JohnathanI lower my pack to the ground and take off my shoes before I step on the rickety wooden path that leads to the witch’s hovel.I’m right on the hunters’ trail, yet they remain blissfully unaware of my presence. But I’m about out of steam. I have minutes.Someone’s working a powerful spell. I can feel it. Like a brewing storm. My belly is rock hard and a low, irritating drone buzzes in my head like a faraway lawnmower.We walk past the small, rotting houses dotting the bog, and into a clearing where the coven are gathered around a little brown-haired witch while they’re chanting. The girl’s eyes are wide open, but rolled all the way back into her skull as if she’s trying to look at her own brain.She slowly sways back and forth while a steady stream of information flows from her mouth. Another witch is seated next to her, writing it all down.The girl in the middle of the circle can’t be older than sixteen, seventeen at a push. She’s brand new - so new that Mara doesn’t know sh
JohnathanIt’s as if I just dropped a bomb. Pandemonium breaks loose. Wolves and witches scatter, screaming and stumbling, falling over their own feet as they try to get away from the blast.The only one who isn’t shocked or seeking shelter is the brunette. She stands there, swaying in the breeze with a serene smile on her face, short white dress flapping around her legs.I slide out of the tree going to one knee, my hand resting flat on the ground as I land. I slowly raise my head and allow Dante to surface - just enough to put the fear of God in them. I growl softly - my eyes burn and my mouth aches as I actively fight to keep Dante under control. “Stop!” I order and push my aura out at the wolves.All of them come to a complete standstill. Their confusion and fear is palpable. I just commanded wolves that aren’t mine. I commanded Alphas. “Stay where you are,” I say and get to my feet. “Turn around and face me.”As one, the wolves turn. They are too scared, too confused, to do anythi
MaraI wake under the tree to the smell of a fire, brewing coffee, and the sound of bacon sizzling on a pan.Groaning softly, I sit upright and stretch, looking at the wolf who is kneeling next to the fire, turning the bacon over. “Good morning, Luna,” Chad says in a cheerful voice. "Did you sleep well?"He’s always happy. No one is that happy all the time. It makes me deeply uncomfortable. Rhoda is the same, although I can see sadness in her, hidden under the surface of cheer. Chad has no such sorrow He’s just permanently happy.It’s bizarre.Still half asleep, I slowly blink at the butler. “You came out here to cook me breakfast?”“Of course I did. It’s my job to serve the Alpha, and by extension his Luna.”“Right,” I mutter. “Well, thanks, I guess.”“I have juice here,” he says and gets up to rummage in a cooler box. “It’s nice and cold.”Today, for the first time since I got here, I think I’d prefer the coffee. I was up most of the night, hoping to hear from Johnathan again, but he
Mara“You can go,” Kahn says to Preston and Chad. “Thank you for your help.”The two wolves nod and take off, disappearing over the horizon in record time.“You command wolves?” I ask.“I can,” Kahn replies. “I choose not to.”I want to argue with the vampire, but I remember what Chad told me about him. “Are you lonely, Kahn?”“Chad shouldn’t have told you anything about me,” he snarls and bares his fangs. “He had no right.”“Okay, grumpy.” I hold my hands up. “Settle down. I just want to help.”“Yeah, I am grumpy. You wanna know why, Mara? Because I’ve been stuck between two worlds for over six-hundred-fucking-years. I’m tired. I want to go home.”“I mean-” I sit down and pick my plate back up -“you don’t have to stay here.”“It’s really not that simple. I have a duty. I was chosen to be here. We all have a path we must walk. You are no exception.”“Who chose you? The gods?”“No.” Kahn sighs and blinks at the sun. “God, I hate the daytime.”“Then go to ground.”“Our time is very limit
MaraShame burns through me like a hot flame. “Well, I’m sorry I didn't turn out to be the woman you wanted me to be.” I plant my hands in my hips. “Why don’t you go to war with my sister if I’m so useless then?”“That’s not-”“Leave me alone, Kahn,” I say and turn my back on the vampire.He blocks my way again, his light blue eyes flashing red in the bright sun. “I told you-”“Listen, vampire, I know you are eager to see the world burn, but unlike you bloodsuckers, most of us don’t have centuries of living behind us. Forgive me if I’m not eager to jump on your war machine.”I’ve never seen a vampire go red in the face with rage. “Do you know what I gave up for you?”“Do you know that I don’t care?” I ask and push my way past him.It’s like a game of hopscotch, every time I get past him, he flies over my head and blocks my path. I try to dodge him, but he grabs me around the waist, pulling me tightly against him. “Don’t walk away from me.”He won’t kill me. If he wanted me dead, I woul
JohnathanI lie under familiar skies for the first time in days. We're almost home. I'd keep going, but Rose is exhausted and needs to rest.I was in Red Ridge for only a few hours. The human army was already there, taking control of the town. The wolves who didn't leave when I did are already dead or would die soon.Going back home is taking far longer than I thought it would, and of course all hell broke loose while I was away. But with a young she-wolf basically glued to my side, and no vampire helper in sight this time, things are progressing slowly. I considered taking a car from Red Ridge or Douglas’s home, but cars are too easy for humans to track, and no matter where I go, I draw attention.I miss Mara in ways I didn’t know were possible. My arms feel empty, and there’s a black pit in my chest I know only she can fill. I try to mind link with her, but she doesn't answer. The last time we spoke, she said something about training with Kahn, but wouldn't elaborate.I'm really sta
