I kept my eyes straight ahead as Rowan and Vince stormed by. I felt someone’s eyes hit me, but I pretended not to notice. If it was Rowan, we will talk later. If it was Vince, I didn’t want to meet his eyes. Hanna leaned closer to me and whispered, “What the hell was that?”“I wish I knew. But something serious is going on.” I kept my face blank and my voice low. I wanted to be open and honest with her, but I barely knew her. And while I felt like I could trust her, to lay everything out for her, I would need to be sure. “I understand.” Hanna gave a tiny nod and then we focused on the king walking on to the stage. He was followed by three others and Vince. He was still pissed. I could see it in his face. His eyes were tight, and even though he was wearing a smile, I could see the predator behind his mask. His wolf was close to the surface. “Ladies and gentleman, please let’s settled down. Today has turned a little sideways and now we have more than one thig to address today.” Rowa
I made my voice quiver, and I did my best to pretend to be scared. “Please Alpha, I know you were just following orders. Tell the truth, I don’t want you to die.”Vince sighed in relief, and Rowan nearly lost it. His eyes showed the smile he was desperately trying to hide. “Well Alpha Vince?” Rowan stepped closer to the other man and he towered over Vince. “Alpha Rowan-”“King Rowan.” Someone that sounded a lot like Nina called out, earning a smile from the king.Vince stammered and then corrected himself. “King Rowan. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.”“Explain.” Rowan pulled up a chair from where they were off to the side of the podium. He positioned it facing Vince and then sat, crossing his arms. “What?” Vince froze.“Explain. You said you were trapped between a rock and a hard place. I want you to explain it to me.”Vince’s mouth dropped open, and the three men started to fidget. Rowan raised a hand and motioned for Vince to start his explanation. “What? I mean, obvio
“What does that even means?” Someone called out.“What’s going on?” A few students stood to their feet.“Should we just go home?” Toya stood and started to the aisle. “Calm down everyone.” Rowan stepped closer to the podium. “Let me explain it all.” Rowan turned to glare at the council members. “The attacks on all of our packs have become devastating. Some packs have been wiped out, and no, I will not tell you which packs they were. I will be going to those affected personally today.” A new hush fell over the crowd. Devastation hung in the air, but it was stunted. Everyone was terrified that they were about to learn that their families had disappeared. I watched as almost everyone texted someone. “I’m not getting an answer.” Someone panicked and stood to run.“Stay where you are. I told your families not to answer until I gave the all clear. I want to talk to those affected first. So please don’t panic. Also, smaller packs have been taken in by some of the larger packs. Not permanen
“Now to get back to you questions. Yes, there was an attack that injured someone here. She nearly died, but thankfully her wolf was strong enough to heal the damage. Even though the doctors thought she wouldn’t make it. Next, if the wolf wants it to be made public, I will say her name, but I will wait for her permission.” He glanced my way, but Nina stood. “You can tell my story.” Her voice was soft, but I could tell she was proud. “Nina.” Rowan started, but then a council member stepped up and smiled. “Nina’s attack was harrowing.” He started. “She was a little girl when a rogue attacked her and her father.” The crowd gasped, but I watched Rowan grind his teeth. “We were all worried she wouldn’t wake up, but thankfully, her juvenile wolf was strong enough to heal the damage to her head.” There were a few claps, and I had to lift my fingers to my lips. This was Ninas big attack. Rowan turned to me and I gave a tiny nod. I would have kept quiet, but this was getting ridiculous. “
This was the first time I was seeing it myself. I looked dead. My eyes were half open, and my mouth was bloodied. My neck looks ravaged, jagged teeth marks still circle my throat, with bits missing. My arm was snapped and laying the wrong way and my leg had a bone sticking out of it. I heard just one giant inhale of breath before everyone turned to look at me but I focused on the screen. This is what I had, we had, survived. We are stronger than you think. Nix’s voice was firm as she stroked her side against the wall between us. Megan did the same. They were trying to calm my racing heart. I was so close to death.But the goddess saved us. Megan’s sweet voice seemed to calm me down. Yes, the goddess has need of us. Nix and Megan settled against each other and I smiled. “How?” I was snapped back to reality. I turned to face Hanna.“What?” I furrowed my brow, and she clutched at my hand. “How did you survive that?”“Luck.” Was the only answer I could give. “Fuck off, this is fake.
