"Like many old supernaturals, Ally, there are some Krionas, the really old ones, who eschew modern technology.""How do you communicate with them?""It's called a fire message. A few words are written with the sender's blood on a plain sheet of paper, addressing it to the receiver. The paper is then set on fire. If the recipient wishes to reply the message, the same procedure is used." Conversation between Ally and Dahlia, the day of the town festival in Idris. _________________________________________________________ALLY’s POVI thought I would be okay with walking away from him. I was sure it was the only way to keep moving. That it was what would be best for the both of us. That not seeing those cerulean eyes would make me concentrate on the matter at hand. How wrong I was. The drive to the Gomez pack in Labrador was a two-day journey and we'd stopped in a motel to sleep and continued the next morning, the entire journey silent on my path as I tried to piece together all that I
Of all the supernaturals, the Krionas are the smallest, most cherished group and yet have the shortest life span, the strength of their Sight a gift that while it worked less often than not was a treasure to the rest of the world. To hurt a Kriona is sacrilege. Excerpt from "The Age of Krionas" by Mariah Mien (Kriona, Author.)_________________________________________________________ALLY’s POV"That girl absolutely adores you. It would have taken me hours to get her to sleep, but just one story from you and she's out like a lamp." Aunt Marie grumbled and I chuckled as I placed Mia on the bed. I glanced at the view from the bedroom window before closing the curtains and following her downstairs to the kitchen "You should give her some credit, Aunt, she was up at night watching Disney with me." "Another thing she wouldn't have done were you not around. Just a night here and you're already a bad influence, Ally." She chided and I gave her a lopsided grin, helping myself to an apple.
ALLYCaleb hid the bodies behind a boulder before we marched into the house to see a girl, looking no older than I am trembling in fear. From the look of horror on her face, she'd heard the little noise outside. "Please don't hurt me. I'm just the one who comes here to attend to her and stuff, please, please- Don't kill me." she blubbered, trying to reach for a knife on the wooden table beside her, but our pointed looks told her she was outnumbered and she fell to the ground, still pleading. Caleb knelt beside her, caressing her hair softly as her sobs turned into sniffles. He whispered "There, there. She-", pointing to me "won't hurt you if you cooperate. Alright?" The girl nodded slowly and when she saw me grin, nearly coiled into herself. Caleb chuckled darkly and I scoffed. Yeah, be scared of the big bad Allyson, girlie. He looked at her right wrist and saw a half moon mark there. The Gomez Pack symbol. The girl was a wolf, alright. "What's your name?" Caleb asked her as he
"It's been years of searching, Aiden. How do you know she truly exists?""I'd have thought she was dead, a ghost come alive to haunt me if I didn't have this conviction that she was alive somewhere, out there. I felt the pull to come back here, home to face the ghosts of my past, Mara. Because of her. And she has given me something that I never thought I'd find after so long in the dark. Purpose."Tamara Thorne and Aiden Thorne (2015)_________________________________________________________Tamara’s POVIf I could say I missed her, then I didn't want to think about how Aiden was taking her absence. It'd been two days since she left and yet it felt like years. We were, or better still, I was in Idris, because I hadn't seen Aiden since she left. I let him be because he needed time alone, though I had no idea for how long. When I'd asked where he was going, he'd said nothing, allowing me to wrap him a hug, which said a lot about the amount of pain he was in. I knew he still blamed h
"How would describe my nephew?" "In one word, Cold. It's no wonder that they call him Frost."Sub-councilor Gaia to Jacob Thorne (2016)_________________________________________________________Tamara’s POVFortunately, I was able to trace Aiden to Mondale, three towns away from Idris. Thanking the heavens that he'd chosen to not go into complete hiding, as he often did, getting a witch to cloak himself whenever he wanted to disappear, I drove past the welcome sign, my face donned with sunglasses. I hated sunlight. Sue me.Unlike Idris, where finding a person would take longer, Mondale was a small town and my hunch told me to start my search from cafes and restaurants, because unluckily for my cousin, his face wasn't the type to forget. Except he'd compelled them to forget which would make finding him a whole lot harder. Parking out in front of the first cafe in my sights, I saw him. Looking out the see through glass windows, his gaze intent, he made no move to stand, even though
"We have to tell her, Camille.""We will tell her nothing, Christian. I made a promise. She will be shielded for as long as possible.""What happens when we can't hide it anymore?" "I hope that day never comes." Christian Black and Camille Black about daughter, Ally Black (5yrs old)_________________________________________________________AllyMy entire body feeling like I'd been hit repeatedly by a truck, I opened my eyes to find myself in a luxurious bedroom. Blinking several times confirmed that I wasn't in a dream and I took in the unfamiliar environment. Wait, what happened? The last I thing I remember was running in the woods, talking to Ariel...Ariel. Caleb!!!The memories hit me immediately and I tried mind linking Caleb. It didn't work. Are you there, sister?'Yes.'The reply was too weak and when I tried sitting up, my hands ached, but that wasn't what held my attention. It was the fact that I was cuffed to the bed on both sides. I didn't know what was worse. Th
