RAYA BANKS“Saints, angels and cherubs above, protect me from the evil eye,” I whispered the chant my mother had taught me back when I used to accompany her to the exquisite lots of the upstate houses where she worked.Ma had never trusted them, the rich men with their luxury sports cars and polo shirts hugging their tight, muscular frames, or the snobbish women with their dye-streaked hairs piled high on their heads and their chests pushed so far out it was a wonder they could see an inch in front of them.She thought them skanks, selfish bastards who couldn't spare a speck of concern if a child was starving on the side of the road so long as it wasn’t theirs, or anyone they could gossip about in their pretentious little meetings.“Stay away from the neighborhood kids Raya, they're not your friends,” My mother had said one night when we got back, her eyes glittering with rage. It was usually like that for her, her anger was quiet, subdued, simmering under the surface like a volcano t
RAYA BANKSIn my dreams, I was standing on the pier, waving to the woman in red.It was the same every night, we walked hand in hand, me in my white taffeta dress, and my mother in her crimson cotton gown, until we reached the edge of the dark wood pier that was slick with something I did not want to suspect was blood.“Lady Artemis!” I gasped awake, wiping the thin sheen of sweat that had broken on my brow and wondering why my nightmares were different this night.My mother had not boarded the boat, instead, I had caught the glint of metal in her hand, the darkening in her eyes just before she slashed me cleanly across the throat with the knife.I palmed the soft creases of my neck, satisfied when it was still intact and carrying out of the warm white sheets.I was Alpha Toph’s lady-in-waiting now, and boy was I glad for it. “Damned thing,” I cursed, poking the ashen wood logs with the fire stick before the low crackle of dying flames fizzled out, making the shadows around the large
NIKOLAII glanced at the glowing mantle of the clock piece above me, my heart sinking to the pit of my stomach when I realized how nervous I was about seeing the olive-skinned woman again, the image of her small face and piercing hazel eyes rising unbidden to my mind.Christ, I was a fucking mess, how the fuck was I going to hold up in front of my father if I couldn't get Raya freaking Banks out of my fucking head.I needed this break, being the last son came with its perks, being my father’s favorite, but I had to work twice as hard, break my fucking back and drive a chainsaw through the remains to satisfy the old bastard.“Fucking hell Nikolai! You know just how to make a woman wet!” Olivia’s honeyed drawl came from behind me and I damned near chucked the flower vase on the nightstand at her head, turning to catch her sexy frame panting in the doorway so that my mouth fell slack and I had to pick my jaw from the floor.The redhead took sex appeal to a whole new level, fitting her bu
RAYA BANKSI immediately want to back out and scamper down the Burning City Castle foyer when I enter the high tower of the banquet hall to be assaulted with a wash of colors and scents.The high dome-shaped ceiling of the banquet hall had me squinting at the twirl of multi-colored ribbons and bows that sagged from the pinpoint center, catching the bright wash of fluorescent light so that it glowed oddly.“Aren't you coming in?” I squeaked louder than I had wanted to and ignored the nettle-armored guard at the doorway as his head snapped sideways to look at me, focusing instead on the sweaty-faced maiden who had escorted me only to stop hesitantly at the door.Anne looked at me like I had grown plastic horns on my head, before shaking her head disjointedly, giving me a cold look that I did not know how to describe.“Oh, no, His Highness says no servants allowed, I’ll only be minding the rooms,” She tittered, giving me a low bow before turning on her heel to walk away without another l
OLIVIA BURNSIf I had to be assaulted with Raya freaking Bank’s pale face one more time I promised myself I would not be held responsible for what I did.The bony little bitch was everywhere! It was like I couldn't catch a fucking break with Nikolai without the stupid girl showing up to ruin the moment!I ground my teeth uselessly against the wine glass, only stopping myself when I caught the metallic taste of blood pooling in my mouth as I chewed on the glass shrapnel that had exploded in my fist right after Nikolai had marched off to meet her.“What did he see in the scrawny peach cobbler anyway?” One of the sour-faced women in my posse hissed, turning up her nose at the handsome prince’s turned back.Nikolai was hot cake in the Burning City, more so even more than he was in his Stone Castle. I could imagine why everyone would be enamored with the striking hulk of a man, shit, even his wolf was every inch as commanding as his physique.“Nothing that I don't already have,” I hissed t
NIKOLAII resisted the urge to trace my fingers over the woman’s high cheekbones, settling instead for fisting them beside me.Need pulsed in my body, heavy and hot as I towered over the woman who had refused to meet my eyes, aware that I was breathing too loud.I had seen Raya Banks the minute she had entered Alpha Toph’s banquet hall, it was impossible not to, with the way her floor-length gown swept past everyone in her way, leaving a hole no one else who walked past could quite manage to fix.“If it isn't Mother Theresa come to party with us mere mortals,” Olivia murmured under her breath, slapping a hand to her lips when I inhales sharply and tried not to look too obvious as I searched the crowd for her fair face.It was her wild curtain of brown-black curls that caught my eyes first, the way they fell around her slender back, tapering to an end where her hips branched out.“Raya? We need to talk, you're not safe here,” I whispered fervently now, digging my fingers into my palms
