Deanneth When Clara decided on a whim that she wanted to chat with my half-brother, at first the thought annoyed me. I suppose my brother still had his charm intact. He was supposed to be the leader of the Dark Shade after Arinauld died. My sire had taught him well, or maybe his regal bearing was far more authentic than mine. There was a flavor of noble melancholy about him as well. Perhaps that was what drew her to him. I congratulated my brother’s cunning. I guess the old devil still had it in him. Obviously, Bruess needed to be disciplined, but the thought bored me. I had years of experience of thinking up new ways to humiliate Bruess, but he was surprisingly resilient. The problem with tormenting my brother was that the other werewolves of the pack were starting to notice his strength. He bore each new punishment with fatalistic grace that annoyed me. He was starting to win back the admiration of the pack, and I knew that he still had the ears of several Councilors, including Lor
DeannethIn between dreamless sleep, I heard someone pound at my door. I had half a mind to tear them limb from limb. No one was allowed to disturb my sleep unless the Quarter was on fire.“Lord Deanneth. Emperor Deanneth!”It was Felix. I groaned and rubbed my eyes.“Stop pounding the damn door and come in already,” I said.He opened the door in a rush, and I watched him from my bed. “You seem to be missing someone,” I said coolly. “Surely you did not come back here without a certain lady that I expressly told you to protect?”If his brown face could turn pale, it would do so right now. A sullen look was on his face, but it did him credit that he seemed remorseful for the time being. “Your half-brother shut me out of his rooms. I told Clara to come, but she refused.”I sat up straight and interrogated Felix. “Let me get this straight. I told you in no uncertain terms to stick to Clara like her second shadow. I told you that you would end up in a soup if you didn’t do this for me. I a
ClaraFingers stroked my hair. I saw my father in the distance shuffling parchment on his desk. Someone hummed a soothing melody, and I listened to it. My mother held me in her arms. “You’re going to have a little sister.” Her fingers grasped mine and pushed them onto her swollen belly. “We’re going to call her Elena.”“Elena,” I burbled happily. My small hands patted my mother’s stomach, and I giggled when I felt a kick. “You’re going to protect her and make sure that she’s loved. Even if they say terrible things about her, even if they say she’s not really your father’s. You’re going to always be there for her.” **I was half-asleep when I heard voices murmuring in the darkness. Someone massaged my neck, and I moaned in pain.“Ugh, what in hells is that smell?” said a low voice. “It’s not the regular slum stench.”“Vamp blood. You better get used to it. They’re going to be crawling out of the woodwork now.”There was a sound of disgust. “Is that what that is? Smells like old b
DeannethWhen the girl was asleep, I found that I was fascinated by the whorls in her hair. In Lycaneum society, plain brunette hair was common and nothing remarkable. I was disappointed at first when I met Clara. Loretta had soft blonde hair that was so light, it could have passed as white.I touched her hair and let her auburn brown locks slide over my skin like silk threads. Clara mumbled in her sleep, but I continued to let her hair slip through my fingers. I had drawn the curtains of my chambers so that she could sleep better. But some rays peeked through the room, and her hair transformed into shining golden locks. There was an understated beauty to her hair, and it hypnotized me.I touched her neck, and she still was ice cold. I got up and threw several logs into the fireplace. It was hot as hells in the chamber, and sweat dripped out of every pore of my body. I let my fingers slip over her breasts, and she felt like unbroken snow on a winter’s day.I suppose I should’ve called
Trigger Warning: This chapter may include explicit sexual content. Please read at your own risk. Clara Everything felt so cold and blurry. My eyes only saw misty shapes in the room. I felt his powerful body pushing up against me, and I greedily drank in that heat of life and desire. Deanneth pushed my legs apart, and then he pressed his tongue up against my thighs. I wanted him more than anything. I wanted him to extinguish that horrible vamp’s scent and skin from memory, and I wanted him to replace it with his sweat and blood. Anything would do. Even this. I pushed his head down harder, and I heard him chuckle. “You little whore,” he whispered, and goosebumps trickled all over my skin. “Very well. I’ll give you what you want. All you have to do is say ‘please.’” I don’t know why my heart raced. I don’t even know why I was allowing this to happen. I wanted to breathe and feel alive. I wondered if despair was a part of it too. I gasped as his tongue pierced deep inside me, and I
Trigger Warning: This chapter may include explicit sexual content. Please read at your own risk. Deanneth She amused me, but her helplessness made me want to crush her in my arms. I wanted to devour her whole. Every essential part of her – I wanted to absorb her very soul and make her a part of myself. I pushed her down and listened to her soft mews. She reminded me of a lost kitten in the rain. Poor little dear. Her bravado amounted to nothing, but a kitten can still bite. Her cheeks burned red, but her indignity only charmed me all the more. I don’t remember the last time I had a virgin – I relished the idea of sampling this rare delight. I shifted my hips and felt strangely reverent. I’d be her first. Her claws dug into my back, and despite the sharp pain, I grinned. Did she claw me because of her fear, or was it desire? I kissed her long and hard. I wanted to taste the sweetness of her tongue. Her moans excited me, and I retracted my claws. I slid one finger slowly into her s
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
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