When we finally approached the meeting room, Ares opened the door and gave me space to enter again. For all his faults, one thing for certain was that Ares was a gentleman, for sure.As soon as we entered, all eyes were on us. I glanced at Ares and then headed into the room.“Vale,” greeted my father.I smiled, nothing reaching but wide enough to be courteous. Although, I did enjoy my father’s company. Even now. I sauntered over to my father and, as I did, noticed that Harlyn was standing nearby. I was curious, and I wanted to speak with her as she had been among the wall of things on my mind.Before I could greet my little half-sister, however, Dad seemed to have had a bit on his mind. “You’re late, Ares.” There was clear impatience and frustration in his voice as he said this.“Dad, it wasn’t his idea,” I started to say when Ares lifted his hand to silence me.“I do not need protection, little inhuman,” he said, his eyes steadily on my father as he said this. “You know as well as
Vale: I knew it wouldn’t take long to find my mother, so I didn’t go straight to her. I thought about veering off the beaten path and finding something to get into for a little while, but I thought better of it. There were strange things happening in Shadow Veil and the sooner we found out the root of the problem, the better off we’d all be. And maybe I'd finally be able to leave this place behind once and for all. Maybe. Even if I had no clue where Mum's secluded little hiding spot was located, I'd easily find her. Mum's power always gave her away. There was something almost electrifying about her power. Everywhere she went, whenever she was in a mood, the breeze would pick up, forcing the trees to sway against the night air. What would most always give her away, however, was the mist that would arise from the ground nearby. I stood outside of the log cabin, the little abode that she lived in whilst watching over me my whole entire life, and watched as her unspoken anxiety a
Merari:As we stood there, facing young Tobias, I could not help but picture the face that I remembered as a baby at that orphanage. Then, too, the young man that he had become once the beta had decided to take him in.Admittedly, Valene was treated particularly well for Alastair not to know who she truly was to him. I guessed that Tobias would have gotten the same treatment. At first, I felt guilty about steering Alastair in our daughter’s direction. I knew, after seeing the way that Vale was being raised, that I had robbed him of a comfortable life. Then Toran showed up and decided to snatch him up. Toran was far more lenient than even Alastair was when it came to Tobias. Sure, the young lad was respectful and stayed in his place like the rest of them, but when left to his own devices, he was as free to do what he pleased as Vale, even more so, if I was being honest.It was because of this that, for a time, he had been allowed to leave the Slaughter’s vassal hood. Interestingly en
Vale:She was concerned, and she had every right to be. Tobias was different; he wasn’t the same one I knew before. Not completely, at least. He watched my mother closely the entire time that she was there, and when she left, he watched her depart. His eyes lingered on the spot long after she had gone. It was sort of unsettling. I thought to break the silence, but I didn’t because I wanted Tobias to do it. I wanted to know what was on his mind. It was clear that this was not the same Tobias that I knew over two years ago and half of my life before that. Still, I wanted to know that there was some part of him remaining behind, whatever this darkness was that had clouded over him.“You know, she’s right,” he finally said to me, his back still facing me as he broke the lull in the conversation.When I didn’t respond, he turned around and finally faced me with that trademark, charming smile on his face. I still didn’t respond to him because I wasn’t ready to. Not just yet.“Your mother,
Alastair: Valene and Merari had been missing for well over an hour. We'd be getting nowhere on this night. Tired of waiting, I dispersed the crowd for the meeting. The least we could do was ensure the city was protected until we received more intel on who we were potentially up against. There was no point in further discussion if the whole reason behind the meeting was missing. I ordered the witches to cast border shields and alarms along the city line that would signal us whenever a rogue was near. It would at least make things easier on the pack. “Alright, let’s disperse to the borders,” I ordered my pack. “Ares, spread your pack where you see fit, but I will call mine to the north and west. We'll spread out in between each designated area." “And what do you want us to do?” Harlyn asked. In her silence, I had nearly forgotten that she was there. "Harlyn, I-""And what are we going to do about the vampire coven?" "What do you mean?" "Are they not supposed to be assisti
Alastair: “She wanted to talk with him alone, Alastair,” said Merari as she answered my question about leaving our daughter alone with an undead Tobias. “She wanted me to warn you as well. She’d get two birds with one stone, I guess.” If anyone could handle themselves, Valene could. I had no doubts about that, but the father in me couldn’t help but be worried for her safety. Especially when considering the fact that I had just gotten her back. That was all besides the point that, yet again, I got the feeling that Merari was hiding something from me. Some pivotal information that could potentially help out the situation that Shadow Veil was steadily sinking into. “We will discuss what else you’re hiding from us later,” I said. I wasn’t in the mood to spare Merari her privacy at this point. The whole of my city was in danger, and she was keeping something from me that could potentially turn the bad luck that we were having around. Now was not the time to be blinded by my adoratio
Vale:“It was after she murdered me in my own home….” An odd place to begin a story.A bunch of time had passed before we could reconvene. Mum seemed to be having a harder time than anyone had previously realized. Even me.So, when she started to tell the story of her life...and death, my heart would secretly break for her. Silence took over before the story could even really begin. Her eyes glossed over and I suddenly realized that she had begun to lose herself in whatever trauma she was about to tell everyone in the room about.“Mother,” I softly called to her. I started to take a step toward her, when my father lifted his hand to pause me.Our eyes met and I knew immediately why he did this. “Alastair Wade has been on the sidelines long enough.” When I heard Fierya’s voice, my eyes shifted to her. “Fierya?” I whispered.I hadn’t heard the sound of my counterpart for what felt like an eternity. I could feel her but she just…she stopped communicating with me completely.“We…are h
Per usual, dad was there to soften the blow of reality for Harlyn. He stepped in, stopping me from getting brutally honest with Harly, and took it from there. It was only because I respected him that I conceded, but even my respect for my father was starting not to be enough to hold my tongue.“Harlyn, me and your mother were separated when I met Ms. Van Doren. It was while I was searching for your mother after she went feral, that I ran into her…my true mate.” Dad tried to explain.“And that excuses what you did?” Harlyn pressed. “Is that what you are trying to say to me, dad? Really?” Harlyn spat irately.“Nothing excuses what I’ve done, Harlyn," Dad spoke with conviction before he continued to further explain himself and truth be told, I was irritated by it. Not because he readily admitted to his truth but because he obviously felt obligated to give in to Harlyn's entitlement to his life before she had even existed. "I’d been chasing your mother around the world…for so long…fo