Alpha Angel

The men stumbled into the Silver Moon Bar as if they had already had a skinful. They didn't even bother to approach the bar, one of them merely calling out, "Bring us three jugs of your finest ale, wench!" before laughing and clapping his friends on the back. Angel gritted her teeth, knowing it was better to put up with whatever they threw at her rather than bring any attention to herself. Being the daughter of Rosh Constantine, she had learned to keep her head down. And being the only one currently working, she had no choice but to serve them. Filling three large glass pitchers with beer, she placed them all on a tray and carried them over to the corner booth where the five men had taken a seat. Four of them seemed much too interested in their conversation, laughing and joking, but the fifth… She could feel his eyes upon her the entire way across the bar. She knew those eyes well, the pale stormy grey that danced and darkened depending on the emotion behind them. They were myste

Late that night, Angel lay in her bed in her studio apartment still able to hear the ringing of the slamming storeroom door in her ears. She lay staring at the wall, unable to stop herself from thinking of Layon’s final parting words, the words that had stung her heart so badly she felt as though they were permanently branded upon the inside of her chest. Whenever she tried to push thoughts of their confrontation away, they were only replaced by other thoughts, thoughts of what might have happened if she hadn’t fallen out of favor with the rest of the Alpha pack, if she had still been friends with Suzen and even Layon. She remembered all too well how Reebah had once told her she’d overheard their father’s talking about a possible union between her and Layon. Reebah had been so excited, exclaiming at the fact that if it were to actually happen then they would have been sisters. “Yeah, right,” Angel thought aloud, rolling her eyes and cursing herself for even thinking of such things n

The resident on-again-off-again so-called couple of Silverdale University were unbearable to stomach at the best of times, but today Angel was feeling exceptionally sensitive and so she ducked into the nearest restroom with the intention of giving herself a moment to breathe. What she didn’t intend was to find somebody crying inside. Cringing at how loudly she had entered the restroom, she thought for a moment of turning right back around and heading out again. Maybe whoever was having a full-on snot session inside the farthest stall wouldn’t hear them come in over their own crying. Yet the moment the door clicked shut behind Angel, the crying stopped. She held her breath, waiting, listening. “Who’s there?” the voice sounded almost immediately, breaking up on a sniffle before it came again, “Angel, is that you?” Angel cringed all over again. Why did it have to be a werewolf? Super hearing, super sense of smell, always alert even when sobbing their heart out. Yet Angel’s own hea

She wasn't sure how long she lay there in the cocooned sanctuary of the willow tree branches, but the truth was it didn't really matter. Nobodycared about the traitor's daughter enough to come looking for her and make sure she wasn't skipping out on class. So long as she kept up her work and her grades and turned up for the exams, nobody cared.And so she tried not to think of anything, not university or work or even all that had happened that morning. Instead, she merely lay there against the tree trunk where the moss grew thickest. She closed her eyes and breatheddeeply the scents of the tree, the lake, the wildflowers. Nothing could calm her like this place did.Yet it seemed today that it wouldn't remain that way for long. The sound of footsteps approaching caused Angel to sit bolt upright. The sprites who had been dancing about the surface of the lake, zipping through thetrailing willow branches and sometimes Layoning sprays of water at her, now hurried away as though the n

Three days. That was how long it had been since Angel had seen Layon since they had slept together beneath the hanging branches of the willow tree with the sprites frolicking just beyond the bank. Though she hadn't picked up on them at the time, she remembered them now, creating magical music with their feet upon the lake's surface as Layon made love to her. Urgh, Angel! Stop it! she snarled at herself as she sat in the back of a lecture hall, tapping her notepad absentmindedly with her pen. It was increasingly difficult to concentrate on university or work or anything else for that matter when all Angel could do was think of him. And the worst thing was, he hadn't even bothered to call her. She did her best to remember that it likely had more to do with the fact that his sister was still missing and far less to do with her or her performance, but with each passing day, it was growing more and more difficult not to read into it. Her need to speak to him and her desire to make sens