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 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 hadnโt 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 couldnโt 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 couldnโt be luna. Liam had simply shaken his head, dropped a drugging kiss to my lips, and inhaled along my neck. โYour scent is the same; that intoxicating honeysuckle and pear with the underlying scent of canine and human. Your eyes havenโt changed back to the pure tu
Clementine I was in a very wet forest. I smelled the moss and lichen growing on the trees and heard the creek at the bottom of the leaf-littered slope. My body itched and burned as I jogged. I heard a guttural growl that shook every cell in my body. My running shoes pivoted as I looked back to where the sound came from. What the hell was that? The crunching sound of my shoes resulted in the forest turning deathly quiet. Dad promised me that this track was safe to run, but as the light glittering through the trees dimmed, I began to think that maybe he had been wrong. I heard the growl again, picked up my pace. The loop I was on went up toward the river, turned, then circled past some old hunterโs cabin and then back toward home. As I passed a tree with an old broken ladder that went up to a dilapidated tree stand, I heard it againโthat growl. Then, out of nowhere, an ethereal howl echoed and bounced off the trees. Shit, run! I sprinted as a large tawny wolf came out of the treeli
Liam Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. I awoke to an annoying buzzing noise. I opened my eyes and looked around the room. Where the hell was I? I tried to move and found a very naked female body partially draped over me. I tried to turn to the other side and noticed another exquisitely nude woman leaving me pinned to contemplate my escape. Gently, I climbed over the one on the left and looked back, grinning. The brunette with milky white skin stirred and shifted onto her stomach before letting out a little sigh, fading in to sleep once more. The bottle-blonde had her hands tucked under her cheek and was drooling slightly from her plump pink lips. I wracked my mind, trying to remember their names. Pfft, what does it matter? They only slept with me for one reason, and I wasnโt going to complain when I got the two of them at onceโฆmore than once. I grinned to myself again. Perks of being the alphaโs son, I guess. Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! It started up again. Oh right! I looked around the room and found my bl
Clementine โDad, Iโm not a teenager anymore,โ I grumbled, looking away from the pity bound to be displayed in his eyes. โI know, Clem. Itโs just, people in this town can be cruel.โ I raised an eyebrow. โI thought we moved here because this town would be good for Vinny?โ โIt will be.โ โBut you just said it can be cruel.โ โYeah, to outsiders, it can be.โ โAnd Iโm an outsider?โ I watched as the tops of my fatherโs ears turned pink. He was getting stressed. โNo, thatโs not what Iโm saying.โ โThen what are you saying, Dad?โ โI was just trying to be supportive,โ he rushed out. โYour mom just died, you dropped out of med school, you moved to a new town where you donโt know anyone. I just want you to know Iโm here.โ โIf people are cruel?โ I added. โSomething like that.โ God, my dad could be weird at times. He was avoiding eye contact, and his ears were still flushed. He closed his eyes and appeared to be trying to calm himself down, before setting his gaze upon me once more. โThere
Liam โShit, are you okay?โ I asked the short little she-wolf that crashed into me, her gentle honeysuckle and pear scent invading my nose. She looked up, her hand covering the tiny upturned pink tip protruding from her face. She was shorter and curvier than the other she-wolves around the place. It made her stand out. I was surprised to see she wore glasses. Photochromic lenses obscured her eyes, but they seemed to be the most interesting shade of bluey green. Said glasses didnโt appear to be a prop or some fashion statement either. They seemed to be corrective lenses. What the fuck? Wolves didnโt suffer declines in vision. I breathed in her scent again. As the intoxicating honeysuckle and pear notes swirled around, I managed to take in the undertones of her canine heritageโdefinitely a wolf. Wait, whatโs that smell? I sniffed again; her wolf seemed tainted. As if it was mixed with something else. Human? Oh, shit. This girl must be the other half-breedโthe older sister. A subtle p
