I dreamedthat I was in a dungeon—maybe? The walls were rough and seemed to be made of rock instead of the stone of the castle I’d been dreaming of, but this still felt familiar. I thought I was deep in the bowels of the castle. There was the same twisted old crone of a woman standing beside a fire. I was afraid of being betrayed. Possibly even by my own wife. This was my last chance to make sure my bloodline would live on. The old witch took my hand and drew a blade across the back of my wrist. A flash of pain, then my blood ran in rivulets off my arm. The witch caught it in a glass vial, and capped it with a small cork stop, then dipped the top into thick, red, melted wax. I was wrapping my wound in a cloth as she murmured incantations over my blood. Hope swelled in my chest as she completed the spell, then sealed it away in the vault. If my fears proved to be true and I was cast down from the throne and all my family killed, this blood, strengthened by the spell, would bring my distant descendants back to full power. God willing, this small vial of blood would allow the werewolves to again walk the earth.
I woke up this morning, after that dream, feeling good for once. There was an excitement inside me. A feeling that was matched in my wolf. This dream had not been as nightmarish as some. It actually filled me with hope.
July 2nd
This wasthe worst one yet. I almost had to run to the bathroom and vomit when I woke up. I was standing in a different chamber, and my hands were covered in blood. I was screaming when the dream started—on my knees and screaming in rage and loss. Beneath me, on a massive bed, was a beautiful woman. Her eyes were closed, but her throat was open. It was a massive, red, gaping wound. Blood had gone everywhere. Somehow I knew that this woman was my wife. This was the queen, and someone had murdered her. Two family members dead. Both killed while inside my castle.
The more of these dreams I had, the more difficult it was to separate myself from this person in the dreams. It did feel like I’d lost my own wife. I didn’t think I could feel more heartbroken than if I woke up and Gabriella was lying there dead. That sounds crazy to write down, but it’s true. My wife and daughter. Seeing my queen like that, I knew my daughter’s death wasn’t an accident. I was being betrayed. There were rats in those walls. Just before I woke up, I felt my mind starting to crack apart. I was going to lay waste to my enemies. I’m sure now. It’s Edemas. I am Edemas. The reincarnation of him.
July 30th
Nearly a month.I almost thought I was through with it. I was ready to put the nightmares behind me, but last night I experienced something I can barely describe. I was lying on the floor, staring off down a hallway. I could hear the sounds of screaming and crying. Children, women, and men. Then the awful wet sounds of swords and axes piercing into flesh. The screams tore at my heart, and my rage was like a boiling hot fire in my chest, but I was weak.
Above me, a man came into view. I knew him. He’d been the captain of my guard. I’d been betrayed one last time. Beside him were my queen’s brothers and cousins. They’d killed their own blood to take my crown. I tried to shift, but I was too weak. The men raised their swords, and before they did anything, I croaked out a warning, telling them I’d be back. I would return along with my daughter to avenge our family. The blades glinted in the candlelight as they slammed down toward me.
The stories of Edemas are false. He wasn’t a mad psychopath. He’d been driven to revenge by betrayal and the deaths of his wife and daughter. I would have done the same thing in his place. This changes so much. The only thing I can’t understand is why my wolf is showing me these things when I sleep. What am I supposed to do with this information? I can hear my wolf whispering that it wants revenge, but I have no clue how to go about doing that. The royals are going to find me. I know they are. Now that Gabby’s pregnant, what will they do if they know I have a child?
Seeingmy birth father’s thoughts and feelings written out on the pages should have been heartwarming because I had a chance to get a feel for how he thought. Instead, it was like getting kicked in the gut. He’d experienced the exact same type of dreams I had. Visions of the past were given to him by his wolf while he was asleep. The very fact that he knew he was the reincarnated soul of Edemas must have been terrifying. As scary as me knowing I was the reincarnated daughter of the old king. It made me feel like my head was going to explode, and my father had probably felt the same. With a sigh, I picked up my mother’s letter to finish reading it.
Maddy,I believe that your father really was the reborn Edemas. You’ll find some of his journal entries in this envelope. The visions he had were so vivid, and they caused him so much fear and pain. Before the royals came, he would often put his hand on my belly and tell me that he thought our baby was going to be the reincarnation of Edemas’s daughter. If that’s true, then I’m afraid of what you may become. Please don’t ever lose yourself to the power of your wolf—ever.
You can’t let the royals get their hands on the vial of blood. Your father told me, in the days before the royals came for him, that he didn’t think they wanted to destroy the blood. He thought they wanted it for something worse, something more sinister. I believe him. After all my research and everything I’ve seen them do, I have no doubt that they want nothing more than to use it for something terrible. Don’t let them get their hands on that, Maddy. There’s a hidden treasure they are free to have. Let them have the hundreds of millions in gold and jewels as long as they never open that vial of blood.
Be careful, Maddy. Stay safe and protect yourself. Do whatever you have to in order to stop the royals from completing their plans. All I can tell you is how much I loved you. Your father too. He loved you so much. Giving you up is the biggest regret I have in life. Second is the fact that you never got to know him. That, even for a day, he didn’t get to hold you. I love you, Maddy.
Love,Momma and Daddy
I felt emotionally exhausted.My mind was so overwhelmed that I was a little worried I was going to pass out or get dizzy. Nico must have seen the look on my face because he hugged me close.
His breath tickled my ear as he whispered, “It’s all going to be okay.”
All I could do was laugh hysterically. My chuckle turned into maniacal laughter. Once I got myself under control, I pulled away to look into his eyes. “How is that even possible? There’s nothing okay about any of this. I have to somehow get that vial before the royals do, we have to save my parents and Abi, and now I have to figure out how to live with the soul of a reincarnated wolf inside me. How much more can be on my plate?” I didn’t like the whiny sound in my voice, but I couldn't really help it.
“Maddy, you aren’t obligated to do anything. Getting revenge for some murders hundreds of years ago and getting that vial are not your concerns. Getting your family back—that’s what we are worried about. Don’t worry about those things.”
My wolf didn’t like hearing that. I could feel her irritation welling up inside me. “Nico, if these people are capable of killing children and kidnapping Mom, Dad, and Abi, then there’s no telling what they might do.We have to destroy that vial before they get it open. But that brings us back to the same place we were before. Finding the vault.”
Nico bobbed his eyebrows up and sighed. “Well, when Luis was in Europe, he was pretty sure they had guards stationed at a graveyard near the old castle. He was fairly certain that was where it probably was. No other reason to have guards there.”
“Well, how big was the cemetery?”
“It was old. Probably a few acres at least, with a ton of crypts and tombs,” Nico admitted.
I shook my head. “We’ll never find it before they stop us. We need more details.”
“Hang on,” Nico said, pulling his phone out.
“What are you doing?”
“Texting Luis.”
Realization dawned on me, and I allowed myself a little grin. “Are you doing what I think you are?”
He nodded as he typed with his thumbs. “Yeah. We need the info on the safe houses, but now we need to see if we can hear any details on the vault’s location. If it’s that important, someone may talk about it, especially if they believe they’re alone.”
Nico sent the text and sat staring at his phone, waiting for a response. They would have gone forward with the mission at any time. We could only hope they got the message before they moved ahead.
Finally, Nico’s phone chirped and opened the text. “Hell yes!” Nico pumped a fist. “He got it. They’d just pulled into an abandoned parking lot when I sent it. The brothers are going to listen for any info.”
