It had been days since he met with Gavin, but Eden had a feeling that Gavin was too busy trying to save himself to care much about Eden’s dismissal of his proposal. It served him right. He walked down the hall of the castle, hoping to see Laurel before he left the city. “We shall have a brief break in the gardens…” an unfamiliar voice said from afar.Eden stopped as an older woman led Laurel and Delia down an alcove leading towards stairs to the ground floor. Delia was holding a book in place on her head as they walked. Beside her, Laurel *glided down* the hallway with a book on her head, back straight and graceful as if she had always grown up in the castle. The book barely trembled as she walked.Eden wanted to call out and speak to her before he left, but he couldn't get the words out. She seemed different. Her eyes had lost some of their innocent sparkle and joy. In their place was a calm composure and regal air.He clenched his fist as a pair of servants came down the hallway w
Basil had finished the bottle of whiskey all of an hour after waking up screaming His entire body ached from the day's work but his guilt and confusion woke him. Yet another dream about Laura. How many did that make now? Too many.He got out of bed and went into the antechamber where a fresh bottle of whiskey sat waiting for him. He opened the bottle ignoring the glass beside it and began to drink. The alcohol burned on his way down, but he knew so long as he drank enough of it the burn would dull the other ache in his chest. The bottle was half empty when he decided it was too hot in his room. He left, staggering down the corridor and the stairs. He barely missed falling over himself going to reach the ground floor. Then, he let his feet take him where they always took him after every dream about Laura: the graveyard.The paths had been swept recently. He supposed the graveyard attendants had taken note that he was spending more of his nights here and made sure to clean up fr
Adolph hadn’t expected to run into his son at the graveyard. He had only wanted to see Laurel that night, but he had never imagined that Basil would confirm his suspicions. *“Laura, please… Please. I’m sorry!”*He considered the fact that Basil was drunk based on the way he moved and what he’d been hearing from Henry and the servants, but there was an alertness to his gaze that made him think Basil wasn’t that drunk. Then, there was the way Laurel responded. Cold and sure as if she was Laura. When Basil looked at him, he didn't move from his place, half-cloaked in shadows, but Laurel walked away from Basil with a sure and even gait. Laurel came to stand beside him and he felt his anger ease. She may have been Laura, Basil’s wife, in her last life, but Laurel, his mate, now and that was all that mattered to him.Basil looked at them standing together and couldn't breathe. His mind turned, whirling out of control. His emotions were chaotic and spilling out of his eyes in thick strea
He had been reviewing proposals for several days before Eden's proposal crossed his desk: well thought out, meticulous, and in agreement with his escort requirements. He’d used his foreknowledge of Adolph’s new policies to his advantage. It should have made him relax, but it only made him more suspicious. A vampire descendant in the werewolf kingdom could be harmless, but it was unlikely.The things Eden wanted to import weren't dire necessities, but the lack of them could cause problems for the hospital and several other businesses that were vital to the capital. What could he be trying to gain for asking for such a small contract? It was almost negligible in the face of Eden’s caravan’s capacity for transport and trade. Something didn’t sit right with him and he knew if he set it in front of the ministers to approve they would not ponder such things.A knock sounded on the door and Chasel entered with a scroll."An update," Chasel said as he closed the door behind him. “Go on, tel
Delia looked outright devastated at the news. Adolph would say that he didn’t enjoy the look on her face, but it would be a lie. He still hadn’t forgotten about her tearing the gown he’d had made for Laurel or attempting to throw Laurel out of the castle.Delia couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her? Work with Laurel on charity projects? While it would get her out of her long sessions with Helena, it was not complete freedom. She didn't want to run around the city with Laurel, but she held her tongue. Basil's drunken confession echoed in her ears. She had to do something and imitating Laurel for a little while was as good as anything else she'd tried. Could she maybe get him drunk enough to sleep with her? Did alcohol work on his wolf as well as it worked on his human form? They left the castle after Delia's morning session with Helena. She still hadn't managed to walk around the room with the stupid book on her head and she hadn't read many of the books she'd been given. She h
If Delia had to mop another dirty floor, she’d scream, pull a nurse’s hair out, and bash her brains in. The nurses and cleaning staff of the hospital were all dull and irritating, never taking the hint that Delia didn’t care about any of the people in the hospital’s well-being. Still, the hospital was better than the orphanage. Being surrounded by all those pathetic children reminded her of her childhood in a way she never wanted to think about. Trying to play nice with Laurel and obeying her orders was going to drive her crazy. She needed another plan to get Basil to think differently about her. “You are slouching,” Helena said primly, cutting into Delia’s thoughts as the book clattered to the floor. “Try again.”She wanted to lunge across the room and tear the woman’s hair out, but knowing that Adolph had hired her stayed her hand. She didn’t need to make an enemy of Adolph. She couldn’t afford to. Eden was gone, but she knew he’d want to see some sort of progress when he got ba
Laurel couldn’t sleep that night. She had a decent day, but she couldn’t find a restful position, so she rose from the bed and pulled on her dressing gown. Often, she’d take a walk around the castle in her past life trying to calm her mind and find some peace. She walked through the guest wing and down to the ground floor, passing the gallery that faced the garden just behind the palace before she felt someone in the shadows. Her heart quickened, wondering if it was Laura’s killed. She rounded the corner and grabbed a candelabra before she whirled, setting a fighting stance to defend herself and gasped as Adolph smiled at her. He hadn’t expected her to try and arm herself, but he was impressed. She had truly come far in her training to think to do so or even to notice him. He hadn’t meant to sneak up on her, but his footsteps were light out of habit. “I’m impressed you noticed me.”“Y-Your Majesty, forgive me. I didn’t know you were there….”“No need to apologize,” he said. “I was
Henry watched Basil swing and nearly miss for what felt like the millionth time today. He was pretty sure that his nephew wasn't going to be able to work much longer like this. What had happened to him?A couple of days ago there had been another change in Basil's behavior. He showed up still stumbling around, picked up an ax, and got to work without saying much of anything, reeking of alcohol and looking exhausted. He looked a little past nauseous today, yet he didn't let up on his clumsy, though decent, pace. Henry wasn't sure what to make of it though he and Raven had spoken about Basil's strange behavior lately. Maybe he was fighting with his wife. Henry knew that anytime he and Raven were at odds it was hard for him to focus, but something told him that that wasn't the case.Basil’s ax skittered across the stone uselessly before falling from his hands, and Henry decided that was enough.“Basil, sit down for a second.”Basil turned blinking at him before obeying sitting on the st