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ALPHA BALTHAZAR: The Alpha Chronicles Paulina Vasquez full chapter instant download
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Paulina Vasquez
Alpha
Balthazar
They say good things come to those who wait, but I’ve waited two thousand fucking years for her.
Now that I have her, I can’t bring myself to claim her… to take what’s mine.
This pup might just be the death of me in more ways than one. Demeter Crow is something I never
expected to find. At just twenty, she’s considered mature by human and werewolf standards. She’s a
stunning beauty that could tempt even the most righteous Gods and she’s certainly been tempting my
cock, but she’s still considered a pup by lycan standards.
It was my cock that got me into trouble two thousand years ago and I’ve never stopped thinking
about it. Scowling, I remember the Goddess I once loved. The Goddess who intended to curse me for
eternity.
Inanna was the ancient Goddess of love, war, sex, beauty, and fertility. She was worshipped by
the ancients in Mesopotamia long before the existence of Christ. She was known as Inanna to the
Sumerian people, but the Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians knew her as Ishtar.
I was a mere human mortal who was foolishly blinded by her beauty, so I never questioned her
sudden appearance. As the fourth son of my father, I didn’t inherit our family home or land. This left
me with little to offer a wife and nothing to offer any children. She had introduced herself to me as
Ishtar, and I assumed she was named after the beautiful Goddess. She said she was the daughter of a
common farmer and claimed to enjoy the study of the night sky. Ishtar frequently appeared as I kept
the flock safe from wolves. She admired the stars, and I admired her beauty.
I started to look forward to her visits and even hunted for her. It didn’t take long for her seduction
to ensnare me. She made me feel young and alive again. At thirty-four, I was considered an elder by
society’s standards during a time when the average life expectancy was just under forty years of age. I
thought I would spend the rest of my short life with her.
When she had grown tired of my simple life, she discarded me. I quickly realized the woman I
loved was indeed the cruel and jealous Goddess of love and war. She had many lovers in different
realms and was faithful to no one. When I accused her of being a seductress she cursed me to a life of
immortality before she turned me into the very creature shepherds spent so much time guarding
against. She turned me into a wolf, but not an ordinary wild wolf. I was turned into a savage and feral
beast. A killing machine known today as a lycan.
“How cruel you are, Balthazar,” Ishtar lashed back. “I curse you! When you’ve lived as long
as I have, you will find seduction is all you have to keep you company for eternity. A mortal may
love you, adore you, and dedicate their life to you, but they are nothing more than a flickering
flame in the winds of time. They will live, grow old, and die, but you shall always remain the
same.”
“You cannot die, my love,” she seemed to revel in her decision. “I have turned many men into
animals for far less.”
She transformed from the female who barely reached my shoulder, into her true form. Golden
light seemed to caress her as she grew taller than the trees. Seeing a God in true form meant
instant death for a mortal, but I was no longer mortal. I had spent months with her and had no
idea what she truly was.
“You are the monster they whisper about!” I snarled back at her hoping to enrage her enough
to kill me. “I look forward to witnessing the dawn of a new era when humans no longer worship
you. Even now there are whispers of the coming of a new God.”
“I am not without mercy,” she laughed cynically. “The curse can be broken with the full
claiming of your soul mate.”
I’ve lived over two thousand years believing I was cursed for eternity. In the beginning, I knew
nothing of the shifter world. Eventually, I discovered others were born this way. The Moon Goddess
creates the souls of shifters as two halves of a whole before they’re born. When shifters reach
maturity, they’re able to find and claim their soul mate. Because I was born human, I was created
without a mate… or so I thought.
People often say the Gods work in mysterious ways, and I’m inclined to believe it. We may never
understand the end game or the method of their madness, but there’s no way to stop what has been
destined. Two thousand years later and here I am, in a world where humans can easily live past ninety
years of age and werewolves live nearly twice as long. I’m frozen in time and look nothing like an
elder.
The idea is amusing, and a chuckle escapes me as I recalled Wylder teasing my young mate last
night. “All I’m saying is after two thousand years, you’d better go easy on your grand-daddy of a
mate.” The red-headed Beta to the Alpha King was more like the court jester around here, but for the
most part, he’s good-natured.
I move silently through the library, and I’m grateful to have a moment of quiet to myself. The only
sounds I hear are coming from the kitchen as breakfast is being prepared. Most of the inhabitants of
the Moon Realm mansion are still sleeping from the night’s coronation ceremony, and the guest rooms
are at capacity with family members. It was the first coronation in over a thousand years, and I’m the
only one alive who remembers the last one when the Theodorus Lycan King ruled the shifter kingdom
from Athens.
