FEW HOURS BEFORE THE BANQUET.
VIOLET My date looks nervous and can barely make eye contact with me. He keeps fidgeting on his seat and the constant act of him clearing his throat is already starting to annoy me. My sister had set me up on a blind date. Apparently, he is a friend of hers. It is the only reason why I'm not walking out of the diner right now."Do you like your food?" Malcolm asks after what feels like decades."It's nice. I like it" I respond and he licks his lower lips."I don't know much about you. Can you enlighten me?" he says, bringing a glass of red wine to his lips. For a moment, I'm distracted by the vibrant color of the liquid as he gulps it down. I realize that I'm actually starving. The last time I drank blood is five days ago. I've been quite busy with work."... listening?"I blink, refocusing my attention on Malcolm who looks puzzled."Sorry, what were you saying?" I ask, giving him an apologetic smile.He parts his lips to say something but is interrupted by the ringing of my phone which is lying on the table."Sorry, I have to take this" I tell him, picking the call and bringing my phone to my ear."Where are you now?" Zack, my colleague asks through the phone, a tone of urgency in his voice."I'm on a date. Is something wrong?""It's about the seal" he rasps and my eyes widen."Have they been located?""How close are you to Crescendo Hotel?" He asks. Clueless, a frown creases my brows."An hour drive""Find your way there, right now. There's a banquet going on at the hotel. One of the guests has the first seal with him. You need to be quick"The line goes dead and I rise to my feet. Malcolm appears disheartened, but I don't feel bad for him. Even if the call had never come, I would've walked away sooner or later."You're leaving already?" He asks as I grab my purse from the table."Duty calls. I'm sorry" I tell him. Without waiting for a response, I walk away from him and head out of the diner.I hurry toward my car and get in, slamming the door shut. Turning on the ignition, I hit the gas. My heart races in excitement at the thought of finding the seal. Hoping that I won't be late for the banquet, I increase my speed. I have spent decades searching for the seal and I'm not about to let it slip out of my hands.... At exactly fifty-five minutes later, I arrive at my destination. I narrow my eyes when I notice the chaos already breaking out at the scene. Determined to find the seal, I hurry into the building, in time to see a familiar figure walking towards the exit. I take out my elemental dagger when I realize that he's with the seal. Judging from the severed head on the floor, it's safe to say that the escaping figure is the sneaky bastard who had just committed murder. And, there's no way I'm letting him leave with the seal."Not so fast" I deadpan, pressing the tip of the blade to the small of his back. He freezes and I tighten my grip on the handle."Don't turn around" I hiss and he chuckles."Oh, darling. But, you know I am never obedient" he says, turning around to face me."Wow. You look even more stunning than I remember" he tells me and I swallow hard, my hands already trembling at the sound of his husky voice.He takes off his hat, revealing his long black hair that I had braided in the past. He is wearing dark sunglasses, it's the only thing keeping my knees from buckling. I'm afraid that I will lose my composure at the sight of his eyes."Violet" he rasps, his smile widening. My heart is starting to ache and the feeling of nostalgia washes over me, threatening to bring tears to my eyes."Give me the seal" I say, keeping my voice firm."Oh, this?" He says, tapping the dark object with his long, scarred fingers."Yes, that" I tell him, with a straight face."I'm sorry, sweetheart. I can give you anything but this"I clench my fist, tensed."You're forgetting the fact that my knife is still pressed to your back. You can heal from the wound, but it's going to be painful"He cackles."Come on, you don't expect me to calmly hand this over to you, do you? It's mine in the first place""I'm giving you one last chance to hand it over, right now""Tell me something, sweetheart. Do you want to play catch?" He drawls, a smirk curving his lips.As soon as the words escape his lips, I take out my gun and pull the trigger. He dodges the bullet and throws the seal towards me. I run towards it, but he's faster. Again, he throws it at me and before I can catch it, he beats me to it. His mischievous laughter rings in the air as he continues to infuriate me.Memories of us playing catch as children fills my mind. It only sets gasoline to the fire of rage that has been lit within me."What's wrong? Tired already?" He drawls and I start to shoot at him without restraint. Frustrated, I let out an angry yell and glare daggers at him."Give me the seal, you bastard!" I rage, running after him in desperation. He continues to play his stupid 'catch' game and the more I lose, the louder his laughter becomes. I am convinced that I will go insane at this rate."You are fast, Vi. But, I will always be faster" he tells me, the seal sitting in his grip. He vanishes out of sight, leaving me to stare at the floor in annoyance.'Yeah, right. Fast enough to break my heart' I thought.I shake my head to ward off such silly thoughts, but they continue to linger. To think that despite the fact I've convinced myself to