“You can put it on now,” Viola added.
Aida nodded, then slipped the little ring onto Voss’s tiny finger. The band settled and gently reshaped itself to fit perfectly.
“It can only come off with the help of one of us,” Lumi said. “There’s no risk of him swallowing it. It will grow with him, too.”
“That is so cool.” Field smiled at the three ladies. “You’re like the fairies from the earthly fairy tales.”
Corrine laughed. “I guess you could say that,” she said. “We figured Voss deserved something truly special. It’s a little trinket, something to make his life easier.”
“Can I get one?” Dmitri asked, his eyes twinkling with excitement.
“What for?” Lumi replied.
“To amplify my abilities…”
Lumi chuckled softly. “Oh, sweetie. It doesn’t work like that. First of all, it’s a unique gift, made especially for Voss. You go ahead and have your own kids, and they’ll get a special present, too. Second, if you’re thinking a ring like this will amplify your nature and enable you to turn into a wolf, like your father… well, you’re wrong.”
Dmitri was suddenly deflated, his shoulders dropping.
“The wolf is inside you already,” Lumi added. “It’s been inside you all along.”
“But I can’t go full wolf,” Dmitri replied.
“Yes, you can,” Lumi insisted. “And so can Aida and Jovi. You thought you couldn’t, but you can. You just don’t know how. You’re half-breeds, so it doesn’t come as easily, that part is true. The process takes some time, and it requires plenty of willpower, but it’s in your hands. I can smell the wolf all over you three.”
Silence settled over the room for a few moments, as the new information sank in.
Because Aida, Dmitri, and Jovi were only half-wolves and had yet to experience a complete transformation, we’d all assumed the wolf gene was watered down through the family tree. But I was more inclined to believe Lumi.
“How do you know?” Dmitri asked, frowning slightly.
“Didn’t you hear me just now? I can smell the wolf inside you,” Lumi replied.
“Yeah, but I can smell Aida’s and Jovi’s wolves, too,” Dmitri said. “But they’ve never been able to turn.”
“That’s because they’ve never tried hard enough,” Lumi explained. “It’s different with half-breeds.”
“You seem to know a lot about werewolves,” Bastien said, genuinely intrigued. “More than me, for that matter.”
Lumi shrugged. “I’ve come across your kind before,” she said. “I’ve traveled through the In-Between. I’ve met creatures that slipped through the cracks from the Supernatural Dimension. Werewolves, harpies… all kinds of fiends. You all carry the same genetic packaging, in a way. The same features. The same heritage along generational lines. A full wolf takes seconds to turn. A half-wolf will need to put in the extra effort, and I’d be more than happy to help with this.”
Dmitri straightened his back and nodded feverishly. “Hell, yes, please!”
“That’s fine, I’ll make time for you. I suppose your siblings will want to join in, too,” Lumi replied, “so it’s best if you all agree on a group session.”
Aida and Jovi were beside themselves already. Not that I could blame them. They’d grown up thinking they couldn’t shift. They’d probably forced themselves to try hard before, but not to a level even remotely close to what Lumi was referring to. I had to admit, I was intrigued and grateful that Harper and her crew had managed to rescue Lumi from the Exiled Maras. She was an absolute treasure.
“You’re amazing,” Jovi murmured, staring at Lumi. “I never thought it was possible.”
“It’s okay, wolf-boy,” Lumi replied, smirking. “It’s practically no effort on my part to help you, and it’s barely a fraction of what I’m willing to do to repay the Novaks for saving my life,” she added, then shifted her focus back to Aida and Voss. “And, when the time comes, I will do the same for Voss. Technically speaking, he’s a quarter-wolf. Even with the triple ring, he will need some help to summon his inner-wolf.”
Aida smiled, filled with gratitude.
“Thank you, Lumi. Thank you all, for that matter,” she said, her voice trembling. “I… We’re so lucky to be a part of this family… a part of GASP. I can’t think of a better world for me and Field to raise our son in.”
“Yeah, our little tyke is in good hands,” Field replied, smiling as he inched closer to his wife and child.
