*Isla*It’s the middle of the night when we arrive at the docks. Earlier in the day, Antony had abandoned the car, thinking we were being followed, and we’d all gotten on a train to Port Westerly. It hadn’t seemed like a good idea to me because in a car we could change courses. A train was kind of stuck in one path, no matter what.But like most things on this trip, I’d left it up to my cousin to decide what he thought was best.Now, we were making what he described as a short walk to the dock from the train station.Two hours after we’d left the station, I finally saw water and smelled the breeze coming off of the sea.Yeah… short walk.“It’s dark,” Poppy points out, as if we were not aware. “Aren’t we going to have to find a place to sleep for the night and catch a boat out in the morning?”Antony scoffs. “Yeah, sure if you’re going away on holiday or to visit family in a regular port of call. That’s not how things work when you’re going to Maatua, dummy.”“Dummy?” Poppy is ready to
*Maddox*“Seth, do you know where Isla is?”I burst into my office and demand that my Beta answer me immediately. He is sitting at my desk, the telephone in his hand, and when I march in, he tells whoever is on the line that he will call them back. “What’s going on?” He looks from me to Trinity and then back again.“Isla!” I demand. “Do you know where she is? She’s not in her room. And I found this!” I drop the suspicious book on my desk. It’s heavy enough that the whole desk shakes.“I don’t know.” Seth shakes his head, his eye wide, but something in them tells me that he’s not being completely truthful with me.But why would he lie?“Check the cameras. See if she left. Have any vehicles left the castle in the last twenty-four hours?” How long had it been since I left the castle? I know she was here when I left. I try the mind-link again. Nothing. I pull out my cell phone, but it’s of no use to me. If she has a cell phone with her, I don’t know the number. I have no missed calls from
*Isla*“Land ho!”The words echo through my mind as my eyes stay focused on the sliver of green in the distance. We are almost there, back at Maatua, where I will face my past and hopefully secure a future for the man I love and my unborn child.“Once we get there,” Antony is saying from his spot near the railing, “we’ll need to figure out accommodations for the night. Then, we’ll move out into the jungle first thing in the morning so we’ll have all day to find my mother.”“What about the treasure?” Poppy blurts out. “That’s what we really need to find.”“We will need my mother to find the treasure.” Antony glares at her. I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people more at odds than those two. “Besides, she knows exactly where it is. Why the hell would we want to wander around the Goddessdamn jungle looking for shit when she can take us right there?”Poppy has a smart remark at the ready. “Because we don’t trust her. You said that she wanted to kill Isla.”“Look, my mother made it sound l
*Isla*Green eyes shine out from the darkness in the corner of the room. I hold my breath. I’d seen Antony lock the door. But we aren’t alone down here.Then, I hear a meow and see the eyes blink and shoot toward me. Before I realize what is happening, a cat is rubbing against my leg.But it isn’t just any cat. I know this cat!Stooping to scoop her up, I look at her little face. “Ginger,” I mutter. “So you are still alive.”“That’s your cat?” Antony asks me. “She’s been hanging around here for ages. I tried to run her off, but she wouldn’t go.”“She’s my cat,” I tell him. Apparently, she has nine full lives now. She couldn’t possibly still be alive now if it wasn’t for the fact that my tears had brought her back to life as a child, right?Ginger wiggles free, and I go over to see that she has a huge amount of food and water on the floor in dishes set out for her. “Who did this?” I ask my cousin.He shrugs. “A few of us use this place as a shelter. I guess someone’s been feeding her.”
*Isla*What the hell?When I first hear the voice in my head, I freeze. How is this possible? We haven’t even been gone all that long, and I was so careful when I left the castle not to leave any clues, to make sure the people in charge knew not to give away my location.Yet, there he is, that demanding voice in my head, wanting to know where I am.I feel compelled to answer him. After all, he is the Alpha King. Even in my own lands, I am bound to reply.“Maddox? What’s going on?”I have stopped walking, and the other members of my party have noticed. “Isla, are you okay?” Ben asks, coming back to me.I can’t even acknowledge the question since I am waiting for Maddox to respond in my head.“Where are you?” Maddox asks again. “We have to get off of this Goddess-forsaken island now before something happens to you and the baby!”So he does know where I am! And he’s here, too?“What the fuck is happening?” Antony demands. In the background, I hear more howls, and the wolves sound closer
*Isla*The howling is getting closer. Panic wells up inside of me. I don’t even have a weapon. Antony begins to strip, preparing to shift. We are all in trouble.“Fuck,” Poppy mutters, turning away from him. The next thing I know, she’s disappearing into the nearby trees.“Poppy? What are you doing?” I shout to her.“She’s probably hiding,” Antony says behind me. I don’t particularly want to see my cousin naked, so I don’t turn to look at him. “Coward.”It’s the last word he mutters before I hear his voice in my head. “I’ve shifted.”Turning around, I see that he is now a large gray wolf. My eyes widen in shock. I wasn’t expecting him to be so big. Ben gathers up Antony’s clothing and shoves it into his backpack, picking that up off the ground, too.The howls are closing in on us. “Poppy!” I shout, thinking there’s no way she just left, but I have no idea where she’s at either.A moment later, a wolf emerges from the trees. Antony turns toward it, rearing up on his hind legs, ready to
*Isla*Aunt Mary glides toward me, her hair and dress billowing around her. She looks like some sort of a spirit or a witch or something. Perhaps that’s because she is one. People from her island of KiloKilo are said to have magical powers. I guess I’m seeing that firsthand now.An ominous feeling bubbles up inside of me. Is she coming at me to harm me or just because she is happy to see me?Behind me, I hear another wave of howls throughout the forest. Thunder echoes through the trees as well. Whatever is going on back there, it can’t be good. I hope that Maddox is all right.Aunt Mary stops before me. “Hello, Princess Tropicana.”Taking a deep breath, I put a brave face on. Now is not the time to back down from this quest I’ve embarked on. “Hello, Aunt Mary.”Her arms fly out, and suddenly she is upon me, squeezing me tightly—in a warm embrace. Laughing a rich chuckle, she rocks me back and forth. “I’m so glad you’re finally here to help me break the curse. And just in time as well.
*Maddox*My head is ringing as I open my eyes and try to remember where I am and what’s going on. The last thing I remember is a bright light shining in my face and then being thrown. Judging by the pain in the back of my neck and my shoulders, I must’ve hit something hard.Turning around, I see I’m still in my wolf form, and the object behind me is a tree—a palm tree.I’m in the jungle, that’s right. Trying to find Isla and my unborn child.We’d been running through the woods toward the blue light in the distance when suddenly, there’d been another light, a brighter light, right in front of us. Then, some crazy-looking woman had appeared in front of us.I had no idea who she was or even what she was. But then she’d flashed some bright blue wave of light at us, and all of my men had crumpled to the ground.Now, I can see that I’m about the only one getting up. The forest around us is eerily quiet. I wonder if that woman hit the animals with her bolt of light as well. Did she even kill