TANIA"You're insane," I chastised in a hushed whisper but I still crept through the halls of the estate behind Sylvain.It wasn't as if I didn't know every room in this large building by the back of my hand. Sylvain, on the other hand, thought it would be exciting to explore the estate while everyone was asleep—including the guards who were meant to be awake guarding the damn place. Bloody idiots."Am I, though?" He quipped over his shoulder as we rounded the corner."Yes, why didn't you ask for a tour during broad daylight?" I asked with a roll of my eyes."And what fun would that be?" He quizzed teasingly, reaching back to weave his thick fingers with mine.I jerked my hand back when a jolt of sparks shot up my arm and locked my lips together to prevent my gasp. Sometimes, the way his touch felt still took me by surprise

TANIAOf two things I was irrevocably certain. One: the bond was no longer my biggest problem. Not when severing it no longer solved my problem. Because severing the bond wouldn't suddenly remove the feelings I had for him. And I knew I felt something for him because, if I didn't, I wouldn't have been standing in front of this cave waiting to have a meeting with the council.The second thing I was certain of was that I was about to enter a hostile environment. I probably deserved every bit of hostility coming my way but so did they. So, I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin high. My white locked tumbled over my shoulders, shimmering as it held the slices of moonlight that seeped through the canopy above. We had to hold the meeting at night for the vampires' sake. There were a million places I'd rather be right now, like in bed wrapped up in Sylvain's arms. But instead, here I stood.Mayb

TANIA One hour turned to two and two turned into half the night as I watched my father torture Kali. Her answer was always the same though. She kept insisting there was no way to get my wings back. Each time those words left her lips they chiseled away a piece of hope, leaving me deflated and dejected. If I couldn't get my wings back then I could no longer call myself fae. And, staying here just reminded me of the things I once had and could once do. It made no sense to stay and pity myself. If this was a lost cause then I needed to find a way to move on. Leaving this place behind me seemed like a good option. But only once I knew these people—my people—were safe and would no longer be hunted the way they were. I started something I was going to complete. Sylvain may have thought that I went about it in the wrong way but it finally got the attention I was aiming to get. All I wanted was for my people to live freely just the same as other supernaturals, not needing to hide behind mag

TANIA My body was a jittery mess with the giddiness which coursed through my veins. I awoke at the crack of dawn because of the slices of warm sunlight penetrating through the gap in my closed curtains. When I peered out the window I noticed that the weather was perfect for flying. Everything, for once, was going right in my life. The optimist in me was thrilled and felt that this was a long time coming. I deserved something to go right in my life after everything had gone terribly wrong. The pessimist in me, however, was rearing her ugly head. Anyone would get suspicious when things suddenly began working out for them after everything in their life fell apart. It could have been a strike of good luck which everyone needed at some point. Or, it could even be a nasty trick being played by the hands of fate just to leave you questioning your existence all over again. I stifled those negative thoughts as much as I could but, at the back of my mind, I felt them running their sharp claw

SYLVAINI paced the length of the room restlessly as I waited for Tania to awaken. Hours had passed since I had marked her. In that time, I had taken a shower and forced myself to eat because I needed the sustenance but I could barely stomach the food. All I wanted was for her to wake up so I could see if my marking her had worked or not. I'd face her wrath of being marked unwillingly as long as it worked. I didn't miss the irony of my situation. It seemed like my family had a tradition. My father had marked my mother without her consent because he didn't want another mate to reject him. Quade had marked Sydney because he had to save her, not because either of them wanted him to mark her. And me, I had marked Tania to restore whatever bits of sanity I could before she lost herself completely—again, not because she wanted me to. Of course, I wanted to mark her and make her mine. I wanted her to show off my claim on her because she was proud to be mated to me. But now, she would proba