Kathryn inherited land between two feuding werewolf packs. Both alphas want the land to increase their dominance over the territory. They never expected a human with secrets to stand in their way.
view moreYesterday morning was like any other day. I woke up at six, went for a run, came home, and got ready for work, thinking nothing ever changes in my life. Drove through Starbucks for a caramel latté and made it to my desk with five minutes to spare. I logged into the computer and just like that my workday began. At least I thought it did.
A message was received; my boss wanted to see me in his office right away. That was strange, I thought he didn’t even know I existed. At least it got me off the phone for a couple of minutes. One less customer to yell at me for something I didn’t do. The meeting lasted just long enough to tell me that the company was downsizing and they were letting me go, with a severance package for all the good work I’ve done. I was shocked as I quietly left his office to pack up my things from my desk. The two other employees weren’t so quiet about being let go, and security was called to escort them off of the property. With my box in hand, I headed back to my car. Once there, I sat for almost an hour trying to decide what to do next. For twelve years I did nothing but answer help calls from cranky callers; I was verbally abused daily for $18 an hour. At least I had six months of severance pay to live on until I figured out my life’s next journey. I arrived home by noon and was met with stares from my cat. It felt like I was invading her space by being home at the wrong time. Cali, my calico cat, just meowed and walked away. I picked the mail up from the floor and glanced through it. Just my luck, all bills. The answering machine had two messages. I pressed play to hear what the telemarketers were selling today. I hoped I won the lottery, but of course I would likely have to send them a gift card from a store to receive my money. Message 1 – “Hey Sunshine, it’s me, Scott. I'm going to be in town this week and I‘d love to stop by. Give me a call back and we can talk about details.” Well that brought a smile to my face. A few days with my ‘friend with benefits’ might cheer me up. Message 2 - “Hello, this message is for Ms. Kathryn Stevens. I’m John Burke with the law office of Michaels, Smith, and Burke. I've an important matter to discuss with you. Please call me back at your earliest convenience. Thank you and have a nice day.” Oh yay, I lost my job and now I'm probably being sued by a creditor! Could this day get any worse? There was no way I was going to call this lawyer guy back. As for Scott, I planned to call him back later, but at that moment, with the day I was having, all I heard was a pint of ice cream and the tv calling my name. Somewhere between a western rerun and an infomercial about the latest cleaner, I fell asleep on the couch. If it weren’t for the phone ringing, I would have had a mess of liquid ice cream all over me. I put the container down and answered the phone. “Hello?” I answered, half asleep. “Hello, is this Kathryn Stevens?” “Who is this?” I asked. “This is John Burke. I left you a message this morning requesting you give me a call.” Oh great, the lawyer. I should have checked the number on the phone before answering. It was too late to hang up now. “Oh yes, I was planning to call you back when I had a few minutes.” “Is this a good time?” he asked. I don’t think he believed that I was going to call back. “Sure, how may I help you?” Please don’t sue me, I silently repeated over and over to myself. “My firm handles the estate of Leslie Stevens…” “Wait! What do you mean to handle the estate? Did my Aunt Leslie die?” I wasn’t sure I had heard him right. God, no one in the family tells me anything! He was quiet for a moment, then said “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you, but yes, she passed away last month on the 18th.” He stopped talking to see if I was going to respond, but I said nothing. “Well, Ms. Stevens, she left you something in her will. We need you to come to the office to fill out some paperwork.” “She left me something? Yeah sure, I can stop by,” I answered even though I was still stunned by the news. I wrote down the address and said I would be there at noon tomorrow. He agreed on the time and hung up the phone. Then I realized I had forgotten to ask him what she left me. Leslie was an awesome Aunt. She was a little bit eccentric, the black sheep of the family so to speak, but she was always kind to me. She stayed with me for weeks after my accident. Technically speaking, I had died on the table, but the doctors were really good and they revived me. They called it a near-death experience. Aunt Leslie knew why I didn’t let people touch me, but she never spilled my secret. It was her idea to tell people I was a germaphobe to explain why I don’t like to be touched. The real reason is far worse than that. After my accident and near-death experience, I came back with the ability to see the future of anyone I touched with skin-on-skin contact. I’ve taken to always wearing gloves to avoid that connection as much as possible. With Leslie gone, my friend Scott was now the only one who knew my secret. I still had to call him back and I planned to do that tomorrow. I couldn’t handle any more bad news today. I cleaned up the ice cream, fed Her Highness the Cat, and decided to go to bed early. I felt if I stayed awake something else bad was going to happen. I prayed the nightmares from the accident would leave me alone, but the way things were going, I doubted it.91 (Tyler’s POV) The ritual circle around the grave was almost finished. Wolfsbane and mountain ash had been mixed with iron filings and spread in a wide perimeter. Salt lines were reinforced with sacred glyphs carved into stone markers at the cardinal points. Celia, shoulder to shoulder with Carson’s witch, muttered a final incantation that made the air buzz and the earth shudder. I stood with Kate just outside the circle, watching the final seal set like concrete hardening in place. Her fingers were laced with mine, but her grip wasn’t strong. It was too light, like she was saving her strength. I didn’t comment there was too much riding on this moment. Camerin paced near the southern line, eyes flicking constantly toward the forest. He trusted the magic as much as any warrior would, which meant not at all. Micah stood guard on the northern line, having the same doubts as Camerin. The witch pressed her palms into the ground. Wind picked up from nowhere. The trees moaned. Then t
