The Dying Wolf: The Familiar Empire Series

by Bailey, G.

  I would hate me as well, in their position. Skye doesn’t knock when she gets to the guys’ door and heads in, and I trail after her, closing the door behind me.

  “Skye Banana, what are you doing here so early?” Alex asks, sounding so playful that it shocks me for a moment, and I’m more shocked when I see Alex hugging Skye as she laughs.

  “Stop calling me that! I’m all grown up now, and I brought you a present,” Skye says, waving a hand at me, and I arch an eyebrow at her.

  “You’re still a kid, short stuff. Get over it,” Alex states and ruffles her hair as he lets go and steps up to me, his arm going around my waist. He kisses me once before letting go just as the door behind me opens. I turn back to see Mason and Liam walk in, followed by Dorothy. Liam pauses, his eyes on Alex’s hand on my waist, and Mason does the same, but he looks even madder. Thankfully, the moment is broken as Dorothy pulls me into a hug and leads me into the living room. The next few hours, we have dinner, and it’s nice to be in a family unit with a mom cooking and us cleaning up after dinner.

  It feels normal…in what is not a typical world.

  “On the roof, they have new plants. Want to help me pick some for the flat, Skye? I might even have some sweets hidden up there we can eat before the boys find them,” Dorothy asks as Skye and I finish off the drying up of the plates.

  “Yes!” Skye says with a child’s excitement in her eyes, reminding me of how young she really is. Dorothy winks at me as she takes Skye’s hand and they head out of the room, and I carry on with the washing up as Alex comes into the room. He moves to stand right behind me as I dry a plate, his hard body perfectly pressed against mine.

  “You are so beautiful, Tassie,” he tells me, brushing some of my hair away from my neck. His lips drift up my neck as his hand slides under my tee shirt and up to my breast. I hold in a moan as he tugs my bra down, and his fingers tug on my nipple, flicking and teasing. His other hand undoes my jean button, and in one expert move, he slides his hand into my panties and his finger inside me. I throw my head back as he rubs my clit, his finger sliding in and out of me as his other hand teases my nipple. It doesn’t take long before I’m crashing into an orgasm, a long moan escaping my lips even when I’m trying to be quiet.

  “Fuck, you’re perfect, Tassie,” Alex whispers into my ear as he removes his hands. A throat clears, and Alex lets me go just as Mason punches him hard in the cheek. Liam is in the middle of them in seconds, pushing them apart as Alex tries to hit him back.

  “Fuck, Ana is mine! You never wanted her, you said so yourself!” Mason growls, and my eyes flicker to Alex.

  “I was lying to myself before I lied to you both,” he admits, rubbing his cheek.

  “Do you love her then?” Mason demands. “Promise not to hurt her?”

  “That is something Anastasia can ask, but not you,” Alex growls, pushing Liam’s hand away to shove Mason in the chest.

  “Both of you stop being fuckheads, and let’s just talk,” Liam counters.

  Mason laughs, shaking his head. “He will break her heart. Alex has never loved anyone but himself, and we all know that.”

  “Enough!” I shout, and all three of them turn to me. “You all need to figure this out, because I will not be a toy you share and argue about. This isn’t normal, I know that. I know normal is wife, husband and two point five kids…but we will never have that. We are familiars, and our normal has to be something different. I never planned this any more than you three did, but I will not live without any of you!”

  “Ana—” Mason starts, but I cut him off.

  “I am going home, and don’t you dare follow me. Figure something out and then talk to me, okay?” I don’t wait for their answer before walking as calmly as I can out of the room, even as my heart beats fast in my chest. I don’t remember the walk to the forest or Shadow coming to my side and walking with me. Everything seems dull about the once alive forest as I get to the gates to the mansion, and in shock, I stare at Aunt Courtney in the middle of the gate. Behind her are three dead guards, the ones that helped me, and sickness climbs up my throat.

