“Your expression tells me you already know the truth.”His words stung, but I said nothing. I couldn’t say anything for a moment. Candido grunted and turned over. I looked over at him as he shifted and settled back down. He turned over again towards me and I turned away from him, leaving the room.“Yggdrasil!” Vanessa said. “Was that necessary?”“She needed to hear it,” he said. “I’ve told you for ages that letting that bullshit about mates continue to circulate is dangerous for everyone—especially him.”“People need hope! He needs hope.”“He like so many people need the truth”I heard Gilgamesh coming after me, but I didn’t want to hear what he had to say so I left the lower levels, taking the stairs two at a time until I reached a floor with a balcony. I didn’t even want to know what Candido was saying if he was saying anything. Maybe he hadn’t woken up. He seemed tired.I sank down onto the lounger and crossed my arms.Yggdrasil was wrong. He was just… a bitter old man who didn’t kn
“Though I suppose,” the leader said. Her voice was warmer and amused. “That is a harder order to follow after such a riveting speech. Such passion. Such determination…”She scoffed. “Such bullshit. You’re basically sitting ducks in your little compound, waiting for them to find you.”She floated down, but there was nothing dangerous about her movements. She seemed to simply be hovering in the air above us, watching us like a spectator’s sport. I could see the heels of her boots, sharp like stilettos in the light. There was something stylish about the clothes that I could see and otherworldly. Her pants weren’t jeans, but they had an odd sheen to them that I couldn’t place. Maybe they were leather, but that didn’t seem right.I didn’t smell anything in the air.I couldn’t smell anything. A little alarm went off at the back of my mind, but I didn’t know what it meant.“Are you the reason the caves won’t move?” Francium asked.She chuckled. “Among other things. You should not have come b
I swallowed thickly and looked at Candido. His eyes were hard and pensive, like he was trying to think of a way out of this, but he couldn’t. I couldn’t either. I looked back at the rest of the unit that seemed to be slumping a little against their weapons. Their eyes were trained everywhere, but they didn’t look like they were able to fight.If we were going to get to the site in time and in any shape to do anything, we had to do something.“No one leaves the jeeps,” Candido said, turning paler by the moment. “We’re surrounded by silver.”Claire went tense and her hand went to her throat where the wound had just started to close.Candido looked at me. His eyes were tense, searching mine for something. It felt like he was asking me something like he wanted me to refuse, but I looked away. There was nothing else I could do. No matter what happened next, our only hope of getting out of here alive was if I went
I shook my head. My stomach churned. That couldn’t be true. I couldn’t be—she couldn’t be.“You’re lying.”She gestured to her face. “Am I?”“You’re lying!” I shouted. “You can’t be—”She rolled her eyes and cast her voice low and gravelly like something out of a movie I’d seen just once a long time ago.“Hedy, … I am your sister.” She burst into giggles and clapped. “I’ve always wanted to do that. Didn’t think I’d get a chance. One more off the--”“You aren’t my sister! Don’t ever call me that! I only have one sister—”“That other idiot? Bella, right?” She shrugged. “I mean, I wouldn’t have said it out loud or ever acknowledged it considering her choice in fiancé… and the fact that she’s a thief. But, he
I couldn’t believe what she was saying. There was no way that I could do that. I loved Candido so much. I couldn’t keep something like this from him. We just got to the point where he would kiss me. If I thought about how much he hated vampires, how much werewolves in general hated vampires, I couldn’t even imagine keeping it from him.“No.” She scoffed. I glared at her. “No. I’m not keeping this from him.”She shrugged. “Okay.”I narrowed my eyes. “Okay…?”She shrugged. “Your lineage. Your daddy. Your problem.”I narrowed my eyes as she took another long drag of her pipe. There was something off about that. I didn’t like how easily she just gave in. She wasn’t even trying to convince me of her side. Did she not care? Why would she even suggest me keeping this from him if it didn’t matter.“Well, as lovely as this all was,&rdquo
I blinked up at him, looking up into his eyes as most of the conversation with Raven came back. I leaned into his arms and let out a soft breath.“I’m fine,” I said, feeling a little feverish from embarrassment. I licked my lips, thinking more about it, more about what else she would tell me and what could happen next.I didn’t want to jeopardize all the good things that were in my future with Candido.I didn’t want to jeopardize any of it, so I hugged him tight and started to think about what it would mean to ease him into the idea.I swallowed. “We should get going.”“I don’t know where the entrance leads now,” he said. We’ve sent scouts ahead.”“Out of the caves,” I said. “She said… it would take us back the way we came and… that we should stay out.”“On what authority?” He asked. “Who was she?”
