It was two am when we finally landed in Bucharest. We retrieved our luggage and walked towards the exit. Near the doors were a table with one man sitting behind it, there was a line of five people ahead of us. We had received instructions that we were to report to the man sitting by the ‘Winter Camp’ table.“Name?” The man spoke with a heavy accent and barely glanced at us.“Wynter and Abigail Grey.”He flipped over two pages before ticking off our names on his list. “There’s a bus marked Winter Camp just outside, it will take you to Sinaia and the camp. Keep these identity cards on you at all times. Good luck.”“Thanks.”It was a ten seater bus, very small in comparison to what I was used to seeing back home. Our identity cards were scanned and I led Abigail to the back and let her sit by the window. Twenty minutes later all ten seats were occupied and the bus started.“Hey. Gerard de Yong.” He had turned in his seat and offered his hand in greeting.“Wynter Grey.” I shook his hand a
“Good morning trainees! I trust you’ve all had sufficient rest and time to familiarize yourselves with this camp. As you will see behind us are tents with different coloured flags, please go to the tent that matches your bracelet.” The man standing in front of us was tall, muscular and had an air of authority.“Move! Now!” His voice was loud and everybody started to scatter towards the different tents. I headed towards the Violet tent. I kept to the back of the line as men scanned their bracelets to be admitted and be accounted for.Costin stood on the other side next to another man as they surveyed the group in front of them. My bracelet scanned and then flashed a blue light instead of green as with everyone else. Costin nodded his head and the second man took notice of me too.“These will be your instructors. On the far right we have Emil, Timo and Pavel. Each group will have one instructor. First group will be future Sires with Emil, the second group will be second in command with
Abigail was nervous and her hands trembled as she packed her suitcase. She hadn’t changed much in the weeks since we arrived but I could almost taste her fear. My duffel bag was on the floor near the room’s door and I pulled her into my arms as my hand smoothed over her hair and hugged her.“It’ll be okay, I promise.”“I trust you Wynter but I can’t help feeling like bait here.”“You’re not bait Abby. If I had a choice you’d never even meet the King. The plan was for you to meet him if I didn’t get a way in. I never thought he’d call for both of us at the same time.”“I’m just scared. Scylla doesn’t have a good feeling about this.”“It’s a request I can’t refuse. You don’t say no to the King. I’d die before I let anything happen to you.” I kissed her on top of her head as she squeezed her arms around my ribs once and finished packing.Two Royal Guards were waiting beside an SUV for us. Abigail held my hand all the way to the Country Palace that was a lavish estate. There were guards a
I handed Sorin the memory stick and he brought his laptop to the table nestled between the sofas. I leaned back into my seat, knowing that his life would never be the same again, not after this.The only sound in Sorin’s office was the clicking of his mouse as he looked through the files. I could see from his expression that the truth was beginning to dawn on him. “What the hell is all this?”“You’re looking at a kill order that King Florin sent to the Florida Elders. They reported me and my mother to the King. I merged with my dragon when I was five. When King Rex died my father was ordered to France. King Florin asked my father to remain as the King’s Assassin, which he declined, but the kill order had already been sent.”“That is the King’s signature.” Sorin confirmed what I already knew.“If the King ordered your deaths, how are you, your father and Abigail still alive?” Dorin was clenching and unclenching his hands.“My father was on a jet back to Florida when he realized somethi
I could hear low murmuring from the dining hall as Abigail and I made our way down the hall, across the large foyer, following the footman that had appeared at our door. I squeezed Abby’s hand and gave her a confident smile as she nodded her head and smiled back at me.The conversation hushed as the footman cleared his throat. “Your Majesty, King Florin de Haviland, King of Dragons, I present to you Wynter and Abigail Grey.”We bowed our heads in respect as the King stood up and gave us a warm smile. “Please, do join us.”“Thank you my King.”Sorin had stood up and pulled out Abigail’s chair for her as she sat between him and me with Prince Nicu, Cali, Princess Maya and Dorin on the other side of the table. The princess smiled broadly at me as I sat down and I looked her in the eye. I knew that look well too.“Mr Grey, I heard from my son that you were bonded to Cali here but rejected her.” The King’s voice carried across the large table as servants filled our wine glasses.“Yes my Ki
Maya led me to the back of the palace, through a bookcase in the library and down a dark secret passageway. I would remember this entrance at the back of the palace, hidden under a trellis of wisteria flowers. I tucked the route at the back of my mind for when I would need it in future. I was pretty sure I would.We entered the private gardens of the Royal Family and Maya pulled me closer to her as we kept walking. The moon was full and bright, looking down on us from high above. Maya stopped and sat down on a beautifully carved bench close to a wooden bridge that had a small stream flowing underneath it.“Where did you learn to fight like that?”“My father trained me from a young age and it suited me well when I joined the Unit for further training.”Maya’s eyes were a deep blue with specs of brown, an interesting mix. Her hair was chestnut brown and although she was on the short side, she exuded confidence and elegance. “The Elite Unit?”“I was there for five years, hunting everyon
