Book 3 (NEMESIS)

INTRODUCTION&TEASER (MUST READ!)


INTRODUCTION
****
Two years ago, Caidyn caused a young man to drown in the waters of loss after he had seen her.
On that day, Lucien Dracmon sat on a rock at the riverbank, starring at the beautiful petals of a moon flower that grew only around this particular river. It only bloomed at night and he had come out because of it and to also comfort himself.
“Why can’t it be me?” She heard him say, watching as the wind blew strands of his black hair, making it cover his eyes. “I did my best, did I not?” He twirled the flower in his hand. “What do I lack?”
Lucien had participated in a ball to win a princess’ heart and he had failed. Whereas the other men wanted power and fame, Lucien felt different. He loved the princess. It saddened him to watch her become engaged to someone that wasn’t him.
“Pathetic.” Caidyn shook her head as she watched Lucien wallow in self-pity. “Foolish man.”
Lucien’s hands found the teal stone necklace he had found in the in the swamp of Othyrs on the plane of Carceri. Caidyn cursed as she hurried to put down the mirror she had been watching Lucien with, but it was too late. The necklace had pulled her into the mirror, bringing her to the riverbank and in front of Lucien.
Lucien screamed, almost falling down the rock when Caidyn appeared in front of him. It wasn’t hard to identify her as a goddess because there were ancient markings on her arms and chest. Her eyes glowed brightly due to the presence of the teal necklace and her hair flowed in the wind.
“Caidyn.” Lucien said in a low whisper and she heard him.
At this, Caidyn knew what she had to do. She drowned Lucien in the water of loss that night, doing himself and her a favor.
A favor she would come to regret.

**TEASER**

Today is the day I get to become an angel.
I wasn’t exactly the sweetest person alive, but I did care and I took my duty as a half god seriously which has led to my promotion to become an angel. Mother and father wouldn’t stop telling me how proud of me they were by how far I had come. It made me smile.
Father motioned for me to come to him. “Honey, come here for a second.”
He was seated in the living room alongside mother and my annoying friends, Dimitri and Jean. Jean was the first daughter of Uncle Logan and aunt Ared. She was a sweet girl with a deadly side.
“Yes, father?” I sat down. “What is it?”
“Your mother and I would like to talk to you about your coronation and your becoming an angel.”
I nodded, attentive. “What about it?”
“You turn twenty-one in eight days, which means your coronation is not too far away. Are you prepared for it?”
“I’m ready, father.”
Unlike the average werewolf, I grew quickly because of the golden blood in me which meant I trained earlier than most of my kind and I was stronger. My vampire side also contributed to my strength and speed. I was almost invincible. I trained for years even though it was almost not needed. No person born of a mortal would dare challenge me unless they wanted to die.
He shifted his attention to Dimitri and Jean. Dimitri had bleached hair and brown eyes. Jean on the other hand had her mother’s red hair and father’s grey eyes. I was always awed by her beauty.
“Jean, Dimitri, are you ready?”
“Definitely.” They chorused before turning to each other.
“Don’t say what I say.” Dimitri joked.
“You copied me.” Jean argued.
“No, I did not.”
“Yes, you did.”
“That’s just a bunch of baloney.”
“You’re baloney.”
Here’s the thing with these two. Arguing was their hobby. It was very easy to spot them arguing or threatening to tug at the other’s hair. I had pleaded with Dimitri to ignore Jean whenever she got mad at him since he was older than her by a year. He blatantly refused.
And I quote.
“Everyone knows I’m older than Jean. She should respect me as her senior. If she yanks my hair, I’m putting pink dye in her shampoo. You know how much she hates pink.”
Nothing changed.
They argued, threw hands and even pounced on each other. I found it cute sometimes. It was to the extent I wished that they were mates. Dimitri had not told me if Jean was his mate or not because he turned twenty-one three months ago. I sincerely hoped she was.
“That’s enough.” Mother told them, putting on the strictest face.
She hadn’t aged a bit. Still beautiful and agile. I admired her a lot for her bravery. When I went to Alynthi with father for the first time, I was told stories of how she stabbed her mate just to save her people. She was even bold enough to mark my father despite knowing she could get in trouble for it.
“Sorry, Aunty Valeria.” They said in unison before Jean proceeded to pout. I saw Dimitri’s eyes soften when he saw it.
It remained a mystery to me how someone like her could easily change personality. Times like this, one could say Jean was a sweetheart, but she was a different person during practice. A warrior who had zero shit tolerance. I loved that about her.
“Starting from tomorrow, I’ll slowly take my hands off of ruling the kingdom.” Mother’s eyes were fixed on me. “And as for you two,” she faced my soon-to-be beta and gamma. “Your parents have already agreed to it. You begin tomorrow, too. Is that good?”
“I like the sound of that.” Jean said, smiling proudly. “Beta Jean Black.” She tapped Dimitri. “I’m your boss.”
Dimitri narrowed his eyes. “I don’t answer to you, Jean. I only answer to Caidyn.”
“My rank surpasses yours.”
“I have no fucks to give.” He got to his feet. “Uncle, Aunt, may I take my leave?”
Both of them nodded and Dimitri walked out of the living room.
“I’ll leave too.” I told them, barely waiting for them to agree or disagree.
Dimitri was upset about something and I needed to talk to him about it. He was a kind of person to hold things in until they become too much for him to handle.
“Dimitri.” I gripped his shoulder, stopping him from taking another step. “What’s going on? Talk to me.”
“Nothing is going on.”
“I’d hate to force the answer out of you.” He glared and I shrugged. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”
He lowered his eyes to the ground and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s Jean.”
“I know that already. What about her? What did she do? Does it have anything to do with her rank being higher than yours?”
“No.”
“Then?” I pressed, curious. A part of me was tempted to search his heart for answers, but I held back. I wanted him to open up to me himself. “What is it?”
“I’ve found her.”
I had a feeling it was his mate he was talking about, yet I wanted to be certain of it. I couldn’t wait to meet her if that was the case. It’d be much better if I already knew her.
“Found who?”
“My mate.”
A gigantic grin spread across my face and my eyes lit up like the sun. “Really?” I noticed the sadness in his eyes and my smile fell. “Why don’t you look happy? You’ve always wanted to meet her? Why this look?”
“It’s because of Jean.”
“What do you mean, it’s because of Jean?”
He turned away as his eyes welled with tears. “Jean is not my mate.”
“What?”
We both faced the entrance of the living room. There, Jean stood, with a pained look in her eyes. I didn’t understand it. She had told me countless times that she did not and would never have feelings for Dimitri. Why the gloom look all of a sudden?
Dimitri swallowed. “Did you hear anything?”
“The part where I’m not your mate.” She bit on her lower lip. “What’s that about?”
“It’s self-explanatory, Jean. You’re not my mate.”
“Who is? Who is she?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“Are you kidding me?” She scoffed. “Is she ugly?”
“No. She’s beautiful. She’s any man’s dream.”
The jealousy Jean felt on the inside could not be hidden. “Is she your dream?”
“No.”
I had no choice. I needed to know who this person was. Why didn’t he want to tell us her identity? Perhaps she was a rogue. Rogues weren’t a problem these days, though. Without permission, I invaded my friend’s privacy.
And oh my, I was stunned.
This female would be here for my birthday.
She was none other than Esme Von Stein.