Kennedy's words echo through my head, and I wince. You know just as well as I do that he's a ticking time bomb."I love you so much. I'm trying so hard to make this work..." I whisper, "Why can't you see that?""I do.""Then why isn't it enough for you," I pull away from him. Tears are building up in my eyes, and I don't want him to see. "For months, I've been putting aside my own things so I can learn more about your world. I just...I feel like we don't talk like we used to. I don't feel like we're as connected as we used to be.""Because we're not connected. We're not on the same page because you're too busy chasing your tail about your sister's death and doing whatever Avianna has you doing. While I'm focusing on being a better Beta for our pack." His words are quiet but the volume of them rung loudly in my ears, "I need you to be what you were born to be, Alora. You're not a Healer and you're not some Rogue-you were born as my mate. Another Beta. But right now, you can't lead your
I'm surprised that the light is on in the kitchen when I get home. The silhouette of my father is blurry from the frosted glass windows. He's at the kitchen counter, reading. A cup of coffee is beside him, and he wears a thick, knitted sweater and his spectacles.He looks up when I shut the front door behind me, "Hey, kiddo.""Hey," I slip my shoes off and take them upstairs to my bedroom. I change quickly and go to the bathroom to assess the damage.The only thing about having my parents home constantly now is that I have to do a better job hiding my bruises. Which is fine, since most of them I get from sparring or patrols...but this isn't that.I'm hiding bruises that my boyfriend gave me because he snapped.I tug down my sleeves and cover my wrists. My lip is a larger problem. It's bruised and split open, and I'm not sure how I'm going to cover that up. There really isn't a way...but I can't tell my parents how I got it. They won't understand.To be honest, I don't understand eithe
Orion is in my house.Past the guards. Past the Abregon patrols. He even slipped past me. How had I not sensed him until now?The house is silent.Dread fills me as I walk through my bedroom door. Deep down, I know what to expect-what I'm about to see. But still...I tiptoe around the house...like a mouse...checking each room.He isn't anywhere upstairs. Ariella's room has been left untouched.The air smells stale.The stairs crackle with every step I take. No one is in sight. It's as if he has evaporated into the shadows. I jerk away from every small, white sound. The fridge rumbles loudly. The wildlife outside coo and sound alarms. My heartbeat is deafening....I go downstairs and towards my parents' bedroom. My deafening heartbeat slows. The rumblings of the outside and kitchen fade away. A surprising calm washes over me... should be terrified. I am terrified.I brace myself for what is behind this door.It creaks a hollow scream as I push it open with my foot. In the darkness, I se
Alora.Alora.Alora.It's all I can hear the whispers of the ghosts and the visions-as I press my cheek against the cold, tile floor. My mind is drowning, my soul is being hung by a rope of grief and disbelief and turmoil. Death.Death.Alora."Alora." Jayden knocks on the bathroom door again, "Please unlock the door."There's no movement, no sound, that comes from me. My body is a corpse. I lie curled up in their cabin bathroom. It's been hours since I left. The day has come and gone but I remain in my position. The shock is still processing the idea that I have no family left is still wrapping around my mind. The last thing I can do is unlock a fucking door.The last thing I want is to face anyone. Facing them will mean that I'll have to accept this strange, new reality. I'm an orphan.Sobs wrench my lungs from my chest, constricting them so tightly like balls of crunched up paper. I can't breathe. I can only exist in a world of pain. A world of death.The Wolf inside me is folded u
"Where are they?"Ariella stands in front of me. Tears stream down her face. I step up to her and hug her tightly. We bury our faces into one another's shoulders, sobbing loudly. She bunches the thick material of my cardigan in her hands, shaking so hard against me."I'm sorry," She whispers, "I'm so sorry, Alora."I only weep quietly into the crook of her neck. The pain is still so fresh- the loss not quite sinking in. I feel so astounded that it's almost like numbness. The only thing I can do is sob and hiccup into my sister's embrace."Where...Are they here?" I finally manage to choke out. I can't find them -no matter where I desperately search in this Plane... they're not here. All I saw is the red, darkening sky that lights up the black horizon and silhouettes of the Plane. Iphigenia is pressing against Ariella's thigh, whining softly. But no one else. Only mist."Ariella," I look at her again. She's biting her lip and I cry, "Ariella- where's Mom and Dad?""Alora, they've alread
All that flashes through my mind is that he's touching me with the same hands that he touched her with."Don't shut me out, Alora," He murmurs.I let go of the doorknob but don't turn away from the door. "I don't know what you're talking about.""You haven't spoken to me since...since..." He stumbles over his words as I turn around. He can't meet my eyes, but his hands find my wrists. He holds onto them tightly. Out of comfort or to restrain me--I don't know."Say it," I growl, "Say it, Hendrick! We haven't spoken since....""Since your parents died..." His grasp on me softens, but not enough to let me break free. "Alora...I'm sorry... want to take it all away for you- the pain, the death.""You just want to take it away, so you don't have to feel it," I hiss, spitting at the spot on his chest where his heart is supposed to be. "You don't want to feel this way anymore.""I don't.""I don't either! But there's nothing you can do about that--but you didn't have to make it worse!" I try
