The shower served the purpose, rinsing the latest fatalities blood off of Zade's skin, but as usual, he never really felt clean; his wolf made sure of that.
Zades' strong hands pulled the muck out of his hair, the blonde mess plastered to his head as he tilted his face directly into the spray.
When had things gotten so damn hard?
But deep inside he knew; April Ramsey used to be his best friend, it was no secret growing up that Todd had harbored a major crush on her, and a part of Zade reveled in the knowledge that April liked him more, she was clearly clueless about Todd's feelings for her.
As they all grew together through the teenage years Zade often found himself watching April, the way she moved, her gentle kindness, she wore her heart on her sleeve, and Zade had wondered what it would be like to have her as his mate?
Unfortunately, they were in vastly different leagues; April's family were laborers within the pack, her mum helped out at the library and her Dad worked as a mechanic for the packs fleet of vehicles, while his parents were the Alpha and Luna of The Vengence pack, one of the most ruthless packs in America.
Zade and his twin sister Arial were groomed from an early age to understand the difference in Pack ranks, and April's family were well below them.
April's birthday happened four days before his own, and the moment she turned 18, she had come to him, with her heart on her sleeve and a smile on her face, declaring that they were fated mates; at first, he hadn't believed her, after all, Alpha's are usually mated to another Alpha blood or strong Beta blood so their strengths would complement each other, but when Zades 18th birthday rolled around, he felt the pull towards her, seeing April in a completely different light, finally opening his eyes to the stunning woman she was.
Until his father pulled him aside and ruined everything.
Syris O'Connor gave his son a choice, reject the weaker mate, which would probably kill April, or accept her and forfeit any right he had to take over as Alpha of The Vengence pack, signing Aprils death warrant as Syris promised to kill her in front of everyone, to set an example for the rest of the wolves about the dangers of inter rank matings.
Either way, Zade would lose her, so he took the only option he could; knowing that April harbored an inner strength that rivaled most pack warriors, he trusted that if he made her hate him enough, when he rejected her in front of the pack she would embrace that hatred and survive the severing of the bond.
Sighing he turned the shower off and grabbed a towel, the bathroom was heated and werewolves core temperatures meant that the cold was never really an option but nevertheless Zade found himself shivering as he swiped himself dry.
How was he supposed to know, that April would refuse to complete the severing by rejecting his rejection? She shouldn't have been able to challenge his decision, but by the moon Goddess she did, and Zade found himself trapped in her gaze as his wolf fought viciously inside him, wanting desperately to run to his beloved.
The pain was excruciating that night, Chase mourned the loss of his mate, howling grief-stricken as they both felt the pack ties break when April crossed the borders into no man's land.
Zade looked at himself in the bathroom mirror, pulling on a pair of boxers, as he surveyed himself, the minty greens and forest browns of his bathroom providing an earthy backdrop.
Werewolves didn't really age, at least not in the same way that humans did. True his face was leaner now, more mature, high cheekbones giving his deep grey eyes a hawkish look.
He had a strong face, and the hours running pack borders and training his warriors insured his body was a huge mass of corded muscle, Zade knew his look appealed to the fairer sex, but little did the unmated she-wolves know he harbored a curse.
At the loss of his fated mate, Chase, Zade's wolf vowed that he would tear any female that wasn't his beloved to shreds, promising to paint the walls with their blood like some macabre Picasso, if Zade tried to bed them, and so far, he had been a wolf of his word.
Fifteen women over the course of four years. At first, Zade tried to lose himself in the embrace of anything with a warm pussy, but as his body count climbed higher, the woman became fewer, with tonight's she-wolf being the only f*ck he had had in the past three months.
Truth be told, his c*ck had a hard enough time staying erect these days, even trying to fool himself into thinking it was April moaning underneath him wasn't working anymore, and this last time she had actually tried to shove him inside her while he was still flaccid, for f*cks sake.
And that wasn't even the worst thing, since April was thrown out of the pack, there had been no more pups born to any she-wolves; a condition that seemed to have spread to other packs within the vicinity.
Switching off the lights, Zade made his way over to his huge kingsized bed, the cleaners were as efficient as ever, and a new bed with fresh linen awaited him, the walls were scrubbed clean and back to their normal ocean color, no stains were on the white carpet anymore, and the ceiling windows were clean, allowing him to see the stars again as he lay down.
