“Relax,” I said to Samantha as I parked the truck in front of the packhouse. We’d be having dinner in our private dining room with just the family, meaning, Archer, Kat, Mac, Connor, Sandra and Jett. “I’m suddenly very nervous, what if they don’t like me?” she asked and I laughed. “They’ll love you,” I said as I climbed out and then opened the door for her. She took my hand and I led her up the patio steps and into the packhouse. Damon had asked the clowder not to crowd the house that night since I’d be bringing a human to dinner. The house was quiet and empty and I smiled as Samantha looked around. “Wow,” she said as I led her up the stairs. “Everyone’s waiting in the dining room,” I said to her as I started off down the hall to our private quarters on the top floor. “I’m ready,” she said as she took a deep breath and I opened the dining room doors. “Hey everyone, this is Samantha,” I said as everyone’s heads turned to us and we were met with instant silence. “Hi,” Sam said fr
I didn’t hear from Sam for the rest of that weekend but I also didn’t reach out to her. She had heard everything, it was her move now. Even though it was unfair to even think about it she had a choice to make and I’d never given her any reason to doubt me.“There’s a party tonight,” Jett said as he sauntered into my bedroom after dinner.“Since when do we go to parties?” I asked him.“Since Beth told me all about how Travis’s parties work,” he said and grinned at me.“Beth talks to you?” I asked him.“Is it that hard to believe?” he asked me.“What does Beth say?” I asked.“Beth has a lot to say. The party starts out normally, then a girl gets chosen at the party, her drink is spiked and she’s taken downstairs by a group, always the same group, Travis being their leader, the girl’s undressed and raped, they all take turns and they videotape it all,” Jett said.“Doesn’t explain why they all keep quiet,” I said to him.“They take pictures which they show her afterward, it looks bad, lik
Nobody talked about the fire on Monday at school, but the whole atmosphere had shifted. Nobody looked at us in fear anymore and it seemed that for the time being that the preps had entered exile. Nobody greeted them and nobody paid them any attention. It was as if everyone knew what had happened at that party.“What did I miss?” Samantha asked me as she joined me at my locker.“The Travis Morris reign of terror is over,” Jett said and grinned.“How?” she asked with wide eyes.“We burned his barn down,” he said and laughed at the shock on Sam’s face.“Accidentally,” I said and Mac gave me a look.“Yeah, accidentally,” he said.The rest of the day and even the week was the same. Travis and Rosco had no more power at school, even the teachers treated them differently and for once high school became a safe haven once more. We tried harder too, went to class and stayed out of trouble.During the week I only saw Sam at school, for some reason her father didn’t approve of our relationship an
Eight years later ...I kept my eyes closed for a few more seconds as my mind cleared from the fog of sleep and turned on my side as I finally opened them. It was still early, almost five am. I swung my legs over the edge of the mattress and sat on the edge of the bed as I rubbed my hand over my face.I got up and pulled a pair of sweatpants on and pulled the hoodie over my head. Downstairs I made coffee for myself as the dull thud of my headache started throbbing in my temples. I drank to forget, I drank to sleep and not to dream, it worked mostly, but during the day, nothing could stop the memories.The kettle boiled and I was snapped back to reality. I hated how certain memories just popped up and took me back to a time when life was simpler, easier and a time when I used to be a good person.“I’m going out,” I said loudly, not expecting him to answer me, he never did.Every morning at five am I went out into the surrounding wilderness that was my backyard. I lived in a house on th
I showered and dressed in black. I liked wearing black while hunting, it gave the whole purpose of imminent death an eerie feeling. I stepped outside into the dark of the night and looked up at the sliver of the moon hanging in the sky.“Potestatiuo solis et luna,” I whispered as I closed my eyes and envisioned the heat of the sun and the rays of the moon.“Tellus,” I said as I knelt down and grabbed a handful of earth.“Venti,” I said as I scattered the earth around me and watched as the wind picked up.“Aque,” I said as I opened the water bottle and drippled the water of the earth.“Ignis,” I said as I lit the match and watched the flame flicker before dying out.“Aperta portal,” I said as I closed my eyes and felt the pull of the realms and the portal opened before me. I stepped through it onto the darkened streets of London’s warehouse district.It was three am and I adjusted my watch accordingly as I turned around and started walking to Ashfield Road. It was dark and quiet and my
“Why are you here Jett?” I asked him as he pulled a pair of shorts on.“I was in the neighbourhood,” he shrugged.“Sure you were, you staying for dinner?” I asked him.“Obviously, and Griff, don’t call me fat again,” he said as he sucked in his stomach and I laughed.“Come on,” I said as I led him back towards the house.Kane lifted his head as I opened the front door and glanced at Jett, not showing the slightest hint if he was happy to see him or not. Jett followed me inside and looked around and I wondered how he had found me in the first place.“There’s beer in the fridge,” I said to him as he turned back towards me.“I like what you’ve done with the place,” he said as he walked through to the kitchen and I heard the fridge open. “You want one too?”“Sure,” I said and I heard him uncap the two bottles.“How’s he doing?” Jett asked me as his eyes flitted to where Kane was in the living room.“Still not talking to me,” I said to him.“He’ll come around, so what’s new, brother?” he a
