He stomped again, the destructive power of his foot sending a blinding explosion of pain through Kai's arm. Follard's shoe was once again raised for the boon shot."Daddy," Kai panted and grabbed Follard by the ankle, pulling hard.With a shrill scream, Follard tumbled off the beams, his body falling over two floors and landing with fatal force.Kai didn't dare look down. He focused his whole mind on climbing the beam. Unfortunately, his strength was drained, and his left hand was crippled. Writhing like a worm caught in a hook, he leaned forward helplessly from the fatal fall.Doubtful, he realized he was about to die.*****The paper trembled in Torcia's hand as she read it again.TorciaPlease save me. Mama says Lord Warren is coming to take me away. I didn't want to go anywhere with him, but Mom and Papa made me do. They locked me in my room until he arrived. I beg you not to let that happen, Torcia, because you are my only hope.My dear sisterEllieA boy from the village brought
Torcia didn't really regain her senses until she found herself being half-pulled and half-carried to Lord Warren's London home. Her head was smashed maliciously, and her throat ached as she struggled against his merciless grip. Somewhere beneath her fear and anger, she was acutely aware that Ellie had been released. Her sister was safe, and now all the boiling anger would pour down her head, which was what Lotiie had always known would happen, between her and the man who had dominated most of her life. her life. Although Lotiie was aware of several screams from nearby servants, none of them dared to stop them. They were all afraid of Warren, and they wouldn't lift a finger to get in the way of what he wanted to do. She had foreseen what he was going to do when he brought her here. His London home was the first to be investigated when it was discovered that she was missing. She was sure that he had taken her to another place where it would be difficult for anyone to find her.Warren dr
"Very well done, ma'am," said Sir Grant. "Can I convince you to answer a few more questions?""Tomorrow" Kai said gruffly. "She's been through a lot today. She needs a break.""I feel very pleased to tell you all the relevant details," Torcia replied to Sir Grant. "If you will bring a doctor to take care of Lord Sydney's hand, as well as take care of our servant."The judge's blue eyes narrowed. "We'll send Dr. Linley right away.""I'll go find him." Sayer volunteered and quickly left the office."Wonderful," Morgan commented, his eyes returning to Kai. "And while we wait for Linley, sir, perhaps you could explain to me the circumstances that led to your wound... and why you look and smell like you've just wandered around. via Fleet Ditch."Much later, as they lay in bed in their home and talked for what seemed like an hour, Kai told Torcia of his thoughts in the moment of distress, when he thought he was going to die in the barn. there. As Torcia listened, she snuggled into his folde
KateOne thing is for certain: I will never be able to outrun Reona.My legs fly over a fallen tree as I push through the woods. I could transform, but I worry that Reona will take it as a challenge. After all, it’s been proven that my breathing alone is a challenge to Reona’s authority, or the authority that she thinks she has.Air rips through my lungs as I pump my legs through the clearing. I probably should have had a plan. I probably should have thought of a way to get her off my back before I took off running.I could turn around and apologize. As to what I’m apologizing for this time, I’m unsure.Reona’s sharp-tongued voice calls out to me. “You’d better stop running, you’re only going to make it worse!”A soundtrack of her lackeys’ cackles echo through my ears. I ball my hands into fists and run forward.“Shit!”I come to a stop in the middle a clearing that overlooks a waterfall. Damn it, this is one of the only open water sources in this area, and of course, I run right int
RivenShe’s breathtaking.Her long, black hair goes down to her waist. Her hair is parted in the middle, providing two curtains that frame her heart-shaped face. She has full lips, the kind you want to suck on. Freckles cover the bridge of her nose.I don’t know what her place is in this pack, but she must be someone important. I haven’t seen a woman like her in ages.Foy says, “Huh?” He turns his head, and his eyes fall on the woman in front of us. He rolls his eyes. “Oh, that’s Kate. She doesn’t talk much, not that many of us would ask her to.”My eyes slide over to Foy and I say, “Why not? She’s one of the best women in your pack, right?”My question cues several snorts and Monica, the one and only female pack leader, laughs. “Kate? God, no. She’s lucky that we even allow her to stay here.”Why are they talking about her like she’s not even here? What the hell did she do to warrant being treated this way? I have a lot to learn about this pack, the ins and outs of the hierarchy, the
I blink. I open my mouth and say, “I-you, what?”I narrow my eyes as I peer into Riven’s. I obviously didn’t hear him right. He wants to look out for me? Does he not know who I am? I know that he’s new to the pack, but no one, in my entire twenty-two years, has offered to look out for me in this pack.Kili is my best friend, and she’s never even offered to look out for me because she knows her limits. She doesn’t want to leave herself open to punches behind the cabins, dirt in her food, and rocks being pelted at her back when she goes to the bonfire.I turn my head to one side and inhale. I hold my hands out in front of me and say, “You want to look out for me?”Riven’s smile is earnest as he nods and says, “Yeah. I want to look out for you. I’m new here, really new actually, but I want to look out for you. It seems like you’re having a hard time.”I almost laugh at the massive understatement that is. I’ve had a hard time in this pack since I was born, and not a single soul has though
I’ve met a lot of strong people in my life, but I don’t know if I’ve ever met someone as strong as Kate. Over the last few days, I’ve watched her yell at some of the stronger members of this pack until her voice cracked. I don’t know much about the missing girls, but I do know that Kate doesn’t seem like the kind of person to exaggerate or lie.Kate stomps over to the bonfire. Everyone else is wiping their mouths and stretching after a breakfast of deer and eggs. I took my breakfast with Rico and the rest, but my feet are carrying me towards Kate by the time I finish.Her angry eyes flicker towards me as I ease onto the ground beside her. I sigh and say, “I get it, you know.”She turns towards me and brushes her long hair out of her face. “You get it? Do you get what’s it like to be a woman with a target on your back?”I shake my head. “And I’ll never know what it feels like. I’ll never know what it feels like to be you, Kate. But I’ll tell you something. I respect you.”Kate raises a
- KateI never thought that I’d be friends with someone other than Killi.Riven, Killi, and I are looking towards the sky as we lay on our backs in the clearing. It’s a short way from camp, and someone could easily find us and tell us to find something to do. It’s not like anyone here wants to see me happy.I turn to my right, where Riven is lying underneath the sun. His eyes are closed but I know from our most recent training session, that he’s aware of every breath we take, every animal in the area, and the scent that the wind carries. The sunlight caresses the sharp bones that make up his angular, amazing bone structure and I want to reach out to him and trail my fingers along the hardened edge of his face. I might even want to run my tongue along it.The thought of touching Riven has occurred to me more than a few times over the last week. I’ve considered leaning against him a second too long, just to see if he would stop me. I’ve never kissed anyone before. As I gaze at him, I wo