“How did you know that?” Frost replied, standing erect, holding on to his head.
“That’s odd. I didn’t think you would recruit. But I guess you have to, now isn’t that right?”
“No. It isn’t. I didn’t!” Frost said. Realizing there is not in any type of imminent danger surrounding him, he lowered his hands under the impression that the silhouettes were allies. “He’s one of Ryder’s new—”
“Oh. Now I see. But he is with you… and so now that means what?”
“I’m not sure of what you’re asking me. Maybe if we can continue by you telling me who you are…”
“You don’t remember…” the man said, coming into Frost’s visual. He was tall, dark and handsome, and in a southern grey suit. “You call me in need… and so quick to hand over the phone… did you forget the sound of my voice?”
“Ashton?” Frost asks.
“Get over here and give me a hug, cousin. Long time no see.”
Frost is stupefied, but rejoicing too. It’s his district attorney cousin, and by the sounds of laughter coming from the others, some of them are bound to be the rest of his family. In fact, quite a few of them were. They welcome their kith and kin with open arms before he got the chance to ask why the chase.
Book 2: The Alpha’s a Bitch: Rise Of The Pack Princess Chapter 9
“Hey man, don’t know about you but we’re just good ol’ country boys out here.” Aston says. “Besides, we had to see how good ya driving skills were…”
“That is,” cuts in Duncan, Aston’s younger brother, “until I seen all that hair flying around behind the wheel. I was thinking you could have been in ya natural form. But then I was thinking, ya can’t drive in ya natural—”
“Okay Dunne, I think he gets it.” Aston said dismissively to his younger sibling. “Anyways… I’m sorry to hear about ya father. He was a great uncle and Alpha to us all.”
Frost did not want to discuss that matter, switching light bulbs he immediately said, “I thought all of you stayed in Parkinsville. What brings you all the way out here?”
“Well, I guess we should be asking you the same question if we didn’t already know the answer, cousin,” said Erik, another cousin.
“Now when you called me before, this is predominately where I was.” Aston said. “Now there is only but one reason that would bring you this far from there, all the way from Georgia, as it is you now hail.”
“Yes, it’s true, Ashton. And I seek the council’s help. Ryder… she has gone mad…”
“Yes. We all know this to be true, so this isn’t new to us.” Aston replied, seemingly bored with the way the conversation was going, “I’ve spoken with your sister… months ago now. She informed us back then of your worries and also of your amnesia.”
“What? Yeah, well, that was a while ago. But I’m mostly back now, and…”
“She also tells me she thinks that you may attempt to break the truce. And for that she is forging an army to oppose yours.”
“What?” Frost yells. “What army? Me? That’s ridiculous. I’m not forming any army! Do you see an army here with me? She’s insane, Ashton.”
“Well yes, we’ve figured that part out as well.” Aston said. “Listen… we all need to talk, and we will… in the Garden. But for now we need to get on the road – don’t you agree? We’ll safely escort you on your way there, just pull out after me, all right?”
“But wait a minute.” Frost asked. “How do you… Why are you…”
Aston took a second before he answered, “I thought Ryder would have said something to you by now but I take it you haven’t heard.” Aston replied. “I too am now a part of the council. And the minute your sister contacted our council all those weeks ago about you a red flag went up for me. But I should wait to let the board discuss this matter. They’re waiting on us to return.”
Frost quietly asked, “How did they know to look for me?”
Ashton sighed with a slight bit of muffled laughter. He shook his head in the negative and replied, “David… exactly where else are you going to run to with two gangs searching for you up in Parkinsville and two packs that want your head served up on a platter?”
“Two packs?” Frost said, stunned by the new revelation.
“Oh, my. Well, I guess you didn’t know the other news either, huh? You weren’t aware that Ristov’s clan wants you as well?” Aston said, laying the shotgun to rest over his shoulder.
He turned to walk back to his SUV before he continued on, “You’re a popular man, David, for all the wrong reasons – and a wanted man by many. But we’ll fill you in on all the details once we reach the chamber.”
