Jones stared at Claire as she whispered, “What happened next?”            Suddenly, she was a little girl again. He used to tell her scary stories about werewolves, vampires, fae, and warlocks. May hated it, but he couldn’t say no when his little niece looked up at him with big eyes and asked so politely for a story. He would always stopped at the climax, sighed dramatically, and say that it’s too scary. She would grab his hand and say she wasn’t scared, that she would be brave. She would ask, so excited, “What happened next?”            This was not a little girl asking for a story. This was practically a carbon copy of his sister, the last family left from a life he tried so hard not to forget. Her leg was jumping in her seat, but out of agitation, n

            The ceremony surrounding The Council was not particularly extensive, but it was too much for the thin patience Elias had for the situation.            Since The Council Meeting was called due to a vampire’s misconduct, Ife was responsible for most of the formalities, especially pertaining to evidence. Only the truth would be tolerated, and to ensure such, each representative of The Council had ways to force the truth out. The High Priestess casted a spell based in blood magic. The Alpha King commanded it. The fae representative carried a book charmed by the first fae queen, Titania. As for Ife, he simply told the vampires that they could not lie.            As one of the men on trial, Elias was closely guarded by soldiers of each species. He could not care less. “Why is none of thi

            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

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

            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,