Lottie’s POV Gabe has been so attentive since I told him everything at his spot near the river. I think he feels bad for ignoring me for so long. When I asked if he was going to reject me, the look of pain on his face told me everything I needed to know. He never intended to hurt me, I know that now. He has spent months knowing that I am his mate, and he has lived with the pain of keeping it a secret that whole time. I can’t even begin to imagine the strength it must have taken to come and wave me off when I set sail for the Islands. He stayed right at the edge of the group, which I thought was weird at the time, but I was preoccupied with Witney and trying not to give away that I knew everything she had done. After Rosaline broke the hold the vampyre had on Witney, she decided to remain with the Island pack for a little while. She was too ashamed of what her actions led to, and the pain they had caused, to return. I tried to tell her that everyone would understand, but she wasn’t h
Christian’s POVArly is a monster.A happy, chubby, energized little terror of the highest order.I knew kids were a handful, but she has the energy of at least three pups. If I were a suspicious man, I would think my brother had been spoon feeding her pure sugar before he handed her over. Wherever she gets all this energy from, I am in desperate need of some just to keep up.It took all of about half an hour of her tearing around the pack house before I had an epiphany and brought her out to the training field. Nobody is using it at the moment so she can run around until she burns herself, although it’s looking like that won’t be any time soon.Some of the older kids noticed us out here and came to see what was going on. I think it might be the first time she has actually been outside since we brought her home. The pack knows about her and how she came to be here, most of them have either met or seen her, but the kids are rarely in the parts of the house where Arly has been, so she i
Imelda’s POVMy gifts are unique, even among my kind. We have folktales and oral lore, which speak of only a single deathless witch ever existing at any one time in history. When I first learned what I could do, I was young and without guidance. My mother had just passed away and I was too overcome with grief and anger to listen to what I was being told.I’m ashamed to admit I tried to end my time here, all I wanted was to see her again. I needed to know why. She wouldn’t come to me in any from. I tried calling for her, I scried, spent weeks in the astral planes searching, hoping she would come to me, but nothing.After drinking the Nerium tea, I had a momentary lapse of conviction. When I woke in the stone circle my sister witches had laid me in for protection, I was relieved to have somehow survived. I knew what my mother was, that is why I felt so betrayed. A deathless witch has to choose to die. She chose to leave me. I can’t accept that she acted without reason, so I learned to l
Hunter’s POVI promised Liberty I would think about my future.I honestly don’t know where to even start.Esme.Everything makes more sense when I’m with Esme. I was going to go to her for advice before, but knowing she has a history and friendship with Imelda, put me off. Not knowing exactly what is on the line is only making it harder. I should ask Imelda directly, but I’m not ready for that. I won’t go into a volatile situation unprepared. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail. That is the one of the first things Thoran taught me when he began training me to join the Old Guard.I thought it was strange that he didn’t put me with the Elite Warriors, but he said I have a raw , untapped energy that is better matched to the old guys. I see now that it was meant as a compliment, but it didn’t feel like it at the time. Frankly I wouldn’t fit in anywhere, so it didn’t really matter who he grouped me with.I lucked out with Gerald. He never pushed or questioned. He accepted me for what I
Lottie’s POV Gabe’s arms cage me, one thick, veined bicep bulges either side of my head. His forearms depress the plump feather pillow as he holds my head in his hands, and his eyes stare into mine with a longing I feel in my heart. I have heard stories about sealing the bond, how mates mark each other, it’s all any of my friends talked about last year, in the lead up to our sacred days. They shared tales they had heard from older siblings or the she-wolves in the pack with lose morals or unsheltered history. There are only a few girls born into the pack in each generation, so naturally we are all quite close, and every one of us had hope that we would find our fated mates. We knew chances were slim. The pack protects us girls more fiercely than anything, especially after girls from packs close to Pine Lake started going missing. Gabe is sweet and tender and takes his time. I know about him too, and what the men get up to when they are off pack land. I’m not as blind to everything t
Liberty’s POVMy legs are numb. Not from my injury, which is already mostly healed, but from being stuck in this bed. Marcel and Doc Wood both expected my recovery to take longer and Christian and Zander both insist that I rest so I don’t set myself back, it’s lovely that they care and want to look after me, but I think I might go crazy if I’m stuck in here much longer.Doc Wood has been in and out taking blood samples. I hope he can isolate and synthesise whatever it is that has allowed me to heal so quickly but he can take blood from me in my office just as well as here in this bed. Obviously, it’s something to do with the blood Marcel gave me, but knowing why and how it works could save so many people of all races, if anything good comes of all this, I hope that is it.I had been getting bored. I’ve had visitors and Arly has been keeping my mind off of everything, but I want to be in my office, working, putting everything in motion for Lottie’s plan. My mates are not going to like
