When she was gone, I looked back at Candido, whose jaw was set in a firm line. He looked upset, but not angry.At least, I hoped he wasnât that angry.âIâm sorry,â I said softly. âI shouldnât haveâŚ. Thereâs so much that Iâ"âYou endangered your life just to make me jealous,â Candido said. âDo you know what would have happened to me if you had died?âMy lips twitched. I felt warm hearing him say that. His voice was tight with emotion like he was trying to hold himself back from crying. Maybe he really did care about me as much as I had hoped, even before then. Maybe without the whole mate thing, it wouldnât have been so hard to get him to admit it, and all of this could have been avoided.âI know that nowâŚââWhen the car was crashing⌠when you called my name,â his voice trembled and wavered. âHave you any idea how terrified I was when I realized you were in so much danger and I wasnât close enough to save you? Do you know?âI winced and nodded. âI understand. Iâm sorry, Candido.âHe li
âItâs so good to meet you formally,â she said, pulling her mask and hood down.She looked just like the woman who had been in that photo, Candida, except her eyes were a dark brown. They were probably twins, but I didnât ask.Did that mean that twins ran in Candidoâs family? My face heated at the thought of a pair of twins in my arms with his eyes and my hair. Would they be gold wolves too? I didnât know, but the thought warmed me.Vanessa smiled and wrapped her arms around me. âCandida would have loved you.âShe pulled back and cupped my face. âSheâd have stuffed you full and probably ripped your father a new one, too, but she would have loved you.âI almost laughed at the thought because it would be exactly what he deserved. It was comforting to think that Candidoâs mother would have liked me. I didnât know much about her, but she sounded like quite the character.âIf I can entrust you with one more mission?â Vanessa said with a wry smile and a glance at Candido. âDo not let âDido g
His expression turned tender before wrapped his arm around my shoulders.âOkay, letâs get you back to bed,â he said, pressing a kiss to my temple.Vanessa let out a little laugh as Candido walked with me back to the room Iâd been given.As soon as the door closed behind us, Candido dug into his jacket and pulled out a small knife. I stopped him before he could slit his palm. I pulled the knife from his hand and tucked it back into his jacket.âNo.âHe stiffened his jaw. âHedy, I know what my aunt said, but you have to know that IâââUsually listen to absolutely no one,â I said.âI am perfectly fine.â His voice was firm, but his eyes were red-rimmed and sunken into his face. There were dark circles around his eyes, and he looked ready to fall asleep at any time.âAll I want right now is to snuggle with you.â I looked up at him. âCanât you just give me this? Itâs less painful.âHis nostrils flared. âThatâs not a good idea.ââWhy?ââBecause I want you desperately.â He said. âAnd youâre n
Candido looked toward the door. âIâll be there soon.âI heard whoever it was walking away from the door then he turned to the cabinet to pull out clothes.âWhat about me?ââYou should get some more rest,â Candido said as he tossed clothes onto the bed for himself. âYouâre still a bit too injured to be doing much of anything.âI grit my teeth. âYouâre doing it again. You⌠You canât push me out of this or protect me from it. Weâre in this together. Iâm going, and your aunt said you need more rest!âHe licked his lips and turned his head. His eyes flickered with light as they dragged over me.âYou⌠are a distraction,â Candido said, his voice low and rough, more of a rumble than anything. âRight now, I canât afford distractions. Stay here, Hedy, and get some rest.âI set my jaw. âIâm going, Candido.âHe sighed and turned around. âWhy do you feel the need to?ââWere you listening to anything I said? IâŚâ My shoulders slumped, so tired of explaining this. âI want to be by your side. I want t
We followed the guard to the observation room, where people were hustling around and murmuring.âGive me an update.ââThe scans are picking up presences. A lot of them, but we canât get a hold of how many.âThe readings kept changing, ranging from no one to over a hundred people, but the screens that showed the camera views were all blank. There was no way to tell how many were there through the cameras, but maybe that was just because of how injured I was.Francium tilted his head at an almost unnatural angle. âThereâs something off about⌠the view.âI frowned and thought back to when he spoke about having some sort of immunity. Was this a vampireâs illusion? Could it affect scans too? I worried my lip. If it was all technology built to read werewolf presence, maybe built from the knowledge that was in the old books, then maybe, just maybe, a vampireâs power could mess with the scanning.âLet me⌠go out and see,â Francium said. âItâs easier to see with my own eyes than through a came
It was a bit funny, the way Francia sneered at Candido and how offended he looked. I didnât think there were very many people who would chance getting on his bad side, but Francia didnât seem to care. To be fair, I got the sense that Francia was far older than anyone else in the room. I bet we all looked pretty childish to her no matter how mature we might be.Still, I would never want to be on the other side of Candidoâs glare. I looked up at him as his expression turned angry. He bared his teeth at her and his eyes flashed.âYou donât knowâââHe can be,â Vanessa said, cutting in. Candidoâs mouth clicked shut. His nostrils flared like he wanted to speak, but he was holding back. It was kind of amazing that someone could make him be quiet like that. âAs his father and so many other men in the family have been, but what he lacks in maturity, he makes up in fortitude and a good heart.âCandidoâs eye twitched as he looked at Vanessa, but he said nothing.Franciaâs lips twitched into a wr
The words made the whole room go quiet. I felt most of their resistance to the statement. The members of Blue Moon seemed ready to fight. Then, Candido shot to his feet and left. I jumped up and went after him as Vanessa started to speak.âI think this is a good time to pause this conversationâŚââIâm sure,â Francia said with a sneering tone. âWouldnât want your alpha king to miss anything.âI grimaced, wanting to turn back and defend him, but I followed Candido out of the building and onto a terrace that overlooked a remote section of some mountain I didnât even recognize.I wasnât sure what to say. I just wanted to be near to him and try and make him feel better. He was silent, staring out into the distance. He didnât seem ready to scream or fight. He just seemed sad and a bit lost as he leaned against the railing and hung his head.He let out a deep breath and I put a hand on his shoulder. âAre⌠you okay?âHe said nothing, but it was enough of an answer. I felt a bit antsy, wanting
Francia turned to us slowly. Her gaze drifted over me and then to Candido. She looked like she wanted to shake her head and pat Candido on the head as a conciliation prize.âShe wouldnât be the first to give birth to a hybrid,â Francia said. âAnd does it truly matter whose child it is? And what do you think he plans to do with this child? Itâs probably not even his first one.âMy stomach dropped. âNot his first one?ââHow many could there be?â Vanessa asked. âI thought vampires were the undead.ââIt doesnât matter?â Candido asked.Francia chuckled. âThe thing you call death, a vampire would call a new life. It is the main reason why Francium can say that he did not kill Claire.â She paused. âAmong other reasons.âI glanced at Francium who gave me a tense smile.âAnd all living vampires, in some way, are descendants of the vampire king,â Francia said easily. âThey are very different than the werewolves of today, though we are all related to him as well.âI felt Candido flinch beside me