OneNora Connolly Werewolves. They were on the subway, watching her. Nora could see them from where she was sitting. It was impossible not to spot them. There was three of them. All of them six feet tall. One had short, blond hair and brown eyes. The one in the center had long, brown hair that went past his shoulders. And the one on the right side of him had short, red hair and freckles. All of them had yellow eyes. It was unusual to see them on the subway. Werewolves tended to live long lives which meant they usually had lots of money and lots of power. So why they were on a New York subway made Nora nervous. She didn’t like the way that they were looking at her either. In particular, the one in the middle, who was looking at her like… Like he wanted to eat her alive. Nora was a human. She had no connection whatsoever to werewolves. There was no reason that they should be paying attention to her. Sh
TwoRoman Eliot “Fuck!” Roman exclaimed as he watched the girl hurry off of the train. He should have gone after her. But he didn’t want to scare her and she already had more than enough reasons to hate him and his kind. From behind him, his best friends, Ares and Aion, laughed at him. “That went well,” Aion said dryly. The blond werewolf was always quiet and reserved normally, so for him to say something meant that he’d really fucked it up.His two friends sat next to him, and redheaded Ares patted him on the shoulder. “Buck up, buddy. You’ll get her next time.”“I’ve been searching for her for years. This is the closest that I’ve ever gotten. She keeps on running.” Roman ran hand through his long, brown hair. “I don’t understand what her problem is. Most girls find out they’ve got a werewolf for a mate and they think it’s a fairytale. This girl sees us and runs.”“Her parents were killed by one of our kind.” Aion glanced over at him. “That could
ThreeNora Connolly “I’m sorry, you saw who on the subway?” Winter Jefferies squealed at her; her wide, blue eyes filled with excitement.Nora sighed. “It’s not that big of a deal.”Winter laughed. “Yes, it is. That’s Roman FUCKING ELIOT. The Prince of Werewolves. He’s The Werewolf Prince of New York.”“Werewolves don’t have royalty, Winter,” Nora reminded her. She sat on the couch next to her best friend. She was tired, having walked all of the way home rather than risk another subway encounter. “He’s just next in line to be Alpha. And it was terrifying. Him and his guards---”“Wait, Ares and Aion were with him too? Those aren’t his guards, Nora. Those are his friends.”She shrugged. “Whatever. Either way, they were there too, and it was like they didn’t want me to escape. I ran. I just got off of the train and left.”“But they knew who you were, you said?” Winter titled her head to the side as she focused on her.Nora clenched her hands into fists. “Yeah, they knew who I was. He sa
FourRoman Eliot“Well?” Roman opened his eyes, and looked into the face of Glinda North. The exceptionally pale, pretty woman smiled at him. “How’d your little summoning go?”He smirked. “She’s coming.”Glinda smiled. “Good.” The witch waved her hand, making the candles flicker out and the lights turn on by themselves. “It’s about time. You’ve been chasing this girl for far too long.”He sighed. “You’re telling me.”“Was the subway the first time that you’ve confronted her?”He nodded. “Yes.”“What do you think was different this time?” Glinda asked.Roman shrugged. “I’m not even sure. It was different this time. Before, if I got close, it was like she ran away. As if she sensed someone following her. But this time, I was able to get close.”Glinda paused, and tilted her head to the side. “That’s strange.”“Strange how?” Roman asked.“It sounds like there’s something that is alerting her of what’s happening. Maybe something magical.”“You think?”Glinda nodded. “You’ve been in the sa
FiveNora Connolly “Are you seriously scared?” Winter asked. Nora looked up at the massive sky-scraper apprehensively. The Stellarum was one of the oldest buildings in New York, and almost as tall as The Empire State Building. The windows were made of gold, and when the sunlight hit it just right, it shone brightly. You could see it from practically any point in the city “Terrified,” Nora answered. The golden tattoo with Roman’s name inked on her skin had yet to leave. From everything Nora knew about mate marks, which was what the tattoo was called, they never did. Roman would have one of his own, too, so she supposed that was something of a comfort. She hadn’t known what to expect by going to see him. So, all she’d brought with her was her purse. Robin reached out and squeezed her hand. “You’ll be fine.” “Right.” Nora peered up at the building again. “What do I do?” “Ring the bell?” Robin suggested.