Lycans had gone extinct during the last Theodorus Dynasty over a thousand years ago. It was
believed only one Theodorus heir remained and when he produced pups, they were werewolves
instead of lycans. The lycan gene had gone extinct, and the werewolves continued to thrive.
I stepped closer to the window to have a better look at her. My lips curl into a smile at the sight of
my mate. She’s a fierce little thing and I watch as she spars with a female warrior without hesitation.
Demeter is beautiful, bold, and mouthy. I can’t decide whether to kiss or take her over my knee.
Whatever it is, I need to figure it out quickly because I’m not sure I can wait until she reaches twenty-
five.
I’m surprised to see her cousin Xena running the training because she’s been so reclused the last
two months. Shortly after finding Demeter, we went in search of answers to the many questions we
had following The Golden Wars. We cut our travels short and immediately returned to the Moon
Realm Kingdom two months ago when Xena was injected with lycan venom in Alaska. It seems I
wasn’t the only living lycan in the last thousand years.
The Moon Goddess had sentenced a lycan to serve out his punishment guarding a sacred
werewolf pack in the Alaskan Artic Circle. The dangerous lycan was an old warlord who fought in
The Ancient Wars between the lycans and those with magic long ago. He not only committed crimes
against the mages, but also against werewolves who were considered to be an inferior race to lycans.
Xena was in Alaska when she discovered the warlord was her fated mate. In a feral rage, he bit
her and injected her with his venom. Xena only had a few moments with him before he was killed. He
had been cursed and was far too lost in the madness to save. I don’t believe he was ever intended to
be her life mate because the Gods work in mysterious ways. Xena’s wolf grew silent as she
transformed into a lycan. We returned at once so I could help her understand what was happening and
teach her to control her beast.
A normal werewolf has an inner wolf that communicates and is a part of the shifter. They take on
a normal wolf shape, though they vary in size, and are usually much bigger than a wolf in the wild.
When they shift, it’s all or nothing, apart from their claws and teeth elongating. They run on all four
legs as a normal wolf would.
The beast of a lycan is different. They do not communicate as a werewolf does because our beast
is more feral. While they understand everything, they communicate through emotions, touch, snarls,
growls, and roars. They do not speak to us as the werewolf’s inner wolf does, we are more in tune on
a primal level. The lycan beast understands territory, dominance, power, hunger, death, mating, and
procreation. A lycan can shift any body part at any time and can run or fight on two legs. Unlike the
werewolf, a lycan has venom and can turn another into a lycan if they choose to.
The change is something Xena has been struggling with. After spending nearly nine years bonding
with her wolf Xara, she went silent as Xena has been turned. She can still feel and sense her wolf, but
she’s not able to communicate with her as she once did. Throughout history, it was a price
werewolves understood when they willingly turned, but Xena was not given a choice.
“All these months of traveling abroad with her, and you still didn’t claim her,” the familiar sound
of Demeter’s grandmother rings through the library.
“Good morning,” I turned to face the spunky old woman wearing a pink tracksuit and holding a
breakfast tray.
“Now honey, I know you didn’t ask my opinion, but I’m old, so I’m going to give it to you
anyway,” she started. “You two are destined to be together. There’s no reason why you should be
torturing yourself by waiting. All that sexy energy bottled up can’t be good for either of you, and I’d
like more grandpups.”
“Yes, well… thank you,” I managed to say though I wasn’t sure why I was stunned. In the short
time I’ve known Grandma Dori, I’ve learned this was perfectly normal for her.
“I don’t know how they did it in ancient times, but if you need any pointers—”
“Two thousand years, and I’m sure not much has changed in that department,” my smile pulled
wider.
I had lived many lifetimes, which included ages when orgies and fertility festivals were a way of
life as cultures evolved. Religious groups worshipped sex for its pleasure and life-giving
properties. The ancient worlds from Babylon to Greece, India to Rome had all developed in a time
when sex was unleashed. Pointers were something I didn’t need.
“Ah, Balthazar, there you are.” Ambrose appeared at the door with a big grin on his face.
Vampires have great hearing, and there was no doubt he heard Grandma Dori’s offer to school me in
the art of sexual indulgence. “Good morning Dori.”
“Good morning Ambrose. I was just going to get back to the kitchen, is there anything I can get
you?”
