Exile Empire - Empire the Second: Empire, #2

By Olivia Hawthorne and Jaden Wilkes

Empire is saved, but the world is still in danger.

 

Kairos Empire: I joined forces with my aunts to drive out the demon king, Uruk'Zu, but we lost Phoenix to his powers along the way. Falreah, the goddess of all creation, exiled me from Empire until I fix the chaos that my negligence created.

 

Now the demon king is wearing my sister a skin suit, and he's taunting me with arson, violent attacks, and even murder in my old East Vancouver neighborhood.

 

Things would be hard enough to handle, but I'm working side by side with Sorin Vargyr, my sacred bond-mate and the man I swore to never love.

 

Too bad it's not working and the more I fight, the harder I fall.

 

Sorin Vargyr: I finally escaped the prison of my remote exile and the near clutches of my wolf madness, only I found myself in a battle of wills with the most stubborn, strong, independent and completely dazzling woman I've ever met.

 

She's my bond-mate, but she doesn't want me as it is.

 

What's she going to do when she finds out I'm not alone?

 

Continue on the epic journey of Kairos Empire and Sorin Vargyr as they battle the demon king, fight for Phee's very soul, and wrestle with the realization that they weren't just magically bonded together before birth...they were created for each other as two halves of the whole. But where does wolf fit in?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jaden Wilkes
• Release date: Oct 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201686246

Book preview

Chapter One: Sorin

Two Years Ago…

It had been another tedious day of cutting wood and listening to the birds mocking me in these fucking endless fucking trees.

If I could chop every last one of them down, I would.

Now don’t get your panties in a bunch, I’m not some American conservative nature hating asshole who wants to destroy the planet to make a few million dollars. I was just sick to death of the fucking trees.

I bundled the last of the wood I’d chopped into the back of the UTV, loaded the axe, hopped in and drove back to my cabin. I started to stack the wood, choosing different pieces based on color and size to create an image in the wood pile knowing full well I’d be the only one who’d ever see it.

Boredom did wild things to a brain, especially when you were going on six years alone in the forest. Six long years away from civilization, all because you were a lone wolf and slowly creeping towards outright savagery.

I reached for the heavy splitting maul to break apart a few of the larger chunks of wood. My hand brushed across the bare space behind the seat where it would normally sit, and I exhaled sharply.

Fuck, I grumbled. The last spot I’d seen it, it was resting against a tree back in the forest where I’d been cutting trees. I had to split wood now, so I couldn’t leave it there for the night. Otherwise I might say fuck it and head inside, put my feet up and zone out for the evening. Give myself a rest from the constant, insistent wolf in my chest.

I heard that, wolf said, waking up.

You were supposed to, I replied.

I hopped back in the UTV, drove to the site, and jumped out. I picked it up, began striking one of the trees I felled earlier that day. With wolf awake and nothing else to do this late towards evening, I might as well get some surplus chopped for when it came time to trade.

Every month my former village would send an envoy in a truck to bring me supplies, and in return they’d take back a cord of wood for my parents. It was the only way I could survive out here; it wasn’t like I could drive my little truck to the nearest convenience store for a late night meal and a bottle of vodka. The hard Russian stuff that would warm my toes and ease the frustration building inside my chest with each passing day in this place.

I felt wolf stir inside of me again and I paused in mid-swing, lowering the maul to rest at my feet.

I didn’t know what had made the beast wake up, but I tried to settle it before it fully rose and wanted to take control.

I’d fought it for years simply because I didn’t like going for too long giving into that side of myself. Wolf was me, and yet it wasn’t entirely me. In my clan we were biological shifters, so there was the inherent genetic ability to transform from human to animal shape. My lineage happened to be wolf. Some other clans shifted into other creatures, depending on their genetics.

In my clan, each one of us chosen offspring went through a ritual at puberty where we were introduced to our magic side, the non-biological aspect of the shift. The duality of our bodies meshed with our dual auras, and we became as one with the creature that had lived wrapped around us like an invasive ivy since the time we breathed our first breath.

It didn’t happen to all of us in our clan, just those who were chosen. And some of us weren’t even aware of it until puberty, when the entity made itself known by waking up inside. Once this happened, we had a matter of months before completing the ritual. If we didn’t do this ceremony, I have no idea what would happen. It was unheard of.

Although there were rumors of madness and death if you didn’t let the ritual carry through. I wasn’t sure what would be worse: for it to happen immediately or for it to happen in slow motion like it was to me, month after month.

