Ember's Curse (Prime Wolf) (2 page)

Waves beat up against a shore composed of uncountable pieces of crystal sand. The unnatural grains sparkled in the sunlight making me squint.

"Do you like the world I built for you?"

I turned at the sound of Robby's voice behind me, but all I could see were miles of glistening trees. They were all made out of precious gems, stretched out in both directions. A sharp pain pierced my head and I had to force myself from falling to my knees. I rested my hand against a clear amber trunk. The tree was cool and smooth to the touch. I tried to use my own power to draw my consciousness back to my true reality but the magic was inaccessible. It seemed like it was packed in a little box and put away on a dusty shelf, stored in the recesses of my mind.

"What kind of creature are you, my Venus?"

I pushed myself off the tree and it shook. Emerald leaves drifted to the ground making a tinkling sound as they landed, one after the other, all around me.

"You brought me here to ask me that? I'm a werewolf, asshole," I snarled. "Put me back into my body now."

Laughter rocked the imaginary world Robby created and brought with it more shooting pain that plunged inside my head. I covered my ears and squeezed my eyes shut while I concentrated on finding my power. I saw a glimmer of it at the end of a long tunnel and sent my wolf chasing after it.

"In due time and only after you tell me the truth about who and what you are."

"What I am is no secret. I am one of the cursed." I managed to explain over the pressure building inside of me. My wolf came back to me and she was glowing bright with power. I had never been in this kind of situation before so I was clueless about what steps I should take next.

A phantom hand brushed against my stomach and traveled up and over my breast. I batted at it but nothing happened. I just looked like an idiot hitting myself.

"I have met other wolves like you before, even dined on one or two, but you smell different from them. Your blood holds more life. It draws me to you, makes me want to sink my fangs and my dick deep inside of you."

The situation had just gone from irritating to downright fucked up. The last thing I needed was a crazy vampire lusting after my blood. I opened my mouth to say something, to tell him how bat shit crazy I thought he was, but realized it was futile. He enjoyed keeping me trapped in his little world and wasn't about to free me from it anytime soon. It was up to me to get my ass out of this mess.

Here goes nothing,
I thought. If my wolf was pulsing with power then it stood to reason that by shifting into her I would be able to tap into it. She filled my skin immediately, taking over the use of my body. Light spilled forth and I relaxed, falling naturally into it, as my body shifted from human form to beast.

When my eyes opened, I was no longer trapped in Robby's gem encrusted world. I had awoken on top of a whimpering brown werewolf. The taste of copper filled my senses and blood spilled from the corners of my jaw. The wolf cried out again and this time I released his neck and stepped away. I had come back to my body just in time to witness the after math of a gruesome battle between myself and the wolves from earlier. I was relieved to see that I had apparently won. The wounded wolves scrambled to their feet and without a second look in my direction took off down the alley.

Chapter 2

I shifted back to my human form. It felt magnificent to be in my real body again, less hollow. I ran my hands over my shirt, taking the extra time to smooth it out. The feel of my beloved jeans hugging my hips was euphoric and I came precariously close to succumbing to my world famous happy dance...almost.

"Good evening, Ember," came a familiar voice that echoed down the dimly lit alleyway. There were only two light posts used to illuminate the back area of our building, and like always, one of them was busted out. The one lonely beacon that remained barely gave off enough light to see ten feet in front of me, so I had to squint to make out the small feminine form strutting slowly my way.

"What are you doing back here, Sylvia?" I asked the second half of my pack’s Alpha pair. She was the last person I ever wanted to run into, especially in a dark alley where I had just chased away two wolves from another pack. I was still on probation from last year’s little stunt and she would be all too pleased to rat me out to Tommy.

My hand brushed up against my thigh as I started walking to meet her part of the way, but I stopped when I felt something wet coat my fingers, I was bleeding. One of the wolves must have used a silver weapon on me before we shifted to fight. That's the only thing that would keep it from healing. It figured they’d stoop that low; the Redwoods were nothing but weak bullies.

I shifted positions so I stood more sideways, hiding my wounded leg. I just hoped that would be enough to cover any evidence of the fight because there was no way I could mask the scent of the blood soaking through my pants. Luckily, judging by the bored look on her face, I felt pretty confident that my secret would be safe.

"Is that anyway to greet your leader, Ember?" Sylvia asked. She came to a stop a few feet in front of me, cocking her hip and curving her body into a lazy pose. She raised her perfectly manicured hand up in front of her face, taking her sweet time, inspecting each one of her red tipped nails. After several seconds of silence, she lifted a thinly curved eye brow and stared me directly in the eyes. I couldn't help the growl that escaped from between my lips. My wolf was itching to get out, she was eager to accept the blatant challenge issued from the other she-wolf. I somehow reined in the urge to rip her to shreds, and with due respect to her position in the pack, I broke eye contact first, averting my gaze. I could hear the purr of satisfaction in her voice from winning the small victory when she finally began to speak.

"It doesn't matter why I'm here," Sylvia said with a sneer. "You answer to me...and since we are currently in the business of asking questions, do you mind explaining to me why I saw two Redwood wolves running away from you like their tails were on fire?"

Ah, shit,
I thought to myself,
she saw everything.
The only question now was how she was going to use this information to her best advantage.

"I was just clearing the bar of riffraff...it's what I do," I explained, briefly catching eye contact with her in the process. It didn't matter if she was mated to the Alpha when it came to physical power. I had her beat tenfold on that. But the law was the law in the hierarchy of the wolf pack. I had to listen to her. The Alpha and his wife were to be obeyed at all times. So with her being my leader, and me still being stronger than her, it left a relationship between us that was far from civil.

