(Brielle’s POV)Aarush stood up and tapped Cole’s shoulder lightly, grinning as he asked, “Who likes eggs for breakfast?”Xian coughed, choking on the golden color liquid she was drinking. Her siblings facing her, turned around to see me.Were they drinking beer in this early morning?“I do!” I answered, making sure a Cheshire grin curved my lips as I answered.My heart was in my throat, calming myself as I followed Cole’s eyes. The way he slowly looked at the duffel bag in my hand until our eyes met, I knew he was shocked. I shrugged, half-smiling at him as I continued to pretend my presence was nothing of importance to them.“I ran away from home,” I muttered, walking toward them.“Ha! Ha! That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard,” Xian faked a laugh and widened her eyes at Lucilla, taking her drinks from her before she broke the glass and immediately grabbed Cole’s glass and put them on the sink underbar.Unfortunately, I agreed with Xian because I, for one, could even say that it
(Brielle’s POV)“Enough. I’m sharing my bedroom.”The owner of the voice roared in authority in the home bar, telling everyone she was willing to share her bedroom with a hint of disappointment with the siblings and perhaps to end our meaningless conversation as she walked in our direction.The clanking of her high-heeled shoes, the fluidity of her walk, or maybe just her presence, quieted everyone. Even my heartbeat stopped for a second as I pressed my lips tightly, realizing I was gawking at her like Gen. It was hard not to stare because she was beautiful.Ah! Not beautiful, my thoughts disagreed.Beautiful was not the best word to describe her because she looked like a hot Amazonian warrior in a sexy sage green silk dress, hugging her alluring and shapely body. I stood beside Cole when I realized she was heading in his direction and suddenly felt intimidated by her power over everyone in the room.She flipped her moon-shadow black hair as she stopped before him.“Kione,” Cole murmu
(Cole’s POV)“Do something about those women, Cole,” Ichiro scowled.We crowded Aarush’s bedroom and watched our uninvited guests on his state-of-the-art technology from his computer monitors. Aside from his working place, Aarush’s bedroom looked like another workstation.Five pairs of eyes followed Brielle’s every movement on the screen from the surveillance cameras when I left her alone in the living room after breakfast. She walked the hallways but did not attempt to come to any rooms. Brielle would sometimes stop, grope the wall, and continue walking if she thought nothing unusual about it.While they watched her, I sat on the couch, took an old book from the side table, and flipped the page carefully.“Smart,” grinned Aarush, realizing Brielle was looking where the cameras were because a few minutes later, the screen went blank for a short second and went back again, but she could not be seen in the hallway.“But not that one,” Ichiro pointed at Gen.Although Gen knew there were
(Brielle’s POV)This day had been so boring that I had to run twice around the mansion after tampering with the cameras in the hallways. The locals knew no one had ever stayed in this place for long except for a few days of business trips that made a few family members stay, but it seldom happened. Perhaps the cameras were for people who would enter the mansion uninvited, but this town has an almost zero percent crime rate. I had been to every door, memorizing whose bedroom it was or which the room was for, until I found Kione’s room. I did not go inside yet; instead, I ran through the driveway and did not dare get out of the metal gate. When I got tired, I lay on the grass and bored my eyes on the palace-like house of the Kirkwood. The mansion was empty, but there was something homey about it like I belonged here.The growling of my stomach made me walk back inside the mansion, but as soon as I walked through the living room, a note on the center table stopped me.‘Love pizza?’
(Brielle’s POV)There was magic in Kione’s bed because I immediately fell asleep as soon as I lay my back on the fluffy cream-colored bed sheet. I had never owned one in my life, and back in the days when I had to train, sleeping in a good bed was a luxury.It was the soft moaning that woke me up, ripping me from sleep, and had me open my eyes to see what it was. I rolled to my side where the movement was coming from and squinted to see if I was still dreaming or was really seeing Gen and Kione naked. Gen was on top, giving Kione much pleasure as she kneaded her mounds.“Woah! What’s happening?” I asked, rolling to my other side until I fell on the floor.I heard the two women chuckle. Gen crawled and peered her head on the edge of the bed to check on me. “I’m giving our host a massage. Want to join us, Barbie?”My eyes widened when Gen closed her eyes and moaned. Kione must have done something to her that she had forgotten I was there. She just kept on howling lowly as she bit her bo
(Cole’s POV)I was sure Brielle was freezing, but as soon as my lips molded on hers, she had forgotten she was shivering. I was only supposed to press my mouth on her soft lips, but I could not resist deepening the kiss. I slipped my tongue out, hoping to urge her lips apart, but I didn’t need to do that because Brielle was a good girl, parting her lips and welcoming me.Something inside me was screaming that I should stop, but something was addicting in her. The moment my tongue tasted her, I didn’t want to end the kiss, just wanted more. My fingers moved fast, unbuttoning her top pajamas, and I could not help feeling triumphant about a very small thing, finally feeling her smooth skin as she wrapped her arms around my neck and arched her body on mine.“Brielle,” I whispered, breaking our kiss to let her breathe.“Cole.”Her eyes were filled with desire, or maybe she only reflected what she saw in me. A little more of this, I was not sure if I could still stop myself from sinking my
