The soft sounds of snoring flitted about the dark room. Seraph was gently playing with Esper's silver locks as the moonlight beamed across the bed. He loved watching her sleep, and the pearly glow of the moon made her look like a goddess. Ever since he had come back, Seraph lived for these secret little moments. Esper was all
When the couple reached the bedroom, Esper let out a sigh of relief. The sparring match would stave off her father for the rest of the day, which meant more time with Seraph. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy spending time with Wesley. She knew the news of her accepting Seraph was finally setting in. Wesley was starting to feel his little girl slip away, but in reality, she was just growing up. The sound of gentle music broke Esper out of her deep train of thought. She opened her bathroom door to see candles, rose petals, and a massage table. “Since you’ve been training so hard, I thought I could help you relax,” Seraph offered, holding out a robe. “How thoughtful,” Esper chuckled, accepting the change of clothes. After changing into the robe, Esper lazily laid on the table and let Seraph get to work on massaging her muscles. His fingers were like magic, working out all of her tension and knots. When Seraph’s hands began to wander, Esper couldn’t help but chuckle. “You, sir, are a
Ronnie’s studio was adjoined to her bedroom. The room was a clothing designer’s dream. The walls were lined with everything a seamstress could ever need: a wide array of fabric, boning, accent trim, buttons, etc. There was a large work table in the center of the room with a built-in Juki DDL 8700 sewing machine, and dress forms were lined up in front of the windows. Releasing Esper from her grasp, Ronnie trotted over to one of the shelving units and grabbed her digital sketch tablet while Esper brought over an extra stool to the work table. The two settled in and got to work on designing Esper’s ceremony gown. Opening up her tablet, Ronnie pulled up a draft design to show her cousin. “I came up with this really genius idea. It’s going to sound crazy, but hear me out.” Ronnie started, excited about the concept. “I want to incorporate bones
Wesley stood at the top of the tower watching as the group ran the gauntlet. He had kept true to his promise and put the young vampires through grueling training sessions. Each day had been filled with twelve hours of running exercises and sparring. The original plan was only a week, but since half the group had zero combat education, Wesley had extended it to a week and a half, and it paid off. Ronnie had finally harnessed her water affinity in combat situations, complimenting Remy's ice. Together the duo was nearly unstoppable, each one fueling the other's talent. Wesley was quite impressed by Senna's improvements as well. Even though she didn't have any particular affinities with her being a common vampire, she excelled at hand-to-hand combat. Her skillset provided excellent support for Asher's preference for close-range and brute strength. It
The once calm estate was now buzzing with life. The staff was hard at work in preparation for the Pairing Ceremony. Decorations were being hung, floral arrangements were in the process of being assembled, and furniture was being staged. Guests were flitting in and out of the halls, their excited chatter flooding the air. Esper was pacing back and forth in her room, wearing a trail into the gray carpet. The noise leaking into her room had her nerves in knots. Only twelve more hours, she thought as she glanced up at her digital clock. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a knock at the door. She sprinted over to the entry, her nerves relaxing at the thought of company. When Esper opened the door, warmth enveloped her body. There stood her father with her mother's dress. As Wesley walked into the room, Esper peered behind him and was surprised to see no one else.
