"You know, you smell like wine," Brandon said as they stepped into the hospital's elevator.
"It'd be a surprise if I don't sweat wine at this rate," Clavier grumbled under his breath while looking at the medical report in his hands. "So, the doctors can't figure out what's causing the pain and blood tears?"
"They're just monitoring her for now. Is it possible for Lucien to do something like this?"
"He once manipulated someone to gauge their own eyes with their fingers," Clavier replied nonchalantly before looking at Brandon, whose eyes widened at his words. "I didn't mean to instill fear in you." The Daemon doctor let out a sigh. "To be honest, I never met Lucien in person."
"Really?"
"I've known Stefano for whole my life, but I never crossed paths with Lucien. He only visited Stefano when he was alone in the castle. What I knew about Lucien was what Stefano and others told me. I
A black car stopped in front of a cafe by the beach, and a silver-haired man came out from the passenger's side while a black-haired and tanned-skin man stood before the shop, looking at him. His presence exuded a powerful authority aura that could make a mere mortal fall to their knees at the sight of his presence."It has been a long time, Shadow," the silver-haired man said."Young Master De Vincenzo," Shadow acknowledged him, opening the door to the empty cafe. "What brings you to come here?"Lucien unwrapped the scarf from his neck and put it on the chair before sitting down. "It was quite a commotion at the nightclub. Did your agents survive?""Alive and kicking. Did the Lord send you here?""No, I came on my own accord. The King has agreed to let me take over the Ministry of Defense with a condition. We have to rescue the damsel in distress first."The
Darkness.Complete darkness, even though the sounds came from everywhere. Even though the sounds were loud and clear, no images were constructed in Celeste's mind. The rain began to pour outside the hospital, adding more sound to Celeste's surroundings. There were many noises around her. Yet, her eyes still could only see the darkness. Maybe this was it. The ending of the Blind Bandit. She would just be grounded in her home, using the walking stick to get her around, and depended on someone to proceed with her daily life.How did it all end up this way?Celeste clenched onto her hospital gown. She hated it. The feeling she had right now, she hated it. It began to degrade her to the lowest pit of despair and devoured her inside out. Without her eyesight, she couldn't do anything. It made her feel weak and helpless.She hated it so much.Shadow betrayed her and Leto. Celeste still
Leto came out of his room and froze as he felt someone else's presence in the apartment. He put the duffel bag containing Celeste's clothes and essentials on the floor before walking down the hallway to the living room."What are you doing here?" Leto asked when he saw Shadow was standing by the patio's door with his back facing him. "Wasn't it enough that you've tampered with the diamonds?""There's no room for weakness in this world. Have you forgotten that?" Shadow asked, glancing over his shoulder with his menacing eyes."So what? Should we put aside our feelings and go on like a robot? You've played us. You played Celeste, who looked up to you. You were everything to both of us. But for you, we're just mere pawns."Seeing Celeste getting hurt and angered by Shadow's betrayal took a toll on Leto. He had vowed to keep her protected and safe, yet he had failed it. Celeste got hurt and betrayed to t
# Clavier's memory,He glanced to the door as he heard light footsteps coming from outside before the door was pushed open, and Stefano stood there. The Daemon High Lord only visited him in the hospital when he was out of reach. Clavier worked tirelessly to improve the research data that he knew would be a breakthrough in the medical field. He holed up in his lab in the hospital ever since one of the nurses who assisted him was kidnapped by a vampire. After her return, Clavier let her take a few weeks to recuperate."I must've forgotten to bring my phone," Clavier said apologetically before resuming to look at the specimen underneath the microscope. "What brought you here?""There have been shapeshifters' sightings in the fourth realm," Stefano said."That's where Mira and the others are. I'm sure one or two shapeshifters wouldn't be a problem for the demon wolf. Brandon is doing well in his mission.
