JASON
"It is quite the pleasure that you would invite me personally to Monarch." I teased Luna Valentine and she was not pleased. It was clear as day in her face as she approached me in a spectacular yellow gown that gave insight into her personality. Fragile.
"Thank you for honoring our invitation Alpha Jason." She said with a false smile planted on. I had to admit she was trying her best to keep on with the charade but it was a vain attempt. She was not pleased with this arrangement. My Intel had gotten me information about what the arrangement was about. Valentine was only doing this for her people.
With the false pleasantries passed across, I was led into a ballroom of marble polished for the very occasion. I briefly examined the duo of betas that accompanied me and Luna Valentine. They befitted the alliance I would be coercing the pack of monarch into. A separate door inside the ballroom was opened. In the middle stood a magnificent table fitted for a feast was erected. Many of the seats were already taken by officials who had a say in the matter and of course, the neighboring packs who knew I might be coming for them next. Satake was already seated, bubbling and being overly chatty with the enemies. Luna Valentine and I took our seats and the food was served. What better to serve scheming wolves than mutton.
"So," I began breaking the tensing silence. "What do you think of my alliance? Is the pack of butterflies ready to become my stinging wasp?"
Luna Valentine had great difficulty swallowing the piece of meat she had in her throat. I wondered if it was difficult. To be in the same room with your parent's murderer, though if I was being honest, It was all Devin. Strange as it might be, my psychotic brother had chosen to remain in the car than face Luna Valentine.
"It was...a very tempting offer Alpha Jason but my court request to know what it will benefit the monarch if we give absolute threshold of this territory to you."
It was not words of her mouth. Those beta elders refused to let it go so easily. I scanned the room to find a few and they were indeed there, sending eye lasers at Valentine for what I would assume, her incompetence. I was not quite used to this part of bargaining but it was a necessary evil. I gurgled down the goblet of wine in front of me before I spoke.
"I hope no one poisoned that wine. I might have gotten a witch to hex me with something wicked. We would hate for another bloodshed to happen, right?"
This seemed to shake the guests and it further assured me that no one would do anything rash.
"That aside, I think it is very clear what the Monarch gets here but if you did not, I will spell it out for you. The Monarch will be getting the protection of the crow and of course, you all will get to see the light of day."
"Blasphemy!" A beta elder screamed. "You would not dare..."
I faced the old man, completely engrossed at how sparkling the red wine in my goblet was. "Why wouldn't I old man?" I demanded. "I have done it before, have I not?"
It seemed what the man needed was to remember what happened to the late Alpha and Luna of the Monarch. The sparkling wine in my hands brightened the dull memory. They had fought as best as they could but it was not enough. Their blood had painted this same kind of polished marble floor. Devin had squashed the Alpha's head like it was nothing but a pumpkin. He left his Luna to suffer and eventually take her own life.
"Can we not come to a compromise?" Valentine queried, her quavering voice making it sound like it was a desperate request rather than a business preposition. She was really trying hard to fill the hole her parents had left open but she was inexperienced and honestly pathetic, it was a sore sight to watch. Not one spine. No pride to fight for. She was perfectly submissive. It was a pity she was not my mate.
"No Luna Valentine. I am afraid you have nothing to offer but you do have everything to lose."
I expected her to half cry but imagine my surprise when a wry smile formed its way to her full rouge lips. Perhaps I had underestimated this fragile butterfly.
"What if I do?" She said, chomping a bite of her mutton off her fork and trying her best to force that smirk away.
It was not a bluff. Valentine was a readable book. She had an ace up her sleeve and this was the perfect time for her to use her trump card.
"What is it? I will decide if it is worth coming to a compromise over."
"Alpha Sofiane." She simply replied.
Sofiane, that beast's name echoed in my head a thousand times even after Valentine had uttered it. I wanted that fucker dead more than anything. I wondered if she was playing on my one weakness to get me to make a promise but damn it, it was working well. I was almost about to say something stupid when my phone chimed. It was an incoming call from Devin. It had to be important so against my table manners, I had to pick up.
"I read her mind... Alpha Sofiane... He's going to your home to kill your mate. Sofiane wants revenge."
I cut the call abruptly. The room seemed to spin and the weight of the world seemed to drop on my shoulders. I was one step from collapsing on the floor and my ever scheming brain seemed to have gone on overload so much that I could not focus on a single thought. It was painful. It was scary and I did not understand it. Was I worried about my abrupt mate's safety?
"Jason, Are you good?" Satake had to ask. His voice was my reassuring presence. It was the muse that dragged me out of the panic attack but it was not the only thing. I stood up, forcing the chair backward.
"Thank you for the Sofiane information, Valentine. We will talk about the compromise later." I said as I stormed outside.
I thought it was absurd when the moon goddess thought it wise to trap just me with an Achilles heel when my brother was the bigger monster but I was wrong. Devin and Valentine were mates.
What tragedy do you think the monarch suffered?
