Things soon fell into a nice routine at home with Amber as she grew used to not killing her brother. Joshua was doing really well at school to finish his high school degree and he was talking about possibly going into accounting with the odd comment that he would like to become a lawyer.It didn’t really matter to Nicolas what Joshua chose, since he had lawyers and accountants and every kind of consultant you could think of. He needed vampires, which brought up the subject with Joshua. Nicolas had resigned himself to speaking to Joshua about it once and then to leave the boy be. If he really didn’t want to turn, Nicolas wasn’t going to force him, but they would have to do it when Joshua finished his high school degree.Joshua would have to be on holiday so that he could go through the same training process that Amber was going through. They couldn’t allow the young man to run around college chomping on young girls for food. If Joshua chose not to be turned into a vampire, it would cre
Unfortunately, all did not go well. The kids were willing and they went through the entire process and then all hell broke loose as Vlad and his soldiers stormed the damn building. The new nest hadn’t broken any rules that Nicolas knew of, but with the council anything was possible. They went through everything with a fine-tooth comb, so to speak, from the paperwork, Nicolas had to file with the council right up to the types of chains they were using. He was getting impatient since Vlad was the one creating a stir!A group of humans was gathered outside the building where Vlad’s security team had set up their little control center. From the outside, it probably looked like some kind of police raid, but it still drew the kind of attention Nicolas knew for a fact the council didn’t want. So, why then was Vlad allowed to do this? In the end, they didn’t find anything which he could have told Vlad right from the start and he was forced to leave with nothing.But it left a bad taste in the
It was an incredible night and Anna figured everybody had fun since people were laughing all around them. Collin was the only one who wasn’t laughing as much as he clung to her the entire night. She liked it. Normally she hated it when people were too clingy, but she liked having him so close to her the entire time. Her plan to seduce her mate was working out perfectly. Not that she needed to do anything to seduce him, but she wanted to just add a little spice to their lives.Making love all night long was exactly what she had in mind and she sighed deeply, feeling content as they lay together in the moonlight.“What was that for?” Collin sounded worried and she traced his toned muscles with her finger.“I’m just happy and enjoying the moment.” Lifting her head, she looked at him and smiled before crushing her lips down on his again. Anna had enjoyed their night out at the launch of Nicolas’s new club b
It couldn’t be just anybody. It had to be somebody that Vlad didn’t know about. Someone that Nicolas could control. Unfortunately, since Vlad had been to the club a couple of times already, he knew all their newborns, and turning someone new would take the time they didn’t have. Nicolas was growing more and more irritated by the day. No matter how much Beverly reminded him that nobody in their new nest was out to get him, he was growing more and more suspicious.When he finally snapped, Beverly had no other choice but to contact Sebastian and Collin. They were the only other people she knew that were strong enough to take Nicolas down. They were too late to save one of the girls from being killed, but at least they could take Nicolas down. Beverly showed them to the basement where the newly installed cells were and as they shoved Nicolas into one, she realized he would actually be the first to stay there.Sebastian and Collin strapped Nicolas down on the bed and Collin commented on ho
ANNA WAS STUNNED to hear the news when Collin returned. She never imagined that Nicolas could turn dark. He was always such a gentleman, but then again, after what they had all been through, it was a huge possibility.She never said anything, but for a split second, while she was Victor’s prisoner, she thought of going dark. Not joining Victor, but finding that darkness inside her that would get her out of there. She also felt it the day she chopped Victor’s head off. She had always believed that everyone had a bit of darkness in them and that at any time, they could decide to feed that darkness.So, too, did she believe that every evil person had light in them somewhere. She wanted to offer her help but she was no longer linked to any of them and she wasn’t sure if it would work.“So, what is your father’s plan? What are they going to do to help Nicolas?” She frowned.“Well,” Collin sighed
There was no way of finding out if Joshua survived until he made contact and he couldn’t take the chance of doing so until he was sure he was safe. The waiting for word from Joshua was the worst part of their plan. As days turned into nights and nights turned into days, it became almost unbearable, but they had to push through. They had to wait for Joshua to call. When the call finally came, Beverly felt an adrenaline rush through her body.“I am safe.” That was all he said before he hung up.Vlad had taken a keen interest in Joshua as they expected he would. At first, he was suspicious, but soon he found an ally in the young boy who so clearly blamed Nicolas for what happened to both him and his sister. Things, it seemed, were going a little haywire in Nicolas’s house and, by the sound of things, Vlad would soon be able to take over everything without much resistance.The first thing he would do, of course, was to get rid of Nicolas’s hybrid mate. Vlad didn’t want that vile woman in
