The Royal Wolf and Hades' Daughter

Prologue

Sometimes, wishes could be deadly when granted. Soraya did not have a choice but to make her third and try to get away with it.

When Adrian died at the hands of Killian, she wished for his life back. Then, when it was time to give her own, she cheated death and handed her enemy to Erishkigal. It seemed to have worked, this reluctant sacrifice, but life had shown her that she could not have everything.

Then came Samuel. He was a beautiful baby, the spitting image of his father. Except he was more than that.

At sixteen, he did not manifest any powers even though he was born of a powerful water warlock and a fire witch. Something else had been happening even years before that. He had been turning. Erishkigal’s curse had finally revealed itself. She had needed Soraya’s power to resurrect her dead infant, but failing to do so, she decided to take one or all of the Queenspell monarch’s children as her own. They would soon join in nature’s call. It was only a matter of time.

Prince Samuel had reluctantly accepted his fate. It had its advantages. It seemed to have given him a voracious s****l appetite, which had made him popular among the ladies of the land.

None of them had caught his heart, though. He continued to be dissatisfied with his life, and he still tried to get away from all of the several possible marriage matches presented to him.

As the future leader of Shadowcreek, he was a catch. However, the ladies did not know just how fast they had to run to chase him. They would have to be super damn fast and a little more shrewd.

One night, Samuel spied a woman in the woods. She seemed to be a shifter.

“Good night to you! Do you need any help?” he asked.

“I don’t need help. You do,” she declared.

Samuel shook his head disbelievingly at that. He narrowed his eyes at the mysterious woman.

“What help you do you think I need?” he asked.

“You do not like who you are,” she declared, not even blinking her eyes, it seemed.

“What is your name?” the prince evaded the accusation.

“Melinoe,” she answered.

She had disappeared quickly into the night, leaving the scent of both witch and shifter and possibly something else. She smelled of danger.

Weeks later, Samuel still thought of her. He had not seen her during his last few runs into the forests. Because she had been challenging to find, the prince found himself getting deeper and deeper into the woods with each hunt. The further he went, the more confident he became. He knew that his mother had started becoming alarmed, but she knew well enough to question him. She did not want to coddle him, especially since she would be taking over his father’s throne soon. King Adrian’s abdication was not a surprise to anyone.

The night had become Samuel’s best friend, a cloak that hid his hideousness. The transformations had been painful, too, ripping his clothes and reassembling his bones. However, whenever he achieved his animal form, it was also glorious. He could run faster without worrying about anything. It was a different kind of freedom. His friend, the panther, would look after him, jumping on the tree limbs and watching him from above. It was almost maternal, he thought.

Even the crows reveled in flying low enough to see him sprint. The last two full moons had been fascinating, as shifters of various kinds had taken to running alongside him. Samuel could still smell a hint of human from the wolves, lynxes, and cheetahs that dared join his runs.

These shifters did not stay content in the arrangement. On a blood moon, they revealed themselves to him. Some transformed back into humans, naked as Samuel often was after running as a wolf. The others, however, took clothed human forms, much to the prince’s surprise.