The Ancients Series

by Christine M. Butler

“What? But…” Antoine held his hand up in front of him in a gesture meant to shut me up. It worked. I was speechless.

  “Antoine?” A tall woman who was sitting to the left side of Evan’s father called out.

  “No, Eleanna. You know the rules.” Antoine said, and then turned back to look at Evan and I. “The oldest son is the one set to inherit rule. The eldest gets first crack at his choice of mate. If he denies an eligible female, then the younger brother may pursue her. That is how it has always been.”

  “But, Malachai is already bonded with someone.” I said, looking at the woman beside him who held his hand anxiously.

  “This is true, but Mikael is not.”

  “Father, you can’t possibly...”

  Antoine cut Evan off. “I can. I am. You do not have permission to be with this woman, this white wolf. Your brother will make an attempt at wooing her, if he discards you may have her.”

  “Excuse me?” I said. He was talking about me like I was meat to be passed around at a barbeque.

  “What part did you not understand, sweetheart?” Antoine sounded just like Mikael in that moment.

  “I understood everything perfectly, but I do not agree with it.” I looked at my parents hoping they could make this man understand, but their faces seemed as hopeless as Evan’s did in that moment. “I don’t even like Mikael. He was a jerk when we first met, and he hasn’t changed at all in the time he’s been here.”

  “I’m not sure I understand either, father. Mikael was given an option to mate, and he waited until I was far gone to say he didn’t want her.”

  “Yes, well, that was a wise decision on his part, as it turns out because he now has a chance to be with the white wolf. I decree it so. She may continue to see you both, if she so chooses, but your brother will get equal opportunity until the Summer Solstice. On that day, a final choice will be made, and a bond will be sealed.”

  “You can’t make me adhere to anything, father.” Evan said defiantly.

  “No, but I can make her, for now.” He turned to me then and repeated his terms, throwing the weight of his power as King of the Ancients behind his words. I would be forced to follow them to the letter, until I rose to my power as the white wolf, or until a choice was made during Summer Solstice. I felt the power in his words wrapping around me and binding me like a tight cloak that I couldn’t take off.

  “No!” I yelled then, and nearly ran for Evan’s father, because I had never wanted to hurt someone so much in my whole life, and that included what I had already done to Marcus. “You can’t do this to me.”

  “It is done,” he said as Evan caught me around the waist to kept me from doing what I wanted. I turned into Evan, and allowed the tears to fall into his chest as I tried to reign in my anger. Antoine had just done to me what Zach and Marcus had tried numerous times. He had mind-raped me into dating his son. He may not have a say in who I chose at the end, but he could most definitely make me date Mikael right alongside Evan. The thought turned my stomach, and made me wonder if Evan would stand by me as I had to date his brother too.

  “Sorry, I’m late. I actually had to go and borrow a car from one of Evan’s workers to get out here, because I don’t have one. Asriel was supposed to come pick me up. Where is that fool?” Mikael finally shut up and took stock of everyone’s moods as he looked around for Asriel. “What’s going on?”

  “You son of a bitch,” Evan started, as he let go of me, and ran after his brother. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

  “Planned what, brother?” Mikael asked as he jumped out of the way at the last minute when his brother lunged at him. My father jumped in between the two, and grabbed hold of Evan as Mikael stepped off to the side. “What the hell is this about?” Mikael looked from Evan to me, and back again. I’m not sure what he saw when he noticed me, but his face immediately changed, becoming softer, but with a puzzled expression.

  I sat down on the only empty chair in the living room. My mouth was hanging open, all the color had drained from my face again, and I couldn’t think straight. Evan had just torn after Mikael, but my dad beat him there. Asriel went to help my father. Mikael still looked completely confused when he sought out his father, who had been watching everything with a modest amount of curiosity.

  Everyone was slightly taken aback when the person Mikael chose to address was me. “Jess, what’s wrong?” The fact that I was the first person he spoke to managed to piss Evan off further, and he began struggling in Asi, and my dad’s arms.