“We will surely keep that in mind, thank you, Vlad.” Vlad wondered what she meant since her facial expression told him they weren’t interested at all. He had to find out what exactly was going on in the towers and the only person who would be able to tell him that was Joshua.Vlad still wasn’t entirely sure if he could trust the boy, but so far, he had checked out. Unfortunately, Vlad also knew that if Joshua was a spy, he wouldn’t play his hand too quickly. Vlad had to be careful. This could very well be another of Nicolas’s plans to gain access to the council. Vlad would be damned if that hybrid-loving bastard got a seat on the council! His mind drifted back to the time when things were very different. Both men were in the running for both council and control of the nest.In the end, Vlad’s mentor suggested that he go for the council seat since it would grant him far more power than just being the leader of a vampire nest. In those days, being part of the council did carry more weig
COLLIN BURST INTO ANNA’S office, looking furious. There hadn’t been rogue attacks in a long time, and suddenly, out of nowhere … As rogues normally do … They attacked. They ran away like the cowards they are when the warriors started to fight back, but some of the warriors were badly injured.Anna and Collin rushed to the border where they could assess what happened and what the chances were that the rogues would attack again. Unfortunately, they both knew that rogues never gave up. Once they found a pack, even if they were outnumbered, they kept coming back until they were all dead. The only good thing about this attack was that it seemed as though they weren’t feral. Feral rogues would never have run away. They would have kept coming until they were eventually killed.They assessed the surrounding forest and it seemed as though the rogues had just happened to find their border, but Anna felt that feeling of unease creeps in again. As if they didn’t already have enough to worry about
ANNA LOOKED AT HERSELF IN THE MIRROR while her team moved around her to get her ready for the day. Collin cleared his throat and they all moved out of the room discreetly. He stood behind Anna and breathed in deeply.“It’s time, babe.” He sounded so proud that it gave her the last push she needed to get through this day. She stood up and he pulled her into his arms. “I know you say that I don’t need to say this, but I want to say it.” Anna was about to open her mouth and then closed it. “You are a warrior. You are strong and beautiful, and an inspiration to us all. You are breathtaking and amazing. You are the queen and the Alpha of all Alphas, and I’m so damn proud of you that I could just spontaneously combust!” He grinned and she breathed in his scent before kissing him.“Thank you.” She took another deep breath before they left the room. They arrived in front of the huge wooden doors that led to the throne room. Her family gave her a last hug and then left her alone for a moment.
THE MEETING WITH THE purists was thick with tension right from the start. Anna has announced that her little friend had been executed for treason against the crown to show her power. It put the purists right onto their back feet and she could probably have handled things differently, but she wasn’t going to back down. Either they fell in line or she would take care of them as well.She wanted peace for her people. All of her people. If the purists didn’t see themselves as part of that group, they were her enemies. It saddened her to see that most of them were vampires, but it did make sense. They had always been a bit much in her mind. Nicolas sat on the opposite side of the table for once as the vampire representative, but Anna and Nicolas had their discussion before the meeting and she knew where he stood.He had to speak up for his people, but he didn’t necessarily have to agree with their views. Nicolas was merely there to make sure the vampires' rights were protected according to
THINGS AT THE CASTLE were running so smoothly that Anna felt uneasy. Things were running too smoothly. She knew she was being paranoid, but things in the supernatural world were never that easy. There was always someone in the background plotting and when things were running this smoothly, it was because someone had forced it.When things were running this smoothly, it was because someone was trying to hide what they were doing by making you think everything was going so well. Anna asked her assistant to keep her ear to the ground for any gossip, but they both knew that nobody was going to talk openly in front of the girl. Unless … Unless they thought that the girl could be convinced to spy on the queen …“Are you insane?” Collin threw his hands in the air and Anna shushed him. She had just explained her plan to him and he was pacing back and forth in their bedroom. She had been thinking about it all day. “Okay, so are you feeling this way because of your powers or just because you th
