91"Not again. Where am I?" On the bright side, it was literally bright compared to the horror freak show with the darkness. The air smelled like pine and roses. My voice echoed, bouncing off nothing. Was this any better than my former cage? I softly hoped my body was not possessed by another mysterious being. A glint caught my eye, drawing my attention to the ground. Gold lines slowly inscribed themselves in the ground, appearing like footprints and shimmering like dust. I followed after them, hoping it led somewhere. When I looked back, there was nothing but terrifying white. I took a deep breathe and followed after the golden prints that continued on its way. Cool breeze brushed against my cheeks. The growing weakness in my bones energized at the thought of something other than the white. As I continued on the path, the white faded away, becoming waving trees, whistling birds and a field of roses. The sky was bright with clouds despite the absence of the sun. The moon formed an

I stretched as I entered the basketball court with the rest of my team for the last training. It was already occupied by Reed and his teammates. "What are you guys doing here?" I asked, suddenly remembering that this was where my bracelet broke. I held on to it tight to protect it. "I should be asking you that question, Phoebe." Reed stepped forward, jogging a ball in his hand. "Care to share?" I asked. Reed cocked his head, as if he expected me to protest. Which is exactly what I would have done if I didn't know what would happen afterwards. "Sure." He eyed me with suspicion, heading back to his teammates. Reed stopped in his steps and turned. "How about a match, Phoebe?"My heart thumped in my chest. If I play, I would get hit in the face with the ball which would lead to the bracelet breaking. Wait, that does not make sense. What exactly caused the bracelet to break? I looked down at my arm, trying to remember what little detail I missed. "No, thanks.""I didn't know you were

I grabbed his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss, melting in his familiar taste and scent. His hands tenderly crupped my face, teased my neck, threaded through my hair and grabbed the back of my head like so. I shivered with anticipation, moaning into his mouth. He pulled back, panting, looking conflicted. "Phoebe?""What?" I kissed the corner of his lips, pressing myself against him. While he struggled to put his thoughts to words, I took off my hoodie. My nipples strained through my crop top, vying for his attention. I kicked off my shoes, taking slow steps backwards to his bed. My last time here was when I lost my virginity to him. It was an embarrassingly stupid memory but I wouldn't change Reed for anything else in the world. "Are we going to stand around all night?" I asked, tugging the top over my head.Reed made a small grunting noise as his eyes followed my hands and settled on my chest. I toyed with the band of my skirt, tugging it down. Naked, I trembled at his gaze, kno

The cruise vacation was not as fun as Uncle Al tried making it out to be. I've tried everything on his vacation list and eaten all the delicacies the ship had to offer. "Can we go home now?" I asked one more time. "Nothing excites you anymore, princess. Why did you grow up so fast?" Uncle Al sighed, sipping his cocktail. The two of us sat near the pool, watching kids jump into the pool. Lathered with sunscreen, we sunbathed and ate the tiny fruits and sipped wine. I eyed the plate of sushi on the table beside me with interest. "Did you fight with dad again or something?" I asked him, taking a bite of the sushi. "No. We aren't fighting. He is just busy with work.""Do you think Dad loves me? Do you think he blamed me for mom's death?""Where is all this coming from?" He sat up and turned on his stomach. His backside was a shade paler than his frontal. Pulling his glasses down the bridge of his nose, he said, "He loves you. Juniper has a unusual way of showing his affection.""Can

"There is an agitation from the neighbouring Packs," Connor suddwenly said over breakfast. His gaze slid over to me. "They claim they experienced witchcraft."Troubled, I dropped my spoonful of cereal. "Are they sure it's witchcraft?""They definitely do. A number of men are raising their voices and insinuate that you have something to do with it.""Just because I have a witch ancestry does not mean I did it. Besides, I don't have my powers." I showed my palms as if they held proof of my ineptitude. "We have to prove that to them. They won't take our word for it unless they see it for themselves," Reed sighed, shaking his head. He browsed through magazine, waving an half eaten toast. "How? Throw myself off a building?""No need to go extreme. We could do a public test, showing everyone that you are as human as human can be," Connor said. "How?""It's just this test we do to captured witches we find wandering in our territories," Reed offered. "It's archaic but it functions."My sto