I gave her one final hug before moving to start the fire. I felt her eyes on me as the crackle of the fire came to life, warmth spread quickly, casting flickering shadows on the surrounding trees. We worked together, gathering water from a nearby stream and finding edible berries that could serve a
Everyone was in danger. Even the humans at my party were no longer conscious! What the hell was going on? The toast for my quinceañera had just happened and now people were dropping like flies around me. My best friend, Robert, also a human, was in a dead faint on the ground, along with most of the
**7 years later**Gabriel's POVI wiped my bloodied knuckles, my expression stoic as I stared at the man tied up in the chair before me. Nonchalantly, I tossed the once pristine white towel, now spotted with deep crimson stains, to the floor. This was becoming tiresome. If only I could kill him and
Evelina's POV “Hey!” I exclaimed, turning to yell at the man who’d just groped my ass in the subway.Fuc.king New York. You’d think I’d be used to it by now.“You pervert!” I yelled, watching the strange man disappear into the crowd.“Temper Evie,” Robert intoned, grabbing my arm and pulling me alo
**Evelina's POV**“I’ve got the egg—” I stopped short, pausing at the threshold of our tiny apartment as the acrid scent of gunpowder overwhelmed me.I blinked once and then twice….and then a third time as I tried to process the carnage before me. There was …blood. So much blood. Splattered on the w
The moment I removed my bangle, Gabriel’s eyes turned a primal yellow and he lunged at me. Before I could even activate my magic, his body was on mine, pinning me against the wall with inhuman strength. Panic flooded through me as I struggled to break free, but his feral gaze held me in place like a
**Gabe's POV**“Amaya,” I reprimanded sharply.I glared at her from my seat in my private jet. She was sitting across from me, looking through Evelina’s phone. That was an invasion of privacy.“Sorry, Gabe.” She didn’t sound sorry at all. Bitch.“When I asked you to help cover my tracks, it wasn’t s
I did not deny or admit that she was right. In truth, I put the talisman back on Evelina because my own wolf wouldn’t calm down. He wanted me to mate and mark her immediately. Now was not the time. In due course, that was the end goal. The little bangle seemed to block our bond somehow, making it ea
I gave her one final hug before moving to start the fire. I felt her eyes on me as the crackle of the fire came to life, warmth spread quickly, casting flickering shadows on the surrounding trees. We worked together, gathering water from a nearby stream and finding edible berries that could serve a
**Gabe's POV**The forest seemed alive, its towering trees arching overhead like a natural cathedral. Their leaves were a rich, dark green, rustling softly in the cool night breeze. Evelina and I had been walking for a considerable amount of time, the moonlight barely filtering through the dense can
“Perhaps you’re right,” I murmured, turning to look at the glowing pillars. “It looks like the inscription of the riddle is changing again,” I muttered, squinting to look up at it. "Fire and water, two halves of a whole," Evelina read aloud, her voice tinged with awe. "In balance they stand, united
“Alright,” I said, my voice steadying as I forced myself to focus. “It’s made of shadows, right? Maybe light can weaken it.” “Fire!” Evelina exclaimed, her palms lighting up as she spoke. I nodded, a plan forming in my mind. "I'll distract it while you blast it with fire. Let's do this." With a n
And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the rumbling sound faded and the earth beneath our feet ceased to shake. We sat on the ground in stunned silence and I blinked rapidly, realizing that the dials had been reset and we would have to start from the beginning. I looked over at Evelina, her ex
**Gabe’s POV**I gazed at the pillars, feeling a sense of reverence wash over me. They stood tall and imposing, made of dark gray stone and covered in intricate carvings that seemed to tell a story of their own. I felt a strange pull towards them, as if they held some kind of ancient power. At the
“Your turn!” I called. “This is going to be easy for you, mi vida.” I knew the missing planks were there—places I’d nearly stepped into myself. “You already saw—” but I stopped speaking when I saw the mist begin to swirl furiously in front of my very eyes, covering the entire bridge in a shroud of d
**Gabe’s POV** I stood at the edge of the ancient bridge, dark mists around us, as my heart pounded against my ribcage. I looked down into the thick mist swirling around the chasm below. There was nothing but darkness under the bridge. The bridge stretched out in front of us, its wooden planks worn
"Here lay the knights of the Order, tasked with protecting the Sacred Flame," Sister Agnes explained. I stared at the tombs, realizing that there was much more to the story of the Sacred Flame than was told in the book. We were missing a key piece of information. Why would the Sacred Flame need pr