I held up my hands in mock surrender. “I told you it might have been a mixture of Shannon’s scent and my own mixing.” I shrugged my shoulder and turned back to the stairs. I gave a small wave. “I’m going to head up to my room now, unless there is anything else?” I looked over my shoulder and waited. But my mother waved me off. I made my escape with my suitcases, with Lynn trailing behind me. I stopped in the spare bedroom and opened the door. Lynn looked at me. “Me?”“Yeah. This is you.” I pointed to the far side of the room. “That’s the bathroom. But yeah, this is your room while you’re here.”“Thank you.” Lynn dropped her suitcase and stared at me expectantly.“What?” I stared at her with a confused look, but she still stared at me.“Take me to your room.” Lynn lifted her arm, gesturing me to continue, but I was still confused.“Why?” Now we were both frozen, staring at each other. “Because when I’m here, my job is to protect you.” Lynn slowly answered as she stared at me. “Rememb
“Oh, that’s good. Are you close to Amy?” Morgan turned to face me. But Lynn was already shaking her head.“No. I asked to come to this pack without realizing that Oakenfang was the pack her mother moved to.” Lynn’s eyes would meet mine, or my mother’s, for that matter. She was staring fully at Morgan.“Really?” Morgan tilted his head. “Then why did you seem so close to her when you two walked in?”Lynn smiled. “Beta, if you would have looked outside when we pulled up, I stood away from Alpha Amy and Beta Ronnie. I followed her inside since this was her home, and you were giving me a place to sleep while I explored the pack for my mate.” Lynn cut her eyes to me and there was thinly veiled hatred in them. “Alpha Amy has been as polite to me as I have been to her, but I wouldn’t say we are friends.” She looked back at Morgan. “I follow the protocol my Alpha c
I left them all in the kitchen and retreated to my room. I closed the door and settled myself and Nix, finally shifting back to my normal face.I’m sorry I lost control in there. Nix sounded softer, almost embarrassed.“It’s okay.” I smiled as I flopped onto my bed. “They deserved it.” I chuckled softly as I thought of their surprised faces as they hit the ground.What you both just did will put them on the toes. They won’t think they can easily manoeuvre around you anymore because your wolf has manifested itself. Megan’s voice was confident as she chastised us. She knew that this would make our lives a little harder. You both should have held it together back there.I thought about it. “You’re right.” I admitted, and Nix nodded with me. “We should have behaved back there. It would have been easier to move in the shadows without them knowing I could shift. But we still have
I came back to my room and my mother was spraying the pile of clothes with a bottle of what I could only assume was descenting spray. There were two garbage bags by the door and she nodded to them. “Bring those to the trash. I’ll meet you downstairs in a minute.”“What are you doing?” I pointed to the pile of the clothes.“Covering our asses until we get back with more spray and finish washing everything.” She lifted her lip and continued spraying. She ended up cursing under her breath and unscrewed the lip and upending the bottle on my clothes. “Stupid thing would take forever.” She pointed to the garbage bags, and I lifted them and ran down the stairs. I ran to the trash and dumped the bags, then ran back.“I told you I would meet you downstairs.” My mom was using a soaked top to run some of the descenting spray all over my mattress.“I know, but I wanted to lock my door before
I let her words settle, and I knew she was right. Brandon would come for me if he was rejected, so I had to keep my distance until I figured out everything else out that I needed to so that my mom and I could leave. And I had to concede that she was also right about the strawberry shampoo. It had become my signature smell since grade school. So much so that Shannon used it, even though her wolf hated it.“You’re right.” I grabbed the bag and left my room. Once my mom came outside, I locked the door and we headed to the garage. “You will help me find a smell my wolf likes?”“Of course.” She nodded as I tossed out the bag of toiletries. “Amy, I was wondering. Has there been anything weird about Nix you wanted to talk about?” I froze for a second, but shook it off.For a second, it sounded like my mother knew about Megan, but that was impossible. It had to be. “Like what?”“Well, she is ve
Bingo. I wanted to roll my eyes. He used it weekly after the big pack meetings he threw together. But I needed him to offer it up, otherwise he would see it as a red flag and focus on me. “A company?” My mother huffed another breath. Just a mom trying to deal with her insufferable daughter. “For what?”“They have perfected cleaning carpets so that unwanted scents don’t linger.” He snapped his eyes to my mother and then back to me. “I know how it feels to have an alpha wolf who is territorial. It’s not Amy’s fault Ainsley.”I smiled and turned to look at my mother. “I told you.” I pouted. “You kept saying it was too much. That Shannon was my sister and I should just get over it.”“Well, she is.” My mother pointed out, but I let out another growl.“She is an unranked wolf who used my belongings to trick the alpha’s son into dating her.&rdquo
