The Monster Ball: A Paranormal Romance Anthology

by Heather Hildenbrand

  When I was a boy, I remembered my father telling me love was not in the cards for a king. Our responsibility was leading. I preferred it that way. My first love was my pack. No woman in the way.

  But the moment I had looked over the crowd as I played, the chords thrummed through me. It was like the entire room disappeared and all I could see was her. Steel gray eyes, olive skin, long silky black hair in waves down her back, her red lips slightly parted as she looked back at me.

  And that red dress. Bloody hell. Hugging her curves, the slit showing off her toned leg, and the damn dip in the front… My wolf woke up with a howl.

  The full moon had me on edge anyway, and the need to shift into the wolf itched at my skin. But she made it ten times worse. If I didn’t have years of training my strength and discipline, I wouldn’t have been able to stop it. Especially when I noticed all the attention she drew. Sups of all sexes moved around her, licking their lips and staring at her like she was their next meal. They wanted to entice her into one of the dark corners or up to a floating bed and taste her magic. Her power and strength. Her sexual energy.

  Only seconds after first seeing her, the idea of anyone touching her, sent a low rumble up my throat. Monsters weren’t the ones under your bed; they were the ones in it. I hadn’t even thought, my gaze locked on her, I stepped up to the lead singer of Dastardly Deeds, needing to excuse myself. Go to her.

  The lead singer had invited me up to play a few sets with them, making it clear she’d like to “hang out” once the band went on break. I had fully intended to do that. She was sexy as shit and had an appetite like mine.

  That was until she showed up.

  Handing the guitar back to Bardou, one of my pack, the real member of the Dastardly Deeds, I flew off the stage. Like a magnet, she pulled me to her.

  Once a year this party drew me in. It was the one night I let go. My second and third were still here, lurking in the shadows, keeping an eye on their alpha. The party was a perfect place to find trouble. Supernaturals did not all get along, actually quite the opposite, but for one night we let our egos and grievances go. Well, we tried.

  But tonight I was wound up from the moment I stepped in. I knew trouble was coming for me. I simply didn’t know it would be wearing a red dress.

  Halfway to her, my wolf smelled her, and it was like a hammer came down on my lungs. My soul. Crushing it with truth. It knew that smell…the same one that had haunted my dreams for a year, making my wolf howl with need. But how could that be? It didn’t make sense. I had ended that line. Burned everything to the ground. But now my gut recognized it like its own.

  Blood had been thick and heavy that night, covering up the life I should have sensed. The one they hid from the world. Fuck. This. Changed. Everything.

  “Alpha?” A woman’s voice came up behind me, jolting me out of my reverie. Reika, my second, nudged my shoulder. “You all right?”

  My eyes caught the tail end of Riley’s cape disappear out the back into the dark, forcing a growl to push me forward. The need to follow her dominated my thoughts. I knew how this one ended. What I had to do, but I couldn’t stop my feet.

  “Reika, you and Alarick stay here.”

  “What?” Alarick came up to my other side. They were one of the mated pairs, and their connection to each other made them excellent guards. They couldn’t speak to each other necessarily when guarding, but they could feel each other, know if something was wrong. They could look at each other and understand the other’s thoughts. “Absolutely not, Alpha. You know who she is, right? I smelled her. And you’re looking like a pup in love.”

  “Yes. I know who she is.” My gaze darted to him, my head tipping. We were all friends, had been since we were young, but I was still their leader. I let them be a lot more casual with me than most kings would, but they still had their place.

  “Don’t give us that look.” Reika put a hand on her hip, shaking her head, her long brown hair pinned in a tight low bun, her light brown eyes glowing. “We protect you. Even if it’s from yourself.”

  My second was a lot more dominant and bossier than her mate.

  “I think I can handle it.” I glared at her, but it did little to back her down.

  Reika arched her eyebrow at me. “Can you?”

  “She’s just a girl.” I growled deeply. Reika finally lowered her eyes. “Stay here. That’s an order.”

