by Sara Snow
I knew that’s what he feared about me becoming a Werewolf Guard. Because of who I was—a firstborn—the role I was to play in life was set out for me the moment I was born. And because I was a female, Jackson’s life course was also set.
I glanced at my mother as she reached over to my father and removed fuzz from his hair. He smiled at her warmly, took her hand, and kissed the back of it.
I smiled a little at the affection shared between them. I didn’t completely hate the thought of finding my mate—not when I had my parents as an example of how beautiful life could be with a significant other.
What I feared was . . . losing myself. I’d seen how much my mother dedicated herself to my father, and although I understood that was what love was like because he did the same for her, I wasn’t ready to put my dreams aside to become a wife.
Why couldn’t I be the first Alpha-born woman to not become a Luna?
We continued on our journey in silence for the most part, until my brother Jackson woke up. Because he rarely left the pack grounds, he was finding this little trip to be fun. Personally, I'd rather bury myself alive.
Jackson and I had never been close. I certainly didn’t dislike him—he was my brother, after all. But he was old enough to understand why he was to be Alpha, even though he was the second born. Sometimes when Father and I argued in his presence, I would see him look at me with regret, which made me feel horrible.
None of this was his fault. It was just the way things were.
Elinor
I stepped out of the carriage and inhaled the smell of the trees surrounding us. I wanted to bend backward and crack my aching back but refrained from doing so when Father pinned me with a quick glare.
Our journey had been a rocky one because the Midnight Crescent Pack lived deep in the woods.
“Clarice, it’s been too long!” a petite woman exclaimed as she opened her arms wide to hug my mother. “Is this really Jackson? The last time I saw you, boy, you barely had teeth.”
“I have lots of them now,” Jackson replied proudly.
My parents laughed along with the woman, no doubt the Luna of this pack.
“Thanks for having us, Komina. It’s been too long,” my mother told her. “And this is Elinor, our eldest.”
Komina’s smiled stretched so wide, I thought it would physically meet her ear. She moved her light blond, almost platinum hair behind her ear as she looked me up and down. “Gosh, girl, turn, let me look at you. Oh, Clarice, she’s stunning,” she gushed to my mother as I turned in a circle.
My mother’s cheeks turned bright red. “Thank you. She gets it from me, of course,” she added with a chuckle.
The door to their home opened, and a man stepped out, followed by three younger men. Although Komina had platinum blond hair, only one of her sons had inherited it. But he also had his father’s brown eyes, instead of her pale blue ones.
Behind him were two other men—twins—their hair a dirty blond like their father’s, along with his brown eyes.
“Clarice, Grayson!” The man’s voiced boomed around us as he greeted my parents. “Welcome, welcome.”
I glanced at the three younger men, seeing their eyes roam up and down my body. I tried not to sigh with relief.
I’m not mated to any of them. If I were, they’d be on me in seconds.
"Thank you for your invitation, Marcus. Although I think if none of your sons has reacted just yet, then I'm afraid my daughter isn't mated to any of them." My father voiced my thoughts as he looked at me and then at the men.
Alpha Marcus turned to look at me, a soft smile on his lips. Where my father was tall and muscular, Alpha Marcus matched his height but was more on the plump side with a round belly. “That’s unfortunate because she is quite beautiful, but no matter. You’re all welcome to stay the night and rest before returning home. We’ll be having a gathering tonight.” He held his meaty hand out to his sons. “This is Annik," he introduced, pointing to the one with the platinum blond hair. "He's my firstborn. Behind him are Landon and Leecan.”
After the introductions were over, we made our way inside. The guys kept looking at me, but I did my best to avoid their gaze. I might not be mated to any of them, but I wasn’t interested in being hit on by any of them, either.
I was grateful for Luna Komina when she invited my mother and me to join her and a few other women while the men went off to have a private chat. The worst had passed, thankfully. However, my father made it a point to give me a stern warning before walking off.
“Behave yourself,” he warned, which earned me curious stares from the guys.
I gave him a sweet smile and turned away. It was funny how I was being told to behave myself—not Jackson—as if I was the young, mischievous one in the family.
Walking inside, I was stunned by the way this family had incorporated nature into their home. A massive tree root was the centerpiece of the house.
Alpha Marcus, obviously noticing my surprise, had explained that the house itself was built around the tree and that the wolf who had brought together the Midnight Crescent Pack was buried beneath it.
"Unfortunately, you aren't mated to any of our boys,” a voice said, cutting through my thoughts.
I blinked rapidly. “Um, yes, quite,” I replied softly. Three women had just entered the room, and I wasn’t sure which of the three had spoken to me.
Luna Komina introduced my mother and me to her sister, cousin, and friend, but I honestly couldn’t remember which was which. The only one I was sure of was Luna Komina’s sister, who shared her platinum blond locks and pale blue eyes.
My mother placed her hand on my leg. “It’s a shame they weren’t mates, but maybe someday a daughter of Elinor’s will be mated to an Alpha from the Midnight pack. That would be something."
“Gosh, Clarice, I remember when you came here to meet Marcus’s brother,” Komina laughed.
