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 POVI was in a trance, not even thinking about what I was doing really, as I pressed myself up onto my toes, ready to press my lips to his. He was leaning down, his head tilting, his mouth angling just so…Then, suddenly, a wave crashed down over us. Gideon turned, pulling me more fully beh
Gideon’s POVThe day of the banquet came quickly, with moments of planning and other daily pack duties passing by in a blur. The days themselves seemed to go quicker now, filled with the joyful laughter of my children and the nearness of Claire, alive and well.When the day finally arrived, I stood
Gideon’s POVThe banquet ended abruptly, with everyone disbanding on my orders. I hated to have Claire’s celebration end so poorly, but it couldn’t be helped. Daphne, once again, had shown up and ruined everything.Once I had returned Claire and the children safely to the pack house, she told me of
Claire’s POVI had no idea why we had left so suddenly when we didn’t have any information. I wanted to stay until we had some kernel of truth, but now we were pushed outside without any new leads. And I was furious.This entire trip had felt like a bust. The bartender had shared a picture, which wa







