Louisa's POV
I heard waves of howls from outside. Will ran towards me in a panic, with a gray wolf chasing him behind. Zackery lifted a baton from the fireplace and struck him at its nose, the wolf whimpered and ran away. Will changed into a little bat and swiftly hid in my hair. "Don't be afraid, Will. I'm here," I whispered. Zackery looked at me and said, "I have to take you out of this place, little girl. It's too dangerous to stay here. These soldiers must have been influenced by something. They are out of control. They shouldn't attack each other at Full Moon's night." "I can't move, Zackery," I looked at him and said. "I'll take you," he said. Then, he blew a whistle. Within a few minutes, his giant white horse Blanco showed up in front of the tent. "Come here, let's go!" Zackery pulled me up from the tent and held me in his arms. Will crawled inside my pocket. "Come on, the wolves are comingLouisa's POV "How could you put up with that ghastly man?" Zackery asked. I sighed and lowered my head. Will crawled out of my hair and flapped his wings to fly in the air. "Could you please go out and check him out?" I asked Will. "I don't want to," Will said, swirling above my head like a little bird. "You can pee on his face if he's unconscious," I said. Sparks of light appeared in Will's watery eyes. "OK," he said with excitement. Then, he flew out of the cabin through the window. Akela cleaned the floor and smelt her hair. "Yuck, I could smell dead fish in my hair. I need to take a bath. I have never sweated so much in my life at this time of the day. It's very not lady-like," She quickly ran out of the room. Zackery opened the window to let some fresh air get inside. Then, he sat next to me and said, "What a night." "I'm worried about Zabel," I leaned against Zackery and said, "I
Lucas' POV "What the fuck did you say?" I walked out of the river, feeling much sober, but very lost. A fucking little bat was peeing on my face and I had to dive in the lake to wash it off. My hair still smelt like bat's pee. Fuck. "I'm not sure what's happening, Luke. The soldiers were mad," Lucian said in the mindlink. "Is it fucking rabies? Plague? Curse?" I asked. "Is it contagious? Do we need to put them down? Come on, Lucian. You have to work with me." "You can't put down all of your soldiers, Luke," Lucian said. "The only thing I can do is to keep them inside the camp. Leo's helping me to set up a fire around the camp. No wolves will get out. But I can't stop them from hurting one another." "You've changed my camp into a fucking colosseum and I can't even watch the show." I wiped my body with a towel and asked. "You're welcome to join us any time you like," Lucian said. "I can't go back. That fucking gigo
Louisa's POV Will walked into the room, gloating and giggling. He threw himself between me and Zackery, looking up at us. "You look happy, little bat," Zackery looked curiously at him. "I peed on Lucas' face and he didn't catch me!" Will said with excitement. "I've got a lot of questions for you, little man," Zackery said. "I don't want to tell you anything." Will turned his head away from him and said. "My father told me that you're a bad person." "Me? Vincent told you something about me?" Zackery asked. "Yes. He said you're the worst wolf he has come across in the past century. You and Lycidas. Both of you will be doomed." Will said without looking at him. "Hey, that's not fair. We are always trying to be nice to vampires. Wolf Kings used to systematically kill vampires on the mainland. We couldn't be worse than them," Zackery tried to justify himself. "Will, I smell marshmallows somewhere in this place. Could
Louisa's POV "This morning, when Josephine was shouting at you. I heard her voice and I came to your tent. I saw a maid crawling into your tent and I thought you were playing the game again. That's why I did the same by crawling inside your tent from the back. I wanted to play with you as well." "Playing the game again?" I asked. "What do you mean?" "I mean, the game you were playing with Josephine's maids. I saw her sneaking into your tent when I arrived and she said she was playing a game with you. And this morning, she was playing the game again," Akela said. "What exactly did you see this morning, Akela?" I asked. Akela said, "I saw her putting some honey in your tea. Isn't that sweet? Because when you drink the tea, you'll find it's sweetened! She pulled me out of the tent and told me that I shouldn't tell you about it, because she wanted to surprise you!" "And... What did you see last time? What was she doing in my tent?" I asked.
