Five Hundred Years Ago Everything was quiet for a few weeks after the two bodies were found. The warriors came down from the mountains eventually. There was no sign of werewolves. Everyone believed that the nightmare was over. But the reprieve did not last long. About a month after the last couple of murders, people began disappearing. Some were never found. Those that turned up did so dead and drained of blood. The attacks happened during the night, so the chief placed a curfew limiting movement after dusk. But it turned out that they were not safe even in their own homes. Nobody believed this was the werewolves’ doing anymore. They were facing something else, something much more evil. Something that was more in tune with the tales they told about vampires. The knowledge created panic and that was when it dawned on the tribe the mistake they had made. Killing the werewolves. The warrior clan had not just been protecting them from rival tribes. They had also been their
Five Hundred Years Ago The High Priestess of the warrior clan showed up at the chief’s residence the day after Ruby’s father died. If she had shown up a month before, she would have been ambushed right away by the guards. But things had changed. The adversary had changed, and the tribespeople were aware that the werewolves they had banished could be their only saviours. Ruby was in the front hall discussing funeral arrangements with Maeve’s mother when the priestess walked through the front door. Nobody had heard of her since the werewolves were exposed. She was the first of the warrior clan to appear openly in the tribe since the hunt began. Were there others in hiding like her? Could she know what had happened to Eric? Ruby rushed forward and met her. “High Priestess–” “I’m here to meet the acting chief,” she cut her off. Maeve’s mother appeared beside Ruby. “Who allowed you to come into this house?” The priestess’s cold eyes moved to her. “Should I go back? Perhaps you’ve
Five Hundred Years Ago After leaving Ruby in the hunting cabin, Alexander went back to the place they had been ambushed by the werewolves. He found the werewolves gone, but he caught up to the tribesmen. He couldn’t let them go. He didn’t intend on staying at the tribe anymore, but it didn’t matter. Every human who knew his true nature had to go. They also had to pay for putting Ruby in danger. As their screams rendered the air as he worked through them, he thought about Ruby’s face a few moments ago. She would hate him even more when she knew he had gone after them. If she could hate him any more than she already did. He had murdered her father. He knew she would have sunk that dagger into his heart if he had stayed for a second longer. He had just dropped the drained body of the acting chief to the ground when a huge black wolf rushed onto the scene. He waited for more, but none showed up. The wolf poised ready to attack. “Where is she?” the werewolf’s voice reached his
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?
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
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.
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
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