Clementine Okay, maybe Blackfern Valley was a lot bigger than I thought it was. I swear I was lost. I really had no sense of direction. Where the hell am I? I kept walking aimlessly for another twenty minutes. Houses had started to thin outโnot that they were very close and abundant to begin with. I could feel the sweat start to pool around the base of my neck and in the canyon of my breasts. God, this humidity is going to kill me. But I kept walking. The black tar seal had ended; now, it was mostly dirt and gravel. Okay, I was certain I had gone in the wrong direction. I turned around and smacked into something. Ouch, my poor nose! It was getting a hell of a beating today. I looked up and saw another large body obstructing my view of anything else, then took a step back. โSorry about that,โ I murmured, rubbing my nose. โYou know, glasses are supposed to help you see, yet youโre walking into me.โ His voice was smooth, but there was something cold about it. My defensive walls i
Liam The mud under my paws felt amazing as I whipped past the trees. The forest smelled fresh and wet with slight hints of honeysuckle. I splashed into a stream playfully and bounded against the gentle current, spooking the tiny fish back under their rocks. I lapped up some water as I trotted through the stream. It was icy cold and refreshing as it zinged around my tongue. A gentle breeze swirled past, making some leaves fall into the stream from the canopy encroaching it. โWait,โ Lucian said softly. โWhat is it?โ โI smell something.โ Suddenly, Lucian fought me for control. His ears started to twitch, and he sniffed at the air. He growled low. I gave up on fighting Lucian for control and let him follow his instincts. He started cantering north with impressive speed. He must have gone at least five kilometres before slowing down and lowering his underbelly to the forest floor. He began to shuffle and creep forward in an army-like crawl, hiding under a bush that faced the street.
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 hadnโt 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 couldnโt 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 couldnโt be luna. Liam had simply shaken his head, dropped a drugging kiss to my lips, and inhaled along my neck. โYour scent is the same; that intoxicating honeysuckle and pear with the underlying scent of canine and human. Your eyes havenโt 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. โSorry, Iโm not exactly light,โ 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. โMilo, you need to stop and let me down.โ I got a grunt as a response, and, not surprisingly, he didnโt slow as he whipped around the trees. โMilo, Iโm going to fall.โ 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 Clemโs 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-circleโstanding 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 attackโMilo and his broth
ClementineThe lower side of my face was swollen. My throat felt like Iโd swallowed razorblades, and my lip was split. โPut some ice on your face,โ 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. โIโm not going to hurt you.โ 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. โI donโt understand. Why are you helping me?โ My voice was rough and scratchy. โBecause youโre injured.โ โYou were part of Lincolnโs pack,โ I stated. โI was.โ His eyes travelled down my torso as I sat myself up and placed the ice onto my jaw. โAnd you know Iโm a half-breed,โ I whispered timidly. โI know. Are you hurt anywhere else?โ he asked. โNo. I donโt think so,โ I mumbled. โGood. 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 couldnโt 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 โHeโs my true mate, Brady. Iโll never let you dishonour him by marking me. Iโll kill you first.โ I coughed out as he continued to drive. โOh, honey. I would like to see you try and fight with the wolfsbane running through your system.โ โHeโs going to wake up and figure it out,โ I glossed. It didnโt seem like a good idea to tell Brady that Liam was already awake and was strong enough to heal without my constant presence. โThatโs fine too. Maybe Iโll let you gain your wolf enough so he can feel you and track you. Or maybe Iโll just torture you and let him feel that. Heโll heroically and foolishly come to your aid. And Iโm sure I can handle one weakened alpha. Heโll be dead soon enough, regardless what I decide.โ โHeโll come with his warriors, Brady.โ 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 didnโt intervene. I needed to hear this as much as they needed to argue. โI told you when you were alpha that those blood-haters were dangerous. Your gentle approach put my children at risk, Josiah. Again!โ Patrick spat. โAnd I told you that killing isnโt the answer! Thatโs 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?โ โOf course, I fucking remember, Jos, but thereโs 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 dรฉjร 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 couldnโt 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 didnโt matter, though. What mattered was that Liam needed blood, and I needed to give it to him. All of it if thatโs 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 couldnโt leave him. What if I was showering and heโ Dad, unfortunately, didnโt 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. Circeโs possessive side had come thr