Novels by L.A.B

"You little shit, get your ass back here." I laugh from my spot on the kitchen counter, watching Nate chase our naked child, Liam around the living room with a yellow bath towel clutched in his hand. Liam stops then, turning around to grin at his dad. He was only three, but was already extremely mobile, and had a smile just like his dad's. "Are you going to help me?" Nate sighs, glaring up at me as Liam yells and resumes running around like a mad man with his arms up in the air. I shake my head a little, pointing to where Liam is now standing on the couch. He grins at his dad, who finally swoops in and grabs him in his arms, wrapping the towel around him tightly as he does so. "Ha! Got you!" Nate declares as he wrestles Liam so he's upside down in his arms. He squeals with delight as Nate carries him like that back towards his room to put clothes on, calling him a weakling the entire time. But Liam loves it. He loves his dad, and he loves playing and "fighting" with him.I smile a

Why is it so often when I'm waking up in the morning, I'm in pain? I groan, stretching my arms above my head and blinking away sleep. I wince as harsh daylight assaults my eyes. My head pounds, and I bring a hand up to rub at my temple."Fuck." I groan, sitting up and leaning against the bed's headboard. I look down at where Ike is facing away from me, towards the wall, hugging himself and with no blanket. Nate is on the other side, also facing away, burrioted up in the entire blanket. I fall forward and start to crawl between them to get out of the bed. I stop when I feel a hand grabbing my ankle. Nate's green eyes are already staring at me. He's rolled over and untucked himself from his blanket tomb. "You're not going to make me chase you again, are you?" I furrow my brow, sitting in a crawling position, trying to think why I would run away. "Oh." I say when I finally realize what Ike had done to Nate last night. I didn't actually see anything, but I remember one of Ike's hands

I leave Ike at the bottom of the stairs, taking Cleo into my bedroom first and laying her down gently. She starts wiggling around, smiling and rubbing all over the sheets. Weirdo. I go back for Ike, who is pulling himself up the stairs, or trying to. He's got one hand on the second step, his other on the first. "Can I help you?" I ask, bending down to wrap one of his arms around my shoulder and putting my arm around his middle. "Here we go." He mumbles as I half drag him to my bed.I let him fall onto it, barely avoiding Cleo, who has taken her leggings off finally and is laying like a starfish on the bed. I sigh. I turn and flip the light off, kicking my shoes off as I do. Off come my pants and shirt. "Move." I huff, closing Cleo's legs and scooting her to one side of the bed. "You too." Ike listens for once, but only because he wants to be Cleo's big spoon. I roll my eyes and fall into the empty space beside them.I lay on one arm, staring at the ceiling for a moment before clo

"You know what her parents told me earlier?" Ike tilts his head to stare at me. I shake my head. "They told me, that this is the last time they'll be seeing Cleo." I freeze at his words. My eyes dart around to try and find the two in question. "Don't bother looking for them. They went back to their place and are leaving first thing in the morning. They aren't even planning on saying goodbye." He shakes his head at me. "I mean, why come in the first place?" He scoffs, finishing off his drink. "Just to rub it in her face that you exist?" He's staring at Cleo, muttering to himself now really more than talking to me. "Did they say why?" I nudge him to try and get his drunk ass to focus. He kind of blinks and shakes his head before looking back to me again. "They said they couldn't stay or come visit her because of the rules of being part of The Circle," He scoffs at their title. "And that she couldn't visit them because if anyone knew they had a daughter out there they'd try and make he

My peace with Cleo is ripped away by that fuck head Thomas, who snatches Cleo away over his shoulder and yells something about loving tequila. Had he just been waiting for the perfect chance to steal her away again? "Oh my god." I rub the bridge of my nose and make eye contact with Cleo as she sits up on Thomas to grin at me like a child. I lean back and cross my arms as I watch him take her to a group of guards. "I got her!" He yells in victory. The guards cheer and whoop in excitement. "Your mates have had enough of your time!" Zach proclaims as Thomas sets Cleo down. "And besides, it's your turn to chug something!" I groan, and I'm about to rush over and stop her, but I halt when Ike and Parker walk up to me from their spot in the crowd. "I wanted to introduce you two." Ike says, stopping in front of me. I'm half sitting, half standing, midway to snatching Cleo away from the frat boys. I glance at her for a second and see her snapping the neck off a bottle of tequila. I sigh,

"Why do you people insist on doing this to me?" She complains as I carry her away from her group of fans. "It's just easier than arguing with you." I reply. She makes an offended noise, struggles to sit up for a moment, and then flicks me on the back of the head. I roll my eyes, hiking my shoulder up a little into her gut and smiling at the noise she makes. I approach a table that's empty on one end and set Cleo down in a chair. "Wait here." I look her in the eye to make sure she's paying attention, and then turn to track down some water.I spot coolers near one of the tables closest to the fire and make my way through chatting and drinking people. I didn't realize how many people were a part of Ike's pack now a days until they were all converged together like this.I finally make it to the line of eight coolers and start opening them to find one not filled to the brim with liquor. Finally, I get my hands on a cold bottle of water. There was only a single cooler with them in it; ty

