Sapphire found herself in the dank basement of the packhouse. Someone locked her in again and they’d taken the lightbulbs to make her suffer. They all knew she hated the dark. She could hear the movement of something or someone moving around. Now she anticipated where the person or creature was. The closer they came, the sooner it would hurt her. Sapphire jumped every time she heard the tiniest scuffle. Desperate not to give herself away, she bit her lip to prevent herself from making a noise. Tears streamed down her cheeks, stopping them was beyond her control. Now she crouched there as still as a deer in headlights. Listening in the dark, trying to track whatever prowled around down there with her. She could feel the cold cracked concrete under her bare feet and work-worn hands. Sapphire could taste her own blood from where one of her teeth bit a little too deeply into her lip. She desperately tried not

Sarah Ann returned to Sapphire’s room in time to see Sapphire scramble self-consciously from the bed. “Dear, you’ve just had a terrible shock. Relax, don’t overdo it if you don’t have to.”             “Oh, I’m good. Um… What’s going on?”             “That’s the point. Everything’s quiet. Tonight, another convoy of pack members will be here and lots of getting reacquainted will happen, and it’ll be good times.”             “What am I supposed to do?”             “Dear, you just need to be your sweet self and get to know everyone. Let them know you.” Sarah Ann’s heart almost broke at the lost

             Magnus got the pulmonary work done well before dinner. He wanted to do more, but the day got away from him. Hayden stayed in town so he could meet the next round of pack coming in. Their businesses were at different stages of being moved and they didn’t want to overwhelm the town with their numbers all at once. So this was the second stage coming in. The first came in to start building up the territory to their needs. Updating utilities and the like. Tonight, after dinner, Magnus needed to tour the area and see how things were going. Sarah Ann was right. If Sapphire was his mate and their Luna, she needed to be with him and just as interested.             But before that, he needed to shower and get cleaned up. Have dinner with her and get to know her more. What Sarah Ann didn’t tell him was how to get to know her. It’s not li

Hayden stopped in at the bus station’s diner at the other end of town. Here it was far more crowded with people. This, after all, was the hub of the human section of town. He figured why risk going back to the Black Hole Café after what happened only a few hours ago?He sat at the counter and ordered some food. But he wasn’t the only one there at the counter. The most delicious blond human sat beside him reading a book while she ate her own food. He couldn’t see the title of the book until he looked into the reflection of the napkin holder. Okay, that was a surprise. The book cover looked nothing like the woman that sat beside him. It clearly was something steamy and if he wasn’t mistaken but there was a wolf in the background with the moon.Either werewolves or monsters fascinated her in relation to romance. Or she knew they existed and thought, those books are how-to get your own pet werewolf manuals.She sighed when she noticed

             Magnus heard the vehicles drive up and stop at the front of the packhouse. He withdrew reluctantly from their kiss. Now wasn’t the time for people to find them in an intimate situation. There’d be pups hopping out of vehicles very soon, and he didn’t want to explain to their parents. “Looks like you get to meet more pack. The next caravan of pack just pulled up out front. Why don’t we go meet them? Sarah Ann will have them settled into the packhouse in no time. They’ll be tired so we won’t take a lot of their time. I just want them to know your face for now.”             “I guess.” Like it hadn’t been a long day for her. So much for her birthday and getting away from this town. Leaving all this mess behind.