Ally’s POVI took a deep breath, my eyes flickering to Caleb's still form against the pillar, his slow heartbeat the only proof that he was still breathing. No, I wasn't going to give Grayson the satisfaction of seeing my tears. My entire body itched to claw his face and I knew I could. That's when I heard the faint whisper in my head. You could kill him. Free yourself and turn him to dust.That voice didn't belong to my wolf. It was much darker, sinister. It was the part of me that I'd kept hidden since it surfaced. The part of me that grew in darkness every time I used my fire. If I hadn't seen first hand, what losing an Alpha could do to a pack, maybe I'd be considering ending Grayson where he stood. I'd kill him and then what? I'd have to kill many more to escape the pack. Those people had families waiting for them and I wouldn't be of much use before the migraines from using the fire hit. Caleb didn't look like he'd be able to fight off anyone and hold on to my unconsciou
Ally’s POVCaleb saw him first, his eyes moving to me as he mouthed the name that had once made my insides shake with fear. 'Thorne.'I had no idea why Aiden was here, but I'd rather face the devil a thousand times than deal with this Alpha for one more minute. Grayson's expression made my night.Confusion. Realization. Rage. Horror. He stood up, his face stoic as he waited for his enemy to approach, clearly knowing who it was that he faced.Mentally, I applauded his courage. "You break the peace treaty, vampire. You are not allowed on wolf territory and you know this." Aiden had gotten to the pillar where I'd been tied to and clearly aware of the fact that I could see his side profile, grinned, his fangs on full display.And it did everything for me. The butterflies in my stomach. The flushing. The whole package.I sniffed, caught no scent of blood on him and heaved a sigh of relief. Then again, he didn't need to touch to kill.My relief disappeared."I apologize for visiting
Dahlia’s POVIt'd been weeks since she disappeared. The local news had reported an explosion in the mountainous uninhabited area of Yukon and there was a hole in the ice. Nothing had been found. No bodies. No castle. Nothing but ashes in the snow. Aiden and Caleb were found in the woods in Fairfield by the Reyes vampires, barely conscious and agony written over their faces as they struggled to accept the reality of what Allyson had done. Post explosion, more rogues and black witches had been caught and killed thanks to the information Renee had given Caleb, the whereabouts of Ian Sinclair, the only known hybrid a mystery after he'd spoken to Caleb who'd shakily passed along a message from his dead friend, Renee. The last time I'd spoken to him, he'd been cold and distant, muttering 'I shouldn't have promised her.'Aiden Thorne had disappeared, his whereabouts known only by his cousin Tamara who looked grim anytime I asked about his state. Along with instructions to find the safe,
Ally’s POVThe last person I expected to see when I opened my eyes was sitting in front of me. Hale and hearty. Caleb. My best friend. My best friend who'd told me he was in love with me. My best friend who'd let them take me. I shifted away from him almost immediately and he looked hurt. "Allyson, look–""No, Caleb, you look." I showed him my cuffed hands and he winced. "They said it was to stop you from hurting yourself. All the times I came to see you, you were unconscious.""Because they were drugging me, Caleb. I don't even understand. I feel like I don't know you anymore. How could you have betrayed me like that?"His face turned to the side like I'd slapped him. I wished I did. "Betrayed you? You think I did this because I wanted to betray you? Why would even believe that?" "So, what the hell happened?" "The day I picked up Renee from the airport, she said something about helping us in whatever way she could and when I questioned it, she said she didn't do it for me. Tha
ALLY’s POV"Wake up, lovebirds." The sound of glasses clinking together made me force my eyes open despite the throbbing headache and blurry vision. I was tied to a chair that was turned sideways, placing me in direct line of sight of Aiden's barely conscious form tied to another chair. "It makes me sad to keep you both sedated but that is the way it must be, we can't have this one–" Dorothea Marin finally appeared in my line of vision as she walked towards Aiden, lifting his face up and placing a soft kiss on his mouth. Biting her lip with his fang, Aiden opened his eyes and glared at her, seemingly forgetting that hurting her would hurt me. She smiled, cupped his jaw and turned his head until he was looking in my direction to see the cut on my bottom lip where he'd bitten her slowly close up. His eyes were hazy, the grey of his blue-grey eyes seemingly vanished beneath the blue that looked even darker as the light from the fireplace illuminated his face. "What did you do to him
