School would start soon, and I wasn’t prepared to face everyone. The rumors had taken on a life of its own. Did Sarah kill herself because I dumped her? Was it because Jasmine had kissed me? Nobody thought of pregnancy. Sarah wasn’t thought of as cheap or easy, and she hadn’t been. Our relationship had been one of mutual love.I hadn’t seen any of my school friends, except for James. I didn’t take their calls and after two weeks they stopped calling. I was in my own emotional hell and I hadn’t switched my emotions on since the funeral. No good would come of that as I soon spiraled out of control.The newspaper published nothing more about Sarah. Just the lonely caption, ‘Local Teen Takes Her Own Life,’ with a picture of Sarah smiling. My name wasn’t mentioned in the article, and I had to wonder if that was because of Malachi or because of her parents.A week into the summer holidays, we traveled to inner Alaska and Canada to visit other packs. Malachi knew a lot of people and he held
James and I sat on that bathroom floor, with James’ arm around my shoulder, as he let me cry it out. I cried for Sarah as much as I cried for myself. It took a while for me to compose my emotions again but once I had, I felt better, and I splashed cold water on my face.James looked at me and nodded his head. This was what he had hoped for, that I would break down and cry, and let it all out. “Good, now let’s get a drink.”We could drink more than the average human, because our body heat burned the alcohol from our systems much faster. We could get drunk but we didn’t stay drunk for too long. How much and how fast you drank also played a role, but we could easily drink five times what our friends could.At 1 AM, I dropped James off at home and promised him that I was going home as well. I wasn’t. I needed space, time, and something. I wasn’t sure what though. Release maybe? I turned on 3rd Avenue and drove straight toward the Seward Highway. I turned left again and parked at the lagoo
In the reception area, the secretary nodded her head at a chair and I sat down and waited. After what felt like half an hour, the secretary cleared her throat. “Mr. Rush will see you now, Kiran.” I knocked on his office door and entered.“Kiran, please, sit down.” Mr. Rush remained sitting behind his desk and I sat down and looked him straight in the eye. An Alpha never looked down, it wasn’t in me, even if I hadn’t been a wolf, I still wouldn’t look down.“How are you doing, Kiran?”“I’m doing just fine, Mr. Rush.” It was the truth. Ever since I’d let go of Sarah’s memories, I was simply fine. It was a benefit of being a wolf.“I know you and Sarah broke up quite some time before she …er… the incident.” He looked uncomfortable as he searched for the correct words. “I hope you don’t blame yourself for what she did.”“It’s extremely sad that she did this. I’m sad that she couldn’t talk to someone, anyone, about what she was going through. I feel sad for her parents, but I don’t blame m
When I walked into our house, Karani was standing in the kitchen, the kettle boiling on the stove, but she didn’t seem to notice it.“Mom, are you okay?” I startled her as she jumped slightly and turned the gas off.“Yes, I’m fine. How was school?” The smile on her face warmed me and I knew I was lucky to have a mother like her.“It was …fine, I suppose. Mr. Rush asked to see me, open door policy and all that,” I replied. “He was very glad to hear that you guys took me for trauma counseling.” Karani laughed and nodded her head. She knew that it was a good lie.“Your father’s concerned.”“About?” I looked at her hesitantly. Malachi was always concerned about a number of things when it came to me, but his latest concern was college. I had to make a choice because I had no choice when it came to having a degree behind my name.“Your mate. You know we knew…”I cut her off abruptly. “Yeah, I know. You two were ten when you knew.”Everybody knew the story of Malachi and Karani. They’d been
I walked through the foliage and undergrowth behind our house and took the path that led toward the mountains. I love the quiet here and I was a regular visitor because nobody else ever came here except me.I had to stop walking as the physical pain of someone’s emotions overwhelmed me. I breathed in deeply through my nose and I heard the muffled cries. I’d felt her emotions before I’d heard or seen her.I walked further into the woods and then I caught her scent. She was sitting on a rocky outcrop with her head buried in her hands. Her aura was also rapidly changing with her emotions and it made me feel lightheaded.“Hey,” I said and sat down next to her.“Oh, Kiran.” Her face was streaked with tears and then she pressed herself against me, her body shaking with sadness.“What happened?” I wished I could read minds and realizing what she was doing, Shoran shifted away from me and wiped the tears from her face. “Is it James?” I felt worried suddenly, because why else would she be alon
I walked into the kitchen through the sliding doors and found Malachi sitting at the kitchen counter. Malachi had a small smile on his face and amusement danced in his eyes. Karani gasped when she looked at me and her eyes glistened with tears.“What the hell happened to you?” Karani asked as she engulfed me in her motherly hug and I winced. I had no idea what I looked like, but if it was anything like what I felt, it wasn’t good.“Kiran and James had a little misunderstanding,” Malachi answered for me. I could swear he was enjoying the moment and I wondered how he knew what had happened.“I will be fine in an hour or so,” I said.“James did this to you?” Anger had replaced Karani’s concern for me and I already knew what she was thinking. James had to be punished for this.I pushed her away gently and sat down next to Malachi. I told them exactly what had happened and Malachi only nodded and listened until I finished. Karani had calmed down as well and Malachi was quiet for a long whi
Two days later, Malachi convened a pack meeting at the den. I was allowed to sit in but had no vote because I wasn’t eighteen yet. The pack formed a circle, and James and Shoran stood in the middle. Malachi stood up and started the meeting.“Welcome everyone,” Malachi said in his business-like tone of voice, and his face gave nothing away, just a stern look as he addressed us all.“Our newest member, Shoran Mitchells, finds herself with child. Your future Beta, James Thomas, has admitted to fathering the child.” He made it sound like a crime had been committed and I wished I had a voice at this meeting.“There are two options open to you, Shoran. First, you can choose to keep the child or you can choose to terminate your pregnancy. Your choice will be made here and the pack will vote on whether they accept your decision or to cast you out,” Malachi said.My gaze went to James because I hadn’t expected this. Never before had our pack voted to cast someone out and my heart was racing. I
Seward was a beautiful town, very touristy, which intensified Adara’s curiosity about why they chose it. Her curiosity didn’t last long, because they probably wouldn’t be living there for long. Ramos and Juniper tended to move a lot, especially when people started asking too many questions.They had moved into a big house; she called it big because it had four bedrooms. For the first time in her life, she had her own bathroom and for her that was a little independence. She wondered if Ramos robbed a bank to be able to afford the house.Her bedroom was at the beginning of the hall, the spare bedroom was right next to hers. They called it the guest bedroom – she had no idea why – since they never had guests. The third bedroom was Ramos’ study and the master bedroom with their own bathroom.Her bathroom was right across the hall from her room and for a little while she felt like a princess. Juniper ordered furniture and it looked like a real home. She didn’t even mind knowing she’d have