How do you like the insight of the beginning of the treachery toward the Guardians? We knew the council was bad, but Leana is the one that saw it first.
I can tell that Leana had no idea that vampires had the ability to attach themselves to the ceiling. In truth, you have to be a powerful vampire to do it. I always thought it was a fun trick after I became a vampire. I would practice walking on the ceiling in my grandfather’s castle. Giovanni used to get mad at me, telling me to stop sneaking up on him like a spider, which only made the game more fun for me. Thankfully, Leana stays quiet as the two people enter the room. Her legs are wrapped around me, the documents from my grandfather in between our bodies. She has a straight shot looking down at them, but I have to turn my head. The first person to walk in is the woman from the front desk, and with her is Silas, one of my father’s minions. “Are you sure no one has come in?” he snaps at her. “I’ve been at the front desk this entire time,” she snaps back. Silas looks around the room. I wonder if he is my father’s new second in command. “And the woman said her name was Leana?” he
It took Drake hours to replace all the bite marks on my body. Okay, let’s be honest, we got totally turned on and had to stop and have sex several times during the process, so it took much longer than it would have if he had just bitten me. I’m not sure how I feel about how aroused I get when Drake’s fangs sink into my body. I can only imagine what it will feel like to have his fangs sink into my marking spot. So, when my phone rings the next morning, I’m still in bed. I grab my phone and glance at the caller ID before answering. “Good morning, Aunt Grace.” “Leana. Are you still in bed?” “Uh, it was a late night. Is everything okay?” “Yes, but I’m here in the city and I’m planning to go to the council. I thought you could join me, maybe give me some insights into what is going on.” “Oh, uh, yes. I’d be glad to meet you out front of the council in a half hour,” I say, looking at Drake. His eyes are laser focused on me. “How about we have breakfast first. You can fill me in on yo
I had been watching to make sure none of my father’s men followed Leana and her Aunt Grace. However, having a Guardian in attendance at the council has thrown my father into a frenzy and he pulled all his men back earlier today. So, I’m standing across the street from the restaurant where my mate and her aunt are eating, watching from the shadows when Guardian Grace asks Leana about me. How the hell did she see me? “You don’t need to lie to me, Leana. Even without your mother’s gift, I would know that you were lying, and I would hope that you know by now that you can tell me anything.” I watch as my mate takes a deep breath and looks down at her clasped hands. “He’s my mate.” I watch Guardian Grace look at Leana, then reach out and cover Leana's hands with hers. “And your mother doesn’t know, I’m guessing.” “How can I tell her? After everything she endured, it’s like a sick joke that the Moon Goddess is playing on my family. But….” “But you are drawn to him anyway,” Grace says. M
I walk Aunt Grace to the elevator. She pushes the button then turns to me. “You know, I don’t think you’re giving your mother enough credit. You should give her a chance, or, at the very least, you should tell Rich. He’s your Alpha. But your mother loves you. She will always love you. She understands the mate bond and your mate seems like a good man. Give her a chance,” she says as the elevator opens. I reach out and hug her, holding on tightly. “Thanks, Aunt Grace. For everything.” “You’re welcome. I’ll see you at Emlyn’s birthday party?” “Absolutely.” “With your mate?” she asks. “Uhhh,” I begin. “At least tell Rich before then. You don’t want him going all Alpha on your mate because he’s a vampire, do you?” she asks me as she steps into the elevator. “I love you, Aunt Grace.” “I love you too, sweetheart,” she says as the doors close. I take a deep breath and walk back into our suite. Drake has the sliders open, and a cool breeze is blowing in. I’m not sure if he heard the
Over the next month, Leana and I move into our new home. The days go by much too fast and the nights that I spend devouring and enjoying my mate go by even faster. Leana turns our little apartment into a cozy home, a place that I want to come to, to be with her at night. Her scent is everywhere inside making our place that much better. She agreed to let me buy all new furniture, after a bit of arguing. Since, it’s not the place I want to give her, she agreed to make me happy. She’s as happy here as I am and I think I finally understand the saying ‘old married couple’. She and I quickly get into a pattern of fixing up our apartment, around her stopping into the council nearly every day while I go shopping for more furniture. Guardian Grace left a few days after she arrived, and then Leana's Aunt Cara came by. While they were here, Leana joined them at the council, but her Aunt Cara had agreed with Grace that Leana needed to be very careful going in by herself. My father’s men had c
As I run to my pack, I feel like I’ve left my heart with Drake. I stop in the woods, pulling clothes out of my bag to change into. I don’t want the pack to see the vampire bite marks all over my body. When I arrive at the packhouse, I’m surprised to see my brother, Cayd, waiting for me. “Hey Lea, good to see you,” he says, pulling me into a hug. “Cayd, are you waiting for me?” I ask hoping he can’t smell Drake’s scent on me. He sniffs the air, but doesn’t say anything. “Yeah, did you hear about the attack by Alpha Samuel?” I stop. “What? No! What happened?” Cayd lets me know that one of the packs we were previously allied with attacked Rich in our packhouse while his pack warriors attacked ours. “When did this happen?” I ask him. “About a week ago,” he says as we walk to my room so I can drop off my things. “Does the council know?” I ask, not having heard a word about this when I was in and out over the past month. “Yeah, I contacted them right away,” he says. The only memb