The two vampires walked out to the hall and were met by an otherworldly scene. The once red interior was replaced with light gray linens that looked silver in the gentle glow of the candles scattered on every surface. The halls were lined with standing floral arrangements of white lilies and blue roses. White curtains hung at both ends of the hall and blocked any onlookers from peaking in. In the center of the hall, a table had been set up with bottles of blood, blood wine, and glasses. Realizing how hungry she was, Esper trotted over to the table. Before she could reach her destination, Ronnie hooked her arm around Esper and steered her away from the buffet. "You look so beautiful," Ronnie cried out as she pulled her into a hug. "Although, I will admit I'm a little upset that Uncle Wesley could one-up me on the dress. I'll have to find another occasion for you to wear the one I made you." "I'm sure there will be more opportunities," Esper assured. She took a step back an
Strange howling sounds filled Esper's ears and slowly brought her consciousness back to the surface. She tried to move around, but her muscles felt heavy with the weight of the silk sheets. Wanting to look around, Esper tried to open her eyes but quickly shut them as light flooded into them. It felt like she had been sleeping for days. The young woman attempted to open her lids again but did so much slower this time. Her eyes gradually adjusted to the light, and she peered around the unfamiliar place. The room had a dark modern look to it with dark gray concrete walls and light gray hardwood flooring. On the left-hand side of the room, black bookcases created a false wall to the next room. To the right were floor to ceiling terrariums acting as a barrier to the bathroom. Just where exactly was she? The last thing Esper remembered was standing up at the altar for her pairing ceremony. W
Maxim had been in the midst of changing the bedding when he heard the thud come from the bathroom. When he peered into the doorway, he saw his bride hyperventilating on the floor and raced over to her. Kneeling beside her, Maxim pulled Esper tight against his chest and tried to calm her down. "It's okay, Kitten. You don't need to cry. I'm here." The nonchalant words sent Esper over the edge. How could he not see that he was the cause of her distress? She started pounding his chest with all of her might as she sobbed. The punches started out strong but weakened as her strength dwindled, becoming childlike slaps. Maxim sat unmoving with his arms still wrapped around her and took the beating. When she slumped against his chest, completely exhausted, Maxim picked Esper up with ease and set her on the bathroom counter to start getting her dressed. He took h
The sounds of soft cries stirred Esper from her sleep. She groggily opened her eyes and saw little Max standing at the side of the bed, rubbing at his eyes. “Oh, Max.” As Esper sat up, she wrapped the sheet around her torso like a makeshift dress then pulled the boy onto her lap. “How about you tell Mama what’s wrong?” “I had a bad dream.” Maxim hugged onto his mother tight as his small body shook. “I dreamt I was big and hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you, Mama.” “Oh, Sweetie.” Esper caressed Maxim’s raven locks and kissed the top of his head. “I’m sorry you had a bad dream.” Seeing the small boy distressed broke Esper’s heart. She knew the cause of his nightmare. Maxim was suffering from memory echoes, a common a
"You want to what?" Wesley was fuming. He couldn't wrap his head around what could possibly drive his daughter to take care of a person who had caused her so much pain, regardless of if they were a child now or not. "That is not a child. That is a monster who did unspeakable things to you." "Max is not a monster. He needs someone to teach him what real love is." Esper was not backing down. "Yggdrasil was able to see a spark of good in Max and gave him a second chance. Why can't you?" Seraph stood and stifled his laughter as he watched the father and daughter go back and forth. Even Esper wasn't actually his daughter; she still wanted his blessing and approval. Not understanding the heated argument, Maxim ran over to Esper and hugged her leg. He looked up at Wesley and stuck out his lip, making as stern a face as he could. "Don't yell at Mama!" Wesley paused from the toddler's words and looked down at him, then back up at Esper. He could already see the bond between mother and s
A warm breeze stirred up the grass around Seraph and Esper as they sat in the garden of ruins, enjoying the sun. They were propped up against one of the stone columns with Esper between Seraph's legs and her head resting on his chest. "So, you remember everything now?" Seraph laced his fingers with Esper's and brought them up to his mouth to kiss them. "Kind of." Esper shifted a bit to look up at her mate. "The memories are extremely vibrant and can be a little overwhelming when I try to recall too much, but I think it's all there." "Well, don't try too hard." Seraph tilted his head down and kissed the top of Esper's head. "You've been through a lot." "So, have you." Esper reached up with her free hand and ran her fingers through Seraph's black hair. "I can't arg
