MAE: I still have just two missions within these walls. One, find out what happened to Sai, my dead boyfriend. Two, survive at all costs. There are no classes ongoing now. Shifters are everywhere, but the orders should have less people lurking around. I’m confident in that thought because it’s the most likely. Also, the professor I had seen with Vienna had talked about a meeting with Kathleen. This is my chance. I step into the Order of Founders, sneaking past the guards. It is a square-shaped building, much larger than the rest with fewer occupants. They are the true leaders of Solantis. The ones who will sit in the Paragon Chamber someday with a unit behind each of them, consisting of their Chief Shaper, Elder One, and a Warden General. Willas Aranal read it out to us right before the tolerance test. Somehow, I believe becoming a newborn is a curse in disguise. If you can’t manifest the power of your crest while in any of the Orders, no matter how long it takes, you can leave.
MAE: I'm basking in the clouds, floating like the wind. Xannon’s mouth is my eighth wonder. I don't ever want to meet the ground again. “Gods, why does it feel this good?” I moan as soon as the back of my thighs hit the dresser. “Fuck.” “Xannon,” I moan his name, holding his face. Suddenly, he bites my bottom lip. Pain flashes by, but it only turns me on more. Pressure builds as fast as lightning in between my legs. I dig my nails into his skin, letting one hand curl in his long, soft hair. He's practically eating my mouth now. His finger trails down my neck to the valley between my breasts. “The things I want to do to this body of yours, Mae.” I'm suddenly flammable. Everywhere he touches burns sweetly. “Do them.” I don't recognise my voice—in fact, I don't even know I've moaned that out loud. He laughs softly. “Will you really let me?” I can’t think. I'm incapable of processing a thought. Just need exists. Brain-paralysing need. I blame my wolf Lena. But it's my head b
XANNONHis lifeless eyes have plagued my mind since the day it happened at the Crescent Ball. As green as mine, like fresh grass in the meadows. They remind me of where my brothers and I come from. Home. But they also remind me of the day our lives changed. The day we signed an agreement with death that we won't last until the end of our wolves' life span. I still hear the rage of laughter coming from the ongoing Crescent Ball in my head. The table had curved around the Crowngate Higher square and, on the other radius, sat Casterton, the Vamp Lord. Our gazes meshed in a line as we drank from our goblets. His normal wine. Ours poisoned."Xannon." I turn, blinking away my father's lifeless eyes and his voice in my head, facing Kace Morgant. He's not alone. I've come to learn that he always walks with minions from the Dusk Fae Court, who've found their way into this school of bloodshed as well."I haven't seen you since Naming Day ended." He regards me with soul-piercing eyes, like h
MAE: One week ago. I think it’s a trumpet. Maybe the sky gods want a red carpet laid out for them before they arrive on the ground. But it’s only Kira blowing snot into a tissue, repeatedly, in the living room. “Arghhhh.” She half groans and half wails, leaving me dumbfounded. “Don’t you think it’s too early in the morning?” She pops one eye open through her aggressive tears, blowing another round of non-existent snot into a tissue. She’s all surrounded. White crumpled paper towels dot every spot on the black tiled floor next to her. “Men are scum!” she says while crying, but I strain to hear her correctly. “What? Men are saints?” The leatherette couch pillow lands in my face for that, and I raise my hands, surrendering. “Too soon. Got it.” I sigh, watching her crumble, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Kira fell for her mated boss, who hid the truth about his family from her. It wasn’t until she had gotten tangled in his messed up life that she found out. Falling
XANNON: Present Day. “Uncle, do you enjoy having your cock sucked?” Xaden asks Damek Beverion, the Lycan King of the Vale, which is the capital of Evencrest city. My brother seldom has a filter, and sometimes, he lacks a working brain. We are far from home, being housed by the Red Dawn pack. After someone attacked and killed our father in Crowngate city, we fled before it was too late. They may not have finished off the Beverions of the Silent Winter pack, but they will return to end what they’ve started. And we don’t even know who the enemy is. Yet. I clear my throat. “Excuse Xaden, Uncle. He’s had a long month since we left Crowngate, grieving.” Xaden scoffs, curling his lips into a mocking smile, but he stays silent. I’m glad his brain boots again and reminds him of whose roof houses us now. In a few moments, I will realise I spoke too soon about my brother. “No, it’s alright.” Alpha Damek chuckles in his seat on the long table while his servants serve breakfast. “What man
MAE: A slap. A fucking hard one. Stella Holden answers her door and slaps me hard in the face. I don't know this woman. I just know that she's Sai's stepmother. Kira’s the reason I’m here, so what the hell is this woman’s problem? They turned her into a suspect and took her away from me. Now, she just hit me like I'm responsible for her son's death. I remain calm, watching her take in deep, hard breaths as the sting on my face slowly disappears. "I've been meaning to do that for nineteen long years, Mae." Her face morphs into an ugly snarl—the kind you'll find on the face of a demon. Huh, she knows my name...How? "At least, I deserve to know why you’ve pinned your son’s murder on an innocent person." I say, too calm to be true. She’s dazed for a moment before she mutters. "Because you ruined my life...But at least now, you are about to save it." This. Woman. Is. Crazy. "Kira didn't kill Sai! I'm warning you. End this madness now, Stella." "How dare you warn me?! My brothe
MAE: Ivan Holden hands me his family’s crest. Dragon fire. Only the most influential families in Solantis own crests. I’ve never had one. Kira Reane didn’t have one, either. We've never been amongst the cream of the crop. Our social ranks are far below average, even the town we live in is known to house the lowest grades of people. I would have never imagined before now that I would step foot in the Vale, which is the home of top-tier individuals. The idea of Crests began thousands of years ago after all supernaturals united under the umbrella of Solantis at the end of the great war. That's as far as my knowledge of our history went, but at least, I've painted a clear picture of the life I've lived for you. Also, I realise the Holdens aren’t done with me after dinner at the Vale. They’ve made another offer. If I want Kira back, I have to sign up for the Starweaver Academy, and to do that, I must identify as Alpha Ivan’s daughter before all of Solantis and not just the Beverions of
XANNON: A fucking plot twist. It’s the beauty with pretty, fuck-me grey eyes, sitting outside Kathleen Aranal’s office. I swear time stills for an eternity when our eyes meet. She smells like ours. She is ours. “What?” her voice speaks to my cock, like its an audio manual. It’s the most perfect sound to exist. I sigh mentally. I have to hear it again and again, but which of them did Wade bind us to last night by honour? My eyes dart to the blonde pretty face at her side. A shocking spark of familiarity settles inside me. I frown. Her deep blue eyes, flawless golden skin, and that sharp nose do not seem...new. “Mae Holden? The director is waiting for you.” Kathleen’s secretary saves everyone from the awkwardness brewing like a storm. The Holden girls stand and leave, but my brothers and I have our eyes glued to one perky ass. Who’s Mae? Her? “Holy shit.” A stunned Xaden mutters when they leave. “Did that just happen?” “Wade. That cunning bastard. He should have sent us a pic.