  “Y-you ki-ll-ed them?” I question, and she doesn’t even look back at them.

  “I will kill Skye and your boys if you dare to leave my house without my permission again. Are we understood?” she coldly asks.

  “Yes,” I reply, biting down on my lip so I don’t scream at her. They didn’t deserve to die.

  “You are what humans call grounded until the wedding. Don’t test me. I know exactly what you’ve been doing when you sneak out of my house. Your mother was a slut; it does not surprise me her daughter is just the same,” she sneers. Before I’ve thought about it, I’m walking to her, and I slap her hard across the face. She cries out and stumbles back, and two guards come to my side, roughly grabbing my upper arms. Courtney straightens up, narrowing her eyes on me as she comes closer. She grabs my chin, looking right into my eyes.

  “I’m going to make you regret that.”

  I laugh. “And I’m going to leave, just like your sister did, and you will be all alone in the end, Courtney. Alone and cold and forgotten. That is your future.”

  I’m not surprised when she punches me, and in seconds I pass out, hopefully with a smile on my face.

  Chapter 19

  Mason

  Love needs peace like the heart needs love.

  “It’s been over a week since she left, and not even Skye has come back. Something is wrong,” I growl out, tugging on my hair. I’m sure half my hair is going to be pulled out by the time we leave this damn apartment.

  “And what do you think we can do about it?” Liam asks, arching an eyebrow at me. Go and get Alex to help us is what he wants to say. Ever since I watched Alex make Ana come in that kitchen, I haven’t been able to think straight, let alone be around the fucker. It was the hottest thing I’ve seen since being inside Ana, and I don’t know what to do about that. I’m in love with her, and my main problem is I have no clue what Alex is thinking or if he loves her just as much as I do. Sharing Ana was something I got used to quickly, and it’s not like I haven’t shared girls with Liam in the past just for one night. But never with Alex. He is possessive and takes anything he wants, when he wants it.

  If it’s just sex with Alex, I might be able to understand it, but Alex doesn’t share. Hell, he nearly bit my hand off over sharing a brownie once.

  “Get out of your head, and let’s go. Alex knows the royal houses and bribes half the guards at all the houses. If anyone knows what is going on, it’s him,” Liam growls at me and throws my coat at my head. I tug it on and head to the door, knowing I need to face this rather than be a pansy and hide up here.

  “Have you not gone and seen him? Or do you not care now you have Ana?” I ask Liam, and Liam stops. In seconds he shoves me against the wall, his forearm pressing on my throat. I’ve never seen Liam this mad before, and it’s a shocking turn of events.

  “Yes, and the fucker plays games like you. He told me Ana is fine but nothing more until I get your sorry ass to his cabin. Don’t you dare question my loyalty to all of our family. Now get the fuck down those stairs because the girl we both love is in danger, and if I lose her, I’m personally going to fucking murder you both for leaving the last memory in her head of us fighting like teenagers. We have been through enough shit in our lives; we don’t need to fight against each other when the world wants us dead already,” he pulls away, but his glare is still in full force. “So grow up and move on.”

  “I’m sorry,” I tell him, and he nods, rubbing the back of his head as we both leave the apartment. We use Hex and fly to Alex’s cabin by his old home, and I don’t bother knocking as I head inside.

  “About time, fucker,” Alex growls, his black eye making me feel a little better. He stands up and walks right to me, and neither of us have to say a word. I tug him in for a manly hug, patting his back before letting him go.

  “How is our girl?” I ask, sitting on his bed.

  “
Locked away like a princess by her psychotic aunt. The wedding is at the end of this month, and I have a plan. Are you in?” Alex asks, and Liam laughs as he sits next to me. I nod, and Alex starts explaining his plan, which includes stealing a helicopter and poison.