“I believe all is well, but if we need any pointers I’ll send for you,” Ambrose gave her a wink
and she laughed as she made her exit.
“Don’t give me that look,” I warned my oldest friend who wore an amused expression on his face.
“You may not want to tell your mate her great-grandmother offered to give you pointers,” he
laughed.
“You’re what… four hundred and fifty years her senior?” I chuckled.
“I’m still young when compared to your two thousand years, old friend,” he smirked.
“Did you come down here to remind me how young my mate is?”
“I’ve known you for as long as I’ve been a vampire, you’ve finally found your mate and yet you
still haven’t staked your claim.”
“She’s still a pup by lycan standards.” How many times did I need to tell him this?
“I saw the way she was looking at you last night, Balthazar. There was electricity in the air when
you danced with her.”
“Perhaps it was her father trying to decide if he wanted to strike me with a bolt of lightning.”
This conversation was putting my beast on edge, and I could feel his frustration. Once we
discovered Demeter was our mate, his primal need to mate was almost uncontrollable. It was like
having an itch that was impossible to reach. If my lycan had his way last night, he would have thrown
her on the ground, ripped her clothes off, and knotted deep inside of her. He would have hurt her in
such a feral haze. Our control was holding on by a thread because of her age.
“The Moon Goddess would not have allowed your lycan to sense her if she had intended for your
mate to be mature at twenty-five, Balthazar. Demeter’s a young adult by human standards and a nubile
she-wolf. If she goes into heat—”
“Yes,” I growled. “I know.” If she went into heat, my beast would be in full control. Even if he
took her while I was in human form, there was a good chance he would hurt her without meaning to.
Lycan males are built differently.
“Are you still worried you’ll become mortal when you claim her?”
“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me,” Ambrose pressed and sat down in one of the oversized
armchairs.
“If I claim my mate and break the curse there’s a chance I could become human again,” I started to
tell him just what has been occupying my thoughts these last few months. “She’s almost twenty-one
and even if she wants me to turn her into a lycan, she’s still not mature enough. Lycans mature at
twenty-five because they live for hundreds of years. If I turn her, can she handle watching everyone
she knows grow old and pass?”
“No. She only inquired about the process when her cousin Xena was injected in Alaska. Much of
our time together has been spent with her family around. I can feel her frustration,” I admitted.
I was born human and haven’t always believed in the Moon Goddess, Selene. She was still very
much relevant in this world because of her shifters. The Gods existed in this world and thrived when
they were worshipped. The devotion, love, and sacrifices of their people gave them power. They
were jealous, wrathful, and manipulative.
Selene had given me a mate after two thousand years, and I wondered if it was for a temporary
purpose. After what happened in Alaska, anything was possible. Maybe I was just here to turn
Demeter into a lycan?
“The Moon Goddess is not typically cruel. You have a greater purpose, Balthazar… I can feel it,”
Ambrose was quick to defend the Moon Goddess.
“You can still claim her and mark her without injecting your venom into her. Things have changed.
If you turn human again, you’re not the only lycan around anymore.”
“Xena,” I whispered.
“Xena can turn you back if you become human again. I’ve spent enough time with shifters in my
five centuries to know the Moon Goddess always has a plan.”
When I met my mate six months ago, we spent the first month here at her family pack in Upstate
New York. Then we traveled to Greece, Italy, Morocco, and Egypt hoping to find answers to our
many questions. It was then that I realized Demeter’s family descended from the most powerful shifter
lines. All the great families of the past had come together throughout the last two centuries in the
Moon Goddesses match-making game, and it was all done for a greater purpose.
“Demeter’s wolf, Damia, has not warmed to me,” I reminded Ambrose. “During our travels, I
could feel Demeter’s interest, but her wolf has never been comfortable with my beast.”
“I don’t think any wolf is comfortable around your lycan,” Ambrose said dryly.
“Ares is a demigod, and his offspring are lycans. The Alpha King was meant to rule over all
shifters, not fear them. When he passes the torch to his offspring, lycans will rule as they once did.”
“Perhaps… but you’re forgetting one important aspect when it comes to the anatomy and functions
involved when a lycan mates.”
“Then perhaps it’s a good idea to talk to the grandmother after all and have her give pointers,” he
grinned.
