~MILLIE~
It seemed like we had been speaking for hours. I was completely entranced by her every word, eagerly awaiting more. April was a beautiful person, both inside and out. I could tell she cared so much for all wildlife, regardless of how big or how small, and no matter how dangerous some of the animals could be. I learned that she set up the animal shelter when she was only 17 years old. She had watched a game hunter shoot a deer. The shot wasn’t enough to kill the deer, allowing it to run off, however, it was enough to cause a nasty infection which would have resulted in a slow and painful death. Somehow, she managed to capture it, treat it and nursed it back to health before releasing it into the wild. This was just one of the many stories she had told me.
I looked at her with awe. At 29, the shelter and her team had grown immensely. They worked day and night, in shift patterns to accommodate the beauty that is nature. After all, all animals were unpredictable.
The cabin was made from local wood, milled by a nearby business and built by a construction company in the city. It was eco-friendly and powered mainly by solar panels on the roof. Although they did have a power source and generators just in case.
The remainder of the morning consisted of April showing me around the shelter. There were food stock rooms, treatment rooms, recovery rooms, even blackout rooms for animals that were nocturnal or those who were simply too distressed. She showed me where the head covers, and bags were kept as well as the equipment used to catch injured animals. Lastly, she showed me the medical supply room. There was a large steel cabinet in the corner which housed 2 guns and ammunition rounds. Apparently, I needed to know where they were kept and how to use them in case of a wolf attack, or any other attacks for that matter. April could tell by my unsettled expression that I wasn’t keen on there being weapons here, and how the thought of any form of attacked had me on edge, yet she appeased me enough by advising it was just a precautionary measure.
10 other ladies were working at the shelter and a local vet in town who helped in case the shelter needed extra support.
Once the tour of the shelter had been completed, we made our way to the staff room, which was located by the main reception. It was also where Megan was waiting for me.
Whilst we walked, April explained my schedule. She had placed me on a shift pattern which matched hers for the first few weeks, to help ease me into my new surroundings. Shifts didn’t bother me, as a veterinary nurse, I was expected to help at any time of the day. It was my job.
Pushing the ‘STAFF ONLY’ door open, April allowed me to walk in first. I could see an open space kitchen dining area, with a large table in the centre. Neatly pushed underneath, were two long pull out benches as seats. Further into the room was a sitting area, complete with two sofas and a chair with a TV positioned on the wall. It was a peaceful room, which was decorated differently to the rest of the building. There was a pale green textured feature wall, with all other walls being an ‘off white’ colour. Matching green throws and accessories dotted the seating area.
Still taking this room in, April turned to face me and held onto my shoulders. “So, we are all done. You start Monday. I’m really excited for you to join our team!"
“Thank you so much.” I smiled will glee. The next part of moving forward was ticked off my mental list.
I glanced over to Megan who was grinning from ear to ear.
#
“Thank you again, April. I cannot wait to start!” I was so excited, that I impulsively threw myself at her, draping my arms around her neck.
“Haha, you are very welcome honey.” She smiled, hugging me back.
“Thanks, babe, I’ll text you later,” Megan shouted as she climbed into her car.
I followed and gave April a final wave.
“They have a gun… A FUCKING GUN!” I exclaimed, clicking my seatbelt in.
I turned to face Megan. My eyes and mouth were wide open.
“Haha, it's only for protection. You don’t want to be attacked by a wolf now do you”. She winked at me.
No…No, I do not. But pointing a gun at one… I’m not sure I could do that.
#
The rest of the day flew by. All we seemed to do was eat and watch films.
What a perfect Sunday.
“Millie,” Megan called me from the kitchen.
I hopped off the sofa and made my way to her.
“Congratulations lovely!! Now, let’s start celebrating!” She squealed, with her hands around the neck of a bottle of Champagne.
“Haha thank you.” I laughed as I reached for the glasses.
Soon, the Champagne had all gone, and we were onto a bottle of red.
I hadn’t drunk alcohol for some time, so I was feeling the effects of the bubbles already.
Fuck. I’m going to feel this in the morning.
“How are you feeling about everything now Mils?” Megan asked taking a sip of her wine.
“Umm, ok I think.” I lied…
She looked at me with one perfectly groomed eyebrow raised.
Damn, she doesn’t believe me.
“Okay, okay. It is just so hard. I hated him, who he was, how he treated me, but I feel out of my comfort zone.” I stopped myself from saying anymore and looked down as I swilled the content of my glass. “Sounds stupid doesn’t it?”
