ログインMy heart was racing, I couldn't seem to breathe. I was staring up into black eyes tinged with silver around them. How was he so big? He hadn't looked that big while he was sitting on the edge of my property. I continued to stare, unable to move or breathe. He didn't move either. He just stared into my own blue eyes with a strange intensity, almost like he could probably understand everything that I would say to him.
As my heart hammered in my chest waiting for what could possibly be my own death, he suddenly sat down on his haunches and..... grinned at me!
What?!
I heard a thump... thump... thump behind him and in amazement realized that he was happily wagging his tail and thumping it on my porch. A shocked half laugh, half gasp came out of my mouth. Before I could think better of it, my right hand reached out slowly and began to stroke his thick, black fur. It was surprisingly soft and felt good in my hands. He began to hum and closed his huge eyes, leaning his massive head into the hand that was petting him. He looked like he was.... Happy to have me touch him. I slowly sat down on my porch swing, never taking my eyes off of his as he lowered himself slowly to lay down in front of me. He was still almost above me in size.
I laughed softly. I wasn't afraid. Not at all. In fact, I felt like a soothing baum had been poured over me in warm waves. I knew suddenly that it was from this wolf. I slowly lowered my hand and continued to stare into his eyes.
"You're quite friendly, aren't you?" I asked him softly.
In response, he just grinned even bigger. Then, something odd was happening in my head. I felt.... a second presence. My eyes widened with shock when I heard "I am Jackson." in a deep voice in my head.
I stared into his eyes again, seeing in them that what I was hearing was actually him. I could see his inteligence and awareness of me. I tentatively reached out with my mind. "I am Miranda."
I heard him laugh softly. "I know." He said. "I have been aware of who you are since before you came here."
I froze at that. "I'm sorry? I believe I would have remembered you." I told him. "I certainly have never seen a wolf where I used to live, let alone one as big as you." Why did talking this way to a humongous beast seem so natural? It was so strange.
"You would not have seen me like this." He said softly.
I frowned. "Like what?"
"I am not always a wolf, little artist. I can walk as a man."
My heart stuttered for a moment. "Are you... are you trying to tell me that you are a...." I couldn't say the word. It was too ridiculous. Werewolves didn't exist.
"Werewolf." He finished for me. "I'm sure it is, as you say, too ridiculous for you as you have never come across one of our kind. But, I assure you we are very real."
"You could hear that?" I asked wondering how he was able to hear what I didn't think I had said in my head. Could he hear all of the thoughts that cross my mind?
"No, not all. Only things that have real emotion behind it or if you directly speak to me."
"So you can hear humans when we are emotional or talk to you directly?"
"No. Just you."
"Why?"
His eyes looked deeper into mine like he was trying to make me understand something, but I just wasn't getting it. "I can hear my mate's thoughts." He said and watched me closely to see my reaction I assumed.
"What's that?"
"Let me show you my other form so we can speak properly and I can explain what a mate is." He stood quickly and darted off my porch and around the side of my house. I heard some commotion and some rustling of clothes (Clothes?!) and then a man walked around and up my porch. I jumped up in shock, even though he had told me what he was going to do.
The large man walking toward me made the air leave my lungs. Gorgeous was the only word for this man. His hair was as black as his wolf, his eyes the same silver rimmed, his face looked like it had been chisled to perfection. He wore blue jeans and nothing else. His chest was well muscled and he stood at least six foot tall. Miranda was a mere five foot one, it was almost funny the way they looked standing in front of each other. She ran her eyes over his arms and chest that was covered in many different tattoos. He pulled it off well.
Taking a deep breath, she sank back down to her porch swing. "Nice to meet you in person." She joked shakily. "Now kindly explain what this 'mate' thing is."
Miranda"Where's Stella? Where's Stella at?" I uncovered my eyes and looked around the grassy yard outside the packhouse for my daughter. Trevor and the other kids were helping her hide. Kind of cheating if you asked me, but she loved it and I loved to hear her giggling.I ran around the side of the packhouse but wasn't fast enough to catch the giggling kids. They darted behind some hedges on the edge of the lawn and I laughed and ran to find them. I could hear Trevor talking to Stella, "Don't let mommy find us!" He whispered urgently and I heard her answering giggle.lI snuck up to the hedge and jumped around to find them crouched behind out."RAH!" I yelled out playfully. They both screamed and laughed as I lunged at them dramatically pretending to try to catch them in my arms. Trevor picked Stella up and ran with her to another bush with the other kids running with them, all laughing hysterically.I saw Lyla walking towards us with her son Kyle in the distance and I waved to her.
