Chapter 1
*This book has been written as a standalone novel so some events may repeat themselves. I tried to post this as a seperate book but after almost 2 weeks of waiting it is still not showing on the AS/ReadInk platform.*
**MYRA**
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I didn't want to be here. I didn't believe that werewolves and vampires could co-mingle; I'd seen too many wolves lose their lives to the carelessness of vampires. They didn't see us as their equals; they saw us as their next meal ticket. Alpha Damien had made a mistake, and it wasn't like him to make mistakes. He was careful and well-calculated, and he always put the pack first. This merger must have been a compromise the Alpha was forced to make with the Vampire King. A wolf would do anything for its mate, even if it meant sharing them with someone he loathed. Alpha Damien's mate Guinevere also happened to be "soul" mated, whatever the hell that means, to the Vampire King Vladimir. From the gossip around the pack, they were having wild threesomes; who knows the truth, though.
"Come on, Myra, stop glaring at yourself in the mirror. It's just dinner." My best friend Lucy chided me.
"Maybe our last meal." I rolled my eyes dramatically so Lucy could catch it.
"The war between the wolves and the vampires is decades old. And no one has been killed on either side since the war ended. It's about time our pack was combined." Lucy said while applying the last of her mascara, giving herself a once-over in the mirror.
I just shook my head at the naivety of my best friend. The last known reported death was decades ago. But how did we know that the vampires wanted to exist in peace? We only had the word of the Vampire King Vladimir. And as far as I was concerned, his word meant nothing. I owed him nothing.
"Are you going to dinner like that?" Lucy asked, giving me a once over. "What if you meet your mate tonight?"
I laughed at Lucy; she was such a romantic.
"Luce, I've met all the wolves in the pack. My mate isn't here."
"I wasn't talking about the wolves," Lucy mumbled, but I still heard her.
I chose to ignore her. I knew more and more wolves were mating with other magical species, but I refused to believe my mate was a blood-sucking vampire. Everyone else may have forgotten, but I remember like it was yesterday how the hunters came to attack, and the vampires did nothing; they sat back and watched as hundreds of wolves were slaughtered. The vampires could have stopped the hunters with minimal effort, but instead, they didn't spare us a second glance; they just went about their day like everything was normal. It was despicable. So many lost their lives that day, all because the vampires chose to do nothing.
I gave myself a once over before shrugging in the mirror. My appearance was just fine. I was dressed in my favorite pair of black ripped skinny jeans, and I had on a deep red tank top with black writing on it that said "BITE ME," and why yes, I chose the shirt specifically for this evening, pun intended. My outfit was finished off with a pair of red converse, and my hair was in a messy bun. I looked like me. If I did meet my mate, I didn't want them to see me as anyone I wasn't.
"Alright, let's go to dinner. I'm famished." I said, grinning at Lucy. She looked gorgeous; she had a little black dress that contoured her body perfectly, showing all of her curves. She'd left down her curly blond hair, which framed her face just so, her oval-shaped eyes now shimmered with smoky grey eyeshadow, and her lips were painted a matte red. Her cute little outfit was finished with dark red stilettoes that matched her lipstick. She looked like sex on wheels. If she found her mate tonight, he'd be one lucky S-O-B.
Lucy threw her hands up in the air, shaking her head at me, sighing in defeat, as we left the room together. "It's a good thing you look hot in everything Myra," She replied, rolling her eyes exasperatedly as we walked to the dining hall.
As soon as we entered the hall, I was hit with the most tempting smell. It made my entire body ache with want.
Fuck, my mate was here.
My wolf Jessica was going crazy in my head. She wanted to meet the person behind the smell.
I kept telling myself I had no interest in meeting whoever this scent belonged to, but my body was telling me something else as it started walking towards the smell.
I turned to tell Lucy I'd be back, but she was already engaged in conversation with someone I hadn't met. Shrugging, I wandered towards the scent, figuring if Lucy wanted to get in touch, she could mind link me. I was on the outskirts of the dining hall when I realized the scent was coming from the forest. Whoever this scent belonged to must've wandered off, leaving the dining hall. The urge to meet the person this scent belonged to grew stronger. I quickly walked out of the dining hall and sprinted in the direction the smell was coming from. My entire body was engulfed in the scent when I finally slowed down from my sprint.
I spotted where the smell was coming from. Perched on top of a dead deer was the vampire king Vladimir. I could see him feeding off the doe. I should've been repulsed, but I felt aroused watching him feed; I wanted him to sink his fangs into me. Feeling disgusted in myself, I forced my body to turn and walk away, I didn't want Vladimir to know I was there, but fate had other plans; as I went to turn around, I stepped on a stick, causing a loud cracking noise to echo throughout the forest. I watched as Vladimir jerked his head up, his eyes staring into mine.
I had been spotted, and I could tell that the deer hadn't satisfied his urges. He had a look of desire and hunger in his beautiful cerulean eyes; his pupils circled with red, giving away that his vampire was at the surface.