With my empty breakfast tray in hand, I entered the kitchen to thank Grandma Dori for preparing a
wonderful meal for me. The kitchen was bustling as sausages sizzled, eggs fried, pancakes flipped,
and fruit was being sliced. A young she-wolf raced past us with a large tray of pastries. Breakfast
was being prepared for a full house of hungry wolves, and Grandma Dori stood in the middle of the
kitchen directing everyone.
“Ask her if she’s got time to review some pointers,” Ambrose teased in a low whisper.
"How was breakfast?” Grandma Dori asked as she prepared another tray of food.
“Biscuits?” The red-headed Beta entered the kitchen. “Did Grandma make her biscuits and
gravy?”
“It seems Balthazar has already beat you to them,” Ambrose told Wylder.
“Good morning, baby. I’m fixing a breakfast tray for you right now, and I have fruit and oatmeal
for your mate. How’s her morning sickness?” She asked.
He reached for a slice of melon from the tray and that feisty old gal slapped his hand so quickly I
nearly missed it. “That melon is for your mate. It helps with the sickness and if you eat all of it she
just might hang you by your balls,” she scolded him.
“Who’s getting strung up by their balls?” Zeus asked as he entered the kitchen.
Wylder shook his head and lifted the tray. “Me, if I don’t get this food up to my mate.”
“Are you sure you should trust him with food?” Zeus laughed.
“Where’s Hazel?” Grandma Dori asked Zeus. “Is she coming down for breakfast or should I
prepare another tray?”
“She’s still sleeping, Grandma,” he answered with a grin. “I kept her up late.”
I was half expecting her to press him about future grandpups as she normally did. My mate is the
youngest of four, and the new Alpha King is her oldest brother. Ares is a golden wolf who descended
from the bloodline of the God Apollo. As a demigod, Ares reawakened the lycan gene which has
passed to his pups. His firstborn is what brought me here. Little Lukas was the first lycan born in over
a thousand years. The pup is fifteen months old and shifting already. Lukas became a big brother three
months ago to his twin siblings, and my beast can sense their lycan auras.
One would have thought having twin newborns in the house would be enough grandpups for this
grandma, but her motto seems to be enough is never enough. Zeus and Poseidon are Demeter’s older
twin brothers, and no one is immune from the pressures of this pup-fevered Grandma. Not even me.
“Everything okay?” Ambrose asked Zeus who had his steely gray eyes focused on me.
“I’d like a word with Balthazar,” he replied and moved to the table in the far corner of the
kitchen.
I took a seat at the table near the windows that looked out to the training field where my mate was.
Only a small number of warriors were left, and the training was nearly over. Beyond the training near
the treeline was a LaRue Alpha I recognized as Killian LaRue. He may be Demeter’s cousin, but my
beast didn’t like anyone watching her train. In fact, her training wardrobe is something I’d need to
address with her.
Ambrose took the seat beside me, and Zeus reached for a cup of coffee before he sat down. “I
want to speak with you about Alpha Killian,” he nearly whispered.
“I overheard something last night… and I need it to remain a secret until they figure out what
they’re doing,” Zeus leaned in closer.
“I don’t think they want anyone to know, she hasn’t even told me and she’s my Beta,” his voice
dropped lower. “Killian and Xena are second chance mates.”
“What, what?” Zeus questioned in surprise. With all the noise in the kitchen, I was amazed she
could hear.
“Don’t play dumb with me. I may be old, and my senses dull, but these latest and greatest hearing
aids give me better hearing than when I was in my prime.”
“You’re not old Grandma, I mean not compared to these two,” Zeus grinned as he motioned to me
and Ambrose trying to change the subject.
“Listen here Alpha smarty-pants, we can’t let Xena reject her second chance and risk going mad.
She can hardly control her wolf as it is,” she looked out the kitchen window to see where Xena was
training.
“Grandma, you can’t tell anyone!” Zeus insisted. “We don’t want Xena to pull away completely.”
“Maybe we should see about getting a love potion for Xena. I can bake it into her favorite dessert
or something,” Grandma Dori suggested.
Zeus laughed. “Don’t you remember what happened the last time someone tried using a love
potion around here!”
“Positive,” Zeus replied. “I think they’ve known since my mating ceremony. I heard Killian
begging her not to reject him last night.”
“Well, he’s still here, so that’s a good sign,” Dori pressed her face to the window.
