★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★I woke up warm.Not just in the way that meant the blankets were doing their job—but in the way that made my chest ache. Like a fire had settled there overnight. Slow, steady, and kind.Colton's arm was wrapped around me, his hand resting just below my ribs, his body curled into mine like he always belonged there. My cheek was pressed against the solid muscle of his chest, and I could hear his heartbeat—slow, even, completely at ease.It made me want to cry. In a good way. Maybe. This must be the good thing about having a partner. You're never truly alone. And if you want to be alone, you can. Take a moment to yourself. It works if you have someone who understands. Do I suddenly believe love strengthens and fixes everything? No. Heck, who knows if our relationship would stand the test of time. Who knows how this might end? In an affair? God I hope not. If Colton suddenly decides he's actually found his Mrs right, I'll kill them both. I nestled closer t
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★I barely noticed the time passing.The world had narrowed down to my laptop screen, the dull hum of its fan, and the occasional click of my nails against the keys. Morning light had crept in slowly through the window, shifting from gray to gold while I chased paper trails and public records down digital rabbit holes. Every tab I opened spun into another, and another—property deeds, business filings, court case summaries, suspicious shell companies that seemed to tie back to a single name again and again.Alina.She was careful. Calculated. Her name was rarely listed, but the fingerprints were there—metaphorically speaking. I was stitching together something ugly. Bigger than what Colton had suspected. It wasn't just a bad deal gone personal. She was tied into something far-reaching. And worse—she was good at hiding in plain sight. I didn’t have the full picture yet, but I had the edges. And the more I found, the more certain I became: this was more than r
▄︻デ══━一 COLTON HAYES💥 The water ran hot over my shoulders, and for a while, I just stood there, letting it scald the edges of everything I didn’t want to think about. My hands braced against the tiled wall, breath slow, heavy. It didn’t do much to rinse away the ache in my chest—but it helped. Just a little.It was easy to smile around Vanessa, but away from her, my brain was starting to think again. I'd love to have my ability to think fucked out of me. When Vanessa and I have sex, I can only think about her. I do love just thinking about her. It's better than thinking about all the problems in my life. By the time I dried off, dressed, and placed my hat over damp curls, the morning had already fully settled in. Vanessa hadn’t moved from her spot in bed when I peeked into the room again—still buried in her research, sharp as ever, focused like she was stitching the world back together with a single thread. She didn’t even look up when I asked her if she'd need my truck to go into
▄︻デ══━一 COLTON HAYES💥 I stayed long enough to make sure they both ate. Ashley had come down minutes after I'd urged Samson to bathe and dress in something else. He didn't need my judgment and neither did she. Didn’t matter that it was just eggs, pancakes, and the last of the sausage from the freezer. I stood in that damn kitchen like a drill sergeant, arms folded, watching Samson poke at his plate like food was something foreign. Ashley sat across from him, silent, her eyes rimmed red but dry now. She wouldn’t meet my gaze. I didn’t ask her to.I didn’t ask them anything.I just waited, and eventually they started eating. Slowly. Quietly. But they ate.That was enough for now. They drank some juice and told me they'd be staying indoors for the day. Well, not Ashley. Catia was coming to take her to her place so she could be away from Samson.Once I was sure they wouldn’t go back to bed hungry, I stepped out and headed down the porch stairs. The air was already thick with humidity, t
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★It was buried.Like someone had wanted it to be.I’d been combing through articles for hours, the motions mechanical now, almost numb. My mind was on autopilot—just picking through keywords, cross-referencing names, digging into obscure land deals that didn’t make sense, tracking down vague, half-mentioned connections between people who seemed irrelevant at first glance. The rabbit holes I’d gone down had been endless, some of them leading nowhere. But I couldn’t stop. I had to find something. Anything besides what I found about the drug dealer. Still, I wanted more details. My eyes were aching, and my fingers were numb from tapping the keys. I was running on nothing but cold coffee and the burning need to dig deeper. I had spent the better part of the morning and afternoon chasing down leads that now felt pointless. But then… I found it.It was another old article, buried under thousands of newer headlines, hidden like someone had intentionally tucked i
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★I left a text for Colton before I could lose my nerve:/Going into town. Gonna try and break into Nora’s.Be back soon. Don’t freak out./Short. To the point. Exactly the kind of thing guaranteed to make him freak out. But I shoved my phone deep into my jacket pocket before the guilt could settle in. I couldn’t afford guilt right now. I needed answers, and if Nora really was who I thought she was, waiting around wasn’t an option.The bike I borrowed from one of the families on the farm was old—probably older than me—and creaked under my weight when I climbed on. The handlebars wobbled. The chain looked one good ride away from snapping. But it would do.The muddy road leading out of Silver Ridge Farm was even worse today. Recent rains had turned the dirt into deep grooves of slop, and every push of the pedals sent a spray of mud up my jeans. My boots were already caked, my fingers frozen from gripping the cold metal, but I leaned into it. I welcomed the di
