Jude“Jude.” My brother’s voice rattled my skull but was quickly drowned out by the snarl of my wolf demanding blood.I felt myself slip from my body, watching the spectacle from above.Sterling was pressed against the wall, my hand wrapped around his throat. Vines crawled up his body, prodding at his eyes as I toyed with the idea of plucking them from his skull.Ryker, my brother who had risked his life breaking the oath that kept me tethered to his side, was there trying to pry me off.She was gone. She was gone. She was gone.Dead and then not dead. Here and then not here.Sterling had brought her back, had used every ounce of his strength in doing so, but it wasn’t enough.Ryker’s voice bled into my ears as I sank back down into my body, “Jude, let him speak. This isn’t his fault, and you know it. Come on, man. Don’t make me force you.” I didn’t care. Couldn’t he tell I didn’t care?His magic wrapped around my body, slowly prying my fingers off Sterling. The vines I controlled like
OpheliaI followed my father out of the hospital, still struggling to wrap my head around everything that had happened.Choosing to leave with him was a decision I didn’t take lightly, but what was left for me here? Two mates who had failed me in every way. A best friend whose family I had all but destroyed. An aunt who wanted me dead, and a half-sister who was more than happy to help.As we stepped outside into the warm night, I glanced down at my wrist.I would never get over it. Seeing that smooth expanse of skin, even with the scar, stole my very breath away. It meant that Alpha Hunter was dead. As we walked, my father’s hand wrapped around my own as though I were a little girl, I found myself wondering how it had happened.Had he fallen off a cliff? Stepped in front of a bus? Had Jude finally followed through on his word and killed the bastard?In the end, it didn’t really matter.I forced my thoughts away from my mates, holding my breath until the agony rippling down the bond fa
OpheliaWe were sucked into a vortex of swirling darkness and shimmering stars only to be spat out in a clearing deep within a densely populated forest.The trees were utterly unlike those on Lunar Isle. They were massive, blotting out the night sky until only small glimpses of it remained. I ran my fingers over the nearest one, feeling the rough bark against my flesh as I willed the world to stop spinning.I took a step towards my father—towards Atticus—when I pitched sideways. His hand came down on my shoulder, steadying me before I ate dirt.“Easy, kid.” His eyes crinkled sympathetically, “It’s rough traveling via portal, isn’t it? Takes awhile to get your bearings. Breathe slowly. In through your nose and out through your mouth. The nausea should pass quickly.”I did as he instructed, trying hard not to think about the gaping silence in my mind. Leaving Lunar Isle severed the mind-link and my connection to the people. I was officially a rogue.Swallowing back the knot in my throat
OpheliaIn between bites of steak and chicken I told him everything that had happened since I arrived at Lunar Isle. Everything from Alpha Hunter’s dark bond mark to my suicide attempt.At his request, I included bits of my childhood with Lucille and Kimberly. It was easier talking about the things they’d put me through over recounting my time with Ryker and Jude.He had claimed invading a persons mind took a significant amount of concentration and energy, but I had no way of knowing that for certain, so I took care when it came to what details I gave up. I made sure not to lie, in case he could sense them, but twisted the truth to hide what I needed to hide.Namely, the situation with Coop.I told him about the ritual with Denver, and how it had been a massacre that I still had nightmares about, but I conveniently left out the part where Coop was possessed by the demon.Staying with my father was the best chance I had at finding a cure for him. The hidden library at Eclipse Universit
OpheliaMeanwhile Regina and Matteo snarled at everyone to continue, holding strong in their belief that the demons would soon be under their control. Before anyone could blink a dozen arms began pulling their way through the rift, clawing and scraping their way into the world.“Control them Morningstar!” Lucille spat; her face strained.Sterling’s father, Abraham, shouted. “They’re trying to break free of the circle!”Screaming ensued along with pleas for my father to do something—anything to stop what was unfolding—but my father was gone.“Atticus, do something.” My mother cried, her hair whipping around her shoulders. “Atticus?”Lucille shouted, “He left, you stupid girl! He left us to the slaughter!”My mother’s eyes began to glow, flaring with power that tinted the room in shades of emerald and gold. Rooted in place at her spot along the circle, she spread her hands out, palms facing upwards.“Hold strong,” She shouted, past the hissing. “We can do this. Together we can force the
OpheliaHesitation had him opening his mouth, his lips parting on an exhale. Within half a second he worked through it. Perhaps it was my expression, the need for truth burning within my gaze that caused him to answer. Maybe it was something else entirely.“Our family has always had a talent for dark magic, but there are limits to its capabilities. It can do many things. It can bring life back into a corpse, though that life will be altered, but it cannot create life on its own.” he explained, gauging my every reaction with those unnerving eyes of his. “Your fourth great grandmother needed a child to further the Morningstar line. She had no siblings, leaving the responsibility to her. No matter the spell, no matter the ritual, she could not carry to term.”“What did she do?” I asked, my voice hoarse.The corners of his lips lifted ever so slightly, “She summoned a demon, of course, but it’s sacrifice was too steep. Her pleas reached another though, something more powerful than a demon
