She opened her mouth to speak but stopped when I brought my finger up to my lips. The thunder of combat boots sounded outside the door, never once stopping as they continued down the hall. I gave Brandon a confused look, but it was Clara who spoke.“They aren’t allowed to come into the dancers’ rooms…” She swallowed.I could feel her slender throat move beneath my hand. The glitter on her cheeks sparkled every time she looked between Brandon and me.‘Lola, I’m at the gas station. Fill me in, what’s going on?’ Asher’s voice broke through my thoughts, like two streams merging into one.‘Found his friend, going to get some answers. I don’t have time to explain everything, but once we’re safe I’ll give you a run down.’ I promised him, holding back a sigh as his grounding presence washed over me, reminding me to stay fearless and in control.I’d been looking

“What? I can’t do that. You have no idea what you’re asking me to do.” My surprise slowed my pace, and my legs groaned miserably as I pushed them harder, forcing us to keep up.“They’ll want something in return, right?” She huffed, continuing without waiting for an answer. Her voice cracked, desperation bleeding through. “Don’t use them to kill them, just to get us away—a distraction or something that’ll help us get a head start. I assume you’ve got somewhere safe to go?”I nodded, “there’s no way they’ll mess with us once we’re back in pack territory.”“Good, because you’re taking me with you. I was safe and sound until you two busted into my dressing room—for the most part, anyway. What matters is I was out, and you two dragged me right back in.” I had no clue what she meant, and neither did Brandon from the confusion that creased

“Make sure he’s not dead back there.” I grunted, glancing in the rearview mirror to see Brandon slumped over.Clara unbuckled her seatbelt and turned around. I could smell her sugary sweet perfume as her curly hair brushed against my shoulder. A few muffled jabs sounded from the backseat, and it took me a few seconds to realize she was poking and prodding at him.“Get up, Brandon. You lost some blood, quit being a baby. Not all of us have supernatural healing.” She scolded him, “you’re lucky I don’t just throw you out of this car—hunting me down and making a mess of my life.”Brandon groaned and mumbled something unintelligible, which was proof enough that he hadn’t died in the backseat of this rusted mustang. I’m sure he’d throw a fit knowing he expired on cracked leather that smelled strongly of tobacco and cat piss.“I’ve called dibs on killing him.” I told

I’d never been on a plane before, much less a private jet that could easily double as an apartment if you ever found yourself without somewhere to live. I shuddered at the thought of being on a flight long enough to make use of the walk-in shower and king-sized bed in the back of the plane.The only positive things about this flight were the tiny bottles of liquor that chased away my gnawing worry, cuddling up to Asher for the next hour, and the fact that there were no shadows forty thousand feet in the air. Everything else—down to the turbulence and the pitch-black sky, I absolutely hated.“Asher might be alright with waiting until this plane lands to ask what the hell happened, but I’m not. Give us the details, starting why you’re dressed like a movie star and this one…isn’t dressed.” Zeke leaned in; his hands clasped tightly together. I didn’t miss the way his eyebrows were creased, or the way the vein in his ne

“You sure they’ll be alright together? Mason’s a good guy, but even he can take so much.” I said, staring out the car window at the three of them.Brandon had a sly smirk on his face as he placed his hand on Clara’s lower back, leading her into the lobby of the Crescent Inn. Mason walked on the other side of Clara and stepped forward to intervene when she turned and punched Brandon in the gut. She gave him a few choice words before standing next to Mason, as far away from Brandon as she could get.“Cock-blocking Brandon will bring him some joy.” Zeke chuckled from where he sat in the back seat. “Seriously though, he knows about Clara’s witchy powers enough to stay out of her grasp. He’ll be alright.”“I hope so.” I sighed, “I’ve been through enough for one night and the night’s not even over yet.”I had no idea what to expect walking into Claire and Killi

“Are we on the same page with this?” I asked Asher, holding back my third yawn. One more and he threatened to carry me to bed, even though we both knew neither of us would be getting any sleep. The sun would be rising in an hour or so, which meant we had no choice but to start our day. There was too much to do, but I refused think about that right now. I was happily curled up in Asher’s arms, surrounded by his scent and the soft material of the sectional we sat on. We’d been silent since getting home, both of us lost in our thoughts as we replayed the sad ending to Flora’s story. Almost ten months Flora’s mother had until the witch gave birth to a little girl. One week later, Flora and her mother watched as their housed was engulfed in flames, destroying what sliver of home they both had. After that, life grew dark for the widowed Luna. Flora recounted the numerous times they moved over the years, always somewhere new. They stayed longest in other packs, but

Even though the sun was up and he’d surely be heading to sleep soon, we went to talk to Giovanni first. I was eager to get my hands on the magical text he managed to get, especially since Cordelia called and said she’d be back this afternoon to perform the séance.I put all of my focus towards getting this binding removed so I could get ahead of these witches and hopefully stop this mess in its tracks. There was every chance the witches working against us would find out and try to stop us, so the faster we moved the better.Since Asher refused to let me out of his sight for the day, he tagged along. Even in broad daylight I couldn’t help but keep my eyes peeled on these twisting and turning roads, waiting for another pair of dark boots.‘You alright?’ Asher asked, his voice flowing through my head. He glanced over at me from the driver’s seat and took a hand off the wheel to place it on my thigh.‘Yeah&hell

Tristan stalked off once Giovanni came downstairs, not giving the vampire so much as a glance. Clearly things were still tense between the two, but that was something they’d have to figure out on their own.‘We need to talk to Brandon and Clara about this.’ I told Asher through mind-link, ‘it’s no coincidence the place is destroyed hours after we left.’“This…” Giovanni’s gravely voice filled the air. In his arms was a thick leatherbound book. The pages were stained, but it was in surprisingly good condition. “…took a lot of convincing to get my hands on.”My best-friend hovered nearby, always glowing whenever he was in the room. I looked up at him, taking in his mountainous physique and curly hair. Thick brows hung low over eyes so dark they looked black. The connection between myself and the vampires under my rule wasn’t as strong as an Alpha and his pack, but I could tell th

While Breyona finished getting ready, Giovanni pulled me aside. The leatherbound book sat on the table between us. On its cover was a triangle with a circle inside. Inside the circle were different symbols, none of which I knew the names to.I couldn’t detect a trace of suspicion in his voice, only his usual amount of severity. “Your father deemed this important enough to have it locked in a vault. He wasn’t the kind person who passed up power, so if he kept it from the witches then it might be a good idea if you did the same.”Before heading to Cordelia’s for the séance, the three of us stopped by the hotel we had dropped Clara off at. Since it was on the way, it gave us the perfect opportunity to ask about the nightclub, which was now nothing more than a pile of rubble.I wasn’t surprised to find that Brandon had vanished early in the morning, never to return. Mason looked a bit disgruntled, his hair a mess and his fa

“Spirits from the other side……hear my words, hear my cry…Only one of you we do seek……a mother of two, whose secrets still sleep…We ask you to cross the great divide……to share the truth you chose to hide.”I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until I felt Asher’s eyes on my face. Still, I couldn’t exhale. There was this part of me that was terrified I’d be disappointed, that the worst would happen, and she wouldn’t come.Through all the fights I loved the mother I knew, but I wished she were here to tell me this herself.Cordelia repeated her chant a second time, and then a third. The air around us was thick and heavy, like a tangible substance that weighed us down. I watched as Breyona wiped the sweat from her forehead with the sleeve of her hoodie. She pointed at it and grimaced, regret in her eyes. Asher was stoic, his