Wolf Kisses

  WOLF KISSES (BOOK 3)

  By Marian Tee

  About Wolf Kisses

  Werewolf prince Alejandro Moretti used to be my bodyguard. But now I know I have to let him go. While he’s able to protect my life, he’s also the one breaking my heart.

  Calys Adelardi has found out she’s not really a human monster. And she may not be a pack princess for long, not when the Panthera suspects her of being a murderess.

  Alejandro Moretti once thought love was foolish and unreal. But when Calys decides to leave his life for good, he’s forced to confront his fears. Can he find the courage to risk his heart…and if he does, will it be too late to win his princess back?

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  The Art of Claiming an Alpha – Human-slash-pack-princess Calys is a toughie, but she still needs the help of the powerful, dominant, and gorgeous werewolf Alejandro Moretti to be an ‘alpha’. Unfortunately, he wants her body in exchange for her help.

  Wolf Fight

  Wolf Games

  Wolf Kisses

  WOLF KISSES (BOOK 3)

  By Marian Tee

  Copyright 2014 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.

  Once upon a time, there lived a race of winged creatures. Their wings were every shade of the rainbow, and they could soar so high into the skies it was as if they could knock on heaven’s doors. These creatures were known as Souri, and the first of them were angels sent to earth and made mortal. They lived quietly among themselves, deep in the forests and high in the mountains, so quietly they faded into myths and legends.

  The innocent and the just, wise humans and loyal non-humans, all of them eventually forgot about the Souris' existence. But not the damned. Those with evil in their hearts circled their land day and night, waiting, skulking, knowing there would come a time they would have a chance to destroy and desecrate the Souris' idyllic existence.

  One day, that moment came.

  Jealousy had filled the heart of the King, for he thought his people loved the Queen more than him. Blinded by greed, he became vulnerable to the insidious whispers from the dark. Day by day, his angelic blood was poisoned by his own thoughts until there was no trace of humanity left in him. And so amidst beauty that only the gentle-hearted could create, the King turned into the first Vidange. Like the Souris, this new, soulless race was not immortal, possessing wings a thousand times more powerful than the largest and fiercest bird. But unlike the Souris, they were not heaven’s children. They were from below, and forever they would dwell underneath the earth.

  Half of the angels’ offspring became Vidange, seduced by promises of power and wealth by the King. The other half remained loyal to the Queen, their hearts grieving for the loss of innocence in their land.

  A battle then ensued, and no part of the earth was saved from it. Blood rained down from dueling warriors, fires razed fields that once bloomed with the rarest flowers¸ and dead bodies drifted among lakes that had turned crimson from azure.

  Up in the tower, a young Prince was able to defend his beloved mother by killing his own sire. But alas, it was not the end of their cursed days. The King’s first act as Vidange was to strike an unholy alliance with the soulless. Guided by his traitorous words, vampires and the sin eaters were able to find the chamber where three precious babes rested. They took all three, knowing one of these infant girls was the Queen’s beloved daughter.

  It was their hope that they could one day force the Queen’s daughter to mate with the King’s bastard son, a Vidange like him. Such an offspring would have great power, perhaps enough to rule the world.

  But fate intervened. Tormented by his guilty conscience, a Souri who had not yet completely lost his soul and become Vidange sought atonement. At the cost of his life, he was able to escape the Vidange and hide the babies in the mortal world.

  One of those babes was Calys.

  When the Queen discovered her princess living among the panthers, she chose to love her daughter from afar, knowing that Calys’ life was safer with the shifters. She had hoped that Calys, despite being known as The Human Monster, would be able to lead a life blessed with peace and happiness. But it was not to be.

  Vampires had found their way into Calys’ world, and sooner or later, they would know that she was no human monster. She was more, and when they realized who she was, they would come for her.

  CALYS

  It was the fifth day for the Panthera to gather, this time to hear the sides of both accuser and the accused. The room was vast and airy, large windows allowing rays of sunlight to turn the wood-paneled walls a darker shade of brown. The room was the largest in the inn, where locals and guests mingled for town festivities. But this morning was completely different, with one person’s sentence the only thing to be celebrated.

  Alejandro Moretti, werewolf prince, stood directly behind Calys Adelardi. Small, blonde, and blue-eyed, the princess he had sworn to protect remained calm and motionless in her seat. At first glance, she appeared innocent and vulnerable, but those who were aware of who and what she was knew better of course. She was not called "The Human Monster” for nothing, and today – if Raoul Adelardi was to have his way – she would soon be known as a murderess as well.

  Thoughts of Calys’ cousin had Alejandro reluctantly looking back at the younger man. He stood tall and proud at the center of the room, and it was clear by the look on his face that he loved being in the limelight. Raoul Adelardi loved it so much, Alejandro thought, that he probably wouldn’t mind killing again and again if that was what it took to stay there.

