I pulled the door shut so hard the whole corridor, which extended as far as a mile in length, burst into a deafening echo. The doorkeeper of the vault room who was twice my height and three times larger than me jumped off his feet. I couldn’t believe how selfish Aiden had been. He knew how much I loved him. But I should have known that he was keeping a secret so deep it could send me to my grave.

Unlike the other packs, werewolves were faithful to their mates. Once they’d carved the name of their lovers in their hearts, no one – not even death – could set them apart. Had I known he was leaving after serving my family for two years, I would have married him… I should have asked more about his past… and helped him escape the dark fate he’d been thrown into. Most slaves like him suffered the same repercussion from their own families. Behind the grandeur and perceived privilege of belonging into the Circle tribe, a dark consequence awaited those unlucky ones.

Turning right and walking a few meters straight, I turned left as my room came into view. Walking straight would lead to the living area, where most of my family’s treasured belongings were displayed. I couldn’t stand staying there for any longer than a second. Seeing my ancestors’ portraits framed on the walls sent shivers up my spine. It felt like they were watching me. And being watched was at the very top of my hating list. I disliked being observed and judged.

Just as when I was about to turn into a smaller hallway adorned with animal skins, my rear sight caught a glimpse of Drake looking in my direction. It seemed we had visitors by the loud noise bouncing out of the living room. Without a hint of a doubt, Mom was the one laughing so hard it sounded as if she was squealing in pain. As usual, Dad imprisoned himself in the basement to avoid hearing my mother’s rather obnoxious voice. He was working on a project. He’d just finished developing a two-edged sword that could cut irons, and now he was trying to figure out how to use silver to our pack’s advantage. He was a self-taught chemist.

By the agitated look on his face, it seemed Drake wished to speak to me. But I wasn’t in the mood to listen to any of his crap. Not until I convinced Aiden to stay and be with me for the rest of his life. No one in this world could love him better than I could. I continued walking and kicked the door of my room open to reveal a neatly cleaned and organized chamber adorned with precious minerals – none of which would help me embrace the fact that he was leaving tomorrow. Heart pounding out of my chest, I turned back around and punched the door shut. Their clamorous laughter caused my blood to boil.

“Fuck!” I yelled at the top of my voice as I pulled my hair in exasperation. I could feel my eyes flaming and when I turned in the mirror, my eyeballs were burning red. Grabbing the diamond-studded vase off the dresser, I chucked it at the life-size mirror with all my might in the hopes of releasing the fury that was devouring me. The glass shattered into tiny pieces. Each piece of debris flew in the air, some of which struck me close to the eyes. I didn’t care. What was the point of seeing without the person you wished to spend the rest of your life with?

The fluid inside my stomach swiftly made its way up my throat. It happened when I got so angry the acid inside me seethed to help me cope with my distress. I swallowed it back down as it burned my throat. Sweat dripped down my forehead. Veins were popping to the surface of my skin. My gaze shifted to the portraits of me smiling. I took them down several times before and told the maidservant to get rid of them, and now they were back up again.

I tried to calm myself and keep the peace within me, but I couldn’t.

Not when I knew Aiden would soon abandon me.

Fuck!

Tears welled up in my eyes despite my best effort to restrain it.

My finger claws came out as I jumped at the walls and scratched all of my portraits down and ripped them into tiny pieces. Punching the walls helped me to feel the pain physically and strip myself of the agony Aiden had inflicted on me. My fists had dug into the solid concrete as blood oozed out of my knuckles. Smashing the walls didn’t satisfy me, so I grabbed the steel dresser weighing more than a hundred pounds and threw it out the triple glazed window. A roar of frustration had escaped out of my mouth as I grabbed hold of a large vase half my size and chucked it against the walls.

Damp with sweat, I was panting like a thirsty dog. I wanted to swear and curse those involved in Aiden’s unfortunate situation, but doing so would put my family’s reputation as well as the whole pack on the line. My vision blurred out from too much grief. I fell onto the foot of the bed frame as I leaned against it, my head resting on the side of the mattress made out of a tightly stashed premium cotton.

Then, a loud gentle knock on the door stole my attention.

Who the fuck is it?

“Tom, open up…”

Quickly, I rose up as my heart punched out of my chest.

It was Drake. Just the right timing for him to show up. He had a lot to explain.

As I pulled the door open, Drake’s pale face struck me out of my daze. It was as if he’d seen a ghost. Before I could even invite him in, he pushed me back and took a step forward into my room. He slammed the door shut.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he began, his heart thumping out of his chest.

I smirked to insult him and make him feel the needles piercing through me. “Aren’t I the one who’s supposed to be asking you that?”

