by Ali Winters
There’s a knock at the door just before it opens.
“Are you ready?” the same woman from before asks.
“Yes.”
She jerks her head. “Then follow me, and keep up.”
She doesn’t wait to see if I follow or not before walking away. I hurry after her, closing the door behind me. I have to run to keep up, which is no easy task in this heavy, demon-cursed dress. Gasping, I struggle to catch my breath.
After following her down several flights of stairs and hallways, I lag behind. This dress was not made for running.
Finally, we come to a stop before halfway down the hall. Music drifts out of the room’s two open doors, along with many voices.
“Enter through those doors,” she says, leaving me alone in the hall.
Eyeing the open doors, I swallow my nerves. Throngs of people crowd the outer edge of the room. Those dancing take up the center, and on the far side sits the queen with Alaric standing close at her side, his body angled toward her.
My throat feels tight.
The two of them talk. She laughs at something he says and leans into him, holding tight to his arm, and he smiles down at her.
I turn away and find a spot near the wall to stand until… I’m not sure what will happen. If Alaric is with the queen and doesn’t even know I’m here, then how am I to play the part of a fully marked human? What is the point of my presence?
I press tighter against the wall, wanting to disappear. Every human in the room is with the vampire who claimed them… except for me. By being alone, I stand out, drawing the eye of anyone who passes.
I lower my chin, doing my best to appear submissive as I watch Alaric across the room through my lashes. He turns, surveying the room, pausing when he faces my direction. I hold my breath, waiting for a sign that he sees me.
But there’s nothing as he returns his full attention back to the queen again. Not a raised brow or a dip of his head.
I slump my shoulders as much as I can in this too-tight dress and rub my temples.
“Hello again, Clara.”
I jump at the voice, spinning to find Oliver grinning down over my shoulder.
“Would you care to dance?” he asks.
“No,” I say, angling my body away.
“Why not? This is a ball after all. It’s what people do.”
I narrow my eyes. “Because I’m not in the mood for any more of your stunts.”
Oliver pouts, though his eyes glitter with amusement. “Come now. I didn’t mean any harm.” He brings his face closer to mine and inhales. “It worked, didn’t it?”
My face warms. “What worked?”
“Getting him to want to mark you again.”
My hands twitch, ready to push him away… But is that something a marked human would do? I’m not sure, so I keep my arms pinned to my sides.
“I asked for the second mark,” I murmur after a group of vampires passes out of earshot.
Oliver hums. “That is unexpected.”
“Can we please drop this?” I plead quietly. The last thing I want right now is to talk about why I wanted Alaric’s mark.
“Only if you dance with me.”
“Fine, but only one dance,” I agree, instantly regretting it the second he takes my hand and drags me out onto the dance floor.
If I thought he would lead me in a quiet dance around the outer edge, I was wrong. He twirls us and spins me with flare until we are in the center of the room.
“Oliver,” I hiss his name as the song draws to an end. I pull my hand from his, backing away, but he catches me, leading me into the beginning of another dance. “I’d rather not stick out like a sore thumb.”
“Oli.”
“What?”
“Call me Oli, and I promise to behave.”
I clench my jaw and grind out his name through my teeth, “Oli, we agreed on one dance.”
He grins triumphantly but edges us away from the center to blend in with the other dancers.
I look to where Alaric stands beside the queen. He glowers at us, making me want to shrink away. I’ve never seen that look on him before.
As soon as the music slows, I rip my hand from Oliver’s and head to resume standing against the wall. I’ve already messed up by agreeing to the dance. At the last second, I alter my trajectory and exit through the nearest door.
In the hallway, I feel like I can breathe again, but I don’t slow until I round the corner.
“Clara, I wanted to talk to you,” Oliver says, his tone serious.
I spin on my heel and face him, spearing a finger at his chest. “Stop whatever it is you’re doing. It’s not helping.”
“Isn’t it?” he asks. He takes my hand in both of his and lowers it. “Alaric would never have marked you otherwise, even if you’d asked. Tonight, he didn’t even know you were in the room—too busy being the queen’s lapdog.”
I snap my mouth shut. I don’t know how true it is, but his intentions don’t seem devious.
“Well, stop it.” I shake my head then blow out a puff of air. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” I admit quietly.
Oliver grabs the back of my neck and pulls me forward, pressing his forehead to mine. He smells of warm pine and earth after a spring rain.
“I wanted to thank you.”
“Thank me?” I pull back, looking into his amber eyes. My annoyance dissipates into air at the sudden change in his demeanor. “For what?”
“You saved a cub of the Shade pack.”
I stare blankly, not understanding fully.
Oliver continues despite my confusion. “I hadn’t heard of what you did until a week before coming here.” He cups my face, squishing my cheeks. “You saved the future Alpha’s mate. That is no small thing.”
Oh. Oooh. The morning of Kitty’s wedding.
“I am sorry if I have caused you any trouble, Clara.” The corners of his mouth tug down. “I can’t protect you from these monsters here, but I can break the bond and take you away. They wouldn’t be able to reclaim you.”
