Of Claws & Chaos, page 1
OF CLAWS & CHAOS
FORGOTTEN KINGDOMS
M. SINCLAIR
Copyright © 2024 by M. Sinclair
M. Sinclair reserves all rights to and/or involving this work as the authors. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people either living or dead, or events is purely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means whether electronic or mechanical, including information storage and retrieval systems, now known or hereinafter invented, without written permissions from the authors, except for brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Artist: Stef Saw of Seventh Star Art
Title Page/Page Header Artist: SamaiyaArt
Character Art: Lumie.Art
Map Artist: Elle Madison
Editor: Refined Voice Editing & Proofreading
Created with Vellum
FORGOTTEN KINGDOM COLLECTION
Eight women.
One sacrifice to save their kingdoms.
A chance to reclaim the love they lost.
Forgotten Kingdoms is a collection of full-length stand-alone fantasy romance novels with fated mates and a guaranteed happily ever after. With vampires, fae, shifters, and everything in between, each book features a unique heroine and her epic love story that can be read in any order. All relationship dynamics are M/F.
Novels within this set include:
Of Blood & Nightmares by Chandelle LaVaun
Of Dragons & Desire by GK De Rosa
Of Death & Darkness by Megan Montero
Of Shadows & Fae by Jen L. Grey
Of Elves & Embers by Elle Madison & Robin Mahle
Of Mischief & Mages by LJ Andrews
Of Serpents & Ruins by Jessica M Butler
Of Claws & Chaos by M. Sinclair
Series link to the Forgotten Kingdom Collection: https://mybook.to/ForgottenKingdoms
CONTENTS
Description
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Epilogue
Author’s Note
M. Sinclair
Published Works
The Union of Love & Madness
To my two beautiful daughters. You inspire me every single day to continue crafting stories and building imaginative worlds for others to enjoy.
DESCRIPTION
A forsaken wolf princess.
A new king risen to power.
One opportunity to unite their broken lands and love.
Overcome by the exhaustion of her monotonous day-to-day life, all Evera wants is one fun night out. A chance to escape a rigorous work schedule that drains her of all semblance of happiness. When a mysterious portal consumes the air before her and an enigmatic, intense man pulls her through, she wonders if her wish is being granted.
As she’s swept into a foreign, magical land she doesn’t recognize, Evera finds herself separated from the man who pulled her there—a man who not only knew her name, but seemingly everything about her.
Completely alone, Evera treks through a mountainous landscape to reach the Kingdom of Nightfall. With each step, she encounters its foreboding and mysterious qualities, making it clear that she’s not on Earth anymore.
Arriving in Nightfall brings more questions than answers, though, as she discovers that not only does she have royal blood, but there’s a primal magic running through her veins that allows her the ability to shift into a wolf. What startles Evera the most to learn is that she had a life in this world before—with the very man who stole her through the portal: Axel, the King of Nightfall.
Memories begin to resurface, and she quickly recalls that Axel had been the only person she trusted—the only one standing between her and the darkness of her parents’ rule. But has time changed the man who once swore to protect her?
A war is waged between two kingdoms upon news of her return, and Evera is the prize.
A single question wreaks havoc in Evera’s heart: Does she want to belong to anyone at the end of this?
Author note: This book contains a sweet but strong female lead, a growly alpha wolf that would burn the world down for her, and a love so deep it will mend the rifts of their kingdom. High spice. Content is intended for mature audiences and 18+ recommended.
CHAPTER ONE
EVERA
Everything about this place was an illusion.
I stood, tray against my hip, waiting for a set of drink orders as I eyed the casino floor, my chest squeezing uncomfortably with the knowledge that I was part of that illusion. It was early evening, but in this building it was permanently night, the twinkling stars replaced by glittering chandeliers. Wealthy, luxuriously dressed clientele weaved in and out of tables, placing bets and throwing around money I couldn’t even conceive of. The lack of windows, pounding EDM music, and heavy smoke only added to the blanket of haze that coated the scene.
And here I was, watching all of it, feeling…feeling detached. I shouldn’t have. In fact, after everything I’d been through today, I should have been fed up. Angry. Maybe it was the long work hours, or maybe it was that my toes were numb from the stilettos I was forced into, but I just couldn’t find it in me to muster the energy.
“Evera.” Christina appeared next to me, looking chipper and well rested before her shift. “You can go home. Doug wants to talk before you leave, but I’m taking over twenty minutes early. He said to not worry, that it won’t affect pay.”
“What pay?” I murmured. Her lips pressed up knowingly, and she took the tray I offered. Letting out a small sigh, I made my way across the expansive floor of the casino, to the hallway that led to the staff dressing room and Doug’s office. To say our floor manager made me uncomfortable was the understatement of the century.
