When the emerald-eyed vampire came closer into view, the lycans and werewolves noticed that there were copper-colored streaks in her blonde hair. Five streaks, to be exact. Lucianne took a deep breath. This was her first encounter with the species that the lycans and werewolves declared truce with more than two centuries ago. In fact, this was everyone’s first encounter with them. The oldest among them was Chief Dalloway, and even he had never met a vampire. Territorial lines are strictly drawn between their species not only for the purpose of preserving peace. It was also an open secret that it was a way to practice avoidance from a species that could very well drain them of their blood and their lives with it. Lucianne felt the tension in the atmosphere. The people by her side were as anxious as she was herself, despite every

At 2 a.m., Alissa cautiously removed the ceiling panel of a prison corridor after checking the outline of the place three times with Hailey. There was no room for error. They had a stringent timeline to stick to or they would all get caught. Hailey stayed in the space between the roof and ceiling as Alissa climbed down the rope she just let loose. She skillfully landed with an almost inaudible thud on the cement floor. Alissa then got out a few melatoxins, mothball-like objects that vaporized into the air to make everyone in the room drowsy. If one was already asleep, then the chemicals would induce deeper sleep. She rolled one into every prisoner’s cell, making sure that her flicking of each ball made it to the far corner of their cells, where their beds were. When Alissa was done flicking seven melatoxins from the eight-cell

The prisoners were jolted awake at 5:45 am, and were allowed an hour’s run around the treeless, fenced-up prison track. After the guard blew his whistle to indicate that the hour was up, everyone got into the showers. Greg was surprised when a guard told him to rush through breakfast and get ready because he was summoned by the king and queen, and the meeting was at 8:30 am. Greg knew that Alissa and the others were efficient but this was efficiency on a record-breaking level. He didn’t expect the meeting to be anytime before noon. The duke made a mental note to reward the team later.   After dashing through breakfast and putting on the formal shirt and trousers the policeman left on his bed, he was escorted to a police car. The three policemen assigned to accompany him remained silent throughout the hour’s drive to the station, each trying their best to avoid making eye contact with the duke

Outside the interrogation room with Reida in her arms, Lucianne dictated an email to Pellethia, and Xandar typed out whatever she was saying on his phone. After he, Christian and Lucianne were satisfied with the message, the king then sent the email. The empress’s reply came in a matter of minutes. Xandar, Christian and Lucianne took a few policemen with them, and they got on Xandar’s jet to head to the vampire village, Falling Vines. Lucianne linked Toby and Phelton to meet them there. Xandar persuaded Lucianne to stay on the jet with Reida, and after giving thought to the fact that they would be in a territory where the Queen’s Authority would have no effect on its species, she agreed to stay on the jet with their daughter. When they landed, Pellethia, Octavia and a few others from the previous night were there to greet them with warm smiles. Only high-born vampires who had evolved to not feel the burn from sunlight were there. Octavia wasn’t high-born, but mating and marking Pelle

Xandar’s link came through, ‘Hey, baby. Everything alright?’ ‘Yes. How are things on your side?’ ‘So far, so good. Greg was right. The scents here only point to three lycans. No wolves. We’re now going to check if there were any proditors. Are you alright on the jet?’ ‘Since my overprotective husband left three policemen with me and our daughter, even sending the empress who clearly has the potential to be deadly if provoked, I really can’t see how I’m not alright.’ He chuckled. After a moment, he realized he had nothing to say, so he simply uttered, ‘I love you.’ As the familiar heat crept up Lucianne’s cheeks, she linked in response, ‘I love you too, Xandar. Stay focused, alright? They need our help.’ Xandar was in the mood to be playful. ‘We are helping them, sweetheart. What’s wrong with me speaking to my wife during the investigation?’ ‘Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because this conversation is steering away from the problem at hand?’ Xandar’s voice turned deeper and more f