Romans de Kati Williams

Daliah I woke up with the worst twist to my stomach that made it impossible to eat, or even keep the contents of much down. My vision blurred, my chest ached, and I could feel the sweat on my skin. It took all of my effort to stumble my way from the bedroom to Mrs. Lanzetta's front door, and when I got there, I couldn't knock. Instead, I fell forward into the wooden door, and she rushed out to help me inside. Several hours have passed of the same thing. Hovering over her toilet, she was holding my hair while I heaved over and over again. On my way into the bathroom, I caught the awful sight of myself in the mirror. My usual tan skin is pale and yellow, and I groaned dramatically when I saw my reflection. With a heavy breath, I lean backwards until I'm leaning against the wall behind me. The sound of Ben clearing his throat in the doorway drew my glance slowly towards him, praying his presence was all a figment of my imagination. The hope is futile, and he stares back at me while I

BenOne of our contacts in the city is having an issue following orders from us. Kyle and I were with the witch most of the night last night trying to help Jessie and her get the Hex off Daliah, and we weren't able to break it until nearly 3 in the morning. After 3 hours of sleep, we are headed into the city to Moonlight Entertainment."Benny! How are you? Tony talked to you, ya?" A man, Alfonzo, greets us at the door. Alfonzo is human and a part of the mafia business that Antonio had arranged through Moonlight Entertainment. He is a rare one among us. "Tony's been a bit busy, I'm sure you understand," I tell him, brushing the wrinkles from my suit when he pats my shoulder. "Sure, sure. That man never could sit still, eh?" He says with a laugh that neither Kyle nor I responds to. The bar is empty and closed from the previous night, because they don't open until about 6 pm. The chairs and barstools are upside down on the counters, the cage to the liquor is pulled down and locked, and

Daliah The moment my mind drifts to Ben, I am rewarded with the sound of his voice in my head. He has already found the witch, and when I asked what happened, he didn't answer. He told me to meet him in his office when they got back with her, and now, I am pacing inside his office. I feel him before I see him, a feeling I am not yet used to after being accepted into the pack during the ceremony. I might not have been made Luna or been able to complete the mating ceremony, but I am a part of the pack now. That means I know when my Alpha is coming, and for some reason, that thought sends warmth to more places than my stomach.The handle to the door turns, and I hold my breath in anticipation of what I might find. The first thing I see is Ben's head, peeking through the door to find me first, before pushing it open all the way. The sight of him calms my nerves slightly, but when I see the witch, they return. "My God, what happened to her?" I ask quickly as Kyle stumbles through the do

BenI hadn't left her side in two days, but the following morning, she insisted I get to work. There will be little to no preparation for our mating ceremony since we are doing it as wolves, which gives me more time to try to find this fucker, Carter. Jessie called me yesterday, stating she found where the witch who has the hex on Daliah is. She has given me the coordinates, and it is Kyle and my first stop today."Do you think she'll put up a good fight?" Kyle asks, shifting in the passenger seat with excitement while I drive. He hasn't had a lot of time to be his usual brute self lately, between Daliah and my wedding, and finding his mate. I can practically feel the excitement radiating from him the closer we get. "I don't know. We need to be ready for anything when we get there," I tell him, pulling my shoulders back at the thought. I am not quite as excited as Kyle for this, and anxiety is more the feeling rushing through me. I can't tell if it is from our proximity to the witc

Daliah At first, I don't move. The feeling of my blood seeping into my white dress is hardly present in my mind over the panic that engulfs me. Ben shouts beside me, the paster turns to run, and my world spins violently. When I blink, I find myself looking at the blue sky, feeling the sun against my skin. Breathing seems to be impossible, and every time I try to inhale, something causes me to stop. When I feel the warm blood pouring from my mouth, the confusion drains, and it is replaced with panic. That dagger was able to hurt us both, through a spell or something, and he had used it to his advantage. Carter has an agenda to kill us, and he is doing a great job at it. I am not on the ground long before Bethany and Ben are both in my blurring vision. I don't hear what they say, and I try not to cough the blood from my throat up. I know I am panicking, feeling my eyes wide, and it does not help Ben in the slightest. His hands run over my face over and over again while he speaks wor

DaliahMy stomach is in my throat, my legs are filled with cement, my feet feel completely numb, and worst of all, my dress is quite uncomfortable. Mrs. Lanzetta gives the signal for the music to start, and shortly after, the entire wooded area is ringing with the soft sound of the music we had chosen. "Ready?" Mrs. Lanzetta asks, her hand reaching out towards me. I shake my head quickly, but she only laughs and takes my hand anyway. She bends her arm for my hand to sit in the crook of, but my feet won't move forward. The bridesmaids and groomsmen take their pairs in front of us, carrying their little white and silver flowers before splitting at the end of the aisle to take their place. Just as the last pair begins walking forward, my stomach turns violently. Pulling away from Mrs. Lanzetta, I nearly fall forward when I dry heave into a bush. Suddenly, I am thankful my anxiety this morning kept me from eating. The sound of our cue rings out, but I can't get control of my stomach ye