Once more, I tuned them out. I found comfort in the gems on my dress and smiled from time to time without really hearing what they were talking about. This, this was exactly what I didn't want, I thought, as their conversation gradually shifted into gossip. I wanted to be outside training, or reading about battles long ago fought, or learning how to defeat dark creatures.
My mother wasn't born a firstborn, but Komina was, just like me. Yet, here she was, serving tea when I knew within her there was enough strength to match any Alpha.
My lips parted as I was about to ask to be excused when the door opened, and Annik walked in. He wasn’t wearing a shirt any longer, and I arched a brow at the deep scar running from his left pec to his shoulder.
I tilted my head to the side somewhat as I admired him. He stood over six feet with impressive muscles like most werewolves, but funny enough, it was his scar that intrigued me. How had he got it?
“The twins and I are going hunting for the party tonight,” he informed his mother, his voice surprisingly soft.
She nodded. “Sure.”
“Can I go as well?” I blurted, and the room fell silent.
“I think it would be best if you let them go ahead without you,” my mother quickly replied as my father and Marcus walked into the room.
Marcus walked forward and patted Annik’s shoulder. “Now, now, although they aren’t mated, I think it’s a good idea for them to get to know each other. A bond between them will be beneficial to both packs in the future.”
Annik looked my way, and I held his stare. His eyes narrowed as I refused to look away, so I narrowed mine as well.
Two could play this game.
I watched as the side of his mouth then twitched upwards with a smirk. “I agree.” He turned to his father and then me. “Shall we?”
My father nodded, and Marcus clapped his hands. For an Alpha, he was certainly very perky. Alphas tended to not show much emotion—they needed their hard exterior to keep order.
“There is a room just through there where you can shift, if you don’t wish to do it here,” Komina told me.
Werewolves ended up in the nude more often than they wore clothes at times, but more so for men. It was not common for a werewolf to be shy of their appearance—and I wasn’t—but I’d rather not strip down and stand naked before my parents and everyone else. It felt too much like I had an audience.
It had been a little while since my last shift, and as I removed my dress and inhaled deeply, I called on my slumbering wolf. She awoke instantly, and as she did, my green eyes changed to black. I closed them for a moment as my fangs pierced through my gums, and my nails began to elongate.
The pain was mild and could easily be ignored, but it increased as my knee snapped backward. I fell to the ground on my hands and allowed the feeling of my bones breaking to wash over me. It was as if something beneath my skin was trying to break free, shifting and moving beneath my flesh.
My skin started to sprout fur, and my hands turned into feet as I released myself to my wolf.
Once done, I stretched outward on my front paws and shook myself, smiling inwardly. Being in my true form always left me feeling so relaxed. My strength doubled, and my senses heightened. I was who I was meant to be.
I clawed at the door as it was opened by Marcus, who stared at my wolf with wide eyes as I exited the room.
I had expected his response. It was the same I always got when people saw my wolf. That was the reason I hadn’t been allowed to shift around anyone who was not from my pack. And the reason . . . ?
Werewolves tended to have dark fur. Only I didn’t. My fur was blinding white. Wolves with white fur were rare—so rare as to be mythical. Their existence was based on stories of the first werewolf, a direct descendant of our Goddess—who was said to have had a white coat, signifying purity.
So, from time to time, whenever a wolf was born with a light-colored coat, people believed that the wolf had received the Goddess’s blessing.
Annik, who had been sporting a smug expression earlier, looked shocked, while my father’s pride was evident in his eyes.
“She’s gorgeous,” Komina whispered as she stepped forward and then stopped. She looked at my parents. “I understand why you’ve tried to keep her locked away, but now I’m even more disappointed that she won’t be joining our clan. I’ve never seen a wolf with white fur.”
"Well, she has some light gray fur too, to be frank," my mother clarified nervously, and Komina waved her hand dismissively.
“She’s pure white. We can all see that,” Komina added.
I shook my head. One more reason I was rarely permitted to shift—I’d have to deal with hearing all of this purity talk from people who thought my white coat indicated I was closer to the Goddess.
Even though I did believe in and honor our Goddess, I did not care for this kind of talk at all—or the unwanted attention it brought with it.
I walked over to Annik, who still looked stunned, and bumped his leg, eager to leave the room.
Finally, we made our way outside to where his brothers were waiting. As we approached them, they looked from me to Annik and then back again in shock.
One of them pointed at me, the twin with a faint scar to the right of his upper lip. Annik nodded his head before his brother could voice his thoughts.
“Yup, you see correctly. Let’s go.” He started to shift.
His brothers gave me one last look before doing the same.
Annik’s wolf was deep beige, while the twin wolves had almost identical black and rust fur. They walked ahead of Annik and me, their noses to the air. I could hear other werewolves in the distance, no doubt members of their pack, but the further we ventured into the woods and the thicker the forest got, the more the sounds faded.
Soon enough, I caught the scent of a deer on the wind. The twins must have detected it first because they suddenly ran off. Annik reacted immediately, bounding forward as well.
