*Maddox*I don’t bother to answer the voice in my head. I’m too angry, and I don’t want him to know what’s coming for him.Instead, once I’ve secured the crime scene, had my people take pictures and gather evidence, not that I need it because I am the law in this land, I move out, headed straight over to confront the idiotic asshole who’d decided to take matters into his own hands and cause all of these problems to begin with.Hill Country pack.The rest of the passengers are deathly quiet as we make the drive. My eyes focus out the window. If I remembered the images of all of the dead bodies I’d seen in my life, my mind would be full of ghastly figures, twisted, ripped open, covered in blood and gore.Only a few of those ghosts haunt me still. One soldier who was particularly close to me that I’d gone through my training with had died during an insurrection a few years back. He was a huge warrior, muscle-bound, fierce, and loyal.Somehow, he’d gotten himself into a situation where he
*Isla*I sit on my bed, staring across the room at the wall, watching the sun chase the shadows across the painting that hangs there of a woman reading a book. I don’t know who she is, and it doesn’t matter anyway because I’m not paying any attention to her.I’m basically as oblivious to her as she is to me.My mind goes back over what Ben found in the floor. He hadn’t been able to look at any of the papers because he’d heard our other brothers coming in the front door and quickly shoved everything back into the hiding place and repositioned the board over top.But it’s fine because I don’t really need to know what the papers say in order to put the pieces of the puzzle together.Those “earrings” weren’t earrings at all. They were cufflinks. I could tell by the way that Ben was describing them to me. He said they had weird fasteners. Every detail he mentioned about them told me they look exactly like the pair that I had given to Maddox.So… that means they both came from Maatua. I hav
*Isla*My stomach is tangled in knots as I stare across the room at the tray of table Poppy has brought me. She keeps bringing me things to eat that I’m too nervous to touch.Poppy putters around the room, rehanging clothes, moving things from one place to another that don’t need to be moved. She’s cleaning the same surfaces over and over, too, as if she has nothing better to do but also doesn’t want to leave me alone.Her sources, the other staff in the castle, have let her know that Maddox left Duster pack a few hours ago. Where he was going, they weren’t certain at first, which made me very nervous.Then, Beta Seth came in to check on me, and I could tell he was nervous. He’d tried to play it down like everything was fine and he was just there to make sure I was doing well, but eventually, I got him to tell me the truth.Well… part of it anyway.Maddox had gone to Hill Country pack, the same place where he’d picked up Sydney and ended up killing the Alpha. I asked Seth what Maddox
*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
MistyBurning sunlight stuns me into alertness. I open my eyes to slits and promptly close them again. A dull pain spreads through my head, reminiscent of the type of hangover I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, but that doesn’t make any sense. I’m standing in the damp, dusty corridor in the web-like underground beneath campus… right?I open my eyes against the light and stare blankly at the ceiling of my dorm room. Soft snoring echoes all around me. Ignoring the sickening pain in my head, I turn ever so slightly to look at the person who’s arm and leg are draped over my body, finding Georgia sleeping peacefully, still wearing her black dress. We’re in her bed on top of the bedspread, and one quick glance across the room shows me a tangle of cloaks and shoes separating Georgia’s section of the tight room from mine where Fia and Darby are fast asleep in my bed. I sit up. Georgia’s arm slips from my waist as I slide out of bed and walk on unsteady feet to the door, grabbing my shower k
MistyMusic blares from hidden speakers. Purple-hued light covers the wide, open ballroom of sorts in dim colors as bodies move to sensual, thrumming songs that I don’t find even remotely familiar. Men and women alike are all dressed in black–black masks, black dresses, black suits. Some wear hoods to cover their hair, but I can’t tell who's who… I can’t tell who belongs to the order and who’s just an invitee. A screech of excitement barrels toward us as we edge down a short row of stone steps. Two women in black masks launch themselves at us–Fia and Darby–and I catch Darby at the very moment she wobbles in her impossibly high heels. “No freakin’ way!” Fia shouts over the music. “We were wondering if you guys got invited!”“Why didn’t you say anything?!” Georgia gasps, clutching Fia’s face. “We could’ve all gotten ready together!”Darby bounces up and down beside me, clutching a plastic cup in her hand full of what smells like cheap beer. “Isn’t this great?”Georgia, Darby, and Fia
MistyI flip a page in my journal, squinting at the terrible handwriting I’d scribbled down last night when I’d woken from my latest dream. I can’t comprehend what I’d been trying to say. Dark? Hurt? Silver? Those words look somewhat clear. I can’t even remember writing them down. I close the journal with a sigh and slip it back in my purse, hanging the bag over the back of my chair in the common room of my dormitory. It’s a massive building with a pitched roof, several towers, and spooky, darkened alcoves, but it’s home, and right now, I’m sure I’d be able to hear Georgia singing her heart out in the shower if the nagging, incessant voice in my head would shut up for a single, blissful second. I’ve come to the conclusion after two years of hearing what I can only describe as white noise and the occasional static screech, like I have a radio fixed inside my skull, that the voice isn’t my internal dialogue. No, that’s a separate entity in itself, and I’m constantly at odds with the u
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