We took our seats and King Florin gave thanks to Typhon for our many blessings and servants entered the room to take our orders. Cali walked into the dining room and gave Nicu a look as she took a seat next to Maya.Abigail was seated next to Nicu and he paid absolutely no attention to Cali. I caught Cali staring at me a few times but my eyes didn’t linger on her. I felt no sympathy for her, she was shallow, cruel and perhaps even vindictive. I’d have to speak to the King about what she could be capable of when she found out that Nicu planned to propose to Abigail.We had all put our orders in and a few minutes later fresh fruit and yoghurts were brought in and Nicu surprised everyone when he served Abigail a helping of each.“Thank you Nicu.” Cali’s spoon clanged against her bowl as Nicu stared at Abigail, looking like he was in love.Protocol didn’t allow for commoners like us to call any member of the Royal Family by their names. They were to be addressed by their titles at all ti
The more I thought about it, the more sense it made that this match was orchestrated but I had no proof. The King had made it clear that he wanted this bond and even Maya had suggested it the previous night.Echo was in two minds because the evidence of what I’d done was there. I was angry at myself for being in this position but the memories were slowly trickling back. I could remember kissing Maya, taking off her clothes, but I had no clue why I would do it.A footman informed me that Maya was in the private gardens and I braced myself for the conversation we would have. She was sitting on the exact same bench where we’d talked the previous night. She looked up when she heard my footsteps and then looked down again.“Can we talk?” I sat down next to her and she looked at me again.“Of course Mr Grey.” She was sad because I’d acted like a jerk. She’d given herself to me willingly and I’d made it cheap by just leaving and asking for proof when I knew in my heart that she wasn’t lying.
Watching Hunter and Ally leave my house hurt so much that I almost couldn’t stand it. She’d been gone for two weeks and I felt that void in my house, in my heart and in my soul. Riley was sad, she missed them both.Ryder sat across from me on the couch and I couldn’t read the expression in his eyes. “What the hell are you doing?”“I spoke to a lawyer. If I push this I’ll have to prove paternity, get a court order to have my name put on his birth certificate then I’ll have more rights to him. Joel says she was being generous with the school holidays.”“You’re going to go the legal route?”“What else am I supposed to do? I have a right to have him in my life, in my house!”“You are stupider than I thought. She loves you Wynter and all you had to do was love her back!” Ryder’s voice was angry but it didn’t match the anger that I felt.“She’s marrying someone else! She doesn’t love me Dad, maybe she did a long time ago because if she did she wouldn’t have left me!”“She left because you k
For days afterwards I couldn’t look Lauren or Chandra in the eye and Ally seemed to notice that something had happened. It took her three days to corner me, three days of her sleeping in my bed and my mind working overtime.“Are you sleeping with them?”“No.”Her eyes held a hint of sadness as she looked at me. “But you want to.”“What does it even matter if I want to or not?”“Because I wake up every morning with your erection pressed against my ass.”I sighed and briefly closed my eyes. “If it bothers you so much go sleep in the guest room. We’re not a thing Ally.”“Not yet.” Determination were steeled in her eyes and I had no clue what she actually wanted.My days were swamped with requests since news had spread that I wasn’t dead. Ivan was the first to call me and I could hear the emotions in his voice as he yelled at me for being alive while I laughed. Our conversation about Mintia wasn’t a good one.Milo fell into step next to me every morning as I jogged through Chehalis and so
Twenty-four hours later we were back in Chehalis and I opened my front door to the welcoming sight of our family wiping happy tears from their faces and welcoming us home.The last day had been busy, filling in reports for Clark, giving them all the information that I had and listening to how Ryder had found me. He’d sent Shae back to Mexico with the rest of the men. He, Maxim and Milo had stayed behind saying they were going to look for me.Sorin wasn’t happy and neither was Clark but they relented because they also had other duties to oversee. Ryder had pulled charred wood and debris from the living room and found the trap door. He’d led them down the tunnel and into the vents.Ryder hadn’t told our family about what I’d done and it didn’t matter now, we were all safe and back home. Chandra and Lauren reached me first, kissing my cheeks and hugging me tighter than I’ve ever been hugged in my life.Riley was in my arms and I didn’t want to let go of her and soon Hunter was on the oth
