"Guard," Pearl summoned the massive guard, who took uncertain and slow steps toward them. "Guard, your boss needs you to run and bring me what I asked for. Can you do that?" She nodded as she spoke quickly. "And plus the money that I need, and if you could get that in small, spendable bills, that’d be really appreciated, big guy."The guard’s dark eyes shifted from Pearl to Alec and back again."Come one, Pearl, I can’t just give out that kind of spell book and that sort of money. The cost will have to be approved. It’ll take a day or two at least, and you know that."A few days? Pearl didn't have any food at home. She has three wolves who might eat me themselves if she doesn't have food for them.Surely. Alec didn't notice that these three wolves were not just ordinary warriors but the souls of someone very powerful, right? How could he be this naive to never notice that? She thought of how pathetic the alchemist was."Oh." Pearl said instead and bit her lip as her eyes shifted towa
Pearl just gawked at the beautiful man who made her moan two years ago. She just hoped he couldn't recognize her. Even with a different face, she knew her essence was still the real her or part of her."Silly girl! It’ll probably close if you just remove one of the several stacks of silver and put it in the spell book first." Ethan's pale blond hair falls into his eyes as he nods to her. The sharp lines of his features were entirely serious. The rumbling tone of his words threatens to steal her breath away, taking her voice and all rational thought with it. What the hell. White was Ethan’s wolf? His own very soul? She didn't see that coming. How was it possible? She knew the rumors that the king of the Fire Kingdom, who happened to be her father, owned every warrior’s soul. Trapped somewhere... but this? "Oh, fuck!" Pearl groaned. "That is so confusing.""Confusing?"She nodded her head like a zombie, unaware of her gaze at the beautiful creature. Butt naked. Bulging. Naked. Yes, she
Vergel shoved the other white curtain at his friend, and it took Finn a second to understand what Vergel wanted him to do with it. When the three of them were nicely covered up, Pearl finally looked at them. Vergel’s hair was nearly as fiery as his fur was. Finn was as dark as his own wolf. Sculpted lines veered down his body just like the other two men. Ethan, on the other hand, was the biggest of the three. He was the most magnificent of them all, a serious-faced alpha among them. They looked like they were built for destruction and power, but also beauty and grace. It was an odd sort of mixture that she had never really seen before. The three gigantic wolves turned into the lycan warriors she met before. Well, at least no one knew she was the princess. "You guys can shift back though, right?" Pearl asked. She was mentally trying to figure out how she could present these three to Alec and still get paid... "Of course we can." Vergel nodded, his jaw locking firmly back in place. T
"Yeah, whatever, trust me or not, I don't care, but in the morning, I’ll run to town and find you three some clothes that cover a little more than your dicks." A smirk crept across Finn’s face, as if he enjoyed her talking about their shafts.Pearl thought, in the morning, I’ll get their clothes, run by for the rest of Alec’s deposit on these three, and then lead them to Almera. Easy pissy! It’ll be simple. Nothing to worry about.Her stomach turned in disagreement."I’m going to bed." Pearl stood slowly, and her gaze lingered on the rows of silver left in the bag. "If any of you steal from me or even read my spellbook, just know there are worse fates than death." An alchemist could torture them slowly. So slowly, death would seem like a blessing.Not that she could afford to waste her magic right now. Not with the King’s hunters seemingly back in the picture and now very close to her, especially alpha Ethan's excruciating gaze."Steal from you?" A taunting and arrogant look consumed
In the early morning dawn, at the village square, miles from Pearl’s cabin, the scent of blood carried on the thin, wintry breeze. It was faint, fresh, a coppery tickle in the nostrils of the lycan warrior who leaped soundlessly from the roof of one dusk-shadow building to another. It had been hours since Ethan started hunting again, and still he didn't have any idea about his real mission: to either look for the missing princess or guard the woman who saved them.Snowflakes fell around him like floating white ash, blanketing the village that spread out beneath him some two stories down.Ethan crouched on the ledge and surveyed the tangle of bustling streets and alleyways. As one of the high-ranking warriors—a small cadre of lycans engaged in war against their savage brethren, the Rogues—Ethan’s primary objective was to deal death to his enemies. It was something he did with cold efficiency, a skill perfected during his more than seven centuries of existence. But down to his marrow, he
A few yards ahead of Ethan in the alleyway, the female was on her stomach, scrabbling to get away from her assailant. She had a weapon too, Ethan was surprised to see, but the Rogue noticed it at the same time and kicked it out of her hand. The Rogue planted the heavy sole of his boot on the centre of her back, pinning her to the ground with his heel jammed hard into her spine. Ethan was on him at once. He threw the Rogue off the woman, driving the snarling wolf into the side of the brick building and holding it there with his forearm wedged under the suckhead's chin. "Get out of here!" he shouted to the woman as she started to drag herself up off the ground. 'Run!' She flung a frightened look over her shoulder – the first glimpse Ethan got of her face. His gaze locked on to a pair of huge, pale, beautiful, delicate eyes. The woman stared at him from over the top of a dark knit scarf that could hardly disguise the delicate beauty beneath it. Pearl. Damn it! What the hell was she
