Author's note: Hello and thanks for reading my werewolf romance. A new chapter will be released every Sunday night. BUT, you can read each chapter two days early by subscribing to my Ko-fi. For further updates on my writing, feel free to join my Discord. The next chapter will be released on November 17.

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The air was warm, not quite sticky. Sunlight beckoned me to open my eyes, but then punished me when I did.

“Ow. Shit. Who turned the sun up on the thermostat?” I asked, taking 30 seconds to realize that didn’t make any sense.

I was. . . swinging? Was I in the air?

My vision was filled with two large trees, one behind me, and one in front of me. And as the wind blew, I started to sway back and forth.

Looking down, I finally realized I was in a hammock. And this thing was old. It creaked in the wind, and I didn’t exactly trust it to hold my weight. Climbing out was an ordeal, but I finally managed to do it without falling on my ass.

“Where. . . am I?” I asked no one in particular, looking around with wide eyes at a very different farm than the one I’d passed out on. “This isn’t Mars’ farm.”

A familiar man’s voice sent chills down my spine.

“No, darlin’. That’s because it is mine.”

Spinning, I found Beauregard standing behind me and looking. . . alive? He was clothed in overalls and a brown shirt with muddy boots. His once-spiky hair was greasy. And the man’s skin was positively tan, soaking up every bit of sunlight it could.

I flinched as terror seized my heart, and I reached for magic to blast this man away from me.

“Hold up! Easy now,” he yelled, throwing up his palms. “I ain’t here to hurt ya. I’m not even sure I could.”

I didn’t retreat, and his words took several seconds to process. But it helped that he wasn’t moving, just standing there with his hands up.

“What do you mean? How did I get to your farm? Did you drag me here after I passed out? Where is my mate?!”

My questions only grew more frantic as I asked them. And Beauregard just stood there scratching the back of his head.

“Well, shoot. Um, guess I’ll just take those in order as best I can. I can’t hurt you here. We appeared on my farm after you absorbed all the magic in my body and left me a desiccated husk. And I reckon your mate is back with your body. I know I didn’t kill her.”

His calmness was so eerie, as were his soft brown eyes. Wait. Why could I see his eyes? When he attacked us on the farm, they were solid black.

“Beau, are you. . . still a vampire?” I asked.

He just snickered and shook his head.

“No, Lilith. In this place, I appear to be human again. And I forgot what it felt like. . . standing in the sunlight’s warmth, being near living creatures that didn’t fear me, and feeling a beating heart and warm, living blood in my veins.”

The ex-vampire’s eyes were nothing but relief as he inhaled deeply and stretched.

Looking around, I found we were standing in a pasture with a large herd of black and white cattle gathered across the way, grazing and lazing in the afternoon sun. The air smelled of livestock and manure.

My eyes found their way to an old white barn in the distance with a couple of horses waiting to be let out of their stalls. Opposite the barn across the farm was an old shack of a farmhouse. It looked nothing like Mars’. The roof was slanted, some of the windows were broken, and the chimney was half-collapsed.

When I looked back at Beauregard, I found the man with his hands in his pockets, just staring at me. And there wasn’t an ounce of hunger in his eyes. Just. . . calm.

“Okay, maybe you can explain what’s going on in more detail? I don’t have a clue how I went from siphoning your magic to waking up on your farm.”

Beauregard stepped over to one of the oak trees the hammock was tied to. He pulled out a crumpled home-rolled cigarette from his pockets and lit it with a match.

Leaning against the tree, the ex-vampire sighed and let the smoke out of his lungs.

“Mother Mary does that feel good. . . to just. . . feel warmth in me again. Warm air, warm tobacco, warm sunlight, warm blood. A man can forget what all that feels like after a century or two of being dead.”

He spoke slowly. I’d forgotten how much of a drawl some Southerners carried with them. Beau’s accent was always thick and his words plentiful. But here, he seemed to be savoring every minute he could get in this field of cows.

Over by the barn, a small boy with similar hair to Beauregard’s ran into the building with a bucket. He was jumping and giggling.

“That’d be my little sister, Adelaide,” Beauregard said, turning his head to look at her. He chuckled and shook his head. “My word, I forgot how excited she’d get to feed the horses in the mornin’. You could hardly keep her out of the barn.”

I scratched my head while Beauregard talked. And then something dawned on me. Beauregard must have sensed my realization because he turned back to me and nodded.

“Yup. She’s like you. And I was the only one she ever told. Mom and Dad call her Atticus, and she says nothing. They tell me to look out for my little brother when they take the wagon into town, and I say nothing. What can we say? What words could we use to tell the world who she is and what she feels that wouldn’t get her whipped and beaten? Nothing.”

