Rose
I drifted to sleep with the familiar scent of leather and cardamon slowly began to dissipate, leaving me alone. My eyelids were heavy, like they were weighted. Eventually, the weight disappeared, allowing me to rapidly blink. I roughly rubbed my eyes until they let me focus. I was no longer in my bed, I was no longer with Orion, I was no longer in Black Moon...Where was I?My eyes frantically glanced around; I was in an empty field with a fog blanket covering the ground. I hesitantly took a few steps forward; the fog felt eerily familiar. All of a sudden, a sprout broke through the ground beside me and began to rapidly grow. Before my eyes, it turned into a sapling and then a mature tree. Another tree grew before my eyes and then another. Before I knew it, I was in a thick forest with underbrush breaking through the ground, snaking up between my toes and tickling my ankles.I knew I wasn’t in the ethereal realm, at least. I recognized most of the trees andRose“Watch it! Focus!” Iris barked at me as Heather almost connected her fist to my jaw. Sweat streamed down my back as I threw myself to the side to avoid Heather. The summer sun streamed through the trees, roasting us as we sparred against each other. I had been training with Iris for the past couple of days. The fun-loving, bubbly, and laidback shopaholic was almost a faint memory. When it came to the training, she was a hard ass. Part of me kind of wished that Orion was training me, but he made it clear he was scared that he might accidentally hurt me. Iris was who he had entrusted with training me until she felt confident I was better prepared. Today was the first day that Heather joined us, so Iris could watch how much I had progressed. Heather and Harriet had been training daily since we arrived. Both of them had grown so much already and began to train with the pack warriors like it was no big deal. Heather rushed me, her fist making i
Matt “Happy birthday, kid.” Hodges greeted me when I plopped down at the kitchen table. Hodges slid a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage at me. “Thanks.” I nodded before poking at my breakfast. “Come on, I made sure they didn’t have any shells in the eggs this time,” Hodges muttered before taking a swig of his steaming cup of coffee. “I appreciate it, Hodges. Really, thanks.” I scooped a fork full of eggs into my mouth. No salt, no pepper, and a little bit of eggshell. Poor guy couldn’t cook to save his life. “You gonna go wander around and see if you catch a whiff of anything?” Hodges cocked his eyebrow and gave me a slimy grin. His tone was that of a creepy middle-aged man. He was harmless, but at that moment, he even gave me the heebie-jeebies. “Yeah, I’ll take a lap.” Silence settled over us; I quickly shoved his attempt at cooking down my throat. The faster I ate it, the faster I wouldn’t have to taste it again. Once I cl
RoseThe summer days were slipping away quickly. I had been training daily with Iris and Heather. The soft, almost squishy flesh I had at the beginning of Summer slowly strengthened into muscles.Today Orion was going to be spending time in the training center with the pack warriors and considering adding some of my original pack members to the official pack warriors. Iris, Damian, Alastor, Harriet, and even Heather were there.Orion had left before the sun rose. Leaving me clinging to his spot in the bed, trying to take in all of the warmth I could before it disappeared. Laying in our bed alone felt unnatural.I used to love the moments where I could find peace and quiet. Orion didn’t even assign me a babysitter today. I could do anything I wanted, but now this freedom felt so odd.I rolled out of bed and began to put myself together for the day. I decided that I would stop by and see my parents first. Then I would probably let Delilah out to stre
RoseIt was a warm sticky afternoon as I sat on Brigid’s little front porch with Brigid. She sat in a rocking chair, gently rocking with her eyes shut. I sat on a wooden swing, lazily pumping my legs back and forth. I couldn’t wait for autumn to come and vanquish the humidity.“Hey, Brigid?” I broke the silence. It had been about a week since my dream about the witch, but I hadn’t been able to make my way back to the ethereal realm to see Selene.“Yes, little Luna?” Brigid continued to rock with her eyes shut.“When you watched over Luna Leto,” Brigid’s eyes popped open as Leto’s name escaped my lips. “Did she ever tell you how she was able to go to see Selene? Selene told me that I showed up before she thought I would, but I never knew what she meant.”“Hmmm,” She stroked her chin as she mentally unboxed her memories of her time with Leto. “One time when I asked her about it. She said the darkness was the key. Is that helpful?”“I wonder if
Rose “Rose...where are you?” A deliciously familiar voice called to me. When I fully came to and was aware of my surroundings, I found that I was locked in a warm embrace. My eyelashes fluttered open to an unruly tangle of honey locks. My head was tucked into the crook of Orion’s neck. He was sitting on the bed but had pulled me onto his lap. “Right here.” I wrapped my arms around Orion’s neck, squeezing him tightly. A comforting frequency of electricity buzzed through me. “You know you scare the shit out of me every time…” Orion muttered into my hair as he fisted my hair, pulling me as close as possible. “I’m sorry.” I sighed and nuzzled my face into his neck. “I’m not trying to.” Orion’s hand relaxed and began to stroke my hair. His other hand loosened its grasp on my waist. I was finally able to pull away a little bit to scan his face. The sadness that lingered in his eyes made my heart twinge. “S
Unknown The forest was noiseless tonight as if nature and all of the animals knew a predator lurked in the shadows. Quickly I darted through the night, each step with a purpose. Must not be caught. No noise. Not a single twig or leaf snapping would be tolerated. I silently jumped from branch to branch in the canopy. I wasn’t like everyone else, the height did not put me at a disadvantage. It was a second home to me. I wasn’t scared of the branches, my feet knew where to step, when to leap, and where to land. I was just a deadly breeze in the moonlight. My pace slowed as my eyes scoured the limbs in the trees near me. The perfect perch was my goal, where I was hidden in the shadows, but able to monitor the forest floor. There it was, approximately two hundred f
RoseAfter the discovery of David’s body, the night slipped away at an unrelenting pace. It was moments before the sunrise, and Orion, Harriet, Alastor, and I were numbly sitting at the breakfast nook table, staring into cups of coffee. Silence had settled over us after we walked back to the packhouse. We were broken and raw. Questions loomed over everyone, but no one had broken the quietness that suffocated the room.I leaned my head against Orion’s bicep, letting an exhausted sigh come out as I ran my finger over the rim of my coffee cup. I felt Orion’s firm hand stroke my hair aimlessly, just an attempt at comfort.Harriet cleared her throat, shattering the atmosphere in the room. “So you say you are a blessed wolf? What is that, and why have you been keeping it from me?” I felt Orion’s body become rigid underneath my head. I placed a hand on his forearm as I sat back up to face Harriet.“I guess since the day before my birthday, but I didn’t know what
Harriet“Why didn’t she tell me? We never keep secrets from each other. We have always been completely honest with each other.” I fell backward on the bed with a soft thud and stared at the ceiling fan. My eyes darted to follow a single blade around and around. The soft light that began to creep through the room was snuffed out with the flutter of fabric. My eyes dropped from the ceiling towards the windows. Alastor pulled the curtains over the window.“Why does it matter?” Alastor turned away from the windows and leaned against the wall.“She’s MY best friend!” I sucked through my teeth and rolled over onto my stomach burying my face into the bed.“And he’s her mate.” I felt the sting of his rational thinking hit me. “He is your Alpha, after all.”“You are supposed to be on my side, Alastor,” I whined and hit my fists on the bed.“You are supposed to be the beta female of the pack.” I whipped my head up from the bed.His touch had ca