  My boots hit the floor, and people had the good sense to get the hell out of my way. Except one girl didn’t seem to get the memo. Stopping in the parted middle of the dance floor, a tall blonde woman with pointed ears, wearing a yellow ball gown, stared back at the bar where Riley and I had been.

  “Pardon me.” I grabbed her shoulders, trying to keep her on her feet. Blue eyes peered up at me, glinting under the gold masquerade mask she wore, blinking with surprise. I peered over her head, watching Riley disappear into the dark. Anger at my desperation clashed my teeth together, my canines growing like I no longer had control over myself. Riley was an alpha in her own right. I could feel the game being played when she tried her little power play with me earlier. She was used to having men fall at her feet. But I bowed for no one.

  No one.

  Sure…which is why you are the one running after her.

  Another deep growl vibrated my throat. I had been with the most powerful and beautiful women in the world. Some even tried to play the very game Riley had, to see if they could bend me. They hoped to bring me to my knees…have me chase after them. Not once had it worked. Ever.

  Fog curled around the ground as I headed out, the ocean breaking far below against the cliff, the moonlight captured in the sprays of water, glimmering the air. The air was cool, but werewolves ran hot.

  Very hot.

  My nostrils flared, taking in the salty air, but it centered right on my target. Her smell wrapped around me, tugging me right to the spot where she was like my entire body was in tune to hers.

  Against a tower wall, she blended in with the deep shadows, but my keen sight viewed her like it was in the middle of the day. Every curve, every heave of her chest.

  “Bloody hell,” I muttered, taking her in, moving to her like she was reeling me in. I had been prepared for a hunter attack. Predicted it would be tonight. It made sense. A time we were all put together under one roof. However, I had not expected this. Her. As my personal guards knew, she wasn’t simply a girl. She was far from it.

  Her head jerked up, her eyes reflecting light from the moon, her gaze was guarded as she watched me step closer. Her muscles tightened, going on the defense.

  “You should know better than to run from the big bad wolf.” I lifted an eyebrow, my gaze hungrily moving over her figure. I didn’t stop until my body was almost pressed against hers, her heat seeping through my clothes like fingers gliding over my skin, wrapping around my cock.

  She stiffened, letting out a heavy breath, her lashes fluttering, her jaw clenching.

  “Red Riding Hood almost got eaten for that.” My hands slid up her arms, feeling her shiver, her mouth parting as my hands moved up to her face. The need to have her demolished all reasonable thought. What I really should be doing to her.

  “Be careful.” Riley’s gaze landed on me, her confidence meeting mine without hesitation. “The wolf was killed in the end.”

  Smirking, my hands roughly gripped the back of her head, my dick so hard it felt like stone. I curved my hips into hers, causing a gasp from her.

  “You think a little girl could kill a wolf?” I yanked her against me, her breath curling around my mouth. My lips hitched up, my canines digging into my bottom lip with the need to bite into hers. To taste her blood.

  I knew how this night would end, but I couldn’t stop myself.

  “No.” She breathed, pushing her breasts into my chest. I could smell her desire, and it only overshadowed my thoughts even more. Her mouth brushed mine and my wolf howled inside, wanting to rut her. Now. Vicious and brutal.

  Claiming.

&nb
sp; A growl rolled around my throat at that notion. No. It’s not possible.

  “The little girl doesn’t kill the wolf.” Riley slid a hand down her exposed leg, biting at her full bottom lip. She withdrew a sharp dagger, the knife heading for my stomach, abhorrence flaming in her eyes. “But the hunter does.”

  Chapter Five

  Riley

  My finger closed around the handle, letting the months of training for this moment take over, but every bone in my body screamed at me to stop.

  He had to die. Revenge for my loved ones. And now he knew who I was, so he’d come for me.

  Kill or be killed.

  Being this close, my dagger went for his gut, and I felt it rip through the cotton of his shirt. The blade I carried was spelled to kill a wolf as if he were a normal man. The power in the blade, along with my strength, could slaughter the unkillable beast.

