Chapter 146- Lawler POV
“Hey everyone, is everything ok?” I ask them as they retreat into the shadows of the trees, leaving only Buddy front and center. “You were gone for a long time.” His face looks pained as he speaks to me. “We couldn’t have been gone for that long.” I see it is still as dark as when we left and could have only been gone for an hour. “You have been gone all day, sir; we were about to send our people in after you. Leon just arrived.” He motions over to Leon and a confused Keith as they approach us. “All day?” I ask, looking over to Elnora, who shrugs her shoulders.
Leon runs the final distance between us and wraps his arms around the pair of us in a tight hug. “I was so worried.” He sobs into our shoulders. “Leon, what time is it?” I ask. “It is 6
Chapter 147- Lawler POV My panic instantly changes from fear to embarrassment. The boys pull their headphones off their heads and begin laughing hysterically at me. “You, ok?” They ask between chuckles. “I um.” I stutter as I think of the best thing to tell them. How could I, the King of the Vampires, be worried about something as simple as not gaining access to a bedroom? “We were worried when you weren’t in the first two rooms. I know how you three works; Lawler is still learning, and he may have gotten a little ahead of himself. We missed you guys, that’s all.” Elnora comes to my rescue. “Exactly.” I agree with her. “How was the trip?” Talvin asks. “We thought we weren’t there long, but it was much longer than expected.” “Still within the same day, though, so that is a good thing.” Fulton counters. “It is. We jus
Chapter 148- Lawler POV Walking into my bedroom, I find Elnora still awake and watching a movie. "You look perplexed. Is everything alright?" She asks as she sits up in bed to gauge my reaction better. "Umm, yeah. Everything is alright. I just." I do not know if I should tell her what Fulton just asked of me or not. Looking into her eyes, I know I cannot keep this from her; I need to tell her the truth no matter what it is. "I sit on the edge of the bed and sigh. "Promise me that you will not say anything." I begin. "Depends on what it is." She asks, more worried as she slides across the bed to be closer to me. "So, Fulton called out to me when I was with Sabastian, and I went to his aid immediately.” "Is he ok?" She panics. "He is perfectly fine. He needed help with something." I assure her before I continue. "Oh, thank the heavens. I couldn't bear anyth
Chapter 149- Elnora POV I once again wake up to find that I am sleeping alone. “Where in the world is he now?” I ask myself as I walk to the open window and lookout. Sitting on the patio are Sebastian and Lawler. Even from my elevated visual of him, I can tell that he is crying, and Lawler is his confidant. My irritation of Lawler missing is instantly gone as I watch the two of them. So many bad things have happened to him, I am sure of it. I could see that things were bad in his eyes, yet I could not tell exactly how bad they were. “They were bad, I can promise you. Even if they were only mild with their punishment to him, it would have changed him.” Tiffany softly calls in my mind. “Now that I am awake let’s have a talk about what the hell is going on. Why now have you decided to show up and let me know what is going on? Ho
Chapter 150- Elnora POV At 9:45, Lawler, the boys, and I begin making our way down to the beach for our meeting. We aren’t surprised when we see half of the town and the witches have shown up before we do. “Queen Elnora,” Leon calls me softly as he makes his way over to me. “Good morning, Leon; how are you doing this morning?” I ask him. “I am doing wonderfully; how are you doing?” “I am doing quite well. Many things to be happy for today.” “I would agree.” He admits. “This may be out of line, but I have something for you.” A look passes between him and Lawler as he hands me a red sparkling tissue paper-covered gift with a smile. “This is for me?” I question as the weight of it hits my hand. “It is. Open it.” He urges me. Without hes
Chapter 151- Elnora POV “What!” the outbursts of anger fill the beach. “Hold on, hold on!” Lawler tries to calm them. “They can speak!” Sydney screams above them all, and they instantly go silent. “They can speak. They have been looking after me for years. They would bring me food when I needed it most and always ensured I had what I needed. This I just learned recently. The creatures that I would kill in town were their rouges. They are not to come here in their group, no matter what. They have given me or anyone permission to kill any rouges that come here. If they speak to you, they will speak from a distance not to scare you. They will not attack you.” Sydney has the townspeople under control once again. “What our King did for us was much more than you think. Yes, it sounds completely crazy, but it is not. He took our worst fears and turned them into a weapon to he
