By the time the weather had turned and the first storms off the North Sea began to batter the land, the house was ready to welcome not just Kade and Thalia but two little pups as well. Thalia had been lucky that she hadn’t struggled too much with the pregnancy thus far but, the two weeks leading up to her due date had been hard work. Her stomach and ankles seemed to be in a competition to see which could swell the most while her lower back and hips hurt constantly to the point that she struggled to sleep. In the end she was relegated to bed rest by Simone while Kade insisted on making sure everything else was done. For Thalia it had been torture but being pregnant with one child was never easy. Being pregnant two twins was doubly hard on the body."I thought you were given strict orders to stay in bed." Kade spoke up when he came in that evening to find Thalia pacing the living room, his playful smirk disappearing when he saw his mate’s frantic face. "Thalia?" "My waters broke." Tha
Fourteen years laterThe sun had long since set but the air was still sticky and thick with summer heat. The humidity had been building for days and now the low rumble of brontide echoed through the darkness with its promise of cooler temperatures to come. Despite the impending storm, the group of friends were still playing under the glow of the light coming from the giant packhouse. Nearly every window and door were open to let in fresh air in hopes of getting a cool breeze. Two males and two females pranced barefoot over the manicured grass as their laughter echoed and bounced against the fortress of trees that flanked the packhouse estate. In just a few days, the four young wolves would be travelling to the nearby facility to finish their training as warriors. Their excitement was palpable and was what spurred their excitable moods. While three would likely go on to become warriors, the fourth had had her destiny mapped out for her from the moment she was conceived.The future Que
Afghanistan, six years ago "There is only one thing you are able to rely on finding in this country and that's dirt." Lance-Corporal Jake Mulligan preached to the new privates as the Ridgeback patrol vehicle bounced along the pot-holed dirt track towards a village not far from the base. "By the end of this week you will have dirt in your clothes, in your boots, in your hair, in your bed in your arse---" "Hey Mully, are you ever going to shut up?" "Only once I've finished the induction training, Lieutenant Kade, Sir!" Mulligan smirked before turning back to carry on his sermon about dirt and all the places the men were going to find it. William Kade (better known as just Kade) turned back in his seat, drowning out the noise in the back of the armoured vehicle as he trained silver eyes on the expanse of arid desert terrain ahead of them. The temperature was pushing 40 degrees Celsius outside and yet a thin veil of grey cloud stretched across the skies like a blanket. It had to be th
Present day Thalia couldn't tell what time of day it was, but it felt like she had barely closed her eyes to capture a few precious hours of sleep before she was being jolted awake but the sound of keys forcing the old lock on her cell door open before the giant metal door groaned in protest on its hinges as it was opened. The sounds had become her alarm clock over the few years she had been held in this perpetual hell and yet she still dreaded the moment it came. Her eyes were open long before the sound of heavy boots stomping over the wet and mildew covered floor met her ears. She had been here long enough to know who was coming to drag her out of this dark hole they kept her in. Rusty (not his real name but she called him that because his hair was the same ugly orange colour) had a limp, Yellow (yellow teeth from chain smoking) scuffed his heels along the ground but today she had the displeasure of being escorted by Hammer (because his punches felt like being hit with a hammer).
The cool dawn air once again nipped at Thalia’s skin as she dragged herself out of the warm confines of the old SUV, pressing herself against the closed door as Marcus and no-name clambered out and stood in front of the vehicle, Marcus’s displeasure at being there coming off of him in waves while the other male seemed much more relaxed, bored even. For nearly a minute nothing happened. No one stepped out of the dark sedan across from them. The windows were too tinted to make anything out and Thalia could sense what kind of creature was hidden within the confines of the vehicle. Who were these people? They appeared to have money so why were they mixing with the likes of rogues who made their money from kidnapping little girls and selling them on to whoever. Thalia could still vividly remember her own abduction yet for whatever reason, Lars didn’t sell her on like the rest. He had kept her like some dog in a cage, only letting her out to clean and cook or to be someone’s punching bag.
It was the light filtering through her eyelids that eventually roused Thalia from the thick molasses of sleep that held her tight. Trying to crawl out of that safe and comforting darkness was like crawling through glue and there were a few times she succumbed to that protective embrace and sunk back under its waves. Eventually, pushing through became easier and Thalia felt the world around slowly slip back into place. For a few moments the young woman thought she was still in her cell, tucked away underground like a condemned criminal only to see the light of day when she was required to serve. Then the memories started to return to her.The car journey. Marcus negotiating with the blonde haired woman. Rafi throwing her into the back of the car. Ms Thorton drugging her.The events of that morning crashed down like ice cold water, sobering her immediately. She gasped as if breathing for the first time and shot up, espresso brown eyes wide and frantically taking in the room around her,
The large doors pushed open slowly, a soft whistle accompanying the movement as soft early spring air raced to escape through the opening. A delicate spicy scent mingled with the light scent of flowers, coming forth to wrap itself around Thalia like a loved one, coaxing her forward on wobbly legs to enter the room after Ms Thorton. Her heart thrummed in her chest like a caged bird making her lungs ache.The room appeared to be much like what Thalia had seen of the property. Pale vanilla sunlight poured in through several tall but narrow windows as navy blue curtains billowed on the breeze that came through the open panes. The patterned marble floor reflected the lazy sunlight softly. The main colour was a soft milky coffee colour with thin rectangles of black bordering strips of cream to create an intricate Rosetta pattern spreading from wall to wall, corner to corner. The room was not lacking in furniture or decor. Cream walls were bordered by patterned trims at the ceiling and floo
Thalia had been expecting to be sent back to her room and confined there until her dinner with Dante Connaught. If not that then at least she would be put to work cleaning or whatever it was that was needed from her as a slave. Yet neither scenario occurred.Instead, Thalia was led to another part of the strange residence where a tall, young woman with sharp features and skin as pale as snow worked silently to cut and tame the young she-wolf's thick dark hair. This and the shaping of Thalia's eyebrows were accompanied by a manicure minus any polish while Ms Thorton looked on, making sure everything was done exactly how she wanted it. Now Thalia's hair no longer sat in a mangled and damaged mess down to her hips. Instead, the colours of obsidian, espresso and molasses felt in silky waves over her shoulders, the ends curling ever so slightly just below her shoulder blades which protruded unhealthily. Thalia watched silently from her perch on the giant bed where her day had started as