My eyes detached from his wound and reluctantly met his. “I wanted to leave before you could ask me to.” He frowned at me, a mix of confusion and exasperation clouding his features. “Why would I ask you to do that?” I stood up suddenly, wanting to increase the space between us as my confessions plagued the air. The willow watched us wearily. “You do all of this because you think you care for me.” I insisted, waving my arm toward the garden that he made glow. “I know that I care for you,” he corrected me matter-of-factly as he leaned back on his hands, “but go on.” “No, you don’t,” I said, turning my back to him. “Why do you think that?” he demanded with annoyance still in his tone. “That makes no sense, Cathy.” I whirled back to him. “Just listen,” I hissed through gritted teeth, glaring. He stayed silent when he saw my expression. “I believe you when you say you care for me. I see it in your eyes, your word
He did not take it back, nor look ashamed. That’s the part that most affected me. I stared at him in disbelief. My accusations and defenses wanted to convince him out of this confession, to manipulate him into thinking he did not love me, to tell him that I didn’t believe him. The sickest part of it was that I believed him. I felt the wind blow against my face, moving tendrils of hair past my shoulders. I saw the moon in the sky like a glistening silver coin, judging us. I smelled the dead flowers and the moss that started to vine up the cottage boards. I did anything but think about what this meant. There was a large gap of time that passed after he said it in which I did not say anything; I merely turned around and made my way back inside the cottage. My knees did not feel strong enough to hold me up anymore. I sat down on the empty floor, leaning against the wall again. I felt like my whole body was quivering, like an earthquake was occurri
“Get down,” Aldrich immediately ordered in a hushed voice, standing up before positioning himself in a defensive stance. I shot a glare at him. “You don’t have to protect me,” I whispered, listening intently. There was someone out there for sure; my scent did not recognize them through the vegetation, and I couldn’t hear any breathing or voices amongst the chorus of the forest. “I’m the war general here,” he reminded me, and barred his arm against my chest. “Stay here. I’m going out there.” “Can you just shut up and listen for once?” I hissed, grabbing his wrist to pull him down to the floor. He reluctantly obeyed, crouching down over the dust. His hearing was better than mine. I stared at the floor as he listened outside, holding my breath. Fear made my heart flutter tidal waves in my stomach acid. The moon was dimmer now, casting a ghostly puddle on the floor. I inched away from it. “Whoever it is, they know we’re here, and don’t
As if by instinct, he wrapped his arms around me. The anxiety that was causing a raging storm inside me finally settled as we laid there silently. I even placed my hand upon his chest, closing my eyes. It was the most calm I had felt since being a child, roaming in fields and getting grass stains on your nice skirt was the only worry. I smelled his scent with immense pleasure, the lavender soothing me, my perfumed lullaby. “I’d call this a victory,” Aldrich sleepily mumbled, “the girl who ruthlessly attacked me this morning is now in my arms in bed.” I reached my hand up and flicked him in the nose. He flinched, chuckling softly. “Goodnight, Aldrich,” I said, mentally rolling my eyes. *** When I awoke, I realized two very striking pieces of information. The first one was: I actually slept through the night. And there was no night terror, no screaming. The only thing I was waking up to was uncontained, unfiltered sunlight pouring in waves t
Aldrich looked like he was going to be sick. I wondered why he didn’t plan on telling the King what his son had done; maybe he feared he would take Ben’s side. “Father, do you think that’s the best idea right now?” he asked, his voice doubtful but still high in respect. “What if the vampires decide to attack during the banquet, when we’re the most vulnerable?” The King shook his head, laughing. “I commend you for being humble, but we shall not skip our tradition of revelry. We waited a day after your return to ensure it was not too soon.” “It’s already being prepared?” Aldrich asked. He sat down, and I swiftly followed suit, choosing the chair next to him, out of eye sight from the King. I did not want to be present for this conversation. “Of course it is, son!” the King exclaimed, grinning proudly. His gaze then flickered from him to find me cowering behind Aldrich, and realization passed over his face. “How rude am I to not greet your lovely wife?”