RykerTwo Weeks Later“Jude.”WHACK!“Jude.”“Give me a second.” WHACK!I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Jude, enough.”WHACK! “I said give me a fucking second.”WHACK!“Jude, he’s dead.”Jude paused, the wrench in his hand dripping with blood. It was splattered across his face, creating a Rorschach painting of brutality. He looked up at the lifeless male he’d been taking his rage out on for the past hour and cursed.“Fucking shit. He knew more, I’m sure of it.”I grimaced at the thought of losing whatever information the male might’ve held. Other than that, he meant nothing to me. “Sterling will contact his spirit. Did he tell you anything useful?”Jude’s fingers flexed around the wrench as though he were debating continuing his assault despite his victim being nothing more than a corpse. If he chose to, I wouldn’t stop him. Anything was better than his new routine of going to La Stella to slaughter opponents in the fighting ring or hunting down every Dark Matter dealer on the isla
RykerI hid my clenched fists behind my back. Kimberly ended the call and turned, flashing me a smile with her ruby painted lips. A smile that resembled fresh blood.“Just making sure everything’s perfect for the wedding.” She cooed, fluttering her lashes. I remained still as she reached over, smoothing her hands down the crinkled shirt I wore. Her nails clicked as they passed over a button. “As much as I’m enjoying this grizzly, rugged look, you really need to take better care of yourself. Seriously, what’s been up with you these past two weeks? Don’t tell me you actually miss my bitch of a sister.”Blood roared in my ears. I grabbed her wrist. The urge to snap it in two burned beneath my skin, causing my grip to tighten. She winced, her face paling ever so slightly, though it was hard to tell beneath the concealer she wore.“I’ve delt with you for much longer than I ever should have. Meeting you, making that stupid agreement, was a mistake. You were a mistake, Kimberly.”Each word w
NovaI slammed my binder shut, startling several people at nearby tables. Running my fingers through my hair, I felt the tension ease from my scalp as I pulled my ponytail free. The notes I had spent months taking were all blurring together, the dark ink forming thick lines—lines like the ones that ran across the demons body.Everything about him was so terrifying and peculiar. The stark black hair with the white stripe. The crimson eyes. The bands tattooed around his arms and throat. And don’t even get me started on his tongue.Shaken from my thoughts, I realized I’d been sitting there with my fingers pressed against my lips, my entire body trembling.“Sterling,” I called out over the mind-link, the one thing I had that the demon couldn’t track. “You available?”“What’s going on, beautiful?”“Need you to pick something up for me, but it might be hard to find.”“How long do I have?”“Um, a few hours.”“You are very lucky I love you.”My attention drifted back to my hair. Just a few st
NovaAfter coffee with Ophelia, I finished up some late assignments in the library. Sitting in the dimly lit room, surrounded by stacks of books tucked away in shadowy alcoves, made my mind play tricks on me.The light would spill through one of the windows, hitting a vase of flowers or someone’s cup and I’d see a glimmer of red. My heart would clench thinking it was the demon spying on me.Four days ago…The container cracked against his head, but didn’t shatter as I’d hoped it would. He brought his hands up and the container flipped, covering us in sticky frosting. I darted out of the kitchen, sprinting through the dining room and knocking over chairs as I went. The demon followed me with a tauntingly beautiful grin on its face. Those two sets of canines glittered, ready to tear into skin. “You do not always freeze. Interesting. How pleasingly unpredictable.”A whimper crawled up the back of my throat. The fear thrumming through my veins was shifting, morphing into something—No. N
NovaWhatever I thought I’d been prepared for—it wasn’t this.He wasn’t some decrepit, mangled creature dredged up from the darkest pits of Hell. There were no pus-filled boils or swathes of infected, blistered skin peeling from his face and torso. No forked tongue or souls of the damned clawing to free themselves from his rotting body.He was tall and lean, with lightly tanned skin. His body was sculpted in a way that made every line of him feel intentional. Dangerous. His inky hair was unruly, curling around his forehead and ears. There was a thick white streak sliced through it, striking and unmistakable.Two crimson eyes, like polished rubies stared out at me.Tattoos inked his skin in bold, strange patterns. They coiled around his upper arms, around his throat, and around the contours of his chest.In his hand—of all things—was a rubber spatula.He was eating the vanilla buttercream I had made straight from its container. My breath caught again. I had planned to use that frostin
