HildaCerelia reads the entry aloud so Arlo and Soren are also brought up to speed.“5th Night of the Harvest Moon.The veil grows thin with the turning of the seasons, and again, I feel the weight of my duty. The Veilbreaker rests as it has for generations, untouched beneath the watchful gaze of the whispering stones. There, where the moonlight spills unbroken upon the earth, it lies within the roots of the lone ash, its heart wrapped in silver-threaded cloth. Only the blood of our line may stir it from slumber, and only in dire need shall it waken.I have walked the glade many times, counting the standing sentinels, tracing the ancient runes chiseled by hands long gone. The wind carries their whispers still, and in their counsel, I am reminded: the Veilbreaker does not serve lightly. It unravels the falsehoods spun by magic, sundering illusions and piercing deception. Yet, such power demands balance. That which is revealed cannot be unseen, and the bearer must be strong enough to wi
ArloShe wants to breed with me. In spite of Tara and her doom prophesying, Hilda still wants me to fertilize her eggs with my sperm and see if her belly will swell with our child. I can already picture it. How ripe and lovely she would look. How unbearably protective I’ll be of her. I want it so much. To raise a family with her. To have as many offspring as I can manage to put inside her.But not if it means flipping a coin and the other side is her life. “I can’t lose you,” I tell her huskily, my throat swollen with emotion. “You won’t,” she says with more certainty than she has any right to feel. “I’m yours, Arlo. Death can’t have me, I belong to one man only.”She’s so bloody infuriatingly stubborn. “Yet you refuse to listen to that man,” I argue back. “Belong as in give myself freely to, not as in a slave,” she tells me patiently. “You know I have the strength to do this. I need you to believe in me.”“That’s not fair, Hilda. This has nothing to do with me doubting how tough you
HildaI didn’t mean to tell Arlo about my desire to get pregnant while we were arguing in Soren’s attic and I feel awful about everything that happened in the past hour. He’s holding my hand, but he hasn’t said a word since we left Soren’s pack behind.Cerelia and Soren are staying well behind us, probably terrified that I’ll start spewing more intimate secrets and arguing with my mate in front of them. I’ve felt more comfortable during battles than I do right now.“Baby, I’m sorry,” I finally say, unable to stand the silence any longer. “I should have talked to you about wanting to try and have a baby regardless of Tara’s prediction. I planned to discuss it with you once things quieted down slightly. You get to have a say about that, I didn’t mean to decide on behalf of both of us.”Arlo looks at me askance, sighing from the depths of his soul. “Dammit Hilda, do you really think I’m upset that you want to have my child? I’ll gladly have 20 kids with you if that’s possible. What I can
CereliaHilda barely touches the tree when an opening appears at the base of the trunk. She reaches inside and pulls out a piece of gossamer-thin silver fabric which seems to be woven from the threads of moonlight and starlit mist.We’re all gathered around her as she unfolds the fabric and reveals a ring resting inside. It’s carved from almost translucent white bone and etched with swirling patterns that seem to shift when looked at directly.Hilda looks up at King Arlo before slipping the ring on to her finger. I doubt the others see it, but the air around her distorts briefly, as if a thin veil of reality is being peeled back. It’s the most powerful object I’ve ever been around.“If you feel it draining you, take it off immediately,” King Arlo begs her. The stark terror in his eyes breaks my heart and I wish I can tell him Veilbreaker won’t harm Hilda. Ironically, it won’t kill anyone who doesn’t offer their life freely. It will take the life essence it needs in order to nullify ev
HildaMy heart is thudding so hard in my chest, I’m worried that Cerelia or Tara can actually hear it.Tara looks at me expectantly once we’re seated in her small lounge. “I have…” my voice disappears and I swallow twice in an attempt to coax it back. “I have some questions about the prophecy you made.”Tara sighs and nods, “I figured as much. I’m sorry Hilda, but nothing’s changed. I still see that you won’t carry the Alpha King’s child to term. He will have descendants, but they will not be born from your womb. The one currently resting there will not survive.”Tara’s mouth is still moving, but I can’t hear anything. I glance at the ring on my finger, willing it to do something, anything, to let me know that she’s lying, but nothing happens. Blood is rushing through my head and I feel dizzy.From the corner of my eye I can see Cerelia shouting at Tara, but all I can think about is the tiny life she says I have inside of me. My hands clasp my flat abdomen protectively and tears start
CereliaI don’t know how Hilda makes it through the next few days without showing any outward signs of strain. She’s also the one who comes up with the plan for our trap."He won't come unless he believes we're vulnerable," she tells King Arlo. "And he won't believe we're vulnerable unless we give him a reason to." King Arlo’s jaw clenches, "You expect me to let you—""Let me?" Hilda cuts in, her voice as sharp as steel. "This is not a request, Arlo. Maelor knows we'd never turn our backs on you, that we’d never leave. So we make him believe that’s exactly what we’ve done, in order to save you all."I nod my agreement, stepping closer to Soren. "We leave at dawn, making it clear we’re severing all ties. Maelor will suspect it’s a trap, until I cast the message to let him know where we’ll be and that we’re offering ourselves in exchange for safety for everyone else.”“’What makes you think he’ll fall for that? He knows I won’t let you go,” King Arlo asks Hilda plaintively. “Tara’s prop
