1. Mébh
Packing wasby far the most difficult part of preparing for a trip. Don’t get me wrong, I was super excited, but it was also impossibly hard deciding what outfits to bring and how many. It didn’t help that I had never been on a trip like this before—I’d never been out of my werewolf pack’s territory before, for that matter. I really didn’t know what to expect when I visited my older sister, Molly, and her fated mate, Nikos, at his vampire clan’s headquarters.
We’d been planning this trip for a couple months now, and I counted down the days in anticipation of the tiny bit of allowed freedom I was being given. I was desperate to see more of the world, anything beyond the pack where I’d been forced to grow up too fast.
Molly was like a mother to me, since she was the one who had to raise me after my mother ran away from the pack shortly after my birth, and our father died in a territory battle within a few months of that. I appreciated everything my older sister did for me, but she tried her hardest to coddle me despite the fact that we were werewolves. She now lived with her fated mate, though, and I was ready for her to stop insisting on me holding her hand for everything. I was practically an adult now anyway.
The pack I grew up in was very different from the current pack. Our previous Alpha, Luke, was a power-hungry tyrant. He had the pack in constant territory wars, which made his territory the largest werewolf holding on Earth. Luke swore fated mates didn’t exist—that they were a fairytale. That was how he controlled all the marriages within our pack. But fated mates most definitely did exist, and we knew this for certain now, thanks to our new Alpha, Gabriel, who recently took over.
A knock sounded at my bedroom door and my aunt Becki appeared around it. “Are you ready?”
Rosy-cheeked with brown eyes and hair, she didn’t look a day over twenty-six, as all werewolves stopped aging in their twenties—mid for females, late for males. My aunt had been keeping an eye on me since Molly discovered her mate, Nikos, about two months ago. Aunt Becki lost her beloved husband—one arranged marriage that went right—in one of Luke’s last battle plans. Staying with her now helped give Becki purpose again, and it gave my sister some peace of mind that I was being watched over. I didn’t think I needed it. I just turned eighteen, and I could take care of myself. My sister was so overprotective. So what if my Wolf isn’t exactly controllable at times without Molly’s help? I was working on it, especially since she now lived elsewhere.
I just finished with my pack schooling. We graduated out after we turned eighteen. Most of the kids in my cohort were gearing up for pack warrior trials, but I never had any desire to join the warriors—our pack’s most prestigious group. They were the Alpha’s chosen warriors who fought to protect the pack. I was more of a liability with my uncontrolled Wolf than an asset. I’d never make it. Luckily, there were many other jobs that needed filling within the pack. I had always planned on joining my sister and working in the kitchen until Molly’s recent move. Molly had been the pack’s head chef and an omega—she had no shifting ability. Since finding her mate, her Wolf had come out of hiding.
Under the previous Alpha, omegas were made to be like slaves, working the most menial jobs, and Luke constantly verbally and physically abused them, encouraging many pack members to do the same. I hated it. Every time I saw someone hurt Molly, I wanted to fight back and protect her, but I wasn’t strong enough. I planned to be Molly’s sous-chef; I’d learned enough watching her cook day in and day out, and I could protect her from the bullying. Nobody would have messed with her anymore with me around, being a fully shifting werewolf and an uncontrolled one, to boot. But everything changed for the better when Gabriel took over the pack and then again when Molly met Nikos. Now Molly was the chef for the Polaris Vampire Clan, her mate’s clan, and most importantly, she was happy. Henry, another Polaris clansman, became chef for the pack in her place, and quickly mated into it as well.
All I wanted, now that Molly was with her mate, was to leave the pack and explore more of the human and supernatural world alike. I’d been sheltered from it all my damned life and the internet outlet wasn’t enough to sate my curiosity anymore. I wanted my own experiences. I wanted stories to tell. And I wanted to find out what really happened to my mother.
This trip was a start.
