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Annalise blinked slowly, as if she had just been struck across the face. "That... is not the turn I expected. Is that not the exact thing Melany and Karabasan did?"I smiled softly at her. "Name one person in this room Fate has assisted, given a better life. All it has done is harm each and every one of us. Is that retribution for crimes that were out of our control, or are we just being used as pawns to put on a show for our dear Goddess? Either way, it's wrong. If the Moon Goddess can take away immortality when her chosen no longer deserve it, we can take away the dealer when it becomes evident the deck is rigged.""No," Annalise declared, eyes darkening. "I can't stand by that. I won't see you destroy yourself and everyone around you the way our parents did.""You think that lowly of her, really?" Rudi scoffed. "You think Maise has the twisted, sadistic mindset to do what your father - what you - did to me? You forget. Fate doesn't only dictate the good. It a
Death.Death is all my future holds.And my future is very short. The cells were dark, swallowing me whole. Just like my impending death would. The walls felt as if they were caving in, suffocating me of the very oxygen I so desperately needed. The putrid stench filling the minimal space was the last thing I clung to in this life. I'd gladly swallow down every last gulp of the thick, sour stench if it meant the footsteps crashing down to the very lowest floor of the cell block were not coming for me.But I knew they were.Coming to lead me to my death. "Get up," a voice I recognized barked. A voice I used to love the sound of. Now, though, it was that death knell.I looked up into the grizzled man's cold, dead eyes, remembering the life and light that used to soar through them. Growing up, I had always laughed when I was told he was the executioner. There was nothing about him that identified him as a reaper. But now, his calloused hand jerked at the chain around my neck with a h
I stood over the sink, watching crimson stain the porcelain before being washed down the drain. I coughed up a mouthful of blood once more, anxiously waiting for my healing to catch up to the injury. I assumed a punctured lung - not exactly something that one should trust to accelerated healing, but I had handled worse. When I was confident there was no more blood to cough up and the external injuries had begun to show evidence of healing, I stumbled out of the bathroom and flopped down on my bed. I crossed my fingers that my roommate would be out late again - I didn’t want to have to explain coughing up blood. She would try and take me to the hospital again, and I would have to weave together another web of lies. Last time, they had begun to question if I was in an abusive relationship. Only with myself. But there was no such luck. I only had a couple hours of peace before I heard the door to our apartment crash open. “Maise! I’m home!” Leah called in her bright, sunshine
I posted up at the end of the bar, in my usual spot. I had half a mind to waltz around and make my own drink, but the owner of this fine establishment, Cato, didn’t often like that. Glancing around, though, he was busy and needed a hand. I wouldn’t get in too much trouble anyway, nothing more than a stern gaze. I slipped around the bar, grabbing a few drink orders and started mixing them before he could notice. Snagging cash from the customers, I headed over to the till. It was old fashioned, and I expected that to never change. Partly because I was absolutely certain it was impossible to break into. I looked back up, prepared to make my own drink, only to see Cato sliding one over to me. “Your usual, I assume?” I smiled down at the dirty shirley temple. “Thanks.” “You’re here for work, aren’t you?” I cocked an eyebrow at him, not sure how he realized I had just wrapped up my previous assignment. “You’re an open book to me, dear,” he chuckled. “You may be good at keepin’ se
“In the flesh,” the man grinned, revealing pearly white teeth and canines that would never quite recede fully. I had never met a lycan. They were the things of legends, almost. They weren’t natural, as in they were not born. They had to be turned, akin to the human mythology of werewolves. Lycans retained their full wolf form, but with greater strength, speed, and stealth in both skins. The mark of a lycan, though, came at a cost. They were more bound to the moon, as only the moon could turn a wolf to a lycan. The loss of an opportunity to find your mate, and near immortality. Some would not see these as bad things. I, for one, had no mate out there waiting for me, and I had also experienced this world enough to have no desire sticking around forever. For others, the prospect of surrendering your mate, if you hadn’t met them yet, was usually enough to refuse the moon’s gift. For those that had found the one, they were bound to lose their mate sooner rather than later, never to m
