The next morning with the haze of sleep still sitting over her, Ann had briefly forgotten the events of the night before as she stretched languidly under the cloud-like duvet that enveloped her completely.As the reality of her situation intruded rudely on her blissfully unaware state, she groaned and threw the covers off, before carefully extracting herself from under Adam's arm that had been lazily thrown across her stomach."Leaving me so soon?" Adam murmured, his voice still thick with sleep."There's too much waiting for us, my Alpha." Ann chuckled as his eyes opened wide suddenly and darkened as he gazed at her half-naked form perched on the edge of the bed."There's always time to squeeze in a little..." Adam protested playfully as he lunged to catch hold of her and pull her back into the bed, but Ann cut him off with a laugh."Little? Adam, you know as well as I do that there's nothing little about you, or the time that we spend wrapped around each other." She laughed as she qu
Coral guided them to the dining hall under the escort of the royal guard and as they entered the hall, everyone that had been seated stood instantly and bowed their heads in their direction."I'm not gonna lie, I kind of miss having a quiet breakfast without the audience already," Ann murmured to Adam, who chuckled in response.Ann motioned for them to sit as she took her seat and the breakfast dishes were brought out."Goddess, is it going to be like this every time we eat?" Ann frowned as she watched plate after plate of dishes being unloaded onto the table in front of them."I mean, at least we know you'll never be short of choice." Adam chuckled.The seating arrangements were the same at the Royal Table as they had been the night before and Ann found herself seated next to Bartholomew once more.She had already spotted Greyson and a few other faces she didn't recognize seated at one of the tables closest to theirs. Judging by their similarity in dress, she assumed they were p
They arrived at the entrance foyer to find Lexi and Allen seemingly in a bit of a stand off. Allen was refusing to look at her, whilst Lexi had a mild look of amusement on her face as she lazily cast her gaze over him."I don't know why you're so scared of me Beta boy." She commented as Ann and Adam pushed the doors open."I'm not scared! Why is it such a big deal if I'd rather ignore you? There's no law saying that I have to engage you in conversation." Allen grumbled as he held a box in one hand and steadied two large suitcases at his side with his other hand."Don't kid yourself. I can practically taste the fear and trepidation oozing out of you. I don't bite you know?" Lexi smirked, "Well… not unless you want me to."Allen scowled and sighed heavily, as Adam cleared his throat and they both looked towards them expectantly."Ironic that you both turned up at the same time really." Adam drawled with a sardonic smile. "Perhaps it's fate…" Ann teased as Allen spluttered indignantly."
Lexi had the grace to look a little embarrassed that her comment had been overheard and she mumbled an apology whilst she avoided eye contact with Bartholomew as he made himself comfortable in an old leather armchair that sat in front of his desk."No need to apologize, my dear, I'm fully aware of how people see us outside of these walls. Even more so those with Daemon blood, hmm? Our kind, especially those holding the title of Royal Elder, haven't always made the best decisions in relation to your people, now, have they?" He smiled warmly as Lexi's head shot up and she narrowed her eyes at him."How do you know that?" She questioned suspiciously, "I mean about my Daemon heritage. Have you been spying on me?!" Bartholomew chuckled."My dear, even with my wolf's heightened sense of smell being able to pinpoint your unique scent, I was present during the trial and the investigations that preceded it." He explained with a kind smile, "I'm fully aware of your heritage and I want you t
"Times were very different back then and I had been dumped on the doorstep of the Moon Goddess's Sanctuary that used to stand at the midpoint of our Kingdom." He continued with the slightest hint of regret as he sighed again, a little more softly this time. "I try not to dwell on it too much as I know it was done in an effort to give me a better life than a clanless Vampire and a rogue shifter could give me back then. Now, of course, things are very much different. You can settle anywhere in the kingdom as long as you register with the authorities, perhaps even join a community if they are willing, although being independent is certainly something to be admired..." Bartholomew rambled a little before stopping and grimacing apologetically. "Ah, I'm sorry, I appear to have wandered off on a tangent. It happens sometimes." "It's okay. But, Bartholomew, wasn't the Sanctuary destroyed during the war though?" Ann frowned.So much of their history and monuments had been destroyed in that
The three of them made their way down the never-ending, twisting corridors with the Royal Guards following closely behind. "Don't you get sick of tweedle-dum ad tweedle-dee following you all the time?" Lexi murmured as she glanced over her shoulder at the two stoic guards with expressionless faces. "I guess I haven't had long enough to get sick of it yet," Ann answered with a shrug. She was sure it would probably be irritating at some point, but for now, at least she had someone to ask if she got lost in the maze of corridors that the Enclave was turning out to be.After descending the third set of stairs that seemed to twist in upon itself, she was almost positive that if she tried to find her way back she would most likely get lost. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to tell Adam how to get here."Bartholomew, I wanted Adam to meet us wherever you're taking us." She said a little hesitantly as she pulled her phone out and began flicking through to the message center."Yes, yes.
Ann couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from it, staring at the being on the cold, metal slab in front of her and almost forgetting to breathe.Greyson and Bartholomew stood at her side with a grim expression that was almost identical, and the Elders assembled at the edges of the room watched curiously as Lexi circled the creature slowly with a deep scowl creasing her forehead."This shouldn't be here." She muttered as she bent forward and peered closely at the creature's twisted face, its features contorted in a menacing snarl that had persisted even in death.Ann understood the confusion as to why the beast didn't emit any odor, as the skin seemed to be paper thin and had broken apart in places, revealing the mass of flesh underneath. Lexi lifted her head and suddenly fixed Greyson with a hard stare. "You're saying there was no stench, or scent whatsoever when the creatures were attacking?" she asked, the thinly shrouded disbelief in her words hanging in the air accusingly.Greyson
They had spent a good few hours within the cell that held the corpse and once the Elder's questions had been exhausted for the day, Ann, Adam, Lexi, and Allen left to allow the Elders to dissect the corpse itself. None of them had any desire to remain behind and see what the insides of that foul creature looked like in person, and were quite content to allow the scholars to do what they did best and compile their findings into an exhaustive report. Once they emerged back into the hallways of the ground floor, Lexi finally uncovered her mouth and nose, her face still wrinkled in disgust."Ugh! It's like the odor is stuck inside my nose now." She groaned in irritation as she rolled her eyes to the ceiling."I'm sorry we couldn't do anything about that Lexi. Odd that you could smell it and we couldn't though. Ann answered thoughtfully."Tell me about it. Necromancy stinks, quite literally and figuratively. I just don't understand why you couldn't smell it too." Lexi replied in disg