This trip was also an opportunity to get more information out of Molly about my mother. She had been Molly’s stepmother and Molly had always said she would tell me about my mother when I was older. Well, I was planning on calling her on it this next week now that I was of age. She had amazing stories of our father she used to tell me when I was just a pup trying to go back to sleep after a nightmare—usually someone, mainly Luke, harming Molly and there was nothing I could do about it. I knew she didn’t know my mother well or long, maybe a year compared to the forty she had with our dad before he was forced by Luke to remarry. But there had to be a good reason why she left. I wanted to know why and what happened to her. Maybe in exploring the world, I would discover she had simply found another pack to take her in and she was somewhere safe and happy. Was it too much to hope that I could actually talk to her? But the more likely reality, I refused to believe, was that she died soon after running. Lone wolves didn’t survive long. Werewolves needed packs.
Looking down at my already overstuffed suitcase, I threw the little sunflower sundress I had in my hands on top of the pile and started trying to zip the thing closed.
“I think I am ready,” I said to Aunt Becki, straining a bit as I struggled with my overstuffed bag.
Visiting a vampire clan in an old mountain mine with winter on its way wasn’t exactly sundress appropriate, but I didn’t care. I was just so happy to be leaving the confines of the pack for a few days and seeing a tiny sliver more of the world. Maybe I could convince Molly to let me go with Xander or Sam on patrols or something. I knew they had a helicopter that Aramis piloted and were big on surveillance. Molly had told me all about each member and their typical duties.
Most of all, I couldn’t wait to see my sister! She was my closest confidant, and I missed her constant, steady presence terribly. Daily phone calls and a few weekend visits were barely enough, but helped me transition. She had worked long hours in the kitchen for the pack all my life, but she had always carved out time for me somehow, helping me with my homework as she cleaned up after dinner in the evenings. I practically grew up in that kitchen. I knew she struggled a lot raising me—I wasn’t the easiest pup to raise with my rage issues—but I was so thankful she was still making time for me. Now I understood how precious that time was.
“They will be waiting in the Alpha’s office,” Aunt Becki reminded me.
“I know,” I drawled sarcastically as I picked up the stuffed duffel and checked my phone’s notifications.
I was catching a helicopter ride—my first ever—with Cassius, Jenny, and their pilot, Aramis.
My sister, Molly, was not the only werewolf within our pack to find a fated mate within the Polaris Clan, despite how rare vampire pairings were. Jenny Mason, the strongest female pack warrior, was mated to Cassius Polaris, Commander of the Polaris Clan. My cousin Faelen, Aunt Becki’s son, was also part of a triad—the first ever to exist—with Chef Henry and Ember, a new member of the pack, who was a previous blood slave in a bar in Portland, Oregon. The triad resided in the main pack settlement, with Henry being the executive chef and representing Polaris here.
Cassius and Jenny were meeting with Gabriel about the tenuous partnership between the Polaris Clan and the pack. Henry’s recent actions with Faelen regarding Ember’s rescue, when she had been kidnapped by the Silvertons, had caused quite a bit of drama. Plus, Ember was pregnant with twins, one of which was a werewolf-vampire hybrid—the first of her kind. Vampires could not procreate; however, Henry had somehow managed the deed. Madelyn, the pack’s resident witch, and Melody, the faerie—Ember’s best friend from the bar and self-proclaimed midwife—assured us it was a magic-based pregnancy.
Aunt Becki wrapped me in a big hug on the front doorstep. “Now you behave yourself. Don’t you go getting into any trouble.”
I rolled my eyes. What did she expect me to do? I was visiting a heavily guarded, teched-out vampire clan. It wasn’t like I was going to Cancun for spring break. I doubted I would even be able to get my tan on.
“I will. Thanks Auntie. See you in a week.”
When we split apart, I hefted the duffel over my shoulder and left the little cabin’s front porch. It was dark outside, the winter light getting smaller and smaller this time of year. It boded well since I was meeting vampires who needed it dark to survive.
As I strolled through the woods, my Wolf stirred within me. She loved the fresh forest air, and I allowed her to indulge for a moment. I always hoped letting her have a bit of freedom like this would help me in controlling her, but ultimately it made no difference. When I got angry or emotional, she rose.
