Chronicles of the Shifter Directive 1

  Werewolf's Way

  Hundreds of years ago, werewolves and vampires started a war that nearly wiped out all of humankind. They lost, and to pay for their crimes, they became the slaves of the draechen, trapped by the provisions of the new Shifter Directive.

  Now, Alpha Graham Powers still maintains hope that he will be able to free his people. When he is captured by a draechen patrol, he finds someone who might be more important to him than freedom itself. His mate, Caelyn Sutharlainn.

  Caelyn is a sprite, belonging to a species that tried to cooperate with the nearly omnipotent draechen. But when Caelyn meets Graham, he knows he cannot allow the strong, proud Alpha to be crushed by the draechen’s ruthlessness.

  Together, the two attempt to flee the draechen forces. But does their love have a chance of holding its own against an empire? Can the werewolf and the sprite find their way in a world that refuses to accept them?

  NOTE! You are purchasing Siren's newest imprint, the Siren Epic Romance collection. This is Book 1 of 7 in the Chronicles of the Shifter Directive series. The series shares an overall story arc with many crossover characters playing major roles in each book. These books are not stand-alone and should be read in their numbered order.

  Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves

  Length: 78,179 words

  WEREWOLF’S WAY

  Chronicles of the Shifter Directive 1

  Scarlet Hyacinth

  SIREN EPIC ROMANCE,

  MANLOVE

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Siren Epic Romance, ManLove

  WEREWOLF’S WAY

  Copyright © 2013 by Scarlet Hyacinth

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-184-5

  First E-book Publication: July 2013

  Cover design by Siren Publishing

  All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

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  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

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  DEDICATION

  Welcome to the first book in my new series, Chronicles of the Shifter Directive. I will be brief and say I hope you like it. In fact, I hope you fall in love with the characters like I did.

  Thank you to Siren BookStrand for supporting me through this project, to Rachel for encouraging me and kicking my ass when I needed it, and for my readers for their patience and continuous interest.

  Enjoy!

  WEREWOLF’S WAY

  Chronicles of the Shifter Directive 1

  SCARLET HYACINTH

  Copyright © 2013

  Prologue

  History books say the Black Death was likely brought in by rats and fleas. Countless theories rotate around finding out the cause behind it. But what history doesn’t know is that, for ages, a far darker power has existed, hiding behind facades of normality. The most dangerous beasts of all have always been the wolves and the bats, in fact, werewolves and vampires.

  The two breeds have always been among the worst perils hiding within the paranormal world. From the times of the ancient emperors, they haunted the world of man. In the fourteenth century, as the human calendar states, their aggression reached its peak. The secrecy of every supernatural creature became at risk as attacks from vampires and werewolves turned increasingly frequent, targeting the thus-far-unsuspecting human population.

  In desperation, an alliance was formed between the most powerful of shifters, the draechen—as dragon shape-changers called themselves—and the representatives of the magical world, the fae. Through the sacrifice of a prince from each species, the forces of the out-of-control vampires and werewolves were defeated.

  As the victors, the draechen instituted a harsh, controlling regime over the beastly creatures, aiming to prevent any outbreak of violence. With the passage of time, the noble intentions of the martyrs of this cause became corrupted, turning righteousness into a comfortable state of affairs in which werewolves and vampires became slaves.

  Other shifters grew increasingly restless, but all opposition was crushed as the draechen solidified their hold on the paranormal world. One by one, the shifter nations fell under the power of the newly dubbed Draechen Empire of Ornoz. A new international law was passed, the Directive of the Shifter Castes, instituting an artificial hierarchy in the shape-shifter world. Nine individual castes were created, social classes with specific rights or duties. The draechen were, of course, at the top, and werewolves and vampires at the bottom.

  With Ornoz’s rising power, the old alliances melted into tentative truces as the magical races lived in constant tension that they would be next. In spite of not being under the influence of the Directive, magical creatures saw the ever-increasing greed of the draechen. Some chose to remain loyal to the draechen, while others retreated completely from the human world.

  In this new, restless world order, there were those who resisted, underground rebel groups who attempted to break free of the hold of the overpowering draechen. Soon, the wars trickled into the world of the humans, disguised under the appearance of one of the many destructive conflicts mortals themselves organized.

