Chapter 1: No Kill

EVE

^FOUR MONTHS LATER^

Reyna’s fist flew through the air. I glided backward, easily dodging it.

“Too slow,” I said with a smirk.

“You’re like, ~thousands~ of years old,” she responded, wiping away the sweat collecting on her brow. “It’s not fair. You’ve had way more time to train.”

The vein in my forehead twitched as I narrowed my eyes.

~Don’t think I didn’t catch that shade about my age,~ I said, communicating with Reyna telepathically.

“God, get out of my head!” she shouted. “I hate it when you do that. It’s invasive.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” I said, rolling my eyes. “When you decide to become a vampire, you’ll have powers that are just as ~invasive~.”

“~If~ I decide to become a vampire,” she said, correcting me.

In just a little over two years, Reyna would have to make the hardest decision of her life…

Whether or not to embrace the vampiric blood running through her veins and undergo the ritual that would change her life forever.

I was going to make damn sure she was ready, both mentally and physically, for when that time came.

“Let’s go again,” I said, assuming a defensive stance.

“Eve, I’m starving! Can we at least do these training sessions after breakfast?” Reyna asked, her stomach grumbling almost as much as her.

“If you can get a hit on me, even a little scratch, we can end training early,” I said as a challenge.

A reinvigorated expression appeared across Reyna’s weary face as she put up her fists.

“You’re on.”

***

I sat down at the empty dining room table in the pack house after Reyna left for school.

Hundreds of years ago, I’d made my decision to become a vampire to save my daughter Snow.

I’d needed all the power I could get to fight the forces that separated us.

Reyna, on the other hand, had lived a much different life. Vampirism wouldn’t be an easy choice for a seventeen-year-old girl who’d spent her formative years as an emo wallflower at Lumen’s local high school.

She’d never asked for this. Still, she was heir to the Morgan fortune and had never asked for that either. Reyna was stronger than she looked and had always been able to adapt to whatever life threw at her, at least in the few months I’d known her.

Whichever path she chose…

~I just want to make sure she actually has a choice.~

REYNA

Anya’s foot tapped relentlessly under the desk in study hall.

“Anya, quit it,” I whisper-shouted.

“I can’t,” she said under her breath. “Too excited for tonight.”

I had to admit—so was I. A few guys from the pack house were having a secret party in the woods, and Eve had no idea.

I couldn’t fucking wait.

Training with Eve every day, and failing half the time, was starting to wear on me.

And prepping for finals was even worse.

It was hard to focus in school when you were surrounded by hundreds of horny werewolves.

Sure, teenagers always had sex on the brain. But this past week, I’d seen record cases of dry humping in the hallways.

It was almost like the Haze had started again, but that didn’t make any sense. It had just happened a few months ago.

Maybe a party was exactly what everyone needed. A chance to let off some steam.

~I know I sure as hell need it, the way that Eve’s been riding my ass during training.~

I shifted in my seat, watching the clock on the wall. Every passing second felt like an eternity.

Our study hall teacher, Mr. Bateson, was organizing paperwork on his desk when the vice principal, Ms. Pilgrim, walked in.

Normally, she looked like the very definition of a school marm, but today her hips swayed seductively, and her six-inch heels clicked on the linoleum floor.

A scent of vanilla lotion wafted in with her.

My jaw dropped open, and so did Mr. Bateson’s as he looked up.

She leaned over his desk, letting her cleavage hang out as she whispered something in his ear about volunteers and chaperones for the upcoming Lumen High Carnival.

But he didn’t seem to be paying attention to her words. He was too busy eyeing her up and down.

His hand reached for her waist as he let out a low growl.

She cocked her neck, flipped her hair to one side, smiling coyly.

Then she was gone, clicking her heels back out of the classroom door as he watched her, drooling.

~Okay, maybe the Haze really is starting up again? Is a second Haze even possible?~

The bell finally rang, signaling my freedom.

As we all spilled into the hallway, Lumen kids hollered and howled, comparing weekend plans with each other. Anya and I stopped at her locker to swap out books.

