Howl of the Wolf

Dedication

For my amazing husband. Thank you for everything.

Spell of the Lady of the Beasts

Lion, wolf, tiger and bear,

Be of stout heart and show no despair.

Phoenix, jaguar and serpent, all brave,

Be not afraid, though thy destiny is grave.

Warriors brave deserve a much better fate.

You shall not pass beyond Hades’ gates.

My powers I give thee to protect and to keep

From death and torture in the dark and the deep.

When Olympians’ power is turned into dust

The time will come for the righteous and just.

A chance to escape from a prison of Hell.

Listen closely to all that I tell.

Feminine power will come to your aid.

You will come to life as the curse starts to fade.

The sands of time will begin to slip by

And you will have but one day’s turning to tie.

While the demons from Hell tempt and deceive,

A life must be given, a heart received.

One step from the path and all will be lost.

Your souls will be forfeit. That is the cost.

If honor and courage win the fight,

The curse will be broken, the debt made right.

Free you will be from harm and from strife

Able to live your immortal life.

Prologue

Hades wasn’t happy. And when he wasn’t happy, every demon and cursed soul in his realm held its breath, hoping to evade his notice. When he wasn’t happy, people died.

Two enormous demons stood guard by his door. Both were twice his size, but he could end their miserable lives with a wave of his hand, and they both knew it. He could smell their fear, taste it on his tongue. It was better than the finest wine.

“Leave me.” In their haste to escape his presence they almost tripped over one another. At any other time it would have amused him greatly. But not today.

Hades stared at the gilded mirror, his window into this or any other world, and brooded. The Lady of the Beasts, the goddess he’d held captive for more than five thousand years, had managed to escape his realm. He could see her in the mirror as clearly as if she were standing right in front of him. Totally naked with her hands raised in the air, she stood in a mountain glade filled with wildflowers and birds. He could hear the birds singing and the Lady humming a jaunty tune. It was sickening really.

He turned his head away from the mirror as the picture winked out of existence and he tapped his fingers against the finely carved arm of his massive wooden chair. It was more of a throne, carved hundreds of years ago by a master craftsman. He deserved no less. Usually he found pleasure in his private rooms with their red silk walls and the plush hand-woven rug that covered every square inch of the floor. Rare gemstones winked in the candlelight, spilling out of bowls onto the shelves that housed them. Exquisite paintings adorned the walls. Today’s artists were Jackson Pollock and Van Gogh, but Hades had hundreds more by the greatest painters the world had ever known, maybe thousands.

An enormous bed awaited his pleasure, silk sheets in midnight black stretched across the down-filled mattress. He could snap his fingers and have any number of delectable female demons ready to fulfill his every sexual desire.

But today he wasn’t happy, and that bitch goddess was to blame. He had everything he could want, except the one thing he truly craved—ultimate power.

His brothers and the rest of the Greek gods and goddesses were idiots, content to fade into the mists of time, relegated to the annals of history. But not him. The world was ripe for the taking and he planned to claim it all for himself.

His only problem was he needed some help. He couldn’t exactly explode into the earthly realm with his demons in tow. No, his siblings and the others would certainly notice the surge of power and investigate. They might be weak, but if Zeus and Poseidon combined their powers with the others, they could defeat him.

Hades would not stand for defeat. Not now when he was so close to attaining his heart’s desire.

His plan was really quite brilliant in its simplicity. Years ago, the Greek gods had attacked the Lady of the Beasts, wanting what power she held. But they hadn’t killed her. First off, it wasn’t easy to kill a god or goddess, even one drained of almost all their power. Secondly, it was unthinkable for a god to kill another. That would set a very dangerous precedent indeed. If one god was killed then none of them were safe. Instead, Hades had imprisoned her in his realm.

In a surprisingly unselfish move, the Lady of the Beasts had used the last of her waning power to protect her loyal shapeshifting warriors. “Some protection,” he muttered as he surged out of his chair and walked over to a small gold cabinet. He lifted the heavy lead-crystal decanter and poured himself a shot of the finest whiskey in existence. The liquor burned on the way to his belly and he embraced the fire before slamming the glass back down. The fragile piece shattered, sending shards of crystals flying. Some of the glass nicked his skin, raising several beads of blood.

Hades raised his hand and licked the blood away, savoring the sharp tang against his tongue.

For more than five thousand years, those warriors had remained locked in their animal forms, unable to be brought into his realm. All his plans hinged on those warriors. For even though they had been trapped and powerless, their existence was present there, like a never-ending hum of energy. The other gods were accustomed to the power of the warriors existing in the human world and paid it no heed. Hades knew if he could free the immortal warriors and convince them to join him, he could easily stage his takeover of the world before his brothers took notice. It would be a done deal and he’d then have the power to destroy anyone who stood in his way.

He stalked back to the mirror and waved his hand. Immediately, a dusty back room of a junk shop filled his vision. The last remaining warrior—the wolf—sat there, a discarded animal from a carousel ride from a carnival that no longer existed.

The rest of the warriors had been released from their captivity. Mordecai had come first and been Hades’ greatest success. It hadn’t taken any convincing at all on his part to get the serpent to kill the woman who’d freed him and take his place at Hades’ side. But the next two—Stavros the jaguar and Phoenix the great fiery bird—had chosen death for themselves and their women.

Hades waved his hand again and the image in the mirror faded. He had to use this power sparingly as it was limited. The mirror allowed him to see outside his realm for the equivalent of one hour in the span of a day. If he used up his time he had to wait until the proper amount of time had passed, and he hated waiting.