I really hoped the reason he wanted to talk to me had nothing to do with going out for dinner. I had used every excuse in the book so far, not wanting to outright reject him in fear of losing this damn job, but I was growing limited in options.
Deciding to get it over with, I approached the door of his office, pausing only momentarily to knock before stepping into the darkened space. His office was as eccentric and obnoxious as he was, filled with dark leather furniture and posters of naked women on the walls, as if flexing that his ability to openly objectify whatever and whoever he wanted made his position enviable.
To be fair, it wasn’t that far off base, considering his wealth and power.
Almost immediately upon entering I had to moderate my expression, my nose twitching in discomfort. Doug was more than occupied, it appeared, a woman with bright pink hair positioned on his lap, completely naked from the waist down. Her words were cut off as she let out a shocked sound and nearly fell off his lap, scrambling to cover herself before darting towards the bathroom.
“Evera wouldn’t have minded!” Doug called out, offering me an amused look. “Or maybe you would have.”
“None of my business,” I said quietly. His gaze narrowed on my expression before darting down my frame, openly staring at every curve of my body. Which considering my lack of groceries or any real meals outside of when I worked at the Daily Egg Diner each morning, weren’t very obvious.
Even my uniform seemed to fit a bit looser now that my rent had increased. The once tight leather skirt and matching corset half-top now felt a bit more comfortable, despite showing the same amount of skin.
“It could be,” Doug offered. “And it sounds like you need it.”
“What do you mean?” I demanded, crossing my arms defensively. I may have noticed the differences in how I looked, but I hadn’t thought others could.
“The chefs told me you’ve been taking leftovers home.”
That would explain it.
Shame and embarrassment pressed heavily onto my chest and caused my cheeks to flush. It had to be Tony who’d opened his chauvinistic mouth. He was pissed because I’d rejected his offer to make sure I was always well fed with his—
I inhaled, not wanting to go down that particular memory lane as I tried to read Doug’s expression. It was cocky and amused, not an ounce of sympathy to be seen. As if he liked that he was backing me into a corner.
Steadying myself, I shrugged. “If the food is just going to be tossed at the end of the night, I don’t see an issue. It’s damn good food; someone should eat it.”
Doug’s smile turned dark. “The food here is fucking awful. I think your situation is worse than you let on, Evera. It sounds like you need help.”
Not from him. Never from Doug.
“I promise I’m good,” I said, trying to infuse indifference into my voice, “but it won’t happen again.”
“Be sure it doesn’t, or else we may have to do something about it.” He nodded towards the door. “That’s all.”
My jaw
tightened as I turned towards the door and slipped out. I hadn’t wanted to be there in the first place, but being so summarily dismissed stung, and it wasn’t long before tears of shame and frustration filled my eyes.
Mostly because Doug wasn’t wrong.
Even with two jobs and a studio apartment in a converted motel twenty minutes away from the strip, I was barely making ends meet. Most nights—hell, most days—I barely ate, and sleeping was damn near impossible with the array of stuff happening outside my door.
From a couple that liked to screw right against the railing of the balcony in front of my door to gunshots and police sirens that sang through the night in mockery of a lullaby, I rarely was able to relax enough to sleep. I spent most of the night tossing and turning, waking up exhausted around three a.m. to get ready for my eight-hour shift at the Daily Egg and then coming here to work six more.
It was little wonder I looked like crap.
Pushing into the dressing room, I went to my locker and stripped out of the dumb uniform, trading it for a pair of oversized jeans and a hoodie. I didn’t pause to look in the mirror before pulling on my sneakers and my threadbare backpack—I didn’t want to see the truth in my dull gaze, the thought that was plaguing me and making my soul so damn heavy I could barely breathe.
I couldn’t do this forever. But I didn’t have any other options.
Now that I was out of uniform, I wasn’t allowed on the casino floor, so I made my way down back hallways to an exit. As I cut through the kitchen, which was mostly empty right now, I narrowed my eyes at Tony, who offered me a dark smirk from where he stood across the room talking to one of the servers. I was tempted to flip him off, but I knew it wasn’t worth it—he had a bad temper, and one I didn’t want to ignite.
I’d seen the girls he dated. I’d also noticed when they disappeared, just never coming into work one day.
Breaking out of the exit and into the warm evening air, I shielded my eyes from the hot sunlight bearing down on me, the dry heat oddly soothing against my skin.
Tightening one hand on my backpack, I slid on a pair of dollar sunglasses and made my way towards the bus stop. The traffic was heavier than normal today, and I had to dodge a lot of people dressed in costumes…what the heck was going on? Seeing people dressed up wasn’t an uncommon occurrence in Las Vegas, but this many was odd.
