“G-Grandfather?” I asked horrified.“Yes,” Marius said, his voice turned soft as he looked down at the man. “My dearest… dumbest brother, the vampire king himself. Lucien, the Bloody.”He laughed. “He always hated when I called him that… There couldn’t have been a gentler soul in the world…”I swallowed. “What does that mean?”He leaned on the casket. “Lucien wanted peace… He sought to follow the Goddess’ will and ensure that you filthy wolves lived prosperous lives on the other side of the divide… Allowing Solare to feed off of the magic and wonder of Lunae…”He tilted his head. “But his benevolence was his undoing. You wolves grew greedy.”“That’s not true! It’s— ““What would you know?” He asked, blinking at me. “You’re barel

Raven growled. “What the hell is your problem?”Lucien lowered his hand and just stared at me. His lips twitched into something bittersweet. “Do you truly love him?” he asked. “Candido, right?”“Of course, I do,” I said. His lips twitched, and he chuckled. “You sound like her too… very well.”He shook his head. “There is no helping it. You will not even reconsider what that will mean? Your destiny--”I glared at him. “I’m a werewolf. My destiny is to be with Candido as his luna.”He chuckled at that. “I suppose you are right… She said so, but I had hoped…”He sighed and shook his head. “I suppose hope is what got us all here in the first place, but there is no place for hope any longer.”He sighed again. He looked so much older now. “Where… did I go wrong, I wonder?”Raven’s eyes widened. “G-Grandpa—”He cupped Raven’s face. “You cannot force someone to want that which they do not wish for themselves… Her choice does not change the fact t

The woman walked away from me after telling Candido whatever she had to. I tried to hear what she was saying. I wanted to step in and pull them apart, but there was a barrier around them. I couldn’t hear anything. I couldn’t even read Candido’s lips or see his expression as they talked. Jealousy burned in me. I had just gotten rid of Estella, and that had been hard. I was still trying to get rid of the rest of his family and everyone else who would be against us being together. I had never expected to have to try and get rid of a vampire too. I hurried towards the bubble, but before I could slam my hand against it and try to break it, the light faded. My hand fell through the air. Candido turned away. I dashed in front of him, cutting him off. He cocked an eyebrow at me. I stared at him, waiting for him to say something, but he said absolutely nothing. For a few moments more, I waited, but still, he didn’t say anything. I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t stand it. The anger boiled in

Candido turned back to me. For the first time, there was something familiar on his face. He almost smiled. His eyes were as clear as before and I thought that maybe it meant that Estella’s enchantments were finally completely wearing off. “Thank you,” he said and turned, heading back towards camp. I set my jaw as he walked away. I couldn’t believe he just walked away after that. I was willingly staying behind. Why hadn’t he at least hugged me, if not kissed me?I didn’t get a chance to ask him why or confront him because as soon as I headed back to camp, the jeeps were leaving. The trucks had already started to head out into the forest. I saw Candido standing in the back of a truck with a few other people disappearing into the woods. I watched the truck leave, leaving me behind with most of Wolf Fang and a few other people who had been rescued from the vampires. There were a few fighters among them, but not enough. I didn’t see any of the members of Blue Moon or Moon Shadow except

Shiloh nodded and vanished as Messiah gathered something on the ground.“You said—”“Vampires have no business meddling with the fall of this world,” Messiah said. “You think you understand what is going on, but you’re blinded by your own desires.”“Enough,” Ian said. “Messiah, go.”Messiah huffed, sneered at me, then vanished into a portal. Ian didn’t face me for a moment, but then he slowly turned around. For the first time, it felt like he was really looking at me, not just looking near me. The anger in his eyes seemed to grow molten hot before cooling and the look of indifference came onto his face. “What details Candido chose to share with you about the deal that was struck between us is not our concern.” Ian’s eyes twitched and he skimmed his gaze over me. “The original deal between Solare and Lunae or even just this recent truce is none of your concern—”“I’m going to be—”“Because you do not truly care,” Ian said. “Consider this… an act of kindness. Listen to Candido for once