LOGINNadia The song ended; another began. Another, and then another. Still, we held each other close in our warm, thrumming bubble of silence, staring into each other’s eyes. Sparks poured through my body at his touch. Even under his tight shirt, I felt goosebumps scatter along his back in the wake of
Nadia My new dance partner pressed closer to me as the music swelled. I felt their hands running up and down my spine. Their touch didn’t draw out any sparks beneath my skin, not like Vincent’s did (or Kael’s, long ago). But I leaned into them anyways, enjoying the closeness and the electric thril
Nadia The Valentine’s Day party that year was held in the grand ballrooms of Fenris Hall’s central building. Always an elegant place, tonight it had been transformed into a living manifestation of romance and desire. The high windows surrounding each ballroom had been flung open to the woods outsi
“Hey, you okay?” I asked. Anna sighed, her hands stilling. “Yeah, I’m…it’s fine. It’s stupid, actually. It’s just…even if I did find someone tonight…my dad is still really, really pushing me to keep going after Kael.” “What? But everyone knows Kael’s with Freda now. It’s like…the biggest thing hap
Nadia Anna was still fuming at Freda when we arrived back in our dorm juggling dozens of shopping bags an hour later. “The nerve of that bitch! Right there in the store in front of everybody, as if she’s sooo special – what, for being born? Because from where I’m standing, that’s literally all she
“Oh,” breathed Freda, her big eyes damp and downcast. “Well…I didn’t mean to be hurtful. I’m sure Nadia understands that. Right, Nadia?” Everyone turned to look at Nadia, who swallowed hard. Kael couldn’t imagine what was going through her mind in that moment. Finally, though, she just nodded in ag
NadiaThis had to be a mistake.I glanced around the entryway, sure he was mistaken—that I was mistaken—that I was merely a body standing between him, his pointing finger, and the girl he truly meant to adopt.But the foyer was empty, the few girls flittering in and out of the halls slipping up the
NadiaWhen I was about to turn eighteen, surviving after leaving the orphanage was the first thing on my mind.What I hadn’t expected was that I’d be trapped in the orphanage, facing the director Cliff’s harassment. “You have one last chance to be adopted,” Cliff whispered in my ear. His breath fe
But even if it was just because he’d known my parents, Vincent had taken me in and been kind to me, in his way. He’d dropped everything – his work as the pack’s regent and as a professor – to care for me and teach me for an entire month after my rejection. Vincent clearly believed his own words. Bel
Nadia Quiet descended after Kael left. In his absence, the chilly anger and toughness I’d armoured myself with began to fade. My heart thumped with the aftereffects of adrenalin. I felt myself slumping. The arms around me shifted, bearing up my limp weight just as they had been, I suddenly realis







