Wild Rose Barding Novels & Stories

White rose petals were flown around him beautifully along with the wind. The boy enjoyed the magnificent scenery of the white flower bed at night, the roses were trimmed neatly around the main road and arranged quite nicely. Jeremiah was amazed at how devoted Rosalinda was when she planted these white roses for the first time. ‘She indeed has a talent in landscaping.’ From where he stood, Jeremiah could see a small abandoned building that lay a bit far from the main road. ‘Is that the building that Rosalinda mentioned about?’ Armadale suddenly showed up, “well, we don't know until we check it out…”

It was the beautiful thing I had ever heard. I walked down to the well. The mist was thick clinging to the valley floor like a white sea. I knelt in the grass. Began to unwrap the burlap from the first rosebush. My fingers were cold. The knots were stubborn. As the fabric fell away I saw it a deep-red bud, no larger than a grain of rice pushing through the grey wood. It was a victory. It was complete.

Once she managed to dig up enough of the plant, Berrystripe took whatever he could, wrinkling his nose at the bitter-tasting plant. "What is this stuff?" he asked, voice muffled by the bundle in his mouth. "Borage," she explained without missing a beat, "We'll need it for Whitebirch and Olivebranch." Furzewhisker checked the area once more to make sure there was enough left to grow for the next season. To her relief, there was. The last thing she wanted was to take more than she needed, and prevent more from growing in its place. We must all respect the life that this land provides us with, she told herself. It's the right thing to do.

Rizene glanced at the Alpha who still had his eyes fixated on her and she couldn't tell if she convinced him or not, although she highly doubted she did. Alpha Jared stared at Rizene who was constantly avoiding his eyes. He was certain she was lying about how she had gotten to the bar and also her relationship with the rogue. If his guesses were correct, she was somehow connected to the rogue that had stolen the Wolfsbane. Perhaps he had decided he didn't need her again and had tried disposing of her, but one thing was for sure; she was mysterious and had secrets. He looked at the mark on her right cheek again. He was going to get to the bottom of who Rizene was, no matter what.

Rylan asked uncertainty flickered in his eyes. “Everything we desperately need.” I counted the items on my fingers. “Medicinal herbs first: yarrow for bleeding, comfrey for wounds, shadow hazel if you can find it, clean water from the hidden spring north of the creek, any game you can take without noise—anything small and quiet finally salvage metal from the old smithy ruins, sturdy timber, rope, anything usable.

Lightning stepped forward, clapping a hand on my shoulder. "Good job," he said, his voice low and firm. "The Wild Ridge doesn't tolerate betrayal." As the group started to disperse, I felt a hand on my arm. I turned to see Jax. "You good?" he asked quietly. I nodded again, though the weight of the day was starting to settle in. "Yeah. I'm good." Jax smiled as he said, "Well, go get cleaned up then. You actually look like death!" He eyed me up and down, amusement flickering in his eyes.

“I told him he lost me. I told him I could walk away. But here I am, still breathing his name in my chest.” The horse slowed as we reached the deeper thicket. Trees leaned like old giants, their branches clutching at my cloak. I dismounted, clutching Roses tight, my boots sinking into wet soil. The stream’s scent still clung to me, but it wouldn’t last. I had to wash Nightbane off me completely, or the wolves would find me. I kissed the crown of Roses’ head, forcing myself to keep moving. “Do you hear that, little fox?” I called her that sometimes now, though I didn’t know why. “Crickets. Owls. All of them are watching. Even the shadows know we’re running.”