Novels by L.M.Nokes

FreyaAs it turns out, a run was just what I needed to clear my head.By the time we returned to the pack house, and I headed upstairs to shower and change ready for the Luna ceremony I felt ore like myself than I had in months. I had no doubt that Damian had played a part in that.I felt confident, I was still weak, the exorcise had left me out of breath and my muscles were shaking with the unaccustomed strain of actually doing something but the burn was amazing, like I had achieved something.We ran into a couple of pack members on the way back to the house, which was an experience unlike any I had lived through before.I had been raised to be wary, to distrust before trusting, and to always be cautious, as such it was in my nature to be on the defensive, to protect myself and what was mine, although it took me until that moment to realise that I believed Damian to be mine. Which was enlightening for b

FreyaWell, this certainly wasn’t how I had expected things to go, somehow, I felt comfortable, at ease. And that was entirely Damian. He was patient and didn’t seem to mind explain things to me. I did wonder if that would still be the case when he was explaining things to me in the weeks to come, because let’s face it, there was no way I would pick up on all of this in a couple of days. This was an entirely different way of life.“Is there anywhere you would like to go?” He asked and I turned my attention to his chiselled features, taking him in for a moment and considering my answer.By the nature of our species, I was supposed to be able to trust this man with every part of my being. He hadn’t given me any indication that he was a tit for tat kind of man, so I took a leap of faith and told him the truth.“Is there somewhere we could go to shift? It’s been so lo

Freya“It’s okay. You never have to do anything that you don’t want to do here.” He uttered but he seemed disheartened, and I hated that, that my own fear and stupid reactions were causing someone else hurt. People shouldn’t be able to hold this kind of power, abusers shouldn’t have an effect on their victims and their families’ months down the line and yet I knew that unless I faced my fears, I would end up jumping at my own shadow for the rest of my life.Taking a deep breath I closed the gap between us, stopping directly in front of Damian, so close we were almost touching. His surprised eyes met mine and a slow smile spread across his face. “I want to.” I uttered my words quiet in the empty hallway. “I just don’t know how to. I’ve never lived a life like this Damian, I have no idea what I’m doing here, I’m out of my depth.” I stated

DamianI ignored the pain in my knuckles as I pounded the bag, throwing my whole weight at it in hopes of calming the storm that was raging. “Fuck!” I uttered collapsing against the bag out of breath and ignoring the split skin and blood that ran down my hand.How the fuck anyone could do that to another human being, let alone young innocent defenceless women.“Wow, Daimo’ man, You alright?” Roman asked stepping into the gym in his own workout clothes and getting an eyeful of what no doubt looked like a man on the edge of committing murder.“Not really.” I uttered dropping onto one of the benches and running my hands through my hair. “Just got finished with Jacksons deposition of Freya.” I informed knowing of course that he had missed it.“That bad?” he queries his expression suddenly sombre, and I shook my head.“Worse, man.

FreyaI bit my tongue to stop myself from apologising, to stop myself from thanking him yet again. All that would do is give him mixed signals, and as much as I wished things could be different, i knew my place in the world and it wasn’t here playing princess to a delta.“Jackson, our head warrior, would like to speak to you if you feel up to it. I said I would ask but feel free to say no, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” He stated pointedly and I nodded.“What does he want?” I asked and he shrugged a little.“I expect he would like to ask you about the traffickers. We have been having a little trouble from a pack up north, he’s concerned that the two are connected, I think he’s just trying to piece things together.” He concluded and I nodded, I guess it was the least I could do given that they were allowing me to stay here.

