Free A Shade of Vampire 28: A Touch of Truth by Bella Forrest

been hallucinating.
    A streak of black hurtling across the sky above The Shade’s boundary caught my eye. Then I lost sight of it just as quickly as it had appeared. It had looked far too large to be a bird, and yet it definitely hadn’t been an aircraft either.
    I felt a bit crazy just thinking of it, but it had looked like… some other kind of flying animal. I was sure that it had four legs. But now, as I gazed around trying to spot it again, I couldn’t find it for the life of me. There wasn’t a single trace of it having been anything other than a figment of my imagination. Maybe Grace’s absence literally is making me insane.
    “You all right, honey?” my mother asked, noticing me looking around with a confused expression on my face. “What are you looking for?”
    I didn’t answer for several moments as I continued to scan the heavens. When I still didn’t spy it again, I could only conclude, “It was nothing.”

Victoria
    S pending time with Bastien in his castle was like a dream. A fairytale, almost. I felt as if I was floating on clouds, and I wasn’t sure that I would ever come down. Although much of his time during the day was occupied by coming to grips with his responsibilities as the new ruler of the Blackhalls, I was just so overjoyed to be with him.
    It was also incredibly interesting to witness the ins and outs of a werewolf chieftain’s duties. I supposed I had never really thought much about it, but they functioned much like any ruler would, including those in The Shade. All ultimate decisions lay with him. The emphasis on food and defense seemed to be the greatest. He had to ensure there were enough food scavengers bringing in a constant supply for the pack, and ensure their territory was properly guarded.
    Even though I wasn’t a wolf, the fact that everyone saw me as Bastien’s “girlfriend”—a term that Bastien had to clarify for the others, as I had once clarified for him—meant that I was treated with the same respect as Bastien. I felt pretty awkward about it all, considering that I was basically just Bastien’s shadow. I wanted to contribute, and help wherever I could, but so far there wasn’t an awful lot that I could do—since Bastien himself was still learning the ropes, with the help of his elderly friend and advisor, Cecil.
    All the while, Azaiah and Regan were kind enough to stay with me. Though they didn’t end up spending that much time in the castle. They seemed to enjoy themselves going out to roam the Woodlands—scaring hundreds of wolves in the process, I was sure. But I trusted the two of them to not give into the temptation of scooping up a wolf for a snack. They were content with other eatables they found around this place.
    One good piece of news was that, after the upheaval that had so recently taken place in The Woodlands, the wolves had been forced to work together. Tensions between many of the tribes seemed to have reduced. Several chieftains came to visit Bastien after learning of his appointment, seeking to form alliances with the Blackhalls.
    Cecil also suggested that Bastien ought to make some trips of his own, to reach out to some other chieftains to introduce himself as the new Blackhall leader, and start a dialogue with them… the Bonereavers, however, were definitely not on that list. Cecil advised that Bastien go with ten other wolves from the pack while the recent hunter invasion was still fresh in the minds of the wolves of The Woodlands. Bastien began to make plans to leave, discussing details with his council. He approached me last. I had already anticipated the reluctance in his expression before I witnessed it.
    He didn’t want me to go traveling across The Woodlands again, of course. And I accepted that. It was pushing it just for me to be here in his castle to begin with.
    I resigned myself to the fact that my stay would only last a few more days, until Bastien and his companions departed on their journey. He wasn’t sure how long