I live a secret life, a dangerous life I love with every fiber of my being. By day, I am a fashion designer the world adores. By night, I am the Angel of Death every villain fears. My mother is power-hungry and never cared about me. So I hid my lycan using my...
Chapter 1
I sit in a chair in the corner of a dark hotel room; I am waiting for a male I have never seen in my life, and after tonight, no one will ever see him again—at least not alive. No one is aware of the fact that I am sitting here, and no one will ever find out I was in this room. No one has ever been able to find a trace of me. "That is because of what we are," my Lycan grumbles, while keeping a so-called eye on our surroundings.
As I sit there, my mind wanders toward the argument I had this morning—an argument I have been having for years now—and I doubt I will hear the end of it soon. My Mother wants me to take a chosen Mate because I am Wolfless, and technically, everyone is correct in that assumption.
My Lycan and I decided not to shift when I was supposed to, and my Lycan hides in the back of my mind whenever someone is near us. It is best for now if no one knows that I actually have my Lycan. We never meant to keep it hidden from my Father, but we didn’t want to risk him telling anyone. Looking back on my career, I am glad we never told or showed him.
My Mother is what we refer to as a Sigma—a normal type of Werewolf or Lycan. She can fight to defend herself and maybe even help another take out a Rogue if necessary. My Father is what we refer to as an Assassin—a Werewolf or Lycan with an ability that helps them kill others in secret.
They met each other during a Ball at our Pack, and for some reason, they hit it off. My Mother never asked my Father what kind of Wolf or Lycan he was; she didn’t even ask him if he was a Wolf or a Lycan. She didn’t find out the important things about my Father until it was too late to walk away, and she resents him for that.
According to my Mother, she tried to make it work, but something tells me I shouldn’t believe her. She rejected my Father when I was five years old, but she never moved out of the house or found herself another Mate.
We don’t have fated Mates as most believe. We find a Mate with the help of our Wolf or Lycan, and only when the Human and Animal sides agree do we accept someone as our Mate. I just hope that one day both of them will find someone they can spend the rest of their lives with—someone that will make them happy and allow them to move on from their past.
"Someone is coming," my Lycan says, and I pull my attention toward the door of the room I am in.
"Boss, what’s next on our list?" I hear a male ask, and the moment he starts answering, I know he is my target.
"We will go after the Blood Crescent Pack next; they will pay for killing my Cousin," he growls. "Alpha Dominic will regret accepting the assignment. If we take Alpha Dillon, they will send Diego out there to take out whoever took Alpha Dillon, and that is when I will be able to get my revenge for Paul."
"When did Alpha Max step down?" my Lycan asks, but I can’t answer that question. I know Alpha Max has Sons—triplets with the name of Dominic, Dillon, Dax, if I am not mistaken—but I can’t remember getting an invitation to an Alpha ceremony.
I hear footsteps approaching the door, and they don’t sound very steady. Looks like my target might be out faster than I expected.
"I’ll be fine. Just go to bed; we have an early morning," I hear him say, and a moment later, I hear a door close as my target opens the bedroom door. Well, I’ll be damned. He stays in this suite all by himself. That is going to make this even more fun—and I hear my Lycan chuckle in my head.
As he walks toward the bed, he strips out of his clothes, and I can hear his clothes being dropped to the floor. I don’t look at him because it will alert him to my presence in the room.
He crawls straight into bed without turning a light on, and I smile to myself as he lies down groaning—it’s obvious he had one or two drinks too many. It doesn’t take long before his breathing evens out, and I let my eyes drift to the alarm clock on the bedside table. I keep watching it until two hours have passed.
I slowly push myself up from the chair and, keeping my eyes on my target, walk over to the bed. I come to a stop at the foot of the bed.
My target is a handsome male with short brown hair and a body most females would swoon over, but it doesn’t impress me much. I pull a syringe from the belt around my waist and stab it into his leg quickly before shooting the contents into his body.
He opens his fear-filled eyes, and as he opens his mouth, the fear becomes worse—he knows he can’t reach his Wolf anymore. He is at my mercy, and he knows it; the look in my eyes tells him what he fears is going to happen.
"There is not a living soul that knows who I am. Only the dead are aware of my identity, and it is going to stay that way for as long as I want it to. I know the living refer to me as the Angel of Death, but I consider myself the Angel of Justice. I only kill those that deserve to die for the crimes they have committed—those that evaded justice for some reason," I say as I look him dead in the eyes.
