The opaque veil immediately withdrew from Connor's eyes, and he quickly positioned himself over his Alpha to protect him."Who?" Connor barely had time to articulate before he was grabbed by the throat and flung to the side.The Beta's body flew across the arena and crashed against the bottom of the bleachers. A thunderous boom rang out as the sound of shattering concrete and metal echoed.Only when the dust settled did those present see a man kneeling beside their Alpha.He had short-cropped raven-black hair and was wearing simple denim pants and a black shirt.When Connor emerged from the rubble to return to his Alpha, he stopped dead in his tracks and stared in horror at the man standing next to Harry."What... Why?" asked Connor as his skin closed where it had been cut.The man didn't answer and walked towards the rogue's head. Then, when he finally looked in the direction of the Red Moon Beta, his eyes revealed a glowing red color."Why hasn't anyone seen his silver-coated
Duncan merely chuckled, then exchanged a glance with his Alpha. They didn't need to speak, as Duncan knew perfectly well what he had to do. So he bent down and lifted Beta Connor's stunned body with ease. He'd tossed him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes without the slightest effort."You want me to come back?" Duncan asked calmly.Black nodded before sitting cross-legged in the dust of the combat zone."The less the Red Moon sees of us, the better," Black replied, closing his eyes.Duncan raised an eyebrow at his Alpha. He had parted his lips and was staring at him."What?" growled Black at his Beta. On the other hand, he hadn't even bothered to open his eyes, so intense was the way his Beta stared at him. He literally felt as if Duncan was punching holes in his skin just with his eyes."You realize that just the fact that you're standing right here is enough of a way to announce to everyone that you've set foot in their pack, right?" mocked Dun
"Manu, open the damn door," Bianca shouted, pounding her fist like a mad woman. "No... it's okay," replied Emmanuelle in a weak voice. She'd had to put her hands on the edge of the sink and was struggling to keep her balance as she watched her eyes change color. Instead of the usual blue, blood-red lines appeared. She took deep breaths. Besides, she had to calm down quickly and find a way to get Bianca out of the house. However, she hadn't anticipated that the pain coursing through her would be so intense. "Are you going to be all right? Are you kidding me, or what? Open up!" shouted Bianca in panic. "I'm warning you, I'm going to call the boys, and I'm going to have this fucking door kicked in!" Emmanuelle grumbled under the new wave of pain that had just swept through her mind. She was trying as best she could to concentrate her soul mate bond towards her beloved and manage Bianca outside. She staggered and opened the door with a jerk. "Don't break my house," she re
"Hello?" replied Augustin.The vampire was standing in front of the long tunnel made of torii at the entrance to a Shinto temple. Tall maple trees with leaves in a thousand shades of red added a touch of mysticism to the remote location, difficult for humans to access.He gazed at the large vermilion-painted "portals ."They were, after all, a succession of two vertical wood on which rested a heavy beam. The term portal only made sense to Augustin's Western mind when it was explained to him that the torii was used to separate a sacred enclosure from the profane realm."You will have to be more eloquent, my dear. I have finally obtained an audience with the lord of the South. I should be back in France within two days if all goes well. I was very amused to learn that the term "torii" means "where the birds are ."What better way to describe the entrance to the Vermilion Bird estate?" asked Augustin as two Miko in ceremonial garb arrived in the distance.He watched i
Augustin was utterly shocked. It was the first time in his life that someone had dared to address him this way. If anyone else had come across him at that moment, they would have been able to tell that the blond vampire had turned paler than a dead man. Augustin felt a dull rage growing inside him as the young woman's words repeated themselves over and over in his mind. All he wanted to do at that moment was call Emmanuelle back and tell the rude person who had answered him like that what he was really thinking. "What nerve!" he murmured as he continued to stare at his phone screen. The electronic ringing signaling that his correspondent had just hung up echoed through this mystically charged place. "What... What audacity, what an odious character that is!" he said more forcefully before freezing in place. He straightened up, stiff as a board, and finally hung up the phone. He ran a nervous hand over his lips. The vampire couldn't understand why he took the young woman's words so
Augustin had been frozen solid from the moment his eyes fell on the young woman beside him. He towered over her by a head and could only see the top of the newcomer's skull. Black hair, straight and thick, fell to the hollow of the young woman's low back. The vampire had turned his head a little more to get a better look at her. At the little space she had left between them as she appeared, he could only see the long eyelashes curling across the top of her cheeks. If he hadn't been a former vampire, he could have sworn this woman was one of his race, such as the pallor of her skin. He had the feeling that everything about this woman was pure enchantment in his eyes, and he was utterly unnerved by her appearance at his side. "You are?" he had finally dared to ask after regaining his composure. "Dhara," she replied, in her sophisticated voice, making a graceful movement with her hand in front of her. The young woman had turned her palm towards the sky as faint wisps
"If I have to wait any longer for your master's permission, I'll understand perfectly," Dhara pointed out coldly. The young woman couldn't contain the sarcastic smile on her lips and crossed her arms over her chest. Then she pointed at the vampire with her thumb without giving him a single glance. "If you were to go to your master for permission, you can take him with you. I'd find it unpleasant to have to stay by his side," she continued, pointing to the vampire with a shake of her head. "Excuse me?" asked an outraged Augustin before half-choking at the attitude the witch was adopting in front of him. Dhara rolled her eyes. She finally turned her gaze to the vampire and looked him up and down. "I feel no desire to converse with you nor even tolerate your presence. I heard what the mikos told you earlier. Besides, I could apologize and say I'm sorry, but there would be nothing sincere about my apology." "You are rude beyond measure," Augustin retorted through clenched teeth. The
The vampire gazed at her expressionlessly before tilting his head to one side. He knew something would change the moment she took in his name. He laughed softly and shook his head. He was still flabbergasted, however, that he'd been treated like this because she had no idea who he was. "I have already told you. My name is Augustin," he grumbled as the two mikos slowed down to listen in on their conversation. Dhara stopped breathing. At the same time, she finally took note of this stranger's completely black outfit. She finally noticed the long blond hair hanging over his shoulder and the strange red rims of his eyes. "Augustin?" "That is indeed the name I gave you, young Dhara," he confirmed. "Augustin, the Elder?" "So now I have been found out," he replied, gracefully closing his eyes and opening them again. "Augustin, the Elder, representative of the