*Alec*I roared in agony. The shock of the sash of claws across my shoulder forced me to shift into my human form. The giant bastard revealed his bloodstained teeth as he rushed at me. I dodged his next attack, but he was relentless, lunging at me. I pushed his claws away with my sword. Sparks flew, burning me as the force of his swing shoved me aside. I rolled, and just as he leaped into the air, ready to pounce on me and kill me. I darted forward, shoving my blade up through his mouth. He twitched for a moment and flailed before he went limp. The visage of a wolf melted away, and the man in leather armor remained, dangling from my sword, scratching weakly at the blade as he continued to fall down the blade. I lowered it, letting him slide off the end of it, and rolled away from it.“Bastard,” I gasped, groaning as I pressed a hand to my shoulder. My hand came away sticky with blood, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the wound I’d received earlier in the battle. The scent of bl
*Ember’s POV*I sat at the table in the palace gardens, staring up at the overcast sky. A bowl of stew, leftover from lunch, stood before me, untouched. After receiving the news about Alec, I found that I didn’t really have much of an appetite anymore.“Please eat something,” Lauryn coaxed, pushing the bowl towards me. “You need your strength for when your wolf comes, and your baby needs the nourishment.”“I’m not hungry,” I replied listlessly, ignoring the food.Lauryn sighed sadly. I glanced at her, and to my surprise, I realized that she was crying. “I know how you feel, Ember, I really do. You lost your love, just like I did all those years ago.” We both shifted our gazes to the ring she still wore on her finger. “And I lost my brother. But we have to go on. He wouldn’t want you wasting away to nothing.”She was right, even though I hated to admit it.Without any enthusiasm, I reached over and took a spoonful of the lukewarm stew and popped it into my mouth. It tasted l
*Ember* It was time. The full moon was at its peak. Standing naked in the moonlight, I could feel it beneath my skin, as though it was alive in my veins. The clearing around me hummed with energy as the Moon Maidens chanted and burned fragrant incense around the perimeter where the grass met the towering old pines of the darkened woods. Chastine, who was facing me within the circle, recited something in a language that I didn’t recognize, but could feel deep in my bones. Only minutes before, Lauryn had dragged me out of bed, through the palace, and out into the woods. The Maidens had been waiting. As they had prepared me for the ceremony, I had grown more and more nervous. Would it hurt to shift? What if it didn’t even happen at all? What if my father had been right all along, and I really was just worthless? But now, as I closed my eyes and tilted my face up to meet the moon, those fears gave way to a certainty that I was meant to be there amongst t
*Alec* The world was crumbling, and it was all I could do to hang on. “Bryan!” I screamed, looking around frantically for the young shifter. The water rushed around me, and I struggled to keep my head above the surface. “Bryan!” Chunks of the bridge, blackened with soot and jagged from the explosion, flowed angrily down the river, caught in the vicious current. I dodged a sharp piece of stone and attempted to swim towards the riverbank on what I hoped was the south side of the river. I was so turned around that I couldn’t be sure, but I knew that it was better to be on dry land than to be stuck in the freezing rapids. A body, floating facedown, passed me. I clutched at it and managed to flip it onto its back before the current carried it away. To my relief, the face was unfamiliar to me, and I realized that it must have been one of Lukas’ soldiers. Not wanting to end up in the same situation, I renewed my efforts into reaching the bank. Swimming against th
*Alec* “Why don’t you join me?” the shifter who looked remarkably like Ember asked. I gaped at him for a moment, trying to parse out what was going on. “Don’t worry, I won’t bite,” he joked pleasantly before checking to see if the rabbit was done. I rolled my eyes at the comment, but decided to play along and see what happened. After all, this stranger had waltzed directly into the center of our camp while Liam and Bryan were asleep. If he had wanted to harm us, he would have killed them before they could wake. Shifting back into my human form, I retrieved my clothes and pulled them on quickly, keeping an eye on the stranger the entire time. He seemed amused that I was so suspicious of him, but waited patiently until I sat beside him at the fire. “Who are you?” I questioned. “My name’s Grey,” he replied easily in a forthcoming tone. “And I suppose I’m correct in assuming that you’re the Whitelark Alpha?” I nodded curtly. “What pack do you
*Ember* The days continued to pass, and the tension in Moon Haven remained palpable. It seemed that every day another messenger was coming back to deliver news of the front lines, but there were no updates about Alec or Bryan. Lukas’ army was halted for now, and the forces of Whitelark were recovering, but it wouldn’t be long before the stalemate ended. Tonight, Mary, Lauryn, and I sat outside as the sun began to set. Mary hadn’t eaten much or seemed to realize that she was falling apart every time the messenger came with no news. I wasn’t much better, but I had my training to focus on instead of the pain usually. Today, though, Chastine had kept me from training with the maidens because of some secret rite that they were going through that might hurt me if I was there. I had practiced what I could alone. I hadn’t even managed to rustle any leaves. All of my energy was being consumed by my worry about Alec. I sank onto the steps of the Palace of the Moon, looking out on Moon H
*Ember*We were ready to leave just as the sun was completely below the horizon. The weight of the war seemed to be on everyone’s mind, pushing us to move faster. All the maidens seemed skittish, but they worked quickly. When Chastine came out fully ready to leave, everyone seemed to move any faster. Chastine rolled her shoulders and ushered the maidens into the cart, loaded up all the supplies we could take, and soon we were heading out.The maidens trembled in their white cloaks and traveling bags. They didn’t even have shoes. Rhys and the other warriors flanked us on all sides before we left Moon Haven. The night was dark and moonless as we made our way south to Whitelark. The cool breeze brushed against my cheeks as we traveled. Those that were too young to shift rode on the backs of whatever warrior could take us or on the carts they pulled. No one spoke much as we hurried through the forest. Lauryn had shifted, running alongside the cart I rode on. Mary was poised on the c
*Alec*I still wasn’t sure about what to think about Grey or where he was leading us. As we followed Grey through the dense forest, the shadows of the towering trees cast an eerie, otherworldly glow. My stomach was turning into knots as we walked. Everything in me was telling me that I shouldn’t be here, but I pushed that feeling away. Grey and wherever he was taking us was a safe haven, at least for us to heal up, and if not that, then to get more reinforcements against Lukas. How many were there? Grey had been vague. I didn’t know if that was to protect them or because he didn’t feel it was important for us to know.We moved swiftly, our footsteps muffled by the thick layer of fallen leaves beneath our feet. The anticipation in the air was palpable, and my heart raced with a mix of hope and anxiety. A deep unsettling feeling started to grow further into the forest we went to, but I couldn’t place why. It wasn’t a feeling I had ever experienced before. A part of me knew something