"Luna's Nocturnal Vigil, The Meeting Of Harmony"The moon cast a subtle glow over the Nampa landscape as Luna, the Alpha, returned from her journey to Blackmoon. The hour was late, and the quietude of the night enveloped the pack's territory. Luna, her thoughts filled with the revelations from Blackmoon, knew that action was required.Alpha Burst and Mira, wrapped in the embrace of dreams, were unaware of Luna's return. Determined and focused, Luna gently woke her beloved Alpha Burst. The air carried a sense of urgency as Luna conveyed the need to gather soldiers for a task that demanded immediate attention.Alpha Burst, stirred from his slumber, looked at Luna with a mix of concern and curiosity. "What's the matter?" he inquired, his eyes reflecting a readiness to face any challenge that awaited them.Luna, with a blend of reassurance and gravity, shared the information received from Alpha Zephyr. The revelation of spies within Nampa's borders had caught her attention, and Luna felt
LunaThe idiot just stared at me, blinking.“What?” he asked, a weird smile overtaking that ridiculously handsome face I’d dreamed about every damn night since he’d “died.”To my abject horror, tears of frustration burned behind my eyelids.Oh, no. No way. I’m not shedding one more goddamn tear over this. No.But the throb of the golden arch over his heart was impossible to ignore in Leo’s presence, our mate bond unmistakable, even after all this time. He wasn’t dead, and I was elated—and simultaneously horrified.“What. Are. You. Doing. Here?” I asked again, this time through clenched teeth, enunciating every word deliberately.“Am I in your way?” he drawled cockily without a hint of shame.Dumbfounded, I gaped at him for a second. He looked so different than the last time I’d seen him and yet the same. Like me, he hadn’t aged a day in two centuries, his light sepia skin smooth but for the scruff that indicated a few days of travel. The green of his eyes pierced into my soul, bringi
LeoBefore the redhead had appeared, I’d had my foot halfway out the door, determined to return to Seven Rock where I belonged… at least in part. Despite her icy cold reception, the pull I had toward her told me that I was in the right place, at least for the moment.Does she know me?She certainly acted like she did, but gauging by the way she talked and acted, she didn’t like me very much.I watched her disappear into the back of the diner, tempted to chase after her, but after what had happened at the last place, I didn’t want to push my luck. I could handle myself, but without having a proper handle on this city and the underlying animus surrounding me, I decided to leave her.I had the distinct sense that I would see her again, however. I wasn’t going anywhere yet.I paid my tab to the waitress who was considerably less flirty now, her gaze averted as she took my money, even with the handsome tip. I noticed she went out of her way to avoid touching me.“What did you mean earlier
LunaThe shock of seeing Leo affected the rest of my afternoon. I paced through the little house I’d lived in for over a hundred years, unable to clear my mind of the way my soulmate had looked at me.The attraction was just as deep and pulsating for me as it had ever been, the pull on the golden arch over my heart painful, yearning and screaming at me to go back to him. I hated that it still existed, the shock of the soulmate symbol still in existence even though I had been rejected, and he was supposed to be dead!Who had I been fooling by thinking I’d ever really been over him?Sweat broke out over my forehead, panic seizing my lungs.Leo—my mate—had come back from the dead, or at least pretending to be dead. But he sure as hell couldn’t stay in Nampa City. Orson would lose his mind.Or was that Leo’s plan? Was he back to take back his empire from Orson?None of it made sense. If Leo hadn’t disappeared in the first place, Orson never would have taken over his businesses. And to wai
LeoIt was as good a place as any to drink since I had no other plans. There were rooms upstairs, according to the sign attached to the clapboard outside, and the inside had only a sprinkling of patrons, none of whom paid me any mind. So far, it was the most promising place I’d been since arriving in Nampa City.“How much Wi-Fi are you gonna use?” the bartender asked when I requested a room.“How much what?”“Wi-Fi. Internet. You're gonna stream or play games or what?”I stared at him blankly.“Oh, good lords, you one of them dweller types, ain’t you?” he sniffed. “You from Forny?”My expression must have once more displayed my complete lack of understanding because he slapped a single key on the counter, the plastic attachment displaying the number three upon it.“Seventy-five for the night. If you rent porno, you pay in advance. That means, you come down here and pay at the counter, in advance. You hear?”I snorted. “I’m not renting porn.”“Uh-huh. That’s what they all say until the
LunaI can’t get involved with this. He made his choice—his choices! I can’t mix myself up in this mess.But it was too late. I was already involved. Leo was at my side, stealing through the elongated night shadows, creeping through the back streets of Nampa City that I knew so well, following my way toward the only place I could take him.My house.This is so stupid, so dangerous. If Orson finds out—“Where are you taking me?” Leo’s question wasn’t even contained in a whisper, forcing an end to my mental debate.I whirled around to glower at him, sticking my index finger to my lips.“Would you keep your voice down?” I hissed. “Don’t call attention to yourself.”He smirked, but he didn’t speak again for another few blocks. He’d been lucky I’d found him first, but that had been from my earlier recon. I’d put out the word to some of the sketchier users in town to keep an eye out for Leo, and Rabbit had come through, mentioning that someone had checked into Wade’s shitty inn fitting my
"Alpha Burst's Regret"The moon hung high in the sky, casting a silvery glow over the Nampa forest. Alpha Burst, the once-proud leader of the pack, now found himself alone, wandering through the dense woods. The weight of his decision on the night of the Moon Celebration had been crushing him ever since.Alpha Burst had chosen Sierra over Luna as his mate that fateful evening. It was a choice that had left Luna heartbroken and humiliated, and it had shaken the very foundation of the pack. Luna had been the one he was destined to be with, yet he had allowed cultural assumptions and insecurities to cloud his judgment.As Alpha Burst walked through the silent woods, he couldn't escape the memories of Luna's disappointed eyes and the pain he had caused her. He had underestimated her strength, resilience, and the power of her healing abilities. Luna had been an asset he had taken for granted, and he had let her slip away.Deep within the heart of the forest, Alpha Burst finally stopped, h
"Uniting Against Darkness"The Nampa forest had fallen into a state of turmoil. The once harmonious ecosystem was now under the relentless assault of dark magic, which continued to creep deeper into its heart. Luna, Orson, Alpha Burst, and Sierra had come together, united by a common goal: to confront the ominous threat that loomed over their enchanted home.In Luna's secluded den, the group gathered, each with their motivations and reservations. Luna had agreed to work with Alpha Burst and Sierra, but her trust remained fragile, like a fragile bud that could either bloom or wither."We must act quickly,"Luna declared, her healing aura pulsating around her. "The dark magic is spreading, infecting the very life force of the forest. It must be stopped."Alpha Burst, humbled by his earlier mistakes, nodded in agreement. "Luna's right. We need to harness her powers to protect the woods. It's the only way."Sierra, a champion from an adjoining pack and Alpha Burst's chosen mate remained si