Outside the wedding venueChristian sat in his car, watching the guests going in and out. He's been sitting here for the last hour. All he wanted to do was to go and look for her and pick up her and the kids, but he was scared.Afraid that Elizabeth may have forgotten about him and moved on in her life. It has been eight years, and he has not seen her; he doesn't even know whether the letters he wrote have reached her or not. What if she misunderstood his plan and got angry with him?So he sat there looking at the entrains in deep thought. He doesn't even notice someone approaching his car until they knock on the windshield glass, bringing him back to the world. A fair hand came into his vision when he looked up.Then came a breathtaking face into view. Christian held his breath, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar face in front of him. The lady had her hair neatly pulled into a ponytail, her Sharp and deep eyes trained on his face, with an enchanting smile on those small pouty lip
At the house,Christian left briefly after staying for some time during the house tour. He looked somewhat distracted the whole time, and he seemed stressed when he left. Jenny couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Christian doesn't even have the time to accompany her, maybe that's why he invited Charles so that she won't feel lonely staying in this big house.After Christian leaves, Charles patiently gives Jenny a house tour, the pool area included. He finally shows Jenny to her room on the first floor. “My room is right down the hallway if you need anything,” Charles says, and Jenny nodes her head with a some, in gratefulness yet again.Jenny has been cautious ever since she arrived in the city to their pack. She knows that it is unlikely that the Ford family will make her disappear overnight.She was just being paranoid over the fact that she had come alone to the unknown pack.Her grandfather had promised her that the Ford family would give her the protection she needed here. No
Jenny finds herself wide awake at 2 am in the morning. She tries, but sleep seems very far from her eyes.She is usually someone who sleeps early, but for some reason, she cannot fall asleep today.There is a lot running through her mind, if she is being honest.Every time she closes her eyes, Charles face pops into her mind. The scary shadow she saw in the morning is not leaving her mind.She thought the members of this pack were at least standard. But now she started to doubt her judgment about them.And her grandfather's cryptic request of staying in this pack for a year with Christian, the Ford family's heir, the vampire king, and Christian being as ordinary as a vampire is not supposed to be completely deviating from all the rumours she had heard, this big, empty house, and just what the f*ck she is doing here.And she cannot possibly forget what split moment of emotion that had flickered across Charles's face this morning.Christian ever came to meet her all these days, and only
That afternoon at the wedding, after showing Elizabeth Golden Orchid, Christian finally arrived to meet his friend.He took Elizabeth with him, and they entered the venue together with a Fournier. While walking, the two of them conversed in a different language, and Christian even explained the conversation to Elizabeth simultaneously. “I have chosen three shows to watch over these few days. There’s no need to watch any of the other shows. We’ll spend the remaining time having fun.”“Yes. Whatever you say.”Christian had planned an entire thing to spend with Elizabeth.“That’s a good girl. When this ends, I’ll take all of you to eat something delicious. We can then go and visit my children.”After that, people continued to stream in to attend the after-wedding party.Along with Christian, Elizabeth attended the party. She even saw Vanessa at the after-party since she was not present at the wedding she was attending after wedding party.She was sitting just opposite Elizabeth. When sh
Elizabeth sat in the car, waiting for Christian to get in. After five minutes, he entered the vehicle."Alright, what was that?" Elizabeth came straight to the point."Nothing," Christian said nonchalantly."come on, Christian, don't act like this. You were behaving oddly out there. What's the matter? I'm seeing you for a whole day. I can tell something is running in your mind" Elizabeth did not give up."I said it's nothing. Just leave it," Christian snapped at Elizabeth.Elizabeth wanted to ask him further, but she stopped because she could tell he would not say a thing about anything. She knows coming is up, but this is not the time to worry about it. She will think about her problems once she finishes her beauty as a matriarch of the Greenwood family."Fine, if you don't want to say it, then don't" Elizabeth opened the door get down of the car. If she doesn't leave now, they both will get into a big fight. She is seeing him after eight years, and Elizabeth is not willing to spoil
"sis- sister-in-law?" Jenny's mind blanked for a second before she registered what she heard."but- wasn't she dead?"Charles frowned; his facial muscles tightened as he clenched his jaw. "is that what your grandpa said?""No, your grandpa said that," Jenny said.A shadow cast on Charles's face and fear crept into jenny's heart. She knew what she saw now was real, not her imagination like before. Charles was not the harmless man he looked to be.Jenny took a step back, and Charles moved a step forward. "it doesn't matter who told you what. You shouldn't have done what you did when Christian was here."Jenny regretted it now. she shouldn't have acted out of jealousy. The way Charles looked at Elizabeth and a genuinely happy smile stung her harder than she anticipated. She stayed with him for three days, and every smile she received from Charles never met his eyes. But she was fine until she saw how Christian, her soon-to-be husband, was running chores for that woman. She thought he wa
