MasukThat night, long after the last of the guests had left for their rooms, Andrew and I returned to the presidential suite to find that the staff had decorated it in preparation for our stay. All the décor, right down to the bed sheets, had been switched out for matching red and gold pieces. The light
Andrew’s eyes met mine as I approached the altar. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. He looked so handsome in his classic black tuxedo that I could hardly wait for after the reception to be with him. As I took my place across from Andrew, I handed my bouquet to Lily. The priestess bega
One month later, I stood in a suite at a private beachside resort, admiring my wedding dress. It hugged my curves in all the right places while still gently brushing against the ground like a low-hanging cloud. Crystals glistened in the room’s fluorescent lights, and the train flowed behind me effor
“Let’s continue this in the bedroom,” I said, breathless. Andrew nodded his agreement. I pulled Andrew to his feet as he stuck the ring box back in his pocket. Then I dragged him back to the bedroom, leading him by the tie. Not that he needed to be dragged; he would have followed me anywhere by th
Andrew texted me and said his flight was delayed by a few errands he had to run, so I waited. And waited. I waited for an entire day, and even began to worry that Andrew had changed his mind. Then I heard a knock at my door. I leapt off the couch and rushed to answer it. Stopping just short of the
Noah left the next day. I took him to the airport, we exchanged a hug and a brief farewell, and then I watched him walk through the gate. That was the last time I ever saw him. With a heavy heart, I returned to an empty apartment. All our furniture and my belongings—what little I still had—were the
After the police got our statements and took away Chevalier’s body, I returned to my apartment with a temporary replacement guard until Jeffrey healed from the silver poisoning. I couldn’t stay at Andrew’s second house for another moment, not with the memory of what I had done there. Andrew voluntee
A few days after my private dinner with Andrew, I spent an entire day at the wedding of a distant cousin of one of the Council members. My presence had specifically been requested, so I could not delegate the work to anyone else. It was good, honest work, and I enjoyed spending time with Terri and s
Ignoring the bright yellow caution tape running along it, Andrew and I climbed over the short gate and made our way up to the decrepit house. A hole in the where part of the structure had collapsed allowed us to walk inside without any obstacles. “So, what exactly are we looking for, Scooby Doo?”
Andrew’s second house was drastically different from the Alpha King mansion, though still luxurious. A midcentury modern, the house was angular with a plethora of windows and sliding glass doors to open up the space. From a security perspective, I guessed it was a nightmare, but from an architectura







