Misty was working on my hair while I tried my hardest to keep my eyes open.The wounds on my back hurt terribly, shifting last night had torn many of them open again, which nearly caused Rosie to have a heart attack when she cleaned me up once I was finally allowed back inside again. Of course, no one knew I could shift yet, so I told her it happened when I tripped and fell, several times.“Luna, please, with that silver powder infecting her cuts, they won’t heal properly. Until her wolf awakens, her healing is barely faster than a human. I don’t know if it’s due to her illness, her malnutrition, or the fact that she hasn’t had a full nights rest in only the Goddess knows how long, but she’s healing even slower than other Werewolves her age. Let me take her to the clinic for emergency treatment, otherwise she might…”She didn’t finish her sentence, but she didn’t have too. We all knew what she was going to say. I couldn’t talk, otherwise I would’ve told her I was alright. My brain was
Luna Belle“Remember dear,” Belle mind-linked her daughter. “Eyes and ears open, and be sure to keep calm. Do not let them get a rise out of you. Something doesn’t feel right.”“What do you sense,” Maize linked back, glancing over at her with a worried expression. Maize was nearly fully grown and was already nearly as tall as Belle, and truly a gem in her mother’s eyes.Belle tried to gather her thoughts, to figure out the best way to put descriptions to the feelings she was sensing from behind the double doors they were now approaching. Instead of answering, however, she turned to meet her daughter’s gaze, putting on her game face.Maize took a deep breath and did the same, a perfect smile forming on her lips.The doors were opened by a pair of guards, and nearly twenty sets of eyes turned to take them in. Predatory smiles, fierce stares, and curious glances. With the Luna’s from all twelve Packs in the Alpha Lord’s territory, thirteen if you included Luna Lannie herself, along with
“That was about eight years ago now,” Lannie began, pausing to sip her tea. “And most of us here were either Luna’s at the time, or daughters of ranked wolves, so we attended all the major celebrations held at the Thunder Pack. Sadly, none of us were present for her sixth birthday, we don’t even know what day it falls on, but we heard about it after.”Lannie paused to share a round of laughter with the other Luna’s before continuing. “Apparently, she was marked by the Goddess, but instead of a blessing, she was given a curse mark. The same day, their Luna at the time was suddenly hit with a terrible illness. Later that night, when the Pack doctors went in to check on the Luna, they found Ayla sitting on her bed. No one ever confirmed what exactly happened, but we do know two things for certain.”“First, the Luna was found dead. And secondly, Ayla was blamed for it. She was kicked out of her home, disowned by her family, and was forced to become a slave for the Pack. She spent her nigh
“Please help me, mommy,” I cried after the cell doors slammed shut.“You are no daughter of mine, monster,” my mother said, hatred in her eyes. Up until now, I’d been too scared to cry, but the moment I saw her turn her back and walk away, the dam finally burst. Sinking down to the dirty floor, I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my face in them. I wanted this nightmare to end, I wanted to wake up from this terrible dream.I wanted my mommy and daddy to come and save me.It all started the day before when I turned six. Strange marks appeared on my body after blowing out my candles and something didn’t feel right. I felt like I was getting a tummy ache, and my head hurt really bad, so mommy and daddy took me to the Pack doctor.We were there all day, and by the time the sun went down, I was so tired that I fell asleep the moment mommy tucked me into the bed at the hospital. She left with daddy and promised to return in the morning, which made me really happy. However, when I woke
Misty made a gesture and a moment later I felt a fist hit me in the stomach, sending me to my knees.“Talk back like that again, Cutter,” my older sister Misty said in her sweetest tone. “And I’ll hit you again.”Being the daughter of the Alpha Lord, the strongest Alpha in our territory, Misty could do no wrong and was untouchable. Even the teachers here at school knew better than to say anything against her. Being two years older than me at sixteen, she’s had two years to weed out any facility who didn’t learn to look the other way.Struggling back to my feet, the weight from carrying all of her and her three friend’s bags making it more difficult, I worked to steady by breathing again. All I did was answer her question about why it was so difficult to get a hold of her favorite color of nail polish. Her perfectly manicured nails, freshly touched up just this morning before school started, was the reason I knew she wouldn’t be the one to personally hit me.“I was just explaining, ma’a
My morning classes passed in a horrifying blur.The snickering and laughter from my classmates was bad enough, but it was the teachers who made everything worse. Two of them made me stand in the corner of the room, saying I wasn’t allowed to sit at my desk until I was ready to grow up. And another one gave me detention when I told her I couldn’t go get cleaned up when she ordered me to do so.It was mortifying.Only Mr. Davidson didn’t make a big deal out of it. Instead of drawing attention to my problem, which everyone in the school had been aware of at that point since it was the last period before lunch, he simply placed a towel down on my chair before jumping right into his lecture.I was more grateful to him than I could ever show. Since he taught Advanced Sciences, most of the students in class were in my siblings years, which meant they would all go tattling to them if it looked like Mr. Davidson and I had a closer than average relationship. When he asked me to stay after to tal
