[Proposal] SEBASTIAN Sierra’s body stiffened in my hold, her eyes flittering across my face. Her racing heart could either be a good sign or a bad one. I was hoping for the former. “What? You want me to marry you?” “Why won’t I? Don’t you love me?” I wrapped my arms around her waist and drew her in closer. “I love you, Angel, more than anything else in the world, and I want to marry you.” My fingers traced the contours of her hips. “I want to go to bed knowing that the last thing I will see is your face. To wake up every morning with and have you curled up beside me.” She stepped on her tippy toes, cupped my cheeks in her warm, delicate hands, and said, “I would love that, too.” My heart pounded against my chest as I battled to keep the tears from falling. I never expected hearing those words would fill me with such bliss. There were no words to explain how thrilled I was to know she was mine—forever. “So, yes, I will marry you,” she replied, smiling against my lips as she acce

[No Regrets or Second Thoughts] SEBASTIAN I approached the late-twenties young woman sitting behind the desk and said, “Hello, I’m checking on a patient staying at your facility.” She jerked back in surprise as her saucer-like, slightly alarmed eyes met mine. I would guess she didn’t hear us enter. The girl clutched a hand over her chest, exhaling heavily and trying to control her thumping heart. “You startled me,” she murmured, her eyes darting over my left shoulder at Jack and Elliot. A look of uncertainty flashed in her eyes. “How may I help you?” “My apologies.” I pulled out my phone and showed her the photo of my father. “I believe you have this man staying as a patient... He is my father.” Her face and shoulders relaxed as she took a deep breath to calm herself down. “We do,” she answered when she was no longer panting. “As I told your friend back there, someone brought him in last night.” “The man who brought my father here, did he leave a name or phone number? Perhaps h

[Nausea]SIERRAThe weekend arrived with a barrage of inclement weather, anxiety, and a sinking feeling that all the efforts put into today were for naught. I kept track of the storm’s ferocity as it grew, deafening me in a sudden maelstrom of fury before it struck, and watched as its ragged edge—already pressing against the windows—intensified with each passing minute.White lightning snaked through the sky. Raindrops fell as if in slow motion, and more lightning continued, brighter than the midday sun. Next came a thumping, deafening, and terrifying crack. It pounded the earth and rattled the windows of nearby houses.In Mesopotamia, this type of weather wasn’t unusual. But why, of all days, did it have to be today? The day was finally set to exchange vows and officially become Sebastian’s wife and Luna. Then this happened.As if my nerves weren’t already on edge.“Wake up, Angel,” Sebastian whispered, nibbling on my ear. “It’s our big day today.”I groaned, pleading for five more m

[Luna Ceremony] SIERRA The blood drained from his face, quickly changing to one of dismay and disapproval as he stepped away from me. His hands fell to his sides, clenching and unclenching into fists, his face devoid of any emotion. From his reaction, I would say he misunderstood what I wanted to say. When I said I couldn’t, that wasn’t me saying I couldn’t marry him or become his Luna. More than anything in this world, I wanted to be all that and more. “Sebastian.” I took a step toward him, almost tripping over the train of my dress. Sebastian shook his head and stepped back. “I’ll inform everyone the ceremony is off,” he mumbled under his breath, then turned and headed for the door. “Why would you do that?” I asked, taking a few more steps. I was within reach of him. Yet, when I reached out to touch him, he pulled away. “Tell me why I shouldn’t.” He glanced at me over his left shoulder, refusing to meet me head-on. I exhaled a breath, acknowledging where the problem stemmed f

[Clubbing II] MALIK I was in a back room upstairs, working on making more wolfsbane silver-laced bullets. These bullets would pierce and kill any wolf on sight almost instantly. We had tons of guns and just as many hunters, so I wanted to make sure we had enough ammo to do enough damage to wipe out a small wolf pack. After making these, I would work on making some pellets that would contain magnesium and silver nitrate. On another table beside me, Aaron, my cousin, was making some metal beads. He said when detonated, it would disperse silver shrapnel, which could do some serious damage. Also on his table were grenades. Not your typical veteran’s grenade, although they worked the same way—pull the safety and toss. These grenades contained silver nitrate and wolfsbane gas, useful for providing cover. They would do more harm to the werewolves than to us. Going down the line was my other cousin, Brandon. He was making some canisters with silver nitrate, magnesium, and wolfsbane. The g