‘DARLING, come here quickly. You know what? I’d been busy the whole day researching what to name our daughter. I wrote a few of them to show you. They all have beautiful meanings. I even got some of them from the bible.’ And then Alexandra gave me her notepad. “If you have a suggestion, we could also add it on the list. So, what do you think?”She looked so excited. Her eyes were even twinkling. I instinctively held her cheek. “I think you are very beautiful. I see you every day but it’s still hard to get used to seeing this perfection.” I brushed my nose against her. “I must have saved the world in my past life to be able to have someone like you in this life.”She giggled. ‘Thank you, darling. That was too much of a compliment but I was not asking feedback about my face. Come on. Don’t just look at me. Look at the paper, too.”Right. The paper. I almost forgot about it. When I took a quick look, I noticed that she listed about ten names on it along with their meanings. She put a hea
(Valerian)I GLANCED at the castle one last time. It was where I stayed for the last couple of years. It had all the luxury and comfort any person would need but I wouldn’t call it ‘home’. Just a temporary shelter. Anywhere with Vampires in it would never be classified as ‘home’.It was the exact replica of the castle where I grew up in, a proof that Kenneth had succeeded in restoring the Vampires’ glory. There were Knights anywhere I look at. The new King doesn’t need me anymore. My time here was over.I turned around. I was already at the gate when the King arrived. It looked like he hurried over here. He was still catching his breath when he stood in front of me.“So, it was true. You really are leaving tonight, Theo,” he said, looking more wounded than ever after seeing my luggage.Kenneth was among the very few Vampires who still call me by my second name.“Yes.”“Without saying goodbye?”“That was because I was not expecting to see you tonight. Besides, aren’t we too old to be a
Maryland, USA“WHY did you stop the car? We’re still far from home,” I told Nick, my driver, after he suddenly stopped the car in the middle of nowhere. It was late at night and it was raining heavily outside.“My apologies, Sir. There is a woman lying in the middle of the road. I can’t tell whether she’s still alive or not. What should we do?”I sighed. The shallowness of some humans still amazes me until now. There were plenty of vampires and wolves who would do anything to live and yet, there were humans who would do anything to die.“Go, check on her. If she is dead, call the cops. If she is just trying to kill herself, tell her not to block the road. There is a cliff nearby. Tell her where it is. She could go kill herself there without disturbing everyone.”Nick nodded before he stepped out of the car. I decided to open another bottle of brandy. I had to drink a lot tonight or else, it would be impossible for me to sleep. On rainy nights like this, liquors were the best company.
“CAN you talk now? Can you tell me your name? If you give me your family’s contact details, my assistant would reach out to them. That way, they could pick you up as soon as possible. You were sick for days. I’m sure they are worried about you now,” I told the stranger when I saw her beginning to calm down.But it seemed to be a wrong move.“My name?” she whispered and held her head. “I don’t know. I don’t remember.” Her eyes widened as she started to become hysterical again. “Why can’t I remember anything? What is wrong with me?”I held her hands when she started pulling her hair. “It’s okay. Don’t hurt yourself. You don’t have to force yourself to remember. I’m here. I will help you.”Her eyes looked very frightened. And I could understand why. Waking up one morning with no sense of identity was indeed very frightening.Her voice cracked when she asked, “You will?”I nodded. “I promise.”That promise had turned my whole world around. I ruined the plans I made and messed the rules I
“OF COURSE,” I answered casually.Here she was, worried about taking my hand when here I was, worried that she might have taken more than just my hand. My heart kept getting weirder each day that I no longer find it funny anymore. It was beating so loudly as if it was sending me a warning… which I ended up ignoring.I squeezed her hand. When she smiled at me for the first time, the entire surrounding seemed to shine. Without the presence of grilled meat, that smile became more rewarding.“Thank you, Valerian, for everything. I don’t know what would have happened to me without you.”“Don’t mention it. You’re just a little lost. And who doesn’t go through that phase at least once in their lives? I should thank you as well. Nick is a boring companion. But with you there, I’m sure it will be different.” I winked at her. “So, thank you for choosing to trust me, Cassandra,” I said. “That’s what I will call you from now on.”I once read a book about Greek Mythology. I learned that Cassandra
Seven years later…(Valerian)“HERE she comes. Let’s all give a round of applause to the woman of the hour, Cassandra Hudson!”Once again, Cassandra took breaths away as she walked towards the center of the gallery. This was her fourth solo exhibit. And as usual, it was a success. The gallery was bustling with people. Almost all of the photos already had little red stickers underneath them. And a while ago, I just heard people requesting the manager for another exhibit while complaining that somebody had already beat them to buying her works.But of course, it all depends on the photographer herself.Looking at how Cassandra faced the people with confidence filled me with pride. She did it. I could see her wings fully spread now.We were traveling in our fourth country when she found her passion. I bought her a camera the very first time she told me about it. I was more than happy to see her finally wanting to do something for herself. It was the first time I saw her eyes sparkle.Unt
