I squat next to Conrad as we watch the Green River Pack territory. Lately, the feral rogues have been attacking packs around Romania. It started with a small pack, in the South-East, near the Black Sea, and slowly moved to the West. I usually don’t care about what feral rogues do, but they are too close to my territory, to my pack. As a rogue myself—a silver rogue, not a feral one—I have worked hard to secure some land in Baciu Forest and build a pack. Another pack lives within the forest, but my territory is warded, and they can’t enter. I would have liked to have my pack elsewhere, but as a rogue, I have no say in how territories are distributed. I am lucky I was allowed to the land the Elders have given me. Not without paying a large sum of money and granting them many favors—favors that I am still regretting and the rest of the werewolves don’t know about. But at least I am the Alpha of my pack, and I get to lead them without any interference from the Elders.
“Any signs of them?” I ask Conrad.
Without taking his left eye from the border—the right one he lost a few years back during a fight with some vampires—Corand says, “Not yet. Are you sure the feral rogues are going to attack this pack?”
“Unless Tatiana is making us waste our time.” My right thigh starts to ache. The injury I received ten years ago from liquid silver hadn’t healed properly, and it still bothers me, but I learned to live with the pain. I shift my weight on my good leg. “Tatiana is rarely wrong,” I let Conrad know.
“I don’t trust her,” Conrad mumbles.
Conrad rarely trusts anyone. His past taught him to be wary.
The bush rustles to my right, and a moment later, Kain and Conon squat next to me. I don’t like Kain, but he is Conrad’s friend, so I tolerate him in the pack. And he is also a good fighter when he is not taking photos of everything.
“Jeremy and Hogar are patrolling on the other side of the border. Ten warriors are with them,” Conon lets me know.
Conon is my Beta, and Jeremy and Hogar have just finished their training as Enforcers.
“Good,” I say.
“What’s the plan?” Kain asks.
Raven, my wolf, growls inside my head. He dislikes Kain more than I do. “Kill the feral rogues, collect our money for each pelt we take to the Elders, and have a beer or two back at the pack,” I tell the vampire.
“I don’t like beer, but I might have a bag of blood left in my freezer. Maybe Tatiana will make her famous cookies for when we return home. I am starving,” Kain says.
“Maybe,” I say. Being around vampires makes my blood boil, but I have to remind myself Kain is not my enemy.
“Tatiana is making cookies?” Conon butts in. “If she would be a few decades younger, I would marry her.”
I snort, “I don’t think she is ready to have kids.”
Conon narrows his eyes. “What do you mean?”
The left corner of my mouth twitches up. “That you need to grow up.”
Conrad and Kain laugh. Conon mumbles something under his breath.
I keep surveying the territory ahead of me, not wanting to be taken by surprise by the feral rogues. Their new leader, Mircea, is one of the cruelest werewolves in Europe. I shift my weight once more. My wound is a reminder of it.
The wind blows, carrying the scent of feral rogues to me. I sniff the air trying to determine how far they were from us, when I catch another scent coming from the same direction.
Cosasi vampires.
The hair on the back of my neck stands. Why are the Cosasi vampires with the feral rogues? I thought Mircea hated them as much as I did. The last time the feral rogues allied with the Cosasi vampires was a thousand years ago, during Queen Sera’s reign—the last Diamond Real Queen. Since then, the feral wolves have mostly kept to themselves. From time to time, they will attack packs and steal food and other things. Sometimes they would take pups as well.
“They are close,” I let the other know.
“Finally,” Kain says as he claps my shoulder.
I look at Kain’s hand for a moment before I grab it and flip him to the ground. “What did I tell you about touching me?” I growl as I put my knee on his chest and push the tip of my ashwood dagger at the base of his neck.
Kain’s throat bobs, fear flashing in his eyes.
“Caleb, let him go,” Conrad says. “Kain did nothing to you.”
I look into Kain’s blue eyes—it must be the only thing stopping me from killing him, that he is not a Cosasi vampire but a Dacian one.
While the Cosasi and the Dacian vampires have the same ancestors, the Dacian vampires are at least decent, not like the Cosasi, that love to destroy lives.
‘Kill him,’ Raven snarls.
I would love nothing more than to free the world from another vampire, but Kain has proved that he is not a piece of shit like all the other vampires I have met.
‘Maybe next time,’ I let Raven know, and he retreats to the back of my mind. He is angry.
“Go and tell Jeremy and Hogar that the feral rogues will be here in less than ten minutes. Cosasi vampires are with them,” I tell Kain before I have a chance to change my mind and stick my dagger in his neck.
I let Kain go and get between Conon and Conrad.
“Are you okay?” Conon asks.
I am tempted to lie, but I shake my head, letting him know that I am not well. “Barely slept last night. Nightmare.”
“Why didn’t you ask Hector for more drugs?” Conrad wants to know.
