TAMING THE WARRIOR
By Samantha Bates
COPYRIGHT Samantha Bates2012
AMAZON Edition
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I would like to thank the readers who continue to follow the lives of the Silver Wolf Pack, the feedback I have received continues to motivate me and i love hearing from the fans. I continue to evolve as a writer and my journey so far has been marvellous.
I want to send my love to all of my family in England including my new nephew Mason who I am yet to meet. My girls continue to show their support and are proud of every book I release, as I am them.
Reading Order
Silvers Alpha
The Wolf with the Silver Smile
The Kiss of a Vampire, the Heart of the Wolf
The man behind the Vampire
Two Halves of a Vampires Soul
Taming the Warrior
Chapter 1
Ellie stared in the mirror's reflection at the blood red dress that was Beth's choice and certainly not hers, looking she saw a stranger before her eyes not the girl who wore combats and boots. May her twin, stood behind her mussing with her hair in an identical dress; however unlike Ellie, May liked the femininity of the look. Watching everyone and everything around her, she drowned out the noise of the chatter and people running on the stairs preparing for the wedding, opting to watch rather than engage was what Ellie did, she watched out for her family at all times.
Claire was missing which caused Ellie some level of internal pain for without her Beth's wedding would not be complete. As one of four girls they were all close meaning that Ellie knew something was happening to her sister, but so far her mom and Ben had told them all that their sister was travelling. Ellie who was not as naive as her sisters did not believe their story knowing that Claire would not have left without so much as a goodbye.
A commotion at the door had her turning to find Claire smiling at them, her heart soared but only for a moment, the dark circles under Claire's eyes, the drawn face, and Claire's dramatic weight loss told Ellie that something serious was afoot.
Smiling Ellie did not allow her anxiety to show on her face, then the commotion moved as the second surprise of the day came in the form of their father, who appeared as if by magic. Ellie hadn’t seen him since she was ten except that wasn’t quite true; she had seen him in her dreams on several special occasions with the last occurring at a time when she needed someone to save her from insanity, this was the period just after he had been taken from them, and after her mother had nearly been murdered by a crazy woman.
Today her father looked regal which was so different from when he was taken to serve in the heavens for some higher purpose with the Goddess of Destiny. Her father had once dated a dark witch although he didn’t know that at the time, unfortunately, the witch had decided that her mother was in the way of her plan to ensnare their father so she tried to hand her mom over to a demon. During all of the ensuing commotion the witch's vampire flunky had killed her father. The goddess of Destiny had saved him, but in return, she had taken him to the heavens and still no one knew why.
It seemed that Destiny allowed her father to come to them on special occasions; he had previously come to Beth when she had been struggling with the emotional angst of saving her soon to be husband. Ellie could have been angry at him for leaving yet she wasn't, and this was because she knew that he would have stayed with them had he been given a choice. Her father had always written letters to them, and also sent presents on birthdays and at Christmas. Today was like seeing a different person for he had changed so much, gone was the tall thin, blond haired man, who was both kind and gentle, in his place was a tall, well muscled, blonde haired man whose eyes were still kind and gentle. The same man who had produced them and was now stood in front of her searching for her reaction with some trepidation?
"Ellie my sweet warrior."
The tears pooled in Ellies eyes as she realised how much she had missed him.
"Daddy."
With that she flung herself into his arms, now the day would be almost complete, they were all here now except her uncle Lewis who would instead would be in Afghanistan undercover, somewhere dangerous and alone.
That her father was here for Beth's wedding was the greatest gift her sister would receive. Her elder sister Beth was marrying the head of the New York vampires, a strong and dangerous man, Vlad was more than capable of protecting Beth which for Ellie was the most important thing, although her sister's professed love to be the most important thing in a relationship, a notion she disputed, what was the point in love if one of you died and the other failed to protect them.
She watched from the sidelines as her mother fussed around Claire with tears streaming down her face, Ellie had every intention of finding out what was wrong with her sister and she would have her answers by the end of the day. As her mom lifted Claire's shirt over her head, Ellie gasped at her thin body which had always been lean, but now Ellie could visibly see the outline of Claires ribs. She could also see Claire concentrating though she couldn’t identify the focus of said concentration. What was more concerning than Claire's agreement to everything was her complete submission.
Claire had always been individualistic in her appearance yet today she allowed herself to be dressed by their mom, and then allowed gold slippers to complete the look before Yvonne prepared her hair. Even at their mom's wedding Claire had added her Doc Martin boots to the dress so this was far from her sisters normal behaviour in fact, her mom was overly nurturing towards Claire.
Chapter 2
The wedding went smoothly, Ellie was amazed that she hadn’t fallen over in the petite gold shoes which she had slipped off now that everyone was enjoying the festivities. Ellie spent most of the day on the sidelines watching Claire and was somewhat surprised to find her talking intently with Ice, her sister spending time with Vlad's grumpy second in command did not sit well with her, Ice was too petulant and quiet to be around Claire.
