Kira
I pulled into the staff parking lot behind the infirmary, parking Ethan’s motorcycle behind a row of cars. I checked my watch. Good. I was a few minutes early.
I hauled the food off the back of the bike and set it on one of the picnic tables by the door. A few healers on the neighboring tables didn’t even look at me, absorbed in their phones or magazines as they took their breaks.
I set out the food, meticulous that everything was there for Jaz. I had called ahead to one of her favorite spots--one of the places I knew Perrin loved to take her, and ordered way more food than necessary. But I wasn’t sure what she was in the mood for, and apparently I owed her my life. I may not have booze money for the next week, but at least it was something.&nb
Ethan“What did she say?” I asked as Perrin returned to the locker room.“8:00 tonight. Her suite. Don’t be late.”I squared my jaw and mentally threw out the plans I had been concocting for another midnight stroll with Justin out the window. “Ok. Thanks.”“No problem.” Perrin threw on his sneakers and walked with me to the sparring room.“So?” I prodded.“So what?” He said, preoccupied with his taping up his wrists.“What was the emergency?”“Oh, it wasn’t an emergency,” he responded. “Not even clos
EthanThe rest of the afternoon I spent tidying up the living room, cleaning what I could, and (once I found it) vacuuming the dining room.I had stopped by the kitchen on the way up, requesting service for three in our suite for 7:00. Dina seemed overjoyed to help, but only under the condition that I’d eat the three sandwiches she handed me on my way upstairs. (“You’re too thin!”)I had texted Justin to confirm that I’d meet him around the back of the pack house by the gardens. After deliberating what Perrin had shared this afternoon, it didn’t seem as though meeting him in the pack house lobby, nor him taking an elevator up to the top floor, would go unnoticed. So he agreed, with full understanding, to meet me out back by the gardens outside of the kitchen. To my surprise he knew exactly where I was
EthanI adjusted my jeans as I prepared to wheel the cart into the hallway, making a show out of scanning for onlookers while I calmed myself down, knowing full well that nobody would be up here.I grinned, feeling how swollen my lips had already become. Daring a glance back over my shoulder as I started into the hallway, I could see a flush on Justin’s own face. And the sight of him? Visually reacting the same way I felt? I practically glowed at the thought. This sense of unspoken understanding between us was magical. And effortless.We made our way to the suite and I opened the door, pushing the cart in before me. The table I had set in the dining room had steady glowing candles. It wasn’t lavish. But it was clean and simple. And afterall, this was my home.“Please, take a
JustinIs she there?Yes. And it’s not pretty. Worse than last night, I think.Fuck.“She’s there,” I said to my mate.Ethan almost stopped short in the parking lot, his mother’s car keys in his hand. “How do you know?”“Mind link with Gowan,” was all I had offered. I tapped into him immediately as soon as we left Ethan’s mother in the suite.Ethan nodded and didn’t ask. So he knew who Gowan was; that was good. At least I didn’t have to explain that. But he surprised me by saying, “He’s at Toby’s?”I
EthanBy the time I had finished with Toby, I considered bringing him with me to the infirmary. His jaw was dislocated and his lip was cut, but Jack assured me that leaving alone was my best option. He had been rather tight-lipped when he had walked in on me with his friend, but I didn’t care. My sister was responsible for her own mess, but there was no mistake in what role Toby played enabling her to get like this. Had he even known she was upstairs like that?I walked outside to find my mother’s car idling in front of the house. Gowan was leaning against the hood of the car despite the rain, clearly unsure of what to do. His hands were deep in his pockets.“Would you like to drive?” He asked calmly.I stared down at my bloody knuckles. “If you don’t
JazNo. No.The Luna was standing above Kira’s body, the paddles of a defibrillator in each hand. The feel of static hung in the air. The machine chimed.“Clear!” She said, as if to herself. She was the only one in the room. And despite what I had seen in my own rotations, seeing the Luna perched over Kira’s limp body made me freeze. The entire room seemed in a standstill as we waited to see if the mountain of Kira’s independent heart would appear on the monitor.Nothing.“Call Jennivah. NOW!” She had seen me, after all. I dashed to the nearest phone, dialing from the list taped to the wall. Jennivah picked up on the second ring as the Luna recharged th
PerrinI knocked on the door to Ethan’s suite, hand hammering against the wood. Mistra hadn’t responded, even though I knew there wasn’t anywhere else she should be.I pressed my ear to the door, waiting to hear any semblance of sound. Not a pin drop.“Perrin?”I turned to see my step-mother’s assistant approaching from down the hall, phone and portfolio in hand.“Hi Cynthia. Do you know where Mistra is?”She stopped short of the door, her face full of confusion. “She isn’t here?”“No, or at least it doesn’t seem like it.”Cynthi
Perrin I caught a trail of honeysuckle and lavender in the hallway before I reached the door. No. I burst through the door. “Where did she go?” Ethan looked miserable and Justin’s face was grim. “Did you tell her?” I looked from one to the other, anxious for an answer. “Yes,” Ethan finally said. “And she ran,” Justin finished, running a large hand over the stubble on his jaw in frustration. “Thanks for setting me up,” Ethan growled at me. Justin, to my surprise, said, “She was going to find out sooner or later.” I gave him a quick, appreciative nod. “
