The next few weeks flew by. With classes, training and the calls with everyone, I was insanely busy. Most nights, I did my homework, ate a quick dinner, and crawled into my bed. The calls between Rowan and I became a weekly event. Usually, on the day of class, we would talk about what was going on in the packs. He told me about the unrest. More and more packs were being targeted for some unknown reason. But my father’s pack was targeted the most. One Friday, I got a call from Cass. “Hey! How’s mated life treating you?”“Honestly, it’s been amazing. Greyson has been so supportive.”“I’m so happy for you.” I truly was. “You deserve the world.”“Thanks, but I didn’t call to catch up.” Cass’s voice dropped low. “I was told not to call at all, but since I wasn’t commanded, I think Ronnie understood was I was going to do.”“What’s wrong?” My stomach dropped. “We have been attacked three times since you left, Amy. All rogues, all knowing our old security runs. Ronnie, Greyson and you dad h
I scoffed when I turned away from the door and walked back to my bed. “What did he just say?” Rowan asked again. “He said that he wanted to be with me and dating and fucking my sister was a mistake. The romantic of the year here.” I plopped down on my bed and steered the conversation back to the problem at hand. “Anyway, I think I know why the attacks amped up.”“We are going to revisit this declaration of this boy. But why?” I could hear him settled back into a chair. He must have stood up at some point. “Because the shaman and his newly awakened daughter, just fled to my father’s pack.” I whispered it. I knew my magic was still in effect because I could feel it, but I still felt the need to whisper it. I could hear the groan of wood on his end of the call. “Please tell me you are lying.”“I wish I could.”“The shaman had a child?” “A five-year-old daughter.” I bit my lip.“She’s too young.” His voice held disbelief.“Yet, I held her as she had her first vision before I left Vinc
I walked out of class and headed straight to the forest. I needed a run. I was frustrated. These past few weeks have been frustrating, and I didn’t know why.Yes, you do. Nix’s voice was amused. “No, I don’t.” I ran the rest of the way to the forest trail. I needed the wind on my fur, the dirt under my claws. Megan rolled her eyes at me. Yes, you do.I stumbled to a stop and threw up my hands. “No, I don’t.” I screamed and had a few people stare at me. I shook my head and apologized to everyone. I ran the rest of the way and shifted into Nix. She took off. She wove in and out of trees, jumped over fallen ones and skid under bushes. “You know why you’re angry. You just don’t want to admit it to yourself.”Just get to the point, Nix. Rowan. Megan sat back on her haunches beside me. You haven’t seen or heard from him since the last call. She looked over at me. You have had a sub in class and he hasn’t called you back, so you haven’t called him.Well. He should have called me back lik
“Nix. Stop.” I growled out as my head snapped to the light grey wolf of Alpha Vince came sliding into the clearing. “Please.” The other wolves gasped as he gave that inch, but his wolf wasn’t stupid. I was twice his size, and just as vicious.I turned my head back to the others and sat. “They attacked me.” Was my only answer.“We did not.” Nina, or her wolf, yelled back, but Vince ignored her and turned to me.“What happened?” His preference was noted by everyone there. “I was chasing after a deer. I thought in these woods, as a student, I was safe to roam.”“And you are.” His answer was swift. I felt my eyes widen in surprise. “Then why did the little brown wolf, the one I haven’t met, why did she intercept me? Why did they surround me?”“Who is this bitch?” Nina’s response was vicious, and very confusing.How does she not know who I am?Nix and Megan looked at each other and then answered. We changed your scent when you shifted into Nix. That way, if you wanted, you could stay ano
I watched as they all shifted and covered themselves. “Please don’t make us do this.” One small brunette asked. But I scoffed. “You attacked me. You teamed up on me. You were going to force me to leave a place that I was allowed to be and now you want mercy?” I called out and turned. “We are sorry.” Another called, and they dropped to their knees. “Nina told us there was a rogue wolf out here, and we needed to protect the school.”I whirled. “In what world does that make sense?” I stalked back to the naked women. “You are all weak, untrained, mostly unranked wolves. You caught me unaware because I thought I was safe to hunt in these woods. Which honestly was my fault. But if it really was a rogue, you would have died. Nina knew the wolf out here was either a student, but based on my size, she probably assumed it was an alpha male out hunting and she wanted to stand out.” I cut a glare at her. “I can only assume she knows who the alpha male is, and knew he would be out here today. Sh
She chased after the deer and ignored the male, who was still trying to get some attention. He nipped at our heels, chased after us, and tried to get us to play the entire time, but we were on the trail of the deer. She skidded to a stop, with Erubus stopping next to me. He opened his mouth, but she sunk down and edged under the bush in front of us. The deer was in a clearing, ears twitching, eyes alert. She felt him sink next to us and he went on alert when he saw the deer. We separated and then circled the deer, working together to get the deer. We both lunged as if we were one unit. She went for the neck while he landed on the buck, taking him down to his belly. I pulled back as our teeth dug into the buck’s neck and I felt the first gush of blood hit our mouth. Megan cackled at me, gagging as Nix focused on the kill. You don’t have to hunt with us. Megan’s voice was cheerful. You can pull back enough that it is just her.I know. I pushed my hand deep into her coat. But I want to
