Novels by Author Justi

Chapter ThreePOV: SeraLyra knocked on my door an hour before the third delegation of the week was due to arrive.She let herself in without waiting, which she had always done, which I had always liked. She sat on the end of my bed and watched me pin my hair back with the particular patience she had for mornings she knew were going to be difficult for me."Cancel it," she said.I looked at her in the mirror. "I cannot cancel it.""You are the Veilborn. You can do whatever you want.""That is not how any of this works and you know it."She reached over and took the pin from my hand and fixed the part I had been struggling with. "Then come to the training field with me after. Before they arrive. You have not trained properly in two months and I can tell." She met my eyes in the mirror. "You need to hit something, Sera. Let it be the practice posts and not one of the delegates."I almost smiled. "One hour," I said.She handed me back the pin. "One hour."*******The training field was e

Chapter TwoPOV: SeraThe elders did not waste time.There were four of them seated in our front room when my father led me in, their white ceremonial robes still on, their faces carrying the specific kind of gravity that old wolves carry when they have decided something is urgent enough to override courtesy. Elder Corvin, the oldest among them, the one who had been the first to drop to his knees in the clearing, gestured to the chair across from him.I sat."You are aware," he began, "that the Veilborn bloodline is not simply a rank.""I am aware," I said. "I became aware approximately three hours ago."He did not acknowledge that. "The Veilborn exists to maintain the Veil. The boundary between our world and the spirit dimension is a living thing. It requires an anchor. That anchor is a willing bond between the Veilborn and a chosen mate, completed before the full moon of your twenty-first year." He folded his hands. "You have time. But not unlimited time."I looked at him for a lo

Chapter OnePOV: Sera "I, Kael Dravon, High Alpha of the Seven Packs, reject you, Seraphine Ashwood, as my fated mate."He said it like the words cost him nothing."I will not bond with something my wolf cannot stand above."Something."You are not what a Luna should be. You are not something I can lead." His jaw was tight, his eyes hard, and for one second, just one, I saw it. Not authority. Not coldness.Fear."I require a Luna I can lead," he said. "Not one that makes me kneel."Something that makes me kneel. That is what he called me. Not someone. A thing. Something! Me?I stood there and let that land. Let it go all the way down. Thirty seconds ago, the bond had announced itself the moment my shift completed. The sudden overwhelming pull, that feeling of recognition so complete it knocked the breath out of me. I had looked at him across the clearing and thought, with total stupid certainty, that everything was about to make sense.Then he opened his mouth.Let me tell you what I