“Not at all, you were together for a long time.” She sounded reassuring. “He was controlling babe but trust me, you can do so much better than him.”
She was right again. He was controlling. He would always tell me I would never do better than him and I believed him. I felt such a fool for staying with him for so long.
“He’s gone now. Out of sight out of mind. Now, let’s find you a true man. It has been a while for you haha”. She joked.
“Nope, not for me. I’m staying off men forever!” I didn’t want to even entertain the idea of another man. Not for a long time.
“Hmmm…” She didn’t sound convinced. Though it was true, I didn’t want another bloke. I didn’t want to be hurt or for the fairy tale not to exist. Plus, I needed to get ‘me’ back first.
“Anyway, moving on…” I said as I shot her an ‘I don’t want to talk about my love life anymore’ glare.
Megan topped up my glass whilst she moved onto another topic of conversation.
#
“You, y-you are good now M-Millieeee.” Megan flopped towards me, landing in my lap.
“I knooooow,” I said, patting the top of her head.
Oh, my god, this wine has gone to my head.
“I need a weeeeee.” I managed to push Megan off me and stood my grown arse up off the sofa. Holding onto the walls for support, I made my way to the little girl’s room. Geez, why is it so hard to walk!
Once finished, I stumbled into the table that someone so kindly placed in front of my path.
Something caught my eye as it darted past the window in front of me.
“What the fuck was that?” I asked nobody in particular.
My eyes narrowed as I tried to focus on the trees that surrounded the garden. It was so dark out there that only the silver beams from the moon and the gentle glimmers of the garden solar lights offered some form of illumination.
Suddenly, a shadow ran out from behind one of the bigger trees that stood at the edge of the garden, where the wild touched the tamed lawn.
I walked towards the bi-folding doors and pressed my face against the cold glass. The wine clearly made me invincible.
I saw it again. This time there was no mistaking it. Something ran from one side to the other.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!” Screaming at the top of my voice as I tried my hardest to back away without falling.
"W-what you are talking about?” Megan waded in with a confused look etched on her face.
“I SAW SOMETHING OUT THERE. I FUCKING SAW SOMETHING!!”.
Megan peered through the glass.
“There’s nothing there.” She said with a hiccup.
“Yes, there was!! I fucking saw something! What if it was him!” I suddenly felt my body sober up as my senses started to scream at me. It’s him, it’s fucking him.
Megan unlocked the door.
“Don’t fucking open it!”
She looked at me, she was still clearly pissed and not scared in the slightest. Oh, I see, alcohol makes you invincible too.
Megan pushed the door open.
Oh, sweet baby Jesus. Nooo!
My heartbeat felt as though it was trying to escape from my throat. The rhythm of the blood being pushed through my body was all I could hear.
Stepping outside onto the patio area, she looked out towards the giant shadows of nature.
“Helllooooooooo…. Isssss anyone theeeere?” Cupping her ears, Megan waited for a reply.
I held onto the door, too panic-stricken to edge forward.
“Seeeee. There is no one heeeere.”
A sigh of relief left my chest. Humm, maybe I have had too much alcohol.
A loud menacing howl echoed through the trees causing us both to jump. Megan ran back through the door pushing me to the floor.
“Fucking wolves!” She said out of breath.
She looked at me and began to laugh. She was infectious, and soon enough, I was laughing too. I mean, it’s hard not to laugh when you both of us nearly shit our pants.
“That is enough excitement for one day. Time for bed.” I smiled.
~AIDEN~“I want you to set up more patrols around our borders, both day and night. Ensure at least two wolves are together at a time. I don’t want to see or hear of any single wolf out on watch.” My anger-filled words seeped through my gritted teeth as I looked down at the dead body of one of my pack members. Over Gilly. He was an excellent person and a strong wolf. How the hell did he end up like this, he was always on the ball. Something didn’t add up. I sighed as I looked away from his lifeless form. My wolf’s howl tore through my body as he paced my mind. He valued him, as did I.“Yes, Alpha.” Jojo, one of my
~AIDEN~Looking at my watch, I rolled my eyes. The time seemed to be tricking me. For what felt like minutes, were really seconds, and hours were that of minutes. Without removing my gaze, I watched the second’s hand on my watch face creep up to the next number, like a tiny predator ready to catch its next meal. God, was I really comparing my watch to a wild miniature beast? I suppose that highlights how interested I am right now… Ugh… I much as I need Jarrad’s help right now, his voice was slowly killing me. So monotone… So boring. A bit like him... Actually, a lot like him. His sister Tia should have been born a male to take the Alpha position. She certainly has more balls.