Lottie’s POVI don’t mind being in a cave with no idea how I got here. I don’t even care that the floor is littered with bones and animal horns. The thing that bothers me most right now, is that I am one hundred percent butt naked.The only way this could have happened, that I know of, is if I misted. But that can’t be the case, my dragon is bound, and I’m not strong enough to use my magic to mist. Fire is easy because my mother was a Pyro. Controlling fire is in my magical genes, and that gave me a massive advantage when it came to learning how to summon Fire.‘I was bound, but no longer am.’ A feminine voice speaks.“Who’s there?” I spin on the spot, my eyes searching every crevice of the dark, rocky dome. The ceiling must be at least fifty feet high and it sends my voice bouncing back to me.‘I’m in here, not out there.’ The woman sounds amused but possibly a little crazy. I’m looking in here, and I see no one.‘Not the room Lottie. You. I’m inside you. My name is Naivleen, I have
Hunter’s POVIt has become normal around here, for everything to go to shit at the drop of the hat. Tonight is no exception, only now I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.When Liberty showed me her visions, it was the most surreal experience. Like dreaming but not. I can’t explain it, I don’t have the words to do it justice. It was exactly what I needed though. I have been on the fence about my future, my magic, my Alpha gift, but seeing what I did has pushed me firmly to the side in favour of being unbound.If my destiny is to lead Shadow Ridge out of the darkness and into the light, who am I to decide otherwise? I know Liberty said there were many futures, and that it is not my burden to carry if I don’t want it, but if I don’t do this, I feel like I would be no better than the very person we are trying to stop. I don’t want to wake up every day for the rest of my life with regrets.I’m scared. I’m not afraid to admit it. Taking on Shadow Ridge is going to be a fight, one tha
Chapter TwoConstance’s POV With the raiding party away, a rare calmness has come over the castle. I often find myself eagerly awaiting their departure so I can let down my guard and just be. This place is the only home I have ever known. I grew up within these walls and every room, every portrait and piece of furniture is attached to a memory of my life before, though it feels less and less like my sanctuary as Halen continues to fill it with his experiments.He says we are all one clan, the vampires he creates are family and that his creations will assure our safety and our place in the world. I know he believes every word he speaks but I can not get a moments peace with them around. I am constantly on edge, waiting for one of them to go feral and kill the human pets Halen keeps around for us to feed upon. He is adamant it will not happen again, but I have quickly learned that his belief in something doesn’t make it so.The dining hall is my second favourite room and as I walk ar
Please enjoy a sneak peek of Marcel’s story, which is now available. VB xxMarcel of The Lone Mountains.A Vampyre’s story by Veronica BlackChapter OneMarcel’s POV “Open your eyes and watch, boy.” My father snarls through gritted teeth, spittle flies from his taught lips into my face. He roughly grabs the loosely tied pony tail at the back of my head and wrenches my head back, which forces me to look up and watch the carnage unfolding in front of my eyes. My jaw tightens in frustration but I bite my tongue. I hate that he calls me ‘boy’. I haven’t been a boy for over a century, but he still looks down on me as if I am dirt beneath his boot and nothing more than a juvenile inconvenience. “This... is what we are. This... is what they made us. You can not fight nature son.” He shakes my head, pulling my hair out at its roots, as he aggressively makes his point.He is not wrong about not being able to fight nature, however, we are anything but natural. He continues his speech, the s
Grace’s POV I looked out of the window just as a dozen men in leather armour jogged past. It looks like they are surrounding something but I can’t see it the middle of the protective huddle.“Something is happening.” Lena sticks her head around the door of our shared room. Of course she would be one of the first to know if something is going on, her intuition is razor sharp and she is rarely wrong.“I can see that, but it’s none of our business. We should not go meddling unless we are invited. You know that.” I tell her in warning. Alma made it abundantly clear that we are to stay out of pack business unless she tells us otherwise. I’m more than happy to heed her advice and stay well out of it. The fewer people I meet, the less likely they are to find out anything they need not know.“It is our business. I have a really strong feeling we are meant to be part of this. Whatever they have brought back is tied to us. Come on. We will just watch, from a distance if that makes you feel bett