NovaThe sun was a burning halo above me as I made my way back to my towel on the beach. I relished the subtle sting along my shoulders and neck—one that told me I’d have a slight sunburn tomorrow.Waves crashed at my back, spilling from an entire ocean that shimmered like diamonds, whispering sweet secrets of freedom. My muscles still ached from the two hours I had spent surfing.Hoisting my board above my head, I jabbed it down into the moist sand. A cold chill passed over me just as I flopped down onto my towel. Grabbing a cold water from my pouch, I emptied half of it over my head and chugged the rest.A quick glance to my left revealed my phone, the screen flashing with a call from Ophelia. Suddenly, the brief glimmer of freedom I’d been savoring turned to salt and betrayal.Digging my fingers into the warm sand, I breathed in deeply and let the sounds of crashing waves and squealing children blot out my own internal screaming. I could feel the grains of my own lies grinding agai
OpheliaMy head snapped up. The rich scent of whiskey hung in the air, sharp and unmistakable. Edward had been drinking, but not enough to lose himself. His posture was too controlled, his gaze too sharp as it slid over me.“What?”“You were smiling to yourself, and your face is flushed.” He said, his voice smooth, but the tension coiled beneath was impossible to miss. “So, I asked, fun date?”I met his gaze, my pulse quickening for a reason that had nothing to do with attraction and everything to do with unease. Edward wasn’t stupid. He knew what my smile had been about. He knew where I had been—who I had been with.He wasn’t pleased.Internally, I tried not to panic.There was a reason why Ryker and Jude had dropped me back off at Edwards house, despite our agreement stating I had to sleep under their roof.My father was coming today.At two a.m. exactly he’d be stepping through a portal with another batch of those mate-bond suppressing potions. I still hadn’t fessed up to the lie t
OpheliaThe party transformed the moment those below the age of eighteen were corralled and sent to bed.A silencing spell was placed over the house, and the music was cranked up. Its melody spilled through the night like liquid gold. It pulsed in the air, a living thing, twining around the palm trees until even they swayed to the enchanting tune.Everything became louder. The music. The laughter. The conversation. Everything was rich and unrestrained, mingling with the scent of wine and sea salt.Jude stuck to my side like my own personal wraith. There were some tense moments where I thought he’d snap and swing at someone—or worse, stab them—but all It took was a single glance, a brush of my fingers against his bare arm, and he’d turn away from w hat was pissing him off to follow me wherever I went.It was strange, and even worse, I liked it.After being plied with just enough wine to give me a light buzz, I pulled both Jude and Ryker back into the throng of people dancing. There wer
OpheliaI returned to find Ryker in a heated discussion with who I assumed was another family member. The two were speaking rapidly, their expressions darkening like rolling storm clouds.“Te l'ho detto, Jude si è scusato. Ha sostituito la macchina, vero?” [I told you, Jude apologized. He replaced the car, right?]The man pointed at Ryker and growled, “Sappiamo entrambi che sei stato tu a sostituire la mia macchina. Tieni quel punk psicopatico lontano dalle mie cose! [We both know you're the one who replaced my car. Keep that psycho punk away from my stuff!]” Snatching a beer from a nearby ice bucket, he staggered off muttering to himself in Italian.Ryker was smirking to himself when I approached. “Did he say Jude’s name? What did he do this time?”“Nothing as of recent. He may have set Luca’s car on fire in the past though.”“Guy holds a grudge.”“Wouldn’t you, tesoro?”I shrugged. “I don’t know. Jude can be charming when he wants to be.”Folding his arms over his chest, Ryker crane
OpheliaThe fear that had been churning in my stomach, souring the fruit I’d been insane enough to eat from Ryker’s hand, simmered the entire drive—only to fizzle into bewilderment as we pulled into the driveway of a massive house. I could make out its red-tiled roof beyond a courtyard shaded by swaying palms.The sound of music, bold and joyous, trickled to us past rows of fountains and hedges of exotic flowers. There were so many of them that I was momentarily lost in all the color.Ryker held out his arm and my treacherous heart skipped a beat. “Do you really think I’m going to take that after you forced me here?”He could tell I wasn’t angry, and I hated him for it.Taking his arm, I followed him through the courtyard, our feet falling quietly on the stone pathway. A breeze whispered by, but instead of smelling the sea, I was met with the rich scent of herbs and roasted tomatoes, and— Was that bacon?Laughter sounded from somewhere inside the house, past the windows and wrought-ir
RykerThe purr of the Impala’s engine dampened to a quiet rumble as I pulled up to Edward’s place.His scent was everywhere. Salty like the ocean, but with a bitterness that made me feel like I needed to drink a gallon of water to wash it all down. Ophelia’s scent added a touch of sweetness, a burst of ripe cherries that settled across my tongue like a layer of sugar.Scanning the house, I immediately noticed Edward watching from the front window. His eyes held a claim in them that made me long to tear out his throat.Only a fool couldn’t see what the boy was planning. He wanted our mate, and not for the things he’d claim to want her for. Everything out of his mouth was sure to be a lie.Disposing of him would be smartest. Kill him before he kills us. Kills her. He’ll finish the job, and then who will you have? Jude won’t say in this world long—not without her. Edward needs to die. Tonight. Right now. A snarl ripped out of me. “Stai zitto, cazzo! Voci di merda!” [Shut the fuck up! Fu