Clementine I pulled into Blackfern Valley, with nervousness bubbling through my body. I drove straight toward my house and pulled into the driveway, cutting the engine. Grudgingly, I got out of the truck and slung my weekend bag over my shoulder, picking up the boxes on the passenger seat and closing the door. I pressed the remote lock as I trudged toward the back door. Everything looked the same. Felt the same. “I’m home,” I called out, then rolled my eyes, remembering both my brother and father had werewolf hearing. Half of the pack probably heard my announcement. “Welcome home, Clemmy!” Dad said from the kitchen, where he was sitting at the dining table with a cup of coffee. He smiled, and then his eyes went vacant for a moment, which he tried to cover by taking a sip of coffee. Looking back, I realized he did that a lot growing up, and I smiled. I guess some habits were hard to break. “I brought Timbits,” I said. I heard thumping footsteps, and seconds later, Vinny was instan
Liam “Liam. It’s Patrick. I just thought you would like to know that Clementine just got home.” I dropped my pen onto my paper and abandoned the calculus assignment I was using as a distraction. I jumped into my car and sped down the driveway, barely stopping to look for cars at the end of the drive before squealing tires on my way toward Clementine’s house. Relief washed through me as soon as I saw her walk out of the back door, followed by a flush of happiness. She was here. Ryan wasn’t her mate. My heart galloped in my chest, and I sniffed her scent deeply, which stirred up even more indescribable emotions as I took her in. She was dressed in a brightly coloured loose-fitting top that showed a modest amount of creamy cleavage and black yoga pants which hugged her delicious curves. Her dark hair had grown since I had seen her last and was now sitting just below her shoulder blades, and her turquoise eyes were piercing as they found mine. She was stunning. And she was standing rig
Clementine I walked back into the kitchen, freshly showered and ready to head to work. All I needed was to make a quick sandwich, and I could go to a place where I could be distracted from my downward-spiralling thoughts. “He’s gone,” Dad said as I nervously looked out the kitchen window at the backyard. My heart sank a little. “Good,” I said crossly. “Are you okay?” “I’m fine.” “You can talk to me, Clem.” I smiled and nodded, “I know.” I proceeded to pull out the ingredients for a sandwich. “I’m sorry you’re hurt, Clemmy,” Dad continued. I stopped buttering the bread for half a moment before I started swiping my knife across the bread again, encasing my emotions. “I’m fine,” I repeated, wishing he would drop the subject. “For what it’s worth, I think Liam genuinely cares about you.” I bristled. “If that’s true, he has a really shit way of showing it.” “Well, he was here in our back yard for the night of the full moon and every night after, waiting for your return. He did
Liam I settled down to study in my usual booth at Lupus’. I could smell the honeysuckle and pear scent as soon as I stepped through the door, and knew she was here. I opened my books and ordered a beer, trying to get through the massive workload thrown to the class just before we went on a summer-midterm break. I’d usually have held it off until the last minute, but because I needed the distraction while Clem was in Vancouver, doing my assignments seemed like a perfect choice. Now that I had started, I just wanted to get it over and done with. Instead of studying at home or in the library at the university, I decided to go back to my regular routine of studying at Lupus’. I was hoping Ryan would have returned by now, that I’d walk in and see him working the bar, but he hadn’t yet. I was hoping I would meet his mate, see how happy he was and forget the shit thoughts I had about him over the weekend. And I was hoping he could give me some advice on how to get Clem to talk to me. Clem
Clementine When April walked off, I felt indescribable rage. Liam had summoned me to serve on him, proving what I had shouted at him earlier. Clad in impenetrable armour, I walked straight up to his table, each of my steps echoing loudly over the wooden floor. He didn’t even look up or register I was there. His caramel brown hair had fallen onto his page as he scribbled away. Cold fury rolled through me. He summoned me, and now he wasn’t talking to me. For what? To prove that I was indeed a slave to his needs, that he could get me to worship at his feet, to follow him around like a lost puppy. What was the old saying? Treat them mean and keep them keen? Asshole! “You know, universities have libraries for that purpose,” I snarled. His head snapped up, and he gave me a small smile that made my heart flip. It was a slight twitch of his soft-looking lips, but it was still a smile. “I know. But this has always been my place to study.” Except for the week, you were ghosting me. I felt
Liam We were going hard at training, pounding into the dirt as we fought and tousled with each other. My brother Sean was stalking me on all fours. He was a dirty blond wolf with sandy-coloured highlights through his fur. His eyes were ringed with light gold, making the browns in his hazel eyes stand out. His wolf was smaller than mine, but that was to be expected considering his age. Sean was attending his first lesson fighting in wolf form, and he was giving it everything he had. He charged forward, his tail waving high in confidence, feigning at the last moment and snapping at my back leg. I dodged and snarled, snapping my teeth at him, before ramming my side into him, trying to knock him off balance. He growled, and I tried it again. He rolled gracefully out of the way, kicking dust at me as he did. He charged again, but I managed to get a mouth full of neck fur, and I gave it a gentle but firm shake, snickering to myself as he tried to kick me off. I shook him again, and he gru
Clementine He had run into the house like an idiot, screaming my name. I watched in horror as Liam opened the door and dived into a house full of orange and amber flames. Dark black smoke billowed out, and I stood there frozen in shock, shrouded safely across the road. The cell phone in my hand still glowed from my use. I had already called the emergency services. I heard a pop and shattering of glass breaking, and felt my entire world stand still. My world may have stopped, but I hadn’t. On autopilot, I ran toward the house, shouting Liam’s name like a lunatic. I was looking through the windows, trying to see him, but I couldn’t. Panic rattled through me. He has to be okay! My rational mind had already departed. I was ready to run into the burning building; consequences be damned. My body was zinging with the need to save him. I screamed his name again and approached the back door. A large tawny wolf came barrelling out of the house and tackled me to the ground, growling deeply.
