Y A N ANeedless to say, I forgot everything when Dad called my name. The sly, evil part of me wants to pretend like nothing happened and move on, but the more humanized part of me wants to wait and see.And when I notice the hopeful expression on Dad’s face, I immediately feel my humanized side winning by a landslide.A strong urge to hug him overtakes my body, but then I remember how Margot’s birthday went and the things he said to me. I especially can recall in great detail how he basically ignored everything I had to say and still ended up comparing me to Gwen despite me telling him that I didn’t like it, word by word.I can feel my face turning sour, and that makes Dad stop in his tracks, his face contorted with caution and confusion.I hate seeing the confusion on his face. It’s almost like he still doesn’t know what the hell he did wrong and that bothers me.Like, come on. I told him as clearly as I could that I hated it when he always compares me to Gwen. For the first time in
M I K H A I LThe first thing that strikes me is disbelief and denial. In my head, I was already discounting everything that happened here. I think to myself that hey, perhaps I’m just being weird and stupid about it, because the whole thing is strange already. I mean, the thing I’m experiencing at the moment is probably just paranoia.I look at Evan and he’s also sniffing the air, frowning with a thoughtful expression. Seeing this on his face makes my heart jump. Is he going to look up at me and tell me that he can indeed smell Yana and confirm my worst fears? Or is he just smelling something else that he’s still trying tp figure out.The denial in me is working too damn hard. As I stop in my tracks and look around, I keep thinking to myself that he won’t say anything. In fact, I’m silently begging him not to say anything.But of course my illusion shatters when our eyes meet and he just says, “Can you smell that?”I only nod, waiting for him to supply the rest of the information and
Y A N A“No update from Mikhail yet?” Lily asks as she prepares more gift boxes for the jewelry giveaway for the launch. “It’s been . . . what, two days?”“Two days, and no update,” I reply, looking up from the pool of turquoise earrings and silver bracelets that I have spread on my table. “I did talk to Evan and he said that he’s a little swamped, so it’s all good. Kira is always here and she’s helping us. I don’t think we need to involve Mikhail in this.”As I say this, I remember what his parents said, yet again. Over and over those memories played in my head, and there seemed to be no escape from them. Even now, I still think about it. It’s almost terrifying at this point.But it’s not the only reason why I said what I said. I actually believe in my own words.For the past two days, all we did was get things ready for the launch. The men have worked overtime and finished everything, while the three of us were in the studio making jewelry for the guests.There will be thirty guests
M I K H A I L“Are you sure you’re alright?” Evan asks as we start to walk toward the car. “Not going to lie, boss, you’re starting to look pretty rough.”I shake him off, but this simple motion almost sends me face-first into the ground. My equilibrium is being tipped over, I can tell, but I’m not about to let Evan see this and take me somewhere I don’t want to be, which is some sort of treatment facility that will inevitably inform my parents.Or worse, tell everyone that I’m in grave danger.That will surely rouse the Lycan world and make some idiots think they have a shot on the throne.So even though I feel like I will hurl and end up coughing out my stomach, I force myself to walk and head to the passenger seat of the car. Evan gets into the driver’s seat and looks at me again.“Boss,” he begins, “Are you okay?”“Evan.” I match his tone and give him a stern look. “Please just drive so we can get the fuck out of here.”“Okay, okay!” he mutters, flooring the accelerator until we’r
M I K H A I LMy hands start to shake bad. I look around me and it seems like the whole room is swimming, getting blurry right before my eyes. It’s like oxygen has been sucked out of the room, and here I am just gagging for it.I stagger back. The music and the laughter in the venue suddenly sound like loud mocks. I’m about to make my way to someone--anyone I know-- but then I run into Kira.“Sir, are you okay?” she asks in concern. “Did you find Yana?”To my utter horror, Lily and Jason also appear at her sides and smiles at me. The sheer happiness on their face just from seeing me makes my heart sink. I turn to their expectant faces and I quietly hand them the paper.Then I have to stand there and watch their faces fall.“Oh, god. . . .” Lily looks up at me with teary eyes. “What’s happening? Who is this?”“It’s her old friend Brody,” I manage to answer. “I will find him. I will take Yana back. But you three have to promise me that you won’t halt the launch. Make an excuse about Yan
M I K H A I LI stare at Brody, and immediately my body goes into overdrive. Energy is humming in my veins, and I can tell that it’s Kingsley doing his best to provide me his power without breaking our form and shifting in front of all these humans.However, their scent and my hate is making me feel strange. I’m eager to tear them into pieces, and I’m basically just hungry for blood at this point, which is a primitive sensation that I never felt before.But I still control myself.“I’m getting them ready,” I say, which is a total lie, but my voice sounds believable enough that Brody falters a bit. “They’re going to be freed and handed over to you once I make sure that Yana is well.”He grins, but I can see his lips shaking. “Sure. She’s right over there, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”He starts to point vaguely in the distance, and that makes my temper flare.“I don’t see her,” I say in a low voice. “I have to see her.”“You will later,” he says dismissively, taking a ste
