“Let’s go to the town hall then,” I say, turning to Heather and Vincent. To my surprise, they’re no longer closely following me. They’re in front of a flower shop. Vincent just procured a big bouquet of the freshest pink roses, and he’s giving it to Heather who has her back turned to him, obviously
Valeria's POVFIVE YEARS LATER"Come on, don't do that to your sister," I say with affectionate exasperation, tapping the nose of my son Emmett, who just pulled his twin Edith's pigtails. "You would end up undoing the braids that I just did.""But she made a face at me," little Emmett says, pouting.
But that didn’t change the dynamic between her and the kids. They’re still very much in tune with each other. However, I know that the kids miss me. After all, working as a registered nurse have cut off my time with them by a lot.“I promise,” I begin to say, looking at my kids, “I will be the one
Ares’s POV “Look, King Ares, you’re on the news again!” Frank says to me, pointing the screen of his phone to my face and letting me see the clip that’s playing. “Look!” I roll my eyes. We’re about to leave the office and yet this is still what Frank is busy with. I know that he won’t leave me alo
A lot of them just wanted new lives. Some of them wanted safety and recluse in the Human world. They found peace here, but of course they needed opportunities where they could be their most authentic selves too. Because of that, my workplace has been good for them. We started to target hiring the h
Valeria’s POV“Where are my babies?” Josie asks as I enter the diner after picking up Emmett and Edith from school. Instantly, Emmett and Edith break in from behind me like a pair of loose cannons. They shoot straight to Josie’s arms and hug her. Laughing and enjoying the affection, Josie ruffles E
* * *Ares’s POVAt long last. Valeria.Things started to make sense again the moment I laid eyes on her. It’s as though no time has passed and it’s my first time seeing her again. It’s funny how that happened, and how that keeps happening, how the years don’t seem to matter much when I look at her.
Ares’s POV“This is the place?” I ask Heather, who’s watching me stare at the paper. “What about the other address listed on here?”“That’s where I saw the kids being taken,” she says. “I can cancel your next meeting, as long as you promise to go there and figure out what the hell is going on.”My h
“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