I rushed into class right before it started and slammed into my desk. I had lost track of time during my run and had to eat my lunch late. Even though we ate half the deer, when I shifted back, I was starving. I thought I would have more cushion, but everything that happened in the woods, I barely made it. I opened my laptop and waited for the sub to come in. Mr. Oran was a decent teacher. But Rowan had promised to help with my hacking and then he disappeared. I shook my head as I wanted to growl. This was all stupid, and I shouldn’t be wasting my time waiting on him. I buried myself in coding. We were working on setting up basic firewalls at this point, and I was thoroughly engrossed in the subject. Not only was it fascinating to see what goes into this kind of system, but knowing how it’s built will help me get around it better. Mr. Oren had gone over the subject the past couple of classes, and we were working on our first project. Setting up a firewall around one file. By the
“You seem to be thinking pretty hard there, Amy.” His voice, once again, made me jump. I hadn’t realized that the class was over. I was still fully absorbed in what I was reading and this time I let out a squeak. He chuckled as he settled next to me with his laptop. “Um yeah.” I wiped my face. “This is all confusing.” I waved my hands at the screen and he nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t think it was hacking principles that made you make that face.” He turned to me. “So spill.”“How old are you?” I blurted it out and then winced.“What?”“How old are you?”“Why do you want to know?” He leaned back in his seat. I raised my hands and shook my head. “Sorry. It’s none of my business.” I wiped at my face. “Just when you said that you have been at this for years, it made me think about you age. Wolves barely grow old, heck my parents look to be about thirty, and my dad is almost two hundred years old.”“How old is your mother?” Rowan tilted his head. “She is closer to sixty. They met when she
He knows. Nix’s words were soft, her eyes fully focused on the man in front of us. What are you talking about? Megan turned back to us. He’s scum.Nix shook her head. Look at him, Megan. Truly look, and push away your hatred towards Brandon, Vince, and well, all the male population. Megan snorted but turned back.What am I looking for? Megan sighed, but focused. I stepped closer, trying to see what she was seeing.Nix was focused on Rick. Look at his skin. He is sweating, he’s pale, but his eyes are focused. His hand… She trailed off.He’s clutching at his neck. Megan tensed beside me. “What happened first, Rick?”He turned his haunted eyes back to us. “What?”Megan sighed as she crept closer. “What came first? You working with Vince? Or Abby getting branded?”“Does it matter?” He slammed back against the wall and dropped to his ass. “It changes nothing.”“It matters.” She growled. “It matters to me, and I know it will matter to Amy.” “Why?” He dropped his head into his hands. “It
I waited until Vince pulled out the needle and I jumped up, growling. I let my hackles rise and I lunged for Vince, but he danced back and slammed the door shut. His chuckle was infuriating, and I lunged, hitting the bars on purpose. I yelped and jumped back from the searing pain of silver. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Everything is silver in here.” Vince wagged the key in front of me. “You will just have to be a good girl to get let out.” I nearly gagged, but I lunged again, testing how hard the bars were. They bent a little, making every man jump back. I yelped again and slid against the ground, showing the burns to Vince. “Stop!” I pulled away, slowly, weakly, growling softly to show I hadn’t given up yet. Nix rolled on the ground. You are really selling this, Amy. Vince is eating this up for sure. Megan shook her head. But don’t push it too far. A wolf cornered would fight, but a weaker wolf would stay away from the silver after this. I nodded. Oh, I know. That was the l
Nix and Megan pressed against my side. What are you saying? It’s poisoned…poisoned how? Nix leaned in, trying to see it closer, but we were stuck where we were. The power that their traps were pulling from me it was transferred to this rune. The quickening. It says it right in the name. It converts your power into physical strength and speed. Like I was doing with our power, but this is for a person who doesn’t have magic. Okay…I don’t know what’s wrong still. Megan leaned against the barrier and I laughed. Do you see the line that cuts through the rune? Both of my wolves focused on the rune that was bobbing in and out of our line of sight as he ran. Yeah. Nix finally said. The part that looks infected?Yes. That’s exactly what it is. A poisoning. It breaks the limits on the rune and pushes power into the person. Normally, the person will hit a wall. The wall being that their physical body can’t go any faster or it hurt them, it will break down their bodies. Like poison.So you’re
