Sophie wanted to stop for a rest when suddenly a low, humming voice commenced behind her. Whirling around, she saw what looked like a low, dark cloud."Oh, fuck! Now what?" Now she knew she was panicking. She was trained to fight dark fucking clouds.Soon the humming evolved into something louder, and the dark cloud became enormous and darker. Sophie then realized with horror that a swarm of vicious bats was about to encircle her. "Come on? A fucking bat?" she muttered.Suddenly, she shot her hands in front of her face for cover, but it didn't do any good."Oh God, I'm going to die here." She screeched, "Help!" Her eyes were now glossy. How was it possi
Sage smiled to himself while he listened to Sophie’s laughter. Her laughter was the summer rain and the birdsong too, and every time he heard it, no matter the weather, the sun brightened. It was as if her sound lifted a veil from their eyes and allowed them to see the world more clearly. It was funny how her laughter could do that—those honest rumblings of her soul. He was lost in it. Sophie's laughter was always a kind of laughter; it was like a song to a bird and came in happy moments. Fresh and new every day. So childish and so pure. It was the sound of her soul, something that came when the smile of her eyes overflowed into the air. So when he heard her giggles and her soft expressions of joy, they were as much a gift for her and this pack house as they were a sign of their growing bond. Though they were sleeping separately, nobody except Greg knew about their arrangement; in fact, no one was allowed on the east side of the pack house where the three of them occupied. Greg had b
"Yes, your grandfather and my grandfather were once best of friends; my old man told me a lot about him. Stories. Tales. That he was—um—" "How?" Her eyes widened before she said, "I mean, I didn't know this, he never mentioned it." Sophie was confused. What was this new information? Her old man never told her about being friends with Robinson’s former Master Alpha. "Your grandmother was a powerful seer; your grandpa was Savannah's alpha at that time when he met her, but something happened when she was pregnant with your father. Someone from the underworld visited her in her vision and cursed her bloodline when she declined to offer the life of her unborn child. By then, your grandparents were so scared that when your father was born, they, um, counteracted the curse. At first, they thought they won; your father didn't have any vision for or was a seer for so long, they lived at peace, and when you were born, the same old fear resurfaced, but even when Cherryl was born, there was no s
"Sophie, I think you're doing it wrong. Tell me, what are you picturing in your mind now, hm, imagining?""Well, I'm trying to summon a beach." She blurted in a good practice, duh tone as she began to waver.Sage's eyes widened. "What? Are you crazy?" he shook his head, "in my fucking backyard? That's not even possible." Despite her nonsense, Sophie put a reassuring hand on his hand and smirked at Sage.He wrinkled his nose in annoyance. "A beach? Sophie, really?""Why Sage? Are you judging me again? I want sea air and to take a swim. So sue me!""The hell are you thinking? That's not even possible, woman. How about you start using your brain and lift this fuckin stone in t
"So what's next?" She asked and mentally shook her head after a visible gathering of internal forces, "So what happened now?"Sage breathed heavily before responding, "We have to practice more so you won't experience the after effects. It was like being an athlete, where you need to practice every day. I hope I'm being clear now, Sophie. And you will start taking this seriously. You are a powerful hybrid. Don't let your doubt and stupid judgment say otherwise. Am I clear?""Yes, I get it now, Sage!" She might as well take things seriously now like a good writer, who was in a good mood, like a writer that writes words that are like excellent wine and sweet music; words that contain more therapeutic medicine than all the drugs created by man. Like they were c
"Hey, woman, let me explain, okay?" Sage said this while Sophie stood up, and her demon fangs suddenly elongated as if telling him that she was not happy with what she heard. Her heart was pumping, lungs were burning, and her demon heart was flailing in her throat."Sophie—"She growled at her alpha. She extended her hand. A slender tree plucked from the garden ground slowly floated towards Sage from either side with nimble, spidery fingers, slowing him down, and the ground turned soft under his feet. "Stop this."Behind Sage, the wind screeched and cackled at the delighted triumph. Dark, hidden eyes watched from every egress, waiting patiently. Bones, human and animal, lay scattered among faint rust-brown stains and pitted black scorch marks beneath heartless rockslides. The forbidden woodland knew nothing of forgiveness, of mistakes, or of second chances.Suddenly furious, Sophie’s fire surged from h
