AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The wedding had been a gift. A way to acknowledge their bond within her family traditions, not just his own.
Adjusting his pants, Hyde hid a scowl. It had come with a few minor issues. He hated breaking in new leather. His only satisfaction was watching Valentine and Thorn both suffer along with him. All three of them were wearing new white shirts with the new leather pants, as promised. They shone their old boots up and their vests and jackets looked almost new.
“Stop fidgeting” Grandma Simmons’ voice was full of amusement as she appeared in front of him. “You look good” adjusting his jacket, she smiled. She was her natural self here among her Coven. Gone was the old lady illusion that Talia had grown up with. As like Lycans, Arcandians had exceptionally long lives. Looking like a middle-aged beauty, Hyde guessed her age to be at least two hundred. Now she looked more like Talia’s mother or older sister than her grandmother.
Shooting Valentine a look as he adjusted the waist of his new pants for the fiftieth time. She rolled her eyes. “Wolves, always so damn tactile” turning, she embraced Talia with a laugh.
“Lucky you,”
Hugging her back, Talia laughed as her grandmother whispered in her ear. If she cared that her mortal parents hadn’t accepted their invitations, she wasn’t showing it. Her face animated. She smiled over at Hyde as Thorn stepped up, handing him a whisky.
“Can’t believe you just got married,” shaking his head as he rolled his long sleeves up. “I thought it was all for the kick ass stag do,”
“That was a hell of a party,” downing the whisky. He winked back at his mate. Before turning to greet yet another guest. Take another photo.
Looking up, he met his sister’s eyes. She stood on the other side of the bonfire. Her dress made from the webs of hell spiders draping off her demonic form perfectly. A dangerous beauty in every way. Yet he knew he was the only one to see her.
Excusing himself, he stepped out of the throng of people. His strides even as he made his way past the bonfire.
“I’m surprised you came,”
“you invited me,” smoothing her dress with one hand as a goblet appeared in the other. She smiled.
“I invited our father as well” he hadn’t expected his father to attend. But strangely, he had held a sliver of hope that he would.
“Well, he is still pretending to be angry with you,”
“But not with you,”
Widening her eyes, she shook her head. “Why would he be upset with me” her voice was honey sweet.
Giving a laugh, Hyde pulled her into his arms for a hug. Her whole body stiffening as he kissed the top of her head.
It had taken almost a week for the memories of his old demonic life to settle into any kind of comprehensive order. So many centuries lived. A lot of his old life was still a hazy blur.
But not his sister. Out of all the siblings he had, Zipporah was his favourite. He had trained her and taken her in after the death of her mother. It had been to her. His closest confidant, that he had turned to for aid in his plan to become earth born.
It had been her that had slipped his soul into the ritual their father used to indoctrinate his new priestess. It had been her that had healed him in time to save Talia.
Letting her pull out of his embrace, chuckling at her disgusted look.
“You have become soft, brother.”
“Being reborn changes a person” Talia, having been reborn over ten times, had absorbed all the memories of each life. Her powers stolen had returned in full. It had been a lot more for his mate to process.
“I hope not too much” her eyes moving to the black limousine that had parked at the side of the house.
Cassius was the first out of the black car. Holding the door open for Mortica, the tiger watched the crowd with a cautious eye. The newly appointed vampire overseer of San Francisco was, as always, dressed elegantly. Her long black hair, normally dead straight, was twisted into an array of curls, spun into a fancy updo. She was all charm and pose as she stepped forward with a confidence that belied the tensions that had risen between the factions.
With no vampire escort Mortica, had left her security in Hydes hands. A sign of the trust that had always existed between them. Especially important now.
“There is a war brewing brother,” a small wicked smile pulling at her lips. Watching the wolves glare as the vampiress made her way to the bride.
“I have it handled” the backlash after Draven’s death had been immediate and bloody. Unleashed from the vampire king’s control, many wolves had risen against the vampire houses they had been forced to serve.
It had taken all of his control and influence to stop full blown civil war from breaking out.
But tensions were far from settled. Hatred and bitterness still seething under the surface for so many. He was expecting more flare-ups. more blood shed. Before, things settled into any kind of new normal.
