Emma.The night wasn't any better. It seemed my terror followed me right into the dreamland. I was walking through a dense forest, the ground underneath my feet was damp and I could smell moss and clay around me. Kael was beside me, his presence was comforting, calming. He looked down at me occasionally, his lips twitching into a seductive smile. “We’re almost out,” he said, his voice deep and reassuring. I nodded, relieved, but the forest seemed to stretch endlessly ahead of us. Then, without warning, his demeanor changed. Kael stopped abruptly and turned to me, his expression was suddenly dark and full of anger. Before I could ask what was wrong, he shoved me hard and I stumbled backward. “Kael?” I gasped. He didn’t answer. Instead, Selene suddenly stepped out and slid her delicate hand into his. She looked radiant as she leaned toward him. Kael didn’t hesitate, he passionately kissed her, right in front of me. I felt my heart shatter, the pain as real as if it had ph
Emma.My limbs felt as heavy as stone as they wrestled me down on the creaking bed. I was losing my strength. First from the poison and then shock and I was famished. Their hands clamped around my arms and legs tightly and no matter how much I twisted and squirmed, it wasn’t enough. I began to scream with what was left of my hoarse voice but the men seemed amused by my panic. “Hold her still,” one of them growled. I watched in horror as another pulled out a thick rope and his rough hands began to knot it quickly. My heart sank as he began binding my wrists to the wooden headboard. “You can’t do this!” I sobbed, my voice cracking with desperation. “Please, let me go!” “You’ll calm down eventually. They always do.” When my wrists were secured, one of them leaned down so close I could feel his disgusting breath on my face. It reeked of tobacco. “Pretty little thing like you shouldn’t waste energy struggling,” he sneered. “It’s not going to help.” I turned my head away, tea
Emma.The car door shut with a heavy thud and I sat stiffly beside lord Roger. The leather seat beneath me was cold, and the silence inside the car made my ear ring. I was sold. I was now a property. I was a thing. Roger didn’t look at me, he didn't even act like I was beside him. His face turned to the window. A woman came closer, she was clearly his servant. She reached across me and threw a thick shawl over my shoulders. “Cover yourself up,” she said. “The master doesn’t like seeing too much skin.” Her words made me blink. I could almost hear Regina's voice in my head. About Roger. A man that bought slaves and pets. He was a monster. “I know all about you,” I said, my voice shaking as I turned to face him. “You buy women like they’re objects. Pets. Slaves. I will never be one of them.” Roger didn’t even flinch. He didn’t so much as glance in my direction. Instead, his face remained impassive. The only slight change was that I noticed his jaw clenched slightly. “Drive,” he
Emma.The car door shut with a heavy thud and I sat stiffly beside lord Roger. The leather seat beneath me was cold, and the silence inside the car made my ear ring. I was sold. I was now a property. I was a thing. Roger didn’t look at me, he didn't even act like I was beside him. His face turned to the window. A woman came closer, she was clearly his servant. She reached across me and threw a thick shawl over my shoulders. “Cover yourself up,” she said. “The master doesn’t like seeing too much skin.” Her words made me blink. I could almost hear Regina's voice in my head. About Roger. A man that bought slaves and pets. He was a monster. “I know all about you,” I said, my voice shaking as I turned to face him. “You buy women like they’re objects. Pets. Slaves. I will never be one of them.” Roger didn’t even flinch. He didn’t so much as glance in my direction. Instead, his face remained impassive. The only slight change was that I noticed his jaw clenched slightly. “Drive,” he
Emma.I woke to the sound of Deborah’s voice again, coming into the tiny room I now called my quarters. “Emma! Get up! You’ve got work to do, girl!” I groaned, rubbing my eyes, feeling every muscle in my body protest as I sat up. The stuffy air and thin bedding hadn’t done much to ease my exhaustion. Before I could even form a coherent thought, Deborah had already opened the door and stepped in, standing over me, arms folded and lips pressed into a thin line. She looked as stern as she had yesterday and Emma wished she'd been sold anywhere else and not here. “Get up! lord Roger needs his breakfast served early. You were expected in the kitchen five minutes ago,” she barked. “And make sure his tea is brewed just right, black, strong, no sugar. His eggs are soft but not runny. You mess it up, and you're in for a scolding.” I nodded, biting back the urge to tell her I wasn’t some seasoned cook or maid. Instead, I dragged myself up, threw on the most presentable thing I could fi
Kael. The snow stretched endlessly across the Crescent pack grounds, already covering everything with its chill. It was winter and the pack was at its coldest. From the tower, I stared out at everything below, my breath coming out as wisps of warm air in the cold. The silence of the place mocked me. It felt as if the world had frozen in time, like everything was different. But maybe it really was. Emma was gone. I gripped the stone edge of the balcony looking down below. My knuckles white against the gray stone. Every moment she was away gnawed at me, a reminder of my failure to protect her. To keep her where she belonged. Here, beside me, with me. I was still deep in thought when the sound of hesitant footsteps behind me shattered the quiet. I didn’t need to turn to know who it was. “Alpha,” Williams said, his voice cautious, almost apologetic. “King Drag, your father, wants to speak with you.” I closed my eyes and exhaled through clenched teeth before spi
