At least no one was hurt. But who do we think wants Claire? And why? Thanks for reading along!
Mal just nodded to Alexander, before walking further away from her. Lex looked at Claire with such sadness in his eyes, “Claire. You know how Malachy helped rewrite the law that now allows Mythicals to marry and mate with one another?” She nodded her head, unsure of where this was going. “Good. The Council now feels that the Vampire Leader, the Vampire King, should take a bride or a queen, if you will. So that he and his bride can be an example of union within our world. The Council has asked for the assembly of all eligible women, who are eighteen years old and above, so that the King can choose his bride. Do you understand what this means?” Lex didn’t even realize that he had moved to kneel in front of Claire until he grabbed her hands; silently pleading with her to understand. Mal’s growl from across the room reminded him of his place. Lex stood, then raised his eyebrows at his boss with a playful smile, before he took a step back.“So the Vampire King is playing out a Cinde
The last week went by at a snail’s pace. Graduation had to be postponed a few weeks due to “leaking pipes” in the auditorium, but Claire overheard her father and Zach when she returned home a few days after her birthday.“The rogues damn near destroyed the building. Are we sure we got them all?” Jack’s voice quivered with his restrained anger.Zach nodded his head. “We have dealt them with. We didn’t get any info from them, though. Perhaps we’ve stopped them for now.”Jack stared into his whiskey glass, contemplating. “That’s what worries me. We’ve stopped them. For now.”The scene played on replay in Claire’s brain, and she couldn’t wrap her head around it.The rogues attacked her car at the party and her high school auditorium. But why? She was the only connection between the two.She walked into the living room, where everyone gathered around the coffee table. When she sat down, Steph grabbed her hand. “The banquet for the King is next weekend. We get to look at some dresses and do
The girls made it home safely and with plenty of bags filled with their goodies. Steph used her speed to run up to her room and slammed her door shut. As they walked through the living room, Jack’s mouth was agape at the amount of bags they carried in. “Did you gals leave anything in the stores? Jeez.” Marian threw a small pink bag onto his lap as she sat next to him. He raised an eyebrow inquisitively as his hands reached into the bag and pulled out a red thong. “Daaaaamn…” He grabbed Marian, pulled her onto his lap, and nuzzled her neck. “Y’all can’t wait until I leave the room? Gross.” Claire took off for her room, trying to ignore the animal growls coming from the living room, and keep her lunch down.Making it to her room, she shut the door hastily and gently laid her bags on the bed. She was never more thankful to have a soundproof room than at that very moment. She emptied her bags, save for her dress bag, into her duffel bag for the trip to the Miller’s territory in a few
It had been a rather relaxing day since they arrived on the pack lands. The other girls on her floor were partying and causing a ruckus, so Claire grabbed her book and her noise canceling headphones; she needed to tune out the noise.On the verge of falling asleep, a knock on her door jolted her awake.“Ugh. This better be good, or someone is dying tonight.” She opened the door to Sean, sheepishly running a hand through his sandy hair. “Just wanted to say good night. And no matter what happens tomorrow night, we’ll always be friends.” Claire could only look at him. “Well duh, Dipshit. And goodnight...” She closed the door as he walked down the hallway. What in the world is going on with everyone?Getting comfortable again, she grabbed her book to continue reading. Within a few minutes, she was fast asleep.*******************************************************She looked so peaceful; her hair spread over her pillow, her soft lips slightly opened as she gently snored. He sat on the
Birds chirped outside her window as a stream of sunlight hit Claire’s eyes. What the hell? She glanced at her alarm clock: 5AM. “Fuck. Damn birds. Go back to sleep.” Claire mumbled as she rolled to her other side, stretching her arm out. And immediately sat up. She was alone in her bed. “Mal?” She got up to check the bathroom.Nothing. She walked back to her bed to sleep some more when she noticed a note on the pillow.“Claire-Last night was incredible. You are incredible. I wish we had more time to finish what we started, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to stay until the morning in case Jack came back. I loved having you in my arms and falling asleep listening to your heartbeat and your adorable snoring. It was amazing to hold you all night. I love you, Little One. Now go back to sleep and I will see you later tonight.-Mal”She grabbed the other pillow and buried her face in it; it still smelled like him. She had about two hours until she had to be up to prepare for the c
More guests arrived and more glasses piled up on their table. The Taylors and Millers were throwing back tequila shots and bottles of wine like it was their job. Laughter was abundant as they mingled with each other and the other guests. Claire nervously drummed her French-tipped nails on her glass as she bit her bottom lip and tapped her feet. She enjoyed the banter that was coming from their table, but she needed to step away to work away some of the uneasiness that was settling in the pit of her stomach. Walking around the edge of the crowd, a middle-aged woman smiled sweetly at Claire. “Hello, child. Glorious evening, isn’t it?” Claire smiled back and walked to her side. “Yes, it is. Hi, I’m Claire Taylor.” She held out her hand to the woman as she introduced herself as well.“Hello Claire. I’m Priestess Ramona. Council leader of the witches and warlocks. And I am very excited to meet you in person. Your reputation precedes you, young Claire.” Her gaze trickled down to Claire’s
“Now that we have introduced all the ladies, it is my pleasure to announce that the Vampire King is ready to make his bridal selection. Ladies, I wish you all the best.” The short werewolf announced into the microphone. He motioned to stage left for the Vampire King to appear and when he did, Claire’s breathing stopped.Mal stepped onto the stage, looking just as intimidating and sexy as ever, as his stoic face never once glanced at Claire.She felt her chest collapse in on itself.This is why he’s been so despondent these last few days. He’s the FUCKING VAMPIRE KING.Claire closed her eyes as he walked past her to shake hands with the werewolf. “Thank you. And thank you to every one of these ladies on this stage and their families. I know this isn’t the best of circumstances, but I appreciate it, nonetheless.” Mal stepped away from the microphone as the werewolf took back control.“Now, Malachy. Please choose your bride.”Claire kept her eyes shut, refusing to believe this was happeni
Mal turned his back to her as his new fiance glided up to him, slipping her arms around his waist. Claire didn't want to see this, and Steph ran up to her, bringing her out of her sulking mood.“Hey hun. What do you say we go for a walk? Some clean air will do you a lot of good.”Claire nodded her head as they walked along the path leading to the dormitories.The silence between them didn't feel awkward or forced. Neither of them needed to say a word. After a few minutes, they sat on a bench facing a small pond that Claire didn’t know was there. They were far enough away that they could hear the music playing, but couldn’t make out the words to the songs.“So...how long have you been sleeping with Malachy?” Steph has always been straight and to the point.Claire closed her eyes to compose herself. “We haven’t slept together...at least we haven’t had sex…” She leaned her head on her big sister’s shoulder. “I’m still just trying to wrap my head around what exactly happened. Things were l