Lucas"Two words, 15 letters. A type of building or home?" Her voice is soft, but it is stern, like she is frustrated with the paper in front of her. I put the cup down I had been drying, rounding the counter to look at the newspaper from over her shoulder. "Hmm. Oh, split-level house." I say, planting a kiss on her head and returning the dishes. She had made pancakes and bacon for breakfast, but she is still eating the pancake that she won't finish. "Oh, thanks," she says with a smile, putting the last word of the codeword puzzle into the page. There is a crash from the living room, and both of us look at each other before I put a plate down, and she jumps to her feet. We round the corner together, finding the culprit of the noise sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of a broken picture frame. "Clarissa, what did we say about touching the pictures on the wall?" Jane asks her sternly as I pick her up from under her arms. She lets out a laugh as I hoist her into the air, and I

JaneHe doesn't stop running until we reach the bedroom, and the nerves in my stomach seemlessly reappear. He uses his foot to close the door as his hands cup my face, pulling me into his kiss. I respond greedily, running my hands through his soft brown hair. His legs gently usher mine backwards until the back of them bumps into the side of his bed. When his lips pull away from mine, and he moves them down my neck, I take a sharp breath in. "Wait," I say, trying my best to stay focused on the topic in my head. "Yeah?" He says, lips still brushing against the skin of my neck. Despite my thoughts, I pull my head back to allow him better access. "What if," I start to say, but have to hold my breath when his hands find the zipper of my dress. He inches it down slowly, while continuing to tickle me with his kisses. "Yeah?" His voice is raspy as he pulls away from my neck, taking my lips with his again while his hands start to push my dress down from my shoulders. It slides down easily

JaneIt's Sharyl on the other side of the door, and I hold my breath to make sure she can't hear me. "You lost my bride?" Luke says with a smile on his face, but his voice sounds stern, selling the part to his mother on the other side of the door. I bite my lip to keep the laughter in that threatens in my voice. "No, she just. Are you sure she's not in there? Whose in there with you, Luke?" Damn wolf hearing. He rolls his eyes before pulling the door open to reveal a very pissed off mom. "Luke! Don't you know it's bad luck to see her? You were supposed to be downstairs ten minutes ago," her words trail off as she takes him by the arm, dragging him downstairs with her. He looks back at me one last time, throwing me a thumbs-up from over his shoulder. I lag behind them slowly until Rebecca meets me at the back door. "You had me worried, Jane." Her voice is light with excitement, but I can hardly manage a tight smile in her direction. "Sorry. It's just a lot," I say, taking in a de

JaneGood goddess all mighty, Shayrl and Rebecca have not let me rest a wink since we told them we were getting married. I think Rebecca enjoys doing it because it takes her mind off James, and Shayrl likes teaching me all there is about being a good Luna and Queen. Every time we have a conversation, I can tell she is hurting without her mate. Even though he cheated on her and has done unspeakable things, he is still her mate. I just can never be the person she talks to about it.We wanted the wedding to be soon, but I didn't think they would insist on putting it all together in the timespan of two weeks. I haven't hardly spent any time with Luke, but both Rebecca and Shayrl say it is for the best. They claim the distance will make the wedding day special. "Purple or blue?" "Yellow or pink?" "Chocolate or velvet?" "Bridesmades?" That was a whole day's worth of explanation. So many questions that I couldn't answer, because I have never had chocolate cake, or any cake for that mat

Jane Luke wasn't very thrilled at what I told him I needed to do, but here he is driving me to where we're headed. I keep the map in my lap, hovering the crystal above it every so often, ensuring that he is still in the same spot."Are you sure about this?" Luke asks for the thousandth time as we pull into the parking lot of the rough-looking motel. It is single-story, and the stench of cigarettes can be smelled from miles away from it. I turn my nose up in disgust as I unbuckle my seatbelt. "Yes, I am sure. What's he gonna do, kill me?" I ask with a sly grin directed at him. It is possible that he thinks I have become arrogant since coming back to life, but the truth is, I am just masking my fear with the use of jokes. It seems to be very effective, for now that is. "Don't forget the safe word, alright? I'll be there in an-" I cut him off with a sigh and a smile, adjusting the hood over my head as the rain falls heavily over us. "I got it, Luke," I tell him, watching the wolf com

LucasHer hand is cold in mine, and I can't stop the pain that runs through me. I should bury her, move on, but I just can't let go. Arch has knocked on the door a few times since we got back, trying to get me to come out and talk to the warriors, but I can't bring myself to do it. I miss her. So many things I wish I had done before this. I should have claimed her as mine instead of worrying about things out of our control. It's not her fault she couldn't have kids. I should have been the person she could talk to about it instead of the person pushing her away from it. I can't stand myself right now, and all I want to do is keep her hand in mine until I wake from this nightmare. Just as I am about to drift to sleep, knees on the floor and her hand in mine as she lies on the bed, I feel her. The twitch in her hand. I blink into the crook of my arm, freeing the welled tears inside of them. Maybe I was just imagining it. It's been almost three days since the attack. But it happens ag