Dark Desire

Violetta

The air in the capital city was thick with the scent of wolves.

Sweat, fur, blood.

It clung to my skin like filth, but I ignored it. I had a mission. Tonight, the King of Werewolves would die by my hands. It wasn’t personal.

Okay maybe it was.

I had been hired to kill him, but then I would love to see a world without him and every single of his kind too.

I moved through the streets like a ghost, keeping to the shadows, the hood of my cloak pulled low. The direct sunlighy could not and should not touch my skin or I might as well be dead before I made it into the palace.

It was annoying, knowing that I had the power and blood of the ancients within me and I couldn’t walk in the freaking sun.I could walk in corridors just fine or places that were slightly bright enough. That made me different from other vampires and the reason why I was perfect as an assassin.

The city was alive with celebration. Werewolves always had a reason to party.

Moon festival, water festival, sacred howls, all of that bull shit.This was an event where the strongest alphas from across the lands had come together to swear loyalty to their king.

The perfect moment to strike. One look at their dead king and there would be chaos.I licked my fangs, grinning under my cloak.

And I liked chaos.

I shifted into a bat when I reached a dark tunnel that brought water out of the palace and flew through it. Finally in the palace, I lurked around and found a young servant girl scurrying out of the kitchen, a tray of washed goblets in her hands. Alone. Stupid.

She never even saw me move in the shadows.

My hand shot out, covering her mouth before she could scream. A quick twist of the neck and she crumpled to the ground.

I crouched over her, stripping her of her uniform, slipping it over my own clothes. I grabbed her tray and moved into the kitchen. I was just another blood servant with my head bowed, silent and unseen.

The kitchens was a chaotic mess.The head chef kept barking orders, servants ran around like rats. I kept my eyes down, moving toward the back, my heart hammering against my ribs. If anyone smelled I was different, then that meant shit could hit the fan before I got to the King of the Werewolves.

I knelt, pretending to adjust my shoe, and slid my fingers inside. The dagger was still there, pressed against my ankle. It was laced with a poison so potent, even a single scratch could cripple a wolf.

A true death would take longer. I hoped I’d have enough time to watch the great Alpha King bleed out.

“Here,” a voice snapped, shoving a tray of goblets back into my hands. “Move. Now. The King and his guest awaits us in the great hall.”

The servant who spoke to me was a guy.He looked so anxious, I almost laughed at how pathetic he was.

I followed him anyway to the grand hall.

It was massive, filled with wolves of every rank and power. The alphas sat around a long stone table, laughing and talking like all was well in the world.

At the head of the table was...

Him.

Derek Vulcan. The Alpha King.

I had expected him to be monstrous. A beast with claws for hands and death in his eyes. He had ravaged the lands enough for me to have that thought.

Instead, I found a gorgeous man carved from stone.

Tall. Broad. He had a body built for war. His golden eyes burned under the dim glow of the chandeliers, sharp and alert as he listened to the discussions around him. His jaw was strong, his dark hair slightly tousled.

Well wow, I didn’t think he would be hot and for a single, foolish second, I just stared.

Then I caught myself and felt angry at myself.

I hated him. Him and every beast in this room.

One of their kind had destroyed my life. He had turned me into this! They deserved nothing but death.

I licked my fangs, my hunger stirring. I wondered what he tasted like.

“Serve the king his wine,” the male servant ordered.

Here’s my chance.I poured when into one of the goblets and stepped forward.

My fingers curled around it as I approached the head of the table.I watched him carefully.Derek Vulcan was deep in conversation with the alpha beside him, his voice a low growl.

I lifted the goblet and when he reached for it, I struck.

My fingers abandoned the goblet, hand darting down to my shoe to yank the dagger out. The dagger was in my hands before the cup even hit the floor and I drove it into his chest.

It worked!

Or well it would have worked if he hadn’t moved.

Faster than I thought possible, his body twisted just enough that my blade missed its mark. Instead of plunging into his heart, it slashed across his side, cutting through the fine black fabric of his shirt and his skin.

A single moment of silence followed. Someone gasped.

And then chaos exploded.

Chairs scraped against stone as wolves surged to their feet, growls filled the hall.

“She just tried to stab the King!”

“You Majesty , are you alright?!”

I leapt back, my blade raised, ready to fight my way out, but it was too late. Hands seized my arms before I could react, my weapon ripped from my grasp. I kicked out, twisting, but got shoved to the floor.

I snarled, baring my fangs as I was forced to the ground.

And then I felt it.

A gaze like fire, burning into me.

I looked up to see it was the Wolf King himself who had pinned me to the ground.He looked furious and yet... Shocked.

A shudder ran through me, a strange heat coiling in my stomach as I watched him.I licked my lips, unsure of what the fuck was happening and heard him growl.

I saw the way his golden eyes darkened, his chest rising and falling as he looked at me. I didn’t understand it, didn’t want to understand it.I tried to move but he flexed his fingers and had his claws at my throat, ready to rip me to pieces.

“You should be dead, for this,” He growled.

I chuckled.“So should you.Had I been a bit slower, your Majesty, we’d be singing your funeral song by evening.”

He frowned, ignoring the way blood poured from the wound in his arm all over my clothes.

I couldn’t ignore it though.The smell of his blood.... Gods, I had never scented anything so delicious.My head grew heavy, my body snapped in hunger.I had fed before I embarked on this mission, I shouldn’t be hungry!

Taste him.I wanted to taste him. To run my mouth over that gorgeous body.To ride him while drinking that delicious blood.

No, what the hell is wrong with me?!

“She should be dead!” “Kill her!” The crowd yelled around us.

Derek reared his head to the back and slammed it against mine.The pain knocked me unconscious with only one thought raining in my head.

I had failed.