:] Have any ideas? Who do you think Theodore is?
Lucy:I feel like I could suffocate from being stuck at this cabin.Can you say cabin fever? Literally."What's the deal with Seth?" Trish doesn't exactly beat around the bush. I loved this about her, though."What do you mean?" I play stupid. No one needs to know. Leon didn't say anything, but I could tell he had an inkling there was something under the surface.Not to mention, I felt like this entire thing was my fault. Seth had been through so much, and the last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt him."I can understand you are worried about Seth, but you cried, Luce. I was born during the day, but not yesterday," she says, rolling her eyes.She's intuitive. I'll give her that.It's a warmer day than it has been. We're sitting in our classic spot on the porch.Trish is gently pushing the swing with her foot; the other was curled up on the cushion.My feet barely reach the ground, so I have both of my feet criss-cross on the swing."I already have a mate, Trish. Does it really matter
LUCY:I peeled my clothes off reluctantly once I got to the tree line. I shifted quickly, letting Nia come forward. She wasted no time before we were in our silver coat: white paws and white circles around our eyes.She grabbed our clothes in our mouth.'Don't worry, Lucy. We will do everything we can to find Seth,' Nia tries to reassure me.I'm not feeling confident, but I know we will do our best.We take off through the woods. I forgot how good the wind feels through our fur.'The lake first, yes?' Nia asks. She's in control. I'm shaking internally. I'm so nervous we will find Seth dead.I have to explain to her where to go. I'm not all that familiar with it.I remember being on the cliff and knowing the direction the cabin was from that point, but I can't say 100% that we are headed in the right direction once we are in the thick of the forest.'Leon is going to be furious,' Nia reminds me.'So will Jason, but they're not the boss of us, Nia. I'm tired of just sitting around and
LIAM:My mom quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me down to my dad's empty office. As we entered, she let go of my arm and plopped down on the couch.I watched as she put her face in her hands. Her body was trembling, but I could not see any tears falling."Mom, what is happening? Who is this man? Theodore?" I ask gently, sitting down next to her.I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, trying to peek at her face that was smooshed against her palms. She finally fixed her posture and removed her hands from her face. Her eyes were burning red as if holding back tears.She shook her head left and right before responding."He isn't supposed to be reaching out to you. What did he want?" she asks, now making eye contact with me.I turn to face her better. My eyes search her face for understanding, but I'm getting nothing."He wanted me to help Lucy. He said it was important for everyone's safety," I sigh.Her eyes go wide. I watch as she opens her mouth slightly before closing it and pursing h
LEON:We searched until the wee hours of the morning. I was beyond exhausted.Dad had mind-linked us to come home and speak to him. I was itching to go back and see Lucy, but I knew I had duties to take care of, and it was something we would often have to deal with."We should talk after this meeting with Dad," Liam said, catching up to me. We were now reaching the tree line that separated the settlement area and the forest."About what? Can it wait? I want to talk to Dad and head back to Lucy. I need to see her at least a few hours before we get back out on the search," I say.My shoulders are slumped, my body is sore, and I miss my mate terribly. "We can wait. In fact, I could even come with you. I should probably check on Lucy," he sighs.I whipped my head around with what I'm sure looked like confusion on my face."She is my mate. I can take care of her," I say.I know I'm just grumpy because of everything I'm feeling right now so I snapped a little more than necessary."I know y
LUCY:My head was pounding hard. I felt like I had been run over.'Shh, don't let them know you're awake,' Nia whispered.My eyes were barely fluttering open when she spoke and they snapped back closed so fast. It took everything I had to try and slow down my heart rate so they didn't catch on.'Where are we?' I respond.'I don't know, our eyes are shut remember?' she retorts.Shit my brain was foggy. I was clearly not in good condition.'Right,' I said.I could tell that I was slumped over someone's shoulder like a rag doll so I continued to let me body be as limp as I possibly could.Nia felt weak. The little bit of communication she had done with me was enough to nearly take her back out. This was bad.I was piecing together what happened. I wondered where my dad would take me."Lock her up in the cell across from her boy toy," my dad's voice said nearby making my stomach flip.Boy toy? My heart skipped a beat.I hear the man carrying me chuckle and the rattle of the keys unlocking
Leander:I turn around hesitantly. I had completely forgotten about Savina's existence when I came back.I was obviously going to have to have a conversation with her but right now was just not the time."Leon! Where have you been?" Savina snaps at me.I'm not sure how I didn't notice it about her before or maybe this was new but she left nothing for the imagination.She was wearing skin-tight black shorts even though the weather outside would scoff at her choice.Her bright pink crop top was creased through the middle from how tight it tugged around her breasts that were practically falling out of her shirt.Pink leather boots up to her knees. Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging her for her choice of appearance.I'd just rather see Lucy in something even more revealing in the confines of my bedroom.There was absolutely no attraction to Savina anymore. It made me feel like an asshole but at the same time, I made it clear to her what this was, which was nothing.Especially after she li
