“Finally,” Arec muttered, closing the file on his desk and putting it into the bottom drawer of his desk. He glanced toward the windows and frowned at how dark it was outside. “I’d better get home before Eve starts to worry,” he said, pushing away from his desk and calling for the car. As the chauffeur drove, Arec stared out the window. “Something’s wrong,” he muttered, pulling out his phone. “I can feel it.” He dialed his brother, who answered on the second ring. “What’s up?” Michael answered the call. “Is everything okay back there?” Arec asked. “I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary,” his brother told him. “What about Eve?” Arec asked. “Where is she?”“She went for a walk on the grounds,” Michael told him. Arec sat up straight and asked, “She did what?” “She went for a walk,” Michael said, puzzled. “Why?” “Can you see her now?” he asked, leaning forward to see how far away from the house the car was. Arec could hear his brother moving before he said, “D
When Michael returned, he saw Arec had taken off his suit jacket and sat with his back against the wall. His legs were bent, and he rested his arms on them as he stared at the door across the hallway. As Michael neared his brother, the door shook as the werewolf inside thudded against the door, rattling it. “I see she’s awake,” Michael said, handing the plate of food to his brother. Arec nodded, accepting the plate. “It’s going to be a long night, so I brought a thermos of coffee,” Michael said, handing Arec the large container. “Thanks,” he said, opening it and pouring the dark liquid into the cup. “Do you want me to take a shift?” Michael asked. Arec shook his head and said, “I’ll be fine.” Grinning up at his brother, he added, “This won’t be my first overnighter.” Michael grinned back and said, “Yeah, but you were much younger then.” Arec rolled his eyes and took a drink of his coffee. Sobering, Michael said, “I’ll patrol the grounds to make sure the werewolf who
“Arec?” Eve called in a weak voice. “Is that you?” She looked at the door from where she lay curled on the floor. It slowly opened, and she closed her eyes at the light streaming inside, lifting her hand to block the brightness. “It’s me, honey,” he said, coming into the room and kicking the door shut behind him. The room was dimly lit, but he could make out the naked form of Eve curled on the ground. He set the tray down on the floor and hurried to her side. “How are you feeling?” he asked, kneeling beside her and gently touching her shoulder. “Sore,” Eve said, lifting her head to look at him. “What happened to me?” “What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked as he helped her sit up and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. She melted into him and shook her head. “I’m not sure,” she said. “I remember going for a walk before dinner. I went into the trees, then….” Her voice trailed off. “Then, what?” Arec asked softly. “Do you remember anything after that?
“A Lycan?” Eve asked. “What’s that?” “We’re wolf-like beings but aren’t werewolves,” he said. “We aren’t controlled by the full moon as werewolves are.” She stared at him with wide eyes as her mouth hung open. “In our wolf form, we have complete control over our actions,” he continued. “We also remember what happened while in our wolf form.” He looked at her as he added, “Unlike werewolves.” Falling silent, he waited for her to understand what he was saying. Eve stared at him in shock as she took in what he was telling her. Suddenly, her mouth snapped shut. Then she gasped. “Are you seriously telling me I changed into a werewolf last night?” she asked. “You’re being serious about that? It’s not a joke?” He nodded but remained silent. She laughed until she realized he wasn’t laughing with her. “You’re being serious?” she asked, sitting up from the water. He nodded again. She looked away from him, frowning. “What am I going to do?” she muttered. “I’m going to tak
Michael’s eyes grew wide at Arec’s announcement. “Your mate?” he asked. “Are you sure?” Arec nodded, standing to walk toward the bar. He refilled his glass and walked back to his chair. Once again seated, he looked at his brother and nodded. “Of course, I’m sure,” he said, shaking his head as he chuckled. “I’ve known since I first set eyes on her.” “But she’s not Lycan,” Michael said. “How can that be?” Arec shrugged and asked, “Who can tell the heart what it wants?” Michael shook his head and said, “Mother and the others won’t be happy to hear this.” Arec glared at him and said, “They better not hear it from you.” Michael held his hands in front of him and shook his head. “My lips are sealed,” he said. Arec nodded and took another drink from his glass. The brothers remained silent until Michael cleared his throat and asked, “When will you tell Mother? You know she’s been searching for a suitable mate for you.” Arec grunted and rolled his eyes. “Don’t remind me,” h
Arec and his mother locked eyes as they glared at each other. Michael cleared his throat, and they both turned to look at him. “Aren’t you forgetting something, Mother?” he asked. “What?” his mother asked with a scowl. “Tonight is the night of the full moon,” Michael said. “And?” his mother asked after a moment. “If we let Eve go, who knows what kind of damage she’ll cause?” he said, uncrossing his arms. Before their mother could say anything, Arec raised an eyebrow and said, “He has a point.” Mrs. Lyons opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. “After all,” Arec continued, “as Lycans, we are charged with keeping the werewolves in line.” His mother’s lip compressed in a thin line as her nostrils flared. “Fine,” she finally said. “She can stay here tonight and tomorrow night, but after that, she’s gone.” Arec glared at her rising from the chair. “I need to check on her,” he said as he bowed to his mother and turned to leave. As he passed his brother, Michael slappe
Arec turned his head so fast that his neck cracked. “What is it?” he asked as he got to his feet. “What’s going on?” “We have trouble at the gates,” Michael said, skidding to a stop next to his brother. Arec frowned and asked, “What kind of trouble?” The door thudded once more. Michael nodded to it and said, “That kind of trouble.” Arec’s eyes grew wide. “You mean werewolves?” he asked. Michael nodded, his face grim. “It looks like a whole damn pack has come onto the grounds,” he said. “What? How is that possible?” Arec asked. “You tell me,” Michael said, jerking his head toward the door. “You think she had something to do with this?” Arec asked, glaring at his brother. Michael shook his head and said, “Not her, directly, but someone did change her, so I’m assuming it’s her sire.” Arec frowned and looked at the door again. The door thudded again as Eve threw herself against it, but it held firm. Sighing, Arec turned to look back to his brother and asked, “How
Walking down from the roof, Arec and his siblings headed toward the living room. “So, what’s the plan?” Bella asked. “The plan is that we take them out,” Ray said, grinning at her. “We need a little more planning than that, Ray,” Julia told him, rolling her eyes. “Agreed,” Michael said. “The last time I counted, there were fifteen of them. If we each take three, we should have no problem.” The rest of his siblings nodded. “Before we go out there, I want you to know that the big one with the brown and gray fur is mine.” Everyone turned to look at him. “He’s the one that turned Eve,” Arec told them. “We’ve fought before, and this time, I want to make sure he can’t hurt anyone else.” Michael and the rest of their siblings nodded. “That one’s all yours,” Ray said. “Leave the rest to us.” They discussed how they would go out of the house and onto the grounds unseen before turning into their wolf forms. “We’ll take them by surprise, and it will be over before we know it,