I stood next to Kaira, her eyes on the tent—our tent for the night. Far too many people had lost their homes, and we'd decided to give them two of ours. That left us with one for Torin and Nazo, another for me and Kaira, and a small one for insufferably snoring Rafe.Kaira nibbled on her lip, her arms folding across her waist in a protective gesture. “Um… I can sleep outside somewhere,” she murmured. “You can take the tent. I'll take the blanket and—”“Out of the question,” I said curtly. “You're sleeping here, with me.”Her jaw clenched. “Explain this to me one more time: why can't I use the small tent? If you were a gentleman, you would share this tent with Rafe, and I—”“First of all, you're right, I'm no gentleman.” A sly grin curved my lips. “Second, there's no way in all three hells that I'm going to share a tent with Rafe. His snoring is legendary, and I need to be still sane in the morning. And third…” I inched closer, locking my eyes on hers. “I can always make you lie down n
KAIRAMy heart thundered, and I could barely control the trembling of my hands and feet. Perhaps I should feel relief now that the last bastard who had set Alletia on fire was dead. Unfortunately, his death only made me ten times more restless.While Torin, Rafe, Nazo, and Dearon went to the cave to examine the body, I slowly began to roll up the tents, with “slowly” being a key word. “This is bad… This is so fucking bad,” I gritted out as I packed the blankets into the bag.I sucked in a deep breath, but it sure as three hells didn't help me calm down. I raised my gaze from the blankets and scanned the crowd of villagers slowly getting out of their tents. The spy this dead fucker mentioned had to be among them. How did I know that? Well, the answer was simple: I wasn't the one who killed the bastard in that cave.I'd wanted to. I had planned to kill him. I'd known I would have had to kill him the second Dearon had told me about the interrogation. I'd learned that the guy's name was H
DEARONI carried Kaira in my arms while inwardly muttering a long stream of curses. Torin and Nazo shouldn't have taken this that far. They even wanted me to use the Alpha Command on her, but I knew there were other, simpler ways to make her talk.Her heart raced. I could feel it with how close her chest was half-pressed against my own. Surely, the pounding could have been the result of silver poisoning, but I'd rather think it was because of our proximity. My wolf would certainly vote on the latter. He seemed amazingly satisfied with our current situation while I… well, I had yet to establish how I felt about it. Unfortunately, his urges quickly became my own…A few minutes passed, and I caught myself savoring the way her fingers brushed against the back of my neck as she tried to hold on to me. My one hand was on her back while the other held her bare legs, right under her knees, and gods, I began to wish I could slide that hand further, to her thighs and between them. I wanted to p
KAIRAWhat the actual fuck?! I barely survived the swirling storm of emotions that had invaded me. The fear of exposure quickly turned into a burning desire, only to lead to a quite bitter disappointment…I wasn't sure what I was supposed to feel. I didn't know what I was supposed to think. Perhaps I should focus on the fact that my secrets remained hidden, that no spy had framed me or revealed my true identity. But that kiss…Gods, it had felt like a dream, only better—ten or twenty times better, actually. His touch, his scent, the way he'd kissed me—I hadn't felt anything like this before. It had awakened this odd need inside me, and that feeling…In that heated moment, I'd wanted to be his, to belong to him, and all reasonable arguments seemed irrelevant. It felt as if some primal instincts had taken over, and all I could do was follow their lead. Of course, it all had changed when Dearon decided to turn around and walk away as if it meant nothing to him. And now, seeing his all bu
It was a relief that I got my own tent back, especially now that things between the group and me were still slightly weird. Nazo and Rafe stopped giving me the cold shoulder, but Torin remained distant, and Dearon… well… I wasn't even sure how to describe what was between us.I'd seen the tension sharpening his face when I'd told everyone about my talisman. From that moment, he kept looking at me as if he could sneak into my mind and read me like a book. Unlike how he had asked me about Harlow's death, now he didn't try to approach me, and I couldn't decide whether I found his distance relieving or irritating.Groaning in my rising frustration, I undressed from my traveling clothes and put on a light chemise. Then I finally lay down and wrapped myself with fur covers. Staring at the linen tent fabric above my head, I slowly blew out a breath. Was it possible that my mother had gotten that crystal from someone in Korendorr? I didn't have many memories of my mother, but I could see her
I had told Torin I would go for a short walk, and I ran deep into the woods. As soon as the tents and fire were no longer in sight, I braced myself against the tree, heaving my guts out. According to Torin, Sarendonia's warriors had used dark powers to gain leverage in the war. It sounded ridiculous. I had never felt any dark forces surrounding our army. And yet, I knew that Torin wasn't lying…My body rattled, and I couldn't determine whether it was from the night's cold or sheer terror and disgust. Probably the latter. My mind struggled to process everything I had heard.“The son of the Silver Mountain Pack's Alpha… summoned the demon,” I mumbled, repeating Torin's words. Jarith's father had been the Alpha when the war had begun. Jarith hadn't even been born yet, so Torin must have meant one of Jarith's older brothers…The alpha bloodlines were often blessed with longevity and aged more slowly than the average shifter. It wasn't unusual that some Alphas lived for more than two hundr
