Cress And Thorne Novels & Stories

"I spent months convincing myself I could build something real with him, and the whole time he was standing at his window aching for you. Do you have any idea what that does to a person? Watching the man you're supposed to bond with slowly, quietly, disappear into grief for someone else?" "So you decided to help kill an infant." My voice had gone hard, sharp enough to cut. "That's where your grief led you, Cressida. Not to walking away with dignity like you did that night in the study. To this." "Thorne offered me something Kael never could." Her grip on the blade had steadied again, some resolve settling back into her posture. "A real alliance. A real future, once the compact secures proper

"Oh my god. Connor, look! She’s all over the news! 'Rose Hawthorne: The Missing girl. People have been searching for her for days!" Connor raised a blonde eyebrow, looking genuinely confused. "Seriously?" The girl nudged his shoulder, hard. "Are you even on this planet? It’s the biggest story in the country! You ran over the most famous woman in the city!" Connor looked at me, then at the girl, then back at me. "Well, I guess I really know how to make an entrance, don't I? I am Connor, by the way. Connor Thorne." I felt a small, hysterical bubble of laughter rise in my chest. "I am Rose. But I guess you already know that now."

He wore Black Hollow insignia on his coat, which meant he'd come with Cain Voss, which meant he had no reason to be standing at her door with an expression that looked uncomfortably like guilt. "Miss Ashford," he said. "My name is Thorne. I'm Beta to Alpha Voss." He held up a bundle. "I brought you some things. For the journey." Wren looked at the bundle. She looked at him. She opened the door wider and stepped back.

The soup was cooling fast and starting to feel deeply unpleasant against my scalp. And I stood there dripping and something clicked into my brain Eden Thorne. Betrothed to Rook Voss since they were kids Vera Thorne, the eldest. Betrothed to Zade. Lyra Thorne, the youngest. Betrothed to Cal. Three sisters. Three brothers. An arrangement that had probably been signed and sealed before any of them were in secondary school. And then there was me. Standing in a cafeteria full of phones and laughter with hot soup running down the back of my neck, bonded to all three of them by something neither I nor the Voss brothers had asked for.

I gestured vaguely at my chest. “Both bonds,” Kael finished. “To us. And—” he grimaced “—to him.” Rian shuddered. “Felt like someone grabbed my spine and twisted,” he said. “Right where the mark sits. Like it was being pulled toward… something."" Or someone else.” “The curse,” Theron said. “Bloodthorn’s part of it. Mooncrest’s. Nightveil’s. All the threads have been rubbing against each other for years without meeting. Now they’re trying.”

A second passed before his voice clicked into my mind. “Alaric? Everything alright?” “Congratulations.” I meant it. My chest softened a little. “Evelina told me. I’m happy for both of you.” His relief and joy pulsed through the link. “Thank you, brother.” I exhaled. Then my voice hardened. “I need you to do something for me.” Dorian instantly grew serious. “Name it.” I stared down the empty corridor, jaw locked tight. “Find out everything about the Thornveil family.”

*Our family’s power hinges on this match. She moved to the Peerage, finding the Ashworth entry. Lineage stretching back centuries, alliances forged through marriage and war, lands vast and strategically important. And her own entry: *Lady Vivian Ashworth, b. [Date], Engaged to H.R.H. Crown Prince Alexander.* A simple line holding the weight of her destiny. Then, almost as an afterthought: *Sophia Bellweather, d. of the late Baron Bellweather of Willow Creek. Companion to Lady Marguerite Thorne.* The disparity was stark. Sophia wasn’t just lower-born; she was practically insignificant in the eyes of the noble registry. *Except to the Prince. And to the plot.*

My sunglasses hid most of my face. My black dress fluttered with the breeze. Red roses covered the black shiny casket. An empty casket. There was nothing left of Adrian to bury. Another bouquet of red roses was thrown on the casket. The color was stark against the shiny black, reminding me of blood. Blood spilled. Blood wasted. I stared at the date carved into the fancy niche plaque. The date of his death. It’d soon be turned into just another crypt. It’d be a cold stone, just like his memories.

And then the needle started nearing to the one minute mark. However, five whole minutes went by but no one appeared! Thorne felt clueless and helpless. No one had returned but he did not feel the mate bond break. Suddenly, a pair of arms engulfed him in a hug from behind and when he spun around, his lips were captured in a hungry kiss that released all their pent up love and poured their heart in that one kiss. “I love you, Thorne ! I love you so damn much ! We will live together !! Finally !”