AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He started shaking his head in disbelief. “Okay but keep an open mind.” I nodded. “The vampire had fed on a lot of supernatural blood. His strength easily toppled mine, and we fought. He was so strong, Luca. But after a short scuffle, he had my arms locked down while he fed on my blood. I could feel my strength waning as my vision blurred, and then everything went black. I thought I was dead, Luca.”
The thought of losing my packmate, my friend, terrified me. Devon was family. “What happened?”
He snorted. “Well, my life did not flash before my eyes, but it was the end of the line for me. The next thing I knew, Fang was dead, and my wound had miraculously healed. My energy returned full strength.”
It took me a short moment to process the information, but I kept coming up blank—no straightforward explanation. At least not the miraculously healed and returned energy. “Did you shift?”
“No, but somehow, I completely healed.”
It didn’t make any sense and it made me a little angry that he did not report this immediately. “How is that possible? And why are you just now mentioning this to me?”
Devon lowered his gaze. “Alpha…Luca, I have repeatedly replayed that night in my head, trying to figure out what happened. How is it possible that I am alive? I do not know. Ivy must have healed me somehow, but that is not possible. Especially without a potion and even those do not work that fast. So, that’s why I started trying to find out everything I could about Ivy.”
Could she have really healed Devon’s wounds? And how? I could not think of any species capable of that kind of magic. The mystery surrounding her just kept multiplying. Ivy—the female who already had my wolf’s loyalty—could be a danger to anyone. And as much as I hated to admit it, I did not know this beautiful wolf. That was why I finally asked, “And what did you find?”
“Sir, she does not exist in any of our shifter databases. I even reached out to the other Regionals and came up empty. I did everything short of petitioning the council for information.”
Already shaking my head, I said, “No, leave the council out of this,” as my mind sifted through what little information I knew about her. She was a puzzle and I needed to learn more. I wanted to unlock her secrets before sinking deep inside her and claiming her as my own. I dismissed the last thought, knowing that was my wolf’s intention. Not mine. At least not yet.
“Have Trace find out everything he can about Ivy. Tell him to be discreet. I do not want anyone but our trusted people involved.”
When I first became regional alpha, there were many attempts on my life—low-life scum who wanted to keep the old ways. I refused to turn a blind eye and allow lesser wolves such as omegas to be mistreated by their alphas. I abolished forced mating, and I ended trading she-wolves like they were a commodity instead of a treasure. That was why I trusted only four people with my life. Axel, my beta. Devon, my head enforcer. Trace, my computer expert/ PI, and Rage, my undercover investigator/executioner. Other pack members were living in and around my packhouse that I considered friends, but these four were the ones who had proven their loyalty over and over.
“Already done. Trace just reported that Ivy has been spotted with a human at the library.”
“Human?” My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Wolves rarely associated with humans unless they were required to at work.
“Yes. Apparently, Ivy lives with this human. Trace is looking into her as well.”
Where did Ivy come from and why was she living with a human? Even if something had happened to Ivy’s parents, no supernatural would have handed her over to a human family. Hmm…so the reasonable conclusions would be that a supernatural took in the human. That was known to happen on occasions.
Standing up, I said, “Let’s go have a chat with Ivy and see if we can find a book on healing magic. One that would explain how such a thing is possible.”
My wolf beat against my skin, demanding to be let free. It only reinforced that I would need to shift soon, especially with the approaching full moon. My mind drifted back to Ivy, and my cock grew hard. Remembering her luscious curves, the way her body fit perfectly against mine. She would make a formidable alpha female with her dominant, demanding attitude. I squashed that thought down and tried to focus on more critical issues. How could she have possibly healed Devon’s wounds? How had nobody heard of her, and what pack did she come from? She had secrets that I could not wait to unravel—and I wouldunravelthem.
Walking into the library thirty minutes later, everyone stepped aside in reverence to my status. I had earned my place and repeatedly proved that I would remove any and all threats to my position. Cold and vicious were two words often used to describe me and my trusted four.
Her scent hit me like a ball of fire, igniting my cock until it strained to be set free. I grunted and then adjusted myself before nodding to Devon.She’s here, I sent through our mind- link, looking up to the top of the grand marble stairs on the second floor. I couldn’t see her, but I did not have to. Her alluring scent coaxed me to find her.
Devon nodded and then followed me up.
Silverish-red hair flowed over delicate shoulders and curtained the side of her face. She focused intently on a book lying on the table in front of her. A mating thread, thin and fragile, pulled me toward her. She must have felt it, too, because her shoulders stiffened before she slowly lifted her head. Our eyes collided, and it felt like I was coming home after being stranded for weeks in the middle of nowhere. My world shifted until I could only see Ivy and her mane of silverish-red hair. Her nostrils flared; pupils dilated. My wolf growled approvingly at her response to us.
Human, Devon growled inside my head. That snapped me out of whatever trance Ivy had cast over me. My gaze shifted to the woman sitting across from her, and I sniffed.Human. What was she doing in a shifter library? And why hadn’t anyone stopped her when she stepped inside the front doors?
Even with Ivy, the wards should have warned the human away. I paid a ton of money to protect our shifter communities. A magical barrier made things less messy and kept the police and other agencies away. With shifters, there were no discrimination issues and no lawsuits. Instead, there was a hierarchy and a council. I would need to speak with Eden, the master witch who cast the wards. Make sure they were not weakening.
Rounding the table, I placed one hand on the desk and the other on the back of Ivy’s neck, sweeping her hair to the other side as I leaned down. My voice deepened; my lips brushed against the shell of her ear. “Hello, Ivy.” I smiled when I felt her shiver at my touch.
“Let me guess?” the human said, and my eyes drifted to her. “Shifter?”
Sighing loudly, Ivy answered, “Yep. Apparently, everyone in this place is.” I smiled, knowing that she was trying to act like my presence did not insight the same feelings. As much as I enjoyed her physical response, I did not like how she casually informed the human about the library. Ivy was drifting into dangerous territory.
Would you like for me to dispose of the human?Devon asked. His relaxed stance was at odds with his menacing voice.
I met his eyes and subtly shook my head.
“Humans are not allowed here,” I said, meeting Ivy’s eyes when she whipped her head around. “But since your friend has been marked, I will allow it.”
