Kane takes the key from my trembling hand and unlocks the door to our new apartment. It takes me a while to say anything. It’s huge and so much more beautiful than I envisioned. When Kane said he had the place furnished, I assumed it would look like our apartment. Black and white and nearly clinical. He went the opposite way. The layers of paint and plaster had been stripped down to the original grey-blue brick, and the hardwood floors glow warmly in the sunlight streaming in from the large windows. The wall connecting with the garden was basically just one big window with sliding doors opening up onto a large patio that overlooked the beautifully restored gardens. The fountains bubble merrily, and the green grass invites me to run outside and play. In the corner of the garden, there iss a colourful jungle gym with swings and slides, and sandpit for Adare to enjoy. Surrounding the play area are wooden tables and chairs with umbrellas. Kane anxiously watches me as I attempt to take i

Kane’s POV The day starts off pleasantly enough. At one point, I fetch Rosie to join us. Her mate refuses. He’s happy to stay here, content with Rosie’s new position as our nanny, but he has no desire to mingle with the leadership of the tribe. I don’t push him, but I do insist that Rosie join us. Adare adores Roland, and he needs a friend. The adults sit at the new picnic tables, watching the pups play, taking joy in their exuberance, as werewolves are prone to do. “How long was your pregnancy,” I ask Rosie after about an hour of watching the two fling sand in the air and using their buckets and spades as drums. “Why your majesty?” “Kings usually grow up with their chancellors. They form a friendship bond at a very young age. It looks to me like that is what Adare is doing.” “This young, King?” “Yes,” I say and lean back in my lawn chair. It’s a well established fact that kings and their advisors grow up together -- that’s how they form the vital trust that they'll need later in

Kane's POV I stand on the outside of the clearance, watching Willow as she walks into the middle and sits down. We’re not the only wolves at the temple tonight – some of the visiting wolves are deeply religious, and they come here to pray on a regular basis. Willow won’t shift to human while strangers surround her. Tonight, the soothsayer decided to be here. He’s standing at the foot of the effigy, dressed in his usual purple robes, giving blessings to the wolves that ask for them. While keeping an eye on my mate, I shift and kneel next to the flowers. I pick out a few, and take off the crystal I tied around my wrist before I shifted. I knot the strap around the stems of the flowers and secure the string to my wrist again before I sit down to watch the gathering. Willow walks up to the soothsayer. He holds out a white robe to her. Behind her, the wolves respectfully turn their backs while she shifts to human and pulls the robe over her head. I’m not thrilled about the religious di

Kane's POVWillow held it together until Adare left, then she couldn’t do it anymore. As soon as the pup was out of sight, she fled to our room, slammed the door in my face, and locked it. I tried not to take it too personally, and truthfully we both needed some space. She'd come out and talk to me when we were both ready.When Rosie took him from her, the pup let out a heart-breaking cry that very nearly brought me to my knees. He just wanted his mama, and for a minute or two, I was tempted to order Willow to go with him. But through the numbing haze of my own pain and grief, the certainty that she needed to stay here bled through.She is right. If she leaves too, I’ll be lost.I sit flat on the grass in the garden I designed with pups in mind. I was a fool for thinking we had any hope to live a normal, happy family life here. The only way we’ll ever know peace is if I fake my own death and take my family far away, live as rogues on some remote island or something.But I’d have the d

Kane's POVI don’t expect Willow to offer up a solution to our war problem. She doesn’t have any answers for me, none of us know what to do. Even Zael doesn’t have a clue. The way the humans are waging this war is insidious and the minute we bring the war to them, we’ll look like the savage animals they’ve been showing on the news, and we’ll lose. Not to mention that they outnumber us, and they have superior weaponry. There's no way we can defeat them in direct combat.Sighing, I get to my knees and look around my son’s destroyed room. This is the worst part of the war. Sending our children away, the soul of any pack, our joy, and pride. Helpless anger washes over me, but the mindless rage is gone. “I’m going outside,” I say and get up.“Do you want company?” Willow asks.“No.”“Are you…going to do something to yourself?”“Just because you become suicidal every time you face a challenge, doesn’t mean I do it.”“Wow,” my mate mutters, but that’s all she says.“I’m sorry,” I say and pin