Selene
After two full days of arguing about my plans to go to Tartarus – most of which were devoted to convincing the Betas it was the right thing to do even though we’d already reached that agreement with Helene – Aiden, Donovan and I have finally reached something close to a detente. The Betas have accepted that I’m going to Tartarus whether they like it or not, and now Helene and I are well under way planning out trip. After reviewing the quickest route to Tartarus over and over again, we finally moved on to figuring out how we’re going to disguise me, what precautions I’ll take to avoid Blaise, and how to convince Bastien to believe me over Arabella.
I’ve continued training with her day and night, moving on from bending shadows to working on hypnosis, harnessing moonlight and putting people to sleep. I’m not very good at the latter two, but I’ve made surprising progress
FredericSelene is smarter than I gave her credit for - and more stubborn. Her impromptu interview with the press outside the hospital was masterful - if it hadn’t caused such problems for me I’d even be impressed. However ever since she told the pack to start looking into my background, I’ve been doing nothing but putting out fires.Every five minutes a different reporter is calling for my comment, while a bevy of others dig into my past. Of course, Thomas Kane only has records dating back to college - when my mother invented him. Before then everything I did was tainted by my father’s so-called “crimes”. The media has already figure out my current identity is a fraud, how much longer can I last before they learn the truth? Even the medical board has been calling me, threatening to revoke my license. Part of me regrets throwing my mother into the basement, I’d really love to have som
Arabella “What fresh hell is this?” I mutter, staring at the news coverage from Elysium in horror. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Frederic, who is by far the most conniving wolf I’ve ever met, is on screen getting tricked into admitting his crimes by that little whore, Selene. The worst part is that she drags me into it too, and he doesn’t deny a single word. My mouth falls wider and wider open with every word that passes between them. The cunning bitch clearly knows they’re being watched, and she eggs him on for the cameras. A dozen questions flood my mind as their conversation escalates. How on earth did this happen? How did she even find out the truth? She isn’t smart enough to figure it out on her own. I gasp when Frederic raises his hand to stri
Knocking on the door of the bedroom my father assigned Selene, I hear a dull thump and a sudden scampering sound within. Pushing the door open I scan the space, noticing a photo book splayed haphazardly on the bed as if it had been dropped there in hurry, and a pair of abandoned slippers on the floor by the headboard. However, I don’t see hide nor hair of the woman I came to find. Stepping inside, I call, “Selene?”Her sweet scent floats to my nose, muddled with a distinct tinge of acrid fear. Despite my sympathy for her plight, my sweet mate unwittingly placed a hunt under my nose, and no wolf worth his salt can resist such a tempting offer. “Come out, come out wherever you are, little wolf.”I hear a muted whimper in the direction of the bed. Furrowing my brow, I realize it had sounded awfully low to the ground, and after a moment I understand. The poor thing was so frightened she&r
ArabellaI have to admit, I like life much better with Bastien unconscious. It’s so much less stressful not having to play pretend every second of every day, especially with the constant news stories about Selene and Frederic. Part of me feels vindicated that Frederic exposed himself through utter overconfidence and stupidity – after all the times he called me names and criticized my mistakes, it feels good to see him get his comeuppance. Still, there’s no denying it’s inconvenient. Not to mention I very nearly slipped up with the memory potion. It hadn’t occurred to me that if Bastien wasn’t awake to drink the potion, it’s effects might have worn off by the time things have finally settled down enough for him to rejoin the waking world. It wasn’t until he started muttering Selene’s name in his sleep that I realized my oversight, and I very quickly called in another favor from my underworld
Frederic I’ve been on the road for hours, following Selene’s trail East and wondering if she’s truly on her way to the Calypso pack. It seems like the only possible destination for the route she and her witchy mentor are taking, but I can’t imagine she’s actually headed someplace where she might be killed just for being a Volana.If I’m right there’s only one possibility: for one reason or another, she must think that Bastien is there. If I’m lucky, I might be able to catch up to her before she finds him. I know if she would just give me another chance and listen with an open mind, I could convince her to stay with me. I regret our fight on the street, especially since it ruined more than ten years of undercover work and exposed me to the pack, but I also regret raising my hand against her. Still, I’m sure I can make her understan
Bastien I was getting ready for bed when I felt it. The strangest sensation deep in my chest, like something was tethered to my ribcage and dragging me forward. I was helpless to resist it, following the pull even though it could have been leading me anywhere. Arabella shouted after me that I couldn’t leave. We couldn’t afford for me to be seen, and even if no one connected us, there was a curfew. She tried to stop me, begging me to tell her what was going on and not to go, but I simply shook her off. I don’t know what came over me - it was like I was in a trance. When I made it out onto the street I had enough of my senses intact to evade the sentries patrolling the block, but I didn’t care about anything else. All I knew was that I had to find the source of this eerie power. Axel urged me on at every turn, showing no fear or doubt whatsoever. I knew very little of the city, but my early investigations told me I was
Selene If Bastien wants to hold me up against this wall and growl at me for the rest of our lives, I’ll gladly let him. It’s honestly a miracle I’m not crying like a baby just being reunited with him. The crushing weight that left my shoulders when I saw him was absolutely unfathomable. I truly did not realize how much stress I was carrying until I felt the sweet release of knowing my mate is unharmed – even if he has lost his marbles a bit. I don’t have the first idea what Arabella has done to him, but it’s clear he has no idea what has been happening while he’s away - or even what happened before. If she were a Volana I might think he’d been hypnotized, but since she’s not, I have to think some sort of magic is responsible. When he looks at me with that bewildered expression and opens my coat to reveal my
Selene“Selene they’re almost on us!” Helene whispers urgently.Staring at my mate, it’s easier to summon the shadows than ever. While he watches, still looking deeply confused as Arabella begs him to reject me, I wrap the darkness around the mouth of the alley. I can hear the sentries on the other side of the dark veil, but they cannot see us through the impenetrable fog.“Who goes there?” One shouts, hesitantly reaching into the darkness. I extend the shadows toward him in reply, inky tendrils reaching out for his body like a predator. Both men leap back with little yelps. “What the hell is this?”‘It’s got to be some kind of magic.” The other replies, “call it in.”“We need to get out of here.” Helene urges me, tugging at my arm as I continue to wait for Bastien to decide whether or not to reject me. Luna won’t let me move until we know our fate, even if the outcome is too painful to contemplate.Arabella, staring at the shimmering void I’ve conjured in abject horror, seems to feel