Fire Kingdom Commander Jefferson’s Manor Sir Jefferson Reynolds, also known as Commander of the Fire King's elite warriors, was the king’s most trusted ally and had organised a banquet at his manor. It was the exact and adequate thing to do, given that a couple of well-connected alchemist officials of the kingdom had managed to secure him a favourable post-war political position in the kingdom's politics. Unknown to the lords and noble aristocrats, winning the wars has been possible because of the mighty commander's intervention. However, the previous war between werewolves, faeries, and alchemists has been going on for ages, and a treaty has ended because of the expansion of Fire Kingdom warriors and the end of the lycans' rebellions that killed the Lycan King and captured his beloved sons. Alpha Ethan, and Vergel. Now that he knew that the two deadliest lycan warriors had been imprisoned in the magical box in the dungeon in the Fire King’s castle, Commander Jefferson began to lay
"Yes, father," Elizabeth dutifully escorted the commander, but discreetly, her mind was already roaming into incredibly unwomanly places. Ideas of the bulges in men's trousers... As soon as her father would be distracted by other visitors, she'd be pursuing some fun of her own. Her mind wandered back to last month, when she'd persuaded a nice Fae authority, ten years her senior, of the explanation for her getting expelled from the school for girls. Elizabeth wrote of what occurred in her personal journal, which she kept secret in a private trunk in the wall panel of her bedroom, and remembered what she wrote: 'And so, I oversaw the good and fine officer by hand, to the dainty horse stable behind the school. It was my first time interfering with an older man, and finally, here I was, guiding the way and him like an obedient helper. Oh, but what heaven! He discarded his cap, dagger wrap, and his black jacket uniform, which, being wool, was huge and thick. In my hands, I caressed this p
Henry approached the captives, who were dangling from a tree. He leaned in close to take in June, Ryan, and then Janet's features. In his murmur, he said something along the lines of "This woman is unusual; she smells like a lycan but also human. It has an odd scent that reminds me of Her Majesty Queen Janet herself. When June and Ryan heard the massive lycans, they looked to each other and toward Janet, who was smirking at them, as if to say, "I told you so." Henry continued, as he went to Janet's side and licked the blood from his forehead and raised his brows. "You are an oddity, little one. And you are not from around here, either. Who are you?" Henry and his band of mercenaries might have been the same ones that June's own people were on the lookout for. It was a long-running blood controversy that began some years ago. Nonetheless, June had been on the verge of passing out when he felt that all the blood flowing to his head from the wound made him conscious of the fact that he
Suddenly, they were knocked senseless by three lycans as they were transported to their secret lair when someone appeared out of nowhere and attacked them, rendering them unconscious. Janet's nose was dripping with blood, and a trickle of it dripped out. It did not drip down her chin, but rather up into her eyes and over her forehead, due to the fact that she, along with her partner Ryan and June, were hanging upside-down in the air. After being taken and strung up, they will be skinned alive and eaten by a gang of feral lycans who have come to take advantage of their situation. Earlier, however, the three had been attacked when they were seen traveling down a trail near the cliff, and their belongings, including their backpack and weapons, had been taken from them. And now Ryan and June were arguing with their backs to the wall. "I told you we shouldn't stop," June snarled at him. "But you dickhead, you weren't even forced to walk in front of us, but for your own bloody sense of im
"We need to check to see if my friend is still in the building.""Why?""Wait a minute, and you'll see."Before they knew it, they were being waved at by someone who said, "Thank goodness, your little train is still running." June uttered the words and walked over to the man, who appeared to be an elderly retired soldier."Nice to see you, young man, and I've received your secret message on my radio, and right now we must move quickly. After ten minutes, the train would depart from the station. I already had a secret compartment set aside for you three, but please don't leave your cabin at any time, okay? I've managed to bring on a dozen lycans. Actually, you're dealing with tourists, so keep your mouth shut and never, ever open your cabin door, okay? Unless, of course, it's me knocking on the door.""Of course, Joe, and thank you for your assistance." June wrapped her arms aroun