Brandon could tell Leto had some questions about the people standing in the waiting room, like some gangsters waiting for their leader to come out of the surgery. Clavier sprawled on the couch, looking drained out after doing too much thinking, and spoke about his past."You can ask questions later," Brandon said to Leto. "Just know that I'm not Dante but Brandon Kane, Gamma of the Southern Werewolves Pack.""Oi, what would do you if he ends up betraying you?" Liam asked, crossing his arms while glaring at Leto."I've told Cohen before. I'll take all the responsibility," Brandon replied."What about the other guy?" Leto asked. "The one named Elijah?""Vincent Hale," Vincent said as he entered the waiting room. "You guys could have chosen a better place to meet. Luckily, there aren't many patients on this wing."Liam turned to Brandon. "Cohen had given the ord
"Dante..." Celeste bit her lips. "I mean, Brandon."Brandon turned around. "Are you alright?""It seemed you have the knacks of finding explosives everywhere."Brandon didn't know whether he was complimented or insulted to some degree. He just knew he had a talent for finding something that wasn't there in the first place, just like how he found the explosives in Kennedy Strauss' nightclubs and now, in the hospital. Brandon thought he could make Lucien spit some information if he delayed rescuing Clavier, who might have been directly impacted by the explosion."Well, I'm okay," Celeste added, looking away. "It's just I still couldn't see anything. It's weird.""There's no casualty. We managed to evacuate everyone in time," Liam said, approaching the two awkward people who seemed couldn't tolerate each other's presence at the moment.Liam still didn't know wha
Clavier sneered at Leto before flickering his fingers. The scenery changed, and they were teleported into some buildings. Leto looked bewildered by the sudden change, but the werewolves had gotten used to Clavier suddenly transporting them elsewhere.The large room they arrived in was one of the halls in the Council's main building."It is over for Shadow?" Clavier repeated the words Leto said earlier but more amusement in his tone. "It's funny that you've forgotten something. I'm the only one who knows where the Princess is, and you think I keep her safe and sound? You're wrong about that. She's dying after I injected a lethal virus into her body. The only person who knows how to make the cure is me.""Doctor, you're going to kill the Princess?" Celeste stepped in, stopping the eye contact competition between Clavier and Leto.Clavier shrugged his shoulders. "I have no use of the Princess, and her l
The silence in the hospital's room was deafening. Celeste had yet to speak a word after leaving the hall earlier. Even with the bandage covering her eyes, Brandon could tell that she was staring blankly. With Leto's betray combined with Shadow's, it took a toll on Celeste's mental health. Clavier's revelation about having the Princess sent the final blow. Now, Celeste was too angry to do or say anything. Her anger might not show on her face, but Brandon could feel it radiating from her presence.He was as angry as her when he found out Leto tampered with her mating bond and that he had been feeding information to Lucien about everything. That was something that Brandon could never forgive. How dare Leto do this to her? He wanted to protect her, but the method he used was wrong. He endangered Celeste's life by working with Lucien.
A week later,The wind bellowed softly around him as he approached the big golden gates, which a name on the arc that showed the place he was currently heading belonged to the House of Gladwin Xavier Cemetery. Brandon inhaled as he walked past the opened gates. The guards bowed at him before dismissing themselves to give him privacy. It had been ages since he last stepped his foot here. He walked past rows of tombstones belonging to the perished members of the House of Gladwin Xavier.In the middle of the cemetery was a large pink sakura tree that had already bloomed. Located before the tree was the grave of Mirabelle Xavier, the older sister he never had the chance to know. Her grave was covered by the fallen sakura leaves. Brandon crouched down and traced his fingertips on her tombstone. Even though he didn't know her, he could feel the pain of losing his family member. Only a handful of people knew he was the illegitimate son of Gladwin Xavier XIX. But, Brando
Celeste looked ahead of her, not knowing what to do after all of that. Her life had always been rocky—running from the people that wanted her dead. Now, it felt different. Returning to the one kingdom that had caused so many heartaches to her. Ozigus was being treated for the poison that Princess Henrietta gave to him. Celeste wanted him dead. She wanted to kill him, but she would be no different than him. She would be the monster, just like her birth father.She chuckled at that term. Birth father. How weird did that sound? He raped her mother just because she didn't reciprocate his approach. He was no father. He was just a man who was greedy, arrogant, and monstrous."Now, time to settle a pressing matter," Clavier said, dragging the chair behind him.Everyone else just watched him as he sat down next to the bed where Ozigus was lying on."Release him from the binding vow," Clavier said, pointing to Shadow, who was standing next to Stefano.
