{Merryn's pov} One minute I was lying in a hospital bed wearing an oversized men’s t-shirt with a large, warm hand resting comfortably on my smaller one. The room temperature was comfortable, and I felt at peace, despite the uncomfortable mattress underneath my body. I vaguely remember falling asleep, and that’s it. Then, the next minute, I woke up alone, standing in the center of a dark room. The floor was cold and smooth underneath my feet, like marble, and I wondered if I had somehow ended back at Samael’s castle in the ballroom where he had taught me to dance. I tried to move my legs, but my feet seemed rooted to the spot. My heart began to pick up its tempo due to the uncertainty of my situation. Nothing made sense. Then again, nothing usually makes sense at first. I sighed, reaching up toward my hair and noticing it falling down my back in soft, delicate waves. My fingers felt around my head, touching my earlobes and feeling a pair of diamond stud earrings. Continuously follow

{3rd person pov} The sound of expensive suede shoes clicking against the marble floor echoed throughout the castle. The man moved with so much grace and elegance, seeming to float as he approached the pile of ashes scattered in the corner of the room. His black dress pants clung to his thick, muscular legs as he crouched beside the ashes, scooping a pile of them into the palm of his hand. “Gilipollas.” (idiot) He growled, glaring down at the ash bank. He tilted his hand, letting the ashes fall to the floor and join the rest of the pile. “Oh well. There are plenty of witches,” he shrugged as he stood up and folded his arms across his chest. Just as he spoke those words, a flash of purple light appeared before him. Black smoke oozed out from the light; from it, a woman materialized in front of the man. She wore a long, plum-colored lace negligee that glided down her tall, slender body and made her pale skin look almost translucent white. Her dark, silky silver hair cascaded down her

{Giovanni's pov} Closing my eyes, I tightened my hold on Esmeralda’s waist. She felt tiny, almost fragile, while wrapped in my embrace. Time had barely passed, yet her tears had already soaked my shirt. The sense of wanting to protect her was more substantial than any other need I possessed. Even the urge to go and obliterate that vampire vermin who put his hands on my mate permanently from existence. She was the only thing keeping me grounded. Her scent permeated my very being, bringing forth the tranquil memories of those summer days spent on the beach during my youth. Those bittersweet moments were rare after my mother passed, peaceful in their own right. Now, with my mate clinging to my form, those memories enveloped me as her scent of sea breeze, and tropical flora subdued the two raging animal sides of me. Merryn, sweet and guileless, trembling in my arms like an injured bird. And the one feeling truly helpless was me. After some time, I could tell she had calmed down because

{Merryn pov} Today flew by faster than it probably should. After changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, we left Gio's Pack Hospital, and he showed me around his Royal Pack territory. Which I discovered was called the Haze Mountain Pack. The name made sense because of the heavy fog that rolled in every morning, starting a few centuries ago after Giovanni's mother died. That bit of history was too tragic for my sensitive heart to overhear. Fortunately, Gio spared me the gory details and settled with, "It was an unfortunate consequence of war," and that was that. We travelled by foot during most of the trip. Gio stayed by my side the whole way. Whenever we would pass by an unfamiliar face, Gio stopped and introduced them to me and vice versa. There were too many names and faces to remember that I had already forgotten most of them. The only person I had not forgotten was the young warrior named Cameron, who happened to be the wolf I outsmarted during my race to freedom. That conve