Leah would kill me when she found my note. I hadn’t spent much time with her recently - I had been so busy - and I was standing her up on our raincheck again. More than likely, anyone would consider me a bad friend. She would never understand how everything I hid from her, every wall I kept firmly in place, was the best way I could be a friend to her.
She was my friend, I would never deny that. But this was one of the reasons humans and the supernatural couldn’t be friends. If she found out, she would be targeted by the supernatural to avoid our existence getting out. That, or she would go insane.
If it was just me, I would trust her to keep my secret. But, it was a whole world right in front of her, dancing on the peripheries of her sight, she couldn’t know about.
I packed carefully. Every set of shoes I packed had heels. Wide legged pants, skirts, and leg warmers that would cover just how significant the heels were. My signature graphic tees and leather jackets. Anything that screamed the antithesis of royalty. Last but not least, I snagged the hazel colored contact lenses I kept stashed but avoided wearing at all costs. I breathed out a grounding breath. Different hairstyle, different eyes, different fashion choices, different height. If I could avoid shifting, no one would ever know it was me.
I slipped out of the apartment as silently as I could, locking the door behind me. If I was lucky, Leah wouldn’t call demanding answers for a while yet.
My poor S10 protested starting. I hadn’t been starting her much recently, and it was an early nineties truck. She needed a bit more care than my knowledge, time, and budget allowed. But, it was a manual - also known as theft proof in the current age - and had a bed and was the only thing I’d been able to find in my budget. I could afford to replace her now, but I had grown attached.
I rolled through town, wondering if I would ever see this place again. I was not dumb, there was a very good chance I was my own worst employer and had accepted an assignment I wouldn’t come back from. The opportunities to be discovered were high, and the likelihood that I would fail was astronomical.
But I had to try.
And then, even if I succeeded, there was still the last wildcard. The family that replaced mine could quite easily be worse than my father and whoever his chosen heir were.
A feeling I spent years squashing down tugged at my heartstrings the closer I got to my former home. The more I recognized the scenery, the more the homesickness grew. As much as I hated it, there was nothing I could do to change the fact that I grew up here. I would always be attached. To the land and its people.
Maybe that’s why I had such a vendetta against the man currently sitting on the throne.
With what I knew, they were far from safe.
You see, you could take the girl out of the pack, but you couldn’t take the pack out of the girl.
And a pack was so much more than a group of people.
I was within territory, but still about half an hour drive from the town when I heard my truck start to sputter.
“No, baby, c’mon,” I encouraged, trying to shift it into a better RPM range. I just needed to nurse her into town, where I could fix it.
It was of no use, though, as it stalled out and coasted. I groaned, hitting the brakes and arguing with the faulty power steering to get it as far off the road as I could. Roads in and out of the pack weren’t highly trafficked, so they were narrow. I checked my phone, hoping I could call a tow truck, but true to Vermont fashion, there was no reception. The mountains were amazing, except for this. I’d be here for a while waiting for help.
Of course, the easy option was to just shift and run the twenty or so miles into town and get help there. But, then I’d lose all the aspects of my disguise I so desperately needed, and someone would surely notice the auburn furred runt running through the territory. They’d either worry about a solitary pup, or recognize me. So, I simply popped the hood, got out of the truck, kicked the tire, apologized to my baby, and went to investigate.
I stared dumbly at the engine. No reception also meant I didn’t have access to my number one mechanic’s assistant, instructional videos. I knew she had a nasty relationship with her serpentine belt, though, so I had a sneaking suspicion that would get me back on the road.
As I was walking around to the toolbox in the cab, though, a much, much nicer truck coasted to a stop behind me. I grabbed my sunglasses, pulled them over my eyes, and examined the driver carefully. Tinted windows hid what I needed to know, though.
My stomach plummeted when the driver got out.
“Well fancy seeing you here,” an incredibly familiar, silky smooth voice crooned.
I removed my sunglasses and studied him more carefully. The lycan’s eyes glinted mischievously in the sunlight, and a smirk teased the edges of his full lips. I had truly been hoping he would be less attractive when I could see him fully, but I was sorely mistaken.
“You can carry on your way. I’m not a damsel in distress.”
The hint of a smirk grew. “Never assumed you were.” He held out his hand. “I’m Isaac. Isaac Ambrose.”
I paused before accepting it, returning his firm shake. He did not give any indication he registered the electricity sparking between us, but he held my hand in his a little too long. He turned it over, examining the callouses, before letting me go. “Maise.”
“Maise?”
“Just Maise.”
