“I know what I want,” Samuel says, speaking to Leah now. “I’ll be an outlaw, I don’t care. I’m tired of playing pretend. I’ll save you from this fate, Harper. I’ll take care of everything. I only need you to come with me.”“You would lose everything,” I say, my heart in my throat. For so long, I’ve
“No…” I say, swallowing the rising lump in my throat. “I’m not.”This answer has ostracized me from my pack. I’ve been called every name under the sun: slut, whore, loose, tainted…All because I went into heat and slept with a man who was not my mate. A night I barely even remember. Most of my recol
I stare wide-eyed, mouth agape at the man I shared my heat with three years ago. I have to be mistaken, but my body knows the truth. Those strong hands caressed my skin. Those plush lips spent hours sucking marks onto my breasts.Immediately, I turn away. Curling closer to Jane, I hope to use her to
Glaring at me, Caleb waits. He seems expectant, as if he’s waiting for some kind of response.For the sake of self-preservation, I need to answer my king. But genuinely, I do not know how to reply to the implication that we have a child together.Tristan, Caleb’s Beta, walks into the closet behind h
I stop when my back is against the wall. There’s not really anywhere for me to run to. I’m locked in this room with him.“Now. You’ve had time to think it over,” Caleb says. “Stop pretending you don’t remember our encounter.”I remember his face staring down at me, his blues intense, his brows pulle
I want to deny him, but Tristan’s warnings echo in my mind. The only rule of this place is total obedience. Denying the king could easily lead to my death.With shaking hands, I slowly reach up and pull down the scraps of my shirt from my torso. They fall to the floor in a blood splattered pool.Cal
When I wake up again, Tristan is standing over me.I gasp, reaching for blankets to cover my naked body, only to find that a sheet has already been draped over me. I don’t hope to think King Caleb has done something like this. Perhaps Tristan has.Although, with the way he’s staring at me with a bor
The man in the lab coat fills the syringe with the bluish liquid of the vial. Then he brings it closer.“What is that?” I ask, panic rising in my voice. My heartbeat pounds out of control.“For generations, the royal family has been the sole owners of a special truth serum,” Tristan says. “It specif
“I imagine the request will come sooner rather than later,” the third advisor said. “Gladys has been outspoken against you, my King. There’s even some talk that she wishes to publically face you, to confront you over your treatment of Hector and Kira.”Caleb laughs, thinking it a joke. When he sees
As Caleb sits on his throne, he only vaguely listens to the discussions his advisors are holding before him. No one seems entirely sure what to do with Kira’s remains.As a former Luna, by right, she should be interred in the royal crypt within the capital. But, because of the situation of her attem
That night, in the room I share with Caleb, he holds me with incredibly tenderness. We’ve not made love yet, though there is a hint of promise lingering in the air. There’s something else too, though. Under the passion and the desire, a warm core of affection glistens.In the dark, it’s easier for u
“Come on,” Caleb says. As he stands, he gently takes my hands and helps me up from the chair. “You’ve been in here too long already.”I pause for a moment, still processing all his words and what’s happening here. “You aren’t angry.”“I am angry,” he says. “But not at you. No one told me where you w
For hours, I sit in an interrogation room. The fluorescent light overhead buzzes gently. The one in the corner is flickering. The room is otherwise quiet.Sterile, the concrete walls are painted white, with the tiles on the floor are dark blue. Unnervingly, there is a drain in the floor at the cente
Jason continues to watch me and Kira as I follow Kira down the hallway. Only after we round a corner, physically breaking line of sight with him, am I confident he is no longer looking at us.Kira doesn’t say one word to me all the way back to her room. She opens the door for me, ushers me inside, a
I would not fall into the same trap, not to satisfy Kira or anyone else.“I can only be who I am, and nothing more,” I say.“That’s all I need you to be,” Caleb says, stepping more fully beside me. From our body language alone, it’s clear who he supports in this argument. He takes my arm in his and,
Without even turning, I can feel Caleb’s presence coming toward us. As I did, the people standing nearby all turn to look behind me. Kira herself starts to pale, though she keeps her head high and defiant.“Mother, you have overstepped for the last time,” Caleb begins to say.I glance back at Caleb,
Turning, I find Caleb staring straight at me. I worried he might be annoyed by my presence, but looking at him now, I can see the flicker of amusement in his eyes, and the way the very edge of his lip curls ever-so-slightly with mischief.“Well? Would you deny your king, servant?” he asks.I curtsey