*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
*Isla*“Go back, Isla,” the Moon Goddess says to me. “Go back.”“But I want to come with you,” I argue as I continue to float toward her.She shakes her golden curls and says, “It’s not time yet. I brought you here only to remind you of two things, dear child. One, you are loved, and two… it is time that you remembered who you are.”I stare at her in confusion. My mind is foggy anyway. I can’t remember how I came to be here, floating through the sky with her, and I can’t remember where I’m meant to be.So how am I supposed to remember who I am?But she doesn’t give me a chance to ask that question. She just says the same words to me again. “Go back, Isla. Go back.”I open my mouth to attempt another protest. The sky is full of stars—I am floating on air! It’s all so perfect, and in my heart, I feel nothing but light and love.But then… pain begins to set in. It starts as a dull ache in my limbs, but then it becomes a throbbing, biting sting that doesn’t stop. Not only are my limbs set
*Maddox*I sit in the backseat with Isla on the way back to the castle, holding her as close against me as the seatbelts will allow. She is exhausted and dozes off. Mystica, who is sitting on her other side, assures me that she’s fine, she’s just sleeping, but I worry anyway. Seeing her so still again makes my heart rate increase. The idea that she might not open her eyes again is terrifying.My eyes focus out the window as I try to decide what to do when I get back to the castle. We clearly have enemies that need to be dealt with, but I also need to be careful.Alpha Jordan is a powerful man. I knew that before he even arrived at the castle, but in the last few weeks since he’s been there, the information I have received from my contacts in other regions have confirmed that he is influential to the Alphas who are already at odds with my plans for the kingdom.While the outcry against me allegedly stem around the fact that I am not planning to produce an heir, that isn’t their true pr
*Isla*Poppy gently washes me down the best she can while I sit in my bed, my head still swimming. Mystica is here, too, but she’s not washing my body. She’s checking my vitals and insisting that I try to swallow down some broth, saying, “You’ll feel better once you have some food in your stomach. It’ll help dilute the wolfsbane.”Maybe she is right, but I can’t seem to choke it down. I don’t know how long I was lying there without breathing, but it seems like it must’ve been a while. It’s like my body forgot how to do it, and now, with every breath I suck in, my lungs almost refuse to do anything with the oxygen, just letting it sit there and build, and build, and build until I feel like I might burst.When Poppy is finished with all of her washing, she helps me into a nightgown. Mystica is kind enough to turn away, though, at the moment, I don’t really care who sees me naked. I don’t feel like this is my body anymore anyway, so it really doesn’t matter who sees it.Once I am changed
MistyTwo white wolves in a clearing.Their bodies made of mist and aether, standing side by side.Mates. A marvel of second chances and extraordinary fate.Two white wolves turn toward the sunrise knowing what they must leave behind; what he sacrificed for those he loved and her refusal to let him go into death alone.Two white wolves stand over their earthly bodies. He, battered and still.She, going into death with eyes open, cupping her mate's face between her graceful hands, her eyes locked on his at the moment of her dying breath.Their last words had been simple. I love you.They always had.They’d promised this instance in stolen moments, in private corners, when there was nothing but the stars to light their way.I will not stay here without you.I will not leave you behind.And so, it was.Two
AvivaThe first flakes of snow fall from the sky as I watch Ryan trying to herd everyone in position. Bundled against the cold in a wool coat Freya and I worked tirelessly on for the last three weeks, I step to the side, finding myself in the center of the crowd standing in the middle of the village of Silverhide. I watch my mate and his Beta, James, nudge families together and run back and forth toward a tripod where Ryan’s camera rests, facing us, to gauge whether all one-hundred and fifty people are in view of the lens.Ryan stands behind the camera with his hands up, his hair dusted with snow. “Okay. Nobody move!”A few excited giggles whisper through the front of the crowd where the numerous children are arranged. I glance around, watching as James joins Dahlia’s side, their baby on her hip. The baby girl finally has a name. Cosette, named after a friend of Dahlia, but they call her Cossie for short. Other babies
Two months later…RyanThe Harvest Festival has been held at the festival grounds between Endova, Teshka, and Navvan for centuries. When we arrived two days ago, leaving only a few people behind in Silverhide to make sure the animals are tended to in our absence, the wide, open space had been nothing but rolling plains.Now, it’s a city of canvas tents and twinkling lights, the air spiced with smoke and the smells of meals being cooked at each fire. Songs mingle as I walk through the festival with Aviva on my arm. I’m wearing a normal outfit. Well, not normal, actually. Mom forced me into a suit and tie with the Crescent Falls royal banner and all of my metals from my years as a warrior draped over my shoulders. Aviva is wearing that white, fur-lined dress again and a pair of new sheep-skin boots Freya and Mercy made for her, but instead of freshwater clam shells and pearls decorating her hair, her curls are w