Ashton begins walking back to his oversized SUV before he yells back over his shoulder, “We got a long ride ahead of us though, so we need to get going, pronto.”
Book 2: The Alpha’s a Bitch: Rise Of The Pack Princess Chapter 10
Playful cousin Duncan eases up on Frost a little as he heads back to the Taurus, pointing at Stephanie and asking, “Planning on raising pups with that one, are ya cousin?”
Frost does not reply verbally to the question. He simply put an open palm over Duncan’s shoulder and firmly massages it for a three count, grabbed him around the back of his neck and brought him in for a playful budding head bump. “I love you, Dunne, you know that. But my personal affairs are none of your business.”
Good answer. Even though Duncan may have ridden the short bus to school as a child, he was smart enough to know that there was no mating outside the pack. And mating with a human was definitely a violation of the truce’s laws. It’s a wonder how Frost was going to incorporate that into his speech once he had a chance to speak.
But, Ashton on the council, wow, what a surprise. Frost reflected at all the details he had just learned. He was so far behind on so many things. The council members, they were old and wrinkly. How could a thirty-eight year old such as Ashton obtain a seat within that circle of dominance and sworn secrecy?
To be a council member you have to be nearly all-knowing and resourceful, neutral and at the top of the totem pole. It has even be said that there has been the rare Clairvoyant and Telekinetic to be seated on the council, an albino and a mentalist. Frost had was no clue of what extraordinary abilities were in their circle now; or if Ashton had any of the aforementioned gifts to accommodate his welcome membership to the Apex conglomerate.
“I didn’t find any of that funny.” Stephanie said once Frost was seated back in the car.
“I second that.” Simon entered.
“Well, at least they’re on our side which is a definite plus.” Frost reminded them.
“Yeah, but can you be completely sure they’ll stay that way?” Stephanie asked.
“Well… yeah. Of course; they’re family.” Frost said as the SUVs ahead of them started pulling off.
“So is Ryder,” Simon reminded him.
Frost looked back at Simon but said nothing, then he slowly looked back at Steff. He pointed after the cars as they pulled away, “We’re going to follow them, all right?”
“Okay,” Stephanie replied, starting up the car. “And where is it exactly that they’re going.”
“The Garden of the Gods,” Frost said.
“The Garden of the Gods? Are you serious… at a city park,” Stephanie questioned. “The council is at a frigging city park?”
“The whole park thing is a cover-up for something much more admiral than you’d ever know. Most of this place is. In fact, the entire railroad system and quite a few cities out here… they were all founded by one of us.” Frost said while they pass through the mountainous regions of the state.
“For example,” Frost said, “out in the Colorado Springs area there was a castle that belonged to a Civil War soldier. He was known for holding lavish parties and the annual Easter egg hunts on his castle grounds. Over time he even helped found quite a bit of the state.”
“I’ve never heard any of this,” Stephanie said.
“And why woul
d you?” Frost asked. “You and I both know that most history we were taught as kids is completely wrong. But this I know to be true!”
Frost changed positions in his seat before he went on, “He was one of the truce’s originators. A werewolf himself, he went under the radar for quite some time.”
“A civil war werewolf!” Stephanie exclaimed.
“Why do you find that hard to believe? Just look at me – I’m a werewolf.”
“Well, that’s true…” Steff admitted, “but a Civil War werewolf – that is a new stretch, even for me. Sorry to interrupt you, go on.”
“Okay…” Frost continued, “well, at the time the Garden of the Gods was where he, and these authentic businessmen and warriors chose to meet. Council members were said to come from each corner of the globe. And most of all of our great Alphas whose corpses were recovered were laid to rest in a secret chamber inside of the Garden.”
“How do you know all this stuff?” Simon asked from the back seat, interested in learning more about this too.
“I’ve been surrounded by it my whole life… well, up until several months ago anyways,” Frost said, his voice trailing off to silence.
