LOGINMy wolf came back like a dam had burst.It was sudden and all-consuming, almost painful in its intensity. My nerve endings lit on fire. A bond I’d forgotten for too long suddenly snapped into place like a live wire pulling taut. I looked up, and an animal howled in my mind.Mate.My Lord let out a d
Andrei’s POVThe ring was too small for every finger except my pinky.I couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. Her hands were still wrapped around mine, and she was saying something. Not out loud, but somewhere deep and resonant. Inside of me, where my Lord’s voice dwelled, came hers. Soft and sweet and so
I still knew every word.“Mom.” Max’s hand tightened on my arm. “Drop it. Look at me.”I looked at him.He had dirt on his face and his lip was split and his eyes were wide and scared and absolutely certain, all at once. He looked eleven years old and he looked forty, and I loved him so much in that
Natalia’s POVI fought like hell.My arm shook from the strength it took not to let that blade drive down toward Andrei’s chest. Max’s screams faded into the distance. The knife hovered six inches above Andrei’s chest, getting closer with each second.I had both hands wrapped around the handle now,
Natalia’s POVIt all happened so fast—a flash of movement at the edge of the platform, a small hooded figure vaulting up the steps, and then the knife coming down in a quick, hard arc that made the blade catch the red light overhead.Andrei threw himself sideways just before the knife collided with
I straightened up. My heart was pounding. I looked around the room and for a single, disorienting moment, I had no idea where I was. The black stone walls, the red sky beyond the window, the dead air of this place—none of it felt right. None of it felt like mine. I felt like a man who had woken up m
Natalia’s POVThe sound of the battle echoed through the palace walls. Shouts. The clashing of metal. Howls. Screams.Andrei was out there somewhere, fighting, possibly even dead. I hadn’t been able to accomplish our goal, and I hadn’t been able to warn him about the Winter King’s army. He was right
“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, Your Majesty,” one of them said.“I am not your queen.”I lunged at the first guard. He raised his sword, but I ducked under his swing and slashed at his leg. The blade caught him just above the knee. While the poison began to spread, I focused on the fou
Natalia’s POVThirty minutes. I pulled back from the window and rushed over to the door. Through the wood, I could hear the guard pacing outside. I needed him gone. Dead, preferably. Opening the door just a crack, I called out softly, “Excuse me? Guard?” The footsteps stopped. “Yes?” “Could
Natalia’s POVA little while later, I found myself sitting in the opulent dining room with the Winter King across from me. I wore a luxurious red dress with a plunging neckline and fur trim around the bell sleeves and hem. I wasn’t hungry. I didn’t want to be here.But I smiled anyway. If only to bu







