LOGIN"Get up, Prince Mitchell, before I dump a bucket of well water over your royal head."
Novalee’s voice rasps right above me.
I blink hard. My vision blurs, then snaps into focus. The stone floor beneath my cheek is freezing. My head throbs with a heavy, rhythmic pulse that makes my teeth ache. I was knocked out cold. Five minutes? An hour?
I push myself up on one elbow. Novalee, Audrey’s aunt - the woman the poor girl st
Nina POV“Who the hell told you that you could touch my son?” I snap, my hand slamming onto the handle of the stroller before Khadija can even blink.The kitchen feels like a tomb, heavy with the stench of grief and freezer burn. Adriel is still staring at the white plastic door where Betty’s body should be, completely catatonic. But Khadija? The witch is smirking, her fingers hovering an inch above baby Toby’s blanket.“Relax, little wolf,” Khadija purrs, her eyes glinting with a sharp, ugly amusement. “I am only admiring him. He has a very distinct scent. Very distinct aura.”“Get your hands off him. Now.”“I am only trying to help you,” she says, tilting her head. “I know who the father is.”My heart stops dead in my chest. The air leaves my lungs in a sharp, painful gasp. I grip the stroller frame so hard the metal groans under my palms.
Betty POV"Drink the water, Betty."The words do not belong to me. They drop out of my own mouth, but the voice is deep and heavy.I snap my eyes open. The wet heat of the fountain is gone. The smell of Kori, the blood of Novalee, the heavy stone walls of the castle yard, all gone."Wake up, Betty."My feet sink into something hot and loose. I look down. White sand buries my toes. I pull my left foot up, but more sand slides down from a steep ridge to fill the hole. I am standing on the peak of a massive hill.I spin round. There is nothing but white. The sky above is not blue. It is a dull, flat grey that looks like dead ash. The air does not move. There is no wind. There is no sound.I close my eyes and squeeze my fists until my nails bite into my palms. I try to reach inward.April?Silence. The wolf inside my chest is completely gone. I cannot feel her fur. I cannot feel her growl. My mind is a hollow room.
Adriel POV"Wake up!" I roar, my voice cracking against the stone walls of the courtyard. "Betty, wake up!"She does not move. Her chest is completely still on the wet grass. The final, wet thud of her heart echoes in my ears, and then there is nothing. Just the silence. I stare down at her face. Her eyes are half-closed, glassy and blank. She looks peaceful. It makes me sick. It makes me want to rip my own throat out.How can an immortal die? How can a queen just stop?"Who did this?" I scream, turning on my heel. "Who shot those bloody arrows? Find them!"Khadija is already moving down the stone steps from the western tower, her robes trailing in the dirt. She looks white. Her hands shake as she grips her skirts. I want to shift. I want to tear the forest apart until I find the archer, but a heavy weight blocks my path.Mitchell drops to his knees beside Betty. He does not care about the threat. He does not care about the archers in the tr
Betty POV"Hello again, Betty."The words cut through the dead white silence. I did not turn around. I knew that voice. I knew the cold, heavy scent of lilies and ozone that came with it."I am sick of this," I said. My voice sounded flat in the empty space. "I am completely sick of dying."The Moon Goddess stepped into my line of sight. Her bare feet did not make a sound on the white stone. She wore a shift that looked like liquid silver, but her face was just a blur of blinding light."I understand your frustration," she whispered. "But you are the one who keeps stopping blades with your chest.""Because people keep trying to kill me," I snapped. I dug my fingernails into my palms. The pain was dull here, like it was happening through a thick layer of wool. "Why am I back here? I was just on the grass. Adriel was holding me. Mitchell was there.""You are here because you are fragile, Betty." She tilted her head. The
Adriel POV"Look at them," Mitchell snaps.I lift my chin, forcing my eyes away from the tree line. Betty and Elia are tumbling through the high grass fifty yards away. Or rather, it is April and the silver wolf of the beta female. They move in a blurred circle of white and grey fur. It looks effortless. I watch the muscle groups in April's massive shoulders contract as she pins the smaller wolf, her jaws snapping closed an inch from Elia's ear in play."She is adjusting faster than we thought," I say. My voice is too flat, even to my own ears.Mitchell scoffs, his boots crunching against the dry earth as he shifts his weight. "She is playing like a pup. We do not have time for play."I do not answer him. I am watching the way the midday sun catches the silver tips of April's coat. A strange, cold weight settles behind my ribs, heavy and completely dead. When Betty is in her human skin, the mate bond is a low, thrumming pulse in my blood. It is fam
Betty POV"Drink it before it gets cold," Novalee says.She sets the tray down on the bedside table with a sharp click. The porcelain rattles against the wood."I am not hungry," I say."You need your strength." Novalee straightens her apron, her fingers twitching against the fabric. "The elders are moving the schedule forward. The attack happens tonight."I look at the steam rising from the tea. "And your sister?""I will handle her myself." Novalee turns her face away, but I see the skin around her jaw tighten until it turns white. "She chose her side. Now I have to finish it.""Novalee, you do not have to carry this alone," I say."There is no one else to do it." She walks toward the door without looking back. "Eat, Betty. The castle is not safe today."The heavy oak door clicks shut behind her.Mitchell sits on the edge of the mattress next to me. His body is perfec
Betty’s POV"You need to leave before I tear your throat out," Luka growled, his massive Lycan jaw snapping inches from Madeline's face.The three triplets scrambled backward, their heels catching on the gravel as they shoved Madeline into the passenger seat of their sports car. The engine screamed
Betty’s POV"You are nothing but a broken genetic mistake, Betty, and you will not embarrass this family at the royal ball tonight."My father slammed both of his heavy fists onto the wooden kitchen table. The wood groaned under the impact, rattling the ceramic coffee mugs and sending a splash of d
Betty’s POV"You are going to frighten the locals if you keep projecting your scent like a weapon," I said.The stranger did not flinch. He stood by the rusted flank of the pack jeep, his frame blocking the driver-side door. His eyes were the sharp, smoked-gray of a non-royal Lycan, completely devo
Betty’s POV"Get on your knees, wolfless freak, or I will break your legs myself."Madeline’s voice sliced through the damp, heavy air of the Blue Claw storage pavilion. She was balanced on the balls of her patent-leather heels, her pink lips curved into a cruel, perfect line. In her manicured hand







