“Nix.” My mother rushed forward and got between us. “You can’t do this.” She pleaded with me, but I shook my head.
“Why not?” She growled and looked at our mother. She pushed me back, so that she was in front and I was watching next to Megan. “She has been very unsettled since coming back.” Megan turned to me. “I can’t blame her. She has finally shifted so her alpha aura, and your hormones have put here in a knifes edge. And then there is me. She has been dealing with my mourning my mate, and trying to claim him.”“Megan?” I looked at her, really looked. Her fur was a little patchy, and she looked exhausted. “She did what she had to. She held me back from claiming Brandon and I don’t regret it. It’s just hard. Shannon pushed her too far and now she will get her retribution.” Megan turned and limped back into my soul forest, where she could“Dad…” Brandon started.But Vince turned full circle to stare at the two of them. “You both abused your rank to protect an unranked wolf when she was overstepping. We have ranks for a reason. There is a pecking order for a reason. Ranked wolves are to protect the unranked wolves. Unranked wolves are supposed to fall in line. They are the backbone of the pack, but they need to know their place!” Vince screamed. “You had a weak child, Morgan. You mated an unranked wolf and had an unranked wolf. That is the chance you take when you mate outside of your rank.” Vince turned back. “But you do NOT allow your unranked daughter to push around the ranked wolves. You throw the entire order of the pack out the window when you do that.”“She is my pup.” Morgan tried again.I growled, tired of his shitty excuse. “And what?” I tossed out. “She is your daughter, but no one was trying to fight h
I turned to my mother and nosed the sliding glass door to the backyard. She hurried to the door and slid it open, and I walked out. I left the room full of the chaos I sowed and let the three of them figure it out. “Mother.” I called out, and she quickly followed.“Nix…Did you have to do that?” She came out and walked next to me.“I did.” I answered honestly. “She pushed her luck too far and we are tired of dealing with her.” I turned to my mother. “Shift. I want to run with you.” My mother let a small smile break out and nodded. She quickly shifted, and her brown wolf was a little smaller than Nix’s shifted form. Bigger than the average wolf.I took off with her trailing behind me. We breached the woods, and I slowed down, allowing her to overtake me as she knew these woods and I didn’t. She shot out in front, dodging trees and bushes she was intimately familiar with, while I b
I dropped down next to her with a thump. “What?”My mother smiled. “I should say my mother was the last pure Lycan, other than the king’s family. And I am three quarters as my father was half Lycan as well. A secret his line has kept almost as well as your father’s magic.” She looked over at me. “You are a little muddled. I don’t know if you have enough Lycan in you to have one.”“Have a Lycan?”“Yeah. So Lycans have a bigger wolf, and a wolfman form. But mixed Lycans, well they are blessed with two wolves…”“Two wolves?”“Yeah. One that is their Lycan, and can have multiple shifts. And their normal wolf. They inherit both wolves.” My mom shifted to her large brown wolf, and then into a smaller grey wolf, then back to herself. She panted as she settled back down on her knees. “It’s also why we keep our clothing. A gift passed down the Lyca
“Alive again?”I nodded. “In my last life, Brandon, had you killed? Dad was killed. Everyone was gone.”My mother took it better than I thought she would. “So you are saying that you lived a first life…”“We all do.” I looked down at my hands, where I was twisting my fingers. “Our gifts, they give us a do over, you can say. Like the goddess wanted us to see what could be, and she gives us a second chance to change it all.”“And it’s always bad…”I nodded. “As far as I know.”My mother trembled. “You saw what happened to your pup, and now you’re changing who your mate is…” She looked at me with a tiny spark of hope in her eyes. “Did you pick where you went back to, the time?”I shook my head no. “The Goddess selects, I think. One minute I was dying with Brandon screaming over me, and then next I was in bed six years younger. I didn’t choose to come back here. But I know I am determined to change the outcome. I refuse to watch my pup die again.”My mother’s breath caught, and I saw the
Dad!Pup? What’s wrong?She won’t stop…I don’t know what to do.She who? Won’t stop what? Pup, I need more information to go on… His voice didn’t sound panicked, but I knew mind did. I didn’t know how to explain it. Bring Nix forward. She can send what you see directly to me. My dad sent me, sensing my distress. So that’s what I did. I allowed Nix to come to the surface, and she saw our mother losing control. I could sense her opening to Loki, and then my mind was filled with his howl too. Loki?What happened to your mother, pup? My dad’s worried voice came through the howling.She knows.Knows what? Amy, you have to tell me what is going on or else I can’t help. His frustration was evident.She knows the truth. About our second chances, our power, the fact you lied. Everything. My mind’s voice was barely above a whisper, but I got it all out. The truth that had been nagging at me since the beginning of the summer. Why did you tell her? We said we wouldn’t tell her until this was ov
