Ever After Read online

  He looked almost human. Who knew?

  “Stop trying to look pretty and get your ass out here,” Balin called from other part of the house and Fawkes rolled his eyes.

  Balin had always been like a big brother to him—more so than his actual blood brothers. The other demon had shown him how to fight, how to use a sword, and how to protect himself from others who knew that killing the son of Lucifer would exalt them into legends.

  He walked into the living room to find Hunter with his arm wrapped around a beautiful redhead who had to be Becca sitting on the couch.

  Hunter smiled at him, though really, on the wolf it looked more like a threat than a true smile.

  “Good to see you, Fawkes.”

  Becca grinned and stood up to give him hug. She smelled of sweetness and growth from the child in her womb. He looked over her shoulder at Hunter’s glare and snorted.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Becca, but you better pull back a bit or your mate will kill me. Slowly.”

  Becca threw her head back and laughed. “Yeah, that sounds a bit right. Don’t worry though, he won’t kill you.”

  “Maybe maim,” Jamie added in. “Only slightly though.”

  “We made fajitas and all the fixings so it’s pretty much serve yourself at the table,” Balin said as he handed over a beer to the non-pregnant people in the room.

  Fawkes took a sip and winced at the unfamiliar bitter taste. “How is it I’ve never had one of these before?”

  Hunter snorted. “Are you even old enough in the human realm?”

  “Shit, I forgot about that,” Balin said as he reached out to take it back.

  Fawkes raised a brow. “I’m a demon and almost twenty-one. I have more to worry about than those few months.”

  Ambrose just shook his head and sighed. “I’m not in the mood to deal with human politics. I’ve seen enough of it in my time.”

  “That would a be a long time, right honey?” Balin teased.

  “You’ll pay for that later,” Ambrose growled.

  The two males’ eyes darkened and Fawkes had a feeling he’d be using some earplugs later that night to block out any noise from the master bedroom.

  Fawkes watched the others make their fajitas and copied them, using extra salsa like Balin since apparently demons liked it hot. The spices mingled on his tongue and he washed it down with his beer, wondering how the hell he’d got here.

  “What’s wrong, Fawkes?” Jamie asked.

  “Nothing really,” he lied.

  She narrowed her eyes and he laughed softly. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I left my dad’s chamber without really thinking about the consequences.” The table got quiet at the thought of what must have happened in the chamber, but he didn’t elaborate. He didn’t need to, considering what each person at the table had been through on their own.

  “I know when you left hell before, Balin, you all gave me the opportunity to leave if I needed to, but I didn’t know if I was ready. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

  “Do you want to take souls?” Balin asked point blank. “Do you want to end human lives because that’s how you think demons should live?”

  “No. I don’t want to kill anyone who doesn’t deserve it.”

  “You’ve answered your question then,” Ambrose added. “You're confused because you've been on the path that's easy and paved with your father's intentions. I know that isn't the one you want. It might kill you, but you’d have been lost to us and yourself if you’d taken the other path. You’re here for a reason, Fawkes.”

  Fawkes swallowed hard and looked at his half eaten plate. “What do I do?”

  Jamie reached out and gripped his hand. “Stay with us. We’ll help you anyway you can. You have years, Fawkes, years to find your mate.”

  “You won’t be in the same position I was in either,” Balin added. “You won’t be forced to go back to hell. Lucifer has no place in the human realm, no matter how hard he tries. You can travel to the other realms as well, at least most of them, and look for your mate.”

  Fawkes snorted. “So spend my whole life searching for someone who might not exist?”

  Balin narrowed his eyes. “At least you’ll have the option unlike others.”

  Fawkes nodded, remembering that Balin’s father had forced him to stay in hell until he’d lost enough energy that he hadn’t been able to go to the other realms to search for his mate.

  “Enjoy life, Fawkes,” Hunter said, surprising Fawkes that the wolf would speak of enjoyment when he hadn’t any before he’d met Becca. “Don’t take the time you have for granted. You’ll have years to find her. Fate will provide, you have to believe in that.”

  “It looks like I’ve made my choice,” Fawkes whispered, knowing he’d made his choice the moment he’d left hell in the first place.

  Jamie squeezed his hand. “You’ve decided to be good. That’s okay, Fawkes. We’ll help you live.”

  Fawkes looked at the people who had welcomed him without reservations and blinked hard. He might have made one choice, but that didn’t mean there weren’t others to come. He still had to find the one woman for him, the one that could create the mating bond and provide enough energy that he wouldn’t fade away.

  The idea of fading away though paled in comparison to what he’d have to do if he chose souls over the humanity that he wanted to emulate.

  He’d taken the first step. Now he just had to find her.

  Chapter Two

  Six Months Later

  Leslie Masterson wanted a mate.

  Badly.

  Her wolf wanted one even more than she did.

  The human part of her wanted that perfect mate for life. Sure, had a certain itch that she needed to scratch, but that wasn’t the point. She’d had sex before, come on, she was forty after all, but it had been way too long.

  At least five years if she was counting.

  Not that she was counting.

  Daily.

