ENCHANTED WORLD SERIES BOOK 4: MOON CHILD'S WAR

The quiet puttering of rain outside the Treasure House--Sheyster’s shop--made Ruvin think of nothing else other than long and lazy love-making and breakfast in the bed the next morning. Now that he had crossed over to the Human Realm, it was not easy to find the perfect sex partner. With the diseases and drugs that circulated, Ruvin feared for his health. Not that he wouldn’t be able to fight off the infection being the pure-blood Lycan that he was, it was just that the process of breaking down and extracting the infection from his body was painful. Add the heartless High Mage Tron into that equation and Ruvin would rather wear two condoms at a time than go through him!

He smirked and sipped his hot coffee then turned to Sheyster who was talking to several young girls who had come to get some books. Drake threatened Ruvin with his life if he did not watch over his mother for him. Most of Sheyster’s memories had returned because Drake and Maya visited her as much as they could, but she was not ready to return to the enchanted world. She had been in the human world for far too long and she felt she might have lost her dragon in the process. Female dragons were weaker, and it was easy for that part of them to perish if it was not nurtured by the enchanted energies. The energy banks in the human world were far too small to nourish the withering dragon soul.

Ruvin was sure that she might have lost her dragon because the aging process had already started showing on her, but she was still as enchanting as ever. She had to move quite a lot because of her nature, and she had been in Ashwick for quite a while making a life for herself.

Drake was one lucky son of a bitch, Ruvin thought. Drake had both parents growing up. He had a mother that adored him. Sometimes when Ruvin watched the way Sheyster fussed over Drake, he felt a dull ache thudding in his chest. He turned back to the dismal atmosphere outside. Ruvin never had a family so to speak. He grew up in an orphanage after his whore-of-a-mother got pregnant in one of her many nights of work and decided she didn’t need a child to keep her down.

Sometimes Ruvin wondered why the bitch didn’t just end his life and put them both out of their misery because the life that he went through was an existence he didn’t even wish upon his worst enemy. He sipped the hot contents of his mug and turned to the new catalog of Sheyster’s new books and artworks. Paging mindlessly through it, Ruvin traveled back to his street-rat life at the orphanage.

There was never enough to eat nor were there enough warm clothes for the turning of the season. They were always beaten into submission, and they did things that made Ruvin want to gouge out his eyes. The male that took them in was a society menace known as the Father and he recruited young boys and girls, training them to become rogues, prostitutes, and assassins.

Before Ruvin found his way into Lord Mage’s army, he was the seductive assassin, one without an equal that was hired by the rich and the powerful to eliminate competition. Ruvin carried out orders without question because he was raised like that but Father could never break him like he did the others. This made him fearful towards Ruvin and that prompted him to isolate Ruvin because he believed that Ruvin could corrupt the others and get them to rebel against him.

A bitter smile appeared on his face when he recalled the wooden box, he kept in his room back in the Enchanted World to remind him of how far he had come. It was strange about what he really thought of his life in that orphanage. When he was under the Father, he felt his life had a purpose and that he wasn’t just another street-rat like the others. Ruvin didn’t want to admit it but at one time he actually lived for those assignments because he thrived in them. It was the only thing he knew. He seduced, he bribed, he threatened, he robbed, and he killed. At times he was given assignments to seduce and sleep with females of power then later blackmail them into doing the Father favors. The Father dabbed him the Pretty One because of his face and when he disobeyed and was punished, his punisher made sure his face was not bruised in any way.

Ruvin caught sight of his face on the window in front of him. No one knew of the monster that resided behind that pretty face. Everyone always thought of him as a carefree, playboy commander but what they didn’t see was that he was feeding an addiction that he was forced to embrace during his life with the Father.

Seducing and sleeping with females was his specialty and it was the only way he could escape his bleak existence. That was where he got rid of his nightmares and demons, where he got back on track, and where he found a bit of solace.

“Your coffee has gone cold, Ruvin.” Lotta, Sheyster’s petite and heart-faced assistant, came over to him with a new mug and some hot coffee.

Ruvin looked up at her and a smile spread across his face making the female blush to the roots of her brown hair. “Thanks, Lotta.”

