I sat on the porch with a glass of wine, watching the sunset over the water. The sky was a dark blue with a dusky pink over by the fading sun. The door opened, and Wendy and Toya settled next to me. “Carly?” Toya took a deep drink from her wineglass. “In bed.” I sighed and wiped my face. “Back in her make shift canopy bed?” Wendy took a smaller sip from hers.“Yeah.” I sighed. “My mother went crazy with the blankets.” Wendy and Toya laughed. “She used to do the same in my room when I missed my dad. She sent for blankets and made this blanket fort over my bed.” I closed my eyes and I could still smell it. “It made me feel safe, and like I was back with my dad.”“It helped that much?” Toya swirled her wine and looked over at me. I nodded. “The tents layer the scent inside. You are surrounded by it.”“And she has her bear.” Wendy sniffled. “Are you crying?” Toya turned to her, and she nodded. “Why?”She laughed. “Is it bad to say that I’m jealous?”We both turned to face her, and she
I walked into the pack house early the next morning and waited near the door for someone to stop. An omega approached me with her head turned down to the ground. “Alpha Amy?” Her voice was a soft whisper. “Yes?” I turned to face her fully, but she refused to look up. “Can I help you?”“Yes. The Alpha’s sent me here to get you.”“What’s your name?” “Winnie.” She was still focused on the floor.“Do you not look up, Winnie?” Even to myself, I sounded confused. She looked up in confusion. The black eye stood out on her pale skin. “I’m sorry?”I reached out, and she shied away from my touch, but I followed her with quick steps. I wrapped my fingers around her chin. I tilted her head up, staring at the bruise on her face. “What’s this?” She tried to pull away, but I held her close. “I would stop pulling away, Winnie. I don’t want to accidentally hurt you as I figure this out.” She froze in my hand and her eyes grew wide. “There’s a girl.” I turned her face, this way and that, looking at
Brandon stared down at me for a few moments before a soft smile broke out on his face. If I knew him less, or was a little stupider, I might have fallen for that face. I might have given up everything in my last like to see him smile at me like this. But this time, this time, I wanted to punch him in his stupid, smirking mouth. “Have you considered it?” His voice sounding hopeful. Too hopeful. I smiled softly and looked away. “I have. I still want to meet my mate.” I watched his fate fall. “But…” I looked back and leaned in. “I would be open to spending more time with you to see if we are compatible.”“But if you are waiting for your mate…” He pouted. I shrugged. “I’m open to possibilities. I don’t know how long mates will take. Never mind second chance, mates.”His eyes snapped to mine. “A second chance, mate?”I nodded and looked away. “I haven’t told anyone. But when I turned eighteen, I met my mate.” I looked away and allowed my face to fall. I remembered my first life. I remem
Vince stared at me for a few more seconds, the wheels turning in his mind, and then he nodded. “I actually just remembered I had things I have to do. Brandon. Bring her to the security offices and introduce her to Rick. Her office is the one on the right.” Vince smiled. “Settle in. Rick will know what to do.” Vince turned around and went to leave but turned back. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to settle you in, but as long as you come in, do your job, and help this pack, you won’t have to worry about your position here.”I nodded and then bowed. “Thank you Alpha Vince.” Then he was gone, leaving me alone with Brandon. I turned to him and smiled. “Where to?”Brandon came around from behind and took the lead. “This way.”I nodded and followed. “So Rick?”Brandon looked over his shoulder. “An old wolf. Smart. His daughter is sickly, and my father takes care of her.” I could feel my stomach clench. Vince wasn’t the caring alpha. “That’s sweet of him.” I followed him down the rest of the hall
I tilted my head to the side and nodded slowly. “I am.” I smiled. “Did you know my father?”The man chuckled, the little extra he had around his waist jiggling with it. “Yeah, I know your dad. How is the old bastard?”I froze, and I forced tears to spring to my eyes and I looked down at my hands. “He passed away in a rogue attack a few years ago.” I looked up and I let one tear drop. “But you are right, before he went, he was one old bastard.” I smirked and wiped the tear away.The room was silent or a few minutes and Brandon leaned over and whispered to me. “It’s okay.” He rubbed my arm with his hand. I smiled up at him and nodded. “I’m sorry.” Rick sighed and rubbed his face. “I didn’t know.” He came over and stood with his hands in his pockets. “Now I normally hate any person Vince forces on me, as I feel like he is going to force me out once he has young blood in here. But for Gav, I’ll take you without complaint.”I laughed, sniffling along the way. “Sounds good.”Brandon turned
I was digging into my second sandwich when there was a soft knock on the door. I looked up to see Alannah staring down at the floor. “Alpha Amy?” I put my sandwich down and smiled. “Alannah, please. I am serious. You can just call me Amy.”She shook her head. “Alpha Vince likes the distinction.”I sighed. “Okay. What can I do for you, Allanah?”She bowed again. “Alpha Brandon is here to take you to lunch…” Her eyes flashed in terror as she looked at the food on my table. “Send him in.”Brandon came in a few seconds later but stopped short. “Oh…” He looked back and I heard Allanah running back to her desk. “I didn’t realize you were already eating. I wanted to take you out for lunch on your first day.”I smiled and winked. “I’ll have to reschedule. Maybe we can go tomorrow. Today, I have a date.” I rubbed my hands together and checked the time. Brandon furrowed his brow and walked over and sat down. “A date? With who?”I looked up, surprised to hear the jealousy in his voice. “With
The door to my office busted open. “Holy shit.”I smiled as I sat back. “What?”“You found me!” Rick rushed in and rounded my desk. I felt my face pinch as he came close. Before I could think, he had me in his arms and he was jumping. Literally jumping. “I can’t fucking believe it.” He seemed to freeze and then placed me back down on my feet. “Sorry.” He backed away with his hands raised. “Sorry, I just…it’s just.” He blushed, and I chuckled.“What?”“No one has ever found me. Shit, half the guys Vince shoves in here can barely make it past the first trap I threw at them.”I threw my head back and laughed. “The firewall that turned on me?” He nodded. “Seriously?” I furrowed my brow, and he just nodded again. “But that was easy.”He tossed his hands in the air. “Exactly!” He yelled as he spun in a circle. “I told Vince every damn time that they failed, it was the easiest trap to unravel. But no.” He finally walked around my desk and sat down. “I thought…”“You thought I was just going
We walked down the street hand in hand. Every so often someone would stop and stare, but I ignored the looks, until we turned down my street and my mother was pacing outside the door. “Mom?” We walked up, and she turned. I watched her face shutter when her eyes landed on Brandon. “Hey baby, how was your first day?”I looked up at Brandon. “It was great. Why are you out here?”My mom heaved a sigh. “Morgan is talking to Shannon again, and it isn’t going well.” She winced when another scream could be heard. I nodded sadly and turned to Brandon. “I’m sorry.” I pulled the flowers closer. “I can’t.” I looked to the house. “I really like the job, and you are an amazing friend, and…” I trailed off. “And what?” He pushed.“And maybe we could have been a good mating pair, but I can’t do this to my mom’s family.” I stepped back. “I know you wanted to talk to them but I don’t think it’s a good idea.” I turned to leave, but my mom stopped me. “Actually, I think it is.” She nodded to the hous
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