The moment the circular glass elevator stopped at level four, I saw my father rising up to his feet as he pulled a wooden stake from a vampire's chest. At the sight of me, his eyes widened. More questions than I could make sense of flashed through my mind at the sight of him. My mother was a vampire and my father was a hunter. It felt like my entire life had been a lie. However, I knew that I wasn't about to get any answers, because this was no time for teary-eyed reunions. War was breaking out all around us. As I stepped out of the elevator, I realized that my father had just begun to take note of the dress I was wearing and the blood on my wrists. He then saw Derek stepping out of the elevator right behind me. My heart stopped when I realized what it looked like. "Dad, no!" I screamed, but he was already pulling out a gun and aiming it at Derek. I immediately acted out of instinct and used myself to cover Derek. I was about to tell Aiden—who was running toward me—that if he ever

It felt like I was riding to my death. I was surrounded by hunters and I was willingly heading toward the last place any vampire should be. The hunters' headquarters.I could feel Aiden's glare burning through me. I knew that in his eyes, I was the enemy. In his eyes, I had brainwashed Sofia into loving me. I knew that he would do everything to take Sofia away from me. It's the way I would've thought had I still been a hunter. I clung to Sofia, driven mad by how much I was craving her blood. I swallowed hard as I pressed my lips against her cheek. I couldn't remember ever wanting anyone as much as I wanted her. The fact that I was in love with her only added to the heavy ache that seemed to permanently settle on my chest. No wonder Lucas couldn't keep himself away from her… Lucas. My jaw tightened at the recollection of seeing my brother burst into flames. I'd never liked him, but he was still my brother. Seeing him meet his end brought no satisfaction whatsoever. I found myself w

I nodded. He stepped in and I closed the door behind him. He spun around to face me. "Every single human in this building—me included—perhaps my daughter being the only exception—wants you dead." At that, I couldn't help but chuckle wryly. "So I've gathered." "The great Derek Novak. One of the best hunters the order has ever known…now prince of the vampires." King actually…I looked up at him…but then you don't really need to know that. "This thing you have with my daughter stops now. You can't keep using her for whatever reason you have for wanting her." "I'm in love with her," I said through gritted teeth. "I fully intend to marry her." "Marry her? She's mortal! If you loved her, you wouldn't deprive her of the future she deserves. You wouldn't deprive her of an education, a family, children of her own…" At that, I couldn't find a proper response. I'd been plagued by that thought ever since Sofia returned to The Shade. I knew I was being selfish with her. "Be straight with me