  “She is human.” Raoul spat the last word out, a fairly predictable way to start his closing speech. The contemptuous look he threw at Calys was just as predictable, and Alejandro almost cracked his knuckles at the sight of it. If the others in the room were not shifters like him, able to hear a thousand times better than humans, he would have done so, just to let the little shit know Alejandro was this close to taking his life. On the spot. And to hell with the consequences.

  “That alone should disqualify her as being heir to the alpha. It sickens me, thinking that a human, with not a single drop of panther blood in her, was made heir of our pack, one of the oldest and most respected of our race. Only out of respect for my beloved uncle did I not say a word, but now? After what happened?” Raoul furiously pointed at Calys. “It’s clear for everyone to see that she’s the one behind Pasquale Hernandez’s death.”

  Ra
oul opened his mouth to speak again, no doubt to spout more lies, but one of the Panthera intruded, his voice reasonable as he asked, “And what is your evidence for such a claim?”

  Raoul’s gaze swung away from Calys. “The Lyccan behind her.”

  Alejandro stiffened.

  “It is evident that she is in love with the wolf, and because of that, she’s regretted her decision to marry Pasquale. Perhaps they’ve gotten into an argument. Or maybe Pasquale refused to let her go. We will never know what happened between them, but what we can be sure of is that she wanted him out of the way. If she can do that to her childhood friend, how are we to know that she would not do the same to her own adopted father—”

  Calys burst out of her seat, and she would have rushed to Raoul if Alejandro hadn’t already anticipated her move. He held her back just in time, and when he felt her trembling hard, he knew that she was extremely close to having one of her dark fits.

  “Calm down,” he said softly. “You and I both know it is not true. Most of all, your own father knows that is not true, and isn’t that the only thing which should matter?”

  But Calys continued to tremble in silent fury.

  Damn, this was bad. There were times when Calys going berserk and kicking ass was damn helpful, but this was not one of those times. Changing tacks, he said, “A warrior does not let his emotions get the better of him.”

  A full second passed before Calys asked in a not-quite-Calys voice. “Is that from a movie?”

  “Of course,” Alejandro lied without hesitation. “I’m surprised you don’t recognize it.”

  “I don’t.” Another second. “But you’re right.”

  At the same time, Raoul sneered, “Do you see how they talk and whisper to each other like lovers? They dare be like that in front of you, the Panthera! They think no one’s going to stand in their way to claim the pack’s throne.”

  Alejandro’s teeth gnashed, and unable to help it, he looked at the panther. He simply looked, and it was enough to have Raoul swallowing. “Do you see how he looks at me?” His voice was shrill with fear. “Do you see—”

  Alejandro interrupted quietly, “What I see is a panther quaking in his boots and accusing another man of treason and murder simply because he didn’t like being looked at a certain way.”

  Humiliation and rage had Raoul’s features twisting into something ugly. “You will pay for that, dog,” he snarled.

  At the slur, Calys had stiffened again, but Alejandro only tightened his hold. “Let me fight my own battles, my princess,” he murmured. “I wouldn’t be much of a bodyguard if you fight mine for me.”

  “If he knows what’s good for him,” the princess answered in the same not-quite-Calys voice, “that will be the last time he’ll call you that. If he does it again, I will cut his tongue out and make his own dogs eat it.” This time, her words weren’t a whisper, and they traveled throughout the room, causing Raoul to curse her in a mixture of fear and fury while the Panthera gazed at her with indecipherable eyes.

  “We have heard your side, Prince Raoul. Thank you.” The words left the panther no recourse but to step down and stand opposite Calys.

  The older man from the Panthera gestured to Calys. “It is your turn, Princess.”

  Alejandro winced at the way Calys briskly walked to the center of the room, her every movement screaming warrior rather than princess. Now was the best time for her to play the role of a vulnerable princess. As a Lyccan, he abhorred dishonesty above all things but if it was what would save his little hellcat from being imprisoned and sentenced as a murderess, he wouldn’t mind at all if Calys had pretended to mourn Pasquale’s death.

  But of course, even if he had suggested that, he knew Calys wouldn’t even consider it. Warriors did not lie, after all.

  “Your last words about the matter, princess?”

  Please say something—

  “I have my alpha’s confidence and trust.”

  —girl-like.

  But he should have known better.

  She looked at the Panthera, one by one, her eyes so guileless it made some of them uncomfortable. His princess’ P.R. skills, Alejandro thought with a grimace, definitely had room for improvement. “That is all that I deem necessary.”