She gave a quick nod and placed the new steaming cup in front of him then took the cold one and placed it on her tray. “Would you like some snacks to eat while you wait for your friend?”

Ruvin looked down at his watch. Edon, his muscle and right-hand male, had canceled on him for no apparent reason. Ruvin wasn’t there to meet up with him, he was there to watch over Sheyster but if night came and he didn’t find someone to share his bed with, Lotta was hot on the list. He was a virile pure-blood beast. Sex ran thick in his veins, and he needed an outlet. It was either Lotta or the hand-job in the shower--

“Yes, I would like something to eat....” He grinned up at her and Ruvin caught the sudden quickening of her heartbeat and the jumping pulse on that little hollow area in between her collarbone.

“Right away!” She stuttered and turned on her heels before rushing to the snack bar.

“Lotta is a good woman, Ruvin, and I will not have you play with her like that.” A reprimanding voice came through as Sheyster took a seat in front of him after Lotta was a good distance away.

Ruvin smiled sheepishly as he scratched his hair. “Sorry, Sheyster.”

Sheyster’s violet eyes narrowed at him, and she hummed lightly then lowered her voice. “Take your beast hunting instead. That might help your case.”

Ruvin sighed. Letting Shadow--his wolf beast--free in the Human Realm was something he always had to prepare emotionally for because by the time he was able to leash the beast back inside him, Ruvin was traumatized. “Shadow tends to be a little.... overwhelming sometimes.” That meant he thought he was king of the forest. Being a pure-blood Lycan came with an ego to match, and that beast’s ego was thousand times over. He went and sought out trouble, riling up the half breeds and weakbloods--Human Realm wolves--until a fight broke out then he maimed like a boss!

Ruvin felt the demon smirk in his mind.

“But you are not leaving this place with Lotta. She has a lot to deal with at the moment.” Sheyster turned and looked at the female taking some sweet delights from the snacks bar for Ruvin and sadness entered her eyes. “With an abusive boyfriend and barely making ends meet, I don’t want her in any more problems than she already has.”

That had Ruvin frown and his jaw tick. Though he was the biggest dog-whore to ever walk the lands of both worlds, Ruvin had the utmost respect for females--well, except for the female who gave him up all those years ago.

Ruvin had never raised his hand to beat up a female nor had he ever abused them in any other way. He treated them with respect, pulled them to him with sweet words and kind gestures, and made them understand what he wanted beforehand. That way when it was time to walk away, no one clung to the other.... well, they usually wanted long-term relationships but Ruvin didn’t do long relationships. He just needed release when he had it, it was over.

“Her boyfriend beats her?” Ruvin asked softly glancing at Lotta as the female made her way back to them, her face bright and her eyes twinkling as she looked at him.

Ruvin had been going there for several weeks now but he had never seen anything that told him Lotta was being abused. She was always cheery and happy. The moment he entered the shop, Lotta left what she was doing to talk to him, ask him about his day and what new thing he did. Ruvin thought nothing much of it but now that he thought about it, an uncomfortable feeling settled in his gut. Did she think he was boyfriend material?

That caught Shadow’s attention too.

“Here you are.” She placed the plate in front of him and chuckled softly as she walked away to do other things.

“Tony Astrada did more than just beat her. I am happy that the bastard is rotting in prison for a while. Haven’t seen Lotta smile in such a long time.” Sheyster hummed lightly.

Ruvin became wary. “Do you think that perhaps she thinks--me and her--would she think such a thing?” He stuttered.

Sheyster smiled softly. “She has never had a man treat her so well, she might have actually taken an interest in you.... but don’t encourage her. I know the likes of you, Ruvin.” she narrowed her eyes at him, her voice suddenly motherly. “You will only break her heart.”

Ruvin wasn’t offended by the words because he truly was going to break her heart. During his time with The Father, he was taught not to cling to anything that had an expiring date, and first on the list was love. Ruvin didn’t even know what that word meant. Love was for people like Drake or the Lord Mage but it wasn’t for condemned males like him. “I’ll stop coming here then...try and keep my distance so that she doesn’t get the wrong idea.”

