*Isla*“Death?” I repeat as Maddox stares at me unblinking. “Really?”Maddox nods. “Yes, that’s the punishment for committing treason. What do you think it should be? I mean, we have to be tough on these people who break the law.”“What about all of those Alphas who just fought against you in the war?” I counter. “How many of them have been sentenced to death.”Maddox shifts slightly in his chair. “Well, that’s a little bit different. Those are Alphas. They have a different standard that they are held to.”“Shouldn’t it be higher?” I argue. “I mean, those people have sworn allegiance to you, too, and not only do they fight you themselves, but they also force others to do so as well, whether they want to or not. If you can put someone to death for lying about their background, shouldn’t you be doing the same for the men who just tried to take your throne from you?”Maddox stares at me with his lips pressed together. “You seem awfully invested in this,” he says. “I’m not exactly sure wh
*Isla*My dress is silver.I refused to wear a dress that looks anything like the one from the dream that I had about the ball. Likewise, I’m not going into the ballroom ahead of time. I am waiting. Not with the other women, but in a room down the hallway from where they will be entering the ballroom.I wish that Poppy were with me, but she’s not. She’s needed in the ballroom as a servant. With all of these extra women in the castle, she’s been very busy running around, making sure everyone has everything they need. My understanding is that most of the Alphas’ daughters have brought their own help for things like getting dressed, doing their hair, etc., but those people don’t bring them food or tidy up after them. That’s been left up to the castle staff.Maddox didn’t even stay here the whole time between our discussion and the ball. He ended up leaving to go back to the front and then returning. I know that Antony got away from the people chasing him because my cousin told me so, but
*Isla*“Rebecca?”I can’t breathe. I’m trying to get oxygen into my lung, but nothing is happening. My head feels dizzy. My knees refuse to support my body, and the room around me spins.Maddox’s hands are on my arms, holding me up. “Yes, Trinity looks very much like my dead wife.” The words come out of his mouth the same way that he might order soup or comment on the weather.“But… but… but….” I can’t manage to form a coherent sentence.The dream I had the other night all makes sense now. Somehow, I’d subconsciously known that Rebecca would return to being a threat to me now that the contest had begun.“Isla, calm down,” Maddox says to me. “People are beginning to stare.”I want to break away from him, to shout at him that if that’s all he cares about, then he can kiss my ass. But if I break away from him now, I will tumble to the ground.Using the mind-link, I call out to the only other person I would trust to help me in this situation. “Ben! Come here, please! I’m going to faint!”
*Maddox*Everyone is staring at Trinity, and I feel bad for her.It’s not her fault that she looks so remarkably like her older cousin. Of course, her parents and her uncle knew this going into this situation. They have done this to her on purpose, and I don’t like it! It’s one thing for them to constantly fuck around with me, but she’s just an innocent girl.I know what everyone wants now, and I have to oblige them, even though I don’t want to.My eyes go out the door to Isla. She’s sitting out there with her brother, getting some fresh air. Well, now is just as good a time as any.With a deep breath, I head over to Trinity. “May I have this dance?” I extend my hand to her. The girl’s cheeks deepen into a bright pink color before she nods and slides her slender fingers into mine. I lead her to the dancefloor, and everyone parts to make room for us.She looks lovely in her ballgown, but the more I am around her, the more I see the differences between her and my wife. Rebecca’s nose wa
*Isla*I didn’t know if I should go back to my room or to a garden or maybe straight to my parents’ house, though they hadn’t followed after me. Ben is on my tail, so as I fly down the hallway not really knowing where I’m going, the other thought I had, to the top of the castle and over the side, quickly goes away. Not that I’d do that to my baby, but I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t even entered my mind.How could Maddox do this to me?But then… am I really that surprised? He doesn’t seem to understand how I feel about all of this at all. He either doesn’t understand or he doesn’t care or both.I make it to the end of a hallway and have to stop because I don’t have any idea where I am, and I don’t know where to turn. Ben catches up to me then, which he probably could’ve done before since he’s not wearing a ballgown and his legs are almost the length of my body. He waits for me to turn and look at him and gives me a reassuring look. It’s not quite a smile because he probably
*Isla*I think I know what I need to do.It won’t be easy. He won’t let me go, but I need to.I need to leave the castle.Everything that Trinity has said solidifies in my mind that Maddox is not considering my needs one bit, and the fact that I am carrying his child doesn’t even seem to mean anything to him.“I think… I need to go,” I say to Trinity and Ben as we are still sitting in the garden.“Oh, all right,” Trinity says. “To your room?”I stand, my legs still slightly wobbly from everything that has been going on. Ben reaches out to steady me, but I recover before I can fall over or even need to grab him.“No, actually,” I tell her. “I mean, I think I need to go home. Back to my pack. Away from Maddox. And… all of this.”Trinity stands, too. “Isla, I don’t recommend that,” she says, and her voice is still low but stern. “I think that Maddox is going to end up getting himself into a lot of trouble with the other packs if he doesn’t go through with this, but he’s clever enough to
