AvivaThe moment Ryan stirs again, I launch into motion. I’m out of the tent the second he begins to stretch like he’s the only one on the sleeping mat. I run at a full sprint through the center of the camp, wearing nothing but his shirt. I jump into Freya’s tent and land with a crunch on top of her. She squeals, swatting me as she tries to untangle herself from the quilt she bundled herself up in last night. “What the hell are you doing, Aviva?”I grab her cheeks. She blinks sleepily up at me, her eyes cloudy with confusion. “I need you to tell me everything about men. Everything.”***“Look at those idiots,” Freya giggles as she pops another perfect, sweet strawberry into her mouth. I lick strawberry juice from my fingers and turn to look over my shoulder at the group of men on opposite sides of the creek below, yelling and arguing with each other as they try to get the two heavy, overladen carts across the swollen creek. I smirk down at them. I doubt they’ve even noticed us watch
AvivaRage and worry fight for control as Shosanna stares at us, glancing from face to face. Her mouth and fingers are stained red from feasting from a basket of berries sitting next to her in the cart, but one quick scan of her body in whole shows me she’s dry and uninjured.I think of crossing the creek only a few hours ago, how easily the current could have swept the cart away with her in it, and my chest convulses.I open my mouth to say something, anything, but a muffled groan comes out instead.Freya is the first to act. She brushes past me, her face twisted in confusion, and storms up to Shosh, picking her up and throwing her over her shoulder like a sack of grain. Freya turns to James and Dhalia, who are watching the scene play out in shocked silence, Freya’s blonde hair is wild and coming loose from the long braid down her back as Shosh thrashes and kicks. “Where will I be staying?” she asks
RyanRain pelts the roof of the packhouse. It’s the largest building, other than the barns we erected last year, in Silverhide. It’s an exact model of our packhouse back in Crescent Falls but made with cruder materials instead of things like steel and concrete. The log walls still smell like cedar as I walk around, making the rounds, checking in on my pack.Everyone has questions about my wife, of course. Jacob, after being sent to Silverhide to gather help with the carts, spread the word. Now I’m being showered in clipped congratulations, everyone sounding a little unsure. I’m sure the strained smile on my face doesn’t help.Aviva is seated at the end of one of the three long, wooden tables. She has a plate of food in front of her, and I’ve been watching her eat as I weave from pack member to pack member, making sure she’s actually touching her food. She’s seated next to Shosanna, who&rsq
Aviva“You know, there’s this thing called sleep, and it’s fantastic.” Freya tilts her face toward the pocket of sunlight dancing over us. “You just lay down, shut your eyes, and then you wake up several hours later feeling refreshed. You should try it sometime.”I throw her a cutting look as I pick at the grass. “I did sleep.”“Well, you look like shit, so I know you didn’t sleep well. How many days has it been? Three? Four nights without sleeping? I’m shocked you’re able to function.”I let out a breath and watch the scene playing out before us on the shore of the shallow, calm creek. Someone built a little wall of rocks just past the bridge, creating a man-made eddy. Shosanna shrieks with laughter as she splashes with three other little girls her age, all of them soaked to the neck.Freya smiles, her blue eyes creasing as she watches Shosh. “I
AvivaRyan turns away as I strip out of my dress in a pocket of trees toward the very back of the village. I hang it on a tree branch before shifting into my wolf form, feeling naked despite my thick fur. I’m used to having my knife belt and bow slung across my back even in wolf form, but now I’m in my skin, and I’m not giving Ryan the same courtesy as he strips off his clothes. I do turn my head to avoid watching him take off his boxers, however. I’m not that desperate. He clutches the camera in his mouth, protected by a little leather bag, and leads me through a network of wolf trails that weave through a rather dense forest that hugs the back of the village. We follow the creek at one point, which weaves through the forest. It’s the only sound other than the rustling of the leaves overhead. It’s beautiful here, I have to admit. The forest is thick as we start gaining in elevation toward the very back of the valley where the mountains Silverhide is nestled between finally join. A
AvivaI barely have time to pull my dress over my body before Ryan is running again, hastily pulling on his shirt. I leave my sandals behind and sprint toward him, my bare feet slipping over rock that turns to gravel as we reach the village. My heart is thundering when I finally reach his side.We sprinted down into the valley. It took mere minutes compared to the long climb up to the spring. I’ve never run so fast, and so far, and my legs burn as I reach for Ryan’s arm but–People are gathered around one of the houses near the center of the village. I see Shosanna in the crowd and rush out a desperate prayer, thanking the Goddess for keeping her safe from… whatever we hurried here for.But then a scream rips through the night, hollow and anguished. My blood runs cold as a memory slips through my mind, burning to light. The sound of the scream is so familiar and so fresh, even though it’s been sever
AvivaWarmth. I feel warm to the bone and heavy as I roll to the side and snuggle deeper against the body beside me. My hands drift up his stomach to his chest, tracing taut muscles until I reach the half moon shaped scar on his shoulder. He stirs, rolling over and running his calloused hand over the slope of my naked hip, over my thigh.When he kisses me, it’s unhurried, his tongue sweeping over mine and exploring any place he hasn’t yet discovered. My breasts ache as he rolls my peaked nipples between his fingers, stirring that desperate, unending want between my legs.His tongue dances with mine as he slides a hand down over my belly, his fingers reaching for my slit, and he finds me wet and aching for him.He hums with satisfaction, his mouth still on mine, and whispers, “What have you done to me, little wolf? I can’t get enough.”I gasp, my eyes flying open to pale gray daylight str
RyanI leave Aviva in the bedroom and immediately walk outside into the cool, rainy morning air. I clutch the railing of the deck and hang my head, trying to steady my thundering heart. I can’t go into the village like this. I can barely walk in a straight line with this ache between my legs, but I sure as fuck can’t go back inside because I’ll rip her dress off and pin her to the bed like I wanted to only moments ago.That little sliver of restraint is all I have left at this point.I run my fingers through my hair, now wet from the rain. A thick fog hugs the valley, and only the outlines and pitched roofs are visible as my gaze sweeps the village. I had a long list of things to do this morning that are nearly impossible in my condition, and it’s my own damn fault. I didn’t mean to fall asleep with Aviva in my arms last night, but I did, sucked into a kind of peace I don’t think I’ve ever known
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