Charles then stands up, walking towards Jenny. " shall we go?"Jenny blinks, coming out of her shock. "T- that- shouldn't we help them or something?""It's okay, don't worry, they won't die," Charles dismissed her concerns."is it really okay, though? shouldn't we at least-""It's really okay.""Still-""you might be in shock, huh? Now that you are under the protection of the Ford clan, you really shouldn't be. You might encounter situations like this, especially if you're going out alone. This really isn't your hometown, you know?""your rules don't apply here, Jenny," Charles said."S-Sorry. I wasn't aware and ju-""It's okay. Let's just go."Jenny gulps yet again. He was acting all nice and friendly now, which made her cautious. "wait! what if someone reports you if you go out with that much blood?" really, that's the best she could come up with. Jenny closed her eyes."Oh." Charles looks down. "I suppose that can happen. It's alright; I can just remove the hoodie."Charles turns a
Charles had always been a light sleeper. When he was just 13, his father had him trained to be someone like that.Who'd even know if he was being attacked in the dead of night?To be someone who is always ready to defend himself. A killing machine even when doused in sleep. That is how Charles has grown up all these years.So when he hears the tiniest bit of sound coming from inside his room, he immediately wakes up, putting his hand under his pillow to get his knife.Confusion settles in when he finds it empty."Looking for this?" A familiar voice asks, and Charles turns around, surprised."Jenny. Hi." Charles says, still sitting on the bed.Jenny, who's leaning against the wall of Charles's room, and who's twirling his knife around her finger, walks out of the shadows and walks towards him."Hey there. It's been a while, Charles.""It sure has been.""You thought I went back to my hometown?" Jenny asks next, a smile blooming on her face just like Charles's does, both of them smiling
When the war ended and the blood dried into the earth, Elizabeth stood beneath the great moonlit boughs of the forest where her soul had endured its greatest trials—and also where it had found love.The Greenwood mansion—ancestral home of her maternal lineage—had stood untouched for generations on the other side of the continent, isolated on a forgotten cliff, surrounded by old magic.But that place no longer felt like home. It hadn’t for a long time.Her home was here now, in the forest where Christian had first held her while she bled, where her children had laughed for the first time, where the bond of peace had been born from sacrifice.She approached the council of elders—the newly formed Circle of Peace that included fae, vampire, and human envoys from the Greenwood family elders—and made a humble request:“Let the Greenwood Mansion be moved—not in stone or brick, but in name and spirit—to the forest where this peace was forged.""Let this land, where the ritual was completed an
The first wave of wolves charges straight for the ritual site. Fangs glisten under the eerie light of the ritual fire, claws slash through the air with lethal precision. Elizabeth barely has time to react before Christian yanks her behind him, his crimson eyes blazing.“Protect the ritual at all costs!” Christian below, his voice cutting through the battlefield.The vampires move first, their speed a blur as they intercept the oncoming attack. Blades clash, fangs sink into flesh, and the sharp scent of blood fills the air. The fairies unleash their magic, shimmering bursts of golden light forming barriers and attacks against the werewolves.The first werewolf lunged. It was fast, a blur of muscle and fur, but Christian was faster. His blade met its mark, slicing through flesh with lethal precision. A strangled yelp, then silence as the body crumpled. Then came the others. Like a tidal wave of rage and fury, the werewolves attacked. They tore through the clearing, their howls fillin
The air at the ritual site was thick with unspoken words, with the weight of fate pressing down on the gathered supernatural beings.The stone circle, carved from the bones of the earth itself, hummed with dormant power.At its center, the ritual fire flickered with an unnatural emerald glow, waiting for the final blood to be spilled to awaken the ancient bond between creatures.Elizabeth tightened her grip around the ceremonial dagger in her hand, feeling the magic coil around her fingers like a whisper of fate.This ritual had to succeed—there was no other option. Without it, the balance between supernatural beings and humans would shatter, and the world would descend into chaos.But something was wrong.She could feel it in the way the wind shifted suddenly, in the way the fire flickered erratically as if sensing the unease in the hearts of those gathered.A low, guttural growl rippled through the clearing, sending a shiver of tension through the gathered ritual participants.The w
