Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 16263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 81(@200wpm)___ 65(@250wpm)___ 54(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 81(@200wpm)___ 65(@250wpm)___ 54(@300wpm)
“Yes.” I take a seat on the couch. I still cannot believe it, but I know she’s carrying Cameron’s child. The first child to be conceived by a vampire since I’ve sat on the throne. A miracle.
“Perhaps it’s not his.”
I want to lash out. I want to rip his throat from his body for even suggesting such a thing. I quell the urge, but just barely. Nual is the oldest of all the vampires left. He’s the holder of our secrets, of our lineage, and our story.
“It’s his child,” I grind out.
His all-knowing eyes study me for a long moment, before he asks, “Should I speak with Clemence?”
The king of the wolves. A man I called a friend, but a man I now despise because of his reckless ambitions. Since the beginning, long before I sat on the throne, the world’s kings and governments have known about us, about the non-humans. For him, that’s not enough. He wants all the people of the world to know we exist. He wants us to be free to live in the open. He’s forgotten the slaughter, the burnings, the stench of death and despair caused by the fear of the unknown.
I haven’t forgotten. I will never forget.
I want to demand Nual find another way to get the information we need, but there is no time. My people will demand I uphold the laws and take Cameron’s and his beloved Isabel’s lives. Without answers, I will have no choice.
“Go to them. Maybe they know something we don’t.”
He nods once then disappears in an instant.
Alone. I need time alone to think. I leave the castle, waving off my security. This isn’t the first time I’ve told them to stay behind, and they know I’m more than capable of taking care of myself. I get in my car and head toward London without thinking, like something is pulling me there.
The streets are wet with rain, but still I drive, faster and faster. On a sharp curve in the road, my tires skid against the sodden pavement and I lose control. The car flips three times through the air. Metal crunches and the windows shatter as the car slides to a stop on its roof. Although I’m bleeding from my head and can feel my arm and two ribs are broken, I know I’m okay and will heal within minutes. I blink away the blood in my eyes as a woman comes into view, her face familiar but pale.
“I called for an ambulance. Are you okay?”
I reach for her, something about her bringing me back to earth. Back to life. “Bee?”
Her eyes fill with confusion, but still she takes my hand through the broken window. The moment we touch, our life together before her death flashes before my eyes.
“Impossible,” I breathe, in disbelief and awe.
“What was that?” I hear her whisper, right before she’s shoved out of the way by a large man who says he’s a police officer. I fight my seatbelt and the man trying to hold me back to check me over.
When I’m free from the wreckage of my car and him, I take off after the scent that’s disappearing into the night. I run to each parked car then down the embankment. I stop with a growl that rumbles through my chest.
She’s gone with only a trace of her remaining on my hand. I ignore the people behind me asking nervously if I need medical care and look up at the night sky, holding my hand over my mouth and nose. I pull in a deep breath and lock onto the scent.
As the sense of peace and long-lost dreams weave their way through my soul, I vow I will find her again.
14
Cameron
I hear a group of armed men come to a stop outside the bedroom door, and I quietly and quickly lift Isabel into my arms.
“What’s happening?” The shake of fear in her voice fuels the rage growing within me.
“I don’t know.” I carry her to the closet, open it, and then set her on her feet. “I want you to stay here.”
“What?” She looks at the door when someone knocks.
I take her face in my hands, gaining her attention. “Promise you won’t come out until I come get you. Promise you’ll stay here and take care of our babies, no matter what you hear.” I ignore the look of surprise on her face. She saw our children in her mind, and through her, I saw them too. A boy and a girl, twins. I know the men outside can hear me, but I need to try to protect my family, even if I die in the process.
“Cameron.” She latches onto me with fingers and nails, trying to pull me into the closet with her.
“Promise me.”
Her gaze locks with mine and tears fill her eyes, before she whispers, “I promise.”