Sydney
Snow covers the normally golden plains on the outskirts of Moorn, a small territory far outside of the city center. It took a full day to reach this place, this hovel between two hills where the distant border of Eastonia looms.
I don’t want to be here. The distance between Sarah and the damning truth between us is excruciating, damn near tearing me apart.
But I’m still an Alpha. Still a royal. And there are some things I just have to do.
The wind rushes through my fur as I wait beside my father, who’s also in his wolf form. We’re both large and dark brown with glints of gold throughout.
Night has fallen. I know we’re both exhausted. We traveled on foot without stopping for a break. Maybe he needed to run in his wolf as much as I did.
But still, tension makes my muscles lock. My mind is in shambles, and my heart is….
I’m devastated. I d
SydneySarah doesn’t turn from the window. The sunrise hasn’t reached us yet, not fully, but the first inklings of morning creep through the curtains. Frost hugs the glass panes. It will be another frigid day, colder than the last. The faint light ghosts over her skin, illuminating her face in silver.“Sarah?” I say into the soft light.She turns her head slightly but doesn’t look at me. I notice two pieces of paper on my desk, one of them folded in half with Blake’s name written neatly across it.My heart falls into my stomach as my gaze slides to the second piece, a letter addressed to me.The truth hits me like a knife to the heart. There’s only one reason she’d write her son a letter.“You’re leaving?”“It’s best for both of you that I’m not here.” She turns ever so slightly so her face catches the
SarahIt’s freezing. The cold air bites into my skin as I roll downward uncontrollably, my body bouncing off rocks and through pockets of ice.My mind is in shambles alongside my heart. I don’t try to stop falling. I don’t have the strength, even if I wanted to.Ten years of hiding my powers… I didn’t know what else to do. I can’t control them like I used to. I have no idea where I landed, but I know I’m still close enough to Sydney that I feel his gut-wrenching despair, grief, and fury as I continue to roll downhill.My head smashes against something hard and cold as I come to a rough, jolting stop, half of my body submerged in icy water.I look up at the clear blue morning, at the frost hugging the trees overhead.Death is better. Death means Gabriel is useless. Death means he’ll never find me, and Blake will be safe.Sydney and his family are safe at lea
SydneyMom watches me come back downstairs like she hasn’t moved from the steps in the grand foyer in the hour I’ve been in the orrery. The castle is quiet, but several eyes watch my progress in total silence. Mom’s housekeeper whispers something to a maid, who scurries away into the dark recesses of the castle. My mom grabs my arm as I pass her. I halt midstep. “What’s wrong?” she asks.I shake my head, unable to find the words I need to convey the situation I’m in, that Sarah’s in. When I don’t say anything, she asks, “Did something happen?”“I have it handled.”“Can you tell me–”“I can’t.” I meet her eyes. I won’t come between my parents. I can’t tell her about Sarah and the crushing truth I’ve learned. I can’t tell anyone else.Because Sarah would be taken from me, separated from Blake, and probably brought to Eastonia, and I won’t allow it. Mom reaches up and cups my cheek. Every emotion roiling in my heart swells at her touch. I want nothing more than to tell her everything,
SydneyTwo days have passed. I’m not sure how. Every minute feels exactly like the last; achingly slow.I’m doing what I do best–deflecting. Finding other things to do besides sit at Sarah’s bedside and move between begging her on my knees to wake up and being angry at her for putting us in this position.The wound on her arm is horrendous. Wide, gnarled, and barely healing despite using my healing powers. Gabriel left his mark so deep, it took Cosette over three hours to cut it out.But now, Sarah’s free of him. He will never touch her again. He will never even lay eyes on her, and I’ll see to that myself.Right now, however, I’m sitting on the steps in the foyer with my head in my hands while Cosette paces back and forth, her short footsteps sending a clacking echo through the room.I haven’t slept in three days, at least. Longer, I think. I’v
SarahAfter the BallAlpha Sydney of Shadowcrest pauses during the long trek down the stairs leading out of the temple of the Moon Goddess. He extends a hand to me, and I take it, finding his hands warm but slightly clammy.I meet his eyes. Goddess, he has radiant eyes. The kind of blue even the best artists can’t capture in a painting. Dark blue, like the deepest ocean, and so expressive I can see every thought behind them.He’s nervous. I am too, which is silly. We’ve been dancing for an hour, singing along to a lesser known local band we both love. He helped me finish the cocktail I didn’t end up liking, and somehow we ended up doing… this. Escaping the party together without telling a soul.He wanted to see my flowers, and I wanted to show him more than anything.This man is not only an Alpha but the heir to the throne of Alpha King.He’
SarahEverything hurts. My head feels like someone took a hammer to it.I open my eyes to slits and quickly close them again. Pain rushes through me in waves like it has its own tide, and my breath is driving the current.I know where I am. Sydney’s scent is everywhere.I tried to leave him. I really did try. I thought it was what I was supposed to do to protect him and our son, but the Goddess laughed in my face, didn’t She?I slowly turn my head to the only source of light I can find and carefully open my eyes again.Sydney’s sitting at a desk only a few feet away, his back to me. The soft click, click, click, of his keyboard fills my ears as his laptop screen comes into view.It’s a blueprint of some kind. An equation pops up on the screen that takes him a single second to figure out, and then the blueprint shifts, new numbers and letters appearing that make
SarahTime is an illusion. I’ve never slept so much in my entire life. My body feels weak and heavy as I linger on the edge of sleep, refusing to let myself succumb to the inky, black, depthless slumber I’ve been experiencing for days even though my body is begging for it. I know it’s the tea. It has to be. It’s the only thing I’ve been able to keep down since spiraling back to reality, and Cosette has a habit of hiding her nasty herbal concoctions behind copious amounts of honey and cream. A burst of pain launches me back into alertness. I sneeze loudly, ripping my eyes open to find myself face to face with Blake, who’s gripping my nose with an iron fist. He beams at me, his eyes going all squinty with delight. “Did you just stick your finger all the way up my nose?” I ask, arching my brow at him. He sucks in his breath and does his best impression of laughing, which comes out as a broken coo, then smacks me smartly on the cheek. I’m under the impression Cosette or Dalia drops
KennaI knew something was up with Sydney several months ago when he sat in my sitting room looking so stern and withdrawn after our battle with Gabriel.Now, I see why he was acting that way. Now, I finally understand.He’s standing next to Sarah’s bedside holding his son. I almost can’t believe it, but I always knew the Goddess was going to bless Sydney with all the riches he tried to avoid.A radiantly beautiful mate. A perfect, golden child. A boy. His heir. Healthy and strong.The image of them together as I walk into the room is flawless. But there’s a crack in the perfect picture. I can see it in Sarah’s violet eyes–such a strange color. I can see it written all over Sydney’s face as he places a protective hand on Sarah’s shoulders.They’re afraid of what comes next.Sasha. I remind myself her name is Sasha. This woman is Att