“Thank you.” I smiled as we walked out of yet another store. I was exhausted, but we still had more stops to make. I looked at everything in my hands: my new sheets, blankets, pillows. Everything we threw away, we had replaced. Except for my bed. “I’m tired, my head hurts, and I’m-”“Whining.” My mom finished. But she smiled. “We just need to get you a new mattress and get the old one hauled away.”“Plus, finish the laundry and get the carpets cleaned.” I pointed out. She closed her eyes.“I forgot.” She stretched out her back and tied her hair up. “Now, let’s finish this part up. I still need to fix dinner.”“Why don’t we just order food? Morgan and Shannon will survive a day of take out.” My mom rolled her eyes and I watched as she bobbed her head back and forth. Then she decided.“Fine. You’re right.” She ga
That stopped me for a minute. I looked back at my mother and she smiled. “Carl here, is what you would call a nomad. He was a part of my father’s pack, but trailed with me to your fathers, and then to here. He refused to swear fealty to Vince. So he stays off pack lands. He set up shop here, and since he is one of the few warriors skilled enough to make descenting spray, Vince tolerates him.” My mother went over to Carl and kissed his cheek.“Always a pleasure to see my Luna.”“Oh, so he meant he follows you.” I bounced my finger between the two and my mom looked up at Carl, who also gave a tiny nod.“Yes, and no. Carl here is also a shaman.”“A what?”“A shaman.” My mother held out her hand and I walked over to them. “Your father had his grandmother’s help with his pack.” She stared at me. “My father had Carl.” I could see it in her eyes. She was asking me to understand.“Shamans are like grandmother?” I tilted my head and Carl laughed.“Yes, and no.” This time it was him. “We are bl
I sat back, watching the grey curser flashing on the screen. I needed to answer him, but I was still a little lost on how to approach him. It’s still weird knowing that Thoth is a man. When my dad introduced us, it was just vague information. Thoth will help you. No gender. No name other than user name. I asked over and over, but he stayed quiet. We talked about computers at first. But then our conversations grew deeper. He asked about my day, complained about his own. It wasn’t until I joked with him about telling Brandon that he was a human female that he finally cracked and told me he was a man. Another alpha my father was friends with. One he had grown close to from overseas. I shook my head to clear it. Whatever feelings I did or didn’t have for Thoth would have to wait. I wouldn’t approach any relationship until everything had been handled.NixtheGoddess: Hey. I’m alive. Vince had captured me for a few days, but I got out. I’m at work. I have a full day, but I will do a full d
Humans fall in love… The words bounced around in my head. There was no fucking way. I turned to look at my wolves, who were sitting comfortably. There is no gods damn way.Nix snorted as she looked at Megan. She’s really trying to convince us…when we share her fucking soul and already know the truth. Megan shrugged. I wasn’t going to point it out to her. She ran to her computer every night for months, talking to the man. If she wanted to be stupid, that was her prerogative. They both looked at me and I staggered back. YOU KNEW!Both shrugged. Look. Nix stepped closer and ran her side down the barrier. After Brandon. I wasn’t going to agree to any mate. But then you met Rowan.And while we both liked him. Megan pressed against the barrier, sending love. There were too many things holding you both back. Including us. What are you guys even talking about?Nix sighed. She pulled back and looked at her paws. I knew you loved Rowan. We both did. And before we realized Erubus was Rowan,
I sighed before I pulled up our chat screen. The dark screen was full of messages that I had missed.Thoth: Hey. You missed our chat last night. We were going to work on getting into the mainframe. Is everything okay?Thoth: Amy? Hey. It’s been hours. I’m starting to worry.Thoth: Amy? I called your dad. He said he hasn’t been able to get in touch with you, and he’s even starting to worry. Is everything okay? We are starting to panic.Thoth: Okay, listen, I know you are probably busy. Especially with the kids. I know you said that the king was in the past, but maybe you should reach out to Rowan about the kids. Maybe he can help.Thoth: Hey it’s been another day. Are you okay? I fully expect you to message me back today. I called you but you didn’t answer.Thoth: I just realized it might be weird that I called you…I got your number from your dad. I figured since we are friends, you wouldn’t care. Thoth: Okay, don’t be weird about me calling you.Thoth: I’m panicking.I laughed at tha
