His resolution to stay neutral stung Isabelle. Before Maeve showed up, he doted on her like a perfect husband and was willing to do practically anything to please her. But now… it was almost like he was caught under the same spell as the rest of his family. A terrible, sick feeling suddenly made
XADEN POV “Well…” Henry slumped back in his chair with a huff. “I’m certainly glad that’s over with. Holding a meeting after a long night is always rough.” It just so happened that, the morning immediately following the banquet, the two of us were scheduled to hold a brief, private conference re
No matter how much I tried to delay the inevitable, however, I needed to get this done. If she was going to scold me, I would rather get it over with than simmer in the mess that was my mind. Taking a long, deep breath, I entered the palace and followed the usual route to get to the queen’s parlor.
MAEVE POV “Eric?” I questioned, surprised, thankful for the interruption, tearing my gaze away from Isabelle. What is he doing here? Eric’s lanky figure shuffled uncomfortably, yet he moved with determination. “I-I was on my way back to my room. I was just in a meeting with my father,” he shak
THIRD PERSON POV Three days later… The night was still throughout the kingdom. The citizens slept peacefully in their warm, comfortable beds without a care in the world, only dreading the rising of the morning sun, when work and responsibilities beckoned for their begrudging attention. Families
And I couldn’t let that happen. So, taking advantage of Xaden’s prolonged visit to the palace, I had slipped out earlier that morning to a nearby drugstore and purchased some more dark hair dye. It was nearly noon by the time I finished dyeing the entirety of my long hair. Xaden might have—unint
XADEN POV Maeve’s eyes widened. “What does that mean?” she asked, leaning closer and squeezing my hand. I could feel tremors shake her body. “You’ll be going off to war…?” Truthfully, that was a question I was not able to answer at that time. I wanted more than anything to reassure her, to dis
In any other case, I would have agreed with them. However, this was the closest we had gotten to all-out war with our neighbor in our many years of tension. If we didn’t play our cards carefully, then we would lose before it even fully started. And I was not willing to accept more losses than was
“What?” I asked, my voice coming out barely audible. “I… I don’t understand.”“I’m not sure how much you already know about us, but we are the remaining members of the Red Oak Tribe.”My mouth nearly fell to the ground at her reveal. I stared around her face, the shock nearly consuming me. The Red O
Maeve’s POV“I think she’s waking up.”“She looks so much like Esmeralda, it’s crazy.”“Sssh, give her some space.” I woke to the sound of murmurs all around me, mostly women, but I could feel the presence of a man or two as well. The smell of a burning fire invaded my nose, and I felt the warm am
I glared, my wolf surging forward and an intimidating manner, making the man before me flinch. He was bound to a chair with silver cuffs, making him weak and impossible to shift into his wolf.“Then why did I find these photographs in your belongings?” I asked, holding up a few photos of the royal f
Third Person POVCharlotte stared after Nicholas, her heart in her throat. She made a fool out of herself; she was sure of it. What had gotten into her? She had never once thought about Nicholas in such a manner, but lately, she hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind. It started the other night
It wouldn’t be long before she followed their father into the afterlife.Hell was a hot place, Nicholas thought to himself.“And as for you…” Arlan said, narrowing his eyes at Nicholas who straightened his posture, waiting to hear what the King had in store for him. He made it clear he had nothing t
Third Person POV“Nicholas, may I speak with you in my office,” King Arlan said, turning away and walking towards his office without waiting for a response.He knew Nicholas would follow him without question. Nicholas had been keeping his head down ever since Maeve had been found in his father’s hid
“Is Xaden on his way?” I asked, changing the subject and talking about something that really mattered… my mate.The guard stared at the ground for a moment, trying to figure out what to say which confused me. It was a simple answer that didn’t require much thought.“He’s been alerted of the situatio
Third Person POVRight after Eric’s meeting with the Bear King, one of his spies contacted him to tell him that he overheard Henry planning an attack on Maeve while Xaden was away. Eric sent his men to assess the situation, and they had just called him to tell him that they were able to stop the att
Leonora paled at the thought as she wrapped her arms around her body. The thought of someone she trusts working with the enemy gave her a creepy feeling like she was being watched at that very moment.“What are we to do?” She finally asked after a beat of silence.“Henry thinks we could pool togethe