Marcel’s POV Imelda’s room has remained untouched. Not one of us has been able to face going in there. It just hasn’t felt right, like it’s too soon to close this chapter. Part of me wants to believe she is still in there, plotting and scheming ways to make Averson suffer. She may have been more understanding of what happened and why, but causing his discomfort had become a bit of a sport to her and it kept him on his toes.On my way back from breakfast with Claudel I walked to my room, the same as I have done every day for weeks. Claudel has been talking of leaving for a little while and it seems he has decided to bid us farewell in a few days. He has had his amusement and knows our clan will be anxiously awaiting his return. He and Vitandi have been getting along surprisingly well and it wouldn’t come as a shock to discover that Vitandi will join Claudel and spend some time at our home in the Lone Mountains. There is a palpable tension between the dragon and the Alphas and a parti
Lottie’s POVThere has been a sense of fragile peace and calm around here for a few days. I doubt it will last very long, it never does. It’s sad to think that at a time when we should all be enjoying every day, we are waiting for the other shoe to drop.My father is in the dog house with my brothers, they are both livid that he went off script and rained fyre down on the Katasan. He did what he set out to do, but it could have ended differently. Luckily when Christian, Zander and Marcel returned they had Alma, Grace and Lena with them. Without Grace’s healing magic Uriel would almost certainly still be in the hospital, but everyone is acting as if all is well that ends well.Speaking of Uriel, he has been happily holed up in his room with May, who we all now know to be Amaya, the mate he thought he had lost. I’m happy for him, if anyone deserves to find happiness he is right at the top of the list. Putting up with my brothers, he was due some good fortune, and Amaya has been through
Uriel’s POVA few of us noticed Liberty and Wendy disappearing into the woods whilst we gathered around the tables laid out for Thomas, Zachary and Imelda’s wake. Gerald was quick to his feet, signalling with a discreet nod of his head for three of the Old Guard to follow at a distance.Concern for the Luna has been spreading through the pack. She seems to have lost touch with reality ever since the night she had the pups. When I returned with Vitandi and Averson I expected to be read the riot act, punished, shamed, relieved of my command or at the very least given the dressing down I deserved from my Alphas. Fortunately for me they were otherwise occupied. By the time they had been reassured by Doc Wood that their mate and pups were remarkably in perfect health, their anger at my disobedience had dissipated.The excited tremor of success, when I debriefed the group about our mission, was short lived. Marcel had been nowhere to be seen so we began without him. It was strange holding a
Liberty’s POVI stand and watch as flames engulf the three carefully built pyres, and I feel completely numb. I can’t tell any of them how I feel or what happened when I saw Aadhya again the night I had the twins. Emotions in the pack are high, the loss of two of our warriors and Imelda has rocked the pack to it’s core.I couldn’t tell them I wasn’t coping or that I had died, no matter how briefly it might have been for them, it felt like a life time for me. Aadhya came to take me home with her and that feeling has not left me. She talked about all of the good I would be able to do on the other side, she told me my pups would be loved and cared for by the entire pack and they would never walk alone, but all I could think was that I’m not done.That is when I realised it was over. My life, everything we had been fighting for, the future I had grown to want and cherished the idea of. The pack would have to carry the burden without me. Lottie, Imelda, Esme, Hunter, Christian, Zander and
Marcel’s POVI like to think that in my long life and varied experiences, I have seen pretty much everything there is to see in this world. Since coming to Pine Lake, my belief in my own wisdom has been put into question on many occasions, as has my mastery of my emotions.Alma, Lena and Grace are another anomaly I can’t explain. Their power and knowledge rivals that of Imelda, which should not be possible, not unless they are all connected in some way, by blood or by magic. I can’t explain it and they won’t, not yet anyway. There is no denying the energy of the three of them individually, but when they come together you can feel it in the air like static electricity.By the time we reached the bunker I was certain that Alma is indeed a high priestess, and far older than her appearance portrays, and that she has taken the other two under her wing to teach them the ancient magic that has been all but forgotten. I was excited to introduce Alma and Imelda, the two of them are so similar,
Uriel’s POVPlanting the explosives is turning out to be the easiest part of this suicide mission. Getting out of this labyrinth in the next few minutes is proving harder than you might think. The whole base is like damned a maze. Every corridor is just like the previous one. There is no signage and the map is all but useless now. We have been turned around a few times, choosing to avoid oncoming soldiers rather than waste precious time fighting.“How long?” Averson calls ahead to me.I glance at my watch and know it is going to take a miracle or an act of the fates to get us out of here.“A minute and change.” I call back as I skid around the next corner, not putting on the breaks hard enough and slamming sideways on into the wall.“Move your arse.” Averson catches up, grabs me by the back of the neck and forces me forward with him. Hitting the wall at high speed stunned me for a moment but I’m alright now.The next, seemingly endless, corner we turn brings a welcome sight. There, la