The day after Noah’s pathetic attempt to cheer me up, I lay in our shared bed while Noah toured office buildings for something to rent for the firm he wanted to start. I wanted to tell him that he could just work from home until things really took off, but I knew that there was no point. He was as m
A small group gathered in the cemetery near Nikolas and Eliza’s home that Saturday for Nikolas’s funeral. We created a singular line encircling the open grave, with the Priestess of the Moon standing behind the tombstone. Noah and I stood at the foot of the grave, staring directly into the gaping ho
Again, more chuckles. It felt good to make so many sad people laugh. “I will never forget everything that he has done for me, in business and as a friend.” I touched Nikolas’s tombstone and ran my hand gently across it. “You will be missed, Nikolas Vanderbilt.” As I walked back towards Noah,
Noah and I returned home late Monday night, almost early Tuesday morning. It had been a long drive home, and we were both exhausted—physically and emotionally. We trudged to our apartment, not saying a word to each other. All that either of us wanted was to slide into bed and get a few hours’ slee
“Mm-hmm. Continue.” “Anyway, Noah looked around a little but didn’t move beyond the living room. He had just decided that we were probably smelling maintenance people—” “Were maintenance people scheduled to arrive while you were gone?” “Well, no.” “Mm-hmm. Continue.” “Like I was saying, No
Andrew tapped his fingers impatiently on the desk in his home office. Even the normally soothing clacking of his Newton’s cradle only served to irritate him that day. He just wanted to speak with Head Wolf Antoine and Princess Aurora, then spring into action. He had called for them hours ago, but
Ten days after he heard about the attack on Crystal and Noah, Andrew stood at an altar to the Moon Goddess, dressed in a black three-piece suit with a matching bowtie and red carnation pinned to his lapel. He waited patiently, hands folded in front of him, for the moment that Princess Aurora would w
The wolf snarled and growled as he approached the vampires, trying to find a way to attack them without hurting Princess Aurora. He emitted a roar, rumbling the earth beneath them for a distraction. Disturbed by the earth shaking, the vampires dislodged themselves from Princess Aurora and turned t
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