Sheyster pursed her lips. Ruvin could see that she was battling with herself. She wanted to protect her employee but at the same time, she didn’t want him to feel unwelcome there. Ruvin understood her well. The motherly instinct came very naturally to her.

Ruvin pulled out his wallet and placed some bill notes on the table then smiled and got up. “Full moon is around the corner. I have to do some scouting. We don’t want another person showing up at the hospital attacked by a wild animal.” He winked at Sheyster.

She nodded and smiled back. “Take care of yourself, Ruvin.”

Ruvin pulled on his jacket and as he was making his way out, he bumped into the pregnant female who came to the shop twice a week and was trying with all her might to hide the growing stomach underneath the many layers of clothes she put on, but Ruvin had been around several pregnant females to know what they smelled like. Their scent changed with the increasing hormones. Ruvin held open the door for her as she shook away the rain droplets from her umbrella and turned to him then smiled, her amber eyes gleaming with happiness.

“Thank you for that.” She said softly.

Ruvin nodded and once she passed in, she was warmly greeted by Sheyster who pulled her into a hug. Ruvin pulled up the hood of his jacket and walked into the rain. He parked his car around the corner because he didn’t want people to figure him out.

Ruvin found himself settling in that city that was like a magnet for the supernatural. Now he understood why... there was a hill called The Devil’s Peak that had one of the very few reachable gateways to the Enchanted World. It also had an enchanted energies bank so during the full moon, the energy bank recharged and spread around, vitalizing every enchanted being within the city for a short period of time until the next full moon. That meant, weakbloods gained strength and were able to pull off their full transformations and run wild in the woods. It was not surprising that Balthazar chose that place to bring Drake’s mother all those years ago. It was the one place that felt like home and also the one place Ruvin knew he would find trouble. There were other places just like that around the human realm.

Only the lycanthropes knew the powers to the full moon because it affected them the most, but a lot of people only talked about the man on the moon or the fact that it appeared larger in other nights, or the fact that sometimes it was red--a bloody moon--or other times it was silvery-blue--the blue moon.

No one wondered why the seas became turbulent when the moon was full and why suddenly there was a disturbance in the air. No one asked questions as to why insects were mesmerized by the light of the moon and why sometimes when you looked at it, you couldn’t tear your eyes from it.

Though a silent presence in the skies, the moon had more power over every being human or enchanted than anyone could ever imagine. They were all slaves to it, unconsciously controlled by it.

Ruvin reached his Range and disengaged the alarm then entered before he reached for his phone and dialed Edon’s number.

“Yes?” The male answered as Ruvin connected his phone to his wireless earpiece and pulled the car out of the parking lot.

“I want you to look into some ass-wipe named Tony Astrada. Apparently, he is in prison at the moment and he happens to be Lotta’s boyfriend. I want to know his past and if he poses a threat to her.”

“I’ll get Izzy to look into it right away--where you at?" Edon asked.

“I’m heading to the Black Shard,” Ruvin answered his front locks dripping with the rain.

“Fine, I’ll see you there in a few hours,” Edon answered. “Vixen wants to tag along too.”

Ruvin groaned softly knowing how Vixen could get when he was trying to get himself a bed mate. “Tell her to keep her claws at home.”

Edon chuckled. “Will do.”

Ruvin hung up and made his way towards the new and exclusive club that opened down the block.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Alli rolled her jade eyes and stuffed her phone back in her handbag. She hated it when people didn’t get what she was saying but she was pretty sure the word no had the same meaning in all the languages; stay the fuck out of my face!

“Tyson again?” Idonea, Alli’s friend with the most amazing chocolate brown skin and tight black curls making a halo around her cherub face grinned at her. They all called her Donny for short.

“I never thought a guy could be this thick-headed before. Which part of ‘no, I no longer want to see you’, doesn’t he get? It was over the day he decided Larimar’s ass was better to follow around than mine.”

“And no doubt has he tapped that too.” Donny shifted forward as the line to the new hottest club started moving forward. The night was chilly and there were tiny droplets of rain still coming down, but Alli would rather freeze to her death out there than go home and find Tyson sitting on her front porch.