He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out a small box, but doesn't open it yet."Deliah, I've only actually known you for a handful of days. But I've seen inside your mind, I've seen what kind of person you are. I've seen how you think and act when no one is around, and I love that about you." He swallows thickly. "And more than that, I love what I see in front of me, right now. A strong woman, figuring herself out, taking control of herself and her life. I am so enamored by you, Delilah." He opens the box then, and I suck in a breath at the gorgeous ring that rests inside."A ring?" I whisper."I did some research, and found this was the typical way Mann proposed marriage. You already wear the anklet of my people, so I thought I'd go this route next." He smiles, picking it up out of the box and holding it out to me. He looks at me seriously again."Delilah, I love you. I know that. I want to be with you, for as long as there is breath in my lungs. I want to watch you change into

Erik was going to ask me to marry him. And if I said no, that was it for us. I'd have to watch him marry another woman. I'd be his side hoe if I ever wanted anything to do with him again. And I couldn't deny, I wanted "something" to do with him. I wish we had time to do things a little... slower. That much was for sure. I knew my mom would be pissed that I was even considering marrying this man, but the thought of him with someone else made a ball of furious rage form in my chest. I swallow as we stop in front of a high entry way covered by hanging flowers."Have fun, Lady Delilah." I smile at Chepi and walk through the flowers.Here we go.The greenhouse was probably twenty feet by twenty feet, with rounded edges rather than squared like the rest of the rooms. The ceiling was replaced with a crisscrossing wood pattern, no glass though, just vines and flowers and moss climbing over the wood. I wondered if it'd form a natural roof one day. The sides of the room have rows of seedlings

"What are we doing today, Lady Delilah?"It was rhe next day. I spent the night alone, and in my own head luckily. I'm sitting in the tub currently, my favorite spot in the house."Will I get to see Erik tonight?" I whine. I was bored without him. I had hung out in the kitchen and helped make and clean up dinner yesterday and hadn't finished until it was dark out. I had enjoyed talking to the cooks, including Pur who was baking bread as she said she always did."Yes, Lady Delilah. And don't forget what else is happening tonight?" She leans towards me in the tub, handing me a small tub of scrubby looking stuff. I nod, holding a smile back."What if you're wrong though and I'm getting excited for nothing?" I scoop out the rough paste and bring my leg up out of the water. Chepi said she was going to shave my legs, which was fine, because they needed it. So, I was exfoliating first."I am not wrong. He told me. I wasn't really supposed to tell you, but my loyalty lies with you, not Erik.

"You saw, yes?" I nod, walking closer to the men. "Would you like to try?" I flick my eyes up to him quickly then, laughing a little. "I'm serious." He certainly looks it. I squat down in front of the balancing men without answering him, looking at the streams of light connecting their fingers to the earth below them. This man's light was green colored, this one was light blue."It goes with the elements they can control." Erik has squatted down with me. "Tye here," he pokes the man with the blue light coming from his finger, "can manipulate ice. He channels it from the core of the world, and therefore, levitates." I tilt my head a little at the floating man. "Want to try?" He asks again."I can't do that." I point to the men. Erik laughs."Don't be silly. I don't want you to do that." He stands, and I follow suit. "Men." Erik booms. Their eyes open, and they listen, still floating. "If any of you drop my goddess, you will be fed to the boars for dinner." he grins then, crossing his a

As we come close to the main building, I can hear voices and yelling. Thudding, and oofing."They're training." Chepi tells me as we round the corner into the empty grassy area in front of the huge building.The first thing that catches my attention, is a group of twenty or so Alva paired off, sparring against each other. Reni is walking in-between the pairs, making comments too quiet for me to hear, correcting foot placement and suggesting moves as she does. They're in the front of building, out in the open. Looking between them, I can see a large entry way leading into another training area."Erik is in there." I look away from where I'd been trying to see into the building, and meet eyes with Reni, who is looking at me now and pointing behind her. I nod a little, giving her an awkward thumbs up. She tilts her head to the side a little, and then returns to telling her men how to better beat each other up. Chepi and I make our way around the men, finally slipping into the building.

