OLIVER

“Brother, when I asked you to escort me to get a drink, I didn't mean stand in the corner like a fucking guard.”

The corner of my lips tugged down, as I looked to glance at Keyleth. The cloak she donned was the same material mine was made of, unless hers was an obvious brown and mine a dark color. “You should've been more specific then,”I grumbled, folding my arms across my chest. “Instead of threatening to throw a knife at me just so I'd walk with you to get drunk.”

“Oliver, that doesn't mean you can't at least pretend to be decent and enjoy being here.” Keyleth whined, tugging the cowl of her hood up.

I snorted. “I can't pretend to be something I'm not.”

An onyx-eyed female wolven was suddenly inches away from me. The pale skin of her breasts pushed up and almost out of the cloth that struggled to keep them in place. She pulled her bottom lips in, revealing the sharp edge of one of her fangs, her eyes roaming over me. Shoving another growl down my throat, I watched her approach me, her fingertips inches away from my face. Her jet black hair fell in waves to her shoulders and down her back, she trailed her other hand down the side of her exposed stomach and over the short material she wore to try and cover her ass.

“I wouldn't mind your weight on mine, you strong beautiful man.” She purred, practically arching her back, all for a show. For me.

From my side, Keyleth stifled a laugh, and I struggled to flee out of the stupid tavern. My popularity with females was as large as a river ant. Some would say I could have an arm-full at my side in less than a minute if I so much as smiled at them, but I could never begin to understand the pleasures most males got from simply grasping the waist of one of them. No, I felt off, strange, insecure when I was with one. And not because of my look, gods no.

The hood of my cloak had slipped back from my forehead, revealing strands of pale blonde hair, my eyes hardening, sending the female a look of disinterest.

She waltzed towards the other side of the tavern, a bland look of disappointment on her face, as I quickly tugged my cloak back till it almost covered my eyes. If anyone noticed that the heir to the Valeras pack, the largest in the realm was within them, it would be unnerving. Speaking of females, Father had already fixed a suitable female from the Skallaron pack for me to get married to. He'd announced it earlier today. Soon I'll be the one called Alpha instead.

Space from the castle was a good idea, as I didn't want to spend another minute there.

The responsibilities that came with being Alpha wasn't one I wanted to fall on my shoulders. At least not yet, as Alpha Loren, my father had been preparing me for the position since I could barely say my name. It was complicated. Valeras needed an alpha who was sure of himself, one who didn't get insecure because of how feminine he looked sometimes. One who knew how to catch a girl.

Years ago, father had asked me why I didn't grow my hair the way he did. He thought himself to be the best father figure and one his son should look up to and follow. And gods, I did. He was the alpha, the strongest I ever knew and heard about. But he didn't see what I saw. The femininity in my appearance. I looked just like my mother. Pale blonde hair that flowed all the way to her waist, her skin a lighter shade than my father's. I only had an idea of her appearance through paintings as I never got to see her before death took her away. Growing my hair would and might just transform me into a full-on female.

“Yeah, well you don't have to be an asshole all the time,” Keyleth's head snapped towards another section of the tavern as I followed and spotted a male wolven who had winked at her earlier. “You and I both know father wouldn't let me near any of the liquor he has stashed in his office. And I thought you'd like the idea of being away from the castle.”

Getting caught stealing whiskey from father's office was safer than being spotted by anyone here, but whatever. I kept that thought to myself, grimacing at the image of her and the asshole at a corner.

It came from a good place, I knew, but why a fucking brothel? Tavern? Whatever. I forced myself to swallow the question as I held her gaze, figuring it would be wise not to let her stomp away angrily and falling into the arms of that fucker at the corner.

I said nothing to Keyleth, tugging her closer to me, embracing her warmth and trying very hard not to inhale the stench of the poorly lit pleasure and bar house we were in. Bodies packed all around us, sweaty, moving and fucking. We’d been here for barely twenty minutes and I was already close to throwing myself off a fucking hill. My sister eased away from my side, tapping my chest. “I'll be right back.”

