The Alpha's Ever After - (Werewolf Romance) (Ilie and Soleil Book 2) (2 page)
Read The Alpha's Ever After - (Werewolf Romance) (Ilie and Soleil Book 2) Online
Authors: Marian Tee
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My Werewolf Professor
What I know about Alessandro Moretti:
he’s the most beautiful professor alive, and I’m his plainest student. I need to let him know I want him, even if he’s likely to dump me.
What I don’t know about Alessandro Moretti:
he’s a werewolf…and he may just want me, too.
My Werewolf Professor: 4-in-1 Boxed Set
THE ALPHA’S EVER AFTER
A WEREWOLF ROMANCE
by Marian Tee
Copyright 2016 by Streak Digital Publishing
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
In the kingdom of Chalys
Women dazzle in corsets and petticoats while men swagger in coats and breeches.
Carriage rides, tea parties, and masquerade balls,
Flirtations between waltzes and sweet flowers for courtship,
These are but some of the pleasures offered in the brightness of day.
But when the sun sets, a deadly silence prevails---
To survive the darkness you must always remember:
CHALYS
Is a kingdom like no other.
Ruled by angels and coveted by demons,
Chalys is the hunting ground for Night’s children,
“A world where humans are but precious prey.
- A Chalysian legend
NOTICE TO TRAVELERS
Greetings!
The Kingdom of Chalys is pleased to welcome citizens of all nations.
Before you proceed to immigration, please be reminded of the following:
Only ASPHODEL is open to tourists. Access to other dukedoms of the kingdom is strictly by invitation only. Requests for entry may be submitted to the inter-dukedom consular office.
Technology as many of you are used to is available on a vastly limited basis in our kingdom.
We hope you see this as an opportunity for new experiences and explorations to enjoy.
Please observe proper decorum and attire during your stay. The customs and norms of our society are of great value to us. Your respect would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS, NAMES, AND PLACES
Academia Nu Exista (ANEX) – A self-governing school that officially does not exist; it is dedicated to aiding human students with special abilities to develop their full potential. Its administration is known to disapprove of relationships between humans and demons.
Asphodel – The only territory in the kingdom of Chalys that is open to non-citizens. A technology ban has been implemented in the last 200 years or so to limits its carbon footprint. This prohibits the use of the Internet and mobile phones among others as well as making any modern mode of transportation unavailable. Generally speaking, citizens of Asphodel as well as the rest of the human population are unaware that inhabitants of the other territories in the kingdom are otherworlders.
Chalys – A kingdom secretly inhabited by otherworlders; only one of its territories is open to human travelers. Access to other territories, namely Aquarius, Brimstone, Ciel, Lunare, Sangre, and Sulphur, is severely restricted. Both the otherworlder and human citizens making up the kingdom live and dress according to the customs and times of the Regency period.
Charles Orpheline – A former soldier, Charles is now the Baron of Woodmere and father to three adopted daughters. All women have been saved from certain death, having been thrown away as infants because they were discovered to be ludifia.
Galere – The collective term used to refer to the three powerful half-demon marquises that had made a blood bond to devote their lives to protecting the Demon Duke of Brimstone. This consists of Mihail Gheorgiu of Sangre, Adrijan Vasilache of Aquarius, and Ilie Marcovici of Lunare.
Georgina McCartney – The human future duchess and heartkeeper of Silviu Draghici, the Demon Duke of Brimstone. She is also one of the fated potential heartkeepers for the Marquis of Lunare.
Heartkeeping – A union that enables a demon or part demon to share the soul of his or her heartkeeper, thus preventing him or her from being completely chained to the demands of Hell. There may be more than one fated heartkeeper for a demon, but it is also possible for a demon to forcibly create such unions. Little is known about heartkeeping as most of the information is guarded zealously in Sulphur, one of the ducal territories making up Chalys and inhabited mainly by land-dwelling demons.
Ilie Marcovici – The half-wolf, half-demon marquis who is second in line to rule the territory of Lunare, a land inhabited by shifters and governed by a demon duke, Ilie’s sire.
Ludifia – Considered freaks of nature, they’re born completely mortal despite being the product of a human – otherworlder pairing. They’re usually thrown away in the Woods of the Wraiths to be eaten alive.
Soleil Orpheline – The eldest daughter of Charles Orpheline, considered as one of society’s reigning belles and well-known for her remarkable sense of propriety. As part of the Trois Belle Lames, however, she is famous for her infallible pragmatism as well as having proven her mettle as a master tactician. She has been fighting since she was fifteen years of age.
Trois Belle Lames – The Three Lovely Blades, a code name for a trio of skilled human fighters tasked to defend Asphodel from otherworlder threats. This group consists of the three Orpheline sisters, with Soleil as its leader.
