NOLANHe pressed his ear to the door but heard nothing further.He knocked. Nothing.Without thinking, he gave the door a little push, and it swung open.Yena was sprawled out in bed with a white bedsheet wrapped tightly around her dramatic curves. She was talking in her sleep.“Evan…” she whispered.Nolan tensed. She was dreaming about the boy. The brother.His pulse increased. His heart started hammering away in his chest again.“Where did you put…” Yena continued, her voice soft and sleepy. “The chocolates… Where are my chocolates?”Nolan stifled a laugh.“Greedy girl,” he whispered.A breeze drifted through the hall and swept a chill into the bedroom. Yena shivered in her sleep.A quilt was on the floor in a heap, having fallen off the bed.He waved his hand. It slid back up onto the bed, covering the girl as she slept.Her body relaxed and her breathing grew steady and quiet.Nolan let himself look at her soft round face for just a moment longer. Then he turned and left. He pulle
YENANolan was all business as we went to meet his mother.I couldn’t believe he was actually going to let it lie. He didn’t tease me about last night at all. But he was again cold and indifferent with me.Given a choice between the two, I’d take the indifference over the taunting any day.We walked a stone bridge over a big open open courtyard. It took us almost half an hour.Then the Gamma warriors unlocked a set of heavy stone doors that rolled open to reveal a glass elevator. We rode it to the top.My ears popped as we went up, adjusting to the altitude.The Lycan palace had been built into the side of a mountain. The king and queen resided in the very back, in a wing that was, in part, embedded into the actual stone and earthen slope of the mountainside.We stepped out of the elevator into a bright, opulent sitting room. Luna was sitting atop a sort of small throne, looking comfortable and effortlessly beautiful. A delicate golden crown was nestled into her thick black hair, whic
YENAThe next few days flew by in a flurry of exercise and etiquette training. By the end of the week, I’d never been so exhausted in my life. I was on a diet, too, and just fatigued.I was lying in bed staring up at the gold ceiling tiles, missing Tina’s house. It was always warm in there. The oven was always on, marking up something that filled the house with a smell of spice.The palace was always cold. It was the marble floors and all the windows. And the elevation.The deaconess knocked lightly and entered. I’d already been to dinner, but Rafaela was bringing in the fold-out table and a few dishes.I opened a cloche and found a platter of chocolate covered strawberries.Rafaela disappeared and then returned, this time carrying a stack of books that she set down on my bed.They were design books. And a few fashion magazines.“How did you know I’d like these?” I asked.“Oh, Miss Yena,” she said. “These are not from me. They are gifts from the prince.”She shook her head. “Oh Goddes
Adan first set foot back on the soil of the sovereign Lycan nation almost a week ago, and the first thing he’d wanted to do was talk to his oldest friend.But getting an audience with the Secretary of State, and doing so without leaving any evidence, hadn’t been easy.He wound up just breaking into the building the good old-fashioned way. Through a smashed window while an insignificant, paid conspirator created a noisy diversion nearby.At the reception desk he simply claimed to have an appointment. When questioned, he played it like he was fine to leave, only he’d tell Kerr later that he’d been denied entry.It may have been years since he’d lived in the palace or performed any princely duties. But Adan still had a royal swagger that commanded attention and obedience.A side door opened into the office and Kerr walked in.Adan broke out into a big, handsome grin.The two embraced. Then the Secretary led his guest out to a private balcony, taking two glasses and a bottle of whiskey wi
YENAI lost myself in his kiss.I didn’t expect it to be like this.His hands were on me in a flash. One was holding me tightly around my waist. The other was behind my head.He was kissing me like a madman.I don’t know what had gotten into him. This was an extremely public moment.And the wolf inside me wasn’t letting me resist. Like she had promised she would.Nolan kissed me like this the night we made love.That’s what it felt like in this moment.Love.Maybe Lily was right. Maybe there was something deeper to our chemistry.Maybe it wasn’t just sex and pleasure. It was something else that made me and Nolan crave each other like this.I felt like I was falling into an abyss.Nolan felt me falling. He pulled back and moved his lips to my ear.“Concentrate,” he whispered.The bass of his voice vibrated against my neck.“You can control it if you try,” he said. “Stay with me.”I thought the kiss was over. I was coming back to myself.But I met his eyes and saw his darkness rush thro
YENABut Nolan wasn’t actually up for it that night.He’d had too much wine, I came to realize.He got kind of childlike and cuddly. He wouldn’t stop telling me I was beautiful.I took the drunken compliments with a grain of salt. But I couldn’t help enjoying this side of him. It was cute.He wrapped us up together in one of the satin sheets, pulled it tight and held me close.He passed out holding me, with my head smashed into his chest.I’m pretty sure he fell asleep while sniffing my hair.I wriggled out of the bear hug and got myself a little more comfortable. He hugged me back into him, as tightly as I’d let him.The passion and tension I had with this man could be exhilarating. But it was exhausting, too.This felt nice tonight. His guard was down. He was being affectionate and vulnerable.I stroked his dark hair and admired his beautiful face.His eyelashes were long and deep black.His beard scruff was already growing in, though he’d just shaved this afternoon. I ran my thumb
If he could not even admit to himself that he loved Yena, he definitely could not admit it to Gina, of all people.“No,” he said, after a long pause. “I’m not in love with anyone. Including you.”“You always speak your mind,” Gina replied. “I’ve always admired that about you. You’re brutally honest, no matter whose feelings you may hurt.”“Your feelings are not my concern anymore,” Nolan said. His voice was ice cold.He was trying very hard to be civil. She was making that very difficult.Gina laughed. “Maybe they will be again someday. I could make you fall back in love with me, Nolan.”“I could never love you again,” Nolan said coolly, biting back his anger. “Stop wasting your time. And mine.”“I will never give up on us,” Gina said.He hung up.And resisted the urge to throw his phone across the room.#YENAI got out of the bath and was getting dressed when I heard Nolan’s voice coming from the bedroom. He must have been back on the phone again.I walked quietly to the door and st
YENAIt had been weeks since I’d drawn anything. Once I started again, I couldn’t stop.Maybe it wasn’t ideal to be doing schoolwork on our honeymoon. But it felt like Nolan had faith in me. In my talent.And I wanted to live up to his expectations. Come up with something great that showcased my talent.I stayed up late every night drawing, drafting designs of the same garments over and over again, tweaking and perfecting them.We traveled like tourists, making occasional stops on our way across the country to see the sights. The prince made sure we went to all the art galleries and museums. I knew that was for my sake, though he never pointed it out.Some of the exhibitions we saw were mind-blowing. I had never seen work in these mediums before. It was inspiring.Looking at paintings, photographs, and installations made by human artists, I suddenly came to understand just how small my world had been before.The werewolf nation was an older society, with a single dominant culture that