by Ellis Marie
“What’s going on, Lily?” She looked up at me, holding back a sob. My jaw clenched as tears fell down my cheeks. I chose to suppress my feelings and put my hand on her shoulder, hoping to calm her though I wasn’t sure I was helping. She took a deep breath for a moment and then closed her eyes, squeezing them shut.
“Tell me what’s going on? What kind of warning did your pack get? Who’s attacking?” And why the fuck did you let me come here if your pack is in danger? I didn’t say the last one out loud, but my wolf’s annoyance was very much fueling my own. She took in a shaky breath, but didn’t open her eyes.
“I can’t tell you everything because I’m bound by my alpha, but what I can tell you is that he wants something, someone. I don’t know! My alpha got a letter a few months ago saying we were next but it didn’t fit the pattern so he paid it no mind; he said we would be safe. But he got offended. He didn’t like it. We affronted him, insulted him, we were tactless. And now we’re going to pay. Alpha thought he was a myth, a fraud. Alpha was cocky. Alpha was wrong,” she whispered, seemingly more to herself than to me. It scared me to see Lily act this way, her speech pattern almost childlike and choppy. But that wasn’t what concerned me.
“Who is it, Lily? Who did . . . Alpha disrespect?” I asked, not knowing how to phrase my question better. She looked up at me with her blank large brown eyes.
“Lupus Deus.”
If you enjoyed this sample, look for
Lupus Deus
on Amazon.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I’d like to thank everyone who supported this book online over the last few years - without the comments, ideas and feedback from you all I never would have completed this book or kept writing. Through breakdowns, mental health hiatus’ and story rants, you all stood by me and supported these characters - this book belongs to you too!
I’d also like to thank my oldest friends who, instead of laughing at my writing at age 13, encouraged it and have done nothing but continue to be my biggest supporters. You gave me a safe space to be myself and to be proud of being a ‘nerd’ - even if we did get bullied for it at some points, it was definitely worth it. What would the world be without favourite books being passed between friends or midnight showings on a school night?
And to my best friends near and far: thank you for making me love myself again and for providing me with the best characters to put into stories, I couldn’t imagine a world without you guys - even a supernatural one - and I’m glad I don’t have to.
And finally, I’d like to thank my family; my Gran for her stories that never tire and her unwavering faith in me, my parents for supporting my book obsession (and for not killing me when I dropped out of university and said I wanted to be a writer - i love you guys), and of course, my big sister Sara. If I hadn’t wanted to copy you and read every single book you liked, then I may have never found my love for reading or the world it provides. No matter how annoying I was over the years, you’ve never done anything but make me feel completely loved and accepted. I don’t think I can ever quite live up to you and the way you put your heart into everything you do, but I hope by following my dreams I might somehow have a chance - if anything, at least I’ll be the cool Aunt with a book.
I love you, thank you, and I hope you enjoy x
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thank you so much for reading Golden! I can’t express how grateful I am for reading something that was once just a thought inside my head.
I’d also love to hear your thoughts on the book. Please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads because I just love reading your comments and getting to know you!
Can’t wait to hear from you!
Ellis Marie
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ellis Marie is a Scottish writer with a hopeless romantic’s heart and a huge imagination. Never without a book in her hand, you can often find her curled up with her dogs or singing along to her favourite musicals. After writing on Wattpad for 10 years, Ellis is proud to be publishing her first book and can’t wait to share even more.
