As soon as Maddie exited the packhouse, she locked onto the footsteps behind her, following her every move. She could already smell who it was, but continued to march away in the hopes that he would get the idea that she didn’t want to talk and would leave her alone. However, Daniel didn’t let up, following her down the side street to Jess' house, and gaining on her with each step. “Come on, Mads. I got them to stop. Don’t be like this.” He called out, his voice echoing off the walls of the empty street. “They were just having a joke.” Maddie bristled. He was close enough now to grab her, but she whirled around before he could, making him slow down with a glare. “You think trying to humiliate me is a joke?” She hissed. “I admit it, they went too far.” He held up his hands but kept walking towards her. She stepped back with every forward stride he took, needing the distance between them. “I’ll make sure they do double training today to make up for it.” “That’s not enough.
The moment her pheromones flooded out from her control, Michael was at her side. His arms wrapped around her, pulling Maddie tight to his chest as his head dipped to her neck. His scent surrounded her, filling her mind with a heady lust that had her baring her throat and curling into his to find the source of the delicious scent. Its thick, musty aroma was rich like a dark coffee, and she nuzzled into his skin, letting it transfer to her as she fisted his t-shirt, keeping him close. Warmth rushed through her form, spreading through her veins like a wildfire. Her body hummed; its call answered by his touch. “Are you alright? Did he hurt you?” Michael asked, cupping her face and rolling it from side to side while he searched her expression for a glimmer of pain. Her skin tingled under his palm, and she leaned into his hand, her nose searching for the pulse point at his wrist. “Why did you go into a dark alley with him? He could've hurt you." Through half-lidded eyes, Maddie sear
The refreshing scent of salt filled the air around Maddie as she perched on the bar stool, rolling an iced glass of gin between her hands. She made the liquor rock like the waves she had been in all day. Her body ached with the many laps she had done of the island, and yet she still didn’t feel rid of Michael’s touch. All day the ghost of it had played on her skin, reminding her of the earlier mistake that she couldn’t bring herself to think about for too long. If she did, her body would start to warm until even the chill of the sea couldn’t take away her flush. After finding Jess in bed with Erik and having a pillow or two thrown at her head when she tried to interrupt, Maddie turned to the sea for comfort. She hoped it would clear the muddiness of her thoughts. Everything pinned back to one question; why him? Why did the Moon Goddess make him highly compatible with her? The question endlessly spun in her mind, as she futilely tried to guess the musings of a deity, until she realis
Maddie’s muscles were bunched, ready for anything, as she crouched down. She controlled her breathing though her heartrate inched higher as she waited. The sea breeze brushed against her skin, playing with her ponytail but she couldn’t take a moment to enjoy it. She was too focused; eyes ahead of her and determined to win. At the sound of the first whistle, her feet pushed off the ground with a bruising force, propelling her forward. Erik had taught her that starting position at the start of the week and it had boosted her time dramatically in the shorter sprints. She was twenty paces, and a good chunk of the way across the field, when the second whistle blew. Immediately, she felt a prickle on the back on her neck as her opponent closed in. The wind against her face felt like nothing compared to the rush of movement behind her. Maddie tried to pick up the pace, but she was already running as fast as she could. Even if a group of starving rogues were chasing after her, she doubted
Training was cancelled that morning so the pack could get ready for the second trial of the Alpha Games. It was the perfect opportunity to stay in bed for a couple of extra hours, but Maddie was up and about as early as usual. Sleep hadn’t come easy to her last night. Strange dreams tormented her sleep and every time she jerked awake from their horrors, she found herself wrapped tightly in her duvet, with pillows thrown everywhere. She had forced herself to stay in bed until a reasonable hour, not wanting to dance around questions about her being awake before the sun. Though the morning had dragged by, the time had now come. In the north of the island, a start and finish line had been created, along which the ten remaining contestants stood. Maddie was happy about them beginning in the north. They were already halfway up the steep incline towards the cliffs, so their first terrain would be the rocky edge. With any luck it would give her a chance to get ahead of the rest as they hit
The speed at which the other contestants belted off the line had Maddie’s eyes flying wide. The moment her father started the race, a rush of air pushed into her side as the wolves all launched off the starting line. She was right behind them, propelling herself forward into the fray, but was already a few steps back from those with the fastest reactions. The contestants all clumped into one group, and she saw elbows flying around as they jostled to get to the front. The commotion slowed them down giving her a chance to catch up. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of movement heading towards her. She flinched, mid stride, unable to avoid the blow, but it never reached her. Instead, a hand intercepted the stray elbow that belonged to none other than Ryan, Daniel’s lackey. Her eyes narrowed to a glare on him, but his attention was on the wolf who had grabbed his arm. With a simple flick of the wrist, he was thrown away and sent stumbling into Nala, whose snarl was any
For the entirety of the second lap, Maddie didn’t see another contestant. The small embers of hope, that she’d catch up to them at the cliffs, died the moment she headed towards the peak point of the island with none of her opponents in sight. Heat stung behind her eyes, but the sea breeze brushed away any tears that managed to escape. Her plan to use the terrain to her advantage had failed. She had underestimated the warriors' ability to adapt to the rocky cliff side and had now been left behind. She was going to lose. Maddie could already feel the upcoming defeat weighing in her bones, trying to coax her to stop and give up. It was tempting. When her chances of passing the trial had effectively dropped to zero, why should she have to keep going? She imagined the faces of all the contestants watching her finish the race long after them. She could already see Daniel’s sneer and the pity in Lewis’ eyes. She didn’t want to face that, let alone the hundreds of Silver Moon wolves watchi
Every step hurt, each breath was a wheeze, and, every moment, Maddie had to resist the urge to look over her shoulder. She was certain she would see the Golden Claw warrior hot on her heels and ready to steal her place in the next round. Her muscles were burning, threatening each step to be her last, but they kept her going down the southern side of the island and across the beach. Hope clenched in her chest as her feet touched grass again and she began the final climb to the finish line. The end was in sight and so was her victory. It burst with renewed strength in her heart, flooding her veins with the energy to keep going. A grin spread across her lips, daring to believe the chance Jess had given her had paid off and that she was about to cross the finish line as the last contestant to pass the speed trial. It was really going to happen. She was going to do it and survive another day of the Alpha Games, and be one step closer to freedom. As the first sprinkling of Silver Moon w