"Today, I will be your judge, jury, and executioner. You raped and killed sixteen-year-old boys and girls before they had a chance to live their lives, and today you are going to pay for what you did to them and their families," I say as I drag a silver knife over his body, making deep cuts into his legs, arms, and abdomen.
He tries to scream, but the shot I gave him makes it impossible for him to do so—he can’t make a noise or move a muscle.
I let the knife glide down his abdomen toward his crotch, and his eyes widen when he realizes what I am going to do. With my free hand, I grab his dick as I place the knife at the right angle with my other hand. It will be a slow death; it will take time for him to bleed out if his heart doesn’t fail him first. With no way of alerting anyone, I know he will be dead by the time they find him.
The silver in his system doesn’t help him much either, and I know this is a very effective way of killing a male that has raped someone. I lock eyes with him as I let the knife slide through his dick, and if he had been able to make a noise, he would have woken up the entire hotel with his screaming.
I know how he killed his victims in the end, and I walk toward his head with his dick in my hand. He clamps his mouth shut the moment he realizes why I am walking toward his head.
I place the knife on his chest to free up my hand and press my thumb and index finger on either side of his nose. He has no other choice but to open his mouth to breathe. I shove his severed dick into his mouth before releasing his nose, and I watch as he tries to get his own dick out of his mouth—but time has taught me the best way to do this.
"Enjoy the rest of your pathetic life," I say before picking up the knife and walking out of his bedroom.
Standing next to the door, I listen for any noises, but it is deadly quiet out there. I open the door slightly to see if he left a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, and when I see he did, I remove it quickly.
If the information about my target is correct, he will have a personal wakeup call in the morning—which means someone other than his friend will find him, causing the details to leak into the world.
I lock the door on the inside and leave the way I entered the room—through the sliding doors leading to the balcony. I pull myself up to the balcony above his to make my retreat. The room above his is empty, and I take a moment to check if I took everything with me. I sigh in relief when I confirm everything on my belt is accounted for.
Chapter 2
Maleah's P.O.V.
I wake to sirens in the morning and look at my watch to see it is just after eight. I slowly sit up straight as I stretch out. I grab a shirt to pull over my head as I walk toward my balcony and look around to see two males standing on a balcony four floors lower to my left. From the way they handle themselves, I would say they are Law-enforcers.
After I have taken a shower and gotten dressed, I call room service to have some breakfast brought up. I step back onto the balcony to see that the males are still in the room. I know that side of the hotel holds suites for those who have money to spend. A knock on the door pulls my attention away from the males, and I open the door for the servant bringing me my breakfast.
"Can you put it on the balcony?" I ask him.
His eyes keep darting toward the suite, and I ask him if he knows what happened in there.
"One of the other servants found the occupant dead in his bed; he had bled out during the night. Whoever did it had an ax to grind with him—they cut off his dick and shoved it into his mouth," he answers as he stares at the suite. I stare at him to see him turn around slowly. "I swear that it is the truth," he mumbles before leaving me in peace.
I finish my breakfast before packing my bag. I leave a tip for the servant under my coffee cup and a tip for the cleaning lady in the bathroom. I have been staying in hotels long enough to know that leaving a tip at the reception for them never reaches them, and I want to make sure they get the tip because they do the hard work.
As I walk out of the elevator, I take a look at my phone to see if I have any new messages. As I lift my head up, I step in front of the Law-enforcers. They ask me which room I am staying in.
I show them my keycard as I say, "On my way to check out, Gentlemen. I just finished taking care of business down here, and now I will be heading home." I get my keycard back as one of them talks to the hotel manager.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Ma’am. Something happened in one of the suites, and we need to check everyone to make sure we don’t miss any witnesses," I hear as I look down at my phone. I tell them it was no inconvenience and wish them a good day before walking over to the reception.
"Good morning, Miss D’Angelo. How was your stay this time?" Shasha asks. I smile at her as I tell her my stay was pleasant as usual.
One of the Law-enforcers turns toward me as Shasha mentions my name. "You’re the Miss D’Angelo?" he asks. I nod my head as I sign the bill for my room and tell her to send it to the usual address.
"My Daughter is a huge fan of yours. She follows every item on Social Media and every magazine article she can find," he says, and I see a magazine in his hand. I know it has an article on the fashion shows from the past few days.
I hold out my hand for it as I ask Shasha for a pen. I open the magazine to the right page and ask him for his Daughter’s name. I write down a little message for her and sign it with my name before handing it back to him.
