The cool nighttime breeze was replaced with warm gusts of spring wind, carrying the scent of flowers and something sweet. The speckling of stars that danced across the sky vanished, leaving a bright sun and two faded moons in its wake. Sunlight danced through the clearing I stood in, peering through the trees that seemed much larger in this world. The trees were full of leaves, all varying shapes and sizes. The leaves were a bright emerald that drew my full attention. These trees were nothing like the ones back home. All of the colors here were brighter, like someone placed a filter over the world.
The tugging in my stomach had finally stopped, and it took me a minute to realize what I had done. Portals were tricky, never staying in one place for too long. Liam had tracked portal openings all over the country by pinpointing the random attacks, each one more different than the next. One would open on the East coast, only to close and end up in Alaska three years later. There w
I stumbled to my feet and pushed myself forward, running through the woods as fast as I could manage. The sound of birds chirping helped calm my ragged nerves. I looked at the trees and their big leaves, noting how the color seemed dull compared to the Fae realm. At least nothing here would try to eat me, I told myself. Breathing against the burning in my legs, I called out to Tyra and Dustin.'You there guys?' I reached out to the two of them, sighing in relief when I felt the mind-link connect.'Rae?' Tyra's voice filled my mind, followed by a frantic Dustin. 'Where the fuck have you been?''It's been two days, Rae.' Dustin snapped, worry clear in his voice. 'You couldn't just let us know you were okay?''Get Atlas and Duke, meet me at the house. I'll explain then.' I hissed through the mind-link, ending it as I continued running.My mind was in shambles, trying to process how I had been gone for two days. Two entire days. That would make it Mond
By the time I emerged from my bedroom, both Duke and Atlas had left. Even though it was the middle of the day, exhaustion was beginning to creep up on me. I blamed it on my sudden disappearance, and the fact that I had lost nearly two days in the span of half an hour. The bout of exhaustion could've also been caused by the horrifying creature that had chased me far from the Fae realm. Either way, my heavy eyelids were begging for a break and I was more than happy to oblige.After letting Tyra and Dustin know about Liam's immediate visit, I grabbed a quick snack and headed back upstairs. While I knew Liam visiting would add more tension to the situation, I couldn't help but hope Nicki would tag along with him. Kris had been busy learning the duties of Beta from his Dad, but I still hoped he would tag along as well. I chuckled to myself as I imagined Liam trying to refuse her. Nicki would blow a gasket if she found out Liam ran off to Atlas's pack without her. Dustin seemed ela
My head was splitting. Cracked open, exposed like a nerve as I desperately wracked my damaged memory for something familiar, for something that made sense.It felt like I was scanning old photographs, some blurry and unfocused while others were crisp. Some had a strange film over them, too shiny--to accurate.I still remembered the night I lost my memory, the night I hit my head. Dad and I had gone camping, as we had many times before. I could remember the taste of smoke wafting from the campfire, the sharp scent of damp leaves and dirt. I could even remember the brilliant moon, just a small sliver in the sky. I remembered the scent of a wet animal as the large grizzly bear stepped into the small clearing with my Dad and I. I remembered how it stood on its hind legs, its beady little eyes staring us down. How silly the bear must have felt, I remembered thinking countless times. It had thought we were the prey, that we were weak, defenseless humans. It didn't know my Da
It was then my legs allowed me to move, but instead of walking deeper into the forest like I planned, I stepped into Atlas's backyard. I figured it was the least I could do to give him a good chase, to lead him in circles for half the night before finally retiring back to bed, but my legs had other plans. I hoped the lingering darkness would shield the horrendous blush that stained my face.Atlas was down the stairs before I could blink, standing in front of me with those unwavering crystal-clear eyes of his. I couldn't name another time I had seen those eyes, had seen eyes so blue and so light. They were completely unique to him, an oddity that no one else seemed to possess."Eavesdropping doesn't seem like your style." Atlas smirked, his full lips lifting at the corners."It's not, and I wasn't eavesdropping." I found my voice, and nearly growled at the lack of hostility in it. My head knew how I felt about Atlas, but my heart seemed slow on the update. "It's
I stood inside of my old house, years before we had ever decided to leave. It was a year after my Dad had died, making me nine years old. The deep navy sofa was still old and lumpy, but newer than I remembered seeing it. There were no lipstick stains from Alyssa and I, or small tears from the time I brought a stray kitten home. My nine-year-old self sat on the couch, bare toes almost reaching the floor. I had a bowl of popcorn in my hands, smiling at the television as some colorful movie played. Dim light from the moon peered through the sheer curtains in the living room. While I recognized this as one of mine and Mom's frequent movie nights, I had no recollection of this particular memory.Mom came downstairs, and my breath hitched as I ran my eyes over her smiling face. She was so close, close enough to touch and yet I couldn't bring myself to move. I traced every line and curve with my eyes, committing her face to memory. Her kind eyes and wide smile, the way she'd always
"Good morning, kitten." Atlas spoke from where he stood across the room. Leaning against the wall with his muscular arms crossed, Atlas stared at me with those unwavering crystal eyes. "Now, would you like to tell me what the hell happened to you?"I had just a few seconds to decide if I wanted to say anything. I wasn't exactly sure what happened to me. All I knew was I was being haunted by memories I had somehow forgotten. None of it made sense. Not the memories, nor the snippets of information I learned from them.I ran my eyes over Atlas's form, and noticed the dark circles that lined his eyes. His hair was a mess, platinum blonde strands sticking up around his head. His clothes were crumpled and messy. Judging from the light pouring in through the window, I had missed another day of training. Atlas's scent, thick and alluring, lingered in every corner of the room. I stiffened on sight as I realized whose bed, I had slept in. Atlas had brought me inside his house, p
"So, seems like you and a certain Alpha are on speaking terms." Nicki cooed; a manicured eyebrow raised in my direction.“Working together would be impossible if we didn’t speak.” I snorted, ignoring her teasing tone.I had too much on my mind to even begin sorting through my messed-up situation with Atlas. As for accepting his rejection, I no longer knew what to do. He'd continue to pursue me no matter what, he’d continue to torment me and test my limits. The last thing I wanted to do was think over my conflicted and somewhat nonexistent feelings for Atlas. I still needed to make some sense of those memories, using the small snippets of conversation I managed to hear. Clearly my Mom hid something from me, something huge. Part of me was somewhat angry, but my Mom didn't have a cruel bone in her body. If she hid something like this from me, it was because she thought it best. Now that the memories were flooding back, I couldn't ignore them. No ma
"You smell good, kitten." Atlas murmured, "Maybe you should shower here more often."“Please, I’m perfectly happy with my own shampoo and conditioner.” I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him.“Mm, I don’t know. Theres something appealing about having you smell like me.” Atlas chuckled, against my ear.I whipped around to face him and gasped when his rough fingers grabbed the hem of my skirt. I had felt the rough pads of his fingers scrape against my thigh. Judging from the heat in Atlas’s eyes, he had noticed the same thing.“Nice skirt.” He said huskily, giving the hem a gentle tug before letting go. “Looks like my money was well spent.”My heart thundered in my chest and I felt my face heat from his words. As Liam and Dustin narrowed their eyes in Atlas's direction, I managed to step off to the side. I sent Atlas an exasperated glare of my own, though my face had yet to cool down.