  History books say that sometimes, the worst things come from the best intentions, and in that regard, they are correct. But human history books ignore a lot of things. This is a chronicle of the truth, of the pain, the love, and the fighting that lies under the façade of the normal, human world.

  Chapter One

  “You’re joking.” Graham Powers frowned at his fellow Alpha, already exasperated. “In six months? Fuck, why are we even trying?”

  “Because giving up isn’t an option,” Monroe Lovington answered. “And yes, I know the vamps are being ridiculous on this one, but there’s nothing I can do.”

  Graham sighed heavily. “Yes, I realize that. It’s just getting tiresome. I feel like I’m in front of a brick wall and banging my head against it over and over for no reason.”

  The other Alpha was quiet, but squeezed his shoulder in a silent gesture of comfort. Graham smiled slightly, although his heart wasn’t in it. From the sky, the moon shone over them, but even it seemed distant and cold tonight. Graham wondered if it had ever been close to his kind in the first place. Some people claimed that the moon had influence over werewolves, urging them into changing whenever she appeared to light the way of the lost ones through the darkened night. Once, Graham had believed it. Now, he was losing hope.

  Shaking himself, Graham turned toward the other people present at this small meeting. Monroe’s brother, Taryn, gave him a knowing look, but fortunately didn’t comment on his more or less obvious desperation. Meanwhile, Graham’s own sibling and beta, Stuart, asked, “So what do we do until then? We can’t possibly try anything on our own.”

  “No, we can’t,” Mon

roe replied. “We’ll just have to go on as we’ve done so far.”

  “Running,” Graham elaborated bluntly. He hated that he and his people had been reduced to this, scurrying through the shadows like rats. Worse, he, Monroe, the members of the packs they led, and other werewolves like them were the lucky ones. Those shifters who lived under the stranglehold of the draechen, slaves to the will of their masters, they were the ones Graham suffered for.

  No one offered any words of comfort since they were all just as frustrated and pained. Theirs was a constant agony, a sorrow that haunted them from the very moment they woke up in the mornings and followed them all throughout their nights, turning each and every dream into a nightmare.

  But dwelling over this would solve nothing. “We should go,” he told his companions. “We can meet up again in a few months for a progress report.”

  “Agreed,” Monroe replied. “We’ve lingered long enough here.”

  It was very risky for two werewolf packs to meet up and mingle for long periods of time. The draechen had squads to hunt down the rebels who dared to interfere and challenge the regime they’d instituted. Alphas like Graham and Monroe had been trying to get other persecuted species to cooperate with them for ages, seeking to earn their independence from their oppressors, but so far, it had been pointless. The draechen were too smart and too powerful, and everyone was too afraid.

  As if to confirm Graham’s assessment of his opponent, a dark feeling of doom suddenly encroached on his senses. “Draechen,” he and Monroe said at the same time.

  Instantly, everyone melted into their wolf forms and scampered to hide. Taking cover was, at this point, a losing battle, though, and as the large forms of the dragon-shifters hovered above them, Graham knew that tonight, he and his people would be fighting a losing battle.

  Still, he’d never been one to give up easily. As one of the dragon-shifters flew closer to the ground, ready to sweep Stuart up, Graham threw himself into the air, landing on his opponent’s back. His momentum almost made him fall, but with an angry snarl, he dug his claws into the draechen’s back. The beast’s thick hide protested, but Graham was angry and determined. When he managed to get a better grip, he dug his fangs into the dragon’s neck. Suffice to say, it was like biting onto, well…dragon scales. He had no chance to actually tear off the creature’s throat, like he’d have done by now with any different shifter. However, he did manage to distract it, and Stuart escaped. As the draechen began to soar, obviously meaning to incapacitate Graham in a way he couldn’t possibly combat, Graham leapt off the beast’s back and onto the ground. Sadly, the distance between him and freedom was higher than he’d hoped. A werewolf he might have been, but he couldn’t expect to have his skin and bones nearly indestructible, like certain other shifters. He ended up falling against a hard rock, and pain exploded through him as he actually heard the bone of his leg snap.