Sighing and feeling the weight of Adelaide’s world, one that refused to give her a place to exist as herself, one where no Lord Wylde was coming to save her, one where she lived and died with just one man knowing who she truly was, I nearly wept.

“So, Lilith, when I told you that my attack wasn’t personal, I meant it. I would never drink the blood of someone my little sister would have been friends with.”

I turned to face him.

“Then why?” I asked, barely managing to choke out the words.

“Because Telsyn ordered me to. And I was powerless to disobey her.”

Confusion spread across my face as Beauregard talked. I needed more answers. Fortunately, he seemed prepared to offer them to me.

“Telsyn is a wraith, Lilith. She’s a powerhouse of magic and a higher class of undead than I ever was. Vampires typically do their best to avoid wraiths. And it’s usually pretty easy because there aren’t many of them in this world to begin with. But if you have the misfortune of stumbling across one, they enslave your will and drag you into their schemes without a hint of struggle.”

I took a deep breath and tried to process this new information. Beauregard looked at the ground, a pained grimace on his face as he remembered Telsyn.

His voice lowered to a damn near whisper. And tremors rattled his throat as Beauregard spoke to me. His eyes went somewhere neither of us wanted to be.

“Wraiths. . . they. . . dissect your soul. They’re both undead flesh and spirit simultaneously, an unstable union of abominable abilities. It makes them remarkable tormenters. When a wraith enslaves a vampire, they reach into their very soul with spectral talons. And they just start scraping tiny pieces off.”

I gasped.

“It’s pain, but more. Because you don’t bleed, you don’t scream, and you don’t have any way to make it stop. Except to capitulate. When Telsyn had her nails running down my soul, I wanted to claw my own eyes out. I wanted to tear out my tongue. I wanted to run my fingers through a paper shredder. And none of that would have compared to the agony she inflicted on me. Wraiths don’t get tired, Lilith. So this just keeps going until you submit. All that power you’ve been building through the years. . . it becomes theirs to wield as you are chained to their dominion.”

Beau took in a sharp breath with a hiss and shuddered. I watched the man’s flesh quiver as he relived the godawful things Telsyn did to shatter his will and take control.

For the first time since I’d met Beauregard, I was tempted to walk over and pat him on the shoulder. But something kept me anchored to the ground I stood on.

“In truth, I’m glad you killed me, darlin’. I’d been that miserable bitch’s puppet for the better part of two decades. And now I’m free, for the little bit of time I have left.”

Raising an eyebrow, I asked, “What do you mean ‘little bit of time you have left’?”

Beauregard pointed with his chin over toward the barn, and I turned to see what he was looking at. But the barn was gone, swallowed by an encroaching fog.

“What’s happening?” I asked, dread filling my guts like a mud puddle during a downpour.

“To you? Nothin’. You’ll wake up here in a little bit, and I’ll be long gone. Off to wherever a murderous Vampire Lorde goes when they finally kick the bucket.”

I ran my fingers through my hair and tried to make sense of everything. But my mind was spinning with everything Beau had told me. It wasn’t simple to sort through.

Stolen story; please report.

“You still have questions, and I don’t have much time left. So I’d suggest you make it quick, newborn sorceress.”

Shaking my head, I closed my eyes tight and tried to think. How fast was the fog moving? What would happen when it hit me? Would I vanish? No! No. I needed to calm down. He said I’d be fine. And for some reason. . . I kind of trusted him. The ex-vampire was different here.

It was whiplash to pass the fuck out fighting Beauregard for my life and wake up on a farm where we were apparently swapping life stories. Er — well, maybe not swapping. I hadn’t told him anything about me yet. Did I even have time to?

“I feel like I’ve asked this question three times now. Can you please walk me through exactly what happened to me?”

Beauregard finished his cigarette and put it out, crushing it under his boot. Then, to my surprise, he pulled out a second and lit it with another match from his pockets.

Were his pockets just full of matches and cigarettes? No. Focus.

Taking a deep drag, Beau closed his eyes.

“Your spell, which was quite a whammy, by the way, ripped every bit of magic from my body, leaving it a centuries-old corpse. No graveyard magic? No vampire. But a Vampire Lorde carries within them an entire lake of magic. And in terms of containers, your body is akin to a soda can. Understand?”

I cocked my head to the side and tried to visualize all that.

“The graveyard magic you swallowed from me overwhelmed you. Hell, it should have killed you. But the fact that you’re still here, in my memory, shows that you must still be breathing somewhere out in the world. Your mate is probably doing everything she can to keep you that way.”

