Novels by Ann michael

Everybody has been acting really odd at the restaurant for the last couple of weeks.It is almost like they are all keeping a secret from me.Something they do not want me to find out about, but also something they are barely managing to keep hidden.Raven has been just as bad as the rest of them.Somehow, she has managed to keep whatever this secret is from me at work and at home. I was positive that I would be able to get her to cave eventually. Especially once we were alone.So far, I have been completely unsuccessful.I have to admit, I may have been wrong when I said that Raven cannot keep a secret.Very wrong."Raven, I do not understand why you are keeping this secret from me," I tell her as she drives."I still have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.""Really?"I narrow my eyes at her."Because I am fairly certain that if you keep lying to me, you are going to end up sick."She bursts out laughing."Wow. Are you threatening me now? That is very low of you.""I am n

Back at the PackLyall's POV"It's been weeks."I finally collapse into one of the chairs in the brainstorming room.I don't just sit down.I sprawl.My head falls back against the chair, my arms hanging over both armrests while my legs stretch as far out in front of me as they'll go.I'm done.Completely and utterly done.Mel watches me for several seconds."You are the picture of giving up.""I am not giving up."I stare at the ceiling."I'm temporarily accepting that this is impossible.""That's the same thing.""No, it isn't.""It really is."I sigh."Whatever."Mel shakes his head."We are not giving up.""That's easy for you to say.""We're going to keep looking.""We've tried everything.""Then we'll try something else.""Like what?"Mel opens his mouth.Then closes it.I give him a pointed look."Exactly.""We'll think of something.""When?""Eventually.""That's not very reassuring.""You're not exactly being easy to reassure."I close my eyes.I know he's right.But what am

Going back to work after my first doctor's appointment feels almost surreal.I move through the restaurant in a daze, taking orders, carrying plates, refilling drinks.Everything feels...Different.The restaurant is the same.The customers are the same.The tables are the same.But I am not.The only thing that feels completely real anymore is the tiny girl growing inside me.My daughter.I keep thinking the words over and over.My daughter.I make it halfway through my shift without anyone asking if I'm okay.Which is impressive, considering I nearly drop a glass.Then I take a plate to the wrong table.Then I stand in the middle of the dining room for several seconds trying to remember why I walked there in the first place.Somehow, nobody says anything.I start to think I've gotten away with it.Then..."Rowan?"I turn.Mark is standing near the kitchen entrance."Can you come back to my office for a minute?"My stomach drops.Well...I almost got away with it.I follow him toward

A girl.I'm going to have a little girl.The thought is exciting.And terrifying."So..."Raven glances over at me as we drive home."Are you okay?"I turn toward her."Why wouldn't I be?""You haven't said much since we left the doctor's office."I stare out the window."I'm just thinking.""About?"I turn back toward her."I'm going to have to get used to pink and bows, aren't I?"Raven stares at me for a second.Then she bursts out laughing.I wasn't trying to be funny.But within seconds, I'm laughing too.Not the quiet kind of laughter.The kind that takes over your entire body.Soon, we're both crying and struggling to breathe."Yes," Raven finally manages to say. "You might have to get used to pink and girly things."I groan dramatically."Just promise me something.""What's that?""If she ever decides to participate in that human sport they call cheerleading, you have to bring me back when I inevitably die of a heart attack."Raven looks at me."Wow.""What?""Drama much?"I r

The doctor leaves the exam room to go and grab all of the equipment that we will need for the ultrasound. She left me with strict instructions to drink as much water as I can before she comes back. She says that it will help the picture turn out better."So, how excited are you?" Raven asks me."More than I have ever been. I am also completely terrified. It will only be a couple more weeks and I will be at my halfway point. What then?" I ask her."Well, by then you are probaby going to double in size. That means that we will definitely need to go shopping again." She says with a sly smile.I let out a small laugh at that. She would be thinking of shopping at a time like this. What else would she be thinking of? "Do you think that we will be able to tell if it is a boy or a girl today?" I ask nervously."Are you really ready to know?" She asks me with a brow raised.Learning how far through my pregnancy I am really did throw me off. I am all of a sudden wanting to rush to do all of th

"So," the doctor says with a warm smile after the nurse finishes checking my vitals, "what do you already know about werewolf pregnancies?"I glance down at the notebook resting in my lap."I've done a little reading," I admit. "I know pups grow faster than human or witch babies."I smile sheepishly."And... I'm fairly certain my obsession with steak has something to do with the baby."The doctor laughs."I'd say that's a safe assumption."She folds her hands on top of my chart."Werewolves have always existed somewhere between civilization and the wild. Even after thousands of years, our instincts are still deeply rooted in what kept our ancestors alive."She smiles knowingly."During pregnancy, those instincts become even stronger.""So I'm not just imagining it?""Oh, not at all."She chuckles."Most pregnant wolves crave red meat. Rare red meat."I nod vigorously."I thought I was losing my mind.""No.""The pup is demanding nutrients."She leans back comfortably."We believe cook

