Darkness covered everything. It was insidious, blanketing all light, all memories, all sense of time. How long had she been here? Was it a day, a week or even a month? She didn't think it was any longer than that. She remembered the concept of light, and she was fairly certain that if darkness had been all that she'd known for a year or more then the memory of light would have faded. Sensory deprivation did that to a person. It confused time and place. It messed with the mind until you didn't know which way was up or down, or who you were any more.She knew her name was on the tip of her tongue. She could reach for it but it would only slip away again as it had so many times before. The creature would arrive and there would be the barest of sensation at her right side and then oblivion would creep back in. So, this time she didn't reach for her name. The crushing disappointment of almost getting there only to have it snatched cruelly away again would be too much to bear.Something did
Long talons lashed out, ending a millimetre from her face, halted by a smaller hand. The hand wasn't gripping the wrist tightly though. It was clear Dara had reacted instinctually to protect her, but despite the feral state Agony was in, he had reined in his movement, as if conscious somewhere that he could hurt her badly if he didn't."Mother," hissed out of his snarling lips. "Mother!"It was the last thing Natalia had expected him to say, and it appeared it was to Dara too, though she recovered more quickly from her surprise."Agony, I know something has happened that is distressing you, but you need to stand down, before you end up derailing this fucking train." Dara snapped the words out, giving a gentle push against the wrist that rested in her hand. There was an audible sigh of relief as he didn't fight the movement, his shaded eyes turning to stare at her before he swung back towards Natalia."He can't help her," he spat out, fury lacing his tone. "You call for a boy who cower
He let out a long sigh, as if he regretted his decision to answer her, but then he continued. "Whatever...those are the 7 Vârcolac born of the recent matings between vampires and shifters. My mother Sarayne is Vârcolac, though her animal is a black panther. When she mated with my father, I took her animal, as the others have taken the wolf as their animal from their parents' matings. We are pack and Rafe is our Alpha, though this generation of Vârcolac are something more, we have our own internal hierarchy, though it isn't a true pack. Kal talks the most sense out of the Vârcolac so we tend to heed his words when he speaks."It was the first real conversation between them, and Natalia was fascinated by what she was learning. "Why didn't Kal come to get you then, when you came to Europe? Wouldn't it have made more sense to send him rather than Dara? You argue with her all the time, and sometimes I doubt that you will listen to her even when she is talking sense.""He stood no chance of
When she nodded but her expression remained doubtful, he considered trying to convince her some more, and then decided against it. His feet itched to begin the ascent into the mountains, the tantalising scent of his parents becoming a beacon drawing him to them."Dara, the pull I feel is great," he said quietly, taking a half step forward. "I need you to watch our backs just in case whatever overcame my parents comes looking for me and I don't recognise the danger until it is too late."Though his tone was solemn, the blonde Vârcolac laughed, amusement dancing across her face. "I have never known you to overlook anything, whether you call yourself Agony or Kothari. I will be on alert anyway because I don't know how to do anything else, however you will know of any danger at the same time I do, Agony."For the barest of moments something alien assaulted him, a sharp gnawing feeling, an instant of doubt. Never in his existence could he remember ever feeling uncertain, and he didn't like
Rafe took an involuntary step forward, but Thereasa intervened first. She quickly scooped the child out of the woman's grasp, handing her expertly to Liam who had moved at the same time. Ava screeched out aloud, lashing out at the vampire, who deftly caught the raised arm, and gripped the woman's neck to keep her immobile."Be easy, Ava," Thereasa said, both mentally and out aloud. "You are unwell at the moment, and don't understand what you do. This is no fault of yours. Shifters are genetically programmed this way. However, it doesn't need to be this way. We can work together to help you become well again so that you can take care of the child. You wouldn't wish to accidentally hurt the young one, when you are unwell."The shock of hearing someone inside her head as well as speaking out loud was sufficient to still Ava's struggles, her eyes going wide. Thereasa used that shock to delve a little deeper into the tortured wolf's mind, ruthlessly shutting out the overwhelming grief that
Pietro nodded, his near death experience and mating with Cassia giving him an even stronger zest for an immortal life. He had always secretly admired Thereasa's will to live even when he had hated her. He hadn't been so sure he would have been that strong had their roles been reversed."It turned out that Reasa was Liam's mate, and the only one here that could save his sanity. He was quietly going insane with his high-level empathy. Elina held it at bay as best she could, but he needed someone with the skills of Reasa, someone who could teach him how to protect himself. She not only taught him how to protect himself, but together they managed to rebuild a dozen shattered vampire minds that Liam had inadvertently damaged when Reasa was stripped of her immortality."Joshua couldn't contain his shock. It had been astounding to learn that the Vampire Queen could strip a vampire's immortality. It was even more astonishing to learn that Liam and Reasa were strong enough to repair destroyed
Joshua nodded, his gaze flashing with outrage. "Yes, I agree. I think they wanted someone senior to come to Europe. They wanted to watch how you interact, who your power players are, how you would defend yourselves. Everything has been one big fact finding mission to discover where you are vulnerable. I believe taking Gard and Rayne was strategic too. They haven't been killed because that would bring everyone to Europe and whoever is out there isn't ready for that yet."Pietro rose and took their glasses back to the drinks cabinet. He refilled them, returning to take up his previous position. "I agree with you, Joshua. When Freya and Nors found Michael his mind had been totally wiped. Even Liam wouldn't have been able to recover anything from the husk that was left behind. Our enemy is intelligent and resourceful. What we've learned recently shows that. Now I fear for Kothari and Dara being alone in Europe. If they are lost too, we've lost four of our strongest players here."It was a
Rhianna Armand stepped into her brother's home deep in the heart of the forest, a sense of coming home settling over her. It didn't matter how much her life had changed over the last three decades, she always felt a sense of home when she was close to Rafe. For a long time it had just been the two of them, their familial bond becoming closer than most siblings after the death of their parents when she was only three and Rafe had just turned eighteen. Life had been so much less complicated then, two human siblings oblivious to the supernatural world that existed all around them. Even when her best friend Millie joined their tight family group, it had all still been so simple. Until the day Rafe had died at the hands of a wild animal and everything had changed.At the time she had thought life wasn't worth living, and then she'd met Caleb, learned of the world of vampires and werewolves, and that her beloved brother wasn't really dead but was in fact now a wolf shifter. A poignant smile