Three Pines Review Novels & Stories

I threw my duffel bag into the passenger seat and pulled out of the airport parking lot, double-checking the crumpled directions I printed earlier. Shadow Pine in Oregon isn’t even on G****e Maps. I had to dig up some backwater blogs just to find the approximate location. “Near the Cascade foothills, deep in the timberland,” one description had said, almost like a warning. It’s a three to four hour drive through winding mountain roads, most of it surrounded by nothing but forest. Massive pine trees blur together outside my window—dark, looming shadows that block out the sunlight. Even the rain looks thicker here, turning the world into a shadowy haze.

My grandma was pleasantly surprised. She came closer to me and held my hands, "this isn't a coincidence my child. I know you eventually have to accept one of them as your mate but for now, you can work with all three of them and get them to put an end to their feud with one other. Once you have achieved that, you can find out who our enemy is." I immediately recalled my encounter with the three awesome men this morning. The way I felt when all three stood in front of me is something I would never be able to explain. How could I work with all three of them?

Aria's POV The drive to Silvercrest took over an hour, but it passed in a focused silence between my partner and me. "Look at the tall pines," I muttered to Maya's hearing as soon as we approached the borders of the pack. "Very beautiful," she replied. "They're oldies but still goldies." I nodded, noting how the shadows of the pines stretched long across the asphalt as the sun climbed toward its late morning peak. The deeper we drove into Silvercrest, the more dazed we were with its natural touch.

Owen hesitates. And that’s when I know— Whatever this is? It’s *not* going to be simple. We stop just outside of a small town, tucked in the valley, barely more than a few streets and a handful of buildings. Owen stretches as he steps out of the car, exhaling. “Welcome to Red Pines.” Levi shuts the car door, watching him carefully. “This is where your guy is?” Owen nods. “Yeah. But don’t expect a warm welcome.”

Lyra's POV The second cluster met us in a forest clearing that smelled of pine resin and cold water and old decisions, the particular scent of a place that had been chosen for survival rather than beauty, and had over time accumulated a beauty of its own from the choosing. Thirty-six people, Nadia had told me, and I had prepared for thirty-six people, but the reality of them was something that preparation could only approximate, the families, the children, the elderly man whose determination had long since overruled the objections of his joints, the woman holding an infant against her chest with one arm and a small packed bag with the other, both arms steady, neither shaking. People carried

A smile of nostalgia took over Pines' features. After discovering he was a homose.xual, his family and pack disowned Pine. He was a stain on the family's reputation, and to rectify that, his father sided with the Alpha, and they banished him. His elder brother was the title Gamma, so in their minds, Pine was a chuck-away anyway. His mother tried and fought for him, but it was useless. Pine came from a pack where females were subservient and listened faithfully to their mates.

‘I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Hope finishes it for me, and smiled at me. A world that is less traveled. Unlike downtown New York, the air is crisp and fresh and wild animals roam the land which is rich in vegetation and greenery. During its lifetime over half a million deciduous and evergreen trees have been planted all over the property. “Home sweet home.” I put my arm around Hope as we got out of the car and stood in front of the dramatic striking and architectural profound Pines Lodge against this tapestry of tall trees.

There, seated among the judges, was Connor. Daisy thought he had come just for her. Her face lit up again, and she happily explained her drawing, "My painting shows a daughter's wish to go to the amusement park with her dad." However, Connor didn't vote for Daisy. Instead, he voted for Hazel. Although Daisy still won first place in the end, she started crying when she saw Connor choose Hazel. Even so, she quickly wiped them away and tried to comfort herself. She asked, "Mommy, Daddy has emotional issues, but he's also really fair. He probably had his reasons, right?"

Great, he will be working, and Reggie will be oogling, and I will have a chance to finally rest. I had never been to Pines Port, but I did hear it was beautiful. I read that it was always cool weather, like right at the end of Autumn, before the first snow. When it did snow, the entire town was covered in white, butting up to a delta that led into the Pacific. I was excited to see what Cash's family home was like. I really hoped it was much more inviting, then his personality. I also wasn't exactly sure about the living arrangements, or how long we would be there, but I knew I couldn't be idle the entire time.

Either way, I needed to get out of view of the mansion. I passed through the rose garden, eerily blooming in winter, and passed my broken-down car before entering the tree line. Snow kicked up behind me, and I realized they’d be able to easily follow my tracks. I needed to get out of these freaky woods as soon as possible. Snow never fell this thick in the Pacific Northwest, except at higher elevations—which this was not. I had a feeling as soon as I got away from here, I’d find rain-drenched streets with not a snowflake in sight. This place was unnatural.