One
Nora Connolly
Werewolves.
They were on the subway, watching her. Nora could see them from where she was sitting. It was impossible not to spot them. There was three of them. All of them six feet tall. One had short, blond hair and brown eyes. The one in the center had long, brown hair that went past his shoulders. And the one on the right side of him had short, red hair and freckles. All of them had yellow eyes.
It was unusual to see them on the subway. Werewolves tended to live long lives which meant they usually had lots of money and lots of power. So why they were on a New York subway made Nora nervous.
She didn’t like the way that they were looking at her either. In particular, the one in the middle, who was looking at her like…
Like he wanted to eat her alive.
Nora was a human. She had no connection whatsoever to werewolves. There was no reason that they should be paying attention to her. She tried to focus on the podcast that she was listening to. Some true crime thing that she’d been obsessed with for a while. “…and they found the body in the woods….” a soothing, woman’s voice was narrating the hideous details of a necromancer who had been murdering people to bring them back from the dead.
Maybe it was weird that she found listening to other people’s grisliest traumas comforting. But there was something about knowing that everyone went through things as bad as she had been through that made her feel a little bit saner.
The werewolf in the center, the one that was eyeing her like he wanted to eat her for lunch, breakfast, and dinner started making his way slowly over to her. There was something vaguely familiar about him.
For a long time, werewolves and other magical creatures had remained hidden. But with the internet, it was hard for them not to be exposed. Sightings of werewolves became common and eventually, werewolves and others like them---shifters was the preferred word of choice----started telling their stories.
They weren’t the only ones either.
There were Undead, vampires and ghosts. Fae. Anything that used to be a bedtime story was no longer that. They were real. They always had been. And the minute they came out into the world, they let people know exactly how much money and power they had. And the world responded the way they do to money and power. They became obsessed with them.
As a whole, the groups were called Powerists. People who had powers that weren’t human. But their identities were so much more complicated than that. Still, werewolves tended to be an old-fashioned bunch. They liked werewolf because it reminded people of their power, however outdated the terminology might be.
And that depended on how old they were. The young ones seemed to understand the changes happening and accept them. The old ones…well, there was a reason they had been around for so long. They stayed with the status quo and did what it took to survive. And sometimes, that meant not changing.
As Nora eyed the werewolf coming towards her closely, a name came to her head. Roman Eliot.
“…and there was blood, dripping from the knife.” She closed her eyes, and tried to focus again on the podcast that she was listening to. A shoulder bumped into hers. Strong, firm, and muscled. Roman Eliot was sitting next to her.
He was known as The Werewolf Prince of New York. He’d been featured on FORBES top most powerful Powerists 25 under 25. And he was sitting with her, in a very, very small, New York subway.
Had she done something wrong? Offended him in some way when she got on the train? She didn’t think so, but who knew? Nora liked to think she tried to be a good person and treated everyone with respect but that didn’t mean that she didn’t make mistakes sometimes.
He nudged her, and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Nora took that to mean she had to open her eyes, and so she did. She locked eyes with his golden ones. The ones that signified he was an Alpha, of one of the most powerful packs in New York. He smiled at her, showing his perfectly white, pointed teeth.
An image flashed in her mind. It was a grey wolf, standing over her, licking its fangs. The one that had haunted her dreams since she was a child. The one that had killed her parents and left her an orphan at the age of fifteen.
Roman gestured for her to take her earbuds out, so she did.
“Um, hi,” she squeaked, “sorry, did I do something wrong?”
He smiled. He was beautiful and menacing all at once when he smiled. He made her heart pound furiously against her chest. “No. Only, are you Nora Connolly?”
She blinked. Lie, a voice in her head told her, lie your ass off. If a werewolf was asking your name, there was only two reasons. Either you had wronged them. Or you were their mate. Either way, you probably wanted to run.
Because when you were mated to a werewolf, you became one of them. They “gifted” you their strength so that you were able to carry their children. And they could get inside your head. Know your every thought. Track your every move. There was no escaping.
Most people who had mates called it romantic.
But Nora, try as she might, didn’t think she could ever be with a werewolf. Because when she looked at them, all she remembered was the one that had torn her to shreds and left her alive to fend for herself. So, Nora did the only thing that seemed right at the time. She shook her head no.
“Sorry,” she apologized, “I don’t know who that is.”
The train pulled to a stop. The conductor said something over the radio. Nora wasn’t even sure it was her stop. All she could do was grab her things, smile, and get off the train as quickly as possible without looking back.