I try to pull away, but his hold is too strong. “Why? How?” I step back, shaking my head. “I don’t need to be saved or protected, Oliver.”
“Become my mate. It will sever the mark, and you will be protected by the pack.” Oliver lifts my hand and places a kiss on my wrist.
“Mate?” The word comes out choked and strained.
He’s nice, sweet even, but to be his mate? I have no idea what the full extent of that entails. I don’t understand his world—I’ve barely scratched the surface of this one—but even so, I know accepting his offer would leaving Alaric behind. It would mean severing whatever it is we have. And I can’t. I won’t do that.
“Well, well, isn’t this a sweet little moment,” a voice croons.
Oliver retreats several steps as a vampire approaches. His disheveled hair looks like someone had been running their hands through it. He swerves slightly as he walks.
The vampire sniffs the air. “A human and a … wolf.” He wrinkles his nose. “What would the two of you be doing out here—alone. Where are your masters?”
Oliver growls. “I have no master.”
“Stand down, dog.”
Oliver’s posture shifts. Though he does as ordered, the tension ratchets up, leaving every muscle in his body trembling with the strain from holding back.
I blink, and the vampire stands before me. Without looking away from me, he throws out a hand and slams it against Oliver’s chest, sending him stumbling back.
I wait for Oliver to make a move, to retaliate, but he only shakes his head and averts his eyes. He has no more power here than I do.
A clammy hand grips my shoulder, thumb pressing against my windpipe, applying more and more pressure. The vampire’s other hand reaches up and tangles in my hair, tilting my head back painfully.
I swallow. Ice blue eyes ringed in a thin line of red follow the movement.
“Let me go,” I say.
“I don’t think so,
little snack. You don’t have a master. If you did, they would be here now. You are just a foolish human who thought you could get away with crashing the masquerade, and now, you will pay for it.” His sharp nail drags along my skin, and I feel the warm trickle of blood slide down. He licks his lips.
“I do,” I say. “Alaric Devereaux is my master.”
He barks a laugh.
“I will kill you if you don’t let me go.”
The vampire snarls and brings his mouth to my neck. I lift my arms up between us, ready to draw my dagger.
“Step away from the girl, Kerin,” a woman commands. Her words are soft but forceful as they echo through the hallway.
The vampire’s breath fans out across my shoulder, turning my blood to ice in my veins. Her voice is hauntingly familiar, reminding me of a time so distant it might as well have been a dream.
It is a voice I never thought I would ever hear again.
Chapter Seven
Clara
The vampire snarls. He releases me and turns on the woman. There’s a split second where he crouches, ready to lunge. Kerin blocks my view of the woman. There’s a pause then a sharp intake of his breath. The woman growls. The sound is somehow both fierce and feminine. He straightens, pressing his shoulders back.
“Yes, my Lady.” There is a slight tremble to his voice. Kerin looks over his shoulder at me, wearing an expression of understanding and hate.
He disappears with the speed only a vampire can manage. Oliver grabs my hand and pulls me into a protective hug. I bury my face in his chest, not ready to see the specter behind me.
Her soft footfalls draw nearer, but I don’t move.
“Thank you, Lady,” Oliver says.
“You should know better than to bring a claimed human out here.”
With every word spoken, chills race along my skin. At the same time, her words annoy me. Oliver didn’t bring me here, nor is he responsible for anything that happened.
Oliver takes my hand and turns me to face her. The retort on my tongue dies when I take her in.
The woman looks like me, even more so than Kitty does. I know exactly who she is, but my mind struggles to wrap around the truth. She should be older—she should be dead.
Instead, she appears to be my age. Her hair is the exact shade of dark brown. Her eyes, her nose, and even her mouth are the same features I see every time I look in the mirror.
“Mother?” I ask, but the sound of that word leaving my lips has me stumbling back several steps. It’s heavy… awkward… wrong.
She smiles. I blink, and she has me wrapped up in her arms, holding me in an embrace I haven’t felt since I was eight years old. I sink into her arms. The reaction is automatic and impossible to avoid as her familiar scent of sweet vanilla brings back a wave of memories.
“It’s wonderful to see you after all this time, my darling girl.”
There’s a flash of red, followed by stinging pain on my neck as she heals the cut. I jerk back as if I’ve been slapped. She releases me without protest.
“You’re dead,” I snap. A million thoughts race through my head.
Mother is alive. She’s been alive this entire time… and a vampire. Pressure builds behind my eyes, blurring my vision. Kitty, Father, and I mourned her. She could have returned, but she didn’t. She had been our mother. Though she was never overly affectionate, she seemed to love us.
But you don’t abandon the ones you love.
The betrayal stings. My throat is thick with a myriad of emotions threatening to choke me.
She takes a step closer.
“Stay back,” I say.
Mother tips her head to the side and smirks. It makes me feel like a child throwing a fit over something small. “Come now, Darling. We can be together again. Everything will be all right.”
“No. We thought you were dead. Everyone thought you were dead. But you’ve been here the whole time.” I shake my head. “Why would you become one of them?”
“Honestly, Darling, why dwell on the past when you can see I am alive? Let’s just be happy and—”
I shake my head. How can she act as though she’s only been gone for a few hours?
