Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Now she’s married to one. Wren thought surviving demons, betrayal, and a forced marriage to Xavier Malus would be the hardest part. She was wrong.
As violence spreads across the city, the fragile peace between humans, vampires, and werewolves begins to fracture. Someone is pulling the strings—and the deeper Wren digs, the more she realizes the real enemy isn’t just monsters… it’s the system that created them.
At the center of it all is Xavier—powerful, ruthless, and the one man she should fear… but can’t stop loving.
When a trap is set that targets her family, Wren is forced into an impossible protect the people she loves, or risk everything to stop a war that could destroy them all.
Because this time, love might not be enough to save her
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter
One
The ground beneath us trembles and another crack breaks out along the floor of the warehouse. Black smoke billows out of the cement, and the smell of fire and brimstone chokes us. The sound of chains being dragged across stone reverberates off everything in the building, rattling the boxes stacked nearby. Xavier holds me closer against his chest and takes a step back.
This can’t be happening. But it is. My blood was the final key to unlocking a portal to hell.
“Toni,” I say weakly, fighting against the drugs Marco injected into my neck. Physically, I want to relent and allow my eyes to close. It takes everything inside me to resist it and I blink several times, looking around as my vision starts to blur. Red hellfire burns before us, flames rising from the crack in the middle of the sigil.
The prophecy. It’s true.
Marcus Henry’s words echo in my head. This was the plan all along. Use me—and my blood—to open a gate to hell and let out a demon. Why? I have no fucking idea and right now isn’t the time to try and figure it out. Right now, we need to leave.
But I can’t...not without Gia and Toni.
“Uh, Wren,” Zeke starts, looking from me to the sigil. “I’m guessing it’s too late to stop whatever this is.”
“Yeah,” I say weakly, and push against Xavier, wanting to get to my feet. He just holds me tighter against himself. “They used me…they used my blood. I’m…I’m the key.” I feel sick as the words tumble out of my mouth.
This was set up. Done on purpose. The Order of the Mystic Realm, an organization founded on protecting humanity from dark forces, summoned a demon to earth. It goes against everything they stand for, yet here we are, witnessing it happen.
I push against Xavier again, and this time he sets me down but keeps a steady hold of my waist. I feebly step forward, eyes narrowing as I look at Marco. He’s on the ground, kneeling with his hands on the floor just inches from the sigil. Reddish firelight flickers across his face and he stares down into the abyss with wide eyes.
“What did you do?” I say through gritted teeth. Marco looks up at me, blinking a few times.
“We did it,” he breathes, looking back into the fire. “We did it.” He jerks his head up, looking at Vivian, and a small smile plays on his face. “We brought forth—”
He’s cut off when the ground trembles again and the crack in the earth widens. My stomach twists and the feeling of impending doom pulls me down. Smoke rises around us, whirling up and making the smoke alarms go off.
“Toni,” I say as I look away. I only make it one step before Xavier catches my wrist.
“I’m sorry, Wren,” he says.
“No,” I tell him. “No.” I hold up my hand, not wanting to even let him finish. Toni will be okay. We’ll call an ambulance. They’ll give him blood. He’ll recover and be furious he was used as a pawn in this game and then we’ll find Gia and fix this whole thing like it never happened and we’ll talk about it over drinks and dinner. It will be okay. It has to be.
“I don’t hear a heartbeat anymore,” Xavier tells me gently, brows pinching together.
“What?” Vivian’s hand goes to her mouth and Marco scrambles to his feet. He reaches for her, irritably shaking his hand for her to take. Maybe it’s the drugs pumping through my system or maybe it’s the shock—probably both—but everything is happening in slow motion.
My vision blurs as I turn my head. There are several dead hunters on the ground around us, and the weight of demonic energy is getting heavier and heavier. Gia was here, in the building somewhere, and no one else has the same sense of urgency I do when it comes to finding her before some sort of monster crawls out of the portal or this place bursts into flames.
And Antonio is still lying on the floor right where I left him, with my jacket covering his face to protect him from the smoke. He’s not moving, and the pool of blood surrounding him is bigger than it was before. I squeeze my eyes shut.