We're about to begin the crossover from Shattered Bonds, at least from Leana's perspective.
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
The next morning, I make sure I spend enough time downstairs where everyone is having breakfast before I pack up and head out, just in case anyone finds my dead man. Now that I know I’m close, and that at least one of my father’s men is there, I’m anxious to find this dwelling. The snow from last night has stopped but the sky remains overcast and dreary. The roads have been cleared and I begin walking north again, this time staying on the road. In this part of the world, there are more horses and horse drawn carriages than there are motorized vehicles. If a vehicle does pass me, it’s a four-wheel drive with chains on the tires, able to make it through these heavy snow drifts. But only one of those passes me as I make my way. The roadway begins to incline. I look up to see where I’m headed and that’s when I see it. I instantly know that it’s my grandfather’s place because it looks exactly like a haunted mansion from a human horror movie. I’m not sure who in my family tree had a sense
The day after Emlyn’s birthday, Rich left for the council. Thankfully, he took Gwen with him. After she intentionally ruined breakfast, it’s a good thing he did. My animosity toward Gwen right now is really high. Not only that, but the pack is confused and Emlyn is devastated. It takes less than 12 hours for my asshole brother to start messing around with Gwen. Xander, Cayd and I are all sitting with Emlyn at dinner, having made sure one of us was with her all day. When she doubles over, Xander and I know immediately what is happening. He moves faster than I do, helping her up and escorting her out of the room. As soon as we’re out of the dining hall, he picks her up, explaining to Cayd that our brother is being intimate with Gwen and it’s causing Emlyn pain. When we get her to her room, I let Xander and Cayd know that Aunt Grace had called me earlier today. After dealing with the issue of Alpha Samuel, they basically implied that Rich was trying to force a mate bond with Emlyn. Be
After getting the letter from my grandfather, I began searching through the house. I had Demetrius slowly start sell the old, antique, gothic furniture starting with the hideous chandelier above the dining room table. I carefully go room by room, searching for hidden passages, hiding spots or secret doors. Each day, I come away with nothing more than what I got from the letter, which Demetrius said he got from the safe when he arrived. When I asked, he pointed me to my grandfather's room where the safe, whose door now sits open, the inside empty, resides. Although Leana said she would contact me every night, it is not the case. Part of me begins to feel gloomy, wondering if, now that she’s away from me, if she has forgotten me. Or worse, if she’s realized that she doesn’t want to be mated to a vampire. What if she fancies a werewolf? Well, I'll just have to kill him. I periodically get text messages from her, letting me know she’s okay and asking how I’m doing and on occasion, we ta
I knew the moment I got the gate at the castle, that I’d waited too long to get here. When I stepped out of the car and it was some strange vampire that greeted me, I realized that Drake must not be doing well with my absence. What I didn’t expect was the feeling of darkness that I got from him. It was almost as if being away from me had impacted him negatively in the same way that being with me impacts him positively. The house is dark and gloomy and I could see that it matched his mood and mindset the moment I entered the room. That was only confirmed when he ordered the other vampire from the room and immediately began hunting me. Kella came forward, ready to battle him if he started drinking too fast and heavily from us, but he surprised us both by sinking his fangs into my thigh. His fangs feel so good, even the way he feeds on me feels good, his sloppy, slurpy feeding further confirmation of his need for me. It’s not the blood he needs, it’s my blood that he needs. Now that my
I can’t believe the difference in how I feel now that Leana is back. The night has turned to day, the sun is shining on my face, I’m no longer thirsty and I feel almost human again. What little humanity I have has returned. “Does my wolf mate want to go for a run around the estate with me, see what there is to see?” I ask. I’m instantly rewarded with Leana’s sage green eyes turning gold. “Yes,” she purrs. Since I feel good and I know how my mate loves a challenge, I take a step away from her. “Do you think you can keep up with me, my mate?” I ask, taking another step. She growls low and just as she leaps to shift, I take off running. Rather than looking around the estate, we take a couple of hours to play, chasing after each other, Kella nipping at my heels when she gets close enough and me pinching her flanks when I’d catch up with her. Her howls of enjoyment go unanswered in the surrounding forests, so I begin to howl back at her which only makes her more excited. When we fin
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