Tobias along with Harold was standing at the front entrance along with their Keepers. I knew then that play time was over. Immediately guilt took over as I realized that my Keeper must have been waiting for me while I was in the back entertaining another Keeper.
Quickly, I shook the thought away but not the guilt as I followed behind them. “Where have you been?” Tobias asked as we emerged through the doors and outside.
I started to part my lips and answer when I thought better of it. Not like our conversation would be just between the two of us anyway. “I was in the back…inspecting the damage,” I said instead.
“Damage?”
“My bow,&rd
Valene: With all that had gone on during the party two hours ago, my mind found very little solace in anything that was happening. In truth, I should have been happy-maybe even proud of what was happening on that night. For the first time in…ever, vassals were given the night to relax. They were separated from their Keepers, of course, but the fact that they did not have to wait on their Master or Mistress’s every whim was something to be proud of. So, part of me was glad to see them dancing around their own separate wood fire, smiling and laughing, but a bigger part of me-the vassal in me was concerned about everyone’s safety. Staring blankly ahead, I felt the heat of one’s gaze lingering on me and immediately knew that it was the lycan alpha. Our disagreement earlier was no doubt a heated one, and I still felt the residual tension between us even hours after. When I finally faced his gaze, an almost mischievous grin fell across his lips, and immediately I looked away. “So you’re
Again, I found amusement as he and I both knew that he did not believe this. Most things were not the fault of a vassal, but everything was always blamed on one. “Tobias, you and I both know that’s not true.” “Maybe not, but…if something does happen, your keepers will not hold it against you, and well, to be honest, I’m not sure whether mine will or not, but…to dance with you tonight and risk all of those things…it’s worth it to me,” Wow, this one was definitely a smooth talker. It was easy to see why Tobias would get away with almost anything. I was starting to find that he was very easy to like. With a resigned sigh, I looked around, making sure that everything was fine. Mistress Harlyn and her friends were further up a ways from their vassals, near their own little fire
I had nothing else to say to the lycan king but I certainly wasn’t in the mood to listen either, and once again, I tried to pull away but he didn’t let me go. And I immediately lost it so completely that I swung on him.My attempt to hit him was sloppy as he caught my hand and quickly twisted me around holding both my hands behind my back. He snatched me into him, my back facing him as he brought his lips down to my ear.“Use your mind, little human,” he hissed. “Those beasts killed a human…and nothing else.”“We were the closest to the forest. Of course, they did.”“You are so blinded by bitter rage that you cannot even acknowledge the truth of what happened tonight,”
Alastair:Following the incident that happened last night, I made sure to quickly set the next day’s affairs in order at both the high school and my office that day. I’d have no obstacle in my way when it came to spending my last remaining hours with Valene trying to convince her not to leave.“You do realize that the chance of success is slim to none,” Aziz voiced in the deep recesses of my mind.“I do not need pessimism right now, Aziz,” I spat. “If you have nothing positive to add, then there’s no need for this conversation.”“Fine,” Aziz c
His gaze lingered on me, his stare seeming to wordlessly communicate that he was considering what I was saying. Then he finally spoke. “That is a weakness, alpha,” Ares replied. “A weakness that can mean life or death for my people,” he said, shaking his head. “That weakness has to be stamped out, and it will be. I assure you, alpha, that my life would be forfeit before any harm could come to your daughter.”“Why would you risk that, Ares?”Instead of answering the question directly, Ares came up with his own piece of logic. “Funny, you’ve been taking the risk for years, have you not?” He then headed for the door. “I do not wish to keep you from your daughter any longer, Alpha Wade. I will ask that you think about my proposal. I will accept you
Alastair:We spent most of the day on the road, venturing outside Shadow Veil. If today was going to be Valene’s last day with me, I wanted to make it memorable. I’d have been lying had I said that a part of me and Aziz had also hoped that it would convince her to stay. That was definitely a long shot, of course.At the end of our adventure, we stopped at a little restaurant and settled ourselves. I could tell that Valene was nervous about the endeavor that she would take at the end of the day. Her being Valene, she would never allude to it, however.“Have you enjoyed yourself today?” I asked after we shared a moment of laughter.“The best day I’ve ever had,” she smiled. “This…is the perfect gift for my anniversary. Harlyn’s presence would have made it even better.”I could sense her disappointment when she mentioned Harlyn’s name. “You know Harlyn is going to miss you just as much as I will, Val.” “Yeah, sure,” Valene didn’t believe this, and if she did, she no doubt assumed that Ha
“Seven.” I finally answered Valene's question. I knew that she would find it impossibly young. “Seven what?” her brow rose suspiciously. My expression said it all. Her eyes widened, and suddenly, her expression displayed that of sympathy. “Surely you don’t mean he was so young as seven when he’d taken over the pack! That…that is well below the age that a child should even have their own say! You let him-” “Ares may have been young, but he has always had his own mind, and when it all boiled down to it, I was not his father.” “Were there no adults…to look after the boy?” “There were adults,” I said. “There were pack members, a delta, but none were fit to lead. They became lost
Valene didn't say anything. She stabbed at her truffle bomb, her silence lingering for so long I was almost concerned. Then, she finally expressed what was on her mind. “The truth,” she simply said. It was at that moment that her eyes began to mist with tears. “A gentle truth,” she shook her head as her words began to waver. “That Tobias died because of me,” she leered. “I wanted to go…follow his pack into the woods to find more of those…wretched things! I had planned to kill as many as I could and-and he insisted that I stay...that it was too dangerous, for me especially. I didn’t want to listen.” “He told you the truth, hoping that it would stop you.” “He only made my conviction to go into those woods even stronger. I wanted to die after he said that. After I realized that…that all of those deaths…were b