None of that matters now. Annabelle looks at me sharply. “What are you doing here?” I step into the room, Bethany following along, my silent support. Glancing away from her in my dream gown, I try to stoke my rage again. Remembering the letter, I retrieve it from my pocket. “I’m tired of being th
My heavy heart persists into the evening. I haven’t talked much since speaking with Kira, retreating to my room soon after. Not even Bethany could encourage me to speak. Kira’s words cut into me, straight down to the bone. I don’t want to believe that Caleb only wants me for sex, and that’s all he’
My sister stole my fiancé. She’s about to become the Luna of our pack and gloats over me. But everyone thinks I deserve it. My father is the Beta of the Riverwood pack. Samuel was my childhood sweetheart, my fiancé, and the future Alpha of the Pack. There has always been a tradition of marriage be
The room goes very still and quiet.For a moment, I think I might have misheard. Was the royal messenger talking about me? But why would the Lycan King want me?Each year, every pack in his kingdom would select their most beautiful woman and send her to the capital. From among them, the Lycan King w
“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
My heavy heart persists into the evening. I haven’t talked much since speaking with Kira, retreating to my room soon after. Not even Bethany could encourage me to speak. Kira’s words cut into me, straight down to the bone. I don’t want to believe that Caleb only wants me for sex, and that’s all he’
None of that matters now. Annabelle looks at me sharply. “What are you doing here?” I step into the room, Bethany following along, my silent support. Glancing away from her in my dream gown, I try to stoke my rage again. Remembering the letter, I retrieve it from my pocket. “I’m tired of being th
The next morning, as I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, dreading another day of doing nothing, I hear a swishing sound near my door. Sitting up, I look at the door and find a slip of paper laying near it on the ground. Did someone slide that underneath? Curious, I pull myself out of bed and walk
“I want to apologize to you for how I acted before,” Annabelle says. With her head down, she also droops her shoulders, seeming for all the world like she might drop to her knees at any moment. He really doesn’t need that kind of dramatics, so he’s relieved when she continues to stand. “I let my
She looks away. “While I cannot save those condemned to the coliseum, I can help prepare them to hone the best of their abilities. I give them the best possible fighting chance, so when they step into the ring, they might survive. Many do not, but some succeed.” Looking back at me, she continues, “
I awaken the next morning to a loud, confident knock on my door. Rising up from bed, I pull on my housecoat and walk to the door, opening it. I’m half-expecting Bethany, though she doesn’t usually knock quite that loudly. Instead, I find the Pitmaster there. Her expression is severe as always but d
Much, much later, after Caleb ravaged me on the stairs again and then twice more in my bedroom, once we are relatively cleaned up, though I still carry his scent all over me, Caleb sits on the edge of my bed, staring at me as I recline there, jelly-like and sated. We need to have a talk, and I know
Seeing Caleb rush towards me, fury in his gaze, I already know what’s happened here. Bethany. She might have seemed compliant when I told her to stay behind, but I should have known she wouldn’t just sit idly by while I placed myself in danger, even if I instructed her to do so. She is my friend b
“That is a terrible idea,” Bethany says, not holding back. “What could you even hope to gain by doing that? Best case scenario, Leah has no way of delivering the message. Worst case, Samuel lures you out somewhere and has you killed.” “He won’t kill me,” I say. Despite his threats, he cares for me,