Eventually, though, we both gave in to our more mature impulses and separated so Nicholas could get dressed. He slipped on his shorts, and then held up the shirt that had been our blanket. It was almost certainly ruined: wrinkled and covered in sand, with a few mystery wet spots here and there. He
My mind reeled. I couldn’t imagine what another event might be. To me, personally, I was still trying to recover from the previous events, including the treasure hunt on the island where I had fallen into that pit as well as the social event with the merfolk that nearly ended in an international inc
The camera crew set up around the small circle of chairs while Nathan stepped inside of it. Everyone waited until the crew indicated that they were ready. Nathan gave them a signal, and little red lights turned on, on the cameras. Nathan clicked on his own false persona then, smiling for the cam
Forfeit? Why in the world would Nicholas want me to back out of an event I had a good shot at winning? My face must have revealed my confusion and displeasure. His own features immediately softened, but his frown did not ebb. He lowered his voice even though we were far from the others. He must
“My castle!” Elva cried out. Bridget stopped walking. She looked down. She was standing over the carnage, the complete and total destruction of Elva’s sand castle under Bridget’s own feet. “Oops,” she said with a small laugh. “Sorry about that.” Elva looked at the scene with large, vulnerable
I turned and carried Elva toward the deck. Julian stayed behind, looking down at the mess that was once Elva’s castle. I had thought he would have followed me. I felt bad now. I should have said goodbye. But, hauling Elva around, I didn’t really want to go back and forth. Julian would understand
Elva glanced up at Veronica and her laughter stifled. “What’s wrong?” she asked. Veronica startled a little, then tried to smile again. It wasn’t as big as before. It barely twitched her lip, and certainly did not meet her eyes. “Nothing’s wrong,” Veronica said. “I’m glad you liked the trick.”
It was difficult to wait the hours needed for everyone else to have gone to sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about Nicholas, and being in his arms again. A late night swim sounded dangerous but I trusted him to keep me safe. All I had to do was wait. Finally, after Elva was deeply asleep and the
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