The next morning, after dressing in my one piece swimsuit, I stood in front of the vanity in the bedroom, trying to decide how best to wear my hair, as to eliminate the most friction and increase my speed in the water. Swimmers, I knew, wore swim caps to cover their hair, but lacking that, I wasn’
I’d promised to be careful, and I would be. But I didn’t know how careful I could be when I was swimming out in the ocean, unable to fully take notice of my surroundings. To have a friend like Veronica, someone I trusted so implicitly, guarding my back, gave me relief without measure. “Thank you
Holding Elva’s hand, we followed Bridget around to the side of the mansion. A camera crew followed us, with their cameras trained on Bridget, Elva, and me. I tried to keep my head up high and my grip firm on Elva’s hand. Constantly having cameras watching was unnerving. It felt like I was constant
Bridget, Veronica, me, and Jessica lined up at the starting line in that order. By now the camera crews were ready and waiting. Many were dotted along with beach with a few others out in the boats around the designated racing area. Nathan directed us where the path would be, showing us both on a m
For a while, I thought maybe I could do this. If I could muster my resolve, maybe my will could outmaneuver Bridget’s confidence. And, as I pushed myself, I finally began to take the lead away from Bridget. I was pulling ahead. The raceway was clear ahead of me and I felt my heart soar. This w
Nicholas POV Panic and fear waged war in my heart as I swam down into that water and saw Piper, the woman who had claimed my heart more than once, losing consciousness. Her eyes were slipping closed. She was running out of air. Veronica was doing her best to drag Piper to the surface, but Piper
“Just for the record, I won the race,” Bridget said, from the peripheral of the small crowd gathered around me. Nicholas was still holding me, with Veronica, Jessica, and Elva close by. Everyone, it seemed, was worried about me – all except Bridget, who said again, “Did you record my finish? Did y
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Julian said, holding his brother’s gaze. “Thanks,” Nicholas said. He placed his hand over mine on his arm, then, gently, pulled my hand away from him. “I’ll be back as soon as I’m able.” I could see the determination burning in his eyes. I didn’t want him to go but I k
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