I caught her gaze on the wolven at the corner again, his shoulder length dark hair swept back and probably tied in a knot at the nape of his neck. A sigh left my lips,“Keyleth.”

I knew where this was going. And I was minutes away from snapping forward and sinking my claws into the fucker’s eyes for even looking at my sister but Keyleth was…well Keyleth. Asides being wildly impulsive, she was a party-er. A low growl escaped my throat as I noticed his lips tug up in a smug smile. At Keyleth.

“Oliver.” Keyleth hissed, smacking me on my chest. “Get it together.”

“I am in one piece, as you can see. Him—” I jerked my chin at the wolven. He had pushed off the wall he leaned on and was stalking towards us. “–on the other hand, is about not to be.”

“Maybe all this grumpiness will ease off you if you get laid.” She muttered under her breath, placing a foot ahead of the other. “I’m the older one. You should take my advice.”

I lifted an eyebrow, as she glanced at me before moving her gaze back to the piece of shit wolven. Yeah, I was judging a book by its fucking cover.

Letting go, my shoulders slumped in defeat. “Be back in an hour. I think I'm going to step outside for a bit, I feel nauseous in here.”

“Yes father.” She rolled her eyes, strolling off to meet the wolven halfway.

Not wanting to see any of that, I averted my gaze to the other part of the brothel and kicked off the wall I leaned on. “Pour me more beer you slutty bitch,” A wolven that looked to be in his forties, smacked the ass of one of the servers. She yelped, a nasty grin forming on the wolven’s face as she topped his cup to the brim.

Cursing under my breath, I practically ran out of the space, brushing against sweat clunged bodies. “Why did I ever agree to any of this?” I muttered underneath my breath. It was the same question I asked myself whenever Keyleth dragged me on some of her adventures.

Outside of the bar had less people, some hung around the wooden railing that framed the entrance and others at random places. The night air hit colder than I expected, sharp enough to slice through the heat that clung to my skin. I stalked forward some more, needing to be away from everything that had to do with that building.

“Hey!” A voice shouted from behind me, stopping me in my tracks. I craned my neck back to find a man waving one of his hands, a drink on the other. “I wouldn't go down that lane if I were you. There have been some…complaints about the land there.”

Furrowing my eyebrows as confusion seeped in, I gave the man a curt nod and all but sank to the ground against a worn out wall. The moon was full tonight, as its light illuminated across the area I'd been warned against. It was different from the route Keyleth and I had taken to come here. My eyes found the pathway I was about to walk towards again. There was a feeling of unease as my gaze swept over the small area. Unlike the other side of the village Keyleth and I had somehow slipped into, this side seemed near abandoned.

And it probably was considering the amount of trees around it, with just a single large gray building, its sides near ruined. Something about the building didn’t sit right, yet the more I stared, the heavier the air became.

I staggered upwards, senses on high alert as a sudden feeling of dread washed through me. It was impossible to ignore. Turning back to the building to find Keyleth and get the hell away from here, I felt a pull. Like I was being violently tugged towards the gray building.

Willing myself to shake it off and picturing Keyleth in my mind, I knew I should've stood on not leaving the castle. Should've, would've. “Fates,” I cursed, craning my neck back to the grey building and turned away from the tavern.

Something reached my hearing, something like a scream being muffled. I snapped my head back to the gray building and moved before my brain could process what was going on.

I was running now, having moved into a full sprint as I tracked the direction of the sound, leaning into my wolven instinct. Inside the building was creepier than it looked from outside. I stalked further, passing walls with cracks in them and had molds all over—

My movement froze, as a muffled sound reached me again, one that sounded like moaning. And it didn't sound like a pleasurable one. Going down in a crouch, I wrapped my hand around the hilt of the reddish black dagger I'd slid into the side of my boots earlier.

That feeling of unease intensified. It felt like something wrong was in the air, stroking at my stiffened spine.

I caught movement at a corner of my eyes, a cracked wall that had given way to another room laid at the side of where I stood. My feet dragged me to stand behind a wall and hide my presence. Air punched out of my lungs as I beheld the horror in front of me.