The beauty of Blair’s inner city house was that it was exceptionally easy to get to without being seen. I used to think it was a secret only I knew, but over the years I had learned several supernaturals in need of her assistance used it frequently. I yipped halfheartedly at her back door, leaning against the wall for support. The adrenaline that got me up off the ground had long passed, and I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to carry myself into her house. The door swung open, as if she had been expecting me. I looked up at her, pitiful puppy eyes begging for assistance. “You better be glad you’re a runt,” she huffed, scooping up my small wolf form. “I’m a witch, not a were. I don’t have superhuman strength.” Blame it on a napoleon complex, but I didn’t much appreciate being picked up - in either of my skins. However, I felt like I was on the brink of death, so my ego had to let that slide. As small as I was, wolves still weren’t tiny little purse dogs. Blair was as mindful as
Leah would kill me when she found my note. I hadn’t spent much time with her recently - I had been so busy - and I was standing her up on our raincheck again. More than likely, anyone would consider me a bad friend. She would never understand how everything I hid from her, every wall I kept firmly in place, was the best way I could be a friend to her.She was my friend, I would never deny that. But this was one of the reasons humans and the supernatural couldn’t be friends. If she found out, she would be targeted by the supernatural to avoid our existence getting out. That, or she would go insane. If it was just me, I would trust her to keep my secret. But, it was a whole world right in front of her, dancing on the peripheries of her sight, she couldn’t know about. I packed carefully. Every set of shoes I packed had heels. Wide legged pants, skirts, and leg warmers that would cover just how significant the heels were. My signature graphic tees and leather jackets. Anything that scr
I grumbled the entire drive into town, following my knight in shining armor. I was not a damsel in distress, but he had saved me twice. I wasn’t even shocked when we pulled into the same inn. Would’ve been difficult for us to end up at separate ones seeing as there was only one. I parked as far away from Isaac as I could, but even dawdling across the parking area didn’t work. The fucker waited for me. We didn’t speak as we walked in, but he held the door like any gentleman would. It was hard not to greet Shelby with the familiarity of an old friend. She had been my nanny once upon a time, and my brother’s nanny before that. She joined her sister in running the inn when I grew old enough to no longer require a full time babysitter. I maintained my stoney expression and kept my eyes downcast in response to her warm smile as we walked in. If anyone could see through my disguise, she topped the list. “Welcome to the Royal Moon Pack!” she chirped happily. “Room for two today?” Isa
Annalise blinked slowly, as if she had just been struck across the face. "That... is not the turn I expected. Is that not the exact thing Melany and Karabasan did?"I smiled softly at her. "Name one person in this room Fate has assisted, given a better life. All it has done is harm each and every one of us. Is that retribution for crimes that were out of our control, or are we just being used as pawns to put on a show for our dear Goddess? Either way, it's wrong. If the Moon Goddess can take away immortality when her chosen no longer deserve it, we can take away the dealer when it becomes evident the deck is rigged.""No," Annalise declared, eyes darkening. "I can't stand by that. I won't see you destroy yourself and everyone around you the way our parents did.""You think that lowly of her, really?" Rudi scoffed. "You think Maise has the twisted, sadistic mindset to do what your father - what you - did to me? You forget. Fate doesn't only dictate the good. It a
Annalise's exiting statement resounded in my ears. It took me a moment to process what she said, but when I did, I chased her out of the room, catching up with her just outside the front door. It seemed that no matter the species, pregnant being move slowly. "Wait!" I called. "I have more questions!" Annalise turned to face me. "Well, the story is no fun if you are given all the answers." "And you know me well enough to know I don't take anyone's words at face value." "An aspect all good rulers should possess," she touted. "Maybe your mate could learn something from you, but it wouldn't matter. It's not like his words and demands bear any true meaning." A growl built in my own chest, one that made me seriously question whether or not I truly had no wolf blood. "Royalty may be given, but leadership is earned. He has that, I don't." "But you have the power to take it. Why don't you?" "Because I don't want it," I snapped. "Look at what the desire for power turned our parents into."
