The Kyriakis Curse

KYRIAKIS 1:

KYRIAKIS CURSE

Eve Vaughn

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Kyriakis 1: Kyriakis Curse

Eve Vaughn

This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Copyright © March 2007 by Eve Vaughn

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ISBN 978-1-59632-423-7

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Editor: Olivia Wong

Cover Artist: April Martinez

To La Vonne. Thanks so much for put i

t ng up with me, helping me out when I needed a

hand, and being my friend.

“Paris,” his mother said gently. Tears of compassion filled her light blue eyes. “I think she’s no longer here. We’ve searched the island thoroughly, and no one has seen her for hours.”

“I suspected as much. Please give me a moment alone, Mama.”

“If you go after her... maybe...”

“No. It’s too late. I think she’s probably been gone for a while now.”

“Perhaps she’s returned to her family’s pack.”

Paris knew that wasn’t a possibility. From his observations of Zahara’s interaction with her family, she had always seemed withdrawn and distant around them -- and it was no wonder, because they, Nana especially, constantly talked down to her.

“No. She wouldn’t go back to them. They would eventually crush her spirit... just as I attempted to.” He bowed his head in contrition, pain, and self-loathing, his dark hair falling into his eyes. Thoughts of the lovely Zahara somewhere in the world, alone, filled him with such despair, he could barely breathe. And it was his fault. All of it.

Had he told her how he truly felt, she’d still be with him. Instead, Paris was left with the task of explaining to his family and to the Nkruma alpha that Zahara was gone. There’d be no joining between two of the most powerful shifter packs, which had been his

grandfather Spyros’s vision.

Spyros’s goal was to ultimately breed a super pack; after all, the Kyriakises were already known for their immense strength, superb fighting skills, and cunning. How else could they have survived the virus that had nearly made their kind extinct? The deadly bug had been around for a few decades, and it had proven fatal to shifters almost everywhere; in some cases, entire species had been wiped out.

2 Eve Vaughn

On the other hand, although the Nkruma pack members had also proven surprisingly

resistant to the ravages of the epidemic, they had long been known for their sharp analytical skills and physical beauty, as well as for harboring a touch of magic -- the last was the result of an Nkruma ancestor mating with a wizard. Moreover, the Nkruma had the ability to take the shape of creatures other than those in the lupine family.

Pack Nkruma was revered and respected in the immortal community, but there were

fewer members than Pack Kyriakis by nearly half, and most resided just off the Gold Coast of Africa. Key to the Nkruma’s history and their small numbers was that they had been the first female-run group of shifters. It was said the women had broken off from a much larger faction that mistreated their females. The women had decreed one of their own as leader of this newly formed pack, and from then on, they were careful with whom they chose to mate.

The melding of the Kyriakis and Nkruma packs might have meant not only that the

threat of the deadly virus possibly need never worry either pack again, but it would have created an incredible alliance between strong males and females. In fact, it was because of his grandfather Spyros’s plans that Paris had met Zahara. His father, Spyros’s son, had been killed by a feral shifter years earlier when Paris was just a baby, leaving Paris as alpha-in-waiting; thus, Paris had been selected to join with the Nkruma alpha’s daughter. Naturally, Paris had chafed at the idea of mating with a female from that pack. A matriarchal society just wasn’t the way things should be among their kind... and Paris had made sure his opinions were known, loud and clear...

“Grandfather, we’re already a supreme pack. We don’t need to join with a group of

shifters run by women -- what kind of mate would I end up with? You’d be sacrificing me to someone who doesn’t understand her place, a woman who doesn’t know how to take the

lead from her alpha!”

Spyros had shaken his head. “You’re my grandson, and I love you very much, but your

youth is showing.”

“I’m two hundred years old! And I think I know my own mind.”

His grandfather had lifted one thick dark brow, his black eyes unwavering. “Is that so?

You certainly know your own cock, because that seems to be what’s making all your

decisions. You’ve fucked nearly all of the unmated women within our own pack, not to mention a significant amount of non-pack members, yet you’ve still not chosen anyone for your bond mate. You can’t say I haven’t been patient with you, Paris. Since you haven’t seen fit to choose a mate, I, as alpha, have made the decision for you.”

“The choice should belong to me! At least give me the opportunity to find someone to my liking. Besides, how old were you when you mated with Grandmother?”

“You know very well that I was three hundred, but we’re not talking about me. As for opportunities, you’ve had plenty. I won’t wait any longer while you sow more oats. If you were truly serious about finding a mate, you would have found one by now. We’re talking about the survival of our species. The fact that there’s something about both our pack and the Kyriakis 1: Kyriakis Curse

3

Nkruma pack that’s been resistant to the virus thus far means that any cubs from such a union as yours and Zahara’s should have a better-than-fighting chance if and when it sweeps through again.”

