I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Candido narrowed his eyes suspiciously.“That’s ridiculous,” I said. “That’s not a power that werewolves have.”“Most? No,” Cillian said. “Estella is more than just my chief medical officer. She’s the reason we rarely had to waste time fighting creatures on the fringes of Lunae.”Candido’s eyes widened, his shoulders relaxed, and the suspect left his face.“What do you mean?” Candido asked.I clenched my jaw. I wanted to call Cillian out on the lie, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t chance Candido telling him that Estella was dead. It was obvious that he thought Estella was still alive. Sure, he wasn’t being as nice to me as he had been before. I still needed him.He was the only person around that I could use to make Candido jealous.“His Majesty asked me to help you figure out your powers the way I helped Estella figure out hers… You’re a golden wolf, a solare. If the war is to end quickly and the way it needs to, you can’t afford to continue to be ig
My jaw dropped as Cillian stood and rolled his shoulder.“But I just sat down!” I said. “I haven’t even—"He looked at me. “Are you turning back?”I set my jaw and stood. “No! Stop asking that.”“I’m going to ask it every time you complain about the pace,” Candido said. “Consider it a part of all that training you missed.”I growled. “That’s not fair.”“Life isn’t fair,” Candido said. “And I’m just now realizing how much I’ve sheltered you from that. Let’s go.”He turned without another word and headed off. I looked at Cillian, who chuckled and shrugged.“This is why you shouldn’t invite yourself along.”He broke into a jog after Candido. My legs were so tired that I could barely stumble in the same direction. This time, Candido had vanished through the trees. Cillian remained closer, but as I started to slow down again, I lost sight of him.I stumbled to a stop at the edge of a grassy area. I couldn’t move another step. I didn’t even care where Candido was. I didn’t care where Cillia
The Hedwig and Candida in the painting shifted in their seats, and they both looked down at Cillian and Candido with such warm expressions that it made my heart hurt. Cillian reached up, and Hedwig reached out to him, pressing her hand to where he’d pressed his. “Stubborn woman,” he whispered. Then, the painting began to move aside. Hedwig withdrew her hand as it slid aside and revealed a large, dark, stone doorway. It was just like the doorway that had once been in the Wolf Fang house.The women’s eyes followed Candido and Cillian, but neither of them looked at me. When it stopped moving, the gust of cool, damp air filled the space. Cillian turned back. “Don’t enter the cave before I call. Let’s not test our luck, hm?”Candido nodded. Cillian stepped inside and vanished into the darkness. Candido took a deep breath and looked up at the image of Candida as she looked down at him. He placed a hand against the painting and Candida reached out to place her hand where his was. “It’
We walked back to the stone doorway in silence. I honestly didn’t know what else I could say, but the thought of going back to the safe camp or Lunae made me depressed. When surrounded by all those people, there was no way I could get him to stay with me long enough to get him to come around.Of course, I was a bit upset that he didn’t seem excited about having the reception in the ballroom of the new estate. Just having one would be great. We really could have our whole ceremony there. I could see it now.We walked through the darkness until the air turned dryer, and we came out into the forest. I almost groaned at the thought of walking anymore, but then I heard voices nearby.Then, I saw Peter loading something onto a truck that I didn’t recognize. He’d lost his cloak and was dressed in a tank top and jeans. He was a bit sweaty, like he’d been working for hours.My eyes skimmed over the gleaming sweat on his arms before I turned away as Candido
I growled at him. “That’s not an excuse. Apologize to me!”She scoffed. “I didn’t even hit you. He did.”I turned and looked up to see Harper looking down at me with a smug smile.“You expect me to apologize to you?” He asked, tilting his head. “Go on. Say it.”I grit my teeth. “Apologize to me, or I’m going to tell Candido.”His smile turned cold. “Apologize to Estella first.”Then, he turned and left. The woman chuckled.“You’re really not very popular, are you?” She wrapped up the cot, and I looked around. The rest of everyone who had set up cots was taking them down. I looked down and found that the pieces of the cot I’d had were gone. I rubbed my head and got to my feet to search for Candido. Harper wasn’t going to get away with this. Candido would have to punish him.I saw Harper standing with Candido. I don’t know what they were saying, but it didn’t matter. I marched over, pushing my way through the cots, ready to tell Candido
Marius started laughing as soon as he hung up. My stomach filled with fear as he smiled down at me. He looked crazy, I thought. Though his eyes were clear, there was a wild excitement on his face.“If it makes you feel any better,” he said. “I could care less about you either.”He shook his head. “No, that’s not quite right. I care even less about you.”I swallowed. “Candido will find me, and he’ll kill you. He’ll kill you both.”He hummed, and the cage opened. “Wish deeply that he’ll take great care in burying your corpse… What’s left of it anyway. And I doubt highly that your little pet could manage to kill Ian.”He laughed as I felt something grabbing me and dragging me out of the cage. “Though if he manages it, I supposed he’s more useful than I thought, and I may even have to keep him alive.”I dug my fingers into the dirt, trying to resist the pull, but the force was too strong. Marius whistled and moved around as it dragged me slowly out of the cage. I
“G-Grandfather?” I asked horrified.“Yes,” Marius said, his voice turned soft as he looked down at the man. “My dearest… dumbest brother, the vampire king himself. Lucien, the Bloody.”He laughed. “He always hated when I called him that… There couldn’t have been a gentler soul in the world…”I swallowed. “What does that mean?”He leaned on the casket. “Lucien wanted peace… He sought to follow the Goddess’ will and ensure that you filthy wolves lived prosperous lives on the other side of the divide… Allowing Solare to feedoff of the magic and wonder of Lunae…”He tilted his head. “But his benevolence was his undoing. You wolves grew greedy.”“That’s not true! It’s— ““What would you know?” He asked, blinking at me. “You’re barel
Ian shoved him back. Marius skidded and almost tripped, but he blocked Ian I lost their movements as they fought, around the pools of blood. The glow never left Ian, but it was clear that Marius was holding him off. Raven turned to me, glaring at me with burning red eyes.Had it been her eyes looking at me from within the mosaic?She came to me and aimed her staff at me. Her hands trembled for a moment before she scoffed and cast a bunch of light over me. The restraints vanished, and I collapsed to the ground. I felt dizzy and a bit ill from all the silver around the room. I felt so weak.“Get up,” Raven hissed, grabbing my arm.“Be gentle!”“Shut up, or I’ll throw you in the trough, I’m not in a fucking mood to hear Uncle Ian’s lecture.”She dragged me across the ground. The silver burned my skin. I knew I was bleeding, but she didn’t care. Finally, she threw me onto the hard rocky ground. I skidded and I was sure that I was bleeding even more, but at least
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