Emma POV I held her hand as if she was my lifeline. She walked with purpose and took me back into the green river waters. Leading me deeper towards the center of the river, I was getting nervous as the water was becoming deeper and deeper. “Mom??? Are you sure this is the way???”, I asked, fear evident in my voice. “Do not worry Princess, waters are your friend. In fact, you can breathe under water too!” I did not know what to make of that, but I decided to trust her. She was my mother after all. We walked slowly few more steps and at that point the waters of the river enveloped me, as we were now submerged. Mother finally stopped walking and we just stood there, the gentle river around us. It was a strange sensation as I stood there. Apprehensive at first, I now found great comfort in the water. She was right, being submerged did not bother me, in fact, it felt completely natural. Water felt like my second skin, although it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to seeing. This deep, wa
Leo POV Coughing up, I woke up.. The air was still thick with smoke, although the fire was dying down.. I sat up carefully, aware of the bruises and burns on my body. Interestingly enough, while there were scars of the fire burns, all I noticed now is the dried blood and healed scars in weird streaks of shimmering gold/amber color.. I have never had burns before, so not sure if this is how they heal normally, but something felt weird. I knew burn scars do not heal this quickly and most definitely not without professional medical help. “I told you that fire would not hurt us”, I heard the same voice again. This was strange. A strange sensation was circulating within me, energy I never felt before, yet I was not scared of it. It felt good, as if something finally clicked within me. If my hair had not burned, I would have thought I was not on the fire just a few moments ago! I needed to talk to Emma about this – I did not understand what was happening. I looked over to see if she was fe
Hendricks POV “Yes, Hendricks??? What news?!” Valor’s voice boomed when he picked up my call. “That is Captain Hendricks, Sir!” He was always extremely rude, and even though he paid well, I wanted to remind him to show some respect. “Hendricks, you may be a police captain in your own world, but I want to remind you - you are on my payroll!!!! I will call you whatever the fuck I want. Now tell me, why are you bothering me at this hour???!!!” he snapped at me. I should have known what I had gotten myself into. Dealing with vamps and supernatural creatures was always a big headache. They paid extremely generously though, so I really should not complain, but it did not mean I liked working with them. “Sir, you asked me to notify you about that address in San Diego. You said to call you directly and immediately if there was anything??” “Speak! You have my full attention!!”, Valor said, his voice now laced with concern. “Well, Sir, it appears that there was an explosion of some kind – EM
Kal’s POV The fires were still raging and earth shaking. I heard my mother’s voice, I heard what she said, but was paralyzed on the spot. The realization that I had children with Catherine astonished my very being…. I did not know what to make of this feeling.. My chest was constricting and I was unable to move, to breathe.. Tears were falling, but I could not move.. I kept thinking of her, of Emma.. And now, I also had a son.. How come? How was this possible? I was trying to piece the puzzle together and nothing added up. Not a timeline, not their ages – Emma did not even look like me.. Nothing made sense, yet somehow within my core, in my heart, deep down I knew. I knew when I saw her, when I shook her hand.. That sense of belonging. I knew when I saw her eyes that not only was she Catherine’s daughter but also mine.. I was simply in denial. Rumbling of mother’s house columns in the background shook me somewhat, but I still stood still there, unable to move. Slowly, I raised my eye
Amelia POV Ah, to be a dragon.. Fresh air was kissing my hair and face…Ah.. The freedom.. Lights of Los Angeles were swiftly disappearing beneath us as Ying took higher and higher altitude. The cloaking spells helped immensely -it would hardly benefit our species if somehow there was a large dragon sighting above the skies of the human realm.. Or perhaps collide with airplanes.. The traffic control monitoring systems we set up are state of the art and in real time and afford us the privacy and safety we needed. The River Palace, nested in the forests of Coatepec, was not far as the dragon flies. Still, we had some time. Lord Wong was seated in front of me, and Ying was gliding effortlessly across the darkening skies. Even though, as an Elf I could see in the dark, the precision of night sight and ability to fly in unpredictable situations was one of many things which always impressed me about dragons. Father said something about built-in ability, a sonar if you will – but it was no l
Landing on the top of the mountain which barely accommodated Ying, we see a welcome party… A lone Elf is standing, looking in our direction…I was not sure, as we were still far up above, but based on the appearance I was sure it was the father… However, as we land and I jump of, the presence, a scent and aura of my brother hits me immeasurably. He has grown more powerful since last time I saw him. The woody notes of sage and hickory, and glazed honey are enveloping me as I come closer. One could see where I would be mistaken though. Standing around the same height, close to 7 ft as my father, the same broad shoulders, long legs and chiseled porcelain face, silver hair flowing, one can easily mistake them. Though centuries apart, only if you got up-close could you actually differentiate the two -my brothers’ dark eyes were slightly darker then my father’s dark blue ones. Otherwise, they could pretty much pass as twins - father did have some lines on his face, but for a creature literal
