I knew it couldn’t be this easy. Berlarot and our deal would have to be discovered eventually. Tottering next to Kate, wishing I didn’t have ankle-clattering wedge heels on compared to her easy, ballet-like walk in sneakers I felt an utter fool. How was I ever going to explain making a deal with a demon? The ultimate taboo of Dark Arts? “Hey, everything will be okay,” Kate said, giving my hand a quick squeeze, “it will be nothing,” and all I could do was nod. It was either that or vomit. The punishment for bonding with a demon, I hadn’t even dared to look up. I knew it was in the Dark Arts library, I’d even held the book but been too afraid to read it. So I had Kate’s opal pendant in my purse, but there was no tangible proof I had done anything to her. It would be my word against hers. It was only some rumours! /This is what happens, I warned you/ Bree scolded, my wolf forever frustrated at my choices. Pacing across the full length of the compound my heart was racing. If they as

I was right about the early bird catches the worm, I just never expected it to be the wizened, scary-ass old worm I never want to be alone with. As I sat on the bench, idly playing with some vine leaves I toyed over yesterday’s Conference meeting. Twirling the ring from my father absent-mindedly, its black opal revealing fiery folds of orange and red when examined closely. I should wear it all the time, instead father doles it out for official business only. I keep it when he officially recognises me. Like having a toy repeatedly taken away. Alpha Austin wanted something. The forestry of Luna Gwyneth's pack was too paltry to go to war over, but what if it was a cover for something bigger? Trying to make me look the other way and miss the bigger picture? I didn’t expect to see Kate running past. It was as though my imagination conjured her into life. Watching her move, with long slender limbs like a ballerina, I almost called her name. Then, with a pang I remember all my duties, my r

Following Luna Madeline’s little diversion I eventually stopped mooning over Kate’s window like a desperate puppy and headed inside. Only to find my father proposing a change to the itinerary. Rose glared at me as I walked in, Beta Rhett stood very near her which I glared back at him for. Not the fucking start I wanted. He sighed and took a step to the left. Rose mind-linked me, her voice full of frustration, /Father wants me to accompany Alpha Austin on this fucking tour of the compound, you have to look after me!/ /Nothing is happening, there are no deals being made like that without me knowing first/ I sent back but my words felt hollow. If father could change the full conference schedule without telling me then of course he will do his dealings with Rose separately. /Father, can I ask-/ /Not now. Did Luna Madeline have anything to say?/ I gave him the slightest of nods across the room. This wasn't for a mind-link conversation. Especially when Dark Arts specialists were presen

Every night alongside the little prayers I send up for my mother and father, I send one for Felix too. He is making Roxie so happy, and without realising it, I can crash in our shared room on my own for the most part. We are naturally avoiding each other. She comes in to get new clothes when she knows I have an extra lesson. I hang out on the roof for the few hours she uses the shower. I miss her silly, dramatic ways, and how loudly she has to complete every task. The room is so quiet with just my thoughts. We nod in the corridors as we pass, she might mouth a “how are you?” but no conversation. Nobody wants to be tarnished by association. Even Cherry and Matt, two people I thought so much of are strangers to me now. I might have been an orphan almost all my life but it is this month where I felt truly alone and abandoned for the first time. Roxie is glowing though. Like a supermodel, her hair, skin and eyes all seem so much brighter than I remember. It’s as though she has burst

By the time I look up from my notes it is dark. The library is empty, only one light visible across the whole floor. There is a good chance I’m going to get locked in again if I stay much later. I can see the flames of the bonfire party out of the window. The music and whooping thuds dully through the window. Closing my eyes it feels like I was there years ago, not six weeks. So much has changed since then. When I heard footsteps pounding up towards my floor I gathered my books, preparing another apology for the steely eyed librarian. What I didn’t expect was Alpha Dex. Grey tshirt, black leather jacket, hot as hell even with a look of seething hatred on his face. His eyes caught mine and my throat seized. Instinctively I grasped my books closer to my chest, afraid of what any other bodily reaction could be. From the doorway, he paused. My heart dropped at the idea he might just leave, before suddenly storming towards me. Ruby red flashed through those espresso coloured irises.