EvanderThe column at my back is smooth and cool to the touch, which is a welcome relief. In front of me, the crowded ballroom in the temple writhes with color and noise as the ball takes on a new vibe. There’s a darker edge to the music now compared to the soft, classical music that was playing before. The dancing has changed as well, and couples are glued to each other as they sway and grind to the music. I exhale deeply, crossing my arms over my chest, my feet firmly planted in place. A tall, dark haired man dressed similarly to me–all black, wearing a finely made dress shirt and matching trousers–makes his way through the crowd clutching a bottle of what might be beer, his face shadowed and distorted by the strobing light now suffocating the dance floor.But then I realize who’s walking in my direction.Flynn huffs out a breath as his back meets the wall behind us. “Fuck, man. This place is getting rowdy. I had to wait twenty minutes to get this warm beer.” He inspects the bottl
KennaMidday sunlight drifts through the open windows in my Aunt Maddy’s personal sitting room. The pale pink wallpaper glistens with delicate floral patterns that glow a soft gold in the sunlight, and all of the furnishings are pale wood and soft, creamy colored fabrics. The scent of Grandma Isla’s rose garden just outside the windows is thick and rich, and I find myself closing my eyes for a moment to breathe it all in. Ryan and I drove from his pack territory to the castle, where his parents live, after a quick breakfast. Ryan got a call from his dad, my uncle Isaac, that he needed to speak to him immediately, and I decided to tag along in hopes of seeing some of my family members. Unlike our yearly family gatherings in Maatua, this visit has been a little boring and lonely. My aunt, uncle, and cousins work, and I just… sit around, smelling the roses, apparently. But I also need to borrow one of Maddy’s gowns for tonight. Just as my eyelids flutter closed, a sharp female voice c
EvanderI normally don’t go on runs on bright, sunny days like this, but the swatch of forest beyond the city center is a shaded, welcome relief from the glaring heat as I sprint back into the neutral zone in my fox form. It’s been ages since I was able to shift into my fox. I can’t do this often in Eastonia. Only me and my mom are foxes. There’s none of us left, from what I understand. My three brothers and two sisters don’t carry the ability, which would have shown up in their early childhood. Foxes can shift from birth. At least, that’s what Mom assumes. I could shift from the age of two. My wolf abilities came later, in my late teens, like most wolf shifters. I guess having the ability to shift into either form is even rarer than being a fox. I dart through the trees and across the first paved road I’ve come across for miles. The city rises just down the road, the first gates leading into neighboring pack territories coming into view. While it’s common to see wolves running he
KennaThe ballroom at the temple has been totally transformed since the last time I came here just a few days ago. Dim, blue-hued lighting highlights the silver streamers falling from the ceiling, shimmering like starlight. Fresh flowers cover every surface, and string music whispers through the air over the rising voices all around us as I stand with my cousins toward the back of the room. The dress I borrowed from my aunt Maddy hugs every curve like a glove. It’s a little long for me, but a pair of heels keep the hem from dragging on the floor. The sage green silk makes my sun-tanned skin glow. Again, I feel very pretty tonight. I pinned my hair away from my face and let it fall loose in thick, bouncing curls down my back. A mask of sage and gold covers the top half of my face as I look around the ballroom. A few formal dances take place. Young men and women twirl in tight circles, smiling and laughing. Others congregate near punch bowls or over flutes of champagne. But no one s
EvanderI’m going to regret this. I shouldn’t be dancing with Kenna, her body glued to mine. She’s a perfect fit as she lays her head against my shoulder and wraps her arms around my waist. She’s zoned out right now, completely overcome by the music. She’s always been like this. As a kid, we’d get stuck in the square in Moonrise for hours because someone would be playing a fiddle or singing a song that would have Kenna locked in place, unable to look away. She has no idea who I am. It’s been long enough now that she wouldn’t recognize my voice. It’s much deeper than the last time I saw her. I’m taller, stronger, leaner…. Right now, I’m just a stranger to her, and it will never be more than this. But her arms around me make me want to take her somewhere else, somewhere private, so I can keep touching her. So I can strip her of the gown she’s wearing and feel her skin, so I can smell past the floral perfume she’s wearing and find that scent that makes me feral. That can never happe