Liam After an ice-cold shower, I walked to the alpha’s office and rapped my knuckles against the smooth wood. My dad had summoned me, and I had a feeling it had something to do about the meet. “Enter,” his voice vibrated through the wood. I opened the door and wasn’t surprised to see Patrick sitting on the hard leather couch. My father looked exhausted, and Patrick’s eyes glowed with silver. He nodded at me as I entered and turned back toward my father. “Alpha, with all due respect, you don’t know that. You told me my children would be safe in your pack and look what’s happened. My daughter’s been stalked, attacked, and poisoned. She was roofied, and someone tried to burn her alive.” Patrick’s eyes flashed even more dangerously. “If it weren’t for my son’s need for this pack, I would be taking them both away. As soon as this meet is over, I’m going to tell Clementine that she needs to leave.” “What?” My blood went cold. “You can’t do that!” Lucian’s hackles raised. “Yes, I can. S
Clementine The full moon had come around again, but this time, it was different because I was a bundle of nerves. Okay, so I might have been a bundle of nerves the first time too, but at least I had Circe. My wolf still hadn’t shown up, and although I was wearing a brave face, the idea of being mated without a wolf made me nervous. Liam kept reassuring me that she would come back eventually, but as we got closer to the full moon, I became more agitated because I believed I couldn’t be with Liam without a wolf. Not if he remained alpha. I tried to convince him to hold off the mating ritual until we knew if she was coming back. I was trying to be pragmatic and develop a strategy in case I was left wolfless, as a human couldn’t be luna. Liam had simply shaken his head, dropped a drugging kiss to my lips, and inhaled along my neck. “Your scent is the same; that intoxicating honeysuckle and pear with the underlying scent of canine and human. Your eyes haven’t changed back to the pure tu
Liam The full moon was approaching, and the entire pack could feel it. Everyone was on edge. There were several ex-pack members still missing. Everyone seemed convinced it would lead to another battle and more pack members would die. Our pack had lost fourteen members in our quest to rescue my mate. Fourteen families had received visits where Clem and I delivered our heartfelt condolences to personally. I was unsure how many the rogue army had lost, but there were a lot of deceased wolves when we started to clean up and sort through the bodies. I had left Clementine the next morning, tucked safe and sound in our bed. I knew she would be pissed about it, but I needed to go and help identify the bodies. Twenty of us marched out to the battle site and started to sift through the woods, pulling wolves out of debris and resting them together in a small area where their loved ones could collect them. Usually, we would just burn the rogues, but as much as I kept saying it, these rogues we
Clementine I watched as Liam sprinted away and felt my heart fall into my stomach. My feet moved on their own, and Milo cut me off before I foolishly ran into the middle of a wolf fight. He growled, and I knew he was telling me we needed to get the fuck out of Dodge. “Sorry, I’m not exactly light,” I apologized as I clambered onto his back. He huffed and spun on his paws so fast I felt myself buckle. I grabbed fistfuls of fur and tugged. He grumbled. Oops! I tried to loosen my hold, but there was no good place to hold onto. I had no experience riding a horse, let alone a wolf. If I wrapped my arms around his neck, would I choke him? I felt awkward and clumsy on top of him. “Milo, you need to stop and let me down.” I got a grunt as a response, and, not surprisingly, he didn’t slow as he whipped around the trees. “Milo, I’m going to fall.” Another grunt. Vinny grumbled at me too. His eyes darted around the forest and back to me, watching me fumble as I tried to balance on the bac
Liam The sound of battle was emitted from deep within the forest. I was still a fair distance away, but the echoes and vibrations pushed my paws harder into the forest floor. The smell of Clem’s scent caught on the wind, and Lucian barked, scaring a small frog off a rock and back into the nearby creek. I followed the scent and the sounds of fighting in the distance, running past wolves in a combination of different fighting forms. Most of them were fully shifted, but those who had their level-three training swapped between wolf and human forms with the grace of deadly dancers. Clementine was cornered against a dirt wall. Her hands were bound, and even though she looked calm, I could sense the fear rolling from her. There were four wolves with her, encasing her in a semi-circle—standing sentry. Her brother was closest, as if the others had pushed him back to protect him too. Two large werewolves the colour of molten chocolate guarded the middle front from attack—Milo and his broth
