Sarah POVThis was getting ridiculous.It was almost 2 a.m., and I was just staring at the back of my eyelids.The entire day had been impossible, and I loved it. Losing the bracelet, getting the bracelet back, who could have foreseen so much? And a picnic in the park with a magician to boot! Not to
It was nice, I decided, light and refreshing.“Chardonnay is made from green-skinned grapes that grow in a variety of climates,” he continued. “So Chardonnay can be oaky, buttery, or crisp and clean. Spanish Chardonnays tend to have a citrus tang to them, which not everyone likes, and French Chardon
Sarah POVOh, my goddess.Yeah.No, I knew when I woke up something wasn’t good. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I knew I would regret it.And then I remembered the wine, the little class in wines, the way my stomach’s warmth rose up into the rest of me, and how awesome that had felt. And then I reme
I nodded slowly, starting to see where he was going with this.And he smiled a little, clearly encouraged. “It wasn’t purposeful or conscious on my part, but you have become such an important part of my family, I think I must have wanted to see you uninhibited.” He smiled more. “Howling at the moon.
Zane POVAs an alpha, I’m not really allowed for things to scare me, but I will admit to being quite concerned when I spotted the thick, hand-made paper enveloped with the day’s mail next to a King Size catalog and a Better Dens and Gardens. I never read the magazine myself, but Olivia loved it and couldn’t find it in myself to cancel the subscription. I thought absently Sarah might want to see it.But the importance of the white envelope (“That color is eggshell,” I heard Olivia’s voice say) could not be ignored. I took it into my study and closed the door, sat down at my desk, took a breath, and finally opened it.The equally impressive piece of paper within was unadorned and contained only a single line of calligraphy: Pack Alpha Zane Cavendish and human female Sarah Astor have been summoned to appear this afternoon at 2 p.m.It wasn’t signed. It didn’t need to be.As needed for my position, I had been called to the Luna Temple several times before, but for Sarah, for any human, to
She shook her head. “I would want to, but considering just who you and your girls are, I would never win in the court. I thought, well.” She looked uneasy.“It relieves me to know you’ve been thinking about these things. Please continue.”“I thought I would apply for the pack alpha who would succeed you for their guardianship. The alpha should consider it an honor, and then I would stay on as their goddess-mother as a counselor and advisor.”I nodded. It was a highly sensible plan.She looked at her watch. “Two p.m. doesn’t give us much time.” She frowned again.“What?”“What in the world do I wear?”Soon after that, Sarah and I were in the car. The staff was looking after the children at the villa, and Sarah had left instructions for their dinner if the Oracles asked us to stay the night, which sometimes had happened to me in the past.I asked Ollie to raise the divide so we could speak privately, then looked at her, dressed “for court” in a black suit that matched her hair and brough
Sarah POVOllie drove us through the park for about a mile before we stopped at a small station along the one-lane road. There was no gate, but it was obviously a checkpoint. Zane rolled down the window on his side, and a man dressed in white with a blue sash draped over his chest leaned in to look
Sarah POVThat is, I knew nothing until I woke up. It was nice at first. The bed was pleasant, so white and soft.Then I thought of a poem: “The armies of those I love engirth me and I engirth them.”With a groan, I rolled over and buried my face in a pillow. Oh, goddess. They had to have drugged me
Sarah POVAfter the onsite security personnel and police had come, taken Ella’s body along with our statements, and then left, it was early morning. I worried about the girls, but they were as keyed up as I, and finally we all just piled on Zane’s bed, which was now my bed as well. Zane had his arms
Sarah POVGinnyWolf: Sarah is a MOON WOLF??!! Are you KIDDING ME?WhiteKnuckling: This is a hoax. Total bullshit.PPPPJohnP: I knew it.ShangHairSurprise: Will she be reforming the Luna Temple again?Rosemary&Sage: Hey now, PPPPJohn, THAT’S bullshit.With a laugh, I put the phone in the purse Lainey
Sarah POV“We all fear death,” Zane said.That wasn’t what I meant at all, and I told him so. My dress turned to silver in the moonlight, and I held his warm hands in mine.“If you seek the truth, stop seeking enemies and find the moon,” I and the statue and someone else said, speaking as one.He lo
Zane POVIt was thallium poisoning.“The treatment is proceeding with Prussian blue, which traps thallium to keep it from being further absorbed, as well as activated charcoal and forced diuresis,” the doctor, whose name I learned was Vassles, told me.Sitting by Sarah’s bedside, I was trying hard n
Zane POV“Alpha Zane!”Never, in all the years he had been working for me, had I heard such a sound of panic in Hans’s voice.I looked up and out my window. Hans wasn’t in the house. I saw him frantically waving at me over by the poppy garden almost a mile away.I ran down the stairs and out of the
Sarah POVThe day was lovely—perfect, even. The girls were back in school and making up for lost time, Zane was in his office and waved to me as I walked past the villa, and all the “lieutenants” had gone home.It was odd to look back on the past year. Had there ever been more than a day here and th
Ella POVMy contact at the prison told me Hayes followed his script exactly, and for the moment, I decided to put the wolf out of my mind. Few things had ever worked out as nicely as discovering the good doctor’s gambling addiction, and Hayes had several million reasons to do as he was told.When th
Sarah POVThe second Zane and I were in the car, I raised the partition for some privacy, turned to Zane, and asked the question burning acid in my stomach.“Do you think he actually hurt the girls?”Zane shook his head, but his eyes were haunted. “Not physically, but we’ll have to talk to them, see
“We found your money,” I said.“I thought you would.”We sat another few minutes in silence. “So, who was paying you? Who got you to betray my household?”Hayes smiled to himself.“Something funny?”“Do you think I’m some lackey doing someone’s bidding for a few dollars?” he asked, meeting my gaze n