The house was huge, dark and foreboding. It was a stone mansion surrounded by trees, the high walls and multiple floors gave it the appearance of an abandoned castle. Except that it wasn’t abandoned as lights were streaming out of the windows on almost every floor. Something about it indicated the presence of ancient powers, too strong for her to contain. Every fiber in her being warned her not to go in but her curiosity overcame her and before she knew it she was stepping out of the car.She didn’t wait for the men before starting for the house.“Wait…”“This is where you wanted to bring me, right? Don’t try to stop me now.”They weren’t exactly trying to stop her, rather they were worried about the clash of powers. They went with her on the stone walkway flanked by evergreen trees on both sides. A wide field held a gazebo and another bigger structure that looked like an orangery.Maggie raised her brows amused. “This house must be old.”The men didn’t respond.“How old is it?”They
Asher brought the car to a stop in front of the Westies pack community. Some members curious at the sound of the smooth-running engine of the car came out to see who it was. The Alpha came to stand at the gate with crossed arms and a look of suspicion in his eyes.After the very awkward, silent ride, Trevor was grateful to open the door to less hostile air. He held his hand out to Jennifer and she took his hand.“I’m not an invalid, babe,” she laughed but she leaned into him slightly tired by the day’s activities.He smiled at her and gathered her to his side, hooking his hand around her shoulders. Asher had gotten out of the car too and when Trevor turned him he turned serious.He looked like he wanted to say something but was holding himself back. Jennifer looked at both men, shaking her head at their stubbornness as she thought to herself, Men. She nudged Trevor’s side.“Go on, say something.”Trevor frowned at her. But his frown came from a place of awkward embarrassment more than
“I just asked the girl behind the counter and she said she didn’t see anyone matching their description,” Jayden said coming out of the gas station store. It was late hours and the girl working the midnight shift had been asleep since no one came around but she was alert enough to answer his questions about a brown-haired woman and a ginger head.“Then where could they have gone?” Lance asked with his hands on his waist as he looked around. There was no trace or a scent of both women even after hours of searching. Only a few people were lolling about on the streets but they didn’t want to take chances turning into wolves to sniff Cathy and Ginny out. Even the most drunken teenager would be taken seriously if he claimed to have seen a 6’5 wolf prowling and sniffing the streets.Noah was standing behind the car with his hands buried deep in his pockets and his brows furrowed in concentration. “Did we miss something?” he wondered aloud.“What?” Jayden asked coming to join him.“We are mi
Almost as soon as he finished talking a strong wind swept through the range of the house, shaking windows and the very foundation of the stone house, howling so deeply it sounded like the battle cry of an undead army. The trembling of the foundation caused Maggie’s chains to rattle strongly and the cuffs pulled on her skin painfully. But just as soon as it started the wind stopped and the howling ceased.“Let’s go.”She hadn’t realized she has her eyes closed but soon Maggie opened her eyes to see all four of them moving toward a door that had suddenly appeared in the stone wall.“Come with us.”As soon as Percy spoke she rose to her feet and was moving toward them completely forgetting about the chains. Eldan put his hand on the door and pushed it open. It swung open with a loud groan. When Maggie stepped over the threshold after them she was surprised to find out that instead of going into another room in the stone castle they had been transported to a different place, another time.
“Is that my father?!” Maggie snapped as she shot to her feet, the chains around her ankles rattled silently but the weight on them was still as heavy as ever and she almost stumbled. “What is my father doing here?” She asked unable to believe it. They were most likely in some era BC or a few years AC there was no way her father would be alive for decades and no one would have said something!Jackson’s hand came on her shoulder and he pushed her down hard on the stone seat, anger and impatience evident in his eyes. “Stay down! We are using a lot of our powers to maintain a shield in this era.”“We can’t be seen here and we must not do anything to upset the flow of powers!” Olivia said from her other side.“Take it easy on her. This is all new to her.” Percy leaned forward and his eyes were gentle, imploring her to understand. “Look closer Margaret, is that your father?”Still in a state of shock Maggie blinked and did as he asked and with startling realization noted that that was not h
Maggie felt Eldan jerk her back by her collar. The arrow flew past her right into the eye of one of the slaves.“What is wrong with you?!” He asked. “Do you want to get yourself killed?” It was the first time he showed his anger and Maggie was slightly taken aback by the feral look on his face.She hadn’t thought she could get killed since they were just a mirage in this past world but now that she thought of it the fact that she could feel the stone seat beneath her bum was a tiny indication.“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking,” she said feeling like a chided child. “But this is so unfair!”“Everything that happens in this time must not be altered. We brought you here to see why certain things must happen among our kind, you are yet to see the climax, therefore I warn you to sit still and watch!”Maggie tried to hold herself still but it was so hard to do so when the shot slave was writhing in pain on the floor holding his injured eye with his hand. The other slaves shared his agony kneel