(Cole’s POV)Just one night, it was my promise to everyone, but another night would not hurt us, especially me. I spent the whole night gazing at Brielle, who slept like a baby. Whenever Gen called her barbie doll, I wished to correct her that she looked more like the moon goddess than the fashion doll.My fingers brushed the few strands of hair in her face and tucked them behind her ears. Feeling her soft skin and looking at her gorgeous and alluring face, I sometimes forgot who we were and why we had to stay strangers.She took me by surprise last night when she went into the tub to get me out of the water, and if Aarush didn’t come, I would not stop and would not dare care about her being the enemy of my kind. The Order of the Orion misunderstood our existence, including us in the rogue vampires they met and hunted, but we were not like them.“You can kiss me, you know. I’ll just pretend I’m still asleep,” Brielle murmured, curving her lips into a smile. Slowly, she opened her eyes
(Brielle’s POV)“I never thought I’d say this, but I wish we weren’t human,” I teased Cole as I opened my duffel bag.Gen or Kione must have placed them on his bedroom’s doorway when I didn’t come back after what I witnessed last night. Still, I wanted to thank Gen for giving Kione a ‘really good massage’ because if not for that, I would not flee to Cole’s bedroom, and all these would not happen.The word ‘made love’ or ‘good sex’ were not words that could describe the heavenly emotions I felt when we both reached seventh heaven and bit me in the neck. My hands found the clothes I was looking for, but I did not move, still thinking of the uncanny but remarkable feelings.I clutched my hand on the clothes I found inside my duffel bag as I thought it could be my imagination that he bit me because when I stared at his mirror wall, there was no mark on my neck except for the love bites.When Cole didn’t say anything, I turned my head in his direction and saw him leaning on the bathroom do
(Brielle’s POV)“So?” Xian blinked curiously at Bryce.I was still in shock at what Bryce did to Lucilla. Although I could not say if what I felt was jealousy, there was a prick in my heart, remembering Cole and Levana’s union and now him kissing Lucilla. I clenched my hands, hiding my worries about what she might do to him. I couldn’t shake off the disturbing thoughts that he gave her a reason to kill him.“So… What?” Bryce asked, wiping his lips on the back of his hand as if he had something awful in his mouth.“No magic?” Xian’s eyes were wide as she asked. “Spark? Or…”Bryce scoffed. “If you think I can be her life mate, you’re wasting your time. I told you I want to kill her with irritation, thinking I was -”Ichiro burst into laughter, interrupting Bryce. “Wow! I can’t believe you fell for that,” he exclaimed.“You said…” His face turned crimson as he pursed his lips tightly.“You really believe that? God, how would we know?” Xian rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Our sister’s eight
(Brielle’s POV)“I thought they could not read our minds?” Bryce asked, followed by his surprised gasp.Lucilla smirked. “Idiot! I don’t need to read her mind to know what she’s thinking.” She rolled her eyes and continued to climb the stairs.Bryce opened his mouth to retaliate, but Xian grabbed his arm, taking his attention.“I need your blood, hunter,” she smiled and blinked her eyes adorably. When he didn’t move, she sneered. “You need me to check if your blood’s healthy or…”“No need,” he sighed, frowning at the stairs. “If she can fly, why does she have to use the stairs?”I pressed my lips to suppress a smile, but when I looked at Xian and Ichiro, I was glad a laugh did not leave my mouth. They frowned, not finding his joke funny.“Not funny?” Bryce smirked.I glared at him, warning him to stop before Xian decided to get every ounce of blood from his body.““What? I can’t joke, but she’s allowed to hurt my feelings?” Bryce smirked. “Is she always like that?”Xian rolled her ey
(Brielle’s POV)“Gen, what have you done?” I murmured in horror, gasping in disbelief and standing beside Bryce.Bryce stood frozen in the doorway, his eyes widened and his mouth agape. His hands tightly gripped the knife handle, but he seemed unable to move it. He had probably tried to pull it out, but what he had witnessed inside the luxurious log house immobilized him. Like Bryce, I was in a state of shock. We both stood there for what seemed like an eternity, trying to process what had just happened.“Brielle, help me.”Immediately, I wandered my eyes around the room, looking for Kione. She was sitting in the farthest corner of the room, almost like hiding. Her body shook as she sobbed, and when our eyes met, I felt a pang of sadness in my heart. Gen was on the couch, motionless, and her left arm was hanging limply on the floor. The blood on her wrist told us what had happened before we arrived.Gen…I could not believe Gen was dead.“Oh, dear heaven! Kione, what have you done?”