This was only the third week of term and already I despised lunch.The lunchroom was already one of the most awkward and terrifying parts of high school, but I envied those whose only problems were where to sit, or who to sit with.I didn’t have either of those problems.“Did you get all that, Cutter,” Misty glared, looking up at me through her lash extensions.“Yes, ma’am,” I replied in my zombie tone. The four of them just finished listing off what they wanted for lunch, and now it was my job to go and fetch everything. I waited for her to dismiss me with an annoyed flick of her wrist before turning and heading for the kitchen.After all the excitement this morning, the limp in my right leg started to act up again as I began to fill the first tray. I spent every weekend working in Elder Alpha Roland’s Manor, and rarely did I ever escape without some kind of injury. He was the Alpha who stepped up and unified the other Packs in the territory when the Thunder Pack was massacred by the
His dark cloths molded his body perfectly, emphasizing his lean muscles and wavey light brown hair. His arms were crossed, and though he didn’t seem to be overly muscled like some of our strongest warriors, he was far from helpless. Quite the opposite, in fact, and I could just tell that he knew how to handle himself. His strength wasn’t obvious, like our warriors. No, his was subtle, and so much more deadly. I had no doubts that he could take on, and defeat, every single person in the lunchroom.But it was his eyes that really made my body flush. Dark brown, full of both mischief and cunning, I knew I could lose myself in them forever if given the chance. And it was then that I realized what was wrong, that there was only one reason why I was able to see into his eyes so clearly.Because he was looking right at me.Panicking, I broke eye contact and hide behind Misty, who was just as enthralled as I had been a moment earlier. It made me sick, realizing that we had that moment in commo
“Please help me, mommy,” I cried after the cell doors slammed shut.“You are no daughter of mine, monster,” my mother said, hatred in her eyes. Up until now, I’d been too scared to cry, but the moment I saw her turn her back and walk away, the dam finally burst. Sinking down to the dirty floor, I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my face in them. I wanted this nightmare to end, I wanted to wake up from this terrible dream.I wanted my mommy and daddy to come and save me.It all started the day before when I turned six. Strange marks appeared on my body after blowing out my candles and something didn’t feel right. I felt like I was getting a tummy ache, and my head hurt really bad, so mommy and daddy took me to the Pack doctor.We were there all day, and by the time the sun went down, I was so tired that I fell asleep the moment mommy tucked me into the bed at the hospital. She left with daddy and promised to return in the morning, which made me really happy. However, when I woke
“That was about eight years ago now,” Lannie began, pausing to sip her tea. “And most of us here were either Luna’s at the time, or daughters of ranked wolves, so we attended all the major celebrations held at the Thunder Pack. Sadly, none of us were present for her sixth birthday, we don’t even know what day it falls on, but we heard about it after.”Lannie paused to share a round of laughter with the other Luna’s before continuing. “Apparently, she was marked by the Goddess, but instead of a blessing, she was given a curse mark. The same day, their Luna at the time was suddenly hit with a terrible illness. Later that night, when the Pack doctors went in to check on the Luna, they found Ayla sitting on her bed. No one ever confirmed what exactly happened, but we do know two things for certain.”“First, the Luna was found dead. And secondly, Ayla was blamed for it. She was kicked out of her home, disowned by her family, and was forced to become a slave for the Pack. She spent her nigh
Luna Belle“Remember dear,” Belle mind-linked her daughter. “Eyes and ears open, and be sure to keep calm. Do not let them get a rise out of you. Something doesn’t feel right.”“What do you sense,” Maize linked back, glancing over at her with a worried expression. Maize was nearly fully grown and was already nearly as tall as Belle, and truly a gem in her mother’s eyes.Belle tried to gather her thoughts, to figure out the best way to put descriptions to the feelings she was sensing from behind the double doors they were now approaching. Instead of answering, however, she turned to meet her daughter’s gaze, putting on her game face.Maize took a deep breath and did the same, a perfect smile forming on her lips.The doors were opened by a pair of guards, and nearly twenty sets of eyes turned to take them in. Predatory smiles, fierce stares, and curious glances. With the Luna’s from all twelve Packs in the Alpha Lord’s territory, thirteen if you included Luna Lannie herself, along with
