THANE"You bastard!" I growled as I charged forward towards Erin with my claws in the air ready to slam themselves into his throat.He moved out of the way avoiding my grasp. I moved towards him aiming for his neck, he held his hands over his head protectively. I grabbed him by his shirt and then threw him across the room. He landed a few feet away from where Sierra lay.I rushed towards him not giving him the chance to recover, I sent a heavy blow to his face, "This is for what you did." I was livid as I punched him again in the face."For choosing to abandon your kingdom." I threw him against the wall, and the sound of his bones colliding with the hard wall filled the room making Maya release a shock gasp.I turned to look at my family, they stared back at me, the flame in me quenched, I became calm as I stood over Erin waiting for him to rise himself.He struggled to his feet when he managed to get up, he wiped off the blood in his nose with the back of his palm."Consider yourself
SIERRA All eyes were fixed on my mother as Erin made that statement. "What is that supposed to mean?" Thane asked Erin who shrugged. "She might know better than I do." He said still on his knees. My mother shifted uncomfortably from where she sat, I could tell that she was frightened and was loss for words. "Maya, what is he talking about?" Thane asked turning to stare at my mother who was almost trembling visibly. I could see her hands tremble, she hid them in between her lap. I closed my eyes trying to think of something believable, but nothing was coming, I still felt very groggy from the fever, thankfully, the burning was all gone, my head no longer throbbed painfully, and I felt a little calm. "I... I do... I.. have.. have." "What is going on here?" A new voice spoke, one that I hadn't heard in forever, we turned towards him. "Rather than searching for answers to questions, I believe we make haste to save Claire." I stared at him, he was leaning in the door post
SIERRA"What!" I didn't realize when the word burst out of my lips. When? How? The questions ran through my head while I tried to think of when and how they had managed to take my blood and curse me.The boys were fuming, "How could you?" Kane asked walking towards Erin who moved back frightened."You used her blood to curse her with dark magic? How much worse should we expect from you?" Dane asked, his face was red with anger.Kane grabbed Erin by the collar raising him to his feet."You vile creature!" He raised his fist into the air ready to sink it in Erin's face but Dane grabbed it stopping him."He's not worth it." He said quietly and Kane released him. Alpha Erin fell to the ground with a small thud."You people went this far to harm my child and now what? You're seeking help to save yours?" My mother was crying as she spoke.Thane closed his eyes, his face looked very tired and it was obvious he was holding himself from beating the life out of Erin."The only option the healer
SIERRAIt felt as though a bowl of cold water was doused on my head, I stood still watching the healer in shock."What did you just say?" My mother asked unable to take her eyes off the healer."We have to pause the procedure because she's with a child." The healer repeated."No, that's not even possible." She snapped immediately. "There's no way that is possible. Sierra can not be pregnant."Thane nodded as he watched, "What Maya is saying is the truth."I remained silent trying to think about what was going on."The last time I checked, people don't get pregnant like that." She added with a huge frown on her face as she turned towards me, "I'm sorry healer, but I advise you run your test again."The healer remained quiet as he stood without touching me, "I know this might seem sudden and ridiculous to you, but my diagnosis is never wrong." The healer said with his arms folded behind him."This is not possible, she doesn't even have a mate yet, so how is she pregnant?" My mother ask
SIERRAThane sprung into action immediately, he grabbed my hand pulling me up from the bed. "Maya! We need to leave now." He said in a panicked voice, "Hurry, grab the things you need, we can't let him capture her for a second time."I struggled to keep up with him as he dragged me to the living room. My mother appeared with a small bag, "I'm here Thane." She said, her eyes darting around the room in panic, she was still very much terrified of Alpha Elvis and I was sure that she didn't want to see him.He grabbed her by the shoulders, "Listen to me Maya, you will take Sierra far away from here, can you do that for me?" He asked.She nodded panting, "What about you?" She asked, "Aren't you coming with us?""You don't have to worry about me, the boys and I will go north to distract Elvis from getting to you guys, I'm doing this to make sure you and Sierra are safe." He said as he gave her shoulders a firm squeeze."Please stay safe Thane." She said holding his hand.He stared into her e
KANE"I think we can camp here." Dad said glancing around, "We are miles away from Elvis, it will take him quite some time before he realizes we tricked him." He added bringing out a blanket, he laid it down for Maya and Sierra to sit on."Thank you," Sierra said laying on the blankets. "My legs hurt from walking for too long." She grumbled.Maya reached for her bag and brought out two bottles of water, "Here, drink." She handed one to Sierra who gratefully took two huge gulps."Care for some?" She held out the bottle to Dad who smiled at her."Thank you." He uncaps it before drinking.I looked around, everyone was seated, and we were safe from Elvis's reach but it was just for now. Zane was seated beside Sierra and Dane was by her other side, they too were checking the surroundings.Alpha Erin sat at the far end of our camp, his eyes darting around wildly, he was still very much shaken from his encounter with Dad, he should consider himself lucky, I was very much mad at what he had d