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★I worked quickly, snapping picture after picture, my hands steady despite the adrenaline racing through me. Most of the documents were in legal jargon, but a few words stood out — property acquisitions, dummy corporations, shipment manifests. Enough to make any cop with half a brain raise an eyebrow.Satisfied I’d gotten everything, I shoved the drawer closed and straightened up, ears pricked for any sound from outside. Still nothing.Good.Better to get out now before my luck ran out.I backed out of the bedroom the same way I’d come, retracing every step carefully, barely breathing.As I reached the kitchen, something on the counter caught my eye — a small, black notebook half-buried under a takeout menu.Temptation warred with caution.I shouldn’t stay longer.But this could be important.I snatched it up quickly, flipping through a few pages. Most of it was notes, addresses, some names I didn’t recognize — but one page was folded and marked with a sta
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★The road back to Silver Ridge Farm was even worse now than when I left it. The bike rattled under me with every bump and rut, every patch of churned-up mud grabbing at the tires like hands trying to pull me down. My jeans were soaked up to the knees, my boots caked and heavy, but I kept going, forcing the wheels to spin.By the time I made it to the edge of the land, my thighs were screaming and my lungs burned from the cold air.And then I saw him.Colton.Leaning against the hood of his truck like he’d been planted there — arms folded tight across his chest, head lowered so that the brim of his hat shadowed his face. He didn’t move when I coasted closer, didn't call out. He just stayed there, like a statue carved from stubbornness and worry.Guilt stabbed deep into my gut. I told him i wasn’t leaving the house today, but that’s me. I can make a split second decision, and go for it. It doesn’t take much for me to follow a lead. I slowed the bike awkwa
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★We rode the horse all the way to our next destination after leaving the diner, the sky still dipped in twilight shades of purple and gold, dust kicking up behind us as we passed a few shuttered storefronts and the odd resident walking their dog or heading home. It was peaceful, the kind of calm that settled into your bones if you let it.Colton reined the horse in front of the mechanic’s shop—a squat, sun-bleached building with a rusted sign that just said Steve’s Auto. The kind of place that didn’t need Yelp reviews to survive, just old men with busted pickups and nowhere else to go. I thought it was thriving earlier, Colton had brought me here, but things must have changed.Steve himself stepped out as we pulled up, wiping his hands on a rag that had long given up the fight to stay clean. “Thought I heard hooves,” he said, giving a nod to Colton. “She yours?”“The horse or the woman?” Colton asked with a smirk.Steve snorted. “Whichever’s gonna sass me
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★I don’t know what I expected when Colton said we were going somewhere not on the map, but it sure as hell wasn’t a water tower. Not one with a view that made the whole damn world feel like it was holding its breath.The town looked like a miniature version of itself from up here—soft, sun-drenched, unreal. Like someone had pressed pause and we were sitting above time itself. I leaned back against the blanket he laid out, stretched my legs out, and let the warmth of the sun and his body beside mine lull me into a kind of weightless joy.God, when was the last time I felt like this?Carefree. Safe. Wanted.Colton was lying next to me, one arm propped under his head, the other draped across his stomach. His shirt had ridden up a little, exposing a sliver of sun-kissed skin, and I had to force myself not to stare too long. Or touch. Or climb on top of him right then and there.Which was ridiculous, because we were literally on top of a damn water tower.“I ca
▄︻デ══━一 COLTON HAYES💥 After a good breakfast and wrestling a cup of caffeine from Vanessa, I grabbed the keys to one of my Jeeps, tossing them once in the air and catching them with a grin.“C’mon,” I said to Vanessa, watching her follow with that curious tilt of her head I’d grown addicted to. “Thought we’d take a little ride into town.”“I didn’t even know you had a Jeep,” she said as we walked down the path to where the whole family keeps their cars.“I’ve got a few things tucked away,” I said with a shrug. “Come on, I’ll show you.”We rounded the back of a big building, where a few of our vehicles were kept under tarps or shade roofs. Trucks, bikes, the old Jeep I’d learned to drive in for the first time. A bunch of other really clean and expensive-looking cars. I gestured at the line-up. “Told you.”She gave me a little side-eye. “Are you secretly a car fanatic?”I laughed. “Yeah, but that’s not the only reason we have alot of cars. I just grew up in a family where fixing thing
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★I woke up warm.Not just physically—though that was part of it, tucked into the soft weight of Colton’s arms, his chest rising and falling behind me like the tide—but something else, too. Safe. Anchored.For a second, I didn’t move. I just blinked slowly at the soft light filtering through the curtains, breathing in the scent of soap, pine, and something distinctly his. Then I tilted my head back slightly and looked up.He was still asleep.His face was peaceful in a way I rarely got to see. No furrowed brow. No guarded jaw. Just Colton, unburdened. His mouth twitched a little, like he was dreaming about something mildly annoying or mildly funny—it was hard to tell with him.I laughed under my breath. Quiet and breathy.What a strange life.I used to wake up to sirens and honking cabs. Now I was waking up in a quiet room on a ranch, wrapped up in a man whose idea of rest was plowing half a field before breakfast.And yet… this didn’t feel strange at all.