Emma. The dining room was pretty loud as the alphas carried on with their dinner. They chatted about pack politics, war tactics and the price of slaves in the auction market. I sat on a bench near the wall, my hands clasped tightly in my lap, trying to make myself invisible. The sting of the slap still lingered on my cheek. But I knew that I couldn't do anything about it. I was a slave. And I wasn’t allowed to leave, not yet. Not until the evening ended and the decision to hand me over was finalized. Every passing minute dragged on like an eternity. "Wait here," one of the guards had grunted, his tone devoid of any form of sympathy. "And don’t move unless you’re told." So I waited, fighting back the urge to cry, as I patiently let my new master finish his dinner and take me for the night. When the alphas finally began to rise from their seats, their chairs scraping against the floor, I tensed. The man who had demanded me, Stanley, they’d called him, sauntered over t
Emma.I was frozen in place. I didn't know where this would go but I hoped for my own good that I'd just spoken the truth. Deborah had been going through lord Roger's drawers that morning that I woke in his chambers. I'd seen it with my own eyes. Minutes later, Deborah arrived, her expression was calm but turned wary as she stepped into the room. She gave Roger a respectful bow before her eyes landed on me. "My lord," she said smoothly, "you summoned me?" Roger didn't waste any time, he gestured toward me at once. "Emma claims she saw you searching through my drawers and cabinets two mornings ago. Care to explain?" Deborah’s eyes narrowed, and she turned to me with an angry look. "You’re lying," she said, her voice steady, "I’ve done no such thing." "I’m not lying,” I muttered quietly. "I saw you with my own eyes." Deborah folded her arms. "And why should anyone believe you, Emma? You’re a pregnant woman with a shady past who’ll say anything to weasel your way into the Ro
Emma.Life has a funny way of coming full circle. One moment you're a normal teacher trying to help void beings understand humanity, the next you're standing in front of a classroom filled with every kind of supernatural being imaginable, all eager to learn the art of cosmic evolution."Remember," I said to the diverse group before me, "everyone's path to transformation is unique. What works for a vampire won't necessarily work for a werewolf. What feels natural to a void being might be challenging for a witch."The classroom – now expanded to accommodate our growing community – hummed with excited energy. Through my evolved awareness, I could see each being's potential shimmering just beneath the surface, waiting to be discovered.Derek stood beside me, his vampire-cosmic nature casting beautiful patterns across the walls. "The key is finding your anchor," he demonstrated, shifting between states while maintaining his core essence. "The thing that makes you uniquely you, even as you
Emma."Remember," Derek said to the small group of vampires gathered in our backyard, "it's not about fighting your nature. It's about letting it expand."I watched from the porch as my husband guided the first volunteers through their initial steps into cosmic evolution. Each vampire's shadow was beginning to shimmer with possibility, their immortal essence reaching for something new."Like this?" A younger vampire named Marcus asked, his form flickering between states."Almost," Derek moved closer, his own transformed nature casting constellation patterns across the grass. "Don't try to leave your vampire self behind. Let it be your anchor while you reach for the cosmic."First drifted between the practicing vampires, offering their unique perspective. "Is like learning new language. Still speak old language, but now can speak new one too. Both together make more meaning."From inside the house, I could hear Mom and Sara working with another group of supernatural researchers. The wo
Emma.You'd think that after everything we'd been through, nothing could surprise the supernatural council anymore. But watching a room full of ancient beings literally lose their composure as Derek demonstrated his new abilities?Priceless."Impossible," one of the vampire elders whispered as Derek shifted between shadow and starlight, his vampiric essence now interwoven with cosmic energy in ways that defied their oldest laws. "Our nature is fixed. Unchanging.""Clearly not," Mom interjected, spreading out her research data. "What we're seeing is a natural evolution of supernatural energy. The vampire's immortal essence provides the perfect conduit for cosmic transformation."I watched as Derek moved through states of existence as easily as breathing, his vampire nature not fighting the change but embracing it, enhancing it. He was neither fully vampire nor fully cosmic, but something gloriously in between."Show them the bridge thing," Violet encouraged from where she sat cross-leg