It wasn’t too much of a walk and then I was approaching the pack house, a big log-cabin-style building that served as the meeting house, dining hall, Alpha’s office, a locker room, and a common area to hang out in. The field across from it was where the pack gathered to run together on the full moon. A big gray helicopter, blades churning, occupied that space now.
I entered the pack house, where the familiar big fireplace and a half circle of overstuffed blue couches greeted me. There were a few pack members sitting around, visiting with one another, but the scent of vampire permeated the air. The dining hall and kitchen were off to my left. Either side of this main space was bracketed by a staircase along the wall, both leading up to the second floor. That’s where I headed since that’s where the Alpha’s office was located.
When I reached the imposing double doors on the second floor, I swallowed and paused. I caught the distinct sound of raised voices coming from within, and I wasn’t really sure what to do.
Should I enter and interrupt?
Should I just stand here dumbly and wait for them to finish?
As it turned out, I didn’t have to wait long for the meeting’s dramatic culmination.
The doors were thrown open and Henry, in his black chef’s coat with his long, curly hair in a bun behind a bandana, stormed out, narrowly dodging me.
“I need a better plan if the supernatural world discovers Ember’s pregnancy,” he yelled over his shoulder. “Faelen and I won’t compromise when it comes to protecting her and the pups.”
Cassius stomped out onto the landing after him, clad in his usual black fatigues and black shirt—Polaris’s general military uniform—with a massive sword sheathed on his back.
“Don’t be like this, Henry,” he pleaded, but it didn’t matter. Henry was already storming down the stairs, heading back to the kitchen, presumably to continue with dinner prep.
Jenny, whom I’d gone to school with until she graduated some years back, stood in the office doorway looking at her mate, having also followed the two males. “Give him some space. He’s dealing with a lot right now.” She kept her voice quiet and calm, despite the tension in her body.
Cassius nodded, but still looked troubled as he stared after Henry.
Jenny hid her unease and smiled reassuringly at me. “Hi Mébh. We are just finishing up and then we can go.” She had always been one of the nice ones to Molly, so I liked her.
“Cool,” I replied, and followed the two of them into the Alpha’s office.
Our Alpha, Gabriel MacTirelock, sat behind a massive mahogany desk that dominated the space. He wore his typical pristine, expensive black suit that matched his hair and intensity. There were a couple of leather chairs and a coffee table in front of his desk, but I wasn’t here to sit and be evaluated, thankfully. I was simply here to catch a ride with those he was meeting with.
The Alpha’s ice-blue eyes briefly landed on me as I entered. I gave the proper head bow to indicate his position, but my heart raced nonetheless. He was a massive male, over six and a half feet tall—easily the largest and strongest of the pack. As a direwolf, he was ancient and very powerful. Werewolves had descended from direwolves ages ago, which made them a primordial species, larger, faster, and stronger than their werewolf counterparts, and Gabriel was one of very few left in the world.
A petite redheaded she-wolf stood next to him. Victoria was several years older than me, like Jenny, but we had grown up in pack training together. But then Victoria got sick, a very odd thing for an immortal. Her Wolf went dormant because of it. Luke, the previous Alpha, had his eye on marrying her before, but he mistakenly thought her Wolf had died within her during the illness. So then he tried to marry her off to Gabriel to settle some debts the pack owed Gabriel’s agency—an agency that specialized in keeping the supernatural world a secret from the human population, something Luke was in violation of a lot. Luke got the land he coveted, and in return, the agency kept the werewolf turf war on the down low. Victoria and Gabriel miraculously turned out to be fated mates, and when Luke—having gone stark raving mad—challenged Gabriel for Victoria, Gabriel ended him and his terrible reign. The pack had been elated.
Gabriel and Victoria led us now, and Gabriel infused his own vast wealth into the pack to make up for Luke’s squandering of our assets. Our previously falling down and dilapidated buildings were repaired. The kitchen storeroom was fully stocked again. Gabriel switched tactics to defense around our vast pack borders as opposed to warmongering expansion. No more territory wars. No more continuously losing pack and family members in pointless battles. The pack warriors spent much more time running defensive patrols along the borders now, rather than battling, thankfully.