*Maddox*Suitcases. On the bed. Packed.Isla. In her mother’s arms.After the discussion I just had with her father, I can’t believe that her mother is encouraging her to leave the castle. Did Daniel not mean a word of what he was saying when he told me that Isla’s parents would encourage her to stay so long as I could assure him that she wouldn’t have to worry about any of these other women?Of course, she doesn’t have to worry about them. They are white noise. Only here to serve the specific purpose of getting these other Alphas off of my back. I have told her that a dozen times, but she will not listen to me.Now, it seems she is listening to her mother, and the message Constance is telling her is not the same one I just heard from her husband’s mouth.The Luna turns around and stares at me with a mix of surprise and anger in her eyes, possibly a touch of hurt. “I was trying to convince MY baby not to leave, that she needs to stay here and see this through, thank you very much. You
*Isla*Maddox went back to the dance.I don’t blame him. I understand he needs to be there, and I understand a bit more why he didn’t tell me about Trinity, too. I have never lost someone like that before—someone I loved with all of my heart, a spouse, a mate, but I can imagine how painful it would be not only to have lost them, but to also blame myself for their death, and then to see them again.I put myself in Maddox’s position. How would I feel if I had watched him die, thought it was probably my fault, and then saw him again in the face of his cousin?It’s hard to say what a person would do in those circumstances, but it is easy for me to understand that it would be difficult.For the next few weeks, I am hyperfocused on every movement Maddox makes. Which woman is he talking to? When is he talking to them? How does he approach them, and how do they approach him?But he doesn’t disappoint men.After the pomp and circumstance of the ball was over, and all of the families went home,
LoganI hit solid ground with a crunch that reverberates through my body, shocking me back to life. Dark stone and stained glass come into view, and it’s all familiar. We’re in Veiled Valley, in the castle.I blink, sucking in a breath, then curl to a seated position before swaying to my feet, my vision blurred, but I can just make out the outline of Maeve clutching Brie to her chest as Brie slumps over her arms. I run, slipping over the stone floor, and pull Brie out of Maeve’s grasp just as she begins to fall to the ground. “What is wrong with you?!” I shout at Maeve, kneeling and cradling Brie as my knees hit the ground. “What were you thinking?!”I smooth Brie’s hair out of her face. Her eyes are closed, and she’s pale, barely breathing. “Hey, Brie? Brie, come on–” I run my hand over her face, smoothing pale silver tears from her eyes, but she remains frozen. I look up at Maeve, who’s panting, a horrified look on her face. She shakes her head over, and over, mouthing something
LoganBrie folds her arms under her chest against the sudden, humid chill in the air. Thunder booms around us as the Artemis creeps toward the towering waves that should be crashing down on the deck but seem to hang in midair, casting long shadows over the ship. I rest my hands on the railing, caging Brie in against the wooden slats while we look up at the waves, neither of us breathing. In fact, everyone aboard the Artemis is standing on the deck, watching the unnerving sight in absolute bone-chilling silence. The waves simply vanish ahead of us, rolling back into the depths, allowing the fleet of over a dozen boats to pass. It’s unreal. It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. “Are you all right?” I ask my mate, resting my hand on her upper arm. She nods but is beyond words at this point. I don’t blame her. I feel like I’ve been holding my breath for the last half hour as the Artemis leads the charge. Several men scale the ratlines to hang from the masts, keeping an eye on the shi
Brie“There’s four main ports on the continent,” Logan says, bending over the crude, illustrated map of Crescent Falls and Eastonia for Alex. “Here, in Maatua. Just south of that is Avalone, in Veiled Valley. I believe that’s where we’ll be closest. However, if we come out of the veil far south, there’s a port here, in Tarsian, which is part of Eastonia. And if we’re somehow north.” He breaths, tapping the map with his knuckles. “We’ll be here, in Crescent Falls.”“And Emberfyll is… where?” Alex asks.“Somewhere… over here, I believe.” He drags a finger south from Tarsian and sharply east. I follow it, my chest tightening as I look up at him. We’re on the Artemis right now, tucked away in Alex and Monica’s private quarters. Behind us, the Asteria, the Atropos, and two other grand ships bob in the water. Beyond them, an entire fleet of ships of varying sizes follows our progress away from Tempest Valley and into the open, toward the veil. We’ve been on the water for two weeks. Before
