Prologue
Sky
Being the Alpha of the Howler pack is a goddamn nightmare.
I might be a hybrid between a werewolf and an incubus, but I'm not at full strength since I have yet to find my fated mate. And me not running at full power is a tragedy because this city is cursed with rogues, vampires, and other crazy monsters. It's seriously a different fight every single night.
I f*****g hate it.
If I had not been the Alpha and not cared so much about my pack, I would have left this city long ago. Preferably on the saddle of a motorcycle while driving into the sunset, never to return to this cursed place. There hasn't been a single night when I haven't been injured since I became the Alpha.
I'm serious.
I broke my rib yesterday, but luckily it has healed since my recovery time is scarily fast. But it still f*****g hurt, and I don't get a break; tonight, my head is pounding from the vampire venom boiling in my veins.
The venom mixed in with my blood feels foreign. It won't kill me, but it makes me painfully uncomfortable.
I bark into the night. "I can't believe that vampire managed to break my arm AND bite me!" I think my ego hurts more than my arm.
A growl leaves my lips, and I inwardly groan when the pounding worsens. Part of me wants to lie down and die. I'm limping forward, and the only thing that keeps me going is telling myself I'm soon home.
Almost there.
I can see the roof of my house, and I sigh in relief.
So close.
The cold grass tickles my feet, and I'm glad the neighborhood is sleeping, or Mrs. Alexander, the street's gossip lady, would have something to call the press about when seeing me walking over her lawn entirely naked. That woman hates me, but I would probably bite her head off if she came at me now.
I'm not a bad guy, but I'm too exhausted to deal with a human. I spent the entire night fighting some rowdy vampires, and now at sunrise, I'm desperately trying to make it home without being seen. If the other neighbors saw my face right now, they would probably call the cops. Dried blood—not my own, covers my skin, including my face.
I need a shower so badly...
Once the backside of my house comes into view, relief fills me, but it doesn't last. Once I see movement in the window, my bad mood returns. Someone is inside my home. I share the house with my mom, but the smell isn't hers. It smells like a human, and I clench my jaw, remembering what my mother said yesterday.
"Sky, I won't live here forever. And since you don't have time to cook your own meals and take care of yourself as the Alpha, I've hired a private chef for you. She is a human, but I hope you can put your disgust for them aside. I don't like humans, either. They are weak, but they know their food, and this one will work around the clock."
A snarl starts in my throat. "I can't believe my mother already hired that chef behind my back! How did the chef scum even get into my house? Did my mother hand her a key?!"
My hackles rise at the thought. A human, and a woman at that, will be a pain in the arse to deal with. Lord. I still can't believe my mother hired a freaking human. Wasn't there anyone else she could hire?!
I have a serious distaste for the entire human species—my whole family dislikes them, and for a good reason! Humans are weak and useless and don't possess a single bone of courage in their bodies.
And now I'm supposed to live with this human? Hell no. I have to fire the private chef my mother has hired...
I enter my house through the backdoor. I'm entirely naked after shifting, but I'm covered in vampire blood—perhaps I should shower before dealing with the chef? I want to fire her, not give her a heart attack—
My entire body freezes at the sight of the woman standing right before me with a bowl and whisk. It smells like eggs, and she is wearing a blue and white apron while staring at me.
Dark blonde hair flows down from her head, and green eyes the color of green apples peer into mine. Her body isn't thin, but has the perfect luscious curves and s**t—the mate bond hits me so hard that all my blood rushes down to my c**k. It's a disaster!
The end of the world is here because I'm fated to the very creature that I hate—a human! But that's not even the worst part! Humans sometimes can't feel the mate bond, which means I would be seen as a psychopath if I ever revealed that I crave her scent and taste!
I continue to stare at the woman, who is frozen until suddenly blinking and dropping the bowl on the floor. "OH MY GOD, WHY THE f**k ARE YOU NAKED?! AND WHY ARE YOU COVERED IN BLOOD? AND WHY THE HECK ARE YOU HARD?! ARE YOU SOME SORT OF PERVERTED MURDERER?!"
That voice... that voice is so familiar... wait. This woman sounds exactly like that girl who used to babysit me in the past! That neighbor who was a little older than me... her name is on my tongue.
My eyes widened into saucers. "Miss Morris?"
That is the last thing I say before I'm hit with a baseball bat right in the head and end up on the carpet.