EREBUS
“I only turn twenty-one once,” Lucian whines behind me. Refusing to turn around I just respond to him with a growl. “You promised,” he adds in.Spinning around in my chair, his blue eyes are sparkling with fake tears and his lower lip is pushed out. “That does not work on me anymore,” I growl at him even though I feel my restraint begin to dissolve. “What will people think if they see their King out drinking at a bar?”
“Ugh,” Lucian groans, throwing his neck back in frustration. “When did you turn into our mom?”
Anger fills my body at being compared to her. I open my mouth to rebuke his comparison when I see his eyes flicker with amusement and a grin crosses his lips. “Where are we going,” I growl.
His bright blue eyes glitter with excitement, “It’s a place called The Wolf’s Den.”
“That place is a shithole,” I groan.
Lucian is practically jumping up and down. “So you’ve heard of it?”
“Can we pick a nicer location?” I rub my eyes roughly with palms of my hands.
“Nope,” he grins. “No one will recognize us there.”
Before I can explain just how wrong he is, he bounds out of my office like a child. Shaking my head at his childishness I return to my paperwork when I hear someone clear their throat at my door. “Yes Mother,” I ask without even raising my head from my work.
“I hear you are taking your brother out for his birthday,” she says sweetly, even though I know that her intensions are nothing but sweet.
“And…” I say shuffling the papers in front of me before placing them in a pile.
“I do hope you are taking him to a reputable establishment,” she says as she crosses her arms over her chest, tapping her bright red fingernails on her arm.
“Take that up with Lucian, he picked the location.” I close the file and meet her cold gaze.
“Don’t think I do not see the women coming and going from your room at all hours of the night. I do not want your brother to follow in your footsteps.”
I cannot help but snort at her. Lucian is far from the innocent perfect child she has crafted in her mind. “Of course, Mother. I will bring your golden child home in one piece with no irreputable woman on his arm.”
Five hours later I am standing in parking lot looking at the shithole bar my brother insisted that we come to. It looks like it was built with whatever spare wood they could pick up for free. Several different colors of siding line the sides of the building and iron bars cover the windows that are already broken and covered with plywood. A crudely painted wolf howling at the moon hangs above the door with a neon sign that is flickering ‘The Wolf’s Den,’ except the only letters that are still lit up are the ‘W’ and the ‘D.’
Flinging the door open, the smell of cigarettes and marijuana hit my nose but there is something mixed in that is enticing. Stepping through the door the bartender immediately catches my attention. She is tying up her long black hair in a messy bun on top of her head. As she whips her hand around her hair it hits me, the scent of vanilla hits my nose and my chest rumbles in response, “Mate.” Her eyes widen they lock on with mine and she immediately turns around and starts organizing the glasses behind the bar.
Lucian hits me in the stomach with the back of his hand and draws my gaze away from the vixen behind the bar. “So much for not being noticed,” he growls in my ear. Looking around I see that every eye is on us as we make our way to the bar.
Placing my hands on the bar I sniff the air, but now I cannot get a read on what she is. When her scent first hit my nose I could have sworn that she was a rogue werewolf. But now that I am closer to her I am not so sure. The smell of vanilla is still strong, but it seems like it is muted for some reason. I don’t miss the tattoos that line her arms as she puts the dishes away. I know witchcraft when I see it and a growl threatens to escape my chest, but I muffle it my clearing my throat.
I don’t miss her back tensing when she hears me, but she refuses to turn around. So I clear my throat again. She doesn’t even try to hide the sigh that leaves her. She peeks around the bar, before placing her pencil in her hair and turning around with a fake smile plastered on her face.
“How’s the weather up there, Big Guy?” she jokes. She obviously does not know who I am.
I have to stop the smile that is tugging at the corners of my mouth. She is absolutely adorable. “Is that really the best you could think of?” I say with an air of exasperation.
“I was not expecting a full-grown ogre to walk into the bar tonight or I would have had something better lined up,” she does not miss a beat and I can hear Lucian laughing loudly beside me. “What will it be?” She asks when I don’t respond to her insult.
