Taelin-The faintest sensation was moving over the side of my face. If it didn’t feel good, I would try brushing it away with my hand. It was like little tingles leaving my skin feeling energized.Still half asleep, I kept my eyes closed to just enjoy it. I wasn’t sure how long I have been asleep yet, but I was afraid if I opened my eyes the feeling would go away. There was also the most alluring scent in the air, which reminded me of Ryker.I was still cuddling the pillow that held his scent, so I figured that was what I was smelling. Feeling completely relaxed, I wanted to just lay in bed for as long as possible. A soft sigh escaped me as I snuggled the pillow closer.“Open your eyes Tae.” I heard Ryker’s voice.Slowly, I opened them, even though my eyelids felt heavy. Then I saw Ryker sitting next to me on my bed, holding a plate of food and his knuckles gently brushing the side of my face. I had to be dreaming, otherwise, I doubt I would be seeing the man I love in my room right n
Taelin-Coming to a light jog as I slowed down, I entered in to a walk before stopping. I guess it wasn’t entirely important that I didn’t know who won. It had been a great race and at least I was able to show him I wasn’t easy to beat.“Did you seriously not use your wolf until that last bit?” Ryker asked incredulously when I turned to where he had stopped.“I trained hard not to rely on my wolf. It was hard to prove I was good enough, despite being a girl, to join the Royal Guard.” I explained.Ryker had a look of surprise on his face, but I didn’t understand why it shocked him so much. Many werewolves didn’t always rely on their wolf. Samantha wasn’t like ordinary wolves, so I hated using her as a means to get where I wanted to be in life.Her strength and speed could rival an Alpha wolf. I on the other hand am nothing special, which means I must work harder to prove myself. It wasn’t like my wolf was better than others, just that she was different.What I mean by different is that
Taelin-Once Carter finished explaining what he needed, he went back to the security room. Turning off the device, I gave my attention to Ryker. “I take it you changed your mind?”“Yeah. Look, I am sorry about last night. I got ahead of myself and thought I knew what was best. I should have trusted your judgment from the start. From here on out you will have complete control over the operation. We can discuss more in the morning about things. Just please be careful out there.” He responded.His expression was stoic, but I could tell by the change in the way his eyes focused on me there was an emotion he didn’t want to reveal. I wasn’t sure if it was because Sara was standing next to us or what. It was good to hear him admit he was wrong though.“I will make sure to look out for her.” Sara chimed in.“I have Ryan on the roof again tonight to help spot you.” Ryan directed to us just as Carter returned with a bag.“If things get too messy out there, try not to worry so much about placing
Taelin-“Come on, let’s move to our next location.” I told Sara. I needed more time to figure out what I was going to say to her. Hoping that by then I could find the right words to help her.Except, when we made it to the next location, I was still at a loss. We kept making our rounds, moving from one location to the next. I kept alert of our surroundings and we both turned our comms on to see if anyone else could spot anything either from the cameras or Ryan.We ended up covering the entire town, with only the woods surrounding the town left. I was beginning to think tonight was going to be a slow night as it was now nearly three hours before the sun would come up. While Sara placed a device at the third location of the tree line, east of where the packhouse was, I kept a lookout.She let out a curse as she struggled to secure the device. A few moments later I get this prickling feeling moving over my exposed flesh. It was like every hair on my body became alert. Something was nearb
Taelin-Knowing he could handle himself, I focused on what we were dealing with. Instead of letting the darts become empty, I shot off one at a time and held my other hand over the tip with a handful of darts ready to be loaded. This allowed me better reload time and faster shots.Before my hand was empty of the darts, I reached into the utility belt that held the darts in every pocket it had. I also had a small pouch, that held an additional fifty darts. With the darts, I would be able to refill them, so it was easier to collect the darts than use up all the ammo in my gun.Finally, the horde started to thin out. Until we were left with just a few more and the wolf. “Shit! I am out of ammo!” Sara yelled.Ryan and Julian took care of the remaining rogues, so I tossed her my belt and the dart gun. It wasn’t like I could use it against the wolf. Plus, I did have a couple of syringes I could use if I could get close enough and find a weak spot.“Stay back and make sure the rogues stay do
Taelin-Dropping the daggers I held, I looked over my shoulder to the building where Ryan and Julian were. Then I looked at Sara who was still standing there as if she was too shocked to move. Moving my attention to Ryker, he looked torn on what to do.I knew if I told them what I was going to do, they would try to stop me. Whereas, if I just did it, there was nothing anyone could do. If they tried to stop me or distract me in the middle of a fight, they more than likely would get me hurt, or worse.Knowing I couldn’t take on a wolf like that in my human form, I called upon my wolf to make sure we were on the same page. “What do you think?”“He is probably strong and can use magic, we would be nuts trying to take him on. If we get bitten or scratched by him, it could mean game over for us.” Samantha voiced out, her mind racing with different scenarios.“He is our mate’s brother and the only one that may prove useful against the curse.” I mentioned, knowing full well she has already co
Taelin-A week has passed since we brought in Adrian, Ryker’s brother. I still haven’t been able to convince Ryker to let me into the basement, so I was trying to come up with a way to sneak down there. I don’t understand why he won’t just let me when I spend every night dealing with them.I did learn a little about Ryker’s brother, from what I could gather from others. Ryker was being closed mouth about him. Everything I have learned is that Adrian came to live with Ryker after he was sixteen.They shared the same father, but not the same mother. Adrian’s mother had been a witch and apparently had thought he would be like her and not like his father. She abandoned him and it wasn’t until later that Adrian started being able to use magic.By that point, Adrian and Ryker became close. Instead of kicking Adrian out, Ryker helped him learn how to control his powers. They all thought he had been killed, even though they never found his body.I found it weird since I didn’t even know it wa
