*Maddox*I need to get up and get back to work, but I can’t. Lying here with Isla cradled against my chest, the smell of our lovemaking still heavy in the air, is soothing, and the rest of the world is cold and angry.Going back out there seems senseless. Why would I do that when I can simply stay here with her?“What is it, Maddox?” she asks, her voice heavy with sleep. “I know something is troubling you. More so than usual.”I can’t help the chuckle that escapes my lips. She knows me so well. “I was going to say, since when is there a time when something isn’t bothering me?”She turns her blue eyes on me, and I smile at her, brushing my thumb across her cheek. “Have you had any progress whatsoever?”A sigh slips out of my mouth, and I tell her, “Yes and no. It’s a slow process, baby. We have to go pack by pack, person by person, and convince them all that turning against me as the rightful king is a huge mistake.”“But there are so many packs that have been infiltrated in one way or
*Isla*Saying goodbye to Maddox is always impossibly difficult to do, and the more pregnant I become with our baby, the harder it becomes.A few days after he introduced me to Commander Pepelos, the amber-eyed man is walking just behind us as I escort Maddox to the vehicle that is waiting for him.“I’ll call you as soon as I can,” the Alpha King says, patting his pocket where he has a cell phone. They are not common among our people, as most of us prefer the old-fashioned ways of communication and don’t necessarily trust this new technology, but I insist that he have one to call me with when he’s out this far away, where the mind-link won’t work.“I will be waiting to hear from you.” Perhaps I should say something more comforting, like I understand he’ll be busy, and he should take his time, but I don’t. I want him to know that I will be expecting to hear from him because I am already feeling anxious just knowing he’ll likely be gone far longer this time.Not to mention, he’ll be nego
*Isla*“Lift the curse?”I can’t help but repeat the phrase Commander Pepelos has just said to me. Confusion washes over me, not for the first time. “What are you talking about?” I ask him. “How do you know all of this about Maatua?”He shakes his head. “I don’t think this is the right place to discuss this, Your Highness. Why don’t we go inside, into your private chambers, and we can discuss it there.”“My private chambers?” Nothing he has said makes the statement sound suggestive at all, but I am wondering what people will think if they find out I have some strange man in my room, not a half an hour after Maddox has left the castle to go find out what is happening with the war.“Or the library. Whatever room you think is most secure.” He walks to the exterior door and pulls it open, gesturing for me to walk inside first.I do and nod my thanks, and the two of us are relatively quiet as we walk down the hallway.I am leading him to my room. Not on purpose, but I’m considering everyth
*Maddox*The drive to Cliff’s Edge pack will take several hours. If so many of the packs between our territory and Alpha Charlton are hostile right now, it’s best if we take our troops around them. The last thing I want to do is give the impression that we might be moving in, planning an invasion, because some of these packs have been rumored to be aligned with Beach Front.As we meander through the countryside, my long convo of military vehicles following along in parade order, my mind goes back to the information I’ve gotten from my commanders in the field. Both Commander Vember and Commander Givens have supplied me with plenty of information. I need to make sure that my alliances are strong in the few packs that are closer to Beach Front that might still might be willing to help me.“We are expected by Alpha Charlton, but he is a bit leery of our arrival,” Seth says from his seat next to me in the second row in the SUV. “He’s afraid that the other packs in the area might decide to
*Maddox*Alpha Charlton hasn’t changed that much since the last time I saw him—at the funeral.He does have bags under his eyes that were not there before, back when he had no reason to lie awake at night and stare at the ceiling, asking why.Back when we were all happy and full of light and hope.I can tell when he shakes my hand he does so with reservations, and I can’t blame him. He still has unanswered questions, as do I. But from his perspective, someone who wasn’t there when everything happened, he is not only relying on what he knows of me but the rumors and whispers that began coming out of the castle right after the incident, whispers that continue to come from the castle still.I’ve never blamed him for not fully trusting my side of the story. I still have moments when I don’t trust it myself after all.Now, as he welcomes me back into his home, I am reminded of the feeling of excitement I had the last time I stood in the ballroom, waiting.Waiting for her.I follow a servan
*Maddox*Trying to concentrate on the discussion around me is difficult when I’m standing in this particular room—this ballroom. I have several Alphas in front of me mentioning what it is that they need from me in order to be confident enough to send warriors to support our cause, and all I keep thinking about is the first time I was here.“You know, if you really want all of us to come in on your side, there’s one thing that would do it for certain,” one of the younger Alphas says. He’s in his early thirties, and apparently he’s had enough to drink that he’s a little loose-lipped because the other Alphas try to get him to shush. But Alpha Evan will not yield.“What’s that?” I ask him.“Simple. Give our daughters a chance.” Evan takes another swig of his champagne, and some of the other Alphas clear their throats or shuffle their feet. It’s a sign to me that they agree with whatever he is getting at, though they don’t want to vocalize it as has.“Your daughter?” I ask, confused. I kno
*Maddox*“What the fuck?”I can’t believe what I am seeing. I feel like I’ve been transported back in time. I blink a few times, trying to figure out if what I’m looking at is real.There are subtle differences. I can see them even at a distance. She’s a little shorter, a little thinner, not as muscular that is. Her hair is a slightly different shade of red, and her eyes are not quite the same shade as her cousins.But from my perspective, this woman looks as near to my dead wife as anything I’ve ever seen.And now I know what it is that Alpha Jason wants to speak to me about.And I know what it is that Alpha Charlton was thinking when he planned this ball.Fury builds up within me, and I squeeze my hand so tight, if I was still holding the glass, it would’ve broken. Instead, I take a deep breath, grab a glass off a tray held by a passing servant, down it, turn around, and walk right out of the ballroom, headed back to my room.I hear people shouting my name as I walk out, but I don’t
*Maddox*Taking hold of Trinity’s wrist, I force her to let go of the knife. It falls from her grasp, and I catch it with my other hand, ready to turn it on her.“Whoa! Whoa!” she says. “I wasn’t trying to stab you, Your Highness!” she tells me. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I was only trying to show you the blade.”Her eyes are wide, and she seems genuinely scared. Perhaps she’s even telling me the truth.But I don’t know that for certain. Why would anyone pull a knife on me in the dark in a garden if they didn’t intend to stab me with it?I can feel her entire body trembling beneath my hands, though, and I am starting to think perhaps she is telling me the truth.It might not make any sense, but I actually believe her. Perhaps her father had told her to go ahead and try to kill me now, so she wanted to be able to say that she did try but I foiled her.It would make more sense for her to have waited, though. Get to know me better. Catch me off guard. Even see if there
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