  They say only the mad plans work after all…

  Chapter 20

  Anastasia

  Trapped no more…

  I eye the guard outside my room, who stands in the doorframe with the door now missing thanks to Courtney. Apparently, she can’t trust me to stay in my room alone, so I don’t need a door. I should be thankful for the bathroom door, considering that’s the only place I get to be alone these days. I close my book I wasn’t really reading and walk to the window, looking outside even when I can’t go out. The balconies are all locked now—trust me, I’ve tried opening each one, and Skye can’t even figure out a way to escape anymore. Shadow is allowed in and out of the house, so that’s one bonus, but I know my guys must be getting worried now.

  Then I remember how we left things…maybe they need space. Maybe we have all made a big mistake and fucked up.

  Maybe I need to get the hell out of this house before I lose my mind.

  I walk to the guard, who steps aside for me without a single question and follows me as I head to the only room I like in this house. The attic. The guard waits at the bottom of the second staircase, not bothering to come up as he knows there is no way to escape in this room. I unlock the top door and shut it behind me. Everything is how I left it before, the box of my mother’s old things I was going through in front of the window that lets me see out of my prison.

  My escape from this mad life. I sit down on my blanket and pull the box closer. There are two statues for best runner and dancer in the empire, which make me smile. I find two scarves, a watch and three notebooks full of drawings in the box, which I go through, memorizing each and every one like a lifeline to my mother. I reach the bottom of the box and push it aside, but I pause as I hear the floorboard creak under the box. I push it further away and slowly slip my fingers between the boards, finding a groove and picking the loose board up with it. Under the floorboard is a little purple box, and I pick it up, admiring the small detail that has gone into its build. Dozens of animals are cast in silver on the purple stone box, all running around, all in peace. I flip the catch and open up the box to find a necklace inside that looks familiar. I pick up the silver chain and pull out the purple violet stone made of purple crystal. It shines, almost glows in the sunlight, and the second I touch the stone, a mixture of scenes flashes into my head like a movie I can’t escape.

  A woman is unconscious, her long blonde hair stroking the ground as four men carry one of her limbs as they move her to a bed. I move closer, my breath hitching as I see it’s my mum, and the necklace catches my eye straight away. The necklace in my hand is the same one my mum wears in this…vision? Dream? I’m not sure what is going on. Three men I don’t know in lab coats come over and push my mum’s top up, revealing her stomach. The other man holds her arms down even though she is passed out, and the third man lifts a massive needle.

  “NO!” my mum screams as they inject her stomach with something, and she screams and screams.

  Thankfully, the vision ends in darkness, and then suddenly another place appears before me.

  This time my mum is in front of a fireplace, watching the flames flicker in silence. Her hands rest on her stomach, and she is softly speaking, but I can’t hear her. I walk closer and closer until I’m at her side, hearing her soft voice.

  “What did they do to you?”

  “I have the fake IDs, and we need to leave. Now,” my father commands, although kinder than I’ve heard him in other dreams. I turn around to see him holding Bethany’s hand, and my mum simply replies.

  “For the baby, we leave and never come back.”

  In seconds, that vision is gone, and I think I see the attic just before another place is in front of me.

  This time I recognise the blonde-haired baby with bright blue eyes and a face so similar to mine even this young. I might have grown up, but I still have the same cheekbones, the same chin and dimples. I’m lying in my mum’s arms as she sings a lullaby to me, one I remember even though I wasn’t sure how before. Suddenly my little chubby hands start to glow purple, and I laugh.

  But my mum doesn’t.

  Her face fills with horror, and tears escape her eyes, falling onto my purple cotton blanket.

  “I’m sorry, my Anastasia. I’m so sorry, I should have never let you exist.”

  I gasp, coughing on air as I realise I’m back in the attic, and I wipe my wet mouth only to realise my nose is bleeding. A tissue appears in front of me, and I crawl away when I see my cloaked man right next to me.

  “I’m the reason this all happened. Let me explain, Anastasia Noble.”

  Chapter 21

  Anastasia

  What in the…god?