Ryker-“Alpha, I need you down in the lab right away.” Leo’s urgent voice pulled me from a deep sleep.It took me a moment to recognize where I was. I knew I wasn’t in my room, which was strange cause I didn’t remember falling asleep anywhere else. Then I realized I was lying next to someone else.Letting my vision adjust, I looked down at the sleeping figure that was wrapped in my arms. “Tae…” I whispered.Oh yeah, I did come here earlier. I had been upset and exhausted. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep, only to enjoy her company for a bit as I processed what Leo had just told me about my brother. This was the first time, since I don’t know when, that I slept next to a female.We hadn’t even had sex, just slept. Oddly enough it was possibly the first time I felt like I actually slept soundly. Careful not to disturb her, I slowly removed myself from her. Pausing when she made a slight groan in her sleep.She turned over to her side and pulled at the blankets before bunching them up to sn
Taelin-“If we would have known you were going to take this long to join us, we would have just started the party without you.” Theo teased us when we entered the large dining hall, where we were having the party.“Can’t have a birthday party without the birthday boy.” I stuck my tongue out at him as I led R.J into the room.He has been walking on his own for nearly a year now, but I still held his hand because he had a tendency to run off on his own also. Between everyone that lived here and the staff, he could be a handful at times. I blamed his father though because there was no way I had been this wild as a child.My mother disagrees with me, but I will deny it. Laughing to myself, I didn’t get extremely far before my mother pushed through the others to make her way toward R.J. Speak of the devil and she shall arrive.That is the way it has been here lately. Any time I so much as think of my mother, she shows up out of nowhere. I was beginning to think that she had radar detection
Taelin-“What are you thinking about?” Ryker whispered in my ear as he wrapped his arms around me from behind, while I looked over the balcony from our room.From this view, I could look over the town where the Palace resided. There wasn’t much, other than a few houses where the staff of the palace lived. Everyone that lived inside the Palace were warriors and those training to become warriors.I never thought much about the life that everyone that lived here had until I came here, not as a sixteen-year-old girl training to join the Royal Guard, but as the current Alpha King. It was still weird that I was referred to as an Alpha King. I was the first female to take on the role as Alpha, but I felt like the title should remain as it has always been.Placing my hands on his arms, which were embracing my shoulders, I leaned against his broad chest. “I was just thinking back to when I first came here. I still can’t believe that it has been more than five years since I showed up here with
Taelin-When the start of the battle commenced again, I took a deep breath. I might have lied about my lung, but I wasn’t entirely sure. All I knew was I was still capable of fighting, even if I felt like all the air inside of me was being sucked out and my lungs felt like they were on fire.What I told Ryker was true, however, I wasn’t going to last another ten minutes. I either needed to end this now or let him take me out. I had been playing it safe as much as possible. His movements were fast and just one hit from him was enough to knock me on my ass.Running around and dodging him wasn’t doing me any good because every breath I took was painful. The more I tried to get away from him, the more likely I would get injured. Regardless of if I was working with less lung capacity or if I was just winded, I knew it would be a matter of time before I passed out from the exertion.I had felt that the Beta had tried to speak to me telepathically, but I still had my mind blocked from anyone
Ryker-I had been watching the timer and neither had moved for seven minutes. Taelin looked regal in her stance, like she was completely in her element. The Beta had seemed unwavering, until just moments before he made the first move.At first, I thought something was wrong because they both stood out on the field without moving for a long time. The second the Beta made the first move, I held my breath and waited to see what would happen. It wasn’t that I didn’t support my mate in this, but the fear was still there.“About time.” I heard someone say sarcastically from behind me.Without looking, I felt Ryan turn around, more than likely to make a comment to whoever spoke. Reaching my hand out, I placed it on his arm firmly. This was Taelin’s fight and there was no point in anyone trying to talk others out of what they were feeling.“Don’t. Words won’t do any good. Let Taelin show everyone what she is capable of.” I spoke, without taking my eyes off my mate.Ryan sighed and faced forwa
Taelin-I thought I was ready for this, but now that I was standing in the middle of the arena, surrounded by onlookers, I suddenly became nervous. The Beta of all the werewolves still wasn’t here, but I had arrived a little early. After watching the last video of the Beta’s fighting skills, I quickly got ready.I figured if I arrived before anyone else, I would have a chance to get a little time to meditate. Upon arriving though, I saw many others had already arrived. The crowd was a lot larger than I expected it to be.Frank informed me that many people that had been relocated here from safe houses wanted to see if I was capable of becoming the next Alpha. Ryker was standing next to me, wanting to show his support as we waited. The whispers of the crowd were loud, making me wonder if it was done on purpose.“There is no way she can defeat our Beta. She is just a girl. Look at her, she is tiny.” A male voice from the crowd said, his voice a little over a whisper.“She is cute though.