  Instead, Calys had basically said “screw you” to the Panthera if they chose not to believe in her testimony.

  The spokesperson for the Panthera cleared his throat. “Will that be all, Princess Calys?”

  She nodded.

  “Then this meeting is adjourned. We shall convene once again when the Panthera has reached a decision.” The Panthera stood up in unison, being the first to leave the room by way of seniority. Raoul and his men quickly followed, clearly not wanting to be left alone with Calys and Alejandro.

  When they were finally left alone in the room, Alejandro said with a sigh, “You should have learned to use your feminine wiles more.” He looked down at Calys as he spoke and was relieved to find her looking like her ordinary self, which meant she was no longer in danger of having a dark fit.

  Her lips curved in a slight smile as she answered simply, “I can’t.”

  “Because you’re a warrior.”

  Her smile widened. “Because I’m a warrior.”

  They looked at each other, and unbidden, they simultaneously remembered the last time they had spoken.

  He was inside her bedroom, and he was breaking her heart.

  “You made a mistake.”

  Calys was shaking her head at him. “I don’t understand.”

  “You made a mistake about saying you love me.”

  “But I didn’t.” Her voice was tinged with desperation as she told him, “I didn’t, Alejandro. I love you. I know I do. I…I’ve k-known it for a long time.”

  “Then I’m sorry. I’m sorry you feel that way.”

  And the sound she had made after that – he didn’t think he would ever forget that. Not a single day would he forget the sound, not until the day he died. It was the sound of him completely breaking a warrior’s heart.

  “Just like that?” Calys had whispered. “After everything, you’re going to leave me just like that?”

  That was three nights ago. But if he had to do it all over again, he knew he wouldn’t have done anything differently. Or maybe he would. His answer would be the same, but maybe he would have tried to make it less hurtful, would have found a way not to have her crying when he told her he didn’t love her.

  In front of him, Calys had turned completely white.

  Earlier, he would have given everything to have her looking vulnerable like this. But not now, not when he knew it was exactly how she felt and it was all because of him.

  Cursing under his breath, he said urgently, “Calys—”

  She shook her head vehemently, her eyes glassy. “You don’t have to say a thing.” She turned away abruptly, as if unable to bear another moment of seeing him.

  She was practically marching towards the doorway, but he caught up to her easily. “We need to talk about this,” he muttered fiercely under his breath as he fell into step behind her, conscious of the proper distance he needed to maintain between Cavaliere and Princess.

  She shook her head again, running down the stairs three steps at a time. It had Alejandro gritting his teeth and he forced himself to slow down, not wanting her to accidentally trip herself because of her need to get away from him.

  “Be careful, dammit.”

  Still, she ran.

  He came to a stop.

  She sensed it and slowed down. But she continued to walk, not looking back, not even when she had reached the front doors of the inn.

  His heart clenched at the sight of her leaving him. Was this how Domenico had felt when Misty disappeared on him?

  This soul-crushing pain, this bone-gnawing fear of never seeing her again and never getting her back?

  He raked a hand through his hair. He had done the right thing, Alejandro told himself. It was better to draw the lines this early befo
re she fell any harder for him. Before he fell any harder for her. It should be enough for both of them that she was his princess, and he her Cavaliere.

  When he came out of the inn, the first thing he saw was his little hellcat surrounded by her new family. He still hadn’t a fucking clue what they all were. The only thing he knew and did not like was that they had wings. Those damn wings were too powerful by half, and it meant Calys would one day be able to fly away from him – and he would be unable to run after her.

  He took a step towards them, and they turned to him in unison. The Queen, the Prince, the Knight, and the Princess. His princess. Calys. The way they were looking at him – everyone but Calys – made Alejandro rigid with tension. His instincts told him he was better off turning around and walking away. If he didn’t give any of them the chance to speak, nothing would change.

  When he reached her, Calys immediately raised her gaze to him. Her eyes were glassy, but she was able to look at him straight in the eye, as if she was determined to prove to herself she could face her fears.

  “Calys—”

  She didn’t give him a chance to say anything else. “I have spoken with my family, and we have all agreed that this is the best thing to do under the circumstances.”

  She bowed deeply to him, as if in gratitude, and he hated it. He didn’t understand why, but her next words explained it.

  “From here on, you are formally and honorably discharged from your position as Cavaliere. My sincerest gratitude for the services you have rendered, but after this…” Her voice broke. “After this, I trust you understand if I tell you I n-never want to see you again.”

  CALYS

  “I can’t believe you were around all these years and I never knew.” I was the first one to break the silence as we reached the gazebo the locals had built at the edge of the town. Made of reclaimed wood, the beautiful whitewashed structure offered stunning views of the bay and was often rented for mating ceremonies between shifters.