by Ana Calin
I jut out my chin. “He’s her husband.” Theodore’s mouth pops open, which fills me with satisfaction. He didn’t expect there was a wedding that he wasn’t invited to. Eat this, prick. “They got married in secret because they didn’t want to make a fuss in these times of turmoil for Darkwood Falls. Like you said, Sullivan took off with a great deal of the elite’s money, people have other priorities now.”
Theodore returns his attention to Dad. “Yes, well he is one charismatic chump, that Drago Wolf, isn’t he? He argued he is now a local, even if his older brother Nero isn’t, but he recommended Nero because he fulfilled all the other conditions.”
Dad’s eyes are still blazing, and Theodore leans closer with a secret. He looks sleazy as he does that. Probably because he plays loyal to Nero at City Hall, but in truth he’s a snake waiting to bite.
“It’s not like I don’t understand your worries, old friend. But if we are to kick the Wolf brothers out of Darkwood Falls, we’ll have to be strategic about it.”
“Strategic how?”
“You’ll see next Saturday. I have a plan.”
“Like I said, I didn’t like Nero Wolf from the start,” I chime in, spooning through my soup. “I’d like nothing more than to see him go.”
“You will see him go Princess, I promise you that. You could even help make that happen, you know? You could stay in his service as mayor’s assistant, and try to find his weaknesses. Things that we can use against him in case he wants to make his stay here longer than planned.”
“What if he doesn’t have weaknesses or dirty secrets?”
Dad and Theodore burst into laughter. Dad even chokes on it and reaches for a glass of water with a trembling hand. I hurry and bend over the table to push it closer to him. The sleazy way that Theodore’s eyes slip down my exposed cleavage isn’t lost on me either.
“No man wielding as much power and money as Nero Wolf can ever be completely clean, Princess,” Dad explains. “I thought you learned as much after twenty-seven years in the world of the rich.” His voice becomes drier with every word, and he sips his water at the end of the sentence.
“I have learned quite a bit. For example, I’ve learned that men as powerful as you and Theodore would never have let a man take the mayor’s chair without knowing everything there is to know about him. Why don’t you share that information with me, it would be a good starting point, at least it would give me an idea where to start looking for weaknesses and secrets.”
“Oh, we have information,” Theodore says, returning to his soup. “But unfortunately it only tells us how powerful the man is.”
“He’s got fantastic PR,” Dad chimes in. “And he knows how important it is to build an image as someone who’s as good as indestructible. It gives people trust.” His eyes glint. “We will give you key data, but you must promise us something, Princess.”
“Anything.”
“That you won’t let this man’s power seduce you. You have to be strong, because Nero Wolf is not a man easy to resist. He has more money than a sheik, more power than the Russian president, and the looks of cover model. Few women can resist that kind of allure.”
“We actually have most of our information from scorned women.” Theodore laughs. I try to control my reactions as he talks, but my cheek won’t stop trembling.
“Nero Wolf is the eldest of five brothers, you know that,” Theodore begins. “Their parents were murdered when the boys were little, but they left a huge inheritance behind. The boys were raised in an orphanage until Nero came of age, and took over his parents’ business, but by that time there wasn’t much left of it. The heads of the orphanage had squandered everything.”
“But they still had the family name and the contacts,” Dad picks up when Theodore stops to start on the steak. “Nero was very good at sciences, a kind of genius, and he proved very talented on Wall Street. But.” Dad’s gaze darkens, and the entire room seems to darken with it.
“He couldn’t get the companies out of so much debt, they were in too deep. Soon after this became apparent, his financial advisors tried to persuade him to sell what he could. But then the strangest thing happened. The headmasters of the orphanage where he and his brothers had grown up were all found dead in the headmaster’s office, slaughtered as if beasts had torn them apart. And guess what? All those men had signed the money they had stacked in the Cayman Islands away to Nero just days before they died. Now isn’t that one pretty coincidence?”
