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Just Don’t Die
Last Updated:
2024-12-21 19:33:54
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Alpha of Smoke Drawn In
*Chet*I know that my cousins and younger brother will chastise me the moment we step away from the beautiful girl in the shop, and I am not wrong. Hell, they started the moment she looked in my direction, shouting out their rude thoughts in a language I was thankful she doesn’t understand.We head outside, and it’s my brother, Mowanza, who is the first to make a snide remark, speaking in our native Shaconage tongue. “She was pretty, but she won’t make it fifty miles.”I turn and glare at him. “Watch it, Mo.” I am in no mood to put up with his nonsense at the moment as I go over my conversation with the girl again and again. Why do people take such stupid risks? Why would guides act so foolishly?“Yeah, Mo,” our cousin, Howahkan agrees, but I know he is about to switch sides. “Don’t speak ill of the dead.”I turn and give Kan a playful shove, making him laugh. He is two years older than me at twenty-three and has always been thin as a rail until about a year ago when he finally starte
Last Updated : 2024-12-22Alpha of Smoke Throwin’ a Plan Together
*Isabella*The sound of my sister and brother slurping on their candy rubbed me the wrong way as I navigate the dusty walkway outside. Ma and Pa had told us to just come on home once they had their candy, assuming they’d be done with their meetin’ by then. But when we walk outside of the general store, I see our parents a few paces ahead of us and rush after them, draggin’ Robert and Alice along.“Keep it in yer mouth or else it’ll get coated in dirt,” Robert advises Alice.“My mouth ain’t as big as yours,” she replies.“Come on. We gotta catch Ma and Pa.” I give her arm a tougher yank, and she yelps. Recognizing the sound, Ma turns her head. “What’s the matter, Alice?”“She’s got lead for feet,” I answer. “Pa, I need to talk to you.” All the information Chet shared with me gets tangled in my brain as I try to remember all the important facts. Pa probably don’t need to know how he smelled like an endless field of golden grain, but he does need to know about the game.“What is it, Izz
Last Updated : 2024-12-29Alpha of Smoke Let’s Make a Deal
*Isabella*“You know that ain’t a fair price, Mac,” Harry says from the other side of the fence that acts as a corral. Behind him, a whole buncha cows are mooin’ and rushin’ around, stirrin’ up clouds of dust. Pa and him would be nose to nose if he weren’t so much shorter than pa. The negotiation seems to be breakin’ down.I don’t like to listen to people haggle. Always makes me feel a little desperate and cheap, like maybe if I can’t afford what the fella’s askin’, I shouldn’t be buyin’, so I wander away, leavin’ Joseph and Uncle Tim with Pa. I see a young calf followin’ behind its mama, and it makes me smile.“You like the baby cow?” a warm tenor voice says over my shoulder. “Think he’s cute? That’s what most girls think about, right? Not eatin’ ‘em.”I turn to see a pair of cattle hands who
Last Updated : 2024-12-31Alpha of Smoke Dawn’s Early Light
*Isabella*Broad strokes of soft orange light brush along the horizon, filtering through the trees and illuminating the world in a golden haze. I blink a few times, stretch, and then remember what today is. Arching my back, I bump my sister, who moans in protest.“Sorry, Alice,” I tell her, not even tryin’ to whisper. “It’s mornin’.”She reaches up to scratch her nose without even openin’ her eyes. “Let me be.”“Let you be?” I chuckle, climbin’ over her to get my day started. “Don’t you know what today is?”Robert’s voice is chipper as he announces he’s awake. “We’re leavin’ today, Alice. Gotta get up and get a move on.”With that, Alice comes around, sittin’ up in bed with her hair all tangled, her doll clutched to her chest. “We’re leavin’ today!” It’s no
Last Updated : 2025-01-01Alpha of Smoke Endless Trail
*Isabella*Over the last week or so, I’ve gotten used to the gentle rocking of the wagon back and forth as we slowly make our way across the prairie. From time to time, we’ll pass by a small town, and sometimes a few people will ride their horses in to see if there’s anything to trade.But for the most part, we’ve broken away from civilization already. It’s hard to imagine. We’re so far away from everything I’ve ever known, and in front of us sits a vast ocean of waving grass, the bright sun, and lots a critters that wanna kill us.Most of the day, I’m in my wolf form, runnin’ with the cattle. But Pa likes for me to stay with Ma and the younger kids whenever we get to a part of the journey that is a bit more dangerous. I tried arguin’ with him about it the first time he tried to run me off, but one thing I learned a long time ago is that it don’t make no sense to argue with Pa. I ain
Last Updated : 2025-01-02Alpha of Smoke Something’s Not Right
*Chet*“We thank you, Moon Goddess, for the blessing of this animal who has given its life to feed our people. Mighty bison, we thank you for the gift of your life, and we will honor you by using your strength as our strength.”My hunting party says, “Let it be so,” together in our Shaconage language, and then we open our eyes and prepare to move the mighty bison I’ve killed back to our village to be cleaned and processed. It is the fourth bison I’ve killed this week, and along with the kills from the other hunters from my pack, we have already claimed enough meat to feed our people through the winter.It’s a good thing, too, because this herd will be moving out of our lands soon, and then we will have to wait for another herd to come through, which might not be until next spring.With the crops we are growing that will be harvested this fall, we should be set for the harsh winter.&ldqu
Last Updated : 2025-01-03Alpha of Smoke Rogue Rescue
*Isabella*The rogue’s a grinnin’ at me like he just found his next meal. I stop dead in my tracks and stare at him, sizing him up. He’s way bigger than me, but he’s scrawny. I bet he ain’t as fast as me, and I bet he ain’t even that strong.Still, when he bares his teeth and growls at me, I think twice about going at him. Instead, I take a step back. He starts to chuckle a bit in the back of his throat, like he knows somethin’ I don’t.That’s when I smell another rogue somewhere nearby, and I have to wonder if he ain’t comin’ from behind me.Backing up is probably a bad idea. But I can’t go forward neither.‘Pa?’ I say through the mind-link. ‘I gotta problem.’‘Where are you, Izzy?’ he says back in that tone that tells me he’s annoyed. ‘Ma said you was on your way.’‘I was.’