Woods of the Wraiths – The first line of defense of Chalys against humans, the Woods of the Wraiths is unchartered territory, inhabited by vengeful spirits living in the husks of its trees, ghosts of nymphs that had been massacred during one of the kingdom’s bloodiest wars. It is known to attack creatures, humans or otherwise, that venture into its land with the intention to harm the citizens of Brimstone and all those under the protection of Silviu Draghici.
PLAYLIST
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Cover by Patti Smith
Cover by Afternoon Delight
Cover by Lorde
Cover by Stereo Dub
CHAPTER ONE
Events here take place one week after
The Alpha’s Courtship.
While this book has been written as a standalone, it is essential that you read the notes provided in the previous pages. If your Kindle device opens to this page, please proceed to the start of this book for a proper introduction.
~ Author’s Note ~
Woods of the Wraiths
Midnight was a magical time in Asphodel. Most often, it was a time when fireworks exploded in the skies, with lords of the manors battling it out on who had the most impressive aerial spectacle to entertain their guests. It was also a time when proposals were made and romance bloomed in the air, with gentlemen going down on bended knees as they presented heirloom rings that had been passed down from generation to generation to the women they wished to spend the rest of their lives with.
But for the three exquisitely beautiful ladies of
Trois Belle Lames,
midnight was, more frequently than not, the time for blood and mayhem.
Trois Belle Lames stood for
Three Lovely Blades,
a name that Soleil and her two younger sisters hid behind so that no one would know they weren’t exactly spending their free time knitting and painting flowers when they weren’t attending any of the parties they had been invited to.
Once the sun had set and darkness embraced the world, the Orpheline sisters transformed into soldiers, ditching their corsets and ball gowns for the less restrictive military greens and boots. Rather than practicing their steps for the waltz, they worked on their marksmanship and stamina, and instead of looking for eligible catches to trap in matrimony, they hunted for otherworlders that preyed on the weak---
Like now,
only this time it was a fellow human that was their prey.
Soleil, the curvy blue-eyed blonde leader of the
Trois Belle Lames,
studied the fading footprints they were tracking with an unreadable gaze. “What can you say about this, Aurora?”
After almost half a month, they had finally been given a worthwhile lead, pinpointing the whereabouts of the traitor responsible for their last operation, which had been nothing but a setup for an ambush aimed to kill them.
It was critical that they catch the traitor, not for revenge, but to find out how deeply they were compromised. No one was supposed to know anything about the operations Soleil’s group led, and yet everything that could go wrong that night had gone wrong.
Aurora crouched down and shook her head after a moment. “This isn’t leading anywhere.” The slender brown-eyed redhead was mostly known as the brains of the group, but few people were aware that she was also the better tracker among her sisters. “He knows we’re on his trail.”
“Or she,” Soleil murmured absently.
“I don’t care about the blasted traitor’s gender,” Fleur grumbled. The doe-eyed brunette looked around furtively as she spoke, and her sense of foreboding increased when she heard the leaves rustle around them. Only her sisters knew of her intense distrust of everything otherworldly.
And what could be more otherworldly
, she thought glumly,
than the Woods of the Wraiths?
A forest of black, silver, and white, it was a place that threatened to devour anything with color in life.
Anything or anyone
, Fleur corrected herself, knowing that even trained soldiers like her and her sisters were still in danger in this particular neck of woods. Even if it had been a solid lead, and she knew it was, they really shouldn’t have come here. The Woods of the Wraiths were forbidden territory, even for them. Anyone here was fair game, literally. If they ended up devoured by a rabid shifter or turned into a living voodoo toy by a crazed witch--- since they had come here without express permission from their superiors, no one would be coming to their rescue.
Even if it meant being torn or chewed into pieces, Asphodel’s human government would consider their deaths an unfortunate accident.
Fleur glanced up, and the sight of the full moon in the sky made her grimace. To most other people, it might be a romantic view, but for those like her who knew the truth, it usually meant bad stuff was more likely to happen.
“It would really, really be nice,” she said half-seriously, “if we had someone furry to protect us.”
Soleil let out a rare, unladylike snort. “Says the one who’s been adamantly against an otherworlder partner---”
“But that’s me, not you,” Fleur pointed out, before adding piously, “And for the record, I happen to think his lordship is the ideal partner for my beloved eldest sister---”
“Perhaps because he also happened to grant you a one-day access to Brimstone’s ducal library?”
Fleur had the audacity to grin. “Oh, you know about that?”
Soleil simply sighed. Where had she gone wrong at raising this girl? She was just so easily bribed.
“I also think Fleur has a point, though,” Aurora volunteered.
“Not you too, Aurora.” Soleil stomped her foot, which would have been a cute display of vexation – if she had been wearing her usual silk slippers. But with high-grade, battle-proof military boots, she only looked like she wanted to crush someone to death.
“We’ve survived without him for almost ten years---”
“But it’s different now,” Aurora interrupted.
“How is it different, pray tell?”
“Gladly. Then, the otherworlders we fought didn’t really want to kill us. It wasn’t personal.”
One golden, beautifully arched brow went up. “Oh, so killing us can be
not
personal?”