*Maddy*Reginald's hold on me is tight as he leads me up the wide steps leading to the front door of King Isaac’s home. I feel like I’m about to be sick, but I swallow past the painful lump in my throat and force myself to put on a brave face. There are only two reasons why I’m here. Either Ella told him what happened, and in that case, I have no idea why the king would involve himself, or Reginald and the king have made a deal. In any case, my fate is no longer in my hands. But then, it really never has been. I should have known from the very beginning that I wouldn’t be able to escape. In the best of circumstances, I’m simply being passed from one man to another, and I have no guarantees King Isaac is better than Reginald in any way. The door opens with a whoosh that sends a wave of warm, dry air over my face. My hair flies over my shoulders, left loose and falling down my back in thick waves that coil into curls at the ends. I’m not in a gown this time, thankfully. Brown slacks
*Maddy*There’s a commotion in the hallway outside the parlor door. I don’t know how long I've been sitting on the ground staring into the fire, but the click of the knob catches my attention, so I turn my head. Hannah, with her curly blonde hair tied back from her kind, smiling face, steps in through the door. She takes a deep breath, wiping her hands on her apron. “Not fluent,” she reminds me, but her smile is warm and inviting as she extends a hand to me. I take it and allow her to help me to my feet. Why not? What am I going to do now, run? How can I do that when what feels like every royal guard in the kingdom is in the house or on the property? Hannah leads me through the castle and up a flight of stairs. She says nothing as we walk along the second floor foyer–a balcony that overlooks a section of the first floor, where the commotion I’d heard can now be seen below. I freeze, my skin prickling with adrenaline as Reginald fights in the arms of several guards. A golden-haired m
*Maddy*I didn’t sleep much that night. I tossed and turned until the sky beyond the frosted windows turned a deep purple, and the sun began to appear on the horizon. Now, I sit at the edge of my bed watching the sun rise and cast the back garden in a pale pinkish glow. It must be very early in the morning. No one has come to fetch me yet. I haven’t seen Ella or Hannah–or Isaac. The thought of Isaac makes my stomach twist into a tight, unforgiving knot. I curl my hands over the thick, cream colored comforter and grip it tightly, closing my eyes. Not his breeder. Not a maid or a servant. Ella says I’m a guest, but what exactly does that mean? Where could I possibly go after this? Home to Celestoria? The thought makes me queasy, and I remember with a start that I haven’t eaten anything since… well, I can’t even remember the last time I had something to eat or drink. I walk around the room, running my fingertips over the fine furniture. I add a few logs to the dying fire and let the
*Maddy*King Isaac stands before a window overlooking the castle grounds. The treeline is lush with heavy reddish green buds, the first inklings of spring foliage. I find myself gazing past him and out the window as I wait for him to turn around and explain why I’m here, in his office. Just beyond the garden is the foreboding wall that encloses the castle grounds, and beyond that? Miles and miles of untouched wilderness. I’d run toward that wall once, hoping to find freedom on the other side. “Have you ever felt the mate bond with anyone?” I jerk in surprise at the question and turn my attention to the king. He isn’t looking at me, his focus still locked on the world beyond the window. “No, I haven’t.” I swallow back the bite in my voice. Last night, he said he hadn’t sensed a wolf in me, so why would he assume I’d found my mate? “Do you have anyone–a brother, or father–who would lay claim to you after what transpired with the kidnappers?”“N-no.” His shoulders are rigid with t
*Isaac*I walk right out of the castle, not looking over my shoulder. I pass guards and servants, leaving them in my wake without a word in passing. Am I angry? I can’t really decide. Whatever I feel is new, and I don’t like it at all. Rejection. That’s what this sinking, curling feeling in my gut must be. “Where–hey!” Cassian’s deep voice booms somewhere behind me, but I shove open the doors to the back terrace and begin unbuttoning my shirt, my fingers moving swiftly until I’m able to just rip it off completely and throw the fabric over my shoulder. “Oh, we’re doing this right now,” Cassian says as he gains ground. I’m already almost to the back wall and the gate leading into the foreboding woods beyond by the time he catches up to me. “Open it,” I say to the two guards posted at the gate. They heed my command without a second of hesitation, and I’m gone in a flash, nothing but a blur of deep brown fur as the transformation I seek rushes through my veins. Cassian, a rich crims
*Maddy*He doesn’t even know my name.That’s all I can think about as I sit beside Ella and desperately try to pay attention to the workbooks in front of me on a long wooden table etched with little carvings of stick figures. I run a fingertip over several sets of carved letters, a testament to the past, and the little boys who were raised together in this very castle.It’s hard to imagine King Isaac and Beta Cassian as children, especially naughty children who carved their names and some rather colorful insults toward each other, and the teachers hired to homeschool them both, into this table.“You’re doing really well,” Ella says, and for once, not in my home language.I understand every single word.“Thank you,” I smile, looking up from the etchings. “I’ve been studying every night before I go to bed, and eating in the servants hall helps a lot.”“They know all the slang, that’s why,” she grins, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder as she flips a page in the book we’ve been wor