Voss Blackhall-Novak was in good hands, indeed. He had us all on his side. Each of our children, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren, our nephews and nieces… every single creature that came into our family had all of us, in one way or another. The Novaks looked out for one another.
On top of that, the Novaks had come to look out for everyone else, too. GASP was an extension of us, officially transcending space and dimensions. So, yes. Voss was going to be a part of it all. Greatness had already been written in his life, from the moment he was conceived. With parents like Aida and Field, he was bound to flourish.
Elonora
(Daughter of Ash and Ruby)
A couple of weeks later, we had yet another reason to celebrate—the biggest one yet, as it came attached with a massive party. The Shade extension was completed and taking in new guests. The inauguration event was designed with full pomp and circumstance, complete with dinner and drinks to satisfy each of the creatures in attendance.
And we had plenty of creatures to begin with! The humans from the Vale, the vampires, the dragons and the witches, the werewolves, the fae, and all the hybrids of The Shade were present. Emissaries from the Supernatural Dimension came by, as well, bearing gifts and well wishes. Eritopians from all twenty planets joined us, along with the many new friends we’d made on Neraka.
There were hundreds of people scattered across the newly built structure. Its framework was made from a virtually unbreakable steel alloy. The floors were all fancy white marble, as were the walls. There was plenty of natural light bathing each of the three hundred new units during the daytime—and it was even more beautiful at night, with the moon twinkling through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows and glass roofs. They all had shades and awnings to adjust as desired. The extension sprawled like a plethora of palm leaves, stretching across the Pacific Ocean, yet safely underneath The Shade’s protective shield. Unlike the rest of the island, the extension offered both daytime and nighttime lighting, thanks to a magic adjustment made by Corrine.
We’d brought The Shade closer to perfection. It looked stunning, both from afar and up close. It was light and breezy, elegant and minimalistic—a pleasure to admire at all times of day.
However, that wasn’t the only thing we were celebrating on this occasion. We’d been getting a lot of wonderful news lately, so we’d had to compartmentalize a little bit. Tonight, we were focused on The Shade’s extension, the roughly six hundred years of The Shade’s existence, and the announcement of three major wedding dates.
Viola and Phoenix had finally decided to tie the knot, after Safira had taken Phoenix aside and asked him when he was planning to get serious with her sister. According to Phoenix, that was a hilarious exchange, as both he and Viola had been looking for a way to tell the Daughters that they did, in fact, want to get married—they’d simply been fearful of their traditions. No one had even gazed upon a Daughter of Eritopia until Phoenix, his sister, and his friends were brought there by Draven. Nevertheless, Phoenix did manage to explain that to Safira, then obtained the Daughters’ blessing and proposed to Viola.
Caspian had already given Harper a ring, before they’d even come back from their Nerakian adventure, though he’d clearly stated it wasn’t an actual proposal, but rather a token of his unending love for her. They’d already bonded, both body and soul, anyway. That was unbreakable in itself. But Caspian did propose, eventually, while they were out on a mission on Persea, one of Eritopia’s planets and home of the Druid Temple. She’d s
aid yes. Obviously.
Avril and Heron got engaged on Neraka, though the proposal had been botched—mostly because of Heron’s inability to gather enough courage to ask Avril. From what I was told, Nevis, despite his deep-cutting bluntness, had managed to rectify the situation and forced Heron’s hand to show Avril an engagement ring. Whenever Avril told that story, I couldn’t help but crack up.
Even after all this time, I’d yet to meet Nevis. We’d repeatedly missed each other in The Shade and on Calliope during his visits. I was curious about him, especially since all the girls on the Nerakian GASP team described him as “chillingly perfect,” while Heron fondly referred to him as the “frosty schmuck.”
The party was buzzing and very much to my taste. There were so many guests, I easily got lost in the crowd, hovering from one social group to another. I left Mom, Dad and my brother, Varga, with Grandpa Yuri and Grandma Claudia, making my way across The Shade’s stylish extension to get a blood refill. My flute was empty, and I’d become partial to the spice mixture we’d recently received from Neraka—it made blood taste even better and made me feel less sorry about no longer being able to enjoy real food.
