“How are things with the pack?” I ask.“Coit is doing his best, and I’m helping him as much as I can,” Darius answers. “Rebuilding our relationships with the packs around us is going to be a difficult road ahead but not impossible.”“We can’t blame them for being cautious after what my father did, s
KaneThere are times I wonder if I remember a time before I wasn’t constantly at war with a neighbor. I spent over ten years in conflict with Bernard Moonraker for his inability to repay his debts. Now that he is locked up in the dungeon of my castle, I’m dealing with King Peter of Scarlett Thunder
“We could release Jacob,” Lex suggests.“Absolutely not,” Rainier counters. “He’s the only bargaining chip we have.”This is true, and I cannot stand Jacob after what he did to Emory. He almost killed her in the library. I came so close to losing her over his terrible sister’s jealousy. Jacob will n
Still, my father trusted him and sought his counsel for many matters, especially when our kingdom was at war. As much of an asshole as I think Clark is, he has something valuable. Knowledge. It’s the only reason I didn’t have him executed after I saw how he had been mistreating the feeders and letti
KaneI’m not in the best mood after talking with Clark. As much as I dislike him, he is right about some things. Delivering awful truths has always been something he relishes in. Clark practically snickered as I left his suite, enjoying how his words affected me. I needed to go to my office afterwar
“Keep an eye on Emory,” I tell Rainier. “And have somebody taste her food before she does from now on.”“You don’t think the queen would poison her, do you?”“I wouldn’t underestimate her. Her mother, Queen Nerissa, gifted a poisoned hat pin to an enemy once.”Rainier nodded, grimly. “I’ll get the f
“Lola is settling in. She really likes her room and the gardens.” Emory turns to her sister. “Right, Lo?”The little girl nods but still looks at me like she wants me to leave.“She’s not used to being around vampires,” Emory explains. “It’s going to take some time until she gets used to everything.
KaneLex is quiet as he listens to me talk. He sips from the bottle of blood as I tell him about my fears of losing Emory. I’m in an impossible situation where the laws of nature that govern our world are working against me. Yet, those same ruleshad bent themselves to make it possible for us to fall
MichaelI can count on one hand how many times I’ve been in this cathedral over the course of my short life. The dark stone walls echo even the smallest whisper, and the ancient stained glass sends shadows instead of snowy sunlight into the cavernous space. I wouldn’t consider vampires a very relig
FayeIt’s snowing on my wedding day. Snowing hard, actually, as I watch cars pulling around the castle where valets are waiting to greet the guests. The wedding will take place in an hour. An hour. I can’t believe it. My stomach pitches as two maids pull curlers from my hair and dab blush on my che
EmeldaQueen Emory smiles at the spread of vampire-friendly food laid out on a tea-table. Blood pastries and cakes galore sit on pretty little trays adorned with flowers, flutes of blood made to sparkle resting beside them. “Are you not hungry?” she asks as I inspect the spread over the sound of Al
MichaelI don’t really want to be here, but my mother and my fiancee practically forced me out of the castle and locked the door behind me. The dingy, crowded tavern some thirty miles away from the castle seems to sway against the crowd of shifters and vampires alike, everyone drinking copious amou
FayeIt’s snowing again. White fluff falls from the dark sky, highlighted by the exterior sconces placed along the walls of the castle. I smile as it blankets the ground, sticking to every surface it touches. I never really thought about the logistics of my future wedding. A marriage? Sure. My even
MichaelI stare at my soon-to-be bride, who looks up at me like a little golden owl, her blue eyes wide and shocked as she takes in my level of disheveledness. But I’m looking at her bloody finger, the bowl of liquid on the table, and the two guilty-looking ex-witches standing on either side of Fay
“He told me he thought you might have been pregnant the night we were going to give you that final potion,” she whispers, meeting my eyes. “I told him it couldn’t be. It was far too early to tell and the herbs I’d been giving you to try to heal you would have been harmful for the baby.”We stare at
FayeMorning comes like sand falling through an hourglass. All night, time moved so slowly. Each second passed in agony as I waited and paced, hoping for any shred of news from Michael. I’ve spent the most time in the living room sitting in awkward discomfort between Cole and Emelda, who refuse to
MichaelAlpha Harold watches as I sink into an armchair across from the raging fire in the hearth. He holds me a glass of whiskey, his eyes holding mine for a second before he turns to settle on a stool beside his mate. I find this entire situation–this man, this pack–alarming. “How long have you