"Thank you, Miss D’Angelo. My Daughter is going to freak out when she sees it," he says, and I smile at him as I say my goodbyes. I get in my car to finally head home after being away for a week and a half.
I listen to some music as I drive down the highway, contemplating whether to call Dad to let him know I am on my way home. "Let’s surprise Dad," Fortune, my Lycan, responds to my thoughts, and I smile at her as I nod my head.
I doubt my Mother will be home, as she has been disappearing for longer periods of time over the last few months. I am actually glad she hasn’t been around much, and I have even noticed a change in Dad’s behavior.
A notification sounds on my phone, and I press a button to have it read to me as I keep my eyes on the road. "Message from Pauline: Two weeks from Tuesday is the best opportunity," I hear the robotic voice say, and I smile as I press the call button on my touch screen.
Pauline answers within a second, and I tell her about last night. We talk about what I found out. I disconnect the call after she promises to get me all the information I want her to find for me.
When I was fifteen, my paternal Grandparents died, and they left me a sizable amount of money. I always knew I wanted to be able to travel, and with my sense for fashion, I decided to buy a boutique in a nearby town.
Within six months, I had made enough profit to invest in a second boutique a few towns over, and my empire slowly grew in the following months. By the time I was seventeen, I owned six boutiques in different towns and cities.
I allow starting designers to use my boutiques to sell their items, and I design clothes myself as well. My income from my boutiques is more than I can ever spend, and each year I ask my employees to nominate a good cause to donate money to—something they really appreciate.
I never hide the fact that I am the one donating the money, but I also make sure they know who nominated them.
Traveling around for my job is what Fortune and I love; we love seeing other places and different people, and I will keep doing this for as long as I can. But we love coming home even more because, unlike a lot of other Wolves and Lycans, we live in a Pack, and I love the connection I have with other Pack-members.
Shifting into Fortune while we are in a town or city isn’t impossible, but it comes with a lot of rules and regulations.
Our ancestors started to move into the towns and cities that got abandoned by Humans, taking over the world more and more from Human kind. Centuries ago, Human kind went extinct. Our Pack stayed the way we had been living from the early ages on, and I am glad I never grew up in a town or city because of the rules and regulations—it is not something I could have lived with.
Fortune softly growls at the thought of growing up outside a Pack. She feels as if the Wolves and Lycans that live in a town or city are only living half a life, and we have sensed that they are weaker than a Wolf or Lycan raised within a Pack.
I never stay long enough to find out how the hierarchy within a town or city works, but I know it is different from the hierarchy within a Pack. The only thing I know for sure is that they answer to the same Laws a Pack has to answer to.
We all have to answer to the Council of Elders if we break the Law. They make sure we don’t go around killing someone who doesn’t deserve it and that we don’t abuse others. If you want someone to pay for his or her crime, you present your case to the Council of Elders, and they decide if your request is grounded. They will determine what the punishment is going to be.
It has been like this for centuries, and so far, it has worked out for our kind.
My phone ringing draws me from my thoughts, and I furrow my brows when I see the caller ID—it is my Mother. I take a deep breath before answering the call.
"Mother, what can I do for you?" I ask her coldly, and I hear a soft growl in the background.
"When will you be home?" my Mother asks, and for a moment, I am quiet.
"You have my schedule, Mother. You know when I will be coming home, so why did you call?" I ask again.
This time, the growl in the background is louder, and I wonder who is with her or why she has me on speaker.
"Just wanted to check if your schedule was still up to date. I have learned from your Father that schedules can change at a moment’s notice," she replies, but something tells me this isn’t the reason why she called. I ask her again why she called me.
Chapter 3
Maleah's P.O.V.
"In all the years I have been traveling for my job, you have never called me before to ask about my schedule. So cut the crap and answer my question," I growl at her, and I hear her sigh deeply before she finally answers me.
"Because I have found another Mate, and I would like you to meet him."
I have to control myself from laughing out loud, and I take a few deep breaths before allowing myself to respond.
"Mother, I would like to meet him someday, but right now I am too busy with a few projects. I will ask Pauline to check my schedule and contact you to make an appointment. Right now, I don’t have the time to do it myself. I am nearly at my destination and will be busy the rest of the day," I reply.
Whoever is growling in the background doesn’t like the way I talk to my Mother—not that I give a flying fuck about it.
"Sweetheart, I want to discuss this with you and not with some assistant," my Mother says, and I decide to show her it would have been better to accept my offer.