His eyebrows crossed into a deep frown. “What the hell are you talking about?” he said, his voice gurgling with fear. He knew what I was talking about. He knew Aiden was leaving tomorrow. I could see it in his eyes. He couldn’t lie, especially not in my face.

Smoke of anger escaped out of my nostrils. “Don’t fool around with me, Drake. I know you know what I’m talking about.”

“I’m sorry, but I came here to tell you to mind the visitors. They’re the Genevans, the richest pack in the Circle–”

I cut him off and took him by the neck, dragging him back against the wall. “You know I detest liars…” I said firmly.

He could not look me in the eyes. He knew I could read minds.

“I’m sorry, Tom,” he said as if admitting he’d been mistaken for deceiving me.

“Why? Why didn’t you tell me he’s leaving tomorrow?”

Drake lowered his shoulders in surrender. “Because of the agreement his brother and I made. He’d been sold to your family for a large fortune, but Aiden had requested to keep it all private for his sake. I didn’t deny it to him; even a slave has a right to speak their mind.”

My grip on his neck tightened. His face slowly turned purple. But I didn’t let him go. “I trusted you,” I said, tears welling up in the corners of my eyes. “You betrayed me. You know how much he means to me and yet you dared to keep me a fool!” I spat out, my saliva spluttering on his face.

He wrapped both of his hands around mine in an attempt to set himself free from the vexation that clouded my judgment of right and wrong. “You’re choking me,” he managed to say despite the limited air in his stomach.

I didn’t stop. I wanted to make him feel the pain I was feeling right now.

“Tomas!” A loud voice of a woman brought the senses back into my brain.

It was Mom.

Sighing, my hands loosened up as I dropped Drake to the ground. He took a deep breath and crawled his way out of my room. I didn’t dare to move – not even a finger. Engaging in an argument with Mom wasn’t a smart choice. Father would punish me with such a vigorous discipline that I’d be left limping or with a broken arm or leg.

Mom’s eight-inch heels clanked on the floor. How could she manage to walk in those shoes? “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” I said in a quiet whisper, and yet Mom still managed to pick it up.

“So then what’s all this mess about, ha?”

I said nothing and kept my mouth shut instead.

“ANSWER ME!” she cried out. One thing she hated the most was when someone did not reply when she asked them questions.

But I wasn’t in the mood to comply with her rules. I had my own. She had to remember, I was no longer a cub. Walking past her, she grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me back. “Let him go, Tomas. You are a Falston and he’s a Blair. Just think of what people would say…”

“I don’t care what the people say, Mom. I love him, and that’s what I’m gonna follow.” I pulled my arm back. “Excuse me.”

“Tomas!” she yelled.

I kept walking. Could no longer bear Mom’s nagging, I jumped out the window and shifted into my wolf form. My fur was a hue of black and silver. A diamond mark was on my forehead to indicate my position as the next Alpha, destined to reign and make the pack prosper. It was a unique trait only a true heir was born with. Having my father’s position might help accommodate Aiden to stay.

* * *

I sprinted away from our mansion as fast as I could. The wind whipped past my ears as the sand dust struck me on the face, making the way difficult to see. Running without a sense of direction didn’t help to get my mind lost away from thinking of Aiden. Never in my entire life, I’d felt this way about someone, not even the first guy I had loved. But that in itself was another story I wished not to revisit.

Time ticked by and I didn’t realize I reached the forbidden forest where the cast out and rebels dwelled. Although it technically belonged to the Circle tribe, it was at the very edge of our territory toward the planes where the humans lived. Sniffing the air, I couldn’t detect any danger. The smell of the rotting woods and decaying carcass of wild animals filled my nostrils. A royalist like me would surely be ideal prey. But they don’t dare, because I don’t bite like a puppy – I gobble, devour, and crush my predators with my jaws.

Walking into the heart of the forest, my paws crunched the withered leaves on the ground, enough to attract those hungry rebels. But surprisingly, no one had the courage to face the future Alpha of the Falston. Perhaps because of the markings on my body. As I traversed further into the forest, a familiar scent caught my attention. I couldn’t possibly get it wrong. But just to make sure, I sniffed the air with my eyes shut.

I was right.

It was him.

Opening my eyes, I postponed another step forward upon seeing Aiden naked taking a dip into the most glorious pond I’d ever seen. My heart flamed with gladness to see him wearing the watch I gave him. He had a sharp sense of smell, something only a Falston possessed. I had once asked him to shapeshift, but he’d told me he had been unable to transform into a rabbit since birth. It was a genetic defect that must have played a role in losing out over his father’s throne.

