The night before… *Isaac*I press my phone to my ear as I walk through the castle. It’s early evening, and Cassian is insistent on shifting with me tonight. It’s a perfect night for it, a full moon. The whole city is lit up with lanterns and every temple is decorated for the monthly celebrations that take place during the full moons. “Mom,” I breathe, my mouth curving into a smile. “I missed your call earlier.”“How are you, honey? I haven’t heard from you in ages!”“Busy,” I admit, wincing. “I’m sure Dad and Antony have made you well aware of the situation here.”“They have.” Her voice is suddenly stern and uneasy. “Antony and your dad are growing concerned. It’s all the talk around Crescent Falls, but it takes so long for news to reach Maatua. Is everything all right?”“Everything is fine. The threat is far south so far, and I have it handled.” For now. I keep her chatting for a moment, trying to gauge whether Ella made good on her threat to tell our parents what I’m up to, but M
*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,
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
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