I’ve been running for two days toward what my grandfather called the ‘northern territory’. Me, I call it the frozen tundra. It’s a good thing I don’t feel the cold. I’m pretty sure even Kella would be cold in this place. I finally had to slow down when the snow became too thick to run in and now, it feels like there’s a blizzard blowing around me, the snow so thick that I can barely see. I make my way into a small town and find what looks like a tavern and hotel. When I step inside, it looks exactly like what you’d expect from a small town in the middle of nowhere that has a vampire’s adobe nearby. The room is dark with multiple round tables filled with men drinking pints of ale or shots of liquor. There’s a tavern girl behind the bar who looks overworked and underpaid and the overall feel is creepy, exactly like something you’d seen in a vampire movie that humans love to create. The room goes quiet as I walk in. I shake out my hair, stomping the snow off my shoes, as I casually sni
The first night away, I called Drake and talked to him. He was out in the wilderness so we didn’t have good reception, but he said he felt like he was heading in the right direction. Last night, I hadn’t gotten an answer when I called. It makes me nervous, but I know it’s possible that if he’s still in the woods that he either doesn’t have reception or his phone has died. I’ll try him again later, but this morning, I’m up, ready to go spend the day with Aunt Grace, Emlyn and Riley, my Guardian sisters to celebrate Emlyn's birthday and prepare for her party tonight. When I get to Safe Haven pack, I find the group in the dining room with Emerson, Aunt Grace’s son and future Alpha of the pack. My life would have been so much easier if I’d have been mated to Emerson, or Cohen, the future Alpha of Canyon Ridge pack. Instead, I'm mated to a vampire prince. We spend the day getting our nails and hair done before getting dressed for the big party. Since I haven’t seen Riley in months, I ta
One hundred and fifty years later I think Lily said it right. She called it a price, a price you have to pay for being mated to an immortal. I have paid more prices than I ever realized I would have to pay when I accepted Drake as my mate. It’s not that I would ever change my decision, even over a century later I still love my mate more than anything. If possible, our love has only increased with time. But saying goodbye to your loved ones is never easy. First there was my mother. She became ill, something only very old werewolves and Guardians do. Because we knew she was dying, all of her children and grandchildren were there when she passed away. My father held her, crying his silent tears as he told her that he loved her, that she had always been the love of his life and that there was never anyone who could have made him happier than she did. She had died in his arms and all of us had cried, holding each other and lamenting our loss. My mate was among those, crying his blood tea
Two Months Later My mate and I have gotten into a routine of working at the castle and managing our vampire clan, then spending time at our home on the outskirts of the city when Leana needs to be in the city for the council. It wasn’t long before Mehira was pregnant and with how often she growls, I wasn’t at all surprised to hear that she’s having a boy. A boy who is obviously an Alpha werewolf male. We have confirmed that Leana is having a boy too and while none of the tests can tell us that our son has the vampire gene, Leana’s need for bloody meat has led everyone to believe that she’s having a vampire hybrid. Because Alpha Leonardo’s pack is closer, his pack doctor has been monitoring Leana during her pregnancy. Honestly, it’s been easier than I expected, possibly due to Lucero’s blessing over Leana and our child. Ennata and Demetrius have joined the witch faction that is working for Holstin Enterprises. While she doesn’t have the ability to work for them full time, being Lea
We didn’t wait too long before going to visit my family. King Reyes and Marlene joined us, as did Demetrius and Ennata. She wanted to meet Maeve. We went to my brother’s pack first, making sure to let the pack know to expect three vampires on the pack lands. It was still tense until mom greeted us at the packhouse and hugged Drake, smiling up at him happily. After that, it was as if the pack relaxed. I didn’t realize that they all still felt such a sense of protectiveness over my mother, but I guess once a wolf is your Luna, they are always your Luna. Or maybe, it’s just my mother. She seems to elicit that response from those around her, my mate included. Maeve and Ennata hit it off right away, both of them having difficult childhoods and both being witches. They talked a long time about Levana and how she has mistreated both of them. I took the time to talk to Xander about everything that had happened between me and Drake, including my own coronation. “You didn’t think to invite
