“His Beta.” She says the two words slowly, like she is trying to digest them. Like she is trying to understand what he means, but she knows the definition.Maybe she is in shock? Or maybe she is coming to the realization that her brother is truly a true alpha. There is knowing the truth and then there is believing it. Maybe she is starting to believe it.“I am Alder,” he says, locking eyes with her, taking a step forward. My lycan doesn’t like that and neither do I as I growl, the sound rumbling through my chest just louder than the roar of the waterfalls behind us.“What did you mean by he wasn’t lying? Lying about what?” Gemini asks. The kid frowns. “He wasn’t lying about your gift. Alpha told me about his older sister and her gift of healing. I thought he was exaggerating, but the way you took all of my pain healed me…”“I thought you only helped him escape.” I narrow my eyes, cutting in. “Did you have a heart to heart showing him out?”“He was in our dungeon. I was told to watch
*Gemini* The blood on my hand is long dry now, the feel of it restricting and flaky. I tried to clean it off as we walked, hoping to not carry the stain of his injury with me, but Rocky has been hell bent on moving. We have stopped once, but that was only because there were rogues in the area. Thankfully, dried blood has a much more muted scent, otherwise we would have had another issue. “Do we have a destination, or are we just walking for the fun of it?” Alder asks. Rocky slides an annoyed look in his direction before just continuing to walk. I fight the urge to repeat the question in hopes of an answer. It has been yet another eventful day, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hungry and exhausted and in need of a nice shower. “Are you okay?” Rocky asks, slowing down to be at my side. I give him a tight-lipped smile. “I’m fine.” I tell him and he frowns, his brows pulling together like he is in deep thought. “Fine?” he asks. “Yes…” “What do you mean by that?” he asks and I
My stomach growls loudly, and I whimper as I press on my belly. The last thing I ate was dinner the night before and my already thin body is screaming at me to eat again. Not that it is an uncommon practice for me.Usually I am too busy healing or I pass out from the stress of it all and never have the time to eat. But now that I am walking and coherent, my body knows it needs sustenance, and it is making sure everyone else near me knows it as well.“Will your pack at least have food and water?” Alder asks Rocky, his eyes glancing at me before he frowns. “I’m fine.” I sigh. “Seriously.”“This is the sixth time your stomach has made that noise and it sounds angrier every time.”“He is right.” Rocky chips in. At least they have found something to agree on. “If it growls again, mine might join it.”“I am used to going days without food.” I scoff. “Seriously, I am fine. It will eventually stop.”Rocky stutters in his step for a second before clearing his throat and walking on.“Why would
*Rocky*I can sense the closeness of my pack, as my tattoos seem to grow tighter in warning. Then I see Bridger with a smirk on his face as he leans against a tree, with a pile of various things to his left. He pushes off the bark, moving closer to the barrier, sauntering before he stops and looks me over. “I wasn’t sure what all you would need, so I took a wild guess.” He says, motioning to the things in the pile. “You look like shit, by the way.” “Food for three people, water and anything you have found recently that mentions the curse.” I tell him, and he furrows his brow.“For three people?” He asks, then his eyes widen, looking beyond me as Gem and Alder rustle through the trees.“Yeah, we picked up a stray.” I grumble, looking over at the two of them as they finally get up to me. “You just grabbed a load of food the other day,” Bridger reminds me and I nod in agreement.“Yeah, but my cabin is compromised.” I say with a frown. “Not really keen to go back when I can just grab t
*Gemini*Panic bleeds into me. Every millisecond feels like it stretches for hours as I watch Rocky on his knees, his face contorted in agony as he cries out. His muscles are strained and his veins bulging on his neck as if he is struggling to breathe. I press on the barrier, frantic to get out, but it feels like I am stuck with every touch, every struggle.All I know is I need to get to him, and I’m not leaving this damn journal behind. The chick, Vivian, stumbles away from me in shock and Bridger runs over, first trying to pull me to him, then he tries to push me out. Nothing works as I am suspended in the in-between, not in the pack and not outside of it either. Then my head aches, a splitting feeling slicing through my brain, making my vision blur as I dry heave, suspended in the barrier, trying to vomit from the immense pain.It lingers just enough to keep me in a constant state of ache and shaking while dancing dangerously close to passing out. Alder screams, looking around, be
The days seem to bleed together, each one exactly like the last. We walk in search if these caves and then when night falls we take our shifts. It’s weird not having any inkling of how much time has passed but feels fitting none the less. In my pack, I counted every minute of every day that I was away from Jude. That I was stuck in a pack and used on a regular basis. “Are you okay?” Alder asks, coming up behind me as I sit with my back against a large rock. This new area is unlike anything I have ever seen in my whole life. Which I know isn’t saying much for someone who had never left her pack before. But the extensive open field with tall grass and limited trees is…well is breathtaking day and night. We are wolves, children of the moon, and yet we linger hidden under the cover of trees, often not basking in the moonlight.“I’m just enjoying the view.” I murmur, my eyes cast up toward the clear star filled sky. “You’ve barely said a word for three days.” He says, giving my shoulder