Seven hours later, after Greg disturbed their little moment in the garden because of some rogue sightings in the boundary, Alpha Sage closed his cell phone after reporting into the compound and leaned back on the ridiculously froufrou velvet settee in his private room of the packhouse.He was pissed off that the night had resulted in a stalemate with the patrol and more rattled than he cared to admit by the hybrid demon reality check he’d gotten at the facility. Seeing a hybrid demon and the other rogues was a damn good reminder of the fire he’d walked through after her mother’s death.He’d managed to beat his bloodlust all those years ago, but the fight had been brutal. And the hunger was always with him, even when he was trying his hardest to deny it. Revenge and bloodlust were hard to fight. Being near Sophie only magnified his craving. Damn, but that female put his blood on a slow, rising boil. A beautiful scent still lingered in his nostrils.That moment alone with her in the gar
With the keen, aching desire of her "You say you don’t play games, but you’re a master at it, Sage. In fact, I think you’ve been playing at them for so long you can’t remember how to be real anymore."Sage was hardly aware of his own movements as he whirled back on her with a furious roar. Distance closed in fractional seconds—a blink of time between the moment he’d been turned away from Sophie and the next, when he was bearing down on her like a train in motion, pushing her with both the force of his will and his body until they both slammed up against the closed door.He pinned her there, between the hard, unyielding length of him and the thick plank of oak at her back.&nbs
Two days later.Sage picked himself up off the floor and realized he could remember nothing from the time he’d entered the doorway hand in hand with Sophie until now. He shook the fuzziness from his head and glanced around, finding Sophie near him. He sighed in relief and reached out to lay a hand on her arm.When Landon jumped from Eve's windows through his unstable passageway yesterday, it made Sage sick. He followed his brother, but to no avail. His trip had not been pleasant, but he wasn’t retching on the floor the way Sophie had been. After then, they knew they'd been poisoned and that Eve's was missing. So many questions remain unanswered.Why Eve?He thought to himself.Greg was already up and examining the room.Sophie got to her feet, and Sage struggled to stand, too. They stood in the middle of a darkened chamber. Symbols were etched into the veined marble floor, and tables, interspersed with tall, carved armoires, lined the room. Bowls and cauldrons sat atop the tables, alo
Drinking it, Edmond added, "Not that it matters; darkness was darkness; I believed it was always their answer, a sad but true reality at the same time.""Yes, my friend." After their hunger plight and exchange of rye bread and beef jerky, they agreed to travel north towards the lake, where some of the two pack allies must reside.After some point, the air was rich with the fragrance of leaves and loam, and it was moist too. Even so, many hours after the rains have passed, the soil remains wet, releasing its heady fog. The melody of running water in the stream has the same slumberous quality as music; Raymond wants to stop just to drink in the melody. On the side, the berries were red and bitter, but with just the right amount of sweetness.He took in all the air her lungs could hold and expelled it. These hikes were like a trip out of her life, a visit to somewhere where the measuring of time was done only by the rising and setting of the sun. Raymond went his way through the skinny t
A few hours later, Alpha Henry took his cup of tea and savored the fresh minty taste. The cup of tea was small enough to fit in the palm of a child, holding that potent brew only the hardiest of the grown-ups could savor. Sipping it, he simply added it and looked at Eve. "By any chance, you knew something about where they took Elizabeth and the rest of them, Eve?""Yes, probably in the Devil's Forest.""Are you sure, Eve?""I'm sure. I was never wrong. The only forest that would disable the werewolves to shift, or more likely, the southern pack, has demon warriors and rogues on their side. It only made sense now. They've abducted Tomas before, and he wasn't able to fight them back, and because he wasn't able to communicate with his wolf, he became feral. Most likely, the one who had Jefferson and his family were feral."Sophie interrupted them, saying, "Eve, what does this devil's forest look like?""Glad you asked. From my knowledge, it was a cursed forest where any supernatural powe
"Who is this, Eve?" Sage appeared from behind them. His lips twisted. The words made the skill sound imperiously elegant. Eve swallowed a lump before she turned around and said, "Alpha Sage, this is Alpha Henry, ally of the north." Henry gasped, I'm sorry, Eve, Alpha Sage? The Alpha Sage? " he asked in bewilderment. Unbelievably surprised, he heard so much about this legendary alpha traveler, but none seemed to have seen him or knew him personally. It had been rumored that he wore a disguise and could vanish in thin air. He was rumored to be the only one who could travel in time and was cursed for eternity. If this was Alpha Sage, then he was indeed fortunate to have such an honor to see him face to face, and knowing that he was indeed real and not just the figment of imagination was a privilege enough. "Yes, I'm Alpha Sage of the Robinson Pack; how did you know me?" A few seconds passed before Henry could answer. "Pardon, um, I heard from, um, rumors, tales, and all," Henry respo
