SarahSydney pulls a large book from a shelf in the massive, stately library. I leap back, muffling a shocked yelp with my hands covering my mouth as a trap door swings open, revealing a spiral staircase. “Come on,” he says jovially, excitement blooming behind his eyes. “Where are you taking me?” I let him take my hand and tug me into the cramped secret stairwell. He pulls a lever on the wall, and the door swings shut again in near silence. “My mom had this built for my dad when I was nine, for their wedding anniversary. It took nearly a decade to complete.”I follow him up the stairs. Up so high, my thighs are burning and my breath comes in rapid puffs. “Is this one of the towers?”“It is,” he says like this is nothing but a walk in the park. At the top of the stairs, he pushes open an old, wooden door, something I’m sure is original to the castle, and we’re met by total darkness. I follow his echoing footsteps, but I can’t see a damn thing in here. “Sydney?”A loud cranking soun
SarahWe’ve fallen into a normal routine at the manor. It’s been almost a week since the family reunion where Sydney announced our bond. While no formal announcement was made about Blake, it’s obvious who his father is.I run my knuckles over Blake’s chubby cheek, smiling down at him as he naps peacefully in my arms. His hair has grown thick and lightened up since our time in the manor, turning a soft chestnut brown. And his eyes?They’re just as rich and blue as Sydney’s. I often wonder what our next child will look like. Will they have eyes like mine? Like Sydney’s? A strange combination of both?I shouldn’t even be thinking about that right now. We’re still finding our footing, deciding the best course of action. Sydney is at his office right now, and to be honest, I’m starting to grow antsy about doing… something. Something outside of the house. Somethin
SydneyBlake babbles the entire late evening drive to Silverhide. He likes rock music, especially when it’s loud enough to send a tremor through the truck, and squeals with delight everytime I go over a bump or a corner too sharply.Sarah would kill me if she knew how loud the music was or how reckless I’m driving, but Blake notoriously hates his carseat, and he’s having the time of his life right now.I can’t lie. I really enjoy having a kid, especially a son. Lately, when my thoughts aren’t on his mother, I imagine what kind of life we’ll have together. What kind of sports he’ll want to play, whether he’ll go to Wellington to pursue academics or warrior training. I wonder whether he’ll continue to look like me or grow to resemble his mom. I wonder what our next baby will be like, especially since we’re not trying to stop that from happening.The idea of Sarah pregnant
Sarah“It really wasn’t that bad,” I explain, seated next to Hadley at the kitchen table. For the past half hour, I’ve been telling her about the dinner party and how Sydney announced our mate bond. Hadley’s been listening while picking at her food, nodding along and smiling when I explain the juicer bits.“Well, look at you, getting to explore the castle. One day, I want to see it.”“It sounds like we’re going to have a big wedding after all. I suppose the reception will be held there.”Hadley smiles and pushes her plate away. “How are you feeling?”“In general? A little overwhelmed, honestly–”“No, right now.”I look down at my plate. I’ve barely touched my food. In fact, my head hurts a little bit, and my stomach is in knots. “It’s been a busy week. I think I’m just tired.”I
Sarah“Where is he?” I pace around the kitchen table toward where James is sewing Cosette back together while Dalia sits at her side, her face colorless and eyes wide with shock. “Ryan, where is Sydney?”“I don’t know,” Ryan growls. He’s wearing one of Sydney’s T-shirts which is too small for him. It’s already ripping at the seams as Ryan takes a swig from the bottle of fine scotch I dug out of the bar in the dining room. Ryan is as drunk as a wolf shifter can be right now. His eyes are unfocused as he blankly watches James put another perfect stitch in Cosette’s side. She doesn’t even flinch as she stares at the ceiling. Her eyes are dry, and her expression is vengeful. “You told me he went after Gabriel. You need to take me to that den, right now!”“You’re not going anywhere, not until Evander–”“Where is my mate?” I grab his arm, shaking him violently. It’s been over an hour since… since Hadley died. My poison-addled brain is still trying to wrap itself around the cold, hard trut
SydneyI roll onto my back, unsure how much time has passed. One second, I was tackling Gabriel into the fog-soaked pavement, and the next, I’m here, in a lightless room that seems to stretch for miles. I’m not alone. Gabriel coughs nearby, followed by the sound of his leg dragging over what feels like tile.My eyes eventually adjust to the darkness, and the ceiling comes into view several hundred feet above my head, domed and intricate, with sweeping murals from an age long lost to time. “Where did you take us?” I ask, turning my head toward the slightly blurry figure resting his back against a shadowed wall. Gabriel looks at me, his light brown hair brushing over his shoulders, much longer than the last time I saw him. His eyes narrow, and his mouth parts in a firm scowl. “I didn’t take you anywhere. You shouldn’t be here. You’re not the one I needed, and I’m running out of time.” He groans softly, physically dragging his leg up so it’s bent at the knee. I watch his leg begin to
SarahI pull the crank that opens the ceiling in the tower, watching as the night sky comes into startling clarity. The stars are faint overhead, shielded by a layer of thin mist that moves across the sky like wisps of smoke. The moon, however, is full and painted a pale blue. It’s stunning, and even through the haze of poison still in my system, I can feel its pull.The voices that usually come from the orrery are silent as I move toward it, taking note of its gears and spiraling tangles of sleek steel and brass. The planets in our solar system circle around the moon in this version of the heavens instead of the sun like a direct line to the Goddess, and as I approach, my heart in my throat, the moonlight reaches the flat surface at the base of the orrery and sets the entire alight in dancing shadows.My heart rate quickens as the voices start up, whispering through the room like the mist hanging below the stars.&ld
SydneyI jolt upright, blinking into near total darkness. Moonlight sweeps over a cavernous space, illuminating darkened corridors and intricate carvings along the green-gray stone of the wall I’m facing. Condensation drips down the stones, gathering in pockets of moss.Cool night air touches my skin as I scan the perimeter, catching sight of four gray, wolflike bodies bleeding green onto the tiles.Reality sweeps over me like a tidal wave that washes me back into my body. I clutch my stomach, finding myself clothed somehow. I pull my shirt up and run my hand over my muscles. There’s no stab wound where Gabriel’s knife pierced my stomach.“Syd?”“Dad?”A groan echoes off the walls as I rise to my knees and look around, spotting Dad on his side only a few feet away.“Dad, Goddess fuck, what happened? How are you here?” I crawl to him, my pants s
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
RyanIt’s barely dawn. Four hours ago, I was taking a deep breath as I tucked my mate into our bed, and now we’re here, lying low in the grasslands ten miles from Silver, with twenty of my best warriors scattered behind me. Stars still fill the sky, shining under a blanket of deep navy and vibrant violet. It's kind of hard to stay focused when the sunrise looks like this, the first echoes of gold casting Aviva, in wolf form, in a halo of light. She’s crouched in the swaying grass just a few feet below where the rest of us are lying, hiding in the scant brush and scorched trees. I watch her edge forward a few inches, her body covered in weapons and leather–one of her special dresses from Endova. A half dozen whispers ghost through my head, mingling with the thundering of my heartbeat in my ears as we watch, and watch, the dozen or so rogues passing by, moving in a lazy formation toward the forests we, and the tribal packs, call home. ‘What are they doing?’ Andrew lies on my left sid