  My cloaked man drops the tissue onto the floor between us, and I carefully pick it up as he sits down and pushes the cloak back. I’m stunned into silence at the blond man in front of me, his long hair like a wave covering his shoulders and muscular arms. His eyes remind me of the forest, so green and almost frost like. I feel trapped in his gaze for a long time before he speaks.

  “I am what humans call a god, and I made the familiar race by accident.” His statement hangs between us, and I’m speechless as I hold the tissue to my nose.

  “You made a race of people by accident?” I question, making sure I heard him right.

  “I had a brother, many years ago, and we fought, destroying the world around us until I almost killed him and ran away to here. To the mortal realm. I fell into the river that surrounds this place, and my blood mixed with the water just as four lost mortals swam in the river. They changed into familiars, local animals bonding with their souls in a way I’ve never seen before.” He pauses to grunt, and the movement makes him wince. Is he hurt? “They found me, helped me, and we made a home here. I even befriended an animal to be more like them, but soon another issue came up. Years passed, they had children, a life and so on, but we didn’t age. I knew I couldn’t age, but whatever my blood had done to them had made it so they couldn’t age either.”

  “You’re immortal?” I ask, a sinking feeling appearing in my gut.

  “Yes, and so are you. So are the other four that have been reborn here because of my blood. They trapped me for years, taking blood and trying to create new versions of me, but it didn’t work until, recently, it did. All the children and adults died until they decided injecting pregnant women was the way forward. The first was Bethany, then they tried a human and made Mason. Liam randomly survived when hundreds like him died. Alex and you were one of many rich and noble families to be tested without permission. Most lost their babies and became infertile…but the George and Violeta babies survived. Then there were five, once again…” he whispers. I shake my head, not believing it, but he is lost in his story. He doesn’t notice me freaking out one bit.

  “Immortality was difficult, especially when we had issues in our group as it was. See, we had two sisters, and one was everything to me. Along with the males of the group, we loved and shared her. I never had a child with her due to my injuries, but she had three children, and I loved them all the same. In time, her sister became jealous, and one night she killed Emory in cold blood. I killed her in revenge, and one of our group couldn’t live without her, so he killed himself. There were only two of us left, and we couldn’t be near each other, so we both left the empire and the people. Our children were old enough to lead the people by that point.”

  “Why are you back then?” I ask quietly. I don’t know if I believe him or what to think anymore.

  “Before I left, I saw a vision, just like your visions. I don’t know why you get the visons like me, but when I die, that will be the end of them. They are linked to me, much like your soul seems to be, Anastasia,” he murmurs.

  “What did you see
?” I ask.

  “I painted my vision, like I always did, and you have seen it,” he replies, and I look down at the ground.

  “Did you see me as a monster in a war?” I ask, trying not to imagine the painting in mind. “Some shadow who will destroy everything?”

  A finger lifts my chin up, and I look right into the eyes of a god.

  “I saw you as the shadow which destroyed the Dawn. That is not a bad thing…the Dawn only bring war,” he whispers, and suddenly he falls to his knees and onto the floor. I lean down, panicking as he rolls onto his back.

  “Are you okay?” I stupidly ask when it’s clear he is not. He lifts his other hand, and I see purple blood covering it.

  “Years ago, your father saved my life and risked his family doing so. I promised to help his family in the future, and here I am as I die. I was injured weeks ago, but I’ve held on for you,” he croaks out. “Anastasia, listen to me closely. I need to place a map into your mind, and you must go there soon. It’s the only place you will find help in the war to come.”

  “O-okay,” I nervously whisper as his hand finds mine and grips it tightly. Images flash through my mind so quickly I can’t focus on any of them, but when they stop, I know where I need to go, just like he said. His hand loosens on mine as he coughs, and purple blood leaks from his mouth. “Don’t die on me. I mean, we don’t know each other, and I’m trapped in here. You’ve always been there, haven’t you? I don’t even know your name.”