(Harry.) Crac. Harry held the man's corpse firmly between his arms to lay his lifeless body on the ground. _ That's the third one today, Harry," Till grumbled. "I understand a little better why I'm here. It hasn't even been forty-eight hours since we set foot in France, and they seem to pop up magically from nowhere," the young Alpha remarked coldly. They had to get to work immediately, right after reaching their destination. The partner Harry needed to contact for the human's protection was much harder to find than expected. The young wolf was also surprised that his partner had not even tried to reach him as soon as he had informed the Council of his arrival. _Maybe he's already dead," the animal part of the Alpha suggested darkly. "I hope not and that he'll hurry up and show himself. I want to finish this mission quickly. Even though we can move through the elven portals, I don
After walking for a good hour, Harry reached a narrow space between two mountains. He crouched down and grabbed two stones, which he knocked together in a precise rhythm. Immediately, a tunnel appeared in the ground. A network of electricity lit up while a road was laid out through the cold stone, inviting them to move forward. _ Ooooh, electricity," Till hissed. I am disappointed. I was expecting torches to light up or little fairies trapped on the walls to produce light. It is very twenty-first century! "Remember, they don't believe in magic," Harry replied playfully. The Alpha, dressed in his Council battle attire, was having difficulty moving through the maze. The ceiling was so low that he had to bend in half. After many minutes of walking, he found himself in the middle of what appeared to be a public square. Harry looked around, searching for a soul among the cold, carved stones. A clearing of a throat made him look down, and he had to press his
"Where is Bianca!" called, in a booming voice, an old man sitting on the terrace of a Café, striking his cane on the cobblestones of the street. "I'm coming! Leave me two seconds to deliver this to the Micheline, and I will come to you!" Bianca shouted at the other end of the street. The villagers were setting up their stalls while the town hall employees were checking the bulbs of the long luminous garlands, taken out, especially for the occasion. Bianca was solicited from everywhere and was running around to give her opinion or help those who needed it. "I finish with Father Francis, and I come to help you!" said the brunette when she passed by her best friend. "Take your time. I'm still thinking about whether I cut the lavender stems to make bouquets or just leave them spread out on my table," Emmanuelle replied as she stared at the stall with a critical eye. "Okay. I'll be here in ten minutes maximum. I know Francis, and he'll want to talk to
"Are you planning to go out dressed like that?" Marguerite asked Harry. The young wolf turned his head toward her as he pulled the long black hooded cloak of the Council over his shoulders. He wore simple black cotton pants, and his leather combat boots were weary over them. "Yes. Why? Is there something wrong with my outfit?" The dwarf looked at him with a jaded expression and sighed loudly, "Men, I swear!" Then she quickly walked over to Harry's bag and unceremoniously opened it. "I can't believe it! This is a godforsaken French village in a godforsaken town, not a putain de fucking medieval city with candlelight!" She shouted victoriously and pulled a long-sleeved black shirt from the bag. Harry let out a disapproving grunt as he realized what she had chosen for him to wear. "This dress shirt doesn't fit me anymore, and I don't even know what it's doing in this bag. I must have a shirt lying around in there," Harry said as he reached for his ba
A small group of five young women was leaning on crates stacked by local farmers. The night was already well underway, and Bianca had finally been able to take a break. As soon as they saw Bianca walking away from Emmanuelle, the four young women hurried to pick her up and drag her away from the crowd. "And it is there that this bastard came to see me and tell me that he had dumped you, Bianca," declared a sublime brunette, having passed the arm under that of Emmanuelle's best friend. Bianca giggled before bursting frankly with laughter. "Ah, La Manon! What would I do without you?" she declared happily. "It made me mad when I knew that he continued to lie to me by looking me right in the eyes, Bianca!" answered, in anger, Manon. "Yes. This moron believed that we did not speak to each other. What a jerk!" said Bianca, shaking her head. The young women fell silent as soon as they saw a young boy stop in front of them,
Bianca tapped her index finger on her chin, pretending to think, then began to offer: "You're in luck. We ordered traditional pastries, especially for the party. You could try one. Although, with your size, I suppose you could even try one of each... Do you have any special allergies?" Harry shook his head again in denial. Bianca smiled patiently before listing: "We have biscotins from Aix. They're little shortbread with orange blossom flavor and hazelnut on top. We have Chanteclair, which is a meringue-based cake flavored with praline and mocha, and it is served with ice cream. We also have Jausiereine. It's a round cake with an inner filling of raspberries or blueberries. But I think it's blueberries in the ones we got. And I also got some Alpine pie." Harry stood perfectly still, unintentionally causing Bianca to smile awkwardly. "There's no vanilla in these desserts?" he asked. Bianca puffed out her cheeks before emitting a loud pff as
