Ivy's POVSpencer moans ever so slightly as I straddle his lap, and I can feel his body tense up just a bit. I grin devilishly, certain he’s reacting to me. His gaze rakes along my body hungrily, moving from my chest to my lips to my eyes. I continue to boldly tug Spencer’s tie, my fingers working their way along the fabric until they’re right at the base of his throat. His heartbeat races, a steady thrum through his jugular. Our bodies are pressed flush together, and I can feel his chest heaving against mine as he looks me up and down. That familiar heat grows in the pit of my stomach, and I can feel my heart start to race in anticipation. Just as I lean forward, ready to press my lips against Spencer’s, he draws in a deep breath and pulls his gaze away from me abruptly. He shifts his gaze towards the window instead, expression distant. I can sense his withdrawal, and the sharp sting of rejection hits me right in the stomach, a bitter pang of disappointment. Did I do something w
Ivy's POVAs I try to piece together the story of what might have happened to the boy–Jason, that was his name–I can’t help but think back to when I first arrived at the Lycan royal palace. Just like him, I’d just witnessed the devastating death of a parent, and I was alone and aimless in a strange new place. I didn’t get even the smallest bit of kindness–Spencer had been distant, the maids had bullied me, and every member of the Lycan Royal Family hated me. I’d felt overwhelmingly lonely and lost, unsure of what to do.All I’d wanted was someone who could love me unconditionally. I bet that’s what Jason wanted, too. And I could have been there for him–I could have provided that for him. But I didn’t.I wasn’t there. I’ve been neglecting him these past couple days, and as I realize more and more the depths of my negligence, I feel wracked with guilt. He’s so young, and he has no one else. Have the maids been giving him attention? Affection?Jason’s mother was a maid. Do the palac
Ivy's POV“We think you should expel him from the palace permanently.”At the sound of the maid’s words, my eyes flash with anger. “Why should we take your word for it?” I snap immediately, glaring at her. I stand up straight, meeting her cruel, conceited glare dead-on. “All we know right now is that the boy was entrusted to your care, and now he’s missing. That’s not such a good look for you, is it?”The maid’ mouth falls open in shock. “That’s not–” “We just need to wait until the soldiers find Jason,” I say insistently, cutting the maid off. “Then the truth will come out. It always does eventually.”“What do you even know about him?” The maid sneers. “It was so easy for you to rescue him, sure, but you haven’t visited him once since he got here. You just got to be his hero then pawn him off on us. We’re the ones who actually know him, not you. Who are you to speak to his character?” “She’s my mate,” Spencer growls, a low warning hum. The maid’s face blanches. “Of–of course, Prin
Ivy's POVThe boy lays quietly in Gama Everly’s arms, completely and utterly unmoving. Jason has already passed out, and I’d be glad that he’s escaping the terrible pain he must be in, except that he looks like he’s on the verge of death. I’m shocked to see his body covered in bruises and blood. These look like injuries a grown man would incur in a fight, not the sorts of wounds that should be mottling a child’s body. “What… what happened?” I breathe out quietly, pressing my hand against my mouth in horror. I feel sick to my stomach, utterly disgusted by the sight before me.Who could do such a thing to a sweet, innocent child? “I was out on patrol when I stumbled upon a group of soldiers harassing a child at the border,” Gamma Everly begins, voice full of thinly-veiled rage as she looks at the warriors in the room. She holds the boy closer to her chest. “As I got closer, I realized I recognized the boy. The soldiers were kicking and beating him–it was obvious they planned on kill
Ivy's POVSpencer, the maids, the soldiers, Gamma Everly, and I are all gathered in the interrogation room. I gaze around the room, sitting at Spencer’s side. My back is ramrod-straight against the chair, hands curled into iron fists as I look at the warriors and the soldiers. I know they did it. I just need to make them confess it now. “The boy is still unconscious for now,” I say, speaking first and breaking the eerie silence that’s settled over the room. “But once he wakes up, the truth will surely come out. Now is your last chance to come clean on your own terms.”“The boy bit us!” One of the maids protests, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt to reveal her injuries again. “His behavior was reckless and self-destructive. He was mad! Who’s to say he didn’t injure himself?”“Your argument is that he gave himself all those injuries?” I repeat incredulously. My voice echoes like a vow. “Really?”The maid falls silent, staring down at the table with red cheeks. “I saw soldiers att
Ivy's POV“The Lycan Royal Family has a duty to protect all werewolves.”Under the force of Spencer’s bold declaration, spoken as though Spencer is scolding an unruly group of schoolchildren, the guilty maids and soldiers all keep their gazes glued to the floor. Their bodies start to tremble, necks almost certainly aching. I’m sure all of them know the obligations Spencer is explaining already.“We may deal with enemies on occasion, as the laws of battle dictate,” Spencer continues. “But we never go out of our way to bully anyone on purpose. This child is young, a victim of war. He’s young, a victim of war. He deserves to be cared for and taught the right way. Are you not ashamed?” The maids and warriors continue trembling in silence, and a slow, satisfied smile starts to stretch across my lips. There’s an undeniable power to the united front that Spencer and I present, and something about that power fills me with contentment. I’ve had just about enough of not being taken seriously