~AIDEN~The past few weeks were demanding, both on my body and my mental capacity. Work just seemed to be getting busier and not to mention the hive of activity at the Packhouse. Every pack member was on high alert. Meetings followed by meetings, and more goddamn meetings took place almost daily. Combat drills, endurance exercise and weight training happened in between those fucking meetings. Thankfully, no more deaths had been reported however there had been two attacks which were close to the human borders. Once again, nothing was found at the scenes. With every day that passed, I grew more impatient by the lack of evidence and how these bastards were continuing to go unnoticed. I sighed frustratedly, as I removed my hands from the laptop a
~MILLIE~My fingers tapped forcefully onto the leather steering wheel of Megan’s car, as the music flooded through the speakers taking hold of me. Rock was my genre of choice today. I couldn’t help but sing at the top of my voice as the car practically vibrated with each deafening beat of the base. I didn’t care if pedestrians could hear my playlist, as I was in my happy place once again.The drive from the animal shelter, through our small town and into the city was long and, the quiet tranquil location surrounded by huge towering trees were now replaced by large deafening cro
~AIDEN~I stood by the side of the road, lost. Completely. Fucking. Lost. My wolf was pacing back and forth like a possessed wild animal, whilst I stood there dumbstruck. Her scent was fading fast and I didn’t know what the hell to do.“Aiden!” Kieran touched my arm sensing my exasperation.“I smelt her.” My wolf’s eyes were now my own as we both filtered through what was left of the large crowd with our tunnel v
~AIDEN~The past two hours seemed to have flown by. The tranquility of our lodge didn’t remove the uproar of what happened earlier, but at least for now, I knew we were on our own and could devise a str
~AIDEN~I pulled up outside The Wild Lounge and turned the ignition off on my Mercedes G-Class. Jake eagerly hopped out of the car before any of us had the chance to undo our seatbelts. He loved the attention and didn’t waste any time flirting with the ladies who stood lined up outside waiting for their turn to enter.Jesus Christ Jake!” Samuel shouted after his brother who hadn’t bothered to close the door behind him.Kieran chuc
~MILLIE~“Come on! We need a drink!” April and Megan grabbed my arms and pulled me inside. I coyly smiled at the doormen as our heels clicked past them. I was secretively thankful we were late. We didn’t need to hang around outside in any queues, getting cold and frustrated.“Wooooow!” I gasped. The inside of this place was insane.Megan had told me when we were in the taxi, that this place was a cocktail bar in the da
Acknowledgements:Firstly, I would like to acknowledge a few people who have made this book possible.Lyv Aiken, my fellow author you were with me right from the start and truly helped me so much on my journey. You guided me through a process I knew nothing about and coached me when I needed it. moreover, you became a friend to me who understood my life. For that, I will forever be thankful.R L Dickinson, my fellow author, you are some whole lotta crazy, but in a good way. You are like me, but a northern version. Thank you for offering to be my beta, to begin with, but you quickly became my friend and one who I don’t think I could get rid of or want to for that matter. You have had my heartbreaking, my cheeks hurting and a few times, you’ve had me like “whaaaaat”, but obviously in a good way. Thank you for being you and believing in me.To my Beta ladies, Kemely, Missy and Rachel (and you Bec aka R L Di
~MILLIE~ Some things in life are guaranteed, like the beautiful sound of the bird’s song as the sun begins to rise or like how the sun sets in the evening, bringing with it a breeze of chilled air that is sure to flush your skin with a gentle tingle, awakening the hairs on your arms. But at my ripe old age, you come to realise that there are still so many things in life, that are not guaranteed. Like falling in love for a start. People often say that love will walk right up to you and smack you square in the face when you least expect it, you know when you’re minding your own business or trying to move on with your life in a certain direction. Who that lover will be, God only knows but what I do know, is that you have no control over it, no matter how hard you try to gip it by the horns and show it who’s boss? You simply end up succumbing to its overbearing power, allowing it to flood your senses and inevitably, turning you into a mushy version of your former self. &
