Paul - Present Day
"Don't you dare talk with me about bonds!" I shout so loud that all my men stare at me.
When my eyes dart toward them, they all lower their gazes to avoid mine. But I don't have time for this. Alin is the problem, and he doesn't look at the floor as the rest. The defiance in his eyes is a problem that I must solve before it spreads like a plague among the pack.
"I mated with Ana," he declares with a snarl. "She's already mine!"
So be it if he believes he can take me on.
"Ana is a member of the Oltenia pack. We don't mix!" I want to slump into my cozy chair, but my wolf doesn't let me. He is harsher than I am. "Goddammit, Alin. I shouldn't have to explain this. You understand how things work better than anybody else."
"But I love–"
My fist plunges onto the table between us, cracking the surface in two. For the first time, Alin flinches and looks down. Finally, he shows me the respect I deserve.
The wolf inside me wants to bite, to tear his flesh clean, and then chew his bones. But instead, all I can deliver is broken furniture as I run rampant and destroy the bookshelf, the chairs, and the windows. These are replaceable; people aren't.
As I turn to face Alin, my chest heaves, and my nostrils flare. "You're my friend, my moon brother. Despite this, you continue to hurt and test me." I grab my coat. "If you still want to remain with Ana by the next full moon, we'll let our wolves decide."
The others make room for me to pass. I leave the study room and go downstairs. No one follows. They are too afraid to stand in my way now. If only Alin had feared me enough to not mate with an Oltenia pack female during the Summit. I gave him too much freedom, and now he doesn't care about what I say. Hell, he thinks I'll bend the rules for him?
Keeping my coat hanging over my shoulder with one hand, I open the front door. I inhale the fresh air. A sunny spring day. It smells of grass and flowers blooming. When the breeze comes, it brings the stench of gasoline. Oh, the pleasures of city life.
In moments like this, it would be so good to stroll through the woods, to let my wolf howl his dismay and blow off some steam. But no! We, werewolves, have evolved along with the modern world. Every supernatural being has done so.
As I march across the courtyard to the main gates, the boys there open them for me without hesitation. I nod as I pass by them, but I don't look into their eyes. Today I don't want to be Paul Mateescu, the alpha of the Muntenia pack, the CEO of Wolves Inc., or the leader of the underground world.
Today, I want to be just a simple man, strolling through the streets with his hands in his pockets, without a care in the world. Is that too much to ask?
Beyond the small neighborhood filled with villas, apartment blocks rise high as if they're scratching the sky. I take the narrow alley behind the buildings to avoid other people. Most know my face and stare blankly at me, a thing I try to avoid as much as possible.
The lilac scent is still bursting around me, though I haven't seen a single purple flower. Why does it seem like the smell is following me? I should pay more attention to my surroundings, but my mind is trapped in the past.
The sweet scent I feel caressing my nostrils can't hold me in the present. My thoughts drift toward my saddest memory, the moment when I had to forsake love for duty. Alin brought it back with his words.
I can't say how much time has passed as I relived my painful memories. The darkness settles upon Bucharest, a half-moon over my head. Thirteen more nights until the next full moon when I can feel truly free again.
A man stands still in the shadow between two light poles. Something shiny, polished metal glints in his hand. When I hear the shooting it is already too late to avoid the bullet. I don't have the speed or the agility of my wolf.
But instead of a pang of pain, I feel something else bumping into my chest. Footsteps run away in the dark as I look down. A woman stays right in front of me, her body now unsteady as she leans over me, her knees buckling.
I hold her and ease her fall, crouching next to her. Her turquoise eyes are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, but their light is fading. My trembling blood-stained fingers are fumbling in search of my phone.
An icy hand touches my wrist. "Don't call the police. Take me out from here, wolf."
I freeze. How does she know what I am? Her eyes are closing and I have to decide fast. Should I call the ambulance and the police? No, I owe her that much. My finger hovers over Alin's number on the screen of my phone. I press the number below.
"Dan? Get a car quickly in the alley behind the tower blocks. And when I say quick, I mean now!"
I climb to my feet and hoist her off the asphalt once my phone is back in my pocket. The lilac scent takes over my nostrils. She wears the perfume that has been following me everywhere today. Why is she stalking me?
Blood coats the tips of her copper hair. I owe her my life since she rescued mine. A part of me wishes she would survive so that her death would not be on my conscience. But there's another part of me that hopes she'd die so I won't owe her a life debt.
