*** Running into Zayne cooled some of my rage but I’m determined. A few people greet me with smiles when they see me at practice, Oliver hugs me tightly but he doesn’t say anything or ask any questions, his eyes look knowing though, he must know something, maybe not everything but something. “I’m fine Oliver”, I say, trying to breathe. “I know that now” he presses a quick peck to my lips then jumps away. I smile at his antics, knowing it is just his way of showing affection. Everyone divides into pairs and begins to train. “Want to go wolf?” “Er… I don’t know about that” I look around, searching for Naya, Colin stans at the side, watching, I need the kind of training I can only get from her, she’s vicious and never pulls her punches. And I need to fight without holding back. “Where is Naya?” “Funny enough she stopped coming around when you did” he clicked his tong playfully at me, “We don’t need much hands on training anymore” I nod. Sometimes I can’t believe how far we’ve co
I used to love Saturdays, it means a much needed break from the week of vigorous training, I'm hating it for that exact reason right now. It means I have nothing to pour my frustrations into as I have the past two days, it’s the only thing that makes me feel some kind of peace these days, it means I’m doing something, sharpening my skills like a blade for when we find them. Pushing up the sleeves of my red thermal, I look to the right and freeze, blind panic floods me, and I don’t think, I just duck behind the nearest tree, flattening myself against the hard bark, holding my breath. My eyes clenched shut as my heart almost beats out of my chest. A soft laugh sounds followed by a breathy voice. The footfalls draw closer and a moment later begins to fade as the girls stroll past me. My head pressed back against the tree, I swallow a sob, forcing my eyes to open finally step out from behind the tree and watch as Lily, Mile, and Winnie walk, laughing as they whisper amongst themselve
“When it comes to your protection?” he turns to me fully “When it comes down to keeping you here, safe and mine? I can and I will” “You just can’t keep things like this from me, it’s about me and I deserve a choice!” so many things have been taking form me, the ability to choose my fate, it’s the only thing I have and I’ll never allow anyone take that from me. “Is it a choice you would have accepted?” “Not, it’s not about that-“ “Then no, you do not need to know” I glare at him, I try to contain my emotions, I really do but the more I think about it, the more annoyed I get and he is just so unapologetic about it. “I thought we were supposed to be a team?” I can’t hide the hurt in my voice as I turn away from him, Zayne catches my arm “Where are you going?” With a sharp tug, I pull from his grip. “Away from you!” before I do or say something I can take back. I make to stepside him but he catches me again, pulling me into him my back to his front “Let me go,” His heart beats stea
If I thought my relationship with Zayne was strained days ago after Alpha Colton’s challenge, then I’m not sure what to call it at the moment, we're not even talking, at least I’m not talking to him, and he’s not tried to talk to me either. Yes, he gives me any updates they have on the investigation, but he doesn’t join me for meals, I’ve barely even seen him the past two days, yes, he still comes to me at night and we fuck, using our bodies to talk each other, saying things we wished we would say out loud: I’m so mad at you but I want you so much, I’m sorry, forgive me? I’m not quite sure which of us is trying to say that last one though, me? Him? Both of us? It feels wrong thinking about this at the moment, I should be consumed with thoughts of trying to figure out the puppet master dead set on taking or destroying me. But alas the brain has a mind of its own. I just don’t know where I stand with him, I cannot accept that he keeps so much from me, the thought hurts, he cares abou
I can’t fight them all. I blink and bitter tears roll down my cheek. “What are you waiting for? Shoot her!” the third hunter growls at the male aiming the bow at me, arrow already notched, but he doesn’t seem to be hearing, his wide hazel eyes locked with mine, frozen it’s so easy to slip through his mental shield and I feel him, he’s shocked, scared, he doesn’t want to be here. Well then, he shouldn’t have come. I’ve always practiced shielding myself from others, so I’m not constantly overwhelmed by their emotions. The words slip through the wind, and I hear Nana’s voice. An empath is deadly. You can influence the emotions of others and vice versa. The only thing I’m capable of feeling right now is fear, grabbing hold of the fear in my heart I just push it onto him. He chokes and grabs unto his head, the bow falling to the ground. My free hand curls into a fist at my side as I shove more fear unto his mind, He cries out a moment later startling the other two. “What are you
Zayne is sitting on the bed when I step out of the bathroom, my eyes hurt from crying. At how close I’d come to getting myself and Oliver killed, at scaring Zayne so badly. He thought he was going to find me broken, bleeding, or dead. A ring of silver appears in his eyes, he must be still pissed, and rightly so. “Are you hurt?” Tightening the knot on my towel at the side, I shake my head. His eyes remain glued to my forehead where I know there is a dark bruise from when I fell. Trailing to the little cut on my lip from where I got hit by one of the hunters. “Where else?” darkness coats the words. “Blow to the back of my head” I confess. His fist clenched, his jaw tightening in restrained anger. “It doesn’t hurt” “They died too quickly, I would have dragged it out for weeks” his voice is low. My hands fondle my towel once more eyes studying the hardwood floors, I try not to cry. “Come here” I blink back the tears and run to him. Climbing into his lap, I bury my face into his
