New energy seeped into my bones last night. For the first time in eight months, I was edgy, alert and aware of my surroundings. The guards still paid me no attention, scattering my twice-daily bowl of support towards me as usual. The main difference was this time, I ate it. I felt as obvious as a glowworm, an aura of energy pulsing out of me.
If Luna Helena intended to talk to them there I would need to be very nimble to not be seen behind her as I ran for the exit.
Once past the guard's station, it is upstairs, into the main warren of corridors outlining the castle which I know inside out anyway. Being late at night only the Moon Goddesses goodwill is going to keep me safe from bumping into someone.
In my pitifully ragged prison clothes, I certainly won't be pas
It's been three days since Bella's escape and Alexander is furious. Every spare Beta, Omega and child, have been put on patrol, every town notified about her appearance and notoriety. Late at night, when I am dressed for bed in my silk robe, Alexander finally returns from another meeting. Fyre warns me to swallow down my resentment at being left behind all day again. He paced the plushly carpeted floor of our suite quickly, his face drawn and sullen. It reminds me of when he was banished and his mind was a mystery to me. When Bram persuaded Bella to murder Luna Grace he didn't just get rid of his mate, he pinned the blame on his brother so he could move up the line of succession. As he silently sits at his desk I feel the tension building between us.
I don't know why I'm dawdling on this Alpha Alexander job. Normally I get my payment and set off like a missile and my neck is searingly bad right now. The focus and tension of hunting these people down have been the only thing easing the pain for the past few years. Even sex fails to dispel to constant agony, despite testing the theory with every woman who flung herself at me. I'm deep in Five Lakes territory, still a few hundred miles from Silver City where this new target is based. I've asked around a few rough bars about this guy. You can't trust a slavishly loyal Beta to tell you the truth. It's the omegas, the servant types who confirm if the guy is a piece of shit or not. So far though it seems he's an angel. Framed by his brother, banished for three years then the instant he gets cle
It's not like I'm directly disobeying Luna Helena's orders. I'll be keeping an eye out for this scarred psycho but starting as far as possible from White Forest. Twenty minutes after starting the bike I had my confidence but found myself heading south as fast as possible without stopping except for fuel. It was like an out of body experience, the route, the direction, everything just seemed right so I went with it, chasing the horizon. My conscience continuously gnawed at me, if I was to find this man surely I needed to be stopping in villages, taverns and asking some questions. The newfound taste of freedom was too sweet to give up though. As soon as the sun rose my escape would be known and my grey eyes and short dark hair would be distinctive enough for people to claim a reward on my head. So I rode. The sun shone and the nights were mellow, warm enough to sleep outdoors after all day tearing through the countryside. With the supplies in my bag, I could av
"I swear this is the last time I'm rescuing you." That gruff, deep voice stirred me back into life. My eyes flitted open, gaining awareness of my surroundings. We were further up the track, where my bike had come to its sorry end. Thankfully the bag had stayed attached and sealed. I thanked my lucky stars that the forest floor wasn't covered in shiny gold coins. Given this guy's attitude, he could probably have just slit my throat on the roadside and taken the money. "You don't need to scowl at me, I saved your life," he snapped. "I'm not scowling," I snapped back. A few seconds later my conscience kicked in"...thank you for helping me. I'm just struggling to come around that's all." "Surely your shifter healing has taken care of the crash by now?" he quickly asked, staring intensely at me now as though he had found a new toy. Shit, I don't want him realising I've lost my world. To buy some thinking time I raised myself to
The sun had barely peeked over the horizon before my guide threw my leather coat at me and said, "get ready to leave." Maintaining my vow of silence I merely nodded and set about brushing my teeth, visiting the toilet as privately as possible and changing my clothes. Honestly, a few more days of this and the genuine issue of getting some washing done or buying new underwear was going to come up and I have no idea how to bring that up with my giant companion. Sullenly he waited for me at the bottom of the crag, rubbing his neck and tapping his feet. If he had a watch he would have been freaking out at it I'm sure. Tempting as it was to go slow and really wind him up I didn't trust him not to set off without me. Finally ready I hauled the heavy duffel bag down the hillside with me and dropped it at the feet in a cloud of dust. He wore the same long brown camouflage trousers, and a dark green t-shirt today. His huge shoulders and arms were barely contained by th
I got up from around the boulder and tried to ignore his stare. Placing the bag with the remaining food on my shoulders I started down the road. "Hey, you need me, remember?” I kept on walking, my feet loudly crunching the stones underneath whilst my heart pounded with indecision. “Answer me, or we part ways now." he called out. His voice was calm and measured and sent a shiver down my spine. Why did I care so much what this man, or anyone else thought of me, so weak? What if knowing I'm a horrendous criminal makes him change the deal, or leaves me alone penniless and vulnerable out in the wilderness? I do need him, and in fairness, he didn't offer me up the guards. I placed my hands on my templates and let out a sigh and began running my hands through my hair. "Can we walk and talk? I don't want to feel you watching me while I explain." He raised a curious eyebrow but nodded, picked up the other bags and caught me up down
As the miles trickled by, I passed the time by casting my mind back to the past for reassurance. I played out what Bram would have told this guy. A guy whose name I still didn't know. Bram would totally have told him to shove it and headed off on his own. He'd have flared up and got angry. He could be so wild when in a rage, not that I ever saw that before my crime. After Luna Grace his wolf was severely weakened but his temper wasn't. I often wondered if the love and adoration that Bram offered me was more from his wolf than him sometimes. Perhaps my Gitte and his wolf were the true love match I thought sadly, tripping up over stones in the road as my melancholy took over my concentration. "You do that a lot," he gruffly interrupted, and I realised he had been watching me. "What?" "Disappear into a trance. Thinking of better times?" "Something like that," I answered haltingly. My stomach clenched at the thought of having t
Ivan and Azalea are back. I knew it was coming, it’s been stressing me out but there is nothing I can do now. I just have to hope Azalea doesn’t calculate I'm having more visions. As far as possible without being obvious, I need to keep her out of my way. At least I finally have a reason to enjoy all those administrative meetings.I silently watched them arriving from out of the library window. They practically bounced out of their jeep, hand in hand as euphoric as a freshly mated couple should be. Ivan seemed a whole new man, a smile permanently plastered to his face which made my heart warm.Then I observed Azalea slyly checking upwards along the castle walls. She was trying to see if I was at my suite window looking out for her. I was watching, but I’d chosen another room on purpose.So she wasn’t completely focused on Ivan, Fyre growled. She is trying to spot you, she's got something on her mind for sure.