The Masquerade (Den of the Fallen Book 0)
Page 9
When the bride reached the groom’s side, under an arch of flowers, the guests took their seats. Behind her, stood her cousin who smiled brightly, while the groom had his brother on his side. The couple looked at one another, having eyes only for each other as the ceremony continued. He spoke his vows confidently, and she made it through without crying, but only just. However, her cousin and mother were seen wiping their eyes quite frequently.
When it was time to kiss her, he did it with such enthusiasm that some of the guests looked shocked, while others seemed amused. When the time came to present the new couple, the mother of the bride stood, a piece of paper in her grasp. She went on to explain that her late husband had made a special request from the royal family before his untimely death. This request was simply this: should anything happen to him, whoever married his daughter would gain the title of Duke on the day they wed. The groom looked astonished, but the bride whispered something in his ear about the possibility of her mother using a spell of persuasion on the Prince Regent. She gave a dainty shrug and his laughter rang out. The Duke of Fairview leaned down to place a kiss on his Duchess’s lips, their hearts light and their auras burning more brightly than the first stars of twilight.
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The Maverick
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The Maverick
Chapter 1
19th Century, London
The moon called to him. It was not the sweet voice of seduction from a lover, but that of a siren beckoning some innocent soul to its demise. Lucas Barnett had never studied the phases of the moon until it began to control him. Its power over him still rankled after all of these months, and more recently it seemed to mock him with its ever changing faces. He, like the moon, had different faces, some human, some not.
Dropping the heavy brocade curtain, he turned to his desk and placed his palms flat against the surface. Scattered across the top were sheets of paper detailing expenditures, along with ledgers used to track the business's profits. Another year of earnings and he could walk away from this den of sin, never to return. His inner wolf whined at the thought of leaving his makeshift pack behind, but Lucas wanted something more.
Ever since the change, the wolf within had battled with his human side, but his grip on humanity waned the longer the war raged between them. Being a werewolf was complicated in more ways than just becoming a beast once a month. It wanted control over the other calendar days as well.
"What has you carrying on so, mate?" asked Ethan Wakefield as he seated himself on the settee.
"It is of little concern."
Ethan's green eyes rolled towards the heavens before settling back on Lucas. "You could leave any day. Sunny and I can run this place you know."
"I've told you from the beginning I want to do this on my own."
Taking money from Ethan had never been an option. Lucas had already imposed on him more than anyone ever should. But it was more than that. He wanted to have something all his own, something to build a life on. If that was even still an option for him.
His hand drifted to his pocket. A mild burning sensation fizzled along the tips of his fingers as they lay on the silver pocket watch inside. A small reminder of his near death experience, as if he needed that. The full moon was more than able to provide that.
"It's just money," Ethan said with the wave of a fair hand.
"Some of us have not been amassing our fortunes for hundreds of years. Not to mention I am not of noble birth," Lucas said, withdrawing his hand from the watch.
The tips of his fingers glowed red with the beginning of a burn, but was already starting to heal. Accelerated healing was one of the attributes of his kind, but such a boon was not enough to make him content with his status as a mythical creature. He would gladly exchange it for frailty as a human, but such a thing was irreversible. It was in his blood, a sickness never to be cured.
"Schematics," Ethan said, a wide grin on his handsome face. His smile fell, and he rubbed a hand over his mouth. "This is not about money though. I sense your restlessness and frankly, it's beginning to impact the girls."
"I know." Lucas began to pace behind the desk, agitation sparking along his limbs, quickening his steps. His wolf, ever watchful, waited for an opening to claw itself to the surface.
Anger, arousal, or any other intense emotion triggered the change. Thus far he'd been able to keep the wolf from taking over, but there had been a couple close calls. A self-imposed separation from everyone except Ethan and Sunny had been quick to follow.
"Is this about not having a pack?" the nobleman asked.
"You know it's not. You and Sunny are all the family I want."
Ethan propped an ankle on his knee and leaned forward, blond hair falling across his brow. "Something that goes beyond freedom and family, eh? I think I know what you're wanting."
Lucas stopped his pacing to cross his arms and look at his friend with an expression of annoyance. "And that would be?"
