~ ENRIQUE ~Leo picks up one of the name plaques at the table and smirks humourlessly as he glances at his woman, no doubt conversing via the mind-link. This is confirmed when she gets up and moves into the seat which would have been for Kataleya’s sister’s mate. Now the two spots at the table are between me and him.“Welcome Prince Mikhail Petrov, Princess Anya Petrova, Prince Gedeon Petrov. Glad you could make it,” Alpha Royce says with a smile that makes me wonder how he is relaxed when he has invited those that should be considered our worst enemies. Or so the storybooks say.I knew vampires existed, but most would not see one in their lifetime. They are a rare race and I doubt there are many left, but if these are royals… are they from the first line of vampires? Or self-titled?A man in black leads them towards our table. “Prince Mikhail, I will show you to the seat at the front,” the man says as Leo watches the one in the lead. He is definitely the strongest. I can sense the pow

~ KATALEYA ~“Fucking come again?” Dad growls, making my heart hammer for an entirely different reason.I glance up and spot Dad, Mama, Royce, Leo and Prince Mikhail walking towards the table. But it's Dad’s glimmering eyes that make me swallow hard as Enrique leans back in his seat, unbothered. And he does not remove his hand from my wrist as he looks at Dad challengingly.“You really don’t want to do this now, Lycan,” Enrique says arrogantly, with a small smirk.“What did you just call her?” Dad asks as the Russian prince sits down, amusement clear on his face as Sky hugs her mate.“Mi Amor. Do you want me to say it louder?”“Are you mocking me?” Dad asks icily, turning his irritated glare to the Russians. “Mind taking the front table?”“No thanks, I am enjoying the show,” Mikhail says as he picks up the bottle of untouched wine in the centre of the table.“Alejandro…” Mama murmurs softly.“Not now, Amore Mio,” Dad warns.“Dad, please. Enrique, come with me,” I whisper, pulling him f

~ ENRIQUE ~“Make it quick, I don’t have all day,” I say, smoking my cigarette as I stare ahead into the night sky. I’m no longer that kid who was helpless, the one who had hopes in a certain king, and as I look across at him, I can see the change in him from back then.His hair is littered with grey, age has left its mark with the frown lines on his forehead, the sharper jaw… That’s just how life is…Age. Inevitable of who we are, it will always catch up with us.But seeing him like that is also a reminder that he is not a god, but a man who had tried. Yeah, it hurts, it will always hurt, but I also acknowledge that perhaps he really didn’t have a choice… but it doesn’t mean that pain goes away.Kataleya’s words she spoke that night, words I know she’s never shared with anyone else. The thoughts that sometimes crept into her mind about her father and what happened back then. But she’s foolish for thinking it. After all, she is a woman no one can forsake… willingly.“My daughter is fuc

~ KATALEYA ~I hurry through the halls, trying to find where he went. But the powerful magic, the auras and the number of people everywhere mess with my sense of smell, yet I still manage to pick it up once I’m out in the hall and follow it down the hallway to a bathroom.I knock on the door, calling out to him. He doesn’t reply and I try again.“Enrique?” Panic is beginning to rise within me as I try to hear something, but the walls and door are too thick. I can feel it, something is wrong.I hear the guards talking amongst themselves. “Something shifted. A breach of security? Check east, top floor… round the back…”“Secure.” Someone murmurs.“False alarm.”“Just stay alert.”“Enrique!” I call for the tenth time. “Enrique, answer me or I will break this door down, I swear it!” I try to keep my voice down, but it is difficult.The door suddenly opens to reveal Enrique, and he almost knocks into me. His buttons are pulled open and his hair and face are wet. He braces both hands on the d