FreyaThe doctor was nice enough, he poked and prodded a little, took a sample of blood to run some tests that he said he would get back to me about, gave me what looked like a year’s supply of vitamins and some supplements that he promised would help me regain a little of the weight I had lost and told me that he would be by again in a week to run another check-up. I half expected that I would be gone by then, not that I mentioned that to him. But all in all, he declared that I was in relatively good health considering. A little underweight, and malnourished, but nothing that a course of supplements, plenty of rest and some good meals couldn’t fix.I was still a little shaky, my muscles were weak, and I couldn’t stand for too long without my legs giving way, but I had every intention of rectifying that as soon as possible. After all I had work to be getting on with and the sooner I was in fighting form the

The pack house was blissfully quiet the next morning, something I was surprised to find, even as I walked down from the bedroom and through the halls, there was no one in sight and no noise, it was actually a little eerie.Roman had explained the night before that the warriors had located Liberty pack and they were planning an attack on their camp so I had no doubt that Roman Tristan and the other relevant people were ensconced away in the war room making plans, but I would have expected, at the very least to run into some of the pack house staff.Cali was sat alone in the sitting room with a trolly full of breakfast foods, her head bend as se read through what had to be the oldest book I had ever seen.“Morning.” I whispered, not wanting to disturb her but Cali closed the book and placed it in her lap before looking around the room and fixating on the trolley of food as though surprised to see it there.“Morning. What time is it?”“A little after nine. I slept in.” I muttered feeling

TristanJackson wasn’t joking when he called it a camp. From the looks of it most of the shifters were sleeping outside under the nights sky. Most of the year that wouldn’t be an issue, especially if you shifted into wolf form to stay warm, but there was still snow on the ground in parts of the woodlands, and the bits that weren’t covered in snow were frozen solid, it was freezing out there.I scanned the picture on the screen, taking in the tarpaulin hanging haphazardly to create barriers from the wind, rain and snow, the single tent like structure and the dozens of shifters, and a sadistic glee filled me, it was animalistic and most definitely came from the wolf in me but it wasn’t an emotion I would fight.These monsters had attacked my home, my pack, put the alliance under the treat of war, injured and killed. Kidnapped and tortured and soon they would receive a taste of their own medicine.“Roman, go through the pictures and videos see if you can put together a map of their camp.

RomanThe sense of relief was astounding, even Smoke was calm inside my head for once, laying with Amber wrapped in my arms, our cub growing safely inside her, for the first time I felt like I was home. I guess it’s true what they say, you don’t know what you have until its gone. The risk of loosing Amber over this made me realise just how much I needed my mate, and only part of that feeling was due to the bond we had created.For the most part it was all her, her smile, her gentle approach, she tempered me in a way I didn’t know was possible, even Smoke was generally calmer when she was around.Her fingers traced the ridges on my chest and stomach, the now familiar tingles leaving bump on my skin.“You okay?” I asked, loathe to break the comfortable silence, but we couldn’t ignore this, a baby wasn’t just going to disappear. The no of her head against my chest wasn’t the most reassuring answer he could have given. “Amber, baby. I need you to talk to me.”“It hurt. Knowing that this t

CaliTristan genuinely looked like he was at his wits end, not that I could blame him, yet again he was shouldering a hell of a burden and there didn’t seem to be a reprieve around the corner. I watched as he sat back in his office chair, scrubbing his face with his hands as he took deep breaths, trying to control the overwhelming emotions running through him, frustration, anger, disappointment, disbelief, not one of them were positive and left me feeling overwhelmed and I only felt the echo of his emotions.Anger seemed to tip the scales a little as he dialled the phone and placed the call on loudspeaker on his desk waiting for the other person to pick up. He tapped a finger on the desk, and I bit my lip, I had a feeling that Lotus pack were about to be on the receiving end of all of Tristan’s pent up frustrations.“Leroux.” A young voice answered and my eyes flicked up to Tristan in surprise. Alpha Paxon was far from young, his son Abel was set to take over any day, but word was tha

AmberWhen I suggested to Cali that we take Amie out of the boot room, I was just trying to be the bigger person, and if I’m honest I was feeling a little guilty, the girl couldn’t be much older than 18 if at all, and she was on the receiving end of a hell of a lot of hate, even if she hadn’t witnessed it, I didn’t want to be one more person in her life that hated her, when truth be told, Cora was right, that cold have just as easily been me.But the story she told actually broke my heart. No one should have to live in that kind of a household, no one should be belittled by the people that are genetically engineered to love you. I couldn’t help but rub my hand over the rounding belly that contained the bundle of life I already loved so much.I couldn’t even imagine.“Amber?” The question startled me, I had actually forgotten that Roman was here, I also hadn’t noticed that everyone else had abandoned me. I guess it was for the best. No one wanted to be a part of this kind of conversati

