*Isla*Back in my room, I sit on the bed and admire the cufflinks I’ve purchased for Maddox… with his own money… while Poppy is off fetching Mrs. Dixon.I need to figure out what to do with them. I don’t want to leave them lying around, but I’m not sure that locking them up will do any good either, not when there’s someone like Mrs. Dixon around.I remember something my mom did with my father’s birthday present a few years ago. She had pinched and scraped and waved every penny she could find for months in order to buy him a new baseball glove so that he could play catch with my brothers. Afraid that Dad would find the gift in our small house, she ended up finding a loose floorboard and hiding it in there.This is a castle, though. Would there be a place in the floor or wall that was loose enough for me to hide them?Poking around on the floor, I don’t notice anything like I did back at our house where the floor creaks with every step. For a moment, I think back to the house we used to
*Isla*Something is wrong, and by the afternoon, I know it. I just don’t know what to do about it.I know in my heart that Maddox should’ve been back by now. He would’ve told me if he was going to be later, and if something came up, he would’ve sent a message to Beta Seth for me.But when I go to the Beta’s office, he is super busy, and he barely has time to look up at me with the phone resting on his shoulder as he tries to find something with one hand and write something with a pen with the other.Feeling out of place and stupid for standing there, I start to back away, but he motions for me to stop. In a moment, he gets off of the phone. “Hi, Isla,” he says. “Sorry. I’m really busy now that Alpha Maddox is out of the office for the day.”“I understand,” I tell him. “I just… wasn’t Ma—uh, Alpha King Maddox supposed to be back by now?”Beta Seth grins at me a bit for my slip up. I’m getting too familiar with the king, obviously.“He said he’d be back a few hours ago, but you just nev
*Maddox*My wolf’s paws tear up the ground as I run as fast as I can toward the castle. When I had seen that it was going to take a long time for us to get anyone to help us fix the car, I’d decided to take off for home in my wolf form, against my guards’ and driver’s better judgment.But I just have a feeling in my gut that there is something wrong. It isn’t something I can explain, not easily anyway.I run all the way back to the castle. It takes hours, and by the time I get there, the sun is setting. I use the mind-link to call Beta Seth out to meet me in the courtyard with some clothes so that I can shift and get dressed. As soon as I see him coming toward me, using the mind-link, I ask him, “Is everything okay in the castle?”I see Seth’s forehead crinkle. “Yeah, everything’s fine,” he answers with his human voice. I can’t talk because I’m still in my wolf form, but he sees no reason to use the mind-link, obviously. “Why do you ask? What’s going on?”We walk behind a tree so that
*Isla*The scent of mildew overcame me as I struggle to stay sitting upright, my eyes straining in the dim light. I need to stay awake, but it’s so hard, my head hurts so bad from the wolfsbane injected into my thigh earlier, but if I fall asleep, I may never wake up again, and then I have zero chance of ever getting out of here.The stinging sensation from the chains around my wrists and ankles continues to bite into my flesh, a searing pain that refuses to dull, even though I’m pretty sure the silver has already eaten through my flesh. I know that Zabrina and her henchmen were hoping that I would just lay down here and die, but I can’t do that—I won’t.The vision of King Maddox’s face keeps flashing before my eyes. He’s got to be back at the castle by now doesn’t he? I know that Zabrina concocted a plan to make it seem like I’d run away, but I am praying he’ll see through it. He’s an intelligent man—he won’t believe that, will he?I’d like to think that Zabrina is a fool, that her p
*Maddox*“Find everyone in the castle who is from Willow pack, now!” I shout at Beta Seth as I personally go to find Private Wylie. I have every one of my guards, the ones I trust, searching the castle, looking for clues as to where Isla might be. My mind is going crazy with the possibilities.“What can I do, sir?” Poppy asks me.I shake my head, wishing she hadn’t chased after me, but here she is. “Go check with the guards at the gate and see if any vehicles left the property in the timeframe when Isla first went missing.”“Yes, sir, Alpha,” she says and takes off.Ironically, I find Private Wylie exactly where I expect him to be… in front of Isla’s door. But something is off. I can tell by the way he is looking at me. He seems a bit disheveled as well. “Private,” I say, trying to keep my cool. For now.“Yes, Alpha?” he says, his chin jutting out.“Where is Private Parker?” I look to the vacant spot next to him.“I don’t know, sir. I left my post to another guard and just got back on
*Maddox*Before I say anything more to Poppy or Seth, who is standing in the doorway now, his hand grasping the wrist of the woman I believe is responsible for all of this, I tell the wolves I have sent out to look for Isla the address they should be running toward. Since they are all in wolf form, they will not have any sort of GPS, so I give them quick directions. What road they need to take, how to get to this cabin I see on the map marked as, “Secluded spot, perfect for death.”“What’s going on?” Zabrina asks, trying to yank free of Beta Seth’s grip, but he doesn’t release her.I need to hurry. I don’t have time for her bullshit right now, not when Isla is in a cabin some two hours away, dying of poisoning from wolfsbane and being tortured by silver chains.Still, I have to ask this bitch some questions because she may know information important to me finding Isla in time. Is she really at this location? Or is this another one of her fucking tricks?“What is this?” I ask Zabrina,
