"I...think it should be good news to everyone, sir." I answered, treading carefully with how I addressed him. I could feel everyone's eyes on me and it was making me self-conscious as I stood there, keeping my expression schooled. I felt like I had possibly blurted out something that offended the Alpha, but it was kind of tough shit considering he had bluntly brushed me off just the previous morning. I kept that in mind as I kept talking. A frown fitting on my lips. "Of course, I'm happy he's awake, not only is he your Beta, but he saved my life and Timmy's remember?" I answered him with my chin held high, not backing away from his public displeasure. A few murmurs of agreement went through the crowd, before a man I faintly recognized as the same one who complimented me the other day came forward. "I have to agree with the girly, I think we all miss your sidekick! He's always in a good mood and gives me snacks, ya know?" He laughed, and the tension deflated from the air. A few mo
"Miqella, what are you talking about?!" I whispered back, as harshly as I could. The sound of leaves was almost roaring now, and I squinted up at him from beneath the turbulent wind. I could barely see in the blanket of night, but I heard the hiss melt away into a rough timber."You're getting awfully fond of calling me by my Beta's names. First Brandon, now Miqella? Now, answer me. Why did you run off? The forest isn't safe, you should have stayed with the others at camp." ... What? What was going on?That wasn't Miqella's voice. As I stared into the eyes that undoubtedly belonged to Miqella, cold fear shivered inside my stomach. He wasn't making any sense. I squirmed in the warm hold, perplexity rampant inside my head. "What are you talking about, Miqella? Everyone else is right..." I whipped my head around to show him, but everyone I had been traveling with was gone. I sat there for a moment, trying to spot them or catch their scent. But I realized then that the entire walk h
"I..." My tongue fell flat as I hesitated to describe what I was seeing. Honestly, I thought of possibly shutting up altogether. But as Morax touched the small of my back, I sucked up my courage. I didn't want to come off as crazy or delusional, but my eyes weren't deceiving me. That little light was still dancing on my brother's shoulder. But I had no idea what it was. Still, I could sense energy about it. The scent that flowed from the red embers told me that it was alive. It twirled around like it was dancing. A petal in a world that couldn't be seen by the naked eye. "... You're going to think I'm crazy, but there's a red light. It's sitting on Elijah's shoulder right now, I saw it earlier too. It was in the forest before I started hallucinating that we left." I knew I sounded insane, even as the words left my lips. But as I turned to peek at my unclaimed mate, he wasn't looking at me with judgment. His handsome face was scrunched in thought as if he was racking his brain. El
My hands felt wrong as they defiled someone's resting place. Apprehension in my nerve endings while I helped Morax dig into the dirt. It was significantly easier with my claws extended. Still, as I dug deep enough to see a faint blue light break the earth, my heart raced a mile a minute. Any minute now, we'd gain another artifact. But I didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. Especially since I still wasn't sure what he wanted them for. But as I glanced up at Morax anxiously, he looked beyond pleased. His eyes were full of anticipation. He didn't seem to mind the inhumane act we were committing at all. In fact, there were dark shadows dancing in his eyes in the pale moonlight. His rugged curls dipped down to showcase the gleam in them. While he was unholy in his gorgeous features, I wondered if that unnerving beauty hid anything else I should be wary of. I paused, just as my nails touched the rough edge of the artifact. "...Hey, Morax?" I faltered, staring down into the e
Coming home should have been rewarding, welcoming even. But as I stood there, why did I feel like I was lost in the background? I watched as the celebrations took place, as the villagers gathered around in rowdy crowds of excitement at our victory and safe return. Alpha Morax held up the relic for all of them to see. Food and drink were given among the masses, laughter filling the air. Wood that was being used to rebuild cottages from the fire had been repurposed as dance floors, and I had never seen the Aconite Clan so lively. So why, even though I was a key part of our almost unblemished victory, was I standing off to the side? While they all celebrated… her. I watched as Angelica took the center of the field, surrounded by people who were shocked and delighted to see she was still alive and well. Her hair was laced with flowers and threaded like silken rope throughout her strands. While I couldn’t fault them for being happy, what stung the most was that Morax was standing tall
I wasn't sure if Morax had told anyone, or if Miqella was just some sort of undercover genius, but as my eyes locked with his, I was stunned. Morax only seemed to treat me like his mate when he wanted to, the elephant in the room almost completely ignored unless he was too close. I noticed it was in those times that he slipped up, and I couldn’t help but feel like he didn’t want the bond at all.Did Miqella know that too?"...Yeah, I am."I saw the way his eyes dropped down to my exposed shoulder, the work of my slipover shoulder cardigan. I knew what he was looking for.Quickly, I averted my gaze. I felt self-conscious under Miqella’s watchful stare, ashamed. "But he hasn't claimed me yet. I don't know if he even wants to." I admitted after a moment, surprised by how easily my worries fled from my mouth in the catty boy's presence.His long black hair tumbled to the side when he cocked his head. “Is he not what you expected?”What I expected? How could I answer that? On one hand, I t
