[Close Your Eyes] SEBASTIAN “Sebastian, neither of us knows what this man is capable of or what he’ll do to Sierra. I, for one, would not like to find out,” my mother declared. Her face hardened with indignation. I exhaled a breath, rubbing my temples. The weight of this whole mess weighed heavily on my shoulders. “Are you implying I don’t know that, mother? But we all know Arianne. She does nothing for anyone unless there’s something in it for her. And frankly, I have nothing to offer that woman. Not even a minute to breathe fresh air,” I snapped. “Think about this, son. It’s Sierra we’re talking about. Your mate,” she objected in a soft tone. “I don’t care what you give that girl. You need to find out what she knows so we can bring Sierra home.” My mother affirmed and left shortly after. A prolonged and general silence followed my mother’s departure. What was she thinking, suggesting I should give Arianne what she wanted? This was Arianne. The girl who killed Sasha and attacked

[The Only Way] SIERRA Sometime later, between sleep and wake, I had this intense urge to open my eyes. I couldn’t explain it, but I had this distinct feeling that someone was watching me. It was a good thing I listened and opened my eyes. A few feet away, inside my cell, was a man dressed in a black suit. A set of yellow-green, cold, and steely eyes with a handsome face framed by black hair stared back at me. My eyes shot open in a panic, no longer sleepy. I scrambled away, pressing my back against the wall. “Who are you?” I inquired in an unrecognizable, breathy voice. “What do you want?” I clutched my chest, not missing the way his eyes roamed my body and his hands twitched. The man stepped forward. My body went tense, vaguely shocked by my fear. “Don’t come any closer, I’m warning you.” He ignored my warning, which he should have heeded. I sat there, watching his deliberate movements, waiting for him to come closer. I maintained my terrified demeanor, even trembling my bottom

[Madness] SIERRA Come on Sybil! Where are you? I could sure use your help right about now. Cassidy dropped her mother’s body, placing her hand over her father’s face. She then lunged at King Darien, screaming vehemently. Darien side stepped her and she went tumbling behind him. “Mark my words, you bastard! I will make you pay for this!” Cassidy hissed as she charged at Darien. It reminded me of a cat-and-mouse game. Darien was the mouse, and Cassidy was the cat, chasing him around the room, failing to land a direct blow. Vines spurted through the windows and wrapped around Cassidy’s leg, lifting her up in the air and holding her upside down by her ankle. She kicked and screamed, but it was pointless. The vine had a deadlock grip on her. “Father, stop this!” Zaiden shouted. “If you want to exact your vengeance on anyone, take me. I was the one who plotted against you. Not them.” While the vine dangled Cassidy by her ankle in the air, Darien turned his attention to his son. Disa

[The Man In The Hole II] UNKNOWN “Okay, I have the cutters and I’m coming down,” Manny said as he descended the rope. As soon as his feet landed on the creaky floorboards with a thud, Manny used his jersey to cover his nose. He flicked on his flashlight, illuminating some of the darkness. “Can you move at all?” he asked, his voice muffled from the fabric of his shirt. “Yeah,” I replied. I extended my legs and raised a hand over my head. It hurt when I did that, but I would not make it difficult for him if he was going through all this trouble to help me. “Do you know how long you’ve been down here?” I shook my head. My memory was as fuzzy and weak as my entire body. To tell you the truth, I wouldn’t recognize myself if someone held a mirror to my face. “Your name, how ‘bout that? Can you tell me what that is? Or your home address, so I can take you there. I’m sure someone’s missing you. Perhaps a wife or girlfriend. What about kids?” I shook my head with every question he f

[Reunion] SEBASTIAN It was much later in the evening when I sat down for dinner with my mother. “Sebastian, you can’t keep doing this to yourself!” My mother scolded, shoving a plate in front of me. “What do you think will be Sierra’s reaction when she returns and sees you like this?” I glared at the meal as if it was my enemy. Truth be told, I had no appetite. Without Sierra by my side, my days had been awful, and the longer she was gone, each day grew worse than the last. The pain of missing her grew in my chest. Everything about her, even the way she was so obstinate in her doubts, I missed. The way she screamed my name while we made love, the way her body responded to my touch. I even missed her giggles. Her curiosity and interest in learning everything there was to know about werewolves had me missing her. It had gotten so bad; that I missed how she argued with me to prove a point. Even with how little she was by my side, the nights were the worst without her. The few nigh