I must have somehow missed Shae’s scent, probably smothered out by the scents of the vampires around her. His chambers were located on the ground floor in the corner opposite the basement. The ten wolves followed me up the stairs and the tingling feeling spreading from my scalp down my back had me turning around to them.“Open the gates. Now.”They dispersed and I could feel Abeloth reaching out to Echo. They were close but I had no time to think about how they’d gotten here so quickly. It was just past two am meaning they’d had to leave minutes after I’d left.I could feel their presence but I had no choice but to go forward and find Shae. My cover was blown in any way but Marcel had underestimated me, I’d already killed almost thirty of his men in the space of an hour.I encountered five more vampires and one managed to swipe across my throat as we fought and I broke his neck before ripping his throat out. My wound closed as I held my breath and the blood dried as I ran shoulder fir
I frowned at Ryder as the pilot of the private jet announced our destination. We were heading to Mexico, hours from Guatemala. He ignored my not so subtle looks and each time I tried to get him alone, he busied himself with Maxim.We drove in a large convoy into the resort town of Puerto Vallarta. I sat in the back of the SUV that Ryder drove and a huge walled estate came into view. The overpowering scent of wolf caught my attention as the gates opened and Ryder drove inside.An old man stood by the bottom of the steps, a younger man’s arm under his elbow. “Ryder Grey! You are a sight for sore eyes my old friend!”“Gideon, it’s good to see you!”“You remember my son, Phillipe.”Ryder and the old man hugged briefly and he shook hands with the younger man, who was also smiling. Wolves and vampires eyed each other and Maxim climbed out when I did. The old man regarded me with a smile on his face even though I didn’t smile back.“Ah you brought the Dragon Slayer with you.” Gideon regarded
Six hours later, Maxim and I walked through the front door of my house where Ryder paced up and down speaking on the phone. “I want the spell lifted Marlo! And let me know the moment you have a location on her.”“Dad, what happened?”Ryder turned to look at me as fury swirled in his eyes. “She’s gone Wynter, that’s what happened. Disappeared from her bed in the dead of night. Chandra’s shield was broken and we found Milo outside near the river with a broken neck.”“She’s gone?” Maxim had paled and his bag fell to the floor.“You brought their King here?”“Dad, we know who has her. Marcel took her …”“We need people, trackers, warriors, hackers. He’ll have her out of the country before nightfall.”“My men are an hour behind us. I have all of that. Marcel was banished to Guatemala, he’ll have a stronghold there. This is an open declaration of war and it won’t go unpunished. Wynter do you still have contacts inside the Unit?”“Yes. I’ll call Clark, he can gather intelligence for us.”“I’
Days went by with nothing out of the ordinary, except that Ally had gone back to sleep at Chandra’s house but Hunter had opted to stay with me. That day had cemented our relationship, when he thought he’d lose me and I thought I’d lose him.I hardly slept those first few nights but sat on the couch and watched Hunter sleep on the sofa bed. His dragon hadn’t separated from him yet but then again he was only four and mine had appeared when I was five.His dragon was the same shade as mine and Riley’s was the same as Ryder’s. I couldn’t just sit here and do nothing so I made my move and left in the dead of night while Milo ran the perimeter and the house was asleep.I left a note with instructions and even though the bonds had flamed back to life when Ryder had hugged me that first day, I knew they wouldn’t follow me. They had to take care of everyone here while I went and did what I did best.I boarded a plane twenty minutes later, having timed it perfectly beforehand. The flight was ab
Ally made herself comfortable in my house, like really comfortable. I didn’t talk to her about sleeping next to me since Echo said there really wasn’t anywhere else for her to sleep and he ignored me when I pointedly looked at the other couch.Milo went with me on the weekly grocery run and it felt like old times again. Milo and I hadn’t talked about that fight and I wasn’t going to bring it up either. We’d both suffered enough and there was no reason to relive the past.“Put that back.” I glared at Milo as he held the offending object in his hand.“You don’t have one, therefor you need one.”“I don’t need a purple apron.”“Well maybe since you knocked up my sister, she can wear it.”“You knocked up my sister too Milo.”“True.” He grinned at me and placed the apron in the trolley as I shook my head and walked away from him.We finished our shopping and loaded everything into the SUV as Milo kept glancing at me. I ignored his looks all the way to the house as I parked and started unloa
Ally remained in the living room as Riley took Nova, Shae and Abby upstairs to the guest rooms while Milo and Ryder got their luggage from the car. Ally looked around nervously before standing up and sitting down next to me.“We have to talk Wynter, alone. Can you come over to Chandra’s house a bit later?”“I’m sorry I kissed you, it shouldn’t have happened.”“Wynter … please.”She left again as quickly as she had sat down and was out of the front door. It could only be about that kiss, we really had nothing else to talk about and I knew that she’d felt that bond groping for us just as strongly as I had.“Wynter, you really don’t have to give up your room for us. We can go stay in a hotel.” Ryder still had the luggage in his hands and I looked up from the couch.“Not a chance. I’ll be fine down here.” I took a suitcase from him and headed up the stairs to my bedroom where he and Nova would sleep.I put the suitcase down and took some clothes from the walk-in cupboard and found Ryder l