“Selene! If you’re not down here in ten minutes, I’m coming up with a bucket of cold water!” I heard my mother yell.
I groaned and pulled myself from the bed. Today was my birthday and she couldn’t even let me sleep in this once. I knew she was excited because my birthday lined up with the full moon that signaled the monthly haze werewolves experienced. With all of the wolves of age becoming out of their mind with the need to procreate, my chances of finding a mate were higher than usual. I didn’t mind the thought of being driven to have sex, but under no uncertain terms did I want a mate.
I had grown up listening to my father’s stories about the assassin’s guild. They were an elite group of wolves who worked to protect the king and the Priestesses of the Goddess. They were rumored to be mate-less, it was easier to do their job without having half of their soul putting them at risk. My dream of becoming one of them grew as I aged. Becoming more aware of how mates acted toward one another fueling my resolve. All the mated wolves around me acted as if their mate were the air they needed to survive, I couldn’t imagine being that entwined with someone else.
‘Me either.’ Spoke a voice in my head, startling me. I squealed in delight as I realized my wolf had appeared. She introduced herself as Raina before urging me to hurry and get ready to avoid my mother’s wrath. I showered and dressed in a blur, barely clearing my room before my mother barged in with a bucket of water, intent of following through with her threat.
The day went by in a blur. All of the of age wolves shifted with the pack after a lunch hosted by the Alpha and Luna. The haze always hit when the moon rose, and nobody wanted a bunch of horny wolves roaming the woods. There would be a ball hosted at the pack house after nightfall to celebrate the haze. My mother could barely contain her excitement at the thought of me finding my mate. I felt confident that I wouldn’t find one during the evenings events since I hadn’t detected any signs of a mate at lunch. I was thrilled when the night passed with nothing more than reckless sex.
My invitation to the assassin’s guild finally arrived two years later, a few days after my eighteenth birthday. I was surprised when it came in the form of an official messenger to my home. I had always fantasized that it would be some secret meeting in an exotic place. My mother had wept as I accepted the offer, my father alternated between pride and worry. I trained hard and was thrilled when I was given my first assignment.
She was a petty thug. A rogue Alpha harassing a smaller pack on the border of the kingdom. My job was simple, track and kill. She was easy to find, thinking herself safely beyond the notice of the King. He had noticed though and the order was sent. I traveled to the small pack’s lands under the pretense of visiting family. I had no family in the pack, but the rogue wouldn’t know that. I was housed with a small family on the outskirts of the pack’s town. The wife had come from another pack, adding another layer of realism to my cover story.
As if she were on a schedule the rogue arrived in the small pack town. She moved house to house, knocking on doors and demanding payment in exchange for not attacking. She claimed to have a collective of rogues, waiting for her signal to attack. I had to adjust my plan to kill her on the spot. If there were other rogues working with her, I needed to ensure they were eliminated as well. I played my part well, cowering behind the male wolf whose home I was in as he gave her the money she demanded. I watched through the window until she had completed her rounds through the small town, slipping out of the house silently to follow her.
She led me to an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. I could tell from the lack of scents that she was the only one who resided there. I rushed forward as she entered the house, placing my foot to stop the door. Her eyes widened in alarm as she saw my claws extended. I kicked her squarely in the chest, causing her to tumble over backwards. I snickered as her head cracked on the hardwood flooring. I pounced, not giving her time to catch her bearings, and pummeled her into unconsciousness.
I had tied her to a rickety wooden kitchen chair and waited for her to wake. My tools of torture placed neatly across the abandoned dining room table. I needed to know if she really was working with other rogues or not. She opened her eyes after some time, taking in her surroundings before sneering at me.
“Are you working alone?” I smiled, letting my fingers play over my knives.
“Fuck you bitch.” She spat. My smile widened. I was going to enjoy making her crack.
“Tsk tsk. Such a sharp tongue. I’d hate to have to cut it out.” I forced my face into a comical frown.
The smell of fear erupted from her causing me to crinkle my nose in disgust. I had been hoping she would put up a fight. I wanted to prove to the guild that I could do whatever it took to finish a job. I had barely begun pressing for information and the rogue was already cracking.
“It’s just me.” She whimpered. “I swear, if you let me go, I’ll go far away and never bother the pack again.”
I sighed my disappointment before picking up one of my knives and cutting her throat. Her eyes stayed locked in a wide shocked expression as her life left her. Quickly, I gathered my tools and called the Alpha of the small pack to come to my location and confirm my kill.