Before I answer a little she-wolf with brown hair grabs her wrist and turns her around. They stare into each other’s eyes for a moment before the other girl smashes her lips down on my Little Vixen. I try to not growl loudly but it is still not missed by Lucian. He cocks his head to the side, as the word “mine” growls from my lips while a burning sensation rips through my chest. I watch as the girl’s tongue slips into my mate’s mouth and it is taking all of my strength not to rip them apart.
After what seems like forever, they break apart both of them gasping for air with their foreheads pressed together. The little she-wolf sends my mate on her break, tapping her on the butt on the way out. Turning my gaze back to the brown haired she-wolf in front of me. She has a fake smile spread across her face. “What can I get for you?” She smiles sweetly.
I lean in closely and grab her around the throat. “Do you know who I am?” She squeaks a little, as she nods. “Who is that girl?”“Ella…” she manages to breathe out as I tighten my grip on her throat.
“What is she?” I growl at her.
“Human…” she squeaks out again.
Letting my aura wash over her, she tried to bare her neck against my hand. “You will not tell her who I am… got it?”
She nods as tears roll down her cheeks onto my hands. I drop my neck from her throat, and she falls to the ground with tears streaming down her face. Storming out of the front door, I make my way around the back of the building looking for my mate. I find her leaning against the brick wall of the wall of the building with a joint in her hands. I roll my eyes as I approach her.
ELLA“Mate! Mate! Mate!” Lily chants in my head as she tries to push herself forward. “Would you fucking stop,” I growl at her. “You are going to give us away.” Lily pouts as she retreats to the back of my mind. She curls up in a ball and lets out a frustrated huff. Rolling my eyes at her behavior, I cannot believe my luck. Who would have guessed that a thousand miles from home I would find my mate. I refuse to let this deviate me from my plans. Turning my back to the door, I tidy the glasses that just came out of the dishwasher. I can feel his presence behind me, but I refuse to give into the urge to turn around and look at him. His aura is suffocatingly strong. If I were a lesser werewolf it would have brought me to my knees, but I have spent years learning how to defy Alphas, this chump doesn’t stand a chance. He has to be an Alpha or at least from an Alpha bloodline. I hear him clear his throat, trying to grab my attention. Desperately I look around the bar for S
ELLAI felt his gaze follow me all night. I even caught him standing at the corner of the building when I would go outside to take my breaks. He did not approach me for the rest of the evening, but every time Sophie or Alec would get to close I felt his aura rush out and they would back away. Him and his companion stayed until closing, I practically had to shove them out the door so I could get the place cleaned up.Sophie doesn’t say a word to me as we close up and I have to fight back the tears that threaten to fall. Since I ran away from home I had only been about to make two friends, Sophie, and Alec. Now this stupid mate bond comes into my life completely screwing up everything that I have built. My anger is seething the whole drive home and I cannot wait to let Lilly out for a run to burn it off.Pulling up to the cabin I can tell that there is something off. There is a different energy in the air
EREBUSLucian’s arm is slung over my shoulder as I try to guide him up the mansion stairs. He keeps giggling loudly like a schoolgirl. I swear the older he gets the more annoying he becomes. Losing his footing he trips up three stairs and I lose my grip around his waist. With a giant thud he hits the floor and then slides down the stairs on his belly, his chin hitting each one on the way down. Laying at the bottom of the stairs he is chuckling like an idiot. “Why didn’t you invite me to your twenty-first birthday party,” his words slur as he looks up at me with hurt in his eyes. Pulling him to his feet, I throw him over my shoulder and carry him back up the stairs. “Because you were fourteen,” I say through gritted teeth.“Right, right…” he mumbles still hanging upside down over my shoulder. “Did you see that b
