THEODORE Theodore walked inside the cabin, his mate in his arms. He could see the bruises all over her body from his harsh training. He didn’t mean to hurt her, but the training was necessary for her to be strong when they enter vampire territory. He couldn’t risk what happened the last time she encountered a vampire. His wolf would kill him if he allowed her to be harmed again. Theodore gently places Anastasia on her bed and walks to her bathroom, filling the bathtub with warm water. She must be exhausted, but she needs a good bath and a good sleep. Once Theodore is done filling the bathtub with water and scented oils, he walks back to her. “Anastasia ,” Theodore calls her name softly, trying to wake her up. He can’t be harsh with her after all the training she endured. “Hmmm,” Anastasia says in her sleep. She’s trying to block out his voice so she can sleep. “You need to take a shower. Wake up.” Theodore tries to wake her up again. “Okay,” Anastasia says, opening her eyes
“Explain,” I say when we’re all seated. “As I said, I’m a witch, and I’m here to help you enter vampire territory,” Ekaterina says. “I got that part, but I don't understand why you would help us. If anything, you shouldn’t want to help the werewolf King's mate find her mother.” “I know a normal witch won't, but I’m not just any witch. I’m a witch who is alive because of the werewolf King.” “Tell me how that’s possible.” “I saved her from near-death,” Theo says, being vague. “Really? You saved a witch?” I ask, surprised he did. His Mom hated witches, so I assumed she must’ve passed down her hatred before she died. “It's surprising, right?” Ekaterina says, smiling. “Yes, it's shocking given that his mother is the reason witches and werewolves everywhere don’t get along.” “Yes, but Theodore doesn’t hate witches. Or he didn’t when he met me.” “So, he hates witches, but he doesn’t hate you? You just called him by his name. You two must be really close.” “Yes, we are,” Ekaterina
The following morning, I woke up more tired than usual. I also feel very cold. Ekaterina made the cave warm last night with her fire, so I shouldn’t be feeling cold. I try to stand up but find it challenging. Water drips from my forehead and lands on my hand. I look up to see if the cave has a hole and water is leaking through, but it doesn’t. Bringing my eyes back down, I notice my hands are wet and not only my hands my neck and face. Why am I sweating? I’m not hot. I’m cold. I try to lift myself off the ground, but I can’t. “Anastasia , what’s wrong?” Theo asks, rushing to my side. He must have noticed me struggling to get up. “I don’t know,” I whisper. My throat feels sore, and it hurts to speak. What’s going on? I look Theo in the eyes, pleading with him to help me. I’m scared. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. “Do you feel pain?” he asks, worried. I nod my head, saying yes. “Where do you feel the pain” I use my hands to gesture all over my body. “Do you know why you’re
Theo and I spend the day at the pond. He didn’t go back in water after almost marking me, though. I want to ask Ekaterina why she stopped him, but I think she’s avoiding me. “I think I’m feeling better now. Please, can you turn away?” When he turns away, I step out. Even though we were half-naked under the water a few hours ago, I’m still not comfortable being seen only in my underwear. My throat doesn’t feel sore anymore, and it doesn’t hurt to talk. My body temperature’s gone down. I feel stronger. I’m sure it's because of the spells Ekaterina cast into the water. They must’ve helped me recover. I dry myself with the hand towel I packed from home. “You can turn around now,” I say once I’m done putting on my clothes. “Are you sure you’re feeling better?” Theo asks, facing me. “Yes,” I say, and he places his hand on my forehead. “You’re right. Your temperature is much lower,” he says, removing his hand from my forehead. “Yep. Where’s Ekaterina?” I ask. “She went to look for
“Theo, how do you know him?” I ask after Walden walks out. “This isn’t my first time running into hunters.” “Are you the one who gave him the scar on his face?” I ask to confirm my earlier suspicion. “Yes. I should’ve ripped his whole face off,” Theo snarls. “Do you know what he’s talking about when he says 'for what is about to come’?” “No. But knowing Walden, it isn’t something good for werewolves.” “I hope it's something we’ll be able to face, even in your condition.” “Once the silver is out of my system, we’ll have less to worry about. I’ll be able to get us out of here, don't worry. Everything is going to be fine,” Theo says, easing my worries away. “Okay, if you say so,” I say, leaning my back against the wall close to him. Theo wraps his arms around my waist and tries to pull me close to him, but I stop him. “Theo , you’re injured, you don't need my weight on you right now.” “Did I tell say that?” he asks, pulling me close to him. “You don't have to, it’s logica
“I already told you what you need to do,” he says, pulling my face to the front of his pants. I look at Theo , and I can see in his eyes he doesn’t want me to, but I can’t watch him die from electrocution. It’ll haunt me forever if that happens. “I’ll do it. Please stop!” “No, honey, you go first,” he says, unzipping his pants. He’s about to pull out his cock when a voice outside stops him. “That’s enough, Gordon,” I hear Walden say from outside. I never expected I’d be happy to hear his voice. “Okay,” the disgusting man says and stops electrocuting Theo . I quickly run toward my mate to check him. “Theo are you okay?” I ask, lifting him off the ground and helping him sit up. “I’ll live,” he says hoarsely. He sounds in a lot of pain. His eyes are glued to Gordon, and I can see he’s planning his death in his head. “I see you met my son. He takes after me, doesn’t he?” Walden asks, walking into the room. Theo doesn’t say anything and continues to glare at Gordon. I pity him when