JohnathanI sigh as I close my bedroom door behind me and drop my pack on the floor. The last leg of our journey was by far the worst. I kept as low a profile as I could with Rose by my side, which meant we had to take a lot of detours so we could dodge the rogues that are always circling Haven’s Crest, searching for a way in, The girl kept running off to find a male she could breed with.Several Alphas are closing in on Haven's Crest. Wolves that had been displaced by humans. These are the good Alphas I’ve been waiting for. I still outrank them by orders of magnitude, so I’m not too worried about their presence. If they can make it into Haven's Crest, they will join my pack, although I’m not quite sure in what capacity yet. Maybe as advisors or some kind of council. Eventually, order will be restored. They’ll be able to go back to their own lives and rebuild their packs.I hope.I handed Rose over to Ally, instructing the Beta’s mate to feed her, bathe her, and to keep her away from
MaraI stare blankly at Johnathan, not sure how to answer him. I knew he’d ask me sooner or later to spend the night with him, but I thought it would be later. What’s more surprising is that I’m not afraid by the prospect of sharing his bed - I’m enraptured by it.“Why do you want me to stay?” I ask nonetheless.He shrugs and steps into his linen trousers. “I missed you.”“You did?”“Of course. You are my mate.”“You barely even know me.”“Didn’t make me miss you any less.”I smile. I’ve been smiling a lot lately. If I'm not careful, I'd go so far as to say that I'm happy. “Okay,” I agree at last, “but I train with Kahn at night.”“Not tonight you don’t.”“He’s not going to like that.”“He can go fuck himself,” Johnathan says with a soft little snarl that sends a weird little rocket of exhilaration down my spine. "I am in charge here, not Kahn."My mate doesn’t bother to put his shirt on. Instead, he sits next to me, but keeps a healthy distance between us. “Why do you trust Kahn?” he
And that is all she wrote folks.My dearest readers, I'd like to thank you for coming on this ride with me. Thank you for sticking around, for your thoughtful comments, and support. I may not always reply to every comment, but I do my best to read them all and I appreciate every one of you.Johnathan and Mara are two of the most complex characters I've ever written, and I hope I did their story justice. I always say that I'm not a writer - I'm just the dumb ass writing up the incident report. The person chosen to tell their story. And that was very much the case here. I'm not in charge of a story, the people in my head are.My next book will be available soon, and I promise it will not be another saga like this one. I love you guys. Thank you for making my twisted heart sing.Until we meet again,Celice.
MaraI stand on the platform next to Johnathan. For once, I'm wearing a proper dress, fit for the occasion. Before us, is a sea of reporters, cameras flash, microphones are pointed at us like guns, quiet voices ripple through the air.Behind us is the ruin that was once our town. Johnathan insisted that we have the press conference here, and he made sure to invite reporters and podcasters of his own choosing. He really doesn’t trust the humans and their peace deal. The last two weeks had been brutal. We kept finding fresh bodies all over the place. All of them had been recently killed. Children torn apart, mothers with their babies still in their arms. Each dead child hurt me as deeply as if they were my own, and I finally understood the prophecy. It was never my own children who died. I begged the Goddess to spare my child because we had lost so many before the humans came back to take the town.Johnathan sent warriors into the forest to look for the culprits. They found a dozen su
MaraJohnathan is filthy and smells of death, but I don’t care. I roll into his arms and cuddle tightly against him. It’s all I can do. I can barely move as it is. I feel as if a bulldozer ran over me, and left me on the streets to bleed to death.I can't process it. All that blood, the pain, the suffering, the death. I even feel sorry for the human soldiers who had to endure that brutal battle. I lie against my mate, his arm protectively around me, and I cry. My heart has been torn to pieces. They took almost everything from us - and those who are truly responsible, the ones who sent their soldiers here to die - will never be punished for it. They will never feel the loss. They get to go on with their lives as if nothing happened.“King?” someone asks, her voice coming from far, far away. I hear her, but I can’t place her. My mind is a buzzing mess, unable to hold on to any thoughts.“What is it, Ingrid?” Johnathan asks, his voice muffled.“I, uhm, we found your mother.”“And?”“I-