“That’s not how this works. Father destroyed himself drinking after you were taken. Losing you nearly killed him. Our lives were ruined. He gambled away all our money and—”
She grabs my shoulders and gives me a gentle shake, cutting off any further words. “It’s all over now. You and I are both here. Kitty is married.”
“How could you possibly know that?” I ask.
“I know more than you realize.”
I wait for more, but it seems that’s all she’s willing to give me.
I look past her to where Oliver stands. His mouth hangs open. I send him a pleading look, but he seems to be stuck looking back and forth between the two of us.
“You were my mother,” I manage to whisper.
She sighs. “I am still your mother.”
“No, you’re not. If you were, you would have been there to protect us. Instead, you were alive this whole time, but you never cared enough to come back.” I shrug off her hands and spin on my heel, walking back to the masquerade.
“Just give her time,” I hear Oliver say as I turn the corner.
I don’t need time.I don’t need her in my life.
If she wanted a relationship, then she should have returned years ago. It’s too late now. She seemed to know enough about us as if she’s been watching us all these years, but she didn’t care enough to help Kitty and me.
As far as I’m concerned, she can go back to whatever hole she crawled out of.
The din of the ballroom seems louder now, voices mingling and mixing with the music to make an ugly sound.
As I reach halfway across the room along the back wall, Alaric leaves his place at the queen’s side and strides toward me. His smile warms my heart, and I don’t care about the reason for this sudden shift in his demeanor. I only want to be by his side.
He halts before me. His smile falls, taking my heart with it, but when he holds out his hand, I don’t hesitate.
Alaric leads me onto the dance floor. We meld into the throng of other dancers seamlessly, mid-song. His posture is stiff, and he doesn’t speak a single word.
I want to tell him what happened. I want to ask if he has any idea about my mother and who she is, but I keep my mouth shut.
Once the song ends, Alaric takes my hand and leads me out to the terrace. The moon is bright and hangs heavy in the sky. But out here, the stars seem to shine brighter than usual against the solid wall of black made by the Sunfall mountains. The cold night air sends a shiver racing over my skin.
He drops my hand and turns on me, lowering his face to mine. His lips twist into a sneer. “What have you been doing? You smell like wolf.”
I blink at the harshness of his accusing words. He’s acting as if I did something wrong. These are his first words since he left me in his rooms and ignored me for the past hour. I take the hurt and turn it into anger.
“How dare you,” I bite out. “You spent the last few hours at the queen’s side, pretending I don’t exist. And I was supposed to do what? Stand by myself, alone, in a room full of creatures that would kill me if given half a chance?” My words hitch in my throat. “Oliver was there for me when…” I trail off, at a loss for words. I don’t even know where to start.
I glance inside the ballroom. Vampires dance, their humans doting over them like faithful pets.
Alaric’s knuckles graze the side of my face. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
I pull in a breath. His deep blue irises threaten to drown me in their unending depths. He leans in. My heart hammers against my ribs as I wait for the feel of his lips on mine.
“Dance with me,” he says.
My eyes snap open. Alaric waits expectantly for my reply. My mouth is dry, my tongue heavy. Unable to form words, I nod. He smiles and takes my hand, entwining his fingers with mine.
“
Am I interrupting something?” Oliver asks, appearing in the doorway.
Alaric and I draw back but don’t let go of each other. Still, the space between us feels cold. Empty.
He snarls at the shifter. Reflexively, I squeeze his hand. Oliver’s gaze drops, observing the gesture.
“I have traveled here to talk to you about the demon problem.”
Alaric cuts a hand through the air. “I can do nothing for you until we return to Windbury. You know that.”
He tugs on my hand and moves to walk past Oliver.
“That’s just it, Mr. Devereaux. Once you and your guests left, the demon issue vanished. It’s as if it never happened.”
We still, taking in the meaning of his words.
“Whatever—whoever—was responsible for the demon destroying the lands was staying with you.”
“Impossible,” Alaric says. “It was a problem before they arrived.”
Oliver shrugs. “It was. The attacks were weak and sloppy. It wasn’t until they arrived that the demon grew in strength. Do with that information as you will.” Oliver turns to me and nods. “My offer still stands. I’ll be here one more day before I leave. You have until then.”
“I don’t need time to think,” I say. “I’m sorry, but no.”
Oliver bows to me then turns on his heel and leaves us.
“What offer?” Alaric asks.
I shake my head. “Nothing.”
“That didn’t sound like nothing.”
I glance up at him from the corner of my eyes. “It was ridiculous, and I would never accept.”
The muscle in his jaw ticks. Then his eyes darken, and he goes perfectly still as understanding dawns on him.
“I’m not interested in his offer,” I reiterate more firmly this time.
After a long moment, the tension eases from his shoulders, and to my relief, he leads me back inside.
Chapter Eight
Alaric
Light streams through the window from the small opening of the curtains as a tentative knock rouses me from sleep. Clara snuggles deeper into my side, grumbling. I close my eyes, allowing myself to sink back into the moment when the knock comes again.