ALLY’S POVI'd counted the number of people I'd walked past as Dorothy led me through the corridors of what she called 'The Love Castle'. Twenty. Rogue vampires and wolves. And witches. I didn't recognize any of them. They seemed to know who I was and some lingered to stare at me before resuming on their way. Apparently, I was the only one who'd done something to deserve being in chains. After the revelation that Aiden was coming here, I'd shoved all of her supposed truths to the back of my mind. I was in denial. It was either that or believe all that she'd said when I was still finding it very difficult to wrap my head around what Renee Falls had revealed to me. Everyone around me seemed to have some shocking revelation whenever I was present. There was a scar on my right palm from where a witch who'd claimed to be blood of my blood had sliced me open. I assumed if I was crazy enough to believe Dorothy, it meant she was a Marin witch too. She'd done the same thing to Dorothea an
"There's been an attack, Aiden.""Where?" "Quebec. Rogue sightings. Uncle says his people have it under control. It seems the Gomez pack and the Benets are also having disagreements. Territory related." "The Alpha of the Gomez Pack is Grayson. Is it not?" "What are you thinking?" "Distractions. Distractions from the real plan, Tamara. If the factions are too busy fighting others–""No one will be as interested in the hybrids that are supposed to be myth."______________________________________________ALLY’s POVI'd spent most of my life dealing with involuntary unconsciousness after every fire incident. My ability crippled me, controlled me without my will. It was no wonder why I hated being forced into doing things I didn't want to do. Like being injected into unconsciousness. And being forced out of said unconsciousness. I should've been hysterical after everything that happened with Renee. I should've started the hysteria the moment I walked into a lake and came out in the hi
ALLY’s POV"Trust not the woman with hair of fire and blood as like that which runs through your veins.""Child of moon and fire.""Wake up, sister. Wake up." The instant I opened my eyes, I knew I wasn't alone. I was chained to a bed, silver cuffs holding my hands to the headboard. I was dizzy, nauseous and my vision was blurry but I could make out the shape of the woman standing by the window, with her back to me wearing a red cloak. Sniffing, my blood ran cold. Vampire. Not Tamara. The memories of the last thing that happened before I lost consciousness hit me like an arrow to the heart. Caleb had betrayed me. I shook my head, trying to believe that wasn't the case, trying to see it from his point of view.Whoever fed him those lies, that's who was to blame, right? I was sure that he'd believed he was doing it for my own good. After all, I needed whomever had the Deanton to break the curse and I needed the blood of a Marin witch. They had two of the elements, I had two. The moo
If you're reading this, it means that you finally opened the locket, my love. My prognosis is bad and I'm afraid that I don't have much time left to wait till you've come of age. I'm so sorry that I hid the truth from you for such a long time but it was the best I could do, that we could do to protect you. To make sure you stayed alive. If you've not already figured this out, I'll tell you. Christian and I are not your biological parents. I never got a chance to meet your father but your mother was the sweetest person there was and no, she didn't abandon you. She needed a place to hide you from some really bad people that wanted to take you because you were special and different. Like your real father was. She took her last breath after cradling you in her arms. I'm sorry that I couldn't save her like she saved Kara's life all those years ago, but I promised to protect you and love you like my own till fate came for you. Please know this, neither of us knew what exactly your fate was
"Dahlia, there is something you must do for me, please." "Anything, Allyson.""There is a place in London that I need you to check. A safe. Retrieve the contents and keep it safe. I'll come to you for it.""Send me the coordinates. I'll see to it personally.""Thank you.""And Allyson? Whatever you do, you must not let yourself be manipulated. Remember what Ariel said.""You saw something, didn't you?""It's close. Trust your gut."______________________________________________Ally’s POVI'd asked Aiden to bring me to the place where I'd almost been taken. It was a park situated not too far from where the festival had happened that night. Remembering nothing, I'd turned to leave but he'd held my hand and now we were sitting on a bench, watching the sunset. "Where'd you apply to? For college." Not allowing my surprise that he'd chosen to fill the silence with a random question show, I took a deep breath and answered as honestly as I could. It was the least I could do since I was pl
Tamara’s POV"When do you think we should go in?" I asked Aiden. For someone who'd just heard that the lover he'd tried to kill had instead lived, he looked better than most, his hands clasped as his face remained calm. The forever apathetic mask. We were sitting in the coffee shop opposite the house, after returning from Curt Reyes' home. Neither them nor the king wolves had found any trail that would lead us to locating the Marin witches. And now that we knew they were making use of portals, that changed a lot of things. According to the witch order, the Marin witches stopped existing after majority of them were killed after the Great Purge. Unsaid were the words, by a certain A-telekinetic. Said telekinetic that looked like he'd been about to drop dead after hearing that he'd failed in carrying out his revenge. "They need some time to talk without worrying about us hearing them." He answered, referring to Allyson and Caleb. "How did you know all of those things that you and Ally