I exhale softly. “Hector has a lot on his plate with the new members. Besides, a few sleepless nights won’t kill me.”
Conon looks at me sympathetically. I hate when he does that like he is pitying me. “Do you want me to call Andrew?”
I inhale sharply. Could this day get any worse? “We broke up,” I say between gritted teeth.
Both Conon and Conrad seemed surprised by this.
“When?” Conon asks.
“This morning,” I reply.
“That explains why I saw him crying in the kitchen while Blade was comforting him.”
“But you were the perfect match,” Conrad says.
“He wasn’t my mate,” I shrug, trying to hide my pain.
Conon narrows his eyes. “Don’t tell me he found his mate.”
Damn. Conon knows me so well.
I nod. “Last night.”
“Who?” Conrad asks.
“Mitch,” I say, annoyed. “Are you done with the interrogation questions?”
Conon gapes at me. “You’re fucking with me, right?”
Conrad stares at me. “Who’s Mitch?”
I sigh. Who the hell needs enemies when I have friends like these? “My partner from two years ago. He came to the to ask Conon and me to help him with something when he met Andrew. Long story short, they are mates. I broke up with Andrew because I knew he would not since he had feeling for me.”
“Son of a bitch!” Conon mutters. “Why haven’t you told me anything?”
“Because it doesn’t concern you,” I let him know. Conon seems hurt by my statement. “Look, I know you are worried about me, but I am fine. As for Andrew and Mitch, I am happy for them. Mitch is a good male and an excellent Beta, and he will make Andrew happy.”
“What about you?” Conrad asks.
I frown, not understanding Conrad’s question. “What about me?”
“When will you be happy?”
Tatiana, Conon, and Conrad are the only ones who know about my past and what I have done.
‘And Mircea,’ Raven reminds me.
I don’t worry about Mircea. He is the last person to open his mouth and talk about the past. Not when our pasts are entwined.
“I don’t deserve happiness,” I say. While I love Andrew, he is better off without me.
“Bullshit,” Conon scoffs.
The scent of the feral rogues and the Cosasi vampires grows stronger, and I prepare to shift and let Raven take over. We take our clothes off while keeping our eyes on the forest.
“One day, you will find your mate,” Conrad says before his wolf, Pau, takes over.
“The entire Black Ruby Rogue Pack will cheer for you as you take your mate to the Ritual Stones and mark him,” Conon says before shifting into his wolf.
I gave up on the idea of having a family a long time ago. Besides, what do I know about raising my family when my own parents are scum? Nah, I am better of alone.
‘I want our mate. I dream of running with him under the Full Moon,’ Raven says.
I pop my neck. ‘The Moon Goddess will never bless us with a mate,’ I say as the feral rogues step into the clearing.
I let Raven take over. Shifting is always painful, but it is over in a few seconds.
RavenThe foul scent of the feral rogues reaches my nose. I am not sure if they ever heard of water or if they want to stink on purpose. Caleb and I have been rogues for many years, but we never smelled so awful.‘Because we were forced to take a bath twice a day,’ Caleb reminds me.I growl, not wanting to remember and step into the clearing. I try to spot Mircea’s wolf, but there are at least ten vampires and twenty rogues to kill. Mircea will have to wait.I let the darkness take over and jump on the first vampire I see. He tries to harm me with his long nails and fangs, but years of fighting them had taught me how to sever his head without receiving many wounds. My sharp canines sink into his neck while my claws dig into his chest. Another vampire attacks me from behind, his nails painfully cutting across my ribs. His nails are poisoned with wolfbane, and I already start to feel weaker. The darkness spreads even more, and I welcome it. I rip the head of the first vampire before I f
CalebI look at the female in front of me. Her black eyes scan my body, my scars. I hate being looked at like I am nothing more than a piece of meat.“Give me a moment,” I say, and I rush to retrieve my clothes from where I left them.‘Who do you think she is?’ ‘I don’t know,’ I reply to Raven’s question.Once I am dressed, I return to the clearing. The battle is over. From what I can see, two of my warrior didn’t make it. I will have to let their families and friends know as soon as I return to the pack.“Thank you for saving my life,” I tell her.A crossbow and a quiver with ashwood and silver-tip arrows are across her back. I glance at the rogues and vampires that attacked me—they all have arrows in their foreheads. I should get a crossbow as well.“Tatiana sent me. She said you might need my help,” the female says.I rub the back of my neck. “I didn’t count on the wolfbane.”“It is not only wolfbane; it is mixed with liquid silver.”I look at the vampires. “That explains the numb
The entire Pack House sounds like a beehive, as the last preparations for my ‘big day’ are being finalized. I couldn’t care less for my birthday or about finding my mate, but my father needs me to step in as the Alpha of the pack. Ever since my mother got sick, he has taken on her role as the Luna of the pack, in addition to all of his Alpha duties. This has caused him to spend many sleepless nights working. I love my life as an unmated male, as I can hook up with whomever I want.Someone passes near my room, and the scent of caramelized apples wafts through the gap between the door and the floor—the scent that has been tempting me for months to take a bite from a certain female.Rain.My newest plaything.The previous night came to mind. If she has told me the truth, no male has ever touched her before. I was her first kiss. I bet I can take her virginity by the waterfall too.‘Can you stop being such a douche?’ Titan, my wolf, growls in my head. ’Just because you kissed Rain against
