SYLVIANow that the council left and most of the pack had gone back to their respective homes, I was left by myself. Exhausted by the events I sat on a wooden bench in the rose garden watching the bees collecting pollen from the heavy heads of the flowers, trying not to look at the smoke curling up into the cool blue sky at the top of the hill. They burned her body, but there were no mourners at her funeral pyre.King Lucien locked himself in his room after the execution and I haven’t seen him since. I wanted to be with Hunter, but I respected his wishes to be left alone. He would come to find me when he needed to. I just hoped it would be soon. I missed him.The warm sun on my body made me drowsy and I shut my eyes, taking in the sweet scent of roses. Lulled into sleep by the birdsong and buzzing of insects, I felt more at peace and safer than I’ve been in a long time.A pair of small arms around my neck woke me up.“Mama, you were snoring.” Nina laughed up at my face. Her curly blon

HUNTERThe next trap lay in wait for the group. Joffrey and I covered an old dried up well with sticks, moss and dried leaves. Easy to spot if they used all their senses. I watched them from my hiding spot, eager to see how they would react when one of the opposite team members came charging through the grass. And wouldn’t you know, fell right into my trap.“What the….” Carl jumped back, bumping into Luc.“Was that Reese?” Teo peered into the hole.“Hey! Get me out of here,” shouted Reese from below.They laughed and mocked him until Teo hushed them and called down to Reese: “We’ll help you out, but you have to tell us where your flag is.”“No, I can’t.” He growled unhappily.“Well, then we’ll just leave you. I’m pretty sure Alpha Hunter will find you. Eventually.” Teo said and the group began to move away.“Okay, okay!”Teo motioned for his group to help Reese out. Tying their shirts together, they lowered the makeshift rope down for Reese to grab. After a few failed attempts, he man

SYLVIAHunter rounded on us, his face scarlet from rage. I cringed internally noticing his large hands curl into fists, but I refused to let my fear overtake me.“He’s not Drake. He won’t hit me.” I told myself repeatedly in my head.Before I got a chance to explain, Madame Helen interrupted. She tugged on Hunter’s shirt sleeve, ignoring his blazing eyes that would have withered any wolf.“Alpha, you must protect this girl. She is your mate, right? I sense that she herself is very powerful, but the child she is carrying is of great importance. But they are both in grave danger. I saw it in the water. This evil is hanging over them, a vulture ready to swoop down.” She wrung her hands, appearing nervous. “It’s not safe here. You must go. Go now.”He nodded to the older woman as he gripped my arm firmly and dragged me with him to his car. Tasha still stood in front of the house, uncertain of what to do.“Hunter…”“Save it, Sylvia!” he growled out and I snapped my mouth shut. “Tasha, Luna

SYLVIA “What happened?” I asked, shocked to the core. Now I understood why Hunter was acting so out of control. “The woman I spoke to said the whole house reeked of dark magic. It must have happened right after we left.” He laid his forehead against mine and I cupped his face in my hands, our eyes meeting. “Have you spoken to Father? What did he say you should do?” King Lucien certainly would suggest something. “Yeah, there’s the thing… I wanted to speak to him, but knowing Father, he would want me to put down Joffrey. Sylvia, I can’t do that.” He uttered a pained groan. “Either that or start a war in the witch community, wipe them all out. I know Father has a deep-seated hatred of their kind.” “But Selena…?” “Is a healer. I already told you.” Hunter answered me, tight-lipped. I threw my hands up. “Fine! She is a healer.” Whatever. I turned away from him, shuffling papers around on my desk. Aldine previously put everything in meticulous order, there was no need for me to check o

SYLVIA “Who? Who found us?” I held on tight to Nina who clambered onto my lap in a panic. The white mist surrounded the vehicle making it impossible to see anything outside. Even the sounds of the waves along the shore fell silent. As if the mist swallowed everything.“The coven.” Selena whispered. “They’ve come for me.”Hunter let out a fierce growl. “They will have to go through us first.”“I told you this was a bad idea. Didn’t I tell you? We shouldn’t have come, Hunter. Now you’re all in danger. Just let me deal with them.” Selena’s hand reached for the handle, but Hunter prevented her from opening the door.“No!” he slammed his hand over hers. “I promised to protect you. Teo and Tasha, with me.” He locked eyes with me, and the message was clear: Stay put.The three of them got out of the limo. Out of the dissipating mist three figures appeared. Two men and a woman dressed in black robes their faces hidden by their hoods came closer and stopped in front of Hunter and the twins fl