"Wait, you can do that?" Frank asks shocked. "Yes, of course I can. It is not something that I have done often, actually only one other time but it is an option. It is one that terrifies her." I admit. "Who did you do it to before?" Rand asks me. "I did it to Morden. There was no other way to stop her from coming after my pack or my family." I answer simply. "Your grandmother said that Simonetta was behind that the entire time. That only makes it right that she gets the same punishment if not worse than what Morden received." Rand points out. I had not thought of it that way but it is true. Still, we need to have a system set up for something like this. Otherwise, there will always be somebody that takes advantage of the power and that is not something that I can condone. "That is very true. I had not thought of that but this is not a decision to be made lightly. There might be longer reaching consequences that even I am not aware of by using this ability. Still, I see no other o

It did not take long at all for the Hybrid Council to arrive. They all file in looking a little shocked to see Simonetta there, unable to use her magic as she floats slightly in the air. Quickly, they find their seats. Then, both Rand and Frank walk in as well. I had not thought of inviting them but I am glad that Dante did. With how long she terrorized their pack it is only fitting that they are here for this as well.I smile at them all as they whisper among themselves for a few moments. This is a bit of a shock for those that were not here to see Simonetta arrive. For Frank and Rand, they finally see their enemy tied up and floating in the air. They are not aware that I can take away her ability to use magic so this is going to be a shock to them when the meeting starts. "I take it you called us all here for a reason?" Elle says once everyone starts to calm down."Yes, I did. As everybody here knows, Simonetta has caused quite a few problems for us. She has terrorized werewolves,

Simonetta rushes towards me using wind to guide her speed. It is not enough to throw me off guard though and I shove a wall of dirt up in front of me. She almost crashes into it before she is able to skid to a stop at the last second. If she had prepared then she might have been able to use the air that was helping her speed up to me to jump over the wall but instead, she is used to using her other powers for combat and did not make the decision in time.As soon as she begins to stop, I tear down the wall and shift into werewolf form quickly to land on top of her with my teeth to her neck. Out of all of the forms that I could have turned into this was the only one that registered as an option. I would like for her to see the one thing that she thinks is beneath her be the thing that brings her down. For once, she surprises me when she throws me off of her with some air. I quickly flip over and land on my paws. I shift back and face her again. She is breathing hard and I find myself a

As soon as my illsuion drops I see Simonetta's face blanche. Chelsea drops to the ground and has it swallow her up as she falls through it to meet the others. I send her a brief thank you as she helps to keep them all safe from whatever back up plan Simonetta could have.She sends me a sad farewell. Apparently she is worried about whether or not I am going to make it out of this one. I might not have used much magic recently but I guarantee that there is no way I will let her get away with this threat. Today, she is going to go down and she is not going to be a threat to anybody with werewolf blood ever again."Wait, you had the baby? No! You can't have had it already!" She screams in rage."Actually, I can. There was nothing stopping me from having it. There is also nothing in the way of me putting a stop to you and your bullying once and for all" I say. She takes a few steps back as she steels herself for what we bothk now is going to happen next. It is a shame that the rest of the

"Why would she ever want to go with you?" I ask Simonetta in shock."I am sure that she can see the benefits when she realizes that if she doesn't then she will never get to meet the bundle of joy in your stomach. I will personally make sure that you are unable to deliever them. After all, the more powerful the babes the less the mother can use magic so I am sure that you are not able to defend yourself very well." Simonetta says triumphantly.I try my best to look worried. I really do. I find that it is difficult to be worried about her though. She has never really had a lot of sway over me. Even when I first realized how much stronger than her I am I had found it difficult to be scared of her. "You really think that I am afraid of you? Even without being able to use my powers you do not worry me. I have plenty of other witches that are able to come and help me." I say."Not before something bad happens to you. Chelsea, I would hate to see for anything bad to happen to Laina. I just

Each team splits up and gets ready to make their way through the obstacle course. They are all going to have to take turns trying to make it through safely. Each team has a designated amount of time before they get elminated. The one that makes it through the fastest and with the least amount of mistakes, will be the ones to win the competition. The course is very similar to the one that we did with the entire pack when we first started training. The one that really got the women moving faster as they fought to make good time through the course to beat the men. This one is just a little more geared towards children and not fully grown adults.Some of the obstacles are smaller to better accomodate their size, some things are closer together and they have even added some new obstacles that would have been difficult for the adults. There are also some obstacles that are going to require teamwork to make it through. If they do not work together then they have no hope of making it to the