(Cassandra)EVEN if I knew I would be late for my dinner plans with Valerian, I still could not stop myself from parking my car in front of an establishment after seeing the Alpha King’s face which was currently being shown through the electronic billboard.And the parking lot was the best spot for it.I first heard about the werewolves when we were in France. It was on the news. That was six years ago. It was the time when their existence was formally introduced to the whole world. Since then, I had been fascinated about wolves, about their forms, and about the places they frequent. I would often visit the woods hoping to see a glimpse of them but so far, I hadn’t had the chance to see any of them in person.I couldn’t explain it, but they were all I could think about since then. I felt a certain type of attachment to them and I know it was weird because I was a human. Now that my exhibit was over and I had completely given up on finding my true identity here in the States, I wanted
I WAS surprised by the petals scattered around the floor the second I opened the door. There were scented candles around, too. I thought Val and I were only going to have a simple dinner to celebrate last night’s success. I gulped and continued walking towards the living room of his grand mansion.And there, I saw him playing the piano, emitting princely vibes again with just his cream turtle-neck long-sleeve and pants. His shoulder-length platinum hair was neatly tied. He was looking at me with tenderness in his eyes as he played.This was the same music that made me believe that life was still beautiful even after suffering from amnesia. Watching him like this had brought me back to the past, to the times when he would come running at my door each time I would have nightmares and then he would hold me tight in his arms. And because I was scared to go back to sleep, he would play the piano to pacify me.‘I’m always here’, those three words were what he would always tell me.For other
LUTHER’S fingers grazed my cheek as he stared at my face. He swallowed when he glanced at my lips. Seconds later and he pulled my head and waist as he claimed my mouth. He nibbled on my lower lip, urging me to open my mouth and when I did, he hungrily pushed his tongue in until our tongues met.When he finally let my mouth go, he took a rough breath and rubbed his erection against my stomach. “You look so lovely again today that I just wanna devour you right here, right now, Mrs. Sinclair.”Although completely aroused, I held it in and just smiled. “You can’t. Dad texted me an hour ago and said he’s preparing a victory party for me. We need to go back to San Antonio. How did you even escape from Iris?”“No worries. I told them that I was promised a date and I would claim that promise today. They seemed to understand. Dad told us to take our time, he’ll look after our princess. She even happily let me leave by myself. She had one thing to say, though. She said it’s her Christmas wish.”
(Valerian)“THE ROYAL family from the wolf empire is here to give their greetings and gifts to Your Majesty,” Matteo, the host of the event, announced. The guards opened the castle doors and from there, Alexandra, Luther, and their daughter appeared and walked towards the center of the hall, towards me.After Alexandra’s wolf reappeared, her hair was back to being crimson and so was her daughter’s. Luther’s hair, however, was still ink-black. It was the only thing he retained from his human genes. But whenever these three were on the edge of their emotions just like what happened in San Antonio before, their hair would all turn crimson along with their eyes.Together, these three could move mountains.Iris was at their middle. I stared at the Luna Queen, she was as stunning as before, but whenever I see her lately, her beauty just transcends everyone around her in another level. I guessed it was the radiance in her eyes. She was happy and it showed. She was shining more than ever.See
‘THE CRAZIEST thing in the world happened, but I cannot tell you about it yet, little sis. Telling you will spoil whatever scheme your moon goddess is cooking up. So, don’t get too disappointed if I will shut up for now. But be assured that Val is okay. He was just shocked and confused. Let him be. This is his first time being in this state. It’s actually fun to watch him rattled,’ Nick assured me. He winked. ‘He will figure it out and he will get over it, trust your big bro.’ ‘When?’ I asked. Nick laughed. ‘In fifteen to twenty years, I guess?’ Nick seemed to be having the best time of his life teasing Valerian. Even now, he was grinning beside Val who just ignored him. He turned to my direction and tenderly smiled. “I’m proud of you,” he mouthed. “I know you will be great.” “Thank you so much,” I replied. Halfway through the red carpet, I glanced at Giovanni who quietly walked with me. Just like my husband, he had come a long way, too. All of us had matured. He had become one
