No one attempts to stop me as I sprint into the packhouse at top speed, following the pull of my bond to Mei. I’m weaving around people, twisting, and turning down corridors and up numerous stairs; the pull getting stronger the further I go. Soon Mei’s sweet, fruity yet floral, plum blossom scent is invading my senses in a heady caress, and I know I’m close. I stop in front of a large door and every cell in my body is screaming that Mei is on the other side of the door. Axel can’t contain himself, and neither can I, but with great effort, I will myself to calm down. I can feel and scent her just on the other side, I can hear her breathing and her heartbeat picking up speed, and I have to tap down my instinct to slam the door open and take her in my arms. I take in a long deep breath and gently knock on the door. I’ve never been so nervous in my whole entire life. “Mei, it’s Chris, please let me in.” My voice is so shaky it’s bordering on a stutter. I hear her heart kick up a gear, b
He’s here. My Chris is finally with me and it’s not a dream. When I felt his vibration I thought maybe I’d finally gone insane. That it had all become too much, and I had lost all shred of my sanity. But then his dragon beard candy scent wafted under the door, and I knew I wasn’t crazy. Every word he uttered pierced my soul. I don’t know if souls are living entities, but if they are, then it felt as though mine was suffocating. I was afraid he’d be disgusted by me; that he wouldn’t want me. I feared what feeling our bond would do to him, but all my fear was doing was hurting him, and I never meant to do that. I thought I was protecting him from the ugliness around me, but I was wrong. From the moment I met Chris, he’s been this warm, guiding light. It kept the darkness at bay and kept me safe from the cold. He’s pure-hearted, with an endless capacity for love and patience and I can’t help but feel like the darkness around me was tainting him. I didn’t want him to carry that burden;
Chris and I walk hand and hand to the ‘throne room’, and I can feel my armpits sweating with each step I take. I want to see my friends, but I’m also extremely nervous. “I’m right here the whole time. If it gets too much ju–” “Just let you know and we’re out of there,” I say cheekily. “I remember the drill,” I smile up at him. He gives me a loving smile in return and kisses the back of my hand sending electricity up my arm. “If I’m being too much, tell me.” I shake my head, “No. This is exactly what I need. Thank you,” I say earnestly as I squeeze his large hand between both my small ones. 'I tried to tell him we weren’t being too much,' says Axel in my mind. 'You said absolutely no such thing. You were telling me to turn around and take her back for more snuggling, you big furry liar,' Chris chastises Axel. 'Tattletale,' Axel grumbles, and after what feels like years, I laugh. Hearing their silly bickering has me giggling again like it always used to and immediately I feel the
Setia sure has a set of ovaries on her. I say ‘ovaries’ and not ‘balls’ because, let’s face it, balls are fragile as fuck. Flick ‘em wrong and you can bring a man to his knees, even if that man is a mutolupus. We supernatural beings were blessed with many strengths, but super balls weren’t one of them. I definitely cussed too much in front of Mei, which is something I try to avoid doing, but between the Tian Pack’s Alpha wanting to go to war half-cocked, using Mei’s trauma as an excuse for his shit decisions and then Setia wanting alone time with my animai after what happened last time, let’s just say it took all my will power not to start throwing punches. Resorting to violence has never been my way, but when it comes to Mei I become a livewire that everyone needs to stay clear of. I was grateful she let me shift so Axel and I could stand guard. I was so proud of the way she spoke up to Setia. Mei usually speaks so timidly, never wanting to speak out of turn, always afraid of sayin
There’s only one other door in here, and I really hope it’s a bathroom. I walk over to the door to the right, peek my head in and to my relief, it’s a bathroom. It’s small with brown wood lining the walls and floor. It looks more like a sauna. Even the tub is above ground with brown wood panelling around it. But who really cares? A bath is a bath. I get to work running the water. I find some shampoo, conditioner and body wash and line them up along the edge of the tub. I take a look around as the tub fills up and grab some towels, also placing them on the edge of the tub, and then I manage to find a bathrobe, but it’s not the robe I’m after. I grab the tie from around the robe and yank it off. This is going to have to do. Once the tub is filled enough, I turn off the tap. Here goes nothing. I take the tie from the robe and tie it tight around my eyes, instantly plunging myself into darkness. Time to let my other senses do the work for me. This must be what life is like for Yildiz, c
I’ve said it maybe a million times, and I’ll say it a million times more. Chris is the greatest thing to ever happen to me and his kisses are full of healing magic, more than my own healing powers. The things he is willing to do for me go far and beyond anything you could expect from someone, and he never asks for anything in return. Being this close to him gives me the strength I need to push forward. The bond between animais is an amazing thing and I think it’s only now that I’m truly understanding it. I feel like I’m hanging on the edge of a cliff, holding on by my fingertips with no way of pulling myself up; just waiting until my fingers give out and I plummet. But then there’s Chris right there reaching his hand out to me. No matter how many times I slip or fall he will always be there to pull me back up. When I begin to panic or feel the walls closing in on me, there he is. It’s not that he takes away the pain or the trauma, but our bond takes the edge off. It gives me a chanc
The rest of dinner was rather mixed. Things calmed down and turned more civil and people were getting along, but then we learned that ranked members and their animais don’t eat with the rest of the pack and on top of that, Omegas eat separately from the pack as well. Chris and Vitali looked disgusted and were only keeping their opinions to themselves because Amelia had instructed them to do so. She looked calm as always, but I know her, so I know she would have been appalled to learn how they segregate people here. After dinner, we all returned to our rooms, and Chris and I got into bed for some much-needed sleep. I was drifting off in seconds thanks to being snuggled up in his warm embrace, but unlike the nap I took with him earlier, the moment I closed my eyes the nightmares started. Every traumatic moment in my life was being played out but not as they really happened. First, it was watching my mother be killed, but instead of Alpha Shen, it was Zixin plunging an iron dagger in he
“Oshmin…” I breathe in disbelief. I don’t know how I know it, but every cell in my body is telling me that the man in front of me is… the God Oshmin, the one who created my kind. “I haven’t heard that name in a long time,” he says wistfully. “Feels strange to hear it again.” He casually walks over to a stone bench and sits down on it while I blink as if my brain has shut down because I actually think it has. I’m crazy. I’ve officially snapped. I’m now hallucinating Gods, though my hallucinations are very creative, I’ll give myself that. “You’re not hallucinating. I’m very real and very here,” he says with a gentle smile. Did he just read my mind? “Forgive me, but you don’t look like a God,” I say suspiciously. He silently chuckles, “Met many have you?” He smirks. I cover my cheeks as they start to burn. He’s right, I’ve never met a God, how would I even know what one is supposed to look like? I notice him watching me with a small smile. “If it helps, we have an alternate form, we