登入KaneI stood there long after the footsteps were gone. Then I dropped onto the edge of the bed and picked up the cup she hadn't touched. I drank it down.Poured another. The fire popped. Somewhere below, laughter carried up through the stone, Northern wolves drinking like nothing had happened.I tipped the jug for a third and got a few drops, then nothing. I shook it. Empty. The cup went down on the stand harder than I meant it to. The room was too quiet, the door still hanging open, the marks of her boots still pressed into the furs.Below, the laughter rose again. That was where the drink was. I was on my feet and out the door before I'd thought any further than that.The keep was big, the halls far from my quarters. Two Ironmaw warriors were coming the other way, and the bigger one slowed when he saw me."Lost, little Alpha?" He jerked his chin at the wall. "South's that way."The other one snorted. "Leave him be. Pup's had a long day."They laughed and shouldered past, close enoug
KaneI ran a hand through my hair, looking away from Elara's dark profile bent to the fire. The room was cold and empty.I poured the ale and held out a cup to her. She ignored me, her gaze fixed on the flames. I slammed the cup down on the small stand beside the bed."You're supposed to remove your boots before sitting on the furs," I said, not caring that I sounded petulant. I couldn't stand her insolence, her disdain.She looked at me finally, her eyes glinting. "I'm not planning on getting comfortable."My temper frayed the rest of the way. I stepped closer to the bed."You looked pathetic, Kane," she spat. "So small."I clenched my teeth. I wanted to shake her. "I held my head high," I bit out. "No matter what you think of me, I am still your Alpha, still your mate."She laughed, a harsh sound. "I studied every face in that hall, and I didn't see one pair of eyes that looked at you with respect.""You want to know about respect?" I snarled. "You sold me out up there. You humiliat
JaceI was still grinning, still chuckling, the laughter fading from my lips even as I pushed through the hall door. Mina walked at my side, holding my arm tight as if she thought I might run off.Then I saw him, and everything in me just stopped cold. My thoughts, my breath, my heartbeat. All of it. I stared at Kane, my Alpha, my oldest friend, and my mind struggled to wrap around the sight.This had to be a joke, a dream, some kind of hallucination. Because Kane couldn't have gotten on a horse, travel north.He worried and paced and stayed home. He had things done to him and always felt sad about it afterward. But here he was, standing in the middle of the Ironmaw stronghold.Here he was.My throat went dry, the bread suddenly an unwanted weight in my hand. Mina's fingers tightened around my bicep in warning.I took in the rest of the room in one swift glance: the haggard grey of Kane's face, Elara standing rigid at his side, Sera's blank expression beside the stone hearth, Fenris l
JaceI pushed open the heavy doors and the heat and racket of the kitchen hit me like a wave crashing over my head.The air was thick with the smell of baking bread and roasting meats. Women in white aprons bustled around, shouting orders and banging pots.Marta spotted me, a flour-dusted arm up to her elbow, and elbowed me in the ribs."Well well well, what have we here? If it isn't our favorite bottomless pit.""Hey, I resent that," I said, leaning back from her with a grin. "I'll have you know I'm a growing boy. I need my sustenance."She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Then maybe you ought to try eating less often and more when you do."I snorted, snagging a warm roll off a tray. "I'll take that under advisement."Marta made a mock-scolding noise, but didn't stop me. "You'll be the death of me, Jace. One of these mornings I'll come in and find you face-down in the bread trough."I bit into the roll, savoring the buttery flavor. "Damn, this is good. You got a new recipe?""No, you
JaceBleak winter darkness. Icy stone. I rolled over into the furs, pulling them tighter. "Mina?""Shh." Her voice, soft, from across the room. "I'm getting dressed. Go back to sleep."I sat up and squinted at the embers of last night's fire. The room was pitch dark. "What are you doing? It's the middle of the fucking night.""Middle of the night?" She snorted. "Don't be such a Southern baby. This is practically noon for us Northerners." The metallic clang of a buckle hitting the stone floor."Southern baby?" I grumbled, reaching out to catch her in the darkness. "It's still the middle of the night, woman. And so dark in here it's practically a cave.""Ooh, a cave?" Her voice was sharp with teasing. "A real man wouldn't be whining about getting out of bed. Guess that means you don't have any balls, huh?""Oh, they're there, all right."I found her and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her onto the bed with me. She squealed in surprise. "And they're about to make you late." I rolled on
KaneThe silence was oppressive, smothering. It made my own heartbeat sound like thunder in my ears. I could hear the crackle of the fire, my own breath. In a silence that heavy, a man will take anything that breaks it.A man always thinks he can see betrayal coming. He watches the enemy in his sights. He pays close attention to the other Alphas, to the warriors, to anyone who might be a threat. But the one person he never looks at is the one standing right beside him.And that's always his mistake.A laugh bubbled out of Elara, thin and too high.I tightened my grip on her arm, sliding my hand to the small of her back. "Shut the fuck up," I hissed in her ear, low enough that only she could hear. "Not. One. Word."Under my hand she went loose, the way she did when she'd already decided something. My stomach turned. I knew that feeling.The laugh died into a hitched breath, a wet, choked sound that made her shoulders curl inward as if she was shrinking before my eyes.Then she slid out
SeraNight fell fast, and with it, the temperature plummeted. We had three fires going, but the heat didn't seem to travel more than six inches past the flames. I sat on a log by the middle fire, pulling the wagon fur around my shoulders, shivering so hard my teeth were literally clicking together.
LyraShe ignored me. She dropped to her knees, her hands sliding down to the waistband of my trousers. She shoved her fingers inside the fabric, gripping my hips tight. With one sharp pull, she dragged the pants and my underwear down to my ankles. I stepped out of them, kicking my boots off in the
Lyra"Tell the girl to step into the room," he said."Leave her out of this," I said. My voice came out as a pathetic, raspy whisper. I cleared my throat, trying to find some spine. "She didn't do anything. It was my idea to come in here.""Tell her to step into the room," he said, his eyes going d
LyraThe voice didn't belong to Nadia. It didn't belong to me. It came from the metallic object resting directly behind my hip.Nadia froze. She pulled her mouth away from me and yanked her fingers out of my body. She stood up quickly, wiping her wet mouth with the back of her hand, her chest heavi