Ryker-Taelin seemed prepared to fight with the Beta, but I wasn’t ready for it one bit. I don’t know what she was thinking by agreeing to let him shift. It wasn’t a sure thing if she could shift or not, but there hasn’t been a she-wolf that could, while pregnant.Wanting to give Taelin a bit of space to get her mind right, I have kept myself busy helping Leo. Today was the day Taelin would be facing the Beta in the arena, but there were still hours before it was scheduled. For the past three days, I have helped him fast-track distribution.We were almost done, but we needed a little more of Taelin’s blood. Since she was getting ready to fight, I wouldn’t allow Leo to take anymore until after. I am sure that if she knew we needed it, she wouldn’t hesitate, which is why I told him to stay away from her.The last thing I wanted was for her to ask how things were going and for him to end up telling her. She was more worried about others than she was about her own self, which was both ann
Taelin-In the last few days, we have only had a few run-ins with rogues. There hadn’t been many, so we were able to cure them and relocate them to the nearest safe house. I also felt much better, and my mind was more clear than it had been.It helped that I managed to do a little meditation. Which, I have also learned that I would more than likely need to continue a daily meditation when able. It not only allowed me to focus and ground myself to what I needed, but I was able to learn to control the intensity of feeling everything I did.It wasn’t perfect and sometimes it could be a little overwhelming, but I managed to get it under control. It helped that Ryker stayed near me. It was like he could sense when I was uneasy. His touch helped calm my mind as well, although I was fairly sure it was because of the mate bond.I also had plenty of time to think and get a grip on things. A few days of mostly silence and more than enough time to think did help a lot. I started to come under th
Taelin-“How are you feeling?” Ryker asked after I finally moved into the seat next to him.I would have stayed on his lap for the entire journey, but I had become slightly uncomfortable from being cramped in a vehicle for so long. It was now nighttime, but we chose to continue driving. The further we got, the faster we could arrive at the palace.“Other than needing a shower and a little sleep, I feel good.” As I spoke, I leaned against him, using his shoulder as a pillow.“Is there a safe place we can pull over for the night?” Ryker asked Frank, who was now driving.“There is no need. Really, I am fine. I can sleep here.” I attempted to argue, knowing that the more we stayed on the road, the faster we would arrive at our destination.“There is a safe house not far from here.” Frank answered, completely ignoring me.Sitting up, I tried to wipe the sleepiness out of my eyes. It was more than likely from the stress of the day and now that I could feel every werewolf. It wasn’t too bad,
Taelin-Time had slowed down for a moment, but when it sped back up, everything happened so quickly. One moment I was standing, looking at Ryker, the next I was being blown back, with a heavy object landing on me. Dazed by the blast, it took me a moment to realize that I was still alive.My ears were ringing, and I could feel something wet coming from my ears. Every part of my body ached, and it was difficult to breathe. There was a body lying on top of me and I didn’t have the strength to push it from me.Instead of trying, I simply lay there believing I was dying. I realized the moment it happened that I was going to die, I just wished it would have been instant. Tears blurred my vision at the thought of leaving Ryker behind and not getting the chance to hold the baby I carried.I should have been more careful and not so thoughtless. Because of my actions, I would hurt Ryker in the worst possible way, not to mention that the cure would die with me. Hopefully, Leo gathered enough of