Chapter 15: My Beautiful Mess Cillian “What am I doing here? The question is, what are you doing here?” I roar in response to her question. My growl must have been so loud that it sends the nighthawks and owls scattering in the dark sky, fleeing the trees that shelter them at night. Not taking my eyes away from my beautiful mess, I set my steps to approach her. The mixture of urgency and earnestness to rip Kayleigh away from Andrei is strong. Wary of how my actions could hurt Kayleigh, I force myself to calm down. “Kayleigh, what is this about?” I make a show of looking repelled by what they were doing, hoping to hide the jealousy that’s steeping inside me. “This is none of your business, Cillian. Please leave us alone. I need to do this ritual.” She pulls her hand away from Andrei’s when she sees my gaze move from her face to their hands fastened to each other’s. As crazy as that sounds, that small gesture gives me a little hope. Hope that she doesn’t want to hurt my feelings be
Chapter 16: Double Trouble Kayleigh “All right, ladies! Listen up! My name is Vilma Wolfgang Medici. I am from the Blutschild Pack Germany, and a member of the Wolf Blood Council. On top of that, I also run the Council’s elite warriors, the Guardians. I’m honored to be this week’s trainer. We only have four days together, so we will soak up as much learning and training as we can. Welcome to the Week of the She-wolves.” The hairs on the back of my neck rise as I gape to my side and land my eyes on the owner of the voice with the German accent. Standing on the raised wooden platform is a woman, looking like a goddess. Tall, lean, platinum blonde, and gorgeous as ever. Bloody hell! If it isn’t my godmother herself! Vilma gives me a wink as she catches me staring and smiling at her. Vilma is one of my parents’ best friends. They’ve known each other since their childhood years. There were even stories saying that my dad and Vilma dated before Dad met his fated mate, my Mom. Nevertheles
Kayleigh Vilma and the twins are leading this week’s training. Vilma is one of the best warriors among the Wolf Blood circle. Just to be around her is already a privilege. Growing up, I was fortunate to have the Medici family as a permanent presence in my life. The first two days, we trained with Vilma and several of her assistants on combat skills and martial arts. Yesterday, we started the she-wolves pack-run led by Gisella. It’s an overnight trek along the Ozark Mountains. The same trail the guys took during the Alpha run. We travelled by foot during the day and, while they shifted into their wolves last night, I ran. This didn’t deter me at all. I’m a fast runner, even surpassing some of the wolves last night. What I couldn’t do as a wolf, I made sure—Gio and Gisella made sure—that I made up for it with my human skills. Last year, when my parents and Vilma realized that my wolf wasn’t emerging anytime soon, they prepared me in oth
Chapter 18: The Wolf-less She-wolf Kayleigh “Yes, Kayleigh. You,” Gisella confirms without breaking eye contact with Kinsley. “I’m sorry, but didn’t you just say, according to Wolf-match 101, fighters must be at the same skill level? Kayleigh doesn’t even have a wolf. We don’t even know if she’s ever going to have a wolf. How is that even fair—to her, I mean? She’s at a disadvantage. Is she even qualified to be in a wolf-match? She’s wolf-less.” One hand on her hip and the other motioning in the air, she tries to convince Vilma and the pack that I am at a significantly lower skill level than her. The crowd stirs. Some nod to each other, agreeing with Kinsley, while others throw me gazes that express that they want to see what I can do and prove that I deserve to be here. “Wolf-match 101’s number one rule is that both opponents must be of wolf-blood descent. I’m sorry, am I missing something? Last I checked, Kayleigh is from a family
Kayleigh It feels like we’ve been going at it for several hours now, but in reality it’s only been fifteen minutes. Kinsley is stronger than she looks. My only advantage is being faster. But even that didn’t help me with the last two punches on my torso and her round kick that sent me flying in the air. My face is plastered on the dry ground, just inches inside the makeshift circle drawn using water as marker. Not sure what hurts more, the impact of my fall or my face scratching the grainy dirt. “I would suggest you stay down, kissing the gravel, if you want to make it to your 18th birthday with your dignity intact.” Kinsley wipes the blood dripping from her nose as she sputters words that she thinks will threaten me. I managed to land consecutive uppercuts on her pretty face before she put me in this position. I can tell that it did a number on her. I get up, not bothering to shake off the dirt and small pebbles that stuck on my body. “Less chat
Cillian My girl won. She’s been sleeping since yesterday, resting and recuperating. The wolf-match took a lot out of her. She’s bruised and swollen. The wolf-witch healer gave her some powerful herbs that knocked her out. She’ll be good as new when she wakes up, hopefully soon. Well, she’ll be sore and have some superficial cuts, but her friend Gisella said she’d make sure to take care of it with her makeup skills. With girl stuff, I guess. If only she had her wolf, she would heal within a day. But it doesn’t matter. She won. I’m beyond proud of her. Kinsley is one of the strongest she-wolves, and everyone here is aware of that. The fact that Kayleigh won using both fighting skills and intelligence reflects that she not only has what it takes to be a she-wolf but she also has the makings of a Luna… my Luna. Any doubts raised about her position as a she-wolf are all gone. Or at least, a big chunk of it. Her courage proves to them all t
Kayleigh Am I dead? No. I can’t be. I still have to bask in the glory of winning the she-wolf match and wipe the smug off Kinsley’s face when I see her again. I used to like her. But she became this vile queen bee the moment she realized that there’s something special between Cillian and me. “Mmmm…” I’m parched. I want to say something but my mouth won’t even open. My body feels stiff and heavy but numb at the same time. “Malyshka… I’m here…” “Stop calling... stop touching…” I hear male voices. Bickering. More bickering. “Leave. Both of you. Now.” Then silence. Vague flashbacks come in my mind. Collapsing into Gio after the match. Being carried to the vehicle. Strong and muscular chest and arms carrying me to my room. Gisella’s comforting voice. Cillian and Andrei arguing. The healer instructing everyone to be quiet if they’re not helping. The healer. Ah, that explains the smell o
Kayleigh Gio has a plan. I listen as he lays out his elaborate plot. If there’s anyone who would have an idea about going around complicated issues concerning the wolf blood, it would be Gio. Or any member of his family. That’s just how ingrained they are with anything concerning being a werewolf. The fact that he devised a plan to help, even without me asking him, shows how much he cares. Gio does love deeply. He gives all his time to everyone he loves … his family, to the Wolf Bloods, to the Council, and to the Guardians. Lucky is the girl, or boy, who captures his heart. Apparently, he even took the initiative to track down my Aunt Breanna. He’ll find a way for us to leave the summit for a day or two, within the next few weeks, so we can go see my aunt. I’d like to find out more about our family’s tainted bloodline. Gio’s strategy is unconventional. It includes getting runes tattooed on my body to impede the activation