LOGINCecilia pulled me through the bookshelves toward the front of the library. I nearly ran into her when she stopped halfway to the stairwell. Looking over the balcony railing, we could see guards bursting through the doors below. Cecilia cursed under her breath.“This way,” she told me, continuing to pull me along. This time toward a new wing of the library.‘Helene, are you sure?’ Sutton’s voice came through my mind. ‘How do you know it’s not me? What about Nova?’I couldn’t focus on her questions as I pushed my feet to follow Cecilia, trusting that she would know some place safe for us.‘Um… a little busy, Sis,’ I replied. ‘I’ll get back to you.’Cecilia turned a corner, down one of the aisles in another reference section. Leading me toward a door at the other end. Looking around to make sure we weren’t seen, she reached for the knob. My heart skipped when it didn’t turn, but that didn’t slow Cecilia down. She pressed a finger to the lock and jolted the handle to the side. It gave way
“Ugh. This really does seem ridiculous,” I said, pushing my hands through my hair in frustration. “No wonder so many people think this is some kind of myth. There’s no rhyme or reason to these events.”I’d been through three books already and hadn’t learned much more about blood moons than what I was told earlier. My stomach twisted as I considered more and more that this was a waste of time. A commodity we didn’t have much of at the moment.When I suggested doing research, it was mostly to put Sutton and Lucas at ease. I was afraid that if they were stressed out about this, they would get reckless and make mistakes that could get them killed. The problem was that I couldn’t find anything that would change our concerns in either direction.“I wouldn’t say most people believe it is a myth,” Cecilia commented next to me. Tarah happened upon her while they were recruiting and discovered that she was studying blood moons for her degree. “I think it is more that they don’t believe they wil
I wasn’t ready for this part. I knew it was possible Lucas and I would have to split up. In fact, I knew it was practically guaranteed. Lucas wasn’t going to allow Anders anywhere near me. It was an unspoken conversation we had shared through the many looks and glances we shared every time we talked about facing that madman. We both knew if the worst happened, I would have to run. My best chance at escaping Anders’ grasp is to stay as far away from him as possible.Lucas sent Hunter back out to make sure check that we had a good opening to leave our hide away. I found myself clinging to his arm. My heart was about to beat out of my chest as the very real possibility that I wouldn’t see him again started to sink in. That couldn’t happen. I hadn’t had enough time with him. So little time together. He felt my anxiety and pulled me to the far corner of the room, tucking us into the space next to a vending machine for what little privacy we could manage.His lips were on mine before I coul
I didn’t tell them that I had been feeling the same connection Sutton had. It was incredibly strong now. If I hadn’t already been an Alpha for so long, it would have been overwhelming for even me. I was trying to distract Sutton from this whole blood moon and omen business, downplaying it as nothing more than superstition. But deep in my gut, I could feel something more was going on.I wasn’t going to tell Sutton, though. It was too much pressure. And it wouldn’t change what we came to do.Our fate… whatever it was… was sealed.Rhonen paced anxiously in my mind. Showing no signs of disappearing like Nova. In fact, he was right on the edge of our barrier, brushing and pushing against it as he honed in on one tether in particular. A tether that didn’t belong.Anders was anxious. And angry.Those emotions were radiating through our shared consciousness. And he was close. I didn’t know where in the palace he was, but he was definitely here. And Rhonen was fixed on him. Because we both kne
I sat in the dark room Soloman had found for us to hide out in. I’d picked a spot on the floor. My knees pulled up to my chest as I closed my eyes. I was trying to make sense of this new connection I was feeling. A connection that kept getting stronger by the minute. I was trying to organize through the heightened emotions coming through the tethers when I felt someone come to sit next to me. It wasn’t Lucas.“Soloman,” I said with a sigh. “I can’t do this.”“I’m not sure which daunting task you’re talking about, but I have no doubt that you’re wrong,” he said, his tone lighter than it had any right to be in that moment.He was trying to make me feel better. I wasn’t sure that was something that was possible at the moment.“You were the king’s Beta,” I commented. “I was still getting used to the pack being tethered to me. How do you deal with being connected to an entire nation?”“The same way you carry a pack,” he said. “You learn to compartmentalize. Our minds were built for this, m
I had been worried that there would be armed guards all over the campus as we headed for the library. However, I was surprised to find that the we only caught glimpses of them as they seemed to stick to the edge of the campus. I also saw more students than I expected to see. It wasn’t a lot, but for such a late hour, with the city destabilized, it was enough to wonder. Lyla led us straight to the library. She said it was probably the best place to start recruiting anyway. So, while I started to look into this whole blood moon business, they would start getting our distraction in place.“Are you sure there will be people there?” Jaden asked, reading yet another flyer posted in the hall. “These are lockdown instructions.”“I’m sure,” Lyla insisted. “We have midterms coming up soon. Some of the students may be scared to stay in their dorms or even to go back home, but there will definitely be a decent group that will be sticking to their study schedules well into the morning hours. I hav
I chewed my lip as I set the table for dinner the next day. After speaking to Soloman, I was able to make a decision last night. Still, I wanted to take some time to make sure it would stick. So, I spent the day working through any doubts I may have had with my choice. Nova speaking supportive affi
“Helene, are you sure?” I pressed. “There are a million ways that could have happened…”“I’m sure,” she said, somewhat solemnly, her cheeks flushing. “I was about five, I guess. But I was playing at Mom’s vanity and I knocked it onto the floor. She didn’t get mad at me, but she looked so sad when s
As I drove us back to our cabin, I couldn’t help but notice the shift in Sutton’s mood. Since starting this quest to learn about her mother’s past, there had been an underlying sense of dread that kept popping up through our bond. I didn’t know why and Sutton hadn’t been able to tell me when I aske
I cursed myself for letting that slip. I wasn’t ready to tell Sutton what we suspected Anders was up to yet. Especially not when I just sent her stepfather back to jump neck deep in the whole thing. I searched for an excuse or another explanation. Something other than the truth. An act that had Rho







