When Toby visited Gerella in prison for the first time, his leg fidgetted as he prayed that he wouldn’t see that she had been battered or anything like that. The empress and consort assured him many times that Gerella was going to be safe, and that the prison guards always had things under control so violence and bullying seldom happened behind those walls. He was waiting for her in the private visitation room for two painful minutes before Gerella entered with the policewoman, who then took off the keratin and silver cuffs that bound her wrists while reminding her about the usual procedure and the two hours that she was allowed. Gerella was dressed in the teal green uniform that everyone else wore, her hair up in a ponytail, and Toby sighed in relief that she still looked perfect.  Gerella’s brows arched in confusio

Xandar was in bed scrolling through his phone when he read the news from the empire. Many were awed and even touched by the level of commitment that the kingdom offered to their Imperial Majesties, vigils and governing body during the cooperation.   They were grateful to Greg because he tracked down the triplets and brought back the abducted vampires before killing the scientists and destroying their lab. When he was reported to be ‘the only royal family member who is, at present, single’, some women from the empire even boldly expressed their interest to ‘meet’ the duke.   Xandar took a screenshot of that part of the article and sent it to Greg, and he didn’t expect the reply that came seconds later with only four words, “I hate you, cousin” along with the middle-finger emoji. Xandar chuckled to himself as he continued reading.

After lunch, Lucianne and Xandar met with the vampire rulers to discuss bringing back the Secret Service. They have been watching Greg and his followers. Not only did they conclude that none of them went out of line, they agreed that none of them went anywhere near that line. The initiatives they took were highly commendable; their commitment in the cooperation was unwavering; and their loyalty outshone their pasts, no matter how dark they were painted to be.   Octavia even mentioned that it didn’t feel like they were doing what they did to be pardoned. The royal mavericks helped because they wanted to help. Margaret’s followers were more split - about two-thirds helped because, like the royal mavericks, they grew to like working with others beyond their own. But the remaining one-third were just there for the pardon, excluding the traitors, Kate and Howard, of course.  

It took three months for the journalist to interview Alissa and any acquaintances, friends and colleagues who knew her before she set her bonded mate on fire.   The article entitled “Alissa ‘Arson’ Arden: An Ordinary Woman With a Scarred Past and a Thriving Present” was available in print and online. It topped the charts and pushed back any other headline for the day. The shares, likes, comments and traffic garnered weren’t even this high when the news on Xandar and Lucianne’s engagement went viral.   Alissa was in her apartment that she bought for herself with the earnings made from working with Greg. When the journalist sent her a copy of the article, she let it sit for two hours before she came to terms that it was time to read it. Her heart thumped as she took a deep breath. Her thumb tapped on the link that led her to the websit

3 months later Alissa was pulling Gabriel by his arm through the rows of white, yellow and beige flowers in a nature park where Tate and Margaret decided to have their wedding ceremony. In the sea of White Blood pack members, Alissa finally found the creature she was looking for. “My Queen, this is Gabriel, my second-chance mate and husband. Gabriel, this is our queen.” Alissa said with the widest smile that Lucianne had ever seen. Alissa and Gabriel tied the knot two months ago in the marriage registrar’s office, with only the attendance of her triplets, Gabriel’s brother, Greg, Hailey, Desmond and Ivory. Lucianne smiled warmly at the nervous-looking man in a tuxedo. “Well, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Gabriel. We’ve heard a