Cali‘Well that escalated quickly.’ Thalia’s thought in my head was pure amusement as she practically drooled over how protective and strong our mate was. Damn baby hormones. We were in the middle of a nightmare situation and all I could think about was how much I wanted my mate.Tristan growled at the older man before issuing a threat of his own, his tone pitched low enough that bumps rose on my arms, if the man wasn’t wetting himself he was an idiot, I more than anyone, knew just how soft and loving Tristan could be, but in Jacks shoes, I’m not entirely sure I would still be conscious.“You have some nerve, coming into my home, throwing around your accusations, threatening my beta, demanding things like you have a right and now you have the balls to throw a vase at my mate, my Luna. The only reason you’re still breathing is because of that young girl over there. The very girl you were ready to abandon, the girl you call a whore, just saved your life.”I felt the tell-tale signs of t

“We should stop at a market on the way and get some supplies.” I commented off hand to Cole as he shoved clothes into his own bag. I made a mental note as I watched him to do some laundry when we got to the city, with everything that had happened this week I had barely found the time to shower, never mind housework.“Okay. What time did you say you had to be at the council building for?”“Millicent said they are starting the meeting at eleven. They are ordering lunch in so I expect we will be there for a while.” I stated although this wasn't news. I had known since last weekend that this meeting would be a long one, there was so much that needed to be done. I was just thankful that Millicent had called to fill me in on everything fore hand, at least we wouldn't have to spend the first hour catching me up.I climbed into the passenger seat of Cole's car and thought back over my conversation with Mill

“What do you mean your Mum was murdered?” Cole asked holding me before him, his hands on my shoulders and a frown of concern on his face as he watched me.I swallowed hard and dried my eyes off, willing the tears to stop as I tried to formulate an answer. “Peter was wrong. It was never an accident. My mum was murdered in our home.”“How is that even possible.” He muttered but the words didn’t quiet register as I continued talking, now the words were comi

The sunlight through the windows cast shadows on the floor and I danced across the hardwood, making a game of avoiding the shadows. My dress floated around my legs as I jumped over a big shadow, the material tickling me, and I laughed.“Alexi.” My mum called from down the hall, and I turned to leave the living room dancing the whole time, but I froze when I faced the hallway. The man was young blonde and dressed all in black. I smiled at him, and he held his finger up to his lips, so I giggled, maybe he was playing a game too.

We headed into the closest town and settled on a small buffet restaurant for lunch. Elsie was a little confused by the long serving station filled with a variety of foods until Cole filled her in. Buffet restaurants were a fairly new trend and Elsie hadn't been to a human town for quite a while.“This is fantastic.” Elsie stated once we were all sat down with a big plate of food each. “It seems like so many things change every time I leave the city.” She stated digging into her meal.“Things do change quickly around here. The technolo

Elsie smiled into her cup, and I hid behind mine as I waited for her reaction. “I have to admit I did consider this a possibility after the weekend. The bond is hard to ignore at the best of times but when you are practically living with the person, I expect it is harder still. Warriors are trained to ignore that of course and I expected that it wouldn’t have been an issue had you been a mean or judgemental person, but you are beautiful inside an out. Well, I can’t say I disapprove. I had to wait until Jonah finished his assignment at the age of thirty-four before we could date. I’m glad that you and Cole won’t face the same difficulty.” She smiled and I relaxed like a weight had been lifted a

Tuesday morning, I woke with a slight groan, over heated and aching from sleeping in a strange position and I twisted and almost fell off the sofa, only the strong arms wrapped around my waist kept me from face planting the carpet.“You do know you have a perfectly good bed in your room, right?” Jess’s voice sounded and I lifted my head to see her sat at the breakfast bar looking smug as she took in the sight of us while eating a bowl of cereal.I groaned again leaning back into the warm body of Cole.

