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Smoke
Huling Na-update:
2025-01-06 02:00:02*Chet*
The rising sun beats down, warming my dark fur as I rush across the open prairie. Mo, Kan, and Takoda keep up with me, but just barely. We left our packlands late yesterday and have been running all night. I don’t plan to stop running until I see Unega again.
Yet, that feeling inside of me that something is absolutely wrong has died a bit. I still sense that she is in danger, but it is a slow ember burning in my gut, as it has been since the moment she told me she was embarking on this journey across the great ocean of grass. The prairie is every bit as dangerous as the sea, and here, sharks hide in every shadow.
The scent of smoke hits my lungs, and I slow, lifting my head to take a deep breath. Something is on fire. I come to a stop and inhale a few more times. The scent of burning timber registers. This isn’t a grass fire. It smells like the forest after a lightning strike. But there is no forest near us. It has to be a struct
Kaugnay na kabanata
Alpha of Smoke River Runs Deep
*Isabella*Tension is palpable as we stand next to the wagon on the edge of the river, listenin’ to Sanders and Burns bark out orders to everyone. It’s rained a good spell the last few days, and the river was too swollen for us to cross when we expected to.It’s irritatin’, bein’ here on this side of the water when we all wanna be on the other. Whenever I complain, Pa just tells me to get used to it. Such is life. It’s gonna be this way all along the path that leads to our new home, and that’s one a the reasons that wagon trains never make it on time.There are others–like everybody dies…. I try not to think on that one too much.The rain let up late last night. This mornin’ Pa and the alleged leaders of our group went out to check out the situation. Pa still thinks the water is too high and we oughtta wait. Sanders and Burns disagree. Since my pa ain’t actually in charge, he
Huling Na-update : 2025-01-07Alpha of Smoke The Acceptance of Drowning
*Isabella*Ma ain’t playin’ as she drives the horses across the river. Our wagon is probably the lightest of all of ‘em except for maybe Sanders’s which he emptied into other folks’s wagons to prove a point of how easy it is. Even with his luggage in the back, we are floatin across pretty easy. We don’t use the guide rope neither. Ma just keeps drivin’ until the horses can touch the ground again, and then it’s easy to drive them up the other bank, despite the steepness and the ruts in the ground.My pa has a distinct clap I can hear all the way across the river. Loud, booming, and methodical, it hits my ears, and I turn to see him standin’ near the cattle watchin’ Ma take the wagon up to join the other six that have already made it across. I let out a sigh of relief and hop down as soon as she pulls it to a stop.Fully expectin’ to see Genevieve’s family makin’ their way
Huling Na-update : 2025-01-08Alpha of Smoke Open Your Eyes
*Chet*The deluge slows our progress as I rush across the prairie in my human form. We stopped to shift and get dressed before we headed to the river, hearing the commotion of crossing wagons, but I know something is wrong when I hear shouting. Abandoning my friends, I pick up speed, a thousand questions flooding my mind–like why in the world were they crossing here and not up river where it’s narrower?All of those questions fade from my head when I hear Unega’s voice. I don’t understand what she’s shouting, but I know she’s nearby–and I know she’s in danger. I see a flash of white-yellow hair in the water before she sinks under.Fear grips my soul as I leap into the angry water, propelling myself toward where I last caught sight of her. I see another girl floating nearby, but she is not my concern right now. Red water tells me exactly where to look, and I dive down beneath the murky surface to see my mate floating limply next to a large rock. As swift as an eagle in flight, I wrap m
Huling Na-update : 2025-01-08Alpha of Smoke Fiery Spirit
*Chet*Mrs. Mackenzie looks like she’s about to blow my head off with the shotgun she grasps in her trembling hands as I kneel next to Unega. With no pressure on her wound, the fabric I was pressing against the gash turns a brighter shade of red by the moment.“Get back.” She swings the muzzle of the rifle toward the water.“We mean you and your daughter no harm,” I assure her, my voice calm, and hopefully, reassuring. “She hit her head on a rock. It needs–”“I’m a nurse, I know what it needs!” she shouts. “Get away from her.” She looks toward the river. “Where’s Mac?”“He’s looking for the other missing woman,” I tell her as I do what she asked and scoot further away from my bleeding mate.“You spoke to my husband?”I nod. “He checked on Une–Isabella–before he went to look for the other woman.”She tilts her head to the side and narrows her left eye at me. I see now where Unega gets her fiery spirit. “How do you
