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False Pretense
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Run. How Do You Sleep
Lya My eyes snapped open. Time to run. Everything I thought I knew of this place was a lie. That’s what I get for trusting too easily. A mistake I have made before and know better than to do. 'No,' the wolf - Tala - said. Her voice was harsh, and I was scared of her. 'Yes,' I insisted. 'I won’t let you.' I knew she wasn’t lying. She had taken control of me before, and I knew she would have no qualms doing it again. 'Look around, Lya. They trust you. Now you trust them.' I did as she asked, expecting to be back in the hospital, probably behind a locked door. But, I was still in the room at the packhouse. Alone.'You could leave if you wanted. There’s the door, but that would be conspicuous. We have an entrance to the patio, and it would take a while for them to realize we are gone.''We aren’t safe here, Tala,' I moaned. The wolf growled. 'Yes. We are.''How do you know?''Adair.' She slunk back, leaving me in control. The vote of confidence from her left me uneasy. There
Run. The Dream's in the Ditch
OliverThe rapping on my door startled me out of my daze. I had things I needed to do, and absolutely no ability to focus. I was angry at myself for practically encouraging Lya to leave, and I had very little hope she would actually still be around at this point. That scared me more than I could put into words.“Come in,” I called gruffly. Trevor opened the door, but didn’t come inside. “I’m headed out,” he said. I looked up at him. “You better not bail on me this time,” I reminded him. “I’m not planning on it.” He paused, looking down on the ground. “I’m really sorry Lya heard everything last night. That wasn’t a very fair way for her to figure out.” I sighed, leaning back in my chair. “Realistically, she might have had the same reaction no matter when and how it was done. It is just part of the long list of reasons if people don’t know what they’re fighting for, they shouldn’t be involved in the fight.” Trevor nodded. “We could have come up with a plan together if you had t
Run. Under Pressure
Lya The silence was strained in Oliver’s Land Cruiser. I sat with my arms folded across my chest, refusing to look at him. 'There’s no harm in enjoying the view,' Tala insisted. I rolled my eyes. Oliver was, unfortunately, exactly my type. The dark and broody mountain man looked like he was chiseled from stone. I wondered if Michelangelo was jealous. I settled for studying the tattoos down his right arm. Oliver kept glancing over at me. He looked like he was trying to come up with something to say while I was trying to put off vibes that discouraged interaction. 'He’s not the one you’re angry with,' Tala reminded me. She may be right, but I wanted to be angry with him, too. “Have you been feeling better?” Oliver finally asked as we pulled into the parking lot. I nodded, still not wanting to talk. “That’s good,” he nodded. I hopped out of the SUV, and Oliver fell in stride beside me. “You haven’t really come out of your room - have you been bored?” “I found a book to read.
Run. Everything You Want
Oliver Bringing up her ex had clearly struck a nerve. As much as I hated the thought of that guy with her, I felt bad that I had unintentionally hurt Lya. Humans were weird. I couldn’t wrap my head around why she would still be hung up on that guy. The rest of dinner had been quiet. Every attempt I made to pull her out of the shell she had receded into failed, and she asked to go home as soon as she had finished. At this point, she was back in her room, and I was sitting in my office. I looked over at the clock. It was still early for a Friday night - only 7. I decided to head back out to the bar, where I was sure Cody would have migrated to. I sat in the driver’s seat for a moment before starting the Land Cruiser. The smell of lilac and pine still lingered. I could get drunk off of it. Begrudgingly, I started it up, the fans of the air conditioning dispersing Lya’s intoxicating scent. Adair growled. 'Someone should be at the packhouse with her,' he insisted. 'Gregory is there,
Run. Here I Go Again
Lya Oliver didn’t complain about me calling it an early night. He had offered to show me around a bit, but I just needed to be by myself. If I didn’t know any better, I would think Oliver was trying to surprise me with a date, but I was certain it just had to be a tactic to get answers out of me. I wasn’t exactly upset he was asking nosey questions - I knew that would be coming at some point - but I needed some time to think and process. The past few days had been such a whirlwind, I hadn’t even had time to do that. I wondered if this was how they handled all surprise pack visitors. It didn’t seem at all like the most secure setup. This pack would be very easy to infiltrate if someone harbored any amount of ill will toward them. It couldn’t have happened before, though, otherwise I probably would have been in a cell rather than the packhouse. Maybe that reputation of Oliver’s really did precede him. I sat in the loveseat in my room with a book cracked open on my lap, staring at
Run. All Nightmare Long
Oliver The night dragged on. I had buried myself in work as soon as I got back from town, trying to keep myself busy. I was behind, anyway, so it was a good use of time. Patrols needed to be increased due to the imposing threat, the full moon was around the corner, I needed to debrief all the extended leadership of the pack… the list went on and on. I didn’t really trust anyone else to help Lya acclimate, and I could only go so long being stretched this thin, so it was time to delegate - not something I was good at. 'One of the Luna’s unspoken duties must be to make sure you don’t try and do everything yourself,' Adair mused. I chuckled at his hypothesis, but he must have been right - Lya had only been here a few days, and already, she unknowingly had me wrapped so tightly around her little finger I was willing to actually relinquish my hold on some of the pack management. If my dad was still around, he would have laughed. It really wasn’t fair that most transitions of power were
Run. To Be With You
Lya I woke up to the sound of gentle snoring. I tried to sit up, but a weight was pinning my arm down. Fuzzy tingles ran up my arm, almost like the weight was causing it to fall asleep. Wide eyed, I looked around, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. My eyes fell on a giant black dog sprawled out on the bed with his head on my arm. What the hell? I shifted around, wiggling my arm free, keeping my eyes glued to the dog. How did a dog get in here? I hadn’t seen one roaming around the packhouse in the days previously. 'Hate to break it to ya hun, but that’s not a dog.' Tala’s snarky tone was about the last thing I wanted to wake up to. I looked a little closer. I gasped in horror as I realized I had been curled up next to a wolf. And, given that we were in a werewolf pack, I could only assume where there was a wolf, there was a human counterpart that went with it. I tried to fly off the bed to get out of the room, but Tala wouldn’t let me budge. 'Chill, he is frien
Run. Hold Back The River
Oliver Adair perked up when he heard people come into the packhouse. I had buried myself in the work I had let get behind upon Lya’s arrival at the pack. I could already tell Adair was right and the pack would be best off if I started delegating sooner rather than later. A knock came at the door, but I knew who it was before it even opened. “You wanted to see me?” Lya asked, poking her head around. I smiled. “Yeah, feel up for a walk?” “Sure, but isn’t there someone you wanted me to see?” “Yep,” I confirmed, “but it’s a bit of a walk to her place.” I stood up and walked around the desk, leading the way out of the packhouse. Lya followed in silence. Luckily, Adair and I had agreed if he was going to insist on sleeping in her room, we’d avoid shifting around her so she didn’t figure out who it was, so I didn’t have to argue with him about what form we walked to my grandmother’s house in. I stuffed my hands in my pockets to keep myself from reaching out to touch her, settling
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