“Okay, so I killed you by draining all the magic in your body. It overwhelmed me. I passed the fuck out. And now I’m standing here in one of your memories? How does that work?” I asked.

Beauregard looked over at where the shack was, and when I spun to follow his gaze, we were both greeted with fog. My heart rate picked up a bit more at that.

“Well, I’m no expert on siphoning spells. I can only assume you pulled a piece of my consciousness into your body along with all that magic you downed like a pitcher of beer at the possum supper.”

Note to self, I thought. Never ever attend whatever the hell a possum supper is. It sounds disgusting.

“So. . . what? I swallowed your soul?”

Beauregard laughed, which I thought would be an unnerving sight. But he just looked and sounded like a man enjoying life, one of those people you see at the park feeding ducks bread. They’re not in a rush or upset about anything. They’re just enjoying life in that moment. That’s what his laughter reminded me of.

“No, darlin’. You just got a piece of my thoughts is all. And apparently a sentimental piece at that. And while we’ve been standing here chattin’ like a couple of church ladies after the service, your body has been digesting me.”

Looking up, I noticed the fence was gone now, and the herd of cattle had moved closer to us, almost as if they could sense what was closing in. Beauregard put out his second cigarette and stepped closer to me. I didn’t move away.

“Before I go, I’m going to tell you how to beat Telsyn.”

“W — why?” I stammered.

“Because she made the last two decades of my life hell. You and that werewolf are going to make her pay. I know what she took from your mate, and I know what she almost took from you. So listen up.”

I did just that.

“A wraith isn’t from our world. Of the Five Realms, theirs is the worst. Dryer than any bone or desert you’ve ever seen. Miserable, decaying, stagnant home. And Telsyn will do anything to keep from being sent back there. But you can kick her ass out and lock the door. You just need to find the object she’s bonded to and destroy it. It’s the one thing that anchors Telsyn to this world and the only way you’ll ever be rid of her.”

That just raised more questions.

“What is it? WHERE is it?” I gasped as the fog swallowed all the cattle and moved in closer. I started to panic, even if nothing bad would happen to me. Vanishing backgrounds aren’t a great indicator of situations you should remain calm in.

Beauregard smiled as his sister ran out of the fog like it wasn’t even there. She appeared to be around nine years old. Her eyes were blue like the sky, and Adelaide’s smile gave the sun a good run for its money. She was just so excited to see her brother, clinging to his leg like a tree in a flood.

“Beau! I found you!” she giggled.

Beau picked up his sister, spun her around a few times while laughing, and then sat her on his shoulders, which only seemed to have grown while we talked.

There wasn’t much pasture around us now.

“Yeah, hon. You found me. Good job. You feed the horses?” he asked.

She beamed.

“Yup! I even got Grumpy to eat this morning.”

“Well, now, don’t that just speak to your talent. You’re a regular horse whisperer.”

Adelaide just smiled all the wider, and it was infectious because I did as well.

“Who is this?” Adelaide asked.

Beauregard pointed at me with his chin.

“Well, this here is Lilith. She’s got some work to do, and I just wanted to help her a little bit after our fight.”

Adelaide’s smile disappeared like the sun behind rain clouds, and she whispered something close to Beau’s ear.

“Why were you two fighting?” she asked.

I cleared my throat.

“A mean old monster told us lies, and made us angry at each other. But we talked it out, and we’re friends now,” I said in the most reassuring voice I could.

Adelaide nodded real slow.

“And now I’m gonna go find that monster and kick her ass,” I said, punching the air.

Beau’s little sister giggled and then stopped before looking horrified.

“Momma says we’re not allowed to say that word. We have to say ‘behind’ instead.”

I grinned.

“Well, then, I’m gonna go find that monster and kick her behind.”

That earned me another beaming smile from Adelaide. She laughed and then turned to look at Beauregard, who appeared as happy as the day his sister came into the world. It took everything I had to keep from tearing up at what she said next.

“Is it time to go?” she asked.

Beau nodded without dropping his grin.

“You bet, darlin’. Oh, Lilith. One more thing. I know asking you a favor after our fight is a bit of a faux pas. But you’re the only person who can do anything about it now.”

“Name it,” I said.

The ex-vampire took a deep breath before answering. The fog was inches away from us now, and I felt clammy air moving up my skin, inch by inch.

“My sister’s buried in Kansas City, a little graveyard called Green Valley Cemetery. Her surname after getting married was Thimbleton. If you’re ever down that way. . . would you mind getting her a new tombstone? I always wanted to do it, but I was too ashamed to approach her grave as a. . . well, the thing I became. I didn’t want our reunion to happen like that.”

I couldn’t stop the solitary tear leaking down my face as Adelaide turned to wave at me.