DEARONI felt a strange pull in my chest, and an odd restlessness followed. I jerked up to sit, my eyes wide open. A shiver skidded down my spine, and a single word filled my mind…Kaira.A few seconds passed, and I exited the tent. Torin rose to his feet, turning away from the fading fire. His brows inched up, his mouth opening, but I was first to ask, “Where's Kaira?”He blinked. “How did you know she's not in her tent?”I stepped toward him, my anxiety rising. “Where is she?” I strained through my teeth.Torin pointed at the dense part of the forest. “She went in that direction. She said she was going for a walk. Then Ahren went to find her…”I was running before his words fully sounded. I was barefoot, wearing nothing but linen pants, but I couldn't care less. My heart thundered against my chest. She was in danger. I wasn't sure how I knew that; I just did, and the thought that something might happen to her…Shit. Where were those fuck-up feelings coming from?! I was supposed to s
KAIRAMy heart still thundered as I returned to my tent. My mind was a hectic mess. Perhaps I should have been glad that Dearon and I managed to fix things between us, but had we truly? My wolf had a different opinion on that matter. She wanted me to get close to Dearon, not put some uncrossable boundaries.“It's better this way… safer,” I convinced myself as I crawled under the covers.I placed my hand on my pounding heart and breathed deeply. After my conversation with Ahren, I knew for certain I couldn't stay here. This time, the one who knew me chose not to reveal my identity, but what if he changed his mind?“Gods,” I groaned, covering my face with my hands. Had Ahren told Dearon the truth, the Moon Shadow Pack's Alpha wouldn't have dared think about kissing me; he would have rather considered the best way to kill me!Then I recalled what Ahren had said about Sarendonia warriors, and my blood turned cold. For him and the villagers, the people who had fought by my side were monste
The time slowed as what had been a silver flash turned into an arrow aimed to pierce Dearon's chest. He now noticed it, too, because his eyes widened, and his claws began to come out. Not fast enough. Gods, he wouldn't make it. He couldn't stop the swirling arrowhead.But I could.A savage roar built in my throat as I leaped in front of him. My instincts pushed me, and all I could do was to trust them as they guided my sharp claws toward the speeding glint. Then the time resumed, and I could hear the incoming swish—I swung my hand, cutting the arrow shaft a split second before it pierced my flesh. I glanced as the pieces fell to the ground when more arrows flew. The air froze in my lungs as several silver flashes pierced through the leaves. I could barely register them all. I corrected my stance, raised my clawed hand, and—A dark shadow appeared in front of me. No, not shadow—Dearon. I stood, watching in awe as he cut the arrows down. His thunderous growl boomed through the forest,
KAIRAMy heart kept thundering long after we'd returned on our horses and continued through the rough mountain path. Gods, I was seriously considering everything Dearon had told me… which could only mean I had joined my wolf and we were both having a death wish.I looked at Dearon, and wicked warmth washed over my face. The way he had touched me, kissed me, embraced me was nearly impossible to resist. I should have pushed him away. I should have stopped this sooner, but I couldn't, or, what was even more disturbing, I didn't want to.I should have treated Dearon as my enemy—my greatest enemy. The way I had been taught, I should have wanted him dead. My desires, however, traveled in the exact opposite direction…My frustration and restlessness were eating me alive. I had turned into this stupid little moth, flying straight into Dearon's powerful flame. It was bright, fucking hot, and it had already begun to sear my fragile wings, but I had no intention of stopping.“You all right, Kair
DEARONI had never thought I would find sleeping in the Demon's Mouth pleasant, but as I woke up with Kaira in my arms, I couldn't help but smile. Controlling myself in her presence still consumed my focus and strength, but at least I had managed to shut down my primal urges… for now.Breathing in her scent was like the perfect remedy for the cave's cold, the exhaustion stiffening my muscles, and even all my lingering problems. It was almost as if she could become the strength I needed.Strange. I knew so little about her, yet my instincts kept telling me I knew enough. As if I could easily accept her with everything she had and hadn't told me. As if she were the Fates' gift for me. As if she'd been made for me.I gently withdrew my arms from around her waist and under her neck and rubbed the sleep off my face. I almost laughed at myself. I had never spent a night simply embracing a woman and not even decently fucking her. That fact should have disturbed the holy shit out of me, but s
