(Brielle’s POV)Levana slowed down, almost reaching us. When she walked past us, she murmured a chant and touched the ground. Nature took its course. The vines, roots, and weeds moved on their own, covering and changing the path we passed through.“This is an illusion, but temporary,” Levana said when I came back and stood beside her. She turned to me. “Gertrude and I have to return.”Cole stopped running and walked back toward us, panting as he stopped. “What? No?”Grandma tapped his shoulder, asking him to put her down. “We have to go back, Nicolas. Besides, no one knows I’m with you.”“You can’t be sure of that, Grandma,” I muttered worriedly, glancing over my shoulder and seeing our company stop running.They must be wondering what happened as they all headed to us, except for Ichiro, who lay on the grass to catch his breath.“Why are we stopping?” Lucilla asked. “What now?”“I’ll meet you in three days in Mount Grace,” Levana said calmly, glancing at Kione. “Find and cross the st
(Cole’s POV)“What’s with you?” Lucilla muttered angrily at me, panting from her walk. “I can’t believe you’re letting me do this alone, Cole.”We had been walking for hours, and Ichiro begged us to slow down because our walk was like a run to him already. He pleaded for a human pace kind of walk.I sighed, glancing at Brielle. “You know I can’t take her blood.”“She’s your mate!” She gritted her teeth. “She’s willing to give you her blood; only you didn’t.”“Do you hear yourself, Lucilla?” I snarled. “She’s engaged.”“Engaged? To whom? To that stupid hunter? Once we survive this, I’ll explain to him… No,” she shook her head. “I will shove the truth into his haywire brain that you’re his mate, and no one can change that. Where is that stupid stream?” she hissed in annoyance.“Wait!” Brielle raised her hand, tilting her head and closing her eyes. She smiled, opening her eyes and pointing her index finger in the west direction in the woods. “This way.”We followed her footsteps carefull
(Cole’s POV)Gen yelped, covering her mouth from screaming. She blinked as she was the only one who panicked. I could hear her heartbeat speeding up, afraid I might attack his brother. I turned to Brielle again; her eyes were closed, still in the cloud of euphoria of my feeding.“Brielle, are you feeling okay?” I asked, worried that Bryce might be right.She opened her eyes, smiling gently at me, nodding, and tilting her head to look at Bryce.“Yeah, just a little dizzy. Is something wrong?” Brielle asked, lifting her hand to her neck.I sighed, realizing I had taken much blood from her. Her fiancé hissed, walking toward her and grabbing her hand from her neck. His eyebrows knitted, narrowing his eyes, seeing the punctured wound from my fangs fade like the bite didn’t happen.“Can you walk?” Bryce asked. “I can carry you,” he muttered worriedly.“I’m fine, Bryce.” When he didn’t move, she grunted. “I’m really okay. I’ll tell you if I’m not and let you carry me if I’m not.”I gritted m
(Cole’s POV)“I grew up on this island and knew the place like the back of my hand.” We heard Giles say. I could imagine him pacing outside the cave, probably looking for it.“Perhaps we’re wrong.” It was Adam.Giles sighed. “This could take another day. There’s no report of seeing them crossing the water.” He heaved a deep sigh this time. “I believe they didn’t kidnap Bryce. He probably went on his own. It’s wise of him to give us clues.”Lucilla turned her head to Bryce, and if it weren’t dark, he would see she was glaring at him. If looks could kill right now, he would not make it even before we could move deeper into the cave.“There are… how many? There are, maybe, ten caves here, Giles,” another voice said. “It’s all connected. If you really think they’re hiding there, we can send more people to find them.”There was a long pause. I closed my eyes, focusing on the sound outside. Although it was a challenge that Lucilla and I could not read their thoughts, I could still hear thei
(Cole’s POV)“Can we… stop for a while?” Ichiro stopped running, panting heavily as he sat on the ground, almost tossing the bag he was carrying. “Human here,” he reminded me.Bryce joined Ichiro, catching his breath and taking the water bottle but hissed when he realized it was empty. He returned it to the bag and sighed, looking at Brielle. Like everyone else, she was out of breath.“Water?” she asked, panting.Bryce shook his head. “Empty. Hungry?” he asked worriedly.She shook her head and turned in my direction. Grinning mischievously, she narrowed her eyes at me like she was weighing something on her mind.“I’m thirsty,” she informed me as if I could offer something to drink.“You’re not drinking my blood if that’s what you’re thinking,” I scoffed, walking past them.“You really can’t hear my thoughts,” Brielle chuckled. “I was hoping to ask if you could hear even the slightest sound of water. That’ll somehow give us hope we will not die in this escape in thirst and hunger.”I p
(Brielle’s POV)I hit the ground gracefully but didn’t have time to admire myself because I had to run. Run? It was more like to escape… but from whom?I narrowed my eyes, listening carefully to the faint swoosh sound behind me. I gasped, wincing at the intense pain of the wound from an arrow, even though it missed my arm. I ran toward the tree and pulled the shaft from the tree’s body.The familiar design of the fletching and the silver bullet point made my heart hammer as I recognized who owned it. It used to be my grandfather’s and was given to Dad. I was twelve when my father gave me this handmade arrow as a gift.“Argh!” I hissed, tilting my head to check the wound. The slight cut caused a tingling pain and was getting worse.The noises from a distance proved to me that I was being chased. My ears twitched, recognizing their voices.“Giles!” I snarled, running again but halting abruptly and blinking when my vision blurred; the woods became foggy and fuzzy.Taking a deep breath, I
(Brielle’s POV)It was the longest two minutes of my life, Bryce and me in the corner of the room, hiding like terrified ordinary humans from a vampire’s threat. Whenever we tried to advance in Kione’s direction, attempting to snatch Gen, she would scream in a high-pitched sound, gripping her neck harder.“Don’t stop me, Brielle. That’s my sister,” Bryce gritted his teeth, grabbing my arm firmly.Only then I realized I was not hiding but blocking him from attacking Kione. I was using my body, preventing him from hurting Cole’s sister.“What’s happening here?” Xian entered the room.We hardly notice the door opening. When I glanced in her direction, she was standing in the doorway; her arms were crossed over her chest while her eyebrows were raised, watching us curiously as if there was no threat inside the room.Kione hissed angrily, but her sister ignored her. Xian picked up the white warding tray on the floor and hummed happily as she entered the room.“Oh, please, Kione, enough wit
(Brielle’s POV)“An experiment.”It was Kione who answered. She murmured her answer and straightened up, lowering her gaze. The look on her face told me she was not proud of it.“What?” Bryce gasped; horror flowed in his eyes.“Newborn vampires will always be hungry for blood and confused for a long time. Sometimes, they forget who they are,” Kione added.Blood escaped Bryce’s face, then a surge of it went to his head, making his skin red in rage. When he understood what Kione meant, he looked at Xian and glowered at her.“You made us your bait?” He growled, gripping the edge of the bar table.If the table wasn’t attached to the wall, he might have thrown it to the person sitting across from him. Kione smiled and continued to eat, ignoring Bryce.I pressed my lips together, glancing at Cole, but like Xian, he was quiet. Aarush walked toward his sister, blocking his body before Bryce could jump and strangle his sister.“Oh, please, Bryce. We were watching you. Just in case, we want you
(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