There are a few raised eyebrows when I finally pull into Cragstone. Finn and the blonde Sawyer sport smug grins as I pull up just before the packhouse. The others stood around staring with awe up into the Goddess tree. To be fair it’s not often you see a gigantic tree bearing three kinds of fruit emerging from a well in the centre of a town. The pears remain rotten, we assume until Phillipe falls they will never be edible. So yeah I might be an hour later than planned, they can fucking shut up about it /Don’t lose your cool because you’re flustered over her/ Rush warned. /She might not hate us after reading that book/ /If you think that’s likely you’re a fool/ I snap back, throwing myself into leader mode. Before I can start whipping these bulky monsters into shape the double wooden doors of the packhouse fly open and a copper haired whirlwind lunges towards me. “ZEKE! It’s been so long!” cried Matilda. With zero regality she wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace. Our L
The Zeke staying away causes my agitated, already paranoid mind to be consumed by two main thoughts. One, trying to work if he is avoiding me. Or hurt in the war. Perhaps he is working on assigning me to someone else. Maybe me literally throwing myself at him wasn't the best move after all. Why else would he not come back? My body literally ached for him to return, surely he must be feeling the same? How does anyone become a monk and survive on their own agonising thoughts alone? Then I think of that journal and wince. I shouldn’t want him to come back at all. If he does I am meant to hurl abuse at him, call him a vile pig, a chauvinist bastard? But the man who held me close on this wooden floor doesn’t resemble that book. So therefore, can someone really change? And if Zeke can change for the better…can Phillipe? Am I being hasty in running from my mates worst period if I am so eager to find redeem Zeke? Or am I just going crazy up here? /Crazy/ Livi confirms. I hate my bra
The note did not lie. Shadowlands main line of defence was wiped out. A complete massacre. I noticed Finn and the recruits paling as we found the reserves shoring up defences. It had taken over a day of constant travel, but now as the afternoon drew to an end we found ourselves staring at devastation. Myself and Briss simply inhaled, squared our shoulders and strode forward. Beta’s cannot crack. However the forest could not disguise the realities of war. Thick, jagged claw marks branded the tree trunks. The fabric tents were either burnt or smashed to pieces, strips of khaki fabric tangled in branches. Blood still stained the leaves on the floor, the metallic tang making Rush wince. Riley, a tall, chiselled young Beta who'd only just risen through the ranks dashed towards me. "Beta Zeke! Who have you brought?" his blue eyes flicking towards the intimidating pair of Tucker and Finn. Tucker's long black braids and dark eyes brooded over the scene whilst Finn's huge size, wrapped i
I do not know whether he intended to but Cillian fell asleep on the decking. I slunk off to the small shelter in the centre of the treehouse to scowl at the letter, leaving him leaning over the railing. A soft patter of rain struck up, somehow lulling me to sleep. The treehouse is quite waterproof. The canopy of leaves is so dense barely a drop makes its way onto the decking. It meant I was surprised to be woken by the grunting snores of a restless Alpha when dawn hit me. It seemed cruel to wake him. He lay on the wooden floorboards, sprawled like an annoying stray cat. Every so often he would mutter, clearly lost in a deep dream. The same few words, “Matilda,” “my love,” kept bursting from his agitated sleeping form. I felt like an invader, his tortured, lovelorn murmurs of adoration were certainly not intended for my ears. The night's rest had not improved my opinion of Nikoai’s letter. To enter a marriage of convenience to this random replacement, Gustav, or to be a friendly b
The battle was relentless. No tactics, just desperate, ragged survival? Cillian and I charged straight into the carnage. I just goy my jacket off, flung to the floor before the first Hybrid got the drop on me. The risk of having so many new recruits; enemy scents were not obvious. A risk clearly being exploited by Rising Star. Cillian and I fought as a pair, just as we had taught the recruits. To take on a hybrid solo meant death. For hours Shadowlands fought for survival. Chased up and down the valley, darting in between trees, never able to catch a breath. The howls were deafening. Especially the ones of agony. We struggled with one grey-furred hybrid. With its golden eyes flashing we knew its original spirit’s human had been one of Rising Star’s prize Beta Warriors. This bastard was savage. As it resisted defeat it struck out in fury to claw and maul my shoulder. I howled in agony before twisting around to help Cillain. I ripped apart its underbelly, clawing into the glossy red,
He left. He literally turned up, threw my world, my ability to see straight into the fucking wind and walked away! My thighs were still shaking when he placed me on the ground. Our collision had left me a sweating, messy wreck wanting nothing more than to have another go but apparently that wasn’t on the agenda.Neither was giving a reason why he was injured. Those deep gashes across his ribs made my heart ache. His sculpted, firm muscles are a temple to perfection. To see them clawed so brutally was shocking./You want to care for him/ Livi suggested. /He is part of us now, regardless of his past./I scrambled around on the ground to find the oil lamp. He can’t get far, not with those injuries, his wolf must be exhausted. Livi quickly shifted and we followed his scent into the darkness.People assume I am one of those girls uncomfortable with shifting. During my abandonment at White Forest by Phillipe I found it helped. As Genevieve moped around the White Forest castle or my mother
I must have been absolutely out of it to not realise she was following me. Then again I’d been existing in a hazy blur ever since walking away from her. I had thought the occasional hints of orange blossom had been Rush trying to keep me going Now, I’m lying semi-conscious, groaning as cold water splashes against my side. “Sorry boss,” a voice whispers. My eyelids flicker open enough to register Finn. His sandy brown hair a tousled mess, wild eyes reminding me of myself after my first battle. “How are you feeling?” Finn spluttered, “I think I’m meant to be asking you that,” and I managed a wry smile before my head embraced the pillow. “Well?” I rasp. Finn continued to wash me. It was strange to feel Rush probing and assessing my injuries, hopefully applying some seriously magical shifter healing so I don’t have to carry my innards in a bag for the next fight. Others walked past, checking in with Finn. I must have looked too dead to talk. After a few minutes Finn spoke in a low,
I said what I had to. The words tasted vile. Somehow, breaking his heart was worse than watching him brutalise Finn. He told me he loved me, and I threw straight back like trash. I might be the worst person on earth. We had all watched Zeke sleepily rise from his camp bed, bemused at his gentle sleepwalking stumbles. Someone, I think the shaggy blonde-haired Sawyer had even giggled as he stumbled towards us. To be honest, I was more relieved that his shifter healing had worked so quickly. Finn went to guide him away from the fire when he got too close, and then all hell broke loose. Finn was completely blindsided, blow after blow raining down. Zeke only became more powerful, fuelled by pure hate as it went on. I doubt Finn has an inch of cheekbone left intact right now. When Zeke snapped back to reality, those soulful brown eyes were stricken. When he raced towards me, grabbing me to him, I could have swooned. I wanted to melt against his chest, but the flecks of blood on his face