Cliff pushed his horse harder; he was on the road north toward Castle Fairfield. He had traveled south to meet the raiders that would steal Izzy back for him before he went west to find the others in his party. An hour passed and he rode closer to the dark cabin in the woods. It was hidden on a path that few knew about. It was two stories, but it blended in with the giant evergreens surrounding it. He dismounted and put his horse in the stable next to the cabin before he walked in the door without preamble. “Are you ready?” Cliff asked the three men standing inside the room. All three men were dressed in all black, they had a wild look in their eyes. The same look Cliff sported when he watched Izzy from afar. “Do you have her?” the closest man, Mikael, asked. “She is being brought north as we speak,” Cliff said, nodding his head. “You trust the Rangers?” Rikkard asked, the skepticism in his eyes. “No, but they will do the job f

Izzy watched Cliff converge on her as she sat petrified on the bed. He was there, near her, in the flesh and she had nowhere to run. She didn't know what to do. She froze when he reached out to her and grasped her in his arms, drawing her to her feet and inhaling deeply. He ran his nose along her neck and into her hair, breathing in her scent in satisfaction. "Please, let me go," Izzy whispered. She relaxed in his arms, forcing her muscles to soften as she screamed internally. She couldn't handle the pain she had gone through the last time; she knew the more she tensed, the worse it would be. Her internal monologue had failed her, she was panicking inside. She let out small gasps of breath. She couldn’t move, she was petrified by the sight of him. "No," he murmured as he ran his lips across her shoulder and toward her chest.  She took in a deep breath and in a sudden move of defense, she kneed him in the groin as hard as she possibly could. He le

"That's quite the story, Nate," Evan said quietly as he took in all of the information that Nate had told him. It had taken almost an hour to go through the details that Nate knew, with help from the others. "I think Cliff is the one who has been raiding the caravans in the weeks leading up to The Hunt," Logan added thoughtfully. "He's in charge of fighting off the raiders, though," Seth added, his brows furrowed. "Who better to pretend to defend the people than the man attacking them," Susanna said sarcastically. "If he is attacking the caravans in the weeks leading up to The Hunt, what is he looking for exactly?" Kate asked. "Or who is he looking for, may be the better question to ask ourselves," Seth added. "You think he was after Izzy before The Hunt?" Kate asked, stunned. "No, he didn't meet Izzy until The Hunt," Susanna shook her head. "We met him together, he had an odd look in his eye when he met her, but there was no r

Izzy looked around with trepidation, she knew from stories back home that the dragons didn't get along with shifters, but the hateful glares she was getting as she followed Marielle toward the front of the hall were astoundingly vicious. She smiled timidly at a few of the dragons before shifting her gaze to watch the head table. The King had not yet noticed she was in the hall, he was busy talking with Theo who sitting on his left-hand side. As the dragons in the hall stopped talking to glare at Izzy, she watched as the King looked around the hall searching for the cause of the silence and change in atmosphere. His gaze focused on Izzy and he gave her a welcoming smile. Theo glanced up, too, and seeing Izzy and Marielle he gave them a small smile and nod. He stood from his chair next to the King and went to meet Izzy and Marielle at the bottom of the steps of the dais. He offered Izzy his arm and gave her a soft smile. Izzy looked up at him nervously. She took his ar

Izzy sat on the bench, her head swirling with the information she had received about her mate. Nate was supposed to be her perfect mate. He was supposed to love her, no other. Why would he make promises to another when he had sworn to stay by her side? “Izzy?” a soft voice called out to her. She ignored the woman calling. “Izzy?” the voice called out more insistently. Izzy looked up and saw the kind eyes of Violetta staring back at her. “What is it?” Izzy whispered, barely able to focus on the words to say. “Marchessa is jealous of you. I don’t know if what she said is true or not, but the only way to find the truth is to talk to your mate. You can’t let this bother you until you hear the truth from his lips. She has loved Nate since the moment he walked into Daikon. She would do anything to make him hers,” Violetta said softly, running a hand down Izzy’s hair comfortingly. “There is truth to her words,” Izzy said. “They’ve slept toget