Nicholas continued to hold me, even as the ship neared the dock of the familiar island. By this point, Julian had also joined us and was pacing back and forth in the small space in front of us. Veronica sat quietly nearby, observing all with watchful eyes. Jessica was still laying down, clutching he
Julian glanced back at me. I gave him the best calming look I could muster. He closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath in through the mouth, out through the nose. “You had better listen to her, Julian,” Bridget said. “Calm yourself and act like a gentleman to me for a change.” Julian’s calm fa
My breath caught. I braced myself. I didn’t know what would happen next. Nicholas had gone very still beside me. His arm around my waist tightened slightly. Then he removed it and stood. “Nicholas,” I said. He didn’t acknowledge me. He puffed out his chest and faced down his brother. He didn’t
He was demanding, his tongue insistent, his lips melding with mine. I clutched at his shoulders, holding on, as his hands traced long paths up and down the length of my back. When we broke for air, I sighed against him. He laughed lightly as he kissed along my cheek to my ear. “No more fears of
The rain poured down so heavily that it was even starting to reach us in the covered deck. Elva dove to cover her precious coloring book pages. “Everyone, inside!” Nicholas said. We grabbed our things and hurried inside. I helped Elva with her crayons and coloring pages, careful not to get t
Julian immediately took another step backwards, adding more space between him and me. We both nervously glanced at Nicholas who mostly seemed confused by his own reaction. He cut off his growl with a sharp grunt. “Sorry,” he said. “Don’t worry,” I replied. “It’s my fault,” Julian said. “No,”
Ever since I had been brought into this competition, I had been mocked, ridiculed, shoved around, bullied, set up, nearly killed, and threatened at every turn. Bridget’s arrival hadn’t helped the situation at all. While I could blame the underground organization for much of what happened to me in
And, frankly, Bridget was far too selfish to be a good queen. She cared about the title and the power. But what good would she actually bring to the nation? If she only cared about herself, how could she possibly empathize with the kingdom’s people? I shook my head. I was still furious. “If you
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