“So there’s nothing we can do?” She choked. Damon looked a little glum. “Maybe there isn’t. Maybe we’ll just have to accept that this feud is bigger than us and Scar you are not pregnant, are you? .” “Don’t say that! And I am not pregnant, I said that to ease them off you ” Scar sobbed. “I know it’s not easy. But we may have to get used to it. Your pack tried to lock us up; mine drove us away. What is there left for us to do for them? They don’t want our help.” She buried her face in his chest. She couldn’t think of anything else to say to him. So she just rested there, crying it out against him. “So I guess we’re left with what we wanted to do before,” he said. “We run away. We put this conflict as far behind us as we can, and we never look back. We start our own life together. No pack, no alphas, no war. We get a place all our own, and we have our own pups, who never hear the names ‘Scanthin ’ or ‘Lauchair's. ’ Whatever we want, with no one to say no.” She had to admit, t

Time moved at a snail’s pace in that basement. The only things she had to keep her company was that window, the occasional meals that her Dad brought her, and a bucket to do her business in. So long, long hours were spent just pacing around or sitting in the corner. She slept a lot while she was in there. With nothing else to do, she ended up nodding off pretty frequently, curled up against the wall. And honestly, she liked sleeping down there. Sleep was her only means of escape. For brief periods she could forget about where she was, and she could dream about still being with Damon . She dreamed they were still back in his room in the Lauchair's village, where they had all their best sex in the comfort of his bed, cradling each other in their arms, with four walls to separate the rest of the world from them. She dreamed they were back out in the forest, just the two of them, running about in his wolf form, hunting and eating raw meat and sleeping under the stars. She dreamed she w

The next time the basement door Scar was locked opened, Scar was confused. The last thing she had heard before she passed out from sheer exhaustion and dehydration had been Stanley and his men capturing her . No footsteps thundering above her head had woken her as they usually did when she passed out because even exhausted and hallucinating, she was still on edge and prepared for whatever else would be thrown at her. What she wasn’t prepared for at all was Damon creeping down the basement steps toward her. She knew he was alive and she hope he didn't come looking for her . She believe she could survive without him. She smelled a witch scent almost as soon as the door opened , laced with blood and herbs, and she guessed that whatever had happened after she had been brought in front of Stanley , it had been quite painful. At least this time he had brought a torch with him with who he came with , and when he crouched before her, he laid it on the floor and threw the witch towards

The metronome ticked back and forth, a consistent rhythm to attempt to bring some order to the disarray in Stanley's head. He sat on the mat of soft woven fabric on the floor in the middle of the largest tree in the goblin compound, which had been reserved for the king's purposes. Now his. Stanley tried not to think of his father when he was in the royal chambers, and what his father must have done to his mother within its confines. Sometimes his thoughts managed to drift off to more pleasant ideas, but today was not one of those days, for he foresaw himself doing much the same to Scar in that bed as Damon's father had done to his mother. He had brought Scar to the goblin tree fortress, and had staved off disaster for the time being, but she was not a willing bride. She was not a gift from the wolves to the goblins, an offering of peace. Her hesitation and fear had turned her into a prisoner, and Stanley had no one to blame but himself. Scar would never give herself to him willin

With her head held high, Scar allowed the goblins to lead her out of the room, down the wooden steps that wrapped around the trees, and down to the forest floor. Early morning light filtered through the thick branches overhead, dappling the ground with patches of hazy light. If it wasn't for what was about to happen to her, Scar might find the forest at dawn beautiful. The goblins ushered her past the tall trees, along a worn path, and deeper into the forest. She could hear the murmurs of many voices up ahead, but she couldn't see them. However, when the trees parted, Stanley was the first thing she saw. He waited for her by a tree at the edge of what looked like a clearing up ahead.He was resplendent in his clothing, a handsome prince dressed in a tailored suit with a white shirt and black tie. A gold chain hung around his neck, disappearing into the collar of his shirt. His dark blond hair was slicked back, and his blue eyes were cold and bright as he watched her approach, undressi