“She … can … stop … time.” Caius’s brows rose higher and higher with each word. “She can stop time.”Knight slapped his phone down. On the screen was an internet search on various types of flowers. “Did you know there’s a type of chrysanthemum called chrysanthemum Anastasia?”I set the letter down a
Anastasia“Staying up all night rereading the same materials won’t suddenly make us understand our parents motives.” Damon yawned, “We might as well call it a night.”We had combed through the letters a third time, but all we could discern was that my mother and their father were purposefully siring
“Need some air.” I called out over my shoulder, forcing myself to sound calm.“What you need is to stay inside where it’s safe.”That had me glancing back to glare at him. “It’s only a few minutes.”“No.”I turned slowly. “No?”Those golden eyes of his were unblinking as he said again, “No.”Knight
AnastasiaGrass and cold earth crunched beneath my bare feet as I ran. The damp smell was embedded in my nostrils. My lungs heaved with each breath, and my skin was damp with sweat. Despite all of that I could still feel the chill of night seeping into my limbs.Branches cracked behind me and I rele
No, I don’t want to think about that at all.“Someone’s in a bad mood,” I haughtily turn my back on Knight. He makes a face, but otherwise ignores me. “Does the emo princess not sleep well without his orthopedic mattress?”Ghost immediately turned around and fled the cabin. His roar of laughter came
AnastasiaThe frost came first, crackling along the ground as it swallowed each blade of grass. It traveled up the trees, coating them in a thin layer of shimmering ice. I might’ve thought it looked pretty had my stomach not been in knots. Everything sparkled as if embedded with diamonds.Five wolve
My magic had this funky affect to me dying.It exploded out of me in invisible waves. Birds froze mid-flight. Even the ice wolf couldn’t fight being frozen. Caius was a human statue, his hand placed over his heart where the ice would have pierced had I not jumped in front of it.I hit the ground as
CaiusPeter had come just in time.I had to hand it to the guy; he knew how to act fast in a dire situation. He didn’t hesitate to grab onto all of us. Even the frozen wolves surrounding us on all sides failed to give him pause.The forest and wolves twisted in a blur of color as it faded into and e
The healer arrived then, knocking softly on the door. I didn’t pay them any mind as they entered, or as they touched around my forehead with cold fingers. My mind was lost, replaying Caius’s words.Once the healer left, taking with them my throbbing headache, I took a slow, steady breath and looked
AnastasiaCaius’s jaw clenched, his eyes flashing dangerously. A crack of thunder sounded from outside. “I should have torn them apart,” he growled, his voice low and menacing.I shrugged, trying to maintain my nonchalant facade. Caius’s rage was like being swept away in a storm. “You didn’t know. B
I watched in utter bewilderment as his face slowly transformed into a grin.“You steal my shirt, interrupt my hangover, and now you’re making jokes?”At some point we must’ve made it to his office, because he nudged open the door and stepped inside all without jostling my coffee. The retort died in
AnastasiaI had done an excellent job of avoiding Caius all morning. Or so I thought.Once Evangeline went home, I froze time long enough to make a mad dash downstairs. The throbbing in my head was relentless. Every werewolf knew magic and alcohol did not mix, but most of us were too stubborn to lis
“I’m doing this because I’m a good person,” I announced, purely because I was becoming more and more intoxicated, and I needed to remind myself why I shouldn’t go through with Evangeline’s revenge plot. This felt like the simplest reason. “Hype me up before I do something I’ll regret, and we both kn
AnastasiaEvangeline’s eyes shimmered with mischief. “I have a fun fact for you. The Windsor family spent upwards of 1.4 million dollars in PR firms, cybersecurity experts, and legal teams. They staged a scrub that spanned the globe, Ana. That takes money and power. It’s like CIA level shit. I’m tal
“Blackwell adventures.” As we descended into laughter, neither of us commented on the undertone of sadness in our voices, or how it fell upon the room like a dark shroud.I leaned back against the headboard and searched through the snippets of my memory. “There was something else. At one point the h
Anastasia“I’m a coward, aren’t I?” I brought my knees up to my chest with a huff. The bruises peppered along my body had healed long ago, but still I felt the phantom ache, the incessant reminder, of what had happened between Caius and I in that forest.I swore it was the mark playing tricks on me,
“This entire thing is incredibly barbaric,” I whisper-hissed. “They didn’t let me clean myself, as I’m sure you and everyone else know.”Radiating an air of pure smugness, Caius leaned down and murmured in my ear. “Because I ordered them not to.”As if on cue, an upbeat melody drifted through the ai