I rushed to get dressed, but I was sluggish. Candido wasn’t much better, we hustled out of the room only to find Vanessa running down the hall.“Stay behind,” Vanessa said.“But—”“We don’t need you two out and about in the field still at odds.”I said nothing, but Candido seemed offended. “You think that we can’t—”“You’re also swaying on your feet,” Vanessa said. “Get some rest and take the time to get whatever is going on resolved.” She stopped and looked at us both with a menacing finger pointed at us. “That’s an order to both of you.”I set my jaw, wanting to protest. This wasn’t a Moon Shadow issue. She had no right to tell me what to do with regard to my relationship with Candido, but the only thing I could think of was everything that Raven told me, and if Steven had given Candido all the information he
I looked at my calendar and wondered if I’d make it to that day. I looked up at Candido and shook that thought away. Candido would protect me. He wouldn’t let anything happen to me. I’d turn twenty. We’d get married. These vampires would go away once Candido got through with them.For now, we just had to get to Red Moon.I got dressed in new gear. Candido got dressed in tactical gear too and the rest of Moon Shadow who could still fight loaded into the jeeps and headed to Red Moon on the quickest paths. The pathway into the caves didn’t even appear, but I felt the forest shifting around us as if someone was trying to get us there as quickly as possible.“The forests are shifting,” Francium said. “Are you doing that?”Candido remained silent for a moment. “Gilgamesh?”“I feel it too,” he called back. “I don’t know.”“Everyone keep on guard,” Candido called. “We might be heading into another trap.”My heart lurched and drew closer to Candido. He took my hand.“Whatever you do, stay wit
She cocked an eyebrow. “They might be related, but there’s no way to know if they’re compatible.”“They’re both golden wolves. That should be enough.” I swallowed. “I don’t care what you have to do, you have to keep him alive.”Her eyes drifted down to Candido with an odd expression on her face. “I’ll see what I can do,” she looked up at me. “But… there will be a hefty cost.”“I don’t care,” I said. If Candido was really being used to stabilize Solare, whatever that meant, then I had make sure that he had enough life force, that his body still remained, after that was done to wake up. “I developed a drug that strengthened wolves,” she said. “I have a feeling that it would at least help.”My eyes bulged. “You’re… You’re the one who made the drug for the vampires.”She smiled. “I am. And?”I growled at her. “You’re a traitor.”Her smile turned cold. “And you aren’t the alpha king’s mate.”She cocked an eyebrow. “Given the state of the world, do you think they’ll care?”“Of course, the
“It was unsure if my Beloved King would have ever risen again and to what world,” she said. “It was for the best that I changed the path.”“We’re mates,” I said again. “We’re mates. Nothing you say can change that.”“Mates,” she scoffed. “A tool for conquest. Were you not listening? The vampiric power you inherited from your mother was the only reason you could fake the moon mark. The white fur you inherited from your father turned platinum because of it. When you were no longer a vampire, after Cillian had drained the last of that power out of you, you were just a plain werewolf…”“I don’t believe you,” I said. “I won’t believe you. You’re just trying to trick me.”“Your real moon mark vanished the night that your mate died trying to protect you.”I saw the senior diving in front of me and jerking as the bullets hit him in the chest. “Him?” I growled. “No. I can’t believe that.”“Neither could your mother,” she laughed. “By the time you met your grandfather, I had already been makin
I pushed at the wall, trying to get over there and drag Estella away from Candido. Then, Vanessa appeared dressed in a wispy gauzy red dress. She looked younger than the last time I had seen her. Two younger men followed her, chatting with her though I couldn’t make out what they were saying. They were dressed in red tunics. Then, I saw Claire and Francium striding towards them in red. They were holding hands. Her hair was gathered up in a flower wreath as they smiled together. They looked so happy together as they sat beside Candido and Estella. Soon, I saw other people. I saw Claire’s parents and the people I remember dying over the course of the war. They sat together in a circle around Candido and Estella, chatting happily. “Don’t be happy!” I yelled, banging on the wall. “Claire! You’re supposed to be my friend! Get her away from my mate!”No one even noticed I was there. They laughed and chatted, welcoming other people as they came to join them. Everyone else was wearing red,
Weeks passed, and in that time, I made the remaining people do what needed to be done. They fixed up the building Candido and I were in. While they couldn’t get the water or electricity working, there was a roof and the floors were cleaned. They brought me food when they came to check on Candido and busied themselves with trying to contact whoever else might be alive. “Miss Hedy.”I looked up, glaring at them. “How many times have I told you to call me luna?”The man lifted his head. “Until the king confirms it, I would never disgrace the position that way.”I glared at him. “Then, I suppose you’ll be tried for treason, then.”His eyes narrowed as two people entered the room. “You’re supposed to be regent, right?” The woman asked. “You have some authority.”I lifted my head. “I’m luna.”She pointed at the man beside her. “Then tell this man that I want nothing to do with him and he should leave me alone.”“We’re mates!” He growled. “You’re not going to leave me.”“There is no mark,”
