Like every average person, Ella Schulz had no idea there were such things as Lycanthropes and Vampires. She went about her life blissfully unaware of the war that waged between the two of them... until she met the man who was somehow both. Now the only Alpha left standing, Cain Deveraux is the Alpha Sovereign. He reigns with an iron fist and shrewd mind. He is a hybrid: a mix of both Vampire and Lycanthrope. He is the first of his kind, making him the most powerful being to ever exist. Caught in the midst of the battle between species, meeting Ella is the last thing Cain expects to happen. All of his life, he has been the conqueror and the ruthless ruler. Can he learn to be a lover and a mate? The enigma behind Cain makes Ella wary, yet somehow draws her in. She soon learns, however, that the man she knows as Cain, isn't a man at all... but a monster.
Chapter 1 Death
Proudly did I sit upon my throne, a seat forged from blood and bone.
My skin marred with evidence of war, I was scarred and bruised. I was wounded and battered but it was a war I would never lose. The taste of blood on my lips, my fangs were sharpened by flesh. Eyes flashing with moonlight, a wolf howled inside my chest.
They made me a ruler and a King, I made them suffer and bleed. Feared more than fear itself, I was born to lead.
The moment I saw her, my eyes filled with fear. She scared mebmore than my demons, for them I learned to bear. Her eyes were wild with hope, although I knew it wouldn't beblong until she knew me for the monster I was. Fate had finally done wrong.
She could never know, I would hide it well. For how could she learn to love a monster that could never love himself?
Ella's P.O.V.
"Your grandfather is dead."
Those were words I never wanted to hear, but had been anticipating for too long.
Those words were the reason that I sat on a plane flying above German farmland, on my way to arrange a funeral I didn't want to attend.
I felt someone nudge my arm and I opened my eyes to see my older brother, Zak, staring at me. I took out my headphones, even though he didn't speak verbally. He pointed to the date window on his watch.
November 12th.
''Happy twenty-third birthday, '' he signed, smiling.
I sighed. ''It doesn't feel like a happy birthday, '' I signed back, my shaky fingers displaying just how exhausted I was.
Zak sat forward and pulled something from his backpack. I noticed as he handed it to me that it was a bag of peanut m&ms, my favorite kind of candy.
He winked at me before leaning back in his seat.
I opened the bag and poured out a handful and handed them to him. He took them gladly.
''How are you?'' Zak asked me once he finished them off.
His sharp eyes had been studying me the entire trip.
He knew the answer.
I nodded, signing that I was fine. I looked past him to my mom and dad, who sat in the middle row. Her tear-stained, red-rimmed eyes were staring blankly at the back of the seat in front of her. I sighed, knowing how hard she was probably taking her father's death. They had been close, especially after my grandmother died when she was young.
My mother and father were both German and moved to the United States after they were married.
After I was born, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and my grandfather quit his job and moved to Florida to help take care of her since my dad worked all the time.
The man practically raised me After he moved back to Germany, he fell ill and was unable to come back to see us. We had only made a few trips to see him since that time.
I couldn't believe he was gone.
I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the sad thoughts. I looked back out the window as my eyes filled with tears, blurring the sight of the setting sun.
It was late into the evening when the plane landed in Frankfurt.
We got a rental car and drove a little over an hour into the country to my grandfather's cottage. Driving up to the cottage was hard. I was used to the porch light being on, ushering us up to the house. This time the house was dark and uninviting.
As we got out of the car, I took my luggage and wheeled it up to the side door. I could hear Remi, my grandfather's Schnauzer, barking as I retrieved the key from underneath the doormat.
I unlocked the door and flipped on the light.
Remi trotted over and sniffed me, her tail wagging quickly. I smiled grimly as I leaned down to run my fingers through her fur, which had grayed since I'd seen her last.
Zak came in behind me, his suitcase and backpack hitting the doorway as he squeezed his way inside. In that moment, he looked more like an eight-year-old boy than a twenty-six-year-old man.
"Would you mind turning on some lights?" My mom asked as she came in.
I stood up and walked into the den and turned on a few lamps. Taking a deep breath and fighting tears as I looked around the room, I made my way upstairs to the guest bedroom that I normally stayed in.
Everything was the same as it always had been.
The green walls hadn't been painted in decades and the dusty, floral curtains were in serious need of being replaced. The wooden floor squeaked under the pressure of my footsteps as I made my way across the room to turn on the lamp. The lightbulb blew as I did so and I sighed, my mind continuing to turn over every worry and sad thought in darkness.