“We will discuss this issue more later. Until then, we have somewhat of a plan in place,” the Alpha intoned in his deep baritone, his long fingers steepled in front of his face. His penetrating gaze locked onto Cassius, who reentered the room behind Jenny and me.
“Yes, we will be discussing this more.” Cassius nodded curtly, his expression pensive. “I’ll speak to Henry and hopefully I can get him to calm down enough to see reason and compromise. He has to realize at some point the news of his hybrid child is going to get out to the supernatural world. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when, and we need to have a plan in place for that. He doesn’t want to accept that.”
“No, he does not.” Gabriel sighed and shook his head sadly.
Cassius gave a final nod to Gabriel, then slipped his hand into Jenny’s and turned from the Alpha.
The meeting was officially over.
“Say hi to Molly for me, Mébh!” Victoria demanded with a smile just for me as she pushed her mane of red curls back. She was a close friend of Molly’s ever since her stint working in the kitchens when her Wolf went dormant.
“I will,” I assured her, grinning back.
Victoria was precocious and somehow tamed the wild beast that was Gabriel’s direwolf. She made an excellent Luna wolf and took her job of mothering the pack very seriously—maybe too seriously. She checked on me frequently and was the one who brought Aunt Becki over to stay when Molly had been kidnapped by Nikos, before we knew they were fated. I didn’t mind her checking in, but just like Molly, I was finding her coddling a bit stifling.
Cassius and Jenny exited the office, and I followed in their wake while texting. Two pack friends had texted asking if I had left on my “big adventure” yet. I was texting back and barely looked up from my phone until we were boarding the chopper.
The helicopter ride was crazy cool. Cassius let me sit up front in one of the pilot seats next to Aramis. I could see everything around us as we flew, and Aramis explained what we were seeing. We traveled over forests, lakes, and large and small human towns. I was fascinated. The vibrations from my cell notifications weren’t even enough to distract me from these views, my first of the real world beyond the main pack settlement.
Cassius and Jenny discussed their meeting with Gabriel in the cargo hold over the din of the helicopter blades. I didn’t pay much attention and only caught snippets, but I didn’t share their worry. The Alpha was legendary within the supernatural world, and there was no way anybody would try to harm Ember or her unborn pups while they were under the pack’s protection. Ember’s triad was its own mini pack of sorts, but being on Gabriel’s land, he still considered them under his protection.
Aramis was flying us straight for a rather large and imposing waterfall. He wasn’t pulling up or turning. The closer it got, the more fear coiled inside my belly.
“Wait—” I shrieked.
At the last second, the water cut off with a hatch opening out, allowing the helicopter to fly through unscathed. Molly wasn’t kidding when she’d said Polaris headquarters was inside an abandoned mountain mine. She had failed to mention the waterfall.
Aramis landed the bird gracefully in a huge stone hangar bay, snickering at me while the adrenaline was still singing through my veins. My Wolf stirred angrily, not knowing if fight-or-flight mode was needed. But then I saw my sister standing there waiting, and I couldn’t help but smile as joy shot through me. I grappled with the many seat buckles and let out a growl of frustration. My fangs and claws instantly began growing the more frustrated I got.
“Let me help,” Aramis offered with a smirk, having already easily unbuckled himself. He leaned over, picked out the buckle points quickly, and unlocked them.
“Thanks!” I sprang from the confines of the auxiliary pilot seat and ran for the side door to the helicopter which Cassius had just barely slid open. I barreled through and lunged into Molly’s waiting arms, nearly tackling her as I hugged her tightly and inhaled her scent. She smelled like home and my Wolf calmed.
