I swallowed, staring at the dark brown-haired man in front of me. His bare, chiseled chest was covered with blood, but I doubted the blood was his… Amanda. The blood must have been hers. My stomach clenched at that thought. Had Landon killed her? Tears stung in the back of my eyes."What have you done to Amanda?" I hissed, shifting to a fighting stance.He scratched the stubble on his chin and chuckled. "I had to put her to sleep... a deep sleep, possibly eternal.""Why?" I rasped, hot tears flooding my cheeks.He shrugged. "I warned her."A dry laugh escaped my throat. "You warned her?!""Yes. She shouldn't interfere. She signed her own death sentence." A dark smile spread across his mouth. "I killed your friend. You killed two of my warriors… I am generous, so I might say that we are even.""You didn't have to kill her!" I snarled.He sighed. "She foolishly believed she could stop me. A hundred-year-old vampire against a pure-blooded five-hundred-year-old wolf… it had to end this wa
Amanda told me about her special skills. She wasn't the strongest fighter, but she and her brother, Nicor, had unique regeneration abilities. I wish she had told me about her little secret earlier, but I was amazingly glad that she was going to be all right. I stood in awe, watching the wounds disappear from her body. She shrugged and gave me a crooked smile."Those skills saved my life more than once. Unfortunately, I'm not immune to pain, even if I can withstand more punches."I looked at the bloody puddle around her and inhaled a ragged breath. "He hurt you pretty badly, didn't he?"Amanda chuckled dryly. "Landon might have been old, but he was also stupid. All those cuts he gave me slowed my heart rate to a nearly undetectable level. Since he could no longer hear it, he figured I was dead…" Then she frowned slightly and lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Nala. I thought I could handle him, but that son of a bitch was too strong…""Yes, he was." I smiled faintly. "But it no longer matte
Calvel took my empty glass and refilled it with wine. "You'll need it," he said, handing it over to me.I didn't object. My whole body was trembling. My emotions were all over the place, and I needed anything I could use to calm down. Calvel sat in a chair in front of me, studying me as if he hoped to find out how much I already knew."Don't do that," I told him, annoyed.He leaned back and raised his brows. "Do what?""Don't try to analyze me. I'm tired of games."His lips twisted into a wry smile. "I'm not trying to play games with you."A dry chuckle escaped me. "That's funny because right now, I feel like I've been played and manipulated from the moment I met you."He frowned. "Now that's unfair. I've never tried to manipulate you into something that would harm you."I groaned in frustration. "Do you even listen to yourself?""Nala, I've been only trying to protect you," he claimed, and, surprisingly, I knew that he wasn't lying about that."How about Ash?" I asked and heard his h
"What the hell was that?!" Amanda took those words right out of my… head since I doubted that I could actually say them out loud. I was unable to say anything at all. I simply stared at Calvel as he broke our kiss, his lips curving into a satisfied smirk."Well, that felt pleasant," he all but purred, putting my cheeks on fire.My trembling hand moved to my lips, and I traced the swollen contours with my fingers as I looked into his eyes. I felt the soft tingling, and I barely resisted an urge to drag my teeth through the plush skin. I think my mind might have been in a bigger mess than when I caused the quake. His touch and scent instantly reminded me of the sex dream I had with him as the main lead…I shook my head violently, chasing away all the strange, and highly inappropriate thoughts, before forcefully shifting my eyes to the cracked walls and smashed windows. Finally, my eyes found Amanda, and my lips instantly formed an apologetic smile."I'm so incredibly sorry, Amanda," I s
I stared at Ash with my lips parted and heart slowly shattering. He averted his eyes from me and shifted his attention to the window. "Are you seriously going to give me that ‘I'm not capable of loving’ kind of excuse?" I all but hissed.He ground his teeth and turned his eyes back to me. His irises were burning. The fire raged inside him, but it wasn't aimed at me. Then he drew a deep breath, putting out the flames in his eyes. "I didn't say that," he said coldly.My breath caught in my throat. "Is it about me then…?" I couldn't restrain my dry chuckle. "Am I not your type, or simply not good enough?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.He cursed and dragged his fingers through his hair. "It's nothing personal. I just…" He trailed off and swallowed. "Let's say that it would have come drastically in the way of my revenge."And yet he used the word "never," referring to loving me. I sealed my lips. I didn't want to continue this conversation, afraid that it would make me feel eve
I stared at Calvel in shock. Perhaps I shouldn't dwell, but curiosity won, and I finally asked, "Did Ash know...?"Calvel nodded. "It was long after he told Estelle that nothing more would happen between them. Estelle was heartbroken, and I wanted to comfort her. I crossed the line I shouldn't have crossed with her… I resented Ash for engaging in a meaningless relationship, and then I repeated his mistakes by believing I could control her, even when I knew exactly what she was doing. She wanted to bring out jealousy in Ash, and perhaps I should have told her that it would have never worked on him. He can be many things, but he surely doesn't get possessive or jealous. In the end, I was the one who led to the whole tragedy."I inhaled shakily. "I felt her anger and pain on the island... Back then I..." I swallowed a lump in my throat. "I thought I was better than her—stronger. But when I heard Ash's words when he told me that he could never love me, I realized that I was wrong. I am ju
I hadn't seen Ash for a few days, but perhaps it was better this way. I grew stronger, more confident, and definitely in control. It helped me cope. I couldn't say that my heart healed or that I didn't think about Ash every moment I was left alone with my thoughts, but I was glad I could shift my focus elsewhere. I shifted it all to training my abilities with Calvel."You're doing great!" I heard him say as he threw another rock at me.I was blindfolded, standing in the center of the room. Calvel moved around me and threw stones my way. It was my task to hear it and smash it before it could hit me. I hadn't failed even once, no matter how fast my teacher moved or how strong his attack was."OK, that's enough. You can take off your blindfold," he said, and I could hear the pride in his voice.I untied the black strap that covered my eyes and grinned at him. "I'm getting better at this, and I didn't even need a lightsaber!""A what?!" Calvel clearly hadn't watched Star Wars.I laughed n
The war was about to begin, and I was going to sit in the front seat while it happened. Formally, I was still Ash's fiancée, and if he sat on the throne, I would also be considered a ruler of this world. As dumb as it sounds, I felt a brief shiver of excitement hearing him refer to me as the Queen—his Queen. That feeling lasted a heartbeat before giving way to a painful stab in my chest. I would never become his Queen, because he wasn't mine. As soon as he sat on that damn throne, our fake relationship would end.Ash, Calvel, Nicor, and even Amanda seemed absolutely confident that the plan would work. I was certain that the Malachious family's army was well-trained and more than capable of defeating those who sided with King Morfran Tenebris. I knew that Ash and Calvel had been preparing for this moment for years, analyzing every detail and strategizing their scheme to perfection. So why could I hardly breathe from the restlessness that gathered within me? My instincts weren't simply