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Chapter 1 GOT THE DRINKS!!!” Tonight at the club, I heard Iris scream loudly as she tried to drown out the deafening noise of the music that was determined to burst my eardrum. I took one of the red plastic cups from her hands and tried my best to yell out at her, “About time! Why did you take so long!” The blended cocktails in the cups were ones I would rather not know the components of. This was my first night at Tropical Thunder, Bournville’s largest and busiest nightclub. Basically, everyone from our college attended, even a group of adolescent hormone-happy high school students who brought phony identification to show their peers how horrible they really were. What utter fools they were, squandering their time attempting to validate their value to others who didn’t give a damn. I thought it was silly to try to live up to other people’s expectations; why not just be yourself? But anyhow, enough of my viewpoint, Iris started. Iris laughed and bobbed her head back and forth, following the beat of the music playing. “I met a guy,” she exclaimed. A man, she mentioned? This was just how Iris was. She changed males like clockwork every single week, but there was nothing I could do about it. She was the only friend I had and the finest one I had. Do not misunderstand me. I’m not one of those pitiful, bashful females who can never seem to find friends or know how to have fun. This was not the case, though. I believe that I’m a very enjoyable person to hang out with, and I’m sure that anyone would want to be friends with me. However, the real reason I didn’t have any friends was that nobody, save Iris, could truly stay around to comprehend my already dysfunctional existence. She remained consistent no matter what. To me, she was more than just a friend; we shared an unbreakable sisterly tie. She was my only remaining family member and very dear to me. It was there that Iris and I nearly grew up together—that is, until Iris was adopted by a wealthy and loving human family and I was adopted by a repulsive abuser and drunkard. Well, that’s just my usual luck, though. It was awful, extremely awful if I may say so. Similar to the kind of bad luck where lightning strikes the same spot twice. We both began to dance to the music playing in the background, and I inquired, “Who is the new guy that got you smiling like this?” Pizzaboys was it; their music was the greatest. She turned around and asked, “Remember Landon Brettman? From literature class?” as we rocked our bodies together and I ran my hands over her body. However, isn’t she supposed to be fucking kidding me? Do I still recall Landon Brettman? It is impossible to forget someone as obnoxious and terrible as Landon Brettman, or as I generally refer to him, as Landon jerk man. Of course, I remember Landon Brettman. In addition to being a showoff, brat, proud, irritating, awful, overconfident, and a host of other adjectives that could be used to describe him indefinitely, Landon was also a big man whore and spoilt. And regrettably, I was unfortunate enough to be paired with a high-literature course out of all the several that I had applied for. If I’m being very honest, Landon looked more like one of those clichéd jocks from the 1990s. A guy like Landon was, to put it plainly, a complete waste to humanity. Data! I laughed and expressed my disdain at the idea of her and Landon dating. “Ew. I bet he wouldn’t even last a day with you. It’s either you dump his sorry ass or he cheats again.” I sincerely hoped that this wouldn’t last forever. “Maybe? Honestly, I think so too, but I’m going to be the one dumping him first.” We both giggled “But you know that they all just serve as a fun distraction for me until I find my one true mate,” Iris remarked with a smile. The idea of meeting her partner, who the Moon goddess had predestined for her, thrilled her much. Yes, your guess was correct! I’m a witch, and Iris is a werewolf. And sure, it’s true that all those things older kids told you around ridiculous campfires or in the dark to scare the living daylights out of you are true. There is magic. It was also very much true that there were monsters, creatures, and things you would never think were possible; in fact, they all wanted me dead. I’m not sure what sin I must have done in a previous life, but everyone and everything on this already dysfunctional world wanted me dead.Chapter 2Speaking of creatures who wish me dead, I have noticed the woman seated by the bar counter gazing at us several times. Was she one of them, too? Was she a member of the Circle of Red? No way could the red circle have followed me all the way to Bournville. I had ensured that those witches could never happen again, and I’m not kidding—whoever did earned a medal or something. However, something about this weird woman gave me the creeps. Although I couldn’t identify her, I knew she desired me as well. “Iris” I turned her around as we danced by sliding my hands up to her waist. Not wanting to attract the notice of our observer, I muttered softly into her ears, “Don’t freak out or anything but- I think the woman by the bar is spying on us.” I immediately regretted that I had even brought up the woman I had described to Iris, who yelled out, “WHERE?!?” and frantically shook her head in search of the person I had mentioned. Oh goddess,