Emma Kincaid smiled after she revealed the darkest secret of all. Brandon glanced at Vincent and saw the former second-in-command didn't show the slightest sign of surprise. Of course, Vincent knew. He knew Brandon was a dominant Alpha. That trait only came from a certain bloodline. Only the royal bloodline could give birth to dominant werewolves. That was why they were the royal family of the werewolves.As one of the two last survivors and the only werewolf coming from the royal bloodline, Brandon carried a heavy burden on his shoulders. But he never cared about bloodline or whether his children would be born dominant.Emma Kincaid raised her hand, and something materialized in her grip.A crystal dagger.She pressed the pointy tip on Brandon's nec
Brandon snuck behind the enemy line—carefully making his way deeper. He saw Lucien standing with his royal guards, looking at the battle. He looked pleased as the luck was on his side. With his large army size, he could easily defeat the entire Resistance, but Brandon couldn't let that happen."Yo," Clavier appeared behind Brandon, looking too calm for anyone's sake."When did you come here?" Brandon looked flustered."A minute ago. Where's Shadow?""Here..." Shadow said weakly, leaning against a boulder."I need to get you to Stefano to strengthen the spell," Clavier said. Concern was written all over his face."There's no time for that."
Celeste checked the heavily guarded border of Galos' Kingdom. His army was already stationed around his border, ready to receive their command to proceed with the marching. Celeste didn't want him to march his army out of his Kingdom because she spotted Emma Kincaid's army stationed in the mountains before his border, waiting for the right time to ambush.Ozigus had enough army to take down Galos, but the Sovereign King didn't dare to do it. Now, Emma Kincaid was about to do it. She only stationed a small fraction of the army to attack the Resistance. She lowered her flying, scouting the rest of Emma Kincaid's army to ensure their entry point. Galos' army would have to march through the valley between the two mountains occupied by Emma Kincaid's army.The King's Knights were on the front line. Celeste landed at a branch of the tree, watching closely what Emma Kincaid's army planned to do. They didn't set any camp nearby. Their shoe prints were covered by th
Brandon jolted and coughed heavily as he wiped the dust from his face. His left leg was in pain. There was a large wound right under his knee that began to heal. He got up from the floor, looking around for his mate."Celeste?" Brandon called. "Celeste baby, where are you?"He used the large boulder next to him to support his weight while waiting for his wound to heal. He focused on his mating bond and felt his mate was still alive. He just couldn't see her anywhere around him. The cave entrance collapsed into two halves, separating him from the main entrance of the encampment.The south wall of the cave collapsed. Brandon looked away, protecting his face from the dust. Celeste came through the hole and rushed to him."Brandon!" she said, supporting his we
Celeste froze on the spot. Bane had transformed into the Master. He looked at her with the same intense eyes that could hold fire for eternity. Her childhood was filled with torments and sadness because her life was held in the hands of the Master. Although she ran away from the orphanage with Leto, she couldn't stop the nightmares from invading her mind every time she slept.She walked backward until her back crashed against Brandon's chest. His arms wrapped around her protectively as if he knew what went on inside her mind. She knew Bane's aura was familiar. She didn't expect him to be the Master all along. By the aura emitted from the Oracle, it seemed she knew the Master and Bane were the same people."It had to be done," the Oracle said to Celeste."By torturing me when I was a little girl?""Celeste.""We're leaving." Celeste turned to the door."You need the army if you want to stop Emma Kincaid," The Master said. Or was it Bane talki
"Are you going to return?" Mira asked as they settled down near a tree after receiving news from Stefano.Clavier looked at the Alpha and his beta, ready to follow Emma Kincaid's army marching towards Galos' Kingdom. If all of them returned now, they would get to nowhere in stopping the war. Clavier doubted Shadow would return after hearing the news. Brandon and Celeste were equally determined to stop the war, so why would they return to Stefano's castle when the High Lord himself could handle the case?"No," Clavier answered. "We'd just continue with what we're doing and get over it. Stefano can handle it. He didn't ask us to return."It wasn't like Brandon's plan entirely. He did manage to get Lucien's attention by gambling with his own life and others. Everyone knew Lucien would have anticipated the t
Celeste blinked in confusion. She shook her head, denying what the man had said to everyone. There was no way she could Ozigus' daughter out of a sudden. Ozigus only had one child, and that child was Princess Henrietta. There couldn't be another child. His other wives couldn't conceive despite their long marriage with him.But as much as Celeste wanted to deny every bit of the man's words, deep inside of her, she could feel the truth in his words. Shadow seemed to trust the man as much as he trusted himself. There was no way the man would lie in front of Shadow, who was clearly had contributed something significant to the Resistance's survival. The Resistance didn't seem the type to dishonor those who sacrificed themselves for their cause. Shadow took a great risk by keeping their survival secret. That secret could have triggered the binding vow.Maybe this was just a dream. Celeste would wake up from it soon. She laughed nervously as she pinched her thigh because it a