Chapter 1: Silver knife
Note: This series is a darker werewolf series not following the usual "plot" of fated mates. (The first book is also more political).
This book is a bound edition and you can enjoy 10 in one.
Also be aware of darker elements such a described violence and abuse. This also involves possible cheating depending on view point.
-Octavia-
The seething sound as I held the knife in my hand couldn’t be mistaken. A wolf shall not touch silver. The words were so clear in my head as I tried to ignore the pain that was coming from my hand. I could see smoke leaving my skin as I clenched my hand even harder around it. The pain was almost unbearable, but it was training for me. The more pain I could take, the harder it was going to be to break me.
“Ah!”
I threw the knife away hard as I broke from the pain. I looked at my hand that had fresh blisters and wrinkles from where the knife had burned me. I smiled as I looked at it. It would take some time for me to heal but it only made me smile even bigger. This knife was exactly what I needed to get my revenge. I went further into the cave I was hiding in from the rain. I found the knife in the end of the cave. I had thrown it quite far. I picked it up and it started burning me again. I put the knife in a small pocket in my pants. Its shaft was sticking out from it so I could easily grab it when I needed it.
Everything must have a weakness. Therefore, a silver knife can only be wielded by a human – it was just a rumor I told myself. I might not be able to hold the knife for long, not even with gloves on, since it made a wolf sick just being close to it, but I only needed it for the final blow. I just had to make sure that the king would die even if I didn’t hit his heart. Silver poison was the most painful death or so I had heard and I wanted him to suffer because of the pain he had caused me. Even if it meant I had to die too. Some people believed that if a wolf used a silver knife to claim another wolf’s life, the person would die too, but it didn’t scare me. I didn’t mind dying if it meant I took the king with me. He had had the nerve to turn my father’s pack against him, making them swear their loyalty to the king and let him pass onto our territory. My father didn’t stand a chance, but the whole thing only proved my father’s words. You can’t trust anyone. Not even your own pack. In the end, you only have yourself. He was right. In the end, I only had myself. I had survived for many years on my own, training myself for this and now, on my nineteenth birthday, I was going to give myself the best present ever. The death of the king. His title was my father’s before. After the death of the royal family, my father was the closest thing to a king they could get. He was a distant cousin to the late king yet didn’t really trust anyone or anything around him and he knew the title would only bring him trouble. So he used all his time training me to be a warrior, so if I would one day have to stand alone, I would be able to protect myself. He must somehow have known that this day would come. Why else use so much energy in making me into a ruthless and deadly person? Now I had to avenge him. I was going to claim the life of the king and then, finally, my father could rest in peace.
I started packing my stuff. The rain had almost stopped and I had to hurry if I didn’t want to miss my chance for revenge. The king was leaving his safe walls behind and was going out to a foreign territory with only a handful of his trusted men to meet his queen-to-be. His queen’s father was a strong alpha and an old friend of the king. He is the one who helped the king to power because he had made a promise to be mated to the daughter once he sat on throne and his power was secured. Now it was time for him to keep the promise and it was my only opportunity to kill him. I stood at the mouth of the cave looking at the final drops of the rain falling down on the wet ground. I could feel my heart beating faster in excitement. It was time. I smiled as I quickly left the cave behind and ran fast through the woods.
-Valerio-
My fingers were drumming on the steering wheel as I drove myself and my men closer to Alpha Michael’s territory. I wasn’t really looking forward to what was about to happen, but a promise was a promise and I had to honor it.
“Nervous?”
I looked over at my Beta Garrett. He had a cheeky smile planted on his lips as he looked at me. His dimples were showing a lot when he smiled like that. It made him look like a boy when they showed up and I knew people often were fooled by that boyish look he had when he smiled, but it was a stupid mistake to underestimate him because he was deadly and could easily snap a person’s neck without warning. He was also one of the most loyal people I knew and that was why he was my beta.
“Why would I be nervous?” I asked as I looked at the road again. A small laugh left Garrett. He clearly found this whole situation amusing.
