SAMANTHA
The lounge was too quiet.
I sat on the velvet couch, my legs stretched out before me, my wings folded tight against my back. It should have been peaceful. It should have been comfortable.
But I was restless.
My wolf, Jaden, paced inside me. Back and forth. Back and forth. He had been doing it all morning.
"Stop," I told him.
"I cannot."
"Try harder."
"You try harder. You are the one who keeps thinking about her."
I was not thinking about her. I was thinking about... other things. Someone knockd on the door.
"Enter," I called.
A servant stepped inside. His hands were trembling. He bowed low, his forehead almost touching his knees.
"Your Highness," he said. His voice was high. Nervous. "The trainings have begun again. Your father said you should inspect the women and select the ones good for child bearing."
Something hot flashed through my chest.
"Get the fuck out of here," I commanded.
The servant's head snapped up. His eyes were wide.
"But Your Highness, the king said—"
"I said get out!"
I grabbed the nearest object—a crystal glass from the side table—and hurled it at his head. He ducked and the glass shattered against the wall behind him.
He ran and the door slammed shut.
I was alone again.
"That was unnecessary," Jaden said.
"He annoyed me."
"He was delivering a message."
"The message annoyed me."
"You are annoyed by everything today."
I did not answer. Because he was right.
The women my father had chosen as sex slaves did not interest me. They never had. They were all the same—pretty faces, empty eyes, desperate smiles. They simpered and bowed and offered themselves like meat at a market.
How could they foolishly think of procreating with me?
If I had to choose, Samantha would be the only lady I would choose.
Her face flashed through my mind.
"There she is," Jaden said. "There is our mate."
"She is not our mate."
"She is. You know she is. I know she is. Even our brothers..."
"Do not mention our brothers."
"Why not? You know they feel it too. The pull. The hunger. The need."
I stood up and walked to the window. The gardens spread out below me. The maze was visible in the distance, green and mysterious.
Last night, I had dreamed of her.
Of sharing her.
With my brothers.
The goddess forbids!! If I have an interest in a girl, I'd never share her with those mongrels.
In the dream, we were all together. Me, Finnian, Darlington and Samantha. We were in the maze. The moon was high and her dress was white. Her hair was loose and we took turns kissing her, touching her and holding her.
I woke up hard and angry.
"It was just a dream," I told myself.
"Dreams mean something."
"Dreams mean nothing."
"Then why can you not stop thinking about it?"
I paced the room. My claws wanted to extend and my fangs ached to bite.
Something stirred in my lower abdomen. An intense, primal urge.
"There," Jaden said. "There is what I am talking about."
Shut up.
She is beautiful. More beautiful than the others. There is something comforting about her. Something warm. Something that calms my wolf.
Your wolf does not need calming.
My wolf needs her. Your wolf needs her. You need her.
I stopped pacing.
She was more beautiful than the others. That was true. There was something about her face. Her eyes. The way she moved. The way she smelled.
Something that pacified a wolf.
I found solace in her presence. When I was near her, the rage quieted. The hunger faded. The world felt....bearable.
But I would never tell her that. I did not want her head to swell up. I did not want her to think she was special.
The Lycan bloodline always made us fierce. Made our tempers uncontrollable. And only Samantha's presence could calm me down.
I had no desire to know what caused that.
She could not be my mate. I could not be mated to a tramp from wherever.
Nevertheless, her face lingered in my thoughts.
"Go to her," Jaden urged.
"No."
"Go to the training room and watch her."
"That is pathetic."
"Then stay here, pace the room and be miserable. I do not care."
My wolf could be a bastard at times. I growled low in my throat. Then I rose and walked to the door.
********
The corridors were busy. Servants hurried past with trays and linens. Guards nodded as I passed bit I ignored them all.
I was following my instincts. That was all. I turned a corner and stopped when I saw Darlington.
My youngest brother was walking in the same direction. His dark hair was neatly combed. His clothes were immaculate. His wings were folded behind him.
He noticed me and his golden eyes narrowed.
"What a coincidence, Jayce," he said. His voice was calm. "I did not think you would be here."
I crossed my arms. "Where are you going?"
"To the training room. To watch the girls."
To watch the girls. Or to watch one girl in particular? I remembered how Darlington was always defending Samantha. Always speaking up for her. Always looking at her with those soft, concerned eyes.
Did he also have interest in her?
Surely he had dreams too. Fever dreams. But I could not trust dreams.
I snorted. "Enjoy your inspection, little brother."
I walked past him without waiting for a response. If he was going to the training room, I couldn't use the same route as him. I didn't want to look desperate.
Then I turned another corner.
And there was Finnian.
He was walking alone, his silver wings catching the light. He was not heading toward the training room. He was heading toward the library. But when he saw me, when he saw Darlington behind me, he changed direction.
He joined us.
Was Finnian also drawn to Samantha?
I glared at him. "Are you headed to the training room too?"
Finnian's response was even more annoying than Darlington's. "None of your business, weirdo."
He dismissed me with a wave of his hand and continued walking.
I was used to Finnian's arrogance. He had always been cold, rude and nonchalant without any respect for his older brother. But today, he pushed me to the edge.
My mood darkened and a surge of anger filled my chest.
I quickened my pace. I bypassed Finnian. I walked faster.
Jaden howled inside my mind.
"Yes," he snarled. "Go and find her. Claim her."
"I am not going to claim her."
"Then why are you walking so fast?"
I did not answer.
I reached the training room.
The doors were open and I stood in the doorway and looked inside.
The scene was concerning.
Women knelt on the floor in rows. Their clothes were provocative—bikinis that showed their nipples, lace that showed me the sides of their vaginas, straps, things that left nothing to the imagination. Each woman held a dildo-- performing a sexual action on it . Suckin, gagging and performing.
And there, in the back corner, was Samantha.
She was wearing clothes that covered her body. A simple grey sports wear. She looked...modest and plain. She stood out like a flower in a field of weeds.
She was reluctant. I could see it in her shoulders. In the way she held the toothbrush like it might bite her. She was struggling. Her movements were stiff. Unnatural.
She did not want to be here.
I could not help but think about that evening in the garden when I made her sock my cock and I cummed on her beautiful face. I remember how her face was pressed against my balls.
The sight of her distress made me happy.
But my lower abdomen tightened. Tension pooled there. Hot and heavy.
And something inside me shifted.
Something I did not want to name.