[Axel] Evander has been in a sour mood since we left Gideon behind in the hotel. His face is frozen, but his eyes are busy with a thousand horrors. I know that look. I have worn it myself. It comes from suffering that final something that finally shatters something irreplaceable within you. Whatever it was that Evander did for the sake of this mission took its toll on his heart and soul. It was the same way I felt when she married the two of them and I thought she was lost to me forever. I wore it again when I had to accept that she was pregnant, and one more time when she disappeared. Each of those moments took a chunk of my heart. Who knew that finding true love could hurt so deeply? "Nothing worth having is easy," Conner sighs inside my head, trying to help me focus. "We will get her back." "Yes," I agree. "But will we get to keep her?" Rosalynd was supposed to be my mate. My Luna. I knew from the moment my wolf called her his that day in the park. Yet since that day the un
[Rosalynd]“My Groom?” I look at him strangely. “What do you mean? I thought you said..”“I mean his vessel,” Vincent clarifies. “He is already madly in love with you and has the right mix of powers to hold the dark lord himself, especially since he has recently discovered his witch powers.”Evander isn’t part witch. Gideon is all witch. The only man that leaves is…“Axel!” I stand up suddenly and almost fall forward. Slone reaches forward to catch me.“Strap her in this time!” Vincent roars. “Take her to the operating suite. It’s time we make her body ready for him.” He then turns to me, his grin stretched from ear to ear. “Don’t worry daughter, I’ll go collect your groom now. Once he’s ready, you’ll be reunited.”Slone pulls the straps down tightly, so tight that my fingertips turn white with blood loss. As I fight against the bindings, the arms of the wheelchair dig into my skin.A hard slap across my temple has me bent in half screaming.“Stop struggling,” Slone advises, her tone
[Rosalynd] The creature wearing the face of my mate walks towards me. He is dressed for a wedding. Top hat, tailcoat, white gloves, and a silk cravat and dress shirt all in varying shades of black and gray, like fog at midnight. His chestnut-colored hair has been slicked back and put into a ponytail, a ribbon of black silk tying it back. None of this feels right. It isn’t Axel’s style. Even at our true wedding, I would more likely expect him to wear designer cowboy boots and a pair of dark denim. But that isn’t the part of him that bothers me the most. It was his eyes. Black as slate, cold and dark, they are the opposite of those warm, honey-brown orbs that stole my heart all those months ago. “What are you?” I hiss, struggling against my bonds. "And where is Axel? Where is my mate?" He places a gentle hand on my cheek, making a shushing sound as he tries to soothe me. “He's still here, watching you, protecting you. Even now, he fights to be by your side," his fingers re
[Evander] By the time I reached his location, it was already too late. Axel fell through the opening in the sky, hungry arms grabbing him and drawing him in. It was as if the void itself took him. I have been flitting through the shadows, looking for a trace of him. Wherever he was taken does not lie within the shadow roads. My best guess is that he is somewhere inside one of these buildings. My worst guess is that he is somewhere I cannot follow, deep in the void itself, unable to reach any of us or call out for help. “If you are listening, Universe, we could use your help.” The universe never answers, at least not with words, but my instincts are telling me to head toward the smaller of the two buildings. I cannot blink beyond the walls without knowing what is on the other side. Which means I need to get close enough, undetected, to see where I might land. And then I need to search and keep going until I find him. Until I can find both of them. Because I am not leav
[Rosalynd] I lie there frozen as I watch the black of his eyes expand to overcome the sclera. Wide and unblinking, they stare into my own and I find myself falling into them, losing all sense of where I am. My body is present in the here and now, but my mind and soul have moved on to someplace so vast that galaxies are formed and die around me as I watch. And I remember. I remember being pulled to a place like this once before, at the moment of my almost death, when I had to make a decision. And I stand in that darkness now, the room gone, only darkness remaining. A man steps forward. Whereas before the void had no shape, now that it has a form to inhabit, he takes the shape that has become familiar and comfortable and wears my fiancé's face as he waits for me to come to him. He is still dressed for a wedding, but the clothing doesn't seem out of place here. In his natural element, the void incarnate looks regal, his body radiating power in dark waves of energy. "Do you remember me
[Gideon] His voice is like a cancer, rotting my soul from the inside out. Vincent. I thought I was free of him when he took Esther south when he left our coven behind. “You can never be free of me,” he laughs in my head. “We were never truly apart. Once you merge a soul with another, you are always connected. I was your coven leader. I will always be your coven leader.” “Not if I kill you,” I promise aloud, my body struggling against the magical restraints that Evander placed on me. His cackling laughter fades into the background. He is done with me for now. I can rest and regain my strength so that I can fight him off again next time. Unlike Slone, there is nothing that he can offer me that I want, so there is no way for him to find entry into the deepest parts of my soul. With Rosie and Evander in my life, I have more than I deserve. I wake up in darkness. The room is cold, colder than I expected it to be. It is like all the warmth vacated the room through every little cr
[Rosalynd]“ROSALYND!!!!” Gary, the director of “Evenings with Enchantra,” bellows from across the room, like a flatulent walrus, his jowls flapping.“Sir?” I respond meekly as I trip clumsily over my own feet, catching a vase full of artificial flowers. Not that I had to worry about it breaking. Everything is plastic: designed to look appealing but containing no substance.“I don’t care what you have to do,” he spat in my face, chunks of half-chewed donut landing on the lenses of my practical, yet stylish, glasses. “We cannot delay the filming any longer. Enchantra needs to be on set in 15 minutes or I’ll find someone younger to replace her.”I don’t deserve this abuse, but as my mom’s assistant, this kind of thing happens almost daily.“We need to get this Halloween special filmed and edited by the end of this week!” Gary reminds me as I march down the hall.“Yes, Sir!” I salute giving him a backward wave as I leave the room.“If she isn’t here and ready to go, tell her we’re throug
[Rosalynd]Crying, I run back down the hallway. As I pass Gary, he tries to stop me. Screaming unintelligibly, he grabs my arm roughly, forcing me to listen to his babble, my mind unable to focus on his words."What the hell is wrong with you, Rosalynd?" His nails dig into my flesh. "Where the hell is your mother?"Thinking of exactly where my mother is, I snag my arm out of his grasp and throw the studio keys back at him. "Why don't you go find out for yourself?!" I get up close to him, our faces only inches apart as I yell. "Fuck this place! Fuck this job! I'm done!"For the first time in the 10 years that I've known him, Gary is silent. Like a fish, his mouth moves up and down as if instead of trying to say something he is gasping for air.The metal outer door to the studio closes with a loud band and I find myself in the parking lot. It doesn't take me long to find my car, the distinct shade of rusted metal red easy to discern amongst the smooth and shiny rentals and new leases. I