I followed Julian back up the beach, but when he returned to the mansion, I veered back to the bonfire. By now, the fire was dying down. Veronica and Jessica were sitting with their backs to it, facing the ocean. They each had a glass of wine and a marshmallow in hand. The opened bag sat between the
My feelings for Nicholas, however, were not likely to change any time soon. If I had free reign here, Nicholas was the one I would pursue. But the fact was, the cards were stacked against me from the start. I was only in this competition to increase the viewership. I never had a chance of actually
The next morning, I awoke to a knock on the door. Beside me Elva began to rub her eyes. I hadn’t indulged in too much alcohol, unlike some of the other girls, but I still felt a pressure in my head, probably from having stayed up too late. I wanted to turn over in bed and ignore the knocking, bu
“Excuse me,” Nicholas said to Bridget and walked away from her. He met me at the base of the stairs. Behind his back, Bridget narrowed her eyes slightly, but then shrugged and walked back into the kitchen. I still had no idea how she could be so bright. Maybe she’s slipped some liquor into her cof
He was entirely keeping his word when he’d promised to pretend the kiss never happened. I needed to get better at doing the same. I looked back to Nicholas, but a servant interrupted us next. “Please excuse me,” she said. “Nathan is calling everyone out onto the deck for a meeting.” “He’s no
I entered my bedroom with Nicholas right behind me. He placed his hand on the small of my back, helping lead me further inside. I was still blushing fiercely from his words. With the door safely closed behind us, leaving us alone in my room, I turned back to look up at him. What I saw stole my bre
After a few kisses, Nicholas excused himself to change into his own swim trunks. I opted to stay behind, knowing if I went with him, we would be thoroughly distracted for so long that our absence would definitely be noticed. No, it was better that we parted for now. I went into the bathroom and
If the save required her to dive for it, she adamantly refused. Though Nicholas had no obvious outward reaction to her lack of commitment to the game, after her fifth time no making no effort, his muscles clearly tightened, likely in frustration. Jessica, meanwhile, gave the game her best effort
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