  It wasn’t her fault really. Her brother, Dorian, had forbade all others to even look at her unless it was for his own political gain. He had been part of the Nocturne Pack’s council—the group of five families who had tried to take over the Alpha and Beta.

  Thankfully Hunter, the Beta, had won the dominance battle against her brother and had stopped a likely war within their own Pack.

  Her brother had died in the process yet Leslie couldn’t muster up much pity or sadness for that. She didn’t know exactly what that said about her, but honestly, she didn’t care anymore.

  She was a submissive wolf—a wolf who held the lower end of the spectrum in terms of dominance. Her wolf loved to let others control her and tell her what to do, but it wasn’t something wrong like what others thought. Her wolf wanted to be part of a relationship with another wolf where the more dominate wolf would take care of her.

  Being a submissive wolf meant the dominate wolves had others to protect and care for. That way their own issues with dominance would be soothed and the submissive wolf would be able to care for their dominate wolf in other ways.

  The human part of Leslie wasn’t as submissive as her wolf, but she too wanted someone to care for her like she wanted to care for them. She wasn’t as strong as other wolves and knew she needed the protection. It was simple biology. She had other strengths and could protect those in her care if needed.

  She just happened to be on the lower end of the power totem pole.

  Normally it wouldn’t have been an issue but because Dorian had taken advantage of that, she’d spent almost her whole life in the shadows. She’d begged her brother to allow her more freedom and cursed herself when she realized her wolf needed permission for that freedom.

  Now Dorian was dead and she was free.

  Or at least as free as she could be within the Pack den without a mate.

  It’s not like she necessarily needed a mate to live, no that would be idiotic of fate. She wanted to move on though. It had been over six months since her brother died and yet the
others were still weary of her.

  Some still thought she was part of the conspiracy to take over the Pack because of the blood running through her viens. Others had the idea that because she was a submissive, she didn’t matter as much.

  The latter her Alpha and Beta were working on.

  Their Pack had almost broken and were wrong in the way they were thinking on some things. She’d been told submissives were to be treasured, yet that wasn’t how it was done now.

  Or at least for the past few years. Things were changing, albeit slowly.

  Too slowly for her though because she was alone.

  Sure, she’d made some friends and was a little more open, but not enough. She wasn’t nearly independent enough for her own taste, but that was for safety now, rather than her own choices. She had to live with Hunter and his mate—and her friend—Becca because it still wasn’t completely safe for her on her own.

  People wanted revenge for what had happened and she was the easy scape goat for those who didn’t look beyond the surface.

  Leslie walked past a group of males and lowered her head on instinct. They were all more dominant than her and in the past, she’d have been able to walk past them no problem. No, though, after years of living with Dorian’s abuse, she didn’t trust herself.

  The males growled at her and she winced.

  “Wait up, Leslie,” one of them said and she turned as quick as she could to follow his call.

  If the group had been healthy, they would have assured her stance quickly by offering her a hug or touch to show her how loved she was in the Pack.

  This group wasn’t like that.

  Hell, she missed Becca and Hunter already and it had only been a few hours since she’d seen them.

  “Oh, hello Colin,” she answered keep her gaze on his chin rather than try to meet his eyes.

  He reached out and ran a finger along her cheek. Her wolf nudged along her skin, desperate to touch the more dominate wolves around her who treated her with respect. It wasn’t sexual or territorial.

  No, this was Pack.

  This was something she needed.

  She’d already been touch-starved before Dorian had betrayed the Pack openly. After that almost all others had shunned her. If it hadn’t been for Hunter, Becca, Liam, and Alec, she would have died. The latter two, council members in their own right, had taken her under their wing much like they would a baby sister.

  There was not mating in their eyes and she didn’t blame them. She didn’t feel anything for them but deep respect and guilt that her brother had threatened their way of life.

  That seemed par for the course these days.

  “Your wolf needs touch,” Colin growled, causing the other men around him to growl with him.

  Her wolf cowered and she cursed herself. She was stronger than this, darn it. Why couldn’t her wolf see this?

  “I know,” she answered honestly. “I’m working on it.” It was just really hard to do when most of the Pack wanted nothing to do with her and the rest scared the crap out of her. Alec and Liam could only do so much and she wasn’t about to snuggle up to Hunter daily while Becca nursed their newborn baby girl.

  “Your bloodlines are pure, Leslie,” Colin continued. “You’d make someone a good mate.”

  She blinked.

  Bloodlines.

  Seriously?

  It always came back to bloodlines. Dorian had been fanatic about it and look what had happened. She knew the blood running through her veins was of the finest families in the Pack’s history, but considering what had happened recently, she hadn’t thought it mattered.

  She didn’t care about who her family’s family was. She didn’t care about purity.

  Colin, apparently, did.

  “You don’t complain and you do as you’re told,” Colin continued. “A male would be pleased to have you for your child bearing alone. You’re quite fuckable as well. I don’t think it would be a chore to slam my cock into you during full moons. I’m sure that you’ll like the others too. After all, you’re a pureblood with tradition in your veins. You know the full moon hunts require us to either take flesh or fuck. I’m sure you understand with the female shortage in our Pack, that any mate of ours would have to be shared with the lot of us. You’ll enjoy it.”

