Kayla downed a half glass of wine. She could not tell why, but the fear that Anthony would catch her just deepened and crushed her like garlic in a mortar. The restaurant was cold, yet she was burning. She downed another glass of wine. Why was the feeling getting stronger?“Relax, Kayla, will you?” Corey crooned.Kayla nodded, took a breath, yet Corey now locking his eyes behind her and looking all tensed tightened the knot in her stomach. She was going to ask what he was staring at when he said, “You’ve got a company.”Before Kayla could turn around, the seat beside her got occupied. Anthony? Kayla’s heart jolted and tumbled down her stomach, thrumming violently. Nearly, she was shivering. She folded her hands beneath the table. Repeatedly, she gulped one hard lump down. Corey promised her, didn’t he?“I hope I’m not late, sweetheart?” was the first thing he said when he sat down, and then his fingers were fiddling with her hair as if he enjoyed the silky feel of it. Anthony half-expe
Kayla absorbed the depression and pain evoked by the punishment and sprang back to her normal state. Knowing she wouldn't be getting her freedom threw her into another level of depression, but knowing she'd be with Sledge strengthened kept her easygoing. She knelt in the foyer, watching Sledge eat. Sledge had grown up. She also did well to increase his meal size.The sensor chimed. It was him. He’d returned from the pool. There wasn't a trace of fear in her, there was only pent-up rage. It had been like that since the ruthless punishment —rage and loath. Her eyes tailed him as he walked past her. She was just about looking away when she whipped her head back to him and knitted her brow as confusion rushed in.It wasn't the tattoos on his back… it was a birthmark on his lower back, near his butt, as his swim shorts was drenched and sagged from the water. Clinton had that birthmark on that same spot.Kayla dismissed Qynville accountants, who came to report the firm transactions for the
The massive living room frolicked in the calm night. Lots of excitement, plenty of guests chatting over refreshments. Kayla’s eyes picked out some faces she found familiar, faces from her alma mater, and she’d only waved at them. She spotted Sonia and a group of guests she recognized were her friends and acquaintances from the university. They beckoned her over and she approached. They exchanged greetings and embraces soon as she got there.“Congratulations once again, Sonia,” Kayla said, holding out a big gift box to Sonia, who took it and asked her babysitter to keep it.“Where’s your husband, Kayla?” a female acquaintance asked.“Yeah, where’s Mr. Handsome? He’s the reason I did the whole nine yards to look hot tonight.” That was Imani with her silly comment.“Hold on, Kayla, is Anthony outside or…” Sonia waved a dismissal hand. “You know what I’m trying to ask.”Kayla’s face clouded over; as a result, her friends made distasteful faces as they awaited her disappointing response. S
That piano song. Kayla's lids fluttered until her eyes drew open. That was C&K. The song brought back a memory of her childhood, when she and Clinton had planned to use the song on their wedding day. She slowly sat up and shut her eyes for a wee moment. Strong emotions that roused tears usually followed remembering Clinton. That morning, she could absorb the rush of emotion, despite her wedding was rather A&K.She ran her hand over her face and sighed tiredly. What was this drive to go down there? Was it because the imposter wasn't getting the song right? Whichever impulsion it was, it succeeded in driving her to the living room.Standing on the step, she gazed down at him, digesting that strong nervousness and hatred she felt around him. She couldn't repress it all, yet she approached with slow steps that displayed hesitation. She stood beside the piano, anxious about speaking with the man, who acted like he hadn't sensed her presence. Humph, she didn't expect less.“How do you know t
Kayla woke up to vibrations from messages blowing up her phone. She turned repeatedly in her bed. The vibration wouldn't stop—that was more messages than she'd received over the month. Pushing through her sleep-fogged brain, her eyes drew open and she reached for the phone on the nightstand to see what the messages were for.New month's wishes from nearly everyone she knew, including Corey. She threw her head back, rolled her eyes, and snorted. Not like she cared about the new month. She frowned, not buying the kinds of text she saw. Troubled, she melted in the bed, pretending to cry. Sonia was informing her about Nora's surprise party Jerome was planning, saying they began the meeting on that very day. Samuel also reminded her of the American Football coming up. It was his first match; he wanted her to come along with Anthony.Ugh! How in God's name was she supposed to convince Anthony when she failed to convince him of Sonia's housewarming party? She'd have to face her family because