M I K H A I LThe sheer shock that attacks my body is enough to paralyze me for a solid moment. I just stand there, watching as Brody falls limp on the ground. The sound of the gunshot is still lingering in the air like an echo, ringing in my ears and reverberating in my brain.I step back, my hand slick with blood. I look down and see that life has left Brody’s eyes, and the spot where the bullet exited is mangled. Basically half of his face has been blasted off, and if I didn’t know who he was, he would be unrecognizable.A part of me believes that I should be relieved. The main enemy for now has been defeated. But I still don’t know where Yana is, and the fact that he chose death so easily instead of telling me her location gives me the dreadful feeling that he did something to her.“Kingsley,” I nearly beg, refusing to even entertain the possibility of Yana being gone. “Kingsley, you have to help me. We have to find her.”He stays quiet on the other side, and I can tell that he’s
M I K H A I L Slowly, I can feel the presence of the Lycans waking in my head. I reach out to all of them, asking them for help as I continue to run along the road. I know there’s only a certain point for me here because of the risk of getting seen by Humans, but surprisingly, I find myself not really caring about that. The idea of being exposed as something completely different and dangerous pales in comparison to the idea of Yana not being able to make it. I would rather get punished for being what I am than living with myself if something happened to her. Kingsley is trying to push me farther, and I’m letting him, even though I can see the familiar light of civilization in the distance and it meant seeing Humans. However, before I can get too close, two figures appear in front of me and block my way. Instantly, my instincts spring into action and I poise myself to fight. I keep Yana steady on my back, waiting for the figures to attack. But when they get close enough, I see tha
M I K H A I LThe aftermath of what I can confidently call a war was almost . . . calm. There were no notable ups and downs, but I couldn’t really say there were no hard emotions involved. I guess what I could say about it is that it is subdued. Quiet. Defeated.We are the winners, my family and I. And yet victory is not something that we feel.Because today is the burial of Uncle Amos, and we have to remind ourselves once again that someone we considered our family has betrayed us and died in the process.But of course, we all know that the pain and fresh betrayal and perhaps even guilt that my parents and I are all feeling right now is nothing compared to what Evan is feeling.After Yana and I kissed in the hallway a week ago, I went to see Evan. He was in the morgue, crying over his dead father’s body, which was in the other side of the place being embalmed. We couldn’t see the process, only some views of it through the little window on the door.He turned to me abruptly when I wen
M I K H A I LI let go of Uncle Amos, only letting the tips of my sharp teeth graze his neck and not letting things get too far.I realize that I may have proven him right by doing that. He called me a coward, and perhaps I really was, because I have the chance to kill him right now and I'm still struggling with the morality of it all even though he never stopped to consider that for me or my family.What am I doing? How can I do this? How do I finish this fight?I hate this. I hate this so much. I hate that I have to do it, I hate that it is the only thing that would keep Uncle Amos from causing more harm. I hate that I’m the one who has to stop him . . . permanently.And most especially, I hate that after everything he’s done to me and everyone I care about and love, I still have some amount of respect and love left for him.Needless to say, I should be as cold as him now. I should be able to take him out without feeling an ounce of remorse. I know everything he did now. He basicall
Y A N AEvan moves quickly and seizes my wrists with one hand as though binding me, pushing me against the wall. I yelp and gasp, looking at him with my gaze full of questions.He shoots me a meaningful look and I immediately get that this is all for show. He's trying to make it look like he's trying to subdue me.It would make a pretty convincing narrative, I have to admit. It would look like I somehow managed to escape from my bonds and my cell just to wreck the princess up and end up killing her. The story might crack if they realize that I'm just a weak human with no special abilities whatsoever, but at least it would do for now.To add to the credibility of it all, Evan turns to the warriors and says, "I got it under control, everyone."They hesitate, and I can see their eyes flitting from him to me and to the princess, who's clearly gone.The warrior in the front who I assume is the leader steps forward. "What happened here?""She managed to get out of her chains and out of her