My mom sobbed into his chest. “Don’t say that Gav. I am so sorry. I betrayed you.”He forced her face to meet his. “Look at me Ain. Never say that. This isn’t on you. Everything for the last seventeen years everything that happened was because of me and my decisions. And I realized that a long time ago. I never blamed you, not once.”“Gav, how can you say that?” She closed her eyes. “I can’t imagine…”My dad looked at her and gave her a soft smile. “Can’t imagine what?”“Why would you forgive me after everything? I treated you so badly. I had to do- My dad covered her mouth with his hand. “You did what you had to do to keep our pup safe. Just like I did what I had to do to keep you safe.”“Gavin. You can’t mean that.” My heart broke at her words. How could she not see just how much he loved her? He leaned in and kissed her lips softly. “I love you, Ainsley. I never stopped loving you. I didn’t blame you for anything before, and then when Amy told me the truth, I felt like I was dyin
I dropped onto the sofa with both my parents looking down at me. My father mouthed the words sorry, but I just flipped him off and he laughed. “Now spill.”“Well, you already know the beginning of the story. I woke up, in the past, you sent me to Dad’s hoping he could figure something out to help me. Dad came clean, told me about our powers, and I started training.”“She also started female warrior training back up.” My dad pointed out but my mom glared at him over her shoulder.“What do you mean ‘back up?’.” I watched him gulp, and then he rubbed the back of his head. “I was missing you. And I had hoped that you still had friends in the pack.”“I cut everyone off, Gav. It was too hard.”My dad nodded. “Amy told me this summer. If I had known the truth, I would have stopped when I still had a semblance of control over the situation.”“Gavin Michael Maclean, what did you do?”“I gave the order to stop everything you were supposed to oversee in hopes your duty as a luna would push you
“It was magic, not how I truly felt.” My dad tried to comfort her. “What happened? What necklace, and who is the she-wolf?” My mother listed off the questions in quick succession and I wanted to laugh. “Ainsley…are you jealous?” My dad smirked, but she just backhanded his arm and she turned back to me. “After I noticed something was wrong, I worked to get my power under control. Great-grandma helped me. And-” “Wait, the dead woman?” My poor mother was trying her best to understand everything, but she was lost when it came to powers. “I’m used to Carl and his gifts, so I’m a little lost, but people coming back from the dead should be off the table, right?” I laughed with my dad. “Think more like spirit. Her spirit helped Amy.” “You got help from a fucking ghost?” She came over and sat next to me. “Mom. We are werewolves, and you’re surprised by ghosts?” I patted her hand, and she shot me a glare. “Listen. That is
I walked out of the office with an exhausted grin on my face.“Did you do it?” Alannah stood at her desk with a grin on her face. “I did. Got it just as the counter was counting down.” Alannah jumped as the door swung open and Vince walked in. “Amy!” He yelled as soon as he walked in. Alannah swung around me as naturally as she could. “Yes Alpha Vibce. What can I do for you?” Alannah stepped into Rick’s office, creating more space between them. Vince looked at her retreating, but I turned away from him and grabbed my purse from my hook, pulling his attention back to me. “You can’t call off the mating ceremony.” His face was smiling, but I saw the glint in his eye. He sounded like he was begging, but he meant it as an order. “Brandon loves you.”I nodded. “And I love him, but I love him enough to respect him and his reputation.”Vince furrowed his brow. “What do you mean by that?”I sighed as I stepped out of my office, pulling my door shut. “Alpha Vince, I know rumors don’t get ba
I covered my face with my hands. He doesn’t want me. My wolves laid down and I knew they were sad. We know how you feel about Rowan. How you feel about Thoth if you are ever going to admit it? We already told you we won’t interfere, but Erubus just snuck up on us. Megan huffed out a breath as she flopped over. Nix nodded. We thought we were just getting past the anger and the hurt that the two of them caused us. So that we could all learn to work together. And we did. Nix sighed as she laid her head down on her paws. Okay. I can understand that. I sat back. But what happened?He was…just himself. No interruption. No human getting in the way with his emotions. Rowan talks himself out of a lot. Nix shook her head. He takes a lot onto himself, more than needed. He thinks that his mate will make or break the realm. Nix sighed. I feel bad for the weight he forces on himself. He must be exhausted all the time. Megan nodded. He never pushed us, never made me feel excluded or uncomfortabl
I started in on the first firewall, which I breeched with no issue. But the second firewall blared the alarm. “Amy!” I sighed. “Got it.” I fixed my breech and tried again. And again. And again. I wanted to bang my head off the screen by mid day. I groaned in frustration when I heard Alannah call out again. “Amy.” “Seriously?” I slammed my keyboard in anger. I had made it halfway to the mainframe undetected, but I was stuck around the ninth firewall. I stood up and started to pace.Alannah came to the door. “Why don’t you take lunch? Take thirty minutes to regroup and then come back and attack. You will still have three hours to get rid of the virus once you settle.” She smiled and handed me the menu. “Maybe your hangry.”I huffed out a breath and then nodded. “You are probably right.” I sighed and dropped back into my chair. I looked over the menu and decided I needed meat. A lot of meat.Is everything okay? I called back to my wolves.Nix looked at me with wide eyes. I think we a
