KiraI sipped from my water bottle, aware that this was the second gallon of water I’d been through in an hour. The sauna was well over 100 degrees, and I could feel the steam licky my body, my skin covered in gleaming sweat. It was also blissfully quiet; I had it all to myself, thankfully. While the saunas weren’t technically private, nobody really bothered to use them so late at night.Or, had a key to the Lodge for after-hour use. I thought of the time I stole Ethan’s key–a few years ago, at least–and made a copy so I could train late in the evening’s on the nights he and Perrin were otherwise occupied. I could practice–fail, and try again–without the looming judgment of one–nearly two–older brothers. I wiped sweat from my forehead lazily onto my towel, nearly soaked through. I had felt my muscles relax over the last hour or so, my head nodding as I listened to the rhythmic hiss of the steam as it pumped into the sweltering room.I had decided–whether through reason or in my curr

PerrinI shifted uncomfortably, my jeans now tight in the hips. I was readjusting myself and getting my bearings when I heard a string of muttered curses from behind me. Kira emerged from another hallway a few moments later, scowling.“How’d your meeting go?”She stopped mid-swear and chugged the last of her coffee before throwing the cup in a nearby receptacle. “That good, eh?”Another angry look. “Ok. Well listen, I’m gonna head out–”She perked her head up, as if finally realizing I was there. “How about we walk?” she suggested. “That way we can… talk.”Talking to Kira was the last thing on my mind at the moment. But I hadn’t asked Charlie to be here for another hour, so I was left without a ride. In the last three seconds, I had planned to run back to the pack house and take advantage of the time I had with Lo before I needed to be at the Lodge, but…“Sure,” I found myself saying. I could walk fast. I fell into step with her as we left the building, checking my watch and settin

Deidre “What do you mean, she canceled training?” Cynthia paled as she informed me of her call with my daughter. “That is inexcusable,” I said tartly. I knew I was being harsh on Cynthia, but she was the only one I could trust with Kira’s etiquette training. Mistra had ignored any sense of ladylike decency of my daughter since she was a child. And Beta or not, she was going to be able to hold herself in civilized company. Cynthia was muttering something about khaki’s and I cut her off, directing her to negotiate time with Mark to ensure we had at least two hours with her a week. Two hours was better than nothing. And if that girl continued to keep up her training and spend time with the Alpha Guard, it would be more important than ever to maintain some semblance of civility and manners. And perhaps, even an ounce of femininity. She left my office and I sat quietly, staring at the top of my desk with intense focus. Why had Perrin asked about Nyllan’s Theoretical Text, Volume 3? N

Deidre Blinking away the images of those last two photographs that had burned themselves into my memory, I looked around at the Luna’s office now. My office. The sun had begun to set outside of my window. I set down my bourbon, now warm in the glass, and, returning my feet to the ground, carefully and quietly opened the hidden compartment within the desk. When I had stumbled upon this book so many years ago, I had disregarded it. The cover had held a small copper clasp, barring those from its contents. And while I could have forced the clasp open without the key, the mature side of me had recognized it to be a diary that the late Luna had kept. Her scent was all over it; the cover even adorned with a purple flower that was so… so Sienna. And at that point in my life, the curiosity of my youth had become overshadowed by the shoes of the beloved Luna I was trying to fill. That, and because of what Jason had done, and what our marriage truly was, I had left the diary unopened in a silen

DeidreI closed the book and rubbed my eyes, leaning back in my chair.The room was dark; the fire had died hours ago. I glanced at the clock on my desk. It was almost 3:00 in the morning.I had barely noticed how cold my office was, or the deep shadows along the wall that the window had cast in the moonlight. But now that I wasn’t absorbed by the book in front of me, I shuddered, not sure if I was more chilled more by the dark room or by what I had just read. I put the book back into its compartment, unwilling to look at it again. Nyllan had indeed been a man before his time. I couldn’t have guessed at the contents of his work before I had read it, but I certainly understand now why his work would have been so threatening for his time. It was all deeply unsettling. It had the potential to be completely transformative; but I didn’t dare go there now.But as much as I didn’t want to admit it, the book had been compelling. The data was overwhelmingly convincing; his research methods–wh