LOGINSo what's happen next?
Scarlett woke the next morning with a heavy head. She looked around the room and sat up quickly when she saw Damian opening the door. Rin followed closely behind him.Damian hurried to her bedside. Scarlett leaned back against the headboard as he reached her. Rin let out a happy little gasp.“You are awake. How do you feel?” Damian pressed his hand gently to her forehead and breathed a sigh of relief. “Your fever has broken. Thank the Moon Goddess.”“What happened? Why am I here?” Scarlett asked, looking confused.“You collapsed from exhaustion last night, right after you repaired the palace barrier. I carried you here myself. The healer has already checked on you, my love. Does anything still hurt?” Damian looked at her with deep concern.“So it was not a dream after all.” Scarlett’s eyes went wide.Rin spoke up enthusiastically from the doorway. “No, My Lady. It was all very real. You were truly amazing. We were all so frightened, but you were so brave. You stepped right into the dan
“Oh no. The barrier is weakening under this constant assault. I must hurry.”Ignoring King Alpha Cedric’s command to rest, Scarlett ran from her chambers toward the front courtyard of Varghelm Palace. Servants, soldiers, war commanders, and ministers were everywhere, hurrying to find safety.“Your Majesty, please stay inside. For your own protection.” Several guards surrounded Cedric just as Scarlett arrived and stood beside Damian.“Scarlett, what are you doing out here? His Majesty told you to rest.” Damian spoke gently, but his hand tightened around hers.“She could hardly sleep through this, Damian. She would rather disobey an order than see the people she cares for hurt.”Cedric’s words made Scarlett blush. It felt as though he understood her very nature completely. Damian smiled warmly and nodded respectfully to the King.“He knows you well, Scarlett.”“Thank you, Your Majesty. You are far too kind.” Scarlett bowed deeply. Then the sky roared with a deafening crash.BOOM!Their c
“Your Majesty, allow me to explain.” Scarlett stood once more and bowed respectfully before sitting back down at Cedric’s gesture.“I overheard Viviane and Levi talking at the time. They traveled together often, Your Majesty, around the castle grounds. I even caught them both in a classroom here discussing their plans.” Scarlett paused, looking back and forth between Damian and Cedric, who watched her with serious expressions.“That Levi intended to cast a spell during the ritual. So that when I opened the sacred scroll, I would be struck by magic he had created, one meant to end my life. And then Viviane would take my place as Luna and Levi’s eternal mate.”Damian reached for her hand as her voice began to tremble. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face, and she looked startled by them herself.“Oh no. Forgive me, Scarlett. I feel I have pressed you too hard with all these questions.”“No, Your Majesty. Please forgive me. I did not mean to lose control like this...” Sc
Scarlett hugged Marcus tightly one last time before they departed that afternoon. Mounting the horses prepared for them, Scarlett and Damian rode out of the Shadowmoon castle, watched by every soul who lived there, their eyes filled with silent blessings.“We should reach the palace before dark,” Damian said to Scarlett and the two messengers from the Whitechain Clan, who nodded respectfully in agreement.They rode steadily onward until they reached the outer borders of the palace lands just as the sun touched the horizon, exactly as Damian had predicted. The Whitechain Clan was a full day and night of hard riding away, but the palace stood much closer to Shadowmoon.Two royal guards met them at the outer gate, bowing low on one knee in welcome. One of them hurried ahead to announce their arrival to Alpha King Cedric, who waited for them in the great hall.As the hour was late, King Cedric invited them to dine with him. The three of them sat together at the long table laden with fine f
Before long the door opened once more and Scarlett looked up in surprise to see Damian standing there again.“Damian what is it? Why do you look so serious? Has something happened?” she whispered, stepping closer with sudden worry.“I realized I forgot to say something very important to you, Scarlett,” he said gravely. Scarlett’s heart began to race.“What is it?”She watched him anxiously, especially when he lowered his gaze all at once.“Damian tell me what is wrong,” she urged, her worry growing.“I love you too, Scarlett. Earlier I never actually said it back.”Scarlett stared at him in stunned silence, then began to thump his broad chest playfully, laughing in relief. “You gave me such a fright. I was truly worried…”Her words faded away as he pulled her firmly into his arms. He held her close for a long moment, then cupped her face and kissed her deeply and thoroughly until they were both breathless.“Damian…” she whispered against his lips, her gaze soft and warm.“They are wait
Scarlett reached for her magic, but before she could call it forth, Damian gently caught both her wrists and held them together in one hand.Before Scarlett could protest or react, she found herself lying back upon her soft bed. She gasped, the sound caught in her throat. Her hands still rested around his strong neck as he leaned over her, careful not to press his weight against her.“Damian, you…” Scarlett began, but her warning dissolved into a quiet gasp followed by a soft, helpless sigh as Damian suddenly buried his face in the curve of her neck.“What are you doing? I never said you could just… ah…”“Forgive me. I am merely kissing the necklace. What can I say? It is exquisite. It belonged to my mother, so of course it holds great meaning to me. And now it rests exactly where it belongs. That means I may kiss it whenever I please.”Scarlett pouted, thoroughly charmed yet feigning annoyance. “If you only wanted to kiss the necklace you should have kept it and kissed it then. There