Laura - 1963I struggle to breathe. My lungs seem empty as if they've been dormant for a long time. While I try to inhale as much air as possible, a muscular arm wraps itself around me, its touch frigid against my skin. Its earthy scent mingles with the smell of mildew.The air seems stale as if no one has thought to open a window in years. What am I doing here? How did I end up here? Who's standing next to me? A whirlwind of questions invades my head, and I can't tell them apart.As I remember the scene with the hooded men, the blade comes into focus, along with the pain and numbness. My fingers reach for my neck. No cut there, no pain. I struggle to move, but the man's grip holds me like in a vise. This is not how I pictured my first time laying with a man or sharing a bed and cuddling.My fingers go through the mattress, and I feel something crumbly and hard, granules beneath my nails. I raise my hand and it's filled with dirt, black, dry soil. Never m
Paul - Present DaySturdy strides carry me to the closed double doors while a hammering heart chisels away inside my chest. A soft scent of lilac persists in my nostrils, bathing me in bliss. The girl is asleep in my arms. I have to resist the urge to gaze at her rather than where I am going.Ana opens the main doors. "What happened? Who is she?"I finally look down and see her face. That's what makes my knees go weak. She's so beautiful that it hurts to think about anything else. The light from the chandelier above us illuminates her pale skin as her eyelashes lay gently over her upper cheeks."She's—" My voice trails off when I realize I don't know the answer to any of Ana's questions.Dan follows me inside the house. "From what I could tell from Paul's stuttering on the way here, someone tried to shoot him, and the girl leaped in front of him."Ana darts forward to examine the girl. She tugs the ruined blouse down over the girl's sh
Laura - Present DayThe door closes shut behind him. This man is quite a character. Ha! I guess this is how one acts when the entire world revolves around him. Sure as hell, I’ll not save his life again. I can find another alpha to kill me, but he’s the strongest, the surest bet. That is if the old hag didn’t lie to me when she said only the Dacian Draco could kill me.I’ve researched for years, trying to grasp the ancient legends and the true lore of Dacian culture. Draco, or Dracon, was the battle flag of the Dacians, Costobocs, and Tyrrhaites from the current territory of Moldova as well as the Dacians south of the Danube.It had the shape of a wolf's head with an open mouth, which continued with a dragon's body, made of textile or leather that swelled in the wind, making a noise that mimi
Paul - Wolves Inc Office BuildingI press a finger over the mouse. The screen wakes up, revealing a shit ton of emails and other official notifications. But not even the silence of my empty workplace can help me concentrate.My mind goes wherever it wants, without any consideration for my duties. Two days have passed since that girl saved my life, and for whatever reason, I can’t stop thinking about her. Every time I close my eyes, I see her sleeping in my arms. I have to keep reminding myself she’s a strigoi, not just a beautiful woman.Instead of reading those tedious emails, I watch the crowd rush from one location to another. Their noses buried in their phones and fingers typing away at tinted glass displays entertain me. Students carry bulkier backpacks that can hold books and binders, while others
Laura - Her apartmentThe doorbell rings. I place the leather bookmark and close the book.As I unlock the door, Alisa bursts out of her room, TV noises in the background. She’s always curious, and I’ve already stopped telling her that’s what killed the cat.A young man stares at me with a package in his arms. “Laura Nedelcu?”“Yes,” I reply as I realize he’s a wolf. His mind is closed shut to my power."This is for you." His veins bulge as my palm brushes over his fingers to take the package. It must be the dress for the party.The intensity of this wolf's stare hit me like a club. He would love to kill me and I would let him. Too b
Paul - RBO partyBoring people with heads filled with possibilities to make more money, as their pockets are already overflowing. The only interesting thing around here is the incredible champagne. The drinking practice from the parties I’ve been to is keeping the three glasses I already hurled down my throat from having any impact on me.Looking at the last drop of the sparkling liquid on the bottom of my crystal glass, I circle my hand and play with it. It's the most interesting thing here so far. People around me talk, but their words are muffled in a cacophony of tedious affairs.Lilac scent. My head swivels. I follow the enticing hourglass curves as she walks through the door. Her silhouette is stunning, accentuated by the light from the chandeliers. It's as though the room has suddenly sprung to life. It
Laura - Her apartmentI fumble to close the door, the keys jingling between my fingers. Why do two strigois bother locking their door? I would mourn the fool trying to steal from the undead.After letting my small purse drop on the counter, I settle my elbows on it too and let my head drop into my palms. What has gotten into me? It’s totally out of character for me to act that way with a man. The need to reply to him in the same style overwhelms me. It’s like I’m a different person when he’s around.Or maybe I’m more myself than ever before. Not hearing his thoughts relaxes me. The silence of his mind draws me toward him. He’s a mystery to me, while the others are an open book. I can take off all the safeguards I struggle to maintain, so I do not hear everyone all the
Paul - Wolves Inc Office BuildingAfter days of my men digging into Bogdan's background and scrutinizing his every action, I still don't have anything definitive that proves he's the one who wants to murder me. The digging efforts of my team have not yet yielded any results. All I have is Bogdan Badea's name and the fact that he bought shares in Wolves Inc from persons I had no idea wanted to sell.My wolves are in a state of tenseness. The pack is growing distrustful of my actions, particularly the one associated with a certain strigoi. I must avoid Laura for the sake of both of us. Whatever occurs when she's around is something I'll never understand.My mood is worsening now, as I have to hear Cristian applauding the results from the RBO party. I don’t know which is worse: when he’s pestering me to do