I reached out to touch her, but Miqella’s hand held mine. He was seizing it in mid-air as my watery gaze landed on his somber face. My limbs were heavy and rigid like a statue, my digits locked inside his palm.“You can’t touch her, you’ll contaminate the evidence.” He said the words heavily, and they sat in my mind, drenching it with sorrow. She wasn’t a person anymore. She was just evidence. The leftovers of someone’s crime.Though, I knew who did it. My mind just didn’t want to believe it. I wanted to jump to improbable scenarios of someone coming through the window and hurting her, to somehow explain Brandon’s absence. But my nose didn’t lie.Even if my thoughts did.“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my hand shaking when Miqella’s cold touch released my palm. It fell limp to my side.“I…should have believed you and Morax, I… trusted him, I never thought…” My thoughts were getting hard to communicate. Everything was racing a mile a minute. My regrets, my frustrations, and everything from t
"So, what did you want with me?" I asked, letting the power flow into my hands again. He seemed surprised to see me wielding it so confidently, but I wasn't fazed at the apparent wonder on his visage. I didn't know what his game was. Or what he was thinking. But as Morax and I stood on one side of the field across from each other, circling, anger pricked at my stomach. Timmy was gone already, by the behest of the Alpha to go grab some food for the picnic. And Miqella had also vanished at the Alpha's orders. It was just the two of us, alone. But unlike before, it didn't bring me much happiness. There was no mistaking the animalistic pull I still felt towards him, but by this point, it was just a hindrance. Sure, Alpha Morax was powerful, beautiful, and charming--but he was also clearly emotionally incompetent. Frankly, I wasn't sure if my feelings for him were real or a side effect of the bond anymore. "I told you, today you're training with me." He replied, short and to the p
The tension in the clearing broke, and suddenly laughter seemed to rejoin the pack. It was odd, how easily Elijah drained the tense atmosphere, his bumbling even making the rouges slacken in their intensity. I noticed the fiery girl from before look at him, rolling her eyes before she smirked. After that, everything seemed to go off without a hitch. We gave them their housing, went over the rules, even though some were moved to separate settlements it ended as a standard procedure. It was like our village hadn't been torched, like packs weren't dying to protect the relics. For a moment, it felt...normal. Like my life had always been here. But I knew the minute the four of us were alone, that peace would shatter. If not by whatever they had to tell me, but by what I had to say. I watched impatiently as the crowd slowly dispersed, that weird fog churning in my chest again. It felt like a vice. Something I couldn't shake. What was it?Anxiety? Pain? Something else entirely…?"...Hm.
“I gotcha now, Missy Robin!” Laughter played in the air around me, and I was stunned as my world came back into focus. A fog retreating when a scamper of footsteps broke through. “…What?” I gasped. The kick came for my mid-section and I barely managed to step out of the way in time. I was watching as Timmy charged at me with all his tiny might. I saw a flurry of red locks and a triumphant grin before I shot out my hand to catch his ankle. So frail in my hands, he was like a baby jumping on its momma. Full of effort with no dexterity. “Hey, what’a gives! I had you!” Timmy’s grin fell into a pout, and I shrugged. “No, you thought you had me.” My leg swept out to kick his out from under him and the boy fell with an overzealous oof. He lay on the ground, groaning about my ‘cheap’ tricks. He was defeated for the umpteenth time. “This…a’, isn’t fair!” He was huffing and puffing when I leaned down to pat his head. Honestly, at this point, I wasn’t even trying. My mind was scattered,
Elijah Pov. “You mind tellin’ me what the hell is going on now?” Malika shot me a look from the other side of her father’s shoulders, but honestly, I was as freakin’ clueless as she was. I gave her a half-assed shrug, looking back at Morax. The dude was stopped dead in the center of the alley looking like someone slapped his mother. I could feel his aura spilling out, and it brought back memories of pain pretty damn quickly. I think it was safe to assume whoever he ran into wasn’t a buddy of ours. “I’m not sure, but stay here. I’ll get a closer look.” I promised, gently handing her father over to her the rest of the way. She heaved slightly under his weight, but once she was settled she gave me the go-ahead. I could see from where I was that there were people on the other side of the alley. There was a red-headed chick I’d never seen before and my comrades. But that wasn’t what had Morax’s attention. So I stepped closer, sniffing the air. I paused right when the city lights hit th