EPILOGUEMarge shuffled through the archive, her shoes making the only sound in the quiet stone building, echoing all the same through the high vaulted ceiling of the church building above. She raised a gnarled hand to the shelf and deposited the book after two tries, her hands shaking slightly with the cold. There were only a few books to return tonight. Far fewer than there had been when Leila had been here.So why had she waited until this late in the evening to do it? She just shrugged and pushed on, the slow creaking of the cart’s wheels punctuating the silence, her old watch on her pale wrist noting the time; 1:45 a.m.She really had no business being there so late. But she had gotten caught up in one of her research projects, spread out across her circulation desk and totally lost in thought until the rumble of her empty sto
Perrin“How long is it going to take?”I sat on Lo’s bed as she shoved clothes into her suitcase. “Maybe a week? I’m not sure.”“Why don’t you just leave all of that stuff here?” I pointed at the suitcase. “It’s not like you’re not going to bring it back.”She heaved a heavy sigh, full of fake exasperation. “I still have to pack it to move it down the hall. It’s just easier if I do it all at once.”“Nah. Let’s just throw it all in some garbage bags and unpack later.”She laughed. “Hand me those shoes?”I strode over and picked a pair
Perrin “Because I never want to create a monster like my father.” Silence hung in the room. I digested each word, the implications of it. “But you’re not…” I said, more for myself than for her. “No, I’m not. He never got his hands on me. My little brother made sure of that.” And even though she spoke in a viscous, quipping way; there was a hint of something grateful in her tone. “So he won’t be anything like him!” I said, assuring myself more than anything. “Does it matter?” She snapped, regaining her typical composure. “If my father’s insane lust for power is hereditary, then it’s best that the blood line ends with me. At least my brother won’t be breeding any offspring considering he’s gay–” sh
Perrin I glanced at my phone, then at Lo. We had made love for several hours, refusing to stop until we had our fill of each other. But each time hadn’t felt like enough, leaving us drained and happy but wanting more. After one particularly hot session in the middle of my bed involving whipped cream, I pulled her close to me, blissfully peaceful with her cradled in my arms. I felt her stomach growl against my hands. And apparently hungry. I swept my mouth to her ear and felt her shiver against me, goosebumps appearing up and down her body. I fought the impulse to warm her with every inch of mine. “Do you want me to get you a snack?” I said, and waved the small can of whipped cream in front of her face so she could see. She hummed lazily in my
PerrinAnd it had happened like that.I recalled the broad strokes for my friends.“You what?” Ethan said, shocked and nearly angry. “You can’t make that kind of promise!”Justin shook his head sagely. “That’s free reign, Perrin. And a dangerous move, backing out of every challenge. It puts you at a huge disadvantage if anyone trespasses on your territory.”“Or attacks on your land,” Ethan said.“Or poses a border dispute,” said Kira.“How will you expand?” Ethan asked, c
PerrinI tried to cover the nail marks she had left on my shoulder with a spare set of scrubs from Deidre’s office. It was no use. The scrubs were too small, tugging comically at my shoulders and Lo’s pink cheeks and ruffled hair couldn’t be fixed.We had retreated long enough to ourselves, and I pulled us back into the world of the living and down the hall, walking hand in hand as we rejoined our friends.Ethan smirked when he saw us. “Nice.”Kira rolled her eyes, glancing at her imaginary watch. “Couldn’t you two wait?”“At least get a shirt,” Ethan added, eyeing my bare chest. I had ditched the scrubs, unable to get them over my chest.
PerrinWe didn’t talk as much, even though that had been the plan.I had taken one of the chairs opposite Deidre’s desk, hoping to keep my brain thinking platonically for as long as possible. But part of me was still in shock. I could smell the smell of her coconut shampoo. See the glimmer of her earrings in the desk lap. And I had felt the tips of her fingernails as I held her hand; the short ones that she chewed on when she was reading and lost in thought.But I knew it was definitely her the moment I felt my head slightly dizzy with the draft of warm honeysuckle, intoxicatingly perfect.I wasn’t shy, needing to have her by my side. I pulled her easily into my lap, and she didn’t protest, as if still quite unsure that all of this was really happening either. She swun
PerrinAs soon as Mark dismissed the crowd, the crowd had begun to descend from the stands in droves. It hadn’t taken long for Lo to find me, fighting the current and pushing her way against the flow of teaming bodies and up to the platform.I sensed her, long before she ran up the platform stairs, Justin hot on her heels. I dove past my father, darted behind Mark and ran to meet her, not caring for any protocol or public indecency. I needed her.Her scent hit me first. It made my blood sing and my heart beat so fast I thought it would stop.And then there she was. The sight of my home and my heart, running and slipping across the wet platform towards me.My weight almost buckled beneath me, the unexpected reality of seeing her here st
Justin The arena was packed. I could hear an excited roar from the crowd from behind the Lodge, drifting over the top of the massive building and floating through the chill evening air. Lo parked illegally in front of the entrance to the building. Now was not the time to point it out. A series of battered and limp-hanging banners and signs showed the way around to the back. It had rained today, apparently, and we made progress towards the arena as quickly as we could, sludging through mud and the trampled pathway. A stadium had been erected, filled to the brim with stands of onlookers, cheering and applauding in a range of darkened colors, soaked from the rain. Despite the bad weather, it hadn’t dampened their spirits. The crowd had been here all night, awaiting the results. Colored tents for each challenging pack were spaced ou