Cathy How are you doing? I thought. Good. Tired, but good, the voice in my mind answered back through the tunnel. I snorted to myself. Tell me about it. Exhaustion was now a staple to my life, accompanying me everywhere. My only friend besides Theo. But I care more about how you are, the voice continued, sounding a bit concerned. You don’t really talk about yourself. Sighing, I looked at the ceiling, following the pattern of angels carved in the stone. There’s not much to talk about myself. The estate is well, the garden is fine. The only thing I have to talk about is Theo. Since it was Aldrich, he always had to analyze each one of my words. The garden is only ‘fine?’ That’s not how you usually describe it. I have not told him how I don’t like to be outside anymore. Or the mysterious figure in the trees I saw with Theo, or the eyes I felt on me, or the lack of sleep I was getting, or the heavy disapproval I was feeling from th

Aldrich finally came home from battle. He looked gorgeous as ever, his long hair flowing in the autumn breeze, his eyes glowing. I missed those eyes so much—it felt like stepping into a familiar forest each time I lost myself in them. He looked like the princes in old fairytales and folklores returning from battle, and I realized we were living in one. I ran up to him in a field of flowers. The flowers danced and sang around us, cheering on our reunion. My dress was white like my wedding gown, except this time it was more of a silky slip dress. He ran to me, grinning that grin that looked like a schoolboy looking at the love of his life for the first time. My eyes teared with relief as soon as I was in his arms. His scent— the woody lavender–was one I had been desperately clinging to remember in his absence. I pressed my face against his chest, sniffling. “Don’t cry, my Cathy,” Aldrich murmured. He grabbed my chin and lifted it up so that our eyes met. I couldn’t help but smile at

Aldrich As I was rebandaging my wound, I heard a scream pierce the night. Instantly perking up, I was on my feet immediately, grabbing for the nearest weapon. I didn't know where it came from or how close it was or who screamed, but it sounded wet, like blood was gurgling in the screamer’s throat. It could have been a wandering vampire slaughtered by my troops, or a werewolf slaughtered by the vampire. But then the one scream multiplied into several. I realized then, with one brisk look at the time, that it was the middle of the night and we were sleeping where we were going to deploy in the morning. I was usually awake during these hours to secretly tend to my wound—no one else was, however.Just as I was about to morph into wolf form, a warrior burst into my quarters. “Sir,” he gasped, blood splattered on his face, “the vampires have attacked.”“How did they find us?” I demanded angrily as I morphed, preparing to turn into the cold blooded ki

Alan eventually returned to the palace with anger on his face and dirt on his clothes. He approached us looking criminally defeated, and there were bags under his eyes like he hadn’t slept in days. I was still frozen in place, my mind folding over the threat, trying to analyze it. A valid theory was that the woman in the woods who gave Theo “water” was Emily. She had failed to kill me, but maybe she was warning me that she was preparing to attempt again? That theory was cemented by the fact a maidservant was not only threatening me, but using Emily’s name as well. “We didn’t find any trace of the son of a bitch again,” Alan snapped, and Danika abruptly shushed him, implying a sleeping Theo in the next room. “Sorry I’m frustrated,” Alan sneered, narrowing his eyes at my sister, “have you done anything to help?” “I did, actually,” she argued, and a smirk split her face. I noticed the amusement kissing her features as they spoke, and the secret admiration

I aimed for my body weight to land on his head and make him fall to the ground, but as my knees locked around his neck, he acted as if a mere squirrel attacked him from the trees. The man cried out in surprise but was not affected. I started throwing punches at his neck, not realizing I was yelling, and he ripped me from his neck. His strong hands tossed me off like he was flicking a coin; I went lurching into the dense vegetation. . I fell hard on my back, the landing winding me. A heartbeat passed before I could breathe, and I gasped, sitting up before he could shoot me or attack. “And here I was assuming you’d be happy to see me,” the man said in a familiar voice I had been waiting day and night to hear again. I looked at his face, my heart nearly combusting from out of my ribcage. “Aldrich,” I gasped out, using my hands to aid me in standing up. My legs suddenly felt like sacks of heavy skin devoid of any bones.“Are you mad at me for being