Before she had a chance to explore this further, she was interrupted by her brothers running through the crowds. She slipped after them following them out into the gardens where the chilly air nipped at her skin, and the expanse of green lawn allowed her to scan the grounds for dangers. Their lives had changed dramatically when her mom had married the Alpha of the Silver Wolf Pack; Ben had been a great stepfather to all of them though she was probably the one closest to him, even as a child Ben had seen her talents and helped to develop and channel them.
As a twin to May who possessed one of the greatest minds ever, Ellie had often been in the shadows though not because people didn’t care, but May was super smart and this had made her vulnerable resulting in her needing constant protection though May would dispute this. Ben though had seen Ellie's analytical mind and put it to excellent use, by her teens he was consulting her on pack security. As she got older he offered her more input into the security of Silver Inc.
Shortly after her mom and Ben had met, her mom had become pregnant, never one to be sensible she had given birth to triplets. Ethan, Logan, and Oliver were amazing they were fierce and feisty and were now developing into strong young men who they
were all proud of. She watched the kids playing on Vlad's elegantly manicured lawns; they were with Liza and Lewis, half vampires who lived with the wolves and were in the care of their older brother Theo, who was one of Ben's best friends.
The boys were trying to catch Liza and Lewis who kept teleporting in and out of their way. Oliver had taken to bulldozing into what became empty air while Logan was watching in hysterics, looking round she found Ethan watching the game with interest. She knew what Ethan was doing; he was watching the game play out while deciding on a strategy. Watching with growing amazement Ellie saw Oliver head one way, Logan the other and Ethan raced into the middle. Not a word was exchanged between them which were particularly intriguing as they had not uttered a word; she hadn’t seen the boys do that before.
As Liza and Lewis reappeared on the edge of a statue depicting a half-naked lady, Oliver bulldozed Lewis knocking him to the ground; Ethan lifted Liza into the air while Logan watched in amusement. Ellie wandered over to join them.
"Hey guys, this looks like fun."
Lewis was laughing. "Well it was until Ethan ruined our fun."
"I have another game what if Oliver thinks of a number and you guys have to guess it."
"That sound's boring Ellie."
Oliver didn’t like any game that didn’t involve him running and knocking something or someone down, and she was trying to avoid being said obstacle in Vlads perfect garden. It would be easy for something to be damaged in grounds that comprised of manicured lawns, picturesque statues, and high gates with large trees closing out the public so Oliver had the potential to ruin it.
"Humour me sweetie. Now you guys run off down there." They did as she asked.
"Right Oli, what number are you thinking?"
"Umm ninety nine."
They walked over to the others. "So who knows what number Oli picked?"
Ethan and Logan answered immediately with a smug grin on their cute faces. "Ninety nine."
Their smiles faltered when they understood what Ellie had done; Lewis and Liza it seemed were in on the secret. It was Ethan who narrowed his eyes and challenged her. "That was sneaky Ellie."
"So it was but, I don’t know which is sneakier my game or you guys keeping a big secret that involves telepathy. Does anyone want to explain why it is a secret?"
It was a serious question, the pack can talk telepathically to each other however for pups this link didn’t develop until they reached maturity, that her brothers could do this now was fascinating and indicated strong skills.
"Well there are a few reasons; the main one is that mom and dad don’t know so it helps us get out of trouble and helps us protect each other, if everyone else knew then they could use it against us though we don't know how they would do it, and if someone tried to hurt one of us the other two of us would know immediately and get to them in time. Liza and Lewis can talk and so can we now. The biggest reason though is that if May knew about this she would make us go through some of her annoying tests."
May was a doctor for Other species where she both treated and researched the different species. Ethan was right; she would want to run tests.
"Well if I don’t say anything will you promise to keep me up to date on any new developments in your skills?"
"Maybe." She frowned at Ethan. "Fine we will."
She left the kids playing when she saw Ice step outside deciding that it was time to find out what was happening with her sister.
Chapter 3
Ellie arrived at the front desk; she was now wearing some pants, with a blue blouse, trying to look professional. She had borrowed a pair of the glasses that were Beth's and had no prescription in them, but they made her look professional. Her contact had come through with the fake ID, now she had to act the part.
"Good evening. I am here to assess Claire Rodriguez."
"And you are?" the older woman behind the counter was peering at her curiously.
"I am a private practitioner, employed by her parents to provide an independent update in relation to her emotional wellbeing."
"Hmm, I am not aware of this." Ellie knew that this would happen.
"If you would like to check your emails, you will find a letter from her parents and one from my company confirming my attendance. You will also find one from you onsite psychologist confirming the visit."