Long gone were the days of being surprised by anything. I prayed to the moon my days really were numbered, because I couldn't handle this anymore. With weary eyes, I looked up to Isaac, and saw he was able to feel the shock I refused to process. His eyes weren't even for me, transfixed on the names of my mother and supposed uncle. That made me thankful.Yin and Yang. That's what we were. You couldn't have one without the other, and each side held a small piece of its opposite, giving us the power to understand the balance.I looked around the room, and everything became abundantly more clear. Rudi and Kaleb denied the truth of their own destiny as mates because they didn't trust Fate. My cousin, I guess, was Team Fate, and her mate didn't know which side to choose. A human was here, but only because she so easily succumbed to the fleeting desires of that red string. My own mate, even, had no power to work against it. If he did, I wouldn't have been sitting on his lap.Fate controlled
Isaac POV Sitting in the basement, waiting for my mate, I realized something. All the control I always thought I lacked, had always been mine. I had a firm grasp on it, running my world like it was my puppet. My hands were in everything, and my knowledge spanned farther than even I knew. Fate had been a raucous dealer, but I knew how to play my cards. Control had always been my friend.I understood that now, because I felt the loss of it.In this room, Bram held confessions from Alpha King Faolan, and Kaleb knew the secrets of Karabasan. Only Maise had the information to tie them all together. I was at the mercy of whatever they had to share. Never had I sat in a room with no idea what would happen, and I didn't like it.Simply a month ago, I would have infiltrated every single one of these endeavors, but I had given it all up. Willingly, even. All because I needed to remain with a little girl. I adored her dearly and would not change the choices I had made, but the itch to regain th
Several times, everyone asked me if I wanted to stop and see my mother on our drive back to the lycan pack. Several times, I refused. I knew it didn't make the two lycans happy, but I was thankful they didn't press and allowed me the autonomy. I knew it would have to happen eventually, but I wasn't ready to open that door yet. Too many emotions I had worked so hard to eliminate from my life would resurface, and I couldn't handle that. Not with everything else going on.Bram, Isaac, and I had stayed in his Audi, and Blair and Leah had driven my truck up to the pack. I wanted to join my friends, but Isaac wouldn't let me out of his sight. I was a little surprised the witch had been trusted with someone who was essentially a prisoner, but I was happy trust between the two species was beginning to grow. I was also fairly certain Leah would endure the most lenient prison stay. If Benate went against Isaac's orders in the bear pack, Benate would pay for it, not his mate.We got back to th
When I resurfaced from sleep, I was still in fur with Isaac's monstrous wolf form wrapped around me. This was common for us werewolves, to simply say in our furs when a threat was sensed. Our wolves had more acute senses, and stood a better chance if there was a surprise attack. But, I didn't exactly know what the current threat was. It was only a mental battle that was waging. There was a quiet knock at the door before I heard it swing open. Isaac stiffened and growled at the intruder, followed by Leah's yelp and the door quickly slamming shut. When the door opened again, not even Isaac's posturing sent the unwanted guest away. "Stop it," Bram barked. "It's afternoon. She was checking on her friend." Wolves were exceptionally possessive and protective. You only get one mate, after all. They were worth laying down your life for. Add in that he was a lycan, tasked with the life of a runt, and Isaac was even more unreasonable. So, I wasn't surprised when Isaac picked me up by the scru
Isaac ran his fingers delicately up my arm, his eyes once again transfixed on the inky sky. "Something else is bothering you. Mind telling me?""Don't you already know?" I huffed. "You've been in my head since you found me on Church Street."I glanced up just enough to see Isaac purse his lips. "You think very little of me if you truly believe I'd negate your right to the privacy of your own mind."And there it was. Even though he so easily could, Isaac never dug for answers, always waiting for me to provide them. He knew the exact things to say to steer a conversation in the direction it needed to go, but the information I shared with him was always new. Unless he had heard it from a different source, of course. Not only did he want to know my thoughts, but he wanted to understand them, help me dissect them.It was one of the qualities that made him so trustworthy, but I didn't understand why. If my father had that ability, he would use it to control me. From my very limited interact
The sun was rising when I made it to the outskirts of Burlington, but all I saw was King Midas's touch. The city was just beginning to wake up right as I was starting to shut down. My paws felt like lead weights. It was exhaustion that begged me to stop, but not the physical kind. No, I was overwrought with emotion. Emotions I had successfully shut out for eight years - longer if I was being honest. The closer they got to the surface, the more the dam threatened to break.I wanted to lay down and drown in the flood that would ensue. Let it wash away all the trauma and my life along with it. The currents could carry me to the sweet release of oblivion, and the only people that would care would be the ones who abandoned me every step of the way. I certainly wouldn't mind. Not anymore.My entire existence, I had fought so hard for life. As a royal, assassination was a constant threat. Being an undeserving runt only compounded that. As a rogue, everyone and everything had been out to get
I had crammed myself against the passenger side door of Bram's car. I was staring at the man driving in absolute shock, quite certain he was nothing more than a figure of my imagination. He was supposed to be dead. "Call your mate," he said. I blinked dumbly at him. "What?" He never took his eyes off the road, simply repeating his request. I fumbled for my phone, struggling to find the power button to turn it back on. Out of my pocket also came the key to the car that was currently rolling down the twisting state roads of Vermont. "How did you get a key to this car?" He glanced over to me briefly, flashing his cocky grin - one of the few things I vividly remembered about him. "Bram gave it to me when I met up with him this morning. Now, call your mate." I just nodded, not wanting to argue with another one of the dead come back to life. The line had barely started to ring before it was connected. "Maise," Isaac growled in a tone that made it abundantly clear that I was in trouble