TANIA
"We're looking for her, you know," my dad murmured in a soft whisper, seating himself at the foot of my bed.
"Not hard enough," I bit back, hissing at the way my body tensed at the mere mention of Kali. Running my fingers through my white locks, I added, "and even if you catch her, what do you plan to do? It's not like you could punish her for something you would have done anyway. Mum hasn't even spoken to me, let alone come here just to set eyes on me. "
"You did threaten and almost kill her friends and the people they love," Zephyr deadpanned with a tight smile.
A growl built in my throat and then left my lips before I managed to tamper it down, "Just because they are part of the council it doesn't make them her friends. Her priorities aren't in the right place."
"And yours are?" My father challenged, peering up at me.
I stood in front of him with
TANIAHis mouth stamped on mine and my eyes widened. Not in fear, or surprise. It was wonder that flooded my obsidian eyes. Wonder because his lips on mine were warm and soft pillows even with them being chapped from fatigue. But even that wasn't the most surprising part.No.What had wonder slithering through my body and infecting my blood was the sparks that somehow burst from our point of contact. I stood there, stunned into stone because I wasn't sure how to react. Sure, I wanted to push him away but the bond wanted me to whirl on him and tug him into me until there wasn't a stitch of space remaining. My mind and soul were playing a tug-of-war game with the bond and I knew, I just knew, that whoever my heart sided with would eventually win.I just stood there, with my front pressed against the wall and my back pressed to the hard ridges of his muscles. And, eventually, I moved my lips
TANIAWe were in the gardens that surrounded the estate. It had been a week since I had joined Sylvain on his almost nightly runs through the forest that was beyond the well-maintained gardens. We could have easily used magic to tend to the gardens. We could have easily kept the flowers in full blood as if it were a never-ending spring but we found that it sucked the joy out of the natural cycle of life. Everything was meant to die, to wither away and give space for something to grow anew.However, we did such a good job of maintaining the gardens that Sylvain initially thought we used magic until he saw fae tending to the gardens on their hands and knees.It was beautiful, watching a flower go through the cycle of life within a few days or weeks. The garden during the winter months was blanketed with knee-deep snow. Icicles would cling to the bare, thick brunches of the trees that lined the paved path thr
SYLVAINThe moment the words 'show me' left Tania's lush lips, I clutched a hand on her shoulders. She was so consumed by the shadows coiling around her supple body that she hadn't registered the feel of my hand on her skin. Shadows, almost instantly, blanketed me in their chilling embrace which had my spine freezing and my heart rate spiking. It seemed like they loved my fear, practically feeding off the emotion until my muscles eased into numbness.And then, it suddenly felt as if we were moving at the speed of light but through darkness. Moving to where I didn't know. Zephyr trusted her not to do anything stupid but, at the way my gut hollowed, I knew that he was now regretting taking off her cuffs. I didn't know what Tania's game plan was but if she planned on winning this game, she better start changing her play. She couldn't throw away the first straw of trust someone offered her. I thought I was making progress with
SYLVAIN"How are you?" My mother's concerned voice echoed through the mind link.It was the middle of the night here which meant it should have been late afternoon on her side. The time difference left my head spinning but I made a point not to contact my pack often so I wouldn't need to keep checking the difference. My mother, on the other hand, was stressed about me so I didn't have the heart to tell her that she may have woken me up from my sleep."I'm fine, mom," I answered, suppressing a whine that crawled up my throat. Nuzzling into Tania's side, I said, "but I may be here longer than expected.""Take all the time you need," she said in a tone reserved only for mothers. It was soothing and reassuring like a warm fuzzy blanket on a cold winter's day, "your dad and I have things covered here. Sydney and Quade left a week ago so if you have time, maybe drop b
TANIAI was still groggy, vision blurry and muscles lax with exhaustion that hadn't left my limbs yet but my mind was strangely aware. It was aware that I had fallen asleep last night in a set of strong arms which encased me as if forming a barrier against every one of my fears. I wanted to ignore the fact that my sleep was almost blissful when tucked into his chest and cradled but I couldn't. After my nightmare had woken me and I somehow found sleep again, not a single dream—good nor bad—found me. And I liked it that way.I blinked away the blurriness while perching myself against the cushioned headboard. When my focus returned I found the room empty, the faint whisper of Sylvain's woodsy scent lingering in the air. I almost released a disgruntled sigh but I stopped myself. How could I be mad or even disappointed that he left when he had a life of his own. He was already putting said life on h
TANIAI thoroughly enjoyed watching Sylvain's features contort between surprise and joy as I showed him around town. We stopped at the bakery first and, true to his style, he charmed the bloody socks of the elderly woman behind the counter—even convinced her to talk to me even though her every instinct screamed against it. I appreciated the gesture but I didn't want to go around town making people uncomfortable. Luckily, after coffee and blueberry muffins we left for the next place.It took us longer than necessary to get there because he kept pausing to pet the horses on the paved roads. They adored him, letting out whinnies and swishing their tails through the air. Seeing horses and carriages fascinated him the way seeing cars for the first time fascinated faeries. However, the town wasn't massive, and getting cars here would be a problem we weren't ready to tackle. This method of transportation had serv
SYLVAINI licked her soft bottom lip before drawing it between my teeth and sucking on the pillow. The taste of coffee with hints of blueberry muffin lingered in her mouth and I devoured it until all I could taste was her. And, oh was she sweet. She tasted like sugar-coated lies and bad decisions. It made no sense but it made perfect sense to me.She kept lying to herself that she was the villain, so much so that she was now down the rabbit hole believing it with everyone else. But, if she were so bad then why did she have a laugh that reminded me of angels singing?I tilted my head, deepening the kiss in a way that had anticipation clouding my vision and desire setting my body on fire. If this snow wasn't magically enchanted beneath me it would have turned into a steaming puddle of water. Of that much, I was certain.The more she made me wait, the more I wanted her. I wanted her on top of me with her head tipped back and white locks cascading over her curves and I wanted her beneath m
TANIAI made a mistake. A terrible mistake. I wasn't some hormonal teenager so I should have never decided to throw caution to the wind. My hormones and lack of composure should have never driven my actions. Now, all that could be felt was thick, undiluted tension between Sylvain and me. Tension because we didn't know how to proceed from here, whether or not this was a tilt in another direction for our relationship, or whether things would remain the same.We were exiting the summer court which didn't hold Sylvain's attention. It reminded him of the sweaty, humid, subtropical climate of LA and his skin turned beat red under the direct rays of scorching sunlight. Because of that, we zipped through the summer court and breezed through the autumn as well.It was Spring—surprisingly enough—that held his attention in the same way winter court had. He brushed his fingertips over the tu