Rose
The day of the Luna ceremony arrived. My secret had finally been revealed to the pack; a gnawing sensation had manifested inside me, like some rodent constantly chewed at my stomach. Orion had let me sleep in, which really meant I waited until he left and stole his pillow, cuddling it tightly as I stared up at the ceiling. Did everyone feel this way before they became Luna? It’s not like I knew any Lunas that were alive, that is. I wish I could ask someone.“You will be fine,” Delilah murmured sleepily.“You say that, but it doesn’t mean I believe it’s true.” I sighed.“Selene wouldn’t have mated you to Orion if you couldn’t handle it.”“I guess.”“It’s not like you had a premonition of fire again.”“That’s not helping, Delilah.” I groaned as I shoved my face into Orion’s pillow.“I’m just saying you didn’t have a premonition about today. That’s a good sign in my book. You had one about the fire and murder.”“Just wRoseA large pile of dresses was taking over my bed. No one could agree on one. My mom was pushing for a tulle dress. Harriet was adamant it should be off the shoulder for easy access to my neck. Heather pushed for a blue or pink dress to bring out the color of my eyes. Iris liked all of the dresses but seemed to prefer the more revealing ones. I had been forced to try on at least a dozen. Honestly, I was just getting annoyed with all of them. I knew they meant well, but I was not their personal doll to dress up.“Okay, there are only a few dresses left. How about I pick the next one? Hopefully, the last.” I groaned, and they all nodded in approval. I slipped off the slinky white halter neck dress. I don’t know what Iris was thinking with that one...a single speck of blood would ruin it forever.My fingers pushed the remaining dresses apart on the rack. I decided to take their opinions into consideration, but ultimately I chose to have an idea. I heard the rustl
Rose After I was officially announced Luna of the pack, the celebration lasted into the early hours of the morning. Harriet managed to get herself drunk, which was a testament to the amount of alcohol she consumed. Alastor did his best to keep her clothes on and keep her from doing anything foolish. He eventually gave up trying to enjoy the festivities and carried his sloshed mate over his shoulder back to the packhouse.By the tail end of the party, I was sure I had talked to almost everyone in the pack. My social quota for the month was maxed out. My soul craved to hide away from the people around me, but I did my best to put on my friendliest face for everyone, no matter who they were. When Orion finally said we could leave, I was thrilled. Just like my first ceremony at Black Moon, Orion offered to carry me on his back. As I latched my arms around his neck, I had the eerie familiar vibe of watching. Of course, I probably was being watched since we were the main at
RoseHades stalked towards the side of the room, closed off by bars. I shifted to see around him; the man was as wide as a mountain. Huddled on the floor behind the bed was a girl. She had her knees tucked underneath her chin, her hair the color of earth cascading down across her face. She wore a dirty shirt and discolored shorts. Her body was covered with bruises and cuts. She wasn’t healing right; even as a wolf, those injuries should have vanished maybe a few hours after they were inflicted. A silver cuff wrapped around her ankle, attached to a long chain that coiled in a heap on the floor. No wonder she wasn’t healing correctly. Her body shook slightly with anticipation as Hades came closer and closer.“Oh, Leto, Leto, Leto.” Hades patronizingly sucked through his teeth as he pulled out a set of keys from his pocket. Hastily Hades unlocked the door, moving as fast as possible to not linger on the silver for too long. Why wasn’t he taking precautions against
RoseThe weather began to slightly cool, giving into the approaching Autumn. It had only been a few days since I had the premonition. Orion didn’t press me to talk about it, but I could see the worry etched in every pore. He had been covering for me when it came to the pack, but I’m sure they were curious. Brigid, my mom, dad, Iris, Damian, Harriet, Heather, and even Alastor came to visit me. We typically sat in silence, or whoever came to see me just talked at me, not really to me, only filling the empty void that echoed throughout the room. Some people accepted the silence; others couldn’t handle it.Today I was hiding in the closet, tucked away underneath the clothes that dangled above me. I was wearing one of Orion’s shirts and staring at my premonition journal. The page was blank besides the date, I knew I should write about it, but I couldn’t...not yet. I let the journal slip out of my hands and fall to the ground.I pulled my knees to my chest, resting my
Orion“Do you have a death wish?” I dropped my voice as I hissed at Rose. “How could you be so reckless, Rose?”I had my fingers grasped tightly around her wrist as I pulled her away from the pack warriors, Alastor, Harriet, and Heather, who gathered by the stream. Instead of just mind linking me that she thought she noticed someone, she just chucks the rock in the tree. What if that hadn’t scared them off? She could have gotten herself killed.“I don’t have a death wish. Heather said she didn’t hear anything. How was I supposed to know I was right and someone was there?” She whipped her wrist from my grip.“What if it was Kroll? You literally experienced his attack on David. You felt how easy it is for him to kill you. You should always call me.”“What if it was nothing? I would look like an idiot.” Her spunk that had disappeared the past few days was back, and I was happy about it returning to her; I did not appreciate her using it to cock an attitude with me right
Rose After telling Brigid about the premonition I trudged back to the pack house, my feet felt like lead. Each step was more strenuous than the last. As I slowly made my way down the west wing of the pack house, I wasn’t really looking forward to seeing Orion at the moment, but I had the feeling he would hunt me down if I didn't see him sooner or later. He made it crystal clear he was mad at me and he didn’t approve of my actions today. Of course in the heat of the moment, I let it slip that I had felt like I had been watched before. How could I be so stupid? I had been purposely biting my tongue and now what was the point? I guess at this point it was best to just rip the bandaid off. Orion’s office doors were cracked, letting light leak into the hallway. I sucked
OrionI had doubled our warriors patrolling the border, but it didn’t feel like it was enough. I just felt like I needed to do more. I would do anything to keep her safe, but she was right. I couldn’t lock her away. She had every right to live her life. It is unfair to let my insecurities overshadow her ability to live.I sighed as I slid down the wall in my basement gym. I had been disappearing down here since the intruder. I just needed to get out my pent-up frustration before I did or said anything more that could push my mate further away.We smoothed over a crack, but it felt like at any second, the facade would crumble away. We had been civil, but there was an unspoken elephant in the room every time we were alone. I made an ass of myself when I let myself act like a teenager downing the last of my stash of bourbon, but I felt like I needed to do something. I was going crazy waiting for her to make her way back home.Now I was going crazy just waiti
RoseI looked around the misty forest letting out a not-so-subtle groan. Didn’t I just have a premonition? I honestly don’t think that I could handle another one so quickly. I fell quiet, waiting for something to tell me what way I should go. A soft breeze brushed against the back of my neck, beckoning my attention.“Here we go again,” I muttered under my breath as I began to let the breeze take me into its current. I snaked between trees and the underbrush of the forest, trying to keep up with the blistering pace it had set. It was like I was in a marathon and all I could do was pray I could keep up. Why was the wind in such a hurry today? Something didn’t feel right. All of a sudden, my feet began to run on their own, no matter how much I tried to slow down. I was no longer in control. I was locked into someone else’s path; I was just here for the ride. My breath became ragged and rough. My legs began to ache, all of the muscles I had faded away. Was this wha