LOGINI freeze for a second.“You…” I whisper in disbelief.One of the Academy instructors. Or at least, what used to be him. The creature standing before me now is nothing but a monster without a mind or heart.He lets out a savage roar and swings his sword toward my neck.CLANG!I block the attack with
ALARIC POV“No.” Maeve’s voice comes out choked.She turns toward me and shakes her head. Fear is written all over her face. Even her hands are trembling from the shock.I grab Maeve’s hand and nod firmly. “Go. Now.”“I can’t. You and the others could get infected by the parasites. You know what tho
“What if all of this ends tomorrow, Alaric?” I suddenly ask. “What if Uncle Garson really dies tomorrow morning?”Alaric’s hand stops moving across the blade of his sword. He stares at me beneath the dim firelight.“Then tomorrow afternoon, we leave the capital behind,” Alaric answers without hesita
MAEVE POVI swallow hard and return Alaric’s stare without blinking. I force every last ounce of courage inside me to lie to my own mate.“Because I thought the process was going to kill me,” I answer quickly. I make sure my voice trembles slightly. “The pain was unbearable, Alaric. I thought I wasn
Our mate bond is forced wide open, tearing down every mental wall we possess. Something crashes violently into my consciousness.Emotions that are not mine.It is Alaric’s mind. I can hear his voice echoing inside my head as if he is screaming directly into my ear.“I won’t let you die! I don’t care
MAEVE POV“You have less than forty-eight hours before Alpha Garson places the crown on the fake princess’s head.”Dorian’s voice cuts through the tension still lingering between Alaric and me.I quickly pull my cloak tighter around myself, my breathing still uneven. Alaric stands tall in front of m
MAEVE – POVThe reality of that letter hits me hard. Like an hourglass with only a few grains of sand left, it feels like our time is running out.“We can’t waste another second,” I say.I immediately stride toward the exit gate of the nearly burned-down watchpost. Alaric quickly catches up to me an
I place my palm against the ground, and silver energy begins spreading outward. No black shadows appear, a sign that the power is no longer mixed with the Silver Woman’s darkness. Instead, my energy becomes invisible to the naked eye.But I can still feel it moving rapidly toward the two watchtowers
We slowly break apart from the kiss, our breaths mingling into white mist in the freezing air.I sit down and pull Maeve into my arms, and peace settles inside me there. Especially when Maeve leans against my chest, and I can feel her heartbeat, alive and steady.“What should I do to face Uncle Gars
ALARIC POVTonight, we stop in the middle of the forest near the border of the Nightwhisper pack territory. Dorian says there are still parts of the pack that remain loyal and would help if they knew Maeve was still alive. I believe that, because we need any help we can get.We sleep on a blanket of







