NOLAN
Yena’s voice was breathy when she answered Nolan’s call.
“How are you doing?” he asked, after they traded awkward hellos.
She laughed nervously and said, “I’m okay.”
“You don’t sound so sure about that.”
There was a pause. Nolan kept quiet. A sudden increase in his heart rate made him aware he was still holding out hope that any day now, Yena may just come back to him. He waited to hear what she was about to say.
“I’m just all over the place,” she said with a sigh.
Nolan knew that there was more to be said, but Yena did not elaborate. He shook his head.
Wasn’t that always the problem with them? The things that really mattered felt impossible to say aloud. It was better when he and Yena were together and could let their bodies do the talking.
But, Nolan thought with a frown, maybe that had never been enough. They had sp
YENAThe money was in my account and spendable within hours. I couldn’t believe it.I was officially in business – for myself.And I was ready to spend some of my new money on exactly what I intended it for: to help me and Evan with our move, so I didn’t have to rely on Nolan for all the expenses.Packing to prepare for the trip had been feeling impossible, and I realized it was because I didn’t have the right kind of luggage for moving by airplane. And I knew Evan didn’t have any luggage at all.I shopped around for the best options and placed an order online. I smiled as I started sorting my belongings, planning for what to pack in each of the new suitcases I’d ordered.I got matching sets of rolling suitcases for my brother and myself, his in gray with blue accents, and mine in those same colors but in reverse. And I got myself a set of hat boxes and garment bags as well, and a cute little
NOLANTossing and turning in his black silk sheets, Nolan was sweaty, itchy, and agitated.He got up and paced the room. Scorched himself in a scalding hot shower. And finally dressed in the early morning hours and went to his office to drink black coffee and watch the news. Waiting.He felt in his gut that something was wrong hours before he knew precisely what it was.His intuition was onto something. What exactly it was that was coming for Nolan, he could not be sure. A strike on the capitol? An assault on the palace, even? It was impossible to penetrate this fortress, but Adan, with his connections, could have infiltrated the palace staff somehow… with him, anything was possible.Danger was coming for Nolan, that much he knew. And it could be coming from anywhere.He unlocked his desk and retrieved a slender box from a bottom drawer, where it had been hidden behind a row of confidential files. He handled the box with
YENAMy first thought when I saw the news was: This can’t be happening.I got an alert first on my phone. Then I ran downstairs and turned on the TV in the den, and sure enough, it was there on every channel: Adan had declared war against Nolan.Evan appeared at my side and said something, but I didn’t hear him. I was deep inside my thoughts, searching my memories, trying to process what this all meant.Adan, smooth talking and insidious, had tricked me once again into thinking he was an innocent bystander, when really he had still been plotting against my husband all this time.My mind flipped through all our conversations over the past weeks. Adan must have had an ulterior motive for all the attention he’d been paying me. He’d been trying so hard to get back into my good graces.Surely he had been using me. But for what?Had I betrayed any information to him? Given him something he could use aga
YENA A wave of unexpected sadness crashed down over me. I certainly hadn’t been planning on telling Nolan that I wanted to go back to the palace. It was just what came out of my mouth in the moment. But even though it was something I said on an impulse, the way he responded still hurt. I offered to stay, and Nolan told me to go. That seemed like a pretty clear message. I felt rejected all over again. Of course, the way he put it, it did sound like Nolan had my best interest at heart. But I couldn’t help but feel that deep down, he simply did not want me back. Maybe my association with Adan was a betrayal that Nolan could not forgive. After all, I had specifically promised him I would not engage with his half-brother again after the last time Adan messed with our lives. Evan rapped lightly on my bedroom door, stirring me out of my reverie. I opened the door and found Lucy standing there, and Evan’s back retreating down the stairs already. “Lucy.” We traded sad smiles, and I pu
LUCY“Let’s get out of here for a while,” Yena said, standing. “Maybe Evan could take us to that boxing gym I told you about. Working out always helps me get out of my head when I’m feeling bad.”Lucy looked around at all the clothing and packaging that she’d come over to help Yena with. “But we have work to do. Tomorrow’s your last day and I promised I’d help you with all the business stuff.”“We’ll do it later.” Yena waved dismissively at the business supplies. “Lucy, there are bigger concerns in the world right now than whether someone gets a dress delivered on time. I mean, your ex-boyfriend just declared war on my ex-husband, for goodness’ sake.”Lucy laughed, then covered her mouth her hand to stifle it. “I’m sorry. It’s not funny. Just when you put it like that…”“It’s okay,” Yena replied, smiling. “Sitting here crying and worrying isn’t going to help anyone. Come on. Let’s go do something fun and try to forget about it all for a f
NOLAN“I assure you,” the prince said confidently, his already commanding voice amplified by a small microphone fixed to the podium, “this would-be usurper will not prevail. Adan has pledged to declare war on the humans should he rise to power. He wants to destroy not only their world, but our own as well, dragging werewolves back to darker times. I simply will not allow this to happen.”The crowd was silent, hanging on Nolan’s every word. He gripped the edges of the podium and gazed out at the sea of werewolves before him. It was a bright, still day, the air clear and sharp like Nolan’s mind. His body was pumping adrenaline nonstop, his mind in a state of deep focus. He hadn’t slept but wasn’t tired. He was on alert, but calm and collected. Standing at the top of the steps that led up to the House of Parliament, Nolan was delivering a formal response to Adan’s declaration of war. Gamma warriors and members of the prince’s staff flanked him closely on bot
YENAI don’t think I could have slept if I tried.It was the night before the big trip, and my mind was abuzz with excitement, anxiety, dreams, memories, just… everything. So I busied myself with work, trying to focus on something productive during the dark, quiet hours of the late night and early morning.I looked into how to get myself a business license in both countries, bookmarking the application pages. Filling them out would be time-consuming, a perfect activity for all the tedious downtime I had ahead of me on the plane.Then I started some new spreadsheets to track my financials. The handful of sales I’d made online so far – phew! I couldn’t believe the numbers I was looking at as I typed them into the columns, copying transaction info from my cash app. I enjoyed crunching the numbers more than I expected to, finding it oddly satisfying to obsess over calculating margins and creating budgets for new projects.I was overdue for co
NOLANIt was another sleepless night working with his team, and though Nolan felt mentally alert, he found it impossible to remain seated or even to stand still. He wound up pacing the length of his office tirelessly for hours as they talked, strategized, debated, and gave and received updates to and from others outside the palace.The prince was busy making choices, confirming instructions, and delegating tasks. Sounding confident and commanding on every phone call. Being the calm voice of reason.But his wolf just wanted to run. The large muscles in Nolan’s thighs were screaming, tight with the pain of inactivity, and his joints felt stiff and aching, needing to be stretched and engaged.But even if he did have time to run, Nolan no longer had any means of leaving the palace privately anyway, having sealed off his secret passage to the forest. Since Adan had been the one to show him the passageway in the first place, Nolan couldn’t risk leaving