Although Ethan had been his sole source of information concerning werewolves, Lucas knew it was limited. Being a vampire, Ethan usually avoided werewolves. It relieved Lucas that his transformation had not tarnished their friendship.
"A mate," Ethan said simply.
"Don't be absurd."
Lucas felt a wolf howl reverberate within his ear, making him balk in surprise. Was this truly what he had been missing? He admitted that his wolf had been making things more difficult when it came to sex, slowly diminishing his drive until it was almost non-existent. As a hot-blooded male in his prime, this had worried him, but the more he sought sexual release, the more depressed the wolf became. After months of fighting this internal battle, Lucas had finally surrendered.
Not that it had made the wolf less upset, the ungrateful beast.
"Come on, mate, be honest with yourself," Ethan said. "You know the girls would kill for the chance to get in your bed and yet you won't touch a single one of them. It's been that way since you stopped participating in the training."
"Perhaps it's because you touch every single one of them." Lucas's eyes narrowed on his friend. "You know why I had to stop."
"That was a long time ago," Ethan said, waving his hand in dismissal. "Please do us both a favor and don't pretend you've been getting serviced elsewhere."
"You've been monitoring my sexual activity?"
Ethan cleared his throat. "You never leave the building, and if you were sleeping with someone, I'd have heard by now."
Lucas sighed. "You may be right." At the spreading of Ethan's triumphant grin, he interrupted with, "But how would I go about finding one?"
The mirth faded from Ethan's face, and he rubbed his jaw in thought before replying. "I just know you wolves have mates, but I was never told the process of how to go about finding one."
"How come you've never mentioned this before?" Ethan shrugged. "It was never relevant before now. My only concern was helping you through the initial transition, and then the ones triggered by the moon. I figured you would discover and learn your abilities on your own, along with anything pertinent to being a wolf. You're very controlled for one so newly changed."
Lucas sat down in the chair at his desk, the conversation having drained him of energy. His first transition had taken place over six months ago, but every moment since that time had been hell. When every second of your life was agony, time seemed to stretch to an unbearable length.
"So what should I do now?" He rested his head in the palm of his hand, staring unseeingly at the desk.
"Start searching for her I suppose."
"This is stupid. How am I going to find a woman who will satisfy my wolf, assuming she's even in the damn city?"
"It is a rather daunting task," Ethan agreed.
A harsh bark of laughter escaped Lucas, and he raised his head. "Daunting? Insane and impossible is more accurate."
"I never said this would be easy, only that it sounded like the solution
to your problem."
"I'm only trading one problem for another, even larger one." Lucas sighed. "If I decide to look for a mate and my wolf accepts her, will she feel the same?"
"Er, I'm not so sure on this part. It's all speculation at this point." Ethan shrugged. "If she's human, I'd guess she would take more convincing since she doesn't have a wolf to consult."
"She'd be fortunate the wolf isn't speaking in her ear, the bastard. It'll take forever to appease this beast."
"Better get started then."
Lucas grabbed the nearest ledger and threw it at his friend, only for Ethan to reach out and snatch it mid-air. Lucas's supernatural abilities were only matched by Ethan’s. He was the one person Lucas could lower his guard around.
"You're lucky I don't have a temper such as yours. This building would collapse if I responded in kind," Ethan said, placing the book next to him. "I've never met a wolf who didn't have an anger management issue. It's one of the main reasons I avoid them."
"You probably vexed every single one of them," Lucas grumbled.
"I will say this. I hope you find her soon. I don't know how much more of your moping I can take."
"If I find her, my problems will have just begun, so you'd best prepare yourself."
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About the Author
Miranda Bridges began sneaking romance novels as a teenager and did not confess to reading them until she became a legal adult. After years and years as a voracious reader she woke up one day with a story in mind. She decided to write it down in order to silence her imaginary friends, but they’ve grown in number and have gotten louder. When she is not reading, writing, or drinking coffee she is taking care of two princesses who are of a reading age. Needless to say Miranda is still hiding romance books around the house, but now some of them have her name on the cover.
https://mirandabridges.com
Also by Miranda Bridges
Den of the Fallen
The Masquerade
The Maverick
The Marquess
The Madam