  “Brilliant!” Evan railed at him, “Ask her what’s wrong. You are what’s wrong! You’ve already had a woman handed to you. Who knows what happened with her, really. So, now, you come and take my chance at happiness out from under me!”

  “I think you need to take a moment and explain. I don’t have a damn clue what you’re talking about.” Evan was fuming, and wasn’t going to give him a clear answer. Antoine just shrugged his shoulders and pointed at me. The disgust that had to be clearly written on my face just made him chuckle. Arrogant bastard that he was. So I turned to Mikael to tell him myself.

  “Apparently, you’ve got dibs on me, because I’m just a soulless puzzle piece to maneuver among the Ancients. Your kind seem to think it’s okay to mind rape my choices away!” I was screaming the words at Antoine now, not even trying to hide my disdain for him.

  “Jess, don’t!” Evan warned me when he saw the look on his father’s face.

  “What did you do, father?” Mikael asked, now looking almost as pale and stricken as I felt.

  “I did you a favor, Mikael. She is the white wolf, and you are my eldest son who has not been bound. She should be with you, and now you will get your chance.”

  “What?” There was no way Mikael could fake the shocked look on his face. “What the hell did you do? A true bond cannot form through force, and you know that!”

  “She has a choice, son. I simply made sure you had a shot. By Summer Solstice we will know who the better man is.”

  “Certainly not you!” I spat at him.

  “Jess!” Evan threw out another verbal warning. My dad and Asriel were still standing near him, though they had been able to let go. I assumed that Evan came to his senses when he saw Mikael’s response. He couldn’t have known about this ahead of time. Hell, it didn’t even make sense that he would. Mikael didn’t even know I was the white wolf.

  “Jess, please,” Mikael said at the same time Evan had spoken.

  The moment the words left Mikael’s mouth with the slightest hint of concern in them, Evan’s temper flared again. It threw him over the edge, and it no longer mattered who was holding his human arms again, because Evan shifted into his beautiful black wolf and took off running. He didn’t come after Mikael this time though. Instead he was gone, out the front door, and beyond before I could even think about what to do. For a moment, I thought to follow him, but I needed to be here to see how the rest of this conversation played out first. I had hoped that when Mikael understood what his father had done that he would relinquish any claim to me.

  Mikael moved closer. “You can’t talk to my father that way. He’s killed men for less, Jess.” The concern for my well-being was evident, and puzzling to me. My anger was still at the forefront though, and I didn’t hold back.

  “Too bad! My white wolf is apparently precious to him. Let him kill me then he loses her too.” I had already been through plenty with Marcus, and survived. At this point, I was just done with all the power plays that were being put in front of me. I was tired of being subjected to men’s rule.

  “There are far worse fates than death, my white wolf.” Antoine said to me, then he turned to his son. “School your bitch on how to properly address us or you’ll be courting her from a cage over the next seven months. I hear she’s been recently acquainted with what the inside of one feels like.” With that, Antoine turned and snapped his fingers, his entire entourage got up and followed him out of my parents’ house. The woman who spoke in a thick accent, I could only a
ssume she was Evan’s mother, gave me a look that promised we would talk later. She mouthed, “sorry” to me as she walked by, and held out her hand to touch mine briefly.

  The gesture wasn’t enough, and yet it was probably all she could manage without bringing forth her husband’s ire. I wasn’t sure how anyone’s wolf could agree to be bound to someone like Antoine. Maybe he had been different long ago? I didn’t know. I just knew I was getting tired of all the shit that the men around me kept tossing my way.

  Mikael took a step to come closer to me, but stalled when I gave him the evil eye. “Hate the situation all you want, but don’t hate me. You knew before I did, sweetheart.”

  “Don’t call me that!”

  “You know what? It wasn’t an endearment. I call lots of women sweetheart. It doesn’t make you special or mean that I want to be your mate, so get over yourself already. I am not my brother.”

  “You know what? I can’t get over myself because your dad won’t allow it. He’s forced his will on me. I had to give you a chance. I don’t get a choice in that, Mikael.”

