LOGINThe crowd cheered, but none were louder than our excited children.Ivan’s POVIt was good of Claire to invite me to her wedding. I’d thought for a while that I might avoid the whole thing, but now that I was here, that I could be surrounded by the obvious love between the pair, I was glad that I had
Claire’s POVThe day of our wedding, I couldn’t stop looking at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a flowing white dress that Leo and Nova had helped me pick out. My hair was done up in a bun. I barely recognized myself, so put together and done up.“You look like a princess,” Nova said from nearby
Gideon’s POVI kissed Claire with my full heart, then held her close. She giggled, pressed into the safety of my arms.“We can talk about it now,” she said. “Or you could kiss me again. I liked that.”“I want to,” I told her truly. “I don’t want to stop kissing you. But after all this, I want to see
Claire’s POVI was dragged out of the trunk roughly by my arms, then shoved down into the dirt at Daphne’s feet.Quickly, I glanced around, but I didn’t really recognize where I was. A forest, but I had no idea which one. Tents were set up here and there and people I didn’t know milled about. This m
George glanced over, seeing me in the dim interior light.“He loves you,” he said.“He does.”“Do you love him, too?”“Yes,” I said. It came out easier than I thought it would. “Yes, I do,” I said again, to be sure. This time was just as easy.“Good,” George said. “Gideon is a good man, a brave and
Claire’s POVWe had a handful of hours before we needed to leave for the exchange. In that time, George had me fitted for body armor.“They will likely attempt to remove it from you,” he said. “But try to keep it on for as long as you can. I don’t know what kind of torture they will attempt, but thi
Claire’s POVWhen Nova and I returned to the pack house, Ivan was standing on the porch waiting for us. He greeted Nova with warmth and a hug, but looked at me with more suspicion.“We should talk in my office,” he said to me, after sending Nova ahead.“Yes.”I followed him into his office. After I
Claire’s POVWe stood in the Hall again, Gideon standing up front, with me slightly behind him. Some more of his guard were scattered around the room. Justin and Daphne were nearer the door, ready to leave.I couldn’t wait for them to be gone.“I’m done waiting for you to make your decision,” Justin
“No,” I said again.“Oh,” she said simply and frowned. “But then why does he have a picture of you on his desk?”This time, I was confused again. Ivan had a picture of me? No, that didn’t seem right. The only picture he had, that I knew about, was the one he never allowed me to see. The one of his l
I glared at him, but he ignored the lot of us.The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Justin and Daphne left first. Then Gideon, after ruffling Leo’s hair.When Leo and I were alone, Leo sheepishly looked away from me.“I’m sorry I’ve been mean to you,” he said. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”“







