To hear Julian ask such a thing of us warmed my heart. But filled it with dread all the same. He trusted us enough to take us to them. Loved us enough to introduce us, even when they were gone. This was a part of him so few saw. The soft boy who had loved his parents dearly. How many years had they been gone? Too many years spent alone. Lillian was his only family left, until we arrived. Until we carved our places into his heart. Mikaela was pacing the length of our room. Her brow set deep into a frown. Our dresses were already placed on our beds once we exited the bathroom. To have staff wait on us at every turn was a new experience, one we never quite imagined we would have the luxury to do. It still felt somewhat ridiculous to know that there were people in this house ready to wait on us hand and foot. Breakfast yesterday was a nice reprieve. A ploy to make us feel like our normal selves. That was cut utterly short with Julian's request. Mikaela wasn't all that impressed by it, t
Gloom had settled across the three of us. The sun was high, baking the head stones of long since forgotten people. But the sun couldn't bake away the sombre feeling that passed. In my life, I had only visited a cemetery twice. Both was for grandparents that had passed away. Children rarely knew what was truly happening in these places. Omens passing from person to person. But I had still seen the dread. A place for mourning and passing on. Throughout the years I had come to realize that a place filled with the dead was sacred in a sullen kind of way. So whilst the headstones baked in the afternoon sun, I knew the heat wouldn't fully reach me.The mausoleum was grand in appearance, with white pillars standing by the door, gold snaking around each pillar. You could still tell it was a sad structure. Still see the scars and pain leeching into the building. No matter how much effort was put into preserving this place, it was still the last resting place for the dead. Julian slid
Fear was an ugly thing when it reared its head. It made you lose focus and only allowed you to function enough so that you could bare witness to that which caused the fear. Adrenaline counter acted fear in some cases, but the adrenaline also came with a price. I slid into the back side of the SUV, my heart hammering in my chest. Mikaela's tear stricken face still clung to my memory. I couldn't do a thing to save her. If it weren't for Julian, she would already be on her way to my father by now. Weak and utterly useless. Pressing my eyes shut, I wished the horrible thoughts to pass.A warm hand clasped around my own, smooth skin instantly granting me some warmth. Andrew would be detained until further notice. An interrogation was the only way to know what had really spurred him our way. If he had acted alone or as part of some grand plan. Trembling, I opened my eyes again. Mikaela stared back at me, her face expressionless. The cut on her throat was already healed, only an red
Lust was a powerful thing when put into perspective. It could bring whole nations to their knees if they weren't careful. That's how I felt the moment those necklaces snapped into places. Snapped something into place within my own body as well. Mikaela felt it too, by the way she lowered her eyes at Julian. By the way she slowly clenched her legs together. Bonds increased emotions already flowing through you. Increased every bit of tension that snuck its way into your being. The feeling was a mix of absolute joy and utter helplessness. As if your entire being needed that person to complete you. Soothe some wild part of you until you were spent. I glanced at Julian, showing every bit of hunger towards him that I felt.Mikaela stirred beside me, her finger tracing up my arm. Goose bumps erupted from every inch she touched. Leaning in a bit closer, I toyed with a loose strand of her hair, gently gliding my fingers along the shell of her ear. Mikaela shivered and cupped my breast
Restless sleep filled my night. Mikaela and Julian were still gone in their own blissful voids. They were tangled together, the picture of happiness. My heart swooned at the sight. The love that was held between them. We were officially his. When will we have to take on more important roles? Meet his court? I pressed the idea away as I stood from the bed. The moon was still high, a slight breeze blowing through open windows. Autumn was starting to turn the air chilly, but not cold. My birthday was a month off. Mated before my 21st, how ironic. Staring out the window, a ghostly orb gazed back. High and inviting. Wolves loved the dark almost as much as a vampire loved blood. I grabbed a black robe draped over the back of a chair and glanced back to the sleeping forms. Neither seemed to stir from my absence. Settling my nerves, I trotted to the door and made my way down the hall, I headed towards where I knew they were keeping Andrew. A part of the house we hadn't explored. Didn't want
Mikaela's Point of ViewLuciana had gotten out of bed. Left Julian and I blissfully sleeping, or so she thought. I knew she needed time to process what we had done. Luciana needed space to process things on her own sometimes. I never bothered to push her. Once she was done hovering over a situation, she would come to me out of her own free will.In all honesty, I could barely fathom what we had done. Mated and marked, blissfully in bed with one of my mates. His room was something else. Simply furnished, but in a luxurious way. Julian had excellent taste, I couldn't deny it, but would I ever grow accustomed to this house? This life? We hadn't spoken of what was to come after the mating. All the expectations placed upon us. I hadn't stopped to consider what it even meant to be royalty. To entertain hundreds of guests and host balls. Being a queen wasn't something I truly wanted. Hell, I had never expected to be one. Luciana would make a truly beautiful q