*Isla*“Where are we going?”I ask the person who is grasping my hand now, but there’s no answer. It’s not my mother. I know that much. The grip is tight and painful, and Mom would never hold onto my hand so tightly.In response, I hear a voice that sounds like it’s coming from beneath the waves say, “You have to stay with me, Isla.”“But why?” I ask. Glancing down, I see that my feet are not on the ground anymore. When I stepped onto the wood of the dock, going out onto the boat, my feet never made contact with the ground again, and now, I am floating away, up into the sky.The only thing that seems to be tethering me to the ground is this person whose face I cannot see, whose grip is so strong, I can’t break away from it.“Because… you must,” is all the person says.I can’t tell if it is a male or a female, young or old, or even where the voice is originating from. I can’t see them at all. When I try to look down to see the grasp on my arm, all I can see is a band of silver that rem
*Maddox*“Isla!” I shout as I see her lying on the floor, her eyelashes flickering like a butterfly’s wings as her eyes roll back in her head. Mystica finally catches up to me, her middle-aged legs not quite as quick as mine, and I see she has a shot in her hand, ready to inject it into Isla’s body.Rob, Holly, and Greg, three of the wolves I sent out from the castle ahead of me, are kneeling by Isla’s body, and I can tell by their expressions that they are concerned.“What’s happening?” I ask, not caring who answers. I stay back out of the way as Mystica forces her way in between them to get access, and the others, still a bit dazed it seems, back away.“Is she breathing?” The question comes out of my mouth before anyone has even gotten a chance to answer my last one.“Not at the moment,” Mystica says.“She was talking a moment ago!” Holly sounds panicked as she looks at Isla’s face. Her skin is turning a bit blue, and I have to wonder if that’s the lack of oxygen or the wolfsbane.I
MistyCole doesn’t tell me I should get some rest, and for that I’m eternally grateful. I pace the cabin, watching as he organizes and takes inventory of his medical kit. I remember the day I found out he was a physician. It had been a shock. My arm had been torn to the bone by a rabid, cursed wolf, and this man–this stranger who I thought was evil–sewed me back together again. That feels like a lifetime ago. Maybe it was, honestly. Sometimes I wonder if our weeks in Richard’s fortress actually happened or if it were a fever dream. But the glint of lantern light on the sharpened edge of a scalpel pulls me back into reality as he drops it into a pot of boiling water. “Are you going with us?” I ask into the silence. Cole’s mouth twitches with something unsaid. He shakes his head, glancing at me over his shoulder. “No. I’m going to stay here with Addy and be available to anyone who needs a healer.”I wait for him to tell me I should try to get a few minutes of sleep, but he doesn’t. I
Aviva“No one needs to worry about me,” Sarah says confidently, cradling the swell of her belly as she leads our group through the woods toward the lake. “I’m not going to go into labor right now, I promise.”Sydney grumbles something under his breath in response, the words drifting on the warm breeze making the leaves dance above our heads. Ryan’s hand is on my lower back–a warm, solid presence. Lexa’s asleep in her sling on his back, and when I look up at the two of them–with Ryan wearing a traditional Endovian sling and his face cast in uncertain shadows–I feel a prickle of regret. Part of me believes I shouldn’t have told him about what I saw in the forge. The past lives I walked through, the wars, the downfall of our kind… and most importantly, the fact that in another life, we lost our children and were separated for decades, only to find each other again in the very last moments before we both died. It stings to think about, though it doesn’t affect our lives now. I’m not sur
AvivaI watch Sarah and Misty leave the room. Misty takes Lexa with her, giving me a moment alone. I should be resting right now. If Maeve and Logan aren’t found by sunset, I have to put these new, unnatural-feeling powers to the test. I listen to the soft conversations taking place just beyond the bedroom door. I already know Ryan’s on edge and doing his best to handle this situation, but having Evander and Sydney here isn’t helping his stress levels at all, I fear. His wife almost drowned, his uncle wants me locked up in Moonrise until my powers fully emerge to ensure I’m not a danger to myself and others, and Maeve and Logan are still out there, hopefully together and safe. The door opens a crack before widening, revealing my mate and a large plate of food. The scent of blueberry syrup fills the air, bringing back memories of making this exact breakfast for my sisters, but that… causes my mind to drift back to the tangle of new memories. Memories of the countless lives my soul