Hello, Child. I sigh in happiness as I finally lay on the roots of my Alder almost an hour later. Chepi had brought her stool and her knitting again and was focused on it.But the conversation I wanted to have with my Alder was extra private today.I have something I want to ask you. I think, feeling a little silly.A secret from this woman you claim to trust. I nod against its roots. Ask away, child.Do you know anything about the Gud species? I turn away from Chepi and curl into a ball, closing my eyes and listening to the tree's words in my head.The Gud species is, as you suspect, descended from the original God, Forradd, who had great powers. He could change forms, manipulate the earth, and even time itself. Now Forradd was desperately in love with Sanju, the original goddess.I laugh a little. It kind of seemed like everyone's problems could be chalked up to loving someone.Pay attention. Sanju was originally a normal Alva, which is why she's depicted as having pointed ears, and

Since returning to Kilian’s pack things had been… different. I was happy to be back with Killian and our kids. We were finally together, able to raise them side by side. I wasn’t having to look over my shoulder because I had to be on guard all the time, and Killian was paying me more attention than ever before. Apart from that, there were a few more serious things going on. For example, Sebastian’s pack was left without an Alpha. The committee members were breathing down my neck, telling me I either needed to relinquish my position over to someone else, or step up and take charge of the dozens of wolves looking for a leader. And don’t even get me started on Felix’s pack. They weren’t in my top list of priorities, I can't lie. Most of them had run off, only a few of the new members who had been forced into Felix’s pack had stuck around. Honestly, I had kind of been hoping Sebastain would show back up. I would be more than happy to hand his pack back over. I didn’t want it. I hadn’t

The ride back to Killian’s pack was mostly quiet; he’d ask me something every once in a while, about the twins or his pack. But I think we both had a lot on our minds. I know I did. The car had dropped us as close to the pack lands as it could, and we walked the rest of the way. “God, I’m glad to be back in these woods.” Killian said as we walked along. He had his face tilted to look at the tops of the trees, and was smiling a little for the first time in what felt like forever. It was kind of cute, the way he was acting like he was literally being recharged just by being in his woods again. “What are you smiling at?” He asks me, bumping his shoulder against mine a little. I shake my head, and look up at him. “Just… happy we both got to come back here together.” I say. “Did you miss this place at all?” He asks, looking down at me. I nod a little. “Yeah, I guess I did. Or really I missed the good memories I had attached to it.” He nods along. “Like… Do you remember that one nigh

A lot had happened since I had beaten both Sebastain and Felix. Most of which I wasn’t currently letting Killian in on. It’s not that I didn’t trust him or think he wasn’t capable anymore, but I knew he was hurt. And I knew only half of the pain he was feeling right now was physical. First of all, May reared her annoying ass in again. It makes sense, as she had been spotted previously hanging out with Felix, and had been acting suspiciously close with him before. But I was a bit surprised when his body was taken away by his pack members, and she surfaced through the crowd, like she’d been there the entire time. “Look who’s leveled up in the world.” she had sneered at me as she glared down at the unconscious Felix. She looked at me bitterly, like I had taken something from her. She had gone on about how this and this were supposed to happen, but now everything was ruined since I’d stuck my nose into everything. She said I was in the way, like always, and should’ve just learned my

I always thought Everly had such a pretty side profile. I remember when I first started getting to know her, I would stare at her across the courtyard at our college, just watching her read or talk to someone. I liked the curve of her lips, the way her lashes brush the tops of her cheeks when she blinked.That’s what I was thinking about as I watched her talk to the doctor who had been taking care of me for the past couple of days. I was being released. My injuries weren’t all the way healed, but I was good enough. The doctor had actually said that. I wasn’t upset about it or anything, I was ready to get out of here as it was. I was still in Sebastain’s pack. Or I guess, Everly’s pack. We hadn’t actually talked too much about that little fact yet. I’d tried to bring it up a couple times, to find out what exactly happened. I knew the outcome of everything, but I still felt like I was missing a lot of important details. But whenever I did bring it up, suddenly Everly had to pee so

Failure. You lost. Pathetic. You don’t deserve to be Alpha. These words are the only ones that fill my head as someone carried my unconscious body like a sack of potatoes. I didn’t know who it was, if they were taking me to finish me off or help me, but I didn’t care. I can’t believe I lost. My mind can’t quite put everything that happened in order, not yet at least. I remember the beginning of the fight, flashes of Everly’s anxious face watching me get my ass kicked. I remember… getting knocked down. Lots of yelling. But I’m not sure why… I couldn’t pick out what they had been saying. Sounded like a woman, calling someone a monster. But who would be yelling that, and why? And I remember opening my eyes for a moment, and seeing Everly kneeling above me, blood on her chin, and her eyes so, so worried for me. Why was there blood on her chin? “...you gotta open your eyes buddy.” Whoever that is sounds familiar. Lucas? He was the only one who would call me something like “buddy.”

I hadn’t utilized my wolf much since she’d come back to me, a few small conversations here and there, but she didn’t seem all that chatty, to be honest. Though it wasn’t like she was before, either. I had even asked her once if she wanted to be let out so she could go for a run, but she said no, she was fine watching. Which I thought was a little weird, just because of what I’d heard about your wolf’s nature inside when I was a kid, was that it could always be begging to be let out. Wolves loved to run and play, hunt and kill. But my wolf always seemed like she preferred to remain inside, silently watching my life play out. It was a little odd, to be honest. I guess one might assume she’d be weak, from all that time spent locked up. But she wasn’t. She ripped through my skin, making Felix laugh like an evil maniac, and grin with excitement. He tears off his own shirt, and begins turning into his wolf. I hope my wolf knew what she was doing. I hope we dont both die today. I want