Hannah“Mom?” I breathed as she came into view.She was wearing a dark cloak like all the others around the palace. She really was one of them now. I wondered what her role was here. I never really discussed it with her. I could see the worry in her eyes as she approached. My entire body felt frozen. She looked between Sebastian and me curiously.“Hannah, honey, what is going on?” She finally asked.“We need to get something,” I answered, trying to be as vague as possible. “Then we will leave.”“Leave?” She asked. “Why would you want to leave? You can have everything you want if you just obey his rules. He’s been looking everywhere for you. He’s worried.”“Worried?” I wanted to laugh. “He doesn’t care about me, mom. He cares about control. He’s trying to get under Sebastian’s skin.”“That isn’t true,” she said, looking offended. “He’s been watching you for a long time and he loves you. He wants to marry you.”“I’m already married,” I said firmly. I grabbed Sebastian’s arm. “This is my
Sebastian Liam was struggling to fight for his life as the torturer continued to kick and berate him.Sebastian was the strongest in his entire kingdom. This torturer didn’t look to be as much of a match against him. He slammed the door open, causing the man to turn in his direction and narrow his eyes.“Who the hell are you?” The man barked.Sebastian could feel fury rising through him, but he couldn’t shift into his wolf. As soon as he did, he would give himself away. The entire palace, hell, the entire underworld, would be able to smell his wolf scent. He had to be careful while fighting this battle.He wasn’t afraid though; Sebastian was by far superior in this situation. He still had his wolf’s strength even if he didn’t shift. To this man, Sebastian looked like a normal vampire. His scent was still masked so he couldn’t be smelled or sensed.“Release this man this instance,” Sebastian ordered, keeping his voice calm.“I don’t take orders from you,” the man scoffed.“If you don
Hannah“Your majesty,” she breathed, bowing her head. She was breathless so I knew she ran here.I couldn’t help but smile at her titling for me; she knew how I didn’t like when she called me that.“Hannah,” I said. “It’s Hannah.”She chuckled and lifted her gaze to meet mine.“I know,” she breathed. “I’ve come to get you the hell out of here.”She seemed to be different. She had a face of determination and bravery. I ran to her and hugged her tightly. I couldn’t believe she was standing before me. But then a wave of dread washed over me.Caroline was here, in the underworld. “How are you here, Caroline?” I asked, pulling away from her.“I was killed,” she said, shuddering at the memory.“I know, but when you die, you don’t automatically come to the underworld unless…”I didn’t finish the sentence; I didn’t need to. We both looked at one another, already knowing what each other was thinking. Whatever Magnolia used to kill Caroline; it must have been poisoned with the same thing Liam
Sebastian“If Hannah came here with you, then where is she?” Caroline asked, staring between Sebastian and Liam.“She went with her mother,” Sebastian answered. “Her mother needed to speak with her.”Caroline looked uncertain for a moment.“Her mother?”“Yes, her mother is here and works for the palace,” Sebastian confirmed.“Is she trying to convince Hannah to stay?”“She thinks Hannah and Liam could have a good life here,” Sebastian told her.Caroline rolled her eyes; this was a new attitude for Caroline. All of this was new for Caroline and Sebastian was impressed with her. The underworld must have done a number on her.“Nobody here has a good life, regardless of what they tell you,” Caroline muttered. He hoped that wasn’t entirely true or else it would mean Liz had lied to him about having a semi-normal life here. “You let her go alone with someone who works in the palace?”“It’s her mother,” Sebastian told her.“Family does not exist here. Especially if you’ve been here for a whi
Sebastian Caroline strolled over to the vault and began typing away on the computer that was attached to it. Liam kept watch at the door; his entire body was trembling as the nerves started getting the best of him. Sebastian couldn’t help but wonder if Xander tried to brainwash him, or if he did brainwash him. But he seemed to be helping and it was because of him that they were able to get into the study in the first place.“You’ll be with your sister soon enough,” Sebastian assured him. “She’s waiting for us outside.”Liam looked to have calmed down slightly, but Sebastian could still see the worry in his eyes.“What if we’re caught? Xander will kill us. My mother will be so upset with me…” Liam breathed, staring down at his feet.“We aren’t going to get caught,” Sebastian said darkly.Liam looked uncertain, but he didn’t say anything else in return. Soon, Sebastian heard a latch and a door opening. He turned to see that Caroline had the vault opened. She looked at Sebastian and bea
Hannah“Let me get this straight… you’ve been here for 10 years?!” I gasped, staring at Caroline in disbelief.She had led us to her underground home which was located just outside the city. It was inside a vault that was kept in a cave. It was completely hidden out of anyone’s view and enchanted to keep outsiders away. I sat on her couch in the living room portion of the vault, staring at her with dismay. Liam sat beside me, staring down at his hands and tugging at his fingers. I knew he was nervous about being here; he made it clear that he didn’t want to go against the king, and he certainly didn’t want to go against our mother. But he wanted to return to his body before it was too late.Sebastian stood in the corner with his arms folded; he was glaring at Caroline as she told us the story about how she escaped from the palace the first time.“I need you to rewind the story,” Sebastian said, eyeing her carefully. “You initially told me that his brainwashing didn’t work for you. But
HannahWe didn’t take Caroline’s warning lightly. It worried me greatly to think that Xander will still have that much power over us even once we return to our land. We were still greatly in danger.“I want to be able to assist you as much as I can. You’ll need to return to your bedroom in the rogue territory at some point,” she said to me.I narrowed my eyes at her, unsure of what she meant.“My bedroom?” I asked.“Xander, has it enchanted, so everything that’s in your bedroom now, appears in your bedroom here. It’s to keep it relevant and current. To keep the illusion alive. If my theory is correct, if I leave a note, it’ll appear in real time in your actual room and vice versa. We’ll be able to keep in touch.”“Aren’t you worried about being caught sneaking in? What if they find the notes?”“They rarely check the unoccupied bedrooms. I think we’ll be okay. I’ve snuck into the palace, numerous of times. I’ve gotten pretty decent at being stealthy. I’m not worried about being caught.
Hannah5 years. My entire heart plummeted into my stomach at her words. I wasn’t sure what to say in response. I half expected her to start laughing and tell me she was just playing a joke on me. But I knew from the sound of her voice she wasn’t joking. That also meant Wrenley would be 5 years old. I looked over at Sebastian whose curiosity turned into concern.Liam had gone silent as well and was watching me with worry clear in his eyes. I couldn’t even form a sentence to tell them what was going on.“Hannah?” Raya said into the mindlink. “Are you still there? Please tell me you’re still there.” She was sobbing now; it was taking everything I had not to break down in front of my husband and Liam. I needed to remain strong. But how could I possibly?“Wrenley…” I whispered to her; that was the only thing I was able to say.“She’s safe,” she said softly. “She lives with us in Crescent Moon pack.”Crescent moon pack? That was right outside of King’s pack. What could they possibly be do