Alli groaned rubbing the center of her forehead. “Why do I always make the worst decisions in men, Donny? I always get the rats and the whores!”

Donny chuckled. “Tyson is not a rat, maybe slightly a man-whore but you can’t blame him. He is a newly transformed wolf! His hormones are raging all over the place! So, if he was not getting it from you, surely he was getting it from someone else.”

Alli grimaced recalling what she had to go through several days ago when Tyson showed up on her doorstep with every intention of sleeping with her. Alli wanted to give herself to him one day when she was ready, but she was not going to do it in one of his dog-in-heat moments. Well....now, that dream was over because she caught him with his pants down thrusting into Larimar in the VIP club toilets.

Alli was just twenty and she wasn’t ready to tie herself down to someone who only thought about himself. She was in her second year of college and wanted to graduate and get a great job. She wanted to help her older sister where she could. At that moment, Alli’s sister, Corleen was working as Lord Faelen’s Head of security. Lord Faelen was the clan leader, but Alli hated him with all her heart. The man was overbearing and heartless because even though Corleen had recently suffered the loss of her mate, Faelen didn’t even give her time to grieve.

Sometimes Alli feared that Tyson might turn out to be just like his father and maybe that was another reason why she desperately wanted to get rid of him. Did she like him? Of course, she did! If he wasn’t such a self-centered and egoistical jerk most of the time, he was a nice guy....“I think I should go for that cleansing trip and be rid of my addiction to bad boys.”

Donny chuckled. “You should be more like me and Titus. We are the perfect couple!”

“He doesn’t even know you exist!” Alli growled at her friend.

Donny had a major crush on Faelen’s younger brother, but the girl could not stand in front of him without turning into a blathering mess.

“Exactly! Fantasy relationships are the best.” Donny moved forward as they got closer to the door.

Alli was about to roll her eyes when she saw the black Range Rover Park down the road. A shiver ran down her spine as the man jumped off and pulled up his hood before he stuffed his hands in his pockets and started walking towards the club.

He hung his head low as if not wanting anyone to see him and that made Alli wonder if he was hideous. It was not the first time she had seen him at the club so when his car drove by, she immediately noticed it. Alli caught sight of his blond locks just as he walked to the VIP entrance the bouncer unhooked and black and gold rope for him to pass. He was tall and built like a hunter and when he walked, he had long sure strides though his boots didn’t knock so hard on the pavement. Every movement told Alli that he was a man who believed in his abilities, so it was not a good idea to jump him in a dark alley.

He was mysterious because she always saw him enter but she never saw him leave.

“What’s with that stupid smile? Don’t tell me you are taking a fancy on Mr. Mysterious over there?” Donny nodded towards the disappearing man.

“I am not!” Alli exclaimed feeling her cheeks becoming hot with color. “Besides he would want a proper girl, not someone like me!”

Allie was a little rebel, something that Corleen tried to change for years but ended up raising her hands up in defeat.

Though she was a brunette she had several streaks of blond and pink around her head. She had a little diamond-encrusted ball ring on the right side of her upper lip that she liked so much and was planning on getting a belly ring soon. She also had a small tattoo running across her left collar bone. Corleen thought it was some sort of cry for attention because Alli begged her to leave that place and go somewhere better, but she refused. Alli knew it wasn’t the reason. She loved being different from every other wolf that followed the rules by the book. Even Faelen knew her and her rebellious nature.

“He would want you because though you are rebellious outside, you are pure on the inside but remember the cleansing trip. Rid your soul of bad boys. That guy over there has those words stamped all over him.”

Alli shook the thoughts of the mysterious man away because Donny was right. Bad boys were a no-go.

“Hey, Sadik!” Alli suddenly heard the familiar voice as Tyson and his group made their way towards the front of the line. He turned to her and gave her a long side glance. Larimar was standing beside him looking like the queen that she wanted to be.

Murmurs of excitement broke out from the lines. Most wolves knew who he was, but the humans knew him as the son of a wealthy businessman that owned thousands of acres of land that he announced as reserved green areas around the town.... only the wolves knew what those woodlands were used for on full moon nights.