No, this can’t be right. Nero has been alive for five hundred years, so he became of age centuries ago. He couldn’t have killed the headmaster and the others in the day of Wall Street. This doesn’t add up.
“They defied everyone, including the police,” Theodore continues. “It was obvious the brothers were involved in the murders, but no one could prove it because the victims had been apparently torn apart by beasts.”
“Like wolves,” Dad mutters as he eats.
“That you should be able to tell me all this while you’re eating,” I breathe, fighting the returning lump in my throat.
“The brothers got away with the crime, just like that,” Dad puts in. “The investigators soon closed the case.”
I let all this go through my head. I knew about the orphanage, Drago told me the story. I know that the headmaster and teachers were cruel to the boys, whipped them and tormented them, purely out of hatred. Drago has a theory that they hated the rich, and took it out on them because they were the kids of rich people, now orphaned. But he never mentioned the slaughter. And, again, all that happened centuries ago, way before companies and Wall Street.
I clear my throat. “And how do you know all this?”
“Investigators and retired reporters who owe us favors,” Theodore replies. “Better not get into the mechanics of it. But there are also things we found out from scorned women.”
“What things?”
He grins with the promise of a surprise. “Come to my soiree next Saturday, and you’ll find out. But here’s a teaser—Nero Wolf had affairs with a number of high-born heiresses. He probably went for them because they had every reason to keep the liaison secret, and he didn’t have to worry about unwanted publicity. He must have had hundreds of women in his life. As much as I hate to admit it, he is breathtakingly handsome.”
“I didn’t know you appreciated male beauty.” Dad looks at Theodore darkly from under his eyebrows.
“On, don’t worry Charles, I’m as straight as they come.” One glance at me makes that obvious, in a deeply disturbing way. My skin crawls, but I manage to suppress a shudder. “I’m merely assessing the competition, so to say.” He’s the only one who laughs at his own joke.
“Well,” he continues, returning to his steak, “he hurt those women. They fell in love with him, and crawled at his feet, but nothing helped. He refused to make any of those liaisons official.” He looks at me with a warning. “The man is as cold-hearted as he is handsome, so don’t let those fallen angel looks fool you.”
The memory of Nero naked by the side of my bed comes to mind, tall and broad-shouldered, sculpted as a god, looking coldly down at me after a night of passion.
“I won’t,” I whisper.
“There was only one woman with whom he had a longer arrangement,” Theodore continues, making a point. “Paola Valdez, a fiery Latina heiress. She moved to Spain at some point, and only came back to the US recently. What is it, honey, something stuck in your throat?”
I realize I’m staring at Theodore clutching my fork and knife, probably making a face.
“No. No, I’m okay, please go on.” But my blood is boiling under my skin. I look down to avoid Dad’s questioning scowl.
“Paola’s theory is that Nero Wolf had more than just sexual interest in her, because he visited every night and he mostly didn’t even want, well, you know, sex. She was pretty sure of herself when she—”
“How long ago were they together?” Damn it, my lips are so tight that I’m speaking through my teeth.
“About five years, Paola said.” He leans over to me, a bad smell coming from his mouth. “But if you want details you’ll get the chance to ask her yourself. You’re going to meet her at my soiree. I invited her.”
“Well, I guess it’s going to be quite a surprise for the mayor,” I grunt past the lump in my throat.
“No, not really.” Theodore resumes eating. “I mentioned the fact that I knew her to the mayor. Since Paola said they had been close, I figured I’d tell him, maybe having her as a common acquaintance would earn me a place in his confidence. He sat up, and asked me to invite her to Darkwood Falls. He’s looking forward to seeing her again, if you ask me.”
I shoot up to my feet, my chair scratching the floor. Both men stare at me surprised, especially Dad.
“I’m sorry,” I manage.
