*Isla*The puddle of water sinking into my carpet is the least of my worries as Sydney is panicking. She grabs onto my arm and squeezes, her nails digging into my skin.“What? My water broke?” she shouts. “That means I’m having this baby right now?”“Well, soon,” I tell her, prying her fingernails out of my arm. “Come on, let’s go back to your room. I’ll get the healer.”She starts to walk to my bed. “No! I have to lay down right now!”The thought of her getting goo all over my bed is unappealing. I know that she has time to get to her own room before she has the baby. After all, I do have a ton of younger brothers, and my mom gave birth to all of them at home because she couldn’t afford to go to the hospital.Grabbing her arm, I pull her back toward the door. “Sydney, there’s time,” I tell her. “Let’s go to your room.”“You can’t expect me to walk at a time like this!” she shouts at me, trying to pull away.Thankfully, I hear a familiar voice at that moment as Poppy comes in the door
*Maddox*When we arrive at the castle, I have the pack members of Hill Country who slaughtered Alpha Hayes and his household moved into the dungeon first. I’m glad to see that Alpha Jordan hasn’t managed to find his way out of his cell. Everyone who was in the dungeon when I left appears to still be there.Zabrina is another matter altogether, and I have her moved down by a team of Omegas who I know won’t put up with her shit. They’re all female, and they don’t mind slapping the cuss out of her every time she says something that she shouldn’t.By the time Zabrina arrives in the dungeon where I am overseeing the escorting of the other assholes into their new homes, she is bleeding from her mouth, nose, and one ear.Something tells me that the ladies were lenient on her after all.“Put her in that one,” I say, pointing at the smallest, dirtiest, darkest cell we have. “Chain her to the wall.“No, don’t do that!” she barks. “My ribs are broken! If you do that, it will hurt like fuck!”“Do
*Isla*Mystica has put an oxygen mask of some sort over Sydney’s mouth and nose and asked her to breathe deeply. She also gave her something else, something that will make her go to sleep soon. I hold her hand and force myself to smile at her, but as the other woman’s eyes grow heavy and flicker closed, I can’t help but wonder if she will ever open them again.I have all the faith in the world in Mystica. She saved my life, and she’s treated my injuries more than once. But that doesn’t mean she can save everyone in every situation.Mystica and her nurses begin working quickly as soon as Sydney is out, and I no longer feel the need to sit next to her and calmly hold her hand, especially when I see the sharp instrument that Mystica is about to use to cut her open.We have a similar thought at the same time as Mystica says, “Isla, dear, you can let go.”Can I, though?I haven’t known Sydney long, and I’m not even sure that I like the girl, but I do feel awful for what is happening to her
*Maddox*“You can’t do this to me! Don’t you know who I am?”The sound of Zabrina’s wailing echoes down the corridor as I exit the dungeon, tired of listening to her scream at me that I can’t execute her.I’m the fucking Alpha King. I’ll do whatever the hell I want….As I approach the stairs, Beta Seth comes from another hallway and joins me. “Did she tell you anything?” he asks me as we take the stairs quickly. I am tired of being down below the castle where everything smells like urine.With a sigh, I say, “Not anything that’s honest. At least, I don’t think a damn word she said was true.” The fact that she is blaming Alpha Grant for all of this makes me want to scoff.But then again, stranger things have happened.“What did she say?” Seth asks me. We reach the top of the first flight of stairs and then walk through the main dungeon, the one where the regular prisoners who haven’t killed anyone or tried to assassinate the King’s breeder are kept. “Did you get anything useful from he
*Isla*Maddox is looking at me like he’s afraid I’ve lost my mind. His eyebrows are nearly touching, he’s so concerned, and he’s keeping his distance. I imagine him bolting out the door and not stopping until he reaches at least the same point in the woods where he intercepted me a few days ago.I want to ask him why he’s looking at me like that, but I suppose I already know, at least to a degree. He thinks I’m crazy for naming the baby after him. He thinks I’ve grown too attached.And he’s right. I have, but he doesn’t understand the situation. At least, I don’t think he has. I doubt anyone has told him exactly what happened, but even if Mystica or someone did explain it to him, he can’t possibly understand the connection I have to this child.“Maddy?” he finally says, a lilt in his voice that shows me he’s either frightened or overly concerned.I nod. “Her mom wanted her to be named Isla, but I didn’t think that was a good idea.” It was something Sydney had mentioned when she was in
*Isla*Back in my room, I can still smell the sting of the chemicals someone used to clean the mess up from when Sydney’s water broke.It seems like that happened ages ago, but it was really only a matter of hours. Maddox still has my hand, and when I pause and stare at the spot where Sydney was standing when she came into my room, he has to stop walking. “What is it, Isla?” he asks me, his tone so gentle, no one would ever imagine he was known as a ruthless killer.Shaking my head, I try to jar the memory free so it can float away, but it won’t come loose. “Uhm, it’s just… Sydney. When she came to get me, she was so scared, and I thought she didn’t really have anything to be afraid of. But clearly, I was wrong.”He seems to be putting the pieces of the puzzle together now. He must not have known that she was here, that she’d come into my room, but I see his nostrils flare slightly as he catches on that more happened here than he’d first realized. It’s not uncommon for my room to smel
