Mateo I sat on the castle walls made of ancient gray bricks. The winter storm had abated, and snowflakes flurried down harmlessly onto the ground. The Wilds were a far cry from my homeland – back home I had never even seen snow before. That was almost two hundred years ago, but the memories of my youth were still fresh in my mind. Maybe it was because I was relatively young, compared to the others. I still remember the taste and scent of fresh oranges. I remembered what a rare treat it was to rip their thick skins off and devour them like a barbarian. It was a pleasant memory that I still smile at. It wasn’t like that with the Elder Ones, but so it goes. All good and bad things pass away with time. I had a vellum notebook in my hand and a charcoal pencil to sketch out the castle battlements. Supposedly, I was to mark any problems with our castle’s defenses, but wasn’t that a bit of a joke? Torieux employed several human magicians to create a barrier that obscured the appearance of th
ClaraEverything ached. I took snatches of sleep whenever I could, but it was hard to calm my nerves down enough to rest. It was especially hard when Prince Legiere also woke up now and then beside me. Most of the time, he would yawn, doze off, and sleep with his arms cradled around me.But sometimes he would wake me up and play with me, and then he wouldn’t let me sleep until we both lay on the bed gasping for air.The sharp, excruciating pain between my thighs soon ebbed into a dull ache. Sometimes, it almost felt better when he pushed his cock inside me and made me squirm with pleasure. He liked it rough – that much I should’ve known from the outset. I had held on to some fragile hope that he would be tender and loving with me, but now I wanted to laugh at how deluded I was.If any servant or royal healer came into the room, Prince Legiere would rouse himself, yawn, and then throw things like vases or books at them. He barked at them to leave, and they scattered away to the four co
Deanneth I shut my eyes, and let myself soak for several more minutes in the bath. Clara was asleep. I must have pushed her to her natural limits, and now she slept more deeply than ever. If I had my way, I would have tied her up, tossed her over my shoulder, and disappeared in some anonymous inn where I could take her in every way I liked. Unfortunately, being the leader of the Dark Shade would not allow me to do so. Let the girl rest, I thought. She’ll be much more fascinating once she gets her spark back. Hot water burned the open wounds in my back, and I shivered. I played with the silver ends of my hair and noticed that the dye was fading. I needed to have it dyed once more. It was only a casual observance. My mind chewed on other matters. She called me a liar. I was glad that she wasn’t an idiot – I wouldn’t have even looked at her if she was. For some reason, she instinctively knew I wasn’t who I claimed to be. But she still didn’t know everything, and being one step ahead o
Mateo I walked on the snowy path that curved upwards to the Castel. Jellyfish, one of the more friendly Granuben hounds, bowed and wagged her black shaggy tail at me. I stopped to pet her on the head, and she growled happily. She sniffed at my vellum sketchbook and sank her massive jaws into the cover. “Argh! No! Bad dog! Let go,” I told her firmly. She released the book in dejection, and I grimaced as I wiped off the drool from the cover. I made my way inside the Castel and stomped my feet on the red carpet to get the snow out of my boots. I heard loud laughter and angry voices from the great hall. I looked up longingly in the other direction. There were the steps that led up to my tower where peace and quiet reigned supreme. However, Torieux told me to report back to him if I ever saw Saber, and I had to fulfill my duty to my leader and sire. I headed to the main hall where the noises grew louder and louder, and I pushed the double doors open. Quin was up and about and in fine sp
MateoI stepped up to the bleeding werewolf, and I slowly pushed the barrel of the gun against her forehead. “No,” she whimpered. “Don’t. Please.”“Stop,” I said, trying to make my voice as hardened as possible. Instead, my words wavered in the air, and I was shocked at how nauseous I sounded. “I’ll make this quick, all right? You won’t feel any more pain.”“Please,” she said, and I wanted to vomit.My hands trembled, and I begged myself to just pull the damn trigger. I reasoned that letting it go on like this was crueler. Kill her. What’s the matter with you? Werewolves are worse than animals. They maim and murder us; they enjoy doing it. They killed Tor’s daughter. They killed so many of the Elder Ones in horrible ways. They burned us alive. They tortured us. All I’m doing is what Tor asks. “I don’t want to die,” she sobbed softly.I turned away, and I clicked the safety lock back on. I spat out excess saliva on the floor and wiped my mouth. I stared at her mangled body, and then I
Clara I awoke after what seemed like several weeks. It wasn’t good to be sleeping this often, though I had done the same thing when I was a child. I was always exhausted from the stress of avoiding werewolves who hated me or wanted to pick a fight. I thought about what Hazel had told me: how I always was trapped in fights that I was always destined to lose. I wished that she was here with me now, protecting me from my stupidity. One thought led to another, and I wondered if it was too late to try to go back to Bragne to see what had happened to the rest of the Moonstone Pack. Would it be suicide to try to go back to that isolated city? Had the vamps truly killed everyone there? I thought about the ferocity of Griffin, his father, Sisley, and the Lieutenant, and I refused to believe that could be the case. The whole reason why I had felt the need to leave was because the Alpha would have killed me outright. But would that really have happened? I wondered if it really amounted to cowa
