LiaThe group of us was standing together in a circle. I was in the middle of the circle, holding the dragon stone and letting their words wash over me. At one point, my finger was pierced with a blade. A droplet of blood was placed on the stone, followed by more whispers.It was to put some of the dragons to sleep, but it also seemed to imply that I would end up gaining more abilities and having a connection to ancient dragons.None of this made sense.Had my ancestor casting a curse somehow managed to tie our blood to the dragons, causing the connection to grow for years? This was based on the fact that it was tied to the artifact. I couldn’t believe what was going on or that this was happening.The power rushing through me was insane. I felt my vision blur, but then this surge of magic rushed into me. It was insane. Gasping; it felt like the power was so great that I could see it flash in my eyes.This was insane.I almost fell over, but I managed to steady myself. When I came to,
LiaI found Simone exactly where I expected—at the hotel, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger like she didn’t have a care in the world. The second she spotted me, her face lit up.“There you are!” She pushed off the fence and walked toward me. “I was starting to think you ditched me.”“I thought about it,” I admitted, trying to keep my voice light, but the weight in my chest wouldn’t budge. “Sorry we’ve been spending so much time in that abandoned city. We need to stay there so I can figure out everything I need to figure out.Her smile faded as she got a good look at me. “Okay, what’s wrong? And don’t say ‘nothing’ because you look like you just walked out of a horror movie.”I let out a breath and crossed my arms over my chest. “Do you ever feel like… maybe you’re in way over your head?”Simone blinked, head tilting. “Uh, yeah. Like, every other day. Why?”“I mean really over your head,” I pressed. “Like… no matter what you do, you can’t fix it. And maybe it’s only going t
LiaWhen I spotted the house at the end of the drive way I froze. I couldn’t believe we had finally come back home after being away for weeks. It was crazy.I had learned a lot from the coven, being given mini-lessons before I left. I needed to be able to control this new power I had and train.Being told that I had to come back home and train, caused me to inwardly groan. I didn’t want to train. But I knew I had too. It was important for me to be able to master these new powers.What did destiny want with me? So many times I laid in bed next to my mates at the hotel, trying to figure out what the hell destiny wanted with me. I wish I knew but the more I tried to think about it, the less I understood.But now I was back home.Gabi and Michael were out there to greet us. They pulled us into a hug, telling us they were glad we were home.I had told them everything along the way so they were aware of what was going on. Gabi had seemed in shock when I first told her. Michael denied it was
RainThings were slowly getting back to normal.Well as normal as things could get when you had a war with ancient dragons nipping at your heels as well as Lia trying to struggle with her growing power.We were doing our best to be there for our mate. I was trying to be more cheerful than normal, knowing it was annoying Matt to no ends. He kept glaring at me during the day. Colby seemed all right with my cheerful attitude while Jesse was indifferent.Matt was my friend, but I knew my cheerful attitude could be very annoying.Right now we were sitting in the living room, just hanging out. It was important for us to have some semblance of normal even when nothing was.If things were normal I would be on the rugby field playing the game I had grown up with and loved more than anything. To step away from the game I loved sucked but there was no choice.These ancient dragons were going to be something difficult for us to handle. I was afraid, but at least we weren’t facing this alone!But
ColbyLia ended up having a clearer vision. She told us there was some hidden mountain hiding out or temple and that’s where we had to go.All of us didn’t put up any fuss—even Rain. He pouted a bit but said that if this was what Lia needed to do then so be it. This was what we were going to do!I shove another hoodie into my bag, pressing down to make room. "You think it’s gonna be cold up there?"Lia hovers near the door, arms wrapped around herself. "Probably. It’s a mountain, Colby.""Yeah, well, mountains have different kinds of cold," I argue. "Is it 'grab-a-coat' cold or 'hope-you-updated-your-will' cold?"She sighs. "I don’t know, Colby, my vision didn’t come with a weather forecast."I smirk. "What kind of useless prophecy service are you running here?"She groans. "I dragged you guys into this."I zip my bag shut with a dramatic sigh. "Lia—""If I hadn’t had that stupid vision—"I turn to her, arms crossed. "Did you want a vision?"She glares. "Not.""Did you wake up thinkin
MattI can say that, without a doubt, I hate climbing.And hiking.Actually, I hate everything to do with outdoorsy crap.We have spent so much time outside lately it’s been driving me insane. I am so tired of roughing it when all I want to do is lay on a comfortable bed—preferably my bed.Why haven’t I been able to sleep in my own bed? Oh yeah because we are trying to prevent the end of the world.I don’t say any of this out loud because it would be pretty damn selfish of me to do that. Lia is doing this not because she wants too but because she has too. She has no choice but to follow these visions and accept the growing power inside her.It started after she touched that relic.I personally blamed the Dragonstone itself. That weird, glowing little stone caused Lia to have the initial vision and this power.But why? That was the biggest question.Why did fate decide that she was going to go thorough exactly what Harry Potter went through? In no uncertain terms was being the boy who