(Alexandra)MY POSITION was the closest to Beatrix. I could have stopped her from killing herself. But when she shook her head and looked at me with weariness in her eyes as if she was begging me not to take another step, I couldn’t move my feet.This was her wish: to be one with the man she loved. As heartbreaking as it was, I had to respect it.“Beatrix!” her parents yelled and sobbed.She confessed it to me while I was still pregnant. Kenji was the second mate given to her by the moon goddess. It was something she didn’t have the courage to tell even to her own parents knowing that they would not be happy about it anyway. It was rare for wolves to be given another mate after the original one dies. In fact, it was so rare that there were no records of it anywhere.Trix could be the first to experience such phenomenon and there could be a reason behind it, reason which Kenji and Trix had an eternity to discover.My knees staggered, but Luther was quick to grab me by the waist. Both o
(Beatrix)I HAD a secret that I could never admit to anyone. A month after the tragedy that killed my best friend, I was able to recover. At that time, I was about to go back to my duty in the pack but on my supposed to be last night at the facility, Kenji paid me a visit.His voice was gentle as he talked to me. He spoke like an old friend of mine. His eyes were affectionate as he called my name. He didn’t talk anything about vampires and wolves. Kenji only talked about the time we dated. And I pretended to be crazy so I could keep seeing him, so I could keep being with him in my own way.And maybe I had really gone crazy. Who would have imagined that I could stay in that facility for seven years all for him? For a chance to hear his voice? But for me, that facility had become our secret place, our hideout.‘I’m the world’s richest man. I have everything that money could buy, Trix, but I would swap them all for a day to be with you again, to feel your kisses one more time, your hugs,
THE WIND grew more violent as each second passed. The birds that were resting on the branches of the trees all squealed and flew away. We were yet to see the hybrids, but we knew they were here. We could feel it as tension sizzled in the air. We could even smell it. Their blood scent was everywhere which meant that we were now surrounded by them.And when Kenji had finally made his appearance, the steel gates flew towards our direction. But we were quick to evade them. There were hundreds of hybrids and they were all wearing red cloaks. I saw the faces of the men who made my mother suffer. And when they sneered at me as if they were remembering the same thing, my blood boiled and my body shook with anger.“The reports are true after all. My best friend and my mentor are indeed in one place and are working together. What a reunion,” Kenji said as he smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. In fact, he had a dead look in his eyes as if he was uncertain about tonight’s outcome as well. When
I STOOD up and ran my fingers through my scalp. “When you told me to escape with you back then, I wanted to do just that. It was not just you. I wanted so badly to forget, too, Trix! I would do anything to forget even for a day. I want to escape, too! I want to be with you, too! But I can’t forget their cries. It haunts me all the fucking time.”I kneeled before Trix and when I could no longer stop myself, I held her hands and buried my face in them, relishing the familiar warmth that I could not feel in any other place no matter how hard I searched.Only Beatrix could do this to me. If it was not her, it would not work. She was my sanctuary. The voices were still there, I could still hear them. It seemed like I had been cursed to hear them for as long as I lived. Or maybe my mind was just playing with me, maybe I had gone crazy. My mind was a wretched place to be. And so was my heart.But with Beatrix this close to me, the voices were not as loud as before. It gave me the chance to l
(Kenneth)“HAVE MERCY, your majesty! I am still your father-“The old lying son of a bitch didn’t get to finish his sentence when I swung my sword onto his neck. His head rolled onto the floor along with the rest of the Mages who swore their loyalty to me. It sucks how Valerian was right again. The clan who abandoned me before because I was not as strong as them only came to find me after they heard how I rose to the throne. If I didn’t discover what they were secretly planning to do behind my back, they would have overthrown me and would have tossed me on the streets, poor and powerless.Their plan backfired, though. I killed them before they could even do that to me. Using a spell, I stole all of their magic.They were only after my throne, my position, and my army. To hell with them all! I don’t need them! They could rot in hell and after all this, I will see them there. In hell will be where our next family reunion will take place.After I killed the man who claimed to be my biolo
(Alexandra)“GET up, Alexandra. Shift and run with me.”When I heard Dad’s voice, I wiped my tears away and rose. His eyes were full of compassion as if he could relate to what I was feeling. He gave me a soft smile.“Shall we go?”I nodded. When he shifted, I followed him and shifted as well. Together, we ran in the woods as quickly as we could and howled. It was the farewell ritual that I didn’t get to do for Mom before and Dad was allowing me to finally do it for her now.It was seven years late, but I hope Mom could still hear it… including my apology and gratitude. While we were running, I was taken aback by the huge number of wolves who ran behind us including Luther. They howled along with us until we reached the lake once again.When we all transformed, the women took me someplace else and I just let them. They prepared a white silk dress for me to wear. They assisted me as I wore it. When I