AS NEWS OF THE NEW royal councillors spread, Anna was flooded with nominations. She wasn’t just grateful that most of her kingdom seemed to be happy about the new developments, but she was relieved that people seemed to accept her as the new ruler. She was expecting much more resistance.In the back of her mind, however, she kept wondering if she was missing something. Were people just being nice while they were planning something in the background or were they honestly relieved that someone had sorted out the damned council for once? Thankfully, she didn’t have too much time to ponder it all. Life as a queen wasn’t exactly what she thought it could be.Her images of parties and leisurely hanging around a pool were definitely not going to happen. There were going to be parties all right, but they would mostly be stuffy, uptight, official events. As Anna and her assistant walked into Anna’s new office, her assistant started to go through the diary for the week. They had already covered
“CORONATION DAY!” The voice rang through their room and Anna rolled her eyes. Her assistant was far too chipper in the mornings when she woke her up. Anna plastered her smile on her face before sitting up so she could receive her breakfast and, as usual, her hands went straight for the coffee first.Today was coronation day for Collin and their son and it was going to be an amazing day. As her assistant drew the curtains, Anna felt her smile becoming real. It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining and she breathed in the scent of the flowers when her assistant opened the window. Seconds later, Collin’s personal valet walked in with his breakfast and Collin pretended to groan beside Anna.Deep down he was excited. Anna could feel it, but he was pretending to give his valet a hard time. He mentioned something the night before when they went to bed that he just loved seeing the man try and hide his eye roll. Anna was happy that Collin had found someone that basically replaced h
NOW THAT THEY WERE GOING TO OFFICIALLY BECOME the royal family, Anna had a lot to take care of. She had to arrange for their coronation ceremonies, which, although they were going to be a lot smaller, still had things to be taken care of.Anna wasn’t very happy that her family decided it would be best for all of them to move to the castle, but she had no other choice but to agree. It would cut down a lot on her travelling time for meetings. She just didn’t like living in that place. Thankfully, she had Collin to take care of the necessary things to make their wing of the castle a home for them. He made sure it was private enough and that nobody would intrude on their family time. The council wasn’t very happy about the changes to the old castle building, but they were at least satisfied that the royal family was now living where they believed the royal family belonged.A couple of days before the final move, they had the alpha ceremony at the pack house and Elana and the pack started
ANNA ASKED HER FAMILY to meet her in the boardroom. She had just gotten off the phone with the head of the council, who for once seemed elated about her decision. She tried her best to keep a straight face as she walked in with her two assistants behind her and she quickly took a seat, clearing her throat.“I’ve called you for this meeting because things aren’t working out.” Smiling on the inside, she took a deep breath and didn’t look at any of them for a moment. “The council and I have decided that I need more help to run the kingdom.” He hesitated and she could feel Collin growing angry. “We want to make you, Collin, king consort so that you can take over some of the responsibilities.” An array of emotions flashed over his face and a huge grin broke out all over Anna’s.“Our son will become the crown prince and my heir to the throne, and Sebastian and Leah, I want to know if you would be interested in being our first official lady and lord. There will, of course, be some responsibi
ANNA WAS FEELING so much better now that she and Collin were more intimate. The council also came back with a couple of changes to her protocol, but she refused to make them and she felt good about it. They were still trying to push all the responsibility on her, and she wasn’t going to allow that.They finally came back with a date on which they wanted to vote. The council decided since they were going to be a government of the supernatural world, they wanted to do things right and vote for who should be in charge of what. Anna was very happy to hear this and she spent the time at the castle that was needed to arrange the entire thing.She wanted it to be fair, which meant someone had to be in charge that wasn’t involved in the process. Some of the positions were filled before the vote since only one person was nominated for that position. Only two positions were up on the day of the final vote and she wasn’t surprised. The head of the council and the head of the judicial department.
ANNA STOOD AT THE HEAD OF THE TABLE and took a deep breath. Leah had had a brilliant idea while they were working on this presentation and Anna was ready for anything the council might throw at her because of it.“In every part of life, there was a system … An order of sorts. The packs have their ranks that help everyone know their position in the pack. In the vampire world, they don’t have ranks, but there are the leader, the day walkers, and the night walkers. I’m sure that it’s the same for every species, including humans.” Anna had to explain properly or they wouldn’t go for it, but she also couldn’t dwindle on one point for too long or she might lose their interest.“You’ve accepted and crowned me as the queen of everyone, and with that position comes certain protocol. We just have to look at the way I am treated now by the council compared to the way I was treated before all this happened.” Anna gave them a moment to process what she was saying.“When we found out that I had thi