JesseWe left the body behind and kept walking. Because, like always, things were only going to get worse.Rain kicked a stone off the path. "You know," he started, dragging out his words, "for once, I’d like to get through one of these without nearly dying or getting blood on my favorite jacket."I shot him a glance. "You're wearing your favorite jacket on a mission?""Well, duh. I didn’t plan on being ambushed by rogue vampires." Rain adjusted his jacket, inspecting a small, now-dried bloodstain. "Not a great look, by the way. And these are my good boots, too."“Priorities, huh?” Colby’s voice was flat like he didn’t have the energy for Rain’s antics anymore.I could feel the tension in the air between us. We had all been through this too many times. The endless battles, the endless near-deaths. And yet, here we were, walking toward the unknown. Again.I let out a sharp breath, trying to shake the weariness off. “Okay, let’s focus. We need to figure out who’s behind this. We can’t k
LiaOnce again, I was lamenting the fact that my life was more complicated than others. I read that note again and again, trying to make sense of it.How did they know about my supposed destiny? And why did they want to stop me?This went deeper than I ever imagined. It must’ve been foretold for years—long before I ever knew who or what I was. But what, exactly, were they trying to stop?I posed that question out loud, causing Rain to mutter, “Destroy the world.”Matt smacked his bicep.“Ow!” Rain yelped, rubbing the sore spot.“Well, stop saying stupid shit!” Matt snapped.Colby snorted, crossing his arms. “To be fair, our track record doesn’t exactly scream ‘destined for peace.’”Jesse, leaning against the wall with his usual unreadable expression, sighed. “It’s not about world-ending destruction. It’s about control. Someone out there doesn’t want Lia making it to the temple because they’re afraid of what she might do.”I swallowed hard, staring at the note in my hands. Afraid of me
ColbyIt was no surprise that I ended up receiving a letter that officially challenged me to a fight regarding my authority. If I won, then they would be facing punishment for their crimes, but if I lost, then they would be free to commit more.The first thing I needed to do was go talk to my pack about everything so they knew what was going on. They were bound to get upset knowing that I would be facing a rogue pack leader who had ordered the kidnapping of Matt and was just a brutal guy in general. Understandable, but there was nothing I could do about it right now.I had to fight him. It was the best way to end this once and for all. But did I like it? No. I thought we could be a bit more civilized about this, but nope. They didn’t understand any language other than violence so I was going to have ot suck it up and fight.There was no doubt that I was going to win, but it didn’t mean I liked it. I downright hated it.Slowly, I looked towards the pack who were waiting for me to expla
ColbyWhen you found yourself in a certain situation, you realized that there was nothing you could do but bite the bullet. This was exactly what I was going to do with Matt’s old pack. I was going to reach out to them.Reaching out with words was the civilized thing to do. We were a partly civilized society right now, so I wanted to try to do things with words rather than class. Eventually, I was going to get to the point where I might have ot fight with claws, but this was the first step.It was important to tell my pack. The first person I decided to tell was none other than Lia. She and I were sitting on the front porch, her having joined me a while ago. I didn’t mind the company and was more than happy to just sit out here and enjoy being outside.But again, I did need to tell her what I was planning. As my omega and mate, she had a right to know what I was thinking. So I cleared my throat and looked over at her, causing her to look at me.“Colby, is there something you want to t
Matt“I think he’s starting to crack,” I said, tossing a ball between my hands. “Colby. He’s pulling away again.”Rain was sprawled on my couch, chewing on the last of a granola bar like it was a steak dinner. “Yeah. He’s been going full ‘grumpy alpha in self-doubt spiral’ lately. It’s like watching a motivational poster give up.”I tossed the ball at his head. He caught it—barely.“We should do something.”Rain sat up, rubbing the spot where it bounced off his forehead. “Like what? Bake him cookies? Knit him a scarf that says Believe in Yourself, Dumbass?”I snorted. “Tempting. But no. I mean something real. Something to show him how far he’s come.”“Okay, so… a slideshow of his greatest hits? Background music by Beyoncé?”“Rain.”“I’m just spitballing, man.”I stood and started pacing. “What if we got everyone together? Lia, Jesse, the others. Had them each talk about what Colby’s done for them. Pack stuff. Personal stuff. Victories. The whole deal.”Rain’s eyes lit up. “Like a livi
