I didn’t remember going to sleep. I didn’t remember anything. I heard screaming and the sounds of jeeps. I heard deep sighs and I smelled Candido.Candido was nearby and that made me relax. I let my mind drift and relax. I fell into a vision of a battle. I saw Candido standing on top of the mountain. Lightning striking bubbling up and overflowing.Then, I saw Estella rushing up the side of the mountain. She cut through the forest and shifted into a large golden wolf. She was just a bit smaller than Candido. When she reached the top, their eyes took on a brilliant red glow. The moon turned red above the battlefield and the vampires dropped through the cracks as the molten silver filled the cracks. The earth moved like it was liquid, folding in on itself and devouring the vampires and the silver until it seemed completely gone.Then, the dawn started to come. The clouds pushed back and my heart felt like it was being crushed. They shifted back into their human forms. Then, Candido pulle
I turned toward her voice. I heard the pounding of her feet on the ground just as she dropped to the ground seemingly out of the sky and ran towards me. I had barely realized she was heading my way when she leaped and shifted midair into a wolf. Her mouth opened in a snarl and aimed for my neck.I screamed, throwing my arms in front of me, but the bite of her jaw never made it. I lowered my hand and saw Candido in front of me. He’d leaped in between us, catching her in midair, subduing her with his strength as she thrashed and struggled to get out of his arms.“Candido, don’t let her hurt me!” I cried. “Protect me!”Candido grunted, stumbling forward and away from me. Other people came closer.“I have her,” Candido said. “Stay back.”She howled in his arms and shifted with a shriek. Fur turned into feathers, fluttering around. Her sharp talons dug into Candido’s shoulders as she tried to get free. He held onto her as she cawed and kept aiming for me. Feathers flew up as she flapped he
I wanted to call out to him, to demand a personal apology, but he started talking again.“I am sorry to have failed you all so much and in such a little time. If you choose to withdraw from this war and retire to Lunae, I will understand and hold no grudge. You have stood with me thus far, and you will always be welcome under this full moon. If I manage to reclaim the lands of Full Moon and all of the other territories, you will still be welcome. I will still and always consider you all allies, friends, family….” He paused and looked toward a group of vampires. “Welcome and honored allies and equals.”He looked up at the moon. He looked troubled and beautiful as the moonlight seemed to focus on him, bathing him in its light. I could almost see the hands of the Moong Goddess drifting over him. He closed his eyes, and the moment seemed to end. Then, he bent down and grabbed the shovel that was on the truck beside him.“For now, we bury the dead, we honor them, and we get some rest.”He
It was the first time I thought someone might care about my life as they should since I would be luna, but the look on her face said she didn’t care what I did.“You’re supposed to make sure that doesn’t happen. I’ll be queen and luna, you know?”She rolled her eyes and hustled onto another jeep, and grabbed another gun. Shiloh and Messiah join the efforts to fight while Ian was maintaining the shield that was keeping everyone alive.Where were they before when we were being ambushed? This is what I meant by it was their fault. If they were real allies, they would have been here helping us. If they were really here to help us, they would be helping us from the start, not just when it seemed like a good idea for them. I’d have to talk to Candido about getting rid of them altogether. We were werewolves. We didn’t need the help of vampires. We should be trying to kill them too.Then, I saw Damien coming out of the forest with a large group of vampires that ran at the wall. The jeeps star
I looked over at Estella as she aimed her gun in my direction and kept firing. My heart raced as the bullets flew through me. I screamed for Candido to stop her from killing me, then the hissing of vampires behind me filled the air. They screeched, and I felt their ashes drifting over my back.I turned around to look as the ashes vanished and gritted my teeth. Again. She’d saved me again. She was just doing it to look good in front of Candido. To make her seem less like Sibyl, but I knew better.She wanted to get rid of me. She wanted to take my place as the future luna, and I wouldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t le t that happen. Candido was the only one I wanted. He was mine, and I had to make sure he knew that we were meant to be together no matter what Estella said or did. I pushed myself to stand and stumbled further into the fight, ignoring the calls for me to come back.I wasn’t going to hide behind the barrier. Candido was going to protect me. I headed through the fight until
The vines turned hard and brown like tree bark. Then, Ian picked up his head and set it on his shoulders.I had never seen a vampire revived before, but it was kind of horrifying. The blood stopped, his face slowly began to regain color then his eyes popped open as if he had just been sleeping. He let out a scream and looked around before gnashing his teeth.“Of course, the little welp’s mother was the one.”Francia backhanded him, and I saw a tooth go flying out of his mouth. A bruise started to bloom on his face as he grunted. He panted and turned back to look up at her with a leering, bloody smirk.“Don’t you think you should buy me dinner before foreplay?” He chuckled. “I thought you old ones were all about the old ways?”My face heated. What did that mean?Francia grabbed a hand full of hair and jerked his head up.“That wasn’t even a warm-up,” Francia said softly. Her eyes filled with red light. “And if you’d like me not to get serious and beat you into your second afterlife, I’
Ian cast a thick wave of light between us and the forest as bullets started to rush toward us.In the darkness, I saw a man with glowing golden eyes. His hair was as blonde as mine was. He looked older than Ian, older than Candido, but the way he moved made him seem longer.“Maker, I—” Damian choked as Francia stabbed him through the heart, and he screeched as fire seemed to consume him from inside.From the look on Candido’s face, he hadn’t been the one to do it.“I can hold them for a bit, but you have to go now,” Ian growled. “Shiloh!”“Raven’s opened the caves for us. We’re getting them through,” he looked at me. “What the fuck are you doing here? Get going!”“I’m not leaving Candido!” I cried, turning, only to find him already hustling back toward the rest of the camp. He lifted someone off the ground onto his shoulder and shouted.“Five minutes top. Get moving!”My jaw dropped as Estella got down from the truck, taking the person from Candido and getting off the truck. I couldn’
“Does that mean we finally get some rest?” Estella asked, leaning against the wall. She was pale and shaking, and light drifted over her skin as if she was about to shift. “I really, really need some sleep.”“Yeah. I think we all do come on.”Candido walked toward her, and it looked as if she would push him away, but he nudged her hands away from him and swept her off her feet, cradling her close. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. Raven got to her feet as he walked away towards the light on the other side of the cave.“I’m not a damsel. Put me down, ‘Dido.”“Right now, you are a damsel, so I won’t put you down. You can barely keep your eyes open. I think your dignity can take a hit until we find a space on a truck for you to sleep.”I hurried as fast as possible to get in front of him and block his path. How dare he do that in front of me? How dare she lure him into carrying her, getting closer to him, and driving a wedge further between us? Then, my legs felt trapped in plac
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