My mom also mentioned that he could be able to help me with my destiny,even though I never really understood why they were all after me. All I knew was that I needed to survive and keep running for as long as I had to. However, this wasn’t like the fairy tales where the charming prince magically appears to save the unfortunate damsel and they ride into the sunset on a rainbow unicorn; in fact, I find those stories to be quite absurd. I was neither a damsel in distress, nor did I enjoy the comforts of a charming prince. I’ve been taking excellent care of myself for the past fifteen years, and I’ll keep doing so—not that I needed one anyhow. “Pay attention, Isabella!”I made a mental push. I must not let these recollections get the better of me. I sized up my opponent and inquired, “Why?” She was obviously very well-fit because she was much larger than me—well, every monster I had ever encountered was larger than me. Since I was smaller than them, I always h
All the books and lore I read, though they varied in one way or another, agreed that wendigos were once humans with an enormous carnivorous appetite for human flesh; the folklore also mentioned in its contexts that the only thing that could kill a wendigo is a silver blade to the heart, so it seems that the legend was true after all. Well, actually, monsters weren’t born; they were created. Long story short, they messed up with a very powerful witch, so the witch cursed them to be monsters with an insatiable thirst for human flesh. “Is it dead? Looking at the ground where its body was laid?”I wonder where she obtained her large brown coat from, Iris asked me. “Yes,” I answered, shoving a handful of my blond hair out of my face and attempting to catch my breath. “How are you doing? She gave you a pretty good shove.” I put my hand on her shoulder and gave her a thorough examination. “Nope, I’m fine. I would have reprimanded her, but I knew Iris too well
The smell just got stronger and stronger, oh dear goddess, she must be quite close. For heaven’s sake, why was fate playing this cruel game with me? Luca was chanting “Mate! Mate! Mate!” like a holy mantra, and I could feel his excitement just by smelling her. For the first time, I really wished he would just shut up. We agreed on almost everything, except that I didn’t want her. “Beta!” We all took our seats as the waiter took our orders. Lance, my beta, stood up and bowed politely, followed by Gabe, my delta, who did the same but had a corny, broad smile on his face. I nodded in acknowledgment. Since the blood moon was due to rise in ninety-three days, and I was running out of time, Lance presented me with some paperwork and contracts that were in dire need of my signature. I had been spending a lot of time these past few days trying to find a way out of the curse placed upon our pack, but I kept coming up empty-handed. Then, the door
Isabelle’s POV I really did it this time, oh my god. I just had to get a cup of coffee from the only café in Bourneville that served a decent cup of coffee and then off to the university, my own personal torture room. It did serve as a good cover from people that were after me, no one expected me to be studying at a college. I overslept and was already late for my classes. Iris was probably waiting impatiently for me with an angry scowl or she got carried away with boys as usual. When I first entered the cafe, I had this electric tingle that I can’t quite put my finger on. It seemed like I was struck by electricity, but not in a bad way because it didn’t hurt. If there was ever a good kind of electricity, that is. I basically ran on caffeine, so only the goddess knows how much I needed my cup of coffee today. What the hell am I even saying? There were three very attractive guys sitting at the table in front of me; they had the perfect male model physique
Iris was practically glued to Landon as I strolled over to them after class. “Hi Belle! Iris let out a scream and threw me a strong hug. In return, I turned to face Landon, who was simply staring at us all foolishly. Finally, with his awful little piece of shit, he said, “Hey Belle, you were late today, as always.” with his nasty little smirk as. though I didn’t know that I was late. I said, attempting to be kind and choosing the higher path, “Hey Landon.” He said, as if he cared, “Whoa, you look really tired, you should go get some rest.” But could he just shut up and go get a life? I ignored him while I told Iris about the strange guy I ran into today, and all she really cared about was whether or not he was hot, and if so, that was a long answer—hell yeah—because of course they were all scorching hot. A blond guy smiled sweetly as he walked toward us.“Hi, Isaac!”I think they were in the same fraternity,” Landon remarked as they gave each other a strange hug and handshake. “Did he
However, if you gaze into his eyes Are you considering mine? And when you observe that grin Do you think about me? I am aware of what’s going through your mind. Instead, you see me.Because of how much he resembles me from that time. Don’t lie, baby. “He’s just a lookalike,” said Conan Gray. RIGHT NOW IT WAS JUST ELEVEN PM. Iris was picked up by that man whore Landon for the party I blew off so I could study, and it has been precisely three hours since then. Lord knows I was exhausted, but for some reason, I kept my nose deep in my English essay assignment, which was due tomorrow, wondering how the party went. The phone next to me started buzzing. Iris’s cell phone made the call. I grabbed it with great speed. I asked her, “Hey, what’s up Iris?” appreciating the small break from studying she was providing. “Hey Belle!” she muttered, sounding more disoriented and strange than normal, but otherwise sounding like your normal hyper-Iris. She chuckled and said, “I kind of need your help.”