*Rocky*My lycan paces along the edges of my mind, begging to go and tear Alder to fucking pieces and scoop up Gemini to bring her with me. But that is probably why she is scared of me. My volatile and violent nature. Not that it isn’t warranted. Rogues and traitors alike don’t deserve mercy when they are the ones to attack first. “Rocky…wait.” I hear her behind me and damn it, I want to turn around.A part of me still hopes she is coming to stay at my side. But I know better than that, so instead I need to get her far away enough from Alder so we can talk. Or yell. Something as long as that third wheel isn’t here. My speed picks up as I make my way to the little area near a single tree at the edge that towers up toward the moon. Then I wait. What reason can she have to follow me this far if she isn’t choosing to stay? What if she really is choosing me over the kid who fancies himself a beta? He doesn’t smell like a beta, and at moments there is potential, but overall he is just fuc
The term instant gratification usually implies it happens immediately and although this isn’t what anyone would qualify as instant, it happened way sooner than I thought and damn; it is amusing. Gemini scowls at Alders’ back as he leads her down yet another well-trodden path that we traveled no less than a day ago.Two days. Two days and they are already lost and damn, is it satisfying to watch. From a distance, I can see them grumbling at each other, Alder throwing his hands up in defeat as she pushes past him. I toss a berry from the berry bush I found last night into my mouth, relishing the snack and the show.For a brief moment, I was convinced Alder may have ulterior motives. Who the hell are we to take him at his word, but if he has a motive, he sure as shit isn’t going to follow through anytime soon. Not with his horrible navigation skills.I creep closer along the trees we passed once before, staying in the darkness, lurking just along the edge of their ability to see me. Gem
Thank you all for hanging in there with me for the sporadic updates. For three years I have had the best most amazing readers ever! You all have been so understanding from when I had my youngest kiddo last year to all my sickness recently. So thank you.I will be taking a month-ish off in order to write my next project that way I have chapters saved up for the days I am not feeling well. Moving forward I will do better to ensure days are not missed. I undertsand all too well hard frustrating it can be waiting on chapters so i want to do my best to get back on track.My health is an uphill battle, I am newly diagnosed with several autoimmunes disorders and thus the medication I am on makes me far more prone to sickness and exhaustion. I refuse to let it be an excuse again for spotty updating! I'll be back in a month with something fun and awesome! Happy reading!
*Gemini* **One year Later** I watch the door, anxiously waiting for Rocky to pop in any moment. My palms sweat and I inhale deeply, wiping the clammy feeling on my lilac sundress. Something happened, something unexpected and scary, something I have no idea how to tell him about as I work to control my breathing. He left me three long days ago and he will come home to a whole new world, one I’m not sure either of us are ready for. The door creaks open, and I jump up from my chair, rushing to him only to stop and groan in annoyance. “Wow, not happy to see me? Do I visit too much?” Jude asks with a fake scoff. I chuckle nervously and walk up to my Alpha brother and give him a big hug. “I am always happy to see you, but I am waiting for Rocky. It’s been three days and I’m excited.” I say with a smile. He furrows his brows and tilts his head. “Excited or nervous?” he waves his hand in my face, “Because this looks like anxiety, not excitement.” I slap his hand away, pressing my l
*Gemini*“Remind me again what we are doing?” I ask Rocky as he saunters through the pack, dragging me along like he is looking for something. It is obvious his mind is preoccupied elsewhere, but I don’t mind it. Honestly, even with all the stress of learning what it is to be a present alpha for his pack, he is less tense than he was before. Not that I blame him. The whole ‘doom and gloom’ lingering over his pack and his death just continuing the whole issue has a tendency to weigh on a person.“We,” he says, pausing to look around a corner into a small backyard with a beautiful garden. “Are looking for someone.”“Oh?” I ask curiously. “And who is it we are looking for?”“Well, she is a girl.” He says, and I blink at the back of his adorably dense head.“First of all, I want to preface this by saying we agreed not to lie. Second, I don’t like the idea of you looking for another woman.” I admit and he stops, suddenly looking at me with a huge grin on his lips. Then he turns to face me
