by Lauren Wood
It was late when he cleared the room on this night, and that was exactly what she had wanted. The drink had dulled him and made time go by ever faster. It also gave him, as it did with all men, a heightened sense of what he could achieve. She knew how far away her home was, and no matter how fast he flew she felt there was no way he would be able to get back here by sunup.
The Prince took her hand and gave her a shawl to put on over her clothes.
“We don’t want you getting cold,” he smiled. They walked out to the balcony and looked out over the land. It was such a clear night, and everything was bathed in moonlight and looked magical. He had a look of pride on his face, as though he had made this landscape himself and was not just part of a dynasty that controlled it.
Nera was nervous about flying; though she knew it was her one chance of escape, she also had no idea what it would be like to be soaring unnaturally high above the ground. What if she fell? Would he try to save her, or would he be content to see her fall? She looked to him again, and the look in his eyes said that he would save her if she fell. A pang of regret poured through her. She had never met anyone who had made her feel the way she did in his presence, but she just couldn’t sacrifice her life to those feelings.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yes,” she nodded nervously.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said, “I will make sure you are safe. Take my hand.” She did as she was bid. “This is the start of a new life for you and I. I have found in you something I never thought possible,” he said looking into her eyes and stroking her hand. She trembled with anticipation before him. He lifted her in his strong arms and then eased gently from the ledge.
She shut her eyes against her expectation that she would plummet to the world, but the easy feeling of the light wind on her skin had her open them again and she wondered at the feeling and the things she was seeing. He flew so fast and yet it was so smooth. He held her in front of his chest like she weighed nothing at all. Down below the mountains soon gave way to flat lands and then to the sea. She recalled some of the places from her forced march to this strange country and she pondered if those same men were in some other part of the Kingdom now rounding up women in same way to take to be part of the Royal house.
They hit landfall in her home territory about an hour after they left, and she guided him to the small village she had called home for the last ten years. Though she had never liked the place and had planned to leave, she found that she was stung by fondness and nostalgia for this place on seeing it and being there once more. There was no one about, but she knew who lived in every dwelling and what they must have been up to her absence. She pointed out her own house and said to the Prince,
“Can we go inside?”
“Won’t there be someone there?” he asked.
“No, I lived alone.” He swooped down and landed at the doorway and set her on her feet on the ground.
“Thank you,” she said to him. She pushed open the door and looked inside. She knew there wouldn’t be anyone there, but there was always the chance that someone knew what had happened to her and had usurped her home and would be sleeping there right now. But instead all was quiet and as she had left it. He stepped in behind and she watched as he took the place in. She saw his eyes settle on her bed, and he smiled at her. She smiled back and kissed him and led him to it.
This was the first time she had ever made love in her own bed, and again it was so amazing with him and she lost herself so deeply in his presence that she almost gave up her plan and was willing to settle for his offer. But, she managed to hold her resolve, and it was with a heavy heart that his final thrusts against her spent him, and he flopped down panting on top of her.
The alcohol had tired him and with the exertion of the flight and then the lovemaking he soon drifted into a light slumber beside her. Nera lay there as quiet as she could be and let the minutes tick by. She closed her own eyes in the vain hope that she too would fall asleep, but she was so scared that the pounding of her heart would wake him that she couldn’t relax. She looked out at the sky, and she was sure that she could see the first hints of a change of light in the heavens. He stirred suddenly and looked about the room.
“Where am I?” he asked groggily.
“My home,” Nera said. He looked at her and saw who it was that he shared a bed with smiled at her and kissed her on the shoulders.
“We better get going,” he said as he rose,”How long did I sleep for?”
“Only a moment,” she lied. He nodded but didn’t seem to think anything of it. They dressed, and he took her back outside.
“You will be able to come back here any night you want to, now that you know the way,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” she said.
They retook to the skies and not a single person that she was aware of had known that she had been back home, and with the Crown Prince no less. They were only in the air a few minutes when she thought she saw the first looks of concern on his face as she looked at the horizon.
“Hold on, I’m going to go a little faster this time,” he said. If he was worried his voice didn’t betray it, but why else would he be speeding up if not to get home before the sun rose? She clasped her hands around his neck, and he set off much faster than before. The raging sea below then became a blur, and she had to close her watering eyes to the sharp wind that greeted them from time to time. When she could open them, she was sure that there was a change in the light in the sky. She looked at his face, and now she was sure she could see panic and fear in him. His body sweated and his breaths were more laboured.
“I shouldn’t have taken you out so late!” he scolded himself.
“What’s wrong?” she asked playing the innocent. He didn’t answer, and she thought it was because he didn’t have the breath to say anything more.
Nera looked ahead, and it soon became clear to her that they were flying easy. There was an unmistakable sheen of light that rounded the horizon and was the dawn trying to rise up over the land. She saw that he saw it too, and he steeled himself to a renewed effort to get home before that happened. He flew lower as the approached the higher lands so as to remain in their shadows but on this morning the dawn seemed to come at a rate she had never experienced before and the land lit up around them as the sun showed her the world.
