This is a four book series about the Grey men and the battles they fight to keep peace in the supernatural world, the women they love, the price they pay for their actions and the losses they face. It is a tale of blood, intrigue, revenge and doing what they have to do to keep their loved ones safe.
For hundreds of years we have lived in secret. We no longer live in fear of humans or hunters, witches have magic that can hurt anyone, but like any supernatural being, we try to live in peace with all beings even when there's no threat, we still don't relish revealing ourselves to everyone.
At the age of seventeen your beast awakens, on the first blood moon after your birthday a ceremony is held and only the Elders are present to witness which beast chooses you. It is a sacred ceremony that we all look forward to. Our senses awaken from the age of fourteen with enhanced hearing, eyesight, smell, healing and strength.
Up until the age of seventeen we are all equal and depending on the beast you get your rank within the lair will determine your future. Sires usually get an indigo beast and rarely a violet one. A violet beast is the strongest one and you are feared and revered when you are blessed with one.
Blue beasts are usually a sign that you will be a good second commander or just second in command of the liar, like the co-captain. Green beasts are specialized, they become doctors, trackers, investigators and so forth.
Yellow beasts are soldiers or warriors. They protect the lair and the members that live within that community. They will be in charge of the territory, training and even personalized protection for certain members of a higher ranking.
Orange and red beasts are the workers of the community and the weakest of our kind. They are usually the cooks, cleaners, butlers, drivers and so forth. Every person has a place within a lair and the happiness and wealth of your lair depends on your Sire. If you have a good Sire then your lair will prosper.
Every species has their rotten fruit, the bad apples of the group and we are no exception to that. The Elders decide everything, they make the laws, visit different lairs, all crimes are reported to them, and everything is decided by them.
Their word is the law and no matter what rank you have, they have the power to make you bend to their will. They are strong and fierce and they have no friends. They have allies and sometimes just sometimes the bad apple is an Elder. They are rarely put down even if they are bad.
Like all species we have bonded halves, it doesn't really matter and many of us have been bonded to humans over the years. My mother was half-human and that makes me a halfling. Basically we are all halflings as our ancestors were also bonded with other species. We weren't prejudiced when it came to a bonded half because your other half makes you better.
The bond works the same for all of us. It starts with a smell, your other half's smell is something only you can smell. Usually you complete the bond ceremony by mixing your blood. This bond is for life or rather until death separates you. You can complete the bond or you can choose not to complete the bond, it doesn't really matter.
Although, why would you not want to complete the bond? That person is your other half, the best fit for you, the person that will make you happier than anybody else can. By choosing a partner rather than sticking with the one fate gifted you, you'll be happy, but you won't be as strong or as complete as you should be.
Any beast can be bonded. Bonds are aware of ranks although some beasts reject a bond with a beast that is of a lower rank than they are, but that's just ridiculous. Every person has his own strengths and weaknesses no matter what your rank. You could be a Sire and be a total dickhead or a worker with a heart of gold.
When the bonding ceremony is completed the female will bear a mark on the left side of her neck which is a replica of the male's beast. It can only be seen by those that are born with the blood of the beast and it will also change the woman's rank to that of the man.
It sounds sexist, I know, but within our species men are stronger, the providers and protectors. Women are the caregivers and nurturers. Most men tend to become warriors while most women train to be nurses and doctors, it is just within our nature to be this way.
Yes, there are female warriors, good ones too, we're not prejudiced and any beast can attain any rank except that of Sire and Second Commander. Your beast will change in color as your rank changes within your lair and we do this by ceremony.
We don't follow conventional human laws although we are respectful of their laws and every year we hold ceremonies for unbonded beasts to attend in the hopes of meeting their other halves. Only unbonded youths attend until you reach the age of twenty-three. If you haven't met your other half by then you are free to choose your own half but not before then unless you reject your bonded half.
Our house was situated on a slight hill overlooking the houses of our lair's members that scattered through half the town below us. My family controlled the upper side of Aurora and Joseph McIntyre controlled the lower side.
Joseph McIntyre and my father had been friends up until their own Sire Ceremony when my father was gifted with a violet beast and Joseph with an indigo beast. He was jealous and he had also been in love with my mother.
He had rejected his bonded half and waited for my mother to turn eighteen. He'd planned to claim her when she recognized the bond with my father and a new power couple was recognized. They were happy and in love, they loved each other fiercely and us. He was a good man and I wanted to be exactly like him.
Life doesn't always work out as you plan it and after their deaths I shied away from my normal social circle and Jax and I stuck with Rev and Preston, two new families that joined our lair from the North three years earlier and we all bonded instantly. I knew they would each die for me, loyal to a fault and they were my best friends.
Most people call us a gang but for us it was a lifestyle. On my eighteenth birthday I'll step up and ascend the seat that my father left behind and take control of everything. My top priority though are my sisters and I would protect them with my life.
I was sixteen when my parents died, Christina or Chris as she preferred to be called had been fifteen and Hannah had been nine. My sisters were my everything and I loved them completely and I was very protective over them.
The door to my bedroom opened slowly, creaking softly but I kept my eyes closed, pretending to still be asleep. I heard the soft footsteps as they crept closer to my bed and I fought the urge to open my eyes. I felt the mattress dip slightly as a weight pressed down on it.
"Happy birthday, Lucas!" she screamed as she jumped on me.
I grabbed her in a bear hug as she knocked the wind out of me and started tickling her. She was laughing and squealing as she tried to pry my arms loose from around her. I pinned her down on the bed and hovered above her.
"What's the first rule?" I asked her as she caught her breath.
"Never enter your bedroom without knocking," she said in between her laughs.
"And what's the punishment for breaking my rules?"I asked her.