When I opened my eyes, I knew I wasn’t awake. Candido wasn’t there with me. I was seated across a long table that I had never seen before. The windows were all made of stained glass. Moonlight filtered through the colorful glass and sent the colors splashing everywhere. At the other end of the table was the vampire king. He was darker than I remember, but his hair glowed the way it had in that castle. The crown on his brow twinkled with light. To his left, like an odd reflection, was Marius. His blonde hair didn’t glow, and he didn’t wear a crown, but looking at the two of them it was so obvious that he was related to the thing. Their eyes glowed the same. I clenched my jaw and glared at them both. “Where am I?” I asked. “If you think you can change my mind about—”“The time to change your mind has long since passed, Hedy,” the vampire king said softly. His lips twitched into a small smile. “The time to make different decisions is long since over.”He took a deep breath and shook h
I shook my head. “You’re lying. You have to be lying. How would you know if the door was closed?”He laughed. “It was closed to her and all the other traitors. No child of Lunae who still walks in the Goddess’ grace would be turned away from returning home.”I swallowed and shook my head. “She never got Candido’s grandfather or father… I imagine she’s burning with jealousy that you’re so close to what she wanted,” he smiled. “Or maybe she’s proud that you share the same tastes.”“None of that matters,” I said. “I’m not a vampire. I never was. I’m a werewolf. I’m Candido’s mate. Tell me what you plan is. What are trying to do? If you’re trying to hurt Candido, I’ll never forgive you.”He laughed, throwing his head back. “Why would I give a fuck about your forgiveness, traitor?”“I— ““You’re even worse than Hedwig in some ways,” He laughed. “At least Hedwig mourned Candido’s father and grandfather. At least she was faithful in her pursuit. You jumped at the chance to get as close to f
I fell to the ground, choking. For a moment, I imagined Candido stroking my hair like we were in one of the parlors at the Estate before the war. I could almost hear him reading a book to me, some book that I was supposed to read for class but didn’t want to. I didn’t remember the words. I wasn’t even paying attention to his words or the book. I didn’t care. I just loved that he was spending time with me. It was all that I wanted. It was all that I had ever wanted. I closed my eyes and let myself sink into the memory. Slowly, the darkness faded. I felt his lips on my forehead then he was gone. It was so cold. I shivered in the wind that picked up over the mountaintop. I opened my eyes. Dawn was coming over the mountain. I shook and rolled over and tried to get up. I could see Candido there. His fur was still golden. He hadn’t turned back. He didn’t move. I crawled toward him. “Candido?” I whispered. “Candido? You can’t be gone… She promised me. I… You promised.”I got to him and we
“Fuck!”I rolled over and tried to see what was happening as I sucked in breath after breath. I choked, trying to catch my breath as I saw a glint of silver cut through the air. The man barely choked as his head tumbled through the air. His body went up in flames. Then, I saw Raven’s face. Her eyes were filled with blood-red light.She walked toward me. A flash of silver went by me and the gag loosened. I spat it out and my hands fell apart like the cuffs were broken. Her sword was aimed at me. Her expression was cold as she looked at me. Her hand trembled. Tears streamed down her face. Her jaw trembled. Then, she lowered her blade. I couldn’t believe it. I looked around, searching for someone else, but there was no one. It was just the two of us behind the barrier. Then, the wall of light shimmered and started to fade.I heard a stroke of thunder and turned as lightning fell from the sky and slammed into the side of the mountain. I smiled. Candido was using his power and winning. W
The fury simmered behind the tears in her eyes before she turned back to the group. They talked a little longer When they broke apart, none of them came my way. Most of them went with Wren, but the man with bandages headed toward a different truck. I eyed him suspiciously. What was he doing separate from the rest of them? Were the rest of them going to Candido and leaving him behind? Where were they going?I looked across the way as Harper and Wren and the others looked at me, glaring. Their eyes were filled with red light. They drove away, never taking their eyes off me. One of the women was crying. I looked over at the bandaged man as he hauled himself onto the back of the truck, still leaning to one side. Then, the truck I was in started to drive away. I turned back to see where were going and knew we were headed toward the mountain from my vision. My heart started to race. It seemed like we were heading to the end of the war now.“Black Team,” someone said. “En route to Gold Tea