Unknown P.O.V.Rain poured down on the grassy plains that stretched on for miles outside the window. Lightning flashed across the sky, followed closely by a crack of thunder.The sound of the heavy rain pattering against the glass panels of the window competed with the cracking of logs that burned in the hearth of the large stone fireplace.The gloomy evening did nothing to lighten the moods of those in the castle as they observed the storm."Where are we in implementing Plan B?" the man asked in annoyance.As he spoke, his attention turned away from the window to the man who entered his study. The subordinate came to stand in front of him, shaking in fear."The teams have been dispatched, sir. They are required to check in with us once they have reached their destinations, before they complete the task."He drew in a deep breath."Have we found the plane yet?"The young man stumbled over his words as he tried to answer the question."Not exactly, sir. We have the coordinates for the
Narrative P.O.V."I appreciate all of the physical evidence you left for us to determine who this guy was," Jai said sarcastically.Cain looked up from where he sat, crouched next the couch where he had laid Ella down. He stood up wiping the blood on his hands onto the shorts he had just changed into."He was barely alive before I could even kill him," Cain said, throwing on a t-shirt.Daniel looked at Cain incredulously as he placed his hand over his nose and mouth to mask the smell of the scattered entrails."So he was an old one?" Jai asked, still inspecting the larger pieces of flesh."Ancient," Cain said."At least seven-hundred years old."Daniel's eyebrows furrowed."So clearly they were never extinct," he noted.Cain shook his head."He wasn't feeding regularly. Vampires are immortal if they remain well-nourished. He hadn't fed in at least a month," he said.Jai looked at him with a raised eyebrow."There's certainly ample evidence of blood in his veins," he said.Cain ran his
Ella's P.O.V.I woke to the smell of burning pine.I was engulfed by the large bed I laid in and the warmth surrounding me from the heavy fleece blanket that tucked me in made me want to go back to sleep.I was more comfortable in that moment than I had ever been in my life. But then I remembered that I had almost been killed by a version of Gollum that needed a dentist and an exorcism.I could still picture the carnage that was spread across the room from the attack and the putrid copper odor of that creature's blood would be something that I never forgot.I pulled myself up from the bed and sat up slightly to look around.The bedroom I was in wasn't very big, maybe twenty feet from one far corner to the other. Dark wooden paneling covered the walls and ceiling. There was a small stone fireplace embedded in the wall facing the bed. A stuffed elk's head hung over the mantle.Next to the bed on one side was a wall with a bay window.There were curtains pulled over the windows but I cou
Ella's P.O.V.When I woke, Cain's warm embrace was gone.The room was still dark, leading me to believe I hadn't slept past dawn. This didn't surprise me due to the fact that I'd slept enough in the past twenty-four hours to get me through the next three days.I sat up in the bed to see that the fire in the fireplace had burnt out, only glowing embers remaining in the hearth.The bedroom door was just barely open as I got out of the bed and wandered over to it, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I did.SO.I opened the door slowly to see the living room was barely illuminated by the hauntingly blue glow of the coming dawn.My guess was that it wasn't even five o'clock yet."Surprising to see you up so early."I turned to see Cain standing at the counter, one arm crossed over his bare chest and the other raising a stainless steel cup to his lips."Are you though?" I asked, walking over to him." I think I've gotten my fair share of sleep for a while."I made my way next to where he stoo
I landed in D.C. sometime in the early morning.I was as jetlagged as I could be, especially given that Kashmir was around five and a half hours ahead of the east coast.Hailing a taxi, I gave the driver the address and he was off. Ignoring the monuments that whirled past the cab window, I looked down at the number on the sheet of crinkled paper for the thousandth time.I had long since memorized it.The driver knocked me out of my daze, informing me that we had arrived.I looked out the window to see the familiar ranch-style home and leaned forward to pay him for the drive.The cab was gone as soon as I stepped out with my luggage, leaving me standing on the sidewalk of a dark street.I walked up to the porch, my suitcase trialing behind me. I lifted up the vinyl cap on top of the porch railing where Zak left his spare key, exactly the same spot it had been hidden in our childhood home.I unlocked the front door and walked inside the dark house.A light came on in the kitchen as I sh
Unknown P.O.V."You lied to us."Otto Müller was on his knees, literally, begging for forgiveness."I don't know. I swear," he cried."You do know!" The man bellowed, eyes burning.Otto Müller said nothing, his hands trembling in the shackles that held them behind his back."You only had two jobs," he continued."You were supposed to kill the damn Beta and then kill him."Otto's eyes shot up to glare at Zak, who was standing in the corner of the room."You sent him to kill Cain as well and he couldn't do it either," he said to the man."Why is he not in chains too?"Zak crossed his arms."Zak was only supposed to gather information," the man snarled."His attempt at the life of the Alpha Sovereign was unplanned and opportunistic. Besides, he was able to track their location, which proved much more helpful in the long run than anything you've contributed thus far and he's delivered the girlafter you were unable to."Otto Müller exhaled a shaky breath."I couldn't kill my own granddaug