I could barely focus on the road ahead. My fingers were curled tightly around the reins. I kept my back unnaturally straightened, and every few seconds, I had to remind myself how to breathe.I should have known. Gods, I should have figured it out sooner. The way he seemed to know about everything, his impossibly quiet steps, the lack of scent—Ahren was a spy. He had been trained to become one… but trained by whom?I still couldn't comprehend why he had chosen to work for the kingdom he so deeply hated. Or maybe this hadn't been his choice at all. What if he had been forced to work for the Silver Mountain Pack? I could hardly stomach that thought, but I had learned enough recently to know it was possible. The only consolation was that his assignment for Jarith seemed to be over. He could finally reunite with his sister, and—“His sister,” I breathed out as my insides clenched.Ahren had claimed that his sister was somewhere safe and that he had to work for both of them. What if… she h
KAIRAMy heart still thundered as I returned to my tent. My mind was a hectic mess. Perhaps I should have been glad that Dearon and I managed to fix things between us, but had we truly? My wolf had a different opinion on that matter. She wanted me to get close to Dearon, not put some uncrossable boundaries.“It's better this way… safer,” I convinced myself as I crawled under the covers.I placed my hand on my pounding heart and breathed deeply. After my conversation with Ahren, I knew for certain I couldn't stay here. This time, the one who knew me chose not to reveal my identity, but what if he changed his mind?“Gods,” I groaned, covering my face with my hands. Had Ahren told Dearon the truth, the Moon Shadow Pack's Alpha wouldn't have dared think about kissing me; he would have rather considered the best way to kill me!Then I recalled what Ahren had said about Sarendonia warriors, and my blood turned cold. For him and the villagers, the people who had fought by my side were monste
DEARONI felt a strange pull in my chest, and an odd restlessness followed. I jerked up to sit, my eyes wide open. A shiver skidded down my spine, and a single word filled my mind…Kaira.A few seconds passed, and I exited the tent. Torin rose to his feet, turning away from the fading fire. His brows inched up, his mouth opening, but I was first to ask, “Where's Kaira?”He blinked. “How did you know she's not in her tent?”I stepped toward him, my anxiety rising. “Where is she?” I strained through my teeth.Torin pointed at the dense part of the forest. “She went in that direction. She said she was going for a walk. Then Ahren went to find her…”I was running before his words fully sounded. I was barefoot, wearing nothing but linen pants, but I couldn't care less. My heart thundered against my chest. She was in danger. I wasn't sure how I knew that; I just did, and the thought that something might happen to her…Shit. Where were those fuck-up feelings coming from?! I was supposed to s
I had told Torin I would go for a short walk, and I ran deep into the woods. As soon as the tents and fire were no longer in sight, I braced myself against the tree, heaving my guts out. According to Torin, Sarendonia's warriors had used dark powers to gain leverage in the war. It sounded ridiculous. I had never felt any dark forces surrounding our army. And yet, I knew that Torin wasn't lying…My body rattled, and I couldn't determine whether it was from the night's cold or sheer terror and disgust. Probably the latter. My mind struggled to process everything I had heard.“The son of the Silver Mountain Pack's Alpha… summoned the demon,” I mumbled, repeating Torin's words. Jarith's father had been the Alpha when the war had begun. Jarith hadn't even been born yet, so Torin must have meant one of Jarith's older brothers…The alpha bloodlines were often blessed with longevity and aged more slowly than the average shifter. It wasn't unusual that some Alphas lived for more than two hundr
It was a relief that I got my own tent back, especially now that things between the group and me were still slightly weird. Nazo and Rafe stopped giving me the cold shoulder, but Torin remained distant, and Dearon… well… I wasn't even sure how to describe what was between us.I'd seen the tension sharpening his face when I'd told everyone about my talisman. From that moment, he kept looking at me as if he could sneak into my mind and read me like a book. Unlike how he had asked me about Harlow's death, now he didn't try to approach me, and I couldn't decide whether I found his distance relieving or irritating.Groaning in my rising frustration, I undressed from my traveling clothes and put on a light chemise. Then I finally lay down and wrapped myself with fur covers. Staring at the linen tent fabric above my head, I slowly blew out a breath. Was it possible that my mother had gotten that crystal from someone in Korendorr? I didn't have many memories of my mother, but I could see her
KAIRAWhat the actual fuck?! I barely survived the swirling storm of emotions that had invaded me. The fear of exposure quickly turned into a burning desire, only to lead to a quite bitter disappointment…I wasn't sure what I was supposed to feel. I didn't know what I was supposed to think. Perhaps I should focus on the fact that my secrets remained hidden, that no spy had framed me or revealed my true identity. But that kiss…Gods, it had felt like a dream, only better—ten or twenty times better, actually. His touch, his scent, the way he'd kissed me—I hadn't felt anything like this before. It had awakened this odd need inside me, and that feeling…In that heated moment, I'd wanted to be his, to belong to him, and all reasonable arguments seemed irrelevant. It felt as if some primal instincts had taken over, and all I could do was follow their lead. Of course, it all had changed when Dearon decided to turn around and walk away as if it meant nothing to him. And now, seeing his all bu