Share
TWELVE | WOODLAND
Lily
Dusk spluttered across the horizon, dripping between the trees, the last vestiges of sunlight pooling across the uneven ground. Lily watched her step as she strode through the undergrowth, wary of everything from fallen branches to malevolent creatures lurking in the shadows.Her pack thumped against her back and, exhausted, she drooped against the trunk of the nearest tree. Darkness trailed her, swallowing her whole as she crumpled onto a carpet of moss and twigs. Brushing strands of stray, wavy hair from her face, Lily bit her lip.
Uncertainty stole her breath. Had she done the right thing? Though she was well trained in combat, she had never spent a night alone in the woods – let alone tried to make her home there.
Yanking her pack to her front, Lily dug through its contents and pulled her canteen free. She had to ration her water intake until
Related chapters
The Broken Alpha THIRTEEN | DEATH'S IVY
LilyHer hand ached with tension as she tugged the zip downwards. Cold air stung her face as she peered through the gap, her heart stilling in her chest as she looked up at her father.“Dad?” Her voice was little more than a whisper, the words strained through a throat that suddenly felt too tight.His familiar face was a punch to the gut. He smiled down at her, crouching slowly, as if approaching a wild animal. Letting out a long, relieved breath, he extended a hand towards her. “I didn’t dare hope that I’d find you so easily.”Stepping into the cool night, Lily allowed her dad to heave her up. Fear churned at the knowledge that she’d been so easy to track, but she forced it aside, allowing an uneasy joy to fill her instead. This was wrong, she screamed internally, but something about his presence made her forget al
The Broken Alpha FOURTEEN | STONEHEART
UnknownHe was in the bathroom, deftly sweeping shower-damp, dark hair across the pointed tips of his ears when he felt it. Grey eyes turned to steel, cutting through the mist fogging the mirror.Alongside the steady thumping of his own heart was the beat of another. This was a feeling he had grown used to, one normal, natural, even, for his kind. For two long years, he had learnt to live without that feeling, that echo. Her cruel words had taken its place, pumping through his veins and turning his heart to stone so as to lessen their sting.Until he had seen her eyes in that dappled wilderness, and felt the purity of love’s kiss all over again.This was different. This was not the steady, reassuring beat of her heart alongside his. His gut clenched, and his hands felt too light for his body. His eyes unfocused, until he was no longer able to make out
The Broken Alpha FIFTEEN | BATTLE OF BARREN BRIDGE
AtticusHe was reading about the Battle of Barren Bridge – the battle that had ignited The Longest War – in a limp attempt to distract himself from the news his lead spy, Griffin, had dropped upon on him as the sun breached the sky.He’d had to hold tight to his temper as he’d listened; the first few wolves had been gathering in the field for training as Griffin had murmured low in his ear.“The Red Ripper pack,” he’d whispered. “That’s what they’re calling themselves.” Atticus had been conscious of eyes on him – eyes that looked to him for guidance. He’d squashed his rage, and pasted on a nonchalant smile.“Very well.” He’d dismissed Griffin with a pat to the shoulder, a familial gesture which he’d hoped had put the few pack members gathered at ease. It was
The Broken Alpha SIXTEEN | OAKHAME
LilyUnbidden, her feet were moving, traipsing through the undergrowth bordering a small, treetop town. Ladders were strung between branches, some dangling to brush the ground, others acting as bridges between homes and other, larger buildings. In the dim, dawn light, Lily could not make out quite what they were.Keeping her gaze low and her breath steady, she peered around as discreetly as she could. The eleve – still posing as her father, a fact that made her lungs stumble for air and her gut clench – was dragging her towards a ladder beneath an ornate arch, with a beautiful creature settled on a seat carved of oak tucked beside it.The creature smiled as they neared, its unearthly face shimmering softly in the first rays of fractured sunlight. The light itself did not look entirely real: it fell in curling waves, more like clouds than sunlight, and it was too glos
The Broken Alpha SEVENTEEN | ELDDA
UnknownHe paused, idly touching the sword strapped down his back. Grey eyes surveyed the drowsy woodland, picking out buzzing insects and birds with unnaturally glossy feathers.Not wanting to bring anything that would be of value should it be stolen, he’d left the detailed map of Eldda and its inhabitants behind. He’d spent his whole life staring at it, tracing fingertips across the whorls of land and sea. He’d learnt the territory lines before he was ten, and by the time he’d taken his place as Alpha at age twelve, he’d been well-versed in every pack, their rights and rituals, their trade, and where their borders lay.Knowing the markings was one thing. Losing himself in the no man’s land between packs was quite another.In the days since he’d left the Sea Pine pack’s territory, he’d fought off a slew
The Broken Alpha EIGHTEEN | A CURSE AND A KING
LilyShe had a plan.“A lifetime in my service?” Efaffion repeated, eyes flickering with an emotion she couldn’t read. Her chest tightened, and the air in her lungs suddenly did not feel like enough.Of course, she had no idea if her plan would work. She didn’t know enough about the eleve to be able to count on it, and she doubted that such a creature – ageless, immortal – would be stupid enough to allow her to trick him. Then again, maybe it was simple enough that it might just work.“Yes,” Lily said, courage failing. The way he watched her was unnerving, as if she were a gift to be unwrapped slowly, layer by layer. Steeling herself, she managed to continue. “But only if I lose.”“And if you win?”“I – I walk out of here alive. And w
The Broken Alpha NINETEEN | DAWN
UnknownHe’d been stumbling through the woods surrounding Oakhame, his head a mess of memories and doubts, until he’d felt her fear.Heart thundering, he’d forgotten his worries. There was only her.He started towards the nearest ladder, her shirt flapping around his thighs, the sword down his back jostling with every step. He kicked aside fallen branches and piles of perfect, gleaming fruits, their unnatural beauty hardly registering as he gave himself over to his heart.He allowed it to pull him away from the ladder, though his head swore that she would be up there, lost somewhere in the treetop town. He’d seen her ascend a ladder just like this one, arms bound behind her back, but the bond between them simply shook its head. Trusting it had got him this far, so he turned away, slipping unseen back into the undergrowth.
The Broken Alpha TWENTY | SCARRED
Lily She was falling. Not just physically – though she was, indeed, hurtling towards the ground at a sickening pace; something within her was lurching, changing, shifting. She squeezed her eyes shut, unwilling to see her body plummet as her heart gave way, too. Time stretched and warped as the wind whipped her hair behind her, stinging her cheeks and whispering in her ears. A branch smacked her face, and then time sped up. The pain brought tears to her eyes, but she did not let them spill. She crashed through twigs and pine needles and thorns, feeling them scrape against and then through her skin. Her temple and cheek stung, angry heat pooling in a sharp line down them. She smacked into the ground. It was like being struck by lightning, like colliding with a star. Every part of her burned, and she lay there for a moment, adrena
Latest chapter