Last Updated : 2025-01-04Alpha of Smoke Thank You Will Do
*Isabella*I lay on my back near the campfire, looking up at a thousand stars above my head. Behind me, I hear the lap of the river as it creeps up the shore and then retreats. I should be sleepin’; we have an early start again tomorrow, trying to get across this river before the sun climbs above us and turns uncomfortable to unbearable, but I can’t. My mind’s runnin’ wilder than a pack of stallions out on the range, and I can’t seem to rein my jumbled thoughts in.After Pa killed the rogues, we all rushed back to the cattle. Joseph and Andy had managed to keep them together, and we finished runnin’ ‘em to the river without any problem. I waited for Billy to come over to me to rub it in that he’d had to help me, but he hadn’t. I hadn’t said nothin’ to him either, even at dinner time when we was all gathered around eatin’ together. Now, I’m tryin’ to figure out what there is to say.Thank you seems like a good start, but I’m afraid when I open my mouth to say the words, somethin’ rude
Last Updated : 2025-01-04
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Alpha of Smoke Finding Robert
*Chet*The decision to remain on horseback alongside Mac and Unega rather than shifting was not made lightly. My wolf senses are sharp, but if we find Robert—and I am determined that we will—we must be in our human forms to help him.The scent of a human lingers along the path, interwoven with Robert’s wolf shifter scent, unsettling me. The others have noticed it, too.“Alpha, we all smell another human,” Mo informs me through the mind-link.“I have noticed that as well. Stay vigilant. Keep following the trail. We will find him,” I reply, keeping my voice steady.I glance at Unega. She is more worried than I have ever seen her. Her father, usually a pillar of unwavering strength, rides beside us, his jaw tight with unspoken dread.I slow my horse and dismount, kneeling beside a deep imprint in the earth. “Look here, Unega,” I say, pressing my fingers into the edge of the tra
Alpha of Smoke Man vs Bear
*Isabella*Since the mornin’ after I became Luna—my birthday, when our pack bowed their heads to me, acceptin’ me as their Alpha’s mate—every day has been a whirlwind. Even on the days filled with monotonous travel, there’s always somethin’ wondrous waitin’ just beyond the horizon. Each sunrise, a chance to become a better leader.The elk hunt showed us that when we work together, we are unstoppable. Our warriors took down a prized bull elk with pristine form on our first try, a testament to what we can accomplish as a unified pack.I sit beside Chet on our wagon, my heart light despite the dust on the trail. “Just imagine what life will be like once we’re settled,” I muse. “Buffalo and elk herds runnin’ wild, plenty of game, a real home for our pack.”Chet, lookin’ a touch sleepy, gives me a sidelong glance. “Life will be better once we are
Alpha of Smoke Luna Unega
*Chet*As soon as I ensure Unega is safely in her father’s wagon, I stride swiftly toward my own, waking my brother and cousins with a firm shake of their shoulders.“Up. Now,” I command in a hushed tone, careful not to wake the families in the other wagons. “Unega and I were attacked.”Mo sits up immediately, eyes sharp despite the early hour. “Where? Was she injured?”“No, just a scratch on her shoulder,” I assure him. “She fought well, and we were victorious. Two rogues ambushed us in a grove of trees about one hundred and fifty yards from camp. Unega gravely wounded one, and I took the life of the other.”
