~Aleksey’s Point of View~   I pulled up to a large house with a sign out front that read, “Huxley’s Funeral Home and Crematorium.” I was nervous as fuck. I rubbed my face.  The weight of the last 24 hours was really starting to hit me and if I could even remotely turn my mind off for a minute I’d fall asleep. I made my way in the back door, as I had probably five dozen times before. I was greeted by some slow jazz, Trevor’s signature sound. I grinned. His dad had played saxophone in the 70’s and 80’s for several big names. I found him at his desk, humming away. He looked up and saw me and abruptly turned down the music.  “I like it,” I said, reaching to shake his hand.  “Yeah but … this is a p

~Alexandra’s Point of View~   I was stuck in a bitter stalemate with myself and it just pissed me off. As long as I was lingering out here, my father’s death wasn’t real. Maxim’s death, and furthermore his betrayal wasn’t real. I knew it to be so, but I just couldn’t allow it. Mother obviously did, she felt their bonds sever, and while she tried to be tough as nails, I was still holding her every night as she sobbed. If I had my wolf, I would have felt their passing more deeply as well. I needed to stay on the other side of the world so it didn’t seem as real, even though the pain on her face was very much real. But then, I needed to get back home so I could move on, concentrate on hopefully shifting soon. The next full moon was six days away. Also going home meant we could get a move on with my courtship experiment. 

~Alexandra’s Point of View~ I threw myself on Robert’s couch as he pulled his coffee table next to my feet and fell next to me. “What the hell is all that,” I asked, pointing at the stacks of papers.“You guys wanted full work ups of anyone interested,” he said, as Emmy strode into the room and put some snack mix down. “Holy shit dude, how many are there,” I blurted out.I looked between the two of them and it seemed like they’d already spoken on it.“I made two piles, this one is those who don’t have a chance in hell,” Emilia said, pointing at the smaller of the stacks.

~Aleksey’s Point of View~   Everything moved in slow motion as I watched Uncle Viktor walking Emilia down the aisle. She was an absolute angel, and she was all mine. The smile that lit up her face was priceless.  I never felt nervous or uncertain about much, but seeing her so upset last night, so rattled ... really got to me. I confided in Robert once Emilia fell asleep. I told him I was lost and didn’t know how to make her feel better. He said I needed to show her, take some time and dedicate it strictly to her. What better way to do that than with a honeymoon? Just the mention of the word and I knew it was perfect. He offered to set it all up for me since he doesn’t sleep anyhow. It was all going to be a complete surprise. This morning I involved mother and Alex, who were both absolutely thril

~Alexandra’s Point of View~ “What a fucking circus,” I said, staring out my window, shaking my head.The entire front gate of the property was swarming with leeches, vile creatures with nothing better to do than to pry into people’s lives. It had now been about 26 hours since the arrests and they likely weren’t going away anytime soon. I looked in the mirror at my pantsuit and smoothed out the blazer. I had to look my best for the roaches outside. But I would never let them have anything other than my best fake smile.“All ready,” I announced as I trotted down the stairs to join mother and Emilia. They were both also well dressed, though Emilia looked simply