Stefan’s POV “I think you should,” Mari says, her dark eyes seeking mine. “I heard you’ve been looking for her for years.” “Don’t you want to stay with me?” I ask her. She wraps her arms around herself. “I do.” “Then let’s forget about her. I feel everything with you that I should with my fated one. Maybe it’s you I was meant to find all these years.” Or maybe Mari, the real Mari, is dead. That’s the only way I could have bonded with someone else because I never rejected her. “I don’t want you to be with anyone else, but…” she hesitates and looks away, chewing on her bottom lip. “What is it?” I urge her on. Her eyes lift to mine again. “What happened back then? To her.” “She disappeared. One day she was here, the next, she wasn’t. So was her mother. I never heard from her since then.” “I think your mother was responsible,” she says. I frown. “What?” “When she tied me up in her basement, it was because she thought I was her. Apparently, she planned to get rid of her back the
Mari’s POV I sit in the passenger seat next to Hanna. I remember her well, she was there that night at the club. She’s hard not to remember, with her short haircut, the nose piercing, and the abundance of studs and hoops lining her left ear. About an hour ago, she showed up at my door and said that Stefan had instructed her to take me to town to get whatever I needed. Given I hadn’t brought much, I was happy to oblige. Of course, I had made it clear that I had no money to speak of, of which she assured me he got it covered. I’ve never been one to accept free things—because they usually are not—but I’m making an exception for this one. After everything he has put me through the past few days, I believe I have gained more than enough right to spend some of his money. “You’re taking this quite well,” Hanna comments, her dark brown eyes giving me a cursory glance before focusing on the road. “Am I?” She nods. “I figured you’d freak out and be in denial or something. I have never met
Mari’s POV On the drive back, I flip through one of the paperbacks I just got from the bookstore. “There’s a lot of sex,” I comment as I peruse the pages. Hanna chuckles. “I can’t believe you have never read one of those. In high school, at least.” “I wasn’t your normal high school student,” I confess, bittersweet memories flooding my mind. “Between all the days I was missing from class and my poor grades, I barely graduated. I was never much of a bookworm.” I spent more time during my teenage years trying to keep a roof above mine and my mother’s heads than I did studying. When my mother showed up and took me from my Dad’s house, I was relieved. At first. My stepmother didn’t like me at all, and she had made my life a living hell. So when Mum showed up and took me with her, I thought it was the beginning of a better life. A few months later we got kicked out of the house she was renting. By the time we got kicked out of the third house and sleeping hungry became more frequent, I
Stefan’s POV “Can we talk now?” I ask my mother, looking down at her as she leisurely sips a glass of wine. “You look rested enough.” When I released her last night, she insisted that she wasn’t ready to talk until she cleaned up, fed, and rested well. It’s now almost evening on the next day and I’m finally able to get her. But I know she’s capable of dragging this thing into tomorrow just to spite me. “Sit,” she instructs, indicating the armchair nearest to the couch she’s sitting on. I’m not in the mood to sit around and chat with her, and I make that known right away. “Why is my wolf that way?” She leans forward, two fingers holding her wine glass daintily. “Can you tell me exactly what ‘that way’ means? Any antics to narrate of?” Hah! She’s dreaming if she thinks I’m about to list down all my weaknesses to her. She doesn’t need to know that. “I’m the one asking the questions here,” I grit out. She waves her hand in dismissal and straightens back up. “I’m sure I’ll find out
Mari’s POV I place the book I’ve been reading on my bedside cabin and sigh as I settle back into my pillows. Maybe reading a steamy werewolf novel before bed wasn’t the best idea. Now my mind is taking a wild ride back to all those hours I spent in this bed, taking every last bodily pleasure I could from Stefan. Stefan, who I haven’t seen at all today. A fact that’s making me restless. I turn to my side and stare at the door, willing him to walk through it. But it remains closed. If I want to see him, it’s getting obvious that I’ll have to go and look for him. Unless he doesn’t want to see me. What did his mother tell him about my sister? Did he go looking for her? Maybe that’s why I haven’t seen him all day. An ache spreads throughout my chest as I think about that. They were childhood friends. She was his destiny. He has been looking for her for years. And somehow, stupid me has managed to convince myself that he’s content enough with me. That I can take her place. God, what’s
Gwen’s POV I shift for the first time on a full moon might. It’s a week after Stefan’s wolf bit me when I start feeling the tingling sensation all over my body. It begins with my fingers and toes, spreads to my limbs, and soon, I’m feeling it all over my body. I’m at the dining table when it happens. Thankfully, I’m not alone. “I feel weird,” I tell Stefan, who’s sitting at the head of the table to my right. He must have seen something when he turns to look at me because he instantly grabs my hand in his as if feeling for something. Then he’s coming to his feet, bringing me with him. “Come,” he tells me, heading towards the back of the house. We go through the back hall and out of the back door near the kitchen. When we come to the back garden, he tilts his head back, looking at the sky. At the full moon hanging low in the sky, partially hidden by clouds. “It’s a good night to shift for the first time.” Is it? Nerves are already flooding my stomach. Stefan looks back at me. Hi