JesseColby was busy. All of us were busy dealing with people’s bullshit. Politics was not something I ever thought I would end up going into but the fact of the matter was it had ended up becoming my calling somehow.It was something was good at. I was able to deal with people and make sure they listened to me. One way was my smile. I smiled and it scared the shit out of everyone.What were we to do about Colby, though? I thought I should talk to him but wanted to talk with everyone else first. The first person I wanted to talk to was Lia who might know of something we could do.As his omega, I also felt that she have some say in it because Colby was her mate. He was my pack leader, but he was both to Lia.“I think he’s spiraling again,” I said, leaning against the doorframe of Lia’s room.She looked up from the pile of books on her bed. “Colby?”The amount of worry on her face was pretty staggering. I wanted to reach over and cup her cheek, to tell her that it was going to be okay b
RainThe celebration for Colby was something I thought would be a game changer. I thought he was going to walk in, grin, and everything was going to be fine but after the celebration it became clear that he wasn’t okay.He certainly had a good time. There was no doubt about that. I coyld tell from the way he was laughing, hanging out with all of us, and just having a good ol’ time. But then the celebration ended and Colby ended up vanishing.My eyes found Lia’s, the two of us sharing a worried look.“Where the hell did Colby go?”“Probably to have a sulk somewhere,” Matt said, taking a bite of the cake Simone had made for the celebration.As tempted as I was to grab another slice of cake, I knew we also had to go find Colby and talk with him, or one of us did. He was probably upset and sulking somewhere up on the roof or something.And that was exactly what ended up happening.I found Colby sitting on the roof again. Alone. Hood up, staring at the stars like they owed him something.“
LiaHe was feeling anxious. I can’t believe Colby was feeling anxiety because it wasn’t something I ever thought he would have to deal with, but he was. It was obvious from the look on his face and the way he kept breathing super fast.Those were what we called panic attacks. I wanted so badly to help him, to figure out some way to help Colby and make him understand that he could lean on his mates, but the more I tried to help, the more I realized I was in over mt head.Plus, Colby was trying to avoid me helping him. He was proud and had become more proud since he became the pack leader. It was like he was unable to comprehend that he and an entire pack at his disposal to help him with his issue. But no. Colby wanted to take it all on his shoulders.Simone and I were hanging out at her place next door, the two of us trying to figure out how to help Colby. Well, first, I wanted to vent about how I wanted to help my mate.Out of all of them, Colby was the one who was able to keep a good
ColbyTrying to rally together out allies is a pain in the ass. It involves me sending a lot of emails to people, trying to figure out who is willing to back us up. But much to my dismay, not everyone is willing to answer right away.This makes me frustrated, making me wonder if I am ever going to be effective as a leader. Being a leader was something I decided to accept after my pack said that I would be the best choice. I thought about it for a while until I decided to agree to be the leader.But being a leader was difficult. No one ever said it was going to be easy, but I certainly never thought it would be this difficult.Groaning, I stepped away from the laptop and decided to go for a walk around ten, but everywhere I turned, it felt like I was being confronted by the fact that I had so much responsibility thrust upon me.Sighing, I ended up doing two laps around the place. It led me to the back porch where I saw Michael. A smile made it’s way onto my face. He was a good man. One
ColbyIt was great to have Matt back, but the fact was, we had to do something about what his former pack did. They couldn’t get away with kidnapping him and torturing him the way they did just to get at us because they felt threatened. A reckoning was going to come for them, and I intended to make sure they were going to answer for their actions.Matt wasn’t going to care. I think he was going to want me to do it. But bringing it up to him when he was still healing was a difficult thing. I didn’t want to add more onto his plate given everything he's been through.But like usual, Matt beat me to it before I could decide to tell him on my own. He looked me straight in the eyes and sighed.“Colby, what the fuck is going on in that head of yours? You have something you want to say to me so why don’t you just get it out of your system before I get pissed off. I can’t take the long looks you're giving me. It’s pissing me off.“I’m going to do it,” I told Matt, voice firm. “I’m going to ral
MattI woke up a few hours later in my bed. It was so great to be back in my bed. I almost wanted to kiss it.Then I realized Jesse was there, and if I was caught kissing the mattress, I would never live it down.“Hey, you’re awake.”I grinned. “Thank you, Jesse. I just want to say that before we say anything else to each other. I appreciate it.”“You don’t have to ever thank us. I know you would do the same thing for us. Any of us.”I grinned. “Of course. How is everyone by the way?”Jesse explained that everyone was resting a lot better now that I was home. Colby had been beside himself and was feeling guilty over the fact that I was gone. Then there was Lia, who was worrying even more than usual.The same applied to Rain, but he was worrying even more.I hated that everyone had been beside themselves, struggling to accept that I was gone. When I explained what happened on the day I was taken, I admitted I shouldn’t have let my guard down. It was entirely my fault.What I should’ve