(A few minutes earlier.) Emmanuelle kept running her tongue over her lips. She didn't know what was going on, but it seemed to her that a tempting smell was coming from time to time. She was unable to say what it was, but she was sure of one thing: she wanted to know the source of that smell. She was slightly startled when she felt the tip of her canines scratch the tip of her tongue. It seemed to her that her heart, usually motionless, was moving in her chest and panic began to take her throat. "No. I can't be thirsty. Not now..." she muttered to herself. She had made sure to feed herself a whole bag of blood before coming. It wasn't normal for her to feel hungry so soon. She frantically searched her pockets, then her bag, and discovered with horror, that she had forgotten to take a vial of blood before coming. No. She had not forgotten it. She had simply found it unnecessary, even as a precautionary measure, since she had eaten a hearty din
Emmanuelle was almost grateful to the band. From the moment they had found themselves on the dance floor, the musicians had been playing catchy and quick rhythms. She had to admit it, Raphael was an excellent dancer. He made her turn and guided her with an expert hand. "You are gifted!", she finally declared to her dance partner. "Thank you. But, I must say, it's only possible because you let me," the young man replied happily. "Are all pastors' sons such good dancers?" she asked, her eyes shining with amusement. Raphael burst out laughing before nodding quickly. "Maybe they are. Years of practice making our old parishioners dance at fairs! It gives us unexpected skills with the ladies!" he replied, half amused, half embarrassed by his answer. Emmanuelle was surprised to hear herself laugh. Decidedly, if she had known that he would be such good company, perhaps she would have made the effort to talk to him earlier. The music ended and Rap
The vampires stiffened at the mention of Emmanuelle's beloved's first name. The young blonde woman had burst into tears again, closely followed by Bianca. Augustin looked back curtly as he saw a blood maid standing in the doorway. She shyly held in her hands a square black wooden tray on which rested a box of tissues as well as a carafe of water and crystal glasses. Typically, the ancient vampire would never have tolerated such an intrusion into his family sphere. However, he had to admit that the gesture was thoughtful, and the two women in front of him were particularly boisterous. "Thank you," he said to the servant, and she disappeared as quickly as she had come. "Does Ari even know?" asked Bianca. Emmanuelle was at a loss for words and shook her head to say no. She rose from her rocking chair. "Damn, when I thought I'd said as a joke that you could take nine months to make a baby! If I could do that with the lottery numbers, it would make my life so much easier," Bianca
Emmanuelle, diligently knitting a child's bonnet, was startled. She was sitting on a rocking chair, enjoying the cool morning air and the song of the cicadas. She was stunned to see Bianca in the doorway.How could this be? She should have heard, even smelled, Bianca coming.The young brunette woman had rushed headlong towards her best friend, staring at her from head to toe.Emmanuelle gently placed her red woolen book on the oak coffee table beside her. But she remained silent.Of course, this moment would come sooner or later. But Emmanuelle had hoped to delay it as long as possible for fear of Bianca's reaction.Emmanuelle was still thinking about her best friend's lecture on contraception. But how could she have known then that she was actually able to get pregnant without a complete bond?Augustin's hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor. Obviously, the former vampire had done this on purpose. It would have been inconce
"Ouch!" Augustin had unintentionally crashed into someone while carrying several cartons of paper. It was when he'd backed up, and especially thinking he was alone in the office, that the accident had happened. The ancient vampire froze, then quickly turned his head towards the person. He was surprised to see Bianca rubbing her nose. The young woman had come in and tried to cover her eyes to play a trick on him. On the other hand, she had made a maneuvering error, and his best friend's father had moved much faster than expected. He was completely stunned. It was the first time in his long immortal life that a living being had been able to approach him without him being able to detect its presence. He squinted for a moment, searching for some hidden power within Bianca, but nothing. The young woman's heart was beating normally. Her big, caramel-colored eyes had that human life and light in them. And it was only after a draught of air entered the room that Augustin could smell the s
