Beasts Read online

  “What do you want?” I wasn’t in the mood for games. I came here to deal with reapers and move on, I didn’t sign up for this.

  His smile grew, something wicked in his eyes. “Well, you don’t waste time, do you? I smelled the lycan on you and I was curious about who you were.”

  “Selene Night,” I said. “My mother was a lycan.”

  “Was? I’m sorry to hear that.” His eyes were serious, and for a second, I felt sorrow. He knew how I felt. “Are you here to visit the island to learn more about our kind?”

  Did he not know why people stayed in his family’s castle? What kind of security did they have going on here? “No, I’m registering for my pack.”

  He grimaced slightly, “I do not envy you, angel. The reapers give me the creeps.” He paused, confusion taking over his face. “Wait a second… Are you registering as an alpha?” He spoke slowly, as if he almost didn’t believe it. I narrowed my eyes, not liking his tone. My lycan blood strengthened me; I would be a powerful alpha. “Actually, it’s a glorious idea. The werewolves need someone new to shake things up.” He smiled at me, but the unpleasant feeling from before was back. I did not like this guy.

  “Where’s your brother?” Maverick spoke up, his own face showing that he also didn’t trust Lucian.

  “Oh, he’s somewhere on the island attending to business.” He waved his hand dismissively. “You’ll be gone before he comes back. I’m sure the reapers already know you’re here; they like to make quick work of these things. It was nice meeting you.” He waved at the guard, and we were ushered out of the throne room. Hopefully soon we’d be on our way to the reapers.

  CHAPTER 3

  It was nothing like I had expected. My wolf was going ballistic and I could only assume it was because of the feeling of being around a reaper again. She was scratching and clawing at my mind to let her out as I sat in the room. The council of reapers had desks across the room, five members sitting there, staring at me. They didn’t seem thrilled to hear that a female was here to create a pack, let alone one made up of only 4 people. They felt like I was here wasting time because my pack would be wiped out by a more powerful alpha.

  The room was filled with a coldness that brought up feelings of loss. It was like death lingered in the air, sucking the life and warmth out of everything near it. It made sense why it felt like this. Reapers were the bridge between this world and the next. They were mostly responsible for the passing of souls, and they were very arrogant about it. They thought it made them untouchable. No one dared touch a reaper, giving them the authority and respect they felt they deserved. They had the honor of watching over packs and ensuring that laws were followed. In my experience, they were emotionless and cold, not caring who got hurt carrying out their stupid laws.

  “So,” Maverick dragged out the word slowly, reminding me we were in a meeting. “She can start the pack, then?”

  I stared at him, unable to believe his ease with talking to them. Did he not feel the same agitation as me? The longer I spent here, the more anxious and agitated I felt. I had a headache that was taking over my thoughts, making it hard for me to concentrate on anything. There was an itch in my blood, urging me to go somewhere. If my body and wolf were having this strong of a reaction, why wasn’t Maverick? I obviously needed to get off this island.

  “As we stated previously, it would be a waste of resources.” The reaper who spoke was a thin man with no hair on his head. His name was Markus, and he seemed to be in charge, sitting in the center of the group of men. Most of them looked old, wrinkles already setting into their faces, something I knew was a choice for them. They got to choose if they wanted to age or not, leading me to believe these guys were actually older than most reapers.

  “A waste of- all we need is a reaper for our pack!” Maverick scoffed. I shook my head. Maverick was really out here trying to piss the council off. I glared at him, silently willing him to shut up. “Look, with all due respect, she came here with all the requirements. She has a beta and a pack that supports her claim. You know the laws. She has the right to form a pack.”

  Markus narrowed his eyes at Maverick, and I spoke up. I’ve seen what the reapers can do. They have no issues killing innocent people and I wasn’t about to let Maverick become the third victim I would lose to the reapers. “My pack is already formed. We will do the blood exchange with or without your blessing.” The blood ceremony was when each member of the pack exchanged blood with their alpha. It was an initiation process that allowed them to communicate and create a bond between their wolves. “A pack needs a reaper, unless things have changed, and I no longer need one?”

