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 wanted to stay in bed, but the fact someone else was in here made me get up from the bed and pull out my bags. I packed up my stuff. As soon as I was done, I pulled it down to my truck and packed it into the back. I was starving by the time I was done, but I pushed myself to keep going. The truck was full, and I needed to grab food to fill the apartment. So I was going to head to the caff, but Rowan’s words stopped me. I needed to be weak, hurt, isolated. So I slid into my truck and rubbed my eyes. I sat there, and I remembered my first like. My death. And the anger came, but so did my loss. My baby was gone and there was nothing I could do. I placed my hand on my belly and I remembered the feeling of his first kicks, his butterfly like movement in my stomach. And then I remembered the feeling of having him ripped from me. The only time I got to hold his tiny body. And then the tears came. Once I had cried for my lost child, I sent a prayer to the moon goddess to tell my boy how
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