Stefan’s POV “Want some more?” I ask Gwen when I notice she has polished off the steak and potatoes I set before her a while ago. She shakes her and grabs her empty plate as she stands. “No, I’m good,” she says, heading to the sink to clean it up. “Thanks for dinner.” “My pleasure,” I say, my eyes following her every movement. Does she know how delectable she looks in that dress of hers? It isn’t exactly body-hugging, but it skims softly over every curve that matters, so it’s not hard to imagine what’s underneath. Knowing that she has only got a pair of panties underneath isn’t exactly helping with my self-control. “What will you drink?” She looks behind her shoulder at me, her dark eyes seeking mine. “Can I have a glass of wine? It’s been a while since I had one.” Right. She had to stay away from alcohol while her body was deciding whether to transition or not. But now, she’s out of the woods. Which means she can drink, though only a little. Or actually want to fuck me without it
Stefan’s POV I brace my palms against the edge of the counter as I stare back at myself in the bathroom mirror. My glowing eyes stare back at me as if mocking me. It feels like it’s someone else looking back at me. “Get the fuck out of my head,” I growl. ‘I’m in more than your head.’ I freeze as the reply comes. I wasn’t exactly expecting one. But the fucker has already made it clear that he has a voice of his own, hasn’t he? “What do you want?” I grit out. ‘Her.’ I scoff and let go of the counter. That’s just fabulous, isn’t it? “I thought you were here for some grand scheme of revenge against humans.” ‘Yeah, that’s what I told your mother.’ I look back at the mirror, narrowing my eyes at…well, myself. What’s that supposed to mean? Did he lie as to why he wanted to hijack someone’s body? “Why are you really here, then?” ‘For her.’ He’s going to keep up with that, isn’t he? “Look, you already do whatever you please with my wolf. How about—” ‘My wolf, you mean.’ I pause.
High Palace, Ninth Heaven Selena, Moon Goddess, walked through the open doors of the High Palace. It had been centuries since Mother Creator had summoned her. A summon from Her Holiness was a rare occurrence that sent fear through even the most powerful deities. It often meant one of two things–you’ve gotten on her bad side, or she’s about to give you a new Order. Orders could be bad or good, but it was better to manage one’s expectations. Selena spent most of her time at her Lunar Palace, overseeing the race the Holy Mother had sanctioned her to begin as guardians to the human race. That had been thousands of years ago, and it had been her last Order. She wanted to hope, but she had a sinking feeling this summoning was not about her Order. When she got in front of the throne, she got to her knees, her white robes spilling on the iridescent marble floor. Holding her hands together in front of her, she bowed deeply. “Mother.” There was nobody on the throne, but the creator’s
Stefan’s POV It’s not until I watch the flames engulf her body that all hope dies within me. Gwen is gone. She is dead. When I saw her at the castle two nights ago, I thought I had time. Now, I have all the time in the world, but I don’t have her. I have nothing. And it’s all my fault. If I’d never let her leave, this would not have happened. Heck, if I’d left her alone that night I found her at the nightclub, she would be alright. ‘You can delay fate, but you cannot change it.’ That’s what Eric said when I woke up in the middle of the jungle after he went off running last night. She was meant to die, that’s what he meant. That it didn’t matter what I did or failed to do. She would have died anyway, at that exact time. He said the High Priestess never mentioned it. She told him about his own demise, but not a word about Gwen’s. Why did she insist on sacrificing Gwen in her past life when she must have known she would die young? Because then, she must have known that Gwen
Stefan’s POV “Why did Alexander help Theodore?” I ask Phillip when he shows up in the library in the evening. I’ve been in here most of the day, looking through Alexander’s books. Eric insists that I’m wasting my time. But time’s all I have. Gwen has been avoiding me all day since our conversation in the garden this morning. I know I have to give her time. It’ll be a while before she wants to see me, leave alone talk to me. While I wait for that time to come, I’ll not stop looking for a way to give her something she might want more than me. Eric says he is not the one she loves, but she hasn’t heard their story. Maybe…what if…what if all this time, he was the one she loved? She says if we break the bond, I’ll realise I never really love her. What if that’s true for her? Maybe without the bond, I’m nothing to her. Because we were never meant to be. We only found each other because Eric chose me as his host. I’d never have gotten tangled up with her. I only served to bring the
