I had never had to fight a dragon, or a vampire for that matter. I’d spent over two centuries living a peaceful life. But with London growing as a city with all of the restaurants, theaters, and museums, it was looking very attractive to the dragons. I wasn’t looking forward to war; it meant I had to recruit humans who lived for it.
~*~
“You want to recruit this one?” Royce asked me as he looked at the parchment that spoke of a human who was to be executed in three days.
I nodded. “The stories I’ve heard about him are fascinating. He had eluded the sheriff for over a year, which means he is cunning.”
“They caught him still.”
I shrugged. “Only proves the authorities aren’t completely incompetent. Besides, the Royal British Army helped.”
Royce chuckled. “He surely looks every part of a brute.”
“I want to see this man for myself. To see if he is as terrifying as they say.”
“He will probably die when we go to war.”
“As most of the young wolves will.”
Royce nodded. “The full moon is in five days. It is best if he is turned, so he may partake in the first change. The sooner they are inducted, the better.”
“Are you worried about these dragons?” I asked Royce.
He pursed his lips, which I’d learned in my time living with him meant he was concerned.
“Fighting dragons is no easy feat. It is a reason why my father has also prepared for our passage to the new world. If we fail to keep our London territory in this battle, what is left of our pack will need a new territory, and there is land in America.”
“Why America?”
“It is practically there for the taking.”
“Barely any civilization, whereas London is full of culture,” I pointed out. I wasn’t too excited about the idea of leaving my home to go somewhere I’d never been before. A place where I’d heard savages and traitors ravaged the land.
“Well, that is the reason why we are preparing to fight in order to keep this territory. I do not wish to leave, either. But if given no choice, it is wise to always have another plan for survival,” Royce said, then he rose from the table. “Tell your wife supper was delicious. But I must head home to my own supper awaiting me.”
“Greedy, eating twice.”
He laughed. “If Agnes knew I’d already had dinner, she would be devastated. As for you, go save this Elliot McGrady—at least he’s Scottish—from his date with the gallows.”
“I’m leaving tonight,” I said. If I was going to break him out, it was best to do so under the cover of darkness.
“Good then.” With that, he left and Charlene came back into the dining room and took a seat on my lap.
I kissed her, then placed my hand over her belly. “Soon, one day, our child will be inside.”
She smiled and placed her hand over mine. “I pray for it every day and night. I want nothing more than to be the mother to your children.”
We had been together for nearly a century, and god knew I’d been pumping her womb full of my seed, and yet, we hadn’t conceived. I was told to be patient. Milton, one of the other Capos, had been married to his wife for four hundred years before they conceived their first child. Natural-born wolves were such a commodity, and now I was beginning to understand why. I now knew why the children were spared when my old pack was wiped out. Even some of the older ones who fought, if they lived, they were also spared because they were natural-borns, in spite of being past the age of twelve, which was the original limit. That was how special we were.
“One day, it will happen,” I said, giving her another kiss. “In the meantime, perhaps I should find another wife, surely two would increase my chances of becoming a father.” I was certain Charlene would disapprove, but she would accept it. Being a Capo, I was allowed some liberties as long as it didn’t disrupt the progress of the pack. Seeing that I wanted children, I was sure Connor would approve my second wife.
“A second wife?” Charlene asked, her body slumping at the mention of another female entering our lives. “You want to replace me?”
I rolled my eyes. “Never. We have discussed this, Charlene. You will always be first.”
“I disappoint you because I have yet to conceive. What if she conceives before I do?”
“She will always be my second wife. I keep my promises, my dear. You will not be replaced, but a second wife will help with the chores, I’m sure. She can also keep you company when I’m not around. Don’t fuss,” I said, then stroked her cheek.
“I refuse to share you with her,” she said
I cocked an eyebrow. “Meaning?”
“When you are in my bed, I will have you to myself,” she said.
“Of course, my darling.” I patted Charlene’s arse. “I have to leave,” I said and helped her rise off my lap.
“Where are you going at this time of night?” she asked.
“Business to tend to.” It was all I was going to offer. I grabbed my black cloak and left my very beautiful home. It had six bedrooms, a very large kitchen with a rare indoor oven, den, dining room, and great room. Practically a fireplace in every room kept it nice and warm. There was also a garden in the back that my wife nourished and we grew a lot of our own vegetables and herbs along with some fruit. The forest was mine, and my wife and I hunted in it often as wolves. No, I didn’t want to have to give this up.
I mounted my horse and rode for several hours until I reached the prison where Elliot was being kept. I wanted to meet him first, to see if he would be worth the trouble. I tied my horse to the pole in front of the prison and walked inside. The guards were there, only two, which didn’t surprise me since it was so late in the evening.
“I would like to speak to your prisoner,” I said when they asked me what my business was. To move things along, I passed them several coins for the courtesy. “I only want a few moments with him.”
“Why do you want to speak to him?” one of the guards asked me.
I offered more coins, placing them on the table. “For your troubles.”