My wolf was fighting me; Elizabeth wanted to stay and meet our mate. I wanted to run; I shoved her down and forced my foot to take a step backward.
"Don't run," he whispered, his voice sounding like he was in pain, "If you run, I won't be able to control him."
I knew he was talking about his beast, his vampire side, but his excuse made me angry. He was the fucking King; if he couldn't control himself, how could he expect his people to control their beasts.
"Yeah, right," I replied snarkily, taunting him, "If I don't run, you'll still eat me. I can see your beast trying to take over even now." I crossed my arms, staring at him, daring him to deny it. Surprisingly he didn't try to deny it; he just stood up and started walking toward me.
"Vampire King Vladimir," I spat, throwing my hands up at the moon, cursing the Goddess Selene. "I bet you think you're fucking funny, don't you, oh mighty Goddess."
I looked back down from the moon, glancing at Vladimir; he stood right in front of me, his hands almost touching my face. Elizabeth tried to surge forward and take control, but I wouldn't allow it. I didn't want this filthy bloodsucker anywhere near me.
"D..D... Don't Tah..touch me." I hissed, watching his hand continue to rise, his fingers expertly pulling my hair out of my bun. I felt my anger increase at his familiarness with me; it was the strength I needed to push Elizabeth down.
"What part of no, don't you understand." I growled at him, "Don't you vampires have any manners? You're over a thousand fucking years old; I would've assumed you'd understand that No means No, Fangy."
He smiled at me, causing my heart to skip a beat, stupid mate bond. "My apologies Ангел (Angel), I won't take such liberties again. I just had to see what your hair looked like down."
I felt the sudden urge to reach out and run my fingers through his hair, but I fought the pull, instead choosing to roll my eyes dramatically at him, "I'm sure you won't, your highness."
I turned to walk away, cursing the mood goddess again for giving me a handsy mate. I bet Guinevere didn't mind all that attention from him; I could feel my jealousy rising at the thought. I stopped walking and turned to face Vladimir again, "Why would the Goddess mate us? You already have a fated mate; you have your Hybrid Wolf Queen; what more do you need?" I asked, fighting the urge to cry, overwhelmed by jealousy. Stupid mate bond.
"Guinevere isn't my mate, Ангел; she's the keeper of my soul; it's more like she's the missing part of me. Our relationship is strictly platonic." Vladimir expressed worry showing in his eyes.
"Hah," I snorted, "You're trying to tell me you haven't fucked the Queen. She's absolutely gorgeous, and you were alone with her for two weeks."
Vladimir's eyes slit, I could tell I had angered him, but I didn't care. "NO." He finally growled out, inching closer to me, "Does it make you jealous to think I so-called "Fucked the Queen," as you kindly put it?" He asked, making air quotes.
Goddess, he was so old. "No," I responded quickly, I was lying, and I hoped he wouldn't detect it. "I was hoping you were in a committed relationship with my Luna; it would've made rejecting you that much easier."
"You were going to reject me?" He asks, his eyes cast downwards, "But you don't even know me."
"I don't need to know you, Vladimir; the fact that you're a vampire is as good as any for me to reject you." I sneer at him, insulting his kind.
I was waiting for Vladimir's anger to show at my insinuation; I was surprised when instead, I heard him asking to take me out on just one date to prove he was different. My heart fluttered in my chest, stupid mate bond. My response shocked me even more as I agreed to just one date, my mouth talking before my mind could comprehend what I wanted to say.
Vladimir smiled at my response, "You know my name Ангел, but I'm afraid I don't know yours."
I paused for a second, deciding if I wanted him to know my real name. Eh, what could it hurt? Maybe if he knew who I was, what I was, he'd walk away. "My name is Myra. Myra Faerie."
I saw him grimace at my last name; he looked like he wanted to say more, but then his face contorted; Vladimir looked in pain like his heart had been ripped from his chest.
'We need all wolves to the packhouse,' I heard Damien's alpha command over the mind link, 'there's been a bombing in the dining hall.'
My heart raced at the news. Lucy was still in the dining hall. No, please, Goddess, don't take Lucy from me. She's the only person I have left. I quickly shifted into my wolf, running towards the dining hall. The entire hall was in ruins; body parts were scattered everywhere, shrapnel laced with wolfsbane covered the floor, the injured were in the corner crying for help, and the dead were everywhere. Elizabeth started sniffing around for Lucy's scent. We made it outside the dining hall on the terrace when I found her; she was under a part of the roof; Elizabeth nuzzled Lucy's arm, checking for a pulse, and she let out the most heartbreaking whine when there wasn't one. Lucy was gone; the only person left who cared about me in this world was taken from me; I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. Elizabeth turned from Lucy and took off running; we ran away from the hurt, from the anguish, from our mate, and from our pack. As soon as we found Lucy dead, Elizabeth and I decided we needed to leave; we needed to get away and start a new life; there was nothing left for us here.