MistySometime in the dead of night, Cole took Addy from my arms and laid him in his crib. I was next and woke up tucked against Cole’s chest as the first rays of warm, morning sunlight drifted through the window. Addy wakes up happy every morning lately and is beside himself with glee when he sees me looking down into his crib, extending my arms for him. Cole thinks Addy looks like me, but I beg to differ. I think his hair will be blond, of course, given that both his parents have fair, light hair but his eyes are starting to change from that soft blue to a paler, icier gray, like Cole’s. I run my fingers through his hair while he nurses. Cole continues to sleep, and I let him. I’m dreading starting our day, honestly, and stepping out into the village to see the aftermath of Kyra’s destruction and wait for news about Maeve and Logan.I feel awful for Kenna. My heart is shattered for her and Evander. I hold Addy c
MistyCole’s arms are wrapped around my stomach, his eyes widened in disbelief as he stares at Aviva. She looks like a wet rat right now–completely soaked to the bone with her hair plastered to her face and her knife belt hanging off her waist, but otherwise she’s whole.My powers are a meer flicker of what they usually are, but I feel them simmering to life as the strange, glowing symbols all over her arms and legs start to dim, and the roaring in my ears fades to the point I can hear my rapid heartbeat and Cole’s heart behind me. Ryan looks devastated. Devastated, and shocked–a myriad of emotions I can’t even begin to put into words. He shakes his head, mouthing Aviva’s name as he reaches a hand toward her then retreats. Aviva looks terrified as she scans the group, panting hard, her breath coming in shallow rasps. She turns her gaze back to Ryan, and her expression shatters, tears welling in h
RyanI watch the last group of warriors from Silverhide disappear into the night, a few Endovian warriors following them. The forest that wraps around Endova is alive with action–howling, people calling out Logan and Maeve’s names.All over the Deadlands, people and wolves are searching for our missing children and the witch that stole Kenna’s child from her arms. It’s only a matter of time before we find them, I’m sure. Kyra won’t live to see morning if I have any say in it.I failed my pack as an Alpha tonight. I didn’t see the signs in front me that we had an enemy in our midst. James is back in Silverhide cleaning up the mess she made. Cole is tending to the wounded, while I’m here in Endova gathering more troops, and my wife is… somewhere else.My gaze sweeps over the darkened forest. There’s only a few hours left until daylight. I think of my daughter and my
AvivaTwenty minutes is all it takes to get fully suited in my Endovian shifting clothes, halter, and knife belt. Misty watches me examine each blade before sliding them into position, metal gleaming in the star soaked darkness. She’s dressed similarly, and her eyes hold a silent promise.We already lost Maeve.We’re not losing Logan, too.We have no idea why he ran away to, but I’m sure as hell about to find out.Cole’s staying with the kids, and Ryan’s staying behind to gather his troops to begin the search for Maeve.It’s probably close to 3:00 A.M when Misty and I set out, following Logan’s scent. He doesn’t leave the village by the road, however. His scent follows the trail toward the lake.I stand on the edge of the dock in my wolf form. He was here, but his scent is faint. He was on the move, that’s for sure, and as we follow his s
AvivaSilverhide is in absolute chaos. I race toward the packhouse, still wearing pajamas, of course, but yielding my gilded bow, sending my arrow flying toward the molted beast trying to get inside. Claw marks mar the door–vicious and wide–and the beast, once a wolf, I believe, but now sporting four rows of massive, sharp teeth and multiple eyes, thrusts its entire weight against the door, causing the wall around it to splinter on impact. My arrow pierces the small of its pack through and through before whizzing back to me. I catch it, prime my bow, and send it flying again. This hellhound… it’s fresh. There’s nothing old and tired about it. Magic pours off its body, and blood stains its mouth and claws. People are screaming inside the packhouse. People–mostly women and children–who’d been enjoying their breakfast before this creature came over the valley to rain terror on my pack. If I’d left the packhouse only a few minutes earlier, I would have known why Ryan and Evander weren
MistyI snatch Addy from Kenna’s arms and break into a sprint, Aviva hot on my heels. Kenna’s voice behind us, calling out to her kids, fades as I burst through the doors of the packhouse and race across the village. The healer’s cottage rises ahead, but my lungs are burning when I finally reach the front door, which is ajar, and shove my way inside. The smell of herbs and spices hangs in the air… but that’s it. The cottage is totally empty. “Hello?” I shout, clutching Addy for dear life as dread overwhelms my senses. “Cole?!”Aviva skids to a stop behind me, panting. “Where are the guys?”“I have no idea,” I tell her, scanning the room. There’s a single door along the wall, tucked between two ceiling height bookshelves full of jars and small wooden boxes likely filled with more herbs. Aviva hisses in frustration and turns for the door, murmuring something about finding Ryan and Evander, and leaves me in the cottage alone. I step toward the worktable, noticing the fine coating of