My mate and I quickly get into a routine of ruling over our vampire clan. We begin to make plans to visit the packs and to visit the fae land. Leana doesn’t like it, but she does find a way to eat real food and still feed on me to fulfil her need for blood. I know it’s only temporary, but I love my mate feeding on me, wanting me, needing me, the same way that I want and need her. It took a couple of days until we saw Ennata and Demetrius again. I heard that food was being sent to their bedroom and I definitely heard enough screeching and banging to know that Demetruis was doing his best bond my sister to him. When they finally emerged from the bedroom, Ennata seemed much more calm that she did when she arrived. “Do I take this to mean that you’re staying?” I ask her when she and Demetrius come into the office that Leana and I now share. She looks at Demetrius. “Try to deny me my love, I dare you,” Demetrius says to her. Ennata grits her teeth but pulls her turtleneck away from her
I wake up warm, wrapped in my mate’s arms. However, as I wake, I realize that I’m stiff. I open my eyes and sit up, realizing that Drake has been holding me while I slept all day. “Hello baby,” I say, tilting my neck and feeling the release as it cracks, then stretching my back and feeling the cracks down my spine as well. “How long have I been asleep?” “Most of the day. I was just about to wake you so I can get you fed before we begin to make our way home,” Drake says, smiling at me. “Food, mmmmm,” I say, then I remember and my head whips around to see Ennata sitting with us. “Hey,” I say to her. “Hey,” she says. “Do you sleep?” I ask her. “Not really, it’s more of a deep meditation.” “What about food? Do you eat or do you drink blood.” “Both. I can survive off of either one.” “Preference?” I ask as I stand, feeling every joint in my body cracking from so many hours of being in the same position. “I like blood,” she says. “Well, I need real food and since I’m pregnant and
The moment I caught her scent, I went after her. This time, I’m prepared. I won’t let her get away. “Ennata!” I yell as she runs. In response, she throws a ball of magic my way. I notice that hers is a lighter color than the other witches, not quite white, not quite purple, something in between, almost a lilac color. I duck the magic as I chase her, hearing Leana behind us, trying to catch up. “Ennata, please. I just want to talk to you,” I say. “Yeah, just like everyone else!” she yells, tossing multiple balls of magic at me this time. “I’m done being locked up!” “I have no intention of locking you up.” “Then you want to sink your fangs into me and bleed me dry, no thanks,” she yells, sending more magic over her shoulder. “I have a mate. Believe me when I tell you that no one’s blood tastes better to me than hers,” I say, leaping over fallen trees and branches that magically move into my way as I approach them. “Prove it,” she yells. “I would if you’d stop running. Listen, y
After my coronation, Drake and I sat down with the Alphas and Lunas of the packs, including my two sisters and my brother, and also with Aolis and Lily. King Reyes joined us with his mate, Marlene, and together we formed an alliance unlike any alliance that has ever been created before. “While our new alliance allows vampires onto our lands, I’d prefer to get my people used to it by having the two of you, or even the four of you, come for a visit first,” King Aolis. “I would love to visit the fairy tale lands,” Marlene says. “The fae lands, love,” Reyes gently corrects her. “Are they not the same?” she asks, looking from Reyes to Aolis. “Not exactly. A fairy tale land is a fake world that humans created for books. The fae land has many fae creatures but it is ruled by the elves,” Aolis explains. “But, there are leprechauns, giants, and unicorns, right?” she asks excitedly. “Just one, unicorn, Lucero,” Lily tells her. “There were many prophecies about my mate,” Aolis says, smili
After I wear my mate out, I lay with her for a few hours until I hear the others start to get up. Last night was great, better than I expected, but tonight, it will be even better. My mate will take her place at my side as my Queen. I disengage myself from her, feeling happy and excited in a way that only Leana and Kella can make me feel. When I get downstairs, I check in with Demetrius who tells me that all of our werewolf guests are still sleeping. I make sure there is food available for when they wake up, and for the rest of the morning the clan and I make our preparations for the ceremony and the party afterward. “Do you need some help?” Reyes asks, coming up beside me. I turn and look at him. “Did you do this with your mate? Make her your Queen?” “Not yet, but after this, I’m sure she’ll expect it.” “Because you didn’t already have a plan in place to make her your Queen?” I ask, jokingly. “Actually, I’m trying to convince her not to change. She lets me feed on her, but I ha
The week without Drake goes by quickly. Whether it’s because she knows that it’s hard for me to be away from my mate or because she’s trying to pack months of shopping into a few days, my mother makes sure that I fall into bed exhausted every night. My time in the council is great. I love learning all about how to make our decisions, and Riley, Mehira and I are taking this time to get to know each other better. It’s great because I know in the future, I can invite them to stay with me when they’re in town. Or, if they choose to stay elsewhere, we’ll still be able to spend time together. Riley and Mehira hit it off right away and I invited Mehira to stay with me this week while she’s in town. She declined because Alpha Leonardo came with her this week, wanting to make sure that his new Luna was safe. The second night, I had everyone over for dinner and Alpha Leonardo and dad went around my property. When they returned, Alpha Leonardo looked at Mehira. “We need to find a house like th