ConnorWatching my mate suffer was not in my life plans.Just before I felt the call of the temple, I was drinking with Aris and told him about the problem I was having in my pack: the council was pressuring me to accept an alliance with another powerful pack through marriage.The fact that the Elders were putting an ancient practice on the table so that at last my pack would have a Luna was insulting, but for them to entertain the possibility that I would never have a mate was humiliating.“Do they really want to marry you off like that?” asked Aris in horror.The old vampire had been a friend of my family for centuries and saved my great-grandfather in the last supernatural war, so he forged a strong bond with my family that was nearly broken by my father but which I regained. If there was anyone who could help me see things right, it was Aris. Somehow, he went from being my secret advisor to being one of my best friends.“Yeah, they say I have enough years without a match in the so
NadineWake up!My she-wolf's voice made me groan with exhaustion.Becca had an annoying voice; she was very grumpy and demanding. The fact that I had a hard time controlling her from taking over and going to claim my mates spoke volumes about the level of energy I had to expend with her.You sealed me for many years, so don't expect me to treat you right, Becca said in my mind, and I opened my eyes immediately.I did it to take care of everyone, and that includes you, even if you don't want to accept it. Now tell me what you want, I replied annoyed.Pay attention to your surroundings and test your senses, silly girl. Becca's recommendation made me frown, and when I was aware that I wasn't alone in the room, I immediately sat up and saw an old woman sitting by the window, watching me curiously. She reminded me of someone, but my mind was dulled with all the sensations of change.“Who are you and where am I?” I asked, and she smiled.“I am your grandmother,” she said, and my eyebrows
ArisI was always grateful to be one of the few empathic telepaths left in the world.It was a wonderful power that I had vowed to use wisely and I did so for a long time until I decided to live my own life, one that had been calm until I met Nadine. She was not a typical woman; she was distrustful, insecure, and fearful, but she hid it under a wall of indifference and rebellion.Thinking of ways to make her fall in love had awakened all my senses and feelings.However, nothing had prepared me for feeling Nadine's horror and seeing what she had seen: what appeared to be her own death.Drago immediately got up to help her and Connor went to find something to clean up the mess with; however, Biel and the high priest focused on me.“What did you see, Nadine?” asked Lion and I swallowed hard.“We need to talk about that in private,” Biel said.Then Jackson led the others away and Rose nodded.When Connor returned, Biel created an air bubble for privacy.“I hate this shit,” Nadine said bef
NadineHearing the priest's words made me laugh very loudly until I realized that he was serious.“You're not kidding?” I asked as I saw that everyone looked at me very seriously.“No,” the high priest said and pulled an envelope from inside his robe. “I'm supposed to give this to you at the end of training. It's an edict from the Equilibrium Order that talks about what I say.”I looked at the envelope as if it were a pest.I took the envelope hesitantly as the high priest held it out, but I had the sense to open it in front of them and as I prepared to read, the sheet came to life with magic and a mechanical voice came out of it.“Miss Nadine Gabrielle Griffin, you have been formally appointed as a provisional agent of the Order Equilibrium. This appointment is given in substitution of a fatal penalty due to your character as an anchor of destiny. Your mission is sealed and consists of investigating, hunting down, and killing the top leaders of the Anarkhia Order. Completing the miss
Country VillageAthens Region “Remember when I told you that one day we would play hide-and-seek any time?” my mom asked, and I nodded excitedly. “That time is now. Do you remember the rules?”“I have to find the best hiding place; I have to be quiet, and, no matter what I hear, I don't come out until you tell me the code word,” I replied efficiently.My mom smiled proudly, but there was something sad in her look. “You're a very sweet and smart girl, Nadine,” Mom said before giving me a kiss and drawing a picture on my forehead. “What's the key word?”“Chocolate,” I said before biting into the little chocolate bar she had given me minutes before, and that made her laugh, making her gray eyes sparkle with joy.“What's the other rule?” mom asked calmly.“I must never reveal our secret,” I said very seriously.Hide it our secret my biggest mission, so my tongue would never reveal it.“Okay, go hide, and no matter what, don't come out,” Mom ordered, and I nodded. ”I love you, Nadine. Al
Part I. Meeting of SoulsNadine13 years later...I woke up in the middle of the night with erratic breathing and a racing heart.I had dreamed again of my mother's death, but this time I saw her killed in a much more grotesque way. The hunters had sat her down in front of me and ripped out her heart so that I would suffer.I shook the horrific image out of my head.I brought my hand to my chest and felt the rune of protection.I sighed in relief, knowing that at least I had an advantage over the hunters. After years of running away, I had found a way to disappear from the map more effectively, and that was by sealing my energy trail so that searching for me would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It was a trick I learned from my mother when I was old enough to know what she always drew on my forehead after kissing me.I moved all the time, didn't last long in one job, and used different aliases.It was all I could do to keep everyone alive, especially them.Don't think abou
NadineIf someone had told me what was going to happen, I would never have believed them.It was impossible to think that the most beautiful vision I had ever had in my life, one different from the images of terror that always flooded my brain, could turn into some kind of nightmare.Biel looked at me angrily, and I did not respond.The priest took the drawing and looked at it with interest, then frowned.“Who are the other men?” The old man asked, and I said nothing.I had sworn the sight of my gourds to secrecy, so I kept my mouth shut tight and stood up straight. That brought Biel and the priest into each other's eyes, then Biel nodded and walked toward the exit, but not before looking at me as if I were a serious problem. And yes, I was a problem he shouldn't be dealing with. When Biel left, I let go of my hands and tried to regulate my breathing.“Aren't you going to say anything about this drawing?” The priest asked curiously, and I shook my head. “Then I'm going to tell you who
BielHunting the woman of the prophecy had almost turned out to be an impossible mission.We didn't know who she was or what magical powers she had, so I couldn't find her trail. So when the temple gave us clues on how to catch a stripper who was related to her, I didn't hesitate to come up with a plan.I set up an intelligence operation with elite guards in the small city of Valkir. The capital of Valter, one of the 3 common areas of Kagolen, the continent where we lived. Once we found the club where the stripper worked, it was a matter of investigating her movements until she finally met the woman of the prophecy.It was a good move on my part, and when the woman was apprehended, I declared the operation a success. The woman was already hours into her processing, and all was going well until one of the operation's guards approached me with a serious expression.“What's going on, Jackson?” I immediately asked the vampire.“When the unknown female attempted to flee, I entered her apar