MITCH CHESTER"THIS HAD BETTER be good," Mitch growled as he stepped down from the electric buggy that was used to commune in the kingdom. He walked towards the group of patrol scouts gathered near a small building.They all looked up at the same time and stood at attention. "Your Highness, sir!" The saluted.He nodded absently and looked around. "What is it?" He asked in a gruff voice."This requires more of the Luna's attention," an elder guard said, pushing open the door to the small building and stepping aside to let Mitch through."The Luna will be here soon," Mitch muttered. "She had to take care of something before coming here." His mind envisioned her as he left her - on the bed, legs cross and the bathrobe parted, exposing her thighs. He groaned and shook his head as if to clear the image from his mind as he entered the building. "What is -" he started to ask but then he saw what had caused the concern.Two children, a boy and girl, where huddled in the corner. They looked un
ANNA KYLIN CHESTER I IMMEDIATELY KNEW someone was wrong the instant I entered the building. I could tell that Mitch felt it, too, because when he told me that they were children, he did not sound all too convinced that they were okay.They looked pretty normal - just too unkempt children, malnourished and unbathed, but the energy was so intense. And as soon as the boy looked up to me, I knew he was the source of that aura.I crouched beside the girl and touched her arm. She raised her head slowly and turned to me. She was nervous so I used my Luna aura to ease her anxiety, and she melted into my embrace.The boy tensed as I stroked her hair, and he watched my hand movements very carefully. I could tell that he had a very strong protective urge over his sister. When he saw that she was safe in my arms, he leaned back slightly."What is your name?" I asked softly."I am Elijah," he said, and I detected a slight gruff to his voice. "Her name is Hailie."I nodded. "I am Luna Anna, and I'
ANNA KYLIN CHESTER I WATCHED MITCH battled with himself. Then he clenched his jaws and walked closer to Elijah. I looked at Draco, who was as tense as I was.An alpha feral werewolf might not take lightly to a Lycan trying to tame it.Mitch approached Elijah slowly; the boy gazed at the wall. He did not seem to be awake at all, but he could hear small growls emanating from him. Mitch turned to look at me and I gave him a grim smile for him to continue. Once he got closer, Elijah turned sharply and stared at him.I held my breath as I watched Mitch crouch and stare directly into Elijah's eyes. They held gaze for long seconds, with Elijah growling quietly; suddenly, he whined and looked down, exposing his neck and showing submission."Have a bath and go to your room to sleep," Mitch commanded. Elijah stood up immediately and trudged to the bathroom next door. Mitch turned to me and winked."What did you do?" I asked."Nothing," Mitch shrugged. "I only showed him who was in charge here
ANNA KYLIN CHESTER "THANK YOU, PATTY," I said as she refilled my cup with some white wine.The table was silent. Elijah and Hailie ate like they had not eaten in days - maybe they had not. They ate so quickly that I wondered if they even chewed or tasted the food. I feared they were going to choke if they kept it up, and I wanted to say something, but Mitch must have known because he shook his head subtly and mind linked, "Let them eat." So I sat back and let them risk choking on food.Patty was excited at their enthusiasm to eat and she kept bringing more food to the table, adding more servings to Elijah's plate and for the first time since he arrived, I saw his eyes crinkle at the sides like he was about to smile.Aiden and Addison ate so quietly. Their spoons didn't even make contact with their plates. They watched Elijah and Hailie suspiciously. Soon, everyone was done eating, even Hailie - except Elijah who still wolfed down plate after plate. When he noticed that he was the onl
MITCH CHESTERTHE DAYS PASSED quickly, nobody kept time. Mitch's days were riddled with work during the day, checking through the kingdom's status that Draco filed to him - approve the appeal to expand the kingdom's residential areas, more houses and cabins, etc. - and his nights were what he looked most forward to. He spent them in Anna's arms.He dropped the stack of papers in frustration. "These are all bullshit," he snarled to himself. The human government was still stumped about the continuous missing people. And the theories were as stupid as anything. Some people were saying it was the work of aliens..."Aliens," Mitch scoffed in disgust.But the official statement from the government is that it was the work of an enemy nation and they were preparing for war. Mitch pushed the newspaper aside and reached for his phone, Maybe he ought to call the governor's office and tell some of the truth.The door opened and Draco came in. "Why is your face like that?" He asked, walking to the
MITCH CHESTER“OKAY, WE CAN go now,” Mitch said. He swung his leg from the table and dropped his glass cup on the table. He glanced at his wristwatch. They had spent closer to one and a half hours in the office. Draco burped and held up the almost empty bottle of scotch. It had been full an hour ago.“Yes,” Draco muttered. “We can go now.” He drained the last directly from the bottle and followed Mitch out of the office. They entered the car. “Are you sure you are fit to drive?” Draco drawled. “You seem quite drunk.”Mitch chuckled and shook his head. “You should look in the mirror.” He said as he started the car and slowly nosed out of the garage.“The council banished my grandfather because he spoke against their actions, you know,” Draco said as the car sped along the road. Mitch remained quiet, knowing that Draco had more things to say. “And my grandmother was heavily pregnant at the time. But did they care?” he asked rhetorically and spat out the window before shaking his head. “