JASON I slammed the car's door open and pulled Devin out of it. He was calm and collected. It was the only way he had been able to keep his secret a secret for so long. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Devin demanded, shoving my hands off. His perfectly starched shirt was wrinkled and that seemed to piss him off more than the thought of me discovering his well-kept secret. Had he even realized that I had figured it out? Of course, he had. Devin wasn't stupid. He was trying to play me off and I refused to be put off so easily. "Valentine!" I rattled into his ear. "You did not seem it fit to inform me that she was your mate?" The mere mention of Valentine made Devin's eyes dart in my direction. It almost made me rethink my brother's intellect. Contrary to what I had believed, Devin had truly not realized that he had exposed himself. "Fuck." That phrase had ba
OLAMIDE The sight that lay in front of me was absolutely terrifying. Crimson red was splattered everywhere. On walls. The floor. Even the ceiling was not spared as droplets of red drizzled. My legs were jelly and the entire house was unfamiliar. I had only been there for one day or less but even at that, I had to realize that something was not right. No matter how fast I ran, no matter the route I went through, I always made it back to the same gory sight I had escaped from; Men whose heads had been decapitated and women slashed beyond recognition. I had never felt sicker. As my jelly legs stumbled and turned to find the front door, A shrill cry emanated from my room. It sounded like Axel. My head whipped up an answer. Axel was done for and so was I. My panicky mind seemed to work faster and in the end, I found the front door. The man Jason had speaking to the night was lifeless on the floor. His jugular cut open and spr
DEVIN Valentine. A feisty creature she was. It was cruel for the goddess to give something so precious to me. In truth, my wolf believed it was only previous because it was unattainable. That alone seemed to excite it. I had found out two years ago. I was at the ripe age of twenty-two and seething with unbridled rage to avenge my parent. Valentine's parent had played their parts to make sure the late rulers of the Crow never returned and it was only fair to do the same. My brother and I were not aware they had a daughter. I doubted anyone knew excluding those closest to them. Valentine had been the Monarch pack's well-kept secret. I had blood on my hands when I stumbled upon her. Her parent's blood was on my hands and judging by the horrified look she had on her face when I bumped into her, she knew I was their killer. She was a loose end. A part of me knew it was only right to take away her suffering by ensuring she ended up with her par
OLAMIDEI was dead meat now. The intense look he had before he saw me was back. Alpha Sofiane did not like that I could take a peek into his mind. If it pissed him off, that meant it was not normal and I had been so gullible to reveal that information to him on a platter."They told me you were human." He hesitated before adding. "What are you?"What was I? I was fucking human. I could not even comprehend what to tell him. Jason did not bite me so there was no way I was becoming one of them. Since werewolves existed, I could only lean to the stories the media told for my information. It was why I had feared for my life when Axel mentioned the love bite."I am not entirely sure what you are getting at Mister." I forced my hand out of his grip and he allowed it. "Do I look like I am a freak to you?" I was sure to even add. "If I were a freak, do you think Alpha... I mean Jason would be able
16 years ago "Lucius, Why are the hunters here?" Elise asked her husband as they pushed through the darkness their two boys barely keeping up. She could hear the screams of her people dying to ensure the Alpha of the Crow and his family escaped safe and sound. The ground was damp with dew and the scurrying children could barely keep up. Elise could not blame them. Her little pups were more than terrified but they kept on following their parents and they did not ask questions. Their faith gave Elise the strength she needed. "It has to be the order of Silverlaws. They had always been against the alliance of packs." Lucius whispered, pulling his first son, Jason into his arms as he ran faster through the crooked path of nothing of trees. Elise gasped. The Silverlaws had truly been against her husband, Lucius Crow's ideologies but she could not believe they would go this far. Elise's thoughts got t
JASON Her spitfire nature made my dick throb. It was pathetic. I was Jason. Famed for making other Alphas cower at the mention of my name. For all the posturing and tough talk, this woman would not submit to me. No one told me the bond would be this strong. I had walked down the path of insanity when I realized Sofiane had crossed the barrier; A feat that bastard could not have achieved without having a witch by his side. I had believed she was safe. How wrong I was. Now my woman was keeping secrets and distrustful of me. Sofiane had done something and I needed to know exactly what poison he had tainted her with. If only she would stop mumbling watermelons. Gosh, it was annoying. "I will only be asking you one last time Ola, what are you hiding?" She seemed flustered from the nickname. Her breathing was slow and her mind rattled on what I would do if I did not get what I want. Her imagination was a wild
DEVIN "I know you don't need me Valentine but I am here for you. You don't have to suffer alone." I whispered into Valentine's ear as she stopped struggling. "I want to suffer alone," Valentine said, remaining in my warmth. She basked in her misery like it was wine and the dark place I resided grew even darker. "You are the cause of my suffering. Why should you even care what this does to me? Just reject me." If Valentine could reject me, She would but she was only a Luna and the rejection ability belonged only to Alphas. I was selfish and I hated myself for it. I had not rejected Valentine then because what I had done to her was so evil, I would only be a true beast to reject her. It felt like kindness on my part but I would have done Valentine a great favor if I had rejected her from day one. Even now, I could not bring myself to do it despite the pain that surged through her when she saw me alive. I
DEVINIf this fellow was any regular vampire, I would have taken them head-on and won without a hitch but this one was different. For starters, he seemed to have a connection to Lilith, the countess of red death and one of the seven brides of the late Count Dracula. My hypothesis was he had probably been turned by her and the entire supernatural community was very much aware that the countess only turned men. Men who she wanted for herself. If I even had a shot at this, killing him was out of the option. Lilith had many minions who were willing to senselessly waste their life to please her. If truly this man was her new toy, the bitch would not be pleased that I offed his head."Who are you talking about?" I lead him on, bending one of my wooden chairs over and snapping all four legs to make for stakes."I don't want a fight," He pleaded. Not that there was any hint of fear in his expression. The disre