My sister and I, though only half sisters, looked very much alike. We were about the same height and shared the same black hair, face shape, and fair skin. The MacPhersons were known for their fierce green eyes. Faelen had them. Molly had them. And, well, I had one of them. My eyes were two different colors. One being green, the other a bright blue that didn’t shift to gold when my Wolf rose. It was something that had driven me nuts my entire life, and my classmates never failed to make fun of me for it. I hated being so different. I suspected it was something I got from my mother, but Molly never answered that question. I had no grandparents left on my mother’s side either to know or ask about my heritage. Worst of all, I’d never even seen a picture of her.
Barking filled the air from the two large mastiffs that ran to greet Jenny and Cassius—well, mainly Jenny—as they got out of the helicopter behind me.
“I missed you, Moll,” I sighed into her neck.
“I missed you, too, Mébhy.” She hugged me harder before releasing me. She pulled back from the hug, holding my shoulders, and looked at me with a serious expression. “Welcome to Polaris headquarters. Before you get too comfortable, we have some rules to go over.”
I rolled my eyes as loudly as possible.
She clucked at me and shook her head. “Roll your eyes all you want, but the rules are in place to protect you!”
Only Molly would turn a happy reunion directly into militant lockdown—that’s exactly what I had been trying to get away from. She was way too overprotective, and I wished she would just chill. I was an adult now, technically, even if I hadn’t stopped aging yet. I could take care of myself—or I would if she ever gave me the opportunity.
She launched into explaining that Madelyn had visited earlier and placed magical barrier protections, then she began going over the many different safety protocols Polaris had come up with in case of any emergency. While she was explaining, she led me through what seemed to be a lit-up labyrinth of old industrial mine tunnels. I paid her words little attention, instead focusing on the tunnels around me as I tried to keep my bearings. My Wolf was not a huge fan of being this far underground in a new place. She wanted to know where the exits were.
Finally, Molly stopped and opened a seemingly random door, then stood back. “This is your room for the week,” she announced.
I passed her cautiously and stepped into the space, only to let out a gasp. The room was larger than the whole of the cabin I grew up in. There was a seating area around a fireplace roaring with a lovely fire. A wooden four-poster bed was toward the back of the room, and it had been adorned in pink frills—a Molly addition specifically for me, if I had to guess. An open door to the right looked like it led to an en-suite bathroom, also massive compared to every bathroom I had ever known. Polaris had to be loaded for this kind of luxury to be found in an old mountain mine. Mercenary work had clearly treated them well over the years, though they were each hundreds of years old, hailing from the Middle Ages. Molly really was taken care of with Nikos.
There was a knock at the door and Molly went to answer it. It was none other than the vampire himself holding my stuffed duffel. “I think this is Mébh’s,” he said brightly as he entered the room.
I eyed him with mistrust. Nikos had kidnapped Molly when they first met, and while she told me that over the past few months she had only fallen more in love with her mate, I still didn’t know him very well. The first time we had met, he tried to kidnap me, having mistaken me for Molly. I may have kicked him in the nuts for it. It was before I knew who he was, honest! Molly had suggested this trip was an opportunity to get to know him better, but I didn’t have very high hopes.
“Thank you, Nikos,” I said as pleasantly as I could muster as he set the bag down on the bed across the room.
“Nikos wanted me to remind you not to knee him in the balls this time.” Molly smirked.
“No promises,” I snapped, and let my Wolf blaze in my eyes in warning as I glared in his direction. At least my blue eye glowed with my shift, even if it didn’t change color.
“I’ll take that as my sign to leave you both to catch up.” He swooped over to Molly, giving her a quick kiss and then he was gone, shutting the door behind him.
“I do hope you try to get along with him this week,” Molly said pointedly with a glare.
I was instantly full of guilt.
Molly deserved happiness with her fated mate, especially after everything she had to do to raise me alone and as an omega, all but a slave, within the pack. I owed it to her, honestly, but I missed having Molly to myself and didn’t relish having to share her with Nikos this week. It was my week with my sister; he owned all the others now. It wasn’t fair.
“I’ll try,” I said begrudgingly.
“Good. Now let’s get you settled in.”
Molly helped me unpack my duffle and made fun of the majority of my outfit choices. I changed into the sunflower sundress I threw in last to celebrate being on my first vacay ever, just to spite her. Afterwards, we went to the dining area so she could start preparing a meal.
