Shannon stepped back from whatever she saw on his face. “Amy told me about her birthday lunch, and since we all have become so close, I figured while she was busy, we could have lunch together.” She looked at his face, and winced. But I jumped at the chance. I stepped to her side and wrapped my arm around hers. “Shannon, that is honestly the best idea.”She looked at my arms around hers. “It is?”Brandon’s face morphed into a mask of confusion. “It is?”I nodded. “Shan is right. I mean, we have spent the last six months working on our friendship. And it’s made our relationship that much easier to go ahead with, knowing that we aren’t going to fight over you.” I smiled up at him and he considered it.I could see the exact moment he decided to go to lunch with Shannon. The exact moment he figured out he could have a little afternoon rendezvous with his lover, since I give him nothing. I saw the heat enter his eyes and knew I had him.“Okay. Okay.” I wanted to clap. “I give in. Go have
They all stared back at me with different looks on their faces.Alannah leaned closer to Ternen. “Will the vow hurt?” I shook my head. “No, it’s just a vow to the goddess to keep whatever we say here secret, even under threat of command or death.” Alannah paled. I reached through the middle and held out my hand. “Don’t be scared. It doesn’t mean you will face death. It just means the goddess recognizes your sincerity for secrecy and she makes it so that we can keep our secrets.” I smiled back at her. Ternen nodded. “I’m ready, but I don’t know what to say.”I pulled my hand away and I turned in my seat, so that my back was pressed against the door. “I, Amy Maclean, vow to keep your words from everyone excerpt the goddess. I swear that nothing you say that could be used against you to cause harm will leave my mouth. Only the goddess will know our secrets and I beg her to keep them for us.” I felt the acceptance of my words settle in my chest. I nodded to Ternen, and he repeated my wo
I leaned in. “How much do you all know about magic?”Rick leaned back in his chair and laughed. “Like charms, voodoo, and Hollywood CGI?”“Magic isn’t real, Amy.” Ternen smirked and shook his head. But Alannah was quiet. She leaned in and looked at me. “There are witches that live in the woods near my old pack. They are real, and if you cross them, they will come after your family.” She looked away. “But the witches worked with our pack, and they save us more time than I could count.”“Really? Then what happened to your pack?” I sat back. But I held up my hand before she answered.“Hi y’all. I’m Stephanie, your server. Can I get you started with something to drink?” She went around and got our drink orders, then she left us alone. I turned back to Alannah and nodded. “Our alpha’s son seduced the priestess’s daughter and then found his mate. It wouldn’t have been an issue, but the priestess’s daughter ended up pregnant.”“Oh, no.” The server dropped off our drinks and grabbed our ord
Ternen looked at me. “I don’t know what happens…”I sighed. “The wolves are sent to stronger packs, beefing the numbers of the alphas trying to take over. Same with their resources.”“Wait.” Alannah shook her head. “How does that happen? Doesn’t the king have to make that decision?”Rick’s knife dropped when the realization hit him. “No.”I turned to him with a nod. “Yes.”“What is it?” Ternen looked at Rick.“The king usually makes the decision. Or he used to. But since the old king died, the council took over allocating resources.” Rick turned to me with dawning horror. “The council?”“Yeah.” I lifted my shoulder. “Or we think the council.”“We?” Rick forgot about his food. He was invested.“My father, me and Rowan…the king.” I took a long sip of my soda. “Wait a damn minute.” Rick slammed his hand on the table. “You said your father was dead.”“And to Vince and Brandon, that’s exactly how he has to stay. Dead.” I put down my cup. “Vince and whoever else he is working with sent att
Everyone at the table froze. Rick leaned in. “What the hell are you talking about? You don’t have a pup.”“Oh I know.” I sighed. “My bloodline is blessed by the goddess. By two goddesses, I should say. I am descended from the first family. My wolf-”Don’t mention having the both of us. I trust them, but the less they know, the better. Nix shook her head. They are all under the vow. I shot back. But Megan settled next to Nix. I agree with Nix. Don’t overload them. Just stick with the magic for now. “My wolf is descended from the goddess. And my witch heritage is blessed by the three faced goddess. And with the blessing comes a gift.” I took a drink. “A gift?” Alannah finished her steak. “What kind of gift?”“My father’s line has a second chance.” I twirled my knife.“A second chance?” Rick pushed his empty plate away and I nodded.“I have lived my life before, you see. I was twenty-four when my mate strapped me to a gurney. He strapped me to a bed, and he had our doctor cut me open
Rick’s breathing turned heavy. “An elixir?”I nodded. “A tiny tonic that renews the hex, but also extends the life of the victim. The hex eats away at the victim. If the person doesn’t have the cure or the elixir, they die. If the elixir is taken too many times, the victim dies.”Rick grabbed my hand. “How many times is too many times?”I bit my lip. “I don’t know. It changes person to person.”Rick nearly collapsed. “How do I find out if it’s the withering or whatever this hex is?”“There would be a symbol on her. It fades the closer to the elixir time. After the elixir, the marking becomes darker. It’s can be small or big, any way to confuse other people.” I grabbed a napkin and pulled a pen from my purse. “What are you doing?” Ternen leaned close. I looked up. “Rick doesn’t know who or what to believe. His child’s life hangs in the balance and so does his mate.” I turned to him. “I didn’t say any of this to confuse or worry you. I just want you to have all the facts. When you fir
Everyone froze. Rick recovered first. “How is that even possible?”“I won’t tell you beforehand, but I promise I will use to whisk all of you away at the same time, and no one will know where you disappeared to. I can promise once everything is out in the open, and war is on the horizon, you will have a house, jobs, and a place in a pack that celebrates people. No matter their rank.” I looked at Rick. “You’ll move us to you father’s pack?” I nodded. “I will.”“But Vince won’t release us.” Ternen shook his head. “Vince won’t ever let us go.”I grinned. “It won’t matter. By the time he notices you are all gone, it will be too late.” I could see Alannah perk up. “Are you being honest, Amy?” She turned to me with hope in her eyes. “If you’re not, I need you to tell me now.”I wrapped my arm around her. “Of course I’m being serious. Why are you so-” My hand rested against her side, and I felt it. A tiny flutter under the skin. I gasped as she turned to me. “You’re pregnant.”Alannah’s e
Alannah shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “No Ternen.”But I rubbed her side and slid the phone over to him. “He’s right Alannah. He would be the first person to notice if you disappeared. You are tied and your wolves would feel it. He needs to know so that he can come find me, or Rick.”She shook her head again as he grabbed the phone. Her hand shot out, and she begged. “Please don’t think less of me.”I growled softly. “Never say that again.”She turned to me with confusion in her eyes. “What?”“Never, ever act like something done to you lessens you.” I nodded to the phone. “What is there is vile. So vile that it made me want to vomit.” Another tear fell, and I wiped it off and a growl slipped from Tern. “If, and goddess forbid, it actually happened to you, but if it happened. It would not lessen you. You would be a victim and that disgusting act would have no bearing on your worth as a woman, as a mate, as a mother.”Rick nodded. “We would help you heal, protect you, a
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