CHAPTER 110 Jake~ I woke up from a dream just before midnight. I had been running through the forest again with Rachel’s wolf. It was coming - her birthday. I don’t know what time she was born so I don’t know the exact moment - but I’ll be ready. Ally let us know she’ll be with her later today, so I go train as normal as I prepare my mind for today. She should be able to fight through whatever was blocking her, and I will be there to help her fight it. Hours pass and I get to her house too early. So I head down to the corner store to get her some ice cream. I’m on my way back when I double over. Something’s wrong, Aamon says in a panic. I try to run back up over the hill but I’m not moving as fast as I’d like. By the time I’m on the top, I feel it. Fire. It takes over my body faster than it ever has before. My bones crack and I fall to the ground. Everything is breaking. It hurts more than before. I’m breaking more than before. Alpha?, I hear Evan somehow. A link. Ev - I thi
CHAPTER 111 Rachel~ My heart hammers, hearing the echo of his call. I need to get to him. I feel around frantically, looking for some way to him. I focus on his call, on the direction I feel him in, and I find something there. A rope, a thread. I follow it out. I shove through and sit straight up, my eyes blink rapidly from the blinding lights. My hand, it’s held by something disgusting, repulsive. Sean. He turns his gaze on me as I take in the rest of the scene before me. Cold lab tables. An unconscious girl by me. A fire demon bouncing and pushing against some force. Sean chanting something I can’t understand. My insides feel like they’re pulling, something is pulling at me. In two directions. Sean and - the fire creature? I look at the fire and I know. It hits me like a bullet to the chest. “Jake!” I yell. I know it’s him. I can feel him. Can feel something between us. He’s pushing through the barrier but it’s not giving. “Let go of me!” I yell at Sean and yank a
CHAPTER 112 Ally~ When Nick told me something had happened to Rachel I immediately wanted to go after her. But the thought made my amulet cold. Usually a sign not to do anything. What? Why? Wouldn’t I be of help? Not this time, my grandma’s voice lifted from the amulet. Not happy about it, I told Lana things were off, making some excuse about Rachel’s boyfriend surprising her and that she would meet up with us later. Lana looked at me strangely for a moment but eventually accepted it and took off back home in her car. The gods have agreed, it’s time for the alpha to rise, the voice added. I immediately relayed the information to Nick through a text, crossing my fingers for them all. I called my mom next, asking her for a ride. All powerful witchling needs rides to get around, it was comical really. Although I didn’t mind the way Nick had been transporting me. The image comes to my mind of the first time he explained to me how to grab on in the sturdiest way. I protested but h
CHAPTER 113 Ally~ Right when I thought this had all been for nothing, we heard a commotion coming from above. “Is it them? Are they here?” Kyle asks me, more panicked than I’d ever seen him. “No, not yet,” I say, registering the warmth of my amulet. It’s not white hot yet, the danger is still on its way. “But they’re close.” The heat keeps rising. Thundering weight shuffles around outside and upstairs. I smile. We’ve done it, they’re getting ready for the attack. Almost twenty minutes go by, and then my amulet scalds me with heat. “It’s them. They’re here now,” I tell Kyle who has been pacing his cell. “Ugh!” he rushes up to the bars between us. “Can’t they let us out? We can help!” I know. I feel the same way. I think about all those in need of some witchy powers. I try not to think about Nick. He’s got to be around here soon. What if he needs me and I’m not there? “Hurry!” we hear from down the way. The person gets closer and I realize it’s Mitchell. He has a
CHAPTER 114 Kyle~ I might just fall over. Exhaustion. When have I ever been this tired? Maybe when I was left in the park by Ally’s after… everything. I take another large breath in, grabbing hold of the fence post in front of me and I push out more ‘sleep’ to the witch bringing down a handful of wolves. She’s incredibly strong, and she’s gotta have some wards on her to prevent witchcraft or something. The other witch I had tried to put to sleep had already faltered and been taken down by three wolves. This one, however… She stumbles forward and a wolf charges at her feet, throwing her totally off balance. Finally! I fell down on my bum. Not even caring what it looks like. I can say one thing, however, it’s not at all graceful. Thump! I hit the grass. And a rock. Goddess that hurts. I really should have been sleeping while in the cell. I couldn’t have charged up I don’t think, but maybe I could have saved some strength. “Is this over yet?” I grumble to myself. The sounds of hi
CHAPTER 115 Rachel~ I should have been more afraid when we leapt over rocks and scaled a cliff. But I was so confident in my mate’s abilities, it didn’t even occur to me. His fire cradled me and supported my torso when the movements went wild. We continued to run through forest after forest, and something in me could tell we were getting close. I didn’t have time to question it. His flames cradled my back as we jumped around. I saw the smoke and smelled it soon after, a small gasp escaping my throat as I thought about all those in danger at this moment. We sailed past a wolf. Large, but about half the size of mine, and soon we changed direction slightly. The area here was wooded but much clearer in certain areas, and without having to weave around obstacles, we gained momentum quickly. I could see a huge house, nearly a mansion, up ahead, and it seemed that we were going that way. To my right I could see booms of fire and lightning, hooded figures, and wolves. Dust and sm
