Among The Beasts And Briars Novels & Stories

Soup thickens, bread rises higher, laughter creeps back into the corners. One afternoon, as sunlight cuts sharp through the pines, Bram returns—filthy, exhausted, but triumphant, leading two mules loaded with sacks of flour, dried fish, and jars of pickled vegetables. He is flanked by strangers: a stooped witch with wind-burned cheeks and a young werewolf with a haunted stare.

The earth shook beneath their boots, their roars echoing like thunder. … The forest swallowed them whole. Some were lucky, stumbling upon Grade B beasts early. The creatures were swift, darting through the undergrowth like shadows, but warriors cornered and brought them down with brutal efficiency. Aliyah moved differently. She listened to the crunch of leaves, to the whispers of wind bending around moving bodies. She rubbed a liquid potion over her skin, masking her scent, and climbed trees with silent precision. Every move was calculated. She found her beast near a riverbank. Crouching low, she prepared her strike. But as she inched forward, her foot cracked a branch. The beast bolted with

Finn ordered We tore strips from a cloak, wrapped them on branches, lit them with the last of Mira’s sparks We held the burning brands high The stalkers hissed, melting back into the deeper gloom They would follow, but they would not attack Not for now The hexabeast was a different problem It was huge, a monster of claws and rage It charged our line We could not dodge We had to hold “Brace!” I roared We braced The impact shook the earth Jax and Ben were thrown back The beast swiped at me I ducked, sword scoring its leg It howled, turning Its massive paw caught Finn, sending him flying into a tree

Distant, fractured, but alive. Then the forest erupted. Roots tore from the ground, trees snapping like bones. The earth convulsed as black mist poured from the crack, twisting into forms that weren’t fully wolf or human—shadows with eyes that burned crimson. Rogues, but not the kind he’d ever known. These things moved like nightmares given form. “Braxton!” Eastin’s voice cut through the roar. “We have to move!” He turned, teeth bared. “She’s down there!”

Her sweet scent whispered in the night air, faint but distinct, teasing my senses and pulling me in her direction like an invisible thread. My heart raced. She was on the other side of the park. Was she in her wolf form? Some omegas never shifted, but I’d heard of a few who did. The urge to change into my wolf and track her pumped through my veins. But a wolf roaming through the city wouldn’t go over well. I didn’t care, but I didn’t want the locals trigger-happy and putting down innocent animals.

Turned towards the two boys that is; Randall and Willian. “l love this one.” “Any words from the Beast Kingdom?” Willian asked. Brushing his big, fluffy ginger beards, side looking Randall in a way to intimidate the King of Humanes' tiny-beards under his chins—This was one of the brags he'd told Randall anytime they meet and which foolishly leads to fight between the two Kings. “No, Willian. They were grumpy as usual.” “Hmmm. Seems the creepers are only attracted to this part of the barrier but not the other ends near the Beast Kingdoms.”

Granted they would sometimes play tricks on her and perform the task in a bad mood, but she was their master and obey they shall. The rain began to fall as requested, and Brianna suddenly felt uneasy, as if the rain was not supposed to be there and that time. But the flames were already starting to consume the healthy part of the woodland and that simply wouldn’t do. The rain was almost done putting down the fire when Bree heard a terrifying cry, so full of pain and agony that she almost crawled to the ground to hold her knees up her chest. ----

Everything around me went dark. Voices rang in my ears as I forced my eyes open. There were beasts standing around me licking their lips as if hungry for me. I tried to run but I was tied down to the same table they killed my kind on. I felt my body getting weaker by the minutes, my skin was getting more itchy than before. I realized what they used in holding me down. It wasn't any normal rope, it was a rope dipped in wolfsbane and it's effect on me was enormous. I was wolfless so how the wolfsbane was affecting me was another problem. I tried to set myself free but each time I tried, the rope tightened my skin the more and I was too close to getting unconscious.

I did everything to be a good friend, only to be treated as my so-called best friend’s scapegoat. When her husband found cigarette ash in their house, she claimed I was the one smoking. When she snuck off for a private rendezvous with her lover, she told him she was celebrating my birthday. And when she got pregnant, she pinned the blame on me again, declaring I was consumed with jealousy—that I had spiked her drink and hired someone to violate her. Enraged, her husband marched to my doorstep wielding a blade and hacked me to death. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the exact day she had asked me to cover for her affair.

Moving more quieter and more careful. Then the beasts came. I felt eyes on us while we were making the diversion, I didn't know it was beasts. They appeared with no warning, no sound before it, just the crash of something large and fast through the brush and then they were there. Four, maybe five, bursting from the trees with wide, too-still eyes and movements that were just slightly wrong, too coordinated for something that looked that wild and Hungry. Already moving toward us before we'd fully registered they were there.