  “Am I so bad? Jesus, you’d think you were told to go have dinner with Jeffery Dahmer or something.” He moved in much closer, lifting my chin with his fingers until my tear-filled eyes looked up at him. “Christ, Jess, don’t cry.” He swore under his breath. “I’m not a damn monster, you know!” With that, he turned and left the house too. He did so as a human though.

  Sometime during that little exchange Asriel had gone out to search for Evan, leaving me there in the house alone with my parents and Ashley now. “How does everything keep getting so messed up?” I stood and went up to my room, where I could sulk in peace.

  “Jess,” Ashley said as she knocked on my bedroom door.

  “Ashley…” I called out wistfully. I could deny a lot of people entrance to my room, but not her. I needed my best friend right now, more than anyone. “What am I going to do?” I said as she sat down on the edge of my bed.

  “You’re going to stop moping, and make the most of this situation.”

  “Easier said than done.” I looked down at the quilt that I tossed across my legs. “I don’t have a choice now. Every time I think of going after Evan, I feel the pull to go after Mikael too. Unless those dumb asses ever thing to run off to the same place, that kind of leaves me feeling split apart.”

  “Yuk. I can’t believe Antoine did that to you, especially after everything you just went through. I guess Evan was right when he said the rest of his family wasn’t like him.”

  “Exactly, Ashe. And the rest of his family includes Mikael.”

  “Jess, there’s something you should know though.”

  “Really? Is it how screwed I am? Because I already know that.” Ashley laughed a bit, but then she leaned over and put her arms around my shoulders and squeezed. A couple hours ago, and that would have hurt like hell, now that I’d spent some time in my wolf form, it simply ached a bit.

  “When you were missing…” she started, sounding a little unsure of herself as she spoke. “Mikael was out there, trying just as hard to find you. He’s a better tracker, Jess, and he actually followed your scent for quite a while. It’s ridiculously crazy, because when we got about ten miles out from the cottage, while following Zach, we saw Mikael. He had almost found you before we did.”

  “Seriously?” I asked, honestly surprised by that turn of events.

  “Yeah, he was actually the one who ended up pulling the bars apart. Burned the crap out of his hands too, and then Evan swooped in and snatched you out of there. Not that Evan wasn’t doing his part, Jess. I’m just telling you that they both did.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know why men do what they do,” she said.

  “No, I mean why are you telling me this? Ash, you of all people should be completely against this. He turned you, he tried to kill you.”

  “Yeah, he did, and I can’t be mad at him for it either. Look what it’s gotten me. I will be able to spend multiple lifetimes with my best friend, and I found my soul mate, my bonded half. Jess, aside from the drama that Marcus caused for you, this has been the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I feel like I owe Mikael a thank you for nearly killing me.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far.” I announced.

  “You know he’s been looking for Zach too, while Evan’s been here taking care of you.”

  “He has?”

  “Yes. He has.”

  “Ash, I want to be with Evan.”

  “So, then be with Evan. He can’t force you to choose the other brother, only to give him a chance. So, go out on some dates with him, become friends, while you love Evan. What’s the big deal? Either way you’re still going to get what you want in the end, right?”

  I flopped over on my bed, and threw the quilt up over my head, groaning all the while.

  “Talk to me, Jess. What’s the problem?”

  “Ashley, why did you tell me that Mikael was tracking me, and trying to find Zach?”

  “I thought you should know.”

  “But why?”

  “Jess, you’ve never dated anyone before Evan. Not a single soul. You’re still a virgin, and now you have to remain that way until summer. Bless your poor little soul,” she added with a laugh. “I like Evan for you, I do. But a few days ago even you had your doubts about him. He walked away from you without so much as a word. Believe me when I say that’s been on my mind. Tonight, he turned wolf and ran because his brother spoke to you. Who’s to say he won’t do it later on too?”