He hadn’t been too discouraged, but it had taken long years before Roric, the white tiger, had been set free. But unlike the others, Roric had managed to remain alive for twenty-four hours, thus negating the curse. Neither Hades nor any of his minions could touch Roric or his woman now, or he’d face death. He’d made a bargain with The Lady and had agreed to her terms without thinking things through, or so he now realized.

Anger burned in his gut. He, who was the greatest wheeler and dealer in history, had come out on the short end of this bargain. The Lady had told him how to release her warriors in exchange for her freedom. Unfortunately, Hades couldn’t be the one to set them free. Oh no, only one particular woman could release one particular warrior. It was maddening.

But he’d had the last laugh.

A cruel smile curved his lips. He’d freed her from her prison, but not from his realm. She’d wandered Hell for decades, so close to the outside world, but yet so far. It had been lovely to watch.

His smile slowly faded as he thought about his latest glimpse of the Lady. It should have been impossible, yet somehow she’d managed to escape from Hell all on her own.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Marko and Leander, the bear and the lion, had slipped through his fingers, leaving only the wolf remaining. He needed the allegiance of the wolf if his plan for world domination was going to work without difficulty. Of course, his plan would go ahead no matter what happened, but it would be easier with the wolf’s assistance. And Hades liked anything easy, disliked having to unnecessarily exert himself.

The door to his chamber opened and Mordecai strode in like he owned the place. The insolent creature inclined his head, but barely. The warrior’s arrogance set Hades nerves on edge. Mordecai was the only creature in his realm who didn’t walk in fear of him. But he would, he surely would before Hades was done with him. He couldn’t wait until he no longer needed the immortal warrior. He planned to kill the serpent very slowly once his plan was successful.

“You sent for me.” Mordecai stood with his feet braced apart and his arms loosely crossed over his chest. As always, he was wearing khaki pants, an olive drab T-shirt and combat books. Really, after spending so many years seeing Hades as an example, you’d think the warrior would invest in some decent clothing.

Hades took his time and sat in his chair, making the warrior wait. It was a small power play and gave him some satisfaction, but not nearly enough. Mordecai didn’t appear the least bit concerned about being called into his presence, nor the least bit perturbed about being made to wait. Hades’ blood boiled, but outwardly he showed none of his anger.

“The Lady is a problem.”

Mordecai frowned. “But she’s beyond your reach now. She escaped from Hell, and according to the agreement you made with her, you can’t touch her without reprisal.”

The reminder of his failure didn’t sit well with Hades. “No,
I
can’t touch her. Neither can my demons.” He waited for the warrior to grasp his meaning. That was the one thing he did like about the warrior, he didn’t have to explain himself. The serpent was as devious as he was, maybe even more so. That thought gave him a moment’s pause, but he shook off his unease. He was, after all, Hades, Lord of the Underworld.

“You want me to kill her.” The coldness in his tone took even Hades aback. You’d never say that Mordecai had served the goddess from the beginning of time until his imprisonment. It was a good thing he planned to do away with the warrior when this was over. He wasn’t someone Hades wanted at his back for eternity.

“I don’t like to lose.” He really could care less about the Lady. She was free but basically powerless in a world that no longer remembered her. But he hated losing.

“Consider it done.” Mordecai unfolded his arms and motioned his head toward the mirror. “What about New Orleans?”

Hades rested his elbows on the arms of his chair and steepled his fingers against his chin. “Leave New Orleans and the woman to me. I plan on handling this one personally.” He pointed an accusing finger at Mordecai. “You fucked up last time.”

“The warriors and the women are unpredictable.”

Hades’ blood was practically bubbling in his veins he was so angry, but he controlled his rage, letting none of it show outwardly. “There will be no female demons sent to befriend the woman. Either the wolf accepts my offer or he and the woman die.” Hades had had enough of failure. This time he wanted results.

There would be no more offers of bargains, no more sending emissaries first. That hadn’t worked the last three times he’d tried it. It was time to go back to basics. If the wolf wouldn’t join him, Hades would kill him and the woman who freed him.

He glared at the warrior. “Why are you still here?”

Mordecai cocked his head to one side. “It would be quicker if you simply opened up a portal for me. Otherwise it will take me longer to get to the Lady.”

Yes, it would be quicker and easier, but he wasn’t in the mood to make the arrogant immortal warrior’s life easier. “Go.”

The corners of Mordecai’s mouth tilted upward in a semblance of a mocking smile. “As you command.” He gave a quick nod, turned and stalked out of the room, a beast already on the hunt.

A shiver of dread raced down Hades’ spine. He had to deal with Mordecai and soon.

In the meantime, he had some humans to visit. It was so easy to stir up discord among them. Humans did love to kill one another and make war. Their hatred and greed strengthened Hades, and he did so enjoy watching as the silly humans succumbed to temptation, arrogance and avarice.

A few words in the right ears and the world would be on the brink of another world war before any of them realized it, which was exactly what he wanted. His plan for world domination would be so much easier if they were already perched on the edge of destruction, just waiting for him to give them one final push.

He rose from the chair, checked his appearance in the mirror and smiled.

Sabrina Wolfe twisted and turned on the tangled sheets. The cool air from the open window drifted over her bare arms and legs but did little to cool the sweat from her body. A gust blew the curtains, making them flutter like a flag in the wind and sending the fresh scent of lavender from the flower box on the fire escape wafting into the room.