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
After a while, I began to suspect he was just trying to make me laugh. Maybe putting me at ease was part of his helping me? I didn’t know. By the end of Julian’s visit, I had no misconceptions that I was going to be a better actor, but I did at least feel better about it, knowing Julian would be t
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