  Ashley sighed before she continued, “On the flip side, he was torn apart when he came looking for you. He was a broken man when he saw how badly you were hurt. He’s been by your side ever since. Until today, he hasn’t left.” She curled up beside me on the bed then and threw her arms around me. “If the person you want, beyond a shadow of a doubt is Evan, then there’s no problem. He’s just going to have to learn to deal with you going out with his brother once in a while.” She cringed, “Okay, that’s a little awkward, but you can get through it.”

  “And what about Mikael in all of this, am I supposed to go through all this just to hurt him in the end?”

  “I think he knows what his chances are, Jess. Besides, Mikael has some power in this too. And here’s some food for thought, he could end it all right now, just bow out, and say he doesn’t want you. He didn’t do that though.”

  “That’s what concerns me.” I pulled the blanket down off my head, and looked into Ashley’s big blue eyes. “What if he wants this? What if he makes me stick it out until the very last day?”

  “What if? The choice will be yours.”

  “I choose Evan,” I said, leaving no doubt in my mind where my heart was.

  “Okay, then you just have to make it through the next seven months of dealing with his brother too.”

  “Maybe you can chaperone all of our dates?”

  “Yeah, no. I love you and all, but I am not up for that amount of awkwardness on a regular basis.” Ashley hugged me hard, and then wiped the tears away from my cheeks. “You want to hear the good news, sweets?”

  “Lay it on me, Ash.”

  “You killed the shit out of Marcus!”

  “Yeah, I did!”

  Which guy are you with today? I saw your Jeep parked outside Angelique’s. You are on a date, right?

  I looked down at the text from Ashley, but I didn’t respond right away. When I got here I slid into my favorite booth near the back, but now I was second guessing my choice of seating.

  “Excuse me, may I switch to the table over there?” I asked the waitress who came to take my drink order.

  “Sure thing, sweetie. Is it just you today?”

  “No, I’m meeting someone. Can I get a water with lemon and some of those Louisiana chips too, please?”

  “Yes, ma’am! I’ll be right back.”

  I stared at my phone while I waited. I was a few minutes early, as I had planned to be. I wanted to make sure I got to pick my sea
t out first, and work out what I planned to say beforehand. As I was contemplating that a text came in and I looked at my cell again.

  Finally, I decided to stop thinking so much, and responded to Ashley’s text instead. Yes, Ash. I will tell you all about it later, I promise.

  In full detail! She responded, and then another text came in. Wait, which one? I smiled, and was about to tell her, but I felt a tingle of power wash over me that had me looking up into the most gorgeous smile I’d ever seen. He was wearing dark blue jeans, a black polo shirt that was stretching the limits of decency as it highlighted every ripple of muscle in his upper arms and torso, and there were black boots too. He strutted over to the table, leaning down to place a quick kiss on my cheek. As he did, a few strands of his black hair came loose to frame his chiseled jawline. Cobalt blue eyes stared down into my own, sending tingles through my whole body. Evan took the seat directly to my right, pulling his chair just a bit closer as he scooted it back in.

  “Jess, I’m sorry if I’m running a little late. I was caught up with a delivery issue at the bar.”

  “It’s okay, Evan. The waitress hasn’t even brought my water and chips yet.” As if on cue, she came walking up and placed them down on the table, not really paying attention to us at all. She was preoccupied with someone who had just walked in up front.

  Evan cleared his throat, “I’ll take a glass of sweet tea and a menu too, please.”

  “Yes sir,” she started, and when she looked down and saw who she was talking to, I swear her jaw nearly hit the table. “Um, I will…” apparently the sheer sight of Evan left her speechless. I couldn’t blame her for that. “I’ll be right back, hon.”

  “Funny,” I said, “she didn’t seem to have that problem when she was taking my drink order.” I was laughing at him, until I spied the reason the woman had been so preoccupied to begin with. A tall, very handsome man with short brown hair, that was threatening to finally flop over into his eyes if he didn’t get it cut soon, was sauntering toward our table like he owned the place. The smile on his face exuded confidence, as if he were comfortable anywhere he went, and those bright emerald eyes of his were shining like the jewels they mimicked.