KennaI’ve been lying on my side looking out the window for hours. I haven’t slept a wink. I curl my knees into my belly, nuzzling deeper into the flannel print sheets in one of Ryan’s guestrooms. It’s 6:00 in the morning. We didn’t get back to his house until well after 1:00. And I haven’t moved from this position. I run my fingers over my mouth, closing my eyes at the memory of the kiss–my first kiss. My first kiss ever. That’s probably why the whole thing felt so magical. Being pressed against a wall and ravaged by a masked stranger was the most delicious thing that’s ever happened to me. So, that’s probably all it was. Shocking, delicious, and desperately wanted. Not the mate bond. Right?I roll onto my back and look at the ceiling. Milky streams of morning light start poking through the blinds, dancing across the textured ceiling hanging over my head. I can feel the rain in the air before it starts, and the ticking sound against the windows feels like the kind of gentle wa
EllaEastonians don’t have cell phones. It’s not like I didn’t try…. Hell, I spent the first ten years of my tenure as Queen of Eastonia trying to convince my people that at least some of the technology in Crescent Falls is a good thing. But Eastonia is home to skeptical, superstitious people. They like their privacy–and unobstructed views, apparently. They weren’t about to let me marr that by building cell towers on the mountains that separate my kingdom from my brother’s. But, a cell phone would be fantastic at a time like this. I whirl toward Ryatt, my mate, my husband, and the love of my life, and ball my hands into fists. “Ryatt,” I say as steadily as possible, “why are the Ghosts in Crescent Falls?”Ryatt swallows hard, his jaw tensing as he looks into the whirling depths of the magic mirror at my back. Isaac is already gone from view, and so is Alpha King Jaxon of Tarisan. The two kings were just filling Ryatt in on the little inconvenience that turned into a massive prob
KennaThe dining room table in the castle can seat twenty-four people. It’s insane, really. I’ve been to both formal and informal dinners here during my brief and scattered trips to Crescent Falls. Normally, the family only gathers in Maatua, and there we like to spread out on the grass, or the patio, or the beach for dinner….But there’s no food laid out. No breakfast spread, no snacks. Nothing to drink or fiddle with.I lace my fingers together in my lap while I sit on one of the chairs near the head of the table. Ryan sits across from me, his legs crossed as he drums his fingers on his knee.Sydney and Aunt Maddy are upstairs with Uncle Isaac.Misty walks into the room, her eyes red, bloodshot, and full of tears. A smear of mascara peppers her left cheekbone as she looks from me to Ryan.I shoot to my feet. “Misty, what’s the matter?”She pouts, her lo
LoganSunlight pours over the deck of the Asteria, glinting off the sails. I watch the Artemis drift past, Alex waving from the upper deck before fading into the bright glare of the sun. I grip the railing, closing my eyes for a moment and taking a much needed breath that catches in my throat the second footsteps sound on the stairs nearby. Sawyer grunts softly as he reaches the top of the steps and turns in my direction, squinting against the sun but smiling as he says, “You settled in?”I nod, biting back that breath I desperately needed and all the other feelings threatening to make themselves known the next time I see Brie, which is hopefully several hours from now after I’ve had a chance to cool off. “The Asteria’s the oldest and slowest,” Sawyer says under his breath, joining me at the railing. “But she’s a solid ship. A good girl. My favorite of the fleet, actually.”“Why aren’t you captaining her, then?”He grins and shrugs. “The same reason I’m not on the Artemis with Alex.
MaeveThe hallowed halls of the palace in Moonrise are quiet and somber. Normally, light would spill through the ancient stained glass windows lining the foyer, casting sunlight that made the golden walls gleam, but today everything is dark. Gray. Lifeless. Rain thunders across the glass ceiling, echoing down hallways usually alive with conversation and bodies bustling from room to room. Now, my only company is my shadow, and even that’s trying to curl away, just as worn and empty as I feel. It’s been nearly a week since we lost Brie. I couldn’t stay in Maatua for another second waiting for news.I walk up the grand staircase, wearing a hoodie, jeans, and sneakers, a far cry from the sweeping, luxurious gowns of silk I normally dress in when visiting my future home.Yes, one day all of this will be mine. I’ve known it–felt it in my bones since I was just a little girl. I will be queen. Soon. Three years from now, I’ll stand on the balcony and wave down at the people of Moonrise–of a
BrieAt first, I feel nothing but his mouth on mine. He inhales, but otherwise, is still as stone. The tension between us is so thick I could drown in it, and I wouldn’t bother saving myself by coming up for air.I pull away just a touch–just enough to take a shuddering breath. Maybe this was a mistake. I’m not sure what I was thinking kissing him back, but… here I am, wondering when he’s going to start laughing at me.Logan’s nose brushes mine as he closes his eyes. His hands drift to my waist, and my eyes flutter closed as his grip tightens. He takes a step toward me, then another, until I’m forced back, until my shoulders hit the wall. Time moves in slow motion as his lips brush the corner of my mouth, and he groans.Logan presses me to the wall and kisses me hard enough to steal my breath away. I rise on my toes to meet him, my lips parting as I try to suck in another breath, but his