Kane"What's happening to you?" Maya asked in panic-filled eyes as she knelt beside Sierra who couldn't stop screaming."My back! It's killing me!" She screamed with tears running down her eyes."What happened to it? How did you hurt your back?" She asked.Sierra shook her head whimpering, "I.. I don't know what happened." She cried. "It just started suddenly."We hurried towards her, "Let's lift her." I said placing my hand under her."I will arrange a makeshift bed for her, hold on," Dane said grabbing some blankets from one of the bags. He spread the blanket on a clearing then added another to make the surface smoother and fluffy. "We can lay her down here." He said patting the blankets."Can you stand?" Zane asked, his eyes were sad as he stared at her.Sierra shook her head but made an attempt to stand up, her legs wobbled and she would have ended up face-first on the ground but thankfully, we caught her on time. I wrapped my arms around her upper half while Zane held her legs, w
KANEI exchanged looks with my brothers, they too were hesitant to speak, and their eyes moved very fast, I understood immediately what it meant, they too didn't want Dad to know.Turning to him, I sent him a nervous smile, praying under my breath that he wouldn't see past the facade."You must have misheard us Dad, we weren't talking about you." I said but his face didn't change, he kept staring at us, "You boys better not hide anything from me."Zane smiled as he scratched his hair nervously, "No, no, no Dad, we wouldn't do that." He said."We are sorry if that's what it seemed like but we aren't hiding anything from you," Dane said apologetically.It was a good idea, it was better we apologize and brush it off than allow him to hear something likely to break his heart."Yeah, we are sorry Dad, we really didn't mean to make it sound like that, we were just fooling around as usual," I said."There's nothing we haven't told you," Zane said turning to face us and we nodded in agreement
SIERRA"Then it’s settled," I said firmly, standing up straighter, lifting my chin with determination. "I’ll learn. I’ll transfer the bond to an animal. Something harmless. A rabbit or a bird, anything."For a moment, the warlock just stared at me. Then he let out a loud laugh, an honest, surprised, borderline mocking kind of laugh that made my stomach twist."Your lack of magical understanding is quite admirable," he said, still chuckling, wiping the corner of his eye with a bony finger. "You truly are brave, I'll give you that. But no, Sierra. You can’t just toss a blood bond onto a bird like it’s a coat. That’s not how this works."My eyebrows furrowed as the bubble of hope that had been fluttering in my chest deflated completely. "But… why not? Why can’t I? I don’t understand."He shook his head and folded his hands over his lap. His voice turned softer now, more like a teacher speaking to a stubborn student. "Because blood bonds require something animals don’t have. A soul capabl
SIERRAI stormed into the warlock's study, my chest tight with frustration and my fists clenched at my sides. The room smelled like old paper and burnt herbs, the air thick with the scent of magic and mystery. He looked up from the book he was reading, his brows already furrowed as if he knew why I was there."Tell me everything you know about blood bonds," I said without wasting a second. My voice was sharp, determined. I didn’t care how it came out. I needed answers.The warlock paused, his long fingers lingering on the weathered pages of the book he had just been flipping through. Slowly, almost dramatically, he closed the book and leaned back in his wooden chair. The silence between us stretched a little too long.“Why do you ask?” he said at last, his voice calm, but I caught the tension under it."Ariel mentioned it," I replied, trying to stay calm. "She said what she has with my sister is a blood bond."The moment the words left my mouth, I saw his expression shift. The color d
SIERRAI stood frozen, my eyes wide and my stomach turning. The rabbits weren’t moving anymore. The white one had stopped twitching first, then the brown one slumped beside it. My hands were still outstretched, fingers trembling as the energy from the failed spell faded into the air like smoke.The silence that followed was unbearable. It was as if the whole world had paused to judge me, to make me feel the weight of what I had just done. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even blink. All I could do was stare at what my magic had done.The warlock didn’t say anything at first. He just walked up to the small wooden pen, stood over the lifeless bodies, and looked down with a heavy sigh. His face gave nothing away, no anger, no sadness, just quiet acceptance of the outcome. Then he slowly turned to face me."This," he said, his voice low and sharp like a blade slicing through still air, "is what would have happened to your sister and Ariel if you had jumped into this blindly."The words hit
