LOGINASHI glanced at Kade for the thousandth time since we left the inn. Our request had finally been granted. Tenski pulled some impressive strings and got us a hybrid. A living breathing one. Our situation was dire but I couldn’t help but anticipate it.We barely have gotten a good look at the creatures since this entire mess started. How did they move? How did they think? Did they think at all? Maybe they moved like a colony. If I was being optimistic, we could kill two birds with one stone.Cure Kade and figure out what their agenda was.“I can feel your gaze drilling a hole in my head.” Kade growled, dragging a hand over his tired face.I tore my gaze away, jaw ticking. All the possibilities and his confession was the only thing that succeeded in keeping awake at night.He kissed Iris.It must have been some kind of effect from the curse.That was the same thing I had told him. And the same thing I kept telling myself so that I wouldn’t lose sight of the mission.Kade was already
IRISI was certain I was losing my mind. Ryker has been avoiding me like a plague since that day at the garden. Ash and Kade had been gone for almost two weeks, without a word.And me?I stared at the necklace, wondering why it took me so long to go back there. Selene had answers. I just needed to ask the right questions.My gaze flicked outside my balcony window, expecting Ryker to barge in as usual. He didn’t. I sighed, my eyes slipped to the empty backyard.At least he was able to talk Timothy and the scouts to stop hovering over me.A small smile tugged at my lips before I caught myself. I frowned, straightening in my seat. I held my breath, then touched the necklace.A second passed. Then two. Nothing happened.Frustration sparked in my chest. “It worked the last time.” I muttered to myself, picking it up to inspect.That meant there was some kind of condition I needed. From what I’d gathered. Blood was one thing. And focus maybe?I screwed my eyes shut, my fingers tightening on
IRISA sneeze barreled through me as I stabbed the soil. My nose tingled from the aftermath, almost like it was telling me someone was talking about me.My chest tightened.Probably my precious pack mates.I pushed off the ground, dusting sand off my body when I caught his scent. Rum. Spice. My spine stiffened as irritation crawled through it.I hated how aware of Ryker I was becoming.And sure enough, he pushed through the glass doors of the greenhouse with a lopsided smile. I pretended not to see him, watering the peonies. I also pretended like my wolf didn’t purr the closer he came.He stopped a foot away, saluting like a war general. “Reporting for duty, your highness.”A smile crawled up my face before I could stop it but I didn’t take my eyes off the flowers. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were more invested in finding answers than me.”His grin only grew. “If it means I get to jump head first into danger to protect you, then yes.”My stomach fluttered. I could feel h
KADENot welcome.Perhaps he wasn’t wrong. I would do the same if an intruder came into my territory unannounced. Probably do worse. But my wolf already felt challenged in this situation. I couldn’t shift. Couldn’t run till this rage I felt simmered down.Part of me knew that. The curse wasn’t making things better. Every feeling I tried to keep under control had been spiraling. Guilt. Sorrow… desire. Rage.I swallowed the whole drink, rising slowly. I should go.The young wolf’s eyes widened slightly. Like he was surprised I actually listened to him. I didn’t. But then I took a step forward and the next thing I knew, pain exploded in my skull, the sharp sounding of glass shattering cut through the tense air.The young wolf’s face fell, fear creeping into his features as he stared past me, to the bartender. I followed his gaze stiffly.He’d thrown a fucking bottle at my head.‘Teach him a lesson’ my wolf urged. ‘Drag him through the fucking mud until his skin is raw.’My jaw ticked as
KADEI couldn’t tell how long I stared at that crack in the ceiling. From the point of impact to the lines spiderwebbbing around the concrete.My jaw clenched.Not from the unease gnawing at me the minute we stepped into this city. Not even from that damned faucet dripping with water, the sound grating in my nerves all the way from the bathroom.The sole purpose of my unease was her.Iris.Any time I remembered the way her eyes glistened, like she was barely holding herself together. That was able to undo me quicker than losing my ability to shift.Stupid but true.I couldn’t understand why it meant more to me if she was hurt. Couldn’t understand why my chest felt heavy, why my mind wouldn’t rest knowing that I had done something I couldn’t take back.The idea of Iris hating slowly pushed me to insanity.What the hell was I thinking going after that creature? Storming toward it like I couldn’t feel the strain of the curse tugging at my speed?A sharp pain cut straight through me like
ASHThe crooked streets narrowed even further until what was left of the path was a small wooden bridge. Annalise was the first to cross. Then Kade. I hesitated. Then stepped on the bridge. The wood groaned under my weight with each step u took and when my feet thudded on the ground, a low snarl reverberated through the air.Kade’s eyes sharpened. “Relax your highness,” she said, already leading the way. “That’s just the keeper’s pet.”That didn’t serve as a comfort to Kade but we kept walking. I fell into step with Annalise.“So you’re a witch.” Kade finally said the words he’d been shuffling in his head from behind us.Annalise glanced back with a smirk. “No.” She said. “I’m smarter than those swamp creatures. I learnt magic.”Kade nodded slowly, compartmentalizing that information. The gates to the keeper’s den towered over us. Annalise knocked once. Then waited. A second later, the metal groaned, parting for us to pass through.Inside, wolves kept their eyes on us. One in parti