Julian found me early in the morning with a book curled in my hand. The library had become my place of solace in the last few hours before dawn. Words were always more appealing to me than people. Worlds could rise and fall within days when a good book was your company. Looking at my life now, I wondered if anyone would write about us. Tell our story to the masses. Would they glorify or villainize me? Lillian had left me not long after our talk. She made a point of it to tell me she knew Julian had mated us. Marked us as his brides. There wouldn't be a wedding, as all of this had happened so suddenly. I had never cared for weddings, either way. She also casually informed me that all the vampire diplomats and aristocrats would be arriving for Mikaela and I's claiming. Julian was just to send out an invitation today. We had already broken several customs according to the old woman. I wasn't pleased but hadn't felt it my place to argue. Vampire customs were strange and after all, we we
Mikaela smiled again, her hand coming to stop on my arm. Her warmth seeped into me, heating my blood. I didn't know I wanted her until she showed up in that door. Julian stiffened beneath me when Mikaela traced my arm until she reached his back. Nails dragged down his back and Julian gritted his teeth, his eyes never leaving her. Reaching around his middle, Mikaela cupped Julian in her hands. Fingers gently grazed my behind as well. Unyielding need flushed my body. I wanted them."I told you not to stop." Mikaela barked and gripped Julian firmly over his pants. Growling, Julian flung his lips to my neck again. Fangs dragged along the sensitive skin as I arched my back into the wall, offering up more of myself. Mikaela fondled Julian's balls through is pants, setting his pace even faster. Weaving my fingers through his hair, I tugged his head back and kissed down his throat and over his collarbone. Below us, Mikaela unfastened Julian's pants, button for button. I could feel he
Two days had passed since our little session. Days filled with nothing but sex and love. This morning, Mikaela woke up with the biggest smile on her face. I knew then that we had done things right. Not just with the sex, but also announcing our mating to everyone. Mikaela and I had adopted new titles, along with various mundane duties. Everyone was to refer to us as our titles, showing that we were now as important as Julian. Our coronation will take a while to plan, but for now the staff knew who we were. Julian also assured us that we would receive proper training in etiquette and such. Royal training, how strange and somewhat intimidating.Maids and estate workers dashed up and down the hallways, preparing every single room in the mansion. Products of varying types tumbled from their arms, faces drawn and barely noticing our presence. Everyone was to be on their best behaviour. According to Sebastian, a mating was a rather grand affair. More so now, seeing as Julian had ta
Caspian's Point of View People spoke in hushed whispers before me, waiting with bated breath for the new queen to arrive. They were our new court. Noble houses we had formed in order to keep the peace and prosperity. Wolves, humans and vampires alike. Julian had insisted we make houses for the humans as well, equality being his main concern. Luciana had insisted that if those houses were to be made, they had to come from war heroes, instead of old and greedy politicians. I chosen her side. Everyone was dressed to the maximum, with jewels flashing in the well lit hall. They all anticipated the arrival of their new queen, finally made public in an orderly fashion. Yet the queen wasn't here yet. Mikaela stood to my right. Julian sat in his throne beside her. The throne beside me stood empty and waiting. This was where history would be made. We were on the cusp of a new age and everyone knew it. Finally, the monsters from their dreams had come to light,
Three years laterRoyals from all across the world had started settling into the palace. Flowers dripped from every surface around me as we welcomed the stuffy nobles. Staff members had prepared over a hundred rooms for this occasion. A hundred rooms all occupied by several members of our court. Several villas were also prepared deeper into the property for larger families.The war had finally come to and end. Brought about by my own hands and the hands of the ones closest to me. No one was more overjoyed than Sophie at the prospect of finally being able to settle down. We had finally gotten the incredible news last year that Ezekiel was indeed Sophie's mate, but they couldn't complete the ritual, as we were constantly away on missions. So we were finally granted a repieve from all the blood shed.A new treaty was signed a few months ago, declaring peace amongst all who had lost so much in this war. Peace. A powerful word that felt so fragile at
One Year Later Rain pelted the sides of the palace. December rain had come in full swing this year, leaving no stone dry. South African weather was unpredictable in that way. One moment there would be sweltering heat, the next, a flood could be washing away your trampoline in the back yard. We wouldn't have it any other way. To be back in our home was a blissful experience, but to know the next Valentine was on his way was even better. Mikaela was at the end of her pregnancy and we expected her to give birth any day now. Her belly stretched far out in front of her. Julian and Caspian couldn't keep their hands off of the growing bump the entire pregnancy long. Mikaela had resorted to swatting their hands away in an effort to maintain her personal space. Alas, that still wasn't enough. The Valkyrie had gone back to the battlefield only a few weeks ago, their vacations cut short by the growing threat of the humans. Sonja endured persistent peste