I need to get out of here fast, before the Molotov cocktail of feelings inside me blows up, and both Theodore and Dad realize that I slept with the new mayor, and hoped for something more because I’m a complete idiot. But I can’t use the ladies’ room excuse, they’ll see right through it.
“I promised I’d call Arianna about some papers tonight, and I totally forgot. I just remembered now that you mentioned heiresses and connections.” I grab my clutch, manage a smile and make my way outside.
I run through the big, dark house like a ghost, looking for an exit. I find one to the back yard, and breathe in the crisp night air, letting it cool my heated face. I sit on a broken stair and bury my face in my palms, beating myself up for having been so stupid.
Sure, the intimacy I experienced with Nero Wolf was unique, out of this world, the orgasms he gave me on the hood of his car shook me to my core. The lovemaking from last night, which I’d thought only a dream, was a mystical experience, something almost tantric that I could grow addicted to. How could that mean so much to me and so little to him?
I remember his reserved attitude towards me this morning, making it clear there would be nothing more between us. God, how can he stay so cold after what we had? True, we barely know each other, but it feels like it’s meant to be, and it can’t be one sided, it just can’t. But wait. Isn’t this what all stalkers think? That they are meant to be with the object of their affection, only if this person would finally see that?
I raise my head from my hands and wipe the tears from my face. They keep coming, but it’s only because I need the release. I’m growing stronger by the second and, by next Saturday when I’ll get to watch him come face to face with this Paola Valdez, I’ll be strong enough. I have to be. I have to remember he’s had countless women, all of them willing to do anything to keep him as a lover—I can understand why, if he made love to them like he did to me. But I won’t be one of the many falling at his feet, worshipping and adoring him. No Sir, not even if the desire for him burns me to death.
I drive Dad and me home, firm in my decision—I will stay in Nero’s service. I’ll dig deep to find out exactly what Sullivan was into, and why he sent his acolytes to put a sex drug in my drink.
As soon as I’ve closed the door to my room a feeling of emptiness engulfs me. I look around, remembering Nero in here yesterday, still feeling his presence. I change into a silk night robe and sit at the vanity table, staring at myself in the mirror and bracing myself.
“Look at you, Princess Skye,” I murmur, tracing one porcelain-white cheek with my hand. “Missing the feel of his hot body on yours, his scent, his presence in this room as if you’ve been together for years. How stupid is that.”
My hand drops off my face, but I keep staring at the white girl with the caramel eyes and long waves of red hair. For the first time ever, I have a moment of complete honesty with myself.
I’m a twenty-seven year old woman who still doesn’t know who she is. I have never even really left Darkwood Falls except for fashion shows and a few adrenaline-pumping secret one-night stands. I eventually found a purpose in life by working at City Hall. Sullivan had become dependent on me for everything in his schedule and, even though I hated his guts, especially for what he’d done to Arianna, I felt useful. Working at City Hall made me feel needed and valuable, it made me feel good about myself.
In the silence I think I hear the heavy breathing of an animal outside my door, steady but deep, almost like muffled huffing. I walk slowly to the door, unsure whether to open it. Placing my palms on it, I remember that Nero has the place guarded in order to make sure Sullivan doesn’t attack Dad or send his acolytes for me, but as far as I know he doesn’t have werewolves here. Only well-trained, normal security men.
The huffing persists, as if someone is sniffing behind the door. I grip the doorknob, my pulse shooting up. Could it be?
Nero
I MAKE IT OUT JUST before Princess opens the door to her room. I couldn’t control my need to feel her close, even for a little bit. I needed to at least breathe in her scent, a craving that drove me crazy. It drew me closer and closer until I pressed my cheek and my palms to her door, saying her name inside my head. Of course she felt me, she’s now mine as much as I am hers.
I speed out of the manor, out into the dark back yard and into the woods. I leap over a thick fallen tree trunk, shifting in the air. I land on my huge paws, racing through the woods, wind and branches whipping by me.
