Ares’s POVLight seeps through my closed eyelids and make them flutter open, rousing me out of what felt like the longest sleep I’ve had in years. Something hard and sharp is poking at my back, getting more and more noticeable as I finally wake up fully.For a moment, the memories of what happened s
I feel a cold, gloved hand on my cheek, and I flinch.“The boss is a her,” the voice purrs, rasps. It sounds like it’s coming from someone who has a bad habit of smoking. It sounds feminine still, but… damaged. Damaged in a way that I can’t explain. “And I am the boss.”The gloved hands suddenly gra
Valeria’s POVI jump out of bed, my feet landing on the cold carpet and shocking me even more awake. I can no longer hear Ares’s voice in my head, but it doesn’t matter. I seem to have memorized the past minute, playing his words over and over in my mind until it’s burned into my brain like a tattoo
Unknown POV“Valeria is back in the city, boss.”A smile appears on my face when Mayor Fox tells me this. He and his Human police have been scouring the entire city looking for Valeria and the others. I have already caught some of Ares’s old guards, and well… all of them are now chilling in the back
“What do you want?” he yells at me. “Why are you doing this?”“All I want is for you to know who I am,” I say innocently. “I don’t think that’s a big ask, considering we had a long history together.”I watch as anger builds in his gaze, but I can also see that he has no clue. Suddenly, he lets out a
Valeria’s POVAll the precautions of the location being a trap all vanished when I heard Ares’s voice on call. I knew then that no matter what happens, I will find my way to him and get him out of there. I heard what he said last, how I shouldn’t come to him, but I’m afraid I can’t ignore what I set
And before the men around her could do anything, I lunge at her.I don’t shift into my wolf form yet, but my speed is already beyond comprehension. I jump, and before I knew it, I’m already in front of her, my hands ready to wrap around her neck. My fingers are mere inches away from her throat.But
Valeria's POVThe grip of my hands around Gianna's neck grows slack. I stumble back, scrambling away from her like she is carrying something dangerous with her. I can't take my eyes off hers, and as she smiles at me, memories start to flood into my head, powerful and quick.I can't believe I never c
“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