There was no way I would be left behind, so I followed them, snapping tree limbs as I picked up speed. My claws dug into the earth, pushing myself forward, and within seconds, I passed Annik. Ahead of the twins were two deer, their long legs propelling them over large stones and broken branches. The scent of humans slammed into me, and Annik howled to his brothers, signaling them to stop. But they kept chasing the deer.
Behind me, Annik growled loudly, and he suddenly shot past me. He snapped his jaw at me as he ran by, warning me to stay put. I slowed down.
If there were humans so deep in the forest, they had to be hunting. Meeting hunters right now, even if they were only trying to catch a meal, might not go well.
Humans lived alongside supernaturals fairly peacefully . . . unless laws were broken or territories were entered without permission.
Why am I standing here?
I bared my teeth, suddenly irritated. I wasn’t the type of girl—or wolf—to sit back and be protected. I ran in the direction where Annik and the twins had vanished, my nostrils flaring as I followed their scent. Angry growls and snarls met my ears . . . as well as the raised voices of two men.
I sped up, my legs thundering on the forest floor. When I found them, one man had his sword raised at one of the twins. I burst from the trees and charged at the man, my growl echoing to the top of the trees. The deer we were chasing were both on the ground, an arrow in each animal. One was dead, but the other was still alive, breathing faintly.
The man fell backward in fright, his sword falling out of his hand. Beside him, the other man raised his bow and arrow, and I dodged to the side quickly as an iron-tipped arrow flew my way.
I held my head low and bared my teeth, snarling at the two men. Annik appeared by my side where he had been standing before his brothers, an arrow in the ground just a foot in front of him. No doubt, the humans had been trying to hold them back from taking the deer, even though I could hear the thundering of their hearts from where I stood.
I snapped my jaw at the man, and he dropped the bow and arrow. I stepped forward quickly, and he fell backward as I stepped on the bow, breaking it.
With both men down, their heartbeats thundering in my ears, I noticed for the first time just how skinny they were. Their clothes were in shreds and dirty. The one who had been holding the bow and arrow looked to be relatively young.
They’re hungry.
Annik’s growl had the boy wincing as he closed his eyes and turned his head to the side. I bit at Annik and growled low before walking towards the larger of the two deer, who cried out in panic.
Biting down on the animal’s neck, I threw it towards the man and boy. They stared at me in confusion for a moment, and I exhaled heavily through my mouth as I shook my head. One of the twins made a sound behind me, no doubt confused as to why I was giving them one of the deer, but I didn’t respond. I watched as the boy got to his feet hesitantly, his watery blue eyes staring at me in wonder, before picking up the deer with his father’s help.
Then I turned away, stepping over the other deer, and headed back to the house.
4
Cyrus
As I stepped inside the large double doors to my mother’s castle, I was instantly met by low moans and intertwined whispers. I walked slowly, my hands in my pockets as I made my way up the blood-red carpeted staircase.
Half-naked demons were lounging around everywhere I looked, their black eyes on me as I passed by. The red light my mother insisted on having on at all times was enhancing the sexual atmosphere throughout the castle, but I supposed that was her goal.
Music drifted through the air. The soft eerie voice of a woman singing was the only thing I liked about this place.
Being an Incubus, I shared the urges all these other demons felt. I knew the cravings they had. I knew the thirst and need that haunted them, but hell, I could control myself. Did they all need to act so out of control? I walked by four demons tangled together on the floor and pinned a Succubus, a female sex demon, with a glare as she reached out to me.
She merely smiled, no doubt turned on by my rejection.
By the time I made it to my mother's office, I'd refused too many sexual invitations to count and had to break a demon's arm. I opened the door without knocking and walked in. My mother jumped up from behind her desk.
“My boy!” she cried with glee. "My beautiful boy's home!"
She suddenly vanished from behind her desk and immediately re-appeared before me. I allowed her to pull me into a brief hug before pulling away.
“How are you, Mother?” I inquired as she stepped away to look at me with a wide smile. Her wavy obsidian hair fell all the way to her knees. Though most Succubi were tall with long legs, my mother was only 5’5” with wide hips and a cute, round face.
She reached out and cupped my cheek, her hands ice cold. “Happy now that you’re here,” she smiled, looking to her left. “Are you two going to welcome your brother home?”
I followed her eyes and saw my half-brother and half-sister staring at me with hatred. Nothing new there.
“You never hug us like that,” my half-sister Marinka grumbled as she uncrossed her long legs. She ran a hand up her slick high ponytail and moved the blond hair over her shoulder as she smirked at me. “Sup, big bro?”
“Marinka,” I said in a low and disinterested voice.
My mother cleared her throat as she glared at my half-brother, Baxton. He rolled his honey gold eyes. "Sup," he mumbled almost inaudibly.
I turned to my mother without responding.
Baxton was my eldest brother and my least favorite of my many, many siblings—the sadistic prick. He also hated my guts because our mother chose me to be her successor and not him. Hell, he could have her throne. I didn’t want it.
“Why do you insist on hiding your wings?” My mother pushed her crimson-painted bottom lip out as she pouted. It had always been impressive to me just how much she was able to fake her emotions. Her gold eyes, like Baxton’s, looked utterly sad, but I knew it was all an act. She was hollow. “You know I simply adore your wings. They remind me of your father."