Mrs. ReevesThe receptionist’s eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment, Emerald thought she saw a flicker of doubt cross her features. But it was quickly replaced by a mask of indifference.“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I’ll need to verify that,” the receptionist said, her tone bordering on dismissive.Emerald reached into her purse and fumbled for her phone, her hands trembling with nerves. She quickly dialed Matthew’s number, praying that he would pick up.After several agonizing rings, Matthew’s voice came through the line, “Baby?” she heard him say the moment he answered.“Matthew, they are following me, the man is still outside,” she rattled in panic. Matthew, who was seated in his office, got up from his desk immediately.“Baby, where are you?” Matthew asked, dashing out of his office to the elevator.“In your building lobby,” she said, close to tears. His assistant saw him enter and followed in another elevator. “I’ll be right down,” he said firmly. “Calm down, Emerald. I’m coming
Consoling herMatthew let her sleep for a while before waking her to eat.“Baby, wake up and eat,” he said gently.To this, she shuffled and refused to get up, “I am sleeping,” she answered.“Lunch is here, baby,” he announced, a smile playing on his lips as she stirred.Emerald blinked up at him, her eyes momentarily clouded with sleep before clearing as she sat up, stretching her arms above her head. “Mmm, what did you order?”Matthew’s smile widened as he brandished the containers of Thai takeout. “Your favorite.”“How did you know it is my favorite?” she asked suspiciously. She did not recall ever telling him. “I know everything,” he joked.A small grin tugged at the corners of Emerald’s lips as she threw him a stubborn side glance with pouty lips. He took a seat next to her and prepared to eat.As they dug into their meal, Emerald’s phone buzzed with an incoming call. She glanced at the screen, a flicker of surprise crossing her features before she answered. “Hello?”The voice o
June Stoneheart.June had not just been rejected, she had been rejected in the worst possible way. Mason had rejected her so loudly, that the entire clan heard him. His voice echoed so far that her eyes rounded out in shock. He had used resonance to reject her?This was a skill most wolves used to echo their growl across their territory. Did he not know that by doing this, he was slapping her in the face? The next moment, her Aunt Helga barged into the room and stood between the two of them. She noticed that Aunt Lila stood at the doorway of the now opened door.“We have just had a happy event and would like some time alone as family. Please clan head leave,” Aunt Lila said.They both had a cold face. It was as though Mason suddenly realized the gravity of what he had done. He was the clan head, but the Stonehearts had lived in the clan longer than his family had.He had used resonance to reject her, truly hoping to embarrass her. He had always known she liked him and when she aske
The StrangerWhen the stranger heard her words, he looked down at himself.“Like this?” he asked and she paused. She was not stupid. Just because he was injured did not mean he was not dangerous.“Were you not just rejected? Now you are going to rush over to tell him about an intruder that will be gone by the time you bring people. How will you look?” he asked and she raised a brow.“You were here for a long time?” she asked, sitting on her bed. She could tell this man had a lot of energy and the injury meant nothing. If he wanted, he could snap her neck in seconds if she made the wrong move.She was not sure why, but she felt him emit an energy. It was so strong, she could almost see it. Was this an effect of being a white wolf?The moment she thought that, she panicked and reached for her head and only sighs in relief when she noticed that her hair was still securely wrapped away.He noticed her actions and wondered what she was so afraid of? Was her scarf coming off an issue? It w
Making PreparationsThe room was tense. Helga and Lila looked at those there as the next person spoke.“Important things happened tonight; June just came of age and was publicly rejected by the clan head. It could only be one of the two,” the old man asked with a frown.“It is both,” Lila said, stepping forward.“We have not come by our will, but the will of the Young Lady,” Helga said and the room became tense.They were both June's blood related Aunts and also her guide so calling her “the young lady” meant this was official.“And, what does the young lady want?” Carson asked.“We are leaving the Woodland Pack,” Lila answered and they frowned.“Why?” The old lady asked.“It can’t be that the young lady is embarrassed because of…” a young man said. He was the youngest of those there and looked to be no older than twenty three.“Master Seth!” the old lady scolded.“The young lady is not that muddle headed, Master Seth,” Lila answered.“She had her coming of age today and the progressi
The BetrayalMason looked straight at her at this moment.“Yes,” Mason answered.“I see,” June said and started walking towards the slab. This made Lilac and Mason frown. They wondered what she wanted to do.“June, we can talk about this later,” Lilac stepped forward to grab June before she reached the stone, but Aunt Helga blocked her path.“Do not touch her,” she said and June walked till she was standing by the stone. She found her family name and took out the token given to her by her father. It was the insignia of the right hand and it was made of iron wood. In one swipe, she crossed and scraped her family name off the stone. It was done in such a way that all the letters are gone.“The stonehearts are leaving the clan, Clan Head,” she said and Mason froze. Before he could react, June stepped back.“What sort of tantrum is this? Where would you go? Don’t you know that your aunts are old?” Mason said. He could not believe she was acting childish at such a time.“Who said I am go
Found“June, You are betraying me,” Mason said dangerously.“Mason, do you remember what I have told you since you were a child?” Aunt Helga finally spoke.“June can only stay where her needs will be put first, that is why your father has taught you to always take care of June,” she said.“Are you saying I am not?” Mason asked, “This is a betrayal. A hunt is the only way out.”Mason turned cold. He had made his decision.“You should think clearly Mason. Your ancestors gave us this,” Aunt Helga pulled out a scroll made of animal skin.“It is a blood pact. If you restrict us from leaving, we will use it,” Aunt Helga said and Mason chuckled lightly.“Fine. Leave. From this day forward, you are all no more of our clan,” he said and June turned and walked away.The moment they left, he nodded to a shadow guard. He was not going to let this disrespect go.Her heart was completely dead at this point. She could not even muster a tear.Back in June’s home, the man waited for them to return. Hi
To find Bertha“Jim Jones, right?” James asked, “You have an interesting project here. I never thought someone would use art to gain test numbers this way.” James complimented. He was genuinely impressed.“Thank you,” Jim answered, “We are to begin with a gaming company with very little achievements. This technology we created is a hot cake in our hands and we don’t have the ability to test it to our full capacity. But what we know how to do is draw a crowd.”“The artist, Bertha G, are people going to pay attention if she joined the project?” James asked and Michael glanced at him for a second. He knew that James could not hold himself back from asking about Bertha. He knew it was going to come up one way or another.“The beloved character Evelyn in the book Heavenly Fist is an artist. The way her art is described bears a deep resemblance to Bertha G’s art. It comes up a lot within the fandom and the author of the book admitted to me that the art described in her book was inspired by