LILITH
We were waiting for dusk since Julian and I couldn't leave the castle until the sun dipped below the treeline. Before, I remained inside during the day by choice, this was the first time I had been confined within four walls out of necessity. I couldn't even open the curtains and admire the castle grounds or the way the children giggled and played in the courtyard. Alpha Quade may have been a dick when I first met him but I was learning that he had his layers — one of them involved him actually being a great alpha to his pack.
It made me wonder what my pack was like, what my alpha was like. I was too young to remember most of it but I clearly remembered the unity and bond of family that we had flourished in. But then I was cast into the shadows and forced to live my life as a rogue. I grew to love the solace that I found in silence and I did what I had to do to survive. One could almost say that I was training fro
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JULIANZephyr had waved off the wards that he had set in place so the witch, hellhound, and rogue alpha would be able to enter. No one sat. It was as if everyone acknowledged the thickening tension in the room and kept their eyes on the only exit in case we needed to flee. No matter what Lilith said, I still didn't trust Zephyr, still didn't trust that he wasn't working with his twisted daughter that deserved to be tortured until she begged for death.I clenched my jaw at the thought while crossing my wrists behind my back and clenching my hands into tight fists. Revenge was a bitter dish, one I'd be elated to shove down Zephyr's throat.He stood before us, almost as if he were on trial before the council and the thought almost had a smile twitching at my lips. His time would come. I felt it in my unbreakable bones.Lilith looping her hand with mine was what pulled me out of the dark
JULIANI paced the length of the living room. Paced from one end to the other relentlessly at human speed so it would take me time. It was dawn and I was left utterly useless and helpless until nightfall hit once more. My brother and sister would have to make it through another day of torment until I could find them and save them. I made my gut churn and my mouth filled with venom.How did she even find out about my siblings? What had she done to my mother and father? I hadn't checked in on them for a while, busy with trying to find out who was behind all the attacks. I should have allocated time to check in on them. Maybe they would have still been safe. My leaving — well my parents thought I had died and they were not necessarily wrong — had crushed them. Not knowing where Phillip and Maddie were must have been chipping at the remaining pieces of their heart. All three of their children gone...
LILITH I was exhausted. After everything that happened, I was finally drained. But I was scared. Julian had warned me that sleep would come after days and even once it came it wouldn't be something peaceful. So, I was scared and I wasn't afraid to admit it. Witchy was still passed out on the living room couch. As much as everyone wanted to leap into action since they knew a location, they realized that they needed a plan. Tania was strong, even as a syphonor — far stronger than us. We didn't know how many more bodies had piled up in her wake and we didn't know how much power she had in her arsenal. To assume that she was now drained and decided to lay low in plain sight was foolish. Although, Sydney seemed confused on how she could pull of being at the lake, in the middle of wolf territory without being seen, heard, or even smelt. Those were questions only the witch could answer whenever she decided to
LILITHWe shot down into the living room, finding it already dark outside through the large windows. Julian and I had both been stuck in that suspended state of sleep without actually being asleep for hours. Even with myself being so frightfully aware, I now somehow felt fresher, stronger, less exhausted. It made no sense but when you really thought of it, the entire vampire species made no sense.A species that was now my own.My eyes latched onto the source of the scream finding Witchy awake and twitching, fully drenched from head to toe with what looked like icy cold water. She opened her mouth and then closed it, gaping like a fish out of water and looking the part as well. The beta of the pack, Enzo, stood with a tight smile on his face and a massive bucket in his hands.Julian brought his fist up to his mouth and bit down on his knuckles to suppress his laugh whereas I simply bit the
LILITHWe were gone and back from our hunt within an hour and for the entire hour, Julian graced me with silence. He was angry that he wouldn't have a say in Tania's fate after everything she had done to him — done to all of us — but Witchy had already struck her bargain and it sounded as if her plan would work. It was solid, better than any plan any of us could come up with. We needed her magic so agreeing to let her and her ancestors deal with Tania's fate was a small price to pay.I just hoped that the witch didn't overexert herself leaving her useless to us. If she guttered her magic then we would have a serious problem.I swallowed the venom filling my mouth at the thought. It was bitter, just like the blood I had ingested thanks to the drugs riddling the human's system. Whether Julian and I killed the couple or not, they were bound to die soon probably from an overdose. It didn't make me