I walked into the office early the next morning. I was exhausted still, but I had things to do. Alannah stood with a shout. “Amy! You’re back.” She ran over and hugged me. “I was so worried when I hadn’t heard anything from you.”“I just spent some time with my mom on an island off the coast. Cell service was bad.” I sniffed her. “You smell good.” I pulled back, patting her back. “I like the perfume, what is it?”She looked a little confused for a moment. “It’s vanilla.”I smiled. “It smells great, but I can tell it’s wearing off. You might want to add a little, so it lasts all day.” I winked at her as understand entered her eyes. “Good idea. I’ve been running around all morning, so I was really sweaty.” She turned around and went to her desk, pulling the bottle from her purse and spraying herself. She turned to me expectantly. “How’s that?” “Perfect.” I looked around. “Is Rick in?”She shook her head. “He left early yesterday after his meeting with the alpha. I think we weren’t fee
I opened myself up as I sat down and sent out a call. “Sorry it took so long.” I sighed as I sat down next to her. “You were busy.” Carl’s voice was sad, and as I looked over, both he and my grandmother looked worried. “But you are here now.”“I didn’t expect both of you.” I sighed.“Daddy.” Carly called as she jumped up, but I grabbed her. “He’s not really here, baby, remember? You can’t touch him.” She trembled and then she sat back down. They settled across from us with the grave between us. “I forgot.” She looked at him. “I miss you, daddy.”“And I miss you too, baby.” He leaned over, then need to touch his daughter too much. “I heard every time you prayed to me.” His eyes softened. “And I want you to know, baby. That if you want to call Amy mom, or if at any time Amy gets a mate and you want to call him dad, your mother and I won’t mind. We will always be your mommy and daddy.” The tears in his eyes were full of love.Carly looked at me and I smiled down at her. “You don’t hav
I pulled into the house a little earlier than I expected. The grocery store was pretty empty. I only saw two workers. I grabbed my groceries and was out of the door before anyone said hello to me, which was fine. I needed a shower, and to see my girl. I brought everything inside and put it next to the closet. I left the door locked until I was ready to go over. I would do everything I needed to first because I knew if I went to the cabin, I was going to get an earful. I hopped in the shower and groaned. It felt amazing to have my shower again. I had bought new shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. I had a brilliant idea as I was shopping. One that was sure to make Brandon go slightly insane. I smirked as I sniffed the strawberry scent I had missed the last few years. Nix and Megan both sniffed the air and sighed. I missed this smell. Nix purred in my mind.Megan nodded. It makes me feel at home. I finished my shower and got out, covering myself in more strawberry scented product. My
I ran past my house, and I wanted to turn in, to check in on everyone. But I had to run back and pretend I just got back in. I ran past guards and patrols, gaining speed. When Nix got tired, Megan took over. I kept feeding magic into our feet, and after a few hours of running back and forth, weaving through the groups of wolves, I was finally off pack lands. Nix? I turned back to my exhausted wolf.Yeah? She rolled over to look at me. Use the vacuum. She furrowed her brow. What the hell are you talking about?Remember when we were learning to change our scent? The candle changed it and the vacuum…Made it disappear completely. I nodded. Exactly. I don’t want anyone following our trail. She nodded and hopped up. I watched as she dragged herself to the clearing and I summoned the vacuum. Itg was funny to watch her blow out the candle and then turned on the vacuum. She got the switch on the third attempt with her claws. She grabbed the hose with her teeth and sat down with it pointe
I heard Vince call out behind us, but I pushed Megan to run fast. I felt the first trap try to pull strength from us, and I realized I hadn’t carved the rune onto Megan yet.Fuck. I pushed forward, shoving my wolves back. The instincts were telling us to run, to flee, but I needed to get the rune on to her skin or else we wouldn’t make it very far. Amy, we have to run. Nix screamed from behind me, but I still forced Megan’s body to freeze. I stretched out our leg and used a claw to cut into the skin. I could hear the footsteps coming behind me. Amy! There is more the Vince chasing after us. We have to go. She tried to push, but I held her back. Trust me, we need this or else we are cooked. I looked behind us as Vince pushed through the last trees, blocking our view. His face broke into a smile, but then he faltered as he saw what I was doing.“Hey, what are you doing?” Vince stepped closer and the smell of blood hit his nostrils. His eyes snapped to my leg. “If you wanted to die, yo
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