“Don’t mind her,” Shelby says. “She’s all bark and no bite. You don’t have to pay for her dress. The laundresses here are excellent. They’ll get the stain out. One time, I was wearing a white dress to a dinner party, and someone bumped my arm, and I spilled burgundy wine all down the front, and they
*Emily* “That stupid bitch!” I mutter to myself as I head back to my room to change clothes. Margaret and Betty are right behind me, agreeing with my every word, as well they should, but there’s nothing they can say to make me feel better. I know who the girl was. Hell, the entire kingdom knows.
“Is that so?” he asked. “Beta Adam was telling me earlier that his wife, Shelby, thinks the girl is a delight.” My face creases further. “Oh, dear King Gene, my cousin, my darling, that Shelby is something else as well. I’m afraid she’s not quite sophisticated enough as a lady to know what she’s sp
*Rose* “Miss Rose? It’s time to get up.” I hear Vienna’s soft voice next to me, but I don’t want to open my eyes. It took me forever to fall asleep the night before, and now that I am in dreamland, I don’t want to leave. It doesn’t matter that I can’t even remember what I was dreaming about. “Mis
With everyone else quiet, the king begins to speak. “Good morning, Alphas.” “Good morning, Your Majesty,” they all four say at the same time. I catch the eye of the man I saw in the garden the day before, and he winks at me. Feeling my cheeks heat up, I drop my eyes. The king doesn’t seem to noti
*Rose* In the chaos after the race, I learn nothing. I have no idea who the winner is. I don’t know the order the Alphas have finished, and no one can tell me what is happening. Alpha King Gene claps his hands frantically, clearly happy with the outcome, though I don’t know what it is. How does h
When I get out of the tub, I am not any more prepared than I was going in. But Vienna gets me all made up in a beautiful silver gown. She and a few other maids come in to do my hair and makeup. I look really pretty–for me–and the maids are all kind enough to tell me how “ravishing” and “gorgeous” I
*Rose*As Mark walks me out of the dining hall, amidst several other couples who are also leaving, I can’t help but raise my free hand to my nose.That Emily is awful! Why did she have to do that? Pointing at her nose to remind me that mine is too big?“Is everything all right?” Mark asks me, concer
I look at Shelby. “Shelby… why?” She looks like she’s about to burst, and she finally spits it out. “Because I’m pregnant!” My eyes go wide, and I want to grab her and jump up and down, but I don’t want to squish Reeva, so I do a milder equivalent of that, which involves one arm and bouncing more
Rose It feels strange going back to Castle Dark Forest, and it’s going to feel even weirder being there again. It’s been so long since I first arrived there for the stupid contest… well, I guess without that contest, I would have never met my Alphas, so I suppose I won’t call it stupid anymore. I
Eli seems only half-convinced, and once Kelly and this guy are finally separated, he clears his throat.“I’m going to need the name of the guy who just sucked face with my sister,” he says firmly. “And I need to know where you’re from, and whether you have a criminal record, and—”Kelly slaps Eli’s
RoseI can’t believe how much the Goddess has blessed me. I remember all the times I was hunched over on the floor of the sewage plant trying to force myself to breathe through my mouth to avoid the stench. It didn’t work very well. I also remember all those lonely nights in my high school years whe
After a moment, I remember and quickly free him from the rest of his clothes. He pulls my nightgown over my head and tosses it exactly where he thought it should go and then lays me on the bed, All I’m wearing now is a tiny red thong. He stands at the foot of the bed and takes me in. “Damn,” he mur
Mark It’s my turn to spend the night with Rose, and I can hardly wait. It is a little odd being in this position, sharing my mate with four other men, but now that we have our situation settled, I realize I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’m carrying flowers as I go into her room. I think she’s p
“No, little flower,” says Tristan.The smile on his face and twinkle in his eye made my heart skip a beat.“He’s not allowed anywhere near our precious little pups,” he clarifies. “Just the diapers. Dirty diapers, all day long… that’s his new job! We’ll watch him every second.”“But you don’t have t
RoseI love spending time out in the garden, and now I’m doing it with four little bundles of joy. I’ve heard that expression so many times, but now that I’m a mother, I really understand just how much joy those little bundles can bring. And with all the fear of losing them that I’ve experienced ove
“No.” Alpha Alice crosses her hands across her chest. “I’m staying out of this. If these Alphas want to take you, so be it. I know how the contest was supposed to go, and if one of them had a male baby, then that will be the next Alpha King. I’m not getting on their bad side.”“Appalling!” I shout.