  Markus scoffed at me. “Nothing has changed, girl. It doesn’t sound like you’re here for permission, does it?”

  I thought of all the loss I’d suffered thanks to reapers. Images of Gabby flickered through my mind, erasing all hesitation I had at being disrespectful. “No, I’m not. I’m here to let you know about my pack and to receive my reaper.” With my words came a wave of power. I felt the dormant alpha blood in my veins hum. My wolf was proud; she craved having a pack again. I felt Maverick’s approval at my demands. He’d been convincing me for years to become the alpha I was “born to be”.

  The reapers all looked at one another, no doubt mind linking to discuss what they wanted to do. A smile lit up Markus’ face, a smile I did not like. “Very well,” he agreed. “We will give you Brett.”

  I gave him a tight-lipped smile, already dreading meeting this Brett. “Thanks.”

  My agitation didn’t go away as we left the council’s company. My wolf still stirred restlessly, begging me to let her out. Whatever it was she wanted; she wouldn’t stop until it was hers. I breathed deeply, figuring she wanted off this island as much as I did. The lycans and reapers were probably making her feel powerless.

  “Are you alright?” Maverick asked as we walked down the hall and towards the meeting room where we’d get our reaper. It wasn't very far.

  “Do you not feel it? Is your wolf not going crazy right now?” I asked in disbelief.

  He shook his head slowly, “Not at all. Yours is? Maybe she’s just not used to being around other lycans?” he suggested.

  The room was small and comfortable. There were two couches and a table in the middle of the room. A TV was set up on the wall, and I couldn’t help but laugh. They send alphas to meet with their reaper and put a TV in the room? Who would use it?

  I sat on the couch next to Maverick, “I don’t know what it is, but she wants something. My skin is almost burning with the desire to go. Also, I’ve had a terrible migraine forming since we got here, and I'm dizzy.”

  “Oh, really?” A voice spoke, walking through the door. He was a young blonde boy with a foreign accent. He had pretty blue eyes and looked no older than 18. He smiled teasingly, “It almost sounds like you met your mate.”

  Maverick and I frowned; this wasn’t what it felt like to meet your mate. I had also only met Lucian and guards today, and if they had been my mate, it would’ve been obvious. I shook my head at the kid, “Doubt it. My wolf is just uneasy. You’re Brett?”

  He shrugged, “Whatever you say. I am Brett. You must be Selene?”

  I nodded and motioned toward Maverick, “This is my beta, Maverick.”

  He smiled at him and waved. “So, what’d you do to get stuck with me?” He flopped down on the other couch in the room, stretching out.

  “Excuse me?” I wondered if I should worry. I had thought little about why the reapers had changed their mind, but I was getting a grim feeling. Would they put me with a dangerous reaper?

  Brett had his arms folded behind his head; his legs crossed over each other. “They don’t like me.” He said simply. My brows shot up in surprise, thinking there had to be more. He must have assumed I didn’t know who he was talking about because he continued to elaborate. “I mean they as in the council; Y’know, the reapers; The old guys; Grumpy and the other 4?” I bit back a smile at Brett’s opinion on the council.<
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  “I know who you’re referring to. Why don’t they like you?"

  He sighed, “I’m gonna’ be stuck with you for a long time, right?”

  I shrugged, unsure what that had to do with anything. “I don’t plan to die anytime soon, so, yeah?”

  He shrugged, too. “Guess I might as well explain it now. I reaped the wrong soul.”

  Maverick choked. “You did what now? Reaped as in killed, right? You killed the wrong person?” Brett nodded, keeping all emotion off his face. “Do you know how messed up that is?”

  Brett rolled his eyes, “No, I don’t. Do you want to enlighten me? The council of old men didn’t.”

  “He didn’t mean to offend you.”

  Brett looked at me, “He didn’t offend me. I reaped the wrong person on purpose. I was sent in for a little girl’s soul. Instead, I took the murderer’s soul and spared her. Boss men didn’t like that.”