Iris said, “You worry too much Belle. Landon is a big boy andcan take care of himself,” with the same sly laugh that was beginning to really get under my skin. I kept questioning her, “Where is Landon’s car?” I couldn’t quite put my finger on it; something didn’t feel quite right. She said, laughing as if she were under the influence of a demon, “It’s parked up ahead.” I reasoned that perhaps she was just acting erratic because she was intoxicated. This is getting really scary, let’s just get the heck out of here and maybe then she’ll act like herself. I responded, “Sure. Let’s just get out of here… Quick.” as Iwalked slowly in Iris’s wake toward the car. This was obviously not right. My phone buzzed in my hand, but I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts to notice it. Even though I usually don’t answer calls from strangers, I decided to answer this particular one even though it was from an unknown number. “Hello!” nobody answered. The cheerful sound of music emanating from the other
I comforted her, telling her it wasn’t that deep. “It is okay, Gem.” I kept telling myself to try taking the high road—it was a good day after all—but she was pushing my patience too far, and regrettably for her, she overreached herself. It got to me, but I didn’t plan on going as low as she did. I didn’t even care if Dimitri was wealthy; I wasn’t interested in his money and I certainly wouldn’t fuck anyone for it. My mother raised me better. Rubi called me a gold digger, saying, “You are nothing but a gold digging whore! I know you plan on seducing Dimitri so you can get hiswealth.” Enraged, I gave Rubi a savage glare for what she had said. There were so many ways this could have gone wrong, and they would have all ended in violence, but I had not intended to resort to violence. Taking a deep breath, I turned around and left the room, knowing that it would be best for her if I simply left. If I stay, I can’t be sure I will be able to control myself. “Hey, worthless person! I heard h
Isabelle’s POV My day was made this morning, which began at the crack of dawn and continued until the very end without any nightmares. It was truly wonderful and lovely. There was a full moon tonight, and I could feel it. I also felt my bracelet dangling on my wrist, which was probably my bracelet trying to tell me that it was at work keeping the bad dreams at bay and my magic sealed. I smiled a little, seeing how Gemini tailed behind me. She said she had something to do later on today and she wouldn’t be around for the rest of the day. She mentioned something about having to patrol, but when I asked her what it meant, she started stuttering nervously. We went past Dimitri’s room; the door was slightly ajar, but I couldn’t quite see anything or catch a glimpse of him. Maybe he had already left? The thought of that shook my heart a little bit. He didn’t even have the decency to say goodbye before heading out on his trip. A little birdie told me he had a meeting and won’t be around. It
“Are you done?” I continued to believe that I must have misheard and blinked twice. I gave him a tender hug and said, “Baby,” but he stopped me. I felt his hands tighten on my wrists and yank me away from him. His words, which were growing more acerbic by the second, were, “I warned you, Ruby, but still you had the effrontery to come into my room with this stunt.” He was enraged. I mentally resolved myself, “But I… Dimitri, I need you and I’m not going to let you go.” He collected his files from his desk and walked calmly away from me. “For your sake I’ll pretend none of these happened today. Now get out!” he commanded. What? My fury was boiling, and I could hear Rose’s solo song, “I told you so,” playing nonstop in my head. I refused to accept this rejection. I responded, not caring what tone I used because I was only angry, “Dimitri, what’s wrong with you? You know you miss me, I don’t understand what’s wrong.” His hands were on me before I realized it, but not in the way I would ha
“Someone coughed up something that made my eyes snap back open. Dimitri and I turned around fast to see who it was— Gabe. His eyes were wide with disbelief and he had his hands covering his mouth, still dressed in his pajamas. Gabe nervously grinned as Dimitri’s enraged eyes fixed on him. “So sorry for interrupting. I’ll leave. Just act like you never saw me. Please completely ignore my existence and don’t stop.” This, I believe, was my signal to go. I jumped down from the kitchen counter and muttered, “I’ll go back to bed first.” My face was already hot with shame. Gabe and Dimitri were left in the kitchen. I raced upstairs to my room, slamming the door behind me as I entered. “Why in the world did I try to kiss him? I’m a huge nerd! I withdraw from myself and my deeds.I was not thinking at all, and if I had been thinking, I would have realized that was incredibly foolish and careless. Isabella, you were doing foolishly! “She finally admits it,” I rolled my eyes at the obnoxious voi