When I wake up I’m back in the cell. I quickly check my body to see if I’m clothed, and I am. “Anastasia , are you awake?” Theo asks, sounding exhausted. “Yes, I am. Theo are you okay?” I ask, walking toward him at the back of the cell. “Theo !” I scream when I see the state he’s in. He’s worse than before. His shoulder has an open wound where the rogue was trying to bite it off. His face has claw marks all over. His neck has a vampire bite wound, and he seems to be sweating. I place my hand on his forehead to check his temperature and it's high. The silver in his body is taking time to come out, so it's making him sick. The wounds he has aren’t helping to speed things up. I quickly tear a piece of my shirt and tie his shoulder to try and stop the bleeding as much as I can. “Theo , you’re not looking good. We can't wait for you to recover before we try and escape. You’re badly injured and getting sick. It's going to take a lot to heal you. We need to come up with a new plan.” “
Three days later, Ekaterina arrives, and she’s perfected the werewolf silver shield spell. We’re about to test it. “You can shift now,” Ekaterina tells Theo . All the silver is gone from his body, so he can shift now. He’s also fully recovered. The humans didn’t notice him getting better when they brought our food the last couple of days. They hardly even entered the cell, just throwing the food in. Theo shifts into his beautiful midnight wolf. Theo ’s wolf is the biggest I’ve ever seen. I’m not surprised since he’s the werewolf King. His wolf is ten or twelve feet tall, taller than I stand even in human form. My wolf is around six or seven feet tall, the average height for werewolves. That’s half of Theo ’s wolf in size. I’m not shifting because I need to open the doors as we try to free our people. I know we can break down the doors in wolf form, but it’s easier if I just use my hands. I walk closer to him and pass my hands through his fur. It feels very soft and nice under my
5 YEARS LATER I wake up to little hands touching my face. When I open my eyes, I lock gazes with eyes the same as mine. “Wake up, mummy, wake up, mummy,” Caleb says, slapping my face with his little fingers. I feel his little knees pressing into my stomach. He must be on top of me. Caleb is the male version of me. He has the same blond hair and blue eyes. He’s the cutest four-year-old out there in the world. “Good morning, sweetheart,” I say, grabbing his hands to stop him from hitting my face. “Good, you’re up, mummy,” Caleb says, dropping down from on top of me. He stands at the edge of the bed with his sister. “How was your night, sweethearts?” I ask, sitting up. I lift Amelia from the side of the bed, while she still has her thumb in her mouth. Amelia is daddy's little angel. She has Theo wrapped around her little fingers. I think she’s timid because of how much Theo smothers her. My baby girl is two-years-old, with blonde hair and blue eyes like her Dad and me. “It was goo
Our wing in the castle is like a small condo. It has everything—a living room, kitchen, and bedrooms. I walk to the living room to watch some TV while I wait for Theo to come back. An hour passes since Theo has left; he texts me that it’s taking longer than he thought it would and won't come back anytime soon. I decide to do something to fill up the time while I wait for him. I call Ekaterina and asked her to come along with me to the mall. While watching TV, a thought of how I could spice things up tonight for Theo comes to mind. Ekaterina and I drive us to the mall. “So, tell me how it went with Ava?” Ekaterina asks while I’m driving. “It went well. I’ll send her the code once Theo and I mate.” “I’m surprised you guys haven't mated yet.” “He had some important things to attend to.” “I guessed as much. Why are we going to the mall?” “I want to buy lingerie,” I say and feel my cheeks heat up. “Someone wants to spice up her first time. That's nice,” Ekaterina says, smirking
Theo and I are in a restaurant waiting for Ava to arrive; she’s a few minutes late but nothing to panic about yet. I’m about to dial her number and find out why she’s taking so long when she finally walks in. She looks around a little before spotting Theo and me. She smiles once she spots us in the midst of people and walks toward us. “Hello,” she says, smiling. My body shakes as a cold shiver runs down my spine when I see her smile. She looks so evil and wicked. If anything, it makes her look more mischievous. I know I shouldn’t judge her by her looks, but I can’t help it. The woman looks like the witches humans read about in their stories. Beautiful on the outside but ugly on the inside. “Hi,” I say. “I’m surprised you agreed to my offer, werewolf King. Aren’t you worried James will kill you once he comes back to life and finds out you killed his brother?” Ava says, smirking. James must be the name of Nickolas’ brother. “We’ll cross that bridge once you remove the curse,” Theo
