(Cassandra)I STARED at the image of God at the center of the church I was in. The mass was already over and yet, I remained seated. I didn’t think I was a religious person. But this was where I found myself after driving around San Antonio. I had a feeling that I had been here before.From the airport, it was like I knew exactly where to go. I only rested for a night in a hotel in Manila before I went to this town in Nueva Ecija. Half of me was feeling guilty because I told Valerian that I would only be staying in Manila in preparation for another exhibit.He wanted to come to the Philippines with me. Thankfully, he had a business-related meeting. I wanted to come alone. The exhibit was true. A well-known director from a gallery in the city gave me an offer and I used it as an excuse to visit this country.Fortunately, Alice, the gallery director, also had a business here in San Antonio. She was also the one who prepared for my hotel accommodation. She personally picked me up from th
(Richard)THE minute I inhaled the woman’s scent and realized that I misunderstood, I cleared my throat and switched back to polite mode. “I’m sorry, Miss. I mistook you for someone I know.”Alexandra was dead before the wolves could proclaim her as the Luna Queen. And the massive change in the Alpha King’s personality drilled that truth in our heads over and over again. It was just that the resemblance was uncanny.I was among the lucky ones who was able to train under Alexandra’s direct supervision when we were in Manila. I looked up to her. Her height, complexion, and almost everything about her appearance was similar to the woman I respected the most. Almost. Because her hair and scent were different than our Queen. This one didn’t even have a mark on her neck which would have proved her identity.“I would also like to apologize on behalf of our princess. She is just missing her mother.”“What are you saying, Uncle Richard? She is my mother!” the princess insisted.“No, she’s not,
WHETHER he was angry or not, the Alpha King was very frightening. And then there was Sir Calypso as well. All of us should really get going now. But I couldn’t seem to disturb the princess’ moment with Cassandra. The sight was so precious that it was suddenly making my eyes water.When they released each other, both of their eyes now looked puffy. Cassandra gently rubbed her nose against the princess’ nose and then both of them smiled which took our breaths away.“I will see you again, Iris.”“Me, too, Mommy,” the princess replied. This time, she was the one who wiped Cassandra’s tears away. Even that part of them was very similar. How could this happen?Cassandra stood up and looked at me straight in the eye. I never knew that someone could still look so dignified even with traces of tears on her face.“Thank you. Please take care of the princess.”“We will,” I said when I found my voice at last.The princess was now calm when she walked towards the limousine. But before she stepped
THERE was a thought that suddenly crossed my mind. I knew it was impossible. In fact, it was such a ridiculous thought that I should have just ignored it. But just to be sure, I still dialed Nick’s number.“Hello-““I want you to investigate something for me, Nick. I need a result as soon as possible.”I gave him the details and ended up the call while pacing the room back and forth. I could feel a tornado of emotion brewing inside my heart. My mind was in chaos as well. And my hands were cold. I didn’t think I would feel this way because of a woman.Cassandra was doing it again. She was making me worry again. But the situation was worse than before.Now that I thought about it, she did mention that she was currently in San Antonio, Nueva Ecija, the very town where Sinclair lived. She said she was there to look around and to accompany a certain gallery director. But was that really it? Or was meeting Sinclair her true agenda?Half of me was saying that there was nothing wrong with it,
(Cassandra)“HELLO again, Cassandra. Do you remember me?”As soon as I closed the door of my cabin, I heard that voice. It was easy to remember the owner of that voice because he was the only one who had sent shivers all through my bones when I first saw him. He was Kenneth, Valerian’s acquaintance. Even if the two men seemed to be close to each other, I couldn’t bring myself to like him the way I liked Nick. The sight of him made my stomach churn.It was hate at first sight six years ago. Six years later, it was still hate at second sight. It was as if we were mortal enemies in our past lives.“Why are you here? How did you even get in? This isn’t right. We are not close enough for you to come inside my cabin. Please get out. I don’t want you inside my personal space, Mr. Alvarez. If you want to talk to me, let’s do it outside.”This resort in Nueva Ecija was widely known for its beauty and tight security. The first one proved to be true, but not the second.Kenneth laughed. “Still a
(Valerian)I WAS in the middle of dealing with the thirteenth guard who tried to stop me from getting inside the castle when I sensed their King’s presence at last. I tossed the guard outside the door. If Kenneth had not evaded the guard, his white suit would have gotten dirty with blood.He eyed his fallen men. Most of them were unconscious. Lucky for him, they were still breathing although I must admit I was almost tempted to snap their necks and pull out their hearts. He gazed at the broken windows and furniture and at the blood on the white carpet.“You had made quite a mess in my castle, Sir,” Kenneth calmy said as he stepped inside. “I didn’t know that you have a thing for this. Had you informed my assistant about your arrival and about how much you wanted to be welcomed with blood, I would have prepared blood bags for you. We have tons of them in the kitchen and in the storage room.”In an instant, I was already in front of Kenneth. I held him by the collar. Many of his Knights
I RELEASED Kenneth and stepped out of his castle. At the gate, I saw Nick waiting for me. So, he was the reason why I heard the sound of a helicopter a while ago.“I had a feeling that I would find you here and I was right. Where do you plan to go now, Val? Tell me and I will drop you off. With your current state of emotion, I am worried that you might break things. If you want to pick up Cassandra-”“No, I won’t. I’m going back to Maryland.”“Are you leaving Cassandra behind?”I walked past him. “As if I could do that to the only woman who made me feel that I still have a heart. When I told her that I would protect her, I meant it. That promise still stands regardless of who she is. All of my weapons are in Maryland. I need to get them back.”I was excited to see Cassandra, but I couldn’t seem to face her right away knowing that she was Alexandra. When I remembered Kenneth’s compulsion, it took all of my willpower not to go back to the castle and attack him again.It was true that I
“THAT’S the girl, Alpha,” Richard uttered.I didn’t answer and just walked towards the woman who seemed to be so immersed in her little world. I stopped just a few steps away from Cassandra who still hadn’t raised her head. She was too busy drawing what seemed to be a rose on a little girl’s palm using her fountain pen.The girl giggled. “It’s ticklish, Miss Cassey.”When I looked at the palms of the other children, I saw drawings of different kinds of insects, animals, and plants. There was a spider, a dragonfly, butterfly, elephant, dog, cat, tulips, and roses. She was good with her hands. All of them looked really nice. My daughter would love something like that as well.“There, it’s done. Do you like it?” I heard her say.My heart leaped. Even that voice was achingly familiar.“Very much,” the girl answered. “Thank you, Miss Cassey.”Cassandra finally lifted her head and smiled. “I’m glad you liked it. You are welcome, kiddo.”When I cleared my throat, our eyes locked. I heard her
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