Amelia POVThe War Room was one of the largest rooms in the palace. Father loved integrating nature with architecture and construction, so the whole place was carved into the mountain. The initial space grew exponentially over time and with the growth of the family. Currently, the palace is the residence of the Crown Prince, Lord Asher, my brother, and his wife. However, due to its strategic placement, it had everything a well-supplied and defended fortress needed.The windows of the room were massive. Looking over the expansive area, I noticed Father and Seraphine at the large desk, maps spread out on the top and a few of my father’s generals standing around. This looked ominous, especially considering that Seraphine was half shifted. Her arms were covered in purple shimmering scales, her long, powerful claws out and her long, beautiful tail was circled around the base of the table enveloping it several times. In the past, I have seen her dragon, and I had to admit that she was quite
Rowena POV Things were not going as I planned. This was all getting out of hand, and quickly. I needed to put things back on track, however, this day was getting more frustrating by the second. Dajjal’s phone kept ringing but there was no answer. How idiotic is this demon????, I kept thinking all flustered??? “Why is everybody incompetent these days???!!!!!” Bella screamed in my head. “You should have let me finish him; I would have done a clean job” she growled. “You know fully well that we cannot have anything directly connected to us!!! We cannot be implicated!!!”, I snapped back. “Cassius..” I continued. “Cassius is useless!!! I am ashamed we gave birth to such a weak heir!! If you had let me discipline him and teach him, we would not be in this mess!!!”, she growled again. “Alas, you did not listen to me Rowena!! And now we are stuck here!!! Anyway, he is the only born son we have, so we must find some purpose to him!! Maybe he is only good to reproduce and give us pure blood he
Leo POVThe night with Cassius was beyond words.. Beyond comprehension. I had never known love like this was possible, never knew that I could open up my heart to that extent. I did not even know that I had room for such love, that I was capable of such love. The only love up to this point in my life, the only belonging I felt was to my only family – my sister Emma. However, now, I understood that there are different kinds of love, that different possibilities existed within me, that I was capable of more, worthy of more, able to do everything, powerful enough to balance my life, and finally, my whole self. For the first time in my life, I felt complete. I did not know how to explain it. Being orphaned, Emma and I always missed that familial connection, that Sunday lunch with family, those kisses and hugs from your mom or dad, the way your parents smell, the way they smile at you.. The ways you will mess up and they will pretend to scold you, only to teach you about life, yet love you
Emma POVThese people were crazy! Totally and absolutely bat-shit crazy!!! There was no other explanation – no other possibility. Somehow, when I accepted the job opportunity with Mr. Locke, I somehow walked into a world of crazy people, a world of strange events and strange individuals, a world which almost seemed like an alternate reality. I should have known that all of this would have been too good to be true - regardless of their obvious support and well-wishes. It has become clear that whomever mysterious Ro is or was, that she was likely onto something, and her warnings obviously warranted. I should have listened when I had a chance, I really should not have been swayed. If only I had trusted Ro and Myra, I would have already been gone, safely somewhere with Leo, away from these crazy, cult-like people. Dear God, what did I get myself into???I felt a great sense of frustration, unease and felt completely stupid for trusting them, trusting them with my brother, trusting them wi
Angela’s POV “Was she going into heat??? Or shifting???” Celia asked the same questions that were stuck in my mind as well. The three of us were sitting in a lounge sipping tea after Emma’s episode. She was strong, much stronger than we anticipated and in a state that we did not understand fully. Dr Sina was thinking. He had this habit of rubbing his chin whenever he was in deep thought, and by the looks of his behavior, he was definitely going to rub some skin off his face. Looking at us both with his soulful, wise eyes, he nodded at first, getting up and starting to pace around, obviously stressed out. “It is possible. It certainly felt as if she was about to do both, and had we not injected her, chances are she would have become a full-blown dragon, likely leveling the hospital down, killing everyone in it”, he replied gravely. The confirmation did not surprise me. However, things were not adding up. Usually, she-dragons would go into heat once she found her mate. Dragons went int
