Who is watching Rachel? Vance?
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: The next day after school Sean helped me out to his car again. I kept asking him what exactly he had planned and he of course wouldn’t tell me. I asked again anyway. “Your questioning hasn’t gotten me to budge all day and it’s not going to start now,” he teased me. He booped my nose. “Did you just boop me?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Maybe, but if I did you had it coming,” he laughed and buckled in his seatbelt. He drove us to the highway but this time we went south. “Are we going to a beach?” I asked, he shook his head. “Are we… going to a restaurant?” I asked. He just laughed and replied, “That’s it, I’m saying ‘no’ to everything you guess. I’m not letting you ruin your surprise.” “Alright, alright,” I said, hands up in defeat. “Be like that.” He continued to drive down the highway and turned up his music, skipping a few songs until he got to one he knew I couldn’t help but sing to and I side-eyed him for it. But after a few bars I sang alo
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: Friday night was consumed with nightmares and at 4am I decided to give up trying to sleep. I leaned over to my nightstand and pulled out a book and a reading light. Might as well take this time to get something useful done rather than scroll away on I*******m again. It had been a bit but I was finally reading to finish the last book in this fantasy romance series I loved. I hadn’t wanted the story to end so I had put off reading the last book. I loved the romance between the two main characters, a bad-guy fae who turned out to be the good guy all along, and a human girl who finds herself thrown into a world of magic. I just loved their relationship, and the whole concept of soulmates. It was just so comforting and I found myself wishing for my own dark prince charming to conquer the world with and battle evil. But this was just a story. The sun had just started to rise when my phone buzzed. I couldn’t look away from my book for a minute, so caught up in the sto
CHAPTER FORTY: Things calmed a bit over the weekend after my huge talk with Jake. I was more at peace than I had been in some time. His apology would never undo anything, but it was really good to hear it. For him to acknowledge what had happened and how he hadn’t responded in any sort of good way. I would have been able to accept rejection if he had just talked to me, but the silence was uncalled for. We were friends, if anything, when I had confessed my feelings for him in a moment of bravery. I hadn’t deserved that response, and my heart relaxed a little knowing that he knew that. We had continued texting now and then over the weekend, but kept things much more light hearted. He filled me in on some shenanigans, and I mentioned some progress with my ankle. I was going to try to do without my crutches today. Jake thought as long as I wasn’t pushing myself, I would know my body’s progress more than anyone. Sean of course was paranoid that I was pushing myself, and so I lied and told
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: The school day began just like others had. Sean arrived early and babyed me and my foot. I pretended to have forgotten my crutches on the bus and he nearly started calling the bus charter company to have them come back. I told him it was alright and I’d ask a friend to hold them for me. He grumbled for a few seconds then let it go. I was managing just fine walking here and there, and with being able to sit through classes for long periods of time, I was confident I wouldn’t overdo it. Ally, Simon, Sean and I were in the library before class and I was doing some homework ahead of time. It was nice to have this extra time to cut down on the workload I did at home. God, I really loved this school. The bell rang and Sean accompanied us to Humanities, insisting he wasn’t coming along because of my ankle, and was just wanting to spend a little more time with me. We got to the class early, Ms. Del Rios hadn’t opened the door yet, but more classmates were gathering. S
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO: I didn’t let Sean take me home. I needed something, and he wasn’t it. Instead I sat in the grass after school outside with Ally. She kept holding my hand or putting her hand on my shoulder, different things - to let me know that she was there for me. I still hadn’t been able to say a thing since running into Vance. And my hands shook too badly when I tried to write or text. So I sat there, replaying the horror of being so violated in this place that I loved so much. I went over and over every second of it, and tried to figure out why I hadn’t been able to fight back, but I came away with nothing. Ally sat with me patiently, as she had been during lunch and Trigonometry, in her comforting way. She had held my hand tightly and gotten everyone to leave me alone when Sean had dug more and more, asking endless questions trying to learn what had happened. The bus pulled up to the curb and I got on with Ally. The two of us sitting in my unofficially reserved spot. I ha
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: I had made it home some time ago and was trying to focus on homework. I needed to get things done, and maybe focusing all my thoughts on anything else would help free my mind. It helped sometimes, losing myself in other thoughts. Like when I forgot the name of some person who was in that one show that I just couldn’t remember the name of. I could just spend some time watching TV or declutter my closet, and the answer from earlier would just hit me. I was counting on that today. My phone buzzed and I saw a notification for a new email, but didn’t recognize the sender. I opened it. This isn’t the end of this. I’m not giving you up I dropped my phone on the floor and stood straight up. In a panic I looked around, expecting to see Vance watching me from a window, but didn’t see anything. I walked to the windows and door anyway, making sure everything was locked. I closed blinds more, and peaked out searching for anything odd. But I didn’t see anything obvious.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: Nightmare. Another. I knew it somewhere in my mind while it was happening - that it wasn’t real. But it didn’t help. All around me were warm, moist hands touching me all over, pulling at me as I tried to run. But it was pitch black and everywhere I ran to there were more arms. I was screaming but nothing would come out of my throat. There was no relief. I continued to run, desperate for anything, anything other than darkness and arms, and warm clammy flesh. I stumbled. Face first, and more hands reached out grabbing me. I pushed off from something and tried to stand but could only flip myself over. On my back, I tried swatting and kicking arms away. I hit one and it let go, but another hand grabbed my ankle and before I knew it I was trapped. Totally trapped in this darkness, covered arms and hands. And as more and more clamored on top of me I saw a pair of eyes in the distance, silver. And as the arms covered my vision, I thought about how sad I was that I had
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE I froze. Glancing around I could see the backs of Lucy and Elizabeth’s heads up ahead. But no one else was around. I stepped back, but his hand caught my wrist. The same warm, clammy skin grabbing hold of me took me right back to my nightmare and I tried to push against him, push him away. All I ended up doing was giving him my other hand which he held on his chest. He leaned forward. “Walk with me,” he hissed inches from my face. My skin crawled. I tried to push, to yell. But my body wouldn’t cooperate and my mouth wouldn’t even open. It was stronger than yesterday. I was weaker than yesterday. I tried to stay firmly where I was, I didn’t want to walk with him anywhere! “Hurry, Rachel,” he whispered, “Don’t make me lose my patience.” His eyes glowed, a red ring appearing. It flickered. He tugged me along and my body went with him, despite my every atom trying to pull away. Where were we going? Wouldn’t someone come walking around here and see him? Wh
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