Deep within the heart of the forest, where the canopy of leaves allowed only slivers of moonlight to pierce through, two figures stood in the shadow of ancient trees. The air was thick with tension, the silence broken only by the distant howl of wolves and the occasional rustle of leaves.Alpha Brannon's eyes glowed a sharp amber, his gaze fixed on the bloodied body of his son, Austin. His hands clenched into fists so tight that his claws pierced his own palms, drawing blood. Rage seethed through every vein in his body, his wolf howling for vengeance. His broad shoulders trembled with barely restrained fury."Look at him, Alpha," Tina’s voice slithered into his ears, soft and poisonous like the hiss of a snake. She crouched beside Austin's lifeless form, her hand gently brushing his blood-soaked hair. "Your son... your heir... gone. And who did this to him?" She tilted her head, her eyes glinting with malice.Brannon didn't respond. His gaze remained fixed on Austin’s lifeless face, ea
The forest stretched out in an endless sea of green, but his path was clear. Each step he took felt heavier than the last, like the weight of unseen chains dragging him back. The crisp scent of damp earth and pine needles filled his senses, but it wasn’t enough to quiet the storm in his mind.Liam Black — Alpha of the Black Panther Pack — moved with predatory grace, his golden eyes sharp as a blade in the dim twilight. His sleek black coat, faintly visible through the open flaps of his cloak, shone faintly under the dying red light of the setting sun. His muscles coiled and uncoiled with each step as his internal battle raged on.Every instinct told him to turn around. To go back. To keep his distance from her.Elizabeth.Her name lingered in his mind like a stubborn thorn. The half-sister he didn’t ask for. The girl who had everything he didn’t.“She had a mother,” he thought bitterly, his jaw tightening. “I had him.”His father's face flashed in his mind — sharp eyes, a voice like t
The air hums with quiet tension as the group moves deeper into the heart of the forest. Shadows stretch long beneath the canopy, and the fading sunlight filters through in jagged beams, cutting through the mist that curls along the ground. Each step forward feels heavier than the last, as though the earth itself knows the gravity of what’s to come.The Ritual Stone stands at the center of a wide clearing, a massive slab of ancient rock with deep etchings carved by hands long gone. The sigils glow faintly as if they can already sense the magic in the air. It’s a sacred place — one that has seen countless rituals over the centuries. It will see another today.It is surrounded by small stone basins symbolizing different races of creatures. All the stone basins are connected to the Ritual Stone my magic.Elizabeth stands at the edge of the clearing, her fingers brushing the rough bark of a nearby tree. Her gaze is distant, eyes narrowed on the horizon where the sun slowly dips lower and l
The rhythmic thud of boots against the old wooden bridge echoes in the quiet night. Each step feels like a heartbeat, steady but loud, as if the entire world is holding its breath. Elizabeth's eyes remain half-closed, her head resting against Christian’s shoulder. She’s conscious, but barely. The chill of the night air bites at her wet clothes, but Christian’s warmth seeps into her, a living furnace of protection.Jenny walks just a step behind, her gaze flicking nervously over her shoulder. The forest behind them is a sea of shadowy figures and distant howls. None of the werewolves follow — not yet. But she knows better than to relax. “They’ll be back,” she mutters.“They’ll try,” Christian replies calmly, his eyes fixed on the far end of the bridge. His grip on Elizabeth tightens, just a fraction, as if the mere idea of someone threatening her again sends an unspoken fury through him. “But it won’t end well for them.”The other side of the bridge comes into view — a soft glow of lan
The icy river water clings to Elizabeth’s clothes, seeping into every fiber. She feels weightless but not in a good way. Her limbs are heavy, her body numb, and her vision blurs in and out like a flickering candle. But even through the haze, one thing remains clear — Christian's face.“Stay with me, Elizabeth,” Christian's voice is low, controlled, but there’s a crack of urgency beneath it. His crimson eyes burn with intensity, never once leaving hers as he cradles her like she’s the most fragile, precious thing in the world.Her lips twitch into a faint smile. “You look mad,” she whispers, her voice hoarse and barely audible. “Did I scare you?”“Terrified,” he admits, brushing a thumb over her cheek. His jaw tightens as he takes in the state she’s in — blood-soaked clothes, bruises along her neck, her breath uneven. His gaze shifts to Jenny, his eyes hardening into something colder. “Who did this to her?”Jenny, still panting and soaked from the river, glares back toward the forest.
Jenny’s heart thunders in her chest, her breaths sharp and shallow. The moment Tina and Austin step out from the side path, her instincts scream danger. Her eyes dart to Elizabeth, who, despite her weakened state, narrows her gaze with pure hatred. Blood trickles down Elizabeth’s arm, her pallor more ashen than before, but her eyes — sharp, calculating eyes — are still full of fire.“Well, well, look at you two,” Tina’s voice is laced with smug satisfaction as she steps forward, her smile as sharp as a wolf’s grin. Her eyes, once so familiar, now seem foreign, darkened by envy and betrayal. “Running away like rats. Did you really think you could escape us, Elizabeth?”"Still acting like a queen, huh, Tina?" Elizabeth sneers, though her words are weaker than she would have liked. She grips Jenny's arm for support, her legs wobbling like a newborn fawn. "Guess betrayal suits you better than humility."Austin growls low in his throat, his eyes glowing amber. He cracks his neck, flexing h