I sat alone in the cold, dark cave, the weight of the silence pressing against my chest like a thousand-pound stone. The air was thick, stifling, and it felt like every breath I took was being stolen from me. I had heard voices before—soft whispers, familiar ones—voices of my mates, their comforting tones reaching me across the distance, always guiding me, reassuring me that they were close. But now, silence. A deep, aching silence.I tried calling out, my voice breaking through the oppressive stillness, "Dylan? Velma? Where are you? Please... I need you."Nothing. Not a whisper, not a single breath.My heart ached as tears welled up, the sting of them sharp against my skin. "Why... why did you leave me here?" I whispered to no one, my words slipping into the darkness. My chest tightened with sorrow, my mind spinning, grasping for any shred of hope. It was hopeless, though. They weren't coming. They couldn't hear me.I shook my head, forcing myself to stand. No. I couldn’t just sit he
SIERRAI shifted back into my human form, my breath coming in ragged gasps, every nerve in my body screaming for release. The moment my bare feet hit the cold cave floor, I glared into the shadows where the pale figures lingered.“If you don’t let me out of here right now, I’ll kill you all,” I snarled, my voice steady despite the chaos inside me.For a moment, the nightwalkers hesitated, their hollow, dark eyes widening as if my threat had landed harder than expected. Their fear was palpable, a ripple of unease spreading through their pale ranks. But then, one of them stepped forward, a woman with tangled hair that framed a face etched with centuries of suffering.“You don’t understand,” she said, her voice soft yet filled with despair. “If we could let you out, wouldn’t we leave ourselves?”Her words hung in the air, sharp and bitter. My anger wavered, frustration crashing in its place.“What do you mean you can’t leave?” I demanded, stepping closer. “You’re the ones who called me h
KANEI woke with a sharp jolt, my body snapping upright as though I’d been struck by lightning. My hand flew to my neck, where a fiery sting pulsed. It wasn’t just pain—it was a warning, raw and electric, shooting through every nerve like a live wire.“What the hell?” I muttered, my fingers brushing over the mark that shouldn’t have hurt but now burned like it had been branded anew. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, the rhythm erratic and unsettling.The sound of groaning broke through my haze, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts.“Kane?” Dane’s voice was thick with grogginess, but the discomfort in his tone was unmistakable. He sat up abruptly, mirroring my movements. His hand clutched his neck in the same spot as mine, his eyes wide with alarm. “Do you feel that?”“Yeah,” I replied, my jaw tightening as anger and fear wrestled for dominance. “It’s her mark. Something’s wrong.”Zane was next, muttering curses under his breath as he stumbled out of bed. His eyes were wild as he
ZANE"What in the blazes are you talking about?" I scoffed, disbelief coloring my voice. "Cursed the Nightwalkers? You've gone completely bonkers."The three werewolves, their faces etched with ancient sorrow, exchanged a look. "We know it sounds insane, but it's true," the eldest rasped."Centuries ago, you came. Three Lycan brothers, with powers beyond comprehension. And we… you cursed us."I stared at them, dumbfounded. "Cursed you? How? Why?"He gestured towards a worn leather-bound book lying open on the table. "Look."Hesitantly, I approached and peered at the faded photographs within. My breath hitched in my throat. Those weren't just ordinary pictures. They were glimpses into the past, depicting events that had long been forgotten. And there, staring back at me, were faces I knew intimately – my own, Kane's, and Dane's, though impossibly young, their eyes filled with a strange, almost manic intensity."This… this can't be right," I stammered, my mind reeling. "How… how could w
KANEI watched Luna Maya tremble in my father’s arms, her face pale and tear-streaked. Her hands clutched the edges of her dress like it was the only thing tethering her to reality. The weight of her silence pressed on all of us, but none of us had the courage to break it yet. My father whispered something soothing in her ear, though I doubted it was doing much good. How could it? The weight of what we’d just discovered was enough to crush any sense of hope.Dane finally cleared his throat, his voice a broken rasp. “Dad… you need to see this.” He slid his phone across the table to our father. The image on the screen burned in my mind—the faces of those pale figures, the so-called nightwalkers, staring back like ghosts of a nightmare.Our father picked up the phone, his brow furrowing deeply as he studied the image. For a moment, his expression gave nothing away, but then he sighed. Not just any sigh, but one that carried the weight of centuries. He set the phone down slowly, his hand
ZANELuna Maya’s sobs echoed through the room, filling every corner with the sound of her heartbreak. She clutched at her chest, her eyes red and swollen. “My poor Sierra,” she wailed, her voice cracking. “What’s going to happen to her? She’s just a girl. She doesn’t deserve this.”I couldn’t take it anymore. Seeing my mother break down like this made my blood boil. “This is unacceptable,” I said firmly, pacing the room. “We can’t just leave her there. There has to be a way to get her out.”Kane turned to our father, his expression hard. “Why didn’t you tell us about this before?” he demanded. “All these years, and you never thought it was important to mention?”Alpha Thane sighed heavily, rubbing his temples. “I didn’t think it was necessary,” he admitted. “I didn’t know that after all these years, you’d come across something like this. The curse was ancient, buried. I thought it was behind us.”“Well, it’s not,” I shot back, my frustration bubbling over. “And now Sierra’s life is at