  Stuart ran to his side and nudged him with his snout, whining slightly. Graham shifted back into his human form, trying to force his bone back into place. The agony that rushed through him nearly made him black out but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to withstand it.

  As he got up, though, a black dragon landed just within view. He had a wolf in his hold, trapped and seemingly unconscious. With one single glance, Graham identified the shifter in question as Taryn.

  He couldn’t allow his brother to suffer the same fate. “Go,” he told Stuart. “Protect the pack. I’ll get out of this somehow.”

  Stuart obviously didn’t want to abandon him, but there wasn’t much choice. They were severely outnumbered, but that wasn’t surprising in the slightest since the very first laws the draechen had passed had aimed to control the then-increasing population of the werewolves and vampires.

  It had worked far too well, and now, here Graham was, standing alone and surrounded. Through the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Monroe disappearing into the woods. For a few moments, he hesitated, obviously wanting to return to help Taryn, but as more and more draechen appeared, he finally melted into the undergrowth. Graham was thankful for that much, and for the fact that his brother had seemingly obeyed him. At the very least, someone would be there to look after his pack until he could return.

  As if guessing his thoughts, the large draechen holding Taryn placed him down. Once several other dragons landed around Graham, Taryn’s captor shifted into his human form. “I have to say, wolf,” he commented idly, “you’re more optimistic than I would be in your situation. Don’t make your people promises you can’t keep.”

  Instantly, Graham recognized him. He should have probably done so sooner, as the man had been the bane of the werewolves’ existence since before Graham could remember. Prince Shtamakarein Tersain, the most important military figure of the Ornozian Empire, other than the draechen emperor himself. Graham’s people called him the Dog-Catcher because he was so very dedicated to rounding up each and every werewolf and controlling them at all costs. Vampires avoided the man like he was sunlight. He almost seemed to have a personal vendetta against the lower castes, as he proved time and time again.

  Still, Graham refused to cower. “I suppose you think you’re very clever. Well, you might have caught me, Prince Shtamakarein, but my people will endure.”

  The draechen snorted. “I’ve lived to see the day a werewolf holds speeches. I tire of your barking. Grab him.”

  Upon his order, all the other draechen fell upon Graham. He tried to fight them, but somehow, one of them managed to jar his still-wounded leg. It took everything in Graham’s power not to cry out in pain, but there was nothing he could do to keep himself aloft.

  As he fell to the ground, Shtamakarein crouched in front of him and pulled Graham’s hair, forcing him to meet his gaze. “Oh, and rest assured that I have no plans to kill off your people. Just to put them where they belong. In cages.”

  Graham knew he shouldn’t have let Shtamakarein get to him, but he couldn’t help it. Howling in fury, he attempted to launch himself at the draechen prince. He didn’t get far before the draechen soldiers subdued him once again. The last thing he heard before he succumbed to the darkness of unconsciousness was the sound of Shtamakarein’s cold words. “Round them up and take them to the mansion. My father will be pleased.”

  * * * *

  A few days later

  “Do I really have to go, Mother? You know how much I loathe it there.”

  “Don’t whine, Caelyn.” Britanni Sutharlainn brushed the kohl-rimmed tip of the stick she was holding over Caelyn’s eyelids, lining them with the substance. “It’s not an attractive quality in a young man your age. And yes, you have to come with us. Your absence would be considered a grave insult by the draechen. Besides, you’re at the ideal age to find a mate. We can’t waste this chance.”

  Caelyn grimaced as she finally finished applying his makeup. He really had no desire to visit the draechen. It wasn’t that he didn’t respect the most powerful shifters in the world. Of course he did. In some ways, he admired their strength. But he also disliked their treatment of the lower castes. Whenever he went there, he was always struck by how much worse the situation had become since the previous visit. Unfortunately, he could do next to nothing to change things, and while he realized it was cowardly to just look the other way, he truly hadn’t managed to come up with any other solution.

  Besides, his mother’s ongoing quest to elevate their position in paranormal society could very well force him into a mating with a draechen who wasn’t his other half. Caelyn dreamed of marrying his true mate, and the last thing he wanted was to lose that dream because of his family’s hunger for power.

 

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