RAYA BANKS“Hurry! Intruders in the castle!” A large-breasted woman dressed as a Walmart version of Lady Aphrodite screamed, promptly before her head was snatched up by a shadowling.The Burning City banquet hall was being attacked! It had taken longer than I would have liked for me to realize it.I had seen the creatures, one of them, standing haunched in the obsidian blackness beyond the blue-tinted window panes of the banquet hall tower.I had been distracted by Alpha Nikolai’s angular face, the incandescent din of his baritone that buzzed deliciously in my ears and thought the beings as phantoms of my imagination.Not until they moved, the jagged ends of their skewered faces contorting as I noticed the willowy bulbs of their luminescent blue eyes watching me almost hungrily.“Lady Artemis,” I gasped imperceptibly, tugging on Nikolai’s bulky arm uselessly and following his eyes to see that the man on the stage, the King Alpha of the three cities had had his heart ripped out by what
OLIVIA BURNS“Get out of my way!” I growled, groping onto the brown rag of a woman’s hair as I flew over the round table in the corner of the wide Banquet hall tower.What the fuck was going on? It had happened too fast for my eyes to follow! I felt the gold fur of my wolf stir angrily under my skin, incensed.This was supposed to be my coming out party with the dark prince Nikolai but something just had to ruin it!I squeezed my eyes shut, and crouched in the shadows as I tried to drown out the sounds of screams that now filled the wide hall.The lights had gone out so that the elite had been thrown into darkness, the only light coming from the yellow-lit halo at the center of the stage that showed the King’s bloodied corpse, the mammoth black beast standing over his supine form so tall that he almost blotted out the spotlight from the high dome ceiling of the hall.“Saints, Lady Artemis, save us! The wrath of the moon goddess is upon us! Doomed! We're all doomed!” A deranged-looking
Raya BanksI hadn't stopped glancing anxiously through the wide carriage windows after we left until my breath caught in my throat when I saw the looming buildings of the castle up ahead and leaned back in my seat, suddenly feeling my pulse jump.“It's okay Raya, I'm here...I won't let anyone hurt you.” Nikolai growled and I felt something warm unravel inside me at the possessive tone of his voice.I nodded, searching his stormy gray eyes once more before looking out the window again at the wet plains of the fields off to the sides.And Olivia? I wanted to ask, but something stopped me and I shook the thought out of my head, resting on his shoulder instead as the giant gate of the castle creaked open and I marveled at the cheers that boomed and erupted.“Holy shit,” I whispered and my cheeks warmed to hear Nikolai laugh beside me. Gosh, I never wanted him to stop laughing! There were rows and rows of ruddy-faced wolves holding large bouquets that they threw like confetti at the carri
NikolaiThe voices, by Jove! The rush of shadows and voices crowded into my head as I wove the moonstone around my neck must have made me mad!I roared, feeling my rage amplify and baring my teeth with bloodlust as I turned my body to see Alpha Toph charging toward me like a bat straight from hell.“You bloody prick! I'm going to annihilate you once and for all!” He bellowed, his lumpy muscled frame flying into the air before I surged forward to meet him halfway, almost stumbling when Raya’s soft whisper carried to my ears.I love you, I love you, I love you. I inhaled sharply, throwing everything I had into the fight as our bodies slammed meatily together before we landed heavily on the floor and I pushed against the bracket of his arms. His disfigured eyes stared at me from behind the barricade with such hate and venom that I threw away all the guilt I had swirling inside me.“Not if I kill you first.” I sneered, jamming my knee into his sides and watching him crumple in on himself
158Raya Banks“Nikolai! Watch out!” I shrieked loudly, feeling my gut wrench with fear as I saw the king get knocked down by Alpha Toph’s hulking frame.“You let a woman be your weakness again Nikolai, it's almost as if you never LEARN! Wasn't Olivia’s betrayal all those years ago enough for you?” Alpha Toph gurgled in a voice that sounded like rushing water and I felt chills wash over me as I tried to struggle to my feet before one of the shadowlings slammed their heavy foot flat on my back, knocking the breath out of me.“No!” I cried out, winded, and stretched a hand to the huge gray wolf that was being mauled ferociously by Alpha Toph’s half-human, half-beast frame. A trap! The beast had set a trap for the king and now he was cut in between. I knew almost immediately what he had planned to do but there was almost no way to warn Alpha Nikolai as he crossed the field to rescue me.Had I been his weakness? How did he find me? It couldn't have been that long since I was kidnapped an
