Emma settled into his embrace, trying hard to concentrate but she was so exhausted.  Within the hour she was fast asleep and safe with Matthias protecting her.   She felt a warm blanket wrap around her and his warm kiss upon her forehead. His whispers penetrated her consciousness, "Sleep tight, my little shadow." Then nothing but darkness as sleep enveloped her until she walked into a dark room without any windows.   She wrinkled her nose at the stale smell of blood and oh... it was horrible.  The cloaked figure raised her head and stared at Emma with purple eyes.   Eyes that penetrated into Emma's soul as she heard, "Child, remember my words.  The day will soon

 Alone in their chambers, Matthias took Emma's hand and growled "Follow me. Hurry!"Emma was scared as they meandered through the castle to the depths below, where the sun never shined and the air was cool and dank."Matthias, where are we going? You are frightening me!" Emma stuttered from fear and anxiety.He barked at her, "You should be scared and let's just hope Katana has already arrived."Watching Matthias frantically pacing this dungeon room, she gasped as she realized where she was and asked, "Matthias, now? Do I use the spell now?""Is this the room that you were in with Katana?"Emma was so confused as she looked at her normally calm mate. His anxious behavior rattled her. "Matthias, what's going on?"Matthias turned to her and used his hands to indicate that she needed to hurry, "Now! Emma, the spell, say it now!""Oh, goodness, how can I remember it now. I am so flustered."Her voice was crackin

 Viktor was screaming for help.His clothes were on fire and his skin was starting to burn.  He fell to the ground, rolling around, trying to stop the spread of the fire before he needed a legion of souls to heal. His eyes caught Matthias' before he landed but suddenly a loud rushing fireball raged overhead.  Viktor watched as Emma and Matthias tried to dodge the fire, but they were too late.  He was helpless as the fire surrounded them, fearing for the worst as the couch and curtains set on fire and crawled up the walls and fanned across the ceiling.  Smoke started to billow throughout the room but there was no movement from Emma and Matthias.  Not a sound. Yet he

Matthias and Emma turned to Katana and nodded before throwing open the door to Carsten's chambers.  Without a word they entered along with the security team.   Glaring at his brother, Matthias started to brutally search Carsten's  memories for any signs of past betrayal and future plans.  At first, there was nothing to find, but when Katana and Daan joined forces, the cracks in Carsten's shield fell away. Carsten was fighting them off but eventually he lost the fight and betrayal plot after betrayal plot was revealed.   Numb to the deceit, Matthias gritted his teeth and continued watching memories of Carsten talking with James about how beautiful Alice's death was orchestrated.   Learning that James had paid Anders to follow Alice and torture her once she was alone in the woods.  The original plan was just to harm her but killing her, well... James was proud of himself, knowing that without a mate, Matthias would not

Standing in her room, she looked out over the castle grounds and she could still smell the stench of the smoke that clung to everything in the castle from the curtains to the bedding. The mirrors were covered in a black film and the raging fire was burned into her memory. The screams and chaos that ensued as Matthias disappeared left everyone scrambling to find him and his precious mate, but not everyone was playing the same game.As her eyes wandered across the beautifully landscaped gardens and the picture perfect world created for the elite Schatten, rage built up within her and she wasn't sure if the darkness or the light would win over her heart.She clung to the pillow with Daan's scent and took a deep breath, knowing the way her mate touched her and electrified every part of her when they made love, she was confused. Completely and utterly confused. She wanted to hate him and not love him. She wanted to kill these miserable Schatten out of vengeance that stemmed