Ben“Sweet dreams, my little bundles of cash,” Paxton taunted after checking that they ate and drank all their rations. He was in a good mood for two reasons.First, he’d spent the better part of the last hour banging one of the rogue she-wolves. The sun was starting to descend below the tree line now and no doubt they would’ve kept up their playtime had it not been for dinner. It was a delicious rabbit stew, caught by one of the slaves during the day. Ben only knew that because he overheard one of the she-wolves joke about how useless their new slave was, needing to resort to snares instead of hunting prey like a proper wolf.The second reason was that his messenger returned just as dinner was wrapping up. A meeting between their parents and Paxton was going to take place in the morning to negotiate a ransom price.Alec subtly shook his head, reminding everyone to keep their heads and not rise to Paxton’s taunts.Paxton loved their meekness, laughing boisterously. “Just like I though
After the dishes were done, I had Claire take off her dirty dress so she could bathe in the stream. It was cold, and she shivered, but she was in desperate need for a good scrubing. Using some flowers, I crushed them up and mixed them with some sand before scrubbing her hair and body clean. It wasn’t as good as soap and a loofa, but it was better than nothing. While she was rinsing off, I used some more of my mixture to clean her dress as best I could. Winking, I dried it quickly with a neat little trick I knew.“How did you do that,” she asked, her eyes wide as a smile played over her face.“I’ll show you later, I promise, once we’re safe,” I said, hooking her pinky with mine. “Now put your dress on and sit on that log so I can make you some shoes.”While she dressed and sat down, I located some sturdy bark and ripped some of my skirts to fashion a pair of footwraps. After tying them in place, she smiled again as she wiggled her little toes. Seeing the look of delight on her face mel
“What’s your name,” I smiled at her once we were alone next to the cooking pot.I was slowly stirring the porridge with a long spoon, going over my plans, while she was squatting on the ground next to me. She had her arms hugging her knees, doing her best not to cry. Every few seconds I could feel her eyes on me, her lips moving as though she wanted to say something. I decided to help her out a bit. Having a traumatic past myself, I knew how hard it was to open up to someone.Trust would never come easy for her again.“It’s Claire,” she whispered a few seconds later.“That’s a very pretty name for an adorable little girl,” I said, keeping the smile on my face. I wanted nothing more than to hug her closely and tell her nothing would ever hurt her again, but that would have to wait. First, because we were still in a lot of danger, but mostly because she wouldn’t allow herself to be vulnerable until she had some closure.Closure I was more than happy to help her get.She grumbled. “I’m n
After they all sprayed themselves with a chemical that temporarily removed their scents, one of the rogues turned it on me. Their laughter was thick as he sprayed me in the face for a few seconds, making my eyes sting and water.“Enough for now, we can break in the new slave back at camp. You, slave, put our clothes in this pack and get on my back,” Jason ordered once we reached the trees. In short order, he and what remained of his men stripped off their shoes and clothes and shifted into their wolves. Knowing my life, and the lives of my friends, depended on making myself as useful as possible, I pushed back the pain and exhaustion and gathered their clothes as quickly as I could.One of the wolves grabbed the bag from my hands and another shoved me hard towards Jason’s massive form. Pulling myself up from the ground, I mounted Jason’s back and held on for dear life as they raced into the night.A couple hours later, they finally started to slow down.I was freezing so badly that my
BenWaking up in a large cage wasn’t exactly a comfortable experience.Groaning, Ben tried to remember the what had happened. The last thing he recalled was chasing a rogue through the forest with the others, when suddenly a cloud of gas erupted around them once they cornered their foe in a cave. It must’ve been some kind of sleeping gas, and from how weak he felt, on top of the fact that he couldn’t speak with his wolf, meant he must’ve been drugged with wolfsbane too. Large amounts could kill, but controlled doses could inhibit Werewolf abilities.“I’m glad your awake,” Prince Alec said weakly from nearby, a sad smile on his lips. “I know, I know, I fucked up bad this time.”“We all did,” Ben replied, locating his sister and pulling her still sleeping form into his lap. “No one argued with your decision to follow. Hell, even if you did suggest it, most of us probably would’ve chased after anyway. They say failure is the best teacher, I just hope we live long enough to learn from thi
Luna Belle“Only he can do the impossible, or am I wrong,” the Night King continued, looking around the hall at all those assembled.Belle felt a surge of anger pass through her at hearing that name. After the death of her other son at the hands of that monster, the last thing she wanted was to ask him for aid. Maximus had the same look on his face, but he also knew when it was time to fight, and when it was time to negotiate.Something Belle still struggled with.“I know you insist on claiming that you have to way of contacting him,” Maximus spoke first, fighting back his anger. “But now isn’t the time to keep him secret any longer. I know he’s helped you in your war against the Vampires, and against rogues, but he has also committed atrocities in other Kingdoms too. My son isn’t the only life he’s claimed, as five other youths have been targeted and sacrificed since. But, for the sake of saving our still breathing children, I’m willing to look the other way this one time. Contact hi