It's not right. It's wrong to be the only one still standing. Like me being the only one alive is a betrayal.It doesn't feel right because out of us all, I'm the least useful. I couldn't stop any of them from dying. Or perhaps it's because this is all my fault. I'm the reason they are all decomposing in the ground beneath my feet. I'm the one who Orion wants to get to.I'm just as responsible for their murders as he is.Darkness clings to me like a cloak. If people could see auras, then I'd be shrouded in black. Like the mist that surrounds Hekate."Alora," Kaizer's eyes are bloodshot and glass. He waves me to stand next to him and his father, the minister of my parents' funeral.I can't move from my spot. I'm frozen just like they are. There's a large lump in my throat that I can't swallow down-it only grows the more I try to speak.Finally...the final words I'll say to them comes out..." My mom-she was born in Las Marías, Puerto Rico. She and her brother moved to the U.S. after the
Her cheek shatters under the force of my fist."Alora! Stop!"I have Ashenia by the collar of her shirt and slam her into the ground before anyone can stop me. Despite the outrageous pain she's in, she uses my momentum to flip us. My back hits the ground and my gut takes the brunt of her fists.But rage drives me forward. I reach up and grab her face, clawing and gouging at her eyes until she falters. The moment she does, I'm on top of her again.She still smells like him.Her eyes are wide as my teeth sharpen. The beast inside me wants to show this female who is dealing with. There's no mercy, no humanity in this Wolf that lurks inside me. She knows pain-she knows how to inflict it too.I wrench Ashenia's neck back and go in to Mark the bitch myself.Hendrick's body crashes into mine. He quickly pins me down. Only he has the power to quell my Wolf in this moment, though he barely manages it."Bring her to my office, now," Mira's bellow echoes.He tries but I slip through his grasps a
She has his gaze. Orion's gaze. That same, sickening yellow pierces me as I meet her eyes. But she simply watches me. This woman who stands above me seems so familiar...yet I don't know her at all.All I know is her name. Kaltain.She and I look nothing alike, so I know that she isn't a reincarnation of Iphigenia's soul. She is one of Cecily's daughters. She is also one of Orion's.She extends her hand and they're webbed with black veins, like her skin is rotting or crumbling away like ashes of a burnt log. Flames dance off her fingertips like her nails are candlewicks. I flinch away and she tilts her head."You're newer than I thought," Her voice is deep and wispy. Those sharp eyes scrape over me in mild interest. And finally, a twisted, crooked grin takes over her face, "You and I will have much to talk about, Alora. Much to work on in the coming years.""Alora," I whisper, "You know who I am-""Of course. I have known about you long before you knew of me. We share more than just bl
"Congrats," I wave as the couple walks out of the clinic."Thanks, Alora," The pregnant female smiles back at me before taking her mate's hand."Hey Alora!" Addison comes running up beside me. Kiana and Eamonn are next to her.Eamonn sprints into me and wraps his arms around my legs, "Alora! Hey, nene."Addison looks at me with hopeful eyes, "Can you play with us?""What are you playing?""I was going to show Addison how to throw a rugby ball!" Eamonn bounces up and down, "Please come! I want to show you too!""He's really good," Kiana squeezes him tightly in her arms, "Taught by the best, obviously.""Yeah, Mac," Eamonn teases her."You little shite! Who do you think taught Mac, huh?" She grows quiet and glances up at me. I don't smile back at her and she cringes."I have a couple more things I need to do. But when I'm done, I'll come out for a little," I smile at the two pups. They cheer and run off together, but Kiana lingers, "Kiana...'m not angry with you so please stop looking”
Maybe I'm a lot more like Zemira than I have ever been willing to admit. It's a thought that crosses my mind as I watch Hendrick sleeping quietly in front of me. He's here...but I feel nothing. I'm callous, just like she was. The difference is that she craved Orion's love... only crave Hendrick in the most basic and primal ways. The Heat has completely lifted any fog or doubts I had over my feelings for him. I care for him deeply but not in the ways I had before.My trust and faith in what we had has been completely shattered.Which is why this can't go on.I crawl over him, rousing him from his sleep, and brush my fingers through his hair. He grins lazily and encircles my waist with his hands. Our kiss is slow and easy. But it doesn't feel right...out of place like a piano key that was tuned incorrectly."I need to go," I whisper against his lips and tug lightly on the ends of his spiky hair.He blinks, "Where?""I need to check on Kiana-she texted me just now and asked for me to go
