Ivy's POVSomehow, despite being possibly mortally wounded and bleeding out in the middle of nowhere, Princess Sylvia is able to bring everything back to her relationship issues. I can’t help but roll my eyes at her, grateful that the darkness will prevent her from seeing it clearly. In her words, I feel as though the rude spoiled princess from the palace has returned–the one who had me sent to the Werewolf Council and tried to torture me over a round of etiquette lessons. I don’t actually feel all that frustrated or afraid, though. It’s sort of relieving to catch a glimpse of the Sylvia I’m used to. If she has the energy and the capacity to be feisty, maybe the situation isn’t quite as bad as I thought. Maybe she’s actually got a chance of making it out of here alive“Beta Wilson does care about you,” I reassure Princess Sylvia gently, finding her shoulder through the darkness and squeezing it reassuringly. I think back to the conversation Wilson and I had in the garden. “Even if
Ivy's POV“I’ve got him!” Princess Sylvia whispers through the darkness. Her head lolls weakly, and she suddenly seems much less healthy than she did before. “What–what do I say?” My stomach plummets. I reach for the princess’s hand and squeeze it, then drop my fingers to her wrist to keep track of her pulse. It’s there, but seems weaker than I’d like. Princess Sylvia is in desperate need of medical attention. I don’t know how much time we have.“Tell him where we are,” I advise.“I don’t know where we are!”I grit my teeth. “Tell him the name of the area you wanted me to be imprisoned in, then, and tell him we’re hiding in an animal cave in the side of the mountain. That should help.”“Alright.” Princess Sylvia doesn’t even seem to have the decency to sound ashamed of her actions as she relays the information to Beta Wilson. “Tell him you’re injured, too,” I add. “He could probably bring us medical supplies–at the very least, something to help you with the pain.”“What pain? I’m
Ivy's POV“Because I don’t want Spencer to die!”My eyes widen at the princess’s confession. “What do you mean you don’t want Spencer to die?” I ask. “I thought me dying would only weaken him–are you telling me it would kill him?”Princess Sylvia sighs. “That part is true–in theory, it would only weaken him, because you’re his mate and you performed the Blood Oath Ceremony together. But the Lycan Royal Family is at war now, and Spencer is right there out on the battlefield. If you were to be killed, the pain it would bring Spencer could cost him his life in the heat of combat. Spencer is the Crown Prince, the future Lycan King. And I have to put my family first. So I had no choice but to try and save you.” I fall into stunned silence. Princess Sylvia smiles at me wryly, a bit of blood dribbling out of her mouth. “Does that upset you?” She asks. “To know I only saved you for the sake of the Lycan Royal Family?”“I don’t… I don’t know,” I manage, still stunned by her words. She chuck
Ivy's POV“We need to move.”The words leave my mouth in a hiss. I scoop Princess Sylvia up into my arms, praying I’m not jostling her too badly as I look frantically around the cave for somewhere tucked-away to hide her. “What are you doing?” Princess Sylvia whispers angrily, pushing at my chest weakly. “Put me down!” “Fine.” I’ve already found where I need her to be anyway. I set her down behind a little stone outcropping that will hopefully conceal her from view, then grab a couple strewn-about sticks and leaves and scatter them nearby. My haphazard heap of materials mostly obscures the princess from immediate view, looking almost like the abandoned nest of some long-gone critter. I pray it’s enough to divert any attention away from her. The footsteps continue to shuffle around the woods, but I can’t quite manage to gauge their distance. “I’m gonna need you to be real quiet, now,” I whisper. My plan is simple: I’m going to use myself as a diversion to distract whoever’s out t
Ivy's POVBeta Wilson’s clothes are streaked with blood. I want to cry with relief upon seeing him here to rescue us, but I have to suppress them, knowing now isn’t the right moment. Because Beta Wilson’s clothes are streaked with blood, which means that something is very, very wrong. “What happened?” I ask, crawling out of the cave and leaning against the mountainside in shock. I look up at him. The blood splatter on his clothes looks like it was left by slashing wounds, and there’s so much of it I can’t tell if any of it is Beta Wilson’s. “Are you okay?” “I’m alright,” Beta Wilson assures me quickly. “But as I was searching the woods for you and the princess, I encountered a raging Lycan nearby. I tried to speak with him, but he was extremely aggressive, and ended up attacking me first. I had to fight him.” He lowers his head, somewhat ashamed. “I’ve never seen anything like it, Miss Ivy. Or–well. I’ve seen something like it once.”Beta Wilson averts his gaze, and I know he’s ta
Ivy's POV“We need to go.”I look up at Beta Wilson in surprise. He’s spent the past little while taking care of Princess Sylvia–applying bandages, cleaning out wounds, and speaking to her in a hushed voice–but there’s a concern to his voice now that takes me off guard. “We don’t know how many more enemies are out there,” Beta Wilson says. “I’ve managed to get the princess stabilized enough for transport now, but I don’t want to risk us staying here any longer.”I nod. I’m about to ask what our next steps are when suddenly I realize that Beta Wilson is here alone with us–there aren’t any more of our warriors in sight. “Why isn’t anyone with you, Beta Wilson?” I ask. “Where are the others?”“They’re on their way, but I scouted ahead,” he explains, scooping Princess Sylvia up into his arms. He cradles her head gently, brushing his fingers through her matted hair, and walks towards the cave entrance. “I was worried about their safety, so I figured I’d have a look around first. I’d only