Lucien’s maniacal laughter echoed throughout the grand chamber of the World Tree cloister. He was standing atop a pile of spriggan corpses, yanking on their limbs and breaking them as if they were twigs. “Are you having fun yet, Yggdrasil?” Lucien hopped off of the pile and walked over to the World Tree. He bent over and knocked on the trunk. “If you don’t send out another one of your little tree witches to entertain my new powers, I’m going to start burning your real body here. I wonder how long it will take the flames to reach your heart?” “Is that how you treat your creator?” The female’s voice set Lucien off. He turned around to see Esper pushing herself up off the ground. How was she still alive and moving? Even with a vampire’s healing abilities, the woman’s broken back would
"SERAPH!" Esper let out a blood-curdling scream as she watched her mate crumple to the ground. Becoming overwhelmed with a blinding rage, Esper pushed herself off the ground. Her breathing was erratic, and her body shook with uncontrollable anger. Lucien had just killed her mate, and she was going to make him pay. In a mad flurry, she charged at Lucien. The white-haired male smirked and back-handed her as if Esper was nothing but a fly, sending her tumbling across the ground. She stood up on shaky legs and let out a frustrated roar before rushing him again. Much to Lucien's amusement, Esper came at him head-on. He was almost within her grasp when Lucien kicked her in the ribs. His leg collided into her side with a tremendous force and sent her flying through the air. Her body crashed into one of the murals, the painted stone crumbling around her. &nbs
"Seraph?" Esper looked at the weeping wound with horror. Without so much as a wince, Seraph reached back and ripped the sword out of his back. A menacing look formed on his face as he turned around slowly and tucked Esper behind him. Standing before Seraph was Maxim's pack of mutant werewolves. "If you are going to stab me, then do yourself a favor and try to kill me." Seraph rolled his healing shoulder and took a few practice swings with the sword before chopping off the assailant's head. He then sneered at the rest of the pack. "Didn't your master teach you that wounded animals are far more dangerous than the hunter?" The remaining beasts snarled furiously at the man and came charging towards him. Taking a protective stance, Seraph guarded Esper against the werewolves. He wasn't going to let anyone take her away ever again—espec
Esper's breath was heavy and panicked as she ran through the dark woods. She paused momentarily to gain her bearings but started running once more when she heard Maxim's laughter echo throughout the forest. Esper needed to get as far away as possible. She would not be caught by him again. The vine-covered hideaway was within her eyesight when Esper felt someone tackle her to the ground. The attacker flipped her around, and she was forced to face Maxim. "I finally found you, Kitten." The crazed glow ran rampant in Maxim's eyes as his gaze bored into Esper. "And now I'm coming for you." Maxim bared his fangs and bit down on to Esper's shoulder. Esper awoke with a scream. She ripped away the bedding and frantically ran down the breezeway towards Seraph's bed chambers. Her cries echoed througho
"Are you sure you are going to be okay while I'm gone?" Ronnie walked out of her closet with an armful of clothes and tossed them on the bed. "Ronnie, for the thousandth time, yes." Esper was sitting on the bed, folding her cousin's clothes and placing them in suitcases. "I don't want you worrying about me while you are on this trip. Just focus on having fun. I am going to be just fine." "I don't like the idea of leaving you here with him alone." Ronnie sat on the bed across from Esper and took up some of the clothes to help fold. "It won't be just Seraph and I. Dad will still be here," Esper offered. "Well, I still don't like it." Ronnie crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her lower lip out as she pouted. Esper couldn't help but laugh at her cousin's display. Ronnie had spen
Esper felt something nudging at her shoulder. Not quite ready to wake, she slapped at the annoyance. Her hand was met by a solid thud and thick fur. She opened her eyes and was met by the crystal blue stare of the stag. The animal was clearly not amused with Esper and huffed in her face. “I’m so sorry, boy. I forgot that I fell asleep out here.” Esper pet the stag’s forehead. She looked up at the sky and saw the moon was still out. Even if it had only been for an hour or two, Esper felt well rested after the nap. “Think you can help me find my way back?” The stag nodded in response to Esper’s request. Pushing herself up from the ground, Esper stood and let out a stretch. She was about to walk out the door, but something tugged at her sleeve. The young woman turned around and saw the stag kneeling before her