I suspected something when Xena asked me questions about matings between lycans and
werewolves or humans, but I assumed she was asking because Demeter had put her up to it. Xena
wasn’t comfortable shifting around anyone except for Ares and me. My beast was at ease around
Xena and helped calm her. She allowed Ares’ wolf, Apollo, to run and hunt with us. It was a rarity
for a werewolf to keep up with lycans, but Apollo was a golden wolf, and Ares a demigod.
“No,” Zeus quickly snapped. “Xena doesn’t even know that I know. I was just wondering what
your thoughts are on that. Will lycans go mad without a mate?”
“I’m afraid so,” I nodded my head. “They’re far more dangerous and unstable when they do. They
called it The Mate Curse when a lycan went mad. What they didn’t realize is they had brought it upon
themselves by rejecting their mate,” I tried to explain.
“Yes. In fact, that’s how the Ancient Wars started between the lycans and mages. Lycans turning
mad went to those with magic to help cure the curse. When the mage failed to do so, they were killed.
The royals weren’t immune from it and started persecuting those with magic. Not all mages had the
same level of magic and skill, some were stronger than others. They started fighting back and the war
was born.”
“It was their fault they went extinct. They rejected mates because they weren’t born lycans. Is
there any way to tell if a lycan was born or turned?” Grandma Dori asked.
“Not that I’m aware of. Few were turned because lycans believed it would shorten their life span
if they were. A lycan who was turned didn’t come from a pack or family of lycans. Some believed
they were not as strong as true born lycans.”
“I wasn’t even aware Killian had found a first mate,” Zeus told us. “He offered to pass Dark
Moon to his brother and stay here with her.”
“He’ll give up his pack for her!” Grandma Dori sounded surprised.
“If she hasn’t rejected him yet, then she must still be thinking it over.” I pushed my chair back and
moved to the door. “I’ll see if she feels like letting Xara out for a run. Maybe she’ll talk to me.”
This explained why Killian was standing at the treeline watching the training. From a distance, he
could watch his mate and brood over the situation without anyone noticing. Anyone who saw him
would assume he was just evaluating the training techniques and style as Alphas typically did. I was
greeted with an icy chill of air as I made my way to the training field.
Demeter’s head turned when she noticed me, and I wondered how salty-sweet her neck would
taste if I licked it now. My nostrils flared as my beast tried to pick up her scent in the wind. It was as
sweet as possible, filling my senses with a mouthwatering wildflower honey scent. It reminded me of
Greek honey, and I knew she would taste just as good.
“Good morning,” she greeted me with a curt nod. I could feel the tension pulsing in her aura. She
was angry with me.
“Did you sleep well?” I inquired and she stiffened. The more time I spent with her, the more I
could feel her emotions.
“I slept well enough, thank you,” she folded her arms across her chest. “And you? Did you return
to the festivities after walking me to my room and bestowing your advice on me?”
“Advice?” I raised a questioning eyebrow. I had lectured her about trying to tempt unmated males
with her revealing dress. Though the truth was, Demeter could wear a potato sack and still look like a
tempting seductress. “Your dress was far too revealing. If you were trying to catch the eye of all the
unmated males, you achieved your goal.”
“I was not trying to catch anyone’s eye. Besides, no one dared ask me to dance last night,” she
glared.
“You danced with a few dance partners, did you not?” I restrained a growl.
“My grandfathers and father don’t count,” she snapped. “You scared everyone else away.”
“Is that what you want, Demeter?” I stalked closer to her. “You wanted the unmated males to hold
you against their chest while looking down the low cut of your dress, and getting hard for you while
you danced with them?”
Her pink tongue darted out as she moistened her deliciously full lips and looked away. I fought the
urge to kiss her so hard and leave her with bruised lips for the rest of the day. I imagined what they
would look like when I finally had her on her knees.
Demeter looked stunning last night at the coronation ceremony. She had pulled out all the stops to
seduce me. Hair, makeup, and a beautiful backless gown that was cut too low in the front. I was a
possessive bastard, and I didn’t want anyone else to see her like that.
We danced the first dance together and I held her closer than I intended. She smiled nervously and
looked away, allowing me to take in every aspect of her beauty. A regal beauty who looked so much
like her royal ancestors from Greece instead of the LaRue side of her family. Everything and everyone
in the room disappeared when I held her body against mine while we danced. My beast rumbled with
approval when my hungry eyes lingered on the perfect swells of her breasts. When she looked up,
she kept her seductive gaze on my unflinching eyes. One dance was enough because I didn’t want to
walk around the rest of the night with an erection.
