A few hours later, they woke and prepared to leave. Ana couldn’t figure out how to address what had and was happening between them. They needed to talk about how did anyone talk about things like this. The fact they weren’t just fugitives because he’d helped her escape from the dungeon. But they now formed a bond that the law said was criminal. Ana didn’t know where they went from here except far away from everything they knew and any safety net they might have ever had. They were Blood Traitor, even if they weren’t part of the rebel movement. What they’d done made them worse than the rebels. Or at least that’s what Ana felt. Her father entrusted them to not do things like this while they were on the run. She could see him accepting and forgiving her escape because he’d made it clear to them, she had to go. But the bond, that went too far for him to forgive. He couldn’t forgive it without looking like he played favourites. It would cause a new wave
Edger had been about the palace for generations. Only he knew how old he actually was. The problem with that, he’d admit to. The age he knew came from an estimate. Over three hundred years ago, most people didn’t care what day it was, let alone what year. When it came to births and deaths, it was a hit-or-miss thing back then. His records, if there ever were any, were most likely long gone. That wasn’t the issue. Not today, at least. The Crown Princess stormed through the palace in a right bloody temper. Something happened a few nights back. She won’t speak of, but it has her acting far more unstable than she usually is. Most at court believed she feared the Princess Adriana would return to finish her off. However, Edger knew her problem stemmed from before the Princess Adriana escaped the dungeons. Though, Edger knew his information wouldn’t be known by anyone else other than himself. The Princess Adriana would b
Ana may not get sick when she travelled through a mage portal. But the chaos within portals often became the stuff of nightmares for her. No mage worth their weight would admit what was in these portals. That the things seen within the portals as you passed through were images and shapes of those who’ve lost their way inside them. If travellers wanted to keep their sanity, they didn’t look too closely or consider what they saw in the images. The colours were rarely, if ever, found in nature except in extremely exotic locations, if ever. George held her hand and wouldn’t let go. He made himself very clear as they entered the portal. He wouldn’t relax his protection of her. Ana knew what that meant, and it severely conflicted her about it. Before all of this, Ana rarely had anyone looking over her shoulder or following her every move. She could do what she wanted, when she wanted. George made that impossible now. He also made her fee
They escorted Ana and George to a large brick family home. Not far away. It belonged to the Wolversen Family as the humans knew them. The Black River pack ran businesses out of this family home. This appeared to the humans at large as a rich family with a business empire to run. Edith and Allan were the elders of the family. Recently began the hand off of their business empire and the pack to their eldest son Gregory took over. They had two sons. Gregory and Richard. The two brothers Everyone knew, the two brothers for butted heads. This didn’t differ from any of the other power struggles they encountered. Gregory’s reputation showed him to be the mature and responsible alpha wolf. While Richard’s reputation described a hotheaded, upstart who found more trouble than he was worth. Known for opposing everything his brother did, and fought against the system and tradition. Richard disrupted the order within pack life. While Gregory struggled to learn t
A week later, Ana and George were ensconced in a space within the Black River Pack Territory. The pack made space for them within an underground storage building. It wasn’t perfect, but it would do. They were secure, had their own space and privacy.The Wolversen’s were gracious hosts and Ana didn’t feel like she put anyone out within the pack she met. The wolves seem so different from the courtiers Ana knew. Ana only saw the conflict and backstabbing within the pack seemed to be between Edith’s sons. Richard seemed conflicted, and it didn’t bode well. For that reason, George and Ana fought over how to handle any contact with the two.“I’m just saying, Ana, when those two are within earshot of each other. You’re to walk away. It’s not safe. What if they shift and become physical with each other? You could get caught in the middle. It’s better if you stay out of it. Interfering with wolf business will make things a lot more difficult. What will you do if you get into
In the end, Tatiana and Adriana’s birthday celebrations forced Franco to leave his suite. Instantly, he noticed the change in the atmosphere of the palace in general. Tatiana insisted on celebrating her birthday as if nothing had changed. To Franco’s disappointment, Tatiana forbade anyone from speaking of his beloved Adriana. Even though they shared a birthday. The Royal Guards were still on high alert, believing Adriana would return and seek revenge or finish off her murder spree. None even thought to look beyond the obvious, and he saw that when this finally ended, he’d need to make sweeping changes to the surrounding people. He always hated fools and sycophants: these were Lolita’s acquisitions of bootlickers and toadies. They were people Tatiana appeared to favour as well. He couldn’t clean the house immediately or something could be lost in the resulting chaos. Franco wouldn’t stand for that. His staff hid th
Sabre lived off the generosity of his patrons. None knew they funded the leader of the Blood Traitor Network. Princess Tatiana didn’t recognize Sabre outside of the Blood Traitor Network safe house. As Frederick Ap Dunkirk, artist, and painter, he ranked too low for her to take notice. Even when his patron hauled him to court to celebrate Tatiana’s birthday. Now he sat there most of the night watching Tatiana make an utter fool of herself. He could see that she had to be cut loose, but she knew too much about that safe house and others within it. Frederick must start abandoning that lucrative location. Once he had all his plans figured out, Frederick amused himself with memories of his breaking in Tatiana like the most common harlot going. He’d enjoyed stretching her open more, so she gape after he finished with her. Nothing more satisfying than watching her degraded and debased as he stood there satisfied with his handy work.
Her father wouldn’t lay off the subject of Adriana. It ruined her mood for her entire birthday party. She’d wanted to stab him right then and there. Before everyone, but Tatiana didn’t dare to take over like that. How would she take over? Tatiana did like the idea of people fearing her violent response to her attacking her father, but she wasn’t crazy enough yet to miss how unpopular she was to the courtiers and common rabble. She knew she’d have to kill and replace people because of the insults several gave her and how they lacked any decent usefulness about them for Tatiana. It was high time Edger gets the boot, or better yet. Edger gets fitted for a coffin. Tatiana avoided all the summons Sabre sent her. She couldn’t go back there to see her. Every time she thought of Sabre watching that strange man fuck her, Tatiana feared it would happen again. She couldn’t do that again. It had been weeks now and messages kept appearing. Each