“They poisoned the well,” Daphne told Blade. "I made tea from the well water and he drank it."Blade looked at the doctor and nodded, “Check him. Quickly.”Arthur followed the other doctor and Blade came to Daphne. She explained how they figured it out, and his expression drew tight with annoyance.“Damn rogues. Who knew they could be so crafty…”It was worse than he imagined. The doctors had figured out that it wasn’t just any poison, but wolfsbane, a poison that was specifically cultivated to use against werewolves. Blade knew that it had been the poison of choice during the battle against vampires from all the stories of the war. Once a werewolf consumed enough, or if they consumed just a bit and were left untreated, they died. Treatment wasn't exactly difficult, but it took a lot of time.If the rogues really poisoned the wells, the entire village was in danger. Several of the wells in the villag

Your Majesty?Lucas sat up in attention and Arthur frowned. What was this old man talking about?“What?”“Tom what do you mean?” Diana asked glancing at Arthur though Tom hadn’t torn his gaze away from Arthur. He shot up from his seat and rounded the table.Rex slowly sighed with relief, “I knew it...”Arthur looked at Rex, “What? What is it?”He looked at Tom warily, “You… You are, aren’t you?”“Are what?” Arthur asked.“Arthur. Your name is Arthur, isn’t it?” He asked, his eyes glowing with hope as Arthur stiffened, staring at the man in shock.He turned his head to growl at Rex, “Where did you find him? Damn it! I thought, I thought he was dead—”Dead?“At the edge of the forest,” Rex said as Arthur looked between the two men. “He came from a v

He was late again, later than any of the other patrol members. She had stayed up until he found his way back.Tonight, it was nearly midnight when he returned, coming in through the door almost silently. There were leaves and twigs in his fur, but he didn’t look as though he’d been in a fight.“Arthur?”He seemed startled that she was still awake and shocked. She would almost say caught, but he shifted and gave her a tired smile.“What are you still doing awake? You should rest.”“I was worried…” Daphne said as he sat at the table across from her. “You’ve been coming back later and later. Is everything okay?”He averted his gaze the way he had been for the past few days.“It’s nothing…”“You’re… acting suspiciously.”He winced, “Well…”“Are you looking for the

Arthur was certain there was envy on Daphne's face. When she talked about Blade and Mamie’s love story, he could tell she thought it was a romantic story. Her voice seemed to be a bit longing as she spoke about it. Admittedly, Blade and Mamie’s story was romantic, but the emotion he felt was more of chagrin and anger.Why would Daphne envy Blade and Mamie? Because they have something that Daphne did not have? Because she couldn’t love him? If she loved him, she wouldn't be envious of other people's relationships.Who was he kidding? He might be royal, but it was a curse as far as he was concerned and who could love a madman? Having a mate may make him able to control himself more, but it meant nothing if it would make Daphne miserable.Arthur's heart sank to his stomach, and Lucas let out a growl of pain. Their mate didn't love them. He was almost certain that she would never find a way to love them either.He hadn’t even realized

“No,” she shook her head as her eyes burned with tears. “No. No. No.”It couldn’t be Anthony. It couldn’t be!Anthony had been one of the only people on the patrol who had been kind to Arthur and remained kind to him. He was so young, he couldn't just die like this!She could save him, couldn’t she? Her blood had managed to heal Arthur’s wounds. She had never used it to save someone so badly injured, but she couldn't just watch Anthony die in front of her. It would at least give him a chance, right?She looked up at Arthur for confirmation. His eyes widened slightly before furrowing. She knew he didn’t want to agree but she worried her lip.“Please… h-he’ll die—”Arthur looked down at Anthony, gritted his teeth, and nodded stiffly, speaking softly.“I'll block other’s view, so hurry.”It was dark, and everyone's attention was