Ivy's POVOnce Spencer and I return to his room, he pushes me onto the loveseat playfully, grinning down at me. “Why didn’t you punish the maids and soldiers more severely?” He asks curiously, tilting his head down at me. I hesitate for a moment, struggling to explain. “I did give them a punishment.” Spencer raises an eyebrow. “You told them they have to do their usual job with the kid until the kid actually forgives them. That counts as punishment?” I laugh, letting my body relax against the soft cushions of the loveseat. “You don’t have to hurt or kill someone to make the punishment count,” I reply, sprawling out. “When I was young, I used to be one hell of a troublemaker. I mean, I was awful.”“Somehow, I can believe it,” Spencer replies with a grin. I snap my teeth at him playfully before continuing. “Oh, I was insufferable. I was definitely a nuisance to the whole pack. I’d prank all the pack members, interrupt their work, break all their things… honestly, it’s a small wonde
Ivy's POVThe next day, after wrapping up my training session with Sylvia and Gamma Everly, I go to visit Jason at the pack hospital. As I approach the room, I hear commotion coming down the hallways. My heart starts to race, and I quicken my footsteps. I get closer and closer to Jason’s room and the noise only gets louder. Is it Jason? Is everything okay? Did I make a mistake by instructing the palace staff to take care of him? Moon Goddess, if something else is happening now, it’d be all my fault–Are the maids and soldiers abusing him again? I was merciful when I issued my punishment the first time. If I open that door to find out the palace staff have laid even a finger on him–I throw open the door, panting and looking around wildly to see what’s going on. Muchb to my relief, no one seems to be attacking anyone. But I spot Jason huddling in the corner with wide, terrified eyes. He’s tucked behind a wooden chair, gripping the legs tightly as he glares warily at the maids and sol
Spencer's POVWhen the door to the barracks swings open, it’s as though the world itself stands still. Elder Jet grins smugly as a tall woman steps out of the building. Her movements are fluid, graceful. She must be at least six feet tall. She’s as thin as a whip and looks like she’d cut just as deep. Her hips sway from side to side as she moves, and her body is clad from head to toe in a smoky gray dress that barely seems to be made of fabric at all—it looks like liquid smoke. It’s the veil that tells me who she is, though. Once she’s fully out of the barracks, she looks at Elder Jet for just a moment before swivelling around and looking at me. She tilts her head ever so slightly, and a shiver runs down my spine. Her face is covered by a dusky gray veil that looks like it’s been embroidered with dewdrops. The veil falls all the way to the ground both in front of her and behind. Above her head are a pair of antlers that are draped with chains and gnarled vines. She takes a single
Spencer's POVGod’s wrath. The words ricochet through my brain as Elder Jet pulls away from me suddenly. I reach out to try and apprehend him. I need to take him in, need to make him pay, need to find a way to get to Ivy before he can hurt her—But as Elder Jet begins to vanish into the surrounding crowd, before I get the chance to hurry after him, a pair of massive transformed werewolves move to block my path. I bare my fangs and them and growl before craning my neck to try and catch a glimpse of Elder Jet beyond me. He’s still doing his best to move through the crowd, still slightly weakened from me tackling him to the ground earlier. Those old bones must be brittle. The occasional Lycan warrior tries to apprehend him on sight, but every time one tries, more transformed werewolf rebels move to surround him. “Let me get to Elder Jet, and I just might let you live,” I snarl at the two werewolves. “We’d lay down our lives for Elder Jet,” one of the rebel werewolves replies. His vo
Spencer's POVAs I throw the lifeless body of yet another transformed soldier off of me, I can feel myself trying to formulate a plan. I try to remember what I can about the effects of these potions. The strength, the size, the bloodlust—all of this is familiar. But there was another side effect to the potions, as well. Something that Elder Jet never wanted us to know about. The potions will inevitably drive those who have taken them mad. I disentangle myself from my latest round of combat and quickly mind link Gamma Everly. ‘We need to wait them out,’ I tell her. ‘They’ll start to slip eventually! We just need to make it until then.’‘Look around, Your Highness,’ Gamma Everly warns. ‘They’re tearing through our forces like it’s nothing. Do you really think they can stall? We’ve been through a lot.’‘We’ll just have to do the best I can, then,’ I reply, looking around restlessly. Gamma Everly’s voice leaves my mind, but she rejoins the link a moment later. ‘Do you remember Ivy an