RyanAn hour earlier…I can’t scrub the image of Aviva dead in my arms out of my head. It’s been several days since the battle, since the moment I put her in my uncle's arms and turned back to the ravaged scene, not knowing whether or not she survived the journey all the way to Maatua.Three days. It was three entire days before Sydney arrived in Silverhide with news about my mate. I’d just arrived back at my territory, exhausted and in tatters, when he clapped a hand on my shoulder and used his powers to spirit us to Moonrise, then to Veiled Valley, then to Maatua. He’s not as strong as Ryatt. Jumping took a toll on us both, and when we finally arrived at my grandparents’ beach house, I collapsed before I even made it up their driveway.Everything since the battle is a blur. Navvan is just… gone. The few survivors were mostly women and children who’d left the villag
AvivaI wake with a start to bright, warm sunshine and the smell of salty air. I grope white sheets, blinking several times to clear my vision as an unfamiliar bedroom fades to life around me. Warm white walls. Pale wood finishes and sleek furniture in soft browns and creams. White curtains drift in a salty breeze coming through several open windows, and a glass door opens to a deck with a view of… a view of the ocean.I’ve never seen the ocean before. From where I lie, I can hear the waves crashing on a white sand beach. Music I don’t recognize drifts toward me, carrying two voices with it, one male, and one female.“Your parents worry about you endlessly, Misty.”“They have nothing to worry about. It’s not like I’m ten anymore, Grandpa. I can make my own way in the world now. Plus, where was their worry when they shipped me here four years ago, huh?”“You
RyanI’ve been dreaming about tying Aviva to my bed, but I’m going to make it a reality for entirely different reasons. Now, I’ll be tying her to keep her there, forever. No more hunting. No more fighting. No more killing rogues barefoot in the woods.No more putting herself in situations like this. I will do her dirty work. I will gladly do it. I roll with Hardan in his… hellhound form? Whatever the fuck he is now. I wish, Goddess, I wish I could have faced him man to man instead of beast to beast. I would have loved to see the look on his face when I ripped out his heart for even thinking for a second he had some kind of claim to my mate, even before I found her. We roll down a decline. I sink my talons into his belly, ripping hard, but I already know hellhounds aren’t that easy to kill. We crash into an oak tree. Leaves shower over us as he tries to claw free of my grasp. He’s calling out, bellowing strange, high-pitched howls. The forest floor rumbles as I sink my claws into hi
AvivaI’m having the time of my life.I zigzag through the woods in my wolf form after three rogues who’ve decided they want nothing to do with me. In fact, the rogues have stopped hunting me over the past several hours and instead are trying to get as far away from me as possible. Their prey has become their biggest predator.I did my best to lead the horde away from Endova. That was my goal–the reason I made the snap decision to leave my mate behind and race into the jaws of death itself. Now, I have the horde moving away from the tribal packlands all together, herding them back into the open plains like a shepherd, and they’re my sheep–if a shepherd killed their sheep, that is.I’ve lost count of how many there are. My red fur is completely black with their blood. I catch my reflection in another small, burbling creek as I leap, seeing only my eyes shining like polished amber against a
Ryan“She’s not here, Ryan,” Mercy hisses as I run through the village. She’s hot on my heels, grabbing my fur to try to pull me to a stop but I’m not in my right mind.It’s been five hours since I last saw Aviva. Andrew and I have been scouring the forest and plains for any sign of her, but I lost her scent, and my desperate attempts to mind-link with her have come up empty and silent.I shift into my human form the second I cross into the pack house and immediately crash into one of the tables, tripping over the bench and landing on my side with a crunch. I’ve been in my wolf form since last night. Exhaustion sings through my bones as my vision spins. I hear Andrew similarly falling to the ground with a choked groan before hurried footsteps reach the pack house. Someone throws a blanket over me with a scoff, followed by Mercy’s sharp, soprano voice ripping through the air as she starts s
RyanIt’s barely dawn. Four hours ago, I was taking a deep breath as I tucked my mate into our bed, and now we’re here, lying low in the grasslands ten miles from Silver, with twenty of my best warriors scattered behind me. Stars still fill the sky, shining under a blanket of deep navy and vibrant violet. It's kind of hard to stay focused when the sunrise looks like this, the first echoes of gold casting Aviva, in wolf form, in a halo of light. She’s crouched in the swaying grass just a few feet below where the rest of us are lying, hiding in the scant brush and scorched trees. I watch her edge forward a few inches, her body covered in weapons and leather–one of her special dresses from Endova. A half dozen whispers ghost through my head, mingling with the thundering of my heartbeat in my ears as we watch, and watch, the dozen or so rogues passing by, moving in a lazy formation toward the forests we, and the tribal packs, call home. ‘What are they doing?’ Andrew lies on my left sid