My heart jumped up my throat as Aiden turned his head in my direction. He could smell me… As quiet as I could possibly manage, I hid behind an oak tree and held my breath to avoid spreading my scent in the air.

Stripped of clothes, he emerged out of the water, his dick flopping as he walked toward the shore. With mouth hanging open, I drooled to suck his manhood into my mouth. It was soft, but it looked as though it stood erect by its size. His pubic hair was black and thick as if it belonged to a Falston. A Blair usually had lighter ones.

The silence shattered at his voice. “Reveal yourself!” he said, turning his head around him.

I swallowed. After what just happened earlier, I doubted he would be delighted to see me spying on me.

“Don’t hide, I know it’s you, Tom. Come out.” His voice had softened this time, which was a great relief.

In my wolf form, I stepped away from the tree and slowly walked toward him, my head down, not wanting to make the situation awkward just because he was naked. I stopped where he stood. Out of the blue, he caressed me on the head down to my back where my tail was. I rolled my eyes to the back of my head at the sensation of his delicate touch, which slowly turned me on. His scent aroused me. I really wanted to fuck him right now.

“Turn into your human form,” he commanded.

At his feet, I obeyed and transformed back into my human form. Like him, I was naked. It explained why we had the whole dungeon for the slaves to make our clothes. When we shapeshift, our clothes get torn into pieces. We were like snakes who kept changing skin.

Looking him in the eyes, I could hear his heart beating so fast he was glad I came to see him, regardless if it was accidental.

Without warning, he pulled me closer and pressed his lips to mine. Our bodies intertwined as I wrapped my arms around his lower back so that I could feel his dick on mine. Nothing could get any better than this – such an unexpected surprise. I played his tongue with mine as we shared our warmth together. We were so hungry for each other that everything at that moment disappeared. Nothing existed but us alone. We couldn’t care if anyone saw us. My erection got even harder as he squeezed my tight ass. In return, I ran my right hand down his back and poked him in the ass with my middle finger. Fuck, he was tight like a virgin.

“Argh…” he moaned.

“Do you want me to fuck your ass?”

Panting, he looked around. “Not here,” he said. “But I could give you a blowjob if you want.”

“I’d love that,” I said eagerly.

He got on his knees and grabbed hold of my manhood with his bare hand. He could barely wrap it. He squeezed it and I jerked slightly at the sensation it produced. Before I knew it, my dick was already in his mouth. It was warm and wet. Sighing in great pleasure, my eyes involuntarily rolled to the back of my head. It felt so good I moaned like a little bitch. No words could explain how good it felt to be blown.

I bit my lower lip as he whirled his tongue around the tip of my dick. Despite my best effort to contain it together, I moaned so loud I didn’t realize I was already howling.

“Argh…”

Fuck, this feels so fucking good!

He pushed himself into me as my dick traveled into his throat.

My ass tensed up. I was coming. I could feel it.

“Aoooh…” I howled as my cum squirted into his mouth.

He pulled out and fell on his bottom, white fluid oozed out of his mouth. To my surprise, he swallowed my cum down his throat and licked the residue off his lips. He looked so fucking hot when he did that. I dropped on top of him and occupied his lips. The aroma of my semen on him had caused my dick to stand erect. Second round.

* * *

The next day, I could barely stand still as my vision blurred. Hell! I’d drunk way too much last night. I thought it would help me get over Aiden’s departure, but it just made it even worse. Wait, wasn’t it today he was leaving? Yeah! It was. Shit. I sighed and shook my head.

“Argh!”

Why did he need to leave?

Why!

Fucking hell!

I returned to my bed and brought my gaze out the broken window. They still had not fixed it. Mom must have told the slaves to leave it unfixed. As usual, I was the one who had to get it done. It was my fault anyway.

It wasn’t long before the quietness was blasted by a loud knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

Without any answer, the door swung open to reveal Drake with a bandage around his neck.

I rolled my eyes away from him.

He didn’t deserve my attention after what happened yesterday.

“What do you want?” I finally asked after waiting for him to break the news. I knew why he came…

It took him awhile to respond, so I turned and faced him.

Only then he spoke. “Aiden’s whole family will be coming over in an hour or so. They’ll be taking him home.”

“Fuck no,” I muttered. “They’ll take him back to hell, you mean.”

“Your family are out on the front porch to welcome Aiden’s family and bade him farewell. Your father is asking for you to see Aiden off.”

I turned back around and gazed at the withered vineyard in the East. Not saying a word was better than telling Drake to leave because there was no way I could let Aiden go. Especially not in front of my family. For them to see me break down at Aiden’s feet was the worst scenario I could possibly imagine.

I kept my silence until Drake pulled the door shut.