MistyI’m dreaming. I know this is a vision–a glimpse into life happening far, far away. I think I love this power the most. I think I’m somewhere on the far northern coast of Crescent Falls, near the border with Celestoria. It’s definitely one of the fog-soaked islands–an obscure, rural pack territory. I stand on a hill overlooking a cottage. Yellow, winter grass hugs the little house, smoke rising from its chimney. A young woman with mousy-brown hair steps outside, bundled in a coat, hiking a messenger bag over her shoulder as she turns back to the door and smiles, saying something to the woman standing just out of view within. Then, I’m following the young woman as she walks toward the village. She smiles at a few people and wolves she passes. Her eyes are a soft gray–Cole’s eyes. This is his sister, Annabel. This is where she lives now. I watch as she steps into the yard of a single story stone building. Children dart in the brisk, cool winter air, chasing a ball around. Othe
ColeMisty slides out of bed, uneasy on her feet. She paces a few steps, stretching her arms over her head with a sigh.I watch, and wait, for her answer. I’m not totally sure why I asked if she wanted to try to shift. Maybe it’s because I’m actively plotting a way to get her out, and if my plan fails, she’s going to need to run.“I’m not ready,” she says, matter-of-factly.“That’s fine.”She looks down at her hands. “I don’t feel any changes yet. Nothing. Is that normal?”I sit on the edge of the bed. “Yeah, that’s perfectly normal. Most wolves don’t come into their shifter powers until the day of their twenty-first birthday, sometimes a few days before, or a few days after,” I remind her.She sighs, picking at the fabric of her pale cream nightgown. It hugs her body in a way that has my mouth going dr
MistyI fell asleep curled around Cole in the late hours of the night. He’d laid me in bed, and I’d immediately pulled him back to me, not ready to give him up just yet.I can’t tell myself this doesn’t mean anything anymore. This feeling–this overwhelming ache–isn’t growing weaker, and I’m desperate for a way to keep him.I drew lines over his chest and stomach as we fell asleep in each other’s arms, the sheets tangled and pushed to the edge of the bed, listening to the rain pour over Oasia.But I wake up to Cole sitting straight up in bed.I rub my eyes, blinking into the darkness. “What’s wrong?”He shushes me, his body rigid as he scans the room.Fear creeps through my body. My heart skips a beat as he slowly, silently, slides out of bed and pulls on his discarded pants, fastening his belt. Still, he looks around, his eyes
RyanThere’s a river that runs through the Deadlands. The same river that splits Eastonia in two. On the other side, mountains hug the horizon, blurring the view of Tarsian beyond. In the Deadlands, the river is… wide, but still. A large, lumbering stretch of clear water that weaves through the plains. Here, in the Roguelands, in what used to be a city called Twin Rivers, now nothing but a husk of what it was twenty or so years ago when Ryatt and Ella were young, that same river is angry and narrow, full of rapids and rock. Sydney stands beside me as I watch the water–the shattered ruins of bridges running across it at several points. And the rowboat fighting the rapids. Sydney straightens, narrowing his eyes at the group of warriors shouting at the few men inside the boat who are shouting back for help as the rapids send the boat lurching in a circle. The women on board scream–shrill and terrified. “There’s a child on that boat,” Sydney growls under his breath, gripping my arm fo
MistyLavender fans out the skirt of an impossibly pink gown. I stare at my reflection in the mirror as she kneels, adjusting the hem. I’m swimming in a sea of bubble gum. It’s not even my best color. It does nothing for my skintone, or my hair, or my eyes. But this color has always been mine. And somehow, Cole knew. I smooth my hands over the tight waist, the boning, the satin fabric that flares out at my hips. It’s a real ball gown–fluffy and extravagant. I’m already a princess, but right now, I actually feel like one. “My mom would flip if she saw me in this,” I say with a huff, my throat closing around the words. How many times have I promised myself I’d stop crying? A hundred? A thousand?“In a good way, or a bad way?” Lavender asks, rising to adjust the poofy sleeves that taper at my wrists. “A good way.” I blink back tears. “She’s going to hate that she’s missing my birthday. Probably more than she hates the idea of our family being at war over Solstice. It’s her favorite h
Misty“Do not speak to anyone,” Orion says as we walk through empty, entirely too quiet halls. “Do not look any of them in the eyes, and do not, under any circumstances, use your powers. Any of them.”My grip on the crook of his arm tightens as soft, slightly off-key music starts to sound through the hall, mingling with our footsteps. “Them, as in, Richard and the order?”“No,” he replies, his voice like gravel. We turn a sharp corner, and the grand foyer erupts into view–undecorated and cold… and full of green eyed members of this court, this castle. Maids and servants. Alphas, and their Lunas. High ranking warriors and commanders. They funnel into the ballroom as if in a trance, their eyes glowing green and bodies covered in open, bleeding symbols. My stomach pitches and turns. My dress feels too tight. I can barely breathe. One man stops walking. He slowly turns his head, that green light flickering several times–like he’s fighting for control–before the single sliver of self
AvivaA shift in the air wakes me up with a start. I sit up, reaching to peek through the blinds. Snow falls in lazy spirals, blurring the tents rising in the pastures just outside the Silverhide village in the Deadlands. Nothing seems amiss, but…Ryan lifts his head from his pillow, blinking into the darkness. “Did you feel that, too?” I whisper. He groans with the effort of leaving our warm bed, stumbling in the darkness as he pulls on a pair of sweatpants. “Stay here, okay? I’m gonna check it out.”We’ve grown used to the noise of having several hundred warriors sharing our space–our village–but this wasn’t a sound. It was a feeling that’s still lodged in my chest as I ignore Ryan’s command to stay in bed and follow him through the quiet house. This feels like deja vu. Weeks ago, when Misty had been taken, this exact same thing happened. We felt a shift–like the air in the village parted–and then received earth-shattering news. Ryan’s thinking the same thing I am. It’s been a
MistyIt’s morning. Early morning–still too early for the sun to breach the mountains and send light spilling over the village of Silverhide. I roll over on the couch, wrapped in a thick blanket, and stare at the dying embers in the stone fireplace across the room. I haven’t slept. Pain echoes through my body, settling deep in my bones. It’s not a sharp, bright pain. It’s the kind that aches and throbs–a dull thrum of noise that makes it impossible to focus, let alone close my eyes and rest. I feel empty. Empty, and alone. ‘Why did you do this to me?’ I ask through the sliver of bond I still share with Cole… I hope. I hung on so tight when he rejected me, refusing to let him do it. But his voice is no longer in my head. My eyes are dry and rimmed red as I watch the embers flicker like stars against a sea of darkness. I have no tears left to cry. I used them up. They’re gone. Ryan and Aviva’s bedroom door opens nearby, a shadowed figure ducking as Ryan steps out of his room and
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