Randelle "Again!" Kieran barked, his gravelly voice echoing through the misty dawn forest. I staggered to my feet, legs shaking, and bent to grab the heavy pack I had just finished sprinting with. My lungs burned as I gasped down air. Through the sweat dripping into my eyes, I saw Kieran frowning, arms crossed over his broad chest."No rest yet, recruit! Give me five more sprints up that hill with full pack!" I bit back a groan. My thighs screamed from the repeated hill charges already this morning. But Kieran's flinty stare brooked no argument.Jaw set, I turned and began lumbering up the steep trail once more. My boots slipped on loose pebbles as I forced leaden legs into a run. At the crest of the hill I pivoted, chest heaving, and started back down.Kieran's voice trailed me on each agonizing repeat. "Drive those legs! Put some fury in that stride!"At last I stumbled across the makeshift finish line on my fifth climb. My pack hit the ground an instant before I crumpled too, wh
Randelle "You'll never pin me to the dirt like a lame elk at this rate!" Kieran's mocking voice cut through my concentration as I circled the grass sparring ring, sweat dripping down my spine. I gritted my teeth, centering my focus. Don't let him rile you up. Across from me, Kieran prowled like a wolf sizing up prey. His sharp eyes missed nothing as he studied my stance, waiting for an opening to strike. "Feet light as a dancer! Know where my next blow will land before I throw it!" he barked, words punctuated by a sudden flurry of jabs that had me dancing and twisting to evade. The repetitive mantra played in my head as I pivoted and ducked Kieran's probing attacks. Stay loose as a reed in the wind. Sway and weave, anticipating his moves. Avoid damage as much as dealing it. But fatigue weighted my limbs after our hour already sparring. I moved one beat too slow, and Kieran's open palm cracked hard across my cheekbone. Pain exploded across my face, dazing me. "Pay attention, gi
Jeremy"Rise and shine, sleepy wolf," Randelle's amused voice filtered through my drowsy consciousness, followed by the warmth of her lips grazing my temple. I grunted, burying my face deeper into the pillow with a grumble. "Too early...wanna hold you longer." I muttered.A throaty chuckle answered me as Randelle snuggled closer, trailing ticklish kisses along my stubbled jaw. "Come on now, the sun waits for no one. We can continue this later." Her clever fingers danced down my side, finding each sensitive spot that made me squirm."Hey now, fightin' dirty!" I protested through laughter, catching her teasing hands in mine. Blinking fully awake at last, I rolled onto my back and lifted my head to peer at my grinning mate. This moment I crave in the past live. But now giving another chance by the goddess I'll relive it without regrets.Golden sunlight streaming through the windows glinted off her snowy braid and turned her eyes to quicksilver. "Using your feminine wiles to torment a p
JeremyI startled awake to the insistent rap of knuckles against wood. Blinking gritty eyes, I lifted my head from the pillow, senses still fogged by sleep. Odd...who'd come bangin' at this early hour? Beside me Randelle mumbled incoherently, burrowing deeper under the quilts. I chuckled softly, brushing a kiss over her tousled braid before rolling out of bed. Shivering as cold floorboards leached warmth from my bare soles, I crossed the darkened room. Pale predawn light edged the drawn curtains as I unlatched the door cautiously. Jake's familiar visage greeted me, cheeks ruddy from the chill morning. I cocked a questioning brow as he shouldered past me."Apologies for the rude awakening, brother." Jake made straight for our tiny kitchen, stirring the banked fireplace embers back to life. "But Ezra requests your presence at the longhall once you've broken fast. Urgent pack business."I yawned, scratching fingers through my tousled hair as comprehension filtered through my sleepy brai
RandelleI woke up to the scent of frying meat and eggs, my stomach rumbling. Beside me, Jeremy stirred, his warmth against my back receding. I rolled over to see him sitting on the edge of the bed, hair tousled, blinking the sleep from his eyes.“Mornin’ beautiful,” he rumbled, lips curving in a lazy grin, Jeremy here? Who's cooking then. “Jake must be fixin’ breakfast.” Jeremy as spoke as if he read my mind."What a nice brother he is." A smile spreading on my face in answer as I sat up, the cozy quilts pooling around my waist. Dawn’s rosy light filtered between the curtains, gilding Jeremy’s rugged profile where he sat scruffing one hand through his dark mane of hair.I stifled a jaw-cracking yawn behind one slim hand, inhaling the aromatic scents wafting from our little kitchen. My mate chuckled knowingly.“C’mon then, before it gets cold.” He stood and stretched, joints popping audibly, before grabbing a discarded shirt off the floor. I averted my gaze from his muscular torso w
RandelleWe met Keiran and the others fighting back Rivero and his mean pack. Keiran's face was tired but fierce. "We won't let them pass!" he yelled. His fur was red from blood.Jeremy pointed his axe. "Freeway pack stay strong!" he bellowed. "We push together!"Everyone roared loud. Their smells were mad and scared but their eyes burned brave. Rivero laughed cold. He was big with black fur and dead eyes. "My wolves will feast well tonight," he sneered. Jeremy jumped at Rivero. Their claws crashed hard. The sound hurt my ears. Rivero kicked Jeremy back. Then his wolves attacked Keiran's team. I launch at a grey wolf. He fell but more came. Their hot breath steamed the air. Their claws and fur were red with blood. My friends were tired from the long fight."Smart Randelle, you lead some wolves around back," Jeremy panted. I gathered Agnus, Kyra, Lana. We snuck behind mean Rivero's pack quiet as foxes. We burst from the bushes yelling. The Rogues turned in surprise. Now my pac
Jeremy I hurtled into the chaotic melee with a roar, claws cleaving the air around me. All was reduced to flashes of violence, the shriek of metal and screams of dying men. I waded relentlessly into the press, rallying my scattered forces by sheer ferocity. "To me, Freeway! Form up, you Son of a b**tch!" I bellowed, spinning and slashing in a deadly arc to buy precious space. Keiran appeared at my shoulder, golden eyes alight with battle fury despite blood slicking half his face. We traded a single nod before turning our steel upon the roiling enemy ranks.For endless minutes we battled bitterly back to back, carving openings for dazed packmates to surge behind our whirling point defense. I marked brothers and sisters falling with gutting finality, their lives the brutal coin purchased our thin perimeter. Gradually our numbers coalesced into a coherent line, bows twanging sporadically from the fringes to pick off overeager Rogues. But still we yielded ground before the ravening ho
Randelle"It's a new day."I smiled as I sat on top a mossy boulder breathing deep the wet evergreen scents wreathing the dawn-kissed glen. The birdsong and the melodic rush of the swollen creek gradually eased tight muscles in my back, the morning's tranquility balm to battle-rattled senses.The threat of Rivero's marauders had passed like an angry storm front, though his final venomous words still haunted...was our victory merely the eye of a more destructive tempest ahead?Soft footfalls rustled behind me. I turned with a smile to greet Jeremy's approach, taking in the pensive cast to his bearded features. My mate hoisted himself lightly beside me, the boulder barely shifting beneath his bulk. For a time we simply soaked in harmonious surroundings, the press of our shoulders and synchronized breathing enough. But chilling memories would not release their grip so easily.Jeremy sighed heavily, his brooding gaze miles away. "Can't say I much fancy the notion of Rico and his jackal