Nina The elderly couple stared blankly back and forth between me and Luke, whose wrist I was clutching more tightly than I realized. Luke’s eyes were wide, unblinking. I was staring at him imploringly. “Beg your pardon, dear?” asked the old woman, her voice pulling me back to reality. “What was
Enzo I stirred sluggishly to the sound of iron groaning deafeningly in my ears. Blearily lifting my head up from the icy stone where I lay, I made out a petite silhouette entering my cell cautiously. “Wake up, my lord,” the girl, the same one from before, said softly. She kneeled down beside me,
Nina “State your purpose, outsiders,” the knife-wielding man repeated as more people emerged from the vivid foliage. I furrowed my brow as I took in their appearances; they certainly appeared human, but my wolf picked up a strange scent as I looked at them. They were shifters, but not wolves; mu
Enzo My eyes locked onto the enormous bear that was now thundering toward me, six-hundred pounds of snarling fury and dagger-length claws. The deafening roar that escaped the bear’s throat almost seemed to shake the very stone beneath my paws. Every instinct screamed to brace for impact as the g
Nina “Are you coming or not, little wolf?” Luke and I shot each other an uneasy look as the man stood in front of us with his unlit lantern. “Where are you taking us?” I asked tentatively. The man huffed. “To the queen,” he said annoyedly. “And if you don’t hurry, we might be too late for yo
But for what purpose? A few minutes later, my neck prickled as we emerged abruptly into a massive cavern, firelight reflecting off of what looked like polished obsidian. Far overhead, stalactites dripped onto intricate tiles spanning a dizzying distance. This had to be an impossible buried fortr
Nina The bars of the strange cell must have been made of silver, because they burned my flesh when I reached through for Enzo. I winced, reluctantly pulling back from his touch. “Enzo,” I panted, “what-what’s going on here?” “Nina, Luke, why did you risk everything to come here?” Enzo stood, s
I chewed on my fingernails, exchanging another terrified glance with Luke. “So she thinks you’re her own personal stallion, basically,” I said. “You’re right. That is madness.” “Yeah, well, she’ll have to kill me first before I father anything for her,” Enzo hissed, leaning his head back on the wa
Nina The warm summer breeze brushed across my skin as I stood on the patio, clutching my robe tightly around my body. Laughter and splashes echoed up from the pool below, where our friends were already gathered for our big end-of-summer party. I should have been down there too, soaking up the ve
“What... what do you mean?” He braced his hands on the doorframe, leaning in closer with a heavy sigh. “I mean, by the time I caught up to them this morning, I only saw them long enough to get that photo before they were boarding a speedboat and taking off. Hell, I’m still not even totally sure wh
Nina My breath caught in my throat as I pulled open the front door expecting to see excited party guests, only to be immediately met with the sight of Luke’s grim expression. His brow was furrowed in a deep frown, his lips pressed into a tight line—clear signs that something was very wrong. “Luk
Nina I huffed out a breath as I hoisted the oversized cardboard box higher in my arms, carefully navigating my way through the living room. Strings of fairy lights poked out haphazardly from the top, and I could feel the weight of glass jars and other assorted decor inside shifting precariously wi
Then, at the last possible second, the scout seemed to find an extra burst of speed. He surged forward, hurtling between two towering oak trees and vanishing into the cover of the forest beyond. “Dammit!” I slammed my palms against the rough bark of the nearest trunk, powerless to do anything but
Enzo The crunch of leaves and snap of twigs echoed through the trees as Matt and I tore after the Schreiber scout. Our breaths came in ragged gasps, the hot summer air burning our lungs. Overhead, a little red bird chirped and flitted through the green canopy of trees; Daphne. But even she wasn’
Shaking my head, I turned without another word and stormed out of the fitting room. I took the two strides across the hall to Jessica’s fitting room and knocked on the door, folding my arms across my chest. “Jess? You in there?” There was a muffled thump in the fitting room, followed by the soun
Nina “How’s it looking in there?” I called out, rapping lightly on the wooden door of Jessica’s fitting room. “Um… decent, I guess?” her muffled voice floated back a moment later, although I could sense the uncertainty in her tone. “Decent? That’s it? Come on, Jess, this is your wedding gown w
Had I really known him at all, I wondered? Or had I merely been too self-absorbed and naive to see past the facade of unshakable command he projected? After a long silence, I found my voice. “Why didn’t he ever tell me that?” “He didn’t want you to see his weakness, I suppose,” Angelica replied