I awoke, cramped, in what turned out to be the trunk of a car. Even before my captors opened it up, I could smell pine, grass, and fresh forest air. The only woods that I knew of near the city were a few hours to the north—in vampire territory. My body stiffened as my captors opened the trunk. O
With every step, my heart beat loudly. I could smell the distinct scent of death and earth associated with vampires all around me, but I had not heard or seen any sign of them. This made my heart race even faster. From everything that I had ever heard and read about vampires, they could surround
Several of the vampires hissed at Andrew, but Frederick laughed. “The Alpha King? It seems you were right, Gregory,” he said, straddling me. “We do have a very special mutt here.” Frederick grabbed the back of my head and lunged for my neck. I screamed in pain as his fangs pierced my skin. I
“Thank you,” I said. “What happened? How long have I been out?” “How long have you been out? A day.” “A day?” I asked, shocked. “Well, your body did have to combat vampiric venom. That takes time, even with the antivenom.” I nodded, still a bit dazed by the realization. “Right.”
After the doctor gave me a clean bill of health, I was discharged, and Andrew drove me to the mansion in his Aston Martin. Jeffrey followed closely behind us. I remained quiet the entire trip, my head leaning against the window as I thought over everything that had happened in the last 24 hours.
It took a little more than a day for the police to track down Crystal’s kidnappers and bring them into custody. Chief Callaghan interrogated them personally and then immediately called for Andrew to come down to the police station. Andrew tapped his fingers against the arm of the chair he sat in a
My fingers tapped nervously on the arms of my chair when Andrew walked through the door. He smiled at me, but I knew that it was only to calm me down. “Hello, beautiful,” he said as he took his seat opposite me. “How are you doing?” “As well as I can be, given the circumstances.” Andrew’s smil
A couple days after they arrested the Hannigan Brothers and Ciaran, I knew that it was time to go back to my apartment. Lisa had been avoiding me like the plague, but I had caught Bob following me through the mansion, glaring at me, more than once. Fortunately, Jeffrey let himself known each time, a
That night, long after the last of the guests had left for their rooms, Andrew and I returned to the presidential suite to find that the staff had decorated it in preparation for our stay. All the décor, right down to the bed sheets, had been switched out for matching red and gold pieces. The light
Andrew’s eyes met mine as I approached the altar. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. He looked so handsome in his classic black tuxedo that I could hardly wait for after the reception to be with him. As I took my place across from Andrew, I handed my bouquet to Lily. The priestess bega
One month later, I stood in a suite at a private beachside resort, admiring my wedding dress. It hugged my curves in all the right places while still gently brushing against the ground like a low-hanging cloud. Crystals glistened in the room’s fluorescent lights, and the train flowed behind me effor
“Let’s continue this in the bedroom,” I said, breathless. Andrew nodded his agreement. I pulled Andrew to his feet as he stuck the ring box back in his pocket. Then I dragged him back to the bedroom, leading him by the tie. Not that he needed to be dragged; he would have followed me anywhere by th
Andrew texted me and said his flight was delayed by a few errands he had to run, so I waited. And waited. I waited for an entire day, and even began to worry that Andrew had changed his mind. Then I heard a knock at my door. I leapt off the couch and rushed to answer it. Stopping just short of the
Noah left the next day. I took him to the airport, we exchanged a hug and a brief farewell, and then I watched him walk through the gate. That was the last time I ever saw him. With a heavy heart, I returned to an empty apartment. All our furniture and my belongings—what little I still had—were the
Sensing the urgency in Noah’s voice, I leaned in closer. “What is it?” I asked, trying to suppress the anticipation in my voice. Noah’s grip on my hands tightened. “I’m going to study financial law in the human world.” I froze. My heart thumped hard against my ribs, so hard that I thought th
The nightmares did not stop. In fact, they got worse. By the end of that week, I was having at least one every night, and it was showing in behavior during the day. I could scarcely stay awake. At my new branch of Ever After Weddings, I had to sneak off into the breakroom whenever there were no cu
I dreamt of the Lunar Festival. Noah and I walked hand-in-hand through the stalls, enjoying the sparkling lights and the company of our new pack mates. Yet something was off. I could feel a chill in the air, a foreboding that I could not quite shake off. “We should get out of here,” I said, tryi