*Isla*“Can I come in?”I stare at the girl, not quite sure what to say. I’m taken aback that she’s even here. What in the world could she possibly have to say to me?And yet, it’s very difficult for me to tell her to leave. She looks so sad, standing there in the doorway, her bulging stomach protruding in front of her.“Of course,” I say, gesturing for her to come over to the sitting area where I have a couple of comfortable chairs in front of the window.We both sit, and I readjust my skirt several times, not sure what to say or do. Part of me wants Poppy to come in and say she has my breakfast, so I can at least have an excuse not to be able to talk. If my mouth is full of eggs, I won’t have to say anything to this doe-eyed girl who is looking at me like she thinks I have all of the answers to whatever ails her.“I’m… Isla,” I say to her, and she nods. I have to assume she already knows that, but since no one is saying anything, I thought it might be a good way to start the convers
*Maddox*Blood coats the floor in the entryway. I could see it before I even kicked in the door. My warriors, still in their human form, join me as I walk into the house.The body of a young maid, legs prone, arms over her face, is positioned off to the side of the door. This blood is hers. She has bite marks and deep scratches from claws on her chest, neck, and face. I can see that from here, but when I step closer to her and roll her over, I notice that the blood is coagulated. She has been laying here for a while. I’m no medical expert, but I’m guessing it’s been a few hours.I have seen my fair share of bodies on the battlefield from warriors who have died early in the fight, ones we gathered much later, and the blood is similar.Her cold, empty, green eyes stare up at me. I close them for her, careful not to step in the blood as I walk away.“Be careful,” I tell the men with me. “This is a crime scene.”A whiff of the air tells me that this isn’t the only body we are going to fin
*Isla*“So she just waltzed right into your room, had a seat, and proceeded to ask you how to get with your man?” Poppy asks me as I stare at a plate of food I’m probably not going to eat much of. My stomach is still churning, and I don’t know if it’s because of the odd conversation I had with Sydney or if it’s something else.“Not exactly,” I tell Poppy because I don’t want her to think I didn’t tell Sydney she could come in. And she didn’t exactly ask me how to get with Maddox… well, maybe sort of. “She just thought I was a professional breeder or something. She was looking for advice.”“But… what about her current baby? Can you imagine her just hauling that kid around from one Alpha to the next while she tries to get knocked up again? And then she’ll do what? Leave a long trail of babies behind her?” Poppy shakes her head and sits down at the table with me, as if she is my friend, not my maid. She is my friend and my maid, but it seems so strange that she’s just sitting across from
*Isla*I am staring at the telephone, missing my youngest brother, wondering how he is doing, wishing I could see him, hug him, see his smile… when the phone rings, and I jump back into my chair at the dining table, almost knocking it over.The situation seems a little creepy. Lately, Mystica has been filling my mind with all kinds of thoughts about what could be going on with my mental state–the dreams, the memories, all of that stuff–that when I am looking at the phone and hear it break the noiseless space of my room with its high-pitched chirp, I can’t help but wonder for a moment if I did that with my mind.Shaking my head at my ridiculousness, I get up and rush over to answer the phone before the caller hangs up. I have no idea who would be calling when I haven’t given my number to anyone.My initial thought is that perhaps someone is calling the number wanting to reach whoever had this phone number before, but I won’t know until I lift the receiver.“Hello?” I say, my heart raci
*Maddox*I don’t bother to answer the voice in my head. I’m too angry, and I don’t want him to know what’s coming for him.Instead, once I’ve secured the crime scene, had my people take pictures and gather evidence, not that I need it because I am the law in this land, I move out, headed straight over to confront the idiotic asshole who’d decided to take matters into his own hands and cause all of these problems to begin with.Hill Country pack.The rest of the passengers are deathly quiet as we make the drive. My eyes focus out the window. If I remembered the images of all of the dead bodies I’d seen in my life, my mind would be full of ghastly figures, twisted, ripped open, covered in blood and gore.Only a few of those ghosts haunt me still. One soldier who was particularly close to me that I’d gone through my training with had died during an insurrection a few years back. He was a huge warrior, muscle-bound, fierce, and loyal.Somehow, he’d gotten himself into a situation where he
*Isla*I sit on my bed, staring across the room at the wall, watching the sun chase the shadows across the painting that hangs there of a woman reading a book. I don’t know who she is, and it doesn’t matter anyway because I’m not paying any attention to her.I’m basically as oblivious to her as she is to me.My mind goes back over what Ben found in the floor. He hadn’t been able to look at any of the papers because he’d heard our other brothers coming in the front door and quickly shoved everything back into the hiding place and repositioned the board over top.But it’s fine because I don’t really need to know what the papers say in order to put the pieces of the puzzle together.Those “earrings” weren’t earrings at all. They were cufflinks. I could tell by the way that Ben was describing them to me. He said they had weird fasteners. Every detail he mentioned about them told me they look exactly like the pair that I had given to Maddox.So… that means they both came from Maatua. I hav
