I Can't Be Mated to Him

*Kieran*My cheek stings where that blasted bird pecked away my skin, but at least it didn’t get my eyeball. Because of my wolf shifter abilities, I feel it healing already. When I draw my hand away again, there’s no fresh blood.I hear my twin sisters’ footsteps lightly following me up the stairs and can feel her glaring at me. It’s nothing new. We’ve been at each other’s throats since we were old enough to walk.Well, that’s not exactly true.I’ve been at her throat. She’s mostly passive, just stares at me. Sometimes she cries. I used to laugh hysterically when she’d cry. It made me want to hurt her more. Now that I’m older and more mature, it just makes me want to tell her to grow a pair.We are finally out of the dungeon stairwell. I hurry along to my father’s office where the rest of the family is waiting. I know he will be displeased, especially when he sees my eye. Mother will likely start having a conniption. Perhaps I shall lie and say something else happened to me.“There he

*Kieran*I can still feel the sharp rips in the skin of my back where that fucking cat sunk it’s claws in, and my hands ache from the scratches that forced me to let it go before I ripped it in half. I don’t know what the fuck is happening in this place, but something is wrong, and I don’t like it.I rush past Nessa and her cronies where they still stand in the hall. One of them calls out to me, but I wave a dismissive hand. I don’t give a fuck if Nessa Winters is bleeding to death all over the Goddessdamn marble floor. What I do care about is my stupid sister getting herself into trouble again. How many times does she have to be told to stop fucking with Nessa? Last time, I thought Mother was going to break her legs. She came pretty damn close. Mother and her fucking fireplace poker. Thank the Goddess she never turned that on me or any of my other siblings.Why is it okay that she beats the living shit out of Blanca then?I don’t have an answer for that. It’s just always been that wa

*Blanca*I rush down the hallway, my bare feet slapping on the stone that makes up the floors in this dreary part of the castle. I don’t dare look behind me as I hurry toward the closest exit before someone discovers I’ve left my room.Someone locked me in there. Someone who wanted me to miss the Haze. Someone who wanted me to miss my only chance at escape.I can’t think about that right now, though. I have to find him.I need to find my mate.Pushing through the closest exterior door, I step outside and into another world. The Haze pulsates around me. No longer the milky white shade it has been the last few days, it is a shimmering silvery mass that engulfs me immediately. I can’t see anything, and with every breath, it sinks into my soul.My wolf cries for freedom, letting out an excited, primeval howl as I leap into the unknown. My clothes shred, my bones pop, my skin disappears into my body as black fur takes its place all over me. It doesn’t hurt; in fact, it feels incredible, li

*Blanca*Vomit rises up my throat as I wait as patiently as possible for Kieran to leave the tent. I can’t allow myself to think about what happened last night–what we did. If I do, I’m likely to throw up everywhere.Tears sting my eyes for so many reasons, I couldn’t possibly name them all. Here I was thinking the Haze would be my ticket out of this hellhole, that I’d meet my mate, and he’d sweep me away.Instead, the Moon Goddess made me the butt of Her own sick, twisted joke. What the hell will our parents do to us if they find out about this? They’ll kill me. Like Kieran, they’ll assume I’ve learned some sort of magic that would make this possible.I truly don’t think there’s any magic in the world that would make this happen, but nothing makes sense at the moment. I need to do some research.I turn around to look at the unzipped tent, wondering if Kieran is gone. I see his legs through the flap and then hear another voice.“Oh, Goddess no!” I whisper. I never would’ve thought tha

*Blanca*I awake sometime in the middle of the night. When I first got back to my room, I took a long shower and scrubbed my flesh raw. Then, I got dressed in as many layers as I could and fell into bed, exhausted. My mind had gone crazy, even in my dreams, trying to sort out everything that had happened.I’d lied to my parents.Father asked me if I’d found my mate, and I’d said no. Even as I’d spoken the words, the mark Kieran had left in my flesh began to throb. My wolf, my soul, seemed to want to claim him, even though it made absolutely no sense.Curled up on my bed, I stare out the window, trying to ascertain what time it is. Judging by the placement of the stars, I guess it’s around 2:00 in the morning, which means I essentially slept for sixteen hours. I don’t want to get out of bed. I just want to go back to sleep and will this all away.None of it makes sense to me, and lying here isn’t going to fix that. I have to figure out how this happened.When I consider who might be ab