Eden’s POV“Promise you’ll kill me quickly?” I asked the warrior, feigning defeat. I hung my head. I had to make him believe I was giving in. I reached to my hip. I felt the sharp tip of my knife. “Yes, if you stop struggling. I’ll be nice and quick.”I slid the knife to the back of my dress so he couldn’t see me take it out. I clutched the handle. Then I nodded. “I won’t resist you. Just please, make it fast and painless,” I said, pretending to be helpless.“I can make it fast,” he told me. “But I don’t know about painless.”The moon shone down between the trees, and I saw his face clearly. He was smiling. The thought of killing me excited him. He was a twisted, sick man.“On second thought, maybe I should rape you first.” He slid his hand up my thigh. I shuddered at his touch and turned my head away from him.He grabbed my jaw and snapped my head back.“Look at me, you little bitch,” he barked.My eyes found his. “Maybe you like that, huh?” I glared at him, my knife still behind m
Eden’s POVHe’s dead. The warrior is dead.I looked at the corpse, aghast. The King murdered him! He lay in a crumpled pile at the foot of the tree. I trembled. I’d never seen anyone die before. Not right in front of my eyes.I turned to the King. He was calm and collected. The moonlight splashed his face as he looked to the dead body and then back to me.I saw with my own two eyes what he was capable of! Fear ripped through me. I had disobeyed him. He just murdered someone.Oh God, he was going to kill me, too. Just like he killed that warrior.A caught a gleam in my peripheral vision. My knife. The blade shone in the moonlight. It was only a few feet away from me. Without thinking, I lunged for it. With the knife firmly in my grip, I nervously turned to face the Lycan King. I held out my knife, my hand visibly shaking as I prepared to defend myself.He saw the knife and cocked his head to the side. He smiled and calmly said, “Come now, Cookie. Put down the knife. You are very smart
Eden’s POVI awoke with a start. The sun was bright. I squinted my eyes to shield them. My head was groggy. Where was I?“FINALLY, you’re awake,” a voice said. “You’ve been unconscious for two days. Two. Whole. Days. Lazy girl. Time to get up!”Slowly, I opened my eyes and the room came into view. I was back at the palace, in my bed. The maid was puttering about, watering the flowers on my bedside table.Lilacs. Their sweet scent filled the room.I struggled to remember, as bits and pieces of that night came back to me.The warrior. Our struggle on the ground. His hand around my throat. Then the look on his face as he hurled through the air.His corpse.My knife, its blade shining in the moonlight.Blood. The Lycan King’s blood. Warm on my wrist.Fear prickled through me.He had found me. I had almost died at the hands of a back-stabbing warrior, but then the Lycan King saved me….I stabbed him! The memory washed over me. I sat up straight in bed. Fear rippled through me. I had disobe
Eden’s POV“The King is looking for you,” the maid said, barging into my room. She threw back my blankets. What? I was just about asleep! I reached for my blankets. It was the middle of the night! I was barely dressed. “Get up,” she barked at me. “You’re going to his room.”She grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me out of bed. “Can I at least get changed?” I asked. I was in my nightie! My hair was a mess. I couldn’t go see the king looking like this!She eyed me up and down. “Fine. Grab a robe,” she snapped. I slunk it over my shoulders and wrapped it tightly in front of me. She walked quickly in front of me. I had to do a little run-step to keep up.What was this all about? What could possibly be so important that he had to see me in the middle of the night?The maid knocked but then opened the door before he responded.We entered. My eyes swept the room. There was a massive four-post bed, a full couch in the corner, a desk off to the left, and a door that I assumed led to the bedro
Eden’s POVHis scent hit me, hard. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was. But then I remembered I was in his bed. His arms were wrapped around me, his head was buried in my neck. He was still fast asleep, holding me tightly.I was hyper aware of his body pressed into mine. I could feel his heat through my clothes. I gently lifted his arm off my stomach. He rolled over onto his back, murmuring and smacking his lips, but he didn’t wake up.His face was soft, with a look of contentment. He looked like a small child, happily dreaming about rivers of chocolate milk and trees of sweets.I stretched and noticed that I felt strong. Odd, I thought. A strange energy buzzed through me and all my senses were on high alert. My sight seemed stronger, like the edges of everything was clearer. I could hear birds outside the window, chirping away. And beyond, I could make out sounds from the forest, like the gentle rusting of leaves.I flexed my hands. I could feel every muscle in my hand, in my fi
Eden’s POV“You can show NO mercy! Because your enemy will show you none!”Astrid stood in front of a long line of warriors. The training grounds spread out before me. They hung on Astrid’s every word as she strode back and forth, yelling her commands. She was the epitome of power and strength. It was very clear that she was in charge, as I watched her command the warriors, I realized – I want power like that.“What do you think?” Zane asked, a half smile on his face.“It’s marvelous,” I responded, my eyes wide. “She’s…she’s incredible.”“Told ya,” he winked. “She’s a real spit fire.”“Now pair off,” Astrid commanded. “I want to see your hand to hand combat. No weapons. Use your brute strength and your physical training. Your goal is to get your partner to admit defeat.” The men began pairing off. “Oh,” she said, “and NO injuries. This is for training purposes only.”The men nodded and I watched as they paired off and found a spot on the field. At her command, they began sparring. Gro
Eden’s POV“You can cancel the duel,” Zane said softly. We were back at the palace in his library. This was the fifth time he had said that. Did he really think I would cancel? This was my chance, my chance to learn how to fight so I could defend myself.“Thank you,” I told him. “But you said yourself, you would trust Astrid with your life. So you must trust her with mine.”He nodded, clearly amused. “If this is what you want, Eden, then I won’t stand in your way,” he told me. “But be warned. Warrior Seth is one of our best. He’s strong and smart, a lethal combination.”I swallowed hard. Maybe I should have picked a weaker warrior. Oh well, no point in stewing over ‘what ifs’. The wheels were in motion.Just then, Astrid came in.“Let’s go,” she said, her face expressionless.“What? Now?” I asked.“No time like the present,” she quipped. “I sent training clothes up to your room. Get changed and meet me outside. We’re going somewhere private for our first lesson.”I looked to Zane. He
Eden’s POVThe maids continued to mock me but I wasn’t in the mood to listen. Stupid maids. Good riddance. Who cares what they think?I fixated on that one word.Loves?It thrummed through me.Loves.‘Everyone knows the King LOVES Astrid’.I suddenly felt like I couldn’t breathe. He loves Astrid? The word was suffocating me. I had to get out there. I needed some fresh air and some time to think.So he loved her. So what? Ugh! Why was this bothering me?I decided to go for a walk in the gardens to clear my head, but on the way outside, I got lost. The palace is so big and I zigged instead of zagged. Oddly enough, I found myself in front of my old bedroom. I went inside. All my things had been moved to Zane’s bedroom, so the room was empty. It was nice and private. No stupid, mocking maids.My body was sore from training, so I ran a hot bath.I could just sit in the tub and forget about all of this.‘Everyone knows the King LOVES Astrid.’The heat fogged up the mirror as I stepped out o