“Nicholas.” I was dreaming. I must have been close to waking up to be so lucid. I stood in my old room at the Academy. Nicholas had his back to me, his hand on the door handle. A familiar curl of dread was growing in my stomach. A dull, physical ache rested behind my ribs. This was the moment
“Linda!” “Olivia!” A few other names were called as well, but none as loud as those two. They had to come from prominent packs indeed, to have been allowed so many onlookers into the small crowd. Elva, nervous by the noise, hid behind my skirt. I picked her up into my arms. “Are you frighten
His mouth near the microphone, Nicholas paused a moment as if thinking. Then he spoke. “Miss Piper was chosen by the ceremony, and the royal family will honor that choice.” He continued, “One of the many crises we face as a people is a low birthrate among werewolves. Any mother, especially one r
I blinked, stunned into silence. Me? A front runner in the competition? No. Clearly those people didn’t realize how much Nicholas hated me. Once the cameras were allowed into the palace, and they saw the two of us interacting, they would learn the truth. Nicholas hated me. Julian only wanted t
Nicholas and I continued to stare at each other, neither of us saying a word. We both glanced down at the empty chair and back at each other again. Every other spot at the table was filled. Unless Nicholas were to excuse himself, he would have to sit here to eat. But to leave in the middle of his
Around us, the girls were speaking with each other and the royal family. Only Nicholas, Susie, and myself were silent. The King gave Nicholas a hard look, and Nicholas’s lips twitched like he wanted to frown but didn’t. I thought he might talk to me, but instead, he leaned forward to see Susie a
After receiving Susie’s news, I needed a moment to catch my breath. I didn’t understand. The royal doctor had already examined Elva, as recently as the day before. How could she have a fever again? Wouldn’t the doctor have detected any anomalies before they fully formed? Those questions would have
Forcing my voice level, I asked, “Why wasn’t I previously informed that Elva was suffering from a terminal illness?” The pitying one pushed his glasses up his nose with his index finger. “Perhaps we were optimistic before. But she has since taken a turn for the worst. We aren’t fortunetellers, ma’
Instead, the Queen pulled me into a hug. It was uncomfortable and brief, but a hug none the less. From the Queen, this was a tremendous breach of decorum, and I froze, unsure how to react. Even Nathan, standing dutifully as his King’s side seemed shocked.“I have misjudged you dearly,” the Queen sai
I wasn’t sure what to expect when our car delivered us from the train station to the palace, but even in my wildest dreams, I wouldn’t have guessed what actually awaited us.Cheering crowds lined the outer walls of the palace. Balloons and streamers of various colors were abundant. A stage had been
At once, my heart leapt up into my throat, while simultaneously crashing down into my stomach.I pulled away from Nicholas enough to push myself up onto my hands and stare down at him.The thought of breaking the engagement had never crossed my mind! Nicholas proposing had been one of the best momen
In a war between the wolves and the bears, only the lost bear princess will be able to stop this fighting. Else, the bears will continue to fight themselves to exhaustion or to death.“It’s up to you,” Nicholas said. “I believe in you. You can do this.”I closed my eyes. Miracle was still exhausted,
Slowly, my grief subsided for now, enough for me to look up at Nicholas and feel the relief of being reunited with my fiancé.My… mate.“I love you,” Nicholas said. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to reach you.”“How are you even here? It’s impossible for you to have found me this quickly?”Nichol
Joyce, despite his best efforts, was not a fighter. He was not bred for war and battle like Hawke was, so even calling on the power of his Alpha wolf, Hawk tossed Joyce aside like he was a sack of potatoes.However, Joyce did show amazing tenacity, and stood back up time and time again. Roaring, he
Nicholas was here. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know why. But he was here, and that gave me the strength I needed to act.I ripped my arm away from Joyce’s hold and rushed into the room where Hawk was choking my sister on the ground. Using all of my strength, I plowed into Hawk.My surprise more than
We slipped into the hallway easily enough. The lights were off, so we stuck to the shadows. We didn’t go far when we started to hear raised voices.“I want to know if Piper was telling the truth.” It was Jane.“You cannot mean to trust her more than me,” that was Hawk. His cold voice sent shivers ru
A mating bond…?Yes. Even though Nicholas and I had never talked about the love between us, I had still felt it grow over these months together. Nicholas had never made a bonding bite on my neck, yet inside of me, that bond had cultivated. Our hearts were bound together, mating bite or now.There wa