Eric’s POV Gwen and I are a pair of star-crossed soulmates. That’s what the High Priestess told me in my past life while trying to dissuade me from going through the ritual that would keep me around for half a century. She said no matter how many lives our paths crossed, it would never end well. I don’t think I entirely believed her back then. After all, she was the same person who took Ruby’s life with a lie. She could have been lying to get out of performing the ritual because it was forbidden and would cost her. Even if she was telling the truth, it wouldn’t have changed my mind. It’s okay if I never get to be with her, as long as I can protect her. I had hope that would be for at least a few years before my spirit dissipated. But all I’ve gotten are a few months so far. And unless I convince Gwen to give Stefan another chance, that might be all that I get. We make the switch in the morning. I told Stefan I can rob him of his body. I was bluffing. I’ll be lucky if I can hol
Stefan’s POV I catch Gwen just before she hits the couch behind her. Her limp body falls into my arms and I lift her, holding her against my body. This is not one of the scenarios I had in mind when I imagined how it would be when I saw her again. I imagined she’d be mad and say she hates me–and I could see that in her eyes when I walked into the room a moment ago. But I didn’t imagine seeing me would be so horrible for her that she’d pass out. “Where’s her room?” I ask the vampire. “Can you get the healer? I’ll make a call.” When the vampire came to me not long ago, I wasn’t at the pack. I was in possibly the hundredth town I’ve been to in the past five months, looking for her. “This way,” he says, leaving the room. I follow him into the hallway and up a flight of stairs. He branches off on the third floor. He opens a door to the east and I walk through it into a large bedroom. “Make the call,” the vampire tells me as I lay Gwen on the bed. “I don’t want to spook anyone.” I
Five Months Later It’s been five months since Alexander died. In that time, I’ve not left the castle. I could go anywhere I wanted, but that’s the thing. I don’t want to go anywhere. Not for another two months, at least. When the baby comes, I cannot stay here. It’s fine to isolate myself in the middle of the jungle with no contact with the outside world save for a vampire butler who refuses to leave, but I cannot do that to a child. When she comes–according to Phillip, who can sense a ton of things I’d normally need an ultrasound for, it’s a girl–I want to give her a normal life. As normal as I can before she grows up and finds out she is a werewolf. I don’t plan on looking for a werewolf community. There are werewolves who live in the human world, perfectly hidden. As long as I raise and teach her well, it can be just the two of us, living a peaceful life away from the chaos in the supernatural world. When I leave the castle, I intend to move to one of the houses Alexander lef
Gwen’s POV I wake up in the middle of the night to strange sounds coming from the hallway. I sit up in bed and listen. When a feminine scream rends the air, I jump out of bed and rush for the door. When I get to the hallway, I see a woman outside Alexander’s door. She turns around when I appear, and on seeing me, rushes towards me. “Help me! They are trying to–” She comes to a sudden stop as a stricken look crosses over her face. She stumbles back, eyeing me with suspicion. “Are you one of them?” Phillip appears from Alexander’s room and I walk over, looking between him and the woman. She is human. “What is going on?” “Don’t worry about it,” he tells me. “Go back to sleep.” The woman is looking between us, pressing herself against the wall. I look at her. “It’s okay. No one’s going to hurt you.” There’s only one reason a human would be in a vampire’s castle. But as long as I’m here, no one’s getting drained. She looks at me with wide, terrified eyes, unsure whether to trust me.
Stefan’s POV “So you went to bed with a vampire,” I mutter into the dark room after Eric is done with his story. ‘After everything I’ve said, that’s what has left an impression on you?’ I sigh and rub a hand over my face. “You have faith in this vampire, but you have no idea what he has been up to for the past five centuries. He is working with an asshole like Theodore. Maybe Gwen is not as safe with him as you think. Maybe at some point, his dark nature caught up with him and he found everything he did back then laughable. Maybe he took her so he could do what he failed to do back then.” He is quiet. And that means he knows I could be right. ‘But she is still alive,’ he says after a moment. ‘I would feel it if she died, no matter where she is. He wouldn’t keep her alive if he was back to his true nature.’ “There are worse things than death,” I whisper. What if he is torturing her? She is a werewolf, so he cannot drink her blood. If he regrets the things he did for her hundreds
Five Hundred Years Ago The vampire disappeared right in front of their eyes. Eric hated it. It was the most annoying ability those cursed creatures had. When they knew it was a losing battle, they avoided all contact with werewolves. Because once a werewolf got their claws or fangs into their undead bodies, they couldn’t get away. With the vampire gone and the High Priestess done with her ritual, he rushed to the altar and fell to his knees. He unfastened the ropes around Ruby’s limbs and gathered her in his arms. Tears blurred his sight as he called her name, stroked her face, embraced her limp body close. She was gone. It felt like someone had reached into his chest and tore his heart out. How could he have such a connection to a human? He had never understood his feelings towards her. At twenty eight, he was yet to find his destined mate. He should have met her about a decade ago. He assumed she was already dead. Was that why he had been able to fall for her so hard?