Suddenly, June shook his hands, as though he were attempting to dislodge himself from the spell of Ryan's lips. "It was a dirty trick," says June."Oh yeah? According to the person who made me drunk and then attacked me to prove a point. What is it about you that requires everything to be a test? Is it June? Remember when you chose the army over me?" Ryan said with a sigh, "We are done with that nonsense.""Come on, sweetie. Play fair now. Tests enable you to push yourself to new limits, mate," June moved in so quickly that he was standing by the couch one moment and standing right in front of Ryan the next. His punch was deflected by June, who moved more slowly than usual, and Ryan managed to avoid his punch back."It's a bitter past, Ryan! And I already apologized a hundred fucking times, did I?""I don't care! You still hurt me." Ryan added with a bit of a smile on his lips. He knew it drove June
June added, "I think this is going to be good." He murmured to himself as he sat in a nearby chair and rummaged through his backpack."This is the possible trail that we have to follow to reach the peak." "We needed a compass and a certain map to reach the cavern.""What cavern?" Janet asked.June gestured to his own graph and mumbled something under his breath, "There is a cavern at the peak of the mountain, and if I'm not mistaken, then there is a possible entry on the west side." So maybe whatever you've been looking at was inside the cave, right?"Worth a try." Ryan smiles, knowing full well that there was an adventure waiting for them.After two bottles of June's grandmother's wine, Janet was unable to keep her mouth shut. When she told them everything, they laughed at the foolishness of her tale and didn't believe her at first, but after an hour of hearing about the Scroll of Fate, the message behind Ethan's research paper, and her time traveling with Finn, Vergel, and Ethan, th
"No, not at this time." "I believe the trail has been buried beneath the sleet." She sighed as she took up a position beside him."Fuck it. I'm done with it. Does that mean we're stuck here? "I'm not sure whether I should be angry with you or grateful," he said as he turned away from her and back into the chimney fire."What the hell are you talking about?""While you were outside, I needed to go to the bathroom." "I happened to stumble into some sort of attic." Ryan went on to say that, as he stared into the flames, he felt something stab him in the back of the head. There was a ray of hope. Then he went on, "...and then I found this," he mumbled as he handed her a small brown military bag that looked like it had been abandoned."Can you tell me what this is?" "What am I supposed to do with this?" Janet inquired as she purposefully opened the back and began to untangle what was inside."That, Janet, you know. That notebook, of course. Take a look at it right now." He muttered somethi
Human Realm. Present Time With two warm sleeping bags of her own, Janet warmed up beside Ryan. They were lying close enough to the chimney's fire that Ryan could feel the warmth of it lapping at his face as their wet clothing dried on the brick quarters hanging near the vent as Janet added wood to rekindle it. When the storm had passed, Janet had buried the family in the snow a few yards away from the cabin, just in case. By the next day, however, the storm was still raging outside, with the entire bracket of the house trembling under the force of the storm's powerful wind. After his encounter with the father's dead body, which was lying in the living room the day before, Janet's eyes were opened. She couldn't help but wonder. She didn't mean to touch his forehead, but she was not expecting those memories to come crashing down on her like hurricanes. It was both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. Janet had no idea she possessed the ability to read the memories of someo
He nodded.She stroked his shaft with the curled tip of her hand, rubbing back and forth on his glans. "To bring you down before we even started," she snarled, her tongue slithering across his ear, causing him to moan. "Of course, I'd go further... I'd keep going until I thought you couldn't take it anymore, but I'm a kind woman. After all, I asked to have your soul... but let me have fun!"She giggled again before attacking the other side of his neck, causing Darwin to whimper again as his fangs elongated. He wanted to taste her. She pumped him carefully, tightening her grip and almost wringing his rod out. Her leafy scales moved on his naked skin and garments, wrenching and untwisting as she shifted her coils, all over again as he moaned.His body bucked, turning involuntarily against her shackling grip. He feared this would enrage her, but it didn't. It had the opposite impact: it was terrifying and erotic.She liked it. Her veins shifted to enable his reflexive twists to gain some
Darwin murmured. He was getting eager, clenching his thighs together automatically. Alicia hissed sensuously, her rich fragrance only marginally less sensual. "I can smell your blood boiling, I can smell your aroused soul, little vampire, just like what I smelled from the little sorcerer earlier—wanting it, wanting me." "I... I don't..." he began, unsure of what he was saying. He couldn't quite get what she was saying, but her voice was fascinating and alluring. He was in a trance; he understood, but he couldn't get himself away from her. "But don't you wish to enjoy the pleasure no dark creature can provide? What do you have to lose to get a taste of heaven and a replica of the manuscript? If you only accept, you will discover new passions." She slithered closer, her head brushing his hips, her eyes peering up into his. Her body loop softly nudged his back, her head rising in an arc again. Her movements were slow and deliberate, a lovely performance that soothed the senses. Nothi