Tyson dismissed them as he gave the bouncer a bro hug and the bouncer let him pass into the VIP area. Tyson whispered something to the bouncer and jerked his head towards Alli and Donny.

“This stinks, and it has Tyson all over it,” Donny muttered as the bouncer sent someone to them.

Everyone turned to Alli and Donny as the man-made his way to them. Alli sighed. This was going to be painfully embarrassing and if Tyson thought to humiliate her in front of all those people by kicking her out of the club, then she was going to make sure he choked on his ego because she was going to drag him in the mud until his father sent him abroad for the remainder of his years in college!

“You two! You can go in. It’s about to pour out here.” He looked up at the angry clouds.

Alli’s heart burst in her chest in surprise. Now everyone was green with envy as she and Donny shuffled out of the line and followed the guy inside. He didn’t take them to the VIP area but soon enough Allie found herself standing in the warm cavern of the club.

“Is this like an apology or something?” Donny shouted over the loud sad melody of some woman crooning about the miseries of life. Well, she was just about right on that note.

Alli’s eyes flew to the VIP area above them and saw the way Larimar and Tyson were clinging onto each other while his friends maliciously looked down and tipped their glasses at them. Alli recognized several of them, West, Terrence, and Payne. “I don’t think so. I think he is trying to tell me that he is over me. Come on, let’s get a drink.” She pulled her friend through the sea of people. They arrived at the flashy bar that had mouth-watering bartenders and Donny purred.

“Hello, scrumptious.” She drawled as she eyed the bartenders.

“Can I get you two ladies anything?” One of the delicious treats came to them and grinned.

“Can I have a beer please...this one.” Alli pointed to the one everyone hated then turned to the dance floor where bodies were swirling and gyrating to the sad melody. People ground against each other, and the air was filled with all sorts of perfumes and cologne, sweat, drugs, booze, and sex.

“What about you?” The bartender drawled at Donny and when Alli heard the silence she rolled her eyes and turned around seeing her frozen in place.

“She’ll have the same.”

“Okay, can I see some IDs?” He said.

Alli elbowed Donny as she fished for hers from her bag.

“Ouch!” Donny exclaimed loudly as she too looked for hers.

Alli placed hers on the bar table and the guy scanned it in a small machine to make sure it wasn’t fake then handed it back to her and went to get her the bottle of beer.

Alli couldn’t help but look up again but this time she caught sight of the mysterious man who had his hood down but his blond locks obscured his face. He was talking on the phone with a beer bottle in one hand. Who, in their right mind talked on the phone in a club?

He was alone in his VIP lounge while next to it was Tyson’s and they were dancing with bottles of champagne being ushered in.

What a show-off. Alli thought when she felt the cold bottle of beer being pressed on her arm. she turned around and picked it put then took a long gulp before dragging Donny towards the dance floor.

She was there to have a good time and that was the only thing that mattered.

“Slow down with that drink, will you?” Donny yelled over the music.

Alli looked down at her bottle and it was already halfway. She gulped down the remainder and pulled Donny closer. “I’m going to get a refill--maybe something a little stronger.”

“Is this a way of flashing Tyson out?” Donny frowned at her. “Isn’t it humiliating enough that everyone who knew you two were a couple are now watching you two dancing apart, one up there with a new girl and you down here with me? If you get drunk and fall on your face, won’t it be the last nail to the coffin of your social suicide? How about we dance some more then after the music ends, we can go and grab more drinks, huh?”

Alli nodded and went back to dancing with Donny.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ruvin looked down at his phone and growled softly. Somehow Izzy, the youngest of his half-breed team had managed to cajole Edon into taking her too. That meant Lukas, the most feral of the lot was coming too. The male found himself taking over the big brother role with Izzy just so suddenly.

Izzy was a newly transformed half-blood. She was a handful, but she was also the computer whiz of the team. There was no human system she couldn’t hack and no information she couldn’t get. She could manipulate documents to suit anything they needed. Lukas had the appearance of one of those shy models you see in the magazines. He also dressed up like one, always immaculate in the clothes that he chose, and they fitted him like a second skin. Lukas had the ability to insult you and make it sound like he was serenading you and he killed with a smile.