LILITH"Where is she?" I whispered with a hiss, my gaze skittering across the area.Penelope had warned us that entering through the illusion would notify Tania but I didn't think she'd manage to get to us so quickly. We barely gathered ourselves from the landing and she was already ready to attack."I don't know. Like I said before, there's one thing she doesn't need to siphon and that's her ability to control the shadows. She can use them to disguise herself or travel. Like teleportation," Witchy explained and I didn't think that this was the right time for a history lesson.I did remember her telling us about this, though, which made things a lot more difficult than they were original. Julian's hand found mine, gripping it tightly in his hold. The sparks that erupted had me releasing a breath I didn't even know I was holding. If my heart wasn't still in my chest I would have been suffer
JULIAN The half-blood's purple flames cut through the shadows — not as well as hellfire did — but it weakened them enough to allow me to breathe. I regretted taking in the burning lungful of air when notes of human blood stroked the back of my throat. I wasn't certain how Lilith tolerated it but I kept a firm grip in her hand in case the huntress within reared its head and she sped off in the direction of my siblings. We continued quickly and silently down the narrow passage. I could sense that it was barely wide enough for Lilith and me to walk shoulder to shoulder, hence, I walked a step ahead. We didn't race forward like before because I knew Grace was up ahead and I didn't want to risk slamming into a magical barrier or a wall that I wouldn't be able to see. With my sense of sight out of play, I relied on everything else. I touched the smooth, cold walls and created a mental map of every turn I took. If this was under different circumstances I may have commended Tania on how well
LILITH I hissed, unfurling my fingers from the tight hold I kept on Thorne and Sydney's necks. They could have incinerated me when I used my unnatural newborn speed and strength against them. Instead, they used heat waves of splintering hot fire to burn my flesh. The skin from my fingers up to my arms was bubbled with blisters and steaming with burns that would probably only heal if I had a taste of human blood.My golden eyes latched onto the corpse of Julian's sister sprawled in the ground. I dug my heels in and clamped my jaw shut to prevent myself from moving but it was admittedly fucking difficult. The sweet and potent scent of the thick crimson substance sang to me. It was a siren's call that begged me to fall under its spell. To let the inner huntress in me free and soothe the aching burn that flared at the back of my throat and the external burns that I couldn't ignore on my arms. My fangs snapped out and venom dr
LILITH I twirled around the cool metal pole that Julian had installed in his office while we were away — I was actually surprised that there wasn't one installed previously. 'I Feel Like I'm Drowning' by Two Feet spilled from the speakers in the room as I swished, twirled, and danced freely for the vampire in front of me. For my mate. I clutched the pole in my hands, then dropped before gradually rising and arching my back to give him the perfect view of my ass. Then, I threw my head back so my lilac locks could kiss the air. I could feel Julian's heated gaze pricking my skin. Those beautiful white irises never wavered, taking in every curve of my body as it moved gracefully and erotically for him — seducing him in the best way. He stood in front of his desk, ass perched on the edge and arms crossed. I realized, once we came back and he had returned to suits, that I fucking loved how m
LILITH"I think I'm going to need you to explain more than half of that all over again," Phillip said, gaze bobbing between his brother and me. We were back at the packhouse and I was doing my best to fill him in on what he needed to know — more importantly, why we hadn't killed his sister's killer."How do you have the brain of a vampire yet your mind is so utterly slow, brother?" Julian grumbled, laying back in bed with his hands under his head, eyes closed, and ankles crossed. He was the picture of relaxed but I knew he was anything but. His attention never wavered from us even if it looked like he paid no attention at all."It's a lot to take in," Phillip breathed, running his large hand through his silky locks.Julian sighed, "You'll get used to it. I did.""You're a king," Phillip muttered in what sounded like astonishment, "from an ordinary human boy to a vamp
LILITHI made my way into the living room knowing that Victor and Quade were there since they were finally out of the infirmary. It took a while — and Silas and Sydney's help — to get the sticky obsidian silver laced powder off their flesh. Everyone else who attempted the task ended up getting burned by the silver which meant the two wolves immune to the substance had to do it. I was almost certain that they were scrubbed raw because of how sticky the powder was. The witch didn't go into detail about it because we were in the middle of a life and death situation and now that she was dead...I figured after we left Julian would track down another witch to help him understand it better. However, I had a feeling the witches would tell us little. These were things they kept a secret from us for a reason. It was what helped them defend themselves once their magic waned.I knew Thorne hadn't left his