Spencer's POVAs the painful ringing slowly begins to fade away from my ears, all around me, Elder Jet’s werewolf rebels are starting to shift. I look around uncertainly, doing my best to keep my bearings despite my extreme disorientation. I thought I’d seen the worst of these transformations before, the first time I’d encountered Elder Jet’s blasphemous witches brews. But as it turns out, what I’d seen then is nothing compared to what I’m seeing now. Before, all I’d seen was the twisting of skin, the subtle shifting of muscle and bone. It was unnatural, but seemed confined to the realm of reality, at least. Now, though, as I gaze upon the rebels’ hideously contorted bodies, the transformation is even more disturbing to bear witness to. It’s as though their bodies are exploding from the inside out. The sound of bones crunching fills the air, and I can actually see bone and muscle sliding along the surface, pulling the skin taut in places. They look like the exaggerated villains fro
Spencer's POV“You don’t have any ground to stand on, Your Highness.”Elder Jet spits out the words Your Highness, sneering as they pass his lips. He looks around at his forces, the assembled rebel werewolves, and seems proud of the group he’s created. I look around at them, too. What I see makes my heart sink. None of the rebels look particularly convinced by anything Alpha Leo is saying. In fact, as his words wash over him, their expressions contort and twist into anger. I can see it on their faces—they no longer think he’s one of them. They’ve seen him switch sides, and rather than follow in his footsteps, they're prepared to resent him for it. ‘Stand down,’ I tell Alpha Leo. ‘I’ll handle it from here.’‘They’ll be killed!’ Alpha Leo protests. He doesn’t look at me, but I can see the pain in his eyes. I feel for him. They’re his people, and he’s the one who sent them into Elder Jet’s arms. Alpha Leo let them get led astray, and now they’ll have to pay for it with their lives. I
Spencer's POV“You’re the traitor, Elder Jet.” Alpha Leo is staring Elder Jet down with a vicious, furious glare. There’s betrayal in his eyes, too, and I realize just how painful this must be for him. I remember what I know about him. That his father died when he was quite young. That Elder Jet took him in, stepped up. Elder Jet became his father, in a sense. Alpha Leo has quite possibly been more poisoned than anyone else. And he was able to break out of it. It must feel like the world is crashing down around him. I can’t sympathize, but it’s always good to pay attention to the emotional state of those closest to me. To cue into their patterns and behaviours. To be able to tell if they’re going to snap. Alpha Leo curls his hands into tight fists as his gaze remains locked on Elder Jet like a fuse. His mouth opens and closes several times, and just as I’m about to step in and pull him away from Elder Jet myself, he finally begins to speak. “I recognize quite a lot of you,” Al
Spencer's POV“Elder Jet!”My roar cuts across the battlefield like a hurricane. I don’t even realize that I’m doing it, but my Lycan Aura rolls off of me in droves, sending every single werewolf except for Elder Jet to their knees. I narrow my eyes at him. Elder Jet remains standing, smiling smugly. A ripple of unease shoots through me. He should be on his knees by now, unable to resist the power of my Lycan Aura, but it doesn’t seem to be working on him. I set my jaw and march towards him. There’s iron in my posture and ice in my veins. I don’t care what sort of blasphemous witch’s magic Elder Jet is using to fortify him—the rest of his forces are now out of commission, and in a fight between him and I, I’d be the obvious winner. “Where’s Ivy?” I snarl at Elder Jet. Elder Jet lets out a wicked chuckle. “Oh, she’s not far,” he replies. “But if you want to see her alive ever again, you’ll kindly refrain from killing me.”The anger washes over me in a sudden, white-hot burst. It ta
Spencer's POVAs we enter what will hopefully be the final stretches of combat, my search for Ivy only becomes more desperate. There are only so many places to look–all the buildings in the barracks have been thoroughly sealed off, and I trust Wilson to have inspected each and every one of them carefully. If Ivy was stashed away in any of them, Wilson would have found her by now. The watchtower, as far as I know, is still under our influence. All that’s left now is the training area, the wide grassy sprawl with bleachers all around the perimeter. It’s a flat, open expanse, and by now I think I’ve searched the whole thing over at least three times. Still, I continue to walk around restlessly, I’m scanning eagerly for Ivy with every step. Now that the stress of the battle has simmered to a background concern, she’s consumed me once again. I need her. Like oxygen, like food, like water.She’s a fundamental and visceral need. But as I’m once again looking over the grassy expanse, the
Spencer's POV“Attack from behind!” My command ripples sharply through my troops. Before Elder jet’s forces even get the chance to pull away from the reserve forces and focus their attention where it’s really needed, The rest of the world slips away as I launch myself into the mass of rebel werewolves. My claws slash wildly, finding purchase in every direction. The thick smell of blood is quick to overtake the air as the battle begins in full force. Of course, as I push through the battlefield, I’m trying to take out as many of the rogue werewolves as possible. But beneath it all, there’s a single goal raging in my heart like a wildfire. I have to find Ivy. I don’t know what the odds are that Elder Jet or anyone else would have brought her here. But for all my trying, I can’t sense her. I can’t mind link her. Our mate bond, which was only ever strengthened by the Blood Oath Ceremony, has been guiding me on like a lighthouse ever since I met Ivy. To have it dimmed so suddenly has