*Isaac*I watch her leave my office, taking note of the way she moves, the way her long red hair nearly touches her waist as it sways. She looks at me over her shoulder before slipping out of the room, and those stormy blue eyes settle on mine. She is familiar. But is she really the young woman I danced with at the ball all those years ago? If so, maybe this is a gift from the Goddess in lieu of allowing me to find my true mate. But that spark isn’t there behind her eyes anymore. That coy smile doesn’t tilt at the edges or reach her eyes. Madeline. That’s her name, and I believe her. I let out my breath and sink into the chair behind my desk, running a hand over my face before reaching for my phone. Cassian is correct in that I need to woo her. If we’re ever going to have sex without it being an absolutely grating and stale experience for both of us, I need to do something to show her I appreciate her… sacrifice… to my kingdom. Arranged marriages happen every day, but very few,
*Isaac*“How did you get in here?”The young man, no older than myself, rolls his neck as his gaze drops from my face to scan the room. “It’s a strange feeling being on the brink of war, isn’t it? Knowing it’s coming and knowing there’s only so much you can do to prepare.” His eyes meet mine again, cold and stone-gray. I know who he is, but he isn’t what I expected. Young, a somewhat sarcastic tone to his voice, something that makes him sound almost boyish. For a man in control of a mystical army, one that has already flattened several rogue villages and is slowly encroaching on my territory, he seems entirely too… casual. But I can feel the power on him. Not just his wolf, no. Something much darker, colder, something that sucks the light right out of the room. Juxtaposed with my own powers, most of which I still don’t understand, I feel like I’m the only one standing between him and the castle being sucked into a dark abyss. “Alpha King Kane,” I say with deadly malice, my patience
RyanThree Days LaterTarsian is gone. That’s the only way to describe it. The cities, the packs… it’s nothing but endless, blood-stained desert now. Even the sea lapping against the shores of Serpentia is stained a dark red, but I watch it fade as I stand on what’s left of a deck overlooking the ocean. Behind me, the incessant chatter of the injured and healing overwhelm the sound of the waves. A few people walk along the sand–warriors of different ranks and alliances. A young man in tattered Arcane Umbra armor talks to a group of men in armor from the Roguelands, reunited with old friends. The curse is gone. The soldiers the Umbra Mortis turned into his puppets, his monsters, well… so far, they have no memory of the war, which is a blessing. The rest of us remember, though. How could we ever forget what happened here? How are we possibly going to move on? “Ryan?”I turn toward Kenna’s voice as she steps toward me, edging around a group of nurses from Moonrise here to help treat
ColeI choke myself awake. Smoke fills my lungs, smothering my senses for precious seconds I quickly realize I don’t have. Muffled voices fill my ears–a few shouts of pain, of surprise. People are calling out for friends and comrades.I’m not in the afterlife. I know that immediately. Pain echoes through my body like waves, driven by the tide of my heartbeat as my body claws back to life, my chest wounds knitting together in real time. But my hand is freezing. I squeeze the fingers tangled in mine and jolt back to reality, rolling with effort to curl my body around Misty. “No,” I breathe into her hair. “Come–Come back.” I can’t feel her anymore. My hand slides up to her neck, my fingers trembling as I feel for her pulse. It’s there, but barely. A weak thump that pauses for several heartbreaking seconds. “H-Help!” I try to shout the word into existence, but my voice cracks painfully, turning into a scream. “HELP!”Figures rush toward us in a blur. The battlefield erupts into view, sh
MistyI land on my feet in a sea of mist. Silver fog snakes around my ankles, around my glimmering armour made of pure light. For a moment, I think I’m… lost within the aether–in the misty, shadowed undercurrent that separates our realm from the Goddess’s kingdom. But wet grass squishes beneath my boots as I stumble forward, breathless, damn near in pieces. Rain pelts the top of my head as I grope for anything to grab onto before I careen toward the ground. I yelp as my body lands with a thud. Thunder booms, followed by its rolling echo as it bounces toward me. The rain fizzles to a gentle whisper as the mist begins to part. A great stone wall comes into view, and then two voices carry toward me, lifted in alarm. I sit up with great effort, kneeling as I gasp for breath that won’t fill my lungs. I slowly lift my head and see two women–one young and… stunning, with long, blonde hair and ocean blue eyes that seem to glow as she holds my gaze, her lips parted in surprise. The seco
