*Ember*Life in Whitelark seemed almost idyllic compared to the life I had before. Between taking care of Evan and getting to know Grey, I couldn’t have asked for a better life. As I got up and headed to Evan’s room, I greeted a few servants. “Your Majesty.”I was still a little uncomfortable with the title, but I was learning to live with it. I walked inside and found Alec lifting Evan out of his bassinet. The room was bathed in a soft, warm light that filtered through the curtains, casting gentle shadows across the walls.“You snuck away again?” I asked as I entered. “I finished a bit early,” Alec sighed, shifting Evan in his arms. I came closer and found Evan still sleeping peacefully in Alec’s arms. “I wanted some fresh air. Are you heading out?”I nodded, and we left the castle together. The gentle breeze rustled through the leaves of the trees, carrying the scents of roasting meat and the movement of the town through the air. It was filled with peace and tranqu
*Ember*My stomach turned as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were the same striking shade of blue that they had always been, but now they were heavily rimmed with kohl and shadow. My strawberry blonde hair was piled on top of my head in an intricate series of braids, not falling in a smooth cascade down my back like I was used to.But the part that made me shudder was the dress, if I could even call it that. The sheer piece of white silk barely covered the swell of my breasts before it looped down to hug my hips, ending at the very tops of my thighs. Beneath, my feet were bare against the cold stone floor of the antechamber.“I am Ember Moonrise, sole daughter of Luther Moonrise, Alpha King of Silver Crescent. This is my duty,” I whispered to myself. I tried to make the words sound strong and confident, but the quiver in my voice didn’t quite go away.“You’re damn right, girl,” a voice boomed from behind me. I jumped and spun, my heart hammering in my chest. My
*Ember*Gentle morning light filtered in through the curtains, warming me. I smiled, thinking of the strange dream I’d had the night before – how a cloaked stranger had saved me from my violent father and seared me with an electric kiss.Thinking of my father never made me happy, but the rest was blissful. The warmth of the dream was shattered when I tried to roll over and had to bite back a scream of pain. My ribs felt like they were on fire, and my head was throbbing in time to my heartbeat. I opened my eyes, and my vision swam.That was no dream, I realized. It had really happened. Memories of the cruel Alphas came rushing back to me. My bare feet, danced bloody, stung beneath the sheets. Fresh tears prickled at my eyes, and I let them come.I only wiped them away when a maid entered. She took one look at me and gasped, confirming that I looked as bad as I felt. After a moment, she said, “The Alpha King requests your presence at breakfast.”I tried to nod, but the movemen
*Ember*“Moon Goddess, please don’t let Lukas take me. Please let the stranger come in time,” I prayed under my breath. The maid who was helping me into my dress glanced at me quizzically. I blushed, not realizing that my words had been audible.“I was just wondering what we would have for dinner,” I muttered, and the maid nodded. I hoped she believed me. The last thing I needed was the maid chattering to her friends about a stranger whisking the Alpha King’s daughter away.“Done,” the maid said, straightening and bustling out of my room. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and grimaced. The dress, black this time, was just as bad as the one my father had forced me to wear the previous night. The silk clung to my thin frame, etching every bone and dimple in shadows. The bodice was almost painfully tight, constricting my breasts and pushing them up uncomfortably.The maid had done her best to cover the bruises on my face with makeup, but it only made the ugly black and purpl
*Ember*It was a testament to my exhaustion that I slept through the Grims’ departure from the castle. Later, one of the maids told me that it had taken the Alpha King himself to coax Lukas from his hiding place, and the Alpha had immediately gathered his entourage to leave, though he had promised to return in one week to retrieve me. As far as the maid knew, the intruder had disappeared without a trace.I had done my best not to smile at that part. I suspected that the intruder might have been wearing a hooded cloak, though I wasn’t about to tell that to the maid.I spent most of the day in a haze, gazing longingly out the window. Every movement outside of the castle pulled my attention, but the cause was always ordinary–warriors practicing in the courtyard below, birds hopping along the stone balustrades, a maid opening a window to air out a room. Even though I saw no sign of my hooded savior, I couldn’t help but feel that he was watching me, keeping me safe from a distance.As t
*Ember*The rest of the week passed without any sign of the hooded stranger. There were no more roses, no parcels of food, no chocolates.I was still afraid of what would happen if Lukas came for me, but I was also angry. Maybe the hooded stranger really had been Lukas or one of those Alphas from the party. After all, it seemed like a cruel trick to play–shower me with food and flowers, toy with my heart, and give me a little glow of hope, only to disappear into the shadows without a trace.Luckily, one of the kinder maids had noticed the shift in my mood and had taken pity on me. The night before, she had smuggled me a book from the library. I didn’t get to read often, as my father had forbidden me from entering the library. Even so, I snuck into the room often, pilfering books and returning them before they were missed. Once I had a tome, I would tuck it beneath my mattress until I was done with it. If the maids had ever found my secret stash, they had never mentioned it to me, or
*Ember* The Grim pack had only just arrived, but the party was already in full swing. Warriors laughed and talked with pretty females in colorful gowns. Goblets of ale and wine were passed around freely through the crowd, along with a variety of dishes popular with the packs from the north. I scanned the throng of people, but there was no sign of the hooded stranger. Was it possible that he was one of Lukas’ warriors, or even his Beta? I had never seen my savior’s face and realized with a sinking feeling that he could be right in front of me and I wouldn’t know unless he chose to reveal himself.As I walked deeper into the hall, I felt the others’ curious eyes on me. I did my best to ignore them as I approached the Alpha King, who was deep in conversation with a male that I guessed to be Lukas’ Beta.“Alpha King, your daughter has arrived,” the shifter said, nodding towards me.My father, with his back still turned to me, waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she
*Ember*“I want you,” I murmured again into the darkness as the hooded stranger slid the strap of my dress down my shoulder. His motions were agonizingly slow.Unable to hold back, I closed the distance between us and found his lips with my own, crushing myself against the strong breadth of his chest. A low chuckle rumbled from his throat at my impatience, and he deepened the kiss as his hands began to unlace the back of my dress.Cool night air licked the skin of my back as the dress fell open and began to slide down my arms, the front held up only by the closeness of our bodies as passion poured from our lips. The stranger slid a hand down between the fabric and my body, splaying his fingers at the small of my back and drawing me even closer to him. I moaned at the heat radiating from his palm.Excited by the noise, he dropped the hand lower and slid it under my ass, jerking me up quickly. Reflexively, I wrapped my legs around his hips and then gasped into our kiss as I felt his