"Ten, nine, eight, seven," King Tomas began the countdown as Alpha Daniel was flushed with panic. Kingston had his claws ready to slash Anna's throat out. "Wait!" It was King Kanyon who shouted. "I'll take you to your son." "What are you doing?" The Alpha hissed. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Kanyon snapped. "King Tomas, release Anna and I will take you to your son. You have my word," Kanyon slowly nodded his head. The vampire king sighed as if he was bored before instructing Kingston to unhand Anna. "Are you sure, Sire, that I can't have just a tiny drop?" Kingston begged. "You greedy bastard. I said unhand the she-wolf at once!" King Tomas barked. Kingston grunted, but then he thrust Anna forward, who ran straight into Kanyon's arms, crying her eyes out. "Shh, you're alright," Kanyon cooed. "Go with Alpha Daniel. I will be back in a while to check up on you." "Please, don't go with them," Anna begged him, looking up at his face with pleading eyes. "I hav
Prince Theodore crept to the back of his cell and sat on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest. His back was even harder and colder than the wall he rested against. He could smell his father and a couple of other vampires making their course down to the cells. He gulped, dreading to face the creature he was so afraid of. As for Ren, she slipped into the darkest part of her cage. Her beast was on the edge as she sensed the power coming their way. The vampires, along with Kanyon marched in like they were soldiers on a raid. "Your Majesty," Cam bowed as soon as he saw his king. "Theodore, are you alright, son? Have they hurt you?" Tomas asked as he rushed up to the cell where the young boy was. "Why aren't you talking? Did they do something to you?" Theodore still did not answer. He just kept his head down, pressed to his knees. "He doesn't want to talk to you," Cam answered. The vampire king's eyeballs rolled inside their sockets like marbles as his gaze found the lyca
"Oh Goddess!" Jessica giggled as she listened to Ariel tell her funny stories about her childhood. "I could listen to you all day everyday, but we've been gone a long time." "You're right. My husband must be getting restless. I'm going to freshen up before I return to the celebration, but you can go on ahead without me,” Ariel smiled. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?" Jessica asked, wanting to make sure her cousin was alright. "I’m sure. I just need a moment to catch my breath," Ariel sighed. "In that case, I think I'll go grab some fresh air myself. I need to clear my head," Jessica stated. "See you in a bit." "OK," Ariel nodded. "And Jessica, don't be sad that you can't have any more pups. King Kanyon is still smitten with you. Look at me, I don't have a wolf and I still became Luna of this pack." "I guess you're right," Jessica smiled as she walked out of Ariel's bedroom. She practically ran down the hallways, stopping only when she saw a door. She di
"Sire, forgive me for saying this, but do you think it's wise to leave the prince in the lycan's care? I mean, they may be more sophisticated than werewolves, but they are still dogs," Alfrick asked as he glided beside the king. Christopher went to round up the other vampires to let them know it was time to go while Kingston rushed off to do god knows what. "The lycans from the Lycania kingdom are said to have the most skilled fighters. If they can groom the boy and make him stronger then so be it. I will leave him to the fleas if it means he comes back home a man. I cannot believe I fathered a child so weak," Tomas complained. "Let's just get out of this zoo. My throat is getting parched." "Yes, sire. Christopher is almost done with getting the men in order. We will take off as soon as everyone is accounted for," Alrick explained. "One more thing, your majesty," he gulped. "What will we do about the ferals? They are infesting the woodlands around our castle." Tomas hissed. "I d
It had been two days since Jessica had been attacked by that bloodsucker, Kingston, and King Kanyon was still reeling from anger. He still couldn't get the image of Tomas's stunned face out of his mind when he revealed to the vampire king that Jessica was his mate. But nothing was more shocking than to learn that King Tomas had a thing for Jessica's mother, Melissa, after he heard her sing at a function many decades ago. The two kings had a long talk after they admitted Jessica to the pack hospital, and the two learnt many things about each other. Their species may not have been best friends, but they came to some sort of understanding. "Kanyon. Hey, are you alright?" Cam asked as he eyed the king, who was sitting in the passenger's seat of one of Alpha Daniel's jeep. "If you're worried about Jessica, doctor Anna said she'll be alright. She just needs a few more days of rest and blood transfusions." "You're right," Kanyon sighed. "I'm just rethinking this trip. Maybe this wasn'
"Here comes the bride. Here comes the bride. Da, da, dada, da, da, da, dada, da, da. Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm. Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm," Magda was singing and humming the bridal chorus all morning, awaiting King Kanyon's arrival. She twirled the cane in her hands as she strolled the hallways scrutinizing the servants, making sure they were placing the decorations at the exact position she wanted them. "You imbecile!" She yelled as she raised the cane high, swinging it through the air as she whacked a poor omega across his back. "The floral arrangements should be yellow, blue, pink. Not pink, yellow, blue. Fix it, you worthless piece of shit." "Yesss, Luna. Forgive me for my idiocy," the omega young man bowed. Luna Magda sneered at him. "Don't talk, just get it right." The pack house was in chaos. The kitchen staff had been preparing different cuisines for the last three days at the Luna's request, but none of them were prepared to her liking. They all tasted like a bear's asshole, sh
