Mia's POVWe stood there for some time in the hallway, relishing the quiet and peace that it gave us despite the cacophony of displeasures and hard glares that awaited us downstairs. Sol and I knew we had to face it soon though.Going into a hotel room and hiding out wouldn't be an option for very long. The hotel wasn't light-proof, and it wouldn't be enough to protect Sol when the sun rose. The rest of the vampires would leave, but he would be stuck here."We have to go," I told Sol as I broke away from him reluctantly. "Our home?" he asked me again, seeming to double-check if I really wanted to go with him. I nodded my head. Our home. Sol's mansion had quickly become my home without realizing it.Home meant safe in my mind, and there was no one I felt safer with than Sol. He grabbed my hand and led me toward the open elevator. The ringing of the elevator music was all I heard before my own voice broke through the silence. "Do you think he's still here?" I asked Sol s
Mia's POV"Ignorance?" Francis scoffed at me. "The only one who is ignorant, and maybe even a little naive here, is you." I raised my brow at him in question, and he continued to speak."You have this… This weird perception of those purebloods. Maybe it's because you're half vampire yourself, or maybe it's because you're so wrapped up in whatever lies Sol Montgomery is feeding to you–"I interjected, "You're wrong.""Oh, am I?" Francis asked. "Then tell me why it was that I have it on record you were the one who chose to run away from your pureblood father? Was his kind words and understanding nature what brought you to make that decision?"I was shocked that Francis knew so much of my personal life. Then again, the VHO had spies and watchers everywhere. The daughter of a well-known vampire who was one of the oldest in the city going missing or running away would be sure to spark some level of interest."You have no idea what you're talking about," I seethed at him."No?"
Mia's POVI tried to scream as Kyrin pounced on me, but his large hand came up to cover the sound that left my mouth. Instead, it came out muffled and cut short as he pressed me up against the side of the building wall. I felt his nose on the pulse point of my neck and could hear as he breathed my scent in deeply. "Kyrin," I begged him immediately, knowing exactly what was going through his mind, "Kyrin, please, you don't have to do this. Please just let me go, and I won't tell anyone, okay? Please just let me go.""How could I?" he breathed out into my neck. I could hear the resolve that settled in his voice. His tone was thick and heady with a wanton desire I knew would not be sated until he drank my blood. Even then, it would never truly be quenched. "How could I let you go when you.... you smell this good?" he breathed out shortly only to take another breath in. "You smell like all things right in the world."I tried to push at his shoulder. Even though our blood sta
Mia's POV"Mia," Sol grunted as he gripped the wrist of the hand splayed on his lower stomach. "You need to stop."I tilted my head at him and looked at him through the haziness that began to blur my vision. "Why? Don't you like it?" To prove my point, I raked my fingernails further up his chest along the hard lines of his abs and over his pecs.I pulled him closer to me abruptly, so much so that he had to bring his hand up fast to catch himself on the headrest behind my head to avoid crushing me. A grunt left his throat, and I heard a tear behind me. He must have ripped through the leather seat. A snicker left my lips as I turned to look at the damage he had done to Robert's car and then back to him. "Or maybe you like it too much," I suggested as I pushed my nose into his neck. I could smell the pheromones his body was emitting and the rush of blood that began to emit from his skin. He smelt delectable, and I knew he thought the same about me from the reaction he was givi
Mia's POVI woke up well into the late afternoon the next day. The silk sheets felt cool against my bare body, and a hum escaped me as I stretched my limbs out. It was a welcome discomfort from the previous night's activities, and I felt a smile widen across my face at the memories. The thoughts of Sol's body and the hard ridges that encompassed it—along with the visions of him on top of me, under me, hell, even at the side of me for some time—all came rushing forward. I could still feel the warmth of the hot shower and the contrast of his cool fingers splayed across my body and over every inch of it that he had not yet explored. My mind gradually began to become hazy again. It wasn't until I turned to him beside me that I realized the weight of what we had done the previous night. I was amazed to find myself not crushed under pressure but comforted by it like a weighted blanket rather than a crushing rock.His eyes were tightly shut still, his body unmoving as though he w