A moment later he continued on, “Even the state’s flag and seal have representations of the werewolf carefully instilled in its artwork. If you were to look to the detail close enough you would see if for yourself.”
“This is all very enlightening Frost. It really it is.” Stephanie said, her eyes glued to the road. “But… who the heck are you yakking about?”
“The late General Palmer,” Frost replied.
“No way!” exclaimed Simon, from the back seat, sitting forward in his seat.
“The William J. Palmer? Is that the one you’re talking about? He like developed a lot of features throughout the state, planned park systems and some of everything else didn’t he? Wait a minute… did you just say he was a werewolf?”
“I sure did Simon.” Frost assured him. “He’s made it easier for all us other werewolves to live. Even today! There are so many secrets in our history, and you can uncover some of them once we reach the Garden.”
“But I was bit. I’m not like you. I’m more less a mutt,” Simon admitted.
“I doubt if they’ll take you both to any of the sacred grounds. But it doesn’t matter anymore. You’re one of us now. And you’re back to normal the moment someone eliminates Ryder,” Frost said.
“But… I owe my life to you.” said Simon Jr. to Frost.
“Once this is finally over, consider your debt to me as paid in full.” Frost advised him.
“But what if I choose to remain what I am?” says Simon.
“There’s no way to do that. Once the one that has bitten you falls, the curse is lifted.”
“What I’m saying is… what if I want to follow you, and become a member of your pack? You do know that mostly everyone she recruits wants to be part of this, right. I wasn’t just some random guy that she happened to stumble across in the alley. I wanted this.” Simon says.
Book 3: The Alpha’s a Bitch: Rise Of The Pack Princess Chapter 1
Darkness surrounded him. Kahn stretched himself out in his tent and laid back onto the hard ground. They’d given him animal skins to sleep on, but he still felt uncomfortable on them. He’d always slept on the floor so he was used to that but he still felt strange when he woke up, having to orientate himself in his current form. He still didn’t feel completely natural in this new hairless body.
The rays of the sun started creeping in through the slit where his tent flaps didn’t fold over each other completely. It was time to get up, he had to relieve the night guard of his duty of watching the council. Kahn only got a few hours of rest every night, but he was fine with that, he didn’t need any more. If he was not sleeping he was busy guarding Councilwoman Reah, to whom he had been assigned as guardian against the terrors of the Other Wolves.
The council had been at war with the Other Wolves for centuries, in fact, for much longer than anyone living now could even remember, and the ruling family was constantly in danger. It was impossible to tell when the Other Wolves would strike, and no one could afford to lose Councilwoman Reah, heir to the Chancellorship when Chancellor Holden steps down as leader of the delegation – quite possibly in the very near future.
When the Councilwoman awoke, Kahn was already at his post outside her tent. He nodded his respect to her every morning as she came out, noting how the sun lit up the strands of her dark red hair. He wondered if he would ever learn to love the way they did in this world. He’d seen people love, smelled the scent they give off when they were around each other, and listened to the lilt in their voices, so different than when they addressed other people with whom they didn’t share the same feelings. But he’d never felt that for himself before.
Some of the guards had told him to be careful, that any man would fall for the Councilwoman if they spent enough time with her, that her timeless beauty and gentle nature was almost like a curse, inescapable if you fell in love with her. But then, he wasn’t a man, was he? He’d been her guardian now for six years as they had travelled across the lands, presenting the council to the other factions to spread hope and urging them to stay strong, and he’d never felt anything that he could call love for her. Respect, yes, but not love.
A beast like Kahn could never love. Isn’t that what they were saying? He heard the Councilwoman talk to her people, telling them about the inhabitants of the other packs, about his own kind. He’s heard her warn them against their cold heartedness and lack of restraint when it came to killing, even the women and children. He had known that most of it was true, although they didn’t really understand. But would a heartless beast yearn for love?