  I laughed, “That’s it? Wow, I thought it’d be worse. Seemed like you were their way of punishing me, but that isn’t terrible.”

  Brett looked at me surprised, “I thought it was a punishment to me, like you were gonna’ be a nightmare to work with. What’d you do?”

  “They don’t like the idea of a female alpha with a 4-person pack.”

  Brett chuckled, not the least bit surprised. I found myself liking his company, not at all dreading it like I had expected. What the council had thought was a punishment might turn out to be exactly what I needed. With my hatred for the reapers, an unconventional choice seemed like the right option. With my enthusiasm toward my partnership with Brett, my senses hadn’t picked up any threat until it was too late. A bag was placed over my head before I could think about it and I was thrown off the couch, powerful arms tying something around my wrists. Maverick called my name as Brett yelped in pain. The sounds of our struggles were loud, filling the room. I stopped, realizing that we stood no chance. If they had restrained Brett, they could take us all out. I wasn’t a full lycan, and he didn’t seem to be a very old reaper. So much for getting off the island quickly.

  CHAPTER 4

  Bishop Tate raised his gun, his face set in a hard expression. His eyes held no sympathy and his lips were turned down in a frown as he stared at my sister. There were silver chains around me to weaken my wolf. No matter how violently I thrashed around, I couldn’t throw them off. They took no chances with my lycan blood and bolted the chains to the ground for the execution. I heard wailing, and for a second, I didn’t realize it was coming from me. Tears wouldn’t stop flowing down my face as I watched the scene in front of me. I turned to Eli to see him restrained by silver shackles as well. He was shaking and growling, a mixture of anguish and fear on his face. The sounds of him begging and pleading were lost on the reaper in front of us.

  She was also tied up, to prevent her from endangering anyone around her. She wasn’t crying; she was calm the whole time. Her beautiful face stayed pleasant as she made eye contact with me. I struggled, wishing the silver wasn’t preventing me from mind-linking her. I wanted to go to her and hold her in my arms. I wanted to comfort her and let her know that she was and always would be safe with me. Eli, no doubt, wished the same thing. I only met her eyes for a few seconds before the trigger was pulled and the silver bullet met her heart. I noticed my dad look down, as if this was too much for him. I felt nothing but disgust that he let this happen twice; first mom and now Gabby. My disgust was diminished as I heard the sound Eli made at the sight of his mate falling to the ground. It struck my heart immediately, portraying his immense sorrow. I felt his heart breaking and knew that everyone around us could, too. He had just lost his other half and his wolf was feeling broken and alone. With a howl of my own, I broke out of the chains and-

  “Selene!” Maverick's gasp of pain shook me awake, to find tears were running down my face. I was panting, the memories flooding through my head. She was gone. I had lost her. I would never hold her in my arms again. Eli would never kiss his mate again. She was gone, because of reapers.

  I looked up at Maverick and saw that there was silver securing him to a chair. Next to him, Brett was also secured to a chair, so it didn’t surprise me when I realized I was trapped, too. We were in a room that resembled a dungeon. It was cold and dreary, faint light coming from old lights above us. Just like in my memory, I was too angry to feel the burn the silver was creating on my wrists.

  “Reaper, if you had something to do with this-” I started but was cut off by Brett’s response.

  “Oh, hush! I wouldn’t lock myself up.” Maverick growled, not liking his tone toward me. “I’m sorry, but it’s true. You’re part lycan, right?” Brett asked. I nodded, unsure where he was going with that. “Which parent was a lycan?”

  “My mother. What’s that got to do with anything?”

  “Praise the moon goddess! Sexism sucks and all but females follow their mates. Meaning she’s taught you about being lycan, yes?”

  My wolf whined at the thought of my mother. She didn’t like the constant reminders of all the people I’d lost. “She’s dead. Why?”

  “Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.” He paused. “I was trying to figure out how dormant your lycan side is. She’s powerful enough that I feel her, but I haven’t seen her. With no lycan influence, I don’t know how it’s so strong.”

  “What are you saying, Brett?” I growled.

