Deidre
I backed away from the gearney, slowly. My heart had floated to my chest. I was having trouble breathing.
“You’re….”
Jesamine didn’t look at me, face still turned to the other side of the room. I saw the red flush of her skin climbing her neck from behind.
I looked at Gowan, jaw open. “How did you know?”
He shrugged. “Her scent changed.”
“From when?”
He shrugged again. “Before.” That was all he offered.
“I need to make a call,” I said, stepping back. At that, Jesamine turned to look at me, her eyes angry.
JesamineThe top of the biohazard container clanked shut. He handed me a glass of water to dispel the taste of vomit from my mouth. “Thank you,” I muttered.“You look pale.”“Makes sense. I feel like shit.”He grunted. “What’s your plan?” He moved, intentionally blocking Deidre’s sight of me through the window pane. She wasn’t necessarily smooth about keeping an eye on us.“My plan?” I stared at my stomach, unseeing. “Well. I guess I’m competing tomorrow. Or is it today? What time is it anyway?” My voice sounded detached, even to my own ears.Gowan glared at me. “With the baby?”
JesamineGowan dropped another blanket into the biohazard bin. I could feel how pale I was.“He replaced your birth control with–”“Replaced it. Swapped it. I have no clue. For all I know it could have been a multivitamin.”“When was the last time you slept with Perrin?” The question was direct. But he wasn’t looking for details. Just the bigger picture.I glared up at him, dabbing at the corners with my mouth. “He’s the father. It’s not up for debate.”Gowan looked to the door again, eyeing Deidre. The phone was still pressed to her ear. “So hadn’t been trying to poison you at all.”
JesamineThey wasted no time, barking orders at Gowan to wheel me off to another lab.Jennivah took my vitals as Deidre got another machine ready. “This is going to be cold.” She ran gel over my belly. Despite her repeated request, Gowan hadn’t left my side. He refused.She took a small plastic dial connected by a cord to a TV, and began scanning down from my ribs towards my navel. I could see the outline of my organs appearing on the screen, outlined in white.“Definitely a few broken ribs. Left side.” Deidre made notes, eyeing the screen and nodding in agreement with Jennivah’s assessment. Jennivah moved the detector again. “No apparent damage to the kidneys but we can’t pick up bruising on this. Potentially a ruptured appendix. That cou
JustinAre you awake?I shifted on the floor. I was awake, but I realized I hadn’t moved in hours. My muscles were stiff and I groaned.“Yes,” I said with a grunt.“What’s going on in there?” A guard rattled the door knob.Justin?“I need to take a piss,” I snarled.“Tough luck,” the guard responded. I watched as the shadow of his feet disappeared from under the doorway.Gowan? Is that you?Yes. I’m here.Did you find
Perrin “Where are we going?” “The infirmary.” “Why?” “Please don’t ask questions.” “I would really prefer not to do some last minute press conference with your wife—” To my surprise, my father sighed. He wasn’t showing his usual sense of control. He had practically collapsed into the back of the car when Charlie drove off. “What’s going on?” I asked, a little more gently. I’d prefer to be getting in the zone, showering, taking some time for myself today. I had waited so long for this day. I wanted to be ready. Mentally prepared. Physically unbreakable. And
JasonThe look that my son gave Jesamine was indescribable. I felt my chest tighten just looking at him.I knew what I was feeling as a father was nothing compared to his reality. His world–for the upteenth time–has just been turned upside down. He had just mated; was going to win the Sacred Call. Start building his life as an official leader by my side. I physically ached. This was all so wrong. So messed up.His mouth made to form words that wouldn’t come. His eyes betrayed the fear he held, the incredulity; the helpless position we all knew he was in.“You’re going to compete? While carrying a child?
Lo“He’s probably already there. It’s not like he would miss it.”“I know. But I could at least get a text back?”I nodded, opening the door to my father’s Audi for Ethan as he slid into the front seat, pulling his leg in behind him with a small wince. I walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in.“Do you want to swing by the hotel just in case? To see if he needs a ride?”I tried not to roll my eyes. “It will be fine. And I’m sure Kira is there, too.”**The Lodge had been transformed be
Lo“Did they just say ‘murder’?”Deidre was pulling my hand quickly through the throngs of people getting ready to take their seats.“I’ll explain in a few minutes.”“No!” I pulled my arm from her grasp. “What is going on?”Alpha Jason didn’t stop moving, plunging forward through the throngs of people. It was as though they didn’t even recognize him, distracted between the excitement of the pending challenge and whatever news had blown up over the phone.“Is Jesamine pregnant?”“QUIET!” Deidre hissed, but it came out as more of a shout to be heard. Several
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