Valeria’s POVThat night, I can’t sleep.My thoughts are wrestling with each other, and my emotions were doing pretty much the same thing. I keep coming back to the wonderful date I had with Rafael, but when I do, I always end up thinking of that moment when I saw Ares dining with that red-haired wo
How will I accommodate a man in my life when it’s just been the three of us for longer than I can imagine? How will we all adjust to having someone who provides and protects, when I’ve been the one doing that since my twins were born?I don’t have the answers, and I think they would evade me until i
Valeria’s POVHeather looks at me expectantly, with a very uncharacteristic look of joy on her face. I don’t know if it’s because such a long time has passed since we saw each other or what, but it feels almost foreign to see her this nice to me. I’m used to her being serious.But perhaps it really
“I’m sorry,” she says softly. “I didn’t know it was that hard for you. And I really am sorry for assuming they are Ares’s kids. I thought I was just being funny but that was really insensitive of me.”Even more guilt washes over me. This time I have to wonder if she does know the truth and she’s jus
Valeria’s POVAs soon as the words come out of my lips, I feel a sudden surge of sadness. I don’t know why.I take a sip of coffee to hide the brewing sadness on my face. For some reason, I want to cry. Maybe it’s just because I don’t love Rafael yet and the thought of having to depend on a man for
Before she can answer, I swipe up to my kids’ pictures again and shove my phone to her. I figure that if she has other motivations upon saying that she wants to see my kids, I would see that now. So I just watch as she flicks through the images, but the only thing I can see is a sweet smile on her f
Valeria’s POVThe next day at work, I feel like a zombie. I haven’t gotten a single wink of sleep because of the whole Lycan and white wolf debacle I got going on in my head, so I enter the hospital feeling like I just died and got reanimated.But then I remember that I’m supposed to be training the
“I am not putting my hair up in an ugly bun,” she interjects with a snort.I don’t know why, but those words sound like an insult to me. It feels like she just gave me backhand slap across the face. “Um, but that is the protocol,” I tell her, taking out a hairtie with an attached hair net and handi
“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