LucasI shook my head, clearing away the image of the enraged King’s face. I had turned down his offer to marry his daughter in exchange for my pack lands being brought under his rule. My pack had thrived just outside of the kingdom’s border, quickly becoming one of the strongest in existence. We didn’t need a King’s protection and I didn’t want a chosen mate; I wanted the one the moon goddess had created just for me. “Zane, make sure things are set for us to shift our business interests elsewhere.” I told my Beta. “I expect the King will hit us with an embargo and border closures.”
Selene I gently untangled myself from the arms of the man in my bed and rolled over to check my phone. I had a coded message from the guild. ‘Meeting scheduled for 3’, read the message on my screen. We had a new target. I had worked hard over the last five years, moving up in the ranks, making my way toward the position most coveted. A few more successful hits and I would be named guard to the Priestesses.I let my eyes wander over the man in my bed, debating if I had time for another romp or if I should send him home. I sighed as I thought back to the pleasure he had brought me during the night. He was a man who enjoyed taking his time, he would have to go rather than enjoy another round in the sack
I needed information and a way in. If the Alpha wasn’t staying in his own home, odds were he would be at the pack house. My best shot at getting to him was to find a warrior to take me home. I quickly searched through my toolkit for the truth serum we carried when we needed a subtle way to gain information. I tucked it into my handbag before securing a vial of pheromones that would send any unmated male panting after me into my bra. Satisfied the vials were secure, I slipped into my tightest little black dress and heels. A quick glance at myself in the mirror told me I looked like sex on legs. I made my way downtown, looking for any bar that had the tale-tell signs of bei
I snuck into the Alpha’s house late afternoon, the day following my encounter with the pack warrior. I wasn’t certain of the hours he kept, but I suspected like other pack Alpha’s, he would work at the packhouse until at least dinner time. As the sun began to set, I realized I hadn’t been keeping track of the lunar cycles. It was the night of the full moon, that meant the haze would hit anytime after the moon rose. ‘No matter.’ Raina murmured in my mind. ‘Just means we can have a little tryst with the big bad Alpha before we complete our task.’ The sun had fully set by the time the Alpha arrived home. I pressed myself in the corner between his dresser and the wall when I heard the front door, knowing my scent would
LucasI woke up feeling as if my entire world had fallen into place. I had found my mate and we had completed the bond during the previous nights haze. I smiled, rolling over to pull her to my, only to find the bed empty where she had lain the night before. I sniffed the air, hoping her scent would lead me to her in another part of my house. Instead, it led me to the front door. She had slipped out before I had awoken. ‘Why would our mate abandon us?’ My wolf, Hades whined in my mind. ‘She’s not just a wolf, Hades, she’s a woman. She probably had shit to take care of’
SeleneI knew it had been stupid to leave my scent uncovered as I ran back across the border. It couldn’t be helped though. I had abandoned my kit in the motel and ran, my only objective was to get home and find answers. I needed to stop the hit on the Alpha until I could break our bond. I wasn’t crazy about the idea of dying because someone else took him out while we were still tied together. I stopped at the first guild safe house inside the border and snagged the keys to an unmarked car. I wasn’t sure where I needed to start looking for answers, but I hoped my father could help as I sped down the highway towards my childhood home. “Daddy!” I squealed, throwing my arms around him as soon as he opened the door.
LucasI physically recoiled as my mate forced our link closed. Hades whimpered at the rejection. We had felt her wolf’s joy at hearing my voice, but we had also felt the anger coming from her human side. This was going to be trickier than I had anticipated. We knew very little about the assassin’s guild. They were rumored to reject their mates and live solitary lives, but a mate could only be rejected before the marking. It had given me hope that my mate would accept our bond and we could work out the nasty business of me having been a target. It didn’t make sense that the moon goddess would pair me with someone so unwilling to accept our bond.I had to fight the urge to check in with Zane to see how far he had gotten on my order to find me a way across the border undetected. I was going after my mate, whether she wanted me or not. I had fu
SeleneI was a little surprised as I made my way down the long gravel drive, arriving at a small cottage. I knew it made sense for the leader of the guild to maintain a non-descript home, being flashy would make him easier to find, but I wasn’t quite prepared for how small his home actually was. I parked in front of the tiny house and quickly made my way to the door. My senses had been in overdrive since the Alpha had contacted me through the bond at my parent’s home and I was ready to find answers so I could complete my assignment. “Selene.” Called a man from the doorway of the home. “I’ve been expecting you. Your father called. My name is Alistair.”