THE CITY OF NEW LANTERNSContrary to what Alessandro thought, Ricciardo didn't get better. He kept on being withdrawn. The next day after he came back, he resumed the company.His office which he had never bothered to use was cleaned out and he did all his work efficiently. All attempts by Alessandro to bring him out of his shell was useless. He refused all invitations to hang out casually.Another thing which surprised Alessandro was Ricciardo's new found interest in pack activities. He had taken over all his duties as the beta and was doing it very well.Even the elders council had praised his new mature attitude.Alessandro had no option than to confront Constanza again.He invited her out for lunch to talk to her, this was a week after their return."Connie, you have to tell me what's going on with him" he pleaded with her."What do you mean?" she asked."Ricciardo has changed.""For good or bad?""Well he isn't doing anything bad, it's just that he is more serious now." Alessandr
THE CITY OF NEW LANTERNSRicciardo looked at his brother in anger. He didn't understand why Alessandro wanted to trust Lilian so blindly. This was the same way Jax had trusted that mate of his until she had betrayed him and ran away.He didn't want the same thing to happen to his brother. He tried again to convince him. "Look Alessandro......." he started only to be interrupted by him."Look, I know you mean well but I trust Lilian and I would like it if you trusted her too." Alessandro told him.Ricciardo dropped the subject and kept quiet to avoid angering his brother.Later that evening...........Rosa stepped out to see the private investigator she had hired to look into Lilian's past.He handed her an envelope."Does this contain everything I need?" she asked him."Yes it does, I am very thorough with my work, you know that.""Thanks." she told him."My balance payment." he told her."Hold on, let me make a transfer."She transferred the money to him and he nodded and walked off
THE CITY OF NEW LANTERNSLilian and Alessandro came back to the table to sit down. Constanza nudged Ricciardo to follow their plan."Great party Lilian! Thanks for doing this for us." he told Lilian.Lilian smiled, surprised at his compliment since he had been grumpy since he came to the party."Thanks Ricciardo, happy birthday." she replied.Ricciardo smiled at her and said nothing. He looked at his brother."I am sorry." he said through the mind link."I am sorry too." he replied.They smiled at each other and all grudges between them disappeared.Then Rosa came to the table."Happy birthday Alessandro." she said sweetly."Thanks Rosa. It's also Ricciardo's birthday too." he reminded her."I know but he wouldn't appreciate my birthday greetings so why waste my time?" she replied and walked back to her table."Damn! Someone isn't bothering to hide her bitchy side anymore, I guess she is really jealous." Constanza said in amusement."Connie, behave!" Alessandro warned."And what if I
THE CITY OF NEW LANTERNSAlessandro looked at Giovanni in shock."What do you mean you can't find her?" he asked him."In the confusion and chaos that ensued after the whole thing, we didn't know when she left." Giovanni replied."Okay, I will go look for her" Alessandro said, turning around to leave."Wait, I still have something to say." Rosa said.He looked at her in anger. "what more could you possibly have to say Rosa?" he shouted at her.Instead of cowering, she stood up straight."Alpha Alessandro of New lanterns pack. I, Rosa denounce New lanterns as my pack." she said.Alessandro looked at her, his gaze held different conflicting emotions; anger mixed with sadness, regret and disappointment."Does it have to end this way?" he asked."Yes, I have no reason to stay here anymore." she replied."Fine, I Alpha Alessandro of New lanterns pack denounce you Rosa as a member of my pack." he said."Thanks for being a great friend." she said and walked away.Alessandro looked at Giovann
THE CITY OF NEW LANTERNS"Are they already here?" Lily's aunt asked in fear."Take Lavender and go through the back door and I will distract them" Lily told them."Nonsense! We arent going to leave you here." her uncle told her.While they were talking, they heard Alessandro's voice through the door."Lily, it's me Alessandro, open the door, I am also here with Constanza." he said.Lily heaved a sigh of relief and went to open the door."What are you doing here?" she asked as she walked in because she didn't believe that he would come to see her after hearing everything that Rosa had said."Are you okay?" he asked instead."You aren't mad at me?" she asked him."Not yet, right now I am just worried about you. I need to take you guys somewhere safe before the werewolf council comes here." Alessandro told her."And why should we trust you?" Lily's aunt asked."because right now, my brother is the safest option for you guys." Constanza replied her. "We need to hurry." Alessandro told he
THE CITY OF NEW LANTERNSAlessandro looked at her after she had asked her question and thought about what he would tell her."Ales?" she called him when he didn't answer her."Sorry baby, I was lost in thought. You will stay here until I come get you, if you don't hear my voice, don't open the door.""What about Connie?" she asked."not even Connie or Ricciardo, if you don't hear my voice, don't open the door. I am the only one you can trust.""ok but what will you be doing?""I will go to Fireblood and creekwood and meet with your brother and your mate. Only with their help, can you gain your freedom.""I don't think Jax will agree to help you. I hurt him a lot." she replied."Let me worry about that okay?""Okay." she replied.Constanza came to join them."Are y'all done with the gushy talk?" she asked as she walked up to them. "Yes we are." Alessandro told her. "Are you feeling better?" Constanza asked Lily. "much better, thanks to you two"Alessandro left the both of them to ta