How and when did she fall asleep? Kayla opened her eyes, adjusting to the sunlight beaming through the glass walls and stinging her eyes. Her mind refreshed last night's memory. Anthony's condition, Sledge's restlessness, and how she laid awake waiting for him to come out. The last thing she recalled doing was cleaning his puke. She winded up in the sack. Nature could not get beaten.Who tucked her in a duvet while she was asleep? If not Anthony, who did? Her eyes landed on Sledge, who lolled nearer to the couch she laid on. She flashed him a smile and stroked his head, the perky dog getting playful, nibbling her hand. Sledge was out of Anthony's room, which meant Anthony was fine, too. But where was he?Kayla pushed the duvet aside and sat up, perusing the living room with her eyes. Her eyes caught a neatly folded paper on the coffee table. She reached for it and unfolded it. It was the shortest, but friskiest letter. ‘Next time you sleep in the living room, I'll spank your ass hard
The question threw Kayla into defense. “I remember everything that happened in my drunkenness. I can tell you everything that happened if you want me to. Giovanni celebrated his winning with his lawyers, I had to join them. I had soda, only soda, not alco—”“So you're going to look me in the eye and lie to me?” Graveness and rage resonated in the gruff butterfly-soft of his voice. Anthony couldn't soften the harshness of his emotions yet. Srymium told him of the celebration at the restaurant. For the soda… she lied.Tears nearly dribbled off her flooded eyes at the accusation, but she blinked them back. Defending herself was pointless, it deepened the raw emotions in her. Her eyes wouldn't mind raining tears. She wouldn't defend herself anymore. She'd cry if she did because he wouldn't believe her. “I got drunk on alcohol. Because I couldn't carry the weight on my shoulders. Is that what you want to hear?”After a moment of silence, “Sit in the chair, legs on the armrests. I want to w
“For Jerome to trust Nora's surprise party on our hands, we must make sure everything goes as planned. And the first step to achieving that is… no one tells a thing to Nora.” Sonia glanced at Imani.Imani, understanding Sonia's glance, said, “Mmm-mm, lips sealed, I'm telling nothing to Nora.” She gestured as if zipping her lips.“It’s been fifteen minutes since we started waiting for the event planner in this fucking restaurant, Sonia. How much longer do we have to wait?” Kiran was getting impatient.“She’d be here in… maybe five minutes,” Sonia guessed.Kiran snorted and rolled her eyes, piqued.Imani, who sat next to Kayla, squinted in confusion, gazing at Kayla's neck. She bunched up Kayla's hair and raised it, effectively earning Kayla's attention. “Do you know you've got a deep wound on your nape?”“I know. It's been there.” Kayla discovered it from the day she woke up with amnesia. The day after the night that Alfred's men stalked her. She caught sight of it while making her dre
Three years later.A prolonged silence reigned in a bedroom. The silence had nearly grown beyond silence, but the sound of vacuum cleaners broke through the door as muffled sounds. Anthony lay shirtless in the bed. His eyes were closed as though he were asleep, his hand laying over Kayla's back. Kayla lay with her head and half of her torso on him. Her eyes were wide open. Unlike a shirtless Anthony, she had a gray nightshirt on.Kayla's mind couldn't go through so many thoughts and imaginations without her remembering the hot sex they had last night. It was hot—so hot and rough that she gulped down two bottles of chilled water and energy drinks after. Thank goodness their neighbors lived many blocks away, and their house was soundproofed. Their bedroom including. She and Anthony were glad the kids didn't interrupt, Eaven especially.It was seven in the morning, yet she and Anthony were stuck in the bed like heaven would fall if one of them had left the bedroom. “I went to the hospita
Already, everyone had risen to their feet. A wolf leaped at Marcus. Marcus flew up to the height of the wolf, and drilled his hands and claws into the wolf's torso, splitting the wolf into two. All wolves enraged, Wolan zoomed closer to make a swipe. Marcus leaned backward, his feet scraping the floor as he glided beneath Wolan. He grabbed Wolan’s leg from below, and twisted, wrenching a pained growl off him. Twisting one more time, he flung him to the wall harder, and Wolan broke the unbreakable wall. Dominic rolled over the floor, yelling in pain, holding his leg. Another wolf came at him. Marcus allowed the wolf to descend. Immediately the wolf descended, he took his hand up and penetrated the wolf's chest wall, pulling the wolf's heart out of him. The wolf whimpered and dropped dead, shifting back to a dead human form. Bo zoomed towards him. Marcus caught him in the air by the neck and snapped his neck, throwing him aside.Camlin stood up and tossed the spring-chained axe at him.