I shift back in front of Drago’s house, and climb in through the kitchen window. I sniff around to make sure Arianna doesn’t catch me, because I’m stark naked. I shifted without thinking in the woods, all because of my maddening need for Princess, and my clothes tore apart in the process.
I sneak up to Arianna’s and Drago’s bedroom. I move too softly for any human’s senses, but Drago is my brother, a werewolf, and he surely knew I was coming before I emerged from the woods. He’s already on his feet and holding out a pair of jeans and a black fitted tee when we meet each other’s eyes.
“Let’s talk downstairs,” he says, motioning for me to lead the way. He always needs to be the last in the room, protecting his wife who’s carrying his two babies. He’d probably be with her twenty-four seven if he could, but he fears it would suffocate her.
“This could be you and Princess,” he says as he turns on the light in the kitchen. “You should give in to what you feel, Nero, you’ll never be able to fight it.”
“I never imagined it would be this way. This ache for her, right here in my chest, it’s tearing me apart.” I lean with my palms on the counter, trying to cope with the feeling.
Drago opens the cupboard. “Need a drink?”
“The strongest you have.”
Even though I can’t see his face, I know he smirks.
“When you fell for Arianna,” I say, turning around and taking the drink from him, “I thought I understood what you were feeling. I was wrong.”
“One of your strong suits that prove you’re a true leader—you know how to admit that you were wrong.”
I down the brandy, the kind that I used to make for my brothers. The kind that can actually get a werewolf drunk, since normal alcohol is wasted on us.
“Don’t sweat it.” Drago leans against the fridge, facing me. Both his jeans and tee are tight on me, straining to snap, so I try not to move a lot. “You’ll get Sullivan with her help in a couple of months max, then you’ll be able to make your relationship official.”
“No, Drago. We can’t be together, now or ever.”
Drago frowns, his intense dark eyes probing the feelings all over my face. “I don’t understand. I sensed it clearly when we talked on the phone, and I can feel it now—you imprinted on her. Which means you—” He pauses, knowing better than to say ‘you had sex with her’. Imprinting is so much more than that. “You merged with her.”
“Physical intimacy isn’t always necessary in order to imprint.” I try to save the situation, for Princess’s sake.
“Not always, but mostly. And I can smell her on you, Nero, so don’t even try to deny it. You’ll have to be completely honest with me, otherwise I can’t help you. A
nd you need all the help you can get right now.”
“The ache in my chest is unbearable. I need her closeness as much as air.”
“Yes, finding your mate can do that to you. If you’re not with her, the feeling can destroy you from the inside out. But I don’t understand, Nero, you know this better than anyone. Why do you keep yourself away from her?”
“I’m the Alpha of this pack, the werewolves depend on me. And not just our people, all the werewolves on this side of the country. I can’t afford soft spots, weaknesses. Imagine the serpents finding out that I have found my mate, imagine what that would mean, especially for Princess.”
Drago frowns, his intense eyes even darker. “They’d hunt her down for the rest of her life. They’d stop at nothing to get her, and use her against you.”
“And let’s look at the most probable scenario.” I look the ugly truth in the face. “They’d kill her, weakening me to the point that I’d be useless. No werewolf can live after their fated mate is dead, not unless they have offspring. The grief over a mate is deadly for werewolves. Imagine what that would mean for the pack.”
Drago’s features harden as he mulls this over, but there’s nothing he can say. There is no solution to this. It’s not like werewolves can choose their alphas democratically, like humans do with their political leaders. We obey the laws of nature, the laws of the beast, and these laws choose the alpha. If an alpha dies, the pack stays behind weak and vulnerable, headless until nature provides a new one. One of my brothers would probably upgrade into an alpha after my death, but the process takes time, and during that time they would be easy prey for the serpents.
Drago and I look into each other’s eyes, both understanding there’s no solution to this other than me renouncing the love of my life. For both her sake and the werewolves’.