I carried the woman back to my house as Kane followed me. I laid her down on the bed that Jett had occupied the previous night and Kane sniffed her gingerly as I pushed her wet hair out of her face. Her lips had a blueish tinge to them and I hated invading her personal space like this but I had to.I stripped off her wet clothes as Kane watched and pulled a pair of my sweatpants and a t-shirt on over her naked body. She had plenty of cuts and bruises all over but nothing that looked life threatening. I turned the heating up in her room and covered her with a fur blanket and tucked it down around her.“Will she live?” Kane asked me as I stood up.“I think so,” I said to him.“Stop staring pervert, it’s just a girl,” Kane said as he walked out of the room and I followed him down the stairs as he headed for the living room.“She smells odd,” I said to him.“What’s for dinner?” he asked me as he made himself comfortable on the couch facing the television.“Are you talking to me now?” I as
Sierra was asleep on the couch with her head resting on Kane, he gave me a begrudging look when I walked in through the front door and I couldn’t help but laugh. He wasn’t impressed with me at all. I carried all the bags inside and she woke up after a while from the noise.“You’re back,” she said as she joined me in the kitchen.“You were asleep when I left, didn’t want to wake you,” I said.“The cat kept me company,” she said and Kane growled low enough so only I could hear him.“He has a name, Kane. I got you these,” I said and handed her the bag from the pharmacy.“Thank you,” she said.“No problem, the sooner you’re better the sooner you can leave,” I said and Kane laughed at me.“Wow, you weren’t joking when you said you don’t like people,” she said.“I have work to do, your presence interferes with that,” I said as I started packing things away.“I’ll be the perfect house guest, I promise,” she said and poured herself a glass of water to drink her pills.“Dinner’s around six or
“Wake up Samantha,” I said as I sat on one of the chairs that I had pulled up close to the bed.“Griffin?” she asked questioningly as she rubbed her eyes and sat up groggily, “what’s going on?”“Why did you do it?” I asked her.“Do what?”“Why did you betray me?” I asked.“I didn’t, what are you talking about?” she asked me.“You knew that attack was happening, you gave your father information about me, about my family,” I said.“Griffin….” she said.“Where is it?” I asked her.“Where’s what?” she asked me looking somewhat afraid now.“Your hunter’s mark,” I said and her eyes widened just a fraction. It was so sudden that I almost missed it.“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said as her eyes darted to the door.“You smell different, I didn’t want to believe it at first, but Kane was right, I can smell it now,” I said to her.She darted up from the bed and pulled the door open to find Kane standing there growling at her. I stood up as she backed away and pushed her back tow
I found Kane sitting near the jetty looking out over the lake. He seemed lost in thought and he hadn’t been in the house all day. I had brought his dinner with me because now I was worried. It wasn’t like Kane to act like this.“What’s up with you, big guy?” I asked him as I placed the container down in front of him.“Nothing,” he said and gobbled his food up.“What are you doing out here?” I asked him.“Waiting,” he said.“Waiting for what?” I asked.“Something,” he said.“I’m starting to worry about you, Kane,” I said and he looked at me.“I don’t know how to explain it. Something’s off, I don’t know what, something’s not right with Samantha,” he said.“What do you mean?”“Her scent’s different, she smells like them,” he said.“Them who?”“Hunters,” he said and looked back towards the lake.“I pulled her from a warehouse crawling with them,” I said.“No, her scent’s changed Griffin, how can you not smell it? She’s been here for a whole day and she still smells different,” he said.I
Samantha had fainted in my arms and I was now sitting on the couch watching her sleep after I had gotten us out of that building and safely through the portal. I still couldn’t believe that I was looking at her.The sun would rise soon yet I wasn’t as tired as I should be. I guess the shock of finding her was enough to keep me wide awake. She lay there peacefully while an inner turmoil waged war inside me. Kane had returned an hour ago and so far he’d only been staring at her intently.“Is this real?” Kane asked me after a moment.“I don’t know,” I said to him.She stirred slightly and I sat watching her wake up. It was like I knew every stretch of her muscles, every groan as her senses awakened, the way her eyelids flickered lightly before opening, the smile tugging on the sides of her lips.“Griff…. Griffin?” she said questioningly as she sat up blinking a few times.“All these years I thought you were dead,” I said to her.“I can’t believe you’re here,” she whispered looking at me
