All Chapters of Midnight Bride: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

The silence becomes oppressive, and my thoughts turn restless. What are they planning? Why hasn’t anyone returned?My mind wanders to Valeria, to the last image I had of her. She was bloodied, but defiant. Did they take her to a pin or cell too? Is she still alive? My jaw tightens, the pressure building behind my eyes. I press my head back against the wall and squeeze my eyes shut.The cold from the floor seeps into my bones, and I start to tremble. Not from fear, but from the icy chill of loneliness and exhaustion. Hours pass. Maybe more. My sense of time has unraveled completely, shredded by the void of inactivity and anxiety.And still, no one comes.That’s what frightens me the most.Valeria is stuck with Ramsey and here I am, like a dog in chains. I glance down at my wrists where the chain meets skin. It’s raw and angry looking from all the times I’ve pulled at it. Blood stains my hands.“They want me to be feral, so I might as well give them what they want. At least if I kill a

My pulse quickens. I spin in place, searching for the source. But the landscape remains the same.“I’m not supposed to be here,” I whisper to myself, as the chill seeps deeper into my bones.But something… or someone… wants me here.And they’re waiting.I look around again, but nothing seems familiar. None of my dreams have ever felt like this or looked like this. “Hello!” I call out again, hoping someone will hear me.Once again, I’m met with silence.My breath comes out in a ragged gasp as I try to find a single shred of something familiar. There’s no one here and I’m lost. I take a few more steps, but the crunching sound beneath my feet is driving me mad.“Why can’t I be somewhere warmer? This is ridiculous.”I rub my hands up and down my arms, moving into the trees to block the wind, though they provide little shelter. It seems to come from out of nowhere with no sign of stopping. It’s making the atmosphere even colder and I swear the temperature is dropping.As I rest against th

“So I was right in my earlier judgment as well. Kendric has always been my fated mate. Look, we may have loved each other before that moment, but a fated mate bond isn’t something you can stop..”His gaze lifts and meets mine. “Yes, but that doesn’t change what we have. Wolves and their stupid fate. If it didn’t exist, then you would have never had to go through all of this and I would have never made the choices I have. I became a vampire because of—”He cuts himself off, and I realize the rest.“That’s why you became a vampire, and the curse was made for us to be reborn.” My voice trails off. “That’s why midnight is so significant.”“Technically, becoming a vampire was the price I paid for the curse. The person who cast it didn’t tell me what the terms would really be. Only that it would change me so I could live to see you again.”Tears prick at the corner of my eyes again, causing them to burn. All my life, I thought I had bad luck or something. The dreams and all the abuse were b

As I lay in the dark, against the stone floor, my mind refuses to rest. It’s like someone left every door and window in my head open and the wind is howling through, carrying fragments of memories, feelings, fears. None of it is cohesive.One minute I’m reliving the battlefield. The next, I see Valeria’s face twisted in anguish, her hand reaching for something, or someone, just out of reach. Then I see her with him. With Ramsey.I squeeze my eyes shut tighter, trying to will it all away, but nothing works. Even once I finally drift into sleep, it’s restless. Shallow. I’m tossed from one nightmare to another, waking up with my heart racing and my throat raw from screaming. Every time I open my eyes, I swear I see her silhouette, just there on the edge of my vision.But she disappears every time I blink.Finally, I fall deeper into unconsciousness, but nothing about this sleep feels peaceful.The world around me is off. It’s all wrong. Everything is tinted a little too blue, like a memo

A woman dressed in deep red glides into the room without uttering a single word.Her gown hugs her body like liquid flame, embroidered in threads of black that shimmer like oil in candlelight. The fabric trails behind her, whispering against the stone floor as if it remembers every footstep ever taken in this room. Her presence is commanding. The kind of woman who doesn't need an introduction because power announces her before she speaks.My breath catches as I realize I’m no longer with Ramsey. The forest, the battlefield, even his voice is all gone. The biting scent of smoke and blood replaced by something floral and old, like dried roses left too long on a grave.I’m lying on a bed I don’t recognize, the sheets beneath me softer than anything I’ve ever felt. The bedposts are carved from dark wood with winding patterns that look like thorny vines, twisted and creeping toward the ceiling. The room is dim, lit only by the dull golden glow of sconces on the stone walls and a flickering