▄︻デ══━一 COLTON HAYES💥 We couldn’t keep them here, that was a thought i couldn’t shake from the moment i showed up here. I stood in the barn, arms crossed, watching the twins—Fabian and Derico, or whatever they called themselves—slumped against the wooden post, weak and sullen but still dangerous. Ross had tied them good, and Abel was pacing like he wanted an excuse to break something. I think my father wants to hit someone. I’d let him, but I can’t risk him accidentally killing them. We need them.Vanessa’s concoction was still doing its work. She hadn’t lied—whatever she’d made, it drained the strength right out of their bones and soul as well. Enough of it could ruin a shifter’s ability to ever turn again. I’d seen that look in their eyes now. They understood what was at stake. She did say it was like wolfsbane. I should send a general message to everyone in the pack to wash the concoction off their skin. “We should move them,” I said finally, turning to face my father. “Take ’
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★I shut the lid of my laptop and stared at it for a long second. The screen was black, but I could still see the echo of everything inside it—files, photos, confessions that might change the course of this pack’s future. I backed it up to several places. The first backup was easier than the others after it. Ugh, I’m actually super tired. I feel like crashing but i have one more thing to do. I gotta make that call I’ve been avoiding.My thumb hovered over my phone before I picked it up and scrolled to a number I’d been avoiding for days.Maya (Editor-in-Chief)The moment it started ringing, I regretted it. But there was no turning back now.She picked up before the third ring.“Jesus Christ, Vanessa. You’re alive. I’ve been calling you, emailing you, and texting you. You practically live on your phone, so why haven’t you been answering?”Her voice was sharp, loud, clipped. Familiar. And also tired. Everyone’s got shit that they’re dealing with.“I’m sorry,
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★I checked on my phone and the recording. Thank fuck for the apps i use. That long confession would have needed to be divided into two parts, or more. I turned to Ross and Abel.“I’ll go get Colton, he can help you guys with this.” I said, slipping the last of the vials into the worn canvas of my bag.“You want us to just watch them while you’re gone?” “Yeah, just think of them as wild, untamed STDs. You don’t have it, but you gotta watch out for it.”Abel gave a curt nod, jaw set and eyes still on the twins, who were slumped and breathing heavily against their restraints. Ross, on the other hand, let out a quiet little hum — not disapproving, not questioning. Just… amused.“STDs?”I glanced at him briefly, and sure enough, he was fighting the corner of a smile.“Yeah.”His lips pressed together, and he took in several breaths to calm himself. “You do that,” he said, like he was letting me walk off with some private joke I’d never understand. “Don’t be to
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★I set my vials down carefully on a dusty old table by the door, arranging them neatly, almost deliberately slow.Fabian and Derico — the Fa-derico twins — were chained and fidgeting against the beams, their faces tight with pain and hatred.Good.Let them stew.I turned to Abel and Ross, keeping my voice even, business-like.“We’re going to do this properly,” I said. “I’m going to need to take some photos and videos.” I glanced at Ross. “If they confess anything — especially anything about a woman named Alina — we’re going to need proof.”Ross raised an eyebrow, but nodded. Abel grunted his approval. They didn’t know that name, I’m guessing colton didn’t really tell them the name of the woman who scammed him. I’d like to punch her. Not out of jealousy though. I’m classier than that- It’s maybe partly jealousy. Still, colton is a nice guy. And girls like me and alina use nice guys. I’m not proud of those past conquest but I’m also not ashamed of it.I loo
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★The field buzzed with leftover tension — the kind that clung to your skin and made every breath feel heavier.Children whimpered quietly against their mothers' legs.Men who hadn’t joined the chase and women stood frozen in place, casting nervous glances toward the trees where snarls and crashing sounds echoed in the distance.No one knew if they should stay or run.I stepped forward, heart pounding, but kept my voice soft, steady."Everyone," I called out gently, enough to draw their wary eyes to me, "please — head home. Take the little ones. The elders, too. There's nothing else you need to see. Get everyone to the safest place you can. Thank you for your time today."The pack hesitated, the weight of their fear holding them still. I noticed people squinting at the distance. They didn’t want to move, just in case there were more attackers. I softened my tone even further. "You're safe. Colton and the others have it under control. It would do them a gre