ClementineThe lower side of my face was swollen. My throat felt like I’d swallowed razorblades, and my lip was split. “Put some ice on your face,” an unknown voice snarled. I opened my eyes and winced. I assumed I was still in the cabin, lying on a very uncomfortable cot in a small room. I met the brown eyes of someone I had seen around town and flinched back from the ice in his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He rolled his chocolate eyes and offered me the ice again. I gingerly took it, looked up at him again and took in his chiselled jaw and brown wavy hair. “I don’t understand. Why are you helping me?” My voice was rough and scratchy. “Because you’re injured.” “You were part of Lincoln’s pack,” I stated. “I was.” His eyes travelled down my torso as I sat myself up and placed the ice onto my jaw. “And you know I’m a half-breed,” I whispered timidly. “I know. Are you hurt anywhere else?” he asked. “No. I don’t think so,” I mumbled. “Good. I just came in to give you s
Liam Half an hour later and the meeting had disbanded. Ryan and Stacey had taken off with a couple of trackers from the warrior squad. Patrick went to inform Vinny about what had happened, and Jerome and Dad helped me organize an urgent meet with the entire pack for this afternoon. Even though it was the middle of the afternoon, it was getting cooler now in the fall air. The mountains and thick forest made it almost impossible for the sun to warm up the valley. The sun tried desperately to shine through the trees, but it was met with an invisible frosty wall that couldn’t be penetrated. The chill in the air was almost foreboding, making me feel like I would never be warm again. Patio heaters and gas barbecues were lit up throughout the grounds. I smiled at the pack members as they filed in, wearing their summery clothes as if they were oblivious to the changes in the temperature. I smiled at the five hundred odd people who had turned up. Five hundred wolves would be enough to start
Clementine “He’s my true mate, Brady. I’ll never let you dishonour him by marking me. I’ll kill you first.” I coughed out as he continued to drive. “Oh, honey. I would like to see you try and fight with the wolfsbane running through your system.” “He’s going to wake up and figure it out,” I glossed. It didn’t seem like a good idea to tell Brady that Liam was already awake and was strong enough to heal without my constant presence. “That’s fine too. Maybe I’ll let you gain your wolf enough so he can feel you and track you. Or maybe I’ll just torture you and let him feel that. He’ll heroically and foolishly come to your aid. And I’m sure I can handle one weakened alpha. He’ll be dead soon enough, regardless what I decide.” “He’ll come with his warriors, Brady.” He chuckled deeply as he turned onto an old highway that travelled into the mountains. I tried to reach Liam. He would be freaking out the moment he realized I was gone. I had to keep trying. I even tried contacting other
Liam I shifted in my seat and grimaced at the pain in my stomach. I knew this injury was going to take some time to heal. Even under the watchful eye of my fussing mate, it would take more than a week to get me back on my feet. My first official pack meeting was going to shit, too. I listened as Dad and Patrick argued heatedly, letting them hash it out like an old married couple, but I didn’t intervene. I needed to hear this as much as they needed to argue. “I told you when you were alpha that those blood-haters were dangerous. Your gentle approach put my children at risk, Josiah. Again!” Patrick spat. “And I told you that killing isn’t the answer! That’s how Jed ruled the pack. Do you not remember how many pack members he executed for small misdemeanours? Do you not remember how we lived in fear that he would get bored and start killing us for sport?” “Of course, I fucking remember, Jos, but there’s a difference between executing people for misdemeanors and crimes like attempted
Clementine As Liam lay in bed, pale and covered in a cold sweat, I had a horrible sense of déjà vu. There was no smell of chemo, no impending death, but the feeling was the same. The first time I watched someone I loved dying I couldn’t do anything about it. This time, I would do everything I could to save him. My arm still hurt from where I shoved the central venous cannula into my vein, almost piercing through the other side. That didn’t matter, though. What mattered was that Liam needed blood, and I needed to give it to him. All of it if that’s what it was going to take. After he was stitched up, placed into our bed, and hooked up to monitors, my dad suggested that I have a shower. I had shaken my head vehemently in refusal. I couldn’t leave him. What if I was showering and he– Dad, unfortunately, didn’t take no for an answer. I stepped into the enormous ensuite but left the door open a crack so I could hear what was going on in the bedroom. Circe’s possessive side had come thr