“Rogues and wolf blood don’t mix,” Dimitri says simply. “He is not a natural being. But no matter… you say he can poison people?”I nod, afraid of what he can say. I was planning to use that as a bargaining chip for his help, but it seems that he’s not even asking for that anymore. I just keep strok
Ares’s POVI thought that years of being under the spotlight would not make me vulnerable to nerves anymore, but I was wrong. That night, after we managed to get into the mansion without the reporters trying to clamber onto our car, I didn’t get a single wink of sleep. Valeria slept next to me and
“I understand,” she says. “I just… I just want this to go well. I want us to have a good life here. I want the people to know that we mean well, and I don’t want the scars on my face to ruin any chance of that.”“It’s not,” I assure her. “Trust me, okay? We will get through this, and we will do well
Valeria’s POVThis is it. The thing that we worked on during the days leading up to this. I’m nervous and excited at the same time, but there is also something else brewing at the pit of my stomach as the video starts to play, an emotion that I can’t quite name.I take a deep breath, angling my body
With that, Nikolai gets up and sets down the camera, showing himself shifting into his magnificent white wolf form. I still get goosebumps seeing so much of myself in him, seeing how much he improved in controlling himself. I can’t help but smile when I see him run, and to me, it is a beautiful thin
Ares’s POVThings are starting to spiral, getting way too out of hand even for me. I start to get nervous as the chaos of the crowd begins to erupt around us. I want to wrap my arms around Valeria and push her backstage to protect her, but I don’t know if she would want that.However, before any of
I turn back to the audience. I pull the mic close to me to tell them to form a single line so I can address all their questions properly, when suddenly the door on the other side of the room opens.And in comes a very familiar person.Beside me, Valeria perks up. She gets up from her seat and looks
Valeria’s POVEverything was starting to go well. When Josie showed up, I knew that things would only start to go uphill from there, but I didn’t expect things to drop the way they did when I heard Vincent’s voice in my head.I look at Ares, and he seems to be in shock too. He looks over to me and I
“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