She danced with her grandfathers, uncles, and father. None of the unmated males seemed to have a
death wish and kept their distance from her. Everyone knew she was mine though I had yet to mark
her. When she turned on me and accused me of scaring everyone away, my beast growled to let his
displeasure be known. He wanted to mark her right then and there to remind her she was ours. No
sane male would hesitate to claim her, but I had questions that needed to be answered, and her age
was still toying with my beast.
“I’m your mate. If you wanted to dance again, you should have said something,” I told her and
watched her eyes flare. She was so cute when she was angry, and I couldn’t wait to tame her.
“Are you my mate? Because a mate wouldn’t hesitate to claim what’s his,” she shot back.
“Oh, my sweet flower,” my voice dropped low as I fought to control myself. I reached to tuck a
loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I just want to make sure you’re ready to handle all of me. Mating
with a lycan is nothing like mating with a werewolf.”
“You keep saying that, but you never tell me what it means. Do you have two cocks or
something?”
I roared with laughter. “No, but even if I did, you have enough holes to accommodate both.” I
couldn’t believe I was standing here sounding like some pervert talking to my young mate.
Her cheeks flushed and she quickly changed the subject. “Did you return to the ball after leaving
me last night?” She asked again.
I had walked Demeter to her room and stood outside her door listening as she moved around
behind the locked door. Demeter had stormed into her room and washed her face before she slipped
into bed. Like most nights, I waited to hear her breathing even out as she drifted to sleep wishing I
was holding her in my arms while she slept. But last night I heard her shallow breaths and soft moans
as she pleasured herself to release before she fell asleep. I couldn’t help wondering what she was
thinking about as she touched herself. Was she wishing it was me touching her? Shamelessly, I stood
silently hoping to hear her moan my name and imagined all the ways I wanted to have her.
She had no idea what she was doing to me. What she was up against. A werewolf mated either in
human form or in wolf form. The wolf and human sides had two separate minds, and thoughts. They
even had different names. Either half could accept or reject a mate independently, but it wasn’t the
same for a lycan.
I didn’t expect anyone to know this because the lycans of the past had been extinct for a thousand
years. A lycan was all or nothing. Our beast was the primal side of the same person. We were one and
the same regardless of the form, which allows us to shift any body part at any time. This made mating
different for us. A lycan could easily kill a human during mating if he lost control. A she-wolf had
accelerated healing but if she wasn’t the lycans mate, she was also unsafe during a mating haze.
“No, I returned to my room and took a much needed cold shower after staring down your
cleavage.” I watched her flush a deeper shade as she considered what I just said and what she would
have been doing around the same time.
“You seemed to have a room full of admirers all vying for your attention and unmated females
undressing you with their eyes all night.”
A grin pulled at my lips and twisted excitement flooded me. “Undressing me with their eyes?” I
could feel the jealousy radiating from her and it sent a surge of pleasure to my cock.
“Well don’t keep them in suspense,” she snapped. “Even the female warriors hanging around now
are waiting to catch a naked glimpse of you shifting.”
I reached my arm behind my back and tugged my shirt off while keeping the heat of my hungry
gaze on her. I didn’t give a damn about anyone else watching me. I would have enjoyed the attention
centuries ago, but my mate is all that matters. Demeter’s pupils dilated as she took in my muscled
body, and her eyes roamed shamelessly to my abs. She liked what she saw.
I stepped toward her, backing her against a tree, inhaling her sweet scent. Her honey-colored eyes
flashed with shock and desire as my scent reached her nose. I found myself wishing she would just go
into heat so we could get this over with. I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to hold back. The
more time I spent with her, the more my beast started wanting her despite her age.
“Xena, are you ready for a run?” I called out to Demeter’s cousin who was still learning to
control her lycan.
I leaned down bringing my mouth close to my mate’s ear. “Unless you want my beast to kill every
male who sets his eyes on you, I suggest you wear something that doesn’t show off your hardened
nipples so easily.”
Chapter 3 – Mates
Xena is my mate’s cousin on the Crow side of the family. She’s a formidable warrior and
respected Beta to Alpha Zeus. Unlike her brother Wylder, Xena has a more serious disposition,
making her cagey with her thoughts and feelings. Xena will not allow anyone to see weakness, so
trying to get her to talk about her predicament is going to be tricky.
Since her transformation from werewolf to lycan, I’ve spent a great deal of time with her. I had
control of my lycan side, but Xena was still working on hers. Ares had declared the northern woods
off-limits anytime Xena and I took on our lycan forms to keep everyone safe. I invited Xena for a
morning run, and she accepted. She dismissed the remaining warriors from training and started
running for the trees.
