Cassius POVI had a new pep in my step. I finally had a way of winning over my mother’s intrigue and strategies, and I was a happy man for it. She had been nothing but cruel and calculating, for all the eternity I knew her. I often wondered how a creature such as her was my mother, and at times, fleeting thoughts even asked me if we were related. “Sad to inform you Cassius, but she is indeed our mother. I can smell hers and Bella’s blood, it is her blood that is mixed into your veins”, Marcus offered an ever so unhelpful opinion. For once, I wished he was wrong, but deep down I knew he was not.“Never mind, I can daydream Marcus. She never felt like our mother, you know”, I clarified. “You are right, she is not exactly a mothering type. She is a cold, calculated, ruthless creature and while I admire those qualities in general, as our mother she is an abuser and utter failure”, Marcus decided to elaborate on his disdain. “But we have something now – we have a way to WIN!”, I said excit

Kal POV I was stunned. I looked at her, my world crashing around me, finding myself suddenly unable to speak. Would my children kill me? Why? I thought of Emma and Leo, thought of her gentle souls. There was nothing, not a sliver of darkness in either one of them – nothing even remotely evil or diabolical that the Beast and I could sense and if anyone could sense it out, we could. Something was wrong. Something was not adding up. Thalia came over and hugged me, her tears falling on me, saying nothing, just holding me as if I were a small child. I gazed upon her beautiful eyes and saw love and immeasurable sadness. “There is more Kal”, she said, and I did not know what more there was, and how and if I would be able to handle it. The Beast was breaking on the inside, roaring, wanting answers, but also wanting to understand what had happened, why this was the way it was, why our children would kill us. “There were two dreams though, Kal”, I heard his voice. “How do we know which one is t

Kal POVStanding there with my mother wiping my tears, I felt numb. I could not think of the possibilities which plagued my mind. I had so many questions, yet I was afraid to hear the answers, perhaps already knowing what I would be told. “We are a family. We define ourselves by those ties, by family bonds, by love, struggles, hate, fears, and our children. Ever since I created you, and since the world has birthed more, we entrust our family, entrust them with loving us, protecting that which we hold to our heart, that which we hold most dear”, Mother spoke again, her soft gaze on Thalia and me. I could feel she was going down the memory lane of emotion and I could sense a faint hint of regret in her voice.“Sad thing about this world, one I could not have protected either one of you are family ties. We value them, perhaps above all others and above all else, but inevitably, often we are forced apart. We promise and fail – promises made, yet unkept. Children…. Children, most of all, w

Amelia POVFor days I had this feeling I was being followed. Yet, every time I tried to figure it out, every time I tried to catch whoever was on my tail, I failed. The only explanation for this was magic, of course, and as an Elven Princess, I had plenty of my own. Yet, I could not find the mysterious person or persons who were following me, for reasons unknown. I had plenty of suspects to think about - my own father, First Dragon, Verena herself. I did not know who would want me to spy on or why, but I hid plenty of secrets from each, so it was a fair game. I dodged them as best as I could and used the cloaking spells. However, even then, I still felt eyes on me. This was getting me stressed out. I needed to figure out a way, I needed to get to the bottom of all of this and understand what exactly I signed up for.My thoughts went to Darius again, as so many times, all this time. After his death I was never able to express how I feel, I knew my pain, I knew my heartbreak, sometimes

Cassius POVAs usual, the conversation with my mother went nowhere. Well, almost nowhere. She was her usual self – determined, evil, selfish creature I had got to know since the day of my birth. Truth be told, I hated her. I hated her with my whole being, I hated what she’d become, I hated what she made me into. She had cornered me into this feeling, the feeling of being alone, unloved, and first and foremost a monster. A useful monster, yet still a monster. All she cared about was pure-blood succession, legacy of a kind, somebody to carry on her name, her achievements, as she called it. She was devoid of any sort of emotion, anything motherly. To her, I was a means to an end, a tool to accomplish what she always wanted. And nobody dared go against her, well not many anyway. Those that did quickly understood why she was dubbed a Bloody Queen among Lycan and other creatures alike.Yet, something bothered me seeing Myra there, especially in such a compromising position. I did not know w