Everybody was here. Zane and Fiona had come all the way from Neraka, via the Calliope portal set up by the Daughters of Eritopia. They looked gorgeous and very much in love, wearing matching black leather tunics and a dazzling array of gold and gemstone jewelry. Fiona was really coming into her own as the future queen of daemons. She carried herself with grace and poise, and Zane barely took his eyes off her.
They were with the rest of their Nerakian group, which included Velnias, one of the bigger daemons I’d come across; Pheng-Pheng, Harper’s Manticore friend, who’d come with her mother, Neha, the Manticore queen, and her consort, Kai. They’d left their newborn baby back on Neraka, in the Manticores’ loving care; Vesta, who’d relocated to Calliope with her parents, along with Ryker and Laughlan, the two Druids that Harper and her crew had rescued from Shaytan’s prison. Next to them stood an almost ethereal creature.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was tall, with a slender frame but toned muscles visible beneath his royal white silk tunic, which was encrusted with diamonds and sewn with silver thread. His long white hair was braided down his back, with two sets of frost laurels resting just above his ears. His eyes were sharp and icy blue, scanning (and most likely judging) everyone. The blade of his nose cast a soft shadow over his lips, and—my heart skipped a beat as he looked at me for the first time.
I froze there, holding my empty flute, just twenty feet away from him and the Nerakian group. I had only seconds to get my brain back into gear and do something, anything, so as not to come across as… blank. I remembered I had a blood refill to get, so I went right and stopped by one of the blood bars, where the bartender, a young vampire named Dean, fixed me up with a peppered blood mix. I had known Dean since his human days back in the Vale. He’d recently been turned, and he was enjoying his newly developed abilities. I could tell from the way his gaze darted all over the place, the way his ears moved, and his nostrils flared—heightened senses, after all.
“How’ve you been, Lenny?” Dean asked me, using my nickname.
Our parents moved Varga and me to The Shade shortly after Harper and Caia turned fourteen. I was older than them in human years, but Varga and I had both already turned vampire. We’d been raised in Nevertide, but we felt as though something was still missing from our early life experience and education. It just didn’t feel right for us, so mom and dad had decided to let us stay in The Shade and see if we liked it better. They were obviously quite emotional about it. They looked at Varga to eventually come back and take over Nevertide when the time was right, but, until then, they felt we’d be happier if we lived in The Shade for as long as we wanted or needed.
GASP had already been grooming Varga to join them, so, for him, the move was a bit of a no-brainer.
Of course, our parents came to see us often, since dad had put together a governing council to help with the administration of Nevertide. Personally, I was thrilled with my new life in The Shade. I felt… at home. Soon enough, I became enamored with the humans. My brother and I were enrolled into The Shade Community College in the Vale, to further enrich our education. We weren’t the only vampires there, but the humans were the predominant species.
I quickly fell in love with the idea of one day living among them, in the human world. I had a hard time imagining myself settling anywhere supernatural at the time, I guess… Varga, not so much, but he was still interested in learning more about the human society. Their culture and cities captivated me, and I was flirting with the idea of a career in law enforcement, knowing that my vampire abilities would come in handy, on top of my sentry nature. Of course, that dream went up in flames when I became the target of some cruel jokes—typical college crap—and when I fell for the wrong guy. Dean knew him. He knew the whole story. In fact, Dean was one of the few humans who had really stood up for me during my college years in the Vale.
My brother was difficult to contain when it came to protecting me, so I did my best to not tell him about what was going on. I didn’t like being the little sister who needed Varga to get her out of trouble. I could take care of myself, and his over-protectiveness was hard to handle sometimes. With mom and dad mostly in Nevertide, my care had fallen in Varga’s hands, and he took his role seriously. A little too much for my taste, but, hey, that’s family…
Shade humans were still humans, after all. There was gossip, jealousy, rumors, and intrigue. As a vampire-sentry hybrid, I was considered elite, in a way, by most of the more popular kids. My introverted nature didn’t help, though. Dean made my college years a tad easier, which was why I always enjoyed seeing him, especially since he’d turned.
