MasukCaspian:One Year LaterThe breeze was warmer today.Softer.Gentler in a way I hadn’t felt in years.More peaceful and more contenting, More calm and even happier.I stood at the edge of the gardens, the same gardens where so much had been taken from us, and so much had been given back, watching Ad
Valerie:The sun was rising over the horizon, golden streaks splitting the sky wide open, like a promise finally fulfilled.I stood at the highest point of the estate grounds, the wind tugging at my hair, the scent of fresh earth and morning dew wrapping around me like a cloak.It was over.Giovanni
“Impressive,” Giovanni called, his voice carrying easily across the clearing. His smile was cold, razor sharp. “I knew there was more to you, Valerie. I knew it from the second I laid eyes on you. I did say that I had more respect to you than I had for others, but it seems to me that I did not expec
Valerie:The boy's cries ripped through me like claws.My heart raced with each passing moment and I did my best not to harm that child. I did my best not to dirty my hands with his blood, to save him out of this, to get him out of this before the man played the game that I was not willing to handle
Caspian:The air was too still.It was the kind of stillness that came after the fight, when the blood had dried and the bodies were cleared, but before the real danger revealed itself.I didn’t like it. Not one damn bit.Because I knew that stillness was one that only told me that more danger was
Valerie:The earth still smelled of blood.I smelled of blood. People's blood the blood of our enemies the people who had dared invade our territory.The ground beneath our feet was turned upside down. We were going to need to fix that later, but I knew that the vines that worked their way from the
Valerie:I was a mess.I knew I was.But no one else needed to know that.No one needed to see the remnants of last night, the weakness that had crept into my bones, the silent tears I had let fall.So, I stood.I stood tall, shoulders squared, chin high, as if I hadn’t spent the night curled up on
Valerie:“Mama, are we going back to the pack?” Adrian asked, making my eyes soften as the two of us got up from our table.It was precious moments like this that I found myself wondering why I chose to agree to go to the pack. Yes, I knew that I had no other option, but I wished that I did. I would
Eva:I heard him before he entered the room. I heard him before he approached. It was as if something was waiting for me, something that I was not going to like.I turned to the nurses who were inside the room before nodding at them to leave, leaving us alone. They looked at me, studying my expressi
Caspian:Eva stood at the entrance of the pack house, her suitcases packed and lined up neatly beside her. Daniel clung to her hand, his small face confused, unaware of the weight of the moment.The last thing that I would have wanted was for him to be dealing with something like this. However, I kn







