Claire hummed softly as she leaned against the wall with her eyes closed. It was an old French song that Elias sang to her years ago. Some sort of lullaby sung during to the royal children the early Capetian dynasty, back when the French were called ‘Francs.’ It was originally a Troubadour’s ballad about a young noblewoman learning to dance with her milk brother, and how they secretly fell in love. He had hummed it in the beginning, back when the pain kept her awake and paralyzed, when it was all that she could think of. She hadn’t even remembered that he was the one who taught it to her until she went to sing the words under her breath and realized they were Old French, not English. That made her stop and burn with rage, both at herself and Elias.
“Don’t stop on my account,” a tired voice said from the other side of the room.
&nbs
The moment Claire stepped foot on the gravel, a she-wolf raced up to her, pulling her into a bear hug. “I’m so excited to finally meet you!” she squealed.Claire didn’t move. She could hear the wolf’s heart beat jumping with her. The way her blood pumped. The way her blood smelt. She was getting dizzy.Colin noticed the stressed body language of his mate and pried the young woman off with a laugh, “Relax. Introduce yourself at the very least.”Slightly embarrassed, she stepped back, throwing her long, brown hair over her shoulder. A young man, about Colin’s age, stepped forward and wrapped his arm around her waist, offering her a foolish love-struck grin. He looked a bit like Colin too. He stuck his hand out with a smile and said, “I’m Reed, and this is Kali.”Claire smiled slightly, taking his giant hand in her own. “Claire,” she replied softly.Colin wanted to pick up h
Alpha Peter stared at the hybrid, a delighted look on his face. Claire had noticed his malevolent grin and would not look up. She simply stared at the seat, where Colin’s hand sat just next to hers. He was fighting to stay awake, drifting in and out of consciousness. But each time he closed his eyes, she would brush her fingers against his, jolting him back. He knew that it was out of fear, that she did not wish to be left alone, but he relished the contact wholeheartedly. Peter leaned back in his seat, sipping from a glass tumbler. They had a nearly two-hour drive ahead of them. He had time to do this. But he was an impatient man. “You shall stay in the pack house, of course.” Claire stiffened,
Elias stepped forward, frowning. He placed a hand on Claire’s shoulder, who offered him a disproving glance before stepping away, still helping Colin stay upright. As more time passed, he was growing weaker and weaker. His body needed to rest in order to flush out the massive amounts of wolfsbane in him, but his severely weakened wolf wouldn’t let him; his mate needed help. “She will come back with me,” Elias stated calmly. “Like hell I will,” Claire muttered under her breath. Ife grinned. “Well, Mademoiselle Claire, unfortunately we cannot leave you unattended.” Elias growled at the King quietly, but everyone could hear him anyways. “She should come with her family,” Jocelyn rep
The dryad looked at the hybrid, who had distanced herself from her sire. They wondered briefly what the two had spoken of but quickly became apathetic to it all. They simply wished to return to the Fae Wilds at this point. “If the hybrid does not have magic, there is no need to consider a threat. Just as witches have lost their power when turned into werewolves, we will treat this as the same case. Any development of magic will result in the immediate execution of the hybrid and the sire.” Marwen turned to Elias. “You are forbidden from siring for the next century, when we shall reassess your case. Any attempts to do so will result in the immediate execution of yourself and any progeny made in that time.” Elias shrugged, uncaring. He had no intention of siring any time soon. In the past 1,500 years, he had sired only three vampires. Though when he was first turned, he used his ability l
There was a visible tremor of shock that ran through The Council Members after Jocelyn announced so calmly that Claire should die. A small squeak of fear escaped the hybrid’s lips, but she did not give the witch the satisfaction of looking in her direction. Marwen only narrowed their eyes in anger. “The Council did not ask for your opinion on the matter, Priestess. And we do not appreciate it. You may leave.” They raised their voice and spoke above the fire, “Elias Elhassan.” Jocelyn left, the matter-of-fact smile still on her face. Elias glowered at her as they passed one another. Immediately, he stood by Claire and reached his hand out to hers. Lifting her puffy face up from her hands, she stared at him blankly, ignoring his outstretched ha
When Marwen decided that Jocelyn would ‘take the stand,’ as it were, Claire felt a bubble of hope flutter around her chest. She would have to tell the truth. She would admit that everything she said about Elias was a lie, and that Claire wasn’t really a witch with any powers, and that everything could go back to the way it had been those few minutes that she felt freedom. But the cruel smirk gracing her grandmother’s face quickly popped anything she felt. She wore that smile as the High Priestess created the same blood spell, pressing it against the Priestess of The Yew Coven’s forehead. The dryad faced the old witch with a glare; they did not care for her cocky attitude, nor the fear that she struck into the hybrid. “You were listening