Everyone froze, including Nina. “My king, please.” Another council member stepped forward. “We haven’t finished our selection process.”Rowan turned to face the others. “This will be addressed later. But I will say this now. I am not selecting a mate until this war is handled. You can pick whoever you want, but no one will become queen until everyone is safe.” The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop.“My king, you need an heir.” The man, Thinius, stammered. “I have already selected an alpha to be the heir apparent in a decree that is in my personal safe.” Another gasp went out. This was the first time a wolf would be in line to be the King.“My king, we haven’t discussed this.” “It is not your choice.” Rowan screamed. Obviously losing his hold on his wolf. “I am the king.” He closed his eye and pushed off the wolf under him and strode back to the podium. He clicked a few buttons and everything disappeared. “This is not why I am here, and you all do not need to listen to the
Everyone walked out of the auditorium in silence. Everyone was worried that there was going to be the dreaded knock on their door. But thankfully, my father never listened to others. I checked my phone to see I have over twenty messages from my dad, mom, and Cass. I was sending back replies when I turned onto my floor and made my way to my room. I unlocked the door, still staring at my phone and kicked off my shoes. I turned towards my bed, and I bumped into a chest.I froze. This was my room, and no one else should be in here. I slowly raised my head from my phone and I stepped back. “What are you doing in here and how the heck did you get in?”Roman smiled. “I’m the benefactor for the school. I have a key that’s a universal key for a hidden lock under the knob.”“What?” I went back out my door and slid the metal cover over and there it was, the universal lock. I shook my head as I came back in. “Sneaky. So why are you here?” I slid past him and I felt him vibrate. I looked at him
“I still don’t understand why?”“Because we need them to think you are alone.” Rowan continued to rub my feet. It felt amazing, but I needed to focus, so I pulled my feet back and leaned closer to him. I grabbed his face with my hands, and I squeezed. “I need you to stop being so mysterious and explain it to me. Why do I have to pretend my father is dead?” I swore Rowan stopped breathing as I leaned in. “Because we want them to think that you are alone other than your mother. Your mother has spent these last years convincing Vince and Morgan that she is weak. Which plays well in to our plan.”“Are you going to tell me the plan?” I was getting frustrated.“Are you going to hold my face the entire time I tell you?” His voice was soft and his eyes were flicking between my eyes and my nose. I puled my hands back as if they were on fire and sat back. “Sorry.” I felt my face flush, and he chuckled.“I don’t mind, but I would prefer having a mint if you’re going to be that close.” He wink
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
I pulled into the house a little earlier than I expected. The grocery store was pretty empty. I only saw two workers. I grabbed my groceries and was out of the door before anyone said hello to me, which was fine. I needed a shower, and to see my girl. I brought everything inside and put it next to the closet. I left the door locked until I was ready to go over. I would do everything I needed to first because I knew if I went to the cabin, I was going to get an earful. I hopped in the shower and groaned. It felt amazing to have my shower again. I had bought new shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. I had a brilliant idea as I was shopping. One that was sure to make Brandon go slightly insane. I smirked as I sniffed the strawberry scent I had missed the last few years. Nix and Megan both sniffed the air and sighed. I missed this smell. Nix purred in my mind.Megan nodded. It makes me feel at home. I finished my shower and got out, covering myself in more strawberry scented product. My
I ran past my house, and I wanted to turn in, to check in on everyone. But I had to run back and pretend I just got back in. I ran past guards and patrols, gaining speed. When Nix got tired, Megan took over. I kept feeding magic into our feet, and after a few hours of running back and forth, weaving through the groups of wolves, I was finally off pack lands. Nix? I turned back to my exhausted wolf.Yeah? She rolled over to look at me. Use the vacuum. She furrowed her brow. What the hell are you talking about?Remember when we were learning to change our scent? The candle changed it and the vacuum…Made it disappear completely. I nodded. Exactly. I don’t want anyone following our trail. She nodded and hopped up. I watched as she dragged herself to the clearing and I summoned the vacuum. Itg was funny to watch her blow out the candle and then turned on the vacuum. She got the switch on the third attempt with her claws. She grabbed the hose with her teeth and sat down with it pointe
