“You were never meant to grow up in a city like this. Our kind stays together for a reason.”I could hear what Kieran was saying, but I was struggling to fully grasp it.‘Not human.’‘Our kind’.‘Werewolf’.The words kept swimming around in my head. An explanation that seemed too impossible to believe. And yet, at the same time, what he was saying somehow made sense.He was right. I wasn’t human. A part of me had always known that, dating back to when I was a child. I was never like the other kids at the house. Turning eighteen had just manifested that part of me in the form of a beast.So… was this what had been missing then?I was a werewolf? Like in those scary stories?Like… in those *monster* movies…?“…How do I make it go away?” I asked after a few moments, my voice barely louder than a whisper. “How do I stop being… a werewolf? To be normal?”“Raven… it’s a part of who you are. There isn’t any way to remove it.”“But I don’t want to live with this burden of losing control at an

I left Noah in Zac’s capable hands and got his word that he’d call my father to say the job was completed per normal. He was risking a lot for my sake, I knew that. A lot of risk for what seemed like absolutely no reason. The level of danger associated with this insane plan wasn’t lost on me. After all, the last thing I wanted was for Zac’s name to end up in my next manila folder. I headed home as soon as I could, leaving enough time to arrive well before daylight, and walked towards my front door. But it was as I was entering through the front gate to our property that something caught my eye. It was an old lady, huddled up in a shawl, standing just on the street outside. She had grey hair and eyes to match, clearly at an age that would suggest a retirement home or carer was required. And yet she stood randomly outside my house at three o’clock in the morning, staring directly at me. I paused for a moment and looked around, trying to see if she was with someone. But when the empt

“—Raven.”Through the darkness I heard a voice, piercing through the haze.It sounded urgent. Someone calling out to me.“—Raven, shift back.”Every now and then I would see snippets. Just stilled images flashing before me, showing pictures of a living room. Of a broken table. Of a boy.It felt somewhat familiar but I couldn’t place it.“Raven! —Ah, fuck.”…And pain. So much pain.The voice continued to call out to me, pleading with me to do something… but I wasn’t ready.No, instead, I rescinded into my mind further to escape.To try and forget what was happening.…To pretend everything was okay.And so, I hid from it all, blocking out the images and voices. Waiting until, finally, things didn’t hurt so badly.…Until I was sure the pain had stopped.~~~~~~.“…Raven,” came the voice again.Only, this time, recognition finally kicked in.Kieran.It was Kieran’s voice and… and I’d shifted. Changing into the wolf and…—.Oh… no, no….Instantly, my eyes flew open… and I found myself conta

“I mean… there is no biological way that Eric Reid could have fathered you.”I stared at him blankly.Was this topic really coming up again? He’d already questioned this on the night of the charity event. A presumptuous perspective from someone who didn’t know any better.…From someone who grew up with real parents.“Yes… I know,” I said, somewhat annoyed.But, for whatever reason, this response took Kieran by surprise.“Wait, you know?” he asked.“Yes…,” I said again. “I should hope he isn’t. Because if he were my biological father, I’d imagine that would have made our first meeting very awkward. What with him picking me up from the orphanage and all.”“I don’t understand,” he said. “If you know he’s not your father, why are you being so loyal to him?”“Why?” I asked, unable to hide my irritation now. “Because he is still my father. He still raised me and took care of me. He rescued me from a shitty house where I was severely bullied, one where I was just another unwanted, unloved si

“KIERAN!” I screamed, throwing the car door open.After the initial shock of watching the scene unfold, my senses finally kicked back in and I jumped into action. There was no longer any hesitation within me. I just immediately sprinted towards him.Moving as fast as I could, I was already reaching for my dagger before my feet had hit the ground. And the closer I got, the more of the commotion I could hear.There was growling, a significant amount, and grunts of pain as the two rolled along the ground engaged in combat. But it was only as Kieran finally placed the man in a headlock that something truly bizarre happened.Strange enough to make me instantly skid to a halt, now only a few feet away.…Because despite the attacker being made completely powerless, he just easily gave up the fight without a fuss… and started to laugh.I stood wide-eyed with adrenaline as I tried to figure out the situation, however Kieran proceeded to just smile and help the assailant to his feet. A man with