  In a blink, fingers wrapped around my wrist, yanking it so hard the knife fell from my grip, clanking on the hard stone in the path behind him.

  What the hell? There was no way he could respond so fast. His hands had been in my hair, my blade already skimming his spleen. My gaze popped up to his. His golden eyes blazed brighter than the moon, his mouth twisted in a snarl.

  “Guess we’ve hit the part of our relationship where we can drop the facades.” He slammed me back into the wall, ripping my breath away and pinning my hands together above my head. Instinct kicked out my legs; the position he put me in was vulnerable. Weak. His build crushed into mine, trapping my legs against his. “Right, Red?”

  Air stopped moving in my lungs, my head hitting the wall. “What?”

  “Oh sorry. You go by Red Huntress, don’t you?” He tipped his head with a smirk. “Riley Vanator.”

  Hell’s fucking teeth. He knew.

  “Seriously, Riley.” He turned into me, colliding my terror and lust together in a tornado. “I am the alpha. You think I would not have heard about the new hunter out there killing my kind? I tried to find out everything I could about the huntsman who came out of nowhere. You are good. Not much information existed, just a lot of contradicting rumors.” His breath trickled down my throat. “But now I know exactly who you are. I smell your blood. Vanator blood. It wasn’t hard to figure out you were a hunter. You got upset when I didn’t ask your name, but you forgot to ask mine. Because you knew exactly who I was. You have to at least play the game, Red.”

  Hell. I had forgotten.

  “Everyone knows who you are,” I snapped back. “You are the leader of the werewolves.”

  “Yeah.” He sneered, inching in closer. “But strangers still ask. It’s the polite thing to do when you’re trying to get into someone’s pants.”

  “I-I wasn’t…I’m not,” I spurted out. He smiled perceptively at my speedy rebuff.

  His nose flared, skimming it up my neck, leaving shivers running down my skin. “I figured a hunter might come tonight. You guys are always predictable. Come to take down the great alpha?”

  “Get off of me.” I tried to buck him off but only rubbed our hips together even more, heating my desire like it was on a barbeque.

  His eyes looked more like a wolf’s than a man’s. “Stop moving.” He grunted, his vocals strangled. One hand clasped both of my wrists as he dragged his free hand down my throat, along the V in my dress, between my breasts. My chest fluttered at his touch. My mind and body were at war. Desire had never been something which controlled me. I had been very sexually attracted to many of the men I used. I enjoyed sex a lot. But this was something entirely different. I was always in command with them, could walk away at any moment. But now desire consumed me, taking over my body and mind.

  “What I wasn’t expecting was you being the Vanators’ daughter.” His finger followed along the dress, tracing over my breast, compelling a whiskey-drenched moan from my lips.

  Chagrin flooded my cheeks, stirring anger inside. Wiggling against his hold, I felt him press harder into me, my dress hitching up higher on my leg, feeling every inch of him.

  “Now I realize I smelled you that night. Even through all the blood and death. I smelled you. Sweet. Alluring,” he muttered against my neck, his beard grazing along the curve of my neck. “They did a good job hiding you. Smart. No one knew they had a child.”

  The mention of my parents gritted my teeth, pressing my head back into the stone wall.

  “Is that why you’re here, little Red?” He tilted back to look into my eyes. “Not solely to kill your enemy but to avenge your darling parents? Because you think they were good, honest people and were viciously murdered by the big bad wolf? Is that what you believe?”

  “Fuck you,” I seethed. “You are a murderer. You came into our home and slaughtered them. Then burned it down with me still in it!”

  “Like they did to hundreds if not thousands of mine.” Grayson lifted his lip in a snarl. “And I didn’t know you were actually inside. I didn’t know you existed at all.”

  “Like it would have stopped you if you did.”

  “Probably not.” He tilted his head. “Don’t fool yourself. They were ten times worse than my kind. They were the ones who were cold-blooded and merciless to us.”

