MasukMARA Power was a fickle beast. One minute, it was within your grasp, moulding itself to your will like pliable clay. The next, it slips through your fingers like sand, lost to the winds of chance but chance is only a tool, a thing to be exploited, just like people, just like Mira."Shut up Mira..do you want to remain in the shadows forever? We have to recover everything so listen to me now and leave." She nods and leaves. Sebastian a boy playing with fire, obsessed with the legacy of a man who was never worthy of it. His blind obsession with Evelessa compromised his judgment and left him exposed. He was nothing more than a vessel for something greater...my ambitions, my power. He had no idea that from the moment he came here, his fate had been sealed. I stood atop the black peak of Thalrion’s fortress, the wind rending my cloak around me. Warriors exercised in disciplined ranks below, their cries echoing off the valley. Witches walked among their midst, whispering spells, charmin
THALRION I watch in distance as Willow’s figure disappeared into the shadows of the school hall, the scent of dark magic and deceit she carried on her like an intoxicating perfume. Always thinking they're the smartest in the room, believing every other person beneath them. Fools. If only she knew....but two can play the game. I'd keep acting a fool just to get what I need; there's no point pointing out her exaggerated assumptions, not now. She is wrong on so many levels but on one thing, she is right-I do want more is Evelessa She is more than a queen-the woman is a force of nature, raw and untamed. The way she had made Mara and Mira kneel without lifting a single finger… it should have enraged me. Should have made me want to rip her apart. Instead, it had done something much worse. It had made me want her. Not to see her broken or defeated, but to others closer, take that untouchable power away and make her mine. A slow dark smirk spread across my face as I turned back to
LUCIANThere was a sting to the air that nipped harder than the cold was accustomed to. The kind that made me conscious that I was older than the trees standing around me. That years had thinned, but not hollowed.I was alone in the Garage.I run my hand down the car rim to focus myself. I could still feel her here. The presence of Evelessa still lingers and then he appears.Thalrion He didn't come out like a man. He bled into existence, unrolling from the shadows as if they nourished him. His shape writhed until he solidified, a figure of contempt draped in robes stitched from darkness. He had a presence that was like sorrow, fleshed out, dense, oppressive, ancient."Lucian"His voice glided through the air, heavy and sonorous, like the sigh of the grave."You look well for a man who's lost centuries."I maintain my straight face, though it aches. I'd heard every version of that epithet in my years."Thalrion," I replied, voice steady."I should have known you'd slither out of whate
EVELESSA Two weeks has passed after Alexis’s mating with Sebastian and we're currently out shopping."See," I say, holding the thin black dress against my body, "I can do this. With some thigh-high boots, I'll have to be gorgeous."Alexis laughs, running her fingers over the smooth fabric of a red dress. "They're already drooling over you, mama. You don't need the dress."I smile, bending the dress over my arm. "That's true, but a little extra never hurt anyone. You, however. You've been all mysterious and radiant. What's new with you and Sebastian?"Blush rose to her cheeks, but I revealed nothing. "Nothing I can't handle."I raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Oh sure. Because of the way he looks at you on campus... Yeah, that's 'nothing.'As quickly as she could respond, the shop bell was rung and a shiver was felt through the room. I didn't need to turn around to be sure that it was.Mara and Mira walks into the store; the tension in the air is electric as their heels-clacks on the floor
CASSAIN "Cheers brother in law."There are two kinds of bad ideas.The obvious ones and the ones you only realize are bad when it’s already too late.Sitting in a bar with Aristotle?Somewhere in between.I don’t drink to relax.I drink to tolerate people.And tonight?There are a lot of people to tolerate.Alexander is already halfway through his second glass of something unnecessarily expensive.Lucian looks like he’d rather be anywhere else but is too polite or too bored to leave.Aristotle is sitting across from me like we’re not one wrong sentence away from tearing the place apart.This is bonding, apparently.“Relax,” Alexander says, swirling his drink lazily. “No one’s trying to kill anyone.”I glance at him.“That’s optimistic.”Lucian snorts quietly into his glass.“I give it ten minutes,” he mutters.“Eight,” Alexander counters.“Five,” I say flatly.Aristotle raises a brow.“You always this dramatic?”“I’m being generous.”He smirks.I don’t.Because I don’t like him.“Thi
ALEXISFour weeks. Four long, painful weeks of ignoring Sebastian, pretending his presence didn’t claw at my resolve, or the memory of my one kiss with him that refuses to leave me alone.Tonight though it's my second heat, I am determined to keep it that way.The full moon hung high in the sky, its light filtering through my window as I locked the heavy steel door to my room. My heat had arrived with brutal intensity, my skin burning, my body aching with a need I refused to acknowledge.I pace the room, the ache building with every passing moment. The primal part of me scream for release, for the touch of my mate but I wouldn’t give in. Not after everything he’d done.I pressed a hand to my chest, willing the bond to quiet. Our connection is stronger tonight, the full moon amplifying every sensation, every emotion.“Damn it,” I mutter collapsing onto the bed.The room is soundproofed, reinforced with steel, and hidden deep within the house; a sanctuary I’d prepared for this exact
SEBASTIAN "Meet me today by midnight." That's all the message says. I receive a call next from one of the elders "To defeat Cassain, you need a greater monster who is even more ruthless than Cassain. You should leave a good impression on him and make him an ally."" Okay. I'd let you know how it
EMMANUEL "It's too late to back out now.I walk down the empty aisle.I check my watch.Midnight.Right on time.Of course I’m on time.People who survive in Cassain’s world learn one thing quickly; precision keeps you alive.A shadow shifts near the altar of the cathedral.Someone is already here
CASSAIN "Maddox, Ares, why do I feel so restless? What's going on?" I ask my beasts for the tenth time as I try to figure out the cause of my restlessness.The security doors slide open as I approach my private office, recognizing my biometric signature. The room beyond glows with dozens of monito
CASSAIN I know something is wrong the moment I wake up.The feeling hits before I even open my eyes.A hollow space.Like something important is missing from the world.I stare at the ceiling for a few seconds, trying to shake the feeling away. Morning light cuts through the curtains, pale and sha