  “I’m saying break the chain.”

  Maverick scoffed, “Silver is lethal to lycans, too, idiot.”

  Brett rolled his eyes, “I didn’t realize, is it really?” Maverick glared at him. “Lycans are stronger. Silver needs to be injected into their blood for it to have anywhere near the effect it has on werewolves. They hardly have any silver on her, she can break it.”

  “I can’t.” I shook my head. If I couldn’t break the chains to get to Gabby, why would I be able to break silver now? I felt sick; my headache was so bad now that I just wanted to crack my skull open to relieve some pressure.

  “I’m telling you, if you try hard enough, you will break the silver.” I stared at Brett, wondering if he was some sort of sadist. Did he just want to see me in pain?

  I tugged on the restraints, feeling it slicing into my skin as I did so. I hissed in pain, not ready for the burning sensation. The smell filled the room, and I fought hard not to gag. Burning flesh and blood was not something I enjoyed. As I moved my wrists more, I didn’t feel a difference. Maybe if I burn enough of my skin off, my wrist will fit through the restraint? My wolf howled, not enjoying my joke.

  “The reapers probably did this,” said Brett. “Those old men just take whatever they want. They took your mother, didn’t they? Robbed you of growing up how you should’ve. You could be strong right now, able to destroy your enemies.” My wolf growled at Brett. She didn’t like him calling her weak. As far as she was concerned, she was his alpha, and demanded his respect. “Oh, what’s the baby girl going to do to me? You can’t get out. You’ll never be a powerful alpha. You’ll probably get your pack killed.”

  “Enough!” Maverick shouted. We both knew what Brett was doing. Thankfully, my wolf took the bait. With a roar I didn’t even know I possessed; my arms broke free from my restraints.

  I moved to Brett, assuming the reaper would know how to fight his kind better than Maverick would and began untying his rope. His arms were burned from where he’d been struggling, but he didn’t seem to notice the pain. “I know you were trying to help, but if you ever speak to me that way again, I will not stop my wolf from teaching you a lesson.” My eyes met his, and I saw understanding on his face as he nodded.

  A dart hit me in my shoulder as someone stepped out of the shadows and toward us. He was definitely not a reaper. He was tall and tan, tattoos covering his arms. His face was filled with malice as he sneered at me. “Someone’s got more lycan blood than we thought, travelling and growing up with werewolf scum. Don’t worry, girlie, I’ll save you.”

  Had I really been so distracted that I didn’t noti
ce someone else had been in the room? Were my senses so out of control that I couldn’t smell him? What the hell was going on? The room started spinning, and I remembered the dart. It was liquefied silver by the feeling in my veins. It felt like lava was spreading throughout my body, eating me alive from the inside out. Everything hurt, and I wasn’t sure whether to scream or cry. I heard a vicious roar from somewhere outside and then Brett’s laughing “told ya so” before everything went dark.

  CHAPTER 5

  I woke up in an unfamiliar room, feeling completely overwhelmed. The comforter was made of the softest material I’d ever felt and the mattress itself felt like heaven. I buried my face in the pillow, desperate for the headache to go away. Every nerve in my body was on hyper drive and I forgot why until I remembered the silver I had been injected with.

  “You’re awake!” Maverick’s voice spoke from behind me. I turned over, shielding myself from the light bursting through the window. Maverick was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, a mug of what I assumed was coffee was sitting on the table next to him. He rushed over to my side. “What do you need? How can I help? How do you feel?” I put a hand on his mouth to make him stop talking and shook my head. I wanted to die. My head had never hurt this bad. He nodded at me as if he understood. “They said that would happen.”

  “Who?”

  “I did tell you; you know.” Brett said walking through the door. “But nobody wanted to believe me. How could Brett possibly know a thing? Why listen to the stupid reaper?”

  I rolled my eyes, “What are you going on about this time?” If Brett was always like this, maybe I didn’t want him as my reaper.

  “I told you it sounded like you met your mate when you were talking about your pain earlier. It only makes sense that it’s gotten worse.”