SIERRAI had just finished spending time with my mates. My body still felt warm, and for once, my mind was quiet. I was finally beginning to feel like myself again.But then I heard shouting from outside.My heart jumped. I threw on a robe and rushed out.I barely made it past the hallway before I saw everyone gathered in the courtyard. And in the middle of it all… Ariel. Screaming. Crying. Holding a knife.“What the hell?” I whispered under my breath, my eyes widening.“I said let me in!” she yelled, her voice cracking. “You’re not the only one who loves them! I deserve to be in there too!”She was pointing the knife at her own chest, trembling like she was seconds away from doing something stupid.I didn’t even think twice.I raised my hand and whispered the first protection spell that came to mind. A shield burst around her in a dome of blue light. The moment it closed around her, the knife fell from her hand and clattered to the floor.She looked around in confusion, then rage.“W
ARIELI paced the hallway, scowling, my arms folded tightly across my chest. For the fifth time, I tried to step forward, right into the damn hallway, and for the fifth time, it felt like I’d slammed into a wall. But there was no wall. Just… air. Heavy, invisible, and impossible to pass through."What the hell is going on?" I growled, pushing again, harder this time. Nothing. It was like the space itself refused to let me through. My breath hitched as anger flared in my chest. I wasn’t someone who got denied things. Not rooms. Not people. Not Dane.I turned on my heels and stormed down the hallway, heading straight for Maya’s quarters. If anyone knew what kind of stupid magic trick was being pulled, it had to be Sierra. I knew her mother was always around the others. Always listening. Watching, and I needed to see her, and I asked what the hell was going on.When I got to her door, I didn’t knock, I kicked it. Hard.“Ariel?” Maya’s voice called out, soft and hesitant. She opened the d
SIERRAThe warmth of their arms around me made it easier to breathe. The tension that had wrapped around my chest like a tight rope was starting to loosen, bit by bit. Zane’s steady heartbeat under my cheek, Dane’s arms around my waist, and the calmness in Kane’s eyes, everything felt safe here. I felt like I was finally home.But it wasn’t just the comfort. It was the way they looked at me. The way they held me was like I was the most precious thing in the world. Like they’d fight the stars if it meant keeping me safe. I hadn’t realized how much I needed them until this moment. I needed to feel wanted, needed to be touched, loved, needed to feel alive again.“I’ve missed this,” I whispered, glancing up at Zane, my fingers gently resting on his chest.“We’ve missed you more,” he replied softly, brushing his lips over my forehead.“I don’t like seeing you this stressed,” Dane murmured behind me, nuzzling into the crook of my neck. “Let us help you relax.”Kane was kneeling beside me ag
SIERRAI ran out of the room angrily and frustrated. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t want to explain how I felt, not even to Alpha Thane. I just needed to get away, to let the frustration and fear out in a way that made sense. And that’s why I shifted.The air felt cold on my fur as I ran, my paws pounding the earth beneath me, my mind barely able to process anything except the need to escape. My heart was racing, and the adrenaline pumping through my body only made the anger and fear swirl together like a violent storm.I ran deeper into the woods, ignoring the world around me, just focused on the rhythmic pounding of my paws. The trees blurred by in a mixture of green and brown, the earth beneath me firm and solid. But even in my wolf form, the worry gnawed at my insides, and all I wanted was for the weight to lift, even if just for a moment.Eventually, the tension in my body started to ease just a little, but I wasn’t running anymore. I slowed down and then stopped, my b
SIERRAI walked into the room, my mind racing with questions. The man, the warlock, was standing by a table covered in books and strange artifacts. His eyes flickered up when I entered, and I could feel the weight of his gaze. He knew why I was here."You are here," he said, his voice calm but heavy with something I couldn't place.I didn't waste time with pleasantries. "I need your help," I said bluntly. "I need to learn how to use my powers. And I need to do it fast."The warlock raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. "Binding spells," he said slowly, almost to himself, "are tricky. Especially one like the one you're asking for."I didn’t have the patience for his caution. "I don’t care about how tricky it is," I snapped. "I need to stop her. Ariel is... she’s going to ruin everything. I can’t let that happen. I just need to know how to make it work."He looked at me, the seriousness in his eyes growing. "Binding spells are not something to take lightly. They tie you to someo
SIERRAI could feel my whole body burning with anger as Ariel’s voice cut through the garden like a sharp knife. She just stood there, smirking at us like she hadn’t just interrupted something important, something real.I turned to her, fists clenching at my sides. "Don’t you have anything better to do than irritate me?" I snapped, my voice louder than I intended. Dane shifted uncomfortably behind me, but I didn’t care. I was tired of her games.Ariel just giggled like I had told her a joke. "Nope," she said with a sweet shrug. "Turns out, irritating you is way more fun than I ever thought it would be."I wanted to slap that smug smile off her face. I really did. But I held myself back because that's exactly what she wanted, to push me until I broke.Then she turned her full attention to Dane, her smile softening in a way that made my stomach twist in disgust. "I miss Dane," she said in a whiny voice. "I want him to stay with me for a while."I stepped protectively in front of Dane w