Kay stepped backward and her eyes darted down to Emilia’s hands. She held her hands out in front of her, and she looked terrified.Emilia followed her eyes and saw that her fists were glowing. Her entire body was glowing. She looked back at Kay, happy to show her what it felt like to be the terrified and scared one. To show her how she had been forced to live her entire life.***The visions assaulted Emilia, thick and heavy. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw a big, bad, scary wolf.In every vision, it was wreaking havoc, killing and destroying everything in its path. Its muzzle dripped with blood and its eyes were red with murder.She had been having the same dream for weeks and she had become afraid of going to bed. She had no idea what to do to make the dream go away, and she was too afraid to talk to anyone about the visions.Her family already despised her for being a witch. She didn’t think it would earn her favors to tell them that she had been seeing visions about a dead

He sighed deeply, relishing the sweetness of the memory. He stored it like valuable jewels in a special part of his mind, somewhere he could access it at will. Somewhere he would never forget.And yet…he still didn’t feel certain that she would forgive him. He knew that it was out of his hands. He knew that all he could do was give her a chance to make her own decision, to arrive at her own conclusion. He had no part to play in that decision.He did have a lot to feel optimistic about though. For one, she had reached out for him when she’d needed a partner to save her life. The healer had explained the concept to him but he couldn’t help doubting it.If Emilia saw him as her partner, why then was she so hell-bent on leaving? Even after finding out she was pregnant, she had turned down his offer for them to raise the child together.Every time he felt as if he was starting to understand Emilia better, he was thrown around in a circle and then he realized he didn’t know her so well afte

Articus had turned to face the door when he heard the steward say there was a problem. But on seeing Selina, he jumped out of his seat, immediately on guard. He pulled out a chair and helped Selina into it, and then squatted down beside her.King felt his chest tighten. He refused to think about it. He could not think about it. “What…what happened to you? Who did this to you?”Selina looked up with bloody eyes, her breathing ragged like a captured animal that had thrown itself at its cage relentlessly. “The enemy attacked,” she replied weakly, her voice dry and scratchy.Articus grabbed a pitcher of water and handed it to Selina but she shoved it aside, closing her eyes instead. Articus and King exchanged worried looks, then turned back to Selina.“What enemy, Selina?” King asked cautiously. Selina’s eyes fluttered open and it took her some seconds to concentrate on King. She had suffered too much blood loss. He turned to the steward who remained at the door. “Send for the healer imme

“I was buried by my people as the last one of us,” the vampire continued. “I was instructed to avenge my fallen kin whenever I awoke. That was their last mandate to me.“I was terribly confused when I woke up. Everything was so different from when I had gone under, and I wondered how long I had been asleep for. And then I realized that there weren’t any of my people left in the town. The wolves had solidified themselves and overrun the whole town.”Emilia noticed the snarl when he saidwolves. It was the first time his voice had changed cadence. There was something here. She felt worried but restrained from asking questions. Still, she felt a cold jab of fear.“Moonwood is a wolf town now, it seems,” he said coldly. “Their species used to be a small group, huddled together under the cover of trees, roaming and hiding, without territory. Not anymore. There are so many of them, I can smell them no matter where I go.“That’s all well and good. There couldn’t have been a better time for me

He frowned and narrowed his eyes at her. She shriveled under the scrutiny. He looked down at her stomach and she covered herself reflexively in horror. Knowing how he felt about the wolves, she was afraid of what he would do to her unborn child.A look of realization settled on his face. “You’re carrying a wolf child in your womb…” His voice sounded as soft as the wind rustling through leaves, barely a whisper.He let go of her wrist and took two steps back. He looked hurt and upset. “How could you? How could you allow your womb to be tainted by wolves?” And then, his eyes turned as cold as ice and his voice hardened. “I will wipe them all out. I will start with Moonwood, and then I will wipe every last one from the Starlight Valley and wider.”Emilia started to plead but he just walked backward, with a look of cold resolution on his face. Without another word, he turned around and sped off into the woods, heading toward the town.Without thinking, Emilia started running. From the den