LOGINWhen morning finally came, Damon stood a short distance away from the others, staring into the trees as if he was expecting them to move, and reveal more of Draco's men at any second. He had not slept the entire night because the rage that had fueled him through the ambush and the brutal fight was still burning in his body and refusing to cool. Mara sat on a fallen log near the fire, forcing her back to stay straight despite the pain she was clearly in. One leg was stretched out stiffly, the other bent, and her fingers were busy retightening a bandage around her thigh where shrapnel from the blast had injured her. Her face was pale, and her freckles stood out more than before, starkly but her eyes were alert and sharp, tracking Damon’s movements with quiet concern.Pascal leaned against a tree opposite her, keeping one shoulder braced against the trunk as if standing was the only thing that was actually keeping him awake. He hissed softly as he tried to adjust his position,
Far away from the horrors of his various laboratory facilities, Elias was settling down to lunch in one of his numerous mansions. The air around him was loaded with the aroma of warm bread, herbs, and roasted meat…civilized, refined, deceptively peaceful.Lucia sat quietly at the table, watching the spread with a cautious eye. Despite swearing her allegiance to Elias and being fully welcomed into his household, she still found herself being extremely careful in case it was all a hoax.Her wounds were almost completely healed now, and her strength was returning slowly when though the scars…both visible and hidden…still burned. Across from her, Elias was busy cutting into his meal with a nonchalant attitude. He looked very relaxed and almost pleasant, and anyone seeing him for the first time would have easily been deceived into thinking that he was nothing more than a refined man sharing a cordial lunch with a guest.Lucia watched him carefully as she lifted her glass
Pain came first.White-hot and disorienting pain, tearing through bone and nerve as the world slowly reassembled itself from the fire and noise. The smell of smoke choked the air, thick and bitter, mixed with gasoline and burning rubber. The car lay on its side several feet off the road, with one door crushed inward, and the windshield cracked like sinister spiderwebs.Mara groaned, dragging herself up with a sharp gasp as pain shot through her ribs.“Oh…oh that is not fine,” she wheezed, trying not to pay attention to the pain. “That is absolutely not fine.”Pascal was already moving, or trying to. Blood ran down the side of his head, blurring his vision while his left arm hung awkwardly at his side.“Everyone alive?” he muttered.Mara coughed violently from the backseat. “I think so…” she winced. “I think my shoulder’s out though.”Before anyone could answer further, they began to hear the sound of movements.Damon forced himself to his feet and pul
The dirt road used by the rogues stretched ahead of them like an ugly scar cut through the forest…narrow, uneven, and swallowed on both sides by towering trees. The more they drove, the quieter the world became.Damon sat rigidly at the front with a dark look in his eyes. He had not uttered a single word in hours since they began their journey, and his gloomy demeanor seemed to be weighing even the car down.His eyes were fixed straight ahead, while his jaw clenched so tightly that the muscles along his neck stood out in hard lines. Whatever softness he had shown to Elena the night before…whatever warmth that had broken through his armor…was gone now. Completely replaced by something colder and dangerous.An hour or two more and they would be on the outskirts of Nightshade territory. The others didn't know it yet, but it troubled him.Pascal drove with one hand on the wheel, while the other rested lazily near the window. But his eyes stayed alert the entire time, co
The Alpha’s throne was reeking of smoke, sweat, and spilled alcohol.Draco lounged across a wide leather chair like a king who had forgotten the meaning of restraint, with a half empty bottle of vodka dangling loosely from his hand. Smoke curled lazily from the cigarette between his lips, drifting toward the high ceiling and staining the air with bitterness. Laughter…high, shrill, and false…filled the room as two naked women clung to him with their hands roaming freely over his chest and shoulders.Another woman sprawled across the sofa nearby, naked and unapologetic, sipping from a glass of champagne while watching the scene like a bored spectator.Draco laughed loudly, throwing his head back. “You see?” he roared, gripping one of the women by the waist. “This is how an Alpha is supposed to live.”The women giggled excessively, clearly trained at sounding impressed to please their customers.Clothes lay scattered everywhere on the floor, while the sacred symbol
When morning finally came upon the rogue camp, Damon stood near the central fire pit in a rigid posture. Despite the peace in his mind after the heartfelt conversation with Elena, he had barely slept because there were other demons still tormenting him.His thoughts were still miles away…locked on Nightshade, on the throne that had been stolen from him, and on his pack that was suffering under Draco and Nyla’s evil rule.Elena approached him, and he noticed how different she looked now.He couldn't say she looked stronger…she had always been strong…but there was a warmth in her movements that certainly wasn't there before…A gentler calm in the way she carried herself. Her eyes met Damon’s, and for the first time in a long time, she didn’t look away coldly.She gave him a subtle nod.It wasn’t affection…Not yet. But it was trust, and that alone was enough reason for him to believe that there was hope for them.One by one, the others gathered too.Mara arri