Chapter 152- Elnora POVWhile everyone is eating, Lawler and I go through the papers. I have no idea what I am looking for, and I finally ask. “What in the world am I supposed to look at here?” I ask, throwing my hands in the air. “Oh, sorry. Just look at what they wrote, why they want to live here, what they wish to bring to our Kingdom. Also, let’s make a pile of those who would be ok with helping you and those who would not be.” He is giddy as he speaks. “You are excited for new members?” “It is a bunch of new members. I understand that they want to come here because it is the first place that would consider accepting them, but they are making the change for themselves, and if they choose to go to another Kingdom in a year or so, I will support their choice. I am just happy that they are safe. From what it looked like and how the people reacted to their King. I never want to see someone suffer like that again.&r
Chapter 153- Lawler POV I lift Elnora into my arms as soon as our feet hit the patio. I pull her in tight, and I run to the portal with her. “Who is requesting an audience?” I ask Leon as we run. “She didn’t request, she demanded.” “Who is she?” I question. “Princess Layla. I would normally not agree to such demands from another Kingdom, but this is different. I knew.” He trails off. “Knew what?” Elnora asks, looking at him as we slow near the portal. “That you would think I made the right choice by coming to get you.” His eyes move from Elnora towards Layla. When I see her step forward from behind a tree and the glow from the portal illuminates her face, I instantly know why he came to us so quickly. Elnora gasps and goes closer to her. “What happened?” Elnora asks as she
Chapter 154- Elnora POV We land in the Viking Kingdom, and Lawler wraps his arms around me. “Stay with me, ok?” He requests. “Of course. We are going to do this as a team.” I kiss him quickly and begin walking to their pier. This time when we walk up, we are walking with purpose. Men are struggling to get where they are going in the shadows. A few women lay on the pier, still unconscious from what had happened here. “Are they ok?” I ask as I kneel down next to the first body. “They should be when they wake up.” “How long will that take?” I ask Layla, who is rubbing the woman’s hand opposite of me. “They are still down, and I have been gone as long as I have; it should be very soon.” As she finishes speaking, the woman begins to flutter her eyes awake. “No!” She backs up aw
Hello wonderful readers!It has been a privilege to write for you these past months. Your continued support brought me joy and the strength to bring you this book. This book has allowed me to show my children how determination looks. I am going to tell you a secret that I told my children and my family while writing this book- "I am writing for the one person reading right now. If they read for a day or read all of the chapters, I will finish it for them." This gave me the push I needed to continue. When I felt like I was slowing down or getting tired, I thought of you. Thank you for being there on my feed showing me that you were reading. I needed that support, and you gave it to me even if it were only a few moments.As it has ended I have decided to ask you, my reader, if you would be interested in reading a shorter sequel. You can let me know in a short comment, and I will happily begin working on one for you. Stories are a wonderful way to escape the world a
Chapter 171- Elnora POV Everyone has taken their seats and turned their attention to us. “We have learned within our Kingdom that for every problem we have, there is a silver lining. Once again, our King and Queen prevailed, and with their victory, we gained a new King and Queen in training. A gift to our Kingdom that we all thank you for granting to us.” Sabastian bows to all of us before continuing. “When Lawler began seeing you, Elnora, in the human world during the cover of night, he started changing for the better. He started becoming the King he had always wanted to become. Then when you entered our world and completed your mark, you granted him the strength needed to be the best version of King he could be. A gift he has granted your son and our future King. It is my honor to welcome you into our Kingdom not only as our Queen and friend but as the wife of my best friend.” &nbs
Chapter 170- Elnora POV Blow after blow; we watch as the pair of them struggle. "How is he still standing?" I link with Harmony. "Magic, they have witches on his side that are keeping his strength up.” "Can we break it?" I beg. "No, not unless we find the witches and the magic is not coming from here." Harmony sounds defeated. "I cannot live on without him.” "You will have to, for your children." Harmony moves to my side and takes my hand as we watch in horror. Lawler is beginning to lose, and I have had enough. How can I stop this? I ask myself. We watch as his father lifts his hand one last time, and as he does, I know this will be the blow that knocks Lawler unconscious. "STOP!" Tavin demands as he walks forward. My attention doesn't leave Lawler and his position, but the command stops the blow. "You are to remove yourself from his bo