MirandaIt was getting close now. I was getting so big it was getting hard to walk. Well, waddle would be a more acurate term. The baby kicked so hard now that at times I had to lift my shirt and check to make sure I didn't have any bruises.I was anxious to go on a run again as I hadn't been able to let Jasmine have control since before I found out I was pregnant. The pack doctor, a sweet older woman with kind brown eyes and gray hair had prohibitted me from shifting during my pregnancy. As she'd explained, it could be dangerous for she-wolves to do, but humans it could be deadly. Axel had pouted, but Jasmine, as a wolf who had lived many lives and had many children, knew that we could not risk it for a few moments of blissful freedom. We could wait.And I was good with that. I loved being pregnant. I loved having the baby kick me and all the changes. Even the morning sickness, which was horrible in the beginning. Jackson was sweet, staying by my side the entire time and holding my h
LylaTravis and I had left the party a little early. I had made sure to tell Miranda how happy I was for her, but I wasn't feeling well and I knew it was time to head home. Travis, as always, knew when I was not feeling right and was immediately by my side before I could even tell him how I was feeling. As soon as we had gotten out of the pack house he had scooped me up into his arms and headed for our house on the other side of town.He placed me gently on our bed and smoothed my hair back. "Are you feeling any better?" He asked me gently.I smiled at him. "Not really, but I'll be ok. Just need to rest for a bit.""Can I get you anything?"I shook my head. "Just lay here with me.""Gladly." He kicked his shoes off and got on the bed with me, wrapping me tightly in his arms. "Do you think you have a cold?"I chuckled softly, surprised he hadn't noticed yet. "No, sweetie. I don't have a cold."He was silent for a moment while his brain was running through all the human ailments that he
JacksonMiranda was nearly five months along and it was getting harder to hide from the pack. We knew most people suspected, but we hadn't formally announced it yet. It was time, even if we wanted to just keep our private little family private. They were our family too and they needed to know. Tonight was that night. We had decided to throw a party at the packhouse and make the announcement here. Miranda had been busy with the kids decorating the place with streamers and helping Anna put food out and move furniture around to accomodate everyone. From the looks of it, they were having the time of their lives as they giggled and ran around blowing up balloons and sneaking into the finger foods Anna was arranging on the table. She would playfully slap at their hands and pretend to be angry only to laugh with them when they succeeded in snagging a piece of food and shoving it dramatically into their mouths.They had noticed that Miranda had been gaining weight, but none of the children c
MirandaIt had been a few months since the confrontation with my mother. I thought I would feel guilt over threatening her, but I felt nothing but relief and a sense of calm. Jasmine had been right. I had needed to go there and confront her because the last of my low self esteem vanished as soon as I did. I knew I could do anything now and I feared nothing but losing the people I loved and I would fight to the death for them.The children were sleeping upstairs while Jackson and I were enjoying quiet time, just the two of us. We had lived under the threat of violence and fear for so long that now it was time to start enjoying the calm and quiet that all of our fighting and struggling finally gave us. We sat on the couch in the family room under a blanket cuddled together. The television was off. The house was quiet. We didn't speak. We didn't have to.Jasmine and Axel were quietly conversing about their next run. I wasn't really paying attention until I heard something that caught me
MirandaMy stomach was in knots as I sat in the back of the black suv. Jackson held my hand between us and it was helping a little, but knowing I was heading to my parents house, the people who had allowed John to hurt me so badly for so long just so they could live a life with no worries, had me tense. I knew it would be a confrontation. I think Jackson thought there was still hope for reconciliation and he had even asked me if I had wanted him to pay their bills so I could keep them in my life. I had said an emphatic no. I didn't want to see these people after today. Their betrayal was simply too great for me to just let them back into my life. They lost that priveledge as far as I was concerned.We pulled up to my parents house and I stared at the familiar blue house with white trim and white picket fence with disgust. They couldn't have been too badly off since both the cars in their driveway were brand new.Jackson squeezed my hand as Travis got out to open my door. I slid out an