The two guards looked at each other, then at the coins, then to me, before reaching out to take the coins. “Follow me,” one of them said, then he led me toward the back where the cells were. The place had an unpleasant scent, like human piss, shit, and mold. The prison hadn’t been kept up and the wood on some of the columns was rotting. The bars to the cells were rusting in places and the wooden floor creaked under my foot. With my strength, I could easily tear this place down and that was something of note.
“Here is the bastard,” the guard said, gesturing toward a cell. “As rotten as they come.”
I approached it and had to stop my mouth from dropping open. The human inside was huge, taller than any of the wolves in my pack. Taller than any man I’d ever seen. His face was covered in dirt, his mustache and beard were matted with it, and his entire body reeked. His clothes were filthy, yet I couldn’t help but wonder what the rest of his body looked like underneath.
“Can you leave us?” I asked the guard.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” he said.
I reached into my purse and gave him two more coins. “For the privacy.”
He tossed the coins in his hand and the smile that spread across his face was slimier than the walls of the prison. As soon as I was alone with the giant of a human in the cell, I began my investigation. “Did you commit the crimes they have accused you of?”
“Who the fuck are you?” he asked in a deep, gruff voice that was full of primal aggression and his cockney accent was rather thick.
“Someone who, if you answer my questions to my satisfaction, will get you out of here,” I said.
When he heard that, I could see his shoulders perk up a bit. “What have they accused me of?”
I handed him the parchment I had that listed his crimes. He looked at it, but didn’t reach for it. “Read for yourself.”
“I… I can’t.”
“Illiterate?”
“Learning words never did shit for me,” he said. Even though he was sitting on the hard bed inside the cell, it still seemed far too small to accommodate all his bulk.
“You would be surprised what learning words can do for you.” I decided to read off the list of crimes. “Murder, rape, thievery, piracy, and kidnapping.”
He laughed. “I guess I’m guilty.”
“You were a pirate?” I found that fascinating, as I’d never even been on a boat before. I’d read about the swashbuckling adventures of Blackbeard and other pirates and it sounded like an exciting life.
He nodded and his confirmation made him an even more alluring specimen.
“Perhaps, if you could have read the wanted signs posted, you could have avoided capture,” I pointed out as the wanted signs didn’t have any drawing of his likeness, just a description. “It is said they trapped you in a whore house and arrested you there.”
“What can I say, I’m a fool for pussy and arse.” He laughed, then rose to as far as the cell would allow. The ceiling wasn’t nearly high enough to accommodate his height of what I measured to be at least six feet eight inches with his boots on, probably six-seven barefoot. Yes, impressive indeed. He walked closer to the bars and gripped them with filthy fingers. “So, what now?”
“They want to execute you in three days, but I have an opportunity for you.”
“I’m listening.”
I flashed my eyes at him, the bright golden hue of my wolf. He gasped and took several steps backward. “What are you?” his face a mixture of fear and awe.
“What you can be if you accept my offer. Never again will you have to worry about humans, not when you can rip their throats out if they dared to touch you,” I said.
“What are you?” he asked again.
“A werewolf, immortal, powerful. My Alpha is looking for humans worthy of the gift. I have a good feeling about you, Elliot. A connection, and I believe you will bring honor to my pack,” I said.
“A man and wolf?” he asked, still trying to wrap his head around what I was and what I was offering.
I nodded. “One in the same. Will you join us?” I asked and no sooner the words left my mouth, one of the guards returned.
“All right, you’ve had enough time. You need to leave,” he demanded.
“Do you want freedom?” I asked Elliot one last time. Fact of the matter was, I wanted him. I wanted him in the pack and even if he were to refuse me, I’d take him anyway. But it was just easier if it seemed as if the choice was his.
“That is enough!” the guard snapped and reached for his pistol.
I slashed my hand out, faster than he could blink. Blood squirted from the gash I’d made in his throat. I never took my eyes off of Elliot, I had wanted to see his reaction. He jerked the moment my claws made their deadly incision and his eyes followed the guard as he collapsed to the floor, blood still gushing from his wounds even as his hands sought to stop the flow.
“Bloody hell!” Elliot gasped.
“Will you come?”
“Fuck… Yes… Yes, I’ll come,” he said finally.
I figured a show of my power would help persuade him to a wise decision. “Good.” I left the area and made my way back to the other guard who was still minding the front. He didn’t hear me approaching from behind and when I snapped his neck, he didn’t make a sound. I quickly looked for the keys to the cells and found them on the first guard I’d killed. I released Elliot and together, we fled the jailhouse. He climbed on my horse behind me and my mare bristled under his massive weight.
“Easy girl, I know,” I said, then patted her neck. The sun was rising by the time we returned to my home and dismounted. I was exhausted, having been up for nearly a whole day. Elliot was also exhausted and starving. “I will have my wife prepare breakfast.”
“You have a wife?”
I turned to him and smiled. “We have everything. Wives, children, beautiful homes.” I gestured to my own abode and he looked at it with an open mouth. “You can have it also. Come inside.”