SIERRAMy fingers brushed against the side of my neck where the bite still burned, the sting sharp and relentless, like a constant reminder of how completely screwed I was. It wasn’t just pain—it was humiliation, fear, and anger all wrapped into one throbbing wound. My glare was locked on the woman in front of me—no, scratch that, the vampire in front of me. There was no mistaking it now. She wasn’t just some random lunatic who had cornered me and decided I looked like a snack. She was something otherworldly, something I hadn’t believed existed outside of myths and horror stories.When she first attacked, she was a gnarled figure with sunken eyes, stringy hair, and pale, almost sickly skin that looked like it hadn’t seen sunlight in centuries. She was terrifying in the way a shadow in the dark is terrifying—something you can’t fully see but know you should fear. But now? Now, she had transformed into a vision of beauty and power, like some cruel cosmic joke designed to mock me.She lo
SIERRA“Enough!” I snapped, turning my glare on the elder vampire. My voice was razor-sharp, cutting through the tension in the room. “Stop threatening me. I’ve had it with your games and your smug attitude.”Her smug smirk widened, but she didn’t respond, just raised an arched brow like I was some amusing little thing. Before I could fire off another retort, Dane’s voice boomed from outside.“If anything happens to Sierra, you’ll bear the consequences, vampire!” His tone was laced with venom, and I could hear the fury trembling just beneath the surface.The elder burst into laughter, her amusement almost musical, but it grated on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard. “Oh, sweet boys,” she purred mockingly, brushing her perfect hair back with a casual flick of her wrist. “It’s such a bad idea to threaten the people who are holding your mate hostage. What exactly do you think you can do from out there?”“Try us!” Zane growled, his voice fierce and unrelenting.“Stop it, all of you!” I
SIERRAI tightened my grip on the edge of my chair, watching as the old woman’s face darkened. Her fingers, which had been lightly tracing the rim of her teacup, suddenly went still. A heavy silence filled the room.“Whispering?” she repeated, her voice sharp. “Controlling minds?”I nodded. “Yes. It’s been happening for a while now.”She exhaled slowly, her eyes narrowing in deep thought. “That means their strength has grown… But how?”I swallowed hard, my mind racing. “They’ve been trapped in that cave all this time. There’s no way they could’ve fed on anyone.”The woman drummed her fingers against the wooden table, her expression unreadable. “Then something, or someone, is feeding their power,” she murmured.A shiver ran down my spine. The idea of those monsters getting stronger despite being locked away made my stomach churn. “But how is that possible?”She sighed. “Magic has loopholes, child. Nothing is ever completely sealed away. If they can reach minds beyond their prison, that
SIERRAI stared at the old woman, my heart pounding. Her words made no sense, yet something about them felt strangely familiar.“You bloody fools always refusing to die and getting old,” she had said, smiling at me like she knew me.I exchanged glances with Alpha Thane and the others before stepping inside. The house smelled of herbs and old wood, a cozy yet mysterious scent. The woman moved slowly, but her presence was powerful. She led us into a small sitting room where a fireplace crackled softly.“Sit,” she said, waving her hand toward the chairs. “I’ll get some tea.”I hesitated but nodded, settling into a worn-out chair. Alpha Thane and the boys followed, their eyes scanning the room. There were shelves filled with books, jars of strange ingredients, and old photographs scattered across a wooden table. Everything about this place felt ancient.The woman returned with a tray of teacups, setting it down gently on the small wooden table in front of us. The scent of herbs filled the
SIERRAI couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The girl from the group was holding up an old picture, her fingers brushing the edges like she was proud of it. She looked at it, then back at me, and pointed at the people in the photo.“Do you know them?” she asked, eyes wide with curiosity.I squinted at the photo, my heart racing in my chest. The image was faded, but the faces were clear. There was no mistaking it. They looked exactly like me and the boys.“How... how do you have that picture?” I asked, my voice trembling slightly, despite myself.The girl smiled softly, almost nostalgically. “I found it in my grandmother’s attic. She had all sorts of old things there.”My mind raced as I tried to process this. My ancestors. How could she have something so personal? How did it end up with her family?I glanced at the picture again, studying the faces in more detail. It was strange, but there was something about the way they looked. The men, and the woman, all shared the same features I
