Of Mice & Men Feels Like Forever Novels & Stories

I said. "We're a family, right?" he asked. I nodded. "Forever?" he asked. When he asked that, time seemed to slow for a moment, and all I could see was him. It was like the rest of the world faded away. And then, in the next room, I heard Makayla laugh, and time started again. The two of them were my world. "Yes, Cassius," I said. "Forever."

But he was really serious. We would finally have an agreement. An understanding. Not forced labor. It felt… exhilarating. A portion of the weight I had carried for so long slipped from my shoulders. Some of the tension that had lodged itself in my bones since our third meeting—since the moment my fate was sealed—finally began to drain away. Still, ten years? As beings that live very long lives, a decade was not much. It was a blink in the grand scheme of things. But for living the life that is my presence, every day was long enough. Ten years sounded like ten centuries.

I heard that delicate laugh abruptly stop, so I continued, “Unless you’re insecure, of course. Or maybe Dario hasn’t promised to make you his wife yet? “So that’s why you’re so eager to prove something… right?” Suddenly, the line filled with Dario sobbing, raw and ragged. Even the music cut out. A flurry of voices tried to comfort him, and then the call ended. I let out a cold laugh. Such childish tactics. These young women, throwing themselves into a petty competition for scraps of affection. It was pathetic. I had no interest in joining the game. And I no longer cared.

Except Mike that is. I never liked Mike all that much. I don't know what it was that made me wary around him. I tried to pull Allie out of this but she fell for him anyway and silenced me saying I was just being paranoid. Surprisingly Mike didn't turn out to be as bad since they had lasted 3 whole years so maybe I misjudged him.

I doubt death changed his methods much. I read it a fourth time anyway, at my desk, with the city going dark orange outside my window and my father's old shipping charts still bolted to the wall behind me because I've never gotten around to taking them down. Thirty days. One marriage. One year, uninterrupted, or the whole empire slides sideways into the cousin's lap. It's the kind of clause a sentimental old man writes when he's dying and wants a story out of his granddaughter's life instead of a balance sheet. It's also, if I'm being honest with myself, the kind of gift I have not been handed in a very long time.

Damien was taken aback for a few seconds, with what he just heard. Yes, something bad had happened to them. Something that warranted Madison, working menial jobs and waitressing here, but he didn’t expect it to be so terrible that they would move to a completely different place than what they were used to. And as tenants at that! Wow! Just wow! He mused within himself, a smirk on his face as he exhaled in relief. He felt like he could breathe properly now. Oh how the mighty have fallen, he thought smiling to himself.

"I mean, well, you know... There's no way he can't smile." There was still silence, their eyes were fixed on her. Kat chuckled dryly and quickly downed some coke, diverting her gaze from hers “oh oh…” Matt began. “I remember one time we were working on a project. It was for the twenty-fifth anniversary of GreyCorps and the Mandrake wanted something special. He had us work straight up for four days with only two hours' break all because the designing team didn't get the blueprint correctly.” “What? That's cruel.”

Coffee. Basic necessities for our small apartment above Murphy's Garage, where my father had found work as a mechanic. It wasn't much—two bedrooms, a tiny kitchen, and a living room that doubled as my father's office space—but it was ours. More importantly, it was over a thousand miles from Silverstone territory and the memories that still haunted my dreams. Four months of rebuilding. Four months of learning to be human among humans, of suppressing my wolf during full moons, of pretending that the constant ache in my chest was just a side effect of adjusting to a new life rather than the phantom pain of a severed mate bond.

CHAPTER 1 Mack howled excitedly at the moon. It had been 5 years since Mack had last seen his mate and he was going to be able to see her tomorrow. Mack had to let his wolf out to release the overwhelming joy they both felt. Lincoln ran through the trees stopping at the edge of a cliff to howl once more. His wolf bounced and hopped for joy. He ran all night! “Lincoln we are going to see them in less than twenty-four hours.” Mack told his wolf.

Tenochtitlán had moods. Underdenver felt like it was always bracing for a fistfight. Dust Bowl had that scratchy, cursed pressure crawling down your back. But here? Here it breathed. Slow. Low. Almost at peace. And somehow, that made the grief sharper.