*Isla*My stomach is tangled in knots as I stare across the room at the tray of table Poppy has brought me. She keeps bringing me things to eat that I’m too nervous to touch.Poppy putters around the room, rehanging clothes, moving things from one place to another that don’t need to be moved. She’s cleaning the same surfaces over and over, too, as if she has nothing better to do but also doesn’t want to leave me alone.Her sources, the other staff in the castle, have let her know that Maddox left Duster pack a few hours ago. Where he was going, they weren’t certain at first, which made me very nervous.Then, Beta Seth came in to check on me, and I could tell he was nervous. He’d tried to play it down like everything was fine and he was just there to make sure I was doing well, but eventually, I got him to tell me the truth.Well… part of it anyway.Maddox had gone to Hill Country pack, the same place where he’d picked up Sydney and ended up killing the Alpha. I asked Seth what Maddox
*Isla*The puddle of water sinking into my carpet is the least of my worries as Sydney is panicking. She grabs onto my arm and squeezes, her nails digging into my skin.“What? My water broke?” she shouts. “That means I’m having this baby right now?”“Well, soon,” I tell her, prying her fingernails out of my arm. “Come on, let’s go back to your room. I’ll get the healer.”She starts to walk to my bed. “No! I have to lay down right now!”The thought of her getting goo all over my bed is unappealing. I know that she has time to get to her own room before she has the baby. After all, I do have a ton of younger brothers, and my mom gave birth to all of them at home because she couldn’t afford to go to the hospital.Grabbing her arm, I pull her back toward the door. “Sydney, there’s time,” I tell her. “Let’s go to your room.”“You can’t expect me to walk at a time like this!” she shouts at me, trying to pull away.Thankfully, I hear a familiar voice at that moment as Poppy comes in the door
Brie“He can’t be that bad, Brie,” Maeve hisses as she clutches the crook of my arm, leading us down one of the winding staircases in our castle in Veiled Valley. Sconces flare to life on their own accord, lighting our way. “Mom said he’s been dying to meet you, anyway. He’s a warrior, you know. They’re always so handsome.”I purse my lips as she tightens her grip. “You’re entertained at my expense.”“You don’t get to complain. You’re doing this to yourself!” Maeve throws her head back in a beautiful laugh that echoes down the corridor. Everything my little sister does is beautiful because she’s stunning. Beautiful of the drop-dead gorgeous variety. She’s also only eighteen, and I doubt she fully grasps what this meeting with the Alpha of Rainway, a nearby pack in the mountains bordering Veiled Valley, and his warrior son means.Mom and
Kenna“Stay close, okay?” I shout as the girls hurry ahead of me through the woven, interlocking streets of Moonrise. It’s insane how much things have changed in the last decade. I tuck my phone in my purse; change number one. Yes, Eastonia has cell-phone service after decades of back and forth, but we’ve finally come out of the stone-age and into modernity, which includes change number two. Brie yanks Maeve out of the way when a car comes barreling down the street, bumping over the cobblestone road. I lift a hand, waving at the careless driver. This area of the city is supposed to be pedestrian only, but not everyone follows the rules. “Mom, we’re going to be late!” Brie scolds, gripping Maeve’s forearm. “Quit dragging your feet! You’re going to scuff your shoes!”“Then I’ll get new ones,” eleven-year-old Maeve grins, rolling her sea-green eyes. The castle rises above us as the girls bicker back and forth. Brie, fifteen and so beautiful it hurts to look at her sometimes, throws me
Sarah“It isn’t that serious,” I tell Blake and Liam as they blink at me, their faces dappled with mud and their knees stained with grass. “But I’ve had enough of the fighting. You’re too old for this, especially you, Blake.” I fix my oldest son with a look I’ve had fourteen years to perfect.Blake, now a teenager, purses his lips and frowns. “He’s been harassing me all day–”“You were supposed to be helping me clean the garage,” Liam, thirteen, bites out. I feel the tension beginning to boil between them and clear my throat. “Both of you, enough.”“Mom–”“You’re both already grounded,” I edge, crossing my arms under my chest and arching a brow. “Do I need to add another week to your sentences? Or are you ready to behave like good little wolves and finish the chores Cosette laid out for you?”Liam grumbles under his breath. Blake mimics my stance, crossing his arms. We’re eye level at this point, and Liam isn’t far behind in the height department. Still, Ella and Maddy taught me thei