Ivy's POV“Take her.” Beta Wilson rushes over to me as the two werewolf warriors advance on us, pressing us closer and closer together. They grin as they circle us, clearly confident they’ve got their prey cornered. I gasp as Beta Wilson hoists Princess Sylvia into my arms. He turns his sharp gaze to the enemies in front of us, sizing them up warily. The princess’s body feels heavy in my arms, damp with sweat and blood. Her eyes are shut, moving back and forth rapidly behind closed eyelids. Her skin is ghostly pale and glossy. Her lips open and close, murmuring words no one can understand. She’s clearly fallen unconscious, well beyond reach now. She’s burning red-hot with fever. The moment Princess Sylvia is out of his hands, Beta Wilson steps away and shifts into a large brown wolf. With a roar that shakes the treetops, Beta Wilson launches himself into combat, hurling himself at the first werewolf in a flurry of fangs and snapping teeth. The sounds of battle quickly fill the ai
Ivy's POVThe pain never comes. I crack an eye open, surprised that the enemy’s claws haven’t landed on me. As the enemy frantically swings his massive paw towards me, claws out, a mysterious gray wolf suddenly lunges towards me and knocks the enemy away. I scream, stumbling backwards at the sight of the wolf. He doesn’t even bat an eye at me, taking advantage of the enemy werewolf’s disorientation. His jaws lock around the werewolf’s throat, and in an instant, he’s dead. Blood splatters onto the gray wolf’s fur, but he doesn’t seem concerned with it in the slightest. I lock eyes with Beta Wilson. ‘Who is he?’ I mouth. ‘No idea,’ Beta Wilson mouths back. The gray wolf shifts fluidly into his human form–tall and broad-shouldered, with tousled black hair and piercing hazel eyes. He doesn’t spare myself or Beta Wilson a second glance, turning instead to the deceased wolf lying at his feet. “Useless trash!” He spits at the fallen enemy, snarling viciously. “Even with the potion’s he
Spencer's POVJust as Gamma Everly are about to return to the troops to lead them onward, Wilson’s voice crackles through my mind. I freeze in place as his words echo through my head, an almost imperceptible tinge of panic to them. ‘Prince Spencer, Elder Jet’s forces are heading towards the barracks,’ Wilson warns. ‘They’re advancing rapidly. We’ve got the reserve forces stationed here, but he…’ For the first time in my life, I can hear a tremor in Wilson’s voice. ‘He’s bringing his entire army, and it’s massive.’ ‘We’ll be back soon, Wilson,’ I assure him quickly. ‘How far away is Elder Jet and the rest of them?’ ‘They’re still only visible from the watchtower, but I think they’ll be in our line of sight soon,’ Wilson replies. ‘We’re willing to do whatever it takes to defend the palace, but what if…’ ‘What if it’s not enough?’ ‘Exactly,’ Wilson says softly. I grab Gamma Everly’s arm. “We need to go back to the barracks now,” I hiss at her quietly. “Get everyone moving, but don’
Spencer's POV“Keep this to yourselves.” The words spring from my mouth like a gunshot as I look between all the warriors who’d followed me into this small segment of the woods. I fix each of them with a harsh, steely glare, sharp as a knife, until they all nod once. At this point, I have no idea who I can trust. It seems as though virtually everyone I’ve encountered by now has let me down. But the trembling of the three warriors is enough for me to believe that they won’t be able to do anything too bad for the time being. Before any of the warriors can question my order or ask any questions, I quickly turn on my heal and make my way out of the clearing without sparing the bodies so much as a second glance. This area isn’t important–I can tell by the blood tracks on the ground that the bodies were dragged here. This wasn’t where the warriors were slaughtered. I’m a bit worried by how easily they seem to have been slaughtered–the depths of their wounds points to quick, brutal kills
Spencer's POV“We need to return to the palace!” My thunderous command tears through the ranks of soldiers, and in mere instants, the entire army has begun marching all the way back in the direction of the palace. Gamma Everly and Alpha Leo bring up the head, but I linger near the back, frantically getting in touch with Wilson. ‘Are you at the palace?’ I ask him. His response is quick. ‘Sylvia and I are stationed at the front doors, Your Highness. We’ve also got all the guards ready to defend the palace as soon as it’s necessary.’‘Well done, Wilson,’ I say. ‘I’ve got another task at hand for you, though. The rogue werewolves have just attempted to lead the entire Lycan Army out into the middle of the woods–likely to leave the barracks, and thus an entrance to the palace, undefended. Fortunately we’ve still got reserve soldiers stationed there. I need you to head to the barracks, investigate the scene, and mobilize the reserve soldiers as needed. Can you do that?’ ‘Of course, Prin