"Mother, how do I look?" Margret inquired as she emerged from her dressing room in a pink, figure-hugging dress. The hem displayed intricate floral decorations in soft white lace. The low-cut neckline pushed Margret's breasts together, giving them the appearance of being at least two cup sizes bigger. Her straight hair was elegantly wrapped with a few strands of loose curls at the front. With her heels scraping harshly over the floor, she made her way to her mother, almost tripping on several occasions because the heels were way too high for her. Furthermore, her toes were already screaming to be set free, since the shoes were too narrow at the front, but she swallowed the discomfort because it went beautifully with her outfit. Magda found herself deep in thought, contemplating the duties that would accompany her role as the mother-in-law to the world's most powerful king. "Mother!" Margret called out. "I said, how do I look?" The Luna's gaze shifted to her daughter. "You lo
"So this is the Graceland pack?" Cam scrunched up his nose as he drove up to the rusty metal fences. The guards swiftly opened the heavy gates, allowing him to drive onto the property. The werewolves could smell the power exuding off the two lycans. Seated quietly, the king directed his eyes around, inspecting the dense trees that dominated the yard, blocking out the moonlight above, giving the area a haunting and frigid atmosphere. Even through the darkness, he could make out the feeble nature of the pack. One could see that the Alpha and Luna were failing to uphold their duties. Cameron parked the jeep at the front of the pack house. Around a dozen omegas dressed in maid and butler's outfits stood in a straight line at the door and standing before them were two overdressed ginger-haired girls, along with a tall, pretty blonde girl and a scary-looking older woman. Identical men stood at each end. One was clearly older than the other. "Holy fuck! Who are they? The Addam's Family?"
The night air was thick with mist, curling like fingers along the crooked streets. In the distance, lycans howled, but here, near the edges of the kingdom, the shadows moved differently—heavier, hungrier.The Baktu glided through the mist like smoke, her form barely visible to mortal eyes. Where she passed, streetlamps flickered and dimmed, casting long, twitching shadows over the cracked pavement.Her target stumbled out of a dingy bar, reeking of ale and regret.Cory.Once a proud man, now reduced to a shell of himself, unshaven, bloodshot eyes, clothes rumpled. He lurched forward, muttering slurred curses under his breath. Constance followed silently, savouring the desperation that rolled off him in waves."Oh Jessica," he muttered, lifting a bottle of moonshine wrapped in a brown paper bag to his head. He still obsessed over her. Still pined for what he had lost—and would never reclaim on his own.Cory kicked a broken bottle down the sidewalk, his boot scuffing the asphalt as he s
June's hands hovered above Daniel's broken body, magic swirling at her fingertips. Her lips pressed into a hard line as she tried spell after spell. The lights flickered, danced—and fizzled out, but nothing else was happening. She felt drained and she felt like giving up. With a frustrated grunt, June finally sat back on her heels. She wiped the sweat from her brow and looked at them all."I can't summon Opal," she said heavily. "Her magic... it's too strong. It's like trying to leash a hurricane with a fishing net. She'll feel the attempt and shake it off."A heavy silence fell over the room."The only way to get her here is," June added. "To go to her and convince her to come to us. The only thing I know is she lives on Mystic Mountain."Ariel tightened her arms around herself, staring down at Daniel, whose pitiful, animalistic whimpers were growing weaker by the second."Mystic Mountain..." Jessica murmured, exchanging a worried glance with Kanyon.DJ's jaw tightened. "Then we go.
Ariel didn't stop running until she reached the far end of the hallway. She had Dante wailing against her chest with one hand and the other holding her phone. Her hands shook so badly she almost dropped her phone as she fumbled to call DJ."Come back here. Now," she gasped the moment he answered. Her voice cracked with panic. "Please — it's Daniel. Something's wrong!"She hung up before he could say anything.Seconds later, DJ came tearing around the corner, his face pale and panicked.He skidded to a stop in front of her, reaching for Dante without hesitation."Take him to Reniece," Ariel choked out, handing the crying baby into DJ's arms. "Don't let Daniel near him. I have to get Queen Jessica and King Kanyon!"Without waiting for a response, Ariel spun and ran. The corridors blurring as she pushed herself faster.She found the King and Queen in their sitting room, hugging. It looked like they had made up after that heated argument earlier. They broke apart the second they saw Arie
The guest suite was too quiet. The kind of silence that pressed down on Ariel's chest and made it hard to breathe.She sat stiffly on the edge of the sofa, nervously twisting the hem of her sweater. Across from her, Daniel shifted in the armchair, his movements stiff, mechanical, wrong.His eyes, which were once so warm and so full of life — now looked hollow, like windows to a house long abandoned.DJ grinned from ear to ear, then he clapped a hand on his father's shoulder."Man, it's good to have you back, Dad," he said, his voice thick with emotion.Daniel smiled weakly but said nothing. His gaze flickered between DJ and Ariel, confusion and unease poorly masked behind that ghost of a smile.Ariel's heart squeezed painfully.He didn’t remember me. Nor did he remembered their son.But worse than that — worse than the empty look in his eyes was the smell.It wasn't fully vampiric, it lacked that sickly-sweet pungency, but it was there.Lingering in the air. Just wrong and unorthodox.