Olivia BurnsIt was the silence that haunted me the most now. The empty hours from dawn to dusk and everything in between, just me and the shadows, and the shadows and me.“You rest up now Miss Burns, His Highness will be back to the Stone Castle in no time.” Meredith’s calming voice rang, making me snap my eyes to her pale oval face that had lifted into an encouraging smile.“Enough, I'm positive ill turn into one of the meadow fishes if you soak my stubs any longer.” I hissed impatiently, feeling my heart squeeze when the woman only smiled, snatching up a dry, white towel from the rack before wrapping my tender feet in it and toweling me off.I sneered at the unhealthy size of the swollen lumps as she massaged them into a reasonable size, and I stirred uneasily in the low plush stool that had been placed in the sunlit room.The King had ordered renovations for me, giant blue ceramic pots with fake gold flowers at the corners of the room that hid the shadowlings from my sight. The bi
NIKOLAIShe was RIGHT THERE, a few feet from me before he snatched her right out of the air. So close, and yet, so far away.“It doesn't have to be this way Tophas, my mate has no business in our rivalry, let her go.” I deadpanned, hearing the din of my voice as it caught in the wind whipping about us before my brother’s uneven face jerked into an excited smile.I could hear the thud of my heart beating and was aware how fast my breaths rushed out from my chest and yet, I could do nothing but stand and wait. No sudden movements.“But you lie, brother, Raya Banks is my mate too don't you reckon?” Tophas growled, slamming one thick paw that looked like the fingers had been snapped all the way back against Raya’s full cleavage.“Please!” Raya’s desperate wheezes twisted at my heart as I held out a hand, stopping Gallagher’s copper-colored wolf from morphing out and tearing forward. I could sense his agitation, because it was double in my gut, watching the woman I loved so much desperatel
Raya BanksI couldn't stop the shudders from running through my body before the sound of wolves laughing heartily in the distance reached my ears.“Oh God, oh God, help me,” I panted, squeezing my eyes shut and clamping my lips firmly to keep from whimpering when what felt like a tongue licked at the underside of my ass from the stone.The damned thing was alive! Like the stack of bodies in the corner of the room! Wolf zombies, immobile now, no doubt until the dark shadow king Gobar wanted to command them!“A feast! We shall have a feast!” Alpha Toph’s voice boomed in the distance and my body automatically stiffened, still as a rock.It had been some time since he left and the hearty yellow beam I could see beyond the cave opening flaps if I angled my head right had now turned a smokey gray. Dusk. I had to get out of here fast, I couldn't hope on the King any longer, he may as well have moved on with his betrothed and heir and here I was slaving away, holding out hope and waiting for
Alpha TophMy tongue pressed against the uneven ridges of my teeth as I fiddled with the lock of the shadow king’s secret compartment.I had caught a glimpse of the mammoth beast leaving the small shed, the spot on his neck where the blood moonstone hung bare. I knew then that Gobar had to have been hiding it here. He never wore it to hunt.“Come on!” I gritted through clenched teeth, feeling my eyeballs sting as the sweat rolled down from the cliff of my forehead.Everything had begun to feel weird, it was hard enough to feed without tasting the worms from the inside of my mouth in the blood.If I could just get my hands on the dark moonstone I could stop the transformation and have SOME chance of killing the shadow king.Yes! I had to kill him, there was no way in seven hells I would have gone through all the pains to settle for being his eternal stooge!The numbers I tried to spin on the lock didn't make any sense and it was beginning to get dark. I glanced around quickly, catchin
Meredith The Maid“MEREDITH!” My name, I answer it with pride when my mistress calls, but she does not call today. “MEREDIFFTH!” My name, whenever the mistress was in one of her moods and couldn't stand to get the words out nice and proper, her shrill tone seemed to shake me to my very core.She was in one of her moods again as I led her away from the King’s horses, holding the blubbering countess by the hand and helping her climb the stairs until we were behind the safe walls of the familiar quarters.“What time is it Meredith? I haven't had my afternoon tea and all that screaming has made me rather, famished!” Miss Olivia exclaimed and I caught my tongue between my teeth before I could tell her she had taken her lunch already. Thrice.“Of course, I'll send for it M’lady,” I cooed softly, lowering her onto the plush cushion of the high bed and propping her feet too before smothering her with the rich red duvets that had been layered on the foam.“My Merd, what would I do without y
NIKOLAITime seemed to stand still as I swung the silver sword in a neat arc, striking the stretched meat of my best friend’s neck and feeling the sword spasm in my death grip before cutting cleanly through the bone and clanging up to my shoulders against the hard rock of the dias.My heart pounded wildly in my chest as the brightly colored room blurred in my vision for a moment before I caught the lapse and blinked everything back into focus.The silence was so loud that my ears rang from the nothingness, not a breath, not a word, nothing but quiet. I watched Igor’s blood-spattered head roll quietly down each stone staircase until it toppled in a neat circle and stopped on the floor.I was breathing fast, and heavily, with my fingers shaking on the hilt of the executioner sword I still held tightly in my hand and yet I couldn't manage to shake it off.It was like a part of me had died the moment I held the blade. My fault! It was all my fault. I had let my best man turn into a trait