*Ember’s POV*The force of Alec’s rejection tore through me in a ripple of agony. It was as if my soul had been shredded by the words he had uttered. If I hadn’t already been sitting, I would have collapsed.“Alec!” Rhys bellowed, rushing out to follow his Alpha. He had only seen the tail end of our altercation. The Goddess only knew what he thought had happened. I liked to think of Rhys as her friend, but I knew that his loyalty had always and would always lie with Alec. Would he hate me for this? Or worse, would he hate his Alpha for rejecting me?With a sick feeling, I realized that I might never know. They would leave the Palace of the Moon Maidens soon, and as much as I hated to admit it, there was a substantial possibility that I would never see either of them again.“What have I done?” I choked out, faced with the horror of the situation.Part of me knew that Alec had only done it to protect me and keep me safe from Lukas. If Lukas ever found out that Alec and I had cl

*Ember*Before I realized it, two weeks had passed since Alec had left me in Moon Haven. Every minute since he rejected me had felt like a knife in my chest. My whole body ached. It was almost impossible to get out of bed some days, but I forced myself to get up because lying there, thinking of him, crying, and wishing that things were different would do nothing. I got out of bed and headed to the main hall, where Chastine made us gather every day. The beauty of the Palace of the Moon still left me breathless sometimes. There was a peacefulness and tranquility to Moon Haven I had never experienced. There was nothing to really distract me from the ache in my chest and the way Alec’s rejection seemed to rattle in my ears.“Good Morning,” I said, nodding at the young women who had gathered today. Chastine called them all acolytes. They were around my age and were still in training to become full maidens. As usual, they looked at me warily. One of them gave me a tight smile and look

*Alec*I roared in agony. The shock of the sash of claws across my shoulder forced me to shift into my human form. The giant bastard revealed his bloodstained teeth as he rushed at me. I dodged his next attack, but he was relentless, lunging at me. I pushed his claws away with my sword. Sparks flew, burning me as the force of his swing shoved me aside. I rolled, and just as he leaped into the air, ready to pounce on me and kill me. I darted forward, shoving my blade up through his mouth. He twitched for a moment and flailed before he went limp. The visage of a wolf melted away, and the man in leather armor remained, dangling from my sword, scratching weakly at the blade as he continued to fall down the blade. I lowered it, letting him slide off the end of it, and rolled away from it.“Bastard,” I gasped, groaning as I pressed a hand to my shoulder. My hand came away sticky with blood, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the wound I’d received earlier in the battle. The scent of bl

*Ember* It was time. The full moon was at its peak. Standing naked in the moonlight, I could feel it beneath my skin, as though it was alive in my veins. The clearing around me hummed with energy as the Moon Maidens chanted and burned fragrant incense around the perimeter where the grass met the towering old pines of the darkened woods. Chastine, who was facing me within the circle, recited something in a language that I didn’t recognize, but could feel deep in my bones. Only minutes before, Lauryn had dragged me out of bed, through the palace, and out into the woods. The Maidens had been waiting. As they had prepared me for the ceremony, I had grown more and more nervous. Would it hurt to shift? What if it didn’t even happen at all? What if my father had been right all along, and I really was just worthless? But now, as I closed my eyes and tilted my face up to meet the moon, those fears gave way to a certainty that I was meant to be there amongst t

*Alec* “Why don’t you join me?” the shifter who looked remarkably like Ember asked. I gaped at him for a moment, trying to parse out what was going on. “Don’t worry, I won’t bite,” he joked pleasantly before checking to see if the rabbit was done. I rolled my eyes at the comment, but decided to play along and see what happened. After all, this stranger had waltzed directly into the center of our camp while Liam and Bryan were asleep. If he had wanted to harm us, he would have killed them before they could wake. Shifting back into my human form, I retrieved my clothes and pulled them on quickly, keeping an eye on the stranger the entire time. He seemed amused that I was so suspicious of him, but waited patiently until I sat beside him at the fire. “Who are you?” I questioned. “My name’s Grey,” he replied easily in a forthcoming tone. “And I suppose I’m correct in assuming that you’re the Whitelark Alpha?” I nodded curtly. “What pack do you