I left my mate holding my shirt and followed Xena to the northern woods. With a final glance back
over my shoulder, I caught sight of Demeter lifting my shirt to her nose. Xena and I continued running
in human form deeper into the forest. We preferred to shift far away from the heart of pack territory to
ensure everyone was safe from Xena’s lycan.
The first time I shifted with her, she attacked me in a fit of rage. Accepting her new form has been
a struggle for Xena because she was not willingly turned. There was something different about Xena’s
lycan that even I couldn’t seem to understand, something I had never sensed in another lycan, and I
hoped to find the answer to it.
We slowed down to a walk as we approached our normal shifting spot. I wasn’t a sworn member
of the Moon Realm pack yet, so I wouldn’t be able to mind link with Xena once we shifted. If I was
going to try and get her talking, I needed to do it now.
“I sense Demeter growing more and more frustrated with me,” I start the conversation.
“How could she think that I don’t want her?” I nearly growled.
“When she turned eighteen and didn’t find her mate, she was crushed,” Xena explained. “She
finally finds you, and she’s still waiting for you.”
“What did she think we were doing this entire time? After spending a month here trying to get to
know one another, her father finally trusted me enough to let me take her to Greece where the royal
lycans once lived to seek out answers. We traveled to Italy, Morocco, and Egypt where the largest
populations of ancient lycans once lived hoping to find records. Something that will answer all of our
questions. A grandparent, uncle, aunt, or cousin always joined us.”
She laughed. “Her father can be a little overprotective of his only daughter. Though I suspect the
grandfathers were also a part of it, too.”
“I don’t know how lycans do it, but the werewolf mate bond makes your mate practically
irresistible. The mate bond burns hot from the start, and she doesn’t see that from you.”
“The lycan mate bond burns deeper because we live longer. That’s why werewolves mature and
shift sooner. It doesn’t mean I want her any less.”
“Have you met Demeter?” Xena laughed. “Patience is not one of her virtues.”
“I suppose when you’ve lived as long as I have, a few months seems like a flicker of time.” My
little flower was thirsty, and I needed to give her more. Though I loved her jealous and possessive
side, I didn’t like the idea of Demeter feeling insecure that I would reject her.
“Did you have a chosen mate?” Xena asked and I wondered if she and Demeter had discussed this
previously. “They call you Alpha Balthazar, so I assume you once had a pack?”
“Lycan packs were much smaller than what wolf packs have become today. A lycan pack could
range from a dozen to three dozen. I had a pack of roughly two dozen. A Luna wasn’t common in lycan
packs like they are in werewolf packs. So, the answer is no. I’ve never had a Luna or a chosen mate.”
“When she cursed you… did you look for your mate?” She continued on her mission to extract
information when I should have been the one trying to get her to talk.
“I was born human, so I didn’t know much about the creature I had become. Once I discovered
there were others… others who were born this way and learned about the Moon Goddess and mates, I
knew I had been created without a soul mate. Demeter was the last thing I ever expected to find, but
I’m glad I did.”
She nodded with a pleased smile on her face. “Will you turn her?”
“I don’t know. I imagine she’ll want to turn at some point once we have pups. The oldest lycan I
knew lived over eight hundred years. It’s a long life to live without your mate.”
“You’ve lived over two thousand years and didn’t go mad,” she said, and I knew what she was
thinking. This was my chance to turn the conversation to her situation.
“I didn’t believe I would ever have a mate. Now that I’ve found her, losing her would mean
madness. Xara was once the wolf living within you. Your wolf was separate and able to communicate
independently as she wanted. She is still with you, only she has now merged into a part of you. She’s
not gone Xena, she’s part of your essence, which makes it more likely that a lycan will go mad if and
when they lose their mate.”
“But you once said that some lycans selected chosen mates?” She pressed.
“Do you know if lycans get second-chance mates like some werewolves?"
“Someone would really have to deserve a second chance from the Moon Goddess to get one. It’s
not a gift anyone should ever reject.” She became quiet and I wanted to keep her talking. “Do you
want a second chance mate?”
A snarl rippled from the trees behind us, and I turned to find a large black Alpha wolf stalking
toward me. His blue LaRue eyes told me exactly who this was. Though I wasn’t threatened by a
werewolf, I allowed my full aura to radiate so the wolf would sense my lycan. I didn’t want to hurt
him if he attacks me, and right now Killian must be battling a whirlwind of emotions.