~TIA~“Pick up your phone, dammit! Why isn’t he picking up his phone?” I screeched, hurling my phone across the room. Dan hadn’t answered once again, in fact, he hadn’t accepted any of my phone calls since I arrived at the Dark witch’s house, who, for all the bitter and twisted DNA that made her, she had a relatively normal name. Miranda.No one answered me. Miranda continued to sway in her old and tatty rocking chair next to the fireplace and Elder Richard remained quiet as he sat at the head of the dining table.I raised one simple eyebrow in response to their ignorance. Do they not realise how important this all is? Dan could have killed Aiden for all we knew, and the unknown was now beginning to eat away at me.Miranda scowled and then moved her head with a patronising tilt.“Don’t Miranda, just don&rsq
~MILLIE~“Drop the fucking gun.” Dan hissed, the rounded metal pushing harder against my skull, I exhaled a breath I didn’t know I was holding, and a single salty tear escaped out of the corner of my eye and rolled down my chilled cheek, finding its way into the crease of my lip. My eyes fluttered unconsciously, clinging onto the vison of Aiden who was still being attacked and although he was holding his own, more men appeared to be jumping on his wolf as quickly as he was tossing them to the ground.With the safety still off and one bullet remaining in the chamber, I felt my way along the cold steel guard that protected the trigger, before placing my finger onto the piece of metal that would allow me to take out another hunter.I won’t let them kill Aiden, they won’t take him away from me.I felt possessed, my mind had been overtaken by an unstoppable fo
~MILLIE~The sight before me was nothing short of barbaric. I hadn't really looked properly when Dan attempted to encourage my view but now, with the shape side of a silver blade to my throat, I had no choice. It was as though I was watching a high-definition thriller movie on a big screen. Blood was literally spraying into the moonlit sky, limbs were being torn from the human hunters as though they were merely a rag doll held together by some flimsy stitching, and even though it appeared that the supernatural werewolves were the winning team, they weren't without injury.As much as I wanted to screw my eyes tight, blocking out the blood-filled rage, I couldn’t. I needed to see Aiden. I needed to know he was ok, and it wasn't long before my clouded vision spotted his overly large wolf.He howled, stilling the other wolves from their fight before all heads turned to face us.Come
~MILLIE~My eyes scanned over the lifeless body slumped on the floor, and even though her head was twisted in the wrong direction, there was a part of me that wanted confirmation that she was gone. “Shit,” I breathed, “I-is she dead?” I asked, my orbs still affixed. He hummed, validating my suspicions. I sighed, slightly relieved that I didn’t need to use the rifle that rested in my hands. My gaze lifted, passing the corpse to her executioner’s bare feet and shins.“Well, as far as introductions go, this is a first.” He said, a hint of humour in his tone.“Huh,” I mumbled, not really hearing what he said.“Errm, maybe this would be an easier encounter if you weren’t still pointing the gun in my direction? After all, I did just save your life,” He chuckled.“Oh, yeah, shit
~AIDEN~“For fucks sake,” I growled, looking down at my unresponsive phone. It must have turned off by accident when I nearly killed Jarrad. I found my gaze subconsciously lifting to see the side of his face and my blood instantly ran hot with anger. His heart rate increased, he knew I was boring a hole into his head and he sensed my rising fury, but he continued to focus on the blackened road around us. ‘Stop it Aiden,’ I thought to myself with a grunt as I forcefully pushed the power button on my phone, waiting for it to spring to life.“N-nearly there.” Jar
~MILLIE~The door scuffed against the floor as it closed, and just like that, she was gone. No, she can’t have just gone. “Come back! Come back you bitch!” I yelled against my restricted body, but the door remained shut. Where was she going? Who did she need to see? Panic began to race through my body as question upon question entered my mind. Everyone I cared for was now in danger and I needed to do something… Anything. Feeling empowered to save my loved ones, I pushed myself up. I felt strong. I felt galvanised.I felt Dan slam my body back down against the tabletop.
~MILLIE~His fist connected with the delicate skin on my cheek, stinging it in an instant. I shrieked and curled up into a tight foetal position, hiding my face from further impact. My eyes flushed with water, not from tears packed with misery, but from the throbbing pain radiating across the left side of my face. Yes, it hurt like a bitch, but what alarmed me the most was the surprise of his punch. He hardly ever hit me in the face.It would attract too much attention to you’,was his excuse, almost like he was doing me a favour. Instead, he would purple my torso and limbs in various shapes and sizes.