Clara. The next few days at the compound were the busiest I had ever seen it, all army personnel were working overtime, patrolling the prison, searching through every room before declaring it clear. Cleaning out the bodies of the dead and filling the massive whole that now resided in D blocks shower room. The funerals started on the third day after the attack. It turned out that a lot more than just Wheeler had died, although his death was the one I felt the hardest. Thirty two people lost their lives in the attack. It would be a while before any raids were organised, too much needed to be done at the compound but the leaders were already planning to send teams out to collapse the tunnels that ran under the prison. Our team had been inseparable since the attack, maybe it was losing Wheeler, maybe it was fear of the unknown but almost every waking moment we spent side by side, only going our separate ways of a night. Jak

ClaraThe corridors around E block were packed to capacity with dead who were trying to gain access to the living and the sight made me shudder as we came up behind them, it was like deja vu again only this time we had more men and better weapons.Three bombs were thrown into the midst taking out almost half off the dead before they even knew we were there. Then the fight was on. They raced at us, their bodies moving in strange ways and I opened fire on those closest to me. Five down. Another bomb and more firing. Slowly but surely we edged closer. The other hallways I knew were filled with soldiers fighting their own battles and a team were firing from behind the barricade in E block but still half an hour of fighting, of throwing bottles filled with a strange looking chemical mixture and shooting anything in our path and we still hadn't made it to the entrance. Porter Jake Bubble and Rigs fought along side me, none of us w

ClaraI wiped the tears from my cheeks and followed Jake out onto the landing. He was right, there was work to do. I hadn't known Wheeler all that well but still my heart hurt knowing that I wouldn't get to see him again, and my heart hurt for Jake too, the look on his face when Porter screamed just about ripped me in two, he had been close with the team leader I knew that, hell he was close with all his team mates. He pushed his back straight and walked across the landing towards a guy I didn't recognise, he hadn't been with us earlier.A glance around the room let me know that the fighting here was over, the dead were nothing more than heaped bodies on the ground and the first floor landing was filled with soldiers. I spotted the chief across the landing and I sighed, at least he wasn't harmed, the last thing we needed right now was for one of our leaders to fall. Which briefly had me thinking about the other leaders and w

Jake.“Wont be long guys, make sure your shots count.” I spoke up loud enough for my voice to carry across the landing to the other soldiers waiting for our nod. My finger itched as I let it rest against the trigger of my gun, I had spent way too long being inactive and it was making me nervous, well the nerves probably had something to do with the hundreds of dead that were clawing at the walls beneath our feet trying to find their next meal, their next target.I took a deep breath, Clara was ready at my side, her gun clenched in her hand, her eyes roaming the masses below us. I still couldn't get over how well she had been handling herself. Joining the army was a huge adjustment under normal circumstances and this was far from normal.“Okay coming up to B block, corridors are mostly clear.” Wheelers voice sounded through my earpiece and my shoulders tensed. “Okay guys w

Clara.The noise in D block had settled considerably since the residents had calmed down, Peters Trundle and I spent close to an hour answering questions as best we could before they gave up and settled into their temporary housing, my parents were sharing a cell with an elderly woman by the name Bridie when I finally got around to speaking with them.“I cant believe that you are okay with that, with dealing with that every day.” Mum muttered glancing out the cell door towards the ground where the dead were still making a racket as they tried in vain to climb towards the higher levels.“It's my job Mum.” I state not knowing what else to say, this job, my job wasn't for everyone, I had known that before I signed up but more so now that I was an active soldier and had been out in the world, I still saw visions of my fist kill behind my closed eyelids, dreamt about the horrors in the world. I hid

ClaraBy the time they reached me my hands were shaking and tears had built in my eyes.“You okay baby?” Jake asked, pulling me into his arms and kissing the side of my head. Our moment only lasted a minute but it was enough for me to pull myself together, he was okay, he was alive. I let my eyes run over him from head to toe checking for damage before looking him in the eye.“I love you.” I stated figuring that it could be now or never, I could have lost him then and if anything were to happen to me, I needed him to know how I felt.His answering smile was breathtaking. “I love you too.” He whispered back before attaching his lips to mine in a short hard kiss.“Come on you two.” Bubble stated pulling our attention and I nodded letting Jake grab my hand and pull me towards the other side of the landing where no one had taken up posts yet. They had finished