Kane hands Milner a bottle of water and a bar of chocolate wrapped in gold leaf. “I’ve been told it’s your favourite,” he says and indicates to the bunk for Milner to sit back down. Milner gracefully accepts the chocolate and water. “Indeed it is. You are too kind. Have you tried it?” “No,” Kane replies. “I have not.” “It’s simply glorious. The flavours of the chocolate are so complex.” “I am not a big fan of chocolate.” "I always mistrust people who don't enjoy chocolate," the human says. "Well, I'm not a person, am I?" my mate replies smoothly. Milner finally sits back down and looks past my mate at me. I’m just here to ensure that the man is being honest and isn’t hiding anything magical from us. The vampires already checked and made sure he's magic-free, but Kane trust me more than he trusts them. “And you must be the charming Miss Jones. I’ve heard much about you.” “I prefer Willow,” I say. “Or if you really must, Missus Madden.” Milner inclines his head in my direction,

Kane's POVI watch Willow where she sits in the window, always her favourite spot to pass the time. The view from here isn’t as spectacular as the view we had in our old apartment, but that doesn’t stop her. She loves to look at the back gardens.With the loss of so many Omegas, we’ve had to redistribute our resources, and the gardens aren’t much of a priority. At best, we’re just trying to stop nature from reclaiming the castle. The garden is wild and unkempt, but I have a feeling she likes it that way.I am not that charmed by the wild garden. Of course, if it’s all just going to burn, it doesn’t matter at all what we do.I’ve spent most of the night feeling deeply sorry for myself. Patrick excused himself early, but Willow hangs in there, not talking much, but letting me know that she’s here if I need her. I'm grateful, but I don't want to burden her with my foul mood. She just came back to me, and I'm not going to be the one who robs her of her newfound peace.I still feel as trap

I break the spell I cast to silence the humans, and stand back to watch the hybrids work. The magic that altered the humans’ aura is unbelievably powerful and at least as strong as the hybrids' magic. It takes them nearly an hour to break through the spell.Tully joins me a while later, quietly observing the vampires while they work. “Where have you been?” I ask her.“Glenn didn’t want me to come…he said I needed to rest.”“Did you?” I ask.“No, not really…but it made him feel better.”“Yeah,” I sigh. “I know how that is.”“What kind of magic is this?”I shrugged. “I haven’t got a clue. Can you feel it though? How old it is?”“Yes…the witches working for them must be ancient.”“Or vampires.”Kane turns his head in my direction a small frown between his eyes. He won’t mind link with me, not with so many vampires around, but he shakes his head just a fraction, telling me to shut up. I nod back.Out of nowhere, the humans let out a collective gasp and fall to their knees. With a flash th

As always, it is painful, almost unbearable, to say goodbye to my son, made so much worse by the fact that his first birthday is coming up, and knowing we’d probably miss it. "At least he'll have a birthday," Suri tries to comfort me. "I suppose." But oh, what I wouldn't give to be there with him, to see him open presents and enjoy his first taste of birthday cake. “Can I get one of those energy thingies you always use?” I ask Kane after I take a shower. I am exhausted. I was up all night, watching my beautiful family sleep. Kane gives me a sceptical look, then opens the top drawer of his dresser and hands me one of the vials. “Be careful with this stuff,” he says and runs his eyes over me. “Maybe start with half a vial and see how it goes. You’re so small…” He’s not as protective as he used to be, which makes for a refreshing change in or relationship, but it’s not something that comes naturally to him – he has to force himself to stop doing it. “Thank you,” I say and drink only

Kane's POV I lift Milner’s dripping head off the ground, staring at the eyes that are wildly shifting from left to right, his mouth still open in a silent scream. “Good Goddess,” I groan and swallow against the bile. “Willow?” I gesture at my mate to come over. And to think, there was a time that I would have tried to shield her from such a gruesome sight. She immediately joins me, stopping short when she sees Milner’s mouth opening and closing, making a strange, wheezing sound as he sticks his tongue out and waggle it around in an attempt to lick his lips. Willow stares at the man that somehow didn’t die when I decapitated him. She goes a little green around the gills and her mouth sets in a thin line of disgust. “It’s the same spell Agatha used on herself that's keeping him alive.” Raymond, the hybrid vampire, lands next to us and starts to laugh. “Moron.” “Is there something you can do?” Willow asks. “To kill him properly?” “There’s only one way I know of – someone has to go