THE CITY OF NEW LANTERNS"So what are you going to do now?" Constanza asked Alessandro as they drove back home."Go to Creekwood and Fireblood and meet with Ryder and Jax. Maybe we can figure out a way out of this." Alessandro replied."Her brother will happily help but i am not sure about Jax." Constanza told him."What about Ricciardo? Can he help me talk to Jax?" Alessandro asked."I doubt that Ricciardo will want to help you out.""Why? Why is he so stubborn about this? He is usually a very forgiving person." Alessandro asked."He loves Jax, he loves him so much, I have never seen him love someone that way before. You love Lily too, if someone had hurt her in the past, would you forgive that person whole heartedly?" Constanza asked him in return."I don't think I would." Alessandro replied."Now do you get where his anger is coming from?""I do, I will go speak to him, apologize and try to reason with him." Alessandro told her."Good, you two are twins, you shouldn't fight."Aless
Ricciardo listened to everything his brother had just told him and processed it."What she did was still fucked up though, she just ran away and allowed Jax take the fall. Her brother too, he knew that Jax knew nothing about her disappearance and yet he allowed Jax to be punished. And Ava too, I thought she was his friend." Ricciardo said."Well the circumstances clearly didn't allow them to say the truth. I am not justifying what they did but they had to choose who to save between the both of them and they choose Lily" Alessandro replied."You didn't see him Alessandro, when we arrived creekwood. He was so frail and weak. He was a man who had given up on life already and to think all he went through would have been avoided if she hadn't run away. I know you love her but I just can't see her in the same way that you do, she has been here living a wonderful life while Jax has been in hell." Ricciardo replied."Maybe this could be the closure Jax needs." Alessandro suggested softly."Wh
"Good, If you fully agree, then let's head over to his palace" the leader told Feyre.The council, along with Feyre and the others with the help of the witches, went to the king's palace.The king was surprised to see them, especially the council."What brings the council here? Is there a problem?" he asked the council. Then he looked at Feyre."What did you do now?" he asked."I think you should be asking yourself that question" she replied."And what do you mean by that statement? Is that how you address your father now?" he asked her furiously."You are no father of mine" she told him."We are here to take you into custody and put you on trial for the allegations leveled against you by your daughter" the leader of the council."What allegations? This brat is just lying because she wants to be queen" the king replied as he glared furiously at Feyre."The allegations are; consorting with a demon, locking a child up and abusing him, going against the natural order of the world by brin
"OK, I will be nice to her" Ricciardo agreed with Jax.Jax drew him closer and kissed him."That's my lovely mate" he said fondly.Ricciardo smirked and unbuttoned his shirt."Well, your lovely mate would like to show you just how lovely he is" he whispered to Jax."Really, huh? Then show me." Jax whispered back.Ricciardo pushed him gently to the bed and climbed on him.And he spent the night showing Jax just how lovely he was.THE NEXT MORNINGLily was brushing her hair in front of the mirror. Constanza had already gone down for breakfast after failing to convince Lily to join her.There was a knock on the door, Lily thought it was probably Jax."Come in" she said.She was shocked to see Ricciardo coming in with a tray."Good morning" he told her."Good morning" she said in a confused voice."I brought you breakfast" he told her."Thanks, I apologise for inconveniencing you" she replied while looking down and fidgeting with her fingers."Oh, it's okay. You didn't inconvenience me. J
"That old monster" Dustin seethed."he will definitely pay for everything he did" Ava assured Killian."he will, can you say this in the trial incase they need you to testify against him?" Dustin asked Killian."I can" Killian replied.Ava squeezed his hand affectionately. "Don't worry, we will be there to support you" she assured him.Dustin stood up. "I have an idea""what is it?" Ava asked."Killian, have you shifted since the unbinding?" Dustin asked his son."No" Killian answered."Then I know what we can do, we will go out, shift and run around the yards. Ava can chase us with our vampire skills""You are a vampire?" Killian asked Ava, Reni must have left this part of the story out."Yes, I got the vampire side from mom. You got the werewolf side from dad" she replied.Killian fidgeted with his fingers. "What if I am still the wolf of shadows?" he asked."Then you are the wolf of shadows. It's not a big deal, we still love you regardless" Dustin told his as he ruffled his hair a