Vampires could eat food if they wanted, typically doing so for pleasure, as they only received nutrients from drinking blood. The unmated vampires consumed only bagged blood, which wasn’t as nutritious as drinking directly from the source—only Cassius, Nikos, and Henry did since they were mated.
The dining area was a large space with a huge, rectangular wooden breakfast bar complete with industrial-style stools. There was a television mounted on the wall showing some sport with sticks that I wasn’t interested in. The kitchen was separated by a Dutch half door. I happily leaned against the bottom half to check my phone while Molly began clanking around in the kitchen after jokingly handing me a virgin mimosa—so basically an orange juice—in a fluted glass. I glowered at her and set it aside. I’d had booze before at plenty of pack gatherings, as the pack was rather liberal with alcohol. Molly knew this and was just being ridiculously protective. Full moon forbid I be tipsy in case of a random attack.
I rolled my eyes and dropped them to my phone. I replied to a few texts and searched my socials. Nothing particularly exciting. I was doing the most exciting thing of any of my friends by going on this trip. Basically everyone else was either still in school or preparing for warrior trials. I snapped a selfie with my virgin mimosa and posted it.
Soon enough, the scent of cooking food met my nose while Molly asked about how things around the pack were going. I immediately began telling her all about Chef Henry’s recent menu choices. Fish instead of the werewolf preferred rare meat. I was really just trying to get a rise out of her at his changing of the food choices from what she preferred to cook. At least she had the decency to humor me with mock disgust. She was more than happy now cooking for the Polaris guys and Jenny instead of the massive pack; she loved the change of pace.
Nikos strode into the room with an air about him and interrupted us. He palmed my head and messed up my perfectly done hair like the worst big brother ever. I nearly growled at him, my Wolf equally displeased with his bold treatment. Fixing him with a glare instead, I tried desperately to smooth out my locks—not that anybody from the pack would be seeing me looking like this, thank the Moon Goddess. I would not be taking any more selfies now.
“Hey, so have either of you met a demon before?” he asked with false cheeriness while meeting eyes with Molly in the kitchen behind me.
“Noooo,” Molly replied deliberately slowly, looking alarmed. “I can’t say we have ever met one.” I knew her look and tone meant she was holding back how royally pissed off she was. Overprotective Molly would not permit another supernatural near me if she had anything to say about it. She had purposefully chosen this visit to fall perfectly between full moons to avoid the forced shift and all its drama.
I was curious now, though. A demon? What were they like?
“Well, you get to now,” Nikos declared. “We have a demon ally who will be here shortly.”
An ally?Demons typically kept to themselves in their own dimensions and were relatively rare in the supernatural world as far as I knew.
Molly was beside herself, glowering dangerously at Nikos and struggling to form her rebuttal. Her eyes glowed golden as her Wolf rose at her anger. It was a newer sight on Molly. I was just happy her ire wasn’t focused on me as she seethed.
Nikos’s expression was apologetic as he shrugged. “This wasn’t planned—he just showed up on our security radar. He helped Cassius free Jenny from the Hell dimension a few months back. We trust him. It will be fine.”
Molly looked agonized, but before she could start arguing, Cassius entered the dining area. The hulking supernatural male that ducked into the room following him drew my attention immediately, and my heart flip-flopped in my chest. My Wolf stirred excitedly within me. Movement like I’d never felt before. My wolven instincts were going haywire.
This male would have given Gabriel a run for his money. He stood nearly seven feet tall, not including the massive, lickable black horns that protruded from his forehead and curved back to form a ram’s horn with several lethal-looking points on each side of his head. His handsome facial features were human but sharper somehow, more defined. He had angelic golden-blond hair, and I wanted to run my hands through it just to feel if it was as soft as it looked. He was wearing a pair of torn jeans that conformed to his strong, muscular thighs. A flannel shirt over a hoodie with thick shoulders fit all too well, and a pair of massive black boots finished off the demonic lumberjack look perfectly.
