*Maddox*I run down the hallway, frantic, my eyes wide with terror as I pray to the Moon Goddess above that my own stupidity hasn’t cost me again.How could I have been so stupid? To have gone back to my room thinking that there was no one else Zabrina would want to kill!Once again, I feel like my own idiocy has cost me dearly.I can only pray that the girl is all right, and the Moon Goddess and I haven’t exactly been on speaking terms these last few years since Rebecca’s… untimely death.My shoes slide on the slick floor in the hallway as I try to round the corner, and as I lose traction, I look down to see that it’s not just the shiny marble surface that has made me lose control, the floor is wet as well,Smears of red paint the floor like an angry finger painter, a child who was allowed to stay up too late before visiting the art center, perhaps one that had far too much sugar.The red streams around the corner into the next hallway as well, making my footing even more precarious.
*Isla*King Maddox is lying in my bed… with his arms around me. He is holding me like I am something of high value to him, something precious, and for the first time in my life, I start to think maybe I am more than just the daughter of well-meaning parents who had misfortunes and could never quite make ends meet.Maybe I have some worth to me after all.I drift off and have pleasant dreams the rest of the night, mostly about him, this amazing man who has me tucked away against his chest, cradling me in my sleep. In the morning light, I awake, thinking at first he is likely gone, but he’s not. His firm chest is still beneath my head, and when I lean up to look at him, his eyes are wide and looking into mine.“Good morning, Isla,” he says. “Did you sleep well the rest of the night?”“Yes, I did, thank you,” I tell him, still trying to figure out whether I am awake or caught up in a dream again.Why is the king still in my bed?“That’s good to hear.” He runs his hand along my cheek, ca
*Maddox*“Alpha Jordan,” I say as the other Alpha comes into my office. “What can I help you with?”His eyes are narrowed as he says, “I want to speak to you about what happened with my darling daughter, Zabrina, last night.”I nod. “Yes, I’m glad you came by. I think it’s a good idea for us to talk about it as well.”“You do understand how close she was to being killed yesterday, don’t you?” he asks me as he sits down in a chair across from me, his forehead wrinkled with concern.I stare at him for a long moment, not sure how to respond to that. “She almost died?” I repeat. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”“That woman—the maid—whatever the hell her name is… she could’ve killed my Zabrina. What if she would’ve stabbed my daughter instead of killing herself? I find it horrific to think that your guards in the dungeon are of such poor quality that they can’t even prevent a prisoner from getting access to a knife!”When he is finished, I take a moment, trying to process what he
*Isla*I received a note from Maddox, written by his own hand, that he’d be by to get me for dinner at 7:00.Now, it’s 6:55, and I am watching the clock, wondering if it’s possible for the hands to actually move backward.It seems to be taking forever for him to arrive! I am pacing back and forth at the end of my bed, the long red dress I am wearing swishing back and forth. It’s not exactly a gown, but it’s fancier than most of the dresses I have in my wardrobe.I want to look nice for him, especially tonight.Is there a chance this will be the night he will claim me?My heart races as I think about it. I sure hope so.“You’re going to wear the carpet out,” Poppy says, her nose in a book. She’s hardly spoken to me today, and she hasn’t done a lick of work either. She’s upset that I didn’t tell her what happened between Maddox and me last night. I keep thinking she’ll get over it, but so far, what I’ve learned about Poppy is that it takes a lot for her to get past things.I don’t resp
*Maddox*The sun is up as I blink my eyes and check the time. I’ve woken just before my alarm is set to go off, so I quietly switch it so that it will not sound. There’s no reason to wake the beautiful woman sleeping next to me.Rolling back toward her, I take her in. Her eyes are closed tightly, and her long lashes flutter every once in a while. Perhaps she is dreaming. I hope that her dreams are sweet.I hope that I am in them.She’s curled up with one hand under her chin, reminding me of a cherub, of a precious angel, and as I listen to the sounds of her soft inhales, I remember how good it felt to finally be inside of her the night before.We’d made love for the first time, and she had made me feel sensations I hadn’t experienced in years. The countless faceless women I’d been with since my wife passed all faded away as I remembered what it was like to meld into another person, to give and take with them, not just to receive pleasure but to gift it to my partner as well.All I can
*Isla*Sitting in the chair in my room next to the window, I read the not again, ‘Had to go on a quick business trip. Be back soon. Stay safe, M.’I had found it on my pillow this morning—in Maddox’s room. I wish it said more. I wish I knew where he had gone and exactly when he’d be back.But I wasn’t in any position to ask those sorts of questions. I was just his breeder after all, and even though I felt a connection to the king, that didn’t mean that I was nearly as important to him as I wished I could be.“You’re not planning on sitting there all day moping, are you?” Poppy asks as she comes back into the room after delivering my breakfast tray back to the kitchen. “You have to live your life, girl!”I can’t help but grin at her and shake my head. She has such a unique way of putting things. “No, but, I miss him, that’s all.”She shook her head slightly at me. “How lucky are you to be in a position to know what to miss!” she exclaims.“Did you see Beta Seth?” I decide that changing