Sol's POVAfter giving her the photo albums, Robert led both Mia and me down to the living room and invited us to sit on the couch. He had lit a fire to keep us warm and came to sit beside me. Mia was on my right on a double seat with Robert on her right while I rested against the arm of the single couch."This was your mother on her third Christmas." Robert and I watched as Mia laughed at the gapped tooth smile of her mother when she was opening up a present, which looked like a rocking horse. "She had been wanting a horse ever since her friend had moved to a farm."Robert continued, "Obviously, we couldn't get her a real horse, because well, you know she was only three, but it seemed she enjoyed this one well enough.""What is this?" Mia asked as she pointed to another picture. Robert let out a full laugh."It's her sixth birthday and, unfortunately, also the day we discovered she had a peanut allergy." The two laughed together. I continued to stare at the picture of her
Mia's POVMy red, teary eyes stared back at me through the bathroom mirror of my grandfather's home—my mother's childhood home.I tried not to let my emotions get the better of me during the tour of the manor, but if I was honest with myself, I could feel myself breaking ever since I stepped foot into her bedroom. The icing on the tear-stained cake was the photo album. That photo album told me so much about the mother I had never known. A knock on the bathroom door jolted me from breaking down in yet another teary haze. "Mia?" Sol's comforting voice drifted in from behind the door. "Is everything alright?" Wiping my eyes as best as I could, I turned to the door and opened it for him. I didn't step out. I went back to the counter where the sink and mirror were placed. Sol took one look over me, walked into the door, and locked it behind him. I sniffled lightly as I shot a small, weak smile at him. He placed his strong hands on both of my shoulders. "Sweet," he murm
Sol's POV"Are you two leaving now?" Robert's voice called out to us as he noticed Mia and me reaching for our coats. I watched Mia walk toward him and engulf him in a hug. "Sol's friend needs a bit of help with a situation," she told him. "I'm sorry we couldn't stay long, but, um, do you mind if I take this with me? I promise I'll bring it back." Mia gestured to the photo album on the coffee table."Of course! Yes, yes, please. If only to have an excuse to get you back here. You will visit, won't you?" I watched as Mia nodded her head. The three of us walked out of the house together. Robert had kindly allowed us to borrow one of his cars as Gavin had not yet returned. He waved us off as we made our way down the road of his manor. "Sarah's pregnant," I told Mia as I pulled onto the highway. A gasp sounded from beside me. "That's what Serin's text was about. He learned about it just an hour ago.""Sol!" she squealed as she pulled her phone out from her pocket. "That's am
Sol's POVOnce I knocked down the heavy iron door of the room, I came face to face with a frightening sight. Mia was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, bound by her ankles and wrists. What set an enraged feeling throughout my body was the sight of Kyrin on his knees before her. His teeth were sunk into her neck. Her blood dripped down from her neck and spilled from his mouth."Kyrin!" I roared at him as I sped toward where he was sitting. Just as I thought he perhaps did not hear me or was too slow to react, he turned around just in time. I had to stop myself from barreling into Mia.Kyrin appeared from behind me and landed a kick to my back, sending me flying. A fight ensued, as it always did. I felt an enraged roar rip through me as I lunged myself at Kyrin. His mouth was dripping with Mia's blood. That fact only urged me to move forward even harder. I felt the crack of his skull beneath my first and his entire body shake and tremble as I got on top of him a
Mia's POVI awoke to chains around me—no, not chains, rope. Harsh, thick rope rubbed against my wrists' soft skin. They felt raw and bruised from the way they had been tied. I blinked my eyes open. The light of the bright lamp beside me lit up the entire area and cast an eerie shadow at the same time. There was no one around me. I could hear the faint dripping of leaking pipes, but no other sound was heard. Suddenly, footsteps echoed across the hard concrete of the floors. I was bound by my wrists and ankles. I was unable to see who was approaching me from behind, but I didn't have to wait long to figure it out.Kyrin Montgomery's face appeared in front of mine. His expression was wide and cynical. Speaking of all the evil things that were to come, he stared at me with eyes red and blazing. A gasp left me as I tried to look away. I tried to break free, but I couldn't. "Now, now," he purred as he rested his hands on either arm of my chair. "There's no need to act like that.