I heard a chuckle and then a soft whispered. “Slepta noir sha dineh por clotin.” Then the world went dark. Amy, stay awake. Nix called me, but I couldn’t move. Everything was heavy. I felt like I was snuggled under the best blanket in a dark room. Amy! Megan called after me, but I was snuggled deep into slumber. A few more minutes, guys. I called back to my wolves. I heard them both growl. What is the point of having magic if we fall victim to it? Nix growled, but Megan just sighed. It wasn’t an attack, like Verity said it was a gentle spell to put her to sleep. We are still awake, and if anything happens, I’m sure we can force her awake. But there is a bright side.What’s that? Nix sounded doubtful, but open to listening.Amy will be rested and fully recharged. Then we can figure out what the actual fuck happened. Like, how did Rick catch us?I felt my wolves settled near me. And I rolled to touch them. I wanted to wake up. This seemed like something important. Something was wro
Vince turned to look at Brandon. He looked at its stumpy fingers and shook his head. “Why would you bring up the brotherhood in front of the wench?”Wench? Is he trying to be a fucking pirate or something? Nix snorted and rolled her eyes. Vince is stupid.But I watched him. Something was off in the way he watched us. Ever since I ripped off his cheek. I think…I think he likes us, Megan. She snapped her head to mine and then gagged. Absolutely the fuck not. She shook her head. But Nix watched him. I think she is right, Megan. Everytime he says something, his eyes flick to us. He is looking for our reaction. She gagged again. No, you two have to be wrong. We ripped off half his face.I think…I think he likes us because of it. The thought made my stomach clench. Sick fuck. “Wench? Dad…common we all know she is going to be dead soon. So why does it matter?” Brandon snorted as he passed me, kicking out, but I jumped up and snarled. “I would watch your self Bran. She is feisty. She alr
I sat still. I knew I couldn’t run away without being caught, so I would sit, watch, and wait. I was going to hold back on any magic use until I was somewhere else. Since Rick said the forest was covered in magical traps, this was once I was out I would be safe. I just needed to get out first. Rick narrowed his eyes. “You aren’t going to come quietly, are you?” I just settled on the ground. I wasn’t stupid, but I wasn’t going to just fall in line, either. He chuckled and turned to Morgan. “Watch my son. Don’t let him get close to the wolf.” Morgan nodded, but Vince was already turning away. “Rick, come with me. You can carry me back here with our shit and the pup.” Rick’s eyes tightened again and then he nodded. He smiled. “Yeah. Poor thing has to survive another week.”He shifted and left the clearing while Morgan and Brandon glared at me. “Are you seriously still going after Amy’s mom?” Brandon sagged against a tree. “I mean, I get it. She’s hot. And the power of the women in tha
Vince yelled as he tossed me to the ground. Morgan kicked me as soon as I hit the dirt, chunks of grass and twigs flying, the swift kick to my stomach sending me into a tree. I yelped as my shoulder broke, along with a few ribs, but Vince just looked at me with surprise as a chunk of his face slowly knitted itself back together. I looked at him through hooded eyes, but I watched with satisfaction as his cheek slowly rebuilt itself. Blood poured from his left side of his face. The lip hung loose, cut adrift from the portion of his cheek. I ripped away. His teeth were visible, and the surprised look in his eyes made the slow healing a little easier to deal with. Brandon looked at his father with wide eyes. “Are you okay?” He went to move closer, but that was the moment I spat out the hunk of meat I had in my mouth, as if his blood was poison. Vince didn’t look away from me. I sat up and wretched, like I was going to vomit. His blood and bits of flesh clung to the inside of my mouth.
I heard them all shift and start after me. One after the other, I heard a growl and then charging feet. Even Rick, who knew I was going to be out here, was charging after me. Rick, fucking Rick.Why would he want me to see all of that? Megan’s words were ragged. She was waning, but Nix was pushing her body to the brink. I think he needed us to see that. Maybe this started as a couple of friends, and he thought they were joking. Or it was a what if, and then he fell in love with Shelly?Nix panted but hummed her agreement. I think it was probably in the middle. He thought they were just assholes joking around with the women they were using, and then he found his mate. But he didn’t want to let go of his friends. Until his pup came back branded. Megan finished, and Nix agreed.I feel bad for him. Her words made us stop. But Nix pushed on. This about it, you’re trying to stay loyal to your friends but faithful to you mate and you think that witchcraft is probably fake and then suddenl
Morgan shrugged. “You should have kept your pants on. You only had to keep it in your pants for a few years, and you can’t even do that.” Morgan leveled him with a look. You can blame Shannon all you want, but let’s not pretend she is the only one you’re fucking.Brandon glared at him for a minute before laughing. “True.” He sighed. “But Shannon was the only one Amy had to deal with.”Morgan level him with another look. “Again, it isn’t her fault you decided you wanted to drain Amy of her power. You could have chosen anyone else.”Brandon sighed. “True again, but she is so fucking strong.” He grabbed his dick. “And she is so fucking stuck up. I was going to enjoy draining her.” Rick laughed. Fucking laughed, but when he turned, I saw it. A flash of something in his eyes. He didn’t want to be here. What the fuck is going on here? Megan called back to us, but neither of us knew. “Shut the fuck up.” Vince called back and everyone quieted. “Verity. How fucking long now?”She sighed as s