Nora Connolly

Three

Nora 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 said my name. I just…lied.”

“You lied to him?” Winter swatted her arm. “Nora, he’s probably your mate! There’s only one reason someone like him would track down a girl like you and that’s if you were supposed to be his.”

Nora made a face. “Isn’t that whole thing barbaric? A werewolf gets to decide who he’s with and then turns the girl and she’s no longer human? And then what happens if you reject your mate?”

Winter’s eyes widened. “You don’t want to do that! That could kill him and you. Mate magic is powerful stuff, Nora. It’s not to be messed with.”

She frowned. “So, I don’t have any choice in this at all?”

Winter shrugged. “I mean, you’re not exactly attached and he’s one of the wealthiest men in New York. What’s there to run from?”

Nora looked at Winter pointedly. “Have you entirely forgotten my little sob story?”

Winters face fell. “Oh!” she gasped. “Nora, I’m sorry. I’m an idiot. I didn’t even think about that. I guess being with a werewolf would be hard after what happened with your parents.”

She nodded. “It’s not like I hate them or anything, but…that’s all I would think about. If I fall in love with someone, I would like for that someone to be a person that doesn’t strike fear into me every time I look in them. Or make my nightmares worse.”

Winter reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”

Nora smiled softly at her. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m probably not his mate. I probably bumped into him or something.”

Winter shrugged. “Still, it is kind of cool though. The Werewolf Prince of New York out and about. Never would have taken him for someone that would ride the subway.”

She laughed. “I can guarantee he doesn’t ride the subway. He was there for a reason I just don’t want to find out what that reason was.”

“You have to be the only person in the world who wouldn’t be happy with finding a mate. Powerists are all sexy as hell and they’re usually loaded.”

Nora laughed. “I don’t know. I guess I’m old fashioned. I like the idea of people finding each other because they wanted to, not because some ancient magic is making them be together.”

Winter frowned. “I think it’s a little more complicated than that.”

“Maybe. But it doesn’t matter. There’s no way in hell that I’m----” something burned on her skin. It was sharp, and hot at the same time and it made Nora grab her wrist and double over in pain.

“Nora?!” she heard Winter calling her. “Nora, what the hell?”

Images flashed in her mind. Images of Roman Eliot. She saw him standing in a room, chanting, with a woman who had blond, curly hair. She recognized her as Glinda North, a famous witch and socialite. They were in a dark room with candles surrounding them.

Nora, she heard a deep, male voice saying in her head, it’s time for you to meet me, Nora. You know who I am to you.

“No!” she shouted. “No!”

Mate.

The word echoed through her head, and she saw a building flash in her mind. Tarum building on the Upper East Side. Home to the Eliot wolfpack. Nora Connolly, you’ve been summoned. That was the last thing she remembered hearing before everything went dark.

Her surroundings changed.

She was no longer in her little apartment with Winter by her side. No, she was in a place that most humans didn’t get the privilege of seeing the inside of. The Endymion Chapel. The Moon God. The one who ruled werewolves.

The building was a large, white one in the center of Central Park. For a long time, magic had hidden it but when the wolves went public, so did the chapel. At least for people to see the outside of. The towering structure was a constant reminder of their power.

The structure had a large dome of gold that could be seen from everywhere in the city. Inside, there was a large, towering statue of Endymion, a tall figure with a long, white beard and hair in robes that sat on a throne like the Zeus temple in ancient Greece. Standing in front of it was Roman.

His long, brown hair fell past his shoulders and he wore a black suit. He had a large, signet ring with the letter E engraved on it in gold. His back was turned to her.

“You’re running,” he said, and his voice echoed off the chapel walls as he spoke.

Nora shivered, strangely cold even though she wasn’t sure that what was happening was real or inside her head. “How can I be running when I don’t even know what I’m running from?”

He turned to look at her, and smiled softly. “You’ve been running ever since your parents died, Nora. If you stopped, you could accept who you are. I could protect you. Not all wolves are monsters.”

“I know that,” she said sharply, “but if I’m with you, I feel like I’m betraying your parents.”

“Don’t you think it’s more of a betrayal to your parents if you’re not happy and doing well?” he challenged. “Besides…if you agree to be mine, I can help you get what you’ve always wanted.”

She laughed. “What do you think I want?”

“Revenge.”

Nora stared at him. It was something she had never been able to say out loud, and yet she knew it was true. She had always wanted that for her parents. A simmering anger that had been locked inside of her for years, something she’d been unable to vocalize until Roman said it at that very moment. “You know who killed my parents, don’t you?”

He nodded. “Yes. And your enemy is my enemy, Princess. You want their heads on a spike, I can give them to you. Just come find me. You know where I am.”

Roman walked forward to her, closing the space between them. He reached out and stroked her cheek. He growled, lowly, and then walked off as if nothing had happened. And then, Nora woke up.

“Oh my god!” Winter exclaimed. “Are you okay? I thought you died!”

Nora glanced down at her right wrist. There, emblazoned in gold ink, was ROMAN ELIOT. He claimed he could give her what she really wanted. Only time would tell. Or maybe she’d end up just like her parents….