  Leslie blinked again.

  Never had such romantic words been spoken, she thought dryly.

  Her wolf backed away from his touch and she lifted a lip in a snarl—so unlike her. “Remove your hand.”

  Colin’s brows rose but he didn’t move. He pinched her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. “What was that?”

  She gulped and cursed herself. Fear wafted from her and she wanted to slink into a corner and hide. It wasn’t her fault she was a submissive but dominants weren’t supposed to lord their power over her. They weren’t supposed to make her cower in fear.

  They were supposed to love her.

  They were supposed to protect her so she could protect herself.

  When had everything gone to hell?

  “Let me go, Colin.” Her voice shook and she lowered her eyes because of his wolf, but she still spoke. She was stronger than he thought. Or at least she hoped.

  He pinched harder and leaned down so his mouth was almost over hers. Those in the Pack kissed in friendly ways to show affection often, but that wasn’t what Colin wanted to do. He wanted to prove his dominance over her in front of his friends.

  She hated that he made her hate herself.

  “You think you can talk to me like that? You’re nothing but a useless bitch who needs a good fuck to get over herself,” he spat.

  Her wolf growled even as she cowered. “You don’t know me, Colin. None of you do. I won’t be mating with any of you. Our Alpha won’t force me.”

  Colin narrowed his eyes. “He can’t watch you always.”

  “No, but she has others on her side other than the Alpha,” Hunter growled as he stalked toward her.

  Inwardly, she relaxed though she did her best not to show that to Colin. She couldn’t afford to show any more weakness that she already had.

  “Stay out of this, Beta,” Colin warned.

  “Get your hands off of her before I tear them from your arms,” Liam warned as he came up from behind, Alec, like always, by his side.

  Her wolf nudged along her skin, desperate to touch the more dominate wolves around her would treated her with respect.

  Colin pulled back but not without shooting her dirty look. “She’s a pureblood. She’s made for mating. You can’t protect her from that.”

  Alec shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “Leslie is a person. Stop acting like you own her and all the females in the Pack.”

  Colin snorted. “Maybe if I did, we wouldn’t be running out of women.”

  Hunter moved so quickly she didn’t even see him. One second she was standing in front of Colin, the next she was behind Alec as Hunter had Colin on the ground, one knee on his chest and his forearm against his neck.

  Liam stood, claws out, ready to take on Colin’s friends, though the other wolves looked reluctant to fight three of the strongest wolves in the Pack.

  “Our Pack lost what was most precious to us when wolves like you decided to try to take over. The submissives don’t feel safe and others don’t want to mate outside the species. That is what’s killing us, not leniency. Speak to Leslie or anyone else like that again and I’ll gut you where you stand.”

  “You’ll destroy all of us,” Colin rasped.

  “You’ve already tried,” Hunter said simply then punched the other wolf in the face before standing up.

  Leslie cocked a brow at that and Hunter shrugged.

  “I slipped,” he replied.

  She bit her tongue to hold back a snort. The last thing she needed to do was laugh and start a full-out brawl over hurt feelings.

  Already she could tell her wolf was happier and more confident with dominant wolves who not only respected her, but treated her as if she
were worth something more than breeding. If only everyone treated her this way and maybe she’d get out of her funk.

  Maybe she could even find a mate.

  Okay, that might be a long shot, but she had to have hope.

  Without that, what was the point?

  “Go home,” Hunter ordered Colin’s crew. “If I catch you sniffing around any of the submissives who don’t want your attention, I won’t be so nice.”

  The other wolves glared, but left, knowing that Hunter, Alec, and Liam were stronger than them by far.

  Alec reached out and gripped her hand before smiling—something the wolf rarely did. “Are you all right?”

  Leslie nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

  Liam cursed and pulled her into his arms, inhaling her scent like he needed to know she was okay. “You should not have had to deal with that at all,” he whispered. “You’re family, Leslie. Never forget.”

  She rolled her eyes, but smiled at his tone. As if she could ever forget these men thought of her as the little sister they never had.

  “I won’t.” She pulled back and cupped his cheek with her palm. “You’re a good man, Liam. You need a mate.”

  His eyes darkened before darting to Alec and back to her. Like a good friend, she didn’t mention the slip.

  “Do you want a mate, Leslie?” Alec asked behind her.

  “Are you asking?” she teased.

  Alec and Liam sputtered as Hunter burst out laughing. “You’ve been hanging out with Becca too much I think,” the Beta said.

  Leslie grinned, surprised she could so quickly after the confrontation with Colin. “Your mate is awesome and you know it.”

  Hunter smiled a smile of a deeply satisfied male. “You don’t have to tell me that. Were you on your way home?” he asked and she held back a wince.

  Home.

  Not hers, not really. She lived with Hunter, Becca, and their new baby Hazel. She needed a home of her own but she hadn’t been ready before.

  Soon though.

  Soon.

  “Yep, I’m on my way home now.”