“Oh, you know, same old, same old,” I muttered, watching as he poured the peppered blood into a fresh glass flute. It smelled amazing, and I couldn’t help but lick my lips.
Dean noticed, then chuckled softly. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I’ve been guzzling this stuff all night,” he said. “I might’ve had too much, though. Is there such a thing as a blood overdose?”
“No, but it does give you one hell of an indigestion problem,” I replied, grinning, as he handed me my drink. “Just make sure you drink a lot of water tomorrow. It’ll thin it all down.”
“How’s your brother?” He asked.
“Nothing new. I left him with mom and dad. It’s his turn to entertain the grandparents,” I chuckled.
“Meh, I doubt he dislikes that. Varga’s always been a bit of an old soul,” Dean replied, then narrowed his eyes at me. “By the way, Connor went back to the mainland,” he said, the shadow of a smile crossing his face.
For a moment, I was bombarded by the least pleasant of my college memories. Connor was the wrong guy I’d fallen for when I was there, basically experiencing my first real heartbreak—albeit later than most. He was a cool guy, but a fundamentally selfish and narcissistic overachiever. He broke my heart, and he was one of the people who’d managed to make me doubt my self-worth.
Once Varga found out about how some of the Vale humans had been treating me, particularly Connor, all hell pretty much broke loose. It took me and six other humans, including Dean, to stop him from breaking Connor’s face.
I breathed a sigh of relief, as if the thought of Connor leaving The Shade altogether made everything a bit better.
“Oh, he did?” I replied dryly. “He did often say he was destined for great things, well beyond the Vale.”
“Oh, yeah, Mr. I’m-Going-To-Be-President-One-Day. Yeah,” Dean muttered. “He said he had a Yale scholarship, a full ride for law school.”
“Good for him. I guess four years of college weren’t enough for him,” I said, doing my best to look like I didn’t care.
I did, but not because I was still hung up on Connor. No, I just held on to the hope that karma would come around and bite him in the ass for having been such a jerk to me. I’d paid for my over
ly accepting nature. I’d swiftly amended that part of me.
“That’s what he said,” Dean replied, now wearing a Cheshire cat grin.
I briefly glanced over my shoulder to check on the Nerakian group. I’d already made plans to join them after my quick chat with Dean. The white-haired guy with piercing blue eyes was watching me, but his expression was firm, unreadable. Surprisingly, he kept his emotions under control, too. His aura was a mélange of serenity, curiosity, and amusement. Nothing quite out of the ordinary. But his gaze was close to drilling a hole in my soul, so I shifted my focus back to Dean.
“Okay, but I suppose you know more? Or different?” I asked, then took a sip from my blood drink.
Dean chuckled. “He got kicked out in his first semester. He’s currently bussing tables in Los Angeles. He’s trying to sell a screenplay and make it big in Hollywood.”
“Wow,” I replied, stunned. “Connor, the grade-A chief debater, the apple of his parents’ eyes, the football superstar with a square jaw and a string of girls around his neck… Surely, you jest!”
“Nope. Honest truth!” Dean said, stifling another laugh. “He got cocky and ended up on the bad side of the wrong people at Yale.”
“Hah.” I scoffed. “Karma is real, then.”
Dean gave me a friendly wink. “If you ask me, he’s had it coming for a long time.”
“I shouldn’t rejoice in his misery, though, should I?”
“Meh. I think you’re allowed a minute or two,” Dean replied.
I laughed, then mentally prepared to join the Nerakian group. Avril and Heron had just stopped by to catch up with them.
“See you in a bit, Dean,” I said. “And thanks!”
“Thanks for what? The drink, or the update on Connor?” he asked, smirking.
“Both.”
By the time I reached the Nerakians, they were all laughing hard. I didn’t catch the joke, but Heron’s slightly offended sneer pretty much gave it away for me. Someone had said something to poke him.