Vixen was a Duma; a Cheetah breed feline and their sexy information collector. All she had to do was bat her eyelashes, sway her hips and everyone lined up to tell her what she needed to know. She was also very protective of her team and hated when outsiders showed even the least bit of interest in any member. Two other Lycans; Raul and Briar and two High Mage; Willow and Tron completed the team.

“Champagne, sir.” A waitress came into his private lounge with an iced bucket of one of the most expensive champagne bottles there and a glass. “Courtesy of that young woman down there.”

Ruvin turned to her, and the blond female tipped her glass to him and sipped the contents. She looked expensive herself dress in a black glittery dress that barely hid her thighs and was sparkling with diamonds from her ears to her wrists. Ruvin turned back to his phone. “Send it back. Tell her if I wanted a bottle of Champagne, I would have ordered my own.”

There was a pause from the waitress before she nodded and walked away. After sending a message he settled back and watched as disappointment filled the female’s face and she pushed her way out of his sight before disappearing behind a thousand faces. Ruvin was disappointed too but after having a talk to Sheyster about Lotta’s boyfriend, he suddenly wasn’t in the mood of having a female over.

Ruvin heard the muted sound of a smashing bottle beside him and the young weakbloods were gloating and acting like a bunch of unruly kids let loose at the zoo. Ruvin was glad each VIP lounge was encased in soundproof glass that let you see what was happening around you but didn’t have the volume to go with it. The shallow music playing was just like a dull buzzing sound in the background.

So, how did he know the kids next to him were weakbloods? That club belonged to a Weakblood hotshot and the only ones who had access to the VIP lounges were supernatural beings plus he caught their scent wafting into his lounge as they made their way to theirs.

Ruvin recognized the young male feeding off the mouth of a black-haired female in front of him. He was Faelen’s son, Tyson, and Faelen was the clan leader of the weakbloods of the city of Ashwick. He was practically king of weakbloods because Ruvin heard of how his rule stretched across the lands to other areas that had weakbloods settling in. The male established his power and authority well by accumulating wealth and resources and he now stood as one of the richest people on earth. Ruvin smirked and envisioned the male bowing low once the Lord Mage started growling at him.

Ruvin got up and walked to the glass wall that was overlooking the dance floor underneath. Ruvin really didn’t care what the youngsters were doing but he couldn’t help noticing the way Tyson’s eyes kept on darting towards the dance floor and now that Ruvin leaned his hip on the glass wall and looked down, he saw the reason in a form of the dancing female with brunette, blond and pink locks tumbling down her shoulders and back. Ex-girlfriend? He wondered as he felt a smile ease against his lips. Young love had its perks, like trying to get your ex jealous by bringing in another female with you.

Ruvin never passed that stage in his life. He went straight to seducing and sleeping with the females right before he learned what he really felt about them. The female swirled around her friend and Ruvin caught sight of her face. Something in him shifted and he frowned. Shadow’s ears perked up in alert. Ruvin uncrossed his arms and his frown deepened.

What was that about? The female was very pretty to look at....no, she was beautiful with her oval face, large smoky emerald eyes, and a tanned complexion that would have had other females silly with envy. Thanks to his keen eyesight, he could see that from all the way up there.

She wore a tight white T-shirt that was knotted on the side, revealing some of her tummy and hip skin. Her black tights hugged snuggly around her flared hips and her sexy legs then disappeared down into her boots. And he saw all that from up there too.

Suddenly the female turned, and their eyes clashed. Ruvin straightened from the glass wall and flagrantly stared back at her. It was only a matter of time until her face flushed, and she looked away but she surprised him by holding his stare, her chin raising up defiantly.

A challenge...Shadow purred in Ruvin’s head and he groaned softly.

The female’s eyes then darted to the side and back at him. Ruvin turned to his side and Tyson was watching his female dancing downstairs, completely oblivious to the female beside him. He must have seen the way she looked at Ruvin because suddenly the boy snapped his eyes at him with violence whirling in them.

Now, Ruvin was positive Tyson was as thick-headed as he appeared. Couldn’t he tell that the female was toying with his feelings? Those two were pushing each other’s buttons and Ruvin didn’t want to be part of it, so he pushed himself off the glass wall and walked to the black and blood-red button tufted sofa then sighed and rested back.