I watched his face go through a barrage of emotions and settled on anger. “Neither the pack nor Shannon can tell me who I can or can’t mate with.” He grabbed my face. “I want you, Amy.” He kissed me again and I had to hold myself back from puking. I couldn’t hold in the shudder, which made Brandon smile. He thought it was from need and not utter disgust. “You will be my mate. Promise me you will give me time to fix it.”I looked off to the side. “You have less than two weeks.” I turned back. “If Shannon hasn’t retracted everything…if she hasn’t stepped back, then she can take my place. I won’t be second place in my bond.” I slid out from in front of him and walked to the door. “Until then, I don’t want to be put in a situation where I would be considered the other woman.”Brandon watched me from behind y desk before he finally nodded and then walked back towards me at the door. “I respect that.” He leaned over and kissed me again. “I’ll handle it. Give me some time.”I just nodded and
I sat back, watching the grey curser flashing on the screen. I needed to answer him, but I was still a little lost on how to approach him. It’s still weird knowing that Thoth is a man. When my dad introduced us, it was just vague information. Thoth will help you. No gender. No name other than user name. I asked over and over, but he stayed quiet. We talked about computers at first. But then our conversations grew deeper. He asked about my day, complained about his own. It wasn’t until I joked with him about telling Brandon that he was a human female that he finally cracked and told me he was a man. Another alpha my father was friends with. One he had grown close to from overseas. I shook my head to clear it. Whatever feelings I did or didn’t have for Thoth would have to wait. I wouldn’t approach any relationship until everything had been handled.NixtheGoddess: Hey. I’m alive. Vince had captured me for a few days, but I got out. I’m at work. I have a full day, but I will do a full d
Humans fall in love… The words bounced around in my head. There was no fucking way. I turned to look at my wolves, who were sitting comfortably. There is no gods damn way.Nix snorted as she looked at Megan. She’s really trying to convince us…when we share her fucking soul and already know the truth. Megan shrugged. I wasn’t going to point it out to her. She ran to her computer every night for months, talking to the man. If she wanted to be stupid, that was her prerogative. They both looked at me and I staggered back. YOU KNEW!Both shrugged. Look. Nix stepped closer and ran her side down the barrier. After Brandon. I wasn’t going to agree to any mate. But then you met Rowan.And while we both liked him. Megan pressed against the barrier, sending love. There were too many things holding you both back. Including us. What are you guys even talking about?Nix sighed. She pulled back and looked at her paws. I knew you loved Rowan. We both did. And before we realized Erubus was Rowan,
I sighed before I pulled up our chat screen. The dark screen was full of messages that I had missed.Thoth: Hey. You missed our chat last night. We were going to work on getting into the mainframe. Is everything okay?Thoth: Amy? Hey. It’s been hours. I’m starting to worry.Thoth: Amy? I called your dad. He said he hasn’t been able to get in touch with you, and he’s even starting to worry. Is everything okay? We are starting to panic.Thoth: Okay, listen, I know you are probably busy. Especially with the kids. I know you said that the king was in the past, but maybe you should reach out to Rowan about the kids. Maybe he can help.Thoth: Hey it’s been another day. Are you okay? I fully expect you to message me back today. I called you but you didn’t answer.Thoth: I just realized it might be weird that I called you…I got your number from your dad. I figured since we are friends, you wouldn’t care. Thoth: Okay, don’t be weird about me calling you.Thoth: I’m panicking.I laughed at tha
I walked into the office early the next morning. I was exhausted still, but I had things to do. Alannah stood with a shout. “Amy! You’re back.” She ran over and hugged me. “I was so worried when I hadn’t heard anything from you.”“I just spent some time with my mom on an island off the coast. Cell service was bad.” I sniffed her. “You smell good.” I pulled back, patting her back. “I like the perfume, what is it?”She looked a little confused for a moment. “It’s vanilla.”I smiled. “It smells great, but I can tell it’s wearing off. You might want to add a little, so it lasts all day.” I winked at her as understand entered her eyes. “Good idea. I’ve been running around all morning, so I was really sweaty.” She turned around and went to her desk, pulling the bottle from her purse and spraying herself. She turned to me expectantly. “How’s that?” “Perfect.” I looked around. “Is Rick in?”She shook her head. “He left early yesterday after his meeting with the alpha. I think we weren’t fee
I opened myself up as I sat down and sent out a call. “Sorry it took so long.” I sighed as I sat down next to her. “You were busy.” Carl’s voice was sad, and as I looked over, both he and my grandmother looked worried. “But you are here now.”“I didn’t expect both of you.” I sighed.“Daddy.” Carly called as she jumped up, but I grabbed her. “He’s not really here, baby, remember? You can’t touch him.” She trembled and then she sat back down. They settled across from us with the grave between us. “I forgot.” She looked at him. “I miss you, daddy.”“And I miss you too, baby.” He leaned over, then need to touch his daughter too much. “I heard every time you prayed to me.” His eyes softened. “And I want you to know, baby. That if you want to call Amy mom, or if at any time Amy gets a mate and you want to call him dad, your mother and I won’t mind. We will always be your mommy and daddy.” The tears in his eyes were full of love.Carly looked at me and I smiled down at her. “You don’t hav