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
When we got back to the office, Ternen turned with a smile, taking the gift bags from around Alannah’s desk. “I’ll be back at the end of the day.” He kissed her and then left us to finish our day. I settled into my office and started working on another firewall when Rick came in. “Hey are you ready for your next challenge?”I smiled. “What did you have in mind?”“I want to see how well you know our systems.” I leaned in, excitement on my face. “I’m going to hide again, but this time, it’s going to be deeper.”“Okay.” I turned my chair to face him. “What’s the catch?” He smiled. “This is a training exercise for you to recognize the flaws in your own designs.” I twirled my hands around each other. “What does that even mean?”He cackled. “It means you can’t trip the firewall. If you do, you have to start over.”“Are you insane?” I stood hunched over my computer. “How is that even possible?” I pretended to be upset, but inside I was dancing. He was teaching me how to get around the sys
I sighed and slammed my head back against my chair, then I groaned. “Fuck.” I put everything away into my purse, then stood. I walked out and smiled. “Hey. I had a question.”“Sure.” Ternen smiled at me but I could see the tension below the surface.“My mom wants me to invite you all to dinner.” I checked my phone. “Has Rick left yet?”Alannah shook her head. “No.” She smiled as she put her things in her purse. “And we would love to join you at dinner.”I nodded and then walked to Rick’s office door. I knocked and swung the door open. I froze when I saw Vince holding Rick by the throat. “Ugh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” I spun in a circle, facing away from them. Vince grunted, and I heard Rick take a deep breath in. “Amy, what are you doing in here?”“I see that.” I coughed. “My mom called me and asked me to invite Rick and Alannah to dinner.”“Well, he’s busy.” I turned around and grimaced. “While I appreciate that, this is my mom.” I forced an awkward smile to my face.
I pulled into the driveway and watched Ternen and Alannah park. Rick took off to grab his wife and daughter and said he would be here in five minutes. I got out as my mom walked out and we waited in the drive while the two got out of the car. I snapped a barrier around us and waited for the pair to join us next to my car before I asked my mom. “How did you know I needed an excuse to get them to come over?”My mom chuckled. “Nix is smarter than you give her credit for. She came to tell me when you all were at lunch, but I waited a bit when I knew I could maximize the effect.” I turned to her. But before I could say anything, she turned to Alannah and Ternen. “Hi. I’m Ainsley, Amy’s mom. You must be Alannah and Ternen.”They nodded. “We are.” Alannah bowed, but my mom stopped her. “Sweet girl. I haven’t been a luna for years now, and even when I was, absolutely no one had to bow to me.”Alannah straightened and looked between my mom and me. “Our luna demands it.”My mom scoffed. “That
My mom ushered us all inside and we sat down in the living room. She went around and asked about drinks, then she looked at me. “Hey sweetheart? Why don’t you give everyone a tour? I’m sure Abby will love to see your bedroom. You have that small closet full of all your old teddy bears.” She smiled. “I just have a few things to finish up in the kitchen and by the time you come down, dinner will be ready.” With that, she was gone behind the wall and I turned. “Tour it is.” I brought them around the bottom floor, but I could tell Abby was being impatient. “Amy?” Her soft voice had me turning.“Yeah, sweetheart?” I crouched as she came up to me.“Your house is really nice…”“But?” I winked at her.“Can we go see your room?” She sounded a little hopeful.“Of course.” I looked up at Rick. “It’s upstairs.” My eyes flicked to Abby, and he nodded. “Come here, baby.” He swooped down and picked her up. “Stairs are still a little hard for us, aren’t they, baby?”Abby nodded. “I get tired.” “M
Every one froze, but Shelly dropped down and pulled Abby to her. “Baby…” But she trailed off, because what do you say to a child who is too observant to be kept in the dark?“It’s okay, momma. I’ve known for a while now.” She reached up and cupped her face. “I just wanted to spend the best year with you and daddy so I didn’t tell you I heard you and the doctor talking about me.” Rick dropped down next to them and hugged them both to his chest.“It’s going to be alright.” He whispered to them, but I could tell it was to himself. He looked up at me, so ready to believe, and I nodded. “I can’t fix it today.” I held out my hand. “But I swear I will fix it.” Shelly looked at me. “How can you be so sure?”“Magic.” I winked, but she shook her head. I crouched. “I can’t tell you. Not before you are away from here. You can take a vow, Shelly, but Abby can’t.”“I won’t tell anyone. I swear.” She looked at me with slightly wounded eyes.“Oh sweet pea, I never thought you would tell on us. But
“Okay.” I stood up. “I can grab the things I need from the kitchen after dinner. We will do it then. Okay?” Everyone nodded. “There is a reason I brought you here, other than the fact that we can speak freely.”Alannah looked around. “What is it?”“I need your blood.” I grimaced. I looked around and saw that once again my mom was ahead of me. In the bathroom on the counter, there were five plastic cups, a small knife, and one bandage. I nodded over to the bathroom and waited for everyone to walk in. I sat down on the toilet and gestured to the tiny cups. “It’s not a lot. But where I am going to take you, you need to be added to a spell so that you can’t be traced.”They just looked at each other before they nodded. Every one grabbed their cup except Abby, she walked over to me. “Could you help me?” She swallowed loudly. “I’m not supposed to get hurt cause it will make my sickness worse.” She was scared, but I pulled her close. “Can I tell you a secret?” She nodded. “When I was your a
My heart broke as I watched Abby comfort her wolf. “Nala?” I leaned over the three so I could see her face. Abby nodded. “I don’t know how, but as soon as I touched her, I knew her name.” She rubbed her face against the patchy, dull fur. “She is sick, like me, isn’t she?”I just nodded. “Yeah baby girl, she is.” She snuggled in closer.“Why is she so small?” She cracked open an eye and hugged her wolf pup closer. “Shouldn’t she be bigger? I should have met her soon, right?”I looked at Nix and remembered that I started talking to her when I was about five or six. She had always been there, strong, steady, and my best friend. My heart ached for the pair in front of us. “Yeah, she should be bigger, but so should you. The sickness ate away at you strength, at your power, and it stunted you.”She looked at me with sad eyes. “It’s okay, you know.”“What is?”“That I have to die.” She closed her eye as her puppy whined and rolled over into her arms. The tiny wolf cracked an eye and used 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