Huling Na-update : 2025-01-09Alpha of Smoke You Gotta Pay the Toll
*Isabella*A train has hit me in the skull and splintered my bones into a thousand tiny pieces that wiggle and squirm their way deep into the crevices of my brain.At least, that’s what it feels like to me. I take a deep breath and lift a hand to try and make the pain go away as I blink a thousand times. When I touch my noggin’ I feel a bandage, and a flood of memories comes back to me.I sit up way too quick, and the world spins. I’m in the back of the wagon, wearin’ a different dress than I had on before. Outside, the sun is settin’, paintin’ the sky in pink and gold, and my head feels like it weighs a thousand pounds.Off in the distance, I hear the soft murmur of prayers and cryin’--in French. “Genevieve,” I murmur, my stomach dropping like a rock.I should be dead, but I’m here.She must not have made it.The cloth in the back of the wagon is open so I can
Huling Na-update : 2025-01-10Alpha of Smoke Her Fighter
*Isabella*“What the actual fuck?”Billy leaps back so fast, I’m sittin’ there with my lips puckered not touchin’ nothin’. Not that I’m complainin’, but it seems a little odd. But then my eyes lock on the dark pair peering at me from the shore of the river, and an excited smile lights my face. Even though Chet looks angry as a bear bein’ attacked by a swarm of bees.“I do not think she wanted to kiss you,” he says, walkin’ over to where Billy is standin’. I don’t know what he done until he pulls a tomahawk out of the back of the wagon and slips it into his belt.Now, I bust out laughin’ because I realize Chet threw a weapon at Billy’s privates to get him to leave me alone. How he knew I didn’t wanna kiss the cowboy, I’m not sure, but he ain’t wrong.“Who the hell do you think you are?” Billy asks.
Huling Na-update : 2025-01-11Alpha of Smoke Speak the Truth
*Chet*The stares from the people whose group we’ve infiltrated grow more intense as the sun begins to set, like they are afraid we are really here to rob and butcher them in the middle of the night. Mr. Mackenzie, who insists I call him Mac, but I can’t wrap that amount of informality around my mind yet, has told them all we are there to help. Some of them seem to believe him. Others not so much. After all, they just met him not long ago, and while I’m certain he’s proven himself trustworthy, these people have left oppression from Alphas in foreign lands to come here, so they are a bit skeptical.I look at Kan and Mo and know that they are skeptical, too. They do not want to be here, but they are here because they are my friends.Takoda, on the other hand, has a different problem. He’s so love sick and worried about the girl, Ginny, as they call her, that he has hardly blinked for the last hour. He sits near the fire, staring at the flickering flames as if he might see a premonition
Huling Na-update : 2025-01-12Alpha of Smoke Mates
*Isabella*Ma’s voice is shoutin’ in my head. She’s a yellin’ at me to head back to the wagon. She don’t want me out here with these “wild men,” not because she’s afraid they’ll hurt me. Hell, Chet already done saved my life. No, she’s afraid of what the others will say.Well, to hell with them.I ignore her and hone in on what Chet has just told me. I feel my stomach tighten up in a knot and a funny feelin’ lower than that, like parts of me are alive and on fire I ain’t never paid much attention to before.“Are you going to say anything?” he asks in that quiet, even voice that always makes me feel so calm.“I would, but I reckon I ain’t sure what to say,” I admit. “And my ma’s screamin’ at me in the mind-link to get my ass back to the wagon.”He chuckles softly, shaking his head enough to make his long
Huling Na-update : 2025-01-13
Pinakabagong kabanata
Alpha of Smoke Chyara
*Isabella*The warriors untie our hands but keep a watchful eye on us. They don’t say much, just gesture for us to follow. I exchange a glance with Chet and Pa, then fall in step behind them, my heart hammerin’ so hard I reckon they can hear it.They lead us down a narrow path, deeper into the land they protect. The towering rock formations rise above us, jagged against the dark sky, but it ain't a cave we’re walkin’ toward—it’s a village. Lodges and tepees, sturdy and well-kept, stretch across the valley floor, flickerin’ firelight dancin’ between ‘em. The air is thick with the scent of cookin’ meat, smoke, and earth.Children peek out from behind the tents, watchin’ us with wide, curious eyes, while men and women stand near the fires, murmurin’ to one another as we pass. This is a home, a community.Chet, his voice low and formal, speaks through the mind-link, “This is no rogu
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
