From the outside, the fairy court looked like nothing more than an old gothic cathedral, but on the inside, it was like something out of a fairytale. A huge stone castle fortress with a literal forest growing inside. Every wall, archway, and window was decorated with vines and trees and climbing plants. Birds, bees, and other insects hummed throughout the place. The scents that filled the air were nothing like that of the pollution of the human world outside the court's doors, and Layon and Angel glanced at each other in astonishment several times as they were led down the forested hallways by a rather tall and pretty fairy whose professional demeanor left her looking strict and unapproachable. “This place can’t be real,” Angel exclaimed when they had been walking for several minutes. Layon couldn’t help but admire the innocent astonishment on her face that made her look even more angelically beautiful than normal. “It’s huge compared to the outside!” Layon had to agree. They se
The feather-light silks that the fairies had draped over her in a sheer gown that left little to the imagination were softer than anything Angel had ever worn before. They seemed as soft and fragile as spider silk, and it took her a while to grow used to the movement of them, fearful that they might slip from her shoulders and pool at her feet. The only thing that seemed to hold them in place was the golden rope belt that had been tied loosely around her waist. She stared at herself in the floor-to-ceiling mirror that was surrounded by grape vines, barely able to recognize herself. So used to seeing herself in leather and black and the odd skater dress, she felt as though she had stepped into some kind of fairytale. The attendants that had been assigned to her were like handmaids, and they'd brushed out her hair into long cascading curls that fell over her shoulders like red waterfalls, decorated here and there with irises. The paleness of the silks she wore against her creamy porc
Still flustered from his moment alone with Angel, Layon was entirely unprepared to face the fairy queen. She sat upon her throne made of twisted tree roots and branches, a crown of grape vines upon her head, the most ethereal and regal beauty that Layon had ever seen in his life. Yet it was not a beauty that could be entirely attractive because beneath it was a sense of danger, a sense of wisdom, an ageless being that seemed to be able to maim and kill with a look. She could not be looked upon for very long and Layon found himself bowing his head low in her presence, confused by the feeling of submissiveness she caused within him as his wolf tried to battle against it. "Why are you here?" the queen demanded, her voice both musical and menacing, sending a shiver down Layon's spine. "We have come to bring my sister, Reebah Silverdale, home," Layon announced, then thinking quickly he added, "Your Majesty." He could feel her ice-cold stare on him and was more than a little relieve
They were practically thrown into Angel's room as though they were prisoners being hounded into a cell. The lack of windows made the place claustrophobic even with all the trees and flowers pumping oxygen into the room, and for several minutes she stood silently watching Layon pace up and down, long after the door was locked behind them. "Layon, what is going on here?" Angel asked when she found she could take the silence no longer. Layon stopped his pacing for only a moment to gaze at her with a pained expression before starting all over again "This was a terrible idea," he mumbled almost as if he was talking to himself more than her. "I never should have brought you here." "Layon, what does the fairy queen know?" Angel asked, fearful that she already knew the answer. And if she did, it would make going home next to impossible, not only for her but for them both. She took a step toward him and again he paused, looking at her with such a conflicted stare that she wanted noth
They might have been lying there for several minutes or even hours.Layon couldn't be sure, but he found it was not long enough when he heard the sound of knocking on the guestroom door. Angel tensed against him. Stroking her hair back from her forehead, he kissed her gently upon the head before calling, "What is it?""Your sister and the queen's grand-nephew arrive, sir!"yelled one of the guards from the other side of the door. At the same moment, Layon andAngel broke into action, offering each other an alarmed glance as they hurried to make themselves more presentable. Layon couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he watched Angel flit up from the bed, looking almost as thoughshe were a fairy herself in her long silken gown.His attention was drawn away from her by the opening door, and he found that he only just managed to drag his pants back on before his sister and her boyfriend wandered into the room. Reebah's face twisted with a look of disbelief the moment she entered.
The flight back to America was much different from the outgoing flight. Though Angel found herself alone with Layon again, there was noawkwardness between them. They did not sit apart. In fact, as soon as the jet was up in the air, Layon released his seatbelt and practically crawled across the floor to kneel at her feet, taking hold of her hands in his as he promised,"Angel, I'll fight for you with everything I have, with every last ounce of strength in my body."Angel's entire being trembled at his words, and she removed a hand from his to hold his cheek, enjoying the way he nuzzled into her hand andkissed her palm."I know you will," she responded, her heart squeezing as she stroked his cheek and felt tears threatening to roll down her own. "And I'll be right beside you."Though she knew she might not be able to be with him physically, she was well aware that she would be by his side no matter what. No matter the distance between them, she was his now. She could feel it with
Returning to Dale was harder than Layon ever expected. Leaving Angel at her apartment, unsure as to whether anyone might come looking for her, was even harder. "I'll put everything right," he'd promised even as he'd left her at her door with a kiss. "I'll win the alpha challenges. I have to. For us. But if I don't, I want you to run. Run and make contact with Reebah. I'll find you." Angel had cupped his face, looked him dead in the eye, and stated, "I don't need to run. You'll win." Her faith in him was all he had to hold onto now as he faced down his father. The Dale alpha stood in his study with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Layon with such intensity that his son could almost feel his skin burning. "Explain yourself!" Layon sensed the guards waiting outside the room flinch and barely managed to stop himself from doing the same. He couldn't afford to show any weakness right now. Instead, he thought of Angel and of Reebah and Chris and even Jason, who would be d
Not having set foot on the Silverdale Manor property since her father's banishment, Angel was terrified by the very ground she walked on. With every step onto the property, she began to feel more and more anxious, glancing over her shoulder at the thought of suddenly being accosted by Marcus' most loyal. Yet nobody seemed to notice her until she joined the crowd at the far end of the property, where the entire pack had gathered around the edge of one of the open fields to witness the alpha challenges. The main families of the pack all stood at the center, surrounding their eldest sons and offering encouragement for the day ahead. Angel thought it was pretty barbaric and she would have liked nothing more than to put a stop to it, especially when she saw Layon amongst them, standing alone save for his father's second, Roscoe, who had taken over her father's position after his banishment. The whole thing seemed like pure idiocy to Angel, and yet it was the way things had always been