  “They only hunted the ones who had killed humans. It’s what we do. We protect the innocent,” I hissed back, leaning my head forward. “You are the monsters.”

  Grayson’s head tipped back, a howl of laughter echoing in the cool air. The menacing laugh dropped as fast as it came, his hands digging harder into my skin. “Is that what you think? What they told you? How naïve you are…” Revulsion iced his timbre, his jaw twitching. “Your parents were not morally respectable people. They were ruthless and pitiless. They hunted us down, skinned us, tortured us. Even. The. Pups.”

  I jerked. “No. They would never do that.”

  It was the one decree hunters and wolves never crossed. Children were off limits on both sides. If that pup grew into a wolf who killed a human, then fair game. But harming children was against every moral code Sups held. And our oath was everything.

  “I am not the monster here, Riley,” he sneered, his hand curling around my throat. Rage rolled off his shoulders like the fog wrapping around our ankles. “I simply repaid them for what they did to so many of us. To my little nieces.”

  My lids blinked, my heart pounding. “You’re lying.”

  “I am not lying.” His fingers squeezed down on my neck. “They were just six. Twins. The sweetest things you could ever know. Innocent and pure.” Agony rolled through his throat as he swallowed. “They were on their first outing alone…a very important trial at their age.” He cleared his throat. “I was the one who found them.” Every word he shoved out like a bullet. “They were skinned, gutted, and their teeth broken off. They had been tortured and left to hang as a warning to us.”

  My head automatically shook. “My-my parents would never do that.”

  “Oh, they did.” He leaned into my face. “It reeked with their smell. And it wasn’t the first time they left their calling card. Not the first pups they tortured.”

  My parents hated werewolves. That wasn’t a surprise since we were natural enemies, but there were times when I had overheard them, their animosity going to an extreme that had startled me. After years of watching hunters and their friends die, they blamed everything on the wolves, saying the world would be better without them. I never believed they could go that far though.

  “They broke the oath.” Grayson shook his head. “I did what was necessary. What was required.”

  “Required?” I choked. “Tearing them apart and burning down my house is what you called necessary?”

  “Yes. And I was being generous.” He growled, his boots stepping painfully on the tips of my toes. “If I’d known their offspring was hiding in that house, a hunter following in their footsteps, I would have made them watch me disembowel you first.”

  I grinned hungrily up at him. He thought he had me. I trained for every situation and how to get out of them. My f
avorite lesson was how to let them think they had the upper hand. That they had you against a wall. In this case, literally.

  “Patience, Rosu.” Grandma tapped at my shaky thighs with her cane, forcing me to go lower in my squat. “Be still…wait. Let them get comfortable. Then attack like a tiger.”

  “A mistake I will have to remedy tonight.” He bared his teeth at me.

  “Bring it, wolf.” I winked, my fingers wrapping around the wrist holding mine, twisting my body down enough to force him to regrip my wrists. I didn’t hesitate, my elbows smashing down on his face with a crunch. The wolf reared back with a roar, blood spurting from his nose.

  I darted out of the tight space he had me in. My hand swiped the knife he had tossed to the side, the buzz of magic dancing up my arm, giving me strength. I came here for a purpose; whatever madness the drink caused me to feel was over.

  I was designed to kill werewolves.

  I trained to kill him.

  Chapter Six

  Riley

  Kicking off my heels, the cool grass damp with moisture crushed under my toes, making me feel alive as energy curled under me.

  “This evening just got vastly more interesting.” Grayson whipped around, a hungry smile parting his mouth as he lowered himself, ready for me to strike. “Want to avenge your parents? Come get me, little huntress.”

  “Little?” I smirked, countering his steps, as we circled each other. “I love when men underestimate me.”

  His voracious grin widened. “Good thing I am not really a man then.”

  He leaped for me, his movements quicker than I expected. Whirling away, I felt nails claw across my arm, the skin tearing open, shooting pain up my nerves. My body dropped low as his arm swung out for me, nicking the top of my head. My leg rammed out, smashing against his shin right below his knee.