The heavy doors to their quarters slammed shut behind them with a deafening boom. Jessica flinched at the sound but refused to cower. She stood her ground as Kanyon paced in front of the fireplace, the muscles in his jaw ticking furiously. Yes, he was upset when he found out that Jessica dabbled in dark magic to bring Daniel back to life. But this, finding out that Constance is now a Baktu made everything even more detrimental. The temperature in the room felt hotter than the flames licking the hearth, the fury rolling off Kanyon in suffocating waves."You went behind my back," Kanyon growled, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "You. My Queen. The one person I should be able to trust above all others!"Jessica crossed her arms defiantly. "I did what needed to be done, Kanyon. You don't understand—""No! You don't understand!" he roared, whipping around to face her. His eyes, usually molten gold with warmth, now blazed like wildfire. "You brought back a dead Alpha using forbidden mag
"King Kanyon!" Daniel bowed. "What is going on and why am I here?" Daniel strode over to the king while he finished buttoning his shirt. "Alpha Daniel. Is that really you?""Of course it is, Your Majesty. Is this some kind of April Fool's joke?" he scoffed. "I wish it was," Cameron mumbled. "What's the last thing you remember?" Kanyon asked. "Well, Sofia and I had just celebrated our twentieth wedding anniversary. First, we wandered through the park, then we ran a bit in wolf form, and after that, we went to bed. The next thing I knew I was waking up on that table over there," he finished, pointing to the mage's gurney-like table. "Father, that was over ten years ago," DJ spoke up. "Mom has been dead for fifteen years."Daniel's eyes landed on the tall, muscular man that just called him father. He looked like his son, but a way more mature version. "DJ, is that you? But you look so old. And Sofia is not dead. She can't be." "I'm thirty-five now, Dad, and yes, mom is dead." "How
"Cameron, what's going on? Everything started shaking, and I thought we were having an earthquake," Ren rushed into her husband's arms the moment she laid eyes on him. His gaze wandered to Theodore, who had a terrified Falcon in his arms."No, it's not an earthquake." He kissed the top of his wife's head before spreading a viral message through the pack link, urging all castle residents to get to their bedrooms, lock their doors, and widows then fortify the entrances with Moon Petals. He instructed the guards to secure every entrance and exit in the castle with Moon Petals as well. No one should come in or go out. "Are we under attack?" Falcon asked as he sank his face into Theodore's chest. The vampire prince held his mate tightly, stroking his shoulder for comfort. "No, but someone is doing something inside the castle that they shouldn't be doing," Cam let out. "Everyone stay close together and follow me. We're going to Lucy's chambers."******"Your Majesty," one of the nannies b
King Kanyon sat down at the head of the table while he conducted this meeting. “Cameron, is the Graceland kid still lurking around the town?” Kanyon inquired. “You mean Cory? Yes, he’s still being a creep. My informants told me he has been spending most of his time in the crafts shops,” Cam chuckled. “Why the hell was he still here?” Kanyon gritted his teeth. “I don’t know, but as long as he doesn’t come near the castle, and near Twinkle, I’m good,” Cam added. “Is there anything you’d like to add, DJ? Do you need any help with anything?” Kanyon asked DJ. “No. I cannot think of anything right now, but if I do, I’ll let you know,” he stated and the king could taste the sorrow on DJ as the young Alpha spoke, but he kept his composure. DJ's voice didn't crack once. “So Annabella is really gone?" he asked, leaning back in his seat with his palms resting flat on the table. "I'm sorry, man. I know how much she meant to you," Cameron rested a palm on DJ's shoulder. "Thank you, Master
“You will not have either of us!” Jessica exclaimed in a fit of rage as she confronted the being possessing her cousin. "Let me help you rephrase that,” it smirked. “I cannot have you — yet," Constance put emphasis on the word ‘yet’ which made Jessica angrier. Constance felt Ariel's soul fighting for its body back. "It looks like my time here is running out. Even though I know you've been warned already Queen Jessica, but I think I will warn you again. Mistress Paloma says Alpha Daniel's soul already belongs to her, so if you do this spell and bring him back to life, then there will be grave consequences.""What kind of consequences?" June asked. "The bad kind," Constance let out. She felt Ariel pushing her out now. "I will go now, but one of you has to break the seal." June walked up to her and used her foot to break the circle. Ariel began to throw up what looked and smelt like tar. Jessica sprinted to her side and held her hair away from her face. The tar transformed into black