*Rocky*Everyone sits around the small fire, the smoke filtering through the rundown corner of the small barn where the roof has a large hole. The rain has at least stopped, but a cold has settled in with the dark. Gemini sleeps easily in my arms, her shivering gone and her breathing feels normal now.No longer a fast panting like she is running a hundred miles for her dear life. Jude keeps eyeing me and Blossom is curled into her sister’s side, Ames poking the fire and sliding glances at Violet. It’s a strange group of people, and I’m not sure I trust them entirely, but I trust Jude, so that is enough for me to let my guard down, even just a little bit. My gaze flickers down to Gemini’s sleeping face.She looks near angelic, like a porcelain doll, and I want so badly to stroke her cheek, but I don’t. She would never notice, and it would be for me to stow away in my secret stash of sweet memories of her, but there are eyes on me. Jude stands, sauntering over to me with a frown on hi
*Gemini*I blink at Rocky, feeling hollowed out. The pain that I had felt, the very stabbing that woke me up, seems like a small poke compared to the stabbing in my heart. That’s all I am to him then. Nothing more than a pawn, something to use. Not that I should have ever allowed myself to think I’d be more. He has already rejected me twice now. Once as his mate and then tonight when I tried to kiss him. Was it too much to wish he would consider me a friend? Someone worth more than my damn abilities. In all my life, I had so few people who cared about me, not my stupid ‘gift’. Not because of what I could get them if I was on their side.I had thought I could include Rocky in that count. I thought wrong, and that realization has been nearly as painful as his rejections. There is no way I will look away from him. No way I will back down as he tries to talk himself out of this mess he has created. My arms are wobbling as I hold myself up, pinning him with my stare. I don’t dare look at
I expect him to drop me in the water to clean my wounds, considering the way he mentioned dipping me in a few times. I don’t think I would have been too crazy to assume that.What I didn’t expect him to do, however, is to gently walk me into the small pool where the water churns from the falls. I let go of him, waiting for him to lower me into the water but his grip remains firm. “Are you going to dip me in?” I ask him and he seems to snap out of a daze. His right arm lowers my legs, my hands clinging to his shoulder as nausea hits me harder than the icy water. I gasp, sucking in my breath, my side throbbing. “You need to scrub the mud off,” He tells me and I nod, but don’t make a move. The nausea clings to me, ebbing and flowing with the ripples of the water, and I whimper, trying to keep from blowing chunks. “Are you okay?” he asks. A big brave person would shoot off a snarky remark, ensuring they are totally fine, even when they aren’t. But I’m not a big or a brave person. Hell,
*Rocky*Blossom holds hands with Gemini as we walk through the trees. She is doing incredible for the amount of poison that was in her body. That damn stab wound is still there, the one the fucking rogue put in her with his wolfsbane laced blade, but it’s no longer gross and infected looking.Gemini is healing. I can see it in the way her skin color is returning to her cheeks. She is no longer that ghoulish green shade that struck fear into my chest.“What’d you do to piss her off?” Jude whispers to me as we stare at the two girls’ backs. I sigh heavily, shaking my head.“She is embarrassed, Jude.” I tell him, though I know embarrassment is the furthest thing from the truth. She isn’t embarrassed, she is hurt. I drove an emotional dagger through her heart so I could avoid having to use one made of steel.“You don’t know my sister very well if you think that’s embarrassment.” He scoffs and shakes his head at me, a smile grin on his lips.I watch as Gemini looks down at Blossom with a so
*Gemini*I can’t bring myself to look at Rocky any longer as I take a step away from him, a frown tugging at my lips. I can feel his eyes, the way he wants to say something, but I know he won’t say what I want to hear. There is no point in waiting around for him to make a promise he doesn’t owe me.What good does it do to cling to a man who repeatedly tells me and everyone around me that I am nothing but a tool to him? He may want friendship, but he is like everyone else. I am of use to him and when I cease to be, he will disappear from my life.“How far away are we from this meeting?” Violet asks behind me as I trudge forward, alone. Not that it matters that no one else is following along. I’m not incredibly speedy at the moment, so they will catch me in a few steps. “A day and a half, at least. Two days at most.” Ames answers and I can nearly feel the icy demeanor I know she is sporting talking to him. “Great. So for that entire time, direct all conversation to anyone but me.” She
*Rocky*Well, I think it’s fair to say Gemini hates me. One whole day of traveling and one night of sleep and only once has she looked in my direction when I speak. It’s for the best, I know that. But every fiber of my being screams for me to stop making things worse and yet each chance I get, I dig that knife deeper. Hurt her more to save her. How fucking noble of me. I should be asking questions of Ames and Violet, paying attention to details around me, but all I can do is overthink everything she does. A small stutter in her steps has me flying to her side to check on her. Every scowl makes me want to annoy her until she smiles. Every time I’m within arm’s reach, I have to have a gentle brush of a hand on her back or arm for a second. It’s pathetic but I’m happy eating these scraps, knowing she can live to see another day. ‘Happy’ might not be the right word. Content, maybe? Fuck. I hate being me more and more every damn day. “Why do you look like you want to kill someone?” Jud
I blink at the dead body twenty feet away, my mouth open and heart pounding. I made an agreement with him and Rocky just…he killed him. A simple twist of Rocky’s arm and the life dissipated from Alders’ eyes, leaving nothing but an empty shell of a young man. I mean, yeah, I hated the asshole for what he did, but my healer’s heart aches at the loss. Life is precious, worth trying to save when I can. Especially when they are so young. He was just barely of age, and yet…he met his end.My anger simmers, slowly boiling over as I glance up and focus on Rocky, who is staring right at Jude, ignoring me. It’s obvious they are having some conflict, but I couldn’t care less. I made a promise to someone, and Rocky didn’t care. He just stands there acting like he didn’t just end someone’s life. “You killed him,” I say in disbelief. “You just…killed him. Without blinking or caring…”“It’s not what you think it is.” He murmurs to Jude, who scoffs and throws his hands up in the sky in anger.“Oh
*Rocky*Blossom stands next to the edge of a small lake, skipping rocks as the sun makes its way lower in the sky. Pink and purple line the clouds painting a beautiful landscape that many would consider romantic. If the person they were watching it with wasn’t actively ignoring them and shooting death glares, that is.“Are you going to ignore me forever?” I ask her with a sigh. I’m surprised she hasn’t popped up and left me alone where we sit when I sauntered over and sat next to her. She sighs heavily, her eyes forward as she watches Blossom, who occasionally cheers when she gets a rock to go more than two skips.“Who says I’m ignoring you?” She says with a furrowed brow, but I can tell she is trying not to scowl.“Anyone with eyes.” I say with a grin. She turns her head and rolls her eyes at me. “I just needed some space. It’s not everyday you think you love a monster.” She says a hint of malice in her words that hits me harder than it should.Of course, she is still upset. She ha
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