My eyes fly open, I’m tucked in bed laying on my side, in the same position I’d fallen asleep in. As though I haven’t moved once throughout. Throwing the sheets off, I get up slowly. Soft light pours in from the partly open curtains. A heavy sigh leaves me. “No time to waste” I get cleaned, noticing in the mirror that the bruising on my face is mostly gone, and so is the cut on my lip. The back of my scalp still feels a little sore though. Back in the bedroom, I look through Zayn’s closet, only a few of my clothes are here, neatly arranged and folded. I slip on my red velvet long-sleeved dress, and after a moment’s of thought, I wear my hoodie over it. I pause when I enter the kitchen, “Zayne?” I’d been expecting to see Emma instead. He turns, his eyes smiling as he tips his head “this is almost done, why don’t you sit?” then goes back to flipping pancakes. “Surprised to see you here” I point out as I enter the kitchen fully, going around the table to take a look at what he’s co
I don’t go straight to the lodge though, I walk the woods for more hours, studying the layout, I’ve done this before a number of times but only as an enforcer in training, by the time I return, I’m wearing only my red longsleeves dress. My hair flowed down my back in loose waves. I wonder if Oliver is at the arena right now, if I have enough time, I’ll go visit him later. A stone rolls down hitting the grass, drawing my eyes to a handful of rocks on the side. One silver eye blinks unpleasantly at my approach. “Did I wake you with my loud thoughts?” I smile. It is a thing we do, a one-sided conversation with the gray wolf while he ignores me until I go away. “I don’t suppose today is the day I’ll see the male behind all that fur? I mean don’t get me wrong, I think your pelt is really pretty, it’ll make a fine coat” If a wolf would roll its eyes, I imagine that’s what Elijah would be doing right now. “Not today then?” I nod twice. “Good talk buddy” I smile at him once more before w
I wake up slowly. Heat swooping up my belly, lingering in my core as a hand smooths down my leg, over my calf to my ankle. Moisture pools in my center as the scent of my musk fills the room. I don’t know how I can still take any more after what went down last night. But I always want more with him. “Zayne…” I try to bring my left leg to my right to relieve some of the tension between my things but it doesn’t budge. Hm? My forehead wrinkles but I am distracted by a light nibbling on my big toe. His fingers trail over the bottom of my foot tickling me, as a light sleepy giggle escapes me, he spreads me even wider, I expect him to roll me over unto my back, throw my leg over his shoulder or settle himself between my thighs but something tightens around my ankle pulling taut. Once again, confusion rises. Then he leaves me completely, I pull on my leg, but it doesn’t budge, why can't I move my leg? Neither can my arms. "What the..?" “Zayne?” Am I tied up? “Why am I tied up?” is th
I sit in Zayne’s chair once again, his computer screen in front of me displaying four other males. The large screen in front of me connected to the computer displays the same for the others to see.“And you are?” the voice is gruff. You’d think they’d know who I am with the number of hunters they’ve sent after me. I look at each of them, an older male, who looks to be around his late sixties in human age, sits at the top right screen. beside him is a light-haired male, younger. at the bottom left is a middle-aged male with a bald head and black eyes, and the last is a dark-haired male also young. As it has for nearly eight years now, the fifth council seat remains unoccupied. I fight a smirk pulling at my lip when I say “Alina, you probably know me as the Sliver one”Two of them gasped loudly, the bald-headed one remains quiet, not an ounce of expression on his face. I let that sit for a moment. I see them looking at my hair then my eyes, the technology, no matter how advanced mutes
The past week has been hard, even though we won, war takes its toll. In the end, we were all nursing broken bodies and an equally broken heart, and Zayne… I just miss him. A whole week has gone by and whenever I think about that night, I want to break down into tears, sometimes, I do cry. At the fight and what went down after. The girls come to visit me every day, and Oliver and the guys also swing by after training. Sometimes, Emma is also here, and we make food together. But at night, I get so lonely, the bed so empty without him. But I can't bare to sleep anywhere else. At least here, I’m covered in his scent.Right now, we gather in the meeting room, I try not to pace as I wait, the time counting down with each passing second, smoothing a hand over my leather jacket, I draw in a deep breath. I don’t know which has me more nervous. Finally talking to them or- almost immediately a short beep sounds and I hear the door push open. Every other thought forgotten I cover the distance