M I K H A I LWithout hesitation, I pull back, clench my fist, and break out of the chains that are binding me to the wall.The needle in my arm breaks, spilling the hissing formula of the wolfsbane potion everywhere, causing it to burn holes in the actual concrete. I step on it, not caring at the small sting that it causes, not caring about anything much at all except for my parents’ safety.Strength is flowing in my body like a lush river, endless and loud and raging. I face Uncle Amos, who is watching me without a clear expression on his face. But when he sees me breaking the bars of the cell with my bare hands, he smiles.“You coming to hurt me, nephew?” he asks tauntingly. “Are you going to kill me? Because I bid you good luck for that.”With that, he rushes towards me with no warning, his fists already clenched. I have to admit that I didn’t anticipate his speed at all or any kind of grace from him, so I don’t manage to parry the punch that he lands against my face.My head sta
Y A N AIt's strange seeing Evan again, even though it's barely been a full day since we last saw him. Even as I stare at him now, I can't believe he's actually here.Evan holds out his hand to me, reaching through the gaps like Sienna did. "Can you reach me?"The answer is, I can. I can definitely reach him and take his hand if I want to. The only problem is that I don't. I don't want to touch him.I don't want to trust him.I remember his father and how he attacked Mikhail like it was nothing, despite Mikhail seeing him as his father. I remember how he almost killed me. Also, I don't know if I'm hallucinating or what, but I do remember him saying that his son was involved in the whole thing somehow.Now, I can't see Evan the way I used to. I know he helped us through it all and even warned us, but I can't shake off the idea what maybe he was involved in everything somehow. Like actively involved.Hell, for all I know, he just set up a trap for us so his father could take me and Mikh
M I K H A I LI have no body.I can’t feel anything physical. The only thing I have now is my consciousness, and even that is waning in and out of focus. One moment, everything is dull and muted, then the next, everything feels sharp. Sometimes too sharp. So sharp that it hurts, even though I have no physical form to experience that pain.I’m surrounded by an endless sea of black. Nothing in the distance, nothing up close. Just a whole lot of nothing. I want to inhale and feel the air in my lungs, but I don’t know how to do that.Slowly, memories of what happened start to come back to me.I remember having a great night with Yana. I remember waking up with her. I remember the peace in my heart knowing that I will be with her like that, safe and warm and loved, but all of that gets shattered the moment I heard Evan calling.And the call was late. They were already there.What I didn’t expect was that the whole thing would be led by Uncle Amos, who I’ve confided in and looked up to. Eve
M I K H A I LMy body freezes when I hear those words. I look at Uncle Amos, wondering if I’m hearing everything correctly. I feel like I’m in a bad dream, and everything is going downhill.The only thing I want to do right now is get away from here with Yana, to save her from all of this because she doesn’t deserve it. However, there seems to be no way out. The Lycans are all over the property, and the car is still too far away for us to access.“You can let me take over,” Kingsley says to me, and I know that he won’t let me down, but I don’t want to scare Yana. I also know that I’m outnumbered.And if Amara’s ability is also present in these Lycans, I might not stand a chance. I would definitely end up risking Yana’s life, and I would not forgive myself for that. This in itself is already tough to swallow. I can’t live with myself if something happens to her because of me and with me present.Uncle Amos stares at me, tilting his head as he tries to understand my expression. Somethin
M I K H A I LI lean back against the couch, watching Yana catch her breath as the fabric of her suit falls limply down her shoulders. Something about how the light slants against her smooth skin and lights up her eyes is making me want to pounce on her and have her screaming my name under me, but I relax, taking in her beauty.I lift my hands, touching her softly, just tracing the tips of my fingers over her skin. I can feel goosebumps forming. I can feel her shivering. I can see her pleading with her eyes, but I don’t hasten my pace.“Do you want me?” Yana whispers.“Very much, yes.” I lean in and plant an almost chaste kiss on her collarbone. “I’ve wanted you like this for so long. . . .”“Then have me. Take me.”Smiling, Yana takes both of my hands and puts them on her breasts, using the tactic of using my hands to pleasure herself again. She flicks over her nipples, gently tugging and twisting them with my fingers. She moans, closing her eyes and throwing her head back when I sta
Y A N A"What?" I blurt out, a little too loudly.Evan hisses under his breath and steps forward, clamping his hand over my mouth. "I said, we will be crashing the wedding. It's going to happen tomorrow. If we get lucky now and we don't encounter any problems, we can do it today. Understood?"I nod frantically, wishing I can ask what kind of trouble we can encounter here and what all of this means, but I know that time is precious. Besides, every second he spends here is a second too long and an obvious risk. If he gets caught here, then the mission is dead.However, I just have to ask him one question. Something that's been bothering me since he showed up."Evan?" I whisper against his hand. When he raises his eyebrows, I ask, "Why does it seem like you're working against your father?"A pause, and then he says, "That's because I am."“Do you know what happened to him?” I ask again, deciding to just screw it. I might as well just know what happened to that man. “Is he . . . a bad per