But having done the ceremony, I had wolf. And shortly after, my family initiated an ancient agreement for me to form a mating bond with a guardian woman and fulfill our sacred duty as the eldest of my lineage.

It was something I’d looked forward to, and even though I’d spent a few years traveling the world, got a biology degree in London at UCL, lived with one girl and loved a few others, I’d known my time out there was limited.

At twenty-seven, I’d been called back and had waited to meet her at last. Kairos Empire, the woman living on the other side of the planet who’d become my other half, who’d tame wolf inside and save me from going completely wild.

Only she’d never come.

Wolf had grown impatient, and I’d eventually grow more dangerous to those in my village if I stayed. A man couldn’t contain a wolf for long unless the wolf was satiated with a bond. I didn’t make the rules, I just had to live by them no matter how ridiculous they felt to me at the time.

And so here I was, a fucking outcast living in the middle of the woods, with trees as my only companions and deer my main source of food. Once a month or so, yes, usually during the full moon, I’d let wolf take over and I’d run free in fully furred form.

Each time was harder to come back though, and I knew my days were numbered. Eventually I wouldn’t be able to wrestle wolf into submission and I’d live out my days running wild.

It both excited and saddened me at this point.

You like it, wolf said before he settled down again. I picked up the maul once more, held it aloft and took a swing. As the blade struck the wood, wolf perked up once more.

What is it? I asked, dropping the maul to the ground. What’s got your interest?

I spoke to it like it was a pet living outside of my body, but that was often just to hear the sound of my own voice. Any human voice was a relief out here alone. The truth was, I could easily speak to it without words but chose not to. We weren’t supposed to, not really. I’d be considered a freak if people knew how much I communicated with it. Most relationships like this were more like roommates occupying the same space but on opposite schedules, the wolf coming out during moon time and sleeping silently through the rest.

Not me though, and not my persistent, talkative wolf. We’d been in constant communication since before the ritual and had spoken to each other almost daily ever since. My speaking aloud was a recent addition that occurred once I’d moved out here.

I heard the light snap of a branch in the distance and lifted my head. I scented the air, flaring my nostrils to catch the smell of whatever had broken the twig, and I caught it all at once.

Her, wolf said with a breathless bark.

I almost fell back on my ass, it was so powerful. It felt more like a boot to the teeth than scent molecules wafting on the breeze, and it drew me in like a blood trail in snow.

I walked towards the source and paused while I caught a glimpse of her my first time.

My mate.

The woman for me was finally here.

She was magnificent. Her hair was burnished black and thick. It hung down her back in a dark wave, and I imagined it falling over me while she rode me hard.

Her body was thick, muscular, and I was in love from the moment I traced her beautiful curves with my eyes.

Wolf approved. He growled through my lips and my cock throbbed at the thought of completing our mating bond by burying it deep inside her fertile body. She was everything I’d ever wanted, and she represented everything I needed to get out of here and away from my pending madness.

She was family, love, children, magic, and sex. Of course, sex.

Want, wolf said, throwing himself against the inside of my mental barriers. Need.

Me too, pal, I told him under my breath.

I approached her with caution. I’d heard how flighty she was and how she’d tried to run from the duties we were bound to complete. She was the source of my years of frustration, though, and after five turns of the seasons out there I couldn’t help but bear some resentment to her. She was the reason I’d been trapped all this time, and I wanted to know why.

But fuck, she smelled good.

And then she turned around, and I fell in love completely and forever. From the moment I caught her eyes, I knew she was mine. As much as it had been promised, I’d never completely believed it until that moment. 

Her eyes were golden and glowed with their own light. Her body was powerful, light and magic swirled through her veins, but there was a dark clump in the center of her chest that prevented her from reaching her full potential. I saw it as clear as day, but I couldn’t tell her about it.

I barely spoke, she overwhelmed me so much.

Who are you and why are you here? I demanded, not meaning to, but it came out like that. I didn’t want to scare her off, but she’d made me wait so fucking long.

So fucking long, I was already half in the madness and didn’t know if I’d ever make it fully back.

I’ve been waiting for you, I think it was you. Are you the one? I asked.

She cocked her head and didn’t seem to understand. She spun her fingers before I could, and a translation spell popped into the air between us.

I could have spoken English, but this was preferable.

I frowned at her, and wolf laughed at me. He reserved judgement until this woman told us her name, but the way his body existed inside of me, like a tightly drawn bowstring of sexual tension, gave him away. But as much as he wanted to fuck her hard, harder than me even, he wasn’t going to fall for any trap to tame him unless it was our destiny.