Hormones were raging thanks to the fast-approaching full-moon. This meant two things; it was either there going to be several animal attacks around the city or rape cases are going to increase. Enchanted Lycans were able to control their beasts better than their human realm counterparts because their minds were stronger. This meant that when the weakbloods embraced the change, their wolves were completely in control without their keepers keeping a tight leash on what they did.

It was the same with their raging hormones. The moon energy prompted the beasts and weakbloods to mate and this was dangerous when they were with humans who were willing to mate with them.

Though Faelen did a good job getting all those acres of woodlands surrounding the city, sometimes the wolves found their way out and into the city, attacking people in the streets and alleys. So far there were only grave injuries that were reported and no deaths. Ruvin wanted it to stay that way because the rules were simple; if a wolf tasted the thrill of a kill, they became a Varga--wolf rogues, that fed on human flesh and that meant they had to be put down because they would want to do it again and again.

Faelen had managed to keep his wolves in line, but Ruvin heard about the Varga killings that occurred several months ago that left his Head of security without a mate. Rumor was that the Varga was from another clan, but Ruvin wasn’t so sure because Faelen controlled a large area. The crime was swept under the rug before anyone could conclude anything and the male’s body was quickly cremated so that no one went snooping.

Ruvin believed Faelen was hiding something and soon enough, when he had everything, he needed, Ruvin had planned to meet with him and introduce himself.

Faelen was positive that there were new wolves in his territory, and he sent out his muscle and hunters to sniff them out but thanks to Willow and Tron putting on a cloaking spell at the building they were staying in, the wolves couldn’t find them. They were dabbed Ghost Runners because they appeared and disappeared without warning.

“Sir, this came for you from that young woman over there.” Ruvin turned his amber eyes to the weakblood waitress and noticed she was the same one who had come in earlier with that expensive bottle of champagne.

“I don’t want anything--” He stopped when he discerned that it was a bottle of cheap beer. “Who is it from?” He sat up.

The young weakblood pointed towards the bar and Ruvin recognized that it was Tyson’s troublemaker. If she was trying to impress him, she wasn’t doing a great job. She had a similar bottle in her hands and all she did was tip her bottle to him before she disappeared back into the sea of people on the dance floor.

Okay...maybe she wasn’t trying to impress, and neither was she interested in him, so why would she buy him a beer? Ruvin reached on the tray and took the bottle. “Thanks...and please bring three bottles of champagne. I am expecting guests.”

The weakblood nodded and turned to leave.

Ruvin gulped down the meager brand and grimaced. “Horse piss?” he growled as Shadow reacted to the awful thing as well. “Wait!” He called the waitress. “Get her something better than this. Put it on my tab.”

“Yes, sir.” The female nodded and walked out.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“He’s drinking it!” Donny squealed softly as they moved slowly to the music.

Alli grinned. “Did you see Tyson’s face? He was as red as a beet! Suits him right. I hope he is happy with his new girl.”

“Miss?” Someone touched her shoulder.

Alli turned and frowned when the waitress she had sent upstairs came to her with a bottle of the good stuff in her tray. “Yes?”

“The gentleman ordered this for you.” She said over the music.

That made her frown deepen. “What, he didn’t like the taste of what we commoners drink?” Was he scorning her? She looked up at him, her eyes thunderous. “Go and tell Mr. I-am-too-good-for-the-common-folks he can take that bottle and shovel it up his--” The music screeched up high muffling the last obscene word of her sentence. She saw the way he turned away the bottle of champagne from the pretty blond that was sitting at the bar. She saw the way the woman was disappointed and wondered if she was an ex-girlfriend or something.

The waitress’ face paled even though she already had a pale complexion. “I can’t do that--”

“You know what, never mind.” Alli’s little crush on the guy had suddenly vanished because of how he was acting. She took Donny’s hand and started dragging her towards the front door. “This place suddenly feels like it has lost its spark. We are going somewhere else.”

What Alli didn’t know was that the mysterious man’s stunned eyes were following her until she disappeared behind the front doors.