"I am afraid that's true Lily, maybe you need to face your past. I think you should talk to Dean and Trina, really explain yourself to them. Apologize sincerely" Constanza advised Lily."Thanks Lily" Lily appreciated Constanza for her advice."You are welcome. I really can't wait for everything to be over. So I and Killian can figure out what we want to do with our lives" Constanza said wistfully.Lily patted her hand sympathetically. "Don't worry, everything will be okay soon. If there is one thing I am sure about Ava. It's that she is completely determined" she comforted Constanza.SALVATOREAva, Killian and Dustin were together in one of the rooms."Can you tell us about our mother?" Killian asked Dustin.Dustin smiled as he thought about Freya."Of course. Her name was Freya, she was very beautiful. She wasn't kind or warm at all. She was even more vicious than Feyre" Dustin chuckled fondly as he thought of the past."Why then did you fall for her? Even when you had a mate?" Ava a
Lily thought about what they said. 'They were right, she needed to get used to staying at Creekwood. How would she be comfortable with leaving her son in Creekwood if she didn't feel safe there."Fine, I will go with Constanza to Creekwood". She told Ryder."that's a good idea because we will all be busy securing the pack and you will be much more safer in Creekwood. The king wouldn't look for you guys there." Ryder told her.And so it was settled, Lily and Constanza would go to Creekwood.Evena, Dreya, Ava, Dustin, Killian and Dante went to Salvatore.SALVATOREQueen Feyre was in her throne room when they appeared."Oh! The whole gang is here." she said when she saw them."Your highness" Evena and Dreya said with a slight bow.Feyre stood up from her throne and walked to Killian. She cradled his face in her hands. "I am so sorry, my dear child, I had no idea that you were suffering under my father or that you survived. I would have rescued you long ago, if I had known. Please find it
After the burial, they all went to Fireblood pack.Ava was happy that they were back, she hugged Killian for a long time, both siblings relaxed in each other's arms, feeling fulfilled.Then they sat down in the living room to discuss the way forward. "so you mean to tell me that the demons were just setting a trap so they could come back to this world?" Ava asked."Yes, that's what happened, he would have taken over Killian's body and tried to release the banishment" Dreya replied."The vampires of the past must have banished them for a reason" Ryder said thoughtfully."It might have been because of their power. Azazel wasn't even using his full strength and we couldn't stop him, what if he was at his full strength. Can you imagine, such powerful creatures roaming about. They would be gods" Dreya told Ryder."And Azazel called himself a god" Killian reminded Dreya."How then did Reni manage to send him back?" Ava asked."Reni did a blood sacrifice, he exchanged his life for Killian's.
THE KINGDOM OF HADES (THE DEMON KINGDOM)Reni opened his eyes, he was in a raging bed of fire. The strange thing was he didn't feel hot."where am I? Is this heaven?" he asked aloud.He heard someone laughing, he looked up to see Azazel sitting close to him on a throne made of fire."Welcome to hell" Azazel said.STARLIGHT COVENKillian was in bed with Constanza, the both of them were snuggled up under his blanket."I can't believe Reni is dead, and he died just to save me" Killian said."He must have really cared for you" Constanza said, still in shock about Reni's death."This is all my grandfather's fault, if he hadn't done that deal, Reni wouldn't be dead now" Killian said furious."But then you wouldn't be alive" Constanza reminded him."And he is so dumb that he didn't realize that he was playing into a well laid trap by the demons""Killian, I have a confession to make." Constanza said tentatively."What is it?" he asked her."When we were in Fireblood, I told Ava about you. I
He looked at Azazel, determination shone in his eyes.Azazel smirked, "What are you going to do little witch?"Reni looked him dead in the eyes and he said, "Old gods, I offer myself as a blood sacrifice, send Azazel back to hell and free Killian of his clutches."Azazel dropped Dreya and looked at Reni in horror. "What have you done? How do you know about that?" he asked."Like you said, I am brilliant. I read a lot, that's how I know." Reni replied."No.... This isn't how it should end, I was supposed to win." Azazel said. A great wind started which took Azazel away and the fog and shadows cleared. The cell holding Killian disappeared and he was free. Reni dropped to his knees, blood pouring out of his eyes, nose, mouth and pores in his skin. Dreya and Killian rushed to him."Reni, what did you do?" Killian asked."I saved you, you are free" Reni struggled to say through the blood in his mouth."We need to go back and help you." Dreya told Reni."It's too late, you can't do anythi
"Or you actually planned it all and the king fell into a well laid trap" Reni told him."Oh, you are right. I see why you are brilliant, you see a lot of things that aren't there. I planned it all, I made sure the king had only daughters, made him not to have a male son, killed his daughter and grandson during childbirth.""Did you really do all that?" Dreya asked sceptical."No, I might be a god but I am not that powerful. Everything that happened, that led us here happened because of greed and selfish desires.""What do you mean?" Reni asked."The king wanted a male when he had two wonderful daughters. Dustin had an affair with Freya when he had a beautiful mate. The king should have let Killian die but no he wanted to change fate. I had nothing to do with all this, I simply took advantage of it" Azazel said with a shrug."Why were the demons banished anyway, the vampires must have had a good reason." Dreya asked.Azazel became furious, "They were jealous of us, of our power and th