LOGINJaceMore time passed. The feast rolled on, raucous. Ossian at a near table tried to balance a full horn on his head, tilting it back and forth, a crowd of rowdy Northmen laughing at him, calling out bets.Two men arm-wrestled at another table and a bench went over. Bones and bread crusts littered the floor. A server came by with platters piled high with roasted meat. I inhaled deeply and my stomach growled in response.Then my head whipped towards the great doors and my fingers tightened hard on my horn.A figure strode in, his dark hair damp and gleaming under the torches. The collar of his clean shirt showed above his furs.I kept my gaze on him, my mind working. The memory of our last encounter, of his shove and insult, flared. I remembered the anger in his eyes.Now those eyes were fixed straight ahead, ignoring the hubbub around him. I tracked his progress across the hall before finally looking down at the horn in my hand."So, who's that?" Kane asked, catching me staring. I swa
JaceI stepped through the high doors and Mina's arm tightened on mine as the noise of the hall hit us, the clang of knives on plates, a dog's sharp bark, men laughing and women shouting orders. The heat seeped into my bones, carrying the rich smell of roasting fat. The feast was already going strong.Mina glanced up at me, eyes narrowing. "You eat anything today?"I patted my coat.She snorted. "That bread? You can't live on crumbs and air.""Worked so far," I said dryly."Shut up," she said, and kissed my cheek, sharp and quick. "I have to get up on the dais before my brother sits down. Eat something."I squeezed her hand. "Go on."She squeezed back and headed up the long aisle between the benches, her skirts swishing. I watched her go, the stubborn set of her shoulders.I took a few steps down the aisle, weaving between the long benches. I passed a pair of children chasing each other through the rows, shrieking with laughter. The noise of the feast pounded in my ears. Halfway to th
ElaraThe guard walked me in and let go of my arm. "Don't move," he said, and left, shutting the door behind him.One knee buckled. I threw a hand back, caught the door frame behind me and stayed up.Sera sat at her table by the window, a quill in her hand. She was going through a stack of pages, about half of them covered in tight, dark script. A half-full cup sat on the table, a jug beside it.She didn't look up. A few more lines, then she set the quill down. She turned the page and read, slowly, deliberately, and took a sip. I watched her throat move as she swallowed. The fire crackled in the hearth and furs lay on the floor, but my gaze was drawn to the woman lying on them.She had curly hair and bare feet, and she lay curled on her side. Her eyes followed me, her head tilted to one side.Sera let me stand there for a moment, and I knew she could smell Rurik on me.Sera dipped her quill and wrote something down. "One night in Rurik's cabin," she said as she wrote, still not lookin
ElaraDusk, the day of the feastI followed Rurik, and I never did find out where he meant to take me. We were a few steps from his cabin door when the guard who'd shadowed me since I walked out on Kane stepped into our path. From the wet soaked into his cloak and the stiff way he stood, I figured he'd been out there all night. My legs were still shaking, and I couldn't have run if I wanted to.His eyes flicked between Rurik and me. Then his mouth went into a nasty smile. "Hope you had a lot of fun," he said. "Looks like you did."I went red hot, looking anywhere but his face. A hard laugh ripped from his throat. "It's fine, I waited," he barked. "Wouldn't want to disturb your moment."He paused then, looking me over. I kept my eyes down, not giving him what he wanted. He snorted. "Is it this easy for Southern women to jump into other men's beds after one fight with their mate?"I glared at him and said nothing for a long moment. Then I pushed my chin up. "Your Luna is a Southern woma
JaceIt was early afternoon on the day of the feast, and I had the whole thing worked out on the stairs. Find him somewhere quiet, sit him down, say it slow. Solid plan, if I do say so myself.I found Kane's door, knocked twice, and got no answer. It wasn't latched. I pushed it open and stuck my head in.There was black ash in the hearth, the furs rumpled on one side of the bed, empty cloak hook, an empty bottle, an ale cup on the small stand by the bed. I could've stood there picking through his things, but that's not a good way to start any conversation, let alone one like this.I headed back to the stairs and found a woman with the frayed wool cap coming up with a pail of kindling. She barely looked at me. "Seen Kane?" I asked."Your Alpha's out by the gate.""Been out there a while?"She shrugged. "He was earlier. Went in, came back out.""Thanks," I said. She was already past me, the pail knocking against her knee on every step.I headed out into the yard. The snow was churned to
ElaraThe night beforeThe chair creaked under us. He held me in place and fucked me, hard and slow, pulling me back onto his cock. I braced on the chair back and arched."Fuck," I said."What?" His breath was coming faster now."Harder."He pulled out and pushed in harder. I braced myself and fucked him back, grinding on his cock, taking him deep. He reached around, found my clit and rubbed. I cried out, felt my cunt grip him, and he fucked me harder, the chair skidding on the boards.Then he gripped my hair and pulled me back, and I was screaming, my cunt clenching around him, hating him, hating myself, hating how good it felt.* * **Late afternoon, the day of the feast*So that was how I got here. And now, with the afternoon light coming yellow through the shutters, he was still inside me. My hips were raised, my legs spread, and he knelt behind me, his heavy cock splitting me open. Each hard thrust rocked me against the wall.My breasts swung and slapped together, aching and sore
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
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.