I heard Vince call out behind us, but I pushed Megan to run fast. I felt the first trap try to pull strength from us, and I realized I hadn’t carved the rune onto Megan yet.Fuck. I pushed forward, shoving my wolves back. The instincts were telling us to run, to flee, but I needed to get the rune on to her skin or else we wouldn’t make it very far. Amy, we have to run. Nix screamed from behind me, but I still forced Megan’s body to freeze. I stretched out our leg and used a claw to cut into the skin. I could hear the footsteps coming behind me. Amy! There is more the Vince chasing after us. We have to go. She tried to push, but I held her back. Trust me, we need this or else we are cooked. I looked behind us as Vince pushed through the last trees, blocking our view. His face broke into a smile, but then he faltered as he saw what I was doing.“Hey, what are you doing?” Vince stepped closer and the smell of blood hit his nostrils. His eyes snapped to my leg. “If you wanted to die, yo
The guard was pacing, nervous. He kept glancing back at me and muttering to himself. That put me on edge. Why does he keep looking back here? Nix stood and started to pace. I don’t know. But it’s not good. I moved to the clearing, checking on my magic. I had been funneling all of mine and Nix’s extra energy into our well. Building it until our flame turned into a giant bonfire. The magic was burning bright, and it took effort to keep it contained, my like my aura. How are you doing? Megan called back to me. We are ready. I shot back. I had been studying the book for days until I figured I could use a reversal rune to block the drain of our power. It will actually pull power from those chasing us and feed it into our bodies until we remove the rune. I had carved the rune into Nix and myself. Megan, I left for last. The door slammed open and Brandon strolled in. I wanted to recoil from the look on his face; it was so vicious. But I would never hide or cower from this man. “Looky l
But Megan ignored him. He stood and crowded the bars, drawing in more air and her scent. “Fuck.” Then he turned and spun away. “I’ll be back with your next meal.” He walked to the door, grabbed a tray he had left there, and came back. He pushed the food through the tray slot at the bottom of the door. Megan popped up. She walked over slowly, watching Vince. She stopped short of his hands. Then she pawed the food tray the rest of the way to her. We walked Vince’s eyes almost completely disappear into his pupils before his wolf took over. His eyes flashed to a soft chocolate brown, and there was a deep rumbling in his chest. “You smell good.”Megan rolled her eyes and sniffed the food. Each item had to be sniffed, tasted and then we had to wait for any reactions. But as soon as Megan sniffed the meat, she pulled back and swatted the tray against the bars. Vince’s wolf watched her, and then he smirked. “Smart girl. Most don’t notice the silver.” Megan let out a low growl before she tu
There was a bang, and a door slammed open. “Alpha.” The guard at the door called, and instantly we were all on guard. “Leave us.” He motioned for the wolf to leave, and he strolled down to my cell. “Hello.” He watched me with hooded eyes. “Still vicious?” Megan growled, causing Vince to chuckle. “I find it interesting that you aren’t afraid of me.” We barked out a laugh. “Why would I be afraid of you?”Vince froze. “You speak?” Megan rolled her eyes and turned out back on him. “Stupid male.” She tossed her head, glaring at him over her back. He chuckled, then turned back to the door. He grabbed the chair there and pulled it over in front of my cell. “Well, you kept your mouth shut the first day we met. I assumed you were mute.” I huffed out a sigh. “I nearly bit half of your face off. My mouth was very much open.”He threw his head back and started laughed. “You did. I will give you that.” Vince leaned closer to the bars and Megan lifted her lip. “You don’t like me, do you?”“Sho
“You are going to let me die here?” Megan let her words sound incredulous. Rick walked to the bars. “I don’t want you to die. But I have no way of getting you out of here without being seen or found out. If I could save you and only lose my own life, I would do it. You don’t deserve to be here…”“But?” Megan cut in. “But I have a pup and a mate who would be executed if I went against Vince.” He grabbed the bar and I heard the sizzle of his skin against the silver. “I can’t risk them. I hope you and Amy will understand that.” He pulled back and turned away. “Wait!” Megan called after him.He turned. “The guard is coming back in a minute. Be quick.”“Will you come back to speak with me?” She tried to get close. “I have so many questions.”Rick looked back to the door. “I can try. But Rick doesn’t like random people coming in here.”“Then why did you come in now?” Megan pushed. “Because…” His shoulders sagged. “Because I felt like a monster and I felt like I neede3d to explain. If I
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