The dark clouds that had accompanied the sandstorm dispersed to show her face and lovely figure. Maggie dropped her fingers from her face shocked at the beauty of the woman. Or girl. Because she was so young and fresh-faced, looking no older than Ginny. It was the taller of the two girls that had been in the painting on the ceiling of the Council room in STRUKUS. Her red hair fell in a straight curtain around a beautiful face. Her eyes were flashing red but even the anger in them could not hide their beauty. Her red mouth was set into a grim line. The girl’s red hair almost blended with the red dress that clung tightly to her willowy figure.Though Maggie was in awe of her beauty and obvious powers she couldn’t believe that this young girl had so much power over the slaves who were so large in frame that if they wanted to they could easily crush her to death. In her hand, the girl held a dagger. It was an ancient silver dagger and the look in her eyes spoke volumes about how she wante
And so it happened that over the course of 5 years, the Jackson look-alike sacrificed his life in the same violent way and another half a decade later Eldan's look-alike sacrificed himself, it was the only way the goddess accepted their sacrifice. Maggie was sickened to her stomach at the violence with which Percy and Olivia tore into him, yet they had no control over their bodies. And so it was remaining just Percy and Olivia.Maggie let her eyes adjust to the mist that accompanied their time traveling and when it cleared she was surprised to see that it wasn’t just Percy and Olivia who remained. There were 3 children, two of whom looked like Evgan, Jackson Eldan, and they appeared to be ages 15 and 10, and 5, and Olivia was pregnant with another one. She and Percy had made a family and somehow they were rebirthing the ones who died. The years bled into each other until five years later and by this time they had given birth to five more children. It was Percy’s turn to die and Olivi
“You are lucky Anthony was right, you know?” Maggie looked up from her wine glass with a smile. Cathy was holding a wine glass of her own. They were celebrating life after the goddess’ curse. Luckily, Ezekiel’s army hadn’t done much damage to their house and what had been destroyed was rebuilt, partially with Ginny’s help. “I know that. If that blood offering hadn’t worked we’ll not be enjoying this nice bottle of wine right now.” Maggie raised her brow at the woman. “Do you still think challenging the goddess to a fight was a stupid idea?” Cathy’s lips stretched into a reluctant smile. “Well maybe you’re not as foolish as I thought, Dark Storm.” “You are a Dark Storm too.” “Yeah yeah.” Cathy raised her glass as she turned and left. She had to go to be club. Business was booming faster than she could manage. As she started to leave she looked back at Maggie. “Thank you, Maggie.” As soon as she left Asher came in carrying another bottle of wine and he raised his brow. “Did Cathy j
Everything went still. Phoenix hovered in the air, a stricken look on her face as she looked around as if searching for something to fall as if the sky would come falling on her head at any second.Maggie waited.Asher waited.Lance waited.Ezekiel waited.Then Phoenix started to laugh. A peal of nervous laughter spurted out of her. She looked even crazier than before as she opened her mouth unnaturally wide to laugh at Maggie’s foolishness.“It failed!” She laughed. “Nothing happened.”She spun in the air laughing as she tossed her hair about. “Oh, mortal. Foolish, foolish mortal! You have failed. You have brought an end to your kind!”Without warning she snatched the sword from a dazed Maggie’s hands. It was coated with her blood.“Oh, look,” Phoenix taunted her. “I win!” she chuckled.Maggie didn’t know what to do. She lost. She lost and now…She looked back at Asher and Lance. Would they start disintegrating or would the goddess kill them after she was dead?“I’m sorry,” she sighe
Maggie put her feet on the gold armor, feeling the cold metal beneath her feet and grunting, she kicked the goddess off her, put her hands behind her head, and pushed herself off the ground. In a flash, she transformed into her wolf.Vapor escaped her nostrils. She looked down at her paws noting that the proximity of Asher and Lance reduced the bleeding to a nonexistent point. She sighed gratefully and glared at the goddess who was on her feet smiling at Maggie.“You sure took your time showing up,” Maggie told her.“I wanted to see what your pathetic uncle would do. Shall I leave him or shall I kill him?”“He’s mine for me to kill.”“Are you sure?” Phoenix asked with a lopsided grin.“He is mine to kill!”“Hmm, then I should let the men fight to keep them busy. That way Asher and Lance will have their hands full to protect you.” With a snap of her fingers, she summoned 3 more wolves and sent them at the men. “Ezekiel Dark Storm, take these wolves, they are yours. That makes things eq
