Screw that. Sorry, Ares, I thought, but you aren’t coming with me. I had to warn my parents – that letter tied to a dithering pigeon wasn’t enough. Besides, who knew what he’d do to me when we were alone and away from his territory? Here, I was somewhat protected by the truce, even if it was a load of nonsense. If I died here, Blue Moon had every right to attack Winterpaw. Ares might have been an idiot, but even he wasn’t that stupid. That had to be why he’d concocted the ridiculous scheme of getting his allies to attack me. His back was covered if Bloodpelt had done the deed. So I waited for him to fall asleep and then I snuck out.  I grabbed the bag I’d packed earlier, sitting innocently next to Ares’s, and shoved on my cloak. I held my boots until I’d slipped out of the door, wanting my footsteps to be as quiet as possible. But the stone was so cold that, even with my thick woollen socks, I had to step into my boots within a few feet

Stede and Tarar left me in the woods, my skull cracked and blood seeping into the thick wool of my cloak. I did not let myself cry, even as time blurred into nothingness and I was swept between wakefulness and unconsciousness. My only constants were the red-hot pulsing of my wounds and the ragged blade of betrayal that was stuck deep into my heart.But I did not let myself cry. I had never been one to give into tears before. It was not in my nature to feel sorry for myself – but then I supposed I’d had little reason to fall into self-pity before. I’d been the strongest, the fastest, the bravest – and now I’d let two Warrior Wolves best me, simply because they were my Warrior Wolves and it felt entirely wrong to hurt them.I drifted in the darkness, clutching to the memories of burning blue eyes that unravelled me to my core.And, after an indeterminable amount of time, I felt pressure on my head wound. I hissed through clenched teet

I stared at her, stunned. “To kill him?” I repeated. I felt stupid, numb. This should have made me ecstatic. So why did it feel like my heart was breaking?Mum nodded excitedly, her face pulling into one of its rare smiles. Her bright blue eyes flashed in the lamplight. “Yes. We can free you soon, sweetheart. You won’t have to spend much longer pretending to love that monster.” Her upper lip curled, and her eyes roved over the scars on my face. “What has he done to you?”I swallowed around the razor-sharp lump forming in my throat.  “Nothing more – nothing since I sent you that letter.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “Did he not attack you on the way here? I had assumed – you were clearly lying, after all, sweetie, you are a terrible liar–”I snorted. “I know. I was lying – but not about him.” I sighed heavily. “It was Stede and Ta

I stared at him and he stared back at me. Our noses brushed; we were so close I could hear every shaky inhale of breath he took and every thump of his heartbeat. He eyed me ravenously, as if I were another meal he could never get his fill of. I remained unguarded, the walls I had so meticulously built to keep him out catching fire in the heat of his burning blue gaze.He swallowed noisily. I watched as his throat bobbed. Stars, he was handsome. He made me dizzy in all the best ways – although that might have been the concussion. If I even had one. It was a convenient excuse, so I decided I most definitely did.My morals went up in smoke as his lips brushed mine.“I’m not pretending,” he murmured, his breath warm and his lips soft. A shiver ran through me. “You have claimed me, heart and soul. I did not think it possible, Haile, but despite all odds I find myself consumed by you. That is why…”“Why what?&rdq

“You know,” Ares said, his deep voice unusually soft, “I would do anything for you, beautiful.”My heart swelled and my stomach churned – the same nauseating duo that I had become all too accustomed to as of late. It had followed me back from the Blue Moon Pack, all the way up into the mountains of Winterpaw Warrior. My body and mind were at war, my heart and soul lost to conflict, and I was left to pick up the pieces. A muscle in my jaw ticked. Stupid mate bond.I couldn’t be honest to him – couldn’t say that I knew he was lying. So I forced my lips into a smirk and put a hand on my hip, and leaned back to survey him as I said, “I do know. You called a retreat when your pack had the upper hand in battle. I’d say that counts as a pretty big anything, Ares.”He reclined further on the bed and patted the empty space beside him. Joy and irritation sparked at his invitation; I shoved down the