Adrian was in the middle of the clearing, scowl deeply imbedded on his face. Everyone else was coated in blood by now, their weapons flying through the air, but he just watched in amazement. I caught the look of madness within his eyes when our eyes met. Trust him to be vain, even in battle. Too self-righteous to even fight his own battles. As if he was a god. The insanity of it all finally settled into my bones. We had sent thousands to their death. Thousands more would follow if I let him walk away from this. This needed to end here. End now. We couldn't call this a battlefield, it was more a massacre. His last resting place. "I wondered how long it would take you to kill Jasper." My father murmured and turned to face me. No remorse was evident. He couldn't see how mad he was. How insane all of this was. This had started off as a simple act of defiance on my part and had ended with both sides losing more than was necessary. Prophecy or not, I knew this was how it was all s
The trodding of feet soon turned to an echo as I sped up. Since the transition, my powers throbbed beneath my skin. Pulsing like a live wire. They couldn't keep up, even if they wanted to. Nothing would stand in the way of what I had to do, not even my mates. All was fair in love and war. Claiming my father's life was something only I was able to do. Something that needed to be done since the first day he had splayed me open. The direction was clear within my mind. A field filled with ant nests slowly came to view. Just within the opposite tree line, an army of men stood. No more than fifty people in total, but still more than I could handle all at once. A few had guns. The other held knives and bows in hand. They wouldn't know what hit them if I caught them off guard. Upon my approach, a scout yelled out to my father, standing at the lead of his group. Lines littered his face that weren't once there. Mother stood a ways back, her eyes never finding mine. The woman w
Caspian's Point of ViewLuciana had stormed off, leaving a bitter taste in the air. You could cut the tension with a sword and still struggle to push the blade through. Sophie hadn't taken well to the outburst, cusses flying from her lips. Claire had wanted nothing more than to chase Luciana as she went, but I had stopped her, my hand clamping down around her arm.Luciana needed to be alone at the moment. Too many demons flew about within her mind and someone trying to pry them from her now would do more damage than just leaving her be. Facing her father had always been her end goal. The one monster she had to overcome before she was able to truly be free."What the fuck is her problem all of a sudden?" Reverie growled from next to Emory. All eyes had turned to face me. Some pierced my soul and I found myself unable to look them all head on. Only Sonja looked somewhat remorseful. She, too, understood what was eating at Luciana. From what I had g
The day before I faced my father felt like any day other day. Julian had asked for all the staff back. Even the Valkyrie had obeyed his orders and returned without a silent complaint. No questions were asked about my sudden reappearance from the staff. But the Valkyrie was another question entirely. Julian had given them a run down of the situation as best he could, without revealing our daughter. We hadn't yet told them of Katharine. Didn't intend to until it was absolutely necessary. No one liked witches and I would do anything to protect my daughter. Her state of mind was extremely important to me, and witches deteriorated much faster, mentally, than any other species on the planet. Staff members dove through the house, cleaning away the last remnants of my second birth. One as a hybrid. Buckets of red were being thrown down drains, the last time I had noticed them cleaning. The Valkyrie had decided to train for the day and I had decided that I was desperately out
I didn't know where I was going, only that I had to get out of the house as fast as possible. The air inside had suffocated me for far too long. Katharine's hopeful face kept popping into my mind's eye and I couldn't ignore it for much longer. The burning in my chest. The fear of losing everything and everyone around me. Walls of iron wrapped around my heart and squeezed. Knees buckled as I saw the smile on my daughter's face. I had never feared death before. never needed to, until I had died. Until I had left behind everyone I had ever loved. Katharine had brought me back, but would she be able to when my entrails were outside of my body. Or my head was metres away from my body? Death had never felt as close as it had only a few hours ago. But I was to face it again in two days. Two days I could be spending with my family, happy and safely. The only thing was, part of my family was missing until I faced death again. Mikaela would be a stranger to me once we reunited, but sh
"Mommy!" Katharine squealed as she dashed towards me. Chestnut hair trailed behind her in waves. The girl had dressed herself and it was evident. Sneakers closed around her feet whilst she donned a bright green dress. Yet the smile on her face was contagious, leaking onto my own lips as she drew closer. Somehow she had grown tremendously since I had last seen her. Even her eyes held a certain intelligence within them. As if she was more aware of the world than even I was. That was what it meant to be a witch. Intune with the world, whether she wanted to be or not. "Baby girl!" I squealed and bent down a little to grab her in my arms. Her tiny body was fragile beneath my new found strength. Every muscle beneath her dress tensed within my arms, then melted into nothingness. The feeling of having her in my arms kicked in, sending tears rolling down my face. Thick and hot. When was the last time I had held her like this? When was the last time I had bathed in her presence? My li