Morax Pov. ‘Stay true to your position and stay out of sight. I’m on my way. Be safe.’ I sent out the signal, running as fast as my body would let me. Red fur blazed the trail ahead of me, blood matting both our coats while our paws thudded over the ground. The air was thick with tension tonight, a sense of gravity that tugged at our limbs while we broke the shackles. Just three more. It was so close I could taste it. ‘Are you sure we should be throwing another assault after our last two…? Can we really keep going for so long without rest?’ Green eyes pierced the darkness, and I followed Escha sharply around a corner. ‘Elijah knows where the Copse Alpha is, and as for Zander…well, it appears we don’t have to do anything at all.’ ‘How is that poss—ah…wait, Miqella?’ She said his name with understanding. ‘If anyone can deliver, it’s him.’ I echoed back, and I knew she wouldn’t respond. It went without saying that I trusted him never to fail; he was as stubborn as he was loyal. L
Elijah Pov. No matter how long we waited, he didn’t budge. Seconds turned to minutes while I scrambled to figure out what I was supposed to do. Normal people would just open the door, right? But I wasn’t supposed to be here. Shit, shit, shit…! "Malika!" My father's voice boomed from the other side, and this time we both flinched. I could hear how hard his knuckles rapped against the shabby wood and I was consciously aware it could fall off any second. Horror images about how it had simply teetered off earlier flashed in my mind every time his hand touched the door. The mental image sucked, freezing my limbs in place. I tore my gaze from the window to Malika's face. Somehow her shocked expression annoyed me. "I thought this place was a secret," I accused, whispering as low as possible. Not being able to mind link with her sucked right now, but I could only hope he didn't hear me. He was still knocking away though, insistent. "I didn't tell him where I lived," She mouthed, her
Elijah Pov. “Here, we can talk more in private.” The door creaked open, damn near falling off its hinges despite the gentle push Zuri gave. "This is your, um, house?" I questioned at length, staring at the rundown building. It looked out of place in a city alive with technology. Tall buildings could be seen right outside of the alley, but here we were in front of a dingy, unlit shack. A part of me didn't want to ask about it, but when the wood teetered like a frail old man just from being touched, yeah, I had some concerns. I didn't want to offend her but I also didn't really want to die either. Zuri looked back at me over her shoulder scowling, “I said we were going to my place, didn’t I?” Her tone was laid back and drawled, but her eyes were like pin needles and fire. They told me to go kick rocks. I laughed, putting my hands up in surrender. “You did, but I just didn’t expect it to look like this…” I admitted slowly and her gaze only grew harsher. “You ca
Elijah Pov."So, are the rumors true or not?" Zuri's voice settled in the air, collecting dust on the table while I tried to find my voice. I didn't wanna admit it, but when Miqella exchanged a look with me, I knew this shit was real. Everything this stranger was saying about Robin, all the messed up "deals" laid out by my sperm donor, the horror of it all, was all true. She caught us up on all the daily chatter, even explaining who or what exactly my sister was. According to the rumors swept up by my father, he claimed Robin was the offspring of the previous Goddess Harbinger. That part I knew was true, but he claimed that for some reason, her blood was special...unlike mine.Was it because I was a guy? I had no clue.But. he swore up and down, she was a partial reincarnation of the moon Goddess. The rumors spread like wildfire in the city, everyone talking about her mark. Because of it, he was growing a hell of a following. I guess, not many people would turn down the opp
My knees hit the dirt. My hands lay bare against the soil.Still, I'm unable to move as the blazing glory I had just witnessed vanished into the undisturbed blades of grass. There were no more screams, no more gut-wrenching sounds of blistering flesh. Just cicadas and a thundering pulse in my chest, pushing at the bounds of my mind. I was scared to move despite knowing exactly where I was.The smell in the air was undoubtedly the Aconite Pack territory. I was back.All the air seized from my lungs. My fingers trembled as I clutched at the grass, trying to catch my breath. The harbinger mark was still searing into my flesh. It felt like a hot brand of iron tearing through my skin, but it was nothing compared to the ache in my chest. I was back. But my mom. . . I caught Mrs. Pearl's scent on the wind, along with Angelica's. But I didn't budge an inch, not even when I heard someone kneel beside me.I felt frozen. Like my leg had snapped right along with hers, even though it was
"Are you ready to see this? I can only conjure it once for you, if you back out, there's no going back." Angelica's warning rattled in my ears, and I swallowed back my trepidation. Everything I was sacrificing, lying for, and hiding from built up to this moment. I stared at the milky white palms of Angelica's hands, enraptured in the strange pink energy that seemed to pool straight up into the air from her pores. If I wanted out, this would be my only chance. I knew that. But as I stared at the gravity-defying magic, I couldn't look away. "I'm ready," I affirmed. There was no way I could walk away, not now. I needed to know about my mother, what Elijah never told me--what my father had been hiding. I had never questioned, never even wavered in his teachings. So I knew I could never be my own person until I knew the truth. These were my goals. My aspirations. Not Elijah's, not Morax's. I needed this. "Then, let's explore the past. Shall we?" Her hands lifted, and before I knew