It was a gloomy day. At least for the newly formed Dark Storm members. Even though the sky was bright and sunny, the occupants of the car moving Eastward were silent and dull.Maggie tightened her hand on the wheel. Asher had opted to drive but Maggie wanted to be behind the wheel. Staying still and doing nothing would make her go crazy and she didn’t want to think about what the outcome of the day would be like. It was time to face the goddess, time to decide the fate of her kind. Did she have what it took?Her hands were shaking on the wheel. So much training but it would all be for nothing if she couldn’t win.She had more than the fight with the goddess to worry about. She also worried about the others remaining in the mansion. So far they hadn’t heard anything about Ezekiel. Since his last attack, he had not attempted attacking again. But she knew trouble with him wasn’t over yet. He wouldn’t rest until she was dead. A second time.For that reason she had Greg and his team stay b
“What do you know about my mother…”They were in the study. Asher, Lance, and Noah stood behind Maggie ready to battle if their visitors pulled any silly games.None of the External Threat unit members sat. Maggie didn’t offer them seats either. They weren’t friends nor foes and depending on their actions, she would decide whether or not she could accept them as part of her new family.For now, however…“I know that your father was in love with her,” Greg answered.Maggie waited but when he didn’t continue she held out her hand. “But?”“But your mother…she used to love your father until his brother, Ezekiel, came along and swept her off her feet.”Maggie couldn’t believe it. She didn’t know her mother but she always dreamed of her as the perfect mother who would have been there for her if death hadn’t snatched her so far out of her reach. She liked to imagine that her parents were so in love that her father was devastated after her mother’s death. She imagined he was so devastated and
Lance was standing outside the balcony where the sun was high and bright. The golden rays glistened off his dark hair and on his face. He squinted his eyes as he gazed off into the woods surrounding the Dark Storm property and could clearly see Jennifer’s red head bobbing as she encouraged Maggie to continue to work with her breath.Maggie was scantily dressed in a pair of shorts and a thin shirt. Even though the sun was out the weather was a bit drafty but Jennifer, whom Maggie had invited earlier that morning before the doctor came, wanted Maggie to practice in harsh conditions.According to her, the goddess was crafty, and who knew what kind of tricks she would play. Maggie had to be prepared for anything.So with goosebumps on her flesh, she practiced holding her breath to build her endurance while fighting the various enemies Jennifer created with her powers. After all, she had only three days left to train before facing her opponent, an ageless goddess with a penchant for murder
It was precisely 12 when he arrived and Ginny was the first to see him.“What the hell…?! It’s you!”His smile was cocky as he wagged his brows upward. “Cathy’s waiting?”“Waiting and ready to shred your ass most likely. Why are you here?” The teen asked defensively crossing her arms in front of her chest as she eyed him derisively.“To see Cathy. Give us some privacy will you?”Ginny exchanged a glance with Darren. “Cathy’s gonna be mad.”“Do you know him?” Darren asked.“Let’s just say yes and leave it at that.” She turned to the man and tilted her chin upward toward the office. “She’s in there. She’s in a mood and seeing you is not going to make her calm. Knowing you’re the one offering to buy the club, she’ll probably bare her teeth at you again.”“I don’t mind Cathy’s teeth.”Ginny couldn’t hold her laugh. She slapped her hand over her mouth. “I hear you, sir, up you go. Try not to get eaten.”Theodore left Ginny and Darren to continue with their jobs and he made his way up the s
Maggie stood back while Anthony examined Caleb. She had sent Asher back to take care of other things so that she could help Anthony if he needed any help. Carl was in the room with her watching Anthony through narrowed eyes. He didn’t trust anyone but he trusted the vampire doctor even less.Anthony took one look at Caleb’s weak form. “How has he managed to stay alive?”He was pale as death, his skin held a very translucent look. His shirt had been taken off to reveal his emaciated body, his ribs very clear through his pale skin. The gap in his neck and side had crusted over and were showing no further signs of healing. Through the gap in his neck, Caleb’s pulse beat an unsteady rhythm. His lung rose and fell, visible from the side where he was stabbed. His bronze wolf heart beat unsteadily.“Steph and I did the best we could.”“I’m amazed,” Anthony said genuinely impressed. “But I am afraid that cannot keep him alive.”“You think I don’t know that?” Carl said annoyed. “We couldn’t ge
The doctor came two days later. Tall and pale as always. He wore a polite smile like Asher remembered from the last time.Asher still couldn’t shake his distrust for the man. He was a vampire! Why would Ezra Dark Storm employ a vampire in his service? He couldn’t help but wonder.“Miss Dark Storm sent for me,” Anthony said in his lilting accent, his golden eyes bright as ever. It was a cloudy day, perfect weather for bloodsuckers.“Yes, she did.”He stepped inside the mansion and took off his coat. “I am glad she is doing a lot better. I told you not to worry,” his gaze was direct. “Asher.”“You know my name.”“Your name and that of the others have been included in Miss Dark Storm’s health insurance. Her father did the same thing for every member of his pack while he was still alive. She’s filling his shoes nicely.”Asher didn’t know what to say when the man was being openly friendly. Too friendly.Anthony grinned and held his hand out. “I am harmless.”His hand was icy cold in Asher’