Narrative P.O.V.News of the Chinese Beta's death arrived at the cabin with Jai.Although he anticipated Cain would be angry with him for withholding such pertinent information, Jai refrained from telling him until he got back from the airport.He knew Cain would use the exigency of the circumstances to delay sending Ella away. Jai knew this because it was exactly what Cain had done after the death of the Indian Beta.As much as Jai believed Cain was doing the wrong thing by sending Ella away, he wasn't going to manipulate their decisions with strategically revealed information just so the two of them could continue to pretend they didn't know right from wrong.Besides, the investigations of the deaths of two high-ranking officials weren't exactly conducive to the type of environment that mended and fostered healthy relationships.He wasn't going to play puppeteer, Cain would realize his mistake sooner or later.They left Kashmir in a rush, as Jai had expected them to.The plane ride
Ella's P.O.V.A pounding headache was the first thing I could remember.I could feel my heartbeat pulsating behind my eyes and I felt as though someone had taken my temples in their palms and squashed them together.I groaned as I reached up to put my hand on my head. Wallowing in pain, I felt my body tense as I realized I was on a bed.I sat up slowly.My eyes wouldn't focus properly because of the headache but I could see a blurry outline of where I was.The room was small, but it had ceilings so tall I felt as though I was looking into outer space.The bed I was in had a thick, velvety black canopy over it that matched the duvet I was laying on.The curtains over the large windows were drawn and blocked out all incoming sunlight.A few candles were on the nightstand that offered an eerie glow over the room, accompanied by a fire that was smoldering in the fireplace.The flames were dying and offered the small room very little warmth.I was freezing.Looking down, I saw that I was s
Four Months Later..."Mom, I'm home!"Pulling my purse from my shoulder, I slung it into the barstool. I tossed my keys into the bag and walked over to the refrigerator."How did the interview go?" I heard her ask, her voice echoing out from the laundry room."I think it went well, but we'll see."I pulled out the lemonade and poured a glass before sitting down on the countertop. My first real-world job interview since graduating from collegenearly a week ago hadn't gone nearly as bad as I expected it to. They didn't seem distracted by the fact that I'd been fired from my counseling internship when I never showed up after taking a week off for my grandfather's funeral.They were also interested in hiring me despite the fact that I had only been allowed to graduate after drawing up a contract with my university promising that I would make up the classes that I had withdrawn from while in Germany.While I had retaken most of them during the spring semester, I still had two left to comp
Ella's P.O.V.I fought sleep the entire ride home.While I wouldn't say I had been sleep deprived for the previous few days, I felt as though I hadn't been able to rest. Cain radiated a sense of support and protection and I realized just how exhausted I was when I felt myself finally relax in his presence.He drove home with one hand on my thigh. The intimate touch made my heart race, but I tried to put on a cool, relaxed exterior by leaning my head against the window.Still wrapped up in the flannel blanket he had given me, I was finally content.The only thing keeping me awake was the hunger rattling my stomach.Maybe that's why I felt so weak...At one point, Cain looked over after hearing my stomach growl, as it had been for the past few hours."When was the last time you ate something?"I failed to answer immediately, trying to count the hours it had been since I ate the sugary scone on the train.He took this silence as an answer and began to slow down so he could take an exit o
Ella's P.O.V.When Zak said we would leave at first light, he meant it. He woke me sometime in the very early morning and gave me little time to change into the clothes he brought me.A distasteful pair of black pants and a baggy black sweatshirt were all I had to layer under my new heavy winter coat. The combat boots paired with the wool camping socks he brought would keep me warm, and that was all I cared about.I was glad I had found my jacket when I did the night before because I was certain that I would never see it again. I could only hope that no one noticed the phone missing from its pockets.I put my cellphone in between the cups of my bra, tucked securely under the band. I figured this was the best place to hide it where I would still be able sit down and stand up without hinderance, something I couldn't do if it was in my waistband. I had considered putting it in one of my boots, but those weren't guaranteed to stay on my feet.The early morning sky was transitioning from i
