I decided to make my presence more obvious and walked closer to Elva, Nicholas in his wolf form, Night, and Silver. Nicholas shifted back into his human form now, sitting in the grass.“Piper,” he said, smiling slightly, a wolfish grin. He was proud of his wolf form.“Hi, Mommy!” Elva said. “Nick-la
“Why would they want us to know they stole the princess?” I asked.“It’s the location that matters,” Veronica explained.“If it was the rebels who kidnapped her,” Julian added, “It was likely they intended to start a war, even then.” He looked back to the list. “I wonder how my parents were able to
“You worried about going home?” Julian asked.“A little,” I admitted. “I’m not sure what the people will think when they see where I come from.”Julian shrugged nonchalantly. “They like you in part because of your humble origins, Piper. You have nothing to worry about.”If only it was that simple. “
In the bedroom, Nicholas and Charlotte helped Elva and I pack our bags for our weekend homecoming trip. I pick out many subtle outfits for Elva and me. Back home, people would notice if we dressed too expensive. It might even have painted targets on our backs.Elva, however, didn’t understand. When
As the car entered the neighborhoods that I recognized, I grew more and more tense. Nicholas squeezed me tighter, likely trying to offer what comfort that he could. But there was little comfort to be had.I didn’t mind the smaller place. I didn’t even mind the harsher lifestyle.But I didn’t want to
Elva and I dressed in our frumpiest clothes. Elva wore a hat with covers that went down over the ears. I tied my hair up and wore one of Anna’s wigs. It was darker than my own hair color, with bangs that hid most of my face.I barely recognized myself in the mirror. I doubted anyone else would be ab
Anna’s words stayed with me all through the night. I was haunted by them, even as I eventually drifted off to sleep on the air mattress.Was I truly considering the King’s demand because I wanted what was best for the country? Or was I simply hiding, pushing off responsibility to return to a life of
Nicholas’s lips were soft. His touch light, a barely-there caress, as he held my face so near to his own.I didn’t register the sound of a door opening at first, so fully engrossed as I was with the man in front of me. It wasn’t until I fluttered my eyes open and saw a figure walking past, that I st
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