JULIANI settled my brother in the room opposite mine so I could keep an eye on him. He was still going through the painful transition but I had a feeling he would stick to his room after I had warned him that a werewolf bite was potentially deadly to us. That paired with the fact that their stench was potent enough to have me gagging kept him in check. He wouldn't risk leaving the room to hunt and I'd give him blood as soon as his system could ingest it.I gently closed the room door behind me as I exited only to find Sylvain leaning against the wall opposite with four bags of blood cradled in his hands. A groan of displeasure crawled up the back of my throat and with much effort, I swallowed it. As much as I hated what he had done. As much as the memory of my sister falling to the ground with fear blowing her eyes wide and causing her jaw to unhinge. I understood why he did what he did. If I were in his place and Lilith
LILITH I hissed, unfurling my fingers from the tight hold I kept on Thorne and Sydney's necks. They could have incinerated me when I used my unnatural newborn speed and strength against them. Instead, they used heat waves of splintering hot fire to burn my flesh. The skin from my fingers up to my arms was bubbled with blisters and steaming with burns that would probably only heal if I had a taste of human blood.My golden eyes latched onto the corpse of Julian's sister sprawled in the ground. I dug my heels in and clamped my jaw shut to prevent myself from moving but it was admittedly fucking difficult. The sweet and potent scent of the thick crimson substance sang to me. It was a siren's call that begged me to fall under its spell. To let the inner huntress in me free and soothe the aching burn that flared at the back of my throat and the external burns that I couldn't ignore on my arms. My fangs snapped out and venom dr
JULIAN The half-blood's purple flames cut through the shadows — not as well as hellfire did — but it weakened them enough to allow me to breathe. I regretted taking in the burning lungful of air when notes of human blood stroked the back of my throat. I wasn't certain how Lilith tolerated it but I kept a firm grip in her hand in case the huntress within reared its head and she sped off in the direction of my siblings. We continued quickly and silently down the narrow passage. I could sense that it was barely wide enough for Lilith and me to walk shoulder to shoulder, hence, I walked a step ahead. We didn't race forward like before because I knew Grace was up ahead and I didn't want to risk slamming into a magical barrier or a wall that I wouldn't be able to see. With my sense of sight out of play, I relied on everything else. I touched the smooth, cold walls and created a mental map of every turn I took. If this was under different circumstances I may have commended Tania on how well
LILITH"Where is she?" I whispered with a hiss, my gaze skittering across the area.Penelope had warned us that entering through the illusion would notify Tania but I didn't think she'd manage to get to us so quickly. We barely gathered ourselves from the landing and she was already ready to attack."I don't know. Like I said before, there's one thing she doesn't need to siphon and that's her ability to control the shadows. She can use them to disguise herself or travel. Like teleportation," Witchy explained and I didn't think that this was the right time for a history lesson.I did remember her telling us about this, though, which made things a lot more difficult than they were original. Julian's hand found mine, gripping it tightly in his hold. The sparks that erupted had me releasing a breath I didn't even know I was holding. If my heart wasn't still in my chest I would have been suffer
LILITHWe were gone and back from our hunt within an hour and for the entire hour, Julian graced me with silence. He was angry that he wouldn't have a say in Tania's fate after everything she had done to him — done to all of us — but Witchy had already struck her bargain and it sounded as if her plan would work. It was solid, better than any plan any of us could come up with. We needed her magic so agreeing to let her and her ancestors deal with Tania's fate was a small price to pay.I just hoped that the witch didn't overexert herself leaving her useless to us. If she guttered her magic then we would have a serious problem.I swallowed the venom filling my mouth at the thought. It was bitter, just like the blood I had ingested thanks to the drugs riddling the human's system. Whether Julian and I killed the couple or not, they were bound to die soon probably from an overdose. It didn't make me
LILITHWe shot down into the living room, finding it already dark outside through the large windows. Julian and I had both been stuck in that suspended state of sleep without actually being asleep for hours. Even with myself being so frightfully aware, I now somehow felt fresher, stronger, less exhausted. It made no sense but when you really thought of it, the entire vampire species made no sense.A species that was now my own.My eyes latched onto the source of the scream finding Witchy awake and twitching, fully drenched from head to toe with what looked like icy cold water. She opened her mouth and then closed it, gaping like a fish out of water and looking the part as well. The beta of the pack, Enzo, stood with a tight smile on his face and a massive bucket in his hands.Julian brought his fist up to his mouth and bit down on his knuckles to suppress his laugh whereas I simply bit the