Extra long chapter because this was a crossover.
I’ve been running for two days toward what my grandfather called the ‘northern territory’. Me, I call it the frozen tundra. It’s a good thing I don’t feel the cold. I’m pretty sure even Kella would be cold in this place. I finally had to slow down when the snow became too thick to run in and now, it feels like there’s a blizzard blowing around me, the snow so thick that I can barely see. I make my way into a small town and find what looks like a tavern and hotel. When I step inside, it looks exactly like what you’d expect from a small town in the middle of nowhere that has a vampire’s adobe nearby. The room is dark with multiple round tables filled with men drinking pints of ale or shots of liquor. There’s a tavern girl behind the bar who looks overworked and underpaid and the overall feel is creepy, exactly like something you’d seen in a vampire movie that humans love to create. The room goes quiet as I walk in. I shake out my hair, stomping the snow off my shoes, as I casually sni
The first night away, I called Drake and talked to him. He was out in the wilderness so we didn’t have good reception, but he said he felt like he was heading in the right direction. Last night, I hadn’t gotten an answer when I called. It makes me nervous, but I know it’s possible that if he’s still in the woods that he either doesn’t have reception or his phone has died. I’ll try him again later, but this morning, I’m up, ready to go spend the day with Aunt Grace, Emlyn and Riley, my Guardian sisters to celebrate Emlyn's birthday and prepare for her party tonight. When I get to Safe Haven pack, I find the group in the dining room with Emerson, Aunt Grace’s son and future Alpha of the pack. My life would have been so much easier if I’d have been mated to Emerson, or Cohen, the future Alpha of Canyon Ridge pack. Instead, I'm mated to a vampire prince. We spend the day getting our nails and hair done before getting dressed for the big party. Since I haven’t seen Riley in months, I ta
The next morning, I make sure I spend enough time downstairs where everyone is having breakfast before I pack up and head out, just in case anyone finds my dead man. Now that I know I’m close, and that at least one of my father’s men is there, I’m anxious to find this dwelling. The snow from last night has stopped but the sky remains overcast and dreary. The roads have been cleared and I begin walking north again, this time staying on the road. In this part of the world, there are more horses and horse drawn carriages than there are motorized vehicles. If a vehicle does pass me, it’s a four-wheel drive with chains on the tires, able to make it through these heavy snow drifts. But only one of those passes me as I make my way. The roadway begins to incline. I look up to see where I’m headed and that’s when I see it. I instantly know that it’s my grandfather’s place because it looks exactly like a haunted mansion from a human horror movie. I’m not sure who in my family tree had a sense
The day after Emlyn’s birthday, Rich left for the council. Thankfully, he took Gwen with him. After she intentionally ruined breakfast, it’s a good thing he did. My animosity toward Gwen right now is really high. Not only that, but the pack is confused and Emlyn is devastated. It takes less than 12 hours for my asshole brother to start messing around with Gwen. Xander, Cayd and I are all sitting with Emlyn at dinner, having made sure one of us was with her all day. When she doubles over, Xander and I know immediately what is happening. He moves faster than I do, helping her up and escorting her out of the room. As soon as we’re out of the dining hall, he picks her up, explaining to Cayd that our brother is being intimate with Gwen and it’s causing Emlyn pain. When we get her to her room, I let Xander and Cayd know that Aunt Grace had called me earlier today. After dealing with the issue of Alpha Samuel, they basically implied that Rich was trying to force a mate bond with Emlyn. Be
After getting the letter from my grandfather, I began searching through the house. I had Demetrius slowly start sell the old, antique, gothic furniture starting with the hideous chandelier above the dining room table. I carefully go room by room, searching for hidden passages, hiding spots or secret doors. Each day, I come away with nothing more than what I got from the letter, which Demetrius said he got from the safe when he arrived. When I asked, he pointed me to my grandfather's room where the safe, whose door now sits open, the inside empty, resides. Although Leana said she would contact me every night, it is not the case. Part of me begins to feel gloomy, wondering if, now that she’s away from me, if she has forgotten me. Or worse, if she’s realized that she doesn’t want to be mated to a vampire. What if she fancies a werewolf? Well, I'll just have to kill him. I periodically get text messages from her, letting me know she’s okay and asking how I’m doing and on occasion, we ta
I knew the moment I got the gate at the castle, that I’d waited too long to get here. When I stepped out of the car and it was some strange vampire that greeted me, I realized that Drake must not be doing well with my absence. What I didn’t expect was the feeling of darkness that I got from him. It was almost as if being away from me had impacted him negatively in the same way that being with me impacts him positively. The house is dark and gloomy and I could see that it matched his mood and mindset the moment I entered the room. That was only confirmed when he ordered the other vampire from the room and immediately began hunting me. Kella came forward, ready to battle him if he started drinking too fast and heavily from us, but he surprised us both by sinking his fangs into my thigh. His fangs feel so good, even the way he feeds on me feels good, his sloppy, slurpy feeding further confirmation of his need for me. It’s not the blood he needs, it’s my blood that he needs. Now that my
I can’t believe the difference in how I feel now that Leana is back. The night has turned to day, the sun is shining on my face, I’m no longer thirsty and I feel almost human again. What little humanity I have has returned. “Does my wolf mate want to go for a run around the estate with me, see what there is to see?” I ask. I’m instantly rewarded with Leana’s sage green eyes turning gold. “Yes,” she purrs. Since I feel good and I know how my mate loves a challenge, I take a step away from her. “Do you think you can keep up with me, my mate?” I ask, taking another step. She growls low and just as she leaps to shift, I take off running. Rather than looking around the estate, we take a couple of hours to play, chasing after each other, Kella nipping at my heels when she gets close enough and me pinching her flanks when I’d catch up with her. Her howls of enjoyment go unanswered in the surrounding forests, so I begin to howl back at her which only makes her more excited. When we fin
Drake lays the map out on the table and immediately, I’m completely lost. It’s just a big circle. Drake however, seems excited. “My grandfather used to play this game with me,” he says as he flips the map over, looking at the back side, then turning it over to the front as a huge smile spreads across his face. “What game is that, exactly?” I ask frowning. “It’s like the anagram. Well, not really. This one is about finding the hidden treasure,” he says, still focusing on the map. He begins folding the map over lining up the lines on the back side with the circle on the front. I stand by and watch as he continues to flip the map back and forth before finding another spot to fold. It takes an hour or so, but when he’s done, there is actually a map. He leans over, looking at it and I come up beside him, wrapping my arm around his waist and leaning over the table to look at it. “Where is this?” I ask, trying to get my bearings on the map. “We’re here,” he says, pointing to the lower