I'm still screaming like when I jump on Kieran’s back, my hands on his face, my claws stabbing into any vulnerable flesh, tearing at his jaw, but he doesn't feel any of it in his haze of bloodlust. He howls as I press my claws into his sockets with all my might taking away one of his senses. I keep digging until I’m sure his brain is licking down his eyes. fire stabs into my thighs, a fist tightens around my hair and I go flying over his head. I cough as pain spreads over every inch of my body. “Fucking bitch! Fuck Fuck!” his hands smacks at his face blindly in the air. Willing whatever strength is left in my battered body roll over unto my front, grimacing at the stabbing sensation in my chest I crawl over to where Zayne is laying still on the ground. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Kieran disappear into the forest. I pay him no mind, my attention on my fallen mate. My mate is down, the strongest male I’ve ever known, down and it was all my fault. Why can’t I ever do anyth
“Can we kill him now?” Zayne drawls, appearing from the trees, he always did love to make an entrance, “I despise pointless monologues” He looks at me, completely ignoring Kieran as though he was beneath his notice. Kieran Blackwell enjoys playing games, it doesn’t hurt to play a game of our own, from his little speech, he wants to be recognized, that’s why he created the serum, to feel powerful. What better revenge than to deprive him of that? “You’re so violent” I sighed oozing disappointment, though I fight the smile on my lips. As I expected, Kieran frowns, his lips turning down.Zayne shrugs his large shoulders like he couldn’t care less. “It has served me well” A short laugh escapes me, we already got the answer we wanted, Zayne said we had to find out if there was more of the serum laying around somewhere, not wanting to make the same mistake as last time. “True." In our world, sometimes, violence is always the answer. "Okay, he can die now. Turns out he wasn’t as impressi
“Where are they? Can you sense them like you do intruders?” I inquire mutedly after walking for a few minutes. The words barely leave my lips, if they are close I don’t want to give away our location. “No, there’s nothing, but they are here” his voice comes low, “Marc and Eli have been tracking them for about an hour now” Heart in my throat, we walk for twenty more minutes before I see Marc and Oliver where they have taken cover behind a large tree. Zayne makes a hand motion, Marc raises two fingers in reply. I move forward trying to get a sense of my surrounding. Eerie silence surrounds us, not even the wind blows, but I sense familiar pack members in the woods, where they’ve taken position. Zayne’s hand finds mine in the darkness, his fingers threading through mine, and I hear them a second later, boots shifting against the grass. They’re here. I will my heart to maintain a steady pace, holding my breath. I look to Zayne for the plan of action, only now remembering I was out
Growing up, sometimes we would hear of packs at war, to settle land disputes, fighting over an insult, an act of disrespect, or simply to gain more power or just for the hell of it. In order words, werewolves fight a lot, our species respects a show of strength more than anything. Sacred Heart was one of the little peaceful packs, preferring diplomacy over a show of force, it kept us safe for a time. Sometimes I wondered what would have happened had Sacred Heart been a more aggressive pack, would we have survived the massacre then, or was it always meant to happen? For the bigger picture to reveal itself? Learning about Kieran Blackwell tonight, I know this war didn’t start with Sacred Heart, it started a decade ago, when Councilor Blackwell thought to go against the creation of the moon goddess by trying to create superior species through science or magic? The details are unknown. Zayne's father, the previous Alpha of Dark Woods found out and was going to expose him, it led to bloo
“Moonless night?” My voice is rough from my tears.“Sane?” Zayne mummers.He sniffles “They’ve gone rogue, but they don’t know, the serum makes it so.”Zayne freezes beside me “What. Serum?” His voice comes out dangerous.The smile returns to Rafael’s lips making him look deranged with his bloody teeth “You know”“Lies! I destroyed every last bit of it, burned their lab to the ground after I killed him that serum is gone, I made sure if it.”It surly cannot be the same enhancement serum that brought Dark Woods to its knees, based to the way Zayne is reacting it likely is.“Who?” I whispered.“There’s no way he’s alive, don’t fucking lie to me”“I don’t know, I’m just telling you what I heard”“You most have heard wrong!” It’s a turn of events and I find myself holding Zayne back, I can only feel guilt and sadness from him, “Whatever he’s saying is the truth, or at least he must believe it” I turn to Rafeal “How did you come about this information?”He spat out blood, “My father calle
“What are you doing out of that bed?” Zayne hurries into the room, dumping the food tray on one side. My knees shake a little as I look around, trying to find my shoes, Zayne must have dressed me up in silk shorts and cami when I was out of it. I need to change, I can’t go out like this. “We have to question Rafael, he knows things”“So you said last night” he leads me back with a hand on my lower back. “Zayne, really-“An arm folds under my knees and he carries me the rest of the way “He’s not going anywhere I can assure you” he brings the comforter over my legs.“There’s no time to waste-“ “you can barely walk, if there’s something you need I’ll get it for you, just stay here” A tired sigh leaves me “I need answers, I think he was the one who sold us out, no I’m sure if it. He looked so guilty” guilty but determined, he was intent on seeing it till the end even as his eyes pled with me to understand.“And we will get answers, but not at the risk of you falling over, He smooths m