Alpha of Smoke Pilgrimage
*Isabella*Chet and I are far enough away from the wagon party that they ain’t able to hear us, but we don’t wanna alert any potential enemies to our hidin’ place.“I will try to be quiet,” I say through the mind-link. With a sly smile, I add, “But no promises.”With his palm cradlin’ my head, Chet lies me on my back in the lush moss beneath the trees. He unlaces the bodice of my dress, and my breasts spring forward into the cool night air. As soon as they are uncovered, both of them are enveloped again by Chet’s enormous hands.“You are so beautiful,” he praises me through the mind-link, attemptin’ to be as quiet as possible.As he continues to worship my breasts with his lips and tongue, Chet’s hands roam down to the hem of my dress, liftin’ it to above my waist. He licks and sucks m
Alpha of Smoke Mark Me
*Isabella*The mornin’ is silent, thick with grief. Last night’s fight was bloody, and the weight of it still presses down on all of us.Dust swirls around the worn wooden sides of the wagons as we roll forward, the fields stretchin’ out around us in shades of brown and gold. The sunset paints the sky in hues of ochre and orange—so different from the deep green forests, the grassy glades, and the hills and valleys of Tennessee. This journey, this transformation, feels just as drastic. I’m caught in the space between sorrow and adventure, my heart torn between what we’ve lost and what lies ahead.Today, rather than ridin’ with Chet, I stay in the wagon with Ma and the youngin’s, offerin’ what little comfort I can.Pa keeps his eyes locked on the horizon, his shoulders stiff, ever watchful. We’ve lost too much already. We can’t afford to lose more.Even in the bright light of day, the air feels thick—like a storm is brewin’ just beyond our reach. My wolf senses prickle with unease, a me
Alpha of Smoke You Will Be Our Leader
*Chet*Shadows slice through the moonlit dust of our camp. A cruel, unnatural presence hovers in the darkness.“Unega, take the women and children closest to you, and put them all in the same wagon. Unega! We are being attacked. You must protect them,” I hope she is awake and can hear me.Suddenly, the ripping sound of flesh, the sickening crunch of bone, the desperate snarls of friends and foes as they fall hits my ears.Through the mind-link I check on Unega. “Are you still with me?”“I’m here.”The scent of blood and fear, a suffocating blanket, chokes me. Mo and Takoda work together to take down one of our attackers as I race around to flank a huge male wolf Mac has by the throat.Mac subdues the enemy as my teeth snap on his haunches. He is done; on to the
Alpha of Smoke You Will Regret This
*Isabella*The creak of the wagon wheels’ monotonous lullaby starkly contrasts with the chaotic howls and traditional camp songs that still echo in my ears. Last night, several of the packs travelin’ west got together on the outskirts of St. Louie for a final farewell. Chet and I communicated through the mind-link and stolen glances across the campfire, surrounded by both our families and friends.The wild west feels so close and yet still so far away as we travel northwest through corn and wheat fields today.While I ride with Chet during the day, I still spend my evenin’s with Ma, Pa, Alice, and Robert. My older brother is almost always with the cattle now. For some reason, I get a funny feelin’ about spendin’ the night with Chet. Maybe it’s because we ain’t really, ceremonially hitched yet. Or maybe it’s just cause he ain’t asked me to yet. Either way, I daydream of the day that I
Alpha of Smoke Moonstone
*Isabella*Billy was up to no good, I could sense it as I approached the pair. When she saw me, a look of relief washed over the face of the woman Billy had lured into the alley.“What’s goin’ on over here?” I accused him as she took the opportunity to sprint past me and back to the busy street.“Thanks a lot!” Billy growled. “Why’d ya run her off?” He slurred his words under the influence of Moon Goddess only knows how much whiskey.“‘Cuz she wasn’t interested in bein’ here with you! That’s why she ran,” I pointed out. “What are you thinkin’ anyway?” I asked, instantly wishing I had turned and ran with the woman. Somethin’ in Billy’s eyes let me know he was in a huntin’ mood, and women were his choice of prey.Billy walked toward m
Alpha of Smoke A New Pack
*Chet* I stand before my father, Alpha Achack Galvlo, leader of Shaconage pack. When he spoke to me through the mind-link early this morning, I was shocked. He shouldn’t be here, not this far from his territory. Leaving Unega to explore St. Louis alone was incredibly difficult but I knew better than to disobey my father’s wishes. Begrudgingly, I rode Sine into the forest and here I stand. "My son," he says, embracing me in warmth. “It has been too long since I have seen you. “Your mother sends her love.” “What are you doing here?”“A meeting with other Alphas is taking place nearby. I had no plans to attend, but with the rogue situation peaking, I decided it was best for our pack. I thought I spotted your party. I have something to give you.”He extends his hand. I extend mine, confused. “Herbs?”“Healing herbs. Trying times are upon us.”I cradle the herbs for a moment before slipping them into my satchel. “You shouldn’t be this far east. You should have sent warriors in your st