MaeveMom stands with her arms crossed on the balcony overlooking the ballroom in our castle. In the city below, the once beautiful, tropical landscape is cast in shadow. The crystal bridges lined with greenery are now painted in banners of black. A field of flowers stretches beyond the gates of the castle, left by mourners. Left for my sister. Veiled Valley has never been this quiet and dark. The sun has barely shown itself since Brie left us. The castle itself has barely stirred in that time. It’s magic just… can’t handle Brie’s loss. It mourns with the rest of us, sometimes sending a low, choked groan through the corridors that make the lights flicker, like the magic is crying. “I’m not ready,” Mom says quietly as she watches the women below mingle in small circles, most, if not all of them, dressed in dark fabric–mourning gowns. “I’ll tell them we’re waiting. It's not a problem,” I reply, gliding to her side, reaching to lay my hand over hers as she grips the balcony, but she t
LoganBrie moves like the water, like a tree swaying in the wind, the most natural I’ve ever seen her. Her full, luscious curves are on achingly full display in the bikini she’s wearing, which does little to hide what… what I want to claim as mine. Her body, her mind, her soul… Even after spending the majority of the afternoon and evening in my wolf form, thinking finally having the opportunity to shift would clear my head, it only made those feelings worse. Feelings that tell me I’m making a mistake. Leaving her behind, choosing Emberfyll over her…. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever done. Sawyer sighs beside me, lifting his drink to his mouth. It’s rum, which I’m not a fan of but have been drinking since the boats pulled up to the dock, mostly against my will. “She’s beautiful,” he says, nudging his shoulder against my arm. “I know.” I wish she knew. I wish I could show her that, make her believe it somehow. Show her how much she’s worth, but… I’d be crossing the line we nearly cro
BrieTempest Valley is everything I’d been told it would be. It’s rocky, mountainous, but with flat, sprawling beaches with pristine, white sand that shimmers against the shallow, turquoise water. Palm trees bend at odd angles along the beach as the sunset sets the small village in shades of gold and crimson. Small houses made of wood stick out of the trees and along the rocky rise of the mountain. The village spirals upward against the mountain, small trails connecting each house and shop. On the beach, several huge bonfires erupt as the sun finally drops below the horizon, the sound of lively, thrumming music and conversation mingling beneath the twinkling stars. I’m looking down at it all beside Monica, both of us in our wolf forms. We’ve been out in the mountains for hours–sprinting. Jumping off of rocks, skirting around trees and chasing small tropical creatures and birds–anything to burn off some serious nervous energy. Another group of wolves rushes up behind us, but she pay
Brie“What about us?” My voice hangs in the air between us. The room goes so quiet and still I can feel the Asteria gliding back into open water, the rocky, uneven bounce of sailing through the shallows finally settling. I wait for him to tell me to come with him. I wait, and wait, my heart squeezing with each second that passes, but I already know he won’t. His eyes already paint his answer clearly. He’s sacrificing the family he was given–the family he loves that loves him in return. He’s not going to ask me to make the same mistake. My body slumps against the weight of it, like I’m being dragged underwater, unable to fight the current. I’m exhausted. I’m in pain–physical and emotional pain, like my heart is being plucked from my chest and tossed into the ocean to drown. I promised myself, long ago, that I’d never beg and plead on my knees to be loved. I would simply accept my fate. I knew my worth to the world the moment I was old enough for the tabloids to start questioning m
BrieOne second, I’m standing, my feet firmly planted on the floorboards of the uppermost deck, and the next, I’m flying through the air with Sawyer, our bodies colliding with the railing and then bursting through it, the wood splintering painfully across my back and spine. Logan shouts my name, but his voice drowns out, nothing more than a flicker of breath against the sound of the incoming ships trying to burst through the wall of fire so close to us I can feel the heat on my skin. I’m… dangling. My legs are slack, my arms burn and stretch, and my head… aches, hurting so fiercely I can barely open my eyes. A sharp, heady, metallic taste fills my mouth. I try to breathe in, but the scent of blood is so heavy it makes my stomach roll with nausea. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.“Someone grab her! Help them!” Logan shouts, his voice lined with desperation and utter rage. My arms go numb, but my belly slides against the side of the ship as I’m dragged upward, and only when I’m rough
Brie“Logan!” I fly out of bed as the boat tilts dramatically, several books, a pair of boots, and a hairbrush sliding across the floorboards as I dart toward the closet and snatch a pair of pants from a hanger. Logan hastily buttons his shirt, turning his head from side to side trying to locate the boots that just flew to the opposite side of the room. I pull on the pants and grab the first shirt my fingers graze–a men’s shirt, but it doesn’t matter. Logan rushes to the far side of the room for his boots, pulling one of them on, cursing under his breath while the purple lights continue speeding in our direction. “Logan,” I hiss, tossing his other boot at him. “Why are you getting dressed?” he asks, pointing to the bed. “Stay here–”“No, I’m not going to stay here.” I growl, shrugging the shirt over my shoulders and doing my best to button it with trembling fingers. Echoes of pleasure still thrum through my body, mingling with the adrenaline now pumping through my veins. “I’m going