Lucy:Flashback:"You manipulated me!" his voice hisses loudly, vibrating off of the walls.My mom is standing tall and proud. She isn't backing down from my father at all.I had just walked into the room. I wasn't supposed to be in this part of the pack house but I had thought my dad was gone.My mom's eyes flicker over in my direction for a brief moment before they move back to my Dad.'Hide,' Nia instructs me.I tuck myself beside the bookcase near the entryway. I'm hiding myself the best I can while continuing to listen."I didn't manipulate you Kragen. I'm your mate. That was never a lie." My mom's voice is calm and steady.The air feels stale and at the same time, it's suffocating me. I can sense that something is terribly wrong."What the hell is this?" my dad screams flinging around papers.They look worn out and used before he tosses them to the side. The papers fly across the room, falling down around the space next to them like confetti."Kragen, we can talk through this," m
Liam:Trigger Warning: Some depictions of certain events may make some readers uncomfortable at the beginning of this chapter."Holy shit Lucy! Are you okay?" I yell out to her, but she isn't moving.There's a pool of blood on the ground next to her and underneath her.From what I can tell, the only thing left on her body is a torn-up shirt.She has gashes and bruises all over her.I feel nauseous at the recognition of what's happened to her.'Where are we?' Bo asks.I'm running up to her, not considering my surroundings. She is lying on a cold, hard cement floor.I reach down to shake her, but my hand goes straight through her. I try again, the same thing. What the hell?I hear a chuckle on the other side of the room, making me whip my head over in the direction it's coming from."What the hell did you do to her?" I scream, but they aren't phased by the fact that I'm here.I watch as the man laughing walks over to Lucy, shaking his head."Your dear old dad warned you there would be co
Lucy:The scent wasn't fresh, or at least, it wasn't potent.Whoever had been in here likely wasn't here anymore, but of course, I checked every space that someone could be hiding in.'Maybe it was that driver,' Nia ponders, even though we can both tell the scent isn't the same.The idea sounds better than the alternative.I take a mental note to ask my mates if they've had anyone in here for any reason. I let out a massive sigh of relief as I opened my dresser drawer and removed the clothes. The key and journal were still tucked beneath the stack of clothes.What would they be in my room looking for? This wasn't exactly the best hiding spot, but I had never worried about anyone breaking in.'The door isn't damaged, and it was locked. That means, if someone did come in here without permission, they would have had to have had a key,' I say to Nia, trying to sort things out.The book on my nightstand that I knew had been there was gone. From what I could tell, my brush was the other
Lucy:I was going to have to face the entire pack soon. Tallie was essentially supposed to be like practice for me, but the moment she burst into tears, I no longer knew how I could possibly address the entire pack.Tallie sobbed for an awkward minute or two. I wasn't sure if she felt comfortable with me consoling her, so I stood there silently with my hands clasped in front of me, praying to the Moon Goddess for anything at all."Umm... Tallie, I'm sorry if I scared you," I mutter, my voice cracking.She shakes her head and wipes her tears off her face before sniffling and regaining her upright position to face me."It's not that. I mean, you didn't scare me," she explains, throwing her hands around in the air.I walk forward and hug her, letting my magic flow from me to her, similar to how I did with Saul. She needed to feel understood and not so alone. This was something I was good at.She settles down dramatically, her body relaxing and the trembling disappearing almost instant
Lucy:Leander said yes, of course. I knew that he would.Rosie was over the moon with excitement, and while I think we were all still shaken up about the crazy driver situation, this was a silver lining."Of course, Tallie and Maddel will have to agree. After all, they did adopt Rosie, and she is not an adult yet," Leander states.I couldn't tell what it was, but I didn't care too much for Rosie's adoptive mother, and I hadn't met her adoptive father yet."You're like a magnet for danger!" That's Trish.About time she shows up.Oh no. She doesn't have Saul.It's getting late. We've been here for longer, or the entire crash and chaos took more time than I had thought."Trishy, where is your mate?" I ask, staring at the cottage in hopes that Saul will come around the corner, but he doesn't.He went with Seth.Of course, he did. It makes sense, but I still can't help but feel bad. I keep feeling like everything is my fault. Anyone around me is put in danger left and right."Stop," Seth