Cole“Undo it,” I tell him. “Take the curse back and reinstate order.”He purses his lips to a thin line, confused. “But, Cole, I can’t. It’s not something you can just… stop. Think about it. Use that big brain of yours. Do you see this place? Tarsian is so much bigger than the rest of Eastonia. Riches beyond belief lay below the sand. There used to be mines and forges here, mines that pulled silver and moonstone from the ground and forges that turned that into magic. Yet, in our time, the magic is hoarded by the royals–the Allied Kings.” He sweeps his hand toward the battle. “But not anymore. Once I open the gate, it’s over. This world will be no more. You can come with me, Cole. Be a god instead of a king.”“You can’t, Richard. You failed. Misty is safe, with her family. You needed her to do this.”He smiles a bit sadly, but his eyes flare with mischief. “Yes, she is. Such a shame, really. It would have been easier to do it with her help. Quicker, less leg work for me.” He opens the
Misty“Forgive me, please,” I say to Mom as we walk side by side to the war room, which is really just a massive training area at the very base of the castle. “I know I just got back…hours ago….”“Bring them back for me,” she replies sadly, her hand ghosting down my back. She stops at the staircase leading to the furthest depths of the castle. I turn to face her, and she tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. “I’m okay here. I’ll keep the kids happy and comfortable.”That’s my mom’s power. Being the leader of this family. She has a knack for bringing everyone together, keeping everyone loved and… whole. I pull her into a hug and squeeze. “I’ll come home again, I promise. I’ll be bringing my mate home with me in time for Solstice, I promise.”Her tears fall into my hair. I reluctantly let her go and turn for the stairs, refusing to look back. I have to look forward–only forward–if I’m going to get through this. Ella’s already in the armory, sorting weapons, her eyes locked on her tas
MistyEverything else is a blur. Aviva’s screamed words. Ella’s rushed explanations. Grandma taking me by the shoulders and leading me away, tucking me in a sitting room somewhere in the depths of the castle. I barely feel her arm on my shoulder. I barely register sitting down in a chair, holding the bloody pages in my lap and watching the firelight dance over the untidy scrawl I know so well. I sit there for what could be hours. Eventually, I’m joined by Sarah and Kenna… and then Aviva. Still, I haven’t read the letter. I’ve read my name, addressed at the top of the first page, over and over again. This is his final goodbye, and I’m not ready to accept that. “What are we supposed to do?” Kenna grinds out. “The reports coming out of Tarsian are–”“I don’t fucking care what they are!” Sarah’s voice pitches with fury. “The father of my sons is fighting for his fucking life right now, Kenna.”“My mate, too!” Kenna shouts. “But we’ve been told to stay, to be prepared to defend Moonrise
MistyI wait in the hallway for Luke, not believing he’s actually here, in Moonrise, in the same place I currently am. Eventually, he’s escorted around a corner by two of Ella’s royal guards. His eyes go wide when he sees me, his cheeks flushing. “Misty–”“Luke,” I whisper, trying to smile at him, but my heart is skittering out of my chest. He glances at the guards before taking several swift steps ahead of them to reach my side. I pull him across the hallway to a set of windows and benches overlooking the city of Moonrise, now bathed in afternoon light. “You got out,” he says in disbelief. “I heard that you had, but I didn’t believe it–”“Is Georgia safe?” “Yes, she’s with her family. Her father’s fighting, but she and her mother went to Crescent Falls–”“What did Cole have you working on in the castle?” I rush out. “I was supposed to help you with it but never got the chance.”He pulls a small, oval object out of his jacket pocket and hands it to me. “It’s a cryptex. He said it wa
MistyBefore my body even catches up to itself, Mom has her arms around me, pulling me into the tightest hug possible as Sarah’s powers shudder away, falling like ash that covers the ornate red carpet in one of the upper wings of Aunt Ella’s palace in Moonrise. Golden finishes blur my vision. My senses go haywire for a fraction of a second before familiar scents and voices bring me back to reality. I slowly fold my arms around Mom’s back and squeeze. Neither of us says anything for a long, long time. I stand on my tiptoes and rest my chin on her shoulder, closing my eyes and breathing in her sweet, floral scent. She’s been wearing the same perfume for decades. She always smells the same–the smell of my childhood. “Mama,” I whisper into her strawberry scented hair. She trembles with silent sobs, cupping the back of my head as she pulls away. Her big, dark blue eyes–eyes she shares with Sydney and Ryan–sweep over my face, over the new lines of exhaustion and heartbreak. I feel a p
MistyIt’s morning. Early morning–still too early for the sun to breach the mountains and send light spilling over the village of Silverhide. I roll over on the couch, wrapped in a thick blanket, and stare at the dying embers in the stone fireplace across the room. I haven’t slept. Pain echoes through my body, settling deep in my bones. It’s not a sharp, bright pain. It’s the kind that aches and throbs–a dull thrum of noise that makes it impossible to focus, let alone close my eyes and rest. I feel empty. Empty, and alone. ‘Why did you do this to me?’ I ask through the sliver of bond I still share with Cole… I hope. I hung on so tight when he rejected me, refusing to let him do it. But his voice is no longer in my head. My eyes are dry and rimmed red as I watch the embers flicker like stars against a sea of darkness. I have no tears left to cry. I used them up. They’re gone. Ryan and Aviva’s bedroom door opens nearby, a shadowed figure ducking as Ryan steps out of his room and