move on from the one person who shattered my heart, it has all been in vain. Seeing him today has ruined everything I've worked so hard for. So many decades has passed, but I'm still foolishly caught up in my own little world of heartbreak. Letting out a cry of rage, I shoot at the wall, wishing it was that bastard himself.'I hope you suffer endlessly' I growl, angry tears filling my eyes."Miss Bane, are you there?" Louis's voice booms from my earpiece."I'm here" I respond, slipping my gun into my holster which is secured around my right thigh."Was the mission successful?""Someone else beat me to it" I reply as I start to head towards the exit."Who did?" Louis sounds worried. I feel disappointed in myself."That bastard" I say through gritted teeth."What bastard?""Dashiell Gryphon""This is bad. He's not supposed to have the seal! Things just got a lot worse. Get back to the main office. Our boss wants to speak with you" his statement ends with a beep. I know I'm in trouble. I can already hear the scolding my boss will give me by the time I get back to the main office. Cursing under my breath, I run my fingers through my hair and enter my car. The drive to the main office is a long one....."Louis told me that you lost the seal" Mistress Noir says, her gaze unwavering. I lower my gaze as I await her bombshell scolding. Mistress Noir as she is popularly called, is my boss of three centuries. She is a loud red head with claw-like nails that are always painted red. Her lips are colored with black lipstick and have always been that way. Her temper is outrageous."I apologise. It was not my intention to lose the seal" I say and she slams a palm on the desk. I don't flinch because I've gotten used to this act of hers."What in the world were you thinking?! It was our first chance to get our hands on the seal! I sent you because you are one of the best hunters in this organization!""I'll fix it. I'll get the seal, no matter what it costs" I tell her and she sighs."How? I hear that the demon has the seal. You of all people should know what he's like""I'm sorry. I'll be careful, next time""Next time?!" She roars, rising to her feet."There is no next time! Once the demon has something in his clutches, he never lets go! He must be searching for the rest of the seal. Do you know how dangerous he can become when he gets his hands on the rest of them?! You have failed, why should I trust you again?!"Taking a deep breath, I look up to meet her piercing gaze."No one knows him better than I do. I will bring back the seal, I promise"Mistress Noir sinks into her seat and rubs her temples. The knock on the door attracts her attention and she leans back on her seat."Come in"Louis walks in, his eyes glowing with excitement."Mistress Noir, I have great news" he announces and she scoffs."What is it?""The location of the second seal has been confirmed"DAKOTA Few hours before the banquet. Clenching my fists, I tap my right foot on the ground, repeatedly. The silence is discomforting, almost eerie. For the past sixty minutes, I've been sitting here in this large room with it's imposing paintings and jarring interior decorations. On the center table is a bottle of wine and a couple of wine glasses. My anxiety is peaking. Earlier, I'd been summoned by The Six. I'd stepped out of the house and had arrived at a strange looking building. My limbs had moved of their own accord. I find it disturbing. But, what can I do? The Six basically gave me a rare opportunity, I don't have a choice."You're here."I look up, my gaze meeting Landon's warm ones. He's standing in front of the door, a hint of a smile on his lips. He walks towards me and sits on the couch directly opposite me. He picks up the bottle of wine and opens it. I watch him as he pours the red liquid into two of the wine glasses. He hands one of them to me. I hesitan
DAKOTA "Give me an answer, Dakota. Did someone ask you to go after the seals?" "What seals? What on Earth are you talking about?" I demand, deciding to feign ignorance. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't lie to me" he spits, his eyes flashing with rage. He is intimidating this way. It is taking me so much will power to stand upright before him. "I told you, I don't know what you're talking about! Stop accusing me!" I cry out. His expression falters, confusion written all over his face. "Get your hand off my mate, right now."I freeze at the sound of Hunter's voice. Dashiell's frown deepens. Slowly, he releases my hand from his grip."Your mate?" Hunter approaches us and takes my hand in his. His gaze meets Dashiell's."You heard me." My heart sinks. If Hunter was Dakota's mate and Dashiell is my mate, my secret is bound to be exposed. The only way to prevent it from happening is to block my scent, subsequently blocking out Dashiell's ability to sense me. "S
DASHIELL"...signed contracts... Ashville...CEO will be visiting today...Sir? Are you alright?" I can vaguely hear the voice of my PA.I lower my head, trying to breathe through the gut wrenching pain threatening to rip me apart. "Sir? Should I get help? You don't look so good-""I'm fine" I cut him off, leaning back on my chair as my vision dulls. A groan escapes my lips as the pain reaches it's peak, nearly bringing me to my knees. I can no longer tell where I am."Dash! Hey! Focus!...at me!" West's voice drifts into my ears as I struggle to stay conscious. Slowly, the pain lessens. I can now make out the feeling of West patting my face to keep me awake. "You can stop doing that, West" I mutter, exhaling slowly."What the hell just happened? You scared me!" He stresses, his eyes wide. "I don't know""Do you need to lie down?""I'm fine. I just..I just need to catch my breath" I whisper, keeping my eyes closed. "This can't be normal. It's been years....No....decades since I've