The following morning, Theo and I wake up early and get ready to visit Ekaterina at the hospital. She isn’t getting better or worse. Her health is just stagnant. She needs to stay in the hospital so they can monitor her. I hope she recovers soon. When we arrive we knock on Ekaterina’s door before entering. “Hi,” I say, walking in. “My two favorite love birds,” Ekaterina says when she sees us. She doesn’t look so great today. She looks weak and thinner. I wonder why she isn’t getting better. The doctors don’t know why either. “How are you doing today?” Theo asks, concerned. I’m sure he’s significantly worried about Ekaterina’s health. “Better, the baby allowed me to drink water today,” Ekaterina says, smiling softly. “That’s good to hear. Where’s your mate?” I ask, sitting beside her on her bed after she shuffled a little to the side. “He stepped out to get something. He’ll be back soon.” “Oh, okay. We came to ask you something.” “I’m listening,” she says, sitting up a little
I groan in my sleep as I feel a terrible headache coming. I open my eyes as I massage my head. I’m not in my bed, I’m tied to a chair. I try to free myself from the ropes around my hands but the more I struggle with them, the more they burn my skin. It's like they’re silver. I look around me, and everywhere is dark. Where am I? I’m about to scream when I hear someone’s voice. “There’s no need to scream dear, no one will hear you,” a familiar voice says. Everywhere is dark so I can't see them. “Who are you? Show yourself!” I shout to the person in the room with me. “Hello, dear,” Ava says, appearing in front of me. “Did you miss me?” she says, using her long nails to touch the edge of my face. “Where am I, and how did I get here?” I ask, moving my face out of her reach. “You’re with me, that’s where you are.” “What the hell does that mean?” “It means what it means.” “Did you smoke crack?” I ask, my brows raised. “Why would you ask me that stupid question?” she asks, frowning.
I open my eyes the second my dream ends. I see Theo removing his teeth from my hand. That must be how he entered my mind. He opens his eyes, and a pair of widen blue eyes stare back at mine. I missed staring at those beautiful eyes of his. “Hi, Theo,” I say with a soft smile. “Anastasia is it really you?” Theo asks, touching my face. “Yes, it's me, my mate,” I say, with tears of joy in my eyes. I can’t believe I am alive, and my mate is in front of me right now. “I can't believe it,” Theo says, with tears of his own pooling in his eyes. “Me too!” “I missed you. Never leave me again,” Theo says, hugging me. “I missed you too, and I’ll never leave you again,” I say, hugging my mate back. Once he removes his arms around my neck, he seals my lips in a passionate kiss. He knocks the air out of me and fill my mouth with the sweet taste of him. I pass my hand through his hair as he deepens the kiss, pushing his tongue into my mouth. It feels like ages since we last kissed. I moan again
I leave Anastasia’s room after ensuring she’s still breathing. I walk down the hall to Ekaterina’s room. It’s been a week since Ekaterina removed the fire from Anastasia’s body. Since then, I thought my mate would wake up once she had enough blood in her body, but she didn’t. The doctors don’t know why and neither does Ekaterina. I am going to visit Ekaterina for a different reason right now. I knock on Ekaterina’s hospital door and wait to be told to enter before entering. I am the King, and I don’t need to knock, but I thought it would be proper to knock before walking in on my friend and my strongest Alpha doing it. I know it’s a hospital, and their chances of doing it are low, but the smell of arousal from the room made me believe it was possible. A shiver ran down my spine, just imagining myself walking in on them. “My King,” Kyler says, opening the door. His hair looks like someone was pulling it a lot, and his clothes look like he just threw them on. “Hello, Kyler. How are yo
I rush down the hospital hallway with my mate in my arms. I mind-link the doctors that I’m here. They meet me halfway with a stretcher. I placed Anastasia on it so they could take her to surgery. I wait outside as they try to save my mate’s life. I don’t know how many hours go by when the doctors step out of the operating room. I rush to the doctor to find out how Anastasia is doing. “How is she?” I ask. “The witch had already sealed her wounds, so we administered a drug to help remove the silver in her body. Most of it went out with her blood, but some remained. We’re also giving her blood right now. She fell into a coma because of the blood loss, so it might take a while before she wakes up.” “But she will live regardless?” “She should.” “That’s great. Where is she?” I release a breath of relief. “Let me take you to her,” the doctor says, leading the way to Anastasia’s room. I follow him. I thank the doctor before stepping into Anastasia’s room. My mate has IV tubes inserted
“Nickolas!” I shout as he is about to step out. He turns and faces me. “Let’s get this done with,” I say, running toward him, but I see something in my peripheral vision that makes me halt. That’s not good. Ekaterina creates a portal, but before she can pass through it with Anastasia, someone closes it and makes it disappear. Ekaterina has told me only one witch in the world could close another witch’s portal. The witch Queen. “Hello, dear, it’s been a while since I last saw you,” the evil witch says to Ekaterina with a smirk on her face. Ava must’ve told her sister, Rebecca, Ekaterina was here. Witches can send messages to each other by using spells. I want to keep my promise and help Ekaterina, but right now isn’t the time. Nickolas is getting away. I will help her once I’m done with him. I continue to run toward Nickolas. Grabbing him by the collar, I spin him around. I punch him square in the face, but Nickolas quickly heals from it. I hit him two more times in the ribs, but