They escorted Ana and George to a large brick family home. Not far away. It belonged to the Wolversen Family as the humans knew them. The Black River pack ran businesses out of this family home. This appeared to the humans at large as a rich family with a business empire to run. Edith and Allan were the elders of the family. Recently began the hand off of their business empire and the pack to their eldest son Gregory took over. They had two sons. Gregory and Richard. The two brothers Everyone knew, the two brothers for butted heads. This didn’t differ from any of the other power struggles they encountered. Gregory’s reputation showed him to be the mature and responsible alpha wolf. While Richard’s reputation described a hotheaded, upstart who found more trouble than he was worth. Known for opposing everything his brother did, and fought against the system and tradition. Richard disrupted the order within pack life. While Gregory struggled to learn t
A week later, Ana and George were ensconced in a space within the Black River Pack Territory. The pack made space for them within an underground storage building. It wasn’t perfect, but it would do. They were secure, had their own space and privacy.The Wolversen’s were gracious hosts and Ana didn’t feel like she put anyone out within the pack she met. The wolves seem so different from the courtiers Ana knew. Ana only saw the conflict and backstabbing within the pack seemed to be between Edith’s sons. Richard seemed conflicted, and it didn’t bode well. For that reason, George and Ana fought over how to handle any contact with the two.“I’m just saying, Ana, when those two are within earshot of each other. You’re to walk away. It’s not safe. What if they shift and become physical with each other? You could get caught in the middle. It’s better if you stay out of it. Interfering with wolf business will make things a lot more difficult. What will you do if you get into
In the end, Tatiana and Adriana’s birthday celebrations forced Franco to leave his suite. Instantly, he noticed the change in the atmosphere of the palace in general. Tatiana insisted on celebrating her birthday as if nothing had changed. To Franco’s disappointment, Tatiana forbade anyone from speaking of his beloved Adriana. Even though they shared a birthday. The Royal Guards were still on high alert, believing Adriana would return and seek revenge or finish off her murder spree. None even thought to look beyond the obvious, and he saw that when this finally ended, he’d need to make sweeping changes to the surrounding people. He always hated fools and sycophants: these were Lolita’s acquisitions of bootlickers and toadies. They were people Tatiana appeared to favour as well. He couldn’t clean the house immediately or something could be lost in the resulting chaos. Franco wouldn’t stand for that. His staff hid th
Sabre lived off the generosity of his patrons. None knew they funded the leader of the Blood Traitor Network. Princess Tatiana didn’t recognize Sabre outside of the Blood Traitor Network safe house. As Frederick Ap Dunkirk, artist, and painter, he ranked too low for her to take notice. Even when his patron hauled him to court to celebrate Tatiana’s birthday. Now he sat there most of the night watching Tatiana make an utter fool of herself. He could see that she had to be cut loose, but she knew too much about that safe house and others within it. Frederick must start abandoning that lucrative location. Once he had all his plans figured out, Frederick amused himself with memories of his breaking in Tatiana like the most common harlot going. He’d enjoyed stretching her open more, so she gape after he finished with her. Nothing more satisfying than watching her degraded and debased as he stood there satisfied with his handy work.
Her father wouldn’t lay off the subject of Adriana. It ruined her mood for her entire birthday party. She’d wanted to stab him right then and there. Before everyone, but Tatiana didn’t dare to take over like that. How would she take over? Tatiana did like the idea of people fearing her violent response to her attacking her father, but she wasn’t crazy enough yet to miss how unpopular she was to the courtiers and common rabble. She knew she’d have to kill and replace people because of the insults several gave her and how they lacked any decent usefulness about them for Tatiana. It was high time Edger gets the boot, or better yet. Edger gets fitted for a coffin. Tatiana avoided all the summons Sabre sent her. She couldn’t go back there to see her. Every time she thought of Sabre watching that strange man fuck her, Tatiana feared it would happen again. She couldn’t do that again. It had been weeks now and messages kept appearing. Each
A week later, the Wolversens’ settled Ana and George into their safe haven. Things moved in slowly after that and as Ana unpacked and found homes for things, she came across Xavier’s bed. Instantly, Ana felt horrid. Not once did she ask where her dog went. George had told her he’d slipped from the palace with Xavier in tow with no trouble, but that had been the last she’d heard. Today, however, Ana hesitated to find a home for it. She feared what might have happened to the furry weirdo. She didn’t want to demand Xavier’s safe return, but now that she saw his bed, Ana wanted to know what happened to him. Ana found George in his assigned room. He wasn’t pleased with being separated from Ana, even if it was only by a wall. But they couldn’t allow anyone to know what went on between them. It had become a bone of contention between them. He wanted them to make a go of it as life partners until they died one way or anot
Xavier finally made his way back to Ana, and she’d not left him alone for a moment. George felt a little jealous of the little dog. He slept in Ana’s bed each night. Took long walks with her. While he helped with the security of the Black River Pack Territory and hunted for blood in the nearby cities. It wasn’t easy to watch over Ana, and he’d hated being away from her. He didn’t have time to listen to too much of anything she said. They couldn’t train to get as much as he’d like, and it wouldn’t be sustainable. He needed to come up with a better idea about the way they were living. Ana, in the meantime trained with the pack, she’d garnered several friends within the pack who accepted her as she presented herself. It felt freeing to her in a better way than taking the ambassadorial position. She didn’t have to prove herself to anyone here, as she’d worried about before this. Xavier on the other hand, appeared to h
George watched Ana, unhappy that she again refused to feed from him. He understood she’d become reliant on him, and she feared their bond. He couldn’t see her hurting like this much longer. George would have to intervene and do something drastic soon. Or Ana might do something desperate and lose control of what she did. He couldn’t allow that to happen, not now or ever. That would seal their already sealed fate. It killed him to know that she’d lost everything along with him. He’d not wanted that in the beginning. Now his feelings waffled from one extreme emotion to another. Even as he craved more of her. George keenly felt the guilt of sentencing Ana to the life of a fugitive because he couldn’t keep his pants on around her. He loved her and yet hated where she came from for the laws they created and enforced. All at the same time, he felt he betrayed his loyalty to the emperor and empire. He felt like his emotions were a rope bei