Maddie POVI sigh as I look at Caleb and Lucas. How can I keep lying to them? Ryan said to tell Caleb and so I will. I haven’t seen Ryan in years, but he is my brother- he knows best.“I am running but not from what you think.”They both eye me and I continue, “Ryan and I grew up together, well for some of our lives.”“Ryan was found in the wilderness, and you said you were raised by humans after age 9. Ryan was part of your pack before?” Caleb asks, confused.I shake my head, “There was never a pack. We escaped..” I say but my voice breaks and Caleb looks at Lucas, “You escaped who?” he asks.“The big man..”“Is that like an Alpha?” Lucas asks.I shake my head, “No. Ryan, Julia, Colt, Andy, and I were made in a lab. Same as the Zobs.” Lucas and Caleb both stare at each other and Lucas begins to laugh but Caleb doesn’t.“So, you escaped the lab with all of them?” Caleb asks.I shake my head, “No, Colt was left behind.” I say sobbing, “We all thought he was dead but when Lila and I wat
Colt POV2010 and I bring the deer back to camp and I show him how to gut it. He watches closely and I smile- this reminds me of when Andy helped the rest of us learn how to clean a kill. I miss him so much.“So, now cut links like this.” I say showing him, “Did you find the sticks I asked for?” I say, turning around to 2010. He hands them to me, and I smile, looking at the sharpening he did, “This is good. Now we just puncture the meat on the stick and place it over the fire, like this.” I say, showing him how. 2010 grabs what I cut and places it on sticks. Soon we have a ton of meat cooking and the aroma of the deer fills the air as 2010 licks his lips.“This smells amazing,” he says. I smile, “Way better than those MREs huh, and you haven’t even tasted it, yet.” I say, checking over the meat.I grab a stick off the fire and hand it to him, “Try it,” I encourage him.2010 takes a bite of the meat and his entire face lights up, “This. Is. So. GOOD.” He groans, devouring every piece o
Maddie POVI am already feeling much stronger as we walk back to Caleb’s house. Pack members are outside and they all stare at me as I hear whispers, “She killed 7 Zobs and saved the Alpha’s life. She would make a fine Luna.” I look down as I hear their whispers and Caleb tightens his grip on my arm to make sure I don’t fall. We are leaning on one another and I admit- it’s kind of nice.I sigh as I look up at him and his eyes meet mine. Caleb is about 10 years older than me but he’s handsome. He opens the door, and we walk inside, “Are you hungry?” he asks. I nod and we walk to the kitchen as he opens the fridge, “Lila,” he calls.Lila walks downstairs and looks at him and then at me, “Yes, Alpha Caleb?” I look at her strangely and he smirks, “Would you like something to eat too?” Lila nods and Caleb begins to pull things from the fridge, but she stops him, “You two sit. You are the ones who almost died.” She says, glaring at me. I know she’s still mad but it really wasn’t my fault.C
Colt POV2010 is fast as he follows Ryan’s trail. I watch as he darts over logs and runs the forest terrain like he has done it a million times. This kid is fast, cold-hearted and the perfect machine-just like they trained him to be.He stops and sniffs the air and I hear water running. I look at him, “2010, wait.” I begin but he runs through the trees as fast as he can, and I follow him. Ryan said there were traps in this forest- this could be one.Once 2010 breaks through the thick tree line, we are standing in front of the river but at the top, looking over the waterfalls that cascade to the bottom. He stops and looks at me. His face is pink, and I can hear his heart beating at a wild pace, he is so excited.“YEAHHH!” he screams into the falls. I smile at him, and he smiles back, “I have never felt so alive!” he screams again. The water roars near us and then I smell Ryan’s scent again. We both turn around to find him standing behind us. His plan was to trap us against the falls
Maddie POVI sigh as I pat Lila’s back, trying to reason with her, “Lila, he is a werewolf, and you are a human. Don’t you want to date a human boy?” I ask her. Lila huffs as she rolls over on the bed, sobbing tragically, “But Maddie, did you see his abs and how brave he is!? He is a leader and so hot.” She says, with snot dripping down her nose.I hold in my chuckle and shake my head, “Lila, I can’t choose Caleb. Something is stopping me. My wolf says it isn’t right. I won’t stand in your way, but we will eventually need to find Andy and we will be on the road and I am sure there will be lots of boys on our travels.”Lila looks up at me sniffling, “You won’t choose Caleb?”I shake my head again, “No. I think my wolf is pulling me toward my mate.”Lila gasps as she sits up, “You think your mate is close by!? How do we know?”I sigh, shrugging, “I don’t know. Maybe we can ask Caleb?”Lila laughs, “Didn’t he just offer to like mate with you and have babies? Do you think he’ll want to te
Colt POVI ring my clothes out and dry them next to the fire. I don’t want blood or the smell of blood on me at all. The bath I took in the river was refreshing and almost freeing, but I can’t get 2010’s voice out of my head, “If anyone killed me, I’m glad it was you.” His face is still flashing in my mind as he said those words.Tears fill my eyes as I think about everything that happened. When the knife plunged into his chest, and I felt his warm blood coat my hands- it made me sick. He was just a kid. Just like I was once. My family protected me until they left and then I was on my own, just like he was. That shouldn’t have been the way he was forced to grow up.2010 was forced to kill, maim, steal, and hurt his family group- just for fun. I truly do feel lucky that somehow, we had grace- even though it wasn’t much, it was a privilege no others got to have- a real family.We took care of each other when we were hurt, sick, or in trouble. We would sneak one another food if the punis
Maddie POVI stare at Caleb and wait for his reply. He has been silent for a few minutes now and I can tell he’s thinking. My heart is racing, and his mouth finally opens to speak, “Your mate is calling to you?” he repeats the last words I said- not very helpful.I nod, “Yes, I think so. I feel a pull, Caleb. Like it’s telling me he is near and not to give up hope.” Caleb places his hand on his chin, and he thinks over his next words, rocking back and forth on his feet.“When did you first feel this?” he asks me.“I think at the orphanage,” I admit. “My wolf began howling but I thought it was because they were torching it but now, I don’t think so…”Caleb sighs, “Maddie if that’s the case that means your mate was there.”My mouth opens in shock, “But the only ones there were the Lab people and...” I stop and Caleb nods, “Colt...”“If you felt a pull toward him then he is your mate.”“But why didn’t we know before?” I ask.Caleb smiles, “Werewolves can’t feel their mates until they are
Colt POV My entire body hurts so much, and I close my eyes as I hear voices, “He needs the morphine. Without it, he could die, and then you will have a harder time finding them. I am telling you, 1005 is the key.” I hear the big man grumble, “Fine, but no special treatment and no real food. Only the broth we talked about.” The nurse agrees and I hear the big man walk out of the room as she quickly walks toward me, injecting my IV with the morphine, “1005, this will help you feel better. I am also going to add the vitamins and protein powder to the broth. You aren’t going to be very hungry anyway, but you’ll need food. He’s refusing to give you a feeding tube. He wants you to know just how angry he is.” I nod but my throat hurts and she gives me a glass of water with a straw. I sip it, and look up at her, “Thank you,” I whisper. The morphine begins to kick in and I go in and out of consciousness all day. This nurse has worked here for a long time. In fact, I don’t remember a time s