His fur retracted and he shifted into human form at record speed. Killian looked from Xena to me
and back to Xena again.
“Do you two sneak off into the woods often?” He questioned. “Is there something going on?”
“In case you missed it, he’s the only other lycan alive and he’s helping me learn to control mine,”
Xena replied.
“The second chance mate I assume?” I questioned and they both stood frozen in place. “Why
haven’t you accepted him?”
“I would think that you of all people would understand!” She shot back.
“He’s your second chance mate, and by the looks of it, he wants to be with you. If you don’t
accept him, you’ll both succumb to madness. Do you want Ares to put you both down because you
will leave the Alpha King no choice if you turn feral with madness?”
“We’re different—”
“There, it’s settled,” I grinned. “He willingly wants to turn, and he’s your mate.”
“It’s not settled. I can’t condemn him to live like this,” she turned to Killian. “Your wolf will
never be the same again. I can feel Xara, it’s like she’s been muzzled. She’s not the same,” Xena’s
fought back tears.
“It won’t be like that for long,” I stepped closer. “You’ll become more in tune with her and
communicate through emotions. Consider Hazel for a moment… just because she’s mute, doesn’t
mean she can’t communicate in other ways. Yes, your beast will not yap at all hours of the night in
your mind, but she will still find other ways to communicate,” I tried to assure her.
“Kage isn’t very chatty anyway,” Killian told her. “He doesn’t mind if it means being with you.”
“I don’t know if I can do that to you,” a tear slipped from the corner of her eye.
“He wants to be with you,” I reminded her. “What are you so afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid of anything,” She snapped at me. “What’s stopping you from claiming your mate?”
“She’s not a lycan. You can still claim her without injecting her with venom,” she tossed back.
“I can easily inject your mate with venom right now, and it would solve your dilemma.”
“Don’t you dare!” Xena snarled. “You claim your mate, and I’ll claim mine,” she challenged me.
I paused a moment and nodded my head in agreement. “Fine, then it’s settled. You claim yours,
and I’ll claim mine.”
“Okay… So, who’s going to bite me?” Killian asked. “Does it need to be done in the throes of
passion?”
I choked back a laugh. “Don’t look at me. I’m not sleeping with you.”
Xena looked lost in thought before she asked the next question. “I can claim him without turning
him… right?”
“You’re a lycan now, Xena. You’re going to want to turn him if you expect to be satisfied,” I
smirked.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? My dick is pretty fucking big!” Killian snarled and
Xena’s face turned a deep shade of red as her eyes dropped down to his naked hanging cock.
“Moon Goddess, have mercy!” I roared with laughter and scratched my hand over the stubble on
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E.
Ea est accipienda interpretatio quæ vitio caret.
That interpretation is to be received which is not
defective.
Ea quæ dari impossibilia sunt, vel quæ in rerum natura non sunt, pro
non adjectis habentur.
Those things which cannot possibly be given, or which
have no existence in the nature of things, are
considered as things not included.
Extra territorium jus dicenti impune non paretur. Idem est, et si supra
jurisdictionem suam velit jus dicere.
One cannot with impunity obey one executing justice,
beyond his province; the same happens if one
presumes to administer justice beyond his own
jurisdiction.
Furiosi, vel ejus cui bonis interdictum sit, nulla voluntas est.
The will of a madman, or of him who is interdicted from
the administration of his goods, is nothing.
Furiosus solo furore punitur.
A madman is punished only by his own madness.
G.
Generale dictum, generaliter est intelligendum.
A thing said in a general sense, is to be understood in
a general sense.
Hæredi favetur.
Favour is shewn to an heir.
Id certum est quod certum reddi potest, sed id magis certum est
quod de semetipso est certum.
That is certain which can be rendered certain, but that
is more certain which is certain of itself.
Id quod nostrum est, sine facto nostro ad alium transferri non potest.
That which is ours cannot be transferred to another
without our own deed.
Idem est facere et non prohibere cum possis, et qui non prohibet
cum prohibere possit, in culpa est.
It is the same to do and not to prohibit when you can;
and he who does not prohibit when he can prohibit, is
in fault.
Illud quod alias licitum non est, necessitas facit licitum; et necessitas
inducit privilegium quod jure privatur.
That which is not lawful in another case, necessity
makes lawful; and necessity induces a privilege which
is taken away by the law.