*Maddox*Leaving a nice warm bed where I was snuggled up in the arms of the woman who loves me, the woman I have finally admitted I love, too, wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve done in my life, but as I head to the dungeon the morning after we brought in the assholes who slaughtered the innocent people in the house at Duster pack, I know my job is about to get all the more difficult.I am hopeful that some of the difficult work has already begun. While Isla had slept with her head against my chest, I’d utilized the mind-link to let my most persuasive warriors have a turn or two with the bastards. My hope was that I would find a bunch of broken men who had all confessed to their crimes so that when I had them terminated, no one would feel any sympathy for them.Dealing with Zabrina would be more difficult, but that could wait.I take the steps quickly, feeling like the king I am. My mind goes back to the sight at the house, all of the blood, the dismembered bodies, the crying children.No
*Isla*Maddox was gone when I opened my eyes. I shouldn’t have been surprised. He told me last night that he had a lot to do, but I insisted he stay with me, and he did.I had fallen asleep on him in the bathtub, so he probably didn’t have much of a choice.Now, I am sitting at the dining table eating my breakfast while Poppy fake dusts because she doesn’t need to keep dusting.“I just feel really bad for that baby,” she is saying. I take a piece of toast and break it apart before putting a small piece in my mouth.I haven’t gone to check on Maddy yet, but I will. Not because I want to keep her. I understand now that Maddox is right. It’s not a good idea. I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that I’m expected to do everything Sydney just did yesterday soon enough–except for the dying part. That I’d like to avoid.“I feel bad for her, too,” I manage between bites.“I mean, in this day and age, now does that happen?” Piper continues. And I don’t have an answer for her. “Was Mystica
Brie“He can’t be that bad, Brie,” Maeve hisses as she clutches the crook of my arm, leading us down one of the winding staircases in our castle in Veiled Valley. Sconces flare to life on their own accord, lighting our way. “Mom said he’s been dying to meet you, anyway. He’s a warrior, you know. They’re always so handsome.”I purse my lips as she tightens her grip. “You’re entertained at my expense.”“You don’t get to complain. You’re doing this to yourself!” Maeve throws her head back in a beautiful laugh that echoes down the corridor. Everything my little sister does is beautiful because she’s stunning. Beautiful of the drop-dead gorgeous variety. She’s also only eighteen, and I doubt she fully grasps what this meeting with the Alpha of Rainway, a nearby pack in the mountains bordering Veiled Valley, and his warrior son means.Mom and
Kenna“Stay close, okay?” I shout as the girls hurry ahead of me through the woven, interlocking streets of Moonrise. It’s insane how much things have changed in the last decade. I tuck my phone in my purse; change number one. Yes, Eastonia has cell-phone service after decades of back and forth, but we’ve finally come out of the stone-age and into modernity, which includes change number two. Brie yanks Maeve out of the way when a car comes barreling down the street, bumping over the cobblestone road. I lift a hand, waving at the careless driver. This area of the city is supposed to be pedestrian only, but not everyone follows the rules. “Mom, we’re going to be late!” Brie scolds, gripping Maeve’s forearm. “Quit dragging your feet! You’re going to scuff your shoes!”“Then I’ll get new ones,” eleven-year-old Maeve grins, rolling her sea-green eyes. The castle rises above us as the girls bicker back and forth. Brie, fifteen and so beautiful it hurts to look at her sometimes, throws me
Sarah“It isn’t that serious,” I tell Blake and Liam as they blink at me, their faces dappled with mud and their knees stained with grass. “But I’ve had enough of the fighting. You’re too old for this, especially you, Blake.” I fix my oldest son with a look I’ve had fourteen years to perfect.Blake, now a teenager, purses his lips and frowns. “He’s been harassing me all day–”“You were supposed to be helping me clean the garage,” Liam, thirteen, bites out. I feel the tension beginning to boil between them and clear my throat. “Both of you, enough.”“Mom–”“You’re both already grounded,” I edge, crossing my arms under my chest and arching a brow. “Do I need to add another week to your sentences? Or are you ready to behave like good little wolves and finish the chores Cosette laid out for you?”Liam grumbles under his breath. Blake mimics my stance, crossing his arms. We’re eye level at this point, and Liam isn’t far behind in the height department. Still, Ella and Maddy taught me thei