SIERRAThe fighting had finally stopped. Everyone was standing still, waiting for me to speak. I could feel all eyes on me, the weight of their expectation pressing on me. My heart was pounding, but I tried to keep my voice steady.“What’s the plan, Sierra?” one of the locals asked, his voice sharp and full of tension. “We can’t just stand here forever.”I glanced at my family, then turned back to the group. “The vampires are allergic to werewolf bites,” I said, keeping my voice low but firm. “It’ll drive them crazy, and eventually, they’ll die. We need to storm the cave and bite as many as we can. That’s the only way to stop them.”The locals exchanged uneasy glances, muttering among themselves. I could see the doubt in their eyes.“You want us to just go into the cave and risk our lives?” another man asked, his voice shaking with fear. “These vampires are strong, Sierra. They’re not like anything we’ve dealt with before.”I shook my head, my gaze hardening. “They’re not as strong as
SIERRAThe moment we entered the small town, the atmosphere felt thick with tension. The locals eyed us warily, their gazes flickering between me and the Lycan King, Alpha Thane. I could feel their suspicion, their fear. It was clear they didn’t want any trouble, and the sight of my family, especially Thane, seemed to make them even more uneasy.“I can feel their eyes on us,” I muttered under my breath, glancing at Alpha Thane. His expression was unreadable, though I knew he was aware of the hostility too.“We’re not here to cause trouble,” Alpha Thane said, his voice calm but firm. “We just need to talk to them.”But the moment we walked deeper into town, the murmurs from the locals grew louder. Some of them were already retreating into their homes, their doors closing with a soft but swift thud. Others stood, watching us from a distance, with angry eyes. They didn’t want to be involved. They didn’t want to see us here, especially not with Alpha Thane at my side.“I knew this was a b
SIERRAI sat with Dane, Kane, and Zane in the living room, feeling the tension in the air. We had been waiting for Alpha Thane to return for what felt like hours, and the longer it took, the more anxious I became. My thoughts kept drifting to the mission ahead. We were going into dangerous territory, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something could go wrong.Dane glanced over at me, concern written on his face. “You okay, Sierra?”I gave him a forced smile, but I knew it wasn’t convincing. “Yeah, just thinking.”“You sure?” Kane asked, his tone soft. “You’ve been quiet. Something’s on your mind?”I nodded, but I could feel my stomach knotting. “Just... wondering what’s taking Dad so long. He’s usually faster with this kind of thing.”“They probably got held up,” Zane said, shrugging. “You know how Dad is, sometimes he likes to take his time with things.”“Yeah, but this feels different,” I muttered. “We have a dangerous mission ahead of us, and I just don’t know if I’m ready to l
MAYAI woke up with a jolt, my heart racing, and my breath shallow. The dark room felt unfamiliar at first, and I was overwhelmed with fear, my mind clouded with panic. My thoughts were all over the place until I turned my head and saw the soft, rhythmic rise and fall of Kiara’s chest beside me.Her tiny form was sleeping soundly next to me, her small hand curled around the edge of my blanket. My heart settled a little as I stared at her. She was fine. Everything was fine.I breathed in deeply, trying to calm myself. The fear slowly faded as I began to remember everything. The vampire attack, the fight, the confusion… But now, there was peace. The evil thoughts I’d been plagued with were gone, and I could think clearly for the first time in what felt like forever.I heard Thane’s voice behind me, soft but filled with concern. “Maya, it’s okay. Calm down.”I stiffened slightly, but then I saw him. He was standing in the doorway, watching me with that same calm, steady expression he alw
SIERRAI watched Mom disappear into the woods, Alpha Thane right behind her. I could feel the weight of the situation pressing down on me, but I couldn’t let it overwhelm me. My mother was struggling, feeling lost, and I knew the only way to bring her back was to get Kiara back to her.I looked at the boys, all standing around me, trying to make sense of what was going on. Dane spoke up, concern written all over his face. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”I shook my head, feeling a lump form in my throat. “I don’t know. But I do know we need to get Kiara back to her.”Kane stepped forward. “What about the rogues? What if they attack again?”I nodded toward the woods where Mom had gone. “I know. But we can’t lose sight of the bigger picture. Kiara is the key. She’s the one thing that can bring her mother back. We need to make sure she’s safe.”“Stay back. Let her fight it out,” Thane’s voice rang through the trees, pulling me out of my thoughts.I frowned, glancing around at the boys. “Wh
MAYAThe wind had been sharp against my skin as I ran through the woods, my feet pounding the earth, my breath ragged and fast. The trees blurred past me, their branches scratching at my arms and legs, but I barely felt it. I was consumed by the chaos in my mind. I could still hear their voices, those cursed vampires, echoing in my head, forcing their way into my thoughts, twisting everything. My daughter... I almost hurt her. I couldn’t stop replaying the moment over and over, the way I almost lost control, the way they made me feel like I was no longer myself.A wave of anger had built up in me, surging like a storm. I had stopped, thrown my head back, and let out a loud, guttural howl. The sound had torn from my throat, a mix of fury and frustration. It had almost felt like I was trying to shake off the weight of it all. They had no right. No right to do this to me. No right to take over my mind. I should have been stronger. I shouldn’t have let them win.I had paced, my heart raci