He had to duck his head a little when he entered, but inside, my ceilings were tall enough that he didn’t have to remain hunched as he had in his cell. I gestured for him to sit at the dining room table and he did, the chair creaking under his weight, much like my horse had.
I chuckled “You’re a big fella, larger than any man I’ve ever seen.”
“Is that why you wanted to save me?”
I removed my cloak and hung it up before turning to face him. “Your past fascinates me. I don’t care that you’re a murder, rapist, and a thief. I only care that you are loyal.”
“Meaning?”
“You were a pirate, you had a crew, one that you did not forsake. I heard they interrogated you and yet, you would not give up their whereabouts to the navy. I respect that you held your secrecy,” I said.
“Better to them than they were to me. I thought they would come for me, to break me free as you had, but they didn’t,” Elliot growled.
“Well, they were human. Weak and selfish. Pack would never abandon you. Pack will protect you and we have the means to do so.”
“They will be looking for me.”
“Unless they think you’re dead. Unless they can never find you,” I said. “Unless they are paid to look elsewhere. Unless whoever comes looking never returns. So many predicaments and not one ends with you being taken back to prison. And even if so, what cell can hold you? I could have easily bent those bars to free you. I used the keys to make it look as though your crew had come to rescue you. That would point the authorities to the ocean in search of you instead of inland.”
“My, my, my, you are a cheeky one,” Elliot said.
“The brain is the strongest part of the body. I would have you use yours to learn the words you’ve shown such disdain for,” I said.
Elliot frowned. “I don’t need to.”
“Yes, you do. As I’ve said, once you become one of us, you will live forever.”
“How does one become like you?” he asked, changing the subject of education. I let him for the time being.
“Darling?” I heard Charlene’s voice from behind.
Both Elliot and I turned to see her standing in her white gown with her red robe over it.
“Well, well, well… hello, milady,” Elliot purred.
I growled and he turned to me sharply, then sat back in the chair. “She is never to be yours, not even to lust over,” I warned.
“Your wife? I wouldn’t,” Elliot protested.
“Good.” I walked over to Charlene, taking her in my arms and kissing her softly on her forehead. “Morning darling. Can you make breakfast?”
She looked at me, then around me to Elliot. “Who is he?”
“He will be pack, soon. For now, he needs food, a bath, and clean clothes. I’m afraid I don’t have anything here that would fit him.”
“Must he stay here?” she asked, wrinkling her nose at the same time.
“I know he is foul, he’s been held in prison for weeks,” I said.
“Prison? Why—”
I placed my finger over her lips. “This is pack business, Charlene. You are never to question pack business. Now, prepare breakfast, love.”
I could tell by how her lips drew a thin line that she didn’t appreciate me silencing her, but it was true. I was carrying out my duties as a Capo, her approval was null and void. I turned back to Elliot. “You should bathe before we eat and afterward, you may rest. In the meantime, I have a robe for you to wear until we get you some clothing that will fit your gargantuan body.”
“I can just wash these out,” he said, motioning to his tattered clothes.
I frowned at his raggedy and filthy garments. “I will not have it, wear the robe for now.”
I walked away to get the bathtub ready for him. I was sure it would look like mud by the time he was done bathing. I poured water into the porcelain tub, cool at first, then when the water in th
e fire place looked hot enough, I added that. I mixed the two temperatures until the water felt nice enough to me to climb in. I then retuned to the dining room. “Follow me.” I lead him back to the bathroom that was closest to our guest bedroom. The tub would be a tight fit for him, but I was sure he could manage.
He began to remove his clothes and I was watching, checking him out. “Like what you see?” he asked me.
I nodded. “I do. I would prefer you to be clean, though.”
He laughed. “Baths are a luxury. I rarely take them.”
“You smell like a rotting pig, I can tell. Please.” I motioned to the tub. I stepped aside to allow Elliot to climb in. The water rose almost to the edge, but not enough to spill over.
“Ahhh,” Elliot sighed as he leaned back into the tub, his knees poking out from the water, that was quickly turning black with the dirt that had been caked on his body. “This is nice.”
“You will be able to indulge in more of those after you have been turned,” I said.
“You never did answer my question. How does one become like you?” he asked me.
I sat on the edge of the tub. “I was born this way and my transformation happened when I was twenty-five. For some natural-borns, it may happen sooner or in rare cases, even later. But I am over two-hundred years old.”
Elliot blinked and his face was frozen in what I could only assume was disbelief. “Is this true?”
I nodded. “I was born in the year of fifteen hundred and eighty-nine. I am very powerful wolf, a Capo within our pack.” I had to speak of my title with reverence, so he could understand the prestige of my rank. However, I didn’t feel honored any longer. I felt that after bringing my Alpha his mate, I would be rewarded, yet that never happened. In fact, it seemed that no sooner than my Alpha mated with Julie, did his favor for me dwindle. I hoped bringing him wolves like Elliot would earn me a promotion soon.
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