The silence was only broken by the crackling of the fire. Hanna watched as everyone took in her words. She walked over to the pile of wood that Rowan left and chucked a few more pieces into the fire. The sound jolted everyone out of their thoughts. Wendy took in a deep breath, and then she gagged. “What the fuck?” She wretched again, and then the smell hit the rest of us. “What the fuck is that?” Micca gagged too. It was only Toya, Hanna, and I that didn’t gag. We looked at each other and then back to the other two. “That…” Hanna started, but stopped.“That’s what is smells like when you burn bodies.” I finished for her. Micca groaned and rushed away, puking closer to the house, while Wendy looked at me with wide eyes. “Why are you three okay?”“Because this isn’t the first time we had to do this.” Toya walked over to Wendy, pulling her away from the fire. Hanna went to grab Micca, and we walked to Carl’s grave, creating space. “The first time is always the worst.” I offered with
“How do you know this stuff?”“Like I said, the Japanese lines were very proud of their lineage and we all knew who the first family of Tsukiyomi was.” Hanna nodded to Toya. “The real question is, how does Toya know?”“And how Amy knows about the first family?” Micca pointed to me and I smiled.“Toya?” Hanna turned to her. “How do you know about the line from Nut?”“Because she is the one who created my family.” Toya leaned back and looked up at the moon. “We worship the Moon Goddess and Nut. She who oversees the starts and the sky. She saw the wolves, heard their songs, and wished to hear it in Egypt. So she asked the Moon Goddess for help and permission to create our line. My father is descended from her power.”“That’s why you’re so fast?” Micca furrowed her brow. “Not cool. I never had a chance of beating you.” We all laughed, remembering the races Micca tried to win for months. Then, one by one they all turned to me. I turned back to the grave and continued to fill it in. “I kno
Toya chucked a rock at me. “Be serious.”I turned and looked at my friends. “I am serious.” I looked at Toya, with her silent strength and Hanna, how far she’s come. It made sense that they were tied to a goddess. Too much sense. Then I looked at Micca and Wendy. “We were all drawn together. What if there was a reason behind it?”“There was a reason behind it.” Wendy leaned in, like she was going to whisper a secret. “You collected us, like that kids’ show. Oh goddess, what is it?” Hanna snorted. “The one with the weird animal things that say their name?” Wendy pointed to her. “Exactly. The Poki show. Your are a collector of people.” Hanna shook her head but she was laughing with Wendy.Toya smiled but just shook her head in defeat. “I am serious.” I stood. “I hate people, to the extreme. I have only ever had one friend my entire life, and she only had to deal with me during the summers. But you guys, you guys stuck around.”“Amy, I hate to tell you this but your are in fact a nice
I finished getting dress as someone knocked on my door. I walked over, still wrapping my hair in a towel, and cracked it open. Toya pushed a wine glass into my hand and stepped in before closing the door. “What’s wrong?” I sat down on my bed and took a sip. I knew Toya she had something on her mind and she came in here to talk it out, before bringing in the others. “I’ve been thinking about what you said…about the first families.”I nodded. “What about it?”“What if you’re right? What if we were all pushed together by the gods we descended from and now we are here?” She paced the room.“What if we were?” I shrugged and took another sip. “Does that bother you?”“It doesn’t bother you? We were pushed together, forced to be in each other’s lives, and now we are here.” She faced me. “Do we not get free will?”I eyed her as I took another longer drink this time. “Do you not like being friends with me?”She sucked her teeth. “Of course I do.”I tilted my head. “Are you unhappy with the ot
We all stared at Toya. Then Wendy came over and got into her face. “What’s wrong with you?”Toya pulled back, but her eyes were filled with panic. “Nothing.”“No, Wendy’s right.” Hanna came closer. “You are Amy’s biggest supporter. We are all close, but you and Amy have always had that extra bond. You have never once worried or questioned your spot here, or Amy’s decision. But this…” She waved her hand, gesturing wildly to Toya. “This isn’t you.”I felt my eyes narrow as I leaned against the table. “They are right. In the last three years, you have never once questioned your place here. You have questioned my decisions, but I always appreciated your opinion, but you always did it away from everyone.” “I came to you to discuss this alone, but you brought us down here.” Toya pointed out.“You are right. But so are Hanna and Wendy. This isn’t you.”Toya pointed at all of us. “You’re not buying this, right?”Wendy grabbed her hand. “Calm down Toya. We are just trying to figure out what’s
Toya jumped over the table at me but I was ready. She shifted her hands as she tried to tackle me, but I jumped out of the way. She sailed past me and I wrapped my hands into her braids and yanked her back. She flew off her feet with a snarl. “I’ll kill you.” She snarled again, but I was already moving. I slammed her to the ground as I slipped my hand into the bag Micca brought down. I pulled the first length of rope out and turned to the girls. They had grabbed Micca by the arms and were holding her. “Get her into a chair.” I called back to them and slid a spool of rope to them. “Tie her too it.” Toya tried to slice at my throat. Whatever had eaten away at her was digging in deep, removing any and all love she had for me, and left only anger and fear. I pulled my hand back and punched her as hard as I could without breaking anything, dazing her. “Amy…” Hanna looked back at Toya. “Are you sure?” I could see the doubt trying to push forward, but she shook her head again. I watched he
She thrashed against the rope, the chair, my magic, but I held her in the chair. I waited until the bright cord finished the connection around our circle. Then new connections between each of us wove around us. Each person had a cord for each other. The golden cords wove into a tapestry of our bond, a golden shiny piece of artwork of our friendship and love for each other.Only now there were tarnished spots. Dark places on our bonds, where they were being attacked. I stood, looking at the cords, and most were still shining brightly. All of them were actually, all except the ones that trailed to me. “The bonds are all intact except the ones that lead to you.” Wendy stood trailing her fingers of the cords. She plucked the cords between her and me, and I felt a tug. It rippled in my chest, but I could tell it was weakening. The dark spot in the centre growing bigger. “Our bond is growing darker the louder the whispers get.” Hanna plucked the cord, and it vibrated, but hers was weaker.
I watched her face away, back into the trees, before I turned and faced the glass. I pressed my hands against it, and instead of a solid wall I thought I was going to find, I felt in push in almost as if it was a bubble. I forced myself deeper, pushing farther in, causing the bubble to cave in. Every step I took in the harder the bubble pushed back against me. It was fighting back, refusing to let me enter, and that just made me question what the hell was going on. This made no sense. Toya’s defenses were blocking my entry, but that made zero sense. I wasn’t here to hurt her, and even though something was attacking her, her mind should know I was safe to allow in. That Urbi was safe to allow in. I pulled back, gathering my strength and my magic to me, and then I slammed against the bubble. It fought back, pushing be back, but I used my magic like a knife, slicing through the force field and finally stumbling out of the trees. I turned back and I could see the edge of the invisible b
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