Spencer's POV“Don’t trust him!”The words burst out of Alpha Leo’s mouth in a jumbled rush as he comes to a stop in front of Gamma Everly and I. He doubles over in exhaustion, hands resting on his knees. His breath comes in ragged, wheezing gasps, clearly plagued by trauma to his lungs. I can still see him suffering from the remnants of his injuries from earlier today—no doubt they’ve slowed him down considerably. I raise an eyebrow, studying Alpha Leo intently. “Don’t trust who?” I ask. “The—the centurion!” He gasps out. There’s a faint wheeze tugging at the edge of Alpha Leo’s breath. He stands up slowly, spine popping. “The man who… who told you to come here—he’s not who he said he is.”I breathe out a slow sigh. As much as I’d hoped Alpha Leo would have more positive news to bring, Alpha Leo’s words are only confirming what I’ve previously assumed, much to my disappointment. “How do you know this?” I ask. “I saw him emerge from the edge of the woods while I was at the watchto
Spencer's POVAs I lead my warriors boldly into the night, I feel more determined than I’ve ever felt before. I'm well accustomed to hatred. To loathing. To the sort of burning fury that aches like hot coals in the pit of my stomach, a relentless pain that consumes my every waking thought. Such anger is not unfamiliar to me. But the sheer volume of it I’m experiencing now, knowing that Elder Jet is out there somewhere holding Ivy hostage and hoping to topple the entire Lycian Kingdom in one fell swoop…A quick death would be too kind a fate for Elder Jet. I want to pick him apart slowly and excruciatingly. I want to feel his blood between my fingers and to hear every scream of agony. I want to invent new depths of suffering just for him. “Be ready, soldiers!” I say, keeping my voice hushed as I look back at my army. Gamma Everly and I are leading the troops onward. We move silently and swiftly, scanning the trees for any signs of threat. The trees are tall, branches stretching upw
Spencer's POVNow that we know how we want to move forward, things are quick to fall into place. The centurion who gave us the tip has fallen out of sight completely–I’m assuming that by now he’s getting the medical treatment he needs. I’ve mind linked all the surviving centurions to bring their search parties back to the barracks, too, and now I’m just watching the last remaining warriors trickle back into our camp. The plan is simple. We aim to strike first, and to strike with such overwhelming brute force that no matter his schemes, Elder Jet will be left completely and utterly unable to recover. “If we move through the woods along here, I think we can follow the natural curve of the river without detection,” Gamma Everly says slowly. She traces her fingers along the map and shows me her outlined path. “There’s enough space for all of us to move around the region relatively freely, but the topography will make it harder to corner us. We could use their camp location to our advan
Spencer's POV“What happened?” I reach down and grab the fallen centurion’s shoulder firmly. Beneath my fingertips, the fabric at the joints of his armour is thick and bloody, and the warrior groans as I make contact. He’s not dead yet, though, and that gives me hope. With a little help from Gamma Everly, the two of us manage to bring the man up into a sitting position. He’s moving slowly and unsteadily, eyes clouded with unforetold terrors. I can see his limbs tremble and shake, the clear difficulty of every moment. “I… I was out surveying the area…” the centurion murmurs slowly. “And I was–and there was–” I still can’t see the full details of his face, but beneath his mask, his gaze is darting back and and forth anxiously. “It’s okay,” I tell him. “You’re safe here now.” Comforting people certainly isn’t my strong suit, but he has the information I need. And besides, it feels like something Ivy would do. She’d speak to him softly, gently. She’d nurture him carefully. She’d ma
Spencer's POV“What do you need me to do?” Alpha Leo’s expression is solemn as he faces me. All at once, I can see just how deeply he’s changed over the course of today–just earlier this morning, he was breaking out of our dungeon, not caring who he killed or whose lives he drastically affected. He was ready to return to a wicked, traitorous man and help him take us all down. But now Alpha Jet looks at me with respect and admiration. There’s still a lot more work to do, but he’s reckoned with Elder Jet’s fundamental evils and cruelties. He’s not just ready to change–he’s at a point where he’s more than willing. I smile at him, taking his question as confirmation that he would indeed be interested in aiding the Lycan Army. I point to a large building on stilts right near the back of the barracks. Alpha Leo follows my gesture with his eyes, tilting his head in confusion as he looks the structure over carefully. “Is that… a grain silo?” He asks. I smile. “We’ve got a herd of cattle
Spencer's POVAs the centurions lead their recruited parties out into the distant woods, I can feel the cold hand of horror slowly clamping around my heart. Of course, my main goal with sending out these search parties is to determine just how much of a threat Elder Jet truly is right now. Of course that’s what I’m trying to do. But in sending out all of these patrols, there’s something else I may be able to figure out, too. I’m hoping against hope that one of the parties will be able to figure out where Ivy is. But with that hope, there’s fear, too. What if they find Ivy, but it’s too late? What if all I can rescue now is her corpse? Or what if she’s alive, but broken and hurt beyond measure? I don’t want to see her injured. She’s been through so much–I don’t know how many more traumas she can take. Especially with the baby. Oh, Moon Goddess above, please protect Ivy and my baby. The warriors that aren’t members of any of the search parties spread through the forest, lying in