*Maddox*The drive to Willow pack is uneventful, once we’ve gotten away from the castle. I use the time in the back of the car to get some work down on my phone, the best I can anyway, on the bumpy roads. Godfried is a skilled driver, but we need to look into doing something to get these roads repaved. They are full of potholes.Eventually, I see the main village in Willow pack up ahead in the distance. The forest opens up as the road leads into town. Factories fill the sky with gray smoke along the far northern side of the town, giving the air a slightly dirty look that smells of burning chemicals and plastic products. I need to do something about that, too. I’m certain there are better ways to make the products created here, but Alpha Ernest is a cheap man, and I am certain he will not willingly spend his own money to bring anything into the current century without some prodding by me.Depending upon how this meeting goes, it might not matter. Ernest may not have a say in anything h
*Isla*The village is exactly how I’ve imagined it in my mind, though it is also nothing like my hometown. The main village for Willow pack is called Ernestown. It was changed a few years ago when Alpha Ernest became Alpha. Before that, it was just called Willow Village. I guess our Alpha wants everyone to know who the boss is in our pack lands….Our village is rundown and full of factories. The sky is always hazy, and it’s hard to see the blue through all of the gray that hangs over the city from the chemicals filling the sky from the various plants that make all kinds of cheap goods to ship to other parts of the kingdom. Most of the people who live in our town are either middle class or poor, like my family, and it’s rare to see a car because most of us can’t afford them, let alone other luxuries.But here in the heart of the kingdom, the village, called Wolfcrest, is lively and full of color. The buildings are all freshly painted in vibrant hues, and there are plants and flowers ev
BrieI open my eyes as I’m falling through thin air. I don’t even have time to scream before my body drops into water. Deep, rough water that drags me under the second I suck in a salty breath. I flail against the waves, trying to find the surface, but the undercurrent drags me down again, pulling me by my dress and tossing me upside down. My head hits something hard, and I screech, but the sound is empty. I suck in water, choking, and realize quite suddenly that I’m drowning. I go as still as possible, using the last of my energy to start moving with the current instead of against it, which turns out to be the best idea I’ve ever had, especially under duress. I open my eyes underwater, staring down at the shallows. It’s sunny. Daytime. And below, seaweed waves between large, gray rocks. Pockets of sunshine dance through the water, illuminating seashells in shades I’ve never seen before. Another wave crashes over the top of me, sending me rolling into even shallower water, and fina
MaeveCole and Misty have a beautiful suburban home in Shadowcrest. It’s always the same–always smells like freshly baked cookies and the flowers she keeps in vases all over the house. Tonight, as my toes brush the ground, and my powers funnel back into my body, it smells like… popcorn. “You pig! You’re not going to eat all of that.” Josie’s voice, so similar to her mother’s, drifts down the hallway. I landed in the foyer, which is dark, soft moonlight drifting in through the windows and casting the stairs and framed photos of the family in silver shadows. “If you wanted more, you should have added it to the order,” Adrian argues then yelps after a smacking sound reverberates toward me in the gloom. “Give me one of your tacos–”“Or what?”“I’ll tell Mom.”“She’s in Eastonia, dumbass. Hey!” A scuffle ensures. I have two seconds to jump into the shadow of Misty’s study just off the foyer when Cole walks down the stairs, still wearing his hospital scrubs. The sound of a shower running
LoganRyatt and Evander walk out of sight across the bridge connecting the barracks to the main streets of the city. I look out of my old bedroom window at the sunny glare casting shadows over the valley. The shadows move as the clouds dart across the sky toward the castle, toward my wife, who I’d much rather be with right now than here. I… I don’t have anything to pack. Anything that meant anything to me–my laptop, my fucking glasses–were lost in the shipwreck. I have the clothes on my back, and even those were borrowed from who-knows-where, left on the dresser in Brie’s bedroom by the ghost that haunts her house. She’s all I have, and it’s not like I can pack her in my duffle bag and take her with me. I crank open the window to let in some fresh air to cut through the overwhelmingly male smell of the barracks. I turn to my empty duffle bag with a sigh, bracing my hands on either side of it on the bed, and hang my head, but a whoosh of air rushes out behind me, and I turn in time