He was in a full panic now, but they were in sight of the tower. The rays of the sun came over her, and she heard him cry out in pain as they struck him also. He used the high mountains and the building of the palace for cover but there was no avoiding the light at places and each time he would scream in pain as he crossed the shafts of light.
Nera looked, and the hole that was the balcony of the tower zoomed at them and they both went flipping to the ground as he landed with speed. She sat up dazed and saw that the women from the night before were all back sitting around the room. Each of them rose at the spectacle, and she saw some run to the howling Prince. She stood up and looked in his direction. This was not what she had hoped for; she wanted to be out over land when he faltered so that she could escape.
The women were huddled around him in concern, but Nera could not see him.
“You!” his voice suddenly roared out as he sprang from their envelopment. “You tried to kill me?” he said snarling at her and pointing an accusing finger. The skin on his body looked very badly burned, and his eyes were black with anger.
“Me?” she said, “What did I do?” she asked playing her role again.
“You know what you tried to do. I should have gone with my gut and said no when you first asked me this evening!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about Your Majesty,” she said backing away towards the balcony. The other women flocked around her in a wide circle now, some of them going behind her blocking her from the outside.
Nera knew that she was cornered now and that he probably only wanted to kill her outright now instead of making her like the rest of the w
omen here. She took one last look at him, sad at what might have been had he not been the creature he was.
“I can’t give up my life for the one you want me to live” she called out to him as she turned and ran for the balcony. There were a few women there who were poised to stop here; she shoe the smallest one and crashed into her with all her might, force enough that it sent both of them tumbling to the light outside and falling rapidly to the earth below. Her only hope was that this crying and burning creature would be able to arrest both of their falls before the ground, and the body of Saleem rose up to finish them both. They spiralled and fell in the morning sunlight down and down and down.
THE END
WILD ALPHA BEAST
Chapter 1
The snow blanketed the ground outside and continued to fall from the sky. She sipped her coffee and frowned. Trust her mother and stepfather get stranded at the airport three states over. Now she was alone on Christmas.
A knock at the door startled her. With excitement, she bounded down the stairs. She’d just spend her first semester away at college, and she was so excited to talk to her mom about it. “You made it!” she said as she flung open the door.
Her drive instantly changed when she saw who was at the door. Despite the freezing cold temperatures, his wore a leather jacket that was still unzipped at the neck, and of course, he wore nothing to protect his head.
“Cade,” she said with a frown. “What the hell are you doing here?” She crossed her arms to protect herself. Her body always betrayed her whenever her stepbrother was around.
He stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “It’s Christmas.”
“I know, but my mom and your dad flew to Pennsylvania to spend time with your family.”
“Erin, it’s freezing out here. Can I come in before we debate about why I’m not allowed to spend Christmas here?”
She rolled her eyes but stepped aside. Cade brushed the snow off his jacket and filled the doorway as he entered. “Thanks, sis,” he said wryly.
“Don’t call me that,” she snapped. “Why aren’t you in Pennsylvania?”
Her fingers tingled as he stripped his jacket off. As he lifted his arms, she could see just an inch of so of his torso, and her mind immediately flashed back to when she’d spent some time at the beach with him. Six-pack abs. Tanned and smooth skin that was virtually hairless. Perfection.
“If you’d remember anything that came out of my mouth when we were together, you would know that I live here now. I’m starting a business, and New York is the best demographics. Where is Dad and Susan?”
“Pennsylvania,” she said as she crossed her arms. “Because of the snow storm, they’re stuck for at least a few days.”
“So, you’re alone here? No babysitter?”
“Cade. I am nineteen years old. I haven’t needed a babysitter for ten years.”
He smiled at her. “That’s right. You’re at NYU. How was your first semester?”
“It was awesome. My roommate is kind of a bitch, but I think she’s going to fail out next semester anyways. My suitemates, on the other hand, are awesome.” She continued chatting as she followed him into the kitchen and watched as he opened the refrigerator door. “What are you doing?”
“I’d like to feed myself. Maybe we can order Chinese.”
“You’re staying?”
Cade peeked over the kitchen door and shrugged. “It took me two hours to make the twenty minute drive, so I’m not exactly ready to drive back. And besides, it’s Christmas. It wouldn’t be very brotherly of me to leave you on Christmas.”
“You’re not my brother,” she snapped.
“No,” he said with a slow smile. “I’m not.”
Erin Silva shook away the memories and stared at her editor. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”
Leila frowned. “Erin, you haven’t written anything worthwhile in over a year. I know you wanted to take a hiatus after the veteran’s piece, but you can’t keep surviving off travel blogs. You’re a human interest writer, and The New York Monthly is begging me to get you to write up his profile.”
“Cade Marquis? You want me to do an interview with Cade Marquis?” Erin stared at her friend. “Are you insane?”
