Novel-novel oleh Elizabeth Crown

CHAPTER NINENoblewomen and predators.SOLANAI waited for him.Lily helped me with my bath, sheer dress, and pinned my hair up. I used the sweetest soap in the chamber until my skin smelled soft and expensive. Then I sat on the edge of the bed with my hands folded tightly in my lap, a stomach full of dread, and waited. But he never came.Midnight passed, and the dread slowly loosened, only to fill me with confusion. I was relieved that I had one more night, but some traitorous part of me was disappointed because I had expected his rough hands on my body.He didn’t come tonight, which meant he would come tomorrow. I had to get the contraception ready.I counted the hours until morning, impatiently pacing my room. In Shadowridge, my room had been the smallest in the house, a shoe closet turned into a makeshift room, and now, I had all this space with nothing to do with it. I wouldn’t get comfortable. I wasn’t staying here for long. First, I would make the contraceptive. Then, I would

CHAPTER EIGHTA miracle or a trap?KING RONAN “The rogues have struck again, my King.” Alpha Vance of the Ironclaw Pack grunted.I barely looked at him. These weekly meetings were a waste of time. I was certain that they invented problems half the time to get more funding. There was a ridiculous competition between the eight packs, or so Silas said. I was beginning to believe him. “Rogues?” Alpha Calloway of the Moonveil Pack scoffed. “Do you really need the King’s help handling small rogues? You cannot handle them on your own?” “I have tried handling them, but they are persistent.” Vance glared at him. “Persistent? Or you’re incompetent.” Calloway mocked. “How come I have never caught a glimpse of these infamous rogues?” Alpha Montgomery of the Ravenstorm Pack demanded. His Pack was closest to Ironclaw. “You have been crying about rogues that might as well not exist.” “Pick your words carefully. Will I lie to the King?” Vance seethed, leaning forward. “You do have a history of

CHAPTER SEVENThe price for cheating death.SOLANACold spread through me as I stared at the woman. I clenched the herbs so tightly in my fist that the stems cut into my palm. She ran her gaze over me with her nose raised in the air. The silk of her gown was finer than anything I had ever seen or touched. Sweet perfume drifted from her; her wrists were adorned with expensive jewellery, which flashed every time she moved. She was royalty, and now she had caught me with hands full of plants I had no business gathering. For a moment I imagined Ronan finding out, and sweat trickled down my back. The punishment would be severe.“I am Lady Tatiana of House Grey.” She introduced herself, still staring at me with curiosity. “H – Hi,” I whispered, pushing past the knot in my throat, and bowed my head as I’d always done. I straightened my shoulders and kept the herbs hidden against my skirts. I had nothing to fear. I made myself believe this.“And you’re the infamous little breeder.” Her eye

CHAPTER SIXLittle breeder.SOLANAI wiped my face with the back of my hand and forced my breathing to steady. There was no time left to cry. Ronan would send for me soon, and I needed to make sure nothing from last night could take root. Silas watched me with the same strange expression, as if I were a mirage that would disappear. If only. “Can I visit the herb garden now?” I asked him, clenching my jaw hard.He studied me for a moment longer. “Yes, but first, your guard and your maid.”“Of course.” I forced a smile, clenching my fist tight. A guard and a maid were chains on my wrists and legs, but refusing would only make him suspicious.He led me through the corridors, and I counted every turn, noting the armed men. Escape would be difficult, nearly impossible, but I was nothing but determined. First, I would fool them, make them believe I was just a harmless breeder, then run.We stopped outside the large kitchens. The smell of bread made my stomach grumble. I couldn’t remember

CHAPTER FIVESOLANAI woke up sore and alone.Sunlight streamed in through the windows. I shifted, groaning softly at the deep ache between my legs and the bruise on my body from the rope. I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. It was different from my room back in Stormridge. I could feel his mark on my throat, tender and hot. I could also feel the ghost of his hands all over my body. I hadn’t expected to survive the night, but I did, and now, I was going to find out what it meant.A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. I sat up and pulled the sheets around my body. The door opened, and I stiffened, expecting the maid from earlier. Instead, I saw two younger women, accompanied by a man. From his uniform, I knew he was a high commander. He stared at me in surprise, as if he’d expected to find my corpse. Then, he nodded and walked out without a word, leaving me confused. “My … my lady.” One of the maids whispered. “Would you like to wash up now?” She could not meet

CHAPTER FOURSOLANAHe pulled back only far enough to rise onto his knees behind me. I stayed as he had left me, shivering, chest pressed to the sheets, with my hips still raised. The air was cold against my soaked and swollen skin. I felt like a pomegranate, scraped raw and bruised, but in a good way, perhaps a confusing way. He made me feel more pleasure than I’d ever felt in my entire life, and I found it hard to understand.He growled, low in his chest, and pulled out his cock. I swallowed at the sight of it, watching the soft glide of his hand stroking once, then twice. He coated the thick head with my wetness, and my stomach tightened as he leaned forward, making the mattress dip. His heat seeped into me, and I grew even more lightheaded. His heavy hand settled on my back, pinning me in place, and his blunt, hot head pressed against my core.Every instinct screamed for me to cover my legs, to cover myself and hide, but he did not let me. “Solana.” My name came out roughly, a

