"How are we supposed to come up with an escape plan an hour before our final meeting?" I hissed once we were all within the confines of our suite."Sweetheart, my parents and I have been mulling over escape plan's for at least a week now." Kade chuckled, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. "Ever since we found out the High Table wanted to meet you; we began planning. Garrett and Julian have been helping as well. I'm sure they've come up with something by now."Alec was draped across the sectional; the sporadic flutter of his eyelashes was the only sign that the sedative was beginning to wear off. All eyes snapped over to Alec when a husky mumble came from his lips. Tori was at his side in seconds, checking him over in a way she had done three times now.When I had ran away, Tori began an apprenticeship under her dad. The time she didn't spend looking for me was dedicated to nightly shifts at the hospital."It's wearing off faster, he should be luci

The entire room held its breath. Fear was a smog that thickened the air and rushed into my lungs like fumes of bleach. It stung and burned, nearly making me emit a nasty cough.You could feel the tearing and shattering of alliances, opinions being formed and beliefs being questioned.It wasn't every day the High Table took in a potential soul-eater. Some instinctual side of me told me to use my gift, to tear the life from Marcus before he could utter another order.Marcus's eyes held mine, ice blue and full of acknowledgement. There was something strange in his perfectly cultivated emotions, a sort of interest that bordered on gambling.The pieces clicked together in my mind, when ever so slightly, he tipped his head at me.'Your move', It said.A question stood out in my mind, one that made my stomach sink. None of us had thought of it before, least of all myself.That guard I had killed at the decrepit house; we had left him there.

"Well, that was an absolute fucking mess." Jaspar snorted, cocking an onyx eyebrow at me as he took a long drink from his glass. He seemed completely unbothered, more inconvenienced, if anything. It was then that I noticed we weren't alone. The little girl who had touched me bounced over to his side, placing a protective arm around his leg. She stared at me with hazel eyes, through hair the same color as Jaspar's. I gaped at her for a few moments, still sprawled out on the carpet until the world around me stopped shifting. "She did rather well for her first time, didn't she?" A feminine voice asked, cool and collected as she analyzed me. I pulled myself from the floor, finally noticing the woman who sat in the armchair. She wore a tight black dress, but looked professional with her short heels and crisp shoulder length cut. Her eyes were a warm shade of brown, despite the guarded look on her face. "Yes, she did." Jaspar nodded, agreein

I was ripped from what might've been the deepest sleep I've ever experienced to the shrill sound of an alarm coming from the tablet. It vibrated against the Persian rug on the floor, making me scramble even faster. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes roughly, tossing the blankets from my body in a rush. The tablet had fallen over while I slept, and I practically threw myself from the couch to grab it in time.I cringed at the harsh light from the tablet, but forced myself to look until the splotches cleared and I could finally see what the hell was happening. My stomach sank and relief flooded me all at once."We know someone's there--let us in!" Tori's voice wasn't full of panic and fear, but aggression and determination.For a moment, it surprised me. She's always been confident and strong, but this was the voice of a Luna.I tapped furiously on the tablet, scrolling through the oddly in-depth security measures that encompassed the house. The boundary line

"Are you sure?" I gasped as my back hit the cool tile of the shower wall.It jolted up my spine and through my shoulders as the cold moisture met my skin. I wrapped my legs around Alec's waist, using him to keep my face level with his own. He had been devouring my lips for minutes now, leaving me flushed and shimmering with a thin sheen of sweat.Once the pine smelling soap had carried every last ounce of dirt and grime down the drain, his hands wasted no time lifting me up to pin me against the wall. I could do nothing but whimper as his fingers trailed up my chest and towards my throat."You're the one who was concerned about what I'd say in the morning." Alec chuckled lowly, lightly pressing his fingers into the sides of my jaw.His lips traveled down the length of my neck. Little huffs of his breath caressed my skin, but it wasn't what I wanted. He refused to place his lips against me, to scrape his teeth against the smoothness of my flesh. Only when