(Brielle’s POV)I parted my lips, welcoming his tongue, hoping that when it touched mine, it would bring a surging reaction inside me, but nothing melted… nothing exploded. But I could say that Bryce was not only a skilled hunter but also an expert kisser.As Bryce wrapped his arms around my waist, closing the gap in our bodies, I lifted my arms, clinging like a vine to his neck, closing my eyes, and kissing him back with the hope of pushing away the pain of remembering Cole, not wanting me in his life, andHow should I define our kiss?It was sweet and…Bryce broke the kiss before I could finish describing it and eased back. His lips turned into an amused grin. He lifted his hand and grazed my cheek.“Done analyzing?” He chuckled softly.I bet my cheeks blushed because he laughed again. “I am not analyzing, Bryce,” I denied. “If it wasn’t obvious, let me tell you… I am kissing you, and I can say you’re good.”“Good?” he smirked, his eyes on my lips.I swallowed hard, looking elsewher
(Brielle’s POV)The diamond in the engagement ring on my finger sparkled when sunlight kissed the stone. I didn’t know why I still wore it when, in my heart, I knew I would not marry Bryce. After Levana left, I decided to stay and sit under the tree, looking blankly at the woods, not caring if there was a danger ahead of me.Even if the highest official of the Order of the Orion would come and threaten to kill me, I would not care. What I had seen in the cabin and what Levana had said were enough to make my body numb, and if anyone pierced a knife to my heart, the pain was too much to feel anything.“Brielle.”He seemed distant, and his worried call made me blink in confusion as I listened to the familiar voice. “Brielle,” he called again, shaking my shoulder.When I craned my neck to see who it was, I blinked again and saw Bryce standing before me. My eyes narrowed as I looked at him from head to foot. I noticed he was dressed in full gear, with all his weapons strapped to his body.
(Brielle’s POV)A cry escaped my mouth, remembering Cole, moaning Levana’s name. It shattered my heart into a million pieces, and the pain was beyond incomparable to anything painful that I could think of. I didn’t know how I managed to move, but as soon as I could, I ran away from the cabin. My eyes were blurry because of the endless tears rolling down my face, but despite that, I didn’t stop running. I didn’t care where my feet led me; I just wanted to get out of this place… of this island. Then I stopped abruptly, pressing my hands against the rough bark of the tree trunk and gasping for air, realizing one thing. I was running in a circle and never reaching the inside of the protective sphere. My body was still shaking from running and crying, and when I looked around to gather my thoughts and steady my breathing.“Damn it!” I hissed, looking up and planning to get up on the tree to see where I was exactly.Four days ago, as I set foot on this island, I admired its beauty, but n
(Brielle’s POV)Lying on the couch in the dimly lit living room, my eyes were drawn to the old grandfather clock standing in the corner. It was five minutes before one in the morning. I didn’t have to spend eternity with the Kirkwood not to know Aarush’s pattern. At this wee hour, he would go down, walk to the kitchen alone, and have his midnight snack before going to bed.Humming, Aarush’s steps creaked on the wooden floor as he walked toward the kitchen. I leaped to the ground, landing softly in front of him.“Uh-oh!” Aarush groaned and turned around, trying to escape.I lunged forward and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him towards me. Determined to keep him under control, I maneuvered his arms behind his back quickly, pinning them in place with a firm grip. I could feel the tension in Aarush’s body as he wriggled, trying to escape, so with one hand holding onto his wrist, I used my other arm and applied pressure to his neck, making sure he could not move an inch.“Not so
(Brielle’s POV)Lucilla stood before the grand, arched window wall from the living room. In her slim but long white summer dress, she could pass like a ghost as if waiting for the return of a loved one. After getting the result from the sample I gave, Xian gave me medicine that knocked me out, and when I woke up, it was past four in the afternoon. I thought Lucilla was alone, but when I climbed down the stairs and got to the living room, Gen was on the couch, brushing Kione’s hair with her fingers as her girlfriend rested on her lap. Xian and Travis were on the floor, sitting with crossed legs and heads almost sticking together while their eyes pinned on the screen of a laptop, murmuring what seemed to be a heated discussion, while Aarush and Ichiro were in the bar area, drinking beer. Not that I was worried about Bryce, but not seeing him inside made me anxious. I didn’t trust Travis, and he could have done something terrible to him. Bryce may be a skilled hunter, but Travis be
(Brielle’s POV)“How did you know?” My eyes were wide as I asked curiously.Gen pressed her lips tightly and guffawed when she could no longer hold it. “God, I can’t believe I got you,” she said, her face red from laughing. “Brielle, you graduated at the top of your class. You’re the best hunter in your batch, and yet, you’re… you’re -”“Stupid?” I continued for her. Her eyes filled with tears, and she gasped for breath until she was able to calm down. She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes before turning to me.“Brielle, Levana’s family is like the Kirkwood’s protector,” she said with a look of amusement and disbelief. “Didn’t Travis tell you they’re twins, and their family has been serving the Kirkwood for a very long time? Their dad serves in their council, like your dad to the Order.”I sighed and pursed my lips, not answering her question. I knew the first one, but Travis didn’t need to tell me what they do for the Kirkwood. Levana came to rescu