Lucy:A gentle hum vibrated from my connection with Rosie before everything went black.Am I the only one who can hear her this way?"Hello?" I ask into the darkness.A blue light illuminates the darkness. I shield my eyes with my arm momentarily until the light dims, and I'm left sitting on a garden bench."You're okay," I hear Liam's voice.I jump, startled by his presence in my space.My space? Where am I?"What? How?" I ask, turning my body to face him fully now.Liam just smiles at me and pulls me onto his lap to straddle him."This doesn't-" I'm cut off by Liam's lips softly pressing against mine.He gently wraps his arms around me, pulling my body closer to his in the process. For a brief moment, I let myself go, bringing myself into this moment with Liam."Wait!" I pull away."This isn't real. You aren't real!" I say, tearing up again.I had a horrible feeling about Liam going on that mission.How do I get out of here? I need to find Liam. Real Liam.Dammit, Rosie, what did
Seth:'What do we do?' Leon links me.Lucy has been crying in his lap for at least five minutes now as we drive to Rosie's.Goddess, why did she have to live so far out of the way? A large spot on his shirt was soaked with her tears. He's been doing a great job soothing her, the best anyone could, but she's not being receptive like she normally is.I can tell even Leander is getting nervous. Lucy's mood seemed to sway anyone within 20 feet of her.'Maybe it's a good thing we're going to Rosies,' I link back.Honestly, I have no idea. I had never seen Lucy act this way.Liam's leaving broke her into pieces. At least a million of them."Lucy!" Leander speaks up before clearing his throat.I watch as she hiccups and clears her throat, wiping her tears as they continue to flow steadily down her cheeks."Liam has been on a lot of scouting missions. This is his specialty. He managed to make it to Kragen's facility, find you, and come home in one piece. He will be okay," Leander states, s
Lucy:'Lucy! Wait for us!' Liam links me, but Nia isn't listening.Neither am I.I gave Nia complete control; she needed this. We should have gone for a run first thing this morning.We're gaining on him. I can feel the strength running through our blood, supplying us with more energy.The sound of his heartbeat sounds like rocks beating relentlessly against a drum.He's scared.Good.'There he is!' I say, even though I know she can see him too.The sound of paws is now beating heavily against the dirt ground, echoing off the solid oak and maple tree trunks. Of course, he had headed straight towards the forest. Anyone trying to get away would run in this direction but an unanswered question pops into my head.Where is he running to?'Wait! Nia! Let him get away!' I shout as loud as I can.I feel her growl vibrate through our entire presence as she leaps over a fallen oak log, our paws nearly brushing against the bark.I force myself forward, shifting mid-air against her will. My body
Lucy:"We'll have to take a car to Rosie's," Seth says as we head out the front doors of the pack house.For the most part, everyone understood what I had explained to them earlier about the connections, but if there was one thing I was holding very close to me, it was Hecate telling me to trust my gut.I had a third sense for things. It wasn't my core gift, but it acted very close to it.At some point, I needed to get Seth alone to help me plan for my other mate's birthday.While the ceremony would be on their actual birthday, I had a small idea of what I wanted to do for them as my gift, and it wouldn't be able to be on their actual birthday.The typical black SUV pulled around with a driver I hadn't seen before. It wasn't their usual guy."Can I take the passenger seat?" I ask, feeling oddly uncomfortable with this new driver for some reason unknown to me at this moment.While it may seem odd to take the passenger seat with how I'm feeling, it's really not. The closer I am to this d
Savina:"What took you so long?" I hiss.They left me for dead; I just know it.My throat feels like sandpaper as I sit up in the cot I had been in for the last several days."Be thankful we came back for you at all," Kash says.I have no clue where we are. The room is dark, and they haven't let me leave since I got here.They lied to me. Lucy wasn't supposed to have her magic. It was supposed to be an easy task.Although my plan was never to take her out in a challenge, I was improvising.The goal was to separate her from her mate's bond so that if her magic ever came to fruition, she would not gain her full strength.Kash never told me why we were doing it. Some might think I was a fool for following his orders blindly, but I trusted him.I loved him.I never wanted Leon the way that I had made it seem. It was a means to an end."How could you say that, Kash?! I did what you asked of me!" I defend.His comment nearly shattered my heart into a million pieces."You are a fool, Savina!
Lucy:We had lunch and revisited the plan we had made with Zeak after getting blood samples. There were still many things to do at this point, and I wasn't sure which direction to take next.We decided to have lunch at the pack house cafeteria. I told my mates we needed to start being more present in the pack."This doesn't mean that Savina is a demi, does it?" Liam asks."No, there weren't enough markers. She was given a gift somehow. That means we're working against magic that we hardly know anything about," Theo explains.Nadia looks worried, even though she is trying to pretend otherwise."Are you not going to explain to me why you want my blood tested?" I ask Nadia for what has felt like the millionth time.I know she isn't being completely honest, but what I had said to Seth was true.I want to build her trust and guidance, but I don't want to push for answers because I know sometimes we just don't know what the answer really is.I gave Theo another sample of blood—a fresh one.