ANNA KYLIN CHESTERI WATCHED HAILIE pick up dome snow with her fingers. Excitement was clearly written all over her face as she let the snow pour from her face. Even though they had been here for almost a week, not much had changed. Elijah remained silent and angry most of the time, but his animal instinct to growl and become defensive had reduced significantly. Hailie had opened up much more. She behaved like the child that she was. She was still fascinated by snow. Everyday when all the children had gone to school and they were alone, Elijah would take her to the yard and watch her as she played with the snow to her satisfaction. He never joined her, though. He did not even smile, but I could see his eyes change anytime he thought he was alone with his sister – they became warm and softer.I had also seen Hailie and Addison share a moment when they looked through a picture together. I hoped it would be the beginning of a strong bond between them. But not Elijah; I had seen him look
ANNA KYLIN CHESTER I PUSHED THE door opened and looked around the room, and I could not believe my eyes. First, it seemed like Draco was drunk. He was slumped on the couch, sleeping. Mitch was behind his desk, but what really caught my attention was the familiar small stature of the man opposite him."Charles?" I gasped.The man turned. It was him, and recognition filled his eyes, followed by dread."Anna - Luna Anna," he gulped and said.My eyes flickered from him to Mitch as I walked in. "What is going on here?" I asked as I stood in the middle of the room and crossed my arms."Our guest," Mitch said, gesturing at Charles, who looked pale and blue. He looked like he was going to suffer from hypothermia anytime soon. "Glad to see he you both have met before," he said sarcastically, eyeing Charles. "What does he want?" I asked. I knew I was being harsh and short-tempered, but I could not help but remember how this same man had treated me when I was in the Red Moon pack and how he h
ANNA KYLIN CHESTERHOLDING ON TO Vorenus softly as he led me out, We walked up a flight of stairs and down a hallway till we stopped in front of a thick, mahogany wood. I took a deep breath as Vorenus pushed the door open and stood aside to let me through. Taking careful steps, I walked into the room. It was like a large hall, lit up beautifully with gold chandeliers. There was a small round table in the middle of the room, and Vorenus was seated at the head of the table.He looked at me as I walked in; his eyes widened slightly, but that was the only reaction he gave. His human mistress sat beside me; the look she gave was a nasty, dirty stare, but she kept her mouth shut. Vladimir's eyes followed me all the way to the table. I nodded at him curtly and took a seat. The table was filled with many delicacies, and even a full roast pig sat in the center.“Thank you for coming,“ Vladimir said.It was not like I had any option; I scoffed under my breath. I turned and looked behind me, exp
ANNA KYLIN CHESTERI DO NOT know how long I remained in the cage — listening to the dripping of water in the far dark distance. But I knew when the sun went down, because the mansion became more active, and the sound of night bugs joined in the sound of water droplets.I felt like I was going to run mad, but the door opened and the butler came in. He was human, I was sure of it, but still, there was something off about him. But I could not place my hand on it. He stood a few feet away from my cell and looked at me in a spiteful manner. “My name is Bartholomew the Fourteenth,“ he said.The fourteenth? I asked myself. Does that mean that fourteen generations of this man's family had lived with and worked for Vladimir?“What you are thinking is exactly correct,“ the butler said. “And no, I cannot read minds, but I could clearly see the confusion written on your face.”“What do you want?“ I asked. If he was going to be anything like the other human in the mansion - Janet, I wanted to prep
320LORNA DID NOT know her next move, or why she washed the mind of this vampire, but she knew she had to do something, and this seemed like the first step.“Rise,“ she commanded.The vampire stood up robotically and looked at her with his soulless eyes.“What are you doing here?“ she asked him.“Keeping watch on the borders of this kingdom,“ he replied.“Why?““I was just following orders,“ he said.“Whose orders?“ Lorna asked, even though she already knew the answer, but she wanted to be sure.“The king,“ the vampire replied.Lorna scoffed under her breath. Vladimir. She turned and looked at the way she had come from, considering her options. Should she take this vampire back to the kingdom where he could be interviewed by Mitch for information, or should she take the more riskier option and tell the vampire to take her to where Anna was being kept prisoner?She looked back and forth a couple of times, then she made her decision. She was not going back to the kingdom. She and they w