HildaThe weight of Veilbreaker on my finger is unbearable now, the bone ring keeps pulsing continuously as it nullifies the magic surrounding us, leeching the essence from my body in order to do what it was made for.I can barely keep standing. Every breath is an effort, every heartbeat a struggle. But I do not waver. I refuse to. Beside me, Cerelia is still, but I can feel her tension, the sharpness of her resolve. I hope she knows how proud I am of her and how grateful I am for her friendship.I barely listen to Maelor’s smug musings. I just need to keep him talking long enough for the others to arrive. Arlo knew the moment I sensed Maelor and I know they’ll be running flat-out to reach us.This time the warriors had to be far enough away so they wouldn’t be detected if searched for. Maelor is over-confident, but not entirely stupid, he’d send a scout or 2 ahead to die in his stead if there’s a trap.He’s droning on about how he has us trapped and only my avid anticipation of the e
ArloI watch as Cerelia and Hilda work together to take Maelor down. I can feel my beloved’s agony and pride surges in me at her incredible strength. She was right and I should never have doubted her. She is strong enough to do this.Maelor’s horrified expression when he realizes who will be responsible for his death tastes like ambrosia. The moment is sheer perfection until I feel the mating bond I share with Hilda disappear.One moment it’s there, a golden light suffusing my soul, the next there’s only darkness. “Hilda!” I hear Cerelia scream and I’m at my mate’s side in 2 bounds. Her eyes are closed and her body’s ice cold. She seems to have lost half her bodyweight in a single night. Her always slight frame is skeletal and her skin is pale as death.“Fix her!” I demand from Cerelia, losing all interest in the battle surrounding us. Most of the mages have fallen and my warriors are more than capable of dealing with them now that they have no way to defend themselves. Now that Hilda
AshRedgrave is sprawled across her settee, twirling a glass of whisky in one hand, watching me with that gleam in her eye. The one that says she thinks we’re sharing secrets, building a future, falling deeper into whatever twisted version of love she believes this is.I play my part. “There’s something you need to do,” I say, leaning forward. My voice is low, serious enough to catch her attention without sounding like I’m issuing orders. I’m not that careless. She likes to be consulted, not commanded.“Oh?” she purrs, raising a brow, clearly expecting me to suggest something erotic.“Malcolm will ask you to sign over the money to him soon. He’ll tell you he needs it in order to finalize the logistics. But what it really is, is the last step before he makes his move.”She frowns, sitting up straighter. “What move?” I meet her gaze. “He plans to kill you.” There’s a beat of silence, then she laughs. “Please. Malcolm doesn’t have the spine.”“He doesn’t need spine,” I say softly. “He has
HildaThe water in the creek is cold enough to make me gasp when I slip beneath the surface, but I don’t mind. It’s clean and fresh and I like the way it wakes my skin up. Besides, I’ve got a six-foot-five personal furnace about to follow me in.“You’re making that face,” Arlo says from the edge of the creek, voice low and amused. “What face?”“The smug one. The I know I look like a goddess in the moonlight face.” I swim backward a few strokes and lift my chin, hair slicked back, droplets sliding down my shoulders. “The only reason I believe that is because you keep telling me I do, so it’s all your fault.”He grins wolfishly, slow and appreciative, and steps into the water. It only takes him two strides to reach me. I get a full, brazen look at everything before the water hits his waist, and it’s a very enjoyable view.“You always get smug when you’re naked,” he murmurs, closing the space between us. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”“It’s not.” His hands find my hips beneath the
AshThe moment we’re back in Isadora’s bedroom I close the door behind us and she presses her body against mine.She’s still wearing that flimsy excuse for a nightgown. Blood-red silk barely clinging to her hips, one shoulder falling in a way that’s clearly meant to look accidental. She reaches for my chest, fingertips tracing the edge of a fading bruise, but I step back.“Darling,” she purrs, tilting her head. “Surely you’re not in a rush to leave this room? I thought we could—”“I think we’re running out of time,” I cut in, sharper than I intended. Her pout falters. “We’ve only just been reunited. You don’t want to celebrate?”I force a smile, trying not to let my frustration show. “Believe me, I’d like nothing more than to lie in bed and let you distract me. But something tells me the wolves aren’t going to sit around and wait for us to finish indulging our passions.”She sighs and stalks to the chaise lounge, throwing herself down with the flair of a silent film star. “You’re righ