Marcus switched to his vampire form—a pale ash skin, visible veins poking out on the layer of his body, long fangs, pointy ears, dark eyes like midnight, a face like an animal, and longer claws. Kicking Anthony in the torso, he slashed the claws of his hands at him, slicing his throat and face, blood surging out of Anthony's wounds with pressure. Anthony bounced back and healed.Making another slash with the claws of his left hand, Anthony bent backward and let his hand swing past his face, then he sprang up to claw back at him but he leaned backward. Marcus stood upright and stabbed his claws into Anthony's stomach, pulled him closer with his claws in his stomach, and buried his fangs into his neck. Anthony growled in pain. Retracting his fangs and claws, he shoved Anthony aside by his neck.Anthony fell and changed back to his human form, convulsing, grunting, and groaning. Kayla heaved herself from the floor and ran up to him, holding him closer in her arms, while he struggled to h
The room quietened. The vampires dropped, yet everyone still squared up vigilantly, prepared for even the most sudden attack. Before their eyes, the throne chair turned its back to them and slowly turned again. Marcus appeared sitting on it with his hands on the armrest. His puckered brow emanated pure rage and vengeance. The sight of him only had everyone getting even more prepared. Marcus worked his eyes around for a while.“My empire. My soldiers. Everything that I spent every century of my life building, has crumbled before my eyes,” Marcus said. His tone was placid but pressured by existing rage. “Words can never express how angry I have become. But actions can.”The moment his chair turned, deep growls apart from the wolves’ resonated in the room. Not aware of where it came from, they looked around. Screeching, hisses, growls, and snarls clouded the atmosphere. It took a while before they grabbed the situation. The dead vampires were awakening again. The ones without complete bo
One of the elders lifted Catelyn from the floor and slammed her against the wall on the platform. The elder with fire radiating from his hands zoomed to the platform and unleashed the fire on her. Catelyn still on the floor, quickly put out her hand and blocked his fire. A hand wasn't enough, as his fire conquered hers, she added another hand.Fierce rumbles erupted from Jacob as he took a defense stance in his hybrid form, ready to take on an ascendant that was baring his fangs in front of him. The ascendant zoomed forward. Jacob met him midway and pulled his head off his body. An elder came behind Jacob's back and lifted him from the floor, trying to dismember him with telekinesis. Jacob growled in pain as the elder spread his limbs apart, pulling them from his torso. Unable to endure the energy and pain, he shifted back to his human form the second his hand fell off his body.Tally spotted Jacob. He growled with rage and zoomed toward the elder that was dismembering Jacob. Another
They looked up and saw Anthony passing the wall Marcus had passed through.Anthony appeared straight right in Marcus's main chamber through the wall. He wasn't sure he had seen anything so demonic as Marcus's throne. One could swoon at the sight of the red-eyed and fanged sculpted cobras serving as the armrests of the throne chair. Sadly, he wasn't intimidated by the creepy things in the room, not even by the people in the room.Approximately ten vampires in black hooded cloaks stood on the left, and twenty in scarlet hooded cloaks on the right. Anthony was certain of one thing… the black cloaks were elder vampires with powers, and the scarlet cloaks were ascendant vampires with powers that were unlike the ones he fought back there.He was here to send this ancient bozo with faded green eyes to where he belonged. The grave. With rage, vengeance, bravery, and readiness trapped in him, he stepped closer and stood a bit close to the middle of the vampires. “I knew you'll come.” Anthony
Anthony and Amber made it back into the building after fighting their way through. They were met with unusual changes when they stepped into the lobby. The whole place now seemed digitalized and modern, rather than an ordinary palace lobby.“Where are we?” Amber asked.Anthony continued strides and Amber followed. “This building is technical. A complicated great work of science. It changes form.”“So, you know where we're going? How do we know where Marcus is?” “Follow me.”Amber retrieved a pistol from his pocket and shot a newborn alighting from the stairs above ground and the newborn burst. Her light brown eyes bore into Anthony's. “Get your head in the game.” She was giving the pistol back when another vampire that had killed his opponent came at them. She spun around and shot the vampire. “I’ll keep this.”They continued further to the rolling staircase.Anthony and Amber stood before a wall that was sliding open. Both froze at the situation on sight. The place was large like a
Anthony continued further, lurching as he walked. He was hopeless, pained, and afraid, his eyes red with tears as he breathed shakily. His beast wouldn't stop growling in his head, clawing at him, so restless—the beast was enraged and pained as him.Marcus's scent was always there. He might go the wrong way if he followed it. But there were other scents on the path he walked. The scents he'd smelled in the chamber, along with Marcus's. A realization waltzed in, shooting him into motions. He could follow those scents to wherever they took his mate to.With haste and fury, Anthony walked from one hallway to another and entered four different elevators that lead to different floors, paving his way with the solar lamp and pistols he used to knock down the vampires that crossed his path.Anthony was met with ten soldiers in gas masks right in the passage where the scents took him. He stood many feet from the vampires, staring at them, getting himself prepared. He was confident that Kayla w
Anthony remained in a stance, a foot, a knee, and palms on the earth, his glowing eyes surveying his surrounding. Newborn vampires. Fledglings. They were everywhere around. They were aiming his way. He could smell them, their courage, confidence, and their readiness. He even smelled their deaths. Both far and near, he heard every single sound they made. His right ear twitched. There were two vampires on different trees in his vicinity, fifteen coming at him. They were two hundred in the forest right then, but only a few were after him.The newborn on the tree descended, one coming from his front and three from his left. Anthony yanked his machine gun off his shoulder, sprang up from the ground, and shot the newborn descending from the tree. He threw the machine gun up in the air, sliced the neck of one of the vampires with his poisonous claws, snapped and pulled the other's head. Then he caught the machine gun once it came down, and shot the five coming at him. Their screams, hisses,