Perhaps the fact that he was a Giant Wolf, like the others from the Other Wolves faction, was what was stopping him from loving. Perhaps that was why he didn’t see anyone, not even her, as anything but a duty. Even if there were some that thought his body – the one he changed into before he came, and now retained – was attractive, handsome even. He’d rejected so many women since he had gotten here, he’d stopped counting. What was the point if there was nothing behind it but a shallow tolerance for this weaker race?
Kahn thought back to the early days, when he’d just come to The Garden of the Gods, his new body still unsure of its limitations after having been freed from a much bigger, more agile one. He felt naked without all the fur covering him, and eating was difficult with his new blunt teeth. He had made sure to keep his sharp sense of hearing and smell, and his night vision, but even so, his current body often felt like a cage.
But, as time passed he learned how to be like the others, how to move so that he didn’t give himself away, and how much of what he noticed to keep to himself so that he didn’t seem different. It was frustrating, but it had to be done. He had learned their fumbling fighting skills, learned to stumble even though his strength was far more than any man’s, and before long he proved himself so that he was taken into the Royal Guard and assigned to Councilwoman Reah.
The work wasn’t a challenge. He could sense danger a mile away, although he would have defeated them easily if he hadn’t, and the council was never in any real danger. But it was his job, and he did it as best he could. That was part of who he was, loyal until the end. Even when the lines of who he was loyal to – his own kind, or this new one – were starting to blur.
How long would he still be stuck in this mad world? He couldn’t remember how it felt to have his big paws in the snow anymore, or the wind tugging his fur this way and that. He only had faint reminders in his dreams now, or occasionally when a particular scent travelled on the wind and caught him off guard.
After months of traveling Kahn realized that they were close to home, and the head of the council was awaiting word of their arrival. He didn’t know what would happen once the Councilwoman was safe within castle bounds. Would he be relieved of his duty?
Regardless, he looked forward to seeing the rich c
ountry again, with the green that almost looked like the forest he grew up in. In his mind he could almost feel the water that was once so cold, touching his nose when he pretended he was still the real him, as he pushed his face in so deep his ears were underwater.
Within days they saw the castle walls against the hills off in the distance, and excitement rippled through the camp they had set up. It wouldn’t be another day’s travel and then they’d have delivered the Councilwoman safely back to the entire council proper.
Once they had entered the castle gates they were greeted with dancing and flags, music and shouting from all the townspeople gathered. The people bowed deeply to the Councilwoman as she passed. It seemed that she had gained popularity in the years she had been gone, having left a girl and returned a woman, groomed to be their leader, the Chancellor, one day.
Kahn enjoyed the sounds of laughter and celebration, and the flags were a nice change from the dull browns and grays of the tents they have been living in for so long. Then suddenly the direction of the wind changed and he caught a scent, as it drifted across the crowds, which reached directly into his soul. He breathed in deeply, and almost felt giddy. It was some sort of perfume, he gathered, because he’d never smelled anything as sweet before. His eyes travelled over all the faces surrounding them, and suddenly a pair of striking female eyes captured his attention and his heart skipped a beat.
A moment later she’d approached them, the owner of the eyes, and Kahn simultaneously felt his mouth go dry as his palms grew sweaty. This was a new sensation for him, he’d never had sweaty palms before, and he grew up with his paws dry and receptive to the ground he travelled over. He looked down at them, confused, but when he looked up again the owner of those female eyes that were smiling at him from afar seconds ago now approached and embraced the Councilwoman.
“Ryder!” Councilwoman Reah cried out as she threw her arms around the strange new woman. Kahn couldn’t believe his eyes, but as he looked her up and down, he realized it must be her, the Councilwoman’s, best childhood friend. He had heard her name mentioned several times over the past few years. Ryder was just a child when they left the castle many years back, only 14 years old then. But now, as she was standing here before them all, he was amazed to see that she was all woman, graceful and elegant and proud, and fully aware of her power of seduction.
The Alpha's a Bitch: Rise Of The Pack Princess Complete: A Paranormal Werewolf Romance Page 7