Valeria’s POV“Stop that!” I yell, but Ares just twists Matthew’s arm harder, almost to the point of breaking. “That’s enough!”He doesn’t listen to me. He just sneers as Matthew groans and whimpers. Alpha Malcolm and my dad both step forward to stop him, but they freeze when Ares flashes them a dea
Soon enough, all of them are talking to me, trying to argue their cases and tell me how unjustified it was to be punishing them.“If that is the case, then you really aren’t my daughter!”“I treated you as a sister, how could you do this to me?”“I loved you when no one else did, I saved you by beco
Valeria’s POV“What?” I splutter, pushing Ares away. The spell has been broken. The only thing that lingers in the air between us right now is the fact that he’s going to take me to his palace. “But you can’t do that. I didn’t ask for that.”His gaze turns from calm to stern. “I’m afraid there’s not
“It’s better that you rest,” she tells me, and if that’s not a code for ‘shut up’, I don’t know what is.I do as she says and close my eyes, trying to concentrate on rest. It doesn’t take long for me to doze off, considering the stress of the night.When I wake up, the car is already parked, and Bet
Ares’s POVValeria’s scent is still all over me as I take another car and drive it myself, heading out of the Diamond Pack and into the forest surrounding it. Memories of her touch fill my mind, snapping me out of focus for a while.I can’t believe I finally found her. And I can’t believe that she i
When I was ten, I saw my father kissing another woman in the palace itself. Even as a child, it was strange to me that he was showing affection to someone that was not my mother. Because of that, I told her.She never treated me like a stupid child. She sat me down and told me about his relations.“
Ares’s POVMy pulse starts to race as the cold tip of the blade grazes my skin. But then, a smile starts to creep into my face. “Let me go, Benjamin. It’s just me.”Slowly, I can feel the arms slipping off me. I turn around, and there is Benjamin, old and wizened but still retaining that cunning, a
“I know.” I close my eyes momentarily to drown the memories. “That’s why I had to send him away when I became the King. That’s why I had to take charge and tried to make him a soldier in the first place when my father was too weak to lead, too old to know what to do. But now Nikolai is back. What wi
“We’ll see,” is all I manage to say, then I promptly end the mind-link with Heather.Before I can even tell Frank to go, he already takes initiative. He starts to drive into the neighborhood, stopping in front of the lab and getting out of the car at the same time that I climb out. His fists are cle
“You don’t have to come forward and be public about your existence like we are,” I declare. I have to admit, I had no idea about that clause in the treaty. But then again, Nikolai and Ares should have known. If we were indeed doing something we shouldn’t then they should have spoken up about it. “We
Valeria’s POVI’m rooted in my spot, staring at the man in front of me. But at this point I suppose I should stop calling him a man, because he’s so far from that.Everything about him screams something else. Even though my heart rate has slowed down I still feel like I can’t move. I just watch as h
“No, mommy.” Edith shakes her head. “He just looked at me. And when I stopped playing, he left. I’m just scared that he’s there watching me again. I really want to play but I’m worried about him. What if I go out there and he’s watching me again? What do I do?”I can’t stand to see her this scared w
Valeria’s POV“Mommy, can I stay with you for a while?” Edith asks as I drop her and Emmett back to school. She holds my hand as we approach the building, and even though I hold her back reassuringly, I have to admit that I’m curious about this sudden shy behavior.“What’s going on?” Emmett asks. “D
My vice mayor has conducted some meetings with the delegates of important groups in the city while I was gone, and he compiled everything into papers. I read the papers all morning and finally come up with laws that bind the Lycan and Human world together.The new laws are similar to the initial one
Ares’s POV“I don't know what happened,” Vincent says as soon as we're gathered in my study, including Heather and Valeria. “I don't know how he managed to do it. But his hearing is next week and I heard that the judge is considering setting him free on a bail.”I stare at the back wall, still tryin
“It’s not like that, Ares,” I say, but he just turns away from me. I feel guilty for shooting down his feelings but I have no choice. It just feels too absurd for me. I recognize that I might be in denial, but I don’t think Gianna has enough power to sway the Vampire Kingdom into doing her bidding.
Valeria’s POVI whip around to face Lavinia. But of course, she just rolls her eyes like this is some senseless babble. “You better keep your mate in check. I can’t have him wreaking havoc like this.”“What did you do?” I demand at her, but she just waves her hand airily.“You should ask him what he