CHAPTER 58Just a baby.SALVATORECaroline finally falls asleep sometime before dawn. I sit beside the bed long after her breathing evens out, watching the rise and fall of her chest as if looking away might somehow change it. The room smells faintly of herbs, antiseptic, sweat, and fear. Most of it has soaked into the walls over the last twenty-four hours.Her face is pale against the pillow. The fever has broken, but I do not trust it. My gaze drifts to her stomach. The blanket covers most of her body, but I know exactly where our child rests. It is something impossible, something that should not exist, something people will kill for. My hand clenches against my thigh. The thought alone is enough to make my wolf bare its teeth.A soft knock breaks the silence. I look toward the door and see Slade standing there.“You can’t stay in here forever. She’s asleep. She will be fine. We need you out here. Belle won't stop arguing with Nadia, who keeps demanding more blood samples. Sage is

CHAPTER 57CAROLINEThe room expands and collapses around me in slow, violent pulses. The walls are too close, then too far, then too close again. I am awake for all of it, and it is the worst part. There is no escape into sleep, no soft break between moments where my body forgets how much it is suffering. I am being unravelled from within, as if I am being rewritten. It is one thing to try to heal someone with the virus, but it is another thing to suffer from it because I know exactly what is happening to me. I know what awaits me, how painful it is going to get.My life flashes before my eyes, and I think about how I got here. All these began a few months ago because I decided to come here for a vacation. Now, I’m not only carrying a baby, but infected with a mystical virus.Everything is too loud. I press my palms against my ears until my fingers hurt, but it doesn’t change anything. The sound is not outside me. It is inside my bones. It is inside my teeth. It vibrates behind my e

CHAPTER 56CAROLINEI wake up screaming. The sound tears itself out of my throat before I even understand where I am.For a moment, everything is pain. Hot and blinding pain.The room swims in and out of focus as another wave crashes through me. It starts somewhere deep beneath my ribs and spreads outward, through my stomach, my spine, my arms, until every nerve in my body feels stripped bare. It is not the sharp pain of an injury. Not the clean pain of a broken bone or a surgical incision. This is something alive. The virus moves in me, and attacks everything at once.It feels like my blood is on fire, because it is. Tears burn my vision, and I bite my tongue hard. I curl instinctively around my stomach and immediately regret it. My baby. My baby. Oh, my baby. Nothing must happen to my baby.A cry escapes me. My muscles seize so violently that I almost roll off the bed.“Caroline.” Salvatore is beside me instantly. I don't know if he ever left. His hand slides behind my shoulders, tr

CHAPTER 55Infected.CAROLINEThe first time it happens, I think I’m imagining it. The patient’s hand twitches against the restraints, fingers curling too tightly, and his nails scrape skin that should already be healing. The fever has pushed him into delirium, but that’s not unusual. What is unusual is the sound. A low, wet fracture under the skin.“Hold him steady,” I order, already moving closer.Nadia hesitates. “Doctor Blake, maybe you should –”“I said hold him.” My voice is calm. My moment of peace was with Sal, and now I am back to work. I need this whole thing to be over. I hate that I am missing so much of my pregnancy.The monitors spike, and his temperature climbs again, sharp and unnatural. Then his back arches violently against the bed. The restraints creak, and his skin ripples. Shit. I freeze for half a second. His spine is changing. What the fuck? A jagged distortion moves beneath his skin like something trying to remember a shape it was never meant to hold.His finge

CHAPTER 54SALVATOREI wake up in her arms, and the first thing I think is that I can really get used to this.Is it a losing battle now? Should I just stop fighting and enjoy what I have been given? Is she a gift or a curse?Most wolves are very religious, paying homage to the Moon Goddess, but I have lived long enough to watch empires, religion and faith crumble. I have not found anything supreme, but I must admit that the devotion humans pay to their Gods and technology is what I would like to show Caroline. I want to lay the earth at her feet because she deserves it.I sit up slowly, looking at her soft face and place my hand on her belly.She groans softly and pushes into my touch.My heart skips a beat when I realise her belly is a little swollen. She is finally looking pregnant. Her boobs are fuller, spilling out of my shirt. She wakes slowly and smiles at me. “Hi. Are you leaving?”“Hm.” I nod slowly, and she pulls me down, “Not yet.”The room smells like metal and old paper.

CHAPTER 53CAROLINEHe kisses me harder, sliding his hot tongue back into my mouth. I wrap my arms around him desperately, needing him closer. My desperation for him shows, and I do not care about that. I just want him. I want his hands all over my body. I want more. I have missed him so much.Easily, he carries me and places me on the kitchen counter.He pulls away and stares at me with a hooded gaze. “Do you want to take this to the bedroom?”A smile pulls at the corners of my mouth, “What other option is there?”“We can stay here and continue what we’ve started, but we’re not home alone, and I do not want to scandalise your friend.” He flashes me a dirty grin, and I feel it all the way to my toes.“Then, you should probably take me to the bedroom.” I shrug, as my belly tightens with need.“Will you be quiet? You have to be quiet.” He carries me as if I weigh nothing, and I wrap my legs around him.I inhale sharply when I feel his hard dick between my legs. I know I shouldn’t, but I