I sat my suitcase down on the floor and laid down over the duvet. Soon, the jet lag caught up to me and I drifted off into a restless sleep.
The next day was no better than the last, except for the first few moments when I woke up and had forgotten where I was and why I was there.
That blissful ignorance soon disappeared as I heard my mother's voice floating up the stairs. I got out of bed and went downstairs. My mother and father were both sitting at the old, oak dinner table clutching steaming cups of coffee.
"Good morning," she said.
It sounded more obligatory than it did loving.
"Good morning" I returned, stopping short from asking her how she was. I knew how she was.
"We're going to the mortuary in a while to make arrangements," she informed me.
"You're more than welcome to come. "
I fought back tears as I poured myself a cup of coffee. "I'll pass."
The kitchen was quiet as I poured cream into the coffee and stirred it. I picked the mug up from the counter and held it tightly. The warmth from the ceramic cup was a stark contrast to the cool air in the house.
"I want to have the funeral here," she said softly Looking up from my drink, I saw my dad reach across the table and take her hand in his as he nodded reassuringly.
"It sounds like a good idea," he said, giving her a grim smile.
I looked around small cottage with apprehension. It was far too small to hold a funeral, but I wasn't going to argue with my mom about it. It was her decision to make.
"Stop it," she said.
I snapped out of a trance to find myself looking at her as she returned the stare.
"What?"
"Stop looking at me like that," she said defensively.
I fumbled over my words.
"Like what?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"Like you're assessing which stage of grief I'm entering," she snapped.
My mother stood from the table quickly, the chair sliding loudly against the wooden floor as she did so. I watched in disbelief as she stomped up the stairs.
I looked to my dad, who still sat at the dining table, and he sighed and shook his head as he took another sip of coffee.
"I wasn't," I said defensively.
"You were."
He stood up and placed his mug in the sink and began to rinse it out.
"I understand that you see this stuff every day and you study it in school---"
I began to speak but he raised a hand to stop me.
"---but don't negate your mother's feelings or brush it off like you would a client. He was your grandfather, try not to reason your way out of grieving yourself."
With those words he walked away and left me to stand in a cold kitchen holding a steaming cup of coffee. I shook my head as I placed the mug on the counter and crossed my arms. I tried to take his words at face value, understanding he had said them to help me.
But it still stung.
Chapter 1 Death
25/04/2023
Chapter 2 Black Pantyhose
25/04/2023
Chapter 3 His Casket
25/04/2023
Chapter 4 She's My Mate
25/04/2023
Chapter 5 Black SUV
25/04/2023
Chapter 6 The Handsome Stranger
25/04/2023
Chapter 7 Still On The Train
25/04/2023
Chapter 8 Enigma
25/04/2023
Chapter 9 Dropped IQ
25/04/2023
Chapter 10 Blood Transfusion
25/04/2023
Chapter 11 Invaded
20/07/2023
Chapter 12 Sheets Of Paper
20/07/2023
Chapter 13 She's His Mate
20/07/2023
Chapter 14 Records
20/07/2023
Chapter 15 One Punch
21/07/2023
Chapter 16 Death Certificates
21/07/2023
Chapter 17 Empty Hallway
21/07/2023
Chapter 18 Risking Happiness
21/07/2023
Chapter 19 Canis Lupus
21/07/2023
Chapter 20 His Mother
21/07/2023
Chapter 21 Blood Transfusion
21/07/2023
Chapter 22 Inky Blackness
21/07/2023
Chapter 23 Two Mythical Creatures
21/07/2023
Chapter 24 What's Done Is Done
21/07/2023
Chapter 25 Kiss
21/07/2023
Chapter 26 Dominant Genes
21/07/2023
Chapter 27 Soulmates
21/07/2023
Chapter 28 Blood Test
21/07/2023
Chapter 29 Hereditary
21/07/2023
Chapter 30 Special Operations
21/07/2023
Chapter 31 DNA Results
21/07/2023
Chapter 32 His Brother
21/07/2023
Chapter 33 Shaky Breath
21/07/2023
Chapter 34 Autopilot Mode
06/08/2023
Chapter 35 Lycanthrope's Blood
06/08/2023
Chapter 36 Naked Torso
06/08/2023
Chapter 37 The Dead Beta
06/08/2023
Chapter 38 All Black
06/08/2023
Chapter 39 Annoyed Sigh
06/08/2023
Chapter 40 Agitated Hearing
06/08/2023
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