BrieThe moment my bedroom door closes behind us, Logan’s mouth is on mine. The lock slides into place with a soft click, and an even softer groan leaves his mouth when I reach up to run my fingers through his damp curls. He smells like rain and leather. Like the promise of warmth and comfort through another stormy night. And now this man–this loud, obnoxious, opinionated man… he’s mine. He presses a kiss to the ring he bought today on a whim. It’s a simple band of gold–that’s it. “I'll give you a better one when I return,” he promises, kissing the palm of my hand before his lips find mine again. “A ring with a diamond the old gods can see from the heavens.”“I don’t care about that.” I giggle as his hands glide down my sides, pulling me close. Outside, thunder booms, the room lighting in ribbons of blue as lightning splits the clouds, but in here, it’s warm. It’s private. It’s just us. He removes my cloak. It falls to the ground in a heap at my feet. He’s careful with the dress,
MaeveBrie is… radiant. She glows in her simple white dress of lace and satin, her hair falling loose over her back and shoulders as Logan slowly, tenderly, lowers the hood of her dark blue cloak. The temple is quiet and dim, moonlight flooding the altar. Logan knits his fingers in Brie’s and brings her knuckles to his lips, pressing a kiss against them. They’re bathed in silver, the windows behind them dancing in starlight. It’s beautiful, really. It’s what I envisioned for her, one day, what I thought would be… years from now. I watch my sister–the person I love the most in all of the world–intertwine her soul with someone else, forcing myself to unravel the ribbons binding my heart to hers. She doesn’t belong to me anymore. Logan looks at her as they kneel before the priestess in her silver robes. They lean into each other like being inches away is too far apart. And the look on his face as he brushes his lips over her temple… he loves her. He’s devoted–body, and soul. My heart
Brie“Tonight?”“Yes, tonight.”“How?” I laugh, taking a step away from him. “We-we can’t.”“We can,” he says breathlessly, shaking his head. “The temple stays open all night. We’d just need to find a priestess.”“We’d need a witness,” I whisper as the cogs in my mind start turning. “I’d need a dress–”“I’d marry you like this,” he says, taking my hands. “But please, for the love of the Goddess, marry me before I go.”I blink up at Logan, my heart swelling and squeezing simultaneously. There’s still a whisper in my mind that warns me that he could change his mind, that he can’t really want me, but I… banish it, giving myself to him fully. “Are you sure?” I ask, scanning his eyes. “I’ve never been more sure of anything. I want you to be my wife, Brie.”“I’m already your mate.”“It’s not enough.” He brushes my hair out of my face and kisses me, but a rush of air alerts us to a visitor making their way up the stairs to the tower. I pull away as a soft knock sounds on the door. Neither
BrieLogan steps into my dad’s office. All eyes turn to him as he scans the men–Sydney, Grandpa Ryatt, my father, a few others that serve both my father and grandfather as generals, captains, and commanders. Logan’s eyes are like polished, imperfect emeralds as he eyes my grandpa wearily, like he’s not entirely sure he understands what Ryatt just said to everyone in the room. “Brie, you don’t need to be here for this,” Aviva whispers behind me, knitting her fingers in mine. But Logan growls, “She stays.”A silent, heavy, creeping hint of tension scatters around the room. The entire castle would explode if someone lit a match right now, I’m sure. My spine tingles as Logan turns to Ryatt and says, calmly despite the bite in his voice, “There’s nothing in Emberfyll.”“Quite the contrary,” my grandfather replies immediately, rounding my father’s desk, his shadow powers simmering and coiling around his fingers, “Debris has been washing up on the southern shore of Tarsian for decades now.
LoganBrie looks exhausted, but otherwise… happy, thank the Goddess, as she sits between her mother and Misty, listening to their conversation and picking at a sandwich. I lean my elbows on the table across the room where I’m sitting in silence, alone, still waiting for my mind to catch up with my body after Maeve jumped with us from the middle of the ocean to Veiled Valley. A shadow moves into view, crossing through the doorway before a shadow breaches the informal living area. Ryan looks around before turning the corner, beelining for me, waving away several rushed questions coming from the group of women on the couches nearby. He braces his hands on the table beside me, leaning down to whisper into my ear, “I need to speak to you in private before Ryatt returns. Can you come with me?”I glance at Brie, who’s watching us with her brows furrowed in worry. I suck my teeth before nodding, and Ryan moves back a step so I can stand. Brie and I have been using the mind-link as much as
BrieI pull the stool out from under my vanity, sinking down and facing Blake. I’m older than him by a few months. We’ve always been close, even when we were younger, and he tended to want to play rowdy boy games with Aris. He always sat quietly and played tea-party with me, though, without fail. He’s also the pariah of the family and knows it. His powers rival Ryatt’s, which is a terrifying thought. In fact, I often question who’s more powerful–him or Maeve? But that’s not a fair question at the moment, given that Maeve’s powers aren’t even fully developed yet. Blake, however… he exudes energy that makes my skin tingle as he sits in my desk chair, resting his elbows on his knees. “You found us, didn’t you?” He nods, a flash of guilt darkening his irises. “I admit I didn’t even look until Maeve cornered me. She felt you, she said. Sensed your arrival back in our waters.”I wonder how much Logan told the family. Probably everything, I’m sure. That man can talk, and I love that abou