I woke up slowly, alone on the couch and wrapped up in the blanket that I had put over Candido the night before. There was faint light coming through the window. It couldn’t have been any time later than five or six in the morning. My body still ached from the night before, but I didn’t feel as bad as I had. I lifted my head to look at the tray on the table. There was only one, and it was different from the one that had been there last night.I bet it was breakfast for me. I set my jaw. I needed to eat. I needed my strength, but that didn’t mean I had to eat with him or in a way that he knew I was eating. I could sneak out later and get something to eat.My heart lurched at the thought. That man was waiting out in the world somewhere until I knew how to spot him, avoid him, or could capture him, it wasn’t safe. Not with the wedding still on track to happen.That conversation last night was clear cut: Candido knew that Sibyl was unfit to be his wife in any way, and he was still going t
I locked the door behind me, put in my headphones, drew the curtains around my bed and got to work. The click of my fingers on the keys filled the room as I tuned into the pages and pages of reports from New Moon, Red Moon, and surrounding areas. I put them to one side of my screen and started looking for the vampire in any photo across social media, security cameras, and anything else I could get into.But there was nothing. I worried my lip and looked over at the book about vampires. I pulled it to me as the rest of the case records started to load and my program continued to search.I opened the book, flipping the pages, straining to read it. I flipped it around and pushed my power until I could just barely feel something behind my eyes and rumbling in my chest like my wolf waking up and growling down at the page.I growled as my head began to hurt from staring at the page for so long.There had to be some way to read this damn thing!Before I could throw it aside. I felt something
He stared at me as if he was ready to argue about it. “No.”I closed the door behind me. “Why not. Give me a good reason for you to keep that book from me.”He winced. “It’s a family thing.”“Like the passage under the school? Is it connected to that?”I thought back to the passage in the vampire book. “Is this about the blue moon? The day moon?”He flinched and narrowed his eyes. “Where did you hear that term?”I narrowed my eyes. “No.”He bared his teeth. “You’re being childish. ““You’re being unrealistic! If you think saying it’s a family thing is enough to keep me from asking about it.”I glared at him. “You want to keep me out of something that I’m already involved in. you can’t keep treating me like a child. Would you rather me just go into the secret passage—”He scoffed. “You wouldn’t know how to open it.”I took a chance. “I’m sure a few magic words would do it.”He laughed. “You wouldn’t be able to open it no matter what you do. You’re not of an awakened bloodline.”My eyes
Candido turned swiftly with a roar. The air shook, and the beast tumbled aside as if the ground had shifted beneath its feet. He let out a startled sound and landed with a loud thump. It seemed stunned as it slammed into a large rock nearby.Where had it come from?“Run!” Candido said, shoving me away from the beast and back towards the Estate.I turned, clutching the book to my chest and scanning the area when my sense of being watched seemed to spike. There were people, several people around us. Something sharp filled the air, then flames rose up around us. The heat of the fire warmed the air, and the light painted the forest with a golden orange glow. I felt my fear start to rise as I realized that we were trapped. In the trees, I saw several figures crouched and looking down at us. There had to be at least twenty of them. We were surrounded.Each of their eyes glinted with silver and gold. There was only one of them whose eyes were completely black. The firelight glinted on his te
It was a trick question. I knew that he didn’t want me. He’d said it as much, but as I met his gaze, I couldn’t help but answer. Candido had always been so important to me. He always would be.“I know you don’t want me,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “I’ve… made my peace with it, but that doesn’t mean you have to marry Sibyl.”He bared his teeth, his eyes glinting with anger. “Hedy, you—”I didn’t want to hear anything he had to say about it, but I was lucky that I didn’t have to.“Your Majesty!” Someone called from down the hallway. “We have an update. One of the vampires is still alive!”My heart lurched. How had a vampire survived that fire, let alone get caught? Was it just one? I met his gaze, daring him to delay going to go see what the man had to say. He huffed and pulled back, stepping away from the still sizzling door.“You have no concept of politics. With everything at stake, it has nothing to do with me being honorable, and everything to do with this is what has to
I left the Estate through the front doors, but I didn’t get far before someone from Team Gamma-2 appeared. He opened the jeep’s door and gave me a pleading look.“Miss Hedy?” He asked. “We’ve been instructed to take you wherever you would like.”“Not to the ceremony?”He shook his head. “If that is not where you wish to go, then we will not take you there.”I considered avoiding this and just walking, but I didn’t want Candido to fire anyone or take his anger out on anyone. But I also wasn’t sure about how far I’d get without a ride. The mall wasn’t exactly nearby, and I didn’t want to risk being even more exhausted than I was right now when I arrived. What if he picked a fight or brought back-up?I climbed in. “To the mall, please.”The jeep pulled away from the Estate and pulled down the road into town while I turned over what I knew in my mind. The man had been seen entering the mall. I would have gotten another notification if he’d already left, so the trick would be to just find
I leaped out of the fountain, tackling the woman to the ground and slamming my fist into her face. Before someone else could get up, I twisted and took them down with a swift, sharp kick to the chest. Then I was up. Someone grabbed my jacket, but I was moving with too much force to punch someone else. My jacket was ripped off me. I didn’t stop. I turned into the force of it and swung at whoever had grabbed me.My claws cut through empty air, but I didn’t stop.I couldn’t stop.There was so much rage in me and so much power. It felt like my power had come from a deep, overflowing well. I was furious and powerful. I tore through the groups of people. Not caring what was torn off me or what else was happening. Someone scratched me, and I felt it healing as I drove his face into the ground.But wait. This wasn’t me.I wasn’t the type to just fight people like this.I wasn’t the type to reveal how much strength I really had.It had to be the smoke. I had enough control to keep from killing
The joy filled my chest so much it felt like I would burst, but it popped, and I deflated as the terror struck through me. Candido was marrying Sibyl soon. I didn’t know how soon, but I knew it was too soon for comfort.Too soon to be standing around here. I couldn’t be sure because my birthday was still a month out, but if golden wolves only mated with golden wolves, then there was such a small chance that I was wrong.Candido had to be my mate.He had to be. Whatever reaction I had to Armageddon had to be a fluke. I felt it. I knew it. It had to be true. What other reason would the Moon Goddess have led me to Candido and kept me safe with him all these years if we weren’t meant to be together?I rushed out of the dressing room just as they finished paying for the dress. The sales clerk gasped in awe.“You look lovely.”I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and looked back at the leader of Team Gamma-2.“Take me to the temple.”They seemed shocked for a moment, but each of them