Emma.They say evolution is a slow process. Try telling that to a family that just accidentally created an entirely new form of supernatural existence over an evening kiss."So," Sara said, her scientific equipment scattered across our living room while she tried to make sense of readings that kept shifting into impossible patterns, "let me get this straight. You two kissed...""And the universe basically went 'oh, that's a good idea' and decided to upgrade everyone?" Violet finished, still experimenting with her new abilities by making small objects phase between vampire shadow and cosmic light."Not quite everyone," Mom corrected, looking up from her rapidly filling notebook. "Just those with a direct connection to both vampire and cosmic energies. Though the implications for supernatural evolution are fascinating-""Maybe we could focus on the immediate situation?" Derek suggested, his new form casting constellation patterns on the walls every time he moved. "Like figuring out if t
Emma.It started with a kiss.Which, if you think about it, is how a lot of supernatural revelations seem to happen in my life. Though this one was admittedly more spectacular than usual.Derek and I were having a rare quiet moment on the back porch. I was still in my human form, day ten of the "cosmic detox" as everyone had started calling it. He was watching the sunset with that particular intensity that only vampires and artists seem to manage."I miss this," he said softly, his hand finding mine in the growing darkness."Sunsets?""Being able to touch you without worrying about cosmic interference."I smiled, squeezing his hand. "Well, according to Sara, I should be able to start accessing my powers again soon. Though," I looked down at our intertwined fingers, "I'm thinking maybe I'll try to stay human-shaped more often."He turned to me then, and something in his expression made my very human heart skip. "You know," he said thoughtfully, "I've been thinking about what you said a
Emma.Have you ever had to orchestrate a disaster so perfectly that it teaches a lesson without actually destroying reality? It's trickier than you might think, especially when you're working with beings that consider quantum physics a hobby and existence optional."Everything ready?" I asked First as we watched the eager void beings put what they thought were the finishing touches on their transformation machine.They nodded, their form perfectly stable despite the excitement. "Others in position. Remember plan."The plan was beautiful in its simplicity, really. Sometimes the best teaching moments come from carefully controlled failure. And who better to control failure than a group of experienced void beings pretending to be inexperienced void beings?"Sara?" I checked my very human watch – another adjustment I was still getting used to."Containment fields are ready," she confirmed from her position behind the monitoring equipment. "Though I still think this is insane.""Welcome to
Emma.You know what's worse than a supernatural crisis? A supernatural crisis when you're temporarily grounded from your cosmic powers.The call came during what was supposed to be a normal human lunch break – another exciting adventure in remembering how to eat food that existed in only one dimension at a time. Mom's voice had that careful calm that immediately set off every alarm bell in my very human nervous system."So," she said, "don't panic, but we might have a situation at the void being integration center."I put down my sandwich, already reaching for my car keys. "Define 'situation.'""Remember those void beings that tried to speed-run transformation downtown?""Please tell me they're not back.""Not exactly," Mom hedged. "But apparently they told some friends about their experience. Friends who decided that if quick transformation was possible, maybe they could find a way to... streamline the process.""Streamline how?" I asked, though I had a sinking feeling I knew where t
Emma.It was strange, seeing myself as just... me. No cosmic energy rippling beneath my skin, no reality-bending aura, no occasional transparency. Just Emma, with bed hair and yesterday's t-shirt, looking simultaneously more solid and more fragile than I remembered.The smell of coffee drifted up from the kitchen, and my very human stomach growled in response. That was another thing I'd forgotten about – actual hunger, not just the abstract concept of energy needs that I'd been dealing with in my transformed state.Making my way carefully downstairs (after successfully remembering to open the door this time), I found Derek at the stove and Violet at the table, both watching me like I might accidentally try to float through the ceiling."I'm fine," I said, heading for the coffee pot with the determination of a heat-seeking missile. "Just... readjusting.""Uh-huh," Violet said, not even trying to hide her amusement as I missed the coffee mug twice before successfully pouring. "That's wh
Emma.Turns out, downgrading from cosmic entity to regular human is about as graceful as trying to parallel park a spaceship. In the dark. While wearing oven mitts."Focus on your breathing," Sara instructed as we sat in the meditation room she'd set up in her basement lab. The walls were lined with specially designed dampeners to block out cosmic frequencies. "Try to feel your core self.""I'm trying," I muttered, then winced as my voice made the air ripple. "But it's like trying to forget how to read. Once you know what all the letters mean, you can't just... not know.""Then don't try to forget," Mom suggested from where she sat taking notes. "Try to remember instead. Remember what it felt like to be just Emma."Just Emma. The phrase echoed through my being, stirring something deep and familiar. I closed my eyes, thinking back to simpler times. Movie nights with Derek. Teaching Violet to ride a bike. Burning dinner and ordering pizza instead. Normal, human moments.My form flickere