LOGINI just needed to know that she’s okay. I got out of my room, walked down the hall to her door, pressed on the handle, and waltzed right in. But, the whole time something in me screamed, “Don’t do it!” I’m usually the kind of guy to listen to my instincts. Not today. I entered and stood, taking in the lush room, but it didn’t matter how nice the place was because Olivia wasn’t in it. Clearly, she went for some sort of midnight stroll. I waited a few more minutes before sighing and turning back to the door. She stands there, staring at me. My body tenses at her wide eyes and glossy, parted lips. She looks like a Luna. She has always looked like a Luna. I understand why Nester Rist was so desperate to make her his queen. We’re both silent for a second, until she finally whispers, “Hunter, I—” “I had to make sure you were okay,” I finish the sentence for her. The bite mark on her neck still looks as fresh as when it was bitten, and I want to break something, preferably on Nester’s
I wake up startled. My hand flies to my heaving chest, trying to recall what I just woke up from. A nightmare. A terrible one. I saw everyone dead. Friends, family, faces I can’t remember. I break shakily in someone else’s clothes, a sleeping gown one of the women were kind enough to lend me, but despite how freely it flows, i feel strangled. I hop out of the stiff bed that has been arranged for me in a place slightly bigger than the one I prepared for the bonding ceremony. It’s bare, but it’s ten times better than the other place I was suggested to stay; with Nester. Someone asks me if I’d like to stay with him since he’s practically my mate now, and the idea spooked me so much that I ordered them to move him to a separate part of town entirely. Not my best emotional move so far, but whatever. There’s no carpet here, and the ground is freezing beneath my feet. The wind howls outside. Everything that can be wrong feels wrong, and all I want to do is go to fucking
There is silence for a long time. My pounding heart is the only thing I can hear. Every second that passes feels like I’m being strangled, and by the time someone finally makes a noise, I don’t think I’m breathing. Everest awkwardly laughs. “You guys can't seriously be considering what she’s saying?” he asks incredulously. His hand flies in Nester’s general direction. “Clearly she has done something to our master! She set these boys free, who murdered some of our own people. Lock her up!” “No,” I contend. The crowd turns back to me. I know it’s a long-shot trying to command them, but I really don’t have any other choice. “Nester gave a command before he collapsed. If you truly value him as your Alpha, then you must listen to me.” The bodice of my dress seems to tighten. Blood runs down my neck from Nester’s bite mark. I’m not sure what I look like to them—maybe a queen, maybe a mad woman. The crowd remains silent, staring at me. I think they’re plotting what to do with me.
Nester doesn’t look good. His skin seems to pale even more. Hope flutters in my heart as he sways on his feet. “You already have power over my people.” “Not the power I need.” I turn to the thousands of followers I've been avoiding, and sweep my hand over the chapel, ”Not any real power over them.” Nester grips the podium for support, his eyes turning milky. My heart races. I need him to stay awake just a little longer, long enough to give me what I want. “I’ve already told you when you’re my Luna they will listen to you,” he says, exasperated. “And what if you aren’t around, will they still listen to me?” Silence. Nester coughs. It’s just one, simple cough, but it makes my heart lurch. The silver has begun its work. At last, he says, “I am their ruler.” “So am I,” I retort. “I want you to tell them that if anything happens to you, I am the one in charge, and no matter what happens, they should listen to me.” Everyone freezes. I expect his eyes to turn to
Fuck. Death’s cold hands grip me, flow through me as Nester not only takes my blood, but gives me some of his own essence. Darkness swirls and clutches my heart. My knees buckle, but he wraps his arms around my cheeks and holds me up. Don't faint. Don’t faint. Don't faint… I need something to ground me, so I grudgingly focus on the one noise I never, ever wanted to hear: Ricklan, gagged and muffled, yelling for me. I gulp as I allow myself to listen to the others as well: Axel screams, Hunter begs. Only Talon and Ryker stay quiet. Maybe it's for the best. Already the sound of my Alpha and two CrestRidge boys breaking over me is more than enough horror for a lifetime. I’m not sure I could handle all of them. Nester’s bond snaps through me, and I gasp. I had prayed because I’m human it might not actually happen, but I feel it there in my heart. His bond. My half-mate. I feel a pull to him that I can’t endure. It’s not attraction, but it’s not unpleasant either. I gul
Warm, sticky blood wells in the gap between my handcuffs and my skin. I replay every moment that led us here, every decision we thought would be the right one. Never in my life have I doubted my decision-making skills like I do in this moment. And for the first time in weeks, I crave a damn drink. “LET US GO!” Ricklan yells, his voice carrying over the crowd, because the chapel has filled with Everest’s never-ending army. I gulp, hearing the cacophony of voices behind us. It must be thousands. I think every single one of Nester’s followers are here. I don’t dare look back, because seeing the full extent of his army will fill me with nothing but dread. And still, somehow, I want nothing more than to get out of my seat because of who is sat behind me.Everest. He leans forward, tugging me back with the cuffs. I bite my lip against the pain and feeling of death that surrounds me. “Hey,” he starts, gloating in his tone, “Could you get Ricklan to shut up?” I clench my teeth and re
Everything in me is itching for a drink. I need the bitter bite of whiskey burning down my throat, churning in my belly, turning my brain into the right kind of slop that can forget everything that’s happened to me. My hand shakes over another textbook, sick of this searching. Hunter left the l
I break away before their lips touch. I nearly tumble out of Ryker’s lap, but his grip on me stays firm. He’s so still that I’m not sure he’s breathing. “You’re okay. “ he whispers, as if I’m the one being coerced into having sex. Shakily, I push away a strand of beautiful hair that has fallen o
Hunter’s mouth is magic against mine. My whole body goes hot; my lips, my nerves, my core. Everything. He pulls away as quickly as he bent down and I gasp, “Hunter.” I can already see some sort of apology building in his mind, but I shake my head, pulling him closer, “Don’t. Please, kiss me
“Miss Blackwood. Clarissa, darling. My office. Now,” Roanna screeches. My blood heats. What am I being taken into the office for? Clarissa not only charged at me, but insulted and slapped me. Three things that go heavily against any sparring rules. Dillon steps toward Roanna, arms spread like he’