TwoRoman Eliot “Fuck!” Roman exclaimed as he watched the girl hurry off of the train. He should have gone after her. But he didn’t want to scare her and she already had more than enough reasons to hate him and his kind. From behind him, his best friends, Ares and Aion, laughed at him. “That went well,” Aion said dryly. The blond werewolf was always quiet and reserved normally, so for him to say something meant that he’d really fucked it up.His two friends sat next to him, and redheaded Ares patted him on the shoulder. “Buck up, buddy. You’ll get her next time.”“I’ve been searching for her for years. This is the closest that I’ve ever gotten. She keeps on running.” Roman ran hand through his long, brown hair. “I don’t understand what her problem is. Most girls find out they’ve got a werewolf for a mate and they think it’s a fairytale. This girl sees us and runs.”“Her parents were killed by one of our kind.” Aion glanced over at him. “That could
ThreeNora Connolly “I’m sorry, you saw who on the subway?” Winter Jefferies squealed at her; her wide, blue eyes filled with excitement.Nora sighed. “It’s not that big of a deal.”Winter laughed. “Yes, it is. That’s Roman FUCKING ELIOT. The Prince of Werewolves. He’s The Werewolf Prince of New York.”“Werewolves don’t have royalty, Winter,” Nora reminded her. She sat on the couch next to her best friend. She was tired, having walked all of the way home rather than risk another subway encounter. “He’s just next in line to be Alpha. And it was terrifying. Him and his guards---”“Wait, Ares and Aion were with him too? Those aren’t his guards, Nora. Those are his friends.”She shrugged. “Whatever. Either way, they were there too, and it was like they didn’t want me to escape. I ran. I just got off of the train and left.”“But they knew who you were, you said?” Winter titled her head to the side as she focused on her.Nora clenched her hands into fists. “Yeah, they knew who I was. He sa
FourRoman Eliot“Well?” Roman opened his eyes, and looked into the face of Glinda North. The exceptionally pale, pretty woman smiled at him. “How’d your little summoning go?”He smirked. “She’s coming.”Glinda smiled. “Good.” The witch waved her hand, making the candles flicker out and the lights turn on by themselves. “It’s about time. You’ve been chasing this girl for far too long.”He sighed. “You’re telling me.”“Was the subway the first time that you’ve confronted her?”He nodded. “Yes.”“What do you think was different this time?” Glinda asked.Roman shrugged. “I’m not even sure. It was different this time. Before, if I got close, it was like she ran away. As if she sensed someone following her. But this time, I was able to get close.”Glinda paused, and tilted her head to the side. “That’s strange.”“Strange how?” Roman asked.“It sounds like there’s something that is alerting her of what’s happening. Maybe something magical.”“You think?”Glinda nodded. “You’ve been in the sa
FiveNora Connolly “Are you seriously scared?” Winter asked. Nora looked up at the massive sky-scraper apprehensively. The Stellarum was one of the oldest buildings in New York, and almost as tall as The Empire State Building. The windows were made of gold, and when the sunlight hit it just right, it shone brightly. You could see it from practically any point in the city “Terrified,” Nora answered. The golden tattoo with Roman’s name inked on her skin had yet to leave. From everything Nora knew about mate marks, which was what the tattoo was called, they never did. Roman would have one of his own, too, so she supposed that was something of a comfort. She hadn’t known what to expect by going to see him. So, all she’d brought with her was her purse. Robin reached out and squeezed her hand. “You’ll be fine.” “Right.” Nora peered up at the building again. “What do I do?” “Ring the bell?” Robin suggested.
SixRoman Eliot He could feel her the minute that she was in the building. He paced, anxiously in his study. The office walls were made of mahogany and there were bookshelves that lined the walls. He had his laptop set up in there and should have been answering e-mails but all he could focus on was her. He could hear her heartbeat pounding against her chest. She was nervous. Something about that excited him. He didn’t want her to run but the thought of her being nervous because of him left him unable to sit still. There was a knock on the door. “Roman?” Aion called. “Yes?” he asked. Roman wondered if Nora could hear the excitement in his voice. He hoped not. He wanted her to take him seriously, as someone that could protect her. “Nora Connolly is here,” he said, “and she brought a friend.” Roman almost chuckled. He knew that where Nora went, Winter did too. He had his own suspicions about Winter and h
SixRoman Eliot He could feel her the minute that she was in the building. He paced, anxiously in his study. The office walls were made of mahogany and there were bookshelves that lined the walls. He had his laptop set up in there and should have been answering e-mails but all he could focus on was her. He could hear her heartbeat pounding against her chest. She was nervous. Something about that excited him. He didn’t want her to run but the thought of her being nervous because of him left him unable to sit still. There was a knock on the door. “Roman?” Aion called. “Yes?” he asked. Roman wondered if Nora could hear the excitement in his voice. He hoped not. He wanted her to take him seriously, as someone that could protect her. “Nora Connolly is here,” he said, “and she brought a friend.” Roman almost chuckled. He knew that where Nora went, Winter did too. He had his own suspicions about Winter and h
Seven Nora Connolly It was a silly, little, demand. To want to have her best friend stay there. But Nora had already lost someone to a rogue wolf once. She didn’t want to think of what would happen to Winter out by herself now that she was the mate of a werewolf. Let alone someone as important as Roman. “It’s important to me that Winter is safe. The best way to do that is to let her move in here.” Roman shook his head. “I can’t allow for that, Nora.” “Why not?” she asked. “Is it because she’s human?” “No. There are plenty of humans that live here with their mates. But Winter doesn’t have a mate, and that could cause trouble. The kind that could end up with her hurt. If you’re truly worried about her safety, I could assign her a security guard.” “A security guard?” she repeated. “Who would that be?” “Aion,” he said without a beat. Nora raised an eyebrow. “The werewolf with zero personality?” He nodded. “He might not be the one you go to for a fun time, but he is the one that y
EightRoman Eliot It was decided that for now, Winter and Nora would share a room. Since Winter wasn’t entirely yet comfortable with Ares, he wanted to do what was needed to make her feel safe. Even though he hated the idea of not having his mate in his bed. She was so close, and yet he couldn’t be with her the way that he truly wanted.“Check the closet,” Roman told her as he showed the girls the room, “it will have everything you need while you’re here. The Stellarum is enchanted.”Winter had already beaten Nora to the closet. “Oh my god!” she exclaimed, any worries about Ares long forgotten, “Nora, come here!”Nora glanced at Roman then went over to the closet where Winter stood. The closet was huge. A walk-in that seemed to be filled with everything. Designer dresses ranging from summer to cocktail to award show. Lounge wear. Workout gear. Casual. The clothing styles seemed to adjust to whoever was nearby the racks and they were completely different from when Winter stood next to