He cocked an eyebrow, but didn’t press further. There was no way I’d reveal my last name. “I looked for you last night. Did you not shift to get away?”
I allowed just the hint of a smile. “What would make you think that?”
“The path you took,” he told me. “Smelled like you went places a wolf wouldn’t fit.”
A full sized wolf, yes.
“Didn’t think you’d be on your feet today, either,” Isaac continued. “But, a rogue like you that I met in a place like Djinn and Tonic, I assume you’ve got a witch or warlock friend that helped patch you up.”
I could allow him that bit of honesty. It wouldn’t hurt anything. “You’re not wrong.”
“I didn’t think getting a straight answer out of you would be that easy,” Isaac laughed.
I was mesmerized by the sound of it, how carefree his expression was. I chastised myself. Knowing full well thoughts like this would be my downfall. I had no mate. He had no mate. This was just a simple attraction I could not fall victim to. “You’re simply asking the wrong questions if an answer is so hard to come by.”
The lycan laughed again, sending a shiver down my spine. “Well then, Just Maise, would you mind if I assist with getting this thing up and running? It’s cold out.”
I sighed, but conceded, letting him look at the engine while I retrieved the parts and tools I suspected were necessary.
A beater truck like this, and you quickly learned the things that were best to keep in a toolbox in the back.”
“Serpentine belt, I think,” Isaac called from under the hood. “I can give you a ride into -”
“I know,” I stated, cutting him off. I held up the spare I carried around.
Was it astonishment that flashed through his eyes? Pride? I couldn’t tell. Sure, girls weren’t your first candidate for your stereotypical car guy, but I liked getting from point A to point B, and the only way that was going to happen was if I could get myself out of my own problems.
“Will you at least let me repair my ego and replace it for you?” Isaac asked.
“Fine,” I huffed, feigning frustration. In this instance, I was all talk and no walk. Between the difficulty of reaching the part that needed fixing with how… vertically challenged… I was and the fact that I was already not confident in my skills, I was more than happy for him to do me this favor.
He was racking up quite the list of favors I owed him.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t find out how to maximize those favors.
Isaac turned to the engine bay and set to work. He kept glancing up, as if he had something to say. I avoided looking at his face, though, or else I could do something stupid.
“What happened to your eyes?” he finally asked.
I turned to look at him fully, glaring at him. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Hm,” he shrugged. “Well, you should be good to go.”
I nodded, thanking him quietly, before scrambling back into the cab and slamming the door. I really hoped he didn’t notice how frantic I was to get out of his presence.
I grumbled the entire drive into town, following my knight in shining armor. I was not a damsel in distress, but he had saved me twice. I wasn’t even shocked when we pulled into the same inn. Would’ve been difficult for us to end up at separate ones seeing as there was only one. I parked as far away from Isaac as I could, but even dawdling across the parking area didn’t work. The fucker waited for me. We didn’t speak as we walked in, but he held the door like any gentleman would. It was hard not to greet Shelby with the familiarity of an old friend. She had been my nanny once upon a time, and my brother’s nanny before that. She joined her sister in running the inn when I grew old enough to no longer require a full time babysitter. I maintained my stoney expression and kept my eyes downcast in response to her warm smile as we walked in. If anyone could see through my disguise, she topped the list. “Welcome to the Royal Moon Pack!” she chirped happily. “Room for two today?” Isa
Isaac POV Innocent and naive were not words one would often use to describe the vixen before me, but they suited her perfectly. The real her, the one she refused to show the world. I knew more than I’d ever admit about the woman, but I didn’t know Maise. The last time I spoke to her, at the tender age of sixteen, her hair had been freshly cut and she had just bought her first leather jacket. It had yet to be soaked in a traitor’s blood or torn by a delinquent’s feeble attempts at escape. Us lycans, we had a name for the rogue vigilante. If retribution for your crimes fell into her hands, you experienced the curse of the rogue. But I had a sneaking suspicion she was a bit more than a rogue. Tracking her down in Djinn and Juice had not been a mistake. Talking to her, however, was unintended. I knew she worked at Djinn and Juice - whether it was behind the bar or picking up her next clients, it had been her mainstay since our first conversation all those years ago. Since that
I slept peacefully. Possibly the most peaceful sleep I could remember. My room was infused with the most intoxicating scent I had ever smelled, and it was attempting to lull me back to sleep. I buried my face deeper into the pillow, thinking of how I would commend Shelby on her scent choices if we were on speaking terms. It was familiar, and warm, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it truly was. The potent musk of man, for sure, but that would make sense - most rogues were men. Of course she would choose something masculine. But something itched at the back of my mind, begging me to place the scent. As the fog of sleep slowly burned away from my mind, the itch became a scratch, accompanied by the pound of a headache. A hangover headache. I groaned to myself, the night coming back to me. He had been here. He had been here for a while, and if my memory was correct, I begged him to stay with me. Tentatively, I reached across the bed, relief hitting when it was confirmed that I
