Under The Oak Tree Novel 121 Novels & Stories

The oak tree was older than the Hale fortune, its branches gnarled and thick, stretching over the stone wall like reaching fingers. I didn’t think about the physics of it. I didn’t think about the silk-blend sweater or the way the rough bark bit into my palms, scraping away the "pampered" layer of my skin to reveal the girl underneath who used to climb fire escapes to get to the roof of her apartment. I shoved my foot into a notch in the trunk, my breath hitching as a sharp pain bloomed in my side. Not now, I thought, pressing a hand to my stomach. Just a little further.

But every year, at the same time, one of her comrades delivered a pack of shortbread cookies. At 60, I taught my final class. Before the bell rang, I looked out toward the hillside. A flourishing willow tree stood there. My son lay beneath it. "Cyrus, Dad misses you." —The End

Discovering the man who stood at the kitchen window every morning with coffee and carried entire conversations in the pause before answering. The second year was different. The study was hers now. The bench was hers. The oak was hers. And Lucian— She paused there. Not because the thought was difficult. Because it wasn't. Because the simplest thoughts sometimes required the fewest words. Lucian was home. Not becoming. Not arriving. Not building toward. Home. A week before Christmas she found Mr. Osei standing beneath the oak. The tree was bare now. Entirely winter. The structure visible from roots to highest branch.

They hated everyone who was associated with my father; they made sure to get rid of them. A few minutes into my walk, my eyes suddenly caught something under the apple tree in the orchard, the one Luna Jane would normally spend all her days under. I thought I thought it was an animal, a fox, or even a bear, but the moonlight made my wolf sight sharper in the dark. I saw a dark figure, looking like a man, but when I moved closer, I saw that two people were standing under this tree.

Delaney "Cursey," I hear Trevor Whittle say in a sing-song voice. "Come out, come out wherever you are!" Laughter follows his words. I remain hidden behind the huge oak tree and desperately try to catch my breath without making a sound. I breathe shakily behind the hand I placed over my own mouth while my heart slams against my chest.

It felt like a deep, green patience. “I feel the tree,l.” I murmured. “Good, now, don’t pull from it. Don’t push at it. Just… introduce yourself.” Introduce myself to a tree? But I focused on that green pulse and imagined my own presence, not my power, just me. Luca. Scared, determined, in love. The oak’s pulse didn’t change. But the air around me grew still. The watching birds fell silent. “Open your eyes.” I did. A single, perfect acorn lay at my feet. It hadn’t been there before.

⇜ ♡♡♡ ⇝ DARVIN. I leaned my body against the tree as I lit my cigarette. My eyes roamed around the forest grounds. Felix, Katya, Nicole, Zahra, and Leandro went inside the pack house to have their own group while the rest settled on the big bonfire inside the forest just south of the pack house. Everyone was seated around a bonfire that the Beta lit up and was enjoying alcoholic drinks except for Sofia and Luna Nadia. My heart clenched at the sight of my sisters.

With determination, I set my course towards the river, a path well-worn by villagers during the day as they washed their clothes. As I drew nearer to the river, the sound of Orion's voice guided my stealthy approach, prompting me to seek cover behind a towering tree. From my vantage point, I observed Orion seated on a massive rock by the riverbank, accompanied by a chestnut-haired girl who must be Nova, the chief's daughter. I watched intently from my hiding spot, straining to make sense of the conversation between Orion and Nova. Unfortunately, it became evident that I had arrived late, as I struggled to grasp the context of their dialogue.

The good thing about being Butterfly with Carson — as I've come to enjoy — was I didn't need to any longer. Carson turned to me with a perked eyebrow. In the bright white light from the ceiling and floors I could now see the slight redness in his otherwise perfect eyes and I was glad we stopped. “Where is everyone?” I waved my hand about indicating the empty space. “Don't tell me you didn't see those cars.” Carson chuckled and drew a hand over his dark stubble, an action that made me involuntarily clench my thighs. “That. Well, you did not hear this from me, but, Jaime Crawford junior also hosts an underground and very illegal poker game every Tuesday night.”

I held the fang, my finger tracing the runes carved into it. It was heavy as it carried a lot of history, promises… And now, a deceptive eternity. "Your Highness." A charming voice greeted Daniel respectfully, and we turned to find an Omega standing under the shade of the doorway, holding a map. "Here are the charts of the Rogue movements near the northern border. The generals are already waiting in the antechamber." If I recalled correctly, the Omega's name was Anna—Lulu had told me about her. Daniel frowned ever so slightly, but that reaction was gone in a flash.