"Fine, Mother. I will contact you the first chance I get to check my schedule, and then we can discuss when I will meet your new Mate. Just remember, I am a very busy businesswoman, and for me to do this personally, as you requested, might take a while. Don’t bother calling me; I will get back to you when I have the time," I growl before disconnecting the call.
I can hear a mighty roar before the line goes quiet, and Fortune is laughing her ass off in my head.
"Sounds like she found a Mate with a short fuse or a High-ranking Mate," I say to Fortune. If I had to take a bet, I would go with a High-ranking Mate. My Mother is not someone who would settle for something less, and it is something I have heard her say to Dad many times over the years.
I still don’t understand why she didn’t leave the Pack years ago, but then again, there is a lot I don’t understand about my Mother, and I doubt I will ever understand her.
I pull to a stop outside the gates of our territory, and the Wolf on duty looks a little strange when he sees me.
"Don’t let my Father know I am here; I want to surprise him," I say to the guard. When I hear him whisper, "How many more surprises can he handle?" I ask him what that is about. For a moment, he looks at me with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"He didn’t expect you to hear him," Fortune states, and I smile up at the guard.
"Your Mother arrived here about an hour ago. She told your Father that the two of you were moving out of the territory to join her new Mate’s Pack. She even handed Alpha Dominic the transfer papers, and I can guarantee you that your Father is pissed off," he answers me.
"Link the Alpha and tell him not to sign my request. Also, send a few Warriors to the house; they might need to protect my Mother and her new Mate before I kill them. And don’t mention to anyone what you just saw," I growl.
He gives me a smirk as he nods his head, and I drive down the dirt road toward the house I have lived in with my parents my whole life.
"That is why she wanted to know when you would be back," Fortune growls, and I know she is right. Mother wanted to make sure I couldn’t stop her from moving my stuff out and handing my transfer request to one of our Alphas.
I see my Mother looking at Dad with a triumphant look on her face, but it drops the moment she sees me driving up to the house. Dad looks heartbroken as he turns toward me, and I jump into his arms before he can say anything.
"I am not going anywhere, Dad. I don’t know what Mother told you, but you are stuck with me," I whisper into his ear, and I hear the same growl behind me that I heard on the phone.
Dad pulls back a little to look at me, and I see a huge smile on his face. Dad knows that what I say is the truth. I have never lied to him in my life; I might not have told him everything, but I know he will understand why I never told him.
I hear someone clear their throat behind me, and as I turn around, I see a bulky Werewolf in the doorway holding my vanity mirror.
"Could you let me pass?" he asks because Dad and I are blocking his way.
"No, you can turn around and put that back exactly where you found it—and that goes for every piece of furniture you took out of that room. Everything you took out of that room will be placed back, and you better get a move on. I need a shower and some rest," I say coldly to the male, and I feel an aura slip from the male standing next to my Mother. Of course, she found herself an Alpha.
"Remember where you are, Alpha Bradley," I hear an unknown voice say from behind me. When I turn toward the voice, I am looking at a huge male with a cold look in his eyes as he looks at me. I feel Alpha Bradley rein in his aura as four Warriors step next to the Giant. I wanted to say something, but I am interrupted by my Mother.
"Sweetheart, this is no place for you to live. You are so much better than anyone that lives here," she says.
I get out of my Father’s arms to turn toward my Mother. "Let’s show her what we are made of," Fortune growls in my head, and I allow her to push forward to show my Mother I have a Lycan.
"This is my home, and no matter how often you keep asking me, I will never move from the territory. I am done with you and your dislike of this Pack, my Father, and me being Wolfless. Once my stuff is out of the truck and back in my room, I want you to leave. I don’t ever want to see you again; you never gave a damn about me, and I am sick and tired of trying to understand why," I growl at her.
Everyone around us can feel the deadly aura that seeps out of us—an aura an Assassin uses to instill fear into his or her victims.
My Mother is cowering into her Mate’s arms, and even he, as an Alpha, has trouble with my aura pressing against him.
"Maleah, please calm down," I hear Dad say behind me, and after I push out another burst of my aura, I rein it back in before turning around to step into my Father’s waiting arms. I let my Father’s scent soothe me, listening to his steady heartbeat as I try to calm both Fortune and myself down.
My face is hidden in my Father’s chest as I listen to footsteps walking in and out of the house. When I hear one of the men say they are done, I step out of my Father’s embrace.
