LOGINElliott headed off toward the warriors’ tents, and I walked the rest of the way alone. The training ring was already crowded when I got there, with more recruits trailing in behind me.There were a dozen new faces I didn’t recognize. It must have been the recruits Vernon had warned us about; I assum
Vera’s POVTwo days later, the healer finally let me off bed rest. She ran a thorough check-up in my little tent, the canvas hot from the morning sun. When I no longer winced at the feeling of her prodding at the bruise on my hip and I could sit up without my head spinning, she seemed satisfied.“We
But I didn’t want to be anybody’s hero. I just wanted to make it through training without being sent home to Cleo with nothing to show for it. And Amber wasn’t going to take any of this lying down. I was pretty sure about that.Elliott glanced toward the tent flap, then leaned in and lowered his voi
Vera’s POVI woke up slowly, aching all over, my throat so raw that it hurt to swallow. The blanket tucked up under my chin smelled like Caius. For a moment, I just lay there with my eyes closed and breathed it in. Back when we had shared a tent, I had woken up to that scent every single morning.Th
The healer on duty looked up when I came in. Across the tent, the boy with the shaved head was propped up on a cot, his nose packed with gauze and both eyes swollen nearly shut, but alive.I laid Vera on the cot furthest away from him and pulled a blanket up over her. A few crushed purple petals wer
Vera’s POVEverything felt far away. The shouting, the trees, the boy pinned underneath me in the dirt. I watched my own fist come down on his face, and then again, but I feltn one of it, even when my own knuckles turned bloody.His nose was crooked, and his eyes were already swelling shut. Some dis
POV: VeraI hooked his arm over my shoulder and hauled him upright.He was taller than me by at least a head, and heavier than he looked. My knees buckled, and I gritted my teeth. Leaving him here to die wasn't an option. My parents hadn't raised me to walk away from this.I dragged him inside throu
POV: VeraI had one day left.Tomorrow, everything my parents had built would belong to the pack. The house, the furniture, the savings. And my four-year-old sister and I would be thrown out with nothing.One week ago, our Alpha had called me to the great hall. He'd told me, with all the warmth of a
POV: VeraFor a second, nobody moved.Caius's fingers were locked around Gareth's wrist. He hadn't raised his voice. Four words, and the yard went quiet enough to hear the frost cracking in the grass.Gareth looked at him — the bandages, the borrowed shirt, the way he leaned against the doorframe li
POV: CaiusThe child stared at me like she'd asked the most reasonable question in the world.I looked at her — small, barefoot, clutching that stuffed bear. Then I looked at her sister. I was shirtless, wrapped in this woman's bandages, sitting on her couch.Vera Crane.Her hair was tangled from sl