Narrative P.O.V.Moonlight poured into the room through the large windows that lined each wall.Cain stared at the ceiling, watching the shadows that were cast on the ceiling of the trees outside his window as they danced in the midnight breeze.He could hear each footstep as the two guards patrolled the floor level beneath him. The sound of their footfalls echoed across the empty room.Even louder, though, was the sound of her voice in his head."Are you sure about this?"He had been so sure.So sure that sending her away was the best idea. So sure that she would leave trouble with him. So sure that she would be safe.The only thing he was sure of now was that he had made a grave, terrible decision in letting her get on that plane.He had followed them to the airport.He watched her as she went through the security lines.He even watched her get on the plane.Sanity, reason and logic fought a diligent battle against his heart and desires as he watched her disappear from sight.Run af
Narrative P.O.V.An elbow to the ribcage startled Daniel and he sat up straight in the car seat."No time to doze off," Priya said.He rubbed his eyes and groaned."Easy for you to say. You had the whole flight over here to sleep. I had to stay up and get a false warrant made so we could get surveillance footage from the airport."The phone in his backpack started to ring and he bent down to pick it up."Hello?""How are things?"He cleared his throat hearing Cain's voice."Things are good," he said."We found the cab that she took and we're in it now, heading to the house."Any leads at the airport?""No," Daniel breathed out."The only times we saw her in the surveillance videos were when she was arriving in D.C. There's no evidence that she left.""There are a million ways out of that city," Cain said."It just means that she didn't leave from that airport."Thanks, chief. That's comforting, Daniel thought."How are things there?" He asked.Cain was silent for a few moments."I hav
Ella's P.O.V.A pounding headache was the first thing I could remember.I could feel my heartbeat pulsating behind my eyes and I felt as though someone had taken my temples in their palms and squashed them together.I groaned as I reached up to put my hand on my head. Wallowing in pain, I felt my body tense as I realized I was on a bed.I sat up slowly.My eyes wouldn't focus properly because of the headache but I could see a blurry outline of where I was.The room was small, but it had ceilings so tall I felt as though I was looking into outer space.The bed I was in had a thick, velvety black canopy over it that matched the duvet I was laying on.The curtains over the large windows were drawn and blocked out all incoming sunlight.A few candles were on the nightstand that offered an eerie glow over the room, accompanied by a fire that was smoldering in the fireplace.The flames were dying and offered the small room very little warmth.I was freezing.Looking down, I saw that I was s
Narrative P.O.V.News of the Chinese Beta's death arrived at the cabin with Jai.Although he anticipated Cain would be angry with him for withholding such pertinent information, Jai refrained from telling him until he got back from the airport.He knew Cain would use the exigency of the circumstances to delay sending Ella away. Jai knew this because it was exactly what Cain had done after the death of the Indian Beta.As much as Jai believed Cain was doing the wrong thing by sending Ella away, he wasn't going to manipulate their decisions with strategically revealed information just so the two of them could continue to pretend they didn't know right from wrong.Besides, the investigations of the deaths of two high-ranking officials weren't exactly conducive to the type of environment that mended and fostered healthy relationships.He wasn't going to play puppeteer, Cain would realize his mistake sooner or later.They left Kashmir in a rush, as Jai had expected them to.The plane ride
Unknown P.O.V."You lied to us."Otto Müller was on his knees, literally, begging for forgiveness."I don't know. I swear," he cried."You do know!" The man bellowed, eyes burning.Otto Müller said nothing, his hands trembling in the shackles that held them behind his back."You only had two jobs," he continued."You were supposed to kill the damn Beta and then kill him."Otto's eyes shot up to glare at Zak, who was standing in the corner of the room."You sent him to kill Cain as well and he couldn't do it either," he said to the man."Why is he not in chains too?"Zak crossed his arms."Zak was only supposed to gather information," the man snarled."His attempt at the life of the Alpha Sovereign was unplanned and opportunistic. Besides, he was able to track their location, which proved much more helpful in the long run than anything you've contributed thus far and he's delivered the girlafter you were unable to."Otto Müller exhaled a shaky breath."I couldn't kill my own granddaug
I landed in D.C. sometime in the early morning.I was as jetlagged as I could be, especially given that Kashmir was around five and a half hours ahead of the east coast.Hailing a taxi, I gave the driver the address and he was off. Ignoring the monuments that whirled past the cab window, I looked down at the number on the sheet of crinkled paper for the thousandth time.I had long since memorized it.The driver knocked me out of my daze, informing me that we had arrived.I looked out the window to see the familiar ranch-style home and leaned forward to pay him for the drive.The cab was gone as soon as I stepped out with my luggage, leaving me standing on the sidewalk of a dark street.I walked up to the porch, my suitcase trialing behind me. I lifted up the vinyl cap on top of the porch railing where Zak left his spare key, exactly the same spot it had been hidden in our childhood home.I unlocked the front door and walked inside the dark house.A light came on in the kitchen as I sh