After we finally leave the dining room we head back up to his room to begin packing our things to leave first thing in the morning. He explains to me that there are a few items I am able to leave behind as the door is kept locked when he is not here. He pays Mary quite a fee to keep the room open for him since he has had to leave in a hurry a few times while leaving items behind. She has given him his own key to lock the door with when he leaves keeping others out.As he explains this I am surprised to remember that the last time that he left he kept the bedroom open for me to use. He did not bother taking all of his personal effects out but rather left them behind and kept the door unlocked for me to have use of his room while he was away. This shows far more trust than I would ever expect a Prince to give a thief like myself."Are we making any other stops on our way into the city tomorrow?" I ask to stop my mind from spinning around all of the things he has been telling me today."

For the rest of the day I zone out most of what is going on around me as I try to find a way out of this meeting with the King. There is no way that I can bring myself to meet him. I value my life far too much to put it in danger like that. As we finish packing up and preparing to leave the following morning I find myself with little to share as I spend all of my time focusing on trying to find a way out. "Sloan? Have you heard anything that I have said lately? I am used to women being quiet around me but not having them zoning out while I speak." He says finally capturing my attention. I flick my eyes back to him and note the slight concern written on his face. He might be joking towards me but something about the way that I am acting is quite definitely concerning him. Maybe I should have made more of an effort to pay attention to him. "I'm sorry. I have a lot on my mind. Much more than the other women that happily hang on your every word." I say with a bit more venom than intende

The shock over what had just happened is hard to shake. My face is as bright of a red color as it has ever been. Probably more so if I remember correctly. I never would have expected him to kiss me on the cheek in front of all of these people. The fact that he did it directly after I had slapped him made it all the more shocking.When I do not respond for a while he seems to get more worried. At first he was smirking as he watched me blundering for something to snarky to say back to him. When I was unable to think of anything, I just sat there for a while and stared at him. I wanted to lower my eyes but I would be damned if I let him or any of the other patrons think of me as demure."Are you okay? I did not offend you at all did I? That was not my intention I just wanted to demonstrate how to distract those around you when you are in my position." He stammers when I make no move to reply. "It is a little interesting watching you flounder for a comeback though. If I had known that it

As soon as we finish our food some of his Knights sit down to join us. They are all staring at me curiously as we are sitting rather close together. After the way he kept me on his lap the other day I am a little surprised by their antics. Maybe, they are more surprised at the fact that I am still around than the fact that I am getting closer to the Prince."Your Highness, we made sure to follow him out of town. I have one other person tailing him to make sure that he does not circle back." One of the Knights says addressing the Prince."Good, I do not want to have to have him killed before I am able to save Hunt. That would really put a damper in my plans." He says turning to look at me.I warm a little inside as I realize that he really is planning to help me rescue Hunt. So far, I would not have been surprised if he had just used that to get closer to me. Knowing that he actually intends to help has me feeling things that I did not expect. There might be a bit more to him after all

Did he really just ask me to marry him? Hypothetically, of course, but still. He did just mention that word. I am not ready to even come close to thinking about something like this. There is no way that he would ever accept me either. It takes me a few moments to realize that I am staring at him with my mouth hanging slightly open. I have not replied to his 'proposal' at all. I guess that in the least I could just agree to think about it. Even if I have no real intention of entertaining the idea of marrying him by any means. Still, if it is going to keep me on his good side for now then I could at least pretend to think about it."Are you okay? I understand if this is rather sudden but I really expected that you would have expected it a little more after everything I have told you." He says sounding worried."It is rather sudden. I know that you have brought up the idea of us being meant for each other and all, but I just never really considered that you would ask something like this

When we arrive back at the Inn I am amazed to see that the clothing from the first store is already being delivered. It was lucky that she had that much stock that fit me or else we would not have seen any of it for weeks. Still, the fact that it is already here shows just how much he had to spend to get them to move it this fast. Most likely cost him what I would consider to be a small fortune.He immediately makes his way to his usual table while everyone stares at the fact that we both walked in together. Some of the ladies are giving me dirty looks as he places his hand on my back to steer me towards his table. I give them back an answering glare as they all give me looks that could maim.As soon as we sit down, Mary brings us out some water for us to drink before rushing back to grab us some lunch. As opposed to all of the dirty looks that the other ladies have given me, she gives me a hesitant smile as if she is judging my mood and reaction to all of the attention. I give her a