I kept my eyes closed for a few more seconds as my mind cleared from the fog of sleep and I swung my legs over the edge of the bed as I rubbed my face with my hands. The air was chilly but it didn’t bother me. I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost five am.I got dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie and made my way downstairs to the kitchen. I made coffee for myself and swallowed the aftertaste of scotch away. There was a dull headache thumping at the back of my head and I wondered how much I drank last night.Kane didn’t stir from his spot as I finished my coffee and slapped him on his ribs. He growled at me but said nothing, it wasn’t really unusual, he liked to ignore me. I left the front door open and started jogging to the other side of the house and into the trees.I didn’t really feel like jogging but I knew that I had to get the alcohol out of my system otherwise I’d be useless for the rest of the day and I had plenty to do. The run cleared my head and by the time I go
I don’t know how long I sat on the ground with Sierra’s body clasped against mine, willing her to live, trying to warm up her ice cold skin. Kane had left at one point and when he returned it was with Jett following him.“Griffin,” he whispered.I couldn’t look at him, I couldn’t even breathe properly. My head snapped up as Jett’s hands touched her and I wanted to rip his arms off for daring to come close to her. His hand landed on my shoulder instead but I couldn’t focus on his voice.“Shit Griff,” he said and I looked up as I saw tears in his eyes.“She’s gone,” I whispered.“I know Griff, I’m sorry brother, I’m so sorry,” he said.“Just leave me alone,” I said and lowered my head to hers again.“Griff you need to come home, bring her home so we can lay her to rest properly,” he said. He reached out for her again and I pulled her back against me.“Don’t touch her,” I said and he stood up and took a step backwards with his hands in the air.I stood up with his help and kept her close
I woke up on the floor of my bedroom, alone. It was dark and quiet and I groaned as I rolled onto my back. Sierra’s scent was fading and the choking feeling of pain gripped me again. She had left me, she had really left me. How had I missed our wedding?She would never forgive me or take me back now, all this for my revenge. It could’ve waited, I could’ve killed them later, after the wedding but like every other time in my life, that bloodlust took over and I just had to kill them.“Kane,” I murmured.“I’m here,” he said sounding dejected.“She left,” I said.We could both feel her pain, it would continue until I accepted her rejection. She was heartbroken and it was killing me slowly. Chester’s words were also still with me, Samantha’s abortion, locked in a cage for three years. She had wanted to tell me everything.I had killed her out of rage when she was forced to betray me. I didn’t want to believe him but I did. She had betrayed me but not that first time, only after being subje
“How did you figure it out?” Chester asked me.He was strapped to the stainless steel table and he knew that death would come for him soon, he just didn’t realize what I was going to do to him before he died.“Someone sent me a text, telling me where to find that original agreement that you kept in your safe,” I said to him.“Who?” he asked me.“I don’t know Chester, I don’t really care, once I had that agreement, the rest was fairly easy,” I told him.“It would’ve gone the same way, your father just beat you to it,” he said.“That was the biggest mistake of your life, you should’ve known I’d come after you for this,” I said.“That’s why I had Rosco, he was supposed to shoot you in the head,” he said.“Why do you want me dead so badly?” I asked him.“It all started with that hunter treaty, I gave them information and they took out my enemies too, you messed all that up,” he said to me.“How? You won that case, you got the treaty,” I said to him.“Samantha Cartwright, her father was li
I took a knife from the block in the kitchen and walked slowly upstairs and stopped at the first guest room. Kevin and Phil were sharing the double bed with a pillow placed between them. Phil was snoring and they were both lying on their backs.I walked right up to Kevin, one floorboard creaking but they didn’t even move in their sleep. I watched him for a few minutes as he lay there peacefully, not knowing that they willingly came with me to their deaths.I slit his throat quietly and had my over his mouth and nose to minimize the noises he’d make as he struggled for air. He never even opened his eyes, the cut had severed the arteries and not just nicked them.I removed my hand when I heard his heart stop and I stuck the knife deep into his chest, leaving it there. Kane was already on the bed when I closed the door behind me and took a shower to wash the blood off. Some of it had sprayed onto my face and my hand was covered as well.I slept peacefully that night and I was awake but s
“Kane,” I spoke in his mind the moment I ported back into the house, “computer room.”“Is that an order, Alpha?” he asked me and yawned.“Trust me, you want in on this,” I said to him.Kane didn’t answer me but I knew he’d meet me. He was loyal when it mattered and only gave me shit about things that didn’t matter. When it came down to it, Kane always had my back and I wanted him with me when I did this.“I’m here, what’s the emergency,” he asked me.“The Council has asked for our protection and we’re going to take them to a safe location,” I said to him.“You woke me up for babysitting duty?” he growled at me.“We’re babysitting the men responsible for Damon’s death,” I said to him.“What the fuck Griffin…. oh, I get it,” he said as realization dawned on him.“I’m not an idiot, Kane,” I said to him.“Debatable, how did you manage this one?” he asked me.“Seems Grant was murdered in his office and now they’re running scared,” I said.“And who killed Grant?” he asked me flicking his ta