Louisa's POV My mind was spinning fast, and suddenly, like a strike of lightning, a sound appeared in my mind. "It's in the water." The prophecy of the dream. The hissing sound of that snake. "I guess I know what happened..." I mumbled. Lucas looked at me and said, "Shut up, woman. His Excellency and I are talking business here. Put that fucking vampire boy into the guest room and go upstairs." "Don't talk to my sister like that, Lucas," Zackery frowned and said. "Technically speaking, she's my woman, Your Excellency. I paid fifty grand for her." "I'll give you a hundred grand and I'll buy you," Zackery said. "I'm afraid I'm not for sale, Your Excellency." Lucas held me tightly in his arms. "Are you defying my order again?" Zackery raised an eyebrow. "Fuck, no. I wouldn't dare to do that. I'm just declining your offer, Your Excellency," Lucas said. "Why are you holding my sister like that? You're m
Louisa's POV "I'm paying for a dress to make you happy," Lucas said. "Is that a crime?" "It's a wedding dress, Lucas," I said. "I like you best when you're not wearing anything," Lucas said. "Long skirt, short skirt, they all look the same to me." "Lucas, you don't have to buy me a wedding dress if you don't want to get married to me. I don't need your sympathy. I'll find someone who loves me and wants to get married to me. If he's poor, I'll buy a few yards of cheap cloth and sew my own wedding dress. Then, I'll cook and give him a family," I said. "You're not going to get married to anyone, woman. That's not going to happen. You're mine. You'll die with me in a fucking pit." He sounded very irritated even in a cold voice. "Fuck, woman. I've already put a fucking ring on you and I'm paying for your wedding dress. What else do you want me to say?" "Tell me that you love me. Tell me that you want nobody else but me to be your wife,"
Louisa's POV "Well, the good one," I replied. "We found that warlock and he's still alive, miss." "And Colt took him away to the vampire's castle." "That's great!" I said and frowned. "What about the bad news?" "The warlock's in terrible condition." "He wasn't in good form, miss." "And Colt was badly hurt because he wanted to protect us." "It's all my fault, miss," Mata wiped his tears and said. "What happened?!" I asked anxiously. Mata withdrew and hid behind Mana's back. He looked terrified. I held him back in my arms and stroked his back. "Please don't be scared. I was just a bit concerned. I wouldn't hurt you, Mata," I said. "It's all my fault... I saw some shiny gems in a jewelry shop and I couldn't control myself..." "So he sneaked into that shop and stole the jewelry!" Mana said accusatively. Mata covered his head and said, "I know! It's all my fault! I shouldn't have do
Louisa's POV "Ahh!" Lucas screamed in pain and tried to push me away, but he couldn't. I didn't know where this incredible strength came from. I watched his arms burning in front of me and I wouldn't let go. The burning smell of hair and flesh immediately pervaded the whole tent. "Stop! Stop!" Lucas shouted in despair. His body was violently trembling under me, but he couldn't get away. The more violently he struggled, the harder I pressed him on the ground. For the first time in my life, I saw panic and fear in his dark blue eyes. Then, desperately, he shifted. Dark black hair appeared all over his arms and legs. Within a few seconds, Finn showed up in front of me. I immediately jumped up and stepped back. "Big paw!" I exclaimed with surprise. I wanted to hug him, but I couldn't. The fire in my hands was still there. I didn't want to hurt him. Finn shook his head and the fur o
Lucas' POV "Fucking Kings and Queens! A bunch of mother fuckers and losers!" I shouted. Derek looked intimidated and turned his head towards Lucian. "Don't you fucking look at him! Nobody can fucking save you today!" I kicked him. "I should have killed you long ago! You're a fucking cancer!" He rolled on the ground for a couple of laps and coughed out some sticky muddy fluid from his mouth. "Master... I'm already dead... For a dead man, there's nothing on earth that matters... But my brother... He served you... I forced him to do a lot of bad things, but he was innocent... Please spare his life..." Derek said. "You have no right to negotiate anything with me! I'm going to let you witness I torture your brother to death!" I said angrily and grabbed his neck. "Now, break this fucking ice shield and give my fucking woman back to me. Give her back!" Then, I heard a faint voice. "Leave... my brother... alone..." It's Darren
Louisa's POV "What?!" I couldn't believe what I had heard. Pregnant? I'm pregnant with Lucas' child?! But, I have to tell Darren that I... Then, I heard a wave of hysterical laughter coming from Derek. "The prophet's true! The advent child! The Dark King rises! He who has Lycan, witch, and vampire's blood will marry his mother and be the tyrannic ruler in the Kingdom!" Every single word was like a knife, stabbing my heart. Was it a vicious curse? Or just some disturbing nonsense coming from a madman? Then, before I realized it, my ankle was grabbed fast by Derek. I tried to move back, but I couldn't. Frost started to spread all the way up from my feet at a fast rate. I didn't know what happened before my whole legs were sealed in frigid ice. "No! Stop it!" I saw Vincent and Will trying to pull Derek away from me. But they ended up pulling the remaining of his legs off his body. More sparkling ice w
Louisa's POV Vincent looked at me and didn't say anything. The look on his face was almost lamenting. "Vincent, where is Darren?" I frowned and asked. "He's inside," Vincent said. "But he's in a very bad condition. Miss Louisa, I have to brief you before letting you see him. You have to be prepared. The werewolves at the slave market tortured and humiliated him. His skin was badly burnt. His face was deformed. His head had concussions. He is completely shut down right now. He refuses to communicate with anyone and it seems that he has developed a certain mechanism to protect himself." Vincent took a pause and said, "It seems that he has lost his memory, Louisa. I doubt he will recognize you." "No... No!!!" I felt like I was struck by a bat or something. My vision was black and I fell to the ground. Vincent caught me and held me in his arms. The world was spinning in front of me. Something bitter was stuck in my throat. I curled up a
