That night, the King and Queen finally made an appearance at the night’s formal dinner. They greeted Bridget like a doting set of parents would, hugging her and kissing her cheek. Nicholas and Julian were right there with them. The rest of us candidates were already inside the dining room waiting
I stayed in my room from then out as much as I was able. Staying near Elva helped me keep in mind my promise to her. I would not abandon her again. And so long as I was in my room, I was safe from running into Nicholas and Bridget and seeing whatever was going on between the two of them unfold. El
The next morning, Nicholas and I had previously arranged to spend time training together. So at first light, I headed to the gym. I wasn’t sure he would remember. Maybe he made other plans and forgot to tell me about it. He had been so busy with Bridget lately, I had rarely even seen him, let alon
My body moved on its own. Suddenly, I sprung into full action, grabbing Nicholas and pulling him closer. I put my mouth straight on his neck and started sucking in a mark. I didn’t know where her scent was but I had to remove it – now. “Piper, ah…” Nicholas moaned. His fingers clenched where they
Much later, after Nicholas and I had gone our separate ways for the day, I received notice from a servant that the candidates were required to go to the foyer for announcements from Nathan. I was already a bit late, having been so thoroughly lost all morning, so I hurried to join the others. I was
“I heard he had dated another person after he was with me,” she said. “Back then, he had a little more freedom so I suppose anything is possible.” That wasn’t a compliment, but then, her entire demeanor had seemed to shift now that we were alone. Her smile had an edge. Her voice was curter. This f
I bullied myself for a good long while after that. I tried to push back against my wolf that wanted to distrust Bridget at every turn. Jealous was what drove these feelings, I just knew it. Nicholas and Bridget had a past, but that didn’t mean they had a future, right? I needed to get myself under
Back in my room, I immediately set Julian to work on his assigned task: teaching Elva more magic tricks. This time he had a pack of playing cards and started to show Elva how to shuffle them. Elva’s tiny hands could hardly wrap around the deck. When she tried to shuffle like he showed her, it made a