“No,” Leila said slowly. “I thought you’d have an issue with the project, not with the subject. What’s going on? Do you know Cade?”
Just thinking about him made her chest tighten. “Yes, I know Cade. And no, I’m not writing a piece on him.”
“That’s going to be a problem.” Leila followed her through the kitchen. “Erin, if you don’t writing again, people are going to forget about you. You have the write this piece. I already told the magazine that you’d do it, and I’ve already informed Cade’s publicist. He agreed to it.”
“The publicist or Cade?” Erin snapped as she whirled around.
Leila halted. “Does it matter?” she said nervously.
“Yes, it matters,” she said tightly. “Who agreed?”
“Cade did. He called me last night and told me it was a great idea. He needs more exposure, and he says he likes your style of writing.”
“Did he now?” Erin rolled her eyes. Trust Cade to sweet talk Leila. For all she knew, he was probably pulling the strings at the magazine as well. Obviously, he’d decided his life was empty without tormenting her.
Leila reached out and grabbed her arm. “Erin, this is a big opportunity for you. What the hell is your relationship with Cade?”
What was her relationship with Cade? “He’s my stepbrother,” she said softly. “His dad, Richard, married my mom when I was sixteen. He was twenty.”
She stopped talking for a moment as she tried to figure out what to say next. “Okay,” Leila said. “So he’s your family. That’s even better. You’ll be able to easily intertwine his past struggles with his present success. What, was he an obnoxious stepbrother?”
Erin snorted. “Please. Cade was too old to bother with me at first. But then, things changed.”
“How so?”
Leila had been her friend since college, and Erin had never told her the story. Mainly because it was too personal, and also because it hurt too much to talk about. “When I was nineteen, I gave Cade my virginity,” she said softly.
“What?” Leila’s mouth dropped open. “You told me Chase Hartfield took you virginity. You lied to me?”
“I lied to Chase too,” Erin said with a wry smile. “It just sort of happened over Christmas one year. Our parents were stuck in Pennsylvania during a snowstorm and couldn’t get home. Cade didn’t get the memo, and came over for Christmas. We were alone for a week before my mom made it back.”
“You spent a week in the bed of Cade Marquis? Your stepbrother? You dirty girl.” Leila perched on a bar stool and leaned over the counter. “Tell me everything!”
Erin rolled her eyes. “Leila, it was six years ago. It didn’t just happen last night.”
“So? That doesn’t mean it’s not forever burned in your memory. God, Erin, Cade practically became a billionaire over night. His consulting business is a huge success. Companies all over the world are trying to hire him. And you spent a week in his bed. I have to know everything.”
Erin stared out the window. “Actually, I don’t really remember it. There was a lot of alcohol involved.” She smiled. “You remember how I was back then. But I do remember that by the end of the week, Cade turned into a complete asshole. He became engrossed in his business, and I started dating Chase. We haven’t really seen each other since then.”
“So it’s not a big deal that you guy spent a week together?”
“Not a big deal,” Erin confirmed with a smile.
“Excellent. Then you won’t have any issues interviewing him. I’ve set up your first meeting for Monday at three. You can spend the next few days doing some background research on him. The Monthly wants the story for next month’s edition which means you have three weeks to interview him and write it.”
“Wait...”
/> “I’ve got to go, Erin. It’s going to be great. Let me know if you have any questions!”
Her editor blew her a kiss and sailed out of the room, leaving Erin with her mouth hanging open. How had that backfired on her?
***
Erin propped her long legs up on the couch arm and leaned back as she munched on her lo mein. “This was a good idea.”
Cade stared at her. Every single voice of logic in his head was screaming for him to get back in his car and drive home. It was far safer for him to battle the blizzard outside than to spend even a few hours alone with her. He was twenty-three, about to start his own business, and a hair’s breath away from getting Sasha Oliver to go to dinner with him. He’s been pursuing her for a year. That was the girl he needed to be spending the evening with, not his nineteen-year-old stepsister.
But there was something about her that was undeniable. Her long dark hair practically reached her waist, and he wanted nothing more than to wrap his fists in it and…
“Earth to Cade.”
He tore his eyes away from her slender body and blinked. “Sorry, I spaced out. What were you saying?”
“I was asked you about you business. Didn’t you say you were setting up shop here?”
He cleared his throat. “It’s a consulting business. I would help others with their own businesses.”
She frowned. “You’re going to start a business to help other people with their businesses? Isn’t that what, like, sixty year old men do?”
“I worked for Simon and Grant for four years,” he pointed out. “And they’re backing me on my business. I’ve got a good mind for business and marketing, but I don’t want to come up with a product. I’d rather market my services, and consulting is what I’m good at. While I was at Simon and Grant, their sales went up seven percent. Do you know how big that is? I was twenty.”
“Okay, I get it,” she laughed. “You don’t have to be so defensive. You’re a guru of business.”
He smiled. He was getting a bit defensive. He wanted to look good for her. “So what are you majoring in?”