Chapter 169- Elnora POV My spell is working. Lawler has a bloody nose as he stands, but nothing more. On the other hand, his father is bleeding profusely and has a broken nose. “What did you do?” He calls out. “I did nothing,” Lawler responds to him. His father struggles to his feet, and when he finally makes it, he throws another punch into Lawler’s stomach. I watch in amazement as Lawler hardly flinches and his father withers on the ground in pain. “Just toss him in the dungeon, and we will deal with him another day.” I request. “Stay back.” Sabastian pulls me from my waist backward towards the beach. I can see what he sees from this position, and people surround us we do not know. I lock eyes with Sabastian, and he nods his head. I look to Talvin and link with him first. “I am calling in back up; tu
Chapter 168- Elnora POV “You look beautiful,” Merrick announces as he enters the room and sees me standing on the dressing platform. “Thank you.” He offers his hand for me to step down after the last adjustment to my dress is made, and I take it. “Really, you are glowing. I am so happy for you.” He states as he walks with me to the door. “Are you sure you boys are ok with me getting married?” I ask him. “Mom, he already adopted us, and we took his last name. We signed off on that paper. Of course, we are ok with you getting married. Finally, we will all have the same last name again. You are the only odd man out.” He pokes fun at me. “I don’t want to upset any of you.” “This has been the best five years anyone could have ever asked for. Trust me, and we are all here for you. If you need me to make a distraction today, just say the word bab
Chapter 167- Elnora POV Vampires can drink a lot before feeling even the slightest buzz from consumption. Today, I am saying prayers to the porcelain gods of Harmony’s guest bathroom, or should I say my room at her house. I feel horrible. My bachelorette party was the best party I have ever been to in my life. Even the creatures that were invited had a blast and drank with us. A soft knock sounds on the bathroom door. “No one is home.” I joke. “I have some tea that will help you feel better,” Sydney calls softly. “Come in.” Granting her access, I wipe my mouth and sit on the floor. “Feeling pretty bad, I see.” “Yeah.” “Harmony said this tea will help you feel better.” “Will it, though?” I ask as I take it from her hands. “She made me some, and I feel completely norma
Chapter 166- Elnora POV Relief. That is the feeling that consumes me when Lawler announces that his father is alive. His face looks horrified and like he is waiting for me to bolt at any moment, but instead, I move to him and sit in his lap. “Oh, Lawler.” I hug him tightly. “I know you are angry.” He begins. “No, I am not. I am relieved more than you will ever know. This is honestly not even close to the things that I was thinking. This is the lesser of the evils that had gone through my mind. I wish you would have told me sooner so I could tell you.” “Tell me what?” “We had your fathers’ blood. We have put a barrier up in our Kingdom, and along with the portals for all the Kingdoms, he cannot get in. There is no way he will ever get you here.” “Spells can be broken.”“They can, but they are pretty good spells. We also have backup p
Chapter 165- Elnora POV Lawler has been distant this week. Not in the mental sense; when he is with me, he is with me entirely. Communication is on point, and he makes sure all of my needs are met, but physically, he is distant. Theo insists that he is working on something, and everything is fine. I know better, though; I can feel it deep down in my soul that something is off. Something has presented itself, and he is trying to handle it without me knowing. I have considered that it was information on Brogan, but Leon comes to me every day after he scouts with any information he has or doesn’t have. Looking out over the ocean from our balcony, I drink my tea in peace. I finally switched from coffee a few years ago when Tiffany insisted I learn the difference in taste and smell in herbs so that I would never fall prey to someone trying to drug me. Over the
Chapter 164- Lawler POV For five years, I have searched for proof that my father was alive or dead, never to find a whisper of the truth. Now I find out that he is alive and coming for me just as I have something important happening in my life. “Do you know when?” I ask as I rub the irritation from my face. “By the next full moon.” He replies. The full moon was the night before last; I have about a month. I begin to calculate what needs to be done before anything happens. “What do you know of the puddle?” I ask standing, producing the blade of grass. “Oh, right. About that.” He stutters. “Touch it.” I insist. “You already know your answer.” He counters. “I need to see for myself.” Holding it closer to him, I watch as he picks it up and peals it apart. Nothing happens; he is the