In the afternoon, Alpha Henry arrived at the misty woods and shifted into his human form. Butt-naked, he looked for something to cover himself and found a banana leaf. He wrapped it around his exposed manhood, tied it carefully around his waist, and then whispered a safe passage to the hidden cottage of Eve. Few knew about it, yet he was one of those few who was fortunate enough to know the precise location of her hidden location. Whispering words to the garlands, the foggy cottage was now visible as he knocked on the door and silently waited for Eve to open it. Surveying the surroundings, he noticed how the front door opened slightly, and the enclosed, tiny stone porch carried the aroma of flowers and the warmth of the home. The old wooden veranda was where one would relax when the chance of a conversation with passing neighbors was welcome, yet it was all covered in mud and drops of recent blood. "Eve?" On the left side, some plants reached up past the wooden railings and branched
"Holy crap! Should we help Sage, Raymond?" Sophie asked and was startled by Tomas' howls. They were hiding behind a gigantic tree, trying not to get near two vicious fighters.A minute passed, maybe more, and the only thought that kept pounding through Sophie’s brain was. She has to help him. She has to help Sage."I don't think it's a good idea, Luna Sophie." Eve muttered. "Let them. Don't worry about your mate. He is an alpha for a reason.""Well—" But out of shock, Sophie’s mind wouldn't even let her think, her feet running towards him. Ultimately, she knew he didn't need any help, but she did anyway. "Sage... don't kill, Tomas."Tomas's wolf snapped out of its confusion and snatched its neck from Sages's mouth. In that second, Sage backhands across Tomas’ face. The wolf's head whipped to the side, and the smack echoed around them as he dropped to his bottom onto the moist ground."Stay there, Sophie." Sage yelled. Sophie halted.Red blood flowed from the wolf’s stouts from the spl
Alpha Henry woke up suddenly. It was just a dream, but it felt like it was real. He was confused for a while and tried to remember what happened as his bewildered mind began to ensue. He discovered that he was still on the floor of the banquet hall, below the table, and thankfully hidden. With all that wolfsbane in their drinks, it was all a loss. The northern pack manor didn't burn after all.All around him was blood, and dead bodies lay neglected humans and werewolves in human form. He glanced around and surveyed the banquet hall, yet no one appeared to move. The headache told him it was time to rest someplace quiet, to ride out the storm within his brain, for with time, pain does wane.Unhurriedly and carefully, he sauntered his way out of the manor and breathed in a lungful of the fresh morn
A dozen feet away, Sophie saw all the disregarded cadavers. Ten, or more. Gawking at it, she shuddered from the horror.Dozens of small mounds of earth were visible there. The heaped soil looked very dark in the moonlight. It must have looked even darker to humans. And still, Eve and Raymond did not move.Almost all of it has been disgustingly slaughtered for food, with the head, limbs, and entrails removed.It was suddenly very quiet.Some small thing chittered in a tree. The wind rattled the grass. And then more quiet, silence so deep it almost drowned out the roar of the night music that pounded away in her secret self.Sophie shivered as she thought about how the small dirt road was barely visible. You almost had to know it was there. But she knew. She had been there before. The road ran for two and a half miles, twisting three times through the sawgrass, through the trees, alongside a small canal, deep into the swamp, and into a clearing.Except the old vegetable garden out in th
As Landon’s face passed over, he moistened his clitoral area and smelled the sweetness and sensual scent of her juices. As soon as the underwear was gone, his tongue found her wet mound. Her body trembled as the tip of his tongue flicked back and forth over her protruding clit. Casey spread her legs, and Landon gawked as her engorged lips spread, showing him the entrance to her tight mound. As her lips spread open, they allowed a tiny trickle of dampness to escape. Landon licked it up with his tongue. The intense taste refreshed his mind. He felt her pull on his pants and boxers.She jerked his head up to hers, and as she locked on to his lips, her tongue danced in his mouth, teasing him. Landon felt her cool hand grip his thick, hard shaft."I want this buried in me now!" He compelled and guided the tip of his shaft to the entrance to her moist mound. He began to thrust toward her, only moving enough to wet the head of his rod between her parted lips. Adding some strength, his head b