“Others have tried to create superbreeds, but it hasn’t made much difference.”

“The subject is not up for debate, Paris.”

“Grandfather--”

“We’ll speak no more of this! You will mate with Zahara!”

“I won’t do it,” Paris muttered with stubborn resistence.

Spyros lifted a brow. “That’s where you’re wrong. You will obey me, or else you’ll be cast out of this pack with not a cent to your name.”

“I don’t need your goddamn money!”

As quick as lightning, Spyros grabbed Paris by the collar. “You will do this. It’s time to stop thinking about yourself and put the fate of our pack before your own selfish whims. Is this what your father would have wanted of you? What about your poor mama? What do

you think it will do to her when you’re shunned and can no longer come back?” His

grandfather released him. “The choice is yours, but I warn you now to be wise, because whatever decision you make, there will be no turning back.”

Paris had known then that he had had to obey.

He shuddered now to think of how badly he’d behaved after that. He’d heard horror

stories about Pack Nkruma and its females and had gone whoring and drinking every night, dreading the moment when his mate would arrive. Sure, the women were touted to be great beauties with rich onyx skin, high cheekbones, and regal features, but who cared about looks when there were plenty of gorgeous women among his own pack? Beauty meant nothing if his potential mate was the harridan so many of the Nkruma women were purported to be.

How did their men deal with so many aggressive females?

When Zahara had finally arrived, he’d first been surprised by the fact that she was so young, barely twenty, a cub by shifter standards; she was also smaller than he’d expected, standing no more than five feet tall. Yet she had far surpassed anything he could have imagined.

Zahara was exquisite; the moment his eyes had locked with her large, soulful brown

ones, his breath had caught in his lungs. Her skin was like rich mahogany, and she had worn her hair pulled back into a long, thick braid that accentuated her proud cheekbones. Then Paris had focused on her sinful lips, and his cock had immediately jumped to attention --

he’d wanted to sample her lush mouth right away.

After the introductions had been made, Zahara had thrown him a shy smile, baring

small white teeth. His throat had gone dry, and he’d known he had to have her. At the large party that had been thrown to celebrate their betrothal, Paris had refused to leave her side. It was only when one of his cousins had teased him about how smitten he was that Paris had 4 Eve Vaughn

realized the danger he faced of falling for the lovely shifter. He’d thought that if Zahara had any clue about his feelings, she would try to hold it over his head. It was, after all, what he would expect of a woman from Pack Nkruma.

During the festivity, he’d grabbed her hand and led her to a room where they could

speak in private. It was then he had told her how things would be between the two of them, that he would do as he pleased and she would always have to do as he commanded. The

smile that she’d worn for most of the party had disappeared, but Paris hadn’t realized the enormity of his error then. All that had mattered to him was that she didn’t argue with him, which she hadn’t.

During the four months of their courtship, Paris had continued to carry on as he had before his betrothal, not taking Zahara’s feelings into consideration and ignoring his grandfather’s reprimands, although he knew Spyros didn’t issue idle threats. Zahara never said much to him, and he wondered how someone so quiet could come from the Nkruma

pack. Still, he was pleased to see no sign of the headstrong woman he’d initially feared she’d be, and he’d been happy about that -- at first. Unfortunately, it soon became clear to Paris that Zahara was afraid of him.

This had angered him, especially as he’d noticed her smiling at the rest of his pack members -- but never for him since the night they’d met. It had stung Paris that she’d seemed to open up to everyone except him. His ire had steadily grown. If there was anyone she should talk to, it was him, Paris had thought. If she was going to smile at anyone, that particular honor also belonged to him and him alone. Damn her eyes! She was his!

The night before their formal joining, the rest of the Nkruma pack members had

descended upon the Kyriakises’ private island. When Paris met Nana Nkruma and Nana’s sisters, they had displayed all the characteristics he’d originally feared Zahara would exhibit.

The women were by turns arrogant, rigid, sharp-tongued, and borderline rude. It had taken every ounce of will power for Paris to remain civil to them.

He’d also noticed how Zahara seemed nervous around her mother and aunts, although

she hid it well when she thought no one was looking. It was a wonder how someone like her could come from such people. It was then that he’d realized she truly was nothing like the rest of her pack, or even her siblings. From what he was able to gather, she took after her father, a man of few words. Paris began to think that perhaps things would work out

between them. But then he’d really made a mess of things.