We stayed silent as we ascended. I puffed out my cheeks as Rowan looked at me but the elevator dinged and the girls got out. I walked out with them. “Where are you going?” Rowan grabbed my arm. “They are shifted…” I looked at him with furrowed brows. “They can’t open their door. I’m going to open it for them.” I shook him off. “Keep the elevator open.” I walked to their door and punched in their code, swinging their door opened. “Call me when you get back to your packs.”They both nodded and went inside. Hanna turned back. “Be careful.” I blew her a kiss and went back to the elevator. I slid in and pressed the top floor again. Rowan opened his mouth, but I shook my head. He was obviously frustrated at me, but I wasn’t going to talk until I got into my place. The doors opened, and we headed to my door. I unlocked it and the two followed me in. Toya headed straight to my bedroom, looking for something to wear for now, and I went to the kitchen. “What the fuck is going on?” Rowan snar
I stepped back. My fingers aching, but my resolve hardening by the minute. Rowan stood, looking back toward the door. “How are you going to play this?”I thought about it for a minute. “I’m going to play the fence.” He just tilted his head. “I’m going to act like I want to rebuild, but that you are refusing me. You won’t allow anyone to the pack lands because of rogues, so I have to figure out another choice, another path until you allow me back onto my pack lands.”“Why?” “Because it will do two things. Give Vince some security that I hate you. He won’t trust me if we are close still. And I need him to trust me enough to allow me close.”Rowan nodded. “It’s one reason your father, and I created space.” I nodded. I figured it was a part of the truth, but it didn’t hurt any less. “The second thing?”“It will give him something he secretly wants.” I stretched my back out. “What’s that?”“A way to get more power without giving any up.” I twisted my back until it popped. “If he thinks h
Rowan snarled, but Toya wasn’t done. “You and her father created this pit of a plan because you’re older, you know better. But you miscalculated.”“We are older, and we do know better.” He countered. “So please, tell me, how did we miscalculate?”Toya narrowed her eyes. “You held back because your wolf was infatuated with another, but my bet is that Erubus wanted Nix. You had Amy, and he could have had Nix and you whiffed it.” Toya snarled. “You held yourself back from the one person you truly wanted because of a wolf who was the same person. If you had less restraint, you and Amy could have been mated by now.” His face fell, and he shot me a look. “Now you’re mated to a bitch who is controlling you, and Amy…” Toya looked at me. “Amy deserves better. She deserves someone who will choose her…every time.” “That’s enough.” I whispered, but both turned to me. “Rowan, I think it’s time for you to leave. Your fiancee is probably waiting for you.” I turned to Toya and just shook my head. “I
Once we were finished with my place, and we piled the rest of my bags outside the door, we went to Toya. We bagged everything that was left up and found the bag left by Wendy’s mom with a sweet note. I tucked it into my backpack. Once we piled everything inside their door.“That’s everything.” Toya sighed. “I’m going to miss this place.” I nodded. “On to better things.” I nudged her. “Let’s get the cart for all this bullshit. We have to hit my house before we figure out how the heck we are going to get all of this to the cabin.” I looked around, and I honestly had no fricken idea how we were going to do this. Toya patted my back. “Thankfully, you have a truck.” I grunted as we closed the door behind us and headed down. I was surprised to see Brandon and Vince waiting for us when we stepped off the elevator. I looked at Toya, but she gave me a tiny shake. She was confused, too. “Alpha Vince.” I smiled as I walked closer to the desk. “Brandon.” I gave him a tight nod as I turned to S
My question hung in the air for a minute before Brandon smiled and waved his hands in the air, dropping mine in the process. “Oh. Ha ha, no reason. I was just wondering.”I just nodded. “Anyway, I need to figure everything out.” I turned to Vince. “So I’ll be stuck on pack lands for a while as I wait it all out.” I smile. “If that is still okay with you?”Vince, whose brain was running a mile a minute, stared at me blankly for a second before he just nodded. “Of course. The place and position are yours.”“Oh, I don’t know about the position. I couldn’t possibly take that away from a wolf knowing I was planning to leave as soon as I’m able. Who knows, maybe I’ll find a mate pretty quickly.”Vince’s eyes darted to Brandon. “So you intend to head back to your father’s pack lands as soon as you mate?”I pretended to think about it. “I’m not exactly sure. My father raised me to take after him. And these last few years, I focused on that. Rebuilding our pack. I have the resources, the inves
“Anyway, we will see you back at the pack. I know you said you were busy tonight, and we understand, but I’ll need you at the pack house first thing in the morning.” I smiled and nodded as Vince turned away. “Brandon…let’s go.” Brandon looked at me and I wanted to gag. He was leaning in and I wanted to pull away, but Vince called him again. Thankfully. “Brandon.” He jolted back from me, gave a pained smile, then trotted after his father. Toya turned to me with a grimace. “That was…”“Illuminating.” I nodded to the door. “Let’s head out. We have a lot to do today.” Toya sighed and turned on her heels. We headed out the door to see Sterling loading the last of my bags. “This is everything.” He nodded to the truck as he swung up the tailgate. Then he turned to us and bowed at the waist. I grabbed for him, but he held up his hand. “Sterling.” My voice was soft, but he bowed again.“It has been an absolute pleasure serving you here, Amy.” He stood and then bowed to Toya. “You as well.”
My mom was out of the house before I even closed the door. She walked straight to me and into my arms. She was vibrating for some reason. Anger was my best guess, and she was trying to calm down. “Where have you been?” She pulled back and cupped my cheeks. “I went for a run.” I smiled. “Toya came to help me bring everything else home.” I pointed to her, and she waved from the other side of the trunk.“Hi.” She walked to the tailgate and pulled it down. “Where should I put this stuff?”My mother looked between the two of us, and I saw understanding bloom in her eyes. “Let me show you.” She let me go after another squeeze and walked down to grab a few bags. I followed and grabbed the rest of the stuff and closed the tailgate as Toya followed my mother inside. “How are you, dear? Did you do well in your course?”“I did.” Toya smiled. “I was top of my class. Not as good as Amy.”My mother scoffed. “Apples to oranges, my dear. Different courses, different scores.” My mother was always li
The door swung open and there was…nothing. “What are you doing in there?” My mom came up behind me, standing at the doorway. “Why is this here?” I spun in a circle, seeing an almost identical room from the cabin.“It’s for seasonal storage. When we moved in with Morgan and Shannon, this was her closet. This entire room. Morgan wanted to put you in the guest room, but I knew. This was your room. I told him you had to have this room or I would stay with you in the guest room. He cleared it out for you nest day.”I turned to face her. “I don’t remember that.” My mom laughed. “I wouldn’t think you would. You were a baby.” She leaned in and kissed my forehead. “So now it’s your turn to answer my question. Why are you in here?” I huffed out a breath and pointed towards the room. She turned and headed back to my bed and I left the small hidden door open. I followed and leaned against the door frame. “What’s wrong?”“Yesterday…” I swallowed. “The call. It was Carly.” My mother gasped, and
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