I’ve never been in this meeting room before, not even as a kid. It was only ever used for alpha’s which was a moot point considering they were never even here to make use of it. In a way, it became the Beta’s office, used to manage and run an entire pack. To carry all the weight of it while us alpha’s struggled on the outside. It’s strange being in here now, gliding my hand over the smooth cherry wood table that seats thirty people. The window lines the entire wall, looking out into a meadow with a tiny creek that spills out into a lake. On the other side I can see children playing in the water.A smile twitches at the corner of my mouth when I recall the times Bridger and I would play in that same lake. The way we would squeal when the cold water hit our skin. The same place my kids will get to grow up and not have this heavy looming cloud of doom over their heads. My children, if Gemini wants them, will get to play uninhibited with the pressures of having to learn to survive on th
*Rocky*“I’d rather not get out of bed.” I whisper, reaching out and tugging Gemini back toward me as she tries to scurry away. She squeals out loudly in a playful giggle, reaching her arm back and dragging her nails through my hair. I pull her close, nuzzling my face into the crook of her neck where my mark is. She is mine; she is here and not a damn thing can take her from me. Not even an appointment with the reality of the life of a Lycan King.“You have a meeting,” she reminds me, though she wiggles into me more, her bare skin rubbing parts of me that don’t need any more encouragement.“I have a mate. That is far more important than some alphas who want to speak with me.” I tell her honestly. Gemini sighs heavily before she shifts in my arms, spinning to face me. She wears her serious expression and I loosen my hold on her, waiting for her to tell me exactly what I am going to be doing.“What are you so afraid of?” She whispers. Her gentle and knowing eyes find mine, holding my ga
*Gemini*It’s not just the sparks from the bond that are sending my nerves into overdrive, but the anticipation, the waiting hopelessly for exactly this. If I hadn’t already verified I was indeed alive, I would almost think this was a dream.But the way his heart beats in sync with mine, the way he clings to me like his very existence is on the line if we part. It paints this as my reality. The dream I craved and never expected.“Are you okay?” He murmurs against my lips, his cheek brushing over mine as he pants and drags his nose along my jawline. My body shivers involuntarily as my eyes close, relishing every second.“Yes,” I murmur.Rocky leans back on his knees, his eye drinking in every bit of my exposed body. I’m too entranced with his rippling abs to be concerned or embarrassed enough to be shy.I have seen Rocky nude. I have seen him topless on more occasions that I can count. And yes, I have always checked him out at every opportunity, but there is something different when he
*Rocky*“Alpha,” Bridger says, coming up from behind me. My eyes close tight, hating that he is taking away from my time with Gemini. I know I haven’t been around my best friend in ten years. And I also know he has been the acting alpha internally for that entire time and he finally gets a reprieve. But I finally have my mate.“Yes?” I sigh, sitting back in my seat in disappointment, setting my fork down and looking mournfully at Gemini. “The alphas who joined with Jude are rather eager to speak with you now that you are awake and doing better.” He says. “Right,” I mutter, dragging a hand through my hair and wincing at the movement. I may be better than I was, but I am most definitely not fully functioning yet. But being the Alpha King means dealing with it and doing what must be done. “Are you in pain?” Gemini asks, not missing a thing and I give her a soft smile before realizing that she didn’t take my pain. I wasn’t thinking to mask it or try to hide it since it came on so quickl
The fridge is stocked full of every kind of food I could ever dream of, which for a cut off pack is a feat in itself. My stomach growls, anything and everything making my mouth water until I see the steak and I can’t help but smile. It reminds me of the first time Rocky made me something to eat.“There are some raw veggies you can eat,” Jude offers and I shake my head. A sense of excitement settling in my chest. “No, I want to cook something.” I say, grinning. “Uh, for yourself?” He asks warily and I scoff, feigning hurt feelings.“What are you insinuating, brother, who I raised from the time he was a little child?” I lay it on thick as he laughs. “You make food well enough to stay alive, so thank you for that. But that is the nicest thing I can say.” He says.“Butthead.” I mutter, pulling out the steak and searching for some vegetables. “Oh, what would you like to eat?” An older woman asks, rushing into the large kitchen with a gentle smile on her face. “I can make anything you w
*Gemini*“It feels like my chest is going to implode,” Rocky says, his hand clutching his chest as he grows more coherent by the second.My hands shake as I reach out and touch him, selfishly relishing every little spark that dances across my fingertips. It is very apparent to me what is happening, but I doubt he has ever experienced anything like this before. “You just need to breathe. Focus on inhaling and exhaling.” I tell him, inching closer on my knees. “Look at me, okay? I am right here and we are both alive. We are both safe.”He meets my gaze, his eyes filled with terror and panic as he slowly comes back to me. After a moment, he nods, reaching out to take my hand in his as he presses it to his lips. Then he slumps back onto his butt, his back against the bed as he tugs me along with him. My eyes grow wide in surprise as he pulls me into his lap, holding me in his arms like he has done so many times in the past, cradling me like I am the one who needs it, not him.I don’t arg