-Kira-We’re all in the living room, waiting with bated breath as Andreas pulls up outside the mansion with Kaia in the back seat. Anxiety ripples through each of us when we hear the door closing and the amount of pounding heartbeats nearly renders me dizzy.Uncle Kon, aunt Lily, and Luka are standing closer to the door, aunt Lily has one hand clasped against her chest while my uncle has his arm around her waist. My father and mother are looking at each other intently, while my other aunts and uncles wait just as anxiously. Creed is standing off to the side next to Arkyn; they’re chatting in low voices, but I can tell by the look in Creed’s eyes that he’s actually listening to Arkyn. The night before, we walked in on him brushing my parents off, and Arkyn took him to the forest for a run; they seemed to have bonded after that.I sigh, then walk towards the door to open it for them. Kaia sees me and smiles, then she rushes towards me, capturing me in an embrace.“I’m scared,” she whis
-Kira- Kaia’s welcome home banquet goes on well into the early morning hours. The pack gave her a welcome to remember and my father gave her his bite to make her a BloodCrest pack member formally. Before her induction, my mother discovered several parasites planted within Kaia and her wolf. She promptly banished them and implanted a tungsten stone underneath her skin; tungsten repels magic of any kind. My mother did this to all the members of our pack to stop the parasite problem during the war. Luka and Alexei had theirs removed by Marle in order to imbed the parasites, so she had to redo the tungsten implantation on the two of them. During the banquet, Arkyn was quiet, and it made me wonder what his father spoke to him about. He’s adamant that it’s nothing, but I know Arkyn better than that. We’re walking alone through the forest after the party has died down; he’s holding my hand and looking ahead, still not saying a thing. I decide that I’ve had enough and stop abruptly, pulli
-Kaia-I was too scared to go to sleep last night, terrified that if I woke up again, then I’d be back in my bed in Las Vegas. Because this must be a dream, there’s no way my name is really Kaia Volkova. There’s no way that I actually have a family who has been looking for me, there’s no way they didn't abandon me at birth.All my life, I felt like the only person who loved me was Alpha Azura. Her daughter always saw me as a threat because I was stronger than her; as if an orphan could ruin her plans to become Alpha. The Beta's hated me as well; they all thought I didn't belong with them - little did they know I didn't.Now, as I sit in the backseat of the SUV Alpha Kai is driving, I know this is no dream. This man is not only my Alpha but my uncle! His wife, Luna Caterina, is the sweetest woman I’ve ever met; she’s so timid and soft-spoken, but so strong. How can any woman in this pack not look up to her?“We’re close,” she says, turning her head slightly. “She’s still in town and kn
-Kira- It’s been nearly four hours since my parents left with Kaia in tow. After four hours of not hearing anything from them, and now my anxiety has kicked into overdrive. “They should have been back already,” I grumble, pacing the floor. “Why aren’t they back yet?!” Arkyn sighs again and pinches the bridge of his nose. “For the tenth time, calm down, Blue. I know you’re worried, but have some faith in your parents, okay?” My head snaps toward him, and I shoot him a glare. “Easy for you to say-!” “The gate’s opened,” Uncle Nikolai says and gets to his feet. “It’s them.” My heart comes to a literal standstill at my uncle’s words and I rush forward, looking down the paved road while holding my breath. If they’re here, that means they eliminated the threat. If they’re here, it means Marle is dead. Right? Their black SUV rolls into view and I see my parents wearing wide grins on their faces. Kaia peeks through the middle and smiles, while next to her I see the profile of someone
-Arkyn-“Do you need to go?” “Blue…” I shoot another warning glance at her pout and stifle a growl. Why does she have to look at me like that? “Yes, you know I need to go; Vega Corp isn’t going to run itself.”She releases a little sigh that makes me want to kiss her just so she can shut up and stop her bratty behavior. My father called me back home since he cannot reschedule any more business meetings and everything here seems sorted out, there’s no need for me to keep Kira safe. “I know. I just got used to being around you so much, that’s all…” she trails off, then she takes my hand and gives me a mischievous little smile. “But I think it’s good for us to be separated until the next full moon.”I raise an eyebrow. “Oh? And why is that?”A slight blush covers her cheeks, and she bites her bottom lip. “You’ll see after being away from me for a while,” she says cryptically, then stands on her tiptoes to kiss me. “I’ll miss you.”“I’ll miss you too,” I respond, then I pull her closer
-Arkyn- I can hear the blood rushing in my ears and take a step back from my mother; if she said anything else, it’s lost on me because I’m halfway to my father’s study. I throw open the door and stalk inside with a shattered heart, looking at the man who has always been my rock. He looks up from his laptop when I barge in, then he frowns. “Arkyn?” “Pappa, I…” I start off with my heart in my throat, not knowing what else to say. My mother just said his beast is dying and that, in turn, it is spreading to my father. My father is dying. My mother rushes in behind me and I see his eyes flicker to her, then back to me and he breathes out. He gets to his feet and walks over to his entertainment area. Gesturing to the leather sofas, he starts pouring us each a glass of bourbon, then he looks up at my mother. “Can you please give us some privacy, min elskling?” He asks her, and she nods, but before leaving the office, she gives both of us a kiss on the cheek. After she leaves, he pi