“Well, being mated isn’t something small.”
I just shook my head. It was all business. It wouldn’t even be a true bond that would be forged between me and Michael’s daughter Selene.
“And what would you know about that?” I asked, a bit irritated.
Garrett just shrugged, not really wanting to answer that question. He always had a soft spot for females and was easily fooled into believing they were his mates, but they never were. I usually would have to be the one trying to convince him otherwise, but it wasn’t very hard when the females he often chose were easy ones that only tried to hold his interest because he was close to me. When they finally met me, it was easy to see they didn’t have any interest in Garrett and they were quickly removed. He would always be gone for a day or so after removing the female, but when he came back from wherever he had been he looked like the same male I had known my whole life.
“It’s just business,” I said in a low voice.
“Maybe or maybe she is really your mate,” Garrett said as he looked out the window.
“I have met Selene before. She isn’t,” I stated.
Garrett didn’t really say anything after that. We both knew when you found your mate it was an instant connection and could not be questioned, but this reunion was better than nothing. A mate made you weak and I couldn’t afford that. I had to be strong and not give any of my enemies a chance to take me down. So I was pleased to have Selene as my queen. She was only making my position stronger as I would have a claim to her father’s pack after his death and her father’s complete loyalty until then.
It was clear when we crossed the border to alpha Michaels’s territory. The strong smell from another pack almost overwhelmed you when you crossed the different borders. It was a clear sign for rogues and unwelcomed packs to stay away. The road was dark as we drove closer to the pack house. The light from the house shone strongly in the dark. They only became stronger the closer we got and soon we found ourselves in front of the big mansion. I parked the car and I could see alpha Michael, his daughter and a few of his men waiting outside the mansion. He looked pleased as I got out of the car. Garrett exited the car and went over to me. Two more cars parked behind mine and four men came out of both cars. My third in command, Damian, had driven the car right behind mine. He came over to me followed by the rest of my most trusted men and warriors. I had chosen exactly them because they were all deadly and they were people I knew I could trust with my life. Everyone of them, maybe except one. I still had my doubts about him, but I knew only time would tell. I had only brought him along because I would rather keep him close where I could see him instead of worrying about where he might be or what he might be planning to do.
“Alpha Valerio!” Alpha Michael shouted happily as he saw me coming closer to the mansion.
He went down the stairs and greeted me. It was a sign of respect that he came to meet me like this even though it was his territory. I nodded politely to him and shook his hand. I looked up the stairs and met a pair of blue eyes that were watching me. She quickly looked away as our eyes met. She was clearly blushing and I couldn’t help but smile a little. She would be easy to control, I thought to myself, and probably very loyal and devoting.
“It’s good to have you here,” alpha Michael said as he started to ascend the stairs.
I had just taken a step when I suddenly smelled something in the air. It made me freeze in my spot and my heart started to beat faster. My temperature rose crazily, leaving my palms sweaty. My wolf woke up inside of me, suddenly moving uncomfortably. Something was wrong but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I looked behind me and saw my men looked the same as if they hadn’t smelled anything. They looked confused back at me.
“Alpha?” I heard Garrett ask me, but I didn’t pay attention to him.
I just pushed them side and walked away from them. The smell suddenly hit me again, which sent my wolf howling inside of me. What the hell was wrong? I turned around and looked at my men again. They still looked the same. Couldn’t they smell that sweet smell of a warm summer night like I could? It was fall for Goddess's sake. How could they not smell this heavenly summer smell? I suddenly felt a gust of wind and before I knew it, I had turned around at a surprising speed and held something small and fragile in my hand. The pulse was fast but the skin was smoother than anything I had ever touched before. Was this where the heavenly smell came from? As I looked at the small but clearly strong figure I held by the throat I was met by a pair of silver eyes that were shining with such a fury I had never seen in a person before, but despite the fury, I felt taken back. It was like my heart completely stopped beating and the whole world disappeared for a moment, so only the female in front of me and myself were left in the world. One word rung in my head louder than anything.
Mate