JohnathanBefore the dust even settles, someone sticks a camera in my face. Not one of mine - a human. “Mister Banks, can you tell us what sparked this conflict?”Absolute fucking vultures. I’m still on my knees, naked as the day I was born, staring at my trembling, bloody hands, and they want a fucking statement from me?I look up and straight into the camera. “We didn’t start this,” I snarl. “You did. Look at it. Look at the mess you’ve made. We never bothered anyone, all we ever wanted was a chance to live our lives in peace.“They killed the fae king today. Are you aware? Did you see him die?” My voice is cold, bitter.The reporters are quiet, giving me room to speak, to contradict myself, so they can spin this in their favour. I know how they operate by now.“Do you know what the fae did for you? They never killed you, they never bothered you or harmed you. All they ever did was comfort those who were hurt, healed the sick, eased the suffering of the dying. And you killed them. F
Johnathan“I’m sorry,” I say to Kahn after our hurried meeting.Mara and Talitha already left with Oberon to bring the town’s children to the fae forest. The Omegas and humans who can’t, or won’t, fight are heading off into the woods to hide in the caves.“I’ve waited hundreds of years,” the vampire comments dryly. “Another month won’t kill me.”“You might die tonight.”He just shrugs. “Unlikely, but if I do… I hope Frans dies with me so we can be together in the afterlife.”That is such a cold way of looking at it, but I guess it’s pragmatic under the circumstances. I don’t mind dying tonight, but I don’t want Mara to die. The only reason I’m still fighting is for her and Gregory. It’s as good a reason as any other. A man who doesn’t have a reason to fight is a useless soldier. He’ll give up as soon as things get too difficult.“Why are you even fighting?” I ask Kahn. “If you’d rather be dead?”“I don’t want to die,” he answers calmly. “I just wouldn’t mind if I do. I’m really fuckin
JohnathanWhile the rest of the town is becoming complacent, going on with their lives as if nothing is wrong, I’ve been working, never relaxing, never letting my guard down.It's not over, not even by a long shot. I keep my soldiers fit, healthy and battle ready. We have accumulated a staggering amount of weapons and heavy artillery, all of it hidden from view. Oberon assures me that the humans’ satellites can’t penetrate our magical veil, but I’m sceptical. No magic is infallible, just as the humans aren’t infallible, and those fuckers are industrious. I wouldn’t be surprised if they develop some kind of technology that can ‘see’ through our protections.It only took us two years, but we finally found a crack in the human allies’ armour. The brilliant people I appointed over that time managed to find backdoors into the humans’ computer system and started intercepting their encrypted communications.I have no idea how they’re doing it, and I decided not to ask. There are some things
MaraJohnathan makes a plate of food for my father and hands it to him. To my surprise, my dad sits as far away from us as possible. "I know how much I stink," he announces. "I don't want to spoil anyone's appetite."With my father seettled for now, I can finally ask Kahn the question I've been burning utter since the trio showed up here, “How did you kill Thrax?”“They were hiding in a cave. He was in the death sleep. So old, and he still couldn't resist it. I just dragged him out into the sun, and poof. Dead in seconds. It was kind of disappointing really. I wanted fireworks. Anyway... we stuck around just to make sure he didn’t come back after sunrise.”“Good,” my mate says. “So it’s all sorted?”“Yeah, looks like it,” Kahn says.I look at Eli who is still chowing down. It's as if he can't stuff the food into his mouth quickly enough. "What happened at Red Ridge?"The vampire looks at Eli who doesn't utter a word, he just grunts and moans as he keeps chewing. It's my father who answ
Mara“What if we’re wrong? I ask. “What if he’s been playing us all this time?”It’s the first time since the incident with his mother that I feel I can talk to Johnathan about my concerns. He had so much to deal with, his heart was so heavy, that I did not really want to pile on. But if Eli has my father then I can’t postpone it anymore.“You saw him in your vision. Rick was torturing him. They don't usually torture people who cooperate.”“Yes, but there’s… a ripple effect, isn’t there? When we change the future, we don’t just change the outcome, we change other things too. It’s almost as if- the whole world bends around the new future we’ve created.”“The butterfly effect,” my mate says with a little smile. “One small action can affect the larger system.”A puff of air explodes from my lips. I’m relieved that he understands. “Exactly.”“Okay.” He smiles at me. “If he is on his way here, then it means we’ve altered the course of our destiny, correct?”I nod.“Then we’ll just have to
JohnathanThe inside of my skull explodes with hot rage so intense that I see the world through a thick haze of red. I am aware that I am on my feet, snarling and growling at the vampire. Dante surges, ready to rip Kahn’s throat out. I’m only vaguely aware of the others’ presence. “You had no right,” I grit past my teeth. “You took my vengeance from me. It was over!”“Can you excuse us?” Kahn asks the others.“No, they can not. Who the hell do you think you are?” I curl my hands into fist, aware that I won’t be able to hang on to Dante much longer.Kahn would probably survive if I tear him to shreds, but I wonder if he’ll survive being eaten.I blink, and the vampire is on top of me, his hands curled around my neck. I fall backward, missing the edge of the chair by an inch.“You have no clarity anymore,” Kahn says, and lets me go.Enraged I get to my feet, ready to pull him apart like a fly. I look around at the empty dining room, and my anger simply fizzles. “When did everyone leave