Hazel When the leader of the Greater Vampires caught me, I had given myself up for dead. I only hoped that I wouldn’t blurt out the location of the other members of the Moonstone Pack. Alpha Andelle had warned me to only leave the stone dens in dire emergency. I considered that the mewling cries of the starving children of the pack were emergency enough to risk going out to find food. There were barely any adults left who would come with me. They were terrified of the vampires, and I didn’t blame them one bit. After the Dark Shade prince had taken Clara with him, the Moonstone Pack had suffered several other attacks throughout the course of a single month. We once had around ninety werewolves remaining; now our numbers dwindled to twenty-five. Most of them were pups. Prince Griffin, Lady Sisley, the Lieutenant, and the Alpha had gone out in twos or threes to desperately seek out any other packs around Bragne, but they found no one. We tried to move all at once as a pack at the begin
Clara “I want to go to Bragne,” I told Felix, as I dug through a cabinet full of clothes. We were back in the Quarters. The weather was much colder, and I was glad. It was too warm in Khordon. There was something about the weather in a southern city that made me too stuffy and sleepy. The days were getting shorter, and I had to wear something warmer. I frowned at the assortment of sleeveless, barebacked dresses. Felix leaned against the wall of the room and clicked his tongue. “Out of the question.” “Why?” I demanded. “Because of the vamps?” “Because of Deanneth,” Felix said pointedly. “You think he’s going to let you waltz out of here with your head in the clouds? I spent almost a week making sure you weren’t going to die.” I was about to give a scathing reply, but I thought better of it. Felix wasn’t going to open up to me if I continued to put him on the defensive. So I straightened up and looked into his eyes. “Thank you for saving my life,” I said. He tilted his head at me i
Clara Deanneth’s fingers twisted away the white fabric covering my pussy and squeezed lightly. “Don’t…” I gasped. My hand flew down to his wrist to push him away, but that was of no use. Deanneth clicked his tongue. “Felix, dear,” he said sweetly. “Clara’s being a little spoiled princess, and she doesn’t know what’s good for her. Why don’t you keep her hands busy?” Felix, half-conscious and half-drugged, took my hands and pushed them high above my head. I squirmed. “S…stop, Felix.” I begged with a moan. My own body betrayed me. O could feel the warm sweet juice gust out my clits under Deanneth’s gentle touch. “There you go,” Deanneth purred. Felix circled around, and I saw his erection rising ever so higher. He held my arms down, and his dark brown cock slapped against my cheek. I yelped. I couldn’t help but be fascinated by the throbbing veins in Felix’s shaft. He was young, but he had a shocking girth to him. Veins bulged out from his cock, and for one insane moment, I won
Trigger Warning: This chapter contains explicit sexual content involving drug, physical violence and threesome. Please read at your own risk. Clara “Stop.” “Hush now. You’re a grown adult, aren’t you? At least, that’s what you always try to tell me. Take your medicine in silence.” I heard a piercingly loud lash, and a groan of pain. My mouth felt like it was full of wool. Dread filled me, but I could barely move. Drunkenly, I tried to get a bearing on my surroundings. I felt dizzy. Another loud lash, and I recognized the cadence of the sharp intake of breath. It was Felix. I opened my eyes, and the sight that filled my eyes made me want to shut them tight again in fear. I was in a dungeon of some kind with dark red stone walls. A stone fireplace with gargoyles dancing around the sides flickered with a dull, orange light. In the shadows, I saw a completely naked figure chained to the wall. His dark arms were raised high above his head, and he knelt on the ground. The smell of b
ClaraI rummaged through every single cabinet and chest that I could find in the Pavilion. So far, I had collected two waterskins, two leather bags, a suitable warm outfit made of wool, and a fur-lined cloak.“You’re crazy,” Felix said, but he had done his own search of the Pavilions. He had in his hands several rolled up maps, a compass, and more warm clothes suitable for the cold fall.“Agreed,” I said.It lightened my heart just a little to know that Felix was going to join me, despite all his protestations. “You said that Prince Legiere was going to be busy for several days with the Councilors?”“Yes. If there’s any good a time as ever to make a break for it, it’s now,” Felix agreed. “You heard what Bruess said, right? That he might attend the council meetings, if Emperor Deanneth decided that he didn’t want to?”I nodded. “What was all that about?”Felix shoved several maps into the large bag that I tossed to him. “It was a pretty big threat. He’s not allowed to go the council me