-Kira-I haven’t really felt comfortable since the last time Arkyn called - my stomach is constantly coiled tight with anxiety and stress. There’s something wrong. I can hear it in his voice when he calls me and as usual, he won’t tell me what it is. When is he going to realize that I know him better than he knows himself? Okay, I know I can’t push this with him because he won’t tell me if I push, so I’ll just pretend to be dumb. You can’t really force a man to tell you something, especially not a man like Arkyn.It’s been nearly three weeks since I last saw him. My mother has me on constant Luna training while she has aunt Nova and five other witches training under her. Since she’s been back, she’s fortified the pack even more and decided to take on more witches. Under her guidance, of course.During her training, she discovered a witch can remove the tungsten, like with Luka and Alexei before; so she’s figured out a way to attach it straight onto our wolves. However, a Mate Bond is
-Arkyn-There it is; the look of disappointment I’ve been dreading to see, and she’s aiming it right at me. Her eyes narrow and her mouth forms into a cute pout, but the situation is everything but cute.“Alpha? When… how did this happen? I thought it’s only supposed to happen tomorrow evening!” she exclaims, the confused look throwing me off again. “I wanted to be there for you on your big day. What is going on?!”I take a step toward her and draw her hands into mine; the fact that she wants to pull away causes my heart to painfully constrict. “Blue… something happened, and it forced me to take the role of Alpha. We did not plan it at all.”That disappointment immediately falls away, and her eyes widen. “It just happened?”I nod. “Yeah, it did. My father…” I trail off, pushing my emotions down, but it’s difficult when I’m right in front of her. Kira is the only person I can’t lie to. She’s the only one who sees through me. “His Lycan is on the brink of death, and the sickness is spre
Nox and Reyvenne Priest - 100 Years Epilogue (100 Years old in Vampire Years but they're basically eighteen years old in human years) “Ugh, can you stop popping that gum for fuck’s sake, Rey,” I grumble as my sister’s pop echoes in my ear again and grinding my gears to dust. She looks at me with a grin, then wriggles her eyebrows. “This is my first piece of gum since we left for CFA; just allow me to chew and be happy,” she says and sits back with her arms crossed. It never fails to amaze me at how much she looks like our mother; dark hair, bright blue eyes, an affinity for dark lips and always dressing in dark colours. I’ve had to fuck up a few boys who tried their luck with her, assuming she’s easy to break just because she’s softly spoken. There’s one particular Gorgon I’ve gotten suspended over twice, simply because he wouldn’t fucking leave her alone. My blood still boils at the thought of him and again I wish that I pulled out one of his fucking snakes. We’ll see who’s bloodi
-Elijah- I get out of my SUV and walk into Arkyn’s building where he’s waiting for me. There have been some big developments regarding the recent spate of hunter attacks. Some of the packs under him have been obliterated, while my father nearly missed being assassinated. To say we need that school for our kids is putting it lightly. Carpe Fatum might just save our bloodlines. “Good to see you again, brother,” Arkyn greets me with a handshake and a hug before we sit down. He breathes out a long sigh, then pinches the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “Your mother has been a lot of help throughout all of this, but it seems the hunters have developed new toys after nearly going extinct,” he says, then slides something across the table towards me. It looks like a playing dart; definitely made out of silver and smells like baobab pulp. When I pick it up, it immediately sears the tips of my fingers nearly to the bone. “What the fuck!” “What the fuck indeed,” he says, picking up
-Kaia-I’m going over the paperwork for Carpe Fatum Academy when suddenly I feel an overwhelming need to use the bathroom. I should be used to this by now, hell sometimes I don’t even make it to the bathroom in time. But the moment I stand up, it feels like that plan has gone out the window.The first thing I notice when I look down is how the fluid isn’t clear, but blood red. This should freak me out, right? This isn’t normal, right? Wait, did my water just…“Uhm…” I can feel more fluid sliding down my legs before I decide to let out a blood-curdling scream. Elijah is home as well as our parents and Autumn and Valentine; leave it to all of them to run into my study.“Kaia-!” Elijah trails off when he sees the pool of blood at my feet. He goes pale and almost takes a step backward when our parents rush in. I just had to wear a baby blue dress on my due date. And of course, I forgot it’s my due date too! “Someone please call Autumn up here and let her know Kaia is ready,” Katherine s