He smiled, exposing his big, sharp fangs as his eyes turned completely bloodshot. “Nice. Nothing still beats drinking straight from the source.” He struck the girl’s neck, right into the throbbing vein. She gave a little whimper as he continued to draw blood from her veins, until she turned as white as a corpse and collapsed to the ground. With his head still turned to look at the ground, Konstantine turned to face his servant. He would not have the courage to gaze at his lord in Primordial form. His servant simply nodded in comprehension as Konstantine gave him instructions to “alert the others. Tell everyone I want the girl alive.”His wicked sneer revealed his bloodshot red lips as he said, “Now let the vicious fun begin.”Isabelle’s POV As soon as we arrived at the estate, I walked straight to the kitchen to get a glass of water. I was still gasping for air from sprinting so hard. Leaning comfortably against the wall, Dimitri trailed in after me. He was quite difficult to read, so
I was unable to reveal to her that they were vampires, so I continued to lie, saying, “I don’t know.” “But he sure looked like he knew you.” She responds. Once more, she was intent on discovering the truth, so I had to shift the topic. “Go quickly! We must leave this place. I grasped my mate’s hand and we began sprinting towards the pack home together. “More could be approaching,” I stated persuasively, and she nodded in agreement.Isabelle’s POV As we ran hand in hand back to the castle, a lot of questions raced through my mind: did those vampires know him? One of them even addressed him as Alpha, and the ease with which he dispatched them suggests that this wasn’t his first encounter with the recently turned vampires. What the hell was he? Many thoughts raced through my mind at once: the young vampires ran away, not from me but from Dimitri. What was it about Dimitri that scared vampires? There was a secret hidden about this whole place, and I realized now that it wasn’t just that
At last, she opened her mouth to speak. She scoffed crazily and said, “What the hell are you doing? Don’t tell me you were stalking me?” She makes it seem eerie now. I was only keeping an eye out for her, not stalking her. There’s a big distinction. “And why would I stalk you? I believe you think too highly of yourself. You aren’t the only one who likes taking early morning walks too. I came out to clear my head and was as surprised to find you here.” I said the truth. She gave me a skeptical stare, clearly not buying my story. I had to quickly switch the roles. Trying to control my tone, I yelled, “And you? What are you doing out at this time? Don’t you know that it is dangerous around here, huh? What if you got hurt?” I have discovered that my little friend has an extremely short fuse. I couldn’t help but smile as the memory of the drama between her and Rubi flashed through my mind. If I claimed I wasn’t proud of what she did to Rubi, I would be lying. She was incredibly co
That was the first time the Red Circle coven had located me, three years later. When I got home from school that day, I saw him dead in a pool of his own blood, horrified. I knew she had discovered me again when I heard a hissing sound reverberating throughout the home. As she leaned closer to me, my aunt Delilah’s crimson-red lips formed a big smile that said, “Hello my little niece.” Beside her, slithering, is her pet basilisk serpent. She had that damn serpent by her side all the time. That was the one that killed my foster father and terrified him. She let out a terrified chuckle, “You thought you could run away from me forever. But you can’t outrun me. Your daddy couldn’t, your mommy couldn’t, and you also failed!” It seemed as though I was going through all of these memories again that I had worked so hard to conceal. Still, I understood that this was all a bad dream. I curled up on the floor and cried out, “No. No. No. No. It’s not real.” I repeated those words over and again a
Abruptly, my gaze caught sight of the figure near the door. “Isabelle!” I whispered to myself as my eyes grew wide. She continued to stare at me, presumably too preoccupied to realize that I was staring back at her. She had a captivatingly lovely appearance. She was putting on a long blouse, pale pink, that reached her hands. Her hair was pushed to one side, allowing me to see her smooth, white skin and just enough cleavage to make a marking. Luca was growling with desire, wanting to seize her and claim her as his. mine. She was hurrying to go to her room, so I suppose she recognized quickly that I had noticed her. “Alpha!” Alaric said as he followed me, trying to figure out what the issue was on the ground. We were dealing with an unusual situation that had never occurred before. Suddenly, creatures started appearing around every corner of Bournville. Something wasn’t right because this was out of the ordinary and should have alarmed you. It seemed as though they were all drawn to th