Clara Felix and I quickly hurried out of the Coliseum. I was grateful that there were only small streams of werewolves leaving the place. I looked over at the sandpit and saw werewolves piling up bodies into a mass pyre. The stench of their burning bodies truly repulsed me, and even the werewolves burning the bodies had to cover their noses with heavy cloth and scarves. I hesitated at the exit and remembered the horrors of going through that giant stone passageway, but Felix took my hand. He reassured me, “It’s fine. Most of the werewolves are gone by now. Just a couple of drunks.” “And dead bodies,” I said, looking at the lacerated naked form of an Omega shoved in the corner. I felt sickness and hatred burn inside me as I stared at his pathetic, bleeding body. He was younger than Felix, and I wondered where his parents were. Probably gone, or they didn’t give a damn what happened to their child. However horrible the Moonstone Pack was, their cruelties could not even compare to t
Clara Heat and murderous rage emanated from Deanneth’s body. The sheer focus of his thoughts terrified me. The words came clearly to my mind, and I knew that he never let me leave his side. If I was more stupid, I might have said something particularly grating or sarcastic at that moment. But this time was different. The words howled into my mind, and I recoiled as if he had struck me physically. I looked in confusion at his beautiful face, and there was not even a single wrinkle or brooding frown that betrayed the boiling hatred within him. He continued to smile sweetly at me, but his grip around my chin tightened as he forced me to look at him. The sheer shock of his fury winded me. All this time, I took for granted that he desired me and that he was just a playful flirt who whored around. Now, I felt within him nothing but a dark abyss that pulled me deeper and deeper. “Let go,” I said nervously. I tried to free myself, but Prince Legiere’s grip grew even tighter. Felix, of
DeannethI headed out to the seats where my half-brother was. Crane pushed his way through the crowds in front of me, and Dellatine stayed back and guarded my back. They weren’t necessary. The moment werewolves saw who was coming their way, they froze. Then they bowed subserviently to me. Many of them leaped out of my way to give me space.This was pure power at its finest. I didn’t even have to look into their eyes. They took one look at my gray-and-black claws, and they knew who I was and why they had to get the hells out of my way.One could get drunk on this kind of power if they were stupid, like my father. I don’t think he even knew what was coming when I crowned myself as Emperor of the Dark Shade. Unfortunately, there was only a need for ONE Alpha on the throne. Not two.I kept my face as emotionless as possible, but I smiled inwardly at Bruess. He played too much of a dangerous game with me. I saw him now, speaking with Clara with such familiarity that it made my heart race.
DeannethThe Coliseum and the games were boring as usual. The Councilors droned on and on about certain policies that I had to enact, and they asked me so many tiring questions that I want to just toss them off the building. Of course, I had to remain calm. I answered every single one of their questions about the attack on Clara. Lord Hector and Lord Velant did not even believe that a vamp had attacked her, but Mistress Orias had visited Clara when she was still sick. She had seen the bite marks on the girl’s neck, and she had smelled the foul stench of vamp blood.Mistress Orias knew that the vamp threat was real. I sneered to myself. How fitting that the only intelligent werewolf of the bunch was in my brother’s pocket. By the time the tournament was over, she would dutifully send some small messenger bird to Bruess’s tower to tell him everything.I didn’t care. Let these insignificant Elites do what they must. I took a deep swig of wine straight from the bottle. Goddess, I needed s
Clara Prince Bruess nodded at the two of us, and he held up his hand covered in golden chains. A small pup came and set down several comfortable cushions against the stone steps. Felix and I sat down next to his raised red couch, and several werewolves swarmed us with trays of iced drinks and fruit. I heard something bubble and saw a long bronze contraption with a hose connected to it. The glass vase at the bottom frothed with white smoke and bubbling water inside. Prince Bruess held the hose in his hand, and he slipped the end between his golden muzzle and into his lips. He inhaled deeply, and spicy sweet clouds of unda escaped from his lips. Like peas in a peapod, I thought. If the two princes of the Dark Shade would stop squabbling for two seconds, maybe they would recognize how absurdly similar they were. Prince Bruess held out the end of the hose to me, and I was about to decline. Felix took the hose, and he put it in my hand. There must be some unspoken rule of courtesy that
ClaraAs I watched the Coliseum fights, I understood why werewolves were willing to kill themselves to get in. There was a heady atmosphere that stirred my pumping blood. Warriors of every size and race fought down in the sandy pits. I saw creatures that I had only seen in books: monitor lizards, tigers, lions, and panthers. The Coliseum wasn’t just a gladiator free-for-all. There were circus acts of skilled acrobats leaping in the air, knife jugglers, and jesters. Drummers kept a steady tempo that thrummed throughout the entire stadium, and musicians blew trumpets when a fighter triumphed over his opponent.I could feel the roaring crowds pulsate like one living, breathing being. There was no rank or caste here. We were either fighters or spectators. Entertainment and the thrill of the fight drew us all together. Some fights truly tested the limits of the werewolf fighters, and I found myself gripping the stone seat as I watched. When two Allied Hunters fought, it was like they were