SixRoman Eliot He could feel her the minute that she was in the building. He paced, anxiously in his study. The office walls were made of mahogany and there were bookshelves that lined the walls. He had his laptop set up in there and should have been answering e-mails but all he could focus on was her. He could hear her heartbeat pounding against her chest. She was nervous. Something about that excited him. He didn’t want her to run but the thought of her being nervous because of him left him unable to sit still. There was a knock on the door. “Roman?” Aion called. “Yes?” he asked. Roman wondered if Nora could hear the excitement in his voice. He hoped not. He wanted her to take him seriously, as someone that could protect her. “Nora Connolly is here,” he said, “and she brought a friend.” Roman almost chuckled. He knew that where Nora went, Winter did too. He had his own suspicions about Winter and h
SixRoman Eliot He could feel her the minute that she was in the building. He paced, anxiously in his study. The office walls were made of mahogany and there were bookshelves that lined the walls. He had his laptop set up in there and should have been answering e-mails but all he could focus on was her. He could hear her heartbeat pounding against her chest. She was nervous. Something about that excited him. He didn’t want her to run but the thought of her being nervous because of him left him unable to sit still. There was a knock on the door. “Roman?” Aion called. “Yes?” he asked. Roman wondered if Nora could hear the excitement in his voice. He hoped not. He wanted her to take him seriously, as someone that could protect her. “Nora Connolly is here,” he said, “and she brought a friend.” Roman almost chuckled. He knew that where Nora went, Winter did too. He had his own suspicions about Winter and h
Seven Nora Connolly It was a silly, little, demand. To want to have her best friend stay there. But Nora had already lost someone to a rogue wolf once. She didn’t want to think of what would happen to Winter out by herself now that she was the mate of a werewolf. Let alone someone as important as Roman. “It’s important to me that Winter is safe. The best way to do that is to let her move in here.” Roman shook his head. “I can’t allow for that, Nora.” “Why not?” she asked. “Is it because she’s human?” “No. There are plenty of humans that live here with their mates. But Winter doesn’t have a mate, and that could cause trouble. The kind that could end up with her hurt. If you’re truly worried about her safety, I could assign her a security guard.” “A security guard?” she repeated. “Who would that be?” “Aion,” he said without a beat. Nora raised an eyebrow. “The werewolf with zero personality?” He nodded. “He might not be the one you go to for a fun time, but he is the one that y
Forty-six:Roman Eliot "Just, for the record, I hate high heels," Nora told him, "And don't get used to me going to fancy events." Roman smirked at her. "This is for your cousin." "I know." She smiled a little. "Are you comfortable with this?" "I should be asking you that. Your family were the ones that were originally in charge of this coven. You're the one that's giving up something." "I'm fine," Nora said, "I've still got my magic. I've got you. Winter's going to make a great High Priestess. We just need to work together to make sure that Merrick doesn't come back and try to take over again." "You don't feel like running?" Roman asked. It had been a little over a month since they had managed to make Merrick disappear. He hadn't heard from Glinda, but he suspected that she was doing everything she could to try to save him from himself. That was what you did when you were in love with someone. It was
Forty-five:Nora Connolly Nora didn’t listen well. When you spent your time fending for yourself, listening to what others wanted was usually the last thing on your mind. Roman dressed hurriedly and was running down the stairs. Nora, who was becoming more comfortable with her magic, snapped her fingers and was dressed within seconds. She ran down the stairs with him. “Nora!” someone was screaming her name. It took her a second to register that it was Winter. And that was only because she saw her being levitated up in the air against her will. “Traitor!” this was shouted by Merrick. He was dressed all in black, his long coat swirling around him as wind filled the house, rattling it to its core. “Did you really think you could steal my power?” “Merrick!” a voice from behind him called. Nora turned and was startled to see Glinda standing there, a look of desperation in her eyes. “Merrick, stop this. This is not your destiny!” Me
Forty-fourRoman Eliot Potions took a long time to make. Which meant that there was at least two days for them to wait as it simmered. No one knew they were there yet so it was time to take an opportunity for them to lay low and figure out a plan. It also gave Roman a chance to connect with Nora again. “Are you still feeling good about this?” Roman asked. The two of them had found one of the rooms, and were staying in there. There were even some old clothes that they’d changed into. “Yes,” said Nora, “I think making Winter the High Priestess makes a lot of sense. She knows The Coven. I don’t. And I think…I think it will give her and Ares a chance to work through some things.” He smiled at her. “It’s nice to see you understanding how important mates are now.” She smiled back. “Well, it helps that I’ve got a pretty great one that comes calling whenever I’m in trouble.” The two of them had crawled into bed. The room they were in