DAKOTA The tension between Dashiell and the newcomer is edge cutting. West looks worried. He seems to be aware of the history between the two. At first, I had mixed feelings about Violet. Now that she has appeared again, I have realized that she's the member of the Guild Landon had spoken of. She is beautiful, anyone can see that. Clad in a pair of white pants, black ankle boots, a t-shirt and a black leather jacket, Violet is a solid ten. I can tell by merely looking at her. Needless to say, she's giving off ex girlfriend vibes. "What are you doing here?" Dashiell is the first to snap out of his haze. She ignores his question, her gaze drifting and meeting mine."You must be making friends already. Who is she?" She states. "You haven't answered my question, Violet" "What's with the unfriendly stare, Dash? We used to be crazy in love with each other, remember?"The look in her eyes says otherwise. She's still in love with him. I avert my gaze to Dashiell. I'm startled by how cold h
DAKOTA Denial cannot get me out of this mess. At the moment, my mind has gone blank. "Cat got your tongue?" Dashiell says, a smug expression on his face."I...I..uh""Shouldn't you be happy? You said you have feelings for me. So, why did you keep it from me?" Dashiell is smart. If he knows that there's something I'm lying about, he won't hesitate to behead me."Alright, guys. Can we go somewhere private to talk? You're already attraction attention to yourselves" West comments. Dashiell and I turn away to look around. Sure enough, there are students eyeing us with curiosity. Desperate to somehow sneak away, I begin to rush towards the opposite direction. When I realize that he isn't following me, I quicken my pace until I get to the park. Heaving a sigh of relief, I take a seat on one of the metal benches. "That was a close one" I mutter, closing my eyes. "Who said it was over? Did I?" My blood runs cold at the sound of Dashiell's voice. My eyes shoot open, our gazes clashi
DAKOTA Scarlett, West and I are awkwardly sitting on a bench under one of the trees in the school park. Needless to say, I didn't think something like this would happen. "So, who's your friend?" Scarlett asked. "His name is West. We met at the hospital" It is the first thing that comes to my mind. West eyes me with displeasure. But, the thing is, it was in the spur of the moment. There's no time to think. "At the hospital?" Scarlett asks, her eyes filled with concern. "That's right. West has leukaemia" I tell her. West glares at me and Scarlett's gaze softens."I'm so so sorry, West. If you're friends with Kota, you must be a good person" she utters. West gives her a smile. "I try to live rightly. Besides, I don't have a lot of time left. It's hard but I'll get through it" West plays along with me. Scarlett places a hand over his and squeezes gently. "If you need anything, I'll gladly offer my help if it is within my capacity " "Thank you...uh..""It's Scarlett. Scarle
DAKOTA "What are you talking about?" I say, moving backwards out of Hunter's grip. Sweat rolls down my spine, my heart pounding against my rib cage. Hunter is barely containing his rage, it is written all over his face. "You know what I'm talking about, don't you?!" He rages, his nose flaring.He's not going to hit me, is he? I can't help but think. If I failed to find a way out of this mess, the situation could spiral out of hand. Dragging in a shaky breath, I gaze up at Hunter with the most sincere expression I can muster. "Calm down, Hunter. This is probably as a result of my near death experience," I tell him.His frown deepens, confusion written all over his face."But-""You don't trust me. Why?" I breathe, pushing my hair away from my face.He lowers his gaze, his frown fading."I'm sorry. I've been on edge. I shouldn't have-"Again, I cut him off."Forget it, Hunter. I just want to get some sleep. I want to be alone " I say, turning away from him. "Kota, I'm really sorry-
DAKOTA "Who hurt you?" Dashiell's question snaps me out of my daze and I pull away, diverting my gaze from him. In the pit of my stomach, bitterness brims at the thought of the fact that this man who is standing in front of me, is the person responsible for the situation I've found myself in. He deserves to die. "Dakota?" He whispers, reaching out to touch my shoulder.It's true that in this moment, I do wish to drive the blade of a knife through his heart. However, I can't do that. The mission comes first.Mustering some strength and courage, I take a deep breath and look up at him. This is my chance. I must seize it."Dashiell, would you do me a favour?" I ask, feigning an expression of desperation. He furrows his brows and in the depth of his uncovered azure eye, I can see his concern for me. "What is it?" He asks, keeping his umbrella above our heads. "Let me stay with you in your house."For a moment, silence settles between the both of us and he stares at me, now