Emma POVThe anxiety and heat within me subsided gradually, but the sense that I felt complete, where I was discovering something new stayed with me – even in the darkness of my dream. However, I was not sure if I could call this a dream. Once Dr. Sina injected something into me, the darkness claimed me. However, I did not sleep. Fully alert as if I was awake, I started moving toward a sensual scent, a scent of pinecone and berries, a scent that was pulling me in a very specific direction. All my senses were enhanced, and I could feel everything around me.“There you are!!”, I heard the now familiar voice of the mystery man in my dreams. His strong arms were wrapped around my waist tightly, while he pulled me to him from behind. I still could not see his face, but his scent, and the sense of familiarity, sense of knowing this person, and sense of belonging were overpowering me. It felt right to be in his arms. I felt happy.His warm breath was on my neck, his soft, warm lips gently ki
Emma POVMy heart was full for Leo. He had found him a man, a person to love him the way he deserved, the person to hold him, wipe his tears away when the skies go dark and cold, the person to make him laugh. He found his true love, or as the voice of my other-self within me said – his mate. Somehow, in my heart I knew this from the first time I ever saw Cassius. Everything within me screamed family, screamed recognition, screamed belonging, and the clarity hit me - as if I could see their life before them, their love and their day unfold. When Cassius called me to get advice as to how to set up a romantic date and dinner for Leo, I was only too happy to oblige. Plus, planning a romance took me away from dark thoughts about Mr. Locke, dark doubts and fears that were currently plaguing my mind. I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, as Leo suggested. I knew that life sometimes turns good people into bad ones. However, all that I have seen in the files could not be justifie
Lord Alwyin POVSo.. It was true. The prophecy of Amelia’s betrayal had come to pass. My wife and I had held on all this time, and tried our very best, including extreme measures to somehow offset and change her fate. Alas, what Lord Krimus had reported was dire. Aramah was back. And not just Aramah, its Queen Witch, Verena. I felt like I was in hell, betrayed by those closest to me, namely my child. I knew that in her own mind she held justification of what had happened, justification I could not negate, given that she thought her mate Darius was dead at my hands. When I saw her last, I could sense her anger and hatred towards me. At this point, she had hated me so long, that it was likely hard to pinpoint the origin of when that had begun.Xidna was a whole other story, her demands and her threats something completely else. I knew that I failed her, and whatever she had planned for us, was entirely my own fault. In truth, I should have known better. I should have known that she wou
Leo POVI had no words for what just happened. I had no explanations, no prior understanding, just the raw unbridled emotion cursing through my body, pure pleasure and euphoria. And another feeling which dominated every ounce of my being. Cassius was MINE!!! MINE ALONE!! I heard the grumble in my chest, the determination of those words. I had not spoken them as of yet, but my whole being was screaming that this was my guy, my person, and my love. MINE. And MINE ALONE! There was something that happened to me the moment he kissed me, the moment he fell on his knees. The moment of recognition of some kind, somehow, someway, I knew, without a shred of a doubt, that he was my soulmate, my everything, and the only person other than Emma that I would give my life for. The veracity of those feelings hit me unexpectedly, yet not irrationally. Right before he showed up in my life, things were different. And now, with him here, and what just happened, I found myself in a vortex of emotion, stood
Cassius POVI wanted tonight to be perfect. I called Emma in advance to learn more about Leo’s favorite foods, what he liked to drink, even what kind of flowers he liked. I realized that they came from humble backgrounds, and I desperately did not want to be a show-off, but at the same time I wanted to give him the world – everything I had, my heart included, already belonged to him anyway. I also had a surprise help from an unexpected source. His friend Theo, who worked at the garage with him, was there when I went to see Albert and asked discretely about him. Somehow, he overheard our conversation and decided to chime in and share that Leo’s dream car was a Mercedes G63, and I decided to buy him one as a present. The car I drove tonight was Leo’s and I hope he liked it. I was going to give it to him at the end of our date as a gift – I did not want to have him apprehensive during dinner. “We do not need to throw wealth in Leo’s face, Cassius. He is not like that”, Marcus advised. I
Leo POVCassius’ phone call was exciting. He said he had planned a special date for us, and I felt as if I was walking on clouds. My stomach tightened just at the sound of his voice, and I grew weak in my knees thinking of his plump, gentle lips, his chiseled jaw, and body the Gods themselves would be jealous of. My favorite thing about him was his smile. When he smiled at me, I felt like the only person in the world. That smile reached into the depths of my soul and touched my heart. Every time I heard his voice, my stomach and chest would both flutter as if dozens of butterflies danced around it. Timing worked out great - with Mr. Locke rescheduled the dinner. I had time to have my date with Cassius.Emma’s words and files I read weighed heavily on me. However, somehow, I was willing to give Mr. Locke the benefit of the doubt. Somehow, the timing of all this seemed too perfect, and too coincidental, and I was not a man that believed in coincidence. Moreover, the voice, my inner voic