I woke up with the scent of dry earth and rotting leaves in my nose. It felt… all too familiar and all too distant too. I felt like I had been here or somewhere like here before. The sky was dark above me, twinkling with stars. Everything seemed to be spinning and out of focus.Where was I? How did I get here? What happened to me?I sat up, blinking. My head spun. I felt ill and cold. My arms trembled trying to push me into sitting. The world turned dark and seemed to slide this way and that as I tried to focus. Things blurred and grew almost painfully clear around me.What was happening to me?My hand slipped from under, slick with something and sending me back into the pile of leaves I’d woken up in. I turned onto my side with a soft groan and lifted my hand to see what was there. My stomach lurched as the scent of blood, raw and metallic hit my nose. It was… fresh. I hissed as I tried to move my fingers. Pain shot up my arm. I bit back a whimper of pain and tried to relax, exhauste
The air was so hot I felt it scorching my skin. The wind blew me across the ground until I got a hold of something and took refuge behind a tree. I could smell the bark burning from the heat of the air. My ears were ringing. I couldn’t hear anything. I couldn’t see anything as the light filled the sky, casting long, dark shadows around me.When the explosion ended, I dropped to the ground, panting in fear as my heart beat almost painfully in my chest. I heard screaming, crying, and other sounds from near and from far away. I got to my feet, gritting my teeth, and stumbling back towards the building nearby and further into the city. The cliff was on the other side of the town. I had to get there. I didn’t know how much time I had left, but Candido needed me. I couldn’t just let him lie there alone. Who knew what could happen? Who knew what had happened?No matter what, I had to get there. People were screaming and running around and away from where most of the damage had been done. My
Whoever that man was, I couldn’t be caught by him again. It didn’t matter how much everything hurt. It didn’t matter that every step sent bolts of agony through me. I just needed to get away. I couldn’t go back into the caves. He’d find me. He’d take me, and then there would be no way out. I knew this. I couldn’t say how I knew it, but I knew it.There was light ahead like moonlight streaming through the trees. The people who were running ahead of me seemed to slow down as they reached the outside and looked around. They started cutting through the trees.“Keep going!” Francia yelled from behind us. “We’ll lose it in the trees.”My heart lightened as I heard the stroke of thunder. It rumbled and shook the cave as I grew closer. Lightning streaked across the sky, and the rain fell in thick, heavy sheets. I ran into the rain, and a flash of memory went through my mind. For a moment, I was running towards a paved highway. My heart trembled as I looked around waiting for the glint of ligh
This man dragged me through the forest towards another cave before stopping and releasing me. There was mud crammed into my jeans and up my back. I was filthy. He turned to me."Do you think you can be an adult, stand up and walk now?"I didn’t move, setting my jaw. He didn’t even flinch. He shrugged and reached for me again. I pulled away from him, trying to escape, but he grabbed me by the back of my shirt. I kicked and twisted, trying to tear the shirt and escape from him, but there was no helping it. The darkness enveloped us, then he let me go. I tumbled down a hill as I tried to kick away from him. I tumbled and rolled and landed into the shallows of a large lake that seemed to stretch for miles.“You’re not even trying to pull punches, are you?” Francia asked.“If I’ve been left to educate the idiot in such a short amount of time, then it has to be this way.”I got up, trudging out of the lake. I twisted and crawled onto the back, ready to run when I realized that the sky was c
I watched him continue drinking.“And who are you to teach me a lesson about anything?” I growled, my eyes burning. “You’re just a vampire! This is werewolf territory—Candido’s territory!”His lips didn’t even twitch, but someone nearby snickered. Then, there was laughter that filled the hall, mocking.“Stop laughing,” I growled. “Stop laughing at me!”“Are you not meant to laugh at something funny?” He asked and ducked his head. His eyes brightened. “Oh, look. It is nearly time to be done with this.”He stood and addressed the hall. “So sorry to take the entertainment for the night early, but my patience has worn thin.”The woman who had threatened me with a sword glared down at me. “There is nothing amusing about her… Lady Hedwig deserved better.”He placed an arm on her shoulder. “As we all know, but we must work with the hand we have been dealt.” He chuckled. “We all know how fickle our Goddess is.”“Willful,” someone said.“She would adore such blasphemy,” he said, a bit of humor
I looked up and almost cried as Candido came staggering down the hall. He looked hazy, clutching his shoulder. His arm hung uselessly at his side and unmoving. He seemed to be wearing a glove on that hand but not the other. It was weird.“Candido!” I cried, my eyes tearing up. “Finally, I—”I went quiet as he froze in his tracks, staring at me with narrowed eyes and suspicion. His eyes darted over me, but it didn’t feel like he was looking for injuries. It looked like he was trying to figure out if I was real or not. He leaned against the wall, but he got no closer.Then, his eyes got darker. “Who are you, and where is Hedy?”I flinched at his tone and sniffled. “What are you talking about? It’s me—”“Don’t lie to me!” Candido yelled. “You aren’t Hedy. I know what she smells like. You’re not her. Where is she?”I stumbled towards
He choked and spat out a mouthful of blood. It was thick and dark like his body was trying to expel the poison.The vampire chuckled. “Seems like they went the extra mile with a bit of wolfsbane. Bravo.”“Candido, answer me!” I cried, shaking him. “You have to wake up! You have to fight it! You have to!”But he said nothing. I kept screaming at him, telling him to snap out of it. Candido was too strong to be taken out by a bullet, to be taken out by anything. He promised to always protect me. How could he do that if he died? What would I do if he died here?I shook him again. “Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”“He needs medical attention,” Vanessa said stiffly. “I’m calling for a medic.”“Good luck,” the vampire said. “They won’t make it in time, and I have no problem with letting him die.”Vanessa said nothing, but her expression loo
Again, he seemed oddly untouched by the falling water. Meanwhile, everyone else seemed to be getting soaked. Candido shivered as his clothes got wet and the sprinkler water started to wash away the blood.“It would seem that your crude defenses have finally failed,” he hissed. “Give me the Triskele, Vanessa. Now!”“No!” She yelled. “I’d rather die.”“Allow me to help you with that!” He hissed.“No!” I yelled, jumping, and trying to protect her, but there was no bolt of light. The guns exploded in the hands of the operatives, and Vanessa jerked forward. She screamed and flailed through the air. I tried to stop her, but I was swatted aside by a force and into the wall. I hit my head and the world blurred for a second. I turned over and slumped back against the wall as she stopped flying just in front of him.The vampire started patting her down. She tried to fight, but she
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