“Bye now!” she said, still sitting on Beau’s shoulder.

I waved back as the fog finished its job.

“Kansas City will be my first stop after Telsyn is gone, Beau. I promise.”

And then everything was gone. Myself included.

***

Unlike the last place I awoke in, here I felt cold. And it was dark. A hefty weight lay upon my chest, and warm breath spilled over my face.

When I opened my eyes, I was staring at a large snout with a black rubbery nose on the end. It twitched as my breathing slowed. Only then did I realize the weight on my body was a massive white wolf.

Gods, she was heavy. But she was warm. And I. . . couldn’t seem to stop shivering.

A mess of blankets and pillows curled around us.

I’m in the den, I thought, looking up at the couch walls surrounding us.

My teeth chattered, and fuck me did every bone inside my body ache. One of my shoulders was bandaged.

Right about the time I started to realize my bladder was going to explode, I saw my mate’s eyes snap open, golden irises locked with mine.

The thump of a wagging tail soon sounded through the den.

“Hey, Mars,” I croaked. My voice sounded like sandpaper. Somehow I was thirsty as fuck and needed to piss an entire lake out of my bladder. “Look, not that I’m not happy to see you first thing in the. . . whatever time it is. But can you let me up? I’m busting.”

When the wolf growled and narrowed her eyes at me, I snapped.

“Yes, bed rest. I get it. But unless you’ve got a piss jar tucked away in these blankets and a French man to throw it at afterward, I think you need to let me up.”

Mars didn’t immediately move, and I was about to shatter like the Hoover Dam in an action movie.

Desperately looking at the bathroom door, about 15 feet to my left, I began to struggle beneath the wolf’s weight, feeling more aches spread through my body. And then, before I knew it, I vanished from under Mars and reappeared just outside the bathroom door where a large shadow ran across the floor.

I heard Mars hiss in surprise and rise to her feet as I turned around to face her.

“What the fuck?!”

My mate looked over at me and then back down to the bed I’d been lying in, burying her nose in the sheets and pillows and sniffing loudly.

The entire vanishing and reappearing took a split second, and it felt like being in one of those dreams where you’re falling just before you wake up.

One moment, I was on solid ground. Then, I was a weightless mass flowing from one shadow to another before feeling the floor beneath me again. In the blink of an eye, I’d gone from flat on my back to across the room and standing on my feet.

Before I could further contemplate what I’d done, my bladder knocked on the door and said, “Hey! Remember me?”

I exchanged glances with Mars as a new chill washed over me, my teeth chattering again.

“Just. . . we’ll figure this out in a minute. Be right back!”

And then I did to that toilet bowl what God did to the Earth just after Noah built his boat.

A few minutes later, I was washing my hands. Casually glancing up at myself in the mirror, I screamed at the girl staring back at me.

“Oh, what the FUCK?!” I yelled.

The Lilith staring back at me was not the same woman I’d been before draining a Vampire Lorde of magic and passing out.

“Why the hell do I look like I want to skin a bunch of puppies for a fur coat?”

The woman staring back at me had her usual black hair to the right. But the entire left side of her hair was now a ghostly white. And if that wasn’t enough, my eyes didn’t match. My right eye was its usual brown, but my left eye was the palest shade of blue imaginable. Like — it was almost white and could barely be labeled a blue of any kind.

I had new age lines under my eyes that I didn’t recognize, and my skin was covered in bruises. Okay, that last part checked out. I’d been kicked through the forest like a soccer ball by Beauregard.

Either way, my reflection looked like I’d aged about a decade or two in the span of one fight. I know it was stressful, but geez! This couldn’t have been normal.

Stepping out of the bathroom, I started to say, “Hey, Mars. We need to talk ab—”

But I was cut off by a pair of grizzly arms being thrown around me. Then, I was squeezed to the point of near death by my mate who’d resumed her human form.

Here I was torn between smarting off about the tight hug and folding into my mate’s body heat. Because dammit, why couldn’t I get warm?

Mars buried her nose in the crook of my neck and then spent the next few seconds smelling me from head to — well, head.

“I missed you,” she said in a husky breath. And before I could respond, Mars was licking the bite marks she’d marked me with on our first night. My legs started to buckle for multiple reasons.

“I missed you, too. But now I miss my shiny black hair and my previously youthful complexion. What happened to me?” I asked. “My body feels like it got run over by a bus during a blizzard. My brain feels like an old sponge. And my core just refuses to get warm. How long was I out?”

Sighing and placing gentle hands on my shoulders, Mars said, “You should sit down. Things have been screwy since you died.”

My eyes widened.

“Since I what?!”