Laurel woke up sometime midday, curled into Adolph's arms and warm. Her body ached a bit, but she felt no pain and no regret. Their mating bond hummed with emotions. She could feel Adolph's wolf stirring his chest as Alice reached out to him. Who won“Good morning,” Adolf said, drawing her attention.She looked up at him. They were married and mated. There was no doubt in her mind or her heart that Adolph wanted her.“Good morning, Adolf.”Adolf grinned, “I love the sound of my name from your lips.”Laurel’s face burned with embarrassment and she moved to get out of bed. Adolf tugged her back down and rolled them so he pinned her to the bed.“I believe I said that I would be keeping you busy for several days…”Laurel squeaked as he shifted his weight between her thighs, hard and hot against her “Oh, but I have things to do!”“And I have needs, my queen. You are one of them.”“But--!”He dipped his head to kiss her, silencing her as she tried to get free, but he pinned her arms to the
Slowly, the world came back to her. Light. Sound. Then shapes and smells. It smelled like fragrant wood and polish. The seats were covered in plain fabric. It wasn’t a royal carriage, but it could have been a basic transportation carriage used to transport families between cities. The world rocked violently, jostling her against the side of the carriage. She groaned at the pain in her neck. Where was she? The first thing she saw was silver and black shackles around her wrists, connected by a short silver chain. They felt heavy, but her whole body felt heavy. Had she been drugged, or was she just exhausted?"...Adolph?"She looked up and across her but the face there was not who she was expecting. She froze. She didn’t recognize him or the woman sitting beside him. Their eyes stared at her unblinking and they were unnaturally still.*Vampires.*Her heart sped up in fear. A scream built and stopped in her chest expanding almost painfully, but she held back. She had to keep calm.
Laurel could barely breathe. Eden stared down at her, but she didn’t recognize him like this. In place of the kind young man who had helped her find a place to live, a calculating man stood with a calculating look on his face. His expression was placid as if he felt nothing and his eyes watched her with a sense of knowing that made her deeply uncomfortable.What did he see?His presence seemed to shimmer with darkness and malicious intent. Her heart raced. Would he kill her?“You are quite resourceful.” He approached her slowly and crouched on the other side of the rock. “Unfortunately, you need a bit more than a rock and brute force to break the shackles.”“Why are you doing this, Eden?”He sighed, “It would have been easier if you had just agreed to come with me…”“I told you I couldn't do that. I thought you just wanted to make things better for humans…” She swallowed past the dryness in her throat, “Was that a lie too?”“I do. But how am I meant to do that with the vampire quee
“Stop.” Eden’s eyes flashed with golden light like the sun. The air shook and Laurel felt something shimmering in the air. The general and the vampires who were going to attack him froze in place. “Kill each other,” He sneered with another flash of his eyes. “Painfully.”The general turned first, cutting through a man who was just beside him. The vampire holding Laurel gasped and started to tremble as her stomach churned at the sight. They hissed and cried out as they attacked each other. Blood splashed through the air, pooling around the bodies. They drove their swords through each others’ chests, stabbing until the bodies grew still and silent. They severed each other’s heads and tore at each other until only the general remained alive, swaying on his feet.A head rolled towards her. The eyes looked up at her, the expression was twisted in horror.“You…” he choked out and turned toward Eden. “I…”“Kill yourself,” Eden said with another flash of his eyes. The general cried out and
They rode in silence for a while. Eden was a bit surprised at her silence. He expected her to ask more questions. A part of him knew that she wasn't done asking. Perhaps, she was thinking of a way to let Adolph know which way to go through the cave matrix. “How do you know we're going the right way?” Laurel asked as they turned. “It’s pitch black.”He chuckled, charmed by her innocence and her transparency. It was refreshing to meet someone who didn't know how to deceive. Even her attempts to remain neutral about finding out that he was part vampire had been charming.“Practice.” “Can I trust that?”“Can you?”Laurel went quiet. It didn't matter if she could trust his words or not at this point. She had no way of letting Adolph know which way to go even if she managed to tear pieces of her dress and leave them on the trail.Eden knew Adolph was too smart to try and risk getting lost in the caves. He would likely take a path through the forest that led to where he supposed the exit o
Blood filled the air, familiar and acrid, yet he shoved it away following the scent of the wind drifting over the border. The colder air of the vampire lands carried the scent of rock and dead trees. It was a scent that would likely haunt his dreams well into his old age.The first time he’d gone over the border. He’d lost ten men in total to the vicious vampires crawling and hissing over the craggy rock. It had been an ambush that had awakened a darkness in him and stained his aura with the scent of blood. The werewolf who had leaked the plan to the vampire forces had been a part of the conspiracy that had ended his mother’s life. The werewolf had ended up dead after a near week of torture, and Adolph had walked back to camp with the surviving men smelling of blood and burning flesh. Anger and grief had consumed him then. Now, it just bubbled at the back of his mind urging him to go over the edge again. The border was up ahead and a part of him drew back from going in fear. They w
As the gate rose, Laurel braced herself for scenes of blood and torture, but the town behind the castle's gates seemed no different than the Imperial City. People walked across the main path and laughed. Old banners hung from the rafters of buildings and children played. "Eden's returned!" A woman cried with a bright smile. "Welcome back…"She looked at Laurel and seemed curious as Eden dismounted and the gates closed behind them."Good to be back. How have things been?""Quiet," she said. "And… your guest?""This is Laurel, newly crowned queen and luna of the werewolf kingdom."She gasped and looked at Laurel fearfully as Eden helped her from the horse. The woman bowed and murmured something Laurel couldn't catch before hurrying away. He led her forward through the city."What is this place?" She glanced around looking for some clue as to what kind of person Eden was. Scents drifted around, familiar and unfamiliar. There were werewolves in the citadel. She glanced up towards the le
The strife of the Gray Ash pack had been a long-standing issue when she had been Laura. The fall of their village had haunted Laura and spurred her into more aggressive action. Basil had agreed to the increase in taxes set forth by the ministry and refused to set aside money to send out an envoy with supplies when the crops were hit with a disease. Laura had forgone what remained of her budget to get a convoy together with supplies only to find there weren't enough crops to send due to the last-minute party Basil threw at the time. When the updated census had reported that the entire village had died, she wept for days and started making plans for pack village requirements, including having food stores for the winter. She had fought with the minister of agriculture and general affairs about it and the national food stores, but the endeavor had never gone through as Laura had died before she could get them to sign it.“What… happened to you?”His eye blinked and he looked down for a m