-Kaia-Elijah holds my hand as we walk into Autumn’s office for my final check-up, kissing the ring on my left ring finger and smiling. My pregnancy has been normal for a Pureblood, even if I am nothing of the sort. I’ve also finally come into my full demonic powers, well my succubus side anyway.My mother has been helping me control that side of me. It’s so weird what it entails, but it’s so fascinating to learn about something I knew nothing about. Autumn has also been giving me pointers since she has dealt with succubi before.“Why are you always so worried when we walk in here?” Elijah asks me as he opens the door for me. “You know everything will be fine, right?”“It’s a mother thing,” I say, brushing him off. “I’ll always worry.”I never used to get why Alpha Azura faffed over her daughter so much, but now I understand completely. Even if this child gets older than me, I’ll always worry about him or her. I just hope they don’t resent me for being over protective.When I had my f
-Elijah-Out of all the reactions in the world, this one was not what I expected.I watch as Kaia runs out of the restaurant, that wild, uncertain look in her eyes will forever haunt me. Tonight didn’t go as planned; I should have known something was wrong because she’s been acting odd all evening.My father rushes over to me with a look of disbelief and concern. “What happened? Is she okay?” “I don’t know, but I have to find out,” I say and run after her. I hope I’m not too fucking late, I hope I can still fucking fix this. I run out of the place and as soon as I get outside; I spot her standing by my car. She has her arms wrapped around her and I catch the sadness in her scent. Why did I not notice this before? How did I think everything was okay after last night?“Kaia,” I call out her name and watch as her shoulders slump at the sound of my voice. I stride over to her, but she doesn’t turn around, so I wrap my arms around her and kiss her neck gently. “What’s wrong, kitten?”She
-Kaia-How did I let myself get dragged into this? Gods, I may be a woman, but I’m not the type for pamper sessions, manicures, pedicures, or being waited on hand and foot. This is a Kira thing, not a Kaia thing.“Now, are you gonna tell me why you’re pouting?” she asks while we sit having brunch in one of the restaurants Arkyn owns. She shoots me an odd stare and scoffs. “You hate this.”“No!” I exclaim, feeling like a piece of shit. “No, it’s not that. I just…have a lot on my mind, especially after last night.” She leans over and squeezes my hand, offering me a slight smile. “I’m sorry, I thought this would help you forget a little while but it hasn’t helped at all,” she says, making me feel even worse than before.Poor Kira, she’s always trying to make everyone feel better even if her offerings are less than ideal. She’s Luna even outside of the estate.“Thank you, I really appreciate this, you have no idea. I’ve just been caught up in my head today, it’s nothing anyone has done,”
-Kaia-Aunty Cat mentioned my bond to Bjorn would sever over the next few days, I just didn’t expect it to be Elijah who would sever it. How the hell did we get here and how am I supposed to feel about this?“Name it and it’s yours, kitten,”Elijah should not have said that because common sense left my body at those words. I wanted to just take a long bath and go to bed, but now my body might have other things planned. How the hell can I be thinking about sex when Elijah just ripped out Bjorn’s heart?Goddess, does this make me cruel?We’re both quiet as Elijah drives us to one of Arkyn’s hotels because no way am I going back to my house and I still think Elijah shares a place with Avanah. I don’t want to ask.“You still haven’t told me what you want, kitten,” he suddenly says just as we enter the strip. “I told you that you can have anything you want.”“Right now I just want a hot bath to wash this entire day away, not to mention the jetlag and stress of the entire weekend,” I say as
-Elijah-The shock has all but dissipated; now silent fury stood in its place. Someone dared to touch what was mine, for that they will die.I pace the floor of Kaia’s shared home with Bjorn; my arms are in the pockets of my jeans as I try to make sense of this. Arkyn dispatches some of his warriors to look for Kaia and see if they can catch her scent, while we stay here to look for any clues left behind.“How did he get into the estate without anyone knowing? If he was innocent in everything, then he wouldn’t need to sneak in, right?” I say mostly to myself, trying to figure something out.“And why would he take Kaia against her will? From everything she told me, he treated her extremely well, so why resort to this?” I gesture to the blood splatter on the walls. “Why harm his mate?”Arkyn gives me an odd look, then he crosses his arms and sighs. “I think I know why he took her,” he says, looking down at his feet. “Freyja told me something that happened before I arrived in Norway, som
-Kaia-I don’t remember much after Bjorn punched the side of my face, but I recall him throwing me over his shoulder and putting me in the trunk of his car. He hasn't mentioned a word to me the entire time. How did he get onto the estate and where is he taking me?I try to contact Arkyn or Kira over the mind link, but I find I can’t reach them clearly. Then I bang on the inside of the trunk, only for my hands to burn as I punch it. Fucking silver; no wonder I can’t reach them.“Bjorn!” I call out. “Bjorn, I know you’re out there. What are you doing? Why am I in here?!”The car gradually comes to a stop, and I hear him getting out and slamming the car door. If I’m not too far from the estate, then I can still contact Arkyn or Kira over the mind link. But if not and Bjorn is aggressive, then I’ll have a harder time getting out of this.He pops open the trunk and drags me out; I can still smell the dry air of the desert, so I know we’re not far off from the estate. It’s still dark, too,