Y A N AMy heart broke when Mikhail says those words, even though they’re just on TV. Instantly, my consciousness starts to wander and I find myself tuning him out along with everything else around me.“What happened?” the host asks. “Just a while ago you were here talking about her.”I can see the hesitation in his eyes, but he glances at the audience and it vanishes, probably because he saw one of his staff there. Most likely Vivienne. He looks at the host and says in a slow, deliberate tone, “It was amicable, is all I can say. There’s been no drama or bad blood between us. I just sincerely think that our relationship has run its course.”The host nods. “And how are you coping?”“I’m coping as well as I possibly can,” he says shortly, then he gives a brief laugh. “Your show has taken a serious tone, huh? I thought you invited me over to be laughed at.”“Oh, don’t worry, they’re still laughing at you,” the host assures him playfully and the crowd erupts in cheers, a sound that feels
M I K H A I LI take a step forward, but the Lycans in front of me also take a step forward as though to warn me to stay in my spot. I square up to them, but then I see my father emerging from the crowd, facing me with a blank expression.“What is this about?” I ask, but I’m not facing him. My gaze is fixed on Evan, who is watching me closely like he’s afraid that I will attack at any moment. “Why are all of you here?”“We were hoping to find you,” Evan says, his voice low. I can hear the tinge of shame and maybe regret in his tone, which makes me think that he has something to do with this elaborate gathering in front of me. “I’m sorry, boss. I had to lure you in here. I had to do something to get you to stop running.”I want to say that I didn’t do anything wrong, but I remember what I did to Amara and I just couldn’t bring myself to lie.Dad takes a step closer to me, his eyes never leaving mine. “We always had a feeling you would not be good around the Humans, but now we know for
Y A N AI don’t realize that I screamed until I can feel my throat hurting. Even then, I keep screaming, the sound seeming so distant and so detached that I can hardly believe it was coming from me.But it is coming from me. From the deepest parts of me. All the shock and the horror just condensed in my throat and now I’m letting all of it out.I hold Dad against me, my mind already going to the worst places imaginable. My body is on autopilot, holding him up and trying so hard to carry him even though my life seems to be caving in right before my eyes. It feels like there’s blood everywhere and I can’t stop it from flowing.“Help!” I scream, but no one comes. “Help me, please!”I heave him into my arms, somehow managing to keep him upright even though he’s much bigger than me. I get him through the door just as someone passes by, and then the whole thing becomes a blur.Somehow we get him to the elevator, and when we get there, there’s already an ambulance. We get him in there, and o
Y A N ASomething about Amos’s tone sounds . . . ominous. Scary. Like what he’s saying is a simple statement but a loaded request at the same time, and it’s hard to tell where the line is.I stare at him, waiting for him to provide more information as I am too nervous and cautious to ask for more myself, but he doesn’t say anything more. We just sit there in silence, and I let it go on, trying my best to organize my thoughts in my head.I hate that he knows the truth about me and Mikhail. I know it probably doesn’t matter to him now that we have become real, so real that we had to break up, but it feels strange to know that he knew all this time and he didn’t say anything. Maybe I’m thinking too much into it, but it feels like he suspended it just to have something against us in the future.But the thing is . . . he was so nice when I first met him. Mikhail seemed to be closer to him that he ever was with his own father. I mean, he even told me that much. Amos was the one who guided h
M I K H A I L “What?” I splutter. “What did you say?” I advance forward, making my mother back away from me like she’s scared of being attacked. But the shackles hold me in place anyway, causing me to stagger back and end up in the same spot where I began. I meet her eyes and finally, she holds my gaze, but she’s basically squirming in her own skin. While she stays silent, I try to calm myself down just enough to make sense of what has just been said. So the plan is . . . to get me married off to another royal family from god knows where so I can avoid the mess I made here. I know that the leadership is a continental thing, and I refuse to be shipped off to another place like I will explode and cause more trouble here. It’s just insulting on so many levels. I wait for her to say something, but she just turns away, filling me with frustration. “That’s it?” I ask her, wishing so bad I can get out of my shackles so I can hold her back and make her face me. “You’re not going to say a
Y A N AImmediately, a light switches on in Evan’s eyes, and I wonder if I made the right choice or not. I swallow hard, waiting for him to say something, but instead he holds his hand up for me and starts to call somebody.“Hi, yes, this is me. . . .” he trails off, walking away from me and talking in a lower voice.I can’t make out anything he’s saying, but I’m trying to read his expressions as he speaks. And much to my disappointment, there is nothing there either. He just looks consistently serious all throughout. His expression doesn’t change, even until he hangs up and comes back to me.“What was that all about?” I ask nervously. “Did I . . . did I make a mistake?”“Yana, no.” Evan looks at me in the eye. “I told my men to get ready, to be on the lookout for any danger. Some of them will be here in this hospital guiding your father. It would be best if you warn your friends too.”“I don’t want them to be scared and worried,” I mumble.He nods. “I will send some of my people to t
M I K H A I LI had to pause and think about those words for an entire minute because even though I heard the man’s voice perfectly, it still doesn’t make sense.Well, for one, I thought that the wedding that my mother planned would not happen any sooner. I thought that they would at least let Amara’s corpse get cold, as fucked up as that sounds.I mean . . . everyone basically thinks that I’m a murderer now, right? They think that I just did that to Amara in cold blood, all because I wanted to. They didn’t stop to consider my words and perhaps gave me a chance to at least prove to them that I was telling the truth. In their eyes, I’m this horrible monster who should be kept in prison far away from everyone.So why is this European family so hell-bent on taking me, knowing perfectly that I’m capable of something else entirely?Is it because they’re just as evil as I was accused to be?Or is it because they have no clue?Either way, I face the man who’s standing in the corner, staring
M I K H A I LI swallow hard as I hear those words, but I don’t dare react. I just sit there with my face as poker as possible, trying my best not to let a single emotion show.King Lucien turns to me. “I gather you are the CEO and the current king.”“Yes,” is the only thing I can manage to say,“How long have you been leading?”I look up to meet his eyes. “Since I was eighteen.”He nods slowly, and I can tell that he’s impressed. It feels weird to me. Does he have no idea about the recent events? I wonder how he will react then, if he finds out that the only reason I’m here is because I killed someone and now I’m being forced into this relationship in order to cover things up.“So you have the full experience, then,” he says. “That’s impressive.”His wife and his daughter both nod in agreement, which almost makes me scoff. Thankfully, I stop myself. But that doesn’t mean I want this whole thing to continue. I’m watching the princess and I can tell that she’s deeply uncomfortable abou