She flinched a little at the reminder of my dominance and had to force her eyes from dropping to the ground in submission. But when she returned her attention back on me, she did so with a cocky grin.

"I will let Tommy deal with you and your defiant behavior later," she said with a dismissive wave. "Right now I have other matters to discuss with you."

"I'm listening. What's up?" I asked.

"It's about something I've been working on for a very long time, Ember," she said grinning ear to ear. "Tommy and I have found you a husband.

 My mouth dropped open and my head buzzed with confusion. Did she just say what I think she said? A husband? I watched her facial expressions carefully, looking for any signs of jest.

"You can't be serious, Sylvia," I said while trying to stay composed. "You already know that the prime females wait for their true mates. It’s an unwritten law." I couldn't believe I was actually having this conversation.

"Oh yes, I'm aware of your family’s curse. But really Ember, what your ancestors did to piss off some vengeful little witch centuries ago is no concern of mine." Sylvia began to pace back and forth. She stopped every now and then to check if she still held my attention. She didn't have anything to worry about. I had her completely in my sights, and I was having a hell of a time keeping my claws in.

"Did Tommy agree to this?" I asked.

"It took some doing, but after years of begging him to get rid of you, he finally listened. So yes. To answer your question, he knows."

So Tommy was behind this ridiculous idea as well. Great. I had to figure out how to get myself out of this. There was no way in hell I was going to chain myself to some domineering Alpha wolf. But first, I had to get away from this woman before I lost my cool. The idea of spilling some blood all over her silk designer dress was becoming all too tempting. I was about to open my mouth to make an excuse to leave when she lifted a round black disc about two inches wide and pushed the silver button on it. Ten seconds later, a black sedan crept towards us down the alley. Its headlights blinded me as it pulled up behind Sylvia.

"We are throwing a small party at the pack house tomorrow night. The announcement of your engagement will be made then." Her light brown eyes traveled slowly over my ripped leather pants and half tucked in Care Bears T-shirt that read "Love-a-lot" before she said, "And for Christ’s sake Ember, could you at least make a small effort with your appearance? We did tell your intended that you are somewhat tolerable to look at. I know it's a stretch, but do your best."

Sylvia stepped around her tall, well-muscled chauffeur who was holding the door open and disappeared into the car. As quickly as she appeared, she was gone. I stood there for a few more minutes, stunned. It felt like I had just been run over by the bitch train. There was no way in hell that I was going to give up on finding my heartmate.

I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it out so I could look at the little bear on it. "Don't listen to that heifer. You’re cute as a button."

I thought back to the person I was a hundred years or so ago, when at fifty years young, I was still considered a cub. Daydreams of the wolf that my elders assured would someday unleash my stunted passions, took up most of my waking minutes. I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of the males of our pack. It was so easy for them in comparison to us females. They received a boost of extra abilities from the vampire blood that was transferred to them down our ancestral line, just as we did. Some of them inherited more than others, but not one of them had been struck with the downside of the curse. They could develop feelings and love with whomever they chose. The plague of never knowing if they'd experience the proverbial butterflies, or sweaty palms, in the presence of the one person they currently yearned or lusted for, was reserved just for us women. My bitterness over the unfairness of it had lessened over the years and I'd come to learn and adapt to this damnable curse. Regardless of its seeming futility, not once did I ever give up hope that I'd find him, and I never would.

Chapter 3

Have you ever felt like you were dreaming even though you were wide awake, walking around, completely disconnected from everything and everyone around you? That's how I felt walking back into Haven.

"Here's your cut for the night," Nathan said, pushing a stack of tens and twenties at me. "We made $350 each. Not too shabby considering the entertainment up and left the stage in the middle of his act. It cleared the place out."

"So Robby scampered off, did he? That's too bad," I said, sitting down next to him, "I was looking forward to taking a bite out of his ass."

"I'm going to assume there’s something you haven't told me."

I nodded then laid my head in my arms. I had them crossed on top of the bar; they made a great replacement pillow.

"Robby rolled my mind tonight, and the dickhead had the nerve to dress me in a damn string bikini while he was at it. The bottoms were nothing but butt floss," I groaned.

Nathan blinked at me and stared. I waited a few seconds for him to digest what I had just told him. It was highly illegal for any supernatural beings to use their powers against another living being. If I were to register a complaint to the Adelphi, the organization that policed our community of ’others’, he could be either jailed, or depending on the extent of the crime, terminated for his indiscretions.

"That vampire weasel," he said, finding his voice. He looked over me with a critical eye and stopped cold when he noticed the tear and blood stain in my jeans. "Did he do that to you?" Nathan growled.

I shook my head. "Nope. That happened when my body was on autopilot, during my scuffle with the two werewolves from earlier. I'm pretty sure one of them stabbed me with a silver knife."

I slid my hand over my now smooth skin. It had taken long enough, but my body had kicked into gear and healed the nasty wound.

"Did you kill them?" he asked expectantly, his face turning an odd shade of red.

"It would have served them right if I had." I sat back up. "It's getting late. You ready to get out of here?"

He picked up the cash and shoved it into my hand. Before letting go of it he said, "You earned every penny of this. If you hadn't dealt with those wolves tonight I would've had to."

Nathan pulled his hand back and walked behind the bar to grab his jacket. He picked up my sweater and purse while he was at it and tossed them both at me.

"Let's get out of here and grab some food before your growling stomach drives me crazy."