CHAPTER 116: Kyle~ The chaos of battle is about as chaotic as the aftermath. Once the witches and vampires disappeared, wolves were still stirred up. Running in groups, checking on things. For as busy as it was, it was pretty quiet. Being one of the few humanoid beings out here was a little alienating all of a sudden. While all the wolves ran around, I made my way to where I’d last seen Ally. I went up over a small hill, and there she was. Being very intimate with a very naked Nick. My eyes grew wide and I spun around quickly, giving them a few moments. I almost turn back but hesitate. I decided to yell out to them. “Hey wolfie, can you put away the free Magic Mike show?!” I say loudly. A few wolves turn their heads at me but disregard me as they trot about. I wait another beat then turn, to see Ally making her way to me. No Nick in sight. “I’m so glad you’re alright!” she exclaims as we rush to each other. “I knew you’d kick a*s, but da*n girl!” I drop back from th
CHAPTER 117 Rachel~ This place is crazy. My life is crazy. The aftermath of this battle is crazy. “Rach, are you okay?” Ally asks me, the question lifting me from my spinning mind. “Ah, yeah, I just - ” I look up between her and Kyle. “Does this stuff get any easier?” They look over at what I had been looking at. A makeshift hospital inside the cafeteria space. Groaning men and women scattered around on tables, two doctors and several helpers running around assisting them. “I hope not,” Kyle says. It makes me turn to look at him. “I’ve never seen anything like that out there, and I hope I never have to again,” he says, still looking out there. “If this,” he took a shaky breath, “got easier, I think it would mean losing part of my soul.” We stayed quiet for a long moment. The sounds of doctors’ orders and clinking medical equipment took over the space. “Rach?” I know it’s him before he even speaks. Somehow I do. I turn to look at Jake. He’s exhausted, with an un
CHAPTER 147 - Rachel~ I dreamed about the moon. Like I have a hundred times now. But this time it was full, and lit up everything around the forest. I recognized the area, it was our packlands. But parts were slightly different. We didn’t have a lake. I ran over in wolf form to see a lovely lady by the lake. I recognized her right away. Selene. “Rachel! Angeline!” She greeted us. “It’s been a while!” We padded over and sat next to her. “We’re all so proud of you and the pack. And I’m especially excited for your little one, she’s going to be a strong, strong wolf,” she said gleefully. I let out a surprised sound. “Yes! Sorry to spoil the surprise, I know it’s very early. But yes, it’s a girl. And you both are going to raise her to be tough and caring like her mom,” she said with pride. I rested my head on her arm. She got quiet for a while and I looked up at her after a few minutes, seeing an odd look on her face. “I’m sorry - I wish I was just meeting you with som
CHAPTER 146: Rachel~ My skin was itching to get back to Jake. Knowing they were likely out of their cells and making adjustments to our plan gave me some hope, but every touch from this disgusting being made me want to scream. Alright, on my mark, I heard Jake say. Wait. What? I looked around and confirmed Jake wasn’t around. And his voice sounded like it was coming from… in my head? Paul drags me along further and starts unlocking a door. We’ve got to be getting closer to wherever they’re keeping Meg and my mom. Could I- could I be getting some connection to him? Like how the others link? Jake?, I ask the ethos. There’s nothing for a minute. Rachel?, Jake asks back. Woah. How are you doing that?, he asks. I don’t know, I just heard you, I explained. Paul hauled the heavy door open and I gasped. My mom and sister were on the ground in a heap like forgotten laundry. I fell forward and reached into the cell they were in, trying to grab my mom’s hand. “Dove, g
CHAPTER 145: Jake~ As much as I think this could work, Aamon is absolutely livid that Rachel is about to be out of sight. Things have been working as she planned so far. Simon screaming down here brought Rosalind down as thought. I have to give it to the guy - he played ‘seizure guy’ very well. Then in the middle of things there was some shouting up top. Likely from the fire Elise set. Which meant that Kyle was pretending to surrender himself and if Rachel was right, Paul wouldn’t be able to fight the urge to have groveling at his feet. Which left Sophie. She was right outside my cell, watching Rosalind move Paul around in this cell, trying spells to stop him from freaking out, not realizing Ally had thrown him something he now had in his cheek like a squirrel that would ward off unwanted magic. “They’re kind of a mess, aren’t they?” I say beside her. “I would have expected more from a Luna in training…” She turned to face me with a look of defiance. “Desperate times…” I t