Misty was working on my hair while I tried my hardest to keep my eyes open.The wounds on my back hurt terribly, shifting last night had torn many of them open again, which nearly caused Rosie to have a heart attack when she cleaned me up once I was finally allowed back inside again. Of course, no one knew I could shift yet, so I told her it happened when I tripped and fell, several times.“Luna, please, with that silver powder infecting her cuts, they won’t heal properly. Until her wolf awakens, her healing is barely faster than a human. I don’t know if it’s due to her illness, her malnutrition, or the fact that she hasn’t had a full nights rest in only the Goddess knows how long, but she’s healing even slower than other Werewolves her age. Let me take her to the clinic for emergency treatment, otherwise she might…”She didn’t finish her sentence, but she didn’t have too. We all knew what she was going to say. I couldn’t talk, otherwise I would’ve told her I was alright. My brain was
Luna Belle“Thank you, Lenard,” Belle said to their driver and bodyguard once they arrived at the house her children were staying at.He simply nodded his head before grabbing their luggage from the truck while Sebastion stood at the front door, holding it open for them. Belle was glad to see all four of her cubs were waiting for them, just as she instructed. Only Ben and Maize were her trueborn children, but she viewed every cub in the Pack as hers. Especially the future Delta and Gamma, who grew up as brothers to both Ben and Maize.“What’s wrong, mother,” Ben asked, rubbing his eyes. Like most Werewolf males, he slept without a shirt on, and Belle couldn’t help but wonder exactly how her little boy grew up so fast.“Unfortunately, that girl decided to play another prank,” Maximus sighed, rubbing his eyes the same way Ben had. It made Belle smile, seeing how similar both of them were, despite how much they refused to see it.“Oh no, daddy,” Maize sighed sadly. “What did she do this
“I-I’m so sorry, I don’t know what happened,” I cried, freaking the hell out. Horrified, I got onto my knees and bowed deep to Luna Belle. “Please forgive me, I didn’t mean too.”An explosion of sound erupted around me a second later, washing all around me to the point that I couldn’t concentrate on any of it. Chairs were scraped back, voices were raised, and anger was thick in the air. And through it all, I just stayed on my knees, bowing to Luna Belle. Too scared to look up, or even open my eyes.When I felt someone’s hand pulling up on my chin, I jumped violently, my eyes flying open only to find myself locked in Luna Belle’s fierce gaze. “Care to explain yourself, little miss.”In my delirious state, I couldn’t help but remember all the other Luna’s who have looked at me with those same eyes. Pain, humiliation, and trauma always followed, without exception. Usually lasting for days, or until they finally left to return to their Packs. Unable to stop myself, I started to shake viol
“Wait, what,” Ben asked, looking at me with a confused expression. “I thought you were on a diet and those were protein shakes?”Damn.Unable to think clearly in my state, I just blurt something out. “I’m sorry for lying, it’s just that my illness makes people uncomfortable, so I try not to draw attention to it.”“Have you really never eaten real food before,” Maize asked, sadness in her eyes. This was why I didn’t like talking about it, because now all I could do was envy everyone else again. I’d spent a long time, years now, suppressing my desires to eat all the yummy foods around me. And now I wasn’t strong enough to suppress it again.Then, just to make matters worse, my stomach made a violent sound.“I’ve tried a few things over the years,” I answered when I saw Luna Lannie secretly glaring at me. “Master Nathaniel had me experiment with several types of foods to see if I could keep any down. And the few memories I have from before I came to live here tell me that my parents were
“You look beautiful, as always,” Ben smiled as he kissed my hand, sending warm tingles down my arm. He offered his arm to me, just as Chris did for Misty and Alpha Lord Grizzle did for Luna Lannie.“You look quite dashing yourself,” I said, blushing as I reached up to fix his collar. “Dark color’s look really good on you.”“Really,” he said, nodding his head to himself before turning his attention back to me. “Come, I want to introduce you to my parents.” My nervousness exploded and my heart raced as he led be to Maize and the two people standing next to her.Ben clearly inherited his good looks with his father, who stood just as tall and had very similar features, essentially looking like an older and more refined version of him. He was also powerfully built, looking like he kept up with his training. His mother was, if possible, even more imposing. Her beauty rivaled that of Maize, her tall physique was equally as impressive as her mate’s, her eyes screamed intelligence, but also so
“Hold still, or I’ll really give you something to cry about,” Luna Lannie seethed, crashing her aura into me. Biting my lip to keep from crying out, feeling lightheaded already, I braced as Margret tightened my corset even more.Ben, Maize, and their friends left school as soon as they recieved the call that their parents had arrived, leaving me alone with Misty and her friends. However, instead of resorting back to the their usual bullying, they continued on as they had this morning, talking about guys in the lewdest way possible. I learned more about my male classmates than I ever wanted too, and all the tips they were giving me to make sure Ben stuck around were still making my ears steam.Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse when we returned home. As soon as I was through the door, Margaret stormed up and dragged me away to change. Practically screaming at me and whacking me with her stick for hours as I helped to clean the house and prepare for the dinner. I was a mess