Lucas' POV "Lucian, I really should have told you about this... I really should have told you about it long ago. But I get this kind of feeling... you know, if I don't talk about it, then it means this whole thing has never happened... And Derek has never betrayed me." I said in a low voice. Lucian was silent. "Anyway," I said. "it wasn't very long until the Red Queen found out that Derek was just lying to get back to the Underground City. So the Red Queen was furious and wanted to kill him. You remember the time that I was summoned to King's Land. I was actually forced to go there to cast an imprint on Derek. I did it and I tortured him. But it was just for the Red Queen to know that I was her loyal subject. Then, I faked his death by sending a corpse back to his uncle. I was planning to hide him somewhere, but those fucking traveling druids took him away. I was enraged, so I took his brother Darren away from the brothel to replace him. I thought one da
Lucas' POV "How many secrets have you been hiding from me these years?" Lucian stared at me and asked. "I'm sorry, brother. But my woman is missing. And she might be pregnant with my child. Can we just focus on looking for her?!" I said. Lucian didn't say anything, he took the tuna head and got on horseback. Then, he rode off without saying anything. Oh, fuck. Now Lucian's not talking to me. Like I haven't got enough on my plate. "I have a good suggestion for you." I heard Finn's voice in my head. "What now?! Don't tell me shit like rubbing the back of his neck. It fucking didn't work," I said. Torrent snorted his nose, urging me to catch up with Lucian. "Fuck, Torrent. Sometimes I get the feeling that you're fucking riding me! You can get as fast as you can, I don't give a shit as long as my ass is still on the saddle. I'm busy having a conversation with my fucking wolf," I patted Torrent's neck and said.
Lucas' POV "What's on her fucking mind?" I said. I was really fed up with women in my life. They were so fucking unpredictable. Lucian said, "She's gone this morning after Louisa told her off in front of everyone. And we've lost contact with Kylo. He took away our best people and our soldiers in the camp were either killed or wounded. Louisa tried to treat some of the soldiers this morning, but it will still take a few days before they're fully recovered." "Kylo's fucking with me! He sent his fucking sister to mess up with my soldiers. His father was with me and he still dares to fuck with me! Why does he do this to me?! Why did he betray me?!" I kicked the grass on the ground and said. "I don't know. If you left that traveling druid alive, we could have asked him," Lucian said. "Stop blaming me! That fucking asshole was blabbing about my fucking identity in front of Louisa!" I said. "Why don't you just tell her who you really are?
Louisa's POV Derek put his hand into his pocket. Colt thought he was about to take out a weapon or something, so he stepped forward, trying to stop him. "This..." Derek took out an amber-colored stone from his pocket and said. "This is Amber of Star. I want to give this... to your friend. I got it from... Underground City. With this stone, people can communicate with the soul... of their beloved deceased ones... I'm sorry that..." "I don't want anything from you." Mata cried out. "You took away my brother's life and there's nothing you can do to make up for it! He's dead! You killed him! You took him away from me! I have been staying with my brother ever since I first opened my eyes, and now his eyes will never open again. He can never hold my hands when I'm scared! It's a big scary world out there and I'm always scared!" "But you can talk to your brother... As if he's still alive..." Derek tried to explain. "You just don't understand, do
Louisa's POV The fire spreading all over my body dimmed. I stared at Derek and walked closer to him. He looked panicked and desperate at the same time. "What's the matter with you?! Where's the fire?! I have just killed your friend! Why don't you kill me with that fire of yours?!" He barked at me like a mad dog. I didn't say anything but kept stepping closer to him. "Come on! Hit me with a fireball or something! Hit here!" Derek pointed at the empty void in his left chest and said. "Don't you want revenge on behalf of your friend?" I stood right in front of him. Still, I didn't say anything. In despair, he grabbed my arm and said, "Come on! Hit me!" "Where is Darren," I said. "Take me to see him." "You'll never see my brother again..." He said with a sadistic grin. Before he could finish his sentence, I strangled his neck. He didn't protest or struggle. Instead, he kept smirking at me. I did
Louisa's POV The smirk on Derek's face was gone and replaced by ferocious malice. "Let me correct you, Miss Louisa Reeds. Nobody is supposed to be dead. We were born into this world to live our lives and hug our beloved ones, not to destroy and manipulate other people's lives." He looked exasperated for a brief moment, but then he regained his cool. "I used to serve Lucas when I was young and vulnerable. He's such a hypocrite and he used my innocence and love for him to take control of me. He came into my life without notice. When he was gone, he took everything away from me, including my life... and he told me it was for my own good! He locked me up in a cave and let those monsters torture me to death! And is this for my own good?!" Derek pulled off his shirt and let me see his naked chest. I could see there was a hole in his left chest. The place where his heart used to be. I was horrified and stepped backward. At that time, I rea