BrieNight falls on the trio of ships. During the course of the evening, the ships had been readied, and the camp on the beach had been totally dismantled, leaving no trace that Alex’s pack had ever been there.Now, against a blanket of silver moonlight, the Artemis bobs in the shallows just beyond the mouth of the lagoon, engines purring and sails drawn.I lean against the railing and soak in the cool night breeze. It smells amazing here–like salt and tropical flowers. It’s almost exactly like Maatua but far more rocky and mountainous. Beyond the mountain shielding the lagoon, nothing but calm, open water stretches as far as the eye can see… which means we’ll be totally exposed to whatever enemies are lying in wait.The deck teems with people waiting for the two other ships to silently leave the lagoon. It’s a rough looking bunch–mostly hardened men with deep suntans and scars on
BrieMonica arches her brow as she plucks another petal off the flower she’s been defacing for the last ten minutes in relative silence. She’s precariously perched on the railing of the upper deck, with an insane drop to sudden death beneath her, yet she doesn’t look the least bit fazed by it.Me, however?I adjust my position on a crate nearby, neatly crossing my legs and refusing to look over the railing and the lagoon below.“Afraid of heights, Princess?”“No,” I rush out, but the word wobbles. I straighten my back, brushing invisible dust from my dress, and fix her with a cold look. “I’m not.”“Come sit with me then.” She pats the railing, a cocky smile tugging on the corner of her mouth.“I’m fine here,” I counter, narrowing my eyes.“Suit yourself. You’re missing the show.&rdquo
LoganI don’t remember falling asleep. I don’t remember much of the past day, actually, not since washing up on the shore on some nameless island. I slowly sit up, wincing as bright, fresh pain ripples through my back. I press my hand to my chest where the bandages cover most of my skin and find them damp with blood, but it’s not fresh. No, I must have stopped bleeding like a stuck pig a few hours ago. That’s one thing going my way, at least.A soft murmur beside me steals my attention from my pain, and I turn to find Brie fast asleep, her hands tucked beneath her cheek. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wear her hair natural before. It’s wild and… lovely. But looking at her–at the soft, relaxed expression on her face as she sleeps–has me careening back to going into the water with her and realizing that was it.I’m not sure how we survived. Call it divine intervent
BrieThis giant boat is something out of a fairy tale… well, I’ve just found out that Alpha Alex not only has these three but two more tucked away in some island chain about as far from the capital of KiloKilo as he could get. It’s hard to believe these boats even exist. It doesn’t make sense. This room and its finery doesn’t make sense.I watch Logan resting only a few feet away, his large frame eating up the dainty armchair perched in front of a dormant hearth. He hasn’t touched any of the food laid out for us, but I have. I’m on my second bowl of stew, swiping the nearly empty bowl with my fourth or fifth piece of rustic sourdough bread. With food in my body for the first time in what feels like days, I’m acutely aware of my senses and the room around me… and the people within it. The ship's ornate details come into startling view as I scan the room under the shadow of my eyelashes, carefully not
BrieI gasp as cold water rushes over my head and shoulders, flowing down my body in icy rivelets. The woman leaning against the doorframe nearby smirks at my expense as I shiver violently, trying desperately to cover my naked body with my arm braced over my breasts and my hand shielding the apex of my thighs.Another bucket of water is dumped over my head, and I swallow some of it, choking.“It’s not that bad,” Monica smirks, her arms crossed over her chest as she watches another woman, a young maid or something, start scrubbing sand from my hair for a fourth time.“Wh-why is it-it so c-c-cold?” I stammer through chattering teeth.“It’s filtered water, that’s why.” She untangles her arms and knocks on the doorframe, her pretty, angular face shining with pride. “This ship might look like something out of the stone-age, but it’s high-tech. We have
BrieI’m not sure what I’m expecting to find while following these two strangers dressed like pirates from the poorly illustrated fairy tale I used to make Dad read to me over and over again before bed.Sawyer offered to carry me back to their… camp, but I refused, of course. In retrospect, I should have accepted. My legs are peppered with scraps and bruises, and I’m sore in places I didn’t know existed, but they have their hands full with Logan.They’re dragging him. They don’t have any other option, I realize. Logan’s a big guy–bigger than Sawyer, who has a few inches on his Alpha, and Alex isn’t a small man by any means.I feel childlike and useless in comparison as I drag my piece of driftwood, deciding if I’m going to put my trust in a pair of strangers, I should at least have a weapon.Sawyer stops, panting, and says, “We should shif