Operation Strix Novels & Stories

Upon inspection, I found a rather ordinary spider, more frightened by our commotion than threatening in any way. I couldn't resist a playful smirk. "Monster spider, huh?" Annabel crossed her arms, feigning indignation. "Well, it looked like a monster in the heat of the moment." I chuckled, a genuine warmth spreading through me. "Next time, I'll be your knight in shining armor, ready to battle the monstrous spiders of the penthouse." She rolled her eyes, a hint of a smile breaking through her facade. "Just get rid of it, please." With a theatrical gesture, I scooped up the seemingly terrifying creature and released it outside. Annabel watched with a mixture of relief and amusement.

"Get off!" The masked man grunted and let go of my waist. The blond guy saw me struggle and grabbed me by the throat. He shouted at the guy on the ground. "Strip her and get pictures while you're at it!" The masked man recovered and slapped me hard across the face. "That's for kicking me!" The two of them pinned me against the wall. By the time my clothes were ripped down to my underwear, tears had already started falling. Suddenly, the pressure on my body vanished. A jacket was thrown over me.

didn't have the luxury of a retreat. "We’ve got two more coming through the alley, Matriarch," Jax said, his voice cutting through the mechanical hum of the sterilizer unit. He didn't look up from his multi-screen setup in the corner, his fingers dancing across a keyboard stained with dried motor oil. "They’re not ours. They’re Strays. Kaelen’s unit took a hit at the southern water reservoir." "What kind of hit, Jax?" I asked, snapping on a fresh pair of latex gloves, the sharp *snap* echoing off the high ceiling.

To leave marks that fade just in time to avoid questions. The second strike followed before I could recover, and by the third strike, my legs were trembling. Madam Istrell’s voice is calm as she recites, I am guessing that’s the protocol. “This is for forgetting your station.” Another strike. “For allowing attention you did not earn.” Strike. “For threatening palace stability and challenging hierarchy.” Strike. My vision blurs. I grit my teeth, refusing to scream. I will not give them that. By the sixth strike, something inside me cracks, not my bone or muscle; something deeper in me, and the room tilts as if I were being turned upside down.

Two seats down, an older omega is already sweating through his shirt; I can smell the sour panic from here. Mira doesn’t shout. She never does. Instead, she threads her gloved fingers together, knuckles pale under the thin leather, and says in a voice so soft it nearly evaporates: “Exile would satisfy the prophecy, Elder Soren. No need for blood. Let the Stray Moon go, beyond our borders. If it’s meant to end us, it will do so without staining the stone.” Her words are all silk, but I see the tremor as she tugs at the seam of her glove, a nervous loop she can’t stop once it’s started. The chain of command is visible in gestures like that, and I know every one.

Caleb dropped a new file on Emma’s desk and she gave it a skeptical look. He grinned. “Don’t worry. This one is for real. We got a tip of a possible drug ring running out of Brooklyn. I got permission for our first stake-out, tonight.” As he was talking, she flipped through the file, looking it over, quickly. “It’s thin. I’m surprised you got approval.” He shrugged. “You have to start somewhere, right?” “Why wait until tonight?” She looked up at him. “Why not go now?”

My popularity and reputation skyrocketed, too. Half a year later, a car barreled in our direction as Verona and I were returning from a banquet. Our driver was skilled enough to dodge it in time, but the car crashed straight into a streetlight and burst into flames. They managed to drag the driver out of the car, and who else could it have been other than Samantha? Her legs were crippled from her knees downward, and her face was scorched black with flame. The pain had kicked in after her adrenaline faded, and she was in so much pain that she was writhing.

she backtracked quickly, stammering. “I know.” Lola let out a soft sigh as her gaze drifted to the glowing neon lights of the strip club sign ahead. They reflected her green eyes like tiny fireworks. “But here’s the thing, if I’m not shameless, someone else will try to tear me down. And I’m not about to give them that power.”

"Otherwise, they'll be back for more." "Yes, sir. Wait here. I'll be right back." Strider leaped into the air as green light enveloped him. He then slammed the ground with a heavy punch. What followed was a series of explosions going off in all directions. It was as though a ball of energy had exploded from the ground. The retreating enemies sensed a threat coming from beneath their feet as more explosions erupted, sending them flying through the air as they were blown to pieces. In less than a minute, all the enemies were on the ground. Some were already dead, while others were struggling to survive.