Zade felt alone in the alpha's quarters, it was too quiet and lacked a Luna's touch, but what could he do? He instinctively felt that his wolf knew what was causing the sickness spreading through his community, the barren she-wolves, but therein lies the second problem.
Chase was also an Alpha wolf, a very strong male Alpha and when Zade had sent April away, Chase stopped communicating with him altogether.
Every shift was as painful as the night he rejected her, and there was a heavy silence in Zades head whenever he was in his human skin, man and wolf were completely disconnected, and that was a secret he had to keep to himself.
Curling up into a ball like a young pup, Zade closed his eyes and prayed for sleep to find him.
The studio was deserted, all except for one lone figure, seated at a piano, waiting for the night to lull the Alpha to sleep so she wouldn't feel him anymore.April knew that the lyrics to her latest song would stir up some emotions, but maybe it would prove cathartic for her heart as well.Writing about Zade was always hard, but bringing the lyrics to life with her voice took the pa
There were many things that Zade should be doing right now, border patrol rosters, war council meetings, young warrior training...instead he snuck out of the packhouse like a naughty kid to come here. It was his secret, the hidden lagoon nestled deep in the heart of the pack forest, spelled by a witch with familial ties so that generations of Alpha's could relax when things got too much for them.The well-traveled path down into the Gully felt soft beneath his feet and as he stopped for a second to fully appreciate its beauty, Zade thought back to a time where things were easier. When
Her voice was tired and her eyes hurt, but April couldn't bring herself to turn away her youngest fans, begging for their autographs. Truth be told sometimes it was the only thing that kept her singing. Gods when did her life get so boring? She had sell-out tours for the next three years, and a more than healthy bank account, but what did it matter when there was no one waiting for her at home? Signing the last piece of paper thrust into her hands, April finally made it backstage and out of the public eyes." Another stunning performance." Kevin drawled, packing up his equipment into the band's road wagon. If it wasn't for the bags under his eyes and the tightness in his features, April would have thought everything was okay, but because she knew the details, she could see beyond the smoke and mirrors. "How is Celine?" She whispered, briefly touching his arm in an attempt to offer comfort. The fact that Kevin pulled away, creating distance hurt her but she u
April enjoyed moments likethese, where she could wander through the A-lister club, mixing with other celebrities, and supernaturals in a special area closed off from the human public. Venom was a place to unwind and forget about life for a while. She fleetingly felt a stab of guilt for ditching the girls but dammit, she needed this, and she was sick of fighting herself.The atmosphere was sultry, the smell of sex dominating the air as April watched the beautiful bodies grinding against each other, lost in the music, drunk off the promises whispered in each other's ears as they danced in the rapture of lust.
Adrastus made short work of April's dress, tearing it from her body before it was pitched straight into the fire.She should have been afraid but instead, it seemed to arouse April more. She could feel his warm strength, hands worshipping her body as she stood dressed only in her lacy black g string and high heels."Take it off.." He whispered huskily, down on hisknees before her, and April knew what he wanted because she wanted it too.
ZADE POVIt was peaceful underground, Zade could just be himself, his blasted wolf was subdued, no one could mind link him, the warmth of the water relaxed his muscles, and soothed his soul.Sometimes he wondered what might have been if he had defied his father and accepted April, would she still be a superstar? Would his father really have killed a member of his own pack? Instinct told Zade he would have followed through on his threat.And he had done what he thought was best at the time.Except now, Zade was completely alone;
April couldn't ever remember being this happy before, it was so cliche but since Adrastus had entered the she-wolf's life, she felt like she was finally living in color again; it didn't even matter that he wasn't a wolf, that they weren't even the same species, Adrastus made her feel loved, and to April that was everything.At times he would try to talk to her about serious things but, it didn't take much before they were rolling around naked, enjoying each others flesh, and indulging in the most carnal pleasures where ever they happened to be, and all serious talk would be lost amidst the throes of ecstasy.She let herself into her apartment several days later, still in a sexual daze after leaving her gorgeous m
'Nooooo!' Adrastus bellowed into the wind, the giant flame skinned dragon roaring out his fury as he flew high above New York City to avoid being seen.How could he have been so careless? The Dragonlord knew the prophecy like the back of his hand, but April and Adrastus had been so happy he hadn't wanted to mar that with talks of mate choices and curses.Now he could only hope he wasn't too late, as the giant dragontorpedoed through the sky, leaving thunder and lightning in his wake.