90 (Kate’s POV) The tent was quiet, the kind of quiet that pressed in too close after what we’d just witnessed. My body ached with tension as I pulled the blanket up over my shoulders, trying to shut out the chill. The ward stones outside still flickered softly, a pulsing reminder of what lay beyond. Tyler wanted me to rest. I needed to. But sleep didn’t come easily. When it finally did, it was broken and shallow, filled with images of hollow wolves and trees that bled ink. I woke up sometime before dawn with a knot in my stomach. Groggy and nauseous, I shoved off the blankets and pushed myself upright, hoping it was just leftover adrenaline. It wasn’t. By the time I reached the latrine tent, I barely made it before throwing up. Twice. Afterward, I rinsed out my mouth with a canteen and stared at myself in the mirror nailed to a tree just outside. My reflection didn’t look like someone sick with a stomach bug. My skin was a little pale, sure. But in my eyes they weren’t tired. The
89 (Tyler’s POV) We returned to the war room and Lena laid out the old maps across the war room table, her fingers moving with purpose over yellowed corners and weathered ink. Kate stood beside her, eyes distant but alert, as though the maps were whispering something only she could hear. Camerin hovered nearby, arms crossed, skeptical but silent. For once, he didn’t argue. None of us had the energy to. “This isn’t just a grave,” Lena said finally. “It’s a seal. A binding ward forged a century ago, maybe more. Jaxson’s either found it or he’s dangerously close.” “How do we find something that doesn’t want to be found?” I asked, folding my arms. Lena glanced at Kate. “With her.” Kate flinched at the attention. “I… I don’t know where it is. Not exactly.” “You don’t have to,” Lena assured her. “You’ve already seen it. We just need to jog your memory. Put you somewhere close and let your gift lead.” I stepped forward. “You’re not putting her in danger.” Lena gave me a look. “You t
88 (Tyler’s POV) The war room was thick with tension. Maps were pinned to every surface, notes and sightings scrawled in fast, angry handwriting. Celia stood off to one side, arms crossed. Camerin hovered near the table, lips pressed in a tight line. Alpha Carson leaned forward over the central map, his knuckles white against the polished wood. Lena entered last, her expression grim. I didn’t wait for formalities. “What did you find?” Lena placed both hands on the edge of the table, staring down like it might bite her. “It’s worse than we thought.” No one spoke. We waited. She looked up, gaze sharp. “Jaxson isn’t just using dark magic. He’s opened something old. Something buried. The rituals he’s performing they’re blood magic, yes, but more than that. They’re tied to an entity, or a presence. I don’t know if he’s summoning it, serving it, or becoming a vessel for it… but it’s watching us now.” Alpha Carson swore under his breath. Celia visibly paled. Even Camerin stilled. Lena
87 (Kathryn’s POV) The house was quiet. After everything that had happened. After the ritual. After Lena’s warning. After I stood in front of half the pack and declared I wasn’t afraid. I was. I am. But fear doesn’t get to be the loudest voice anymore. I stood in front of the window in our bedroom, staring into the woods, arms wrapped around myself. The faint silver of moonlight touched the treetops. Somewhere out there, Jaxson or whatever was left of him was watching, waiting. Behind me, the door clicked softly shut. I didn’t turn. Tyler’s presence filled the room before he said a word. The kind of presence that wrapped around you before a touch ever came. I felt him move until he stood directly behind me, his warmth bleeding into my back. He didn’t speak. Just slid his arms around me and held me from behind. We stood there like that for a long time, his chin resting lightly on the top of my head, our breathing slow, synchronized. “I hate this,” he said finally. His voice was l
86 (Third Person POV – Ritual at the Pack Clearing) Lena needed another Alpha for the ritual, so she contacted Carson to join her. An hour before the ritual was to begin, he arrived with three cars loaded with his warriors to help out. Tyler was happy to see them. The clearing in the woods had been marked hours ago, carved with symbols that shimmered faintly under the moonlight. It was deep enough into neutral territory that no pack boundary was crossed, but the land still felt old like it remembered older magics and didn’t always welcome new ones. Lena stood at the center, barefoot, her dark skirts billowing slightly in the wind. Her voice was low as she murmured to the elements, eyes closed, palms raised to the sky. A ring of salt and ash circled her, broken only at one point where Scott lay unconscious on a makeshift stone platform, pale and still. Kate stood just beyond the edge of the circle, flanked by Tyler on one side and Alpha Carson on the other. Camerin, Micah, and se
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