Aviva“Line up,” I whisper against ten-year-old Lexa’s ear. “Breathe in… release.” An arrow splits the cool spring air in two. A soft squeak whispers toward us as a squirrel falls from its perch on a nearby cottonwood tree. I squeeze her waist in silent congratulations while she beams, her dark-blue eyes wide and round. “Good job.” I grin, giving her a pat on the back. “Go get it.”Lexa takes off in a blur of red curls and homespun textiles in soft creams and browns that match the melting snow. In the distance, over the shadowed mountains, plumes of gray smoke stretch toward the first inklings of the sunset. Lexa bounds back to me, squirrel in hand. I tie it to her belt and help her put her bow back in her halter while seven-year-old Nora puts the finishing touches on the snowman she’s been building for the last hour.“Nora, come on!” Lexa calls out, motioning for her little sister to hurry up, but Nora has never listened to anyone in her life. I smile as the girls start to bicker b
MistyTen Years LaterSunlight fans through the kitchen windows, highlighting the frost coating the glass. I blink, shielding my eyes as the sun drops below the tree line and the light in the room shifts, fading to a deep gold that paints the kitchen table and the mess my children left behind in their haste to get to school this morning.It’s a quiet late afternoon. It’s my favorite time of day, actually. The house is still and silent–the calm before the storm… which is running up the driveway right now, pushing and shoving toward the front door. The door swings open, the chilly late afternoon air carrying two small voices through the foyer and hallway. “Mom! MOM!” Addy’s voice echoes over the sound of heavy winter fabric dropping to the ground, probably in a wet heap. “MOM!”“I’m in the kitchen!” I call out, smiling to myself as I stick my coffee mug in the microwave. Two sets of footsteps thunder in my direction, and then I’m surrounded by blond hair and overlapping, excited voice
MistyCrescent FallsI toss my keys on the counter as I come thundering through the kitchen, sweat lining my brow. “Cole? COLE!”“I’m upstairs!” he calls out as I sprint around the corner into the hallway where the foyer opens up, spilling wintery sunlight through the bay windows overlooking the curving staircase. Snow falls in thick clumps, covering the ground. Two suitcases rest near the front door, but upstairs, I hear Cole talking to Addy and the sound of zippers closing.I trip on each step in my haste to get upstairs, carrying a bundle of papers in my arms. A few notes come loose, floating through the air behind me as I rush into our bedroom.Cole turns to me with another suitcase, arching his brows. “I didn’t think you’d be back until this afternoon–”“I finished it,” I rasp, breathless, thrusting the stack of printer paper into his full hands. All two-thousand pages, front and back, stare up at him, and he looks down in shock.“How?”“I just–I just got it done,” I pant, glanci
AvivaFallThe air is crisp and scented with smoke as I walk through the maze of brightly colored canvas tents. Lexa, dressed in furs to stay warm and beaded booties I worked tirelessly on the past few weeks, looks around, turning her head side to side like a little owl, taking in every new sight and sound.This is the largest Harvest Festival I’ve ever been to. So large, in fact, that the festival stretches for over three miles. Just two days ago, this sacred place was nothing more than a grassy field. Now, it explodes with life, color, and the promise of a comfortable winter where food and supplies will be far from scarce.We pass a tent selling apples covered in sticky, hardened sugar. I drop a few coins into an elderly woman’s hand in exchange for the treat, letting Lexa paw and mouth it while continuing our exploration.I’ve been Luna of Silverhide for just over a year, and Queen of the Deadlands for just as long, but I’m not used to being recognized by anyone outside of Silverhi
AvivaA calm has finally settled over Silverhide. The shift in the energy after we brought the kids home was palpable almost immediately.Now, it’s late afternoon. The sun is warm and bright, but the threat of rain hangs over the mountains where dark clouds simmer over the peaks. I walk toward the house where Sydney and Sarah are resting with their girls but stop when Maddy steps out of the house, her face bright and cheeks pink with excitement. She spots me and stops, smiling widely, and motions me over before reaching up to pull her long, dark red hair into a bun on the top of her head.“How are they?”“Oh, they’re just fine,” she smiles, smoothing the fabric of her yellow shirt over her midsection. “They’re just beautiful. I’m so happy for Sarah and Sydney.”I look up at the second story windows, which are open to let in some of the last warm, early autumn air. “Do you think they’ll be able to travel home soon?”“Sydney is a little worried, of course, but Sarah’s ready to get home.
MistyI sink to the edge of the bathtub and test the water, steam rising in ribbons that dance around my wrists. The lavender and honey scented soap wafts through the air, which is still and dark, mingling with the comforting, candle-lit darkness all around me. Kenna and her family left three hours ago. Aviva went back to her house. Sydney and Sarah are tucked up and recovering in a nearby cottage, being tended to by the midwife and Cole, so I’m alone. Addy is asleep in the bedroom only a few yards away, exhausted. I don’t blame him. The last time I felt like this–this worn to the bone–was right after the war when Cole and I closed ourselves in my old dorm room for an entire week just to rest, recoup, and come to terms with what we’d just been through–and somehow survived against all odds. I pull my shirt over my head and shimmy out of my pants before tying my hair up and sinking into the water, groaning softly at the heat. The warmth works through my muscles, untangling knots from