I spotted Meagan Stanley, president of the debate club, leaning against a wall across from us.

Her boyfriend had one hand up her skirt, and her long, blonde hair was wrapped around his other hand as he pulled it back, his mouth finding its way around her neck.

Her eyes locked with mine, and she licked her lips softly, inviting me over. Her boyfriend noticed me and smiled.

I looked away fast. “Anya, hurry up!”

“Okay, okay, sheesh,” she said, shutting her locker.

Meagan and I were friends, but not ~that~ kind of friends.

~What’s gotten into people lately?~

As we left, I couldn’t deny I felt…a stirring…inside of me.

~What was that feeling?~

It was the same sensation I sometimes got when I was deep in my vampire training, and I felt my powers start to bubble up to the surface. It was…

~Desire.~

RAPHAEL

All my life, I’d fought wars. The war outside. The one within.

This time, the fight would be on both turfs.

As Alpha of the Millennium—Alpha of all Alphas— I’d lead my pack against Barron von Logia one day. He was out there somewhere, a threat to us all.

~A threat to my daughter…~

I didn’t know what he was planning, but I wasn’t going to sit around and twiddle my paws.

I was going to track him down and make him pay for what he’d done.

But as a father, and as Eve’s mate, I knew that for now, my place was here in Lumen. I’d have to stand back from battle to protect what I held most dear.

I’d never leave Eve alone again.

I watched my mate as she stirred awake and sat up, her long dark hair cascading down her back.

She leaned over, her spine a gentle terrain up the arch of her back. She pulled on her panties and let the sheet fall away as she stood up.

She laced her arms through the straps of her bra, fastening its clasps behind her. Her shoulder blades pushed against the muscles in her back. Light caught on the scars where her wings sometimes protruded.

She stepped into her jeans, her G-string causing my manhood to quiver, ready to wake again.

~My Eve.~

Five hundred years of time lost to stolen memories.

“I’m heading to the Morgans’,” Eve said as she craned her elegant neck to look at me with her sparkling purple eyes.

~Those eyes.~

They lit up her face.

They lit up the whole damn room.

No matter how tough Eve was, she could always rouse me with a single gaze.

“Why don’t you join?” she asked. “I’m teaching Reyna to use my scythe.”

“Nah. You go. I’ve got business to attend to.”

“Business?” Eve asked with a hint of skepticism. She crawled back onto the bed like a cat. “That’s a rather vague answer,” she said, kissing my neck. “Keeping me at a distance, are we?”

I grabbed her, flipping her onto her back so I could kiss her lips and forehead.

“Never,” I said. “The only distance I want between us is my ten inches inside of you.”

Eve pushed me off with a smirk. “More like nine.”

She feigned resistance as I grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. “Care to measure?”

But before I could go any further, she was already at the door, lightning fast. Her vampire speed always caught me off guard.

“Sorry, I have training. But maybe later we can have a session of our own,” she said slyly as she walked out the door.

~You can count on it.~

After she’d gone, I picked up my phone…

Raphael

Have you found him?

Killian

No news of Barron yet

Killian

But there are rumblings that he’s assembling an army

Raphael

An army…what the fuck for?

Killian

I can’t even be sure it’s true

Killian

He’s been very discreet

Killian

Not leaving a trace

Raphael

Do you have any leads?

Killian

Maybe…

Killian

I’m heading to Kiev

Raphael

Don’t lose his trail.

Raphael

And keep me updated.

As I put my phone down, I dug my claws into the feather pillows.

If the rumors were true, Barron von Logia would be revealing himself in a very big way.

I had to be prepared for anything.

REYNA

I parked my Jeep in the center of a foggy clearing near the party and rolled up the windows.

“We’re here,” I announced, feeling anticipation in the pit of my stomach.

I’d never been the type of girl to go to parties, but lately I’d been invited to all of them. It was hard to be invisible at school anymore when everyone was so intent on seeing me…or being seen ~with~ me.

The heir to the Morgan fortune.

Anya was used to the attention though. She ~loved~ it.

She chewed her bubble gum and nodded, looking like a princess in her shimmering pink blouse. “Let’s get this party started!”