When I reached the bus stop, it came to me—Halloween.
It was Halloween. Something I had completely blanked on considering the majority of my shift at the casino had been spent in the VIP room, where the individuals wouldn’t be caught dead in costume. It also explained why so many of my coworkers had been talking about going to parties tonight. Swallowing down the bitter reminder of how many of them had completely normal lives, I made myself comfortable on the bench and began to list all of the things I was thankful for.
It was something I did when I felt desperate. When I felt hopeless.
Luckily, by the time I’d listed out what felt like a fairly small collection of blessings, the bus pulled up and I joined the ten others boarding. I threw myself into one of the worn plastic seats and let my eyes close, planning to take advantage of the twenty-plus minutes until we arrived at my stop.
CHAPTER TWO
EVERA
Maybe I’ll try to go to bed early tonight, I thought as the bus began rambling down the road. If I got in bed right when I got home—before people went out, let alone came back and caused absolute chaos outside my door—maybe I could actually get some sleep. Biting down on my lip, I considered one of the very small reasons that sounded so appealing right now. Other than the exhaustion, of course.
My dreams—well, specifically the dream from last night.
It wasn’t concrete enough to replay it in my head; I couldn’t grasp onto anything besides the feeling I woke up with, the imprint it left on my soul that gave me a sense of warmth, security, and safety. There was one visual that stood out, though—a pair of dark eyes that seemed to track my every move, the sensation of rough hands catching my waist. They left a fiery trail along my skin, and when I woke up this morning, chills and a flush covered my body, making me feel almost breathless.
So maybe I was hoping for a repeat of that. Maybe I was hoping for more detail.
“Broadway and Clark.”
My eyes snapped open, and I stood and grabbed my backpack as we approached my stop. Offering the driver a nod, I hurried down the steps, glad my bus fare had already been paid for the month. After all, if Doug continued on this path, I would probably be using it to go to job interviews.
As I trudged toward the flight of stairs that would take me to my place, I looked around the converted motel buildings that now served as studio apartments, all surrounded by parking lots that were either in horrible disrepair or held cars in a similar state.
Three stories up, the iron rail of the motel balcony was painted a tangerine orange, standing out against the stained yellow building. I ignored the group of men and women gathered around an expensive car in the parking lot, the stairs squeaking as I climbed, probably drawing attention. Luckily, no one said anything to me as I reached the door—345.
Pulling out my key, I looked around to make sure no one had followed me, not feeling safe until my front door slammed shut and I flipped the lock. You could never be too careful.
Throwing my backpack to the side, I collapsed onto the couch, letting out a long exhale and lifting a hand to massage the tension from the base of my skull. The buzzing in the back of my head was a tell-tale sign of an approaching migraine.
They were something I’d had since I was very young, a product of stress and exhaustion made worse by my fear of the unknown, which I’d developed as I was passed from foster home to foster home. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d had any level of stability before my eighteenth birthday, when I’d been cast from my house and moved to the strip to find work.
Now, four years later at twenty-two, I didn’t regret my choice in the least. Life may not have been easy, but it was easier when I had control over my day-to-day, something I’d lacked growing up. Opening my eyes, I found the singular personal photo I had sitting on my small console table.
Laurain.
She’d been in her mid-fifties, her house filled with cats rather than children. She’d been so sweet and so incredibly kind. I hadn’t lasted there very long before my social worker realized I wasn’t enrolled in school, let alone that the house wasn’t fit for a child…but the months I did spend there were incredibly peaceful. I’d been heartbroken when we were separated.
It wasn’t until three years later when I was fifteen that I saw her obituary. The picture on my console was printed from that, but instead of making me sad, it made me happy knowing that she was loved enough, had enough friends in her community that someone had held a funeral for her. It meant that someone would miss her.
Before I could let my mind wander too far, a piece of paper on the ground caught my attention. Frowning, I crouched down and unfolded the paper, which someone must have slipped beneath the door. It was a flyer for a Halloween party at a place called The Portal.
A small smile tugged at my lips. Something about it appealed to me, and I wondered if maybe, just for once, I should just go out. To just let go a little bit. Hadn’t I just been lamenting the fact that my coworkers had been invited to parties and I hadn’t? Grabbing my phone from my bag, I pulled up the number of one of my only true friends. She moved around a lot but often came to the area around this time of year.
We’d met at a restaurant a year or so back when she was working seasonally, and while we didn’t work together anymore, we talked often. Dialing Stella’s number, I put the phone on speaker and stared up at the popcorn ceilings, noticing a spider in the far corner of the room.
“Evera?” she asked on the third ring.
“Hey,” I drew out, looking down at the sheet before asking, “How do you feel about going out tonight?”