I don’t understand why Titan is so passionate about Rain. He never had a problem with me fooling around with females until now. And for me to treat Rain like she is the most special thing in the world for the next ten days is… ridiculous.I get out of my room and notice Rain cleaning the windows at the end of the hallway. Hadn’t she done that already yesterday? The light of the July sun makes her hair seem like it is on fire. The freckles covering her face are so damn sexy. She hums something under her breath. I wonder what she is thinking about. I tried to do a mind-link with her a few months ago, but because Safia is mute, it wasn’t possible.Except for Rain and me, no one else is in the hallway. I tiptoe until I am right behind her. She doesn’t seem to notice me, as she keeps humming a lullaby while cleaning the fingerprints left by some pups on the windows. A broom closet is to my left. I open the door, pull my right hand around Rain’s mouth and nose, and pull her inside. As soon
My lips still tingle from the kiss Jordan gave me earlier. I don’t understand why he is suddenly acting so nice to me. Until two days ago, he had treated me like I was a slave. ‘Rain, do this; Rain, do that. Rain, you don’t get to eat for two days for breathing.’ Then all of a sudden, he changed. Last night he not only stole my first kiss—which I so wanted to be with my mate—but he also brought me food.He probably only wants sex. But why me? There are plenty of females in the pack to choose from.Once I finish cleaning the windows, I drag my feet to the stairs. If I make Jordan wait any longer, he would probably punish me.The scent of lemons reaches me, and I rush all the way down to the first floor. Females are busy setting the last details to the backyard, where the party is to take place, and I try to make myself as small as possible, not wanting to be spotted.“Rain,” someone suddenly calls my name. “Can I have a word with you?”I could recognize that voice anywhere. My hands tr
Not wanting to risk making Jordan angry, I finally decide to go to the waterfall. Close to where the forest starts, I meet with three males. From their scents, I know they are Kevin, Dan, and Victor. Kevin has a little basket with food and some cans of soda, and a blanket with him.“Rain, so glad that I found you,” Kevin says while handing me the blanket and the basket. “Jordan is getting really impatient. I will let him know that you will be there in a few minutes.” He glances behind him to where Dan and Victor are, before saying to me in a low tone, “Be careful with Jordan. Your birthday is soon, and then you will find out who your mate is. Please wait until then until you decide anything.” His scent changes, letting me know he is nervous. “Please wait,” he asks me again before leaving.Victor goes after him while Dan approaches me. “Are you well? You look… upset. And why do you smell like bleach?”“I had a small accident back at the Packhouse,” I lie.“Do you need any medical atten
Rain looks at the natural pool formed at the base of the waterfall. While it is not deep enough to actually swim in it, we can still have fun. When I was younger, during the hot summer days, I would come with Kevin, Dan, and other males to the waterfall and spend many hours collecting rocks or in the pool. Then Elly started coming here to dance, and it sort of became her place. Rain’s cheeks turn red. Fuck. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. “I don’t want to get naked,” she says, her voice trembling. She is so stiff, I am afraid she will snap in two. I have been with virgins before, but Rain is too scared, too jittery. I can’t shake off the feeling that someone did something to her. If that is the case, then why isn’t she saying anything? “If you want to get your clothes all wet, then be my guest. I am still going to take mine off,” I tell her while I help her sit on the blanket next to me. Rain stands fast, her palms turning into fists. “I don’t want you to get
Wanting to be sure I am not misinterpreting the situation, I ask Rain, “Have any of the males done something to you you didn’t want or forced you to do… stuff?”Her gaze returns to me. “No,” she replies, not looking into my eyes. She never does.I feel relieved. “Good.” Maybe she is nervous around me because I have been her… bully. I hope I haven’t fucked up everything with her. “Then we are together. End of discussion. How about we eat and then enjoy the pool?”She begrudgingly agrees, and we sit on the blanket. Some sandwiches and chocolate bars are in the basket. I pick up one of the sandwiches and give Rain a chocolate bar.I mind-link Kevin.‘Dude, tuna sandwich!? You know I fucking hate tuna!’ I complain.‘That’s for Rain. She likes tuna,’ Kevin tells me.Rain rips the wrapper around the chocolate bar, her eyes going wide as she takes a small bite from it. Is she moaning? ‘I didn’t know she liked tuna.’Kevin is silent for a moment. ‘About earlier, if you only want to screw arou