He waited until the camp grew quiet. Vampires were out doing their own recon or feeding; the dhampirs were prone to sleep like they were still human, and Lenora had retired early with Maria. There would be no one there to stop him.Santos had learned early on in life that you generally got further if you could pretend that you belonged to the people or places that you wanted to infiltrate, which is why, instead of sneaking into the Vampyre Queens lair, he walked in as if he'd been invited.The room was fairly dark, but undead sight is sharp, and in no time, he located Lenora, sleeping on the rugs beside Maria's crib. This was almost too easy. He thought to himself as he moved stealthily over to the sleeping Queen. Santos's eyes flared a deep ruby red as he opened his jaws, extending his teeth to deliver the killing bite to the jugular. As he descended with lightning speed, Santos found himself suddenly trapped in a suit made of icy wind. The flakes swirled around him,

Watching the dragons take to the skies was bittersweet for Bella and Shadow. They stood by their statue on the mountainside while the babies slept peacefully in their bed under the watchful eye of the Cerebus, a gift from Quinley as she began her reign at Ravenclaw. Soon Adrastus and April were little more than specks in the dawn sky, carrying with them Bella's brother and sisters as they headed back to Desdayos. "May the Goddess protect you." She whispered when they finally disappeared from view. And Shadow tightened his arms around her, content to watch the sunrise over their land. They could almost fool themselves into thinking that it was going to be an ordinary day, with routine paperwork and normal pack business, but then they remembered Maria."In a few months, they'll be a year old Shadow, Maria has been gone for two months, what have we missed? Has she met her wolf yet, like the others? Does she have abilities from my family? Is she walking and talking, ther

It was midday by the time the Alpha and Luna finally pried themselves away from their babies, and as the last spell sealed off the door to Ravenclaw, separating the parents from their young, Bella's eyes were glassy and Shadow kept wiping his eyes as they traveled the familiar path towards home. The township was eerily silent, no children played in their yards, and all the businesses were closed, as the pack prepared for the onslaught at nightfall. In their hearts, they knew that this was their last day of happiness before the ugly morning that would bring with it the deaths of family and friends. Behind them, the Cerberus Alpha watched out for their safety, and his pack was already scattered in the forest to prevent the enemy from arriving early and catching them unawares. There was nothing left to do but wait.As if by some unspoken agreement, Shadow and Bella entered the sacred land, coming to rest beside the memorial stones of the fallen. "Tarakona, Abigail,

Jarvis crouched low to the ground, as his pride spread out, stalking their prey. The dragons circled overhead and he watched as they threw the scouts' bodies down from the sky, scattering their easy kill. 'Wait,' he commanded as the dragons made their second pass, this time blowing ice from their mouths, freezing the vampire's front line before a lone figure leaped gracefully to the ground. He signaled to his lions to split and take both sides of the wall, as the coppery stench of blood perfumed the air, and in one fluid movement, they burst from their cover, building their rapid momentum to get past the barrier and into the battle unfolding. The Vampyres never heard them coming as the Marcioni pride launched their massive bodies onto the nearest enemy, latching onto their throats and tearing out jugulars with relish. There was an impressive pile of corpses on his right as the Seductress wove her deadly web of swinging swords, pirouetting with lightning speed around an onslaught of

Shadow stalked towards Santos, his fury a physical entity as all other sounds of battle faded. With a roar that thundered over the plains, Malik burst free while he closed the distance between himself and the man who had caused his family so much misery. Santos laughed and spread his arms wide even though the wolf raced towards him, and then his face changed, as his eyes glowed bright red and the muscles of his body contorted and transformed into a hideous beast with wings. Santos and Shadow met in the middle, clashing like titans, while Santos reigned lightning-fast punches down on the Alpha. Before Shadow could gain any momentum, Santos picked him up and threw him with superhuman force onto the ground before kicking him in his soft underbelly. Malik grunted but shook off the pain as he scrambled to his feet, snarling ferociously at the dhampir. Santos spread his membranous wings to fly a short distance to regroup, but Malik leaped fiercely into the air, grabbing onto his body and