Aviva“Line up,” I whisper against ten-year-old Lexa’s ear. “Breathe in… release.” An arrow splits the cool spring air in two. A soft squeak whispers toward us as a squirrel falls from its perch on a nearby cottonwood tree. I squeeze her waist in silent congratulations while she beams, her dark-blue eyes wide and round. “Good job.” I grin, giving her a pat on the back. “Go get it.”Lexa takes off in a blur of red curls and homespun textiles in soft creams and browns that match the melting snow. In the distance, over the shadowed mountains, plumes of gray smoke stretch toward the first inklings of the sunset. Lexa bounds back to me, squirrel in hand. I tie it to her belt and help her put her bow back in her halter while seven-year-old Nora puts the finishing touches on the snowman she’s been building for the last hour.“Nora, come on!” Lexa calls out, motioning for her little sister to hurry up, but Nora has never listened to anyone in her life. I smile as the girls start to bicker b
MistyTen Years LaterSunlight fans through the kitchen windows, highlighting the frost coating the glass. I blink, shielding my eyes as the sun drops below the tree line and the light in the room shifts, fading to a deep gold that paints the kitchen table and the mess my children left behind in their haste to get to school this morning.It’s a quiet late afternoon. It’s my favorite time of day, actually. The house is still and silent–the calm before the storm… which is running up the driveway right now, pushing and shoving toward the front door. The door swings open, the chilly late afternoon air carrying two small voices through the foyer and hallway. “Mom! MOM!” Addy’s voice echoes over the sound of heavy winter fabric dropping to the ground, probably in a wet heap. “MOM!”“I’m in the kitchen!” I call out, smiling to myself as I stick my coffee mug in the microwave. Two sets of footsteps thunder in my direction, and then I’m surrounded by blond hair and overlapping, excited voice
MistyCrescent FallsI toss my keys on the counter as I come thundering through the kitchen, sweat lining my brow. “Cole? COLE!”“I’m upstairs!” he calls out as I sprint around the corner into the hallway where the foyer opens up, spilling wintery sunlight through the bay windows overlooking the curving staircase. Snow falls in thick clumps, covering the ground. Two suitcases rest near the front door, but upstairs, I hear Cole talking to Addy and the sound of zippers closing.I trip on each step in my haste to get upstairs, carrying a bundle of papers in my arms. A few notes come loose, floating through the air behind me as I rush into our bedroom.Cole turns to me with another suitcase, arching his brows. “I didn’t think you’d be back until this afternoon–”“I finished it,” I rasp, breathless, thrusting the stack of printer paper into his full hands. All two-thousand pages, front and back, stare up at him, and he looks down in shock.“How?”“I just–I just got it done,” I pant, glanci
AvivaFallThe air is crisp and scented with smoke as I walk through the maze of brightly colored canvas tents. Lexa, dressed in furs to stay warm and beaded booties I worked tirelessly on the past few weeks, looks around, turning her head side to side like a little owl, taking in every new sight and sound.This is the largest Harvest Festival I’ve ever been to. So large, in fact, that the festival stretches for over three miles. Just two days ago, this sacred place was nothing more than a grassy field. Now, it explodes with life, color, and the promise of a comfortable winter where food and supplies will be far from scarce.We pass a tent selling apples covered in sticky, hardened sugar. I drop a few coins into an elderly woman’s hand in exchange for the treat, letting Lexa paw and mouth it while continuing our exploration.I’ve been Luna of Silverhide for just over a year, and Queen of the Deadlands for just as long, but I’m not used to being recognized by anyone outside of Silverhi
AvivaA calm has finally settled over Silverhide. The shift in the energy after we brought the kids home was palpable almost immediately.Now, it’s late afternoon. The sun is warm and bright, but the threat of rain hangs over the mountains where dark clouds simmer over the peaks. I walk toward the house where Sydney and Sarah are resting with their girls but stop when Maddy steps out of the house, her face bright and cheeks pink with excitement. She spots me and stops, smiling widely, and motions me over before reaching up to pull her long, dark red hair into a bun on the top of her head.“How are they?”“Oh, they’re just fine,” she smiles, smoothing the fabric of her yellow shirt over her midsection. “They’re just beautiful. I’m so happy for Sarah and Sydney.”I look up at the second story windows, which are open to let in some of the last warm, early autumn air. “Do you think they’ll be able to travel home soon?”“Sydney is a little worried, of course, but Sarah’s ready to get home.
MistyI sink to the edge of the bathtub and test the water, steam rising in ribbons that dance around my wrists. The lavender and honey scented soap wafts through the air, which is still and dark, mingling with the comforting, candle-lit darkness all around me. Kenna and her family left three hours ago. Aviva went back to her house. Sydney and Sarah are tucked up and recovering in a nearby cottage, being tended to by the midwife and Cole, so I’m alone. Addy is asleep in the bedroom only a few yards away, exhausted. I don’t blame him. The last time I felt like this–this worn to the bone–was right after the war when Cole and I closed ourselves in my old dorm room for an entire week just to rest, recoup, and come to terms with what we’d just been through–and somehow survived against all odds. I pull my shirt over my head and shimmy out of my pants before tying my hair up and sinking into the water, groaning softly at the heat. The warmth works through my muscles, untangling knots from