LOGINThe desk clerk was saying something to me, but my eyes were frozen on my messaging screen.
Did someone recognize me at the bar?
Did Byron tell someone?
“Sir,” the woman said with some emphasis this time. “Is everything alright?”
I turned back toward her. “Oh. Um. Yes. Thank you. Are we all set?”
The desk clerk was saying something to me, but my eyes were frozen on my messaging screen.Did someone recognize me at the bar?Did Byron tell someone?“Sir,” the woman said with some emphasis this time. “Is everything alright?”I turned back toward her. “Oh. Um. Yes. Thank you. Are we all set?”“Yes, Sir,” she said with a forced smile. “Here’s your receipt. Have a nice day.”I nodded numbly, took the receipt, and made for the front doors.I got in the truck and blasted the heater.“I’m in the truck,” I texted Bina.No reply, but in the rear-view mirror, I watched her exit through a side door.
I leaned against the doorway connecting our rooms with my arms crossed, watching Bina go through her duffel bag one more time.“You know for someone who was so hell-bent on leaving, you’re sure taking your time,” I said sarcastically.“Well, I don’t just throw my things into my bag, like some people,” she shot back at me. There was a slight edge to her voice.I pushed off the doorframe, no longer needing the cane to steady me. “What’s going on? You sound tense.”She huffed and refolded a sweater.Again.“I don’t know,” she confessed. “I just feel… off.”“Off like women stuff, or off like we’re rolling into danger and need to stay put?&rdq
So, I’m a Luna-kissed too? I thought. It felt odd. I didn’t feel any different. But somehow it was different.Up until now, Luna-kissed was something about Soree, now Bear’s telling me it’s something about me too.“Were the males hunted too?” I heard Soree ask. That caught my attention.Zee was already at attention, taking it all in.“Oh, yes,” Maw said. “They tried to force breeding with high-ranking females, hoping to get Alphas or Lunas.”“What do you mean Lunas?” Soree asked again.“Not all Lunas possess magickal abilities. Just because a female is mated to the Alpha and a pack calls her Luna, doesn’t mean she is one.”Soree shook her head. “This is getting so confusing. I thought Luna-kissed just had more magick than Lunas, but all Lunas are Lunas.”“Let me try,” Bear said. “It’s very confusing.”Soree and I both nodded.“Before you met and bonded with Soree, Halia was your highest-ranking f
“I’m not sure I even know what to ask,” I stammered out. “Elara’s books don’t have much. I don’t know what Gabriel’s library has yet, and Amyra’s memory per her own admission is foggy.”“Whatever was written, more than likely, came after we went into hiding,” Maw said, sadly. “Who is this, Amyra?”I looked at Gabriel.He finished chewing, and took a sip of water. “She’s our most elder council member on the Isles. We call her Grandmother. When the Continental and Island Councils gathered here, Amyra revealed her Luna-kissed heritage, and also claimed Soree as her daughter.”Maw gasped.Bear grasped her fingers.“You’re reincarnated,” she said with awe.“Apparently. I knew nothing about any of this until a couple of weeks ago, wh
Soree and I made our way down the back staircase. Both Zee and I were content now that our mate rejoined the day-to-day.At times I could see her wanting to drift back upstairs, especially if the topic of the pyres came up, but she put on a brave face and kept plodding forward.KB smiled warmly as we entered her domain. She had two steaming mugs of coffee in her hands, and held them out toward each of us.“Thank you,” Soree said enthusiastically. I smiled as she brought the cup to her nose and inhaled deeply. “You put a touch of cinnamon in it!”KB beamed. “Yes, Luna. I know you like it that way.”“You are amazing,” she crooned, and took a tentative sip to gauge the heat factor.The kitchen was empty except for KB.
I flipped through an online menu from a local steakhouse. These apps had tons of restaurants that you could order from, and get the food delivered right to your door.Yesterday, I tried Thai food for the first time.Too many vegetables and not enough meat for my liking. The taste was nice though.I did develop a dangerous fondness for these things called doughnuts.Humans had a lot of nice conveniences. Not everyone had their own personal kitchen staff.I picked up the remote and changed the channel on the television to a streaming app.I could understand why humans had an obsession with it. So many channels and just about every kind of show, news, movie, or sports visible at any given time.I found a couple of shows I liked, then
I slowly blinked my eyes open, morning two in my new bedroom. I tried to move, but there was a heavy weight thrown across my waist.Then I registered soft snoring at my ear.Gabriel came home, slipped into bed, and somehow, I slept through it.I was doing everything in my pow
The upstairs was empty; I could hear Sam and Elara downstairs in the kitchen. I scooted across the hallway barely wrapped in a towel… old habits die hard.I held my towel firmly in place, even in the privacy of my room. Again, old habits.I closed my bedroom door and leaned a
I stepped up onto the porch behind Sam. Behind me was the rest of the gang, Seith, Nakoa, and Halia.I hadn’t seen Sori in a couple of days, and it was making me anxious. I recognized it for what it was… the bond. I certainly didn’t know her well enough for me to be this
I tried to mull the words over in my head, but Sori taking my hand and holding it took all my attention.I wanted to pull her in my lap and hold her tight.In all honesty, I was starting to think about other things besides holding her. After all she’d been through, how could I even







