Nicholas I helped Olivia as best I could with one of the benefactors, though in truth, she hadn’t need me to do much but give her the initial introduction. Olivia seemed like a natural at speaking with others – or at least, those she wanted something from. After introducing her, all I did was st
I turned around in haste. Jane had sneaked away from behind me and was pointing Mrs. Marble roughly in the collarbone. “Old hags like you are the reason this kingdom is in the shitter,” Jane sniped. I rushed to intervene. This time, I snatched Jane’s wrist in a vice lock. I forced a laugh. “
“It doesn’t seem like this exhaustion is directly related to her illness,” the doctor told me. We stood a few feet away from the bed where Elva rested, watching her. “She likely got so excited for tonight that she simply wore herself out.” “So she’ll be alright?” I asked. The doctor nodded. “She
Whatever Jane had said to Nicholas must have been something horrific. “I’m okay, and Elva’s okay,” I said, hoping to soothe him and his prowling wolf. “If the worst she’s done is tarnish my reputation, then we can recover from that.” A storm raged in Nicholas’s eyes, the green flashing against t
I sniffed, but I wouldn’t let the tears fall. By the end of Nathan’s list, I had been the only person to have received zero support. The orphanage I supported would receive no donations from tonight, despite my best efforts. In her ten minute appearance, Jane had undone hours’ worth of my efforts.
Even now, standing as we were with the crowd around us dispersing, I was earning many passing glares. Gratitude filled my heart for what Nicholas had done. But worry still harbored in the rest of me. Jane had come here tonight to harm my reputation and she had succeeded in doing so. I didn’t kno
Nathan led Nicholas and me into a sitting room where the King sat upon a chair. All other chairs had been pushed to the back of the room. It was clear he meant for the rest of us to stand. As we entered, the King narrowed his eyes in Nicholas’s direction. Nicholas lifted his chin. “Nathan, I
I nodded, grim. “I should send you home tonight,” the King said. “But, father –” Nicholas began. The King held up his hand, stopping him. “But I will wait for the public’s reaction. They have protected you thus far, Piper. Tonight you showed them your true colors. We’ll see if their love
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