It took a few minutes for Chloe’s stomach to calm down enough to feel it was safe to continue.  Picking her up with the utmost care, Tristan ran, once again, in the direction he believed the cave to be.“The jostling is making me sick,” she said in a throaty, gurglely, voice.He slowed his pace.  “Is this better?”  When she nodded, he added. “I sense a cave nearby.  We will stop there.”“How can you just sense stuff like that?” she asked. “It’s amazing.”Tristan shrugged. “It is something that comes naturally to my people.  I am not unique in this way.”“Do you think I’m morphing into your kind?  Is that what’s happening?” she asked.He heaved a sigh.  If only he could be sure she wouldn’t be frightened by his other half.  If she’d just met him as a beast first; like his grandmother m

Myriana paced the gleaming, white marble floor while she waited for an audience with her father.  It was at least thirty minutes since she’d asked to see him and was told to wait in the great hall.  She glowered up at his empty throne that was positioned on an elevated platform to allow him to look down upon the entirety of the great hall where the elite of the land gathered to meet.  It was so high that it required he shift to his beast state to reach it; after which he returned to his humanoid self.What could be keeping him?  He knew her patience level was low on the best of days.  He also knew her reason for wanting to see him.  Was he taunting her to punish her because she refused to walk away from the love she felt for Tristan?  He was not of royal blood, after all.  Not to mention that he was of the family Dragonas and was tainted by the surface human’s genetic line. Tristan’s grandfath

Chloe sat, wide-eyed, in the darkness of the large room she’d been dragged into by a small group of fierce looking wolfmen.  She’d seen enough in Antoh Sudnik’s laboratory to understand that they were human at the core.  What she wasn’t sure of was if they’d retained their humanity once the wolfism took hold.  Other than forcefully drag her out of the cave and down the tunnel and assault her senses with their dog breath, they’d done nothing to indicate how much danger she might be in. Thoughts of Tristan flooded her.   She tried on several occasions to send him a telepathic message, but it went no further than the wolfman nearest her; much to his amusement.“Who might this Tristan be?” he asked with a sneer.  “Should we be going back to the cave to fetch him?”“We can’t, brother,” said a female from the recesses of darkness.  “We have orde

Chloe was washed, was in one of Martha’s shifts with a hair ribbon holding her long locks in a neat braid down her back, and was well into her second serving of potato-leek soup and home baked bread by the time Tristan returned to the house. Her eyes lit up at how striking he looked in his kid leather pants and Daniel Boone style shirt.  When she saw Baqman standing behind him in similar attire, she smiled.  “Is it a family thing to dress like that?”A look of surprise came over Tristan as he checked out his clothing.  “Like what?”“We work with nature here, dear. You will find limited man-made materials,” Martha explained.“I didn’t mean to offend you,” Chloe said quickly.  “I guess I forgot where I was.  This house looks like it could be from the surface.”“Who do you think taught the surface humans how to build?” Baqman said as he slid past Tris

Chloe helped Martha with a few of the chores around the farm that could be done at such an odd hour of the day before heading back to the house. The closer they got to the house, the more anxious she became.  Would Baqman have the test results?  Was she contaminated with vampire or werewolf venom?  Or both?  Would she need to have her blood cleaned?  How did they plan on doing it?  Were they going to give her a blood transfusion? As far as she knew, Martha was the only one in Manthella who had blood that would be compatible; providing it was the same type as hers.She had herself so worked up about the subject, that by the time she reached the house her legs could barely support her.  She assumed Tristan was watching out of the window because as soon as her legs began to buckle he was racing off the porch and down the path to sweep her into his powerful arms.  She felt weak and helpless, yet secure and happy, as she rested her cheek aga