Aldrich For months, I had been dying slowly every day as I waited to discover if Theo was my son. I knew he was, but I awaited the admitall from Cathy like rain in a drought. Now that I finally knew, I was nervous to meet with him. After Alan left to arrange for guards and warriors to prepare (even though we all decided to not inform anyone of our knowledge) Cathay looked at me and offered me what I never thought she would in this decade. “Would you like to say good morning to your son?” she smiled, standing from her desk chair. I grinned, nervousness getting the best of me. “I’d love to,” I said, then looked at her with concern. “We’re not–” “No,” she said, shaking her head. “We do not have to tell him today. Let’s wait for a good day.” I nodded, following her over to their connected door. She added over her shoulder, “Although, I’m pretty sure he is already aware, anyway. He has accidentally called you dad.” I smiled at that, the one
As Aldrich’s entourage led us in, an ocean of eyes washed over us in a tidal wave, and there was a roar of applause. Despite our concerns, I was glad Aldrich was receiving the recognition he deserved. He seemed to perk up at the positive reception, flashing his women melting smile. Emily, Elias, and Benjamin stood up, but seemingly reluctantly. They applauded with blank expressions. I accidentally met Emily’s gaze and she glared at me, her perfect lips curled in disgust. They looked hateful, but not menacing. I took a deep breath. The King and Queen sat upon their thrones, watching us with a smile. The love the Queen had for her son overpowered any loathing she had for me; she seemed genuinely happy. The ballroom was glorious, unlike anything I had ever seen before. The floors were of glossy marble, sparkling like the white grand piano playing revelry music along with the orchestra. The thick velvet drapes were folded on the sides of the French windows, letting in the d
“What are you doing out here?” I demanded, trying to mask my weariness with annoyance. We had never been alone together before. She stepped closer, and now I could see the scars more clearly. They disrupted her features greatly, the result of scabs and the ghosts of deep marks. I didn’t feel even a shred of guilt. “I saw what you did,” she said, grinning a hideous smile. She now projected what was inside of her, so I deemed her new look as rather fitting, “you cursed that girl.” I glared at her. “Just like I cursed you? Yeah, I know.” “So you admit it,” she mused, prowling closer, her heels echoing against the corridor marble. She wore a black stress dusted in sparkles, elegant and gothic, her lipstick a blood red. Black diamond earrings dangled from her ears. “Why wouldn’t I take the pleasure of admitting I ruined your pretty little face?” I asked with sarcasm and acid dripping from my tone. She smirked. “You seem to forget your audience.”
I froze. My hand gripped the door, and I was contemplating if I should run back inside the house and slam the door. The vampire would be on me before I could even get it all the way closed. I noticed it was morning, but the sun was not out. Shit. “Hello there,” the vampire drawled, blood seeping from his lips and glowing in his eyes. I stumbled back, my breath shortening. “I wouldn’t try to run if I were you.” I gulped, trying to figure out how to morph into my wolf form before the vampire could kill me. “I’m not as weak as you think I am,” I threatened, willing my hands to stop trembling. “I admire the delusion,” he chuckled, “you have no one to protect you now when you fail to make even a mark on me, little girl.” I looked around the empty field desperately. All the guards were in the emergency battle or dead. He was right that no one was here to protect me now. But that meant there was no one left to protect the estate, eith
The dread became heavy in my stomach the moment they left. I felt cold when Aldrich was gone. It was like losing the sun, the land becoming a snowy and desolate wasteland where nothing lives. The only rays of light came from Theo. He looked like the light in him was completely gone after the vampire attack. I hadn’t slept in two nights, but there were still things that needed to be done. I needed to tend to my son and make sure he was okay. The royal therapist and I sat in his bedroom, where three guards manned the door and outside the window. It probably didn’t help his fear, but we had to make sure what happened didn’t happen again. I sat with him on my lap, arms wrapped around him while I cradled him in a fluffy duvet. “I want daddy,” was the only thing he said, seemingly refusing to say anything else. On one hand, I was thrilled that he was referring to Aldrich as his daddy and that he felt safe with him around. He also liked to
Just as I felt my wolf teeth and claws ready to slip out and attack, I looked into the afraid, wide eyes of my sister. “Danika,” I gasped, pulling her against me in shock. I allowed my eyes to fall closed for a moment, breathing her in. “You’re okay.” She squeezed me reassuringly. “I’m okay, Cath. You think I’d let these weird looking fuckers lay a finger on me?” I laughed, pulling back to examine her. She had no wounds, not even a blonde hair out of place. “Let’s go show Alan you’re alive before he secretly has a heart attack.” She rolled her eyes before taking my hand. I weaved through the crowd again with her, wondering how she found me.“Where were you hiding?” I asked as we sidestepped a woman trying to console her crying child. “In the corridors,” she answered, shrugging nonchalantly. “If any vampires got in, I figured they wouldn’t vehemently be searching through hallways. But none got in—all the injured people are from the village.” “
