*Alec*Sawyer smiled, but there was nothing reassuring in his expression. “Who’s asking?” he repeated, staring down at the knife thoughtfully. “I guess you could say… just a curious rogue. I have no loyalty to the Silver Crescent and the so-called Alpha King, as I’m sure you already know.”“What about the Grims?” I asked, disdain dripping from my voice.“Lukas Grimwood is a coward and a fool,” Sawyer replied smoothly. “I have no reason to tie myself to his pack, especially now that I’ve seen how easily the Whitelarks were able to overpower the Alpha’s best entourage.”I nodded in agreement. I believed that he spoke the truth. An alliance with either pack would be of no use to somebody like the Rogue King, who preferred to lounge in and mooch off of the southern territories. However, he had still recognized Ember, which could put her in a dangerous position. “What do you want from the princess?” I asked.“Who says I want anything from her?” he shot back. “It’s not me that you

*Alec*Watching Ember train was like seeing a fawn walk for the first time. I had only ever seen her in dresses and skirts, but now she was wearing plain trousers, a blouse, and a new set of leather protective gear. She seemed uncomfortable in the outfit, moving stiffly and hesitantly. I knew from experience that the leather would soften with time and use, and that practice was the only thing that would make her more comfortable with this new experience.I doubted that the princess had ever had an opportunity to train before. From the way the Alpha King had treated her at the Silver Crescent, I guessed that he wouldn’t have wanted his daughter to be able to fight back against him or any of the other males that would end up around her. He would have wanted to keep her docile and submissive, easy to control.The thought made me angry, and I growled into my coffee cup. I had decided to take breakfast in my office that morning so that I could observe Ember’s first training session. T

*Ember*I stared deep into Alec’s eyes, and I knew that he was telling the truth. Relief and joy rushed through me. The man who had helped me and made me feel loved was here, standing in front of me, far more solid than the shadow he had been back at the castle. Everything he had said had made sense and fit with what I had known about the hooded stranger who had visited me all those weeks ago. I recalled the magnetic way we had been drawn together in the library, now sure that I hadn’t been misreading the situation.But then a trickle of anger soured my elated thoughts. I understood why he hadn’t been able to rescue me sooner, but why had he not just told me who he was when he ambushed the carriage? I would have gone with him willingly, enthusiastically. I would probably have even fought for him! Had he just planned to bed me and leave? Had he intended for me to never find out?As if reading my mind, Alec cast his eyes downward in shame. “I should have told you sooner, I know,” h

*Alec*As soon as the door closed behind Rhys, I sank into my chair and leaned back. The sturdy oak desk I had spent countless hours at since becoming Alpha gleamed in the low candlelight that flickered around us, casting shadows on the walls. For the first time, it felt like a barrier between us as he fixed his gaze on me.teThe silence stretched on for what felt like hours before he spoke.“You want to go,” he said before I had even thought of a way to rationalize the risk. He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Even knowing that Sawyer is as slippery as it gets, you want to go?"“What other choice is there?”“Haul her ass to the Maidens,” Rhys said. “If she’s really part of this extinct pack, then they’re the only ones that can help her. What is the issue?”I winced. Hearing it put so plainly only made me want to dig in my heels because it couldn’t be so simple. I couldn’t stomach it being that simple. I thought back to Sawyer’s face when he told us about what he suspected about Embe

*Ember*I spent the night awake and alone. Though I was hungry, I couldn’t force myself to eat. I was too angry, too hurt, too confused to even think about it. Dawn’s light was coming in through the window when I heard a knock on my door.“Please go away.”The door opened, and before I could say anything, I saw Lauryn walking into my room with a sunny smile and a tray of food.“I hear you had a rough night,” she said. “Made rougher by your own choices, sure, but rough nonetheless.”She set the tray down and took a seat. “And now that we’re not tiptoeing around it all, I think it’s about time you got a crash course.”I frowned. “A crash course in what?”“In what is very likely your own history,” she smiled. “Your connection to the Maidens of the Moon Goddess and the pack that no longer exists. The pack never had a name, but it and its members left an impression. The Maidens of the Moon Goddess is the only connection we still have to the pack.” A sly smile graced her lips.