Deanneth I shut my eyes, and let myself soak for several more minutes in the bath. Clara was asleep. I must have pushed her to her natural limits, and now she slept more deeply than ever. If I had my way, I would have tied her up, tossed her over my shoulder, and disappeared in some anonymous inn where I could take her in every way I liked. Unfortunately, being the leader of the Dark Shade would not allow me to do so. Let the girl rest, I thought. She’ll be much more fascinating once she gets her spark back. Hot water burned the open wounds in my back, and I shivered. I played with the silver ends of my hair and noticed that the dye was fading. I needed to have it dyed once more. It was only a casual observance. My mind chewed on other matters. She called me a liar. I was glad that she wasn’t an idiot – I wouldn’t have even looked at her if she was. For some reason, she instinctively knew I wasn’t who I claimed to be. But she still didn’t know everything, and being one step ahead o
Mateo I walked on the snowy path that curved upwards to the Castel. Jellyfish, one of the more friendly Granuben hounds, bowed and wagged her black shaggy tail at me. I stopped to pet her on the head, and she growled happily. She sniffed at my vellum sketchbook and sank her massive jaws into the cover. “Argh! No! Bad dog! Let go,” I told her firmly. She released the book in dejection, and I grimaced as I wiped off the drool from the cover. I made my way inside the Castel and stomped my feet on the red carpet to get the snow out of my boots. I heard loud laughter and angry voices from the great hall. I looked up longingly in the other direction. There were the steps that led up to my tower where peace and quiet reigned supreme. However, Torieux told me to report back to him if I ever saw Saber, and I had to fulfill my duty to my leader and sire. I headed to the main hall where the noises grew louder and louder, and I pushed the double doors open. Quin was up and about and in fine sp
MateoI stepped up to the bleeding werewolf, and I slowly pushed the barrel of the gun against her forehead. “No,” she whimpered. “Don’t. Please.”“Stop,” I said, trying to make my voice as hardened as possible. Instead, my words wavered in the air, and I was shocked at how nauseous I sounded. “I’ll make this quick, all right? You won’t feel any more pain.”“Please,” she said, and I wanted to vomit.My hands trembled, and I begged myself to just pull the damn trigger. I reasoned that letting it go on like this was crueler. Kill her. What’s the matter with you? Werewolves are worse than animals. They maim and murder us; they enjoy doing it. They killed Tor’s daughter. They killed so many of the Elder Ones in horrible ways. They burned us alive. They tortured us. All I’m doing is what Tor asks. “I don’t want to die,” she sobbed softly.I turned away, and I clicked the safety lock back on. I spat out excess saliva on the floor and wiped my mouth. I stared at her mangled body, and then I
Clara I awoke after what seemed like several weeks. It wasn’t good to be sleeping this often, though I had done the same thing when I was a child. I was always exhausted from the stress of avoiding werewolves who hated me or wanted to pick a fight. I thought about what Hazel had told me: how I always was trapped in fights that I was always destined to lose. I wished that she was here with me now, protecting me from my stupidity. One thought led to another, and I wondered if it was too late to try to go back to Bragne to see what had happened to the rest of the Moonstone Pack. Would it be suicide to try to go back to that isolated city? Had the vamps truly killed everyone there? I thought about the ferocity of Griffin, his father, Sisley, and the Lieutenant, and I refused to believe that could be the case. The whole reason why I had felt the need to leave was because the Alpha would have killed me outright. But would that really have happened? I wondered if it really amounted to cowa
Hazel When the leader of the Greater Vampires caught me, I had given myself up for dead. I only hoped that I wouldn’t blurt out the location of the other members of the Moonstone Pack. Alpha Andelle had warned me to only leave the stone dens in dire emergency. I considered that the mewling cries of the starving children of the pack were emergency enough to risk going out to find food. There were barely any adults left who would come with me. They were terrified of the vampires, and I didn’t blame them one bit. After the Dark Shade prince had taken Clara with him, the Moonstone Pack had suffered several other attacks throughout the course of a single month. We once had around ninety werewolves remaining; now our numbers dwindled to twenty-five. Most of them were pups. Prince Griffin, Lady Sisley, the Lieutenant, and the Alpha had gone out in twos or threes to desperately seek out any other packs around Bragne, but they found no one. We tried to move all at once as a pack at the begin
Clara “I want to go to Bragne,” I told Felix, as I dug through a cabinet full of clothes. We were back in the Quarters. The weather was much colder, and I was glad. It was too warm in Khordon. There was something about the weather in a southern city that made me too stuffy and sleepy. The days were getting shorter, and I had to wear something warmer. I frowned at the assortment of sleeveless, barebacked dresses. Felix leaned against the wall of the room and clicked his tongue. “Out of the question.” “Why?” I demanded. “Because of the vamps?” “Because of Deanneth,” Felix said pointedly. “You think he’s going to let you waltz out of here with your head in the clouds? I spent almost a week making sure you weren’t going to die.” I was about to give a scathing reply, but I thought better of it. Felix wasn’t going to open up to me if I continued to put him on the defensive. So I straightened up and looked into his eyes. “Thank you for saving my life,” I said. He tilted his head at me i
ClaraI pulled the shawl over my shoulders, but I could sense Felix’s agitation. “You’re not going to listen to a word I say, are you?”“I am listening to you,” I replied, but he was close to the truth. Already, I formulated a plan in my head. If I shifted into my werewolf form, I could run nonstop to Bragne. I had done it before. I knew the territory, the hills, and the forests there. It’s possible that the Moonstone Pack left secret markings that I knew about, and then I could pick up the trail. All I needed to know was what happened to Griffin and Hazel. And if I found them, I would convince them to return with me to Khordon.I didn’t know what I would do if the Alpha saw me. I held on to the hope that he had changed his mind. Maybe he finally realized how hopeless his situation was, and that he wouldn’t instantly kill me when I approached. A nagging thought gnawed at me. What if it was exactly as Felix said? What if I couldn’t find them easily? During the night, it was highly poss
ClaraFelix stood shock still. His brain must have been in override. He didn’t say anything, and he didn’t move. I felt embarrassed doing this, but I didn’t let him go. He was slightly smaller than me, but today he seemed even smaller and more pitiful. He rested his head against my shoulder, and I felt his hot cheek graze against my bare skin. I tried to remember what Hazel did when she tried to soothe me. I stroked his back in slow, gentle circles.Felix didn’t cry, but his arms suddenly lashed around my back and waist. His hot breath burned my neck, and I felt as if I was being violently hugged by a small, but heavy bear. His slender body shivered, and I stroked his silver hair. My fingers ran down to the back of his neck. The Mark would be there – a symbol of black magic and ostracization. Before, I would have recoiled in disgust at the thought of touching someone with the Mark. But now, I only felt pity for Felix.He held me as if no one had ever bothered to show him any physical