Right as I turned my head up to look around, a plethora of pale and red-eyed faces were jumping upon us. Instinctively, I curled down around Theo, squeezing my eyes shut in feared shock. Aldrich acted quickly, shooting up to defend us. They came flying down from everywhere, as if they had been lurking in the trees. “Alan, take Theo and run back with Cathy until they’re inside,” he called before transforming into his notoriously murderous wolf. I startled at his swift transformation, one moment looking up at my handsome husband and the next seeing him with glowing eyes and bloodthirsty teeth. He immediately sank them into the nearest vampire’s throat and spit the decapitated head out into the trees. Theo saw all of it. Alan rushed over and fluidly picked him up. I couldn’t protect Theo as well as Alan could, and Aldrich wasn’t insulting me by instructing him to take him. “Cathy,” Alan urged with alarm, looking behind us, “run.” He didn’t have
I wasn’t sure if anyone tried to catch me, but I fell to my knees in the snow. My son was captured. Aldrich immediately came and scooped me off the ground. I was ashamed to display such weakness, for he had been seeing me at some of my lowest points recently, but when it came to Theo’s well-being I could easily melt into nothingness if it was threatened. “Cathy, maybe we should get you inside,” he said with some alarm, most likely concerned by whatever look I had on my face. “I’d rather die,” I immediately spat out, shaking my head violently, “Let’s go.” I used his arms as balance beams before digging my feet into the ground. There had to be more footsteps trailing to wherever my son and his captor went. Who knew if it was even a captor? He could have willingly gone with him. Theo had been targeted so many times throughout this experience, that I would not be surprised if he was coaxed right out of his bedroom window and scaled down the wall with
He didn’t say anything. The anger began to brew in his eyes like a storm from the west, but it never hit the east. Instead of letting it hit, he left the room. I stared at him before letting out a sigh. I supposed he was rather gracious for exiting rather than yelling at me in a state like this, for why wouldn’t he? I had basically sworn away our happily ever after. Instead of following him, I tossed aside the duvet before slipping out of bed to then cross the room to Theo’s door. He would be waiting for me to kiss him goodnight. I opened the door as quietly and tactfully as I could, making an effort not to wake him in case he fell asleep waiting. The moonlight drenched the room a little more than usual; the curtains were drawn. As I peeked into his room, I discovered the moonlight was shining onto an empty bed. “Oh, my god,” I sputtered, hurrying over to his bed. The sheets were void of any presence, wrinkled as if there was a body on it a me
“The last time I was honest with you, you stormed out of here saying you didn’t love me,” I declared acidicly through gritted teeth. “I did not say that,” he snapped back, matching my energy. “I said you were not acting like the woman I love.” I laughed humorlessly at that. “Well, maybe she does act like that. Do you not love me now?” There was a challenge in my voice, and I almost wanted to push him to the point of saying no. Aldrich looked at me with incredulous belief, his lips parting like he was offended by my words. “Of course I love you, you fool. How do you think I felt when the guards alerted me that you were unconscious?” I hesitated before simply shrugging. “Cathy,” he said, his nostrils flaring. He stormed up to the bed in a small fit of rage. “I thought they finally got to you,” his voice became gruff, like it was weakening, “I thought you were dead.” I stared at him wordlessly, not knowing what to say. “So many people ha
Once the sun was gone and the moon had returned, the mysterious healer returned to Emily and Elias’s residence like every night. “Everything is going according to plan,” the man informed the couple. They silently rejoiced at this, the mischief twinkling in Emily’s eyes. Elias looked at the ominous healer. “Tell us.” “The poison I concocted worked with ease,” he said with a predatory smile, “the staff is slowly dying off one by one. They soon fall dead within two hours.” Benjamin was present as well at the meeting. He provided no brains behind the operation, just willingness to do anything to get ahead. While of course, not knowing the two people he was working with were also working against him. “Perfect,” Elias smirked. “That estate will fall apart piece by piece.” “She is going to pay for what she has done,” Emily sneered. The mysterious healer seemed to be formerly proud of his plan, but uncomfortably shifted at that. *
Aldrich soon bounded into the room a couple moments after I did. I did not turn to look at him, too busy staring at the doctors with my arms crossed tightly. I was not afraid of the answers they had evident all over their faces, and I was even slightly agitated at the concern in their eyes. I wore the same nightgown for seven nights in a row, only leaving my bed to occasionally bathe, and had not eaten or drank much. I probably looked more like the corpses they have been examining rather than their hostess. “My lady,” our main doctor, Dr. Laurence, regarded me. His lips were set very tightly; he was not thrilled about the news either. “Have you come to a conclusion?” Aldrich inquired from behind me, the worry in his voice further irritating me. “I’m afraid we have,” Dr. Laurence answered, nodding curtly. He looked at us warily over his thick glasses. “We have deemed the victims’ causes of death as all poison.” “Poison?” We both echoed in unison. I glanced