AshTara won’t look at me. It must sicken her to see me in such a dishevelled state with Isadora. I tried to convince her we should bathe and get dressed first, but I suspect she wants Tara to know what we’ve been up to.I’ve never had any trouble sexually pleasing my partners. I’m an inventive, attentive and insatiable lover under normal circumstances. Last night was the first time since becoming human that I had to close my eyes and pretend.I imagined Tara was the one in bed with me. The one I kissed. The one who sucked my cock with such exuberance. The one I fucked until she was exhausted and passed out in my arms.I didn’t offer Isadora pleasure with my tongue this time. Exceptionally talented as I am at cunnilingus, I know she was hoping I would. I haven’t had the pleasure of tasting Tara, but I know she would burst on my tongue like some exotic fruit. Intoxicating my senses. I couldn’t suckle Isadora’s clit and keep lying to myself about who I was with.“Tell me how to break th
TaraI feel violated and ill when I wake up the following morning. Ash certainly doesn’t have human stamina, based on the information gleaned from the books I’ve read. Human males apparently require a period of recovery between one bout of mating and the next.“Thank you for the books,” I tell the serving girl when she brings my breakfast. She glances at the bedside table and her eyes briefly meet mine before darting to the floor again. “That one’s good, but the other one is better,” she says quietly.So these aren’t from Redgrave at all. “I’ll make sure to hide them when I have visitors,” I promise her quietly. She lowers her head, “I don’t think she’ll know. She doesn’t pay much attention to the house. You can just say you found them in a drawer.”“My name is Tara,” I tell her gently. She looks at me again with a faint smile, “I know. The mistress cursed your name repeatedly when you took Sir Ash from her before.” Right. I wonder how Redgrave believes I managed that. It’s all to t
TaraAsh seems to have accelerated healing abilities like we do. He told me he’s never been sick and he doesn’t think he ages, but he has no idea if that’s pure luck or if he’s not as human as he seems.The black eye took a bit longer to heal than the lacerations from the whipping, but it was still much faster than a human would have mended.I wish I could see him. Just for a minute. Just to be sure he’s in the same shape physically that I am. Logically I know he has to be, but I need to see with my own eyes that he’s fine. Or at least as fine as it’s possible to be while pretending to be enchanted by a completely delusional woman.If Isadora Redgrave hadn’t shown up when she did, I know exactly what would have happened to me next in that cage and I despise having to feel grateful to her, but I can’t deny that I am. I’d rather be beaten for hours on end than sexually violated by Malcolm.I know the only reason I’m being kept in this beautiful room and fed like royalty is because
RedgraveAs much as I despise Tara, seeing her spread-eagled, bloody and whimpering in pain doesn’t bring me any pleasure. I’m not a cat, who needs to play with my food before I deal the final blow.“Do you no longer need her to get you across the border?” I ask with a raised brow. Malcolm frowns as though the question makes no sense. “I do. She’s not dead,” he responds sullenly.“I gather she attacked you?” His jaw clenches, “What are you getting at, Isadora?” he asks irritably. “I’m trying to understand why you’re torturing her. What’s the point?”“She came here to spy on us before. My men only caught her this time because she was chasing down your precious Ash. She may have important information that could impact the mission,” he informs me dryly. Like I’m a silly child asking stupid questions. I wonder whether he knows that the thin layer of ice that he’s standing on has already started to crack.“Have you asked her?” I enquire. I can hear his teeth grinding together before he
MalcolmEither I was incredibly unlucky with the first werewolf I captured, or this one is very weak for some reason. Maybe because she’s linked to the human.I need to know whether most of them are more like Arlo, or like her. It’s going to make a huge difference in the size of the force I need. Arlo bent steel bars and wouldn’t go down until he was peppered with tranquillizer darts.I wouldn’t have stepped into Arlo’s cage for all the money in the world. Not even when he’d just been knocked out. This little female is completely different. One shot puts her down and she hasn’t attempted to shift once.Maybe I don’t even need to keep putting up with Redgrave. I’ve acquired an arsenal of weapons because Arlo refused to bloody die. Something tells me if I shoot this one in the head, she’ll expire immediately.As tempted as I am to test out my theory, I need her to get me into the werewolves’ territory. Her screams are like the most beautiful symphony. Ringing out loudly with each e
TaraArlo’s advice definitely helped. I’ve been drifting in and out of consciousness from the one dart that hit me, but I never fully went under. I’m abruptly pulled from my dreamy state when pain explodes in my head and my left eye starts throbbing.Ash. What are they doing to him? I want to hurl myself at the bars of the cage surrounding me and demand that they set him free, but we have to maintain our cover.“What the hell are you yipping about?” one of the guards stationed around my prison asks. I hadn’t realized I was making small sounds of distress.Based on the sheer volume of armed guards surrounding me, it’s clear King Arlo gave them a lot of trouble. Pride swells in my chest. He truly is a worthy leader for our pack.“Did she just hit herself?” one of the others asked, gaping at what must be significant bruising around my eye.“Crazy bitch,” the first guy mutters. “I’ve been watching her, she didn’t do it to herself. Her head rocked back and then the bruise was there.