We pulled into the super store parking lot and hopped out. But Jora just kept talking. “The council then tried to argue that it would be unnecessary for him to be that involved in the process so that every girl has the same starting point, but the king disagreed. He turned on them. Clair sent me a video.” We were walking in to the store when Jora handed me his phone. He clicked the play button and Toya and Wendy crowded my back to watch. Rowan was just turned to face the mob of men behind him, and you could tell he was agitated. “What do you mean, I shouldn’t be involved in the selection? It’s my fucking mate we are choosing here.” Clair had to adjust her body, I am assuming, to keep the phone hidden. “Why should I let you all choose my mate without any of my input? Did you think I was just going to fall in line? Did you assume I would just accept any woman you choose that is under your thumb and happily make her my queen?” Rowan turned and walked away from the trembling men. You cou
“This is actually genius.” I handed back her phone. “Now we just have to find it.”“Actually, the store made it easy.” She scrolled for a minute. “This location has it in aisle twenty.” She led the way to the aisle. “And now that we are here, we can hit this button.” And she pointed to a flashing tag halfway down the aisle. “That’s convenience.” Toya laughed as she ran over. She grabbed a box and brought it over while reading the box. “It says it comes with everything, including the seeds and soil.”“That’s actually amazing.” Jora walked over. “My mate would love this.” He looked down and then whistled. “Nevermind.”“What?” I pushed the cart closer. “I didn’t expect it to be so expensive, is all.” I looked at the price tag and I winced. A few hundred dollars is nothing to me, but for someone working as a guard. It would probably mean a lot. “No worries.” I grabbed another box and put it to the cart, then looked at the girls. “Did you want one?” I could see Wendy eyeing the box, so
“Thank you Alpha. You and Luna Marie have a good night.” I would not argue with them. I also pulled up my banking app and sent Wendy a transfer. Thankfully, I didn’t need her information, just her number. I looked at her. “I need you to send this to your mother and before you say no, please understand that what Vince is doing is because of me.”There was a ding, and a wide eyed Wendy pulled out her phone, and screamed. She nearly dropped her phone, but I was ready and snatched it from the air. “Amy, I can’t accept this.”“Of course you can.” I handed back her phone. “Remember, he is going to push harder and harder until it’s too much for your mom to work at the school anymore. She won’t have an income to take care of herself, or you. She will need a buffer until all of this blows over. I’m giving you this buffer.”Wendy’s eyes filled with tears. “Are you sure?”“More than anything.” I kissed her brow and then grabbed the cart. “Now let’s go, before something else dramatic happens.”Jo
We said our goodbyes on the main floor when the elevator stopped to let Jora off. “Tell your wife to enjoy the garden.” I smiled as he stepped off. “Oh, I know she will. Thanks again.” Jora spun back and gave a tiny wave as the door shut. Then we were on our way to the penthouse.“Oh, I’m nervous.” Wendy almost vibrated on the spot.“Why?” I laughed as I juggled my garden to get my keys from my pocket. Wendy shook her head and took it from me. “Give me this.” I tried to hold on to it, but she laughed. “You have your bags, the food, your garden and your bag. How are you going to grab your keys to open the door?” She chastised me like I was a fool. Toya, who was holding their garden, just smirked. “Toya.” I laughed at her, but she just smiled bigger. “Don’t look at me. She started to bully me a few months ago. You taught her howe to fight, but the nice bullying she learned all on her own.”We both laughed as Wendy interrupted us. “Hey, I’m not a bully.” She grumbled, making us laug
“What do you mean you don’t know how to get back yet?” Toya dropped the metal bowl she came back into the room with. She caught it before it smashed into my glass coffee table, but it was close. “Holy goddess.” She put the bowl down softly on the table, then turned to me. “Speak.” She looked pissed.I raised my hands in surrender. “The book…it tells me how to do certain things. But coming back to my body isn’t in there. It just said I needed an anchor.” I pointed to the two of them. “I have two.”Wendy shook her head. “We are next to useless if you don’t know what you’re doing.”I shrugged. “I have no other choice. I either break through the threat, or I die.” The room fell into a weighted silence. Toya sat down next to Wendy with a sigh. “Tell us what we have to do.”I nodded and went to get my book. I came back into the room and the two women were still sitting side by side, looking a little lost. “Okay, so here it is, a spirit walk. Follow the thread of connection and seek what yo
“What are we supposed to do?”“I don’t know.” I lifted my shoulder. “But if I can find you in this life, then I’m sure I can find you in the spirit world.” I gave them a sad smile. “I have only had my friend Cass in my life, and she is my soul sister. I knew as soon as we met, we were meant to. I need you guys to know that you two…I felt the same way about. As soon as you sat next to me in the cafeteria, I knew I met you. To be friends with you. We were connected as soon as you sat down and decided to be my friend. Connected in a way that is soul deep.” The two nodded. “Our wolves work together.” Toya closed her eyes and when she opened them, her wolf was there. “You are my luna.” I reeled back at that confession. “I can’t be. You are a luna in your own right.”“And yet, if you asked, I would follow you into the wilds and never return.” Her wolf faded from her eyes and I could see the recognition in her eyes. “I agree with her.”“As do I.” I looked to Wendy to find Wyn staring back
I turned away from my grandmother and stepped back to my body. I looked at her over my shoulder. “What should I do?”She smiled. “Wrap your hand around the chain. It’s can’t hurt you any more than it already has. And follow it to the end. Find out who is hurting you, find out their intention, and save your wolves.” She looked towards my body. “You don’t have long. They are already so very weak.”“I’m afraid.” I whispered, and her smile was sad but firm.“I know. And that’s perfectly fine, but don’t let fear stop you from doing something necessary. Don’t let your fear hold you back from who you were meant to be.”Her words repeated in my mind as I stepped up to my body on the ground. “Okay.” I grabbed my hand around the chain and started to walking. The chain in my hand thrummed. I could feel the intent in its black links. Who ever cast this hex was intent on one thing. Killing my wolf. They would have succeeded if I had only one. But I had two, and thankfully they supported each othe
I was frozen in my spot outside of the light. My words seemed to bounce back to me, almost as if to mock me. “What the fuck is going on here?” I couldn’t stop the words from leaving my mouth again. But I was invisible to those in front of me, so it didn’t matter. Another call went out, but being so close this time, now I understood. It was a normal howl. A call from a shifted wolf, that the walls bounced back, echoes layering onto it, making it sound like some deranged beast. But it was just wolves, a lot of wolves, in the circle of light. And now everything I knew about the dead caves, or thought I knew about the dead caves, seemed to be just the horror stories of a child. There were no dead here, no specters of the wronged flying around these caves. Just a pack of wolves, desecrating the land of the dead. Tombs were smashed open, robbed of anything good, the bones of the deceased thrown about. I walked closer to the light, and I saw one man drinking from a skull. I froze as som
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
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