Forty-threeNora Connolly She was going to help Winter take back The Night Coven. There was still a lot about magic that she didn’t understand. But she liked the idea of helping her cousin get what was rightfully hers. The Night Coven wasn’t her world. She’d stumbled into it by accident. Even though her family had been part of it, they had run from it. And she had to think that there was a reason for that. Still, she would do whatever it took to help get it back from Merrick. Nora stood in front of the grimoire, staring at it. It was an old book. With pages that had been weathered from time. The name Connolly was emblazoned on it in silver, with stars that surrounded it. She reached her hand out and let it hover over the top of it. “Are you okay?” Roman asked. Nora bit her lip. “I’m fine.” He was holding her right hand, and stroked it lightly. “You don’t sound fine.” “After everything that happened with my parents
Forty-twoRoman Eliot Roman stared. He knew ghosts existed but he had never seen one up close. Werewolves were more about keeping magic in line. Less about using it. Although since he was part warlock, he wasn’t entirely sure now if that were the case. What did a werewolf with magic do? More importantly, could a coven and a pack exist together? The idea of humans knowing about the Powerists was that it should have made life easier for people. Not bring more conflict to them. “Is that even possible?” Roman asked. “Witches and werewolves working together? I always thought we were supposed to keep them in line.” The old woman shook her head. “The idea was, when we revealed ourselves to the humans, that there was safety in numbers. If we could help each other, then there was less chance that they would try and hurt us. And by presenting a united front, together we could actually make progress happened. A lot of this stemmed from your mom, Roman. Elaine
Forty-one:Nora Connolly “I’m sorry, you want to what?” Winter looked at her completely baffled. “Swap my powers with you.” Winter tilted her head to the side. “You don’t want magic?” Nora shrugged. “What am I going to do with it? I mean, I barely know how to use it and I’m a werewolf’s mate. There’s no reason for me to have magic.” She was surprised when Winter looked at her with rage. “You have no idea what you’re talking about!” Nora raised an eyebrow. “I figured this would make you happy. I don’t want to be with Merrick, you don’t want to be with Ares. I’ll give you my power. This fixes everything.” She shook her head. “No. That power was given to you for a reason, Nora. You can’t just give it up. I know that you don’t want to be with Merrick, but being with the High Priest is an honorable thing. The Goddess wants you to work with Merrick to help the world.” “Then why was I mated to Rom
Forty:Roman Eliot Even though Roman was a werewolf, magic was something that he had never truly understood. Werewolves were about nature and instinct. Some aspects of their life were magic---like Endymion, the god of the moon that gave them their powers. But using magic itself wasn’t something that Roman had any clue about. That was why he went to Glinda. She was the one that could find lost things, or make a potion to cure a common cold, or enchant someone who was annoying him to get turned into a garden gnome or something else equally annoying. What he didn’t realize was how much weirdness went into it. At the moment, he was sitting in an empty room of The Stellarum. His mom was currently lighting candles, and smudging the room and there was some kind of circle of herbs around him like he was a chicken about to be cooked. After she had explained that Roman was part warlock, and related to The Night Coven, he had been dragged to the empty room by her. Then, t
Thirty-nine:Nora Connolly Nora didn’t know what she expected when she was at her grandmother’s house. Especially considering that she hadn’t known that there was a family home to begin with. Her memories of being a kid involved moving from city to city whenever something went wrong in her parent’s life. Although now that she thought of it, she couldn’t remember what it was that had gone wrong. “Ready to go in?” Winter asked. “This place has been vacant for years, and it only opens with blood magic from a direct descendant.” She looked up at the house again. It towered over them, a large, Victorian thing that was pink and black with rainbow glass windows. She didn’t think she would ever be ready when it came to facing her past. But there was no point in running from it. She was standing right in front of it. Even as she stood there, the houses magic made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Come in, come in, it seemed to whispe
Thirty-eight:Roman Eliot He tried to remember what he knew of his mom’s past. He knew that when she first found out she was his dad’s mate, she hadn’t bene happy about it. She’d been in love with someone else. He also knew that she came from some place in upstate New York and that her family hadn’t approved of the whole thing which was why they hadn’t seen them in ages. He knew his mother. But at the same time, he realized, he didn’t know his mother. He knew Elaine Eliot, the pack Luna. He couldn’t say anything about Elaine Eliot, the girl, or Elaine Eliot, the young woman. She had always been this fearsome force that he knew better than to make angry. “Are you going to knock?” Aion asked. He turned to glare at his friend. “Yes, I’m going to knock.” “Okay, because you haven’t done it. And you know that she’s the one that has the clue to finding Nora. Do you not want to find her?” “Of course, I want to find her!” he snarled.