CHAPTER 144: Rachel~ “Sophie,” I say the name with charged disgust I can’t hide. “You couldn’t just leave and go find something else to do, huh? You had to stick around and try to take what’s mine.” “Yours?!” She screeches. “You mean what you stole from me! I’m supposed to be Luna. Me! I lost my mom and then my dad, and what? You just waltz along and get what’s mine? NEVER.” “So what? Trying to hurt me before by hiring Max wasn’t enough? Now you have to get some more help to do what you can’t handle? Typical Sophie. Can’t do a da*n thing by yourself. You have to wave daddy’s money around to get anything done. Pathetic,” I sneer. She sputters unintelligible words. I’m getting under her skin. “Enough,” Vance’s mom says, her voice cutting through everything. “You can play around when we’re done with our deal.” Sophie bares her teeth at me then turns. At the same time the door down to the dungeon opens again. Who could possibly be joining in on this nonsense? There’s two sets of s
CHAPTER 143: Jake~ It’s the Luna ceremony today. Rachel started getting into the spirit yesterday. She glows around here. And the pack members love her. Even those who were vocally against cross-species interactions. They know what she did out there that day and what she gave up without expecting anything in return. While a few left, including Tiffany’s family - which was expected anyway since Evan’s rejection - things were very different than I had thought they’d ever be. After she came back we all had made plans to leave and start our own little pack, but everyone surprised me. Now here we were. A pack pioneering acceptance of all kinds of love. We even had two newly mated couples join us from up north. A witch and a wolf, and a wolf and a vampire. The last one was nuts to me, but Jeanette had a totally clean background and a highly trusted wolf for a mate. If we ever grow to the point of needing a Delta, I have my eye on her mate, Juniper. A knock comes to the door and
CHAPTER 142: Rachel~ One Month Later It’s moving day. The thought hits me right when I open my eyes. It makes me smile right away in the early morning light. I guess I was too excited to wait for my alarm to go off. I look over and see Meg asleep in her bed, her head to the side, mouth open, and a soft snore coming out when she exhales. It’s all going to be different now. My phone lights up to my side and I don’t even need to read it before I know it’s from Jake. He likely feels that I’m awake. We’ve been getting more in tune lately. I think the bond is on hyperdrive for us. I’m not even a werewolf but I seem to know things too. I know when something’s upsetting him even if I am outside with the pack pups and he’s in his office, and I know when he’s anxiously pacing in his room even if I’m in the kitchen entertaining a visiting pack. We’re still learning about our bond. And he hasn’t even marked me yet, so who knows how much could change. When I came back to life after Th
CHAPTER 141: Rachel~ It felt like nothing. No. Warmth. Dark but warm. Cozy like being wrapped up in my favorite fuzzy blanket at home. Like I’m huddled in warmth on a stormy cold day. “Rachel,” I hear a lovely voice saying my name slowly, like the lyrics of a song I know. I stir. It’s just so cozy here. Can’t I rest just a little longer? “Rachel,” the voice says again. This time there’s a hand on my arm. The feeling has me trying to wake before I can make the decision to do it. “Rachel,” it says once more. It’s dark but warm. But I have to go. I start to stir, to look for the source of the voice. Who is it? Light surrounds me and it feels just as cozy and warm as before but its so bright. My eyes try to open but it’s just too bright. Then a shadow appears, making it darker. I open my eyes and they adjust to see- Oh, it’s not a shadow. It’s a person. I know this person. My mind is groggy like I’ve woken up from a deep stage of sleep. I’m slow. My synapses
CHAPTER 140: Evan~ I kept expecting her to wake up in Jake’s arms. That somehow, his tears would bring her back. But she just lay there, like a ragdoll, in his arms. If it weren’t for how strikingly pale she looked, I would have told anyone she was sleeping. But she didn’t wake up. It’s hours later and Nick was barely able to get Jake inside. We cleared the field as best we could, bringing in the injured and putting the dead together. Amber had removed all traces of The Collective while we had sat there with Jake. I don’t like how shell shocked she was. She didn’t seem to be actually experiencing all of this and I worry for when those feelings will surface. I know she didn’t like those people. But they still raised her. She told me about jokes and kindnesses that she received in little bursts along the years. She’s basically just lost her family. But she doesn’t want to talk about it. She hasn’t even cried about it. And I can’t say I don’t understand that. I can’t even im
CHAPTER 139: Kyle~ I woke up next to the red wolf. Everyone was screaming or howling. It was chaotic and loud, which made everything that much more disorienting. What I saw next killed me. Rachel out on the field alone, with all the shadow Dementor things charging at her. “Rachel!” I’m screaming but no one can hear me. I look to see Jake crawling towards her from too far away. He won’t get there in time. How did it get this bad? How long was I out for? I flail about, my arms and legs pushing to move but I’m not coordinated or strong enough to get anywhere. “Why is no one helping her?!” I scream again, my voice cracking, my throat raw. The red wolf just tugs on my shirt again, trying to bring me inside the packhouse. I have barely any magic left but I send it to the wolf trying to drag me away. “Let go!” I scream. “We have to help her!” I look around frantically for anyone I recognize. Where is Ally? Evan? Nick? There’s so many wolves and people rushing back, I can’t