Sol's POV"Did you know?" Those were the first words my father spoke to me on the phone call that changed everything. Of course, at that time, no, I didn't know. Nor would I have known unless he had told me in the coming moments of what he had learned. There was a rage in my father's voice, the likes of which I had never heard of before. It was like when he would scold Kyrin or me when either of us had done something particularly disgraceful, in his eyes, to the family name. I wasn't aware of how spot-on I was with that prediction then, but I was sure to find out. "Good evening, Father," I greeted him. "Know what?""Don't play coy with me, boy." Irritation quickly began to grow in me. Mia was missing from her own home with signs of struggle very evident at the scene where she was last found. I had no time to play games with my father or try to understand his twisted way of getting around things. "I assure you," I knew he realized I didn't by the way I spoke to him
Sol's POVSerin, Sarah, and I all made out way back inside the house. It was a lot colder than what we were used to. Despite the air not having a physical effect on me, I still moved to light the fire, knowing Sarah and Mia would appreciate the warmth. The night was colder than usual. The season was colder than it had been in the previous months. "Are you good?" I heard Serin ask his wife and watched as he draped a blanket over her shoulders. She was shivering slightly from the cold outside she had been in for so long. A part of me wanted to go back to Mia and bring her inside, but I knew she wouldn't want to leave her friend's side so quickly and for the last time. "I'll make some tea," I offered the human woman in front of me. She gave me a thankful smile. Her eyes were bloodshot and teary. She was Kaya's friend too. I supposed it was never easy for humans to lose someone they loved. For vampires, it was less… emotional. For us, it was just another stage in our life. We
Mia's POVSol's strong arms were wrapped around me as I watched Bristol flee. I growled from frustration and sank my teeth into him in my enraged state, trying to do anything to make him let me go and chase after my father. When my sharp teeth broke the skin on his neck, he only tightened his arms around me. His rich blood rushed into my mouth and invaded my senses, overwhelming my blood that I had taken in earlier and consuming me. I felt every single droplet of his blood that rushed down my throat as I swallowed it down in gulps. I could not stop as I drank from him and felt my mind slowly begin to soften and calm down. A particular type of haziness enveloped me, and I felt my body grow weak in his arms. My hands clutched onto the thickness of his arms, dragging him closer to me so that I could get a better taste of him. "Sh, sh," I heard Sol's voice hum as he stroked my hair. "It's okay, it's okay." He let me drink from him for as long as I pleased. Only after some mor
Mia's POVIt was a harrowing thing, fighting off the teeth and claws of someone who once was your best friend. I saw the look in Kaya's eyes just before she attacked me, swirling red with a bloodlust that even I could not manage. I knew my blood had the same effect on her as it did all other vampires. It was a sort of primal desire to just feast. Although my blood didn't smell like that to me, if the evidence of the events throughout my life said anything, it was that. Her jaws made a loud snapping sound as she shut them just inches from the skin of my neck. I managed to kick my leg up in time to catch her in the torso. She was knocked back for a moment, a wheezing breath leaving her before she realized she no longer needed air to breathe. It was insane. Watching Kaya come to terms with being a vampire and having her attack me as though she had been one all her life was something I found hard to comprehend. Just as I turned to run, Kaya grabbed at my arm and sunk her claw
Mia's POVEverything seemed hopeless at that point. Kaya's face was contorted into something different, something ravaged and savage all at once. Dark lines decorated her once the clear face. Her eyes were a searing red, something that bore into me wholly and completed. She stared at me, but it was like she was staring through me rather than at me. I remembered calling out to her, whispering her name in a shocking sort of trance, "Kaya, Kaya, Kaya," like a lament of some sort. But she couldn't hear me. She was too far gone from me now, in the thrall of a man who had enslaved me for the first half of my life. Like me then, like her now. "What did you do to her?" I ground out. A rage enveloped me where grief first made home, and the two danced inside of me to a beautiful anthem. The anthem's name was revenge. I wanted to hurt him in all the brutal and honest ways I knew how to."Can't you see for yourself?" He patted the top of Kaya's hair. The strawberry blonde locks loo
Mia's POV"What do you mean she's missing?" I managed to choke out through the ringing in my ears. The police officer was telling me something, something important, but I couldn't hear him. It was like a buzzing and a haze was covering my senses all at once. I couldn't get myself to fully understand the situation in front of me. Sol was the first one to notice this change. He was in front of me in a split second, knees bent in the same position I was on the floor. When did I get to the floor? Either way, I was here now. My legs felt too weak to stand up. I gripped onto Sol's hand as I forced my brain to fight through the muddled haze it was in. I came just in time to hear the police tell me they had found her phone on the corner side, just where she was supposed to get the candles. It wasn't even twenty minutes away from us. "Okay," I said once the officer had completed his rundown. "Is there anything else you can tell me?""Unfortunately, not. Due to the cases of mi
Mia's POVLaughs filled the air as the doorbell rang, indicating the last of the guests had finally arrived. Kaya was the first one here, apart from Sol and I, who had already been at my new house since the night before. He had taken a keen interest in sleeping in my new bedroom. In his words, he was making sure everything went smoothly for my first day. The house itself was surprisingly light-tight, shocking both Sol and me. But he quickly explained that it must have been because many of the houses in this part of the town were allocated to old vampire families. My family must have purchased it from one ages ago. It was a miracle in and of itself that the technology seemed to hold and gave me no little amount of anxiety for Sol's safety during the day. But all seemed well by the time the following night followed. I opened the door to see Serin and Sarah there, wide smiles and love-struck eyes as they stared at me. I engulfed them both, happy that they made it and were sa