I jolt upright at the sound of a loud bang. Immediately, I scramble for my athame and sprint towards the bedroom door. A large, black silhouette in the hallway has me snarling lowly."Alora, it's me!" Hendrick whispers before I can lob it at him."Wha-Hendrick, what the hell are you doing?" I lower the knife and tiptoe past Jayden's room. I can hear neither her nor Olivia breathing softly. They must be sleeping at Olivia's tonight. "I could have hurt you.”"Sorry-I just needed to go for a run," He slips out of his boots and sets them out on the porch. He gives my thigh a pat as he walks by me, "Sometimes, I feel like this apartment is going to suffocate me."I understand how he feels....ever since my Heat had come into full swing, being near him was almost unbearable. We could barely be in the same room alone for more than a few minutes without one of us having to stop the other from doing something stupid."We're nearly done," I lean against the sliding door and watch the Moon hang a
I keel over for a moment, hands on my knees and breathing deep. Nancy lays a hand on my back but she lets go when I smile at her. Throughout the day, my body periodically has cramped up like most of the females.The time for the pack's seasonal Heat has begun, and so have the fights between females too. Avianna has gone back to help Abrego with its Heat, which means that Nancy and I are left to deal with the waves of injuries and fights.After a long day, I sprawl out on the couch in the apartment and kick off my shoes. Jayden is out for the evening to meet Olivia's family- something I know she's really nervous about. I send her a quick text of encouragement.As I set my phone down, the door opens. Hendrick walks inside but doesn't make it a foot inside before he freezes. Our eyes lock onto one another. "Mi reina," His voice is deeper nowadays, and I can't believe how much he has changed in just a short amount of time. It makes me hope that he actually has changed....but I can't belie
"You can't go in there-”I push the meeting room doors with both hands. It's only Mac and Kiana inside, leaning over the center table and setting up a computer. Gracie is behind me with her eyes popping out of here skull."Lass? What is it?""Where's Kennedy?" I look around the room but he's not here. He was though-his scent is fresh here!""Right behind you."I turn around. He's not smiling but he's not unfriendly either. But Hendrick's words haunt me almost as much as the spirits that stalk my every move. Packs like Solari and Ameku take advantage of their connections to The Order to gain advantage over everyone else.Are you using me?I want to believe that he isn't. I've never felt that Kennedy has ulterior motives for helping me. But he also hid Orion's attacks on this pack from me. And he neglected to tell me the tension that existed between the Lycans and the Werewolves. He never lied...he just never told me the truth.His head tilts so innocently when I look away from him. Both
"I don't think this is a good idea, Alora."Jayden sets up a pillow for me as I set up my scrying bowl. We're in the backroom of Nancy's clinic, who was kind enough to not ask any questions. I, however, have plenty of questions to ask-all of which are in desperate need of answering."I have to find him, Jayden," I crush the last of the lupine I brought with me from Palawan. "Remind me to ask Avianna to bring some Kinkaid's Lupine next time she's-""Okay, but Alora-""You're not going to talk me out of it," I understand her concerns. Truth be told, I'm trembling in fear. Nothing good ever came out of seeking him...but I don't have much of a choice. Every other lead or clue I've had isn't panning out right now. "Stand outside the door. Make sure no one comes in...""Fine, but I don't think we should be doing this-I don't care if Kennedy knows-""What does Kennedy know about?" Hendrick walks into the backroom but stops the moment he takes in the scene in the room. Jayden holding a chest
What am I doing?I mix the two potions together in the scrying bowl. To my pleasure, they light up in a green mixture the moment they mix together. I yip in delight and clap my hands. At least I'm not messing up entirely on thisThe same cannot be said in regard to how I'm dealing with the personal feelings towards two certain men in my life. Again, I ask, what am I doing?Quickly, I pop a couple of the crystals I have been using lately into the green potion. It's supposed to help cleanse crystals and other tools quicker than just placing them in the sunlight, moonlight, and running water.Lying back on the wooden floor, I stare at the white, wooden paneling on the ceiling above. Today has been quiet and left me a lot of time to focus on practicing all that I had learnt from Avianna and Nancy.It's also given me a lot of time to reflect on my own feelings. I still can't forget the way Jayden glared at me when she saw Kennedy and I together in the hospital...and I can't get either Hend
"I can do it," I say as Hendrick tries pick me up from the car. Despite the mending ribs, I'm not tired. I feel strong and have to keep reminding myself to take it slowly."Just be careful," He steps back to give me some room, but not much. His eyes keep darting around at the Solari Wolves that have come over to see how I'm doing.He doesn't expect me to put my hand on his arm, "Hendrick, it's alright..."Just as I took him by surprise, he returns the favor by pushing me up against the car. I'm wide-eyed and stiff as a board when he cups my face. He searches my face but I'm not sure for what. Maybe he's still paranoid about any injuries I have, or maybe it's the fact I'm alive and breathing. Whatever his reasons, I can't fill my lungs up with a sufficient amount of air to keep from becoming lightheaded.His face is so close to my own. His lips brush against the corner of my mouth...and just when I think he's going to kiss me, he pulls away. My mind is buzzing while he pushes my hair f