EvanderI normally don’t go on runs on bright, sunny days like this, but the swatch of forest beyond the city center is a shaded, welcome relief from the glaring heat as I sprint back into the neutral zone in my fox form. It’s been ages since I was able to shift into my fox. I can’t do this often in Eastonia. Only me and my mom are foxes. There’s none of us left, from what I understand. My three brothers and two sisters don’t carry the ability, which would have shown up in their early childhood. Foxes can shift from birth. At least, that’s what Mom assumes. I could shift from the age of two. My wolf abilities came later, in my late teens, like most wolf shifters. I guess having the ability to shift into either form is even rarer than being a fox. I dart through the trees and across the first paved road I’ve come across for miles. The city rises just down the road, the first gates leading into neighboring pack territories coming into view. While it’s common to see wolves running he
KennaThe ballroom at the temple has been totally transformed since the last time I came here just a few days ago. Dim, blue-hued lighting highlights the silver streamers falling from the ceiling, shimmering like starlight. Fresh flowers cover every surface, and string music whispers through the air over the rising voices all around us as I stand with my cousins toward the back of the room. The dress I borrowed from my aunt Maddy hugs every curve like a glove. It’s a little long for me, but a pair of heels keep the hem from dragging on the floor. The sage green silk makes my sun-tanned skin glow. Again, I feel very pretty tonight. I pinned my hair away from my face and let it fall loose in thick, bouncing curls down my back. A mask of sage and gold covers the top half of my face as I look around the ballroom. A few formal dances take place. Young men and women twirl in tight circles, smiling and laughing. Others congregate near punch bowls or over flutes of champagne. But no one s
EvanderI’m going to regret this. I shouldn’t be dancing with Kenna, her body glued to mine. She’s a perfect fit as she lays her head against my shoulder and wraps her arms around my waist. She’s zoned out right now, completely overcome by the music. She’s always been like this. As a kid, we’d get stuck in the square in Moonrise for hours because someone would be playing a fiddle or singing a song that would have Kenna locked in place, unable to look away. She has no idea who I am. It’s been long enough now that she wouldn’t recognize my voice. It’s much deeper than the last time I saw her. I’m taller, stronger, leaner…. Right now, I’m just a stranger to her, and it will never be more than this. But her arms around me make me want to take her somewhere else, somewhere private, so I can keep touching her. So I can strip her of the gown she’s wearing and feel her skin, so I can smell past the floral perfume she’s wearing and find that scent that makes me feral. That can never happe
KennaI’ve been lying on my side looking out the window for hours. I haven’t slept a wink. I curl my knees into my belly, nuzzling deeper into the flannel print sheets in one of Ryan’s guestrooms. It’s 6:00 in the morning. We didn’t get back to his house until well after 1:00. And I haven’t moved from this position. I run my fingers over my mouth, closing my eyes at the memory of the kiss–my first kiss. My first kiss ever. That’s probably why the whole thing felt so magical. Being pressed against a wall and ravaged by a masked stranger was the most delicious thing that’s ever happened to me. So, that’s probably all it was. Shocking, delicious, and desperately wanted. Not the mate bond. Right?I roll onto my back and look at the ceiling. Milky streams of morning light start poking through the blinds, dancing across the textured ceiling hanging over my head. I can feel the rain in the air before it starts, and the ticking sound against the windows feels like the kind of gentle wa
EllaEastonians don’t have cell phones. It’s not like I didn’t try…. Hell, I spent the first ten years of my tenure as Queen of Eastonia trying to convince my people that at least some of the technology in Crescent Falls is a good thing. But Eastonia is home to skeptical, superstitious people. They like their privacy–and unobstructed views, apparently. They weren’t about to let me marr that by building cell towers on the mountains that separate my kingdom from my brother’s. But, a cell phone would be fantastic at a time like this. I whirl toward Ryatt, my mate, my husband, and the love of my life, and ball my hands into fists. “Ryatt,” I say as steadily as possible, “why are the Ghosts in Crescent Falls?”Ryatt swallows hard, his jaw tensing as he looks into the whirling depths of the magic mirror at my back. Isaac is already gone from view, and so is Alpha King Jaxon of Tarisan. The two kings were just filling Ryatt in on the little inconvenience that turned into a massive prob
KennaThe dining room table in the castle can seat twenty-four people. It’s insane, really. I’ve been to both formal and informal dinners here during my brief and scattered trips to Crescent Falls. Normally, the family only gathers in Maatua, and there we like to spread out on the grass, or the patio, or the beach for dinner….But there’s no food laid out. No breakfast spread, no snacks. Nothing to drink or fiddle with.I lace my fingers together in my lap while I sit on one of the chairs near the head of the table. Ryan sits across from me, his legs crossed as he drums his fingers on his knee.Sydney and Aunt Maddy are upstairs with Uncle Isaac.Misty walks into the room, her eyes red, bloodshot, and full of tears. A smear of mascara peppers her left cheekbone as she looks from me to Ryan.I shoot to my feet. “Misty, what’s the matter?”She pouts, her lo
*Isla*Rain pounds my back as I follow Alpha Ernest up the wide marble steps to a home I never expect to see in real life. I look around quickly, but he is walking fast, and I don’t have much time to see the outside of the mansion. I only know it resembles a castle. The dreary sky seems fitting, considering my bleak outlook.Likewise, this castle is fitting for an Alpha King.Under the wide porch, there is a bit of shelter from the wind. I pull my thin cloak around my shoulders. When Alpha Ernest’s fist pounds on the door, I jumped. Everything about this day is unexpected and has me on edge.The door opens a bit and a man with a thin, long nose gapes out at us. He is wearing a butler’s suit, and I relax only slightly.Not that I expected the cruel king to open his own door, but I am thankful not to be faced with him right away.“Greetings! Greetings!” Alpha Ernest says in his jovial, exceedingly loud voice. He laughs in the back of his throat, his gruff tone as raspy as the thunder in
*Maddox*I hear the word come out of Alpha Ernest’s mouth, watch his gums flap as his fat cheeks shift into a smile, his greasy mustache dancing as he tips his head up and blinks at me.He’s like a shoddy used car salesman, trying to convince me to take something I don’t want or need.Something that’s broken and doesn’t even work correctly—something that will never serve its intended purpose.What he doesn’t know is that I’ve already been considering finding a breeder for the last few months. I just haven’t had the time to try to find a woman who would fit the requirements.Everything he’s said is true. I certainly don’t ever want to marry again, no matter what. Even thinking about my wife makes my heart tighten up and my eyes begin to water. I have to immediately push her beautiful face from my mind. No, I will not ever take another bride.That means, in order to have an heir, I have to find a woman who’d be willing to carry my child knowing that there are no strings attached.That s