I was still in shock. This was not the plan. Steaming food sat in front of me, but I wasn’t even paying attention to it. I ate, but didn’t taste anything. I was sitting next to the Lycan King. The Lycan King had fixed my car. The Lycan King had saved my life. I wanted to fuck the Lycan King. Conversation amongst the three men happened around me, but I didn’t participate. I needed to process. This was bad. Very bad. I had to get far, far away from him. Surely, the Lycan King would want my head on a stick just as much as the Alpha King did. Faintly, I heard the name Maise pop up in conversation. I didn’t know if I was supposed to respond, but I didn’t even know what I should be responding to. “Hey Zac, I think your girl is broken,” Kaleb said, prodding me with the handle of his knife. “She’s not broken,” Isaac sighed. “She doesn’t like authority, and I hadn’t told her I was the king.” Kaleb poked me again. “Hey Maise, I asked you a question.” “What?” I said dumbly. He bit
It was pure luck I avoided the castle. I knew it would happen eventually, but I wasn’t quite brave enough or confident enough in my anonymity here to risk that just yet. If I could make it a few days with no one recognizing me, then I’d feel better about putting my neck out like that. I kicked myself for not going with a more dramatic dye job or plastic surgery or something before coming here. I had been brash, jumping in with both feet before I truly thought things through. Isaac had continued on to the castle, but Kaleb and Bram had followed me back to the hotel. They explained away walking with me by claiming we were just going to the same place, but I had a feeling I had guards. It didn’t shock me. Wolves followed instinct. The same instinct that told them to be cautious of rogues was the one that implored them to protect the weakest links. Women, children, and elderly for starters, but runts were infamous for becoming the focus of a pack’s protection. Even if they hated a r
I had determined it was a wolf, and with my newfound knowledge of identifying them, a lycan at that. This time, though, the beast was frantic. It paced anxiously around the clearing as I settled into the meadow, and the second I had succumbed to my wild within, its eyes were on me. Mate. This was a figment of my imagination; it couldn’t be real. No matter what Bram said about lycans being able to find mates, I refused to believe it. This was just some fever dream of a lust driven girl. Maybe I had caught sight of Isaac’s eyes when he saved me that night after leaving Djinn and Juice and I had just replicated them in my dream the first time I dreamed up these eyes. The second I thought that name, though, the wolf hidden by the shadows took a step forward, allowing me to get just a glimpse for the first time. Mate. The shadows traveled with it, continuing to shroud it from my sight. No, it was black. Pure, pitch black. And huge. And mine. The wolf before me was much large
I pounded on Blair’s door incessantly. She wasn’t particularly good at decrypting prophecies, but she was a far cry better than me, and she would at least not have the personal attachment to it. She took forever to get to the door, and I was about to break it down when it finally swung open. “Oh, it’s you,” she sighed, letting me in. “I thought you were over at the kingdom?” “Not the concern right now, Blair,” I snapped. I slammed the book on the kitchen counter, open to the page that had my prophecy. “What is this?” She sauntered over and took a glance at the page. “Oh, that. That’s the story of how you supposedly destroy the world.” I motioned emphatically for her to continue. Blair sighed and sat down, writing out the prophecy. “There’s a lot of speculation about it,” she told me, “and I am on the side of it’s not a bad prophecy.” She turned away, heading to the kitchen to make a pot of tea. I was sure it would be laced with something to keep me from freaking out too much,
Isaac POV Bram and I had joined Kaleb and Rudi in their suite for the evening. It was not my first choice of places to be, but Maise had not answered when I knocked at her door, the same as the night previous. I glared down at the last can of a local beer I had and the unopened envelope that had been shoved underneath my door when I returned from another meeting with the Alpha King earlier today. I had a sneaking suspicion the girl was right, and that king of hers would be absolutely no help. The first time I sat down with him was more of a social visit, to alert him that lycans were here. It was not a necessity by any means, but he perceived it as the warning that it was. He was being watched. Today, however, I attempted to start in on discussions. Emphasis on attempted. The last surviving Ambrose was one of few werewolves who recognized just how much lycans still had their hands in werewolf law and life. Prior to this visit, our last conversation had been when I caught wind of