Before Harry knew what was happening, he was back in human form. He soon found himself lying on his side, in a gun-dog position.His breathing was ragged from the rapid, forced metamorphosis imposed by the Mad One's order, while a sense of emptiness gradually invaded his mind.Memories flooded back like a burst dam, and he felt a lump in his throat.However, he didn't have time to react as Black threw a pair of black gym shorts at him.It was Wayne who'd been in charge of quickly fetching clothes the second he'd seen the Mad One revert to human form."Stand up," Black ordered once he was clothed himself.Harry had struggled to his feet and dressed himself, keeping his head down. His body had begun to shake as memories returned more clearly, and he managed to organize his thoughts.The young Red Moon Alpha had to clear his throat again and blink rapidly to chase away the emotion gripping his heart.When he
The red wolf trembled from head to toe as the black wolf circled him. The disapproving growls of this fantastic beast with glowing red eyes left no doubt as to what it thought of Harry. Why did we swear to protect him?" growled the black wolf to his human counterpart. "Because he's alone," Black replied coldly, without trying to say anything more. He already knew what Harry's wolf was thinking, and he suspected perfectly well what would happen next. _He's not alone! He's got a Mate!" barked the black wolf, still showing his fangs in his mind, but also to the two trembling Alphas in front of him. Black merely sighed. His wolf was as stubborn as he was, and he knew perfectly well that his wolf would still go after Harry no matter what he said. And this wasn't even for valid reasons, but simply because he was jealous that the red wolf had been rewarded with a soulmate before him. "He's alone," Black repeated. The black wolf's growl had grown even m
Harry had seen Alpha Black's face gradually take on the appearance of a wolf with fur as black as a moonless night. This should never have frightened him so much. However, what should have been a commonplace occurrence in a werewolf's daily life had turned into a horror movie for the young man. Had it been any other wolf, Harry wouldn't have cared a lick about it. Yet he never thought he'd have to deal with the Alpha Black wolf himself. During their training sessions, the Mad One had always made sure he had the upper hand over his animal side for fear that his wolf would try to hurt the young man. Now, for the first time in his life, Harry found himself face to face with the great black wolf. The fear he felt was so great that he felt as if everything frightening he'd experienced up to now had been a walk in the park. The Mad One's bones had cracked in transformation, while his skin was covered in a long coat as black as night. A menacing growl arose, amplified by the spherical sh
Harry was now sprawled on his back. His arms stretched out crosswise to his sides. His nose was bleeding from the kick he'd received in the face, and he had to cough to get rid of the blood filling his throat. The young redhead let out a pained groan as Alpha Black lifted him by the hair. Harry's usually well-groomed brush cut had grown long enough for the Mad one to grab it quickly. Alpha Black lifted Harry so that he was at eye level and stared at the young man in front of him. He wanted to see Harry's healing speed and was shocked at how slowly his wolf's power was working. This confirmed that the red wolf was dormant, and Black knew he had to act quickly if Harry's animal side was not to sink too deep inside him. The Mad One knew perfectly well what it felt like to be deprived of his animal part. He couldn't even tell the last time he'd been able to talk to his own wolf. Despite Black's pleas, the animal remained walled in silence, communicating only by growling. Despite his
Witnesses who had seen the scene had tried to follow them, at first squealing with delight. They all felt happy and reassured to see their Alpha fit enough to go out. However, when they finally became aware of their pack leader's posture, they finally realized that something was wrong. Worse still, they had begun to cry out in horror at the sight of the Mad One heading straight for the arena. The Red Moon pack's telepathic link had been flooded with warning messages and cries for help. Beta Connor, who had spent the day organizing meetings with other packs, had lost his balance and abandoned whatever he was doing to rush out. The pack's collective panic had prevented him from thinking calmly, and his body was now only acting automatically. He had shouted to the soldiers and guards positioned at the borders of the pack's territory to join him as quickly as possible. Alpha Black tossed Harry's body without a moment's hesitation. He remained completely indifferent to the growing crow
Harry slowly opened his eyes. He had to blink several times to adjust his vision to the blinding brightness of the room. The young Red Moon Alpha had no idea where he was or what he was doing there. He took a few deep breaths and recognized the aseptic smell of disinfectant so characteristic of hospitals. Then, at last, the sound of machines reached his ears, and he became aware of the plastic tubes to which his body was connected. "Till?" whispered Harry. He couldn't understand why he was in a hospital bed or why his wolf's power hadn't been enough to heal him. It wasn't right that he should be placed in a condition where he had to be bedridden. Nervous spasms moved his facial muscles as he gradually became aware of his wolf's silence. Alone. A feeling of anguish gripped the young Alpha's heart as that single word echoed in his mind. He was alone again and unable to contact Till. But he had something else. So it wasn't just Till's lack of response that paralyzed the young Alpha