Ellie knew the woman would find the emails, she had Imogen hack into their computer system three hours ago. When the woman returned she gave Ellie a visitors pass before the security guard ushered her past the locked doors.
Getting in was the easy part, now she wasn’t sure how Claire would feel about her visit. Opening the door, she nodded to release the guard. Closing the door gently, she heard the quiet sobs coming from the bed.
"Hey big sis, fancy some company." Ellie sat at the edge of the bed as Claire lifted her head.
"Ellie what are you doing here?" Claire's mascara had run so her eyes now resembled a panda.
"Taking care of my sister, what are you doing here Claire? No don’t answer that, just scoot over." Claire moved towards the wall as Ellie kicked off her sneakers and slid into the bed next to her.
Wrapping her arm around Claire, she comforted her through the tears. Ellie assessed their surroundings, a bed with two sheets, a toilet and shower, a few books, a shelf with several changes of clothing, and a window with metal grill on the front. The room was stark, completely clinical, and damned depressive.
"How about we break you out of here?" Claire stopped crying and giggled.
"I would say it's impossible but you managed to get in."
"I did Claire and if you will let me, I will take you out with me."
With a big sigh, Claire rubbed her face on Ellies shirt.
"I can't it's too soon."
"Okay, can I ask why you are here?" She had a good idea why Claire was here, but Ellie wanted Claire to feel able to say it to her. She shivered even though the stark room was not overly cold.
"Ellie are you trying to be subtle, because if you are its new. Where to start, growing up I was always a little different. The Goth look, the loud music, the swapping and changing of my persona was always a way for me to hide from myself. For a little while drugs helped me to ignore what was happening around me."
"I don’t understand. Claire why have you hidden here? Why not let us help you?"
"Ellie, it isn’t that simple. This is something that I need to work through myself, please don’t tell the other girls."
"Only if you let me keep visiting you." Claire didn’t answer, so Ellie took that as a yes, she hadn’t said no. They didn’t talk much after that, Ellie just lay holding her. It was Claire who made her leave; turning her back on her sister was heart breaking, almost like she was leaving her in a jail.
She kept it together until she reached her car, then the tears fell. The night had fallen; the darkness was like a shroud against her aching heart. Just to leave her there, alone felt like a crime. Surely she wouldn’t want to face this alone. Sliding to the floor against the side of her blue Audi she let her head drop into her arms which were around her knees.
Her head lifted as the gravel crunched next to her. "Can I join you?"
It was with more than surprise when she looked up to see Vlad. Still wearing his suit from the wedding he had teleported in, but why?
"I thought you would come here tonight. How is Claire?" His designer suit must have cost thousands yet he sat on the floor next to her.
"You know about this. Does Beth?"
"No, it is a secret I do not like having, but alas it is not my secret to tell."
She had to respect that, even though Beth would have his balls if she found out.
"How long have you known?"
His weary sigh answered her question. "From the beginning, I was able to teleport in so that the staff were unaware of my presence."
"And what about Ice, what is his role in this?"
She watched Vlad think this through. "Ice has some healing ability, a
way of soothing the soul. I have brought him in when things have been really hard for Claire and he has provided some comfort."
What did she say to that? This was a new dimension to this man, one she had never seen. Ice was a strong, and dangerous warrior she did not expect to hear that he had been soothing Claire. She said the only things she could think of.
"Thank you."
"I do not need thanks Ellie; you are now my family. I need to return to Beth but sometimes the people who love you the most are too close. Support needs to come from people who are not invested in you; it is easier to accept that way. Will you be fine if I leave?"
Ellie did what she did best, she stood, shook it off, wiped away the tears and nodded.
Six months later.
Chapter 4
Stepping onto the stage, the intensity of the spotlights caused his body to alternate between goose bumps and sweats. The crowd went wild, the screaming sounded as though he was in another world, looking out all he could see was face, after face, after face.
The drums started, the guitar kicked in as he took a breath and opened his mouth. With the start of the lyrics the people in the entertainment centre hit a new level of frenzy. This is what he lived for, the joy he gave from singing to others.
Within seconds he was lost in the lyrics, Luke no longer heard the crowd as the instruments became his company. As the sweat dripped from his forehead, he closed his eyes embracing the moment.
It didn’t matter how many nights he did this; it was a new sensation every time. As the words ended, he looked out into the screaming faces seeing the banners scrawled with his name 'Luke Drakos'. Ending the song he called out to the crowd.
"HELLO NEW YORK CITY." He was instantly deafened by the response.
The smells were over whelming, as his own sweat mingled with those around him, they smells were always strong but he had come to view them as the hazards of the job. Three songs in, he took a break and an outfit change. Luke always started with a upbeat song, one that would get the crowd pumping. His guitar was waiting for him in his dressing room.
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