our packs.”Every Ruby Nightclaw shifter in the room howls t
Their hands are in my hair, and their arms are around me, comforting me. Alpha Arnold murmurs something I don’t catch. It sounds sympathetic. Jordan answers him in a low voice, and I hear Alpha Arnold’s footsteps as he leaves us alone. “He doesn’t blame you,” Jordan whispers.“I should have told him.”It should never have gotten this far with my father. I wish I had said no to him. But who else would he have sent? At least this way I came here and found out the truth. In case he tries to recruit anyone else for this gruesome task, my mates and I will spread the word. The idea makes me quake, but I think we have a duty to warn people about the vile things my father has been saying about the Leavenworths. He might attempt to smear my name, too, although his influence disappeared with him. I didn’t even get to ask him about why he thought a stolen Alpha’s daughter would help him in his warped ambitions. Just as well. He’d just lie and twist everything around and play the victim. Thr
“Do it, if you have the courage,” Haydon taunts my mates. “Kill me in front of her. You’d break her heart and you know it.” My heart is already broken by his actions and words now. “I should be running this pack,” he continues. “I’d be a much stronger leader.”“We’ll just see what your Alpha thinks of that,” Kent shoots back.“Right now, if I were you, I’d be more worried about Aurora.” Haydon looks sorrowful. “You claim to be her mates. You’ve moved her into your suite and been seen joined at the tail with her. Do you know what harming me is going to do to her?”He’s still the man who raised me, unfortunately, and I can hear the tenderness in his voice as he says my name.“Let him go.”I have to force the words out and feel sick when he looks at me. I wish I could say I was surprised.Wiley growls in disbelief–the wolf equivalent of “What the hell?”Jordan and Kent look at me pleadingly. “Aurora, are you sure?” Kent asks, always the one to think through things.My tears bu
I can just feel my father’s glee at the thought of me beheading the kings. The anticipation is almost more than he can bear. A little anti-silver medicine goes a long way as I throw it on the kings while my knife lowers to their necks.My father bellows, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” He’s noticed that something seems off. But then, this plan isn’t perfect. Almost perfect, and good enough to trap my father. He should have remembered that by the time the prey sees the snare, it’s too late to escape.The sizzling silver wounds heal instantly and my mates leap up. Fully alive, covered in blood, smiling with defiance. Magnificent. “You’re alive?” Even shouting, my father doesn’t sound so confident now.In fact, the veins are popping out on his forehead, a sure sign he’s panicking. His mouth is opening and closing as he fights for breath. “We’re alive and triumphant,” Kent says. “Clearly.”“Your fault for raising your daughter to be the world’s best hunter,” Jordan taunts my father, clea
Halfway through the meal, Elayna gets up and strides to the lectern, then addresses the crowd, regal and poised. “It’s time, in this room full of friends and my dear late husband’s favorite color, to present the Morland Leavenworth Service Award. To give out the award, please welcome his sons and your Alpha Kings, Jordan, Kent, and Wiley.”The guests erupt in applause and cheers. Sneaking a glance at my father, I see something no daughter should have to see on her father’s face. Vicious hatred for my mates.I turn my attention back to the lectern where Jordan, Kent, and Wiley stand proudly in blue, red, and yellow. Jordan begins. “My father loved a good party. Nothing would have made him happier than to see this ballroom crammed with people. He loved to entertain. He was thrilled when his friends enjoyed themselves in his home. Although, as the night wore on, he often had his fill of socializing and would either take a walk in the galleries around the ballroom or in the garden. I
Peeping out into the ballroom, waiting to make our grand entrance, I see a sea of faces all talking, laughing, and bedazzling. Jordan adjusts my moonstone necklace, called the Tears of the Moon Goddess. Made of 24-karat gold, it has layers of moonstones linked together. The matching bracelets set the dress off strikingly, and he checks the clasps on them.“These are just breathtaking,” I say. “Thank you for this gift.”Jordan, radiant in blue and gold silk, kisses my shoulder. “Treasures for our treasure. Are you ready?”“Do I look ready?”“You look blindingly beautiful,” Kent says. He’s chosen to wear red velvet with gold trim. I spot Brynna in the crowd talking to one of the lords at court. “She looks fantastic,” I murmur, with a grumble in my voice.Sharp-eyed Wiley, in a yellow silk suit, follows my gaze. “So, what did she do to you?”I sigh. “Stole the boy I liked when she knew I liked him and never apologized. She could have had any boy in the pack, but she picked him.”
I spend the rest of the day planning the ball with the kings and Elayna. After much deliberation, we all take a vote on the theme. We vote by secret ballot and Natasha and Stewart get a vote as well. Jordan and Elayna vote for the red with wolf pups.Kent, Wiley, and I vote for the yellow.Natasha votes for the autumn-patterned one.Stewart votes for the green with the hunter’s bow. Elayna doesn't seem crushed that yellow won. “It’s perfect,” she declares.Kent and Wiley hug her. “It’ll look spectacular,” Wiley says. “I love yellow, just like Dad did. Now, about the music–”“We decided to give your friend’s band another chance,” Kent says. “It turns out that the tavern brawl was blown out of proportion.”Wiley howls with glee. “Thank you!”I shake my head, smiling. Elayna looks less than convinced, but she doesn’t make an issue of it. If her sons are happy, she’s happy.Elayna is still looking over the menu. “Well, I just wanted to be sure. I wanted to have those little b
“I’d be honored to be your date,” Brynna says to Jordan, deliberately ignoring the deafening silence and the stony looks.This must be breaking every rule of royal protocol, and considering my assassination attempt, I’m hardly one to throw the first stone. But Jordan didn’t exactly give her any encouragement. Whatever Brynna’s faults, I thought she knew how to read the room. And the room is saying, “Go away.”She’s always been the sophisticated one, even as a fellow hunter. When we were growing up, she’d spend hours doing my makeup and hair and trying on clothes with me. My mother approved of that because it balanced out all the hours hunting in the woods with my father and coming back with mud in my fur. To my mother, you could still be a hunter and be feminine. Shifter women have balanced both for centuries. I was always hungry for a sister. As an only child, I craved that sibling experience. Derric was a wonderful friend and I had other girlfriends in the pack, but there are thi