Who are you? I asked, cutting to the chase to appease wolf. There was no diplomacy where it was concerned.

Kairos Empire, she replied, her chin thrust out in defiance. Where am I?

Sweden, I said, telling her the name of the closest tourist area she might recognize. She had no idea who I was, she was clueless about me. That caught my attention, but annoyed wolf. She should know already. And he growled in my chest. She should be ready to breed, he whined.

I ignored him and concentrated on our conversation instead. She was attracted to me at least. Her body heat increased by a couple degrees, her pupils expanded, and her scent altered. She released a sweet, intoxicating pheromone that drove the wolf wild and sent my imagination on a wild ride.

She was leaving though, and I didn’t want that to happen. I fought the urge to grab her by the wrist and drag her back to my cabin; I wanted to. Wolf wanted to.

But I wasn’t the kidnapping type. Besides, any woman who was bound to be my mate wasn’t the type to be kidnapped. She had the look of somebody who’d come after me the first chance she got if I ever stepped out of line with her. She could hold her own, and even though I outweighed her and could outfight her, she’d find a way to make me pay.

And god damn, if that didn’t turn me on even more. The thought of this little spitfire kicking my ass left me rock hard and dying for a chance to get naked with her.

But like anything worth having, and anything wild, I had to let her go before I claimed her as mine at last.

Wolf was not pleased. Wolf was disgusted by my decision to not take her against her will, and he showed this by burrowing deep into my chest and curling up in anger. He pretended to sleep so he could ignore my voice of reason.

He’d come around, but until then I’d dream of Kairos and wait for the moment she brought me to her.

And then, just when I thought she was leaving with no incident, she kissed me.

And I kissed her.

Wolf exploded out of his tantrum and stood at full attention, watching from a distance but ready to spring forth and make his move.

I caged him, reluctantly, but it still wasn’t the time.

Patience was key, and Kairos Empire would require the patience of a saint.

Wait, she exhaled after a few moments of deep tongue exploration in my mouth. I can’t do this, I don’t want this.

She placed both her small hands on my chest and shoved me hard, but I didn’t move. She was strong, but not wolf strong.

I don’t want you! she called out as she ran, and I moved after her. Wolf saw movement, and I ran to catch her.

She began to fade as she ran, and I realized for her this was a dream. She had somehow come into my world and manifested in physical form, but she’d never remember it in the morning.

Fuck, I said as she disappeared back into her incredible mind far from my physical reality.

Fucking fuck, I added as I found myself alone again in the forest amidst all the fucking trees.

So many fucking trees.

Wolf was astonished that I’d let her go, so he curled up again to pout, and I was truly alone again.

Me and the trees.

I walked back to where I’d been working, picked up the maul and started swinging it.

By the hundredth chop, my cock settled down, and by the five hundredth, I couldn’t feel the places where she’d touched me burning like fire.

I could still taste her in my mouth and scent her in my nose though, so I kept chopping.

All these fucking trees.

Chapter Two: Sorin

Two Weeks ago…

More trees than I could swing an axe at.

That’s what it felt like out here in the middle of nowhere.

I laughed at my own joke and mentally prodded wolf so he’d chuckle along with me.

It was almost his time, and he was much more alert than usual, especially since we were approaching my thirty fifth year of life and that’d mean he’d take over completely.

Ever since Kairos Empire had come into my world two years ago, she’d anchored me in place with the dangling carrot of hope. I was a fool though, because she only showed up in her dreams and never in person. I never had a chance to find out anything about her, we’d kiss and talk and that was it. She’d never remember from one encounter to the next, and I was probably erased from her mind the moment she woke up in her bed.

I was thirty-three and had two years before I completely lost control. I’d come to terms with it and had even grown to accept the idea I’d never be a mate, never be a father, and never grow old as a man. I’d die as a wolf in the next decade or two, never knowing the joy of the mate bond.

And it was because of her. Kairos Empire and her reluctant indecision to proceed with our union. All I got was the slow drip of honey from her, the inconsistent flow of kissing and touches and no more.

I sighed and ran my hand through my thick hair, felt its shaggy heft in my hand and knew wolf would be in command in a few days from now.

Sometimes it felt like a blessing instead of a curse, and it was tempting to give up control and let it take over completely.

You should, it agreed. The wolf was always listening, always testing for weakness.

I sat on a log next to a pile of wood I’d cut down and needed to split in order to pile back at the cabin. I was certain the village council could have gotten together to purchase me a gas furnace, or even gone high tech and installed a