The twin's parents contacted us nearly an entire day later. While they had the address for the safehouse, there was no way for us to contact anyone in the outside world. There were no telephones in the entire house, and our own cellphones were lost or broken during the chaos."They won't come here." Kade reassured me, "Marcus's men could be anywhere. Coming here would only bring trouble."Even though I cherished these hours with the twin's, they were wrought with anxiety. I couldn't help but feel like the world was holding its breath, waiting for the next move to be made. Marcus had clearly made the first move, ordering my capture along with Tori and the twins. It was our turn, but we were in no position to do anything.Both Tori and Zayne stayed in their rooms for most of the day, managing to come downstairs at different intervals. While it might've been chance, I had the distinct feeling they were completely avoiding each other. I thought back to last night an

"Hello, Aurora. If you're getting this message, it means I am dead." Every muscle and fiber in my body locked up at his words. His face remained plastered on the screen, while Delilah's played in my mind. My stomach rolled at the thought of something happening to that little girl, of Marcus getting his hands on her. Her strange teleportation abilities would certainly pique his interest, which I'm sure was why Jaspar kept her hidden from the world. "Your current location is safe, for now. I have prepared evacuation plans for you and your crew. Three days after you receive this message, a man and woman will knock on the front door. Trust these people with your lives, go where they take you, and for the sake of the future--stay alive." The television clicked off, blanketing the room in darkness. After a total of two seconds, I scrambled from where I stood for the remote. Before I could grab it, Alec snatched it from the table and flicked onto the news. I had no

Dex reacted instantly, slamming on the gas as he swerved into the center lane. We narrowly missed a little maroon Buick, whose nasal sounding horn blared down the highway.Before the vehicle could fully regain its balance, Carson lifted herself out the minivan and onto the ledge of the window. My heart stuttered a few beats as I heard the deafening sound of a gun being shot.Bullets peppered the dark colored SUV that drove along side of us. They swerved to the right, but it seemed we weren't the only ones with a bullet proof vehicle. The SUV veered right, trying to run us onto the shoulder."Fuck." Carson snarled, tearing the visor off her head and chucking it out the window. "They're boxing us in. If you don't act fast, Dex, we're screwed."When Dex's grip on the steering wheel turned white knuckled, I knew I wasn't going to like what happened next. Dex lifted his head and eyed the four of us in the rearview mirror, his eyes straying to me last."

When all of my senses were blocked; it was the emotions I felt. They were at their rawest; churning seas of rage and disgust, boiling lakes of hatred and desperation. Those festering, poisonous emotions bubbled beneath my skin, picking and scratching as they fought past my control.Floating in that darkness, with nothing but those carnal emotions guiding my thoughts; I couldn't remember why I was holding them back in the first place; why I shied away from what I could do.My powers weren't beautiful or inspiring, they were blunt and vicious. Unashamed of the death and destruction they could cause. No matter how dark my abilities were, there was this voice in the back of my head that told me only brutality would win this war; only rage would end Marcus Novak's life.As those last shreds of fear and shame left my mind, I unleashed the hail storm of emotions on the guards that had invoked them. I wished more than anything I could give them the full scope of my ange

"Tell me, what did you pick up from Athena?" Mera asked, breaking the silence that I knew wouldn't last long. There were too many questions on our end, and both Isaiah and Mera could feel our rising curiosity.We were in the dark colored SUV now, humming down the road we had once stood on as we neared Isaiah and Mera's pack. The faint scent of cherries and tobacco wafted from the front of the vehicle, where two dark clothed guards sat.It was a bit of an awkward fit, with Tori sitting next to Mera and Isaiah, but I refused to let her take another vehicle. I was no stranger to how it feels when you lose both a mate and a best friend. It was something I wasn't willing to risk again, even if we were headed to safety. Tori didn't seem to mind, and actually liked Mera as much as I.My mind strayed to what Mera had asked of me. It was difficult, giving a loose interpretation of a person based on just a few seconds of information. At times, someone's emotions were a di