LORNA LOOKED OUT the window and watched as Mitch addressed the guest from the Red Moon pack; she saw the way they looked at him with awe and adoration. They were here out of respect for him and love for Anna.She turned away from the window and went to the bed where Aiden was sleeping, brushing her hand across his forehead. He mumbled something inaudible and shuffled slightly, but he did not wake up. She sighed sadly, wondering what the medical personnel were going to make of this. Aiden was not entirely in a coma. He responded to touch, and she had seen his flicker in his eyelids when Mitch had whispered something in his ear a few hours ago. It was just like he was in a deep slumber without being able to wake up. She imagined it to be like he was trapped in his own body.“If only your mother were here,“ she muttered in a small voice. “She would know what to do to bring you back.“ Lorna spoke gently to herself. She sighed and leaned in to kiss Aiden's forehead. She felt very connected
MITCH CHESTERMITCH COULD FEEL the animosity in the tense air as soon as they walked in. Draco was behind him, and Delta Adam walked beside him as they walked to the front of the hall. All heads followed their movement. Mitch stopped and overlooked the senate; he cleared his throat to stop all side talks and make sure all the attention was on him before he said, “We have some guests in our midst,“ he said in a strong voice. “And I expect us to be hospitable and treat them well.““They are from the inland pack,“ a small, stubby man muttered.“From the lunas former pack,“ Mitch nodded. “And they are here to help us in rescuing her. I hope we will be able to put aside your differences and work together.“The hall was silent for the next few seconds, so Mitch continued, “And they brought some weapons to give us an added advantage,“ he said.“We will be fighting with weapons now?“ Sil asked, astonished, “Like the humans?“Mitch cocked his head and nodded. “I'm afraid so,“ he said. “We need
MITCH CHESTERMITCH SAT DOWN heavily and examined the faces of the members of the Senate before him. They knew something was off in the balance of the kingdom. He cleared his throat and said, “What called for this meeting?““I think the meeting is long over due, Your Highness,“ Lane said in a small voice. Mitch looked around at the nods of agreement around the table.Mitch snorted.“We got the news that we had guests.“ a fat man muttered. “Guest. Warriors from another pack. As if the military in this kingdom is not enough.““So it means there is a heavy war coming,“ Sil said. She paused and continued, “A war that would mean we are accepting help from other inland packs.“A ripple of murmuring went round the pack again.“It is not just any inland pack,“ Mitch said. “They are from the red moon pack. Luna Anna's former pack.““Talking of Luna Anna,“ Sil cut in. “Where is she?“Mitch sighed. Truly, there are so many things that they need to address. Where would he even start? He asked him
MITCH CHESTERMITCH HAD BEEN waiting for the past 20 hours. All the pent up and nervous energy was making him agitated. He hated waiting, but that was what he had been forced to do for the past 20 hours. When he could not take it anymore, he went upstairs to Aiden's room, Lorna was still there. But up in Aiden's room was another waiting session as they waited for him to wake up.Lorna sat up when Mitch walked in. He looked around and noted that Elijah and Oliver were absent. “What of the boys?“ he asked.“They left an hour ago," she replied. “They had to eat and wash up, but I think they will be back here anytime soon.“Mitch nodded and sat down heavily with a sigh. He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palms.“How did the meeting go?“ Lorna asked after a few seconds of silence.“As fine as it can get,“ he said.“You and Enrique did not clash heads?“ she asked. Everyone knew about the both of them.He shrugged, “We did. But we came to an agreement.“She smiled softly. “That is good
315ANNA KYLIN CHESTERI HAD NO idea how long I had been locked in the cell when the door opened. I sat up expecting it to be Vorenus; instead, it was the skinny, sick looking mistress of Vladimir. Her name was Janet or something like that.She stalked to the front of my cell and pouted at me. “So you are a woman… and pretty too.“ If that was meant to be a compliment, it did not sound so, as it was laced with venom.Gathering some energy, I stood up. I was taller than her and was pleased when she tilted her head to look up at me. She took an involuntary step backward. I smirked at her.“You are never going to take Vladimir from me,“ she blurted.“What?“ I gagged. Who was this dumb lady? “If you are thinking I am here of my own free will to snatch your undead boyfriend, you have the brain of a 15 year old high schooler.“She placed her hand on her hip and frowned. “And what? You have the brain of a mature woman…“ She frowned and leaned closer to me. “Wait a minute, don't I know you?”I
MITCH PACED OUT of the mountain with Draco and Alphonso closely behind him. He paused outside the mountain. Darco came to stand beside him. He could feel his beta brewing with questions, but he ignored it.“That is a high profile prisoner,“ Mitch said to the guards outside. They all nodded with slight frowns on their faces. They could already sense that something was wrong.“Good,“ Mitch muttered and went to a buggy parked by the side.Draco gestured with his head to Alphonso, who immediately jumped into the driver's seat and started the car.“Take us to the palace,“ Mitch said.Alphonso pursed his lips and eased the car out of the snow. Mitch could feel Draco throw him some subtle glances as they made their way to the palace, but he chose not to say anything as he prepared his mind on how he was going to tell them everything.Half an hour later, they pulled into the front gates, and Mitch got out. Draco followed and Alphonso started to drive away but Mitch said, “Come with us, Alphon