Suddenly, we heard a stirring in the backseat, and a head of messy hair popped up from underneath a pile of blankets.

“Snow!” Anya and I shouted at the same time.

She stared back at us with an innocent smile on her face.

“You little stowaway! Your mom’s going to kill me!” I said, my anticipation turning into anxiety.

“No kill,” Snow said, wrinkling her brow.

I rubbed my forehead. I couldn’t blame the girl for wanting to get out more. Being held captive for five hundred years must have been rough.

But she wasn’t exactly operating at the same capacity as a normal fourteen-year-old.

And I wasn’t about to play babysitter.

“We have to take her home,” I said, turning to Anya.

“Rey, there’s no way we’re missing out on this party,” Anya whined. “Come on, just one hour. She’ll be fine!”

Sighing, I decided it was easier to give in than to argue. “~Stay~ in the car,” I said to Snow. “And lock the doors from the inside. Got it?”

She nodded, although she didn’t look happy about it.

She locked the car doors behind us, and I let the anticipation of having actual-real-life fun tonight drown out my worries.

We heard voices mingling in the cool night air and walked down a short hill through piles of dried leaves.

“Will Jed be here?” Anya asked.

“I don’t know,” I responded, though I hoped that he would be.

“Funny, seems like you guys talk a lot,” Anya said with a little smirk.

The truth was, Jed was always busy being the Millennium Pack’s Delta. We’d had a ~moment~ a while back, but he was just a good friend now.

He’d never been super into the idea of a girlfriend, and I didn’t imagine he had the time for one, anyway.

Which was fine because I thought of him as more of a brother. Or maybe a cousin.

A cousin who I happened to make out with once.

“It’s not like that, Anya,” I said a bit defensively.

“Suuure,” she said, smiling.

My sister could think whatever she wanted.

But Jed and I ~definitely~ weren’t a thing.

We entered a clearing where people were drinking and dancing around the warmth of a fire.

And there was Jed. He turned around like he could smell that I’d just arrived, his face alight in the blaze. He waved us over.

He wasn’t even partially shifted, but his excited expression made me envision a tail wagging between his legs.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” I said, giving him a friendly hug.

“Hey, Deltas need to blow off steam too,” he said with a grin.

Someone turned up the music, and a couple near us started heavily making out. I looked away, suddenly self-conscious.

“How is Delta duty, anyway?” I asked, trying to avoid looking at the couple as they bumped into me, panting and growling.

“The pack house has been crazy lately,” Jed responded, stepping closer to me. “Gabriel took half the West Coast Pack out to track the Divine Hunters, which means that Raphael and all of us Millennium Wolves have to pull our weight and look after Lumen. It’s pretty stressful.”

“School is crazy too,” I said. “Everyone’s acting like they’re on something.”

Another couple started ripping off each other’s clothes and someone yelled: “fuck me!” before falling into the bushes.

“Yikes. It’s like the Haze is happening again,” I said, starting to get a weird feeling.

Before Jed could answer, we caught a glimpse of bluish white light glowing over the forest canopy.

~That’s not moonlight… So what is it?~

A scream suddenly pierced the rowdy noise of the party. Everyone stopped.

“Reyna, look!” Anya said, pointing toward my car at the top of the hill.

The door was open, the overhead light was on, and the seats were empty.

“Snow…” I murmured under my breath.

I grabbed Jed’s hand, and we ran toward the location of the scream.

When we arrived by the embankment, a circle of people had already gathered. Most of them were half dressed, clothes tossed on the ground. Naked breasts, butts, and biceps caught the moonlight.

As I pushed through the crowd, my eyes widened in horror at the sight in front of me.

~Snow.~

She held her knees, rocking back and forth, a blank expression across her face.

Next to her was Meagan Stanley from debate club.

Her blonde hair was matted with blood.

Her long legs, the same ones her boyfriend had just been feeling up hours before, splayed out at unusual angles.

Her head was torn from her neck.

Snow was repeating two words over and over again as she rocked back and forth.

“No kill.”