"To be your slave for a week!"she yelled as I started tickling her again. "But it's your birthday!"
"You have a point there, kiddo,"I said as I released her and she jumped off my bed quickly.
"Martha's already announced breakfast,"she squealed as she ran away.
I groaned as I got out of bed and made my way into the bathroom to shower and change. I was seventeen today. I looked at myself in the mirror as I got out of the shower and noticed the faint black and blue around my eye. My lip was still split open from yesterday's training session and my ribs were cracked.
I'd be healed by tomorrow if I didn't get a good pounding after school today. Every day for the last year, my uncle, Jesse Sterling, has been training me for one thing only, taking over as Sire of our lair. Jesse was my father's Second in Command and like my second father. One year ago to the day my parents died and I had to grow up pretty quickly. My sisters needed me and my own mourning was pushed aside to be there for them.
Jesse had taken guardianship of us and we remained living in our house with all the privileges we were accustomed to. My father had many business interests that Jesse still controlled and we each had a trust fund. I trusted Jesse with my life and his son, Jax Sterling, was the brother I never had.
I wasn't the greatest person, but I was me. I was the future Sire of this lair and I would do everything within my power to protect my people, all of my people. I had no qualms about killing or shedding blood, it was part of my being, as much as I was.
We were the Grey children and I had every intention of fulfilling my father's legacy. My own destiny called out to me too and it's intertwined with the legacy he left me. Everything I do, every decision I make is to keep our family together and the lair safe. I realized that my parents death was not accidental as I started reading his journals.
I'm Lucas Grey and I vowed to avenge my parents' murder.
The day Raina gave birth should have been the happiest of her life. Instead, it became her worst nightmare. Moments after delivering their twins, Alexander shattered her heart-divorcing her and forcing her to sign away custody of their son, Liam. With nothing but betrayal and heartbreak to her name, Raina disappeared, raising their daughter, Ava, on her own.Years later, fate comes knocking when Liam falls gravely ill. Desperate to save his son, Alexander is forced to seek out the one person he once cast aside. Alexander finds himself face to face with the woman he underestimated, pleading for a second chance-not just for himself, but for their son. But Raina is no longer the same broken woman who once loved him.No longer the woman he left behind. She has carved out a new life-one built on strength, wealth, and a long-buried legacy she expected to uncover.Raina has spent years learning to live without him.The question is... Will she risk reopening old wounds to save the son she never got to love? or has Alexander lost her forever?
Betrayed by her mate and sister on the eve of her wedding, Makenna was handed to the ruthless Lycan Princes as a lover, her indifferent father ignoring her plight. Determined to escape and seek revenge, she captured the interest of the three Lycan princes, who desired her exclusively amid many admirers. This complicated her plans, trapping her and making her a rival to the future Lycan queen. Entwined in jealousy and vindictiveness, could Makenna achieve her vengeance in the intricate dance with the three princes?
Allison fell in love with Ethan Iversen, the soon-to-be Alpha of the Moonlight Crown pack. She always wanted him to notice her. Meanwhile, Ethan was an arrogant Alpha who thought a weak Omega could not be his companion. Ethan's cousin, Ryan Iversen, who came back from abroad and was the actual heir of the pack, never tried to get the position nor did he show any interest in it. He was a popular playboy Alpha but when he came back to the pack, one thing captured his eyes and that was Allison.
"Please trust me, I didn't do anything." "I don't believe you. I am rejecting you as my Queen and giving you the punishment of death." Alina was living outside her pack for five years. Her parents didn't try to contact her and always ignored her. Her best friend convinced her to go back to their pack and she agreed. But she had never imagined what was waiting there for her. She never thought she would meet her mate and had to face betrayal from everywhere. She had to pay for the crime which she never committed. Aaron Robertson is the king of Lycans. He is a very dominant and powerful King who not only rules Lycans but also rules other ranks of werewolves. Everyone is afraid of Lycans and he is the king of them. But who knew that he would get a mate who was just a simple Omega with no powers and strengths? He called her weak all the time but Little did he know that his weak Omega would give him the biggest betrayal of his life for which he had to give her the sentence of death.
22-year-old Evelyn Carter is attempting to start over in California while avoiding her past. She will be embarking on a new career path as a private school teacher. She is smart, attractive, and doesn't put up with nonsense. Who wouldn't notice her? However, what happens when she attracts the attention of someone unwilling to let her go? Who wants her and nothing else after falling in love at first sight? A 25-year-old billionaire CEO and single father, Lucian Carrington. He takes what he wants and he is also a very dangerous man. All it needed was one look at a stunning woman to realize she was HIS, even though he doesn't believe in relationships because they always end. Preview: Miss Carter, you will be mine. I say firmly. "Release my arm, Mr. Carrington, before I force you to." She says, seeming to smile at me. I give her a sly smile. Squeezing my wrist with her other hand, she twists it uncomfortably. I gave a painful hiss. "Don't underestimate me, Mr. Carrington." "This is the only time I will allow you to walk away from me, Miss Carter." She glared at me as she turned. "Mr. Carrington, I am no possession of yours." I was left standing there when she opened the classroom door and left.
Melanie married Ashton out of gratitude, but she quickly found herself entangled in a web of relentless challenges. Despite these struggles, she stayed true to her commitment to the marriage. In the hospital room, Ashton indifferently attempted to draw her blood, disregarding her discomfort. This callous act was a harsh revelation for Melanie, awakening her to the grim reality of their relationship. Resolved to prioritize her own welfare, she decided to sever ties. With newfound resolve, Melanie filed for divorce. In the process, she unveiled her concealed identities, leaving everyone in shock. Throughout these turbulent times, Melanie realized that Derek, Ashton’s uncle, had been discreetly protecting her all along.