I felt like fanning myself. The demon was drop dead gorgeous, and he was fully aware of it. There was a responding telltale flutter in my belly that settled between my legs.
The scent of burning wood filled my nose and reminded me of pack bonfires that were lit in the winter months prior to the full-moon pack runs. I instantly loved that smell more than anything else in the world.
“This is Gray,” Cassius said, introducing the demon without much preamble. Then Cassius pointed at each of us in turn to continue the introductions. He indicated Nikos standing next to me. “This is Nikos, my brother.” He pointed at Molly. “That’s Nikos’s mate, Molly.” Finally, he got to me. “And that’s her younger sister, Mébh.”
I met stormy-gray eyes, and my Wolf whispered the last thing I ever expected to hear: mate.
I had grown up believing fated mates did not exist. I’d expected to be forced into an arranged marriage at some point until very recently. Gabriel had explained that mates truly did exist, and the pack was stronger for every mate pair that was found. The connections the pack had gained through Jenny, Molly, and Faelen’s mating with Polaris clansmen had been another massive benefit.
I thought I would have years of waiting and searching for my mate ahead of me, like so many others. Molly is fifty-six, and Cassius and Nikos were born in the twelfth century. I never expected to find my mate so soon in life, though it wasn’t unheard of. Jenny and Victoria had each found their mates while in their early twenties.
As I stared slack-jawed at the very handsome though formidable-looking demon, my Wolf howled for joy and my heart raced. My eyes tingled, signifying their color shift.
This demon was mine.
Fate had decreed that we were meant to be together.
Suddenly, my world tilted on its axis and this male, my mate, was the most important thing. Nothing else mattered.
I was about to stand, but I realized the demon now looked shaken. His big body seemed to quake, and what I could only assume was alarm registered in his now silver eyes—an indication of his demonic shift beginning.
I only knew the basics when it came to demons. I’d learned a few things in pack school but had also heard Molly mention Cassius and Nikos’s take on them. When angels were cast out of heaven, they became fallen angels, or more commonly known as demons. The pious Polaris brothers believed them to be cursed, but that was just their medieval Templar speculation. Demons had the ability to reanimate dead mortals, teleport—called misting—from in and around their private Hell dimensions, of which there were several, and all had a unique magic-based gift, a relic from their angelic days. Their horns varied based on the race of the demon and how powerful they were. Nobody really knew what their wings looked like: black or bat-like? Just like angels, it seemed as though they could hide them by making them invisible.
Gray had a massively powerful aura. The Polaris vampires oozed the vampiric power of age, and Gabriel had an ancient direwolf aura, but this was completely different. This was more mysterious, and a little sinister. He was definitely not of this world.
He looked away from me, back toward Cassius. When he spoke, I swear I felt his deep, raspy tone in my nether regions, but his words didn’t make sense to me at first. “I need to go. Something’s come up.”
Wait, what?
The demon abruptly spun on his big, booted heel and backtracked from the room, ducking under the doorway and disappearing. I stared after him dumbly, lost and unsure what I was supposed to do. This wasn’t how meeting your fated mate was supposed to go. You met, you kissed, you did some other naughty things to claim one another, and then you lived happily ever after. There wasn’t a part where one mate backed out and ran for the hills.
My fangs enlarged unchecked as my Wolf started to prowl in our intense confusion at our mate’s abrupt departure.
Was I that undesirable? Or maybe he didn’t feel the connection like I did?
We were different species after all, so maybe matehood was different for demons compared to werewolves? There seemed to be some differences for Molly and Nikos, being werewolf and vampire fated together.
But now I was paralyzed, staring after my departed mate, unsure how to proceed. My Wolf picked up on my spiraling emotions and raged inside me. My control over her began to slip as my anger rose.
Molly glanced my way and seemed to understand instantly that my control was slipping, her eyes growing wide.
“He’s mine, Molly. That demon is my mate!” I rasped out around growing fangs as my Wolf pushed to take me over fully.
That’s when the intruder alarm blared overhead, and all the lights suddenly went out.