"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
KateMy heart is beating so fast that I think it might jump out of my skin. As I lean towards Riven and sweep my fingers against his shirt, I know that I want this. I’ve never done it before, but I didn’t realize how bad I wanted someone to want me.I didn’t realize that it could be Riven, not until yesterday. Why not take my chance to be loved, or at least liked? No one has ever touched me like this before.Riven sets his massive, hands on my hips and heat flows through my lower half. Wetness gathers between my legs, the way that it only does when I’m alone in my cabin. This has to be right.He breathes, “This is exactly what I’m doing.”I slam my lips against his, and I smile as he hooks his fingers underneath his shirt and tosses it to the ground. Anyone could see us, but maybe that’s a part of what I like.Riven reaches forward and picks at my bra. He tugs it loose, and it falls to ground. His breath is ragged as he leans forward. He wraps his tongue around my stiff nipple. Electr
KateAn operation? The gears in my mind turn as I try to rationalize why werewolves would be luring other werewolves away from their packs. More importantly, why would they involve humans in this?I want to believe Riven, and I want to join him on this, but I don’t know how much further we can go without letting the pack leaders in on this.Killi wears a pensive look as she says, “If it’s an operation, we need to find out who’s in charge, and we need to take him down.”It chills me down to my bones to think of coming face to face with a wolf that would sacrifice their own. What are they looking for? Who do they want? A big part of me wonders if I’m even strong enough to face someone like that. Killi and Riven are stronger, their wolves are bigger, and they’re much braver than me.After all, I hadn’t even kissed someone until yesterday. Bravery has never been my talent.Riven says, “I’ll talk to the pack leaders more about it.”Killi says, “That’s a good idea. Do you think that you’re