“Zeus!” An elderly woman who looked a lot like Darren walked out of the castle-like edifice.
“Welcome to Nightshade.” Zeus said and jumped out of his carriage, leaving June and walking towards the woman in front of the building.
“Grandmother.”
“Where have you gone this time? Don’t tell me you visited your brother again. I saw the red skies.”
Zeus wore a cold smile. “I brought myself a gift.” June stepped out of the carriage, she was assaulted by a wave of cold air which made her knees weak.
Zeus noticed and immediately warmed up the area. Augusta had such a frail body, it was almost blown over by the wind!
She needed to do something fast if she wanted to survive in this body.
Georgina Moore was Zeus’s grandmother – a strong old female wolf who served the Blood Race pack until Zeus turned rogue and created the Nightshade pack.
She was the only one Zeus trusted in his entire family from a young age. When he started manifesting his gift of an elemental, he was regarded as cursed and as a result, his mates and people rejected him.
Including his late father who gave his position to his brother because he was different.
Zeus spent the last seven years in the woods, single handedly overthrowing packs and creating a pack of his own.
The Nightshade pack.
“And who do we have here?” Georgina asked with narrowed eyes.
“She is my new subject.” Zeus spoke flippantly. “Did you know that my sweet little brother found his mate?”
Georgina was stunned, “Is that her? Did you take your brother’s mate?!”
“Of course not.” Zeus spoke like it was insulting to think he could do something like that. “I’m not a thief.”
“I burned her alive.”
Georgina stiffened. “What?”
“That’s even worse!” the old woman chastised after a while, “I warned you against visiting your brother, Zeus.”
“Just kidding.” He smiled. “I only taught him a lesson, his precious chosen mate would be healed by sunset.”
By now, June had picked up on some character traits of her new Alpha. One of which was that he could smile while ripping someone’s throat out. He was that definition of a killer smile.
Not only did he have a smouldering smile, but it had proven to be a tool in his armoury, one he could wield as a weapon against unsuspecting enemies.
“Oh dear.” Georgina said, “It’s enough the amount of bad blood you have with your brother. You don’t need to deepen the grudge by trying to kill his mate.”
“I hardly tried to kill her.” Zeus beckoned June who stood by his side. “This is…”
It was clear he didn’t know her name, June was hardly offended.
“Augusta.” She responded. “Augusta Monroe.”
The old woman stared at her grandson in shock. This son of hers had never introduced her to anyone. Not even a pet. How was he able to hold the wrist of this hungry-looking young lady?
“Augusta!” Zeus said. “She is my guest. I want her to be given a room on my floor.”
Georgina couldn’t hide her joy. “Is she your mate? Did the goddess finally bless us with a Luna?”
The atmosphere suddenly changed. Zeus’ eyes flickered between red and white. “She is my guest.” He gritted and walked away without another word.
June was shocked at the sudden mood change. Georgina could sense her confusion. She immediately cleared the air. “That child believes his mate is dead.”
“A part of me believes it is because he is the first of his kind. He believes it is his destiny to end up alone.” Georgina sighed. “Another side of me thinks he is scared to entertain the thought of wanting to have a mate.”
“What if he acknowledges it and ends up getting hurt?” The old woman spoke wisely. “He has gone through a lot and refused to open up himself to possibilities of happiness as an infallible asset.”
June listened promptly. She needed every bit of information about this man if she was supposed to ‘save’ him. The older woman led her into the manor that looked straight out of the Victorian era.
“Let’s get you settled in. Dinner is in a few minutes.”
June was handed over to a housekeeper who gave her a room in the hallway with two doors. The room was so big, June believed it could easily be remodeled into a two bedroom apartment with enough space to go around.
The trip between the door and the bed was long enough to keep her moving for a solid five minutes. Other than the insane space, the room was nothing short of magnificent. From the marble floors, to the queen sized bed with a glittering canopy.
A chandelier made with precious stone and lights which set the room ambiance soft and pristine. Everything was perfect. It was an architectural masterpiece.
June rested for some time until the housekeeper stopped by with some dresses and bade her to prepare for the dinner. June soon got dressed and walked out of the room.
She came face to face with Zeus who wore a flowing black gown. His long hair was let down and she could see the strands of red between his hair. He looked ethereal and her breath was taken away.
“I was about to call you.” Zeus said after a while. “You need to eat.”
June felt like the rugs were taken from her feet as she crashed into reality. She observed Zeus’s face and could read one thing. His obvious distaste of her body.
“My crazy brother might have treated you badly, but in the Nightshade pack, you are a guest. You need more meat under your flesh.”
June’s mouth was left ajar as she listened to his rules.
“Dinner is ready. You are not permitted to leave a single food on the table. You must eat and get fat enough so the wind doesn’t take you away,”
Zeus spoke with such candidness, you’d think he was speaking about something of utmost importance. Did he hear her thoughts earlier? June found herself wrecking her brains for the details of those werewolf themed books she read.
Does the Alpha have the ability to read her thoughts or was it a mere coincidence that he used the exact words she used on herself earlier?
“You look malnourished.” A voice piped up from within.
It was that darned wolf side of hers. June couldn’t help her embarrassment. Even the damned mythical being that lived inside her body was dissing her.
“Well, no thanks to you who snored your way through Augusta’s life until she had to commit suicide to get you to help.” She said in her thoughts and knew very much that the animal heard her.
She would take no prisoners on this. If Augusta was in a bad shape, it was her responsibility as the temporal occupant of the body to amend it. However, she would not take the blame for a situation she knew nothing about until her accident.
A wave of pain flooded her mind at the mention of the accident. The thought of the pain and agony her mother would be experiencing as a result of her accident wasn’t foreign to her.
She needed to take advantage of this opportunity and return alive.
“Tag along when you are done with your daydream.” Those were Zeus’ last words. June followed him like a lost puppy to the dining area.
The smell of delicacies filled the air and June was excited. Her stomach growled and for the first time since she woke up in this body, she wondered the last time Augusta had a meal.
“One week ago.” A response filtered into her head, the wolf was back.
No wonder she was so thin! June responded. She followed Zeus’ lead and sat by the side of his chair. The table was already filled to the brim with men and women alike.
A twenty four seater capacity dining table with a literal feast placed. It seemed like the entire table was waiting for their appearance. June bowed her head in greeting, not quite getting the friendly vibes from the others but too famished to care.
June picked her fork, and plate, ready to dig in when she was stopped by a woman on the right hand. “How dare you?” The anger in her words was palpable.
Just then, Georgina intervened. “Oh forgive her. She is new and doesn’t know the protocols.” Her eyes were warm as she addressed June. “The Alpha takes the first bite.”
June was startled. She turned to Zeus who was already eating like nothing happened. “He already started.” Her voice sounded like a whine.
“He should finish the first plate.” The young woman gritted. “Why are you seated in that seat if you are not cultured?”
For some reason, June felt attacked. She dropped her fork and relaxed on the chair. The room suddenly went hot, so much so, June was close to ripping her clothes from the heat.
All attention was on Zeus who ate his food like there was nothing going on but the glass of water in his hand boiled like a volcano mountain.
“Eat,” He said slowly, eyes reddened.
June didn’t need a soothsayer to know that he was referring to her. She immediately picked up her spoon and continued her meal while the others watched with shock.
Zeus never eats with people. It was his pattern. They all watched him eat and only ate when he was done. Who was this lady that made him break his patterns?
Unknown to June, she had gained an enemy for existing.