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Jaded Wolf 1
PROLOGUEInever once imagined that my life would play out the way that it did. To be fair, I guess I could say that life never really unfolds the way we expect it to.I know my father’s didn’t, but I doubt there’s a teenager in the world who could expect her life to play out like mine.I’d just turned seventeen when my life changed completely and irreversibly. It was only one night before that I was thinking of the future, of my dreams and aspirations.I wanted to become a social worker or even a lawyer in hopes of helping others like me who were abandoned by their families. It was my birthday, and at my age, it felt like I had my whole life ahead of me.Granted, I wasn’t so sure that it would be much of a great life, but at least I was certain that I was going to have a life.That following evening, I wasn’t so sure any more. How could I have been when, within the span of twenty four hours, I’d gone from high school senior and certified wallflower to captive of the prince of the larg
Jaded Wolf 2
My gaze settled on his face.I realized that he was inspecting me just as closely as I was him. His eyes on me suddenly made me feel uncomfortably vulnerable.I gave my father’s advice a second thought, but quickly canceled out all notions of heeding to his counsel when I reminded myself that he stopped caring a long time ago.I straightened to my full height and mustered all the courage I had to keep myself from running away from this stranger.Big mistake.The confident smirk didn’t leave his face for even a moment. “Like what you see?”I frowned, annoyed by his audacity. “A bit full of yourself, aren’t you?”He stepped forward, closer to me, and leaned his head toward mine. “Don’t I have the right to be?”He knew he looked good and wasn’t about to act like he didn’t.“Whatever,” was my oh-so-brilliant comeback.My shoulders sagged with defeat as I took a step back, overwhelmed by how close he was. I rolled my eyes and did a one-eighty, not quite in the mood to play whatever game th
Jaded Wolf 3
I could barely even raise my arms without requiring a considerable amount of effort. I tried to pull against my chains. They were fastened to the wall. I felt straw beneath my bare feet. I ran my hands over my body and felt the soft linen fabric of the white cover-up I pulled over my swimsuit before my untimely walk earlier that evening.I had intended to go for a swim.Yet another one of your brilliant ideas, Sofia. Now you’re locked up in some sort of dungeon wearing your swimsuit and a cover-up that’s nowhere near enough to fend off the biting cold. Genius. Just genius.I gritted my teeth, loathing myself for being so careless about my own safety. I caught myself before I could turn myself into my own personal villain. The severity of the situation hit me full force and I was unable to suppress a shudder. What have I gotten myself into?I’m in a dungeon. The word alone caused alternating images of stories I read about places like the London Tower and the kinds of torture prisoners
Jaded Wolf 4
His answers sent chills down my spine. “You.”Before I could even let that fully register, fangs protruded from his mouth. He pushed my head to the side, giving him easy access to my neck.It felt like I was in a dream but, as much as I tried to pinch myself awake, there was no escaping it.I was convinced that my greatest fear had come to pass. I’d already gone insane, because at that moment, I was a hundred percent sure that I was about to be eaten alive by a vampire.“Lucas!”I could already feel the sharp edge of his fangs on my skin when a shrill female voice brought me an unexpected reprieve.He growled with frustration and roughly pushed me away, causing my head to jerk back and bump against the concrete wall.I glared every sort of sharp blade imaginable at my captor. So your name is Lucas.He seemed to be reading my mind, because an ugly frown marred his handsome features.“Yes. The name’s Lucas, my sweet innocent. Not that knowing that will do you any good.”“What do you thi
Jaded Wolf 5
If I thought Lucas could be beautiful, Vivienne was even more stunning to behold. She was a couple of inches shorter than her brother, but had the same dark hair and pale complexion. Her eyes, however, were different. Against the light in the room, her eyes almost looked violet, with hints of deep purple.She was eyeing me warily, as if I was a heavy burden that she had to bear.“Thank you,” I told her, genuinely meaning it even though I had no idea what she had in store for me.There was a deadpan expression on her face as she looked at me.“Understand, girl, that you are nothing here. You’re nothing but a pawn, a piece used to make the board move. Your best chance at survival and proving your significance is to win Derek’s affections. Considering everything I know about my brother, I’m not sure that’s even possible.”Her words dealt my hope a final crushing blow. She made it perfectly clear that wherever this place called the Blood Shade was, I had no allies. No friends. I had only
Jaded Wolf 6
Vivienne, on the other hand, threw her arms around my neck, whispering how glad she was that I was finally awake.I couldn’t keep myself from telling her exactly what I felt. “That makes one of us.”And then it happened. I could feel my gut clench in an excruciating twist. The smell was overwhelming – practically intoxicating. When I saw them, I couldn’t help but wonder whose idea it was to bring about this sort of cruelty upon my wake.As my sister stepped aside to allow me full view, I remembered everything. I remembered why it was so important for me to stay asleep.Five beautiful young women – innocents – no older than I was when I became a vampire, stood before me. I could sense their fear and the predator in me was desperate for release. I hated myself for it, but I wanted nothing more than to suck every last drop of blood out of every single one of them.My eyes were glued to the young man Vivienne was embracing only moments ago. There was no question in my mind that it was him
Jaded Wolf 7
From the Cells, we were guided through a well-traveled pathway across a dark, murky wood, before we arrived at a very large clearing at the center of what seemed like a massive forest. Whispers from the guards who were escorting us to our destination informed me that we were at “The Vale”. I assumed that it was the Shade’s center of civilization.I guess I could say that it was the Blood Shade’s main town, built up of several structures, whose architectural styles were the likes I’ve never seen before – almost like a mix of modern and Victorian architectural design with certain elements that looked like they just popped out of fantasy or sci-fi movies.I was still marveling at the places we were passing by when they ushered us to a place that reminded me of a spa Ben often dragged me to for massages.It was at “the spa” that we were pampered, perfumed, and exquisitely dressed in gowns made of fine silk - the kind which I could only dream of ever affording.We asked several times why w
Jaded Wolf 8
Lucas chuckled. “This is cruel and unusual punishment, Vivienne. I told you that. Derek hasn’t had blood for the past four hundred years. He can’t be expected to not want to rip these girls’ heads off. Hell, I’ve been feeding for the last four hundred years and I still want to have my way with them.”Derek, still looking like he was about to attack us at any moment, simply gave him a sideward glare before he roamed his eyes toward each of us girls – one by one.“A harem? A hunt? Since when do we have these? Who are these girls and where exactly did you ‘hunt’ them?”Lucas, Vivienne and the other woman present in the hall exchanged uncomfortable glances.It was Vivienne who eventually answered the question. “They’re humans abducted from the outside world. We hunt humans from the outside world to become slaves here, to do the work necessary. Those who prove to be useless are fed on. The choicest and most beautiful among the captives are kept by the Elite as part of what we began calling
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