ELLAThe day after having runes marked on me is always difficult. Grace’s magical power surges beneath my skin looking for magic of my own to grab bond to. Unluckily for me there is no secret magic hiding within my body, so Grace’s magic attaches itself to the next best thing, my wolf. Lily howls in discomfort in my head as she tries to adjust to the new restrictions on her form. Grace started covering me in runes when I was fourteen to mask the arrival of my powers that don’t exist. Each week for a year she placed new symbols on my forearms until they were covered. I cannot help but frown when I look at them now. Just another reminder of the person that everyone was planning on me to be. The runes along my back itch causing my skin to ripple uncomfortably. I just want to lay in bed on my stomach and eat ice cream all day but it’s Friday night and I cannot leave Sophie to run the bar alone. There is no one else to cover for me. Pulling myself off the bed, I stumble acr
EREBUS “Don’t come near me again,” her words cut like a dagger in my chest. Remaining bent over I clutch my balls as she storms away from me. Her dark black hair catches the moonlight causing it to sparkle with waves of purple. Even after she kneed me in the balls I am still ensnared by how beautiful she is. The bar door slams behind her, and I hear the deadbolt click shut. “Ella,” someone calls from the opening to the alley. “Ella, Are you ok?” The pretty boy, from the other night steps into the alley and stiffens at the sight of me. I straighten up as he slowly approaches me with his neck bared. “I am sorry, your Highness.” His voice trembles just speaking to me. “I thought I heard my friend scream.” We both eye each other suspiciously. “She’s not here so you can go,” I throw my aura over him, and he shivers where he stands. He turns to leave but stops when he is halfway to his car. My curiosity is peaked so I drop the aura, and he turns to look at me. “I am sorry
EREBUS Watching carefully from a distance I see Ella hop in her beat-up truck. The engine lets out a horrible sound and I know that it won’t turn over. She hops out and pops the hood. Tucking her bottom lip between her teeth she stares blankly at the engine. After grumbling to someone on the phone she slams the hood of the truck down and makes her way into the trees behind the bar. Constantly checking her surroundings I have to make sure to stay in the shadows as much as possible as I follow her closely. Dropping her bag at her feet she pulls off her jacket and stuffs it inside. Giving the woods a final look around she begins to strip off her shirt and jeans. All that she has left on her body is a matching black lacy bra and thong set. The sight of her round ass poking up in the air as she stuffs the rest of her clothes into her bag causes me to take an involuntary step in her direction. A twig snaps under my feet and her eyes fly in my direction. I know she ca
ELLA“Do you mind unlocking the door?” Sophie yells from under the bar where she is quickly trying to repair some plumbing under the ice machine. “Wrap it with duct tape,” I yell back at her as I flip the lock on the door. “It should hold for the night.”The front door swings open and my Dark God graces the doorway. He gives me a small smirk as he brushes past me. “You will be waiting on me tonight,” his husky voice growls in my ear as he walks to his normal table in the corner. “I work behind the bar,” I yell at him, setting my hands on my hips. “If you want me to serve you, you will have to come to me.”His growl echoes through the bar at my response. Everyone else freezes in their place, except me. I turn and stick my tongue out at him and continue to behind the bar. Sophie jumps up and slams her head on the side of the bar and she immediately starts bleeding.“Shit,” she says as she falls backwards onto her bottom. “Soph!” I exclaim as I rush to her side, pushing a towel
ELLAPulling up in front of the cabin, my body begins to feel weird. It is a feeling that I have never experienced before. It is like a painful pulse is radiating from my heart. Getting out of the truck I make my way to the cabin when the pulse quickens and becomes more painful. Taking a few more steps I fall to the ground. The pulse is consuming my body with fire. Everything burns. The sound of a woman screaming fills my head and I don’t realize that the scream is coming from me until Grandma and Gramps are at my side. Carrying me bridal style, Gramps brings me into the cabin mumbling about unfaithful Lycans and how he’s going to find a gun. I can barely understand what he is staying because the pain coursing through my body is all consuming. He gently lays me on the bed, the waves of pain slowly subside, but then waves of nausea take its place. Rushing to my feet I run across the cabin and into the bathroom. I make it to the toilet just in time, throwing up the contents