The sunlight spills through the windows, warming the small kitchen of my apartment as I stand at the counter, staring at the half-empty bag of flour. Baking was never really my thing, but after everything that’s happened, I’ve been wanting to try new things—things that make me feel normal, grounded, and more connected to life. But trying to bake cookies without knowing what I’m doing feels like an absolute disaster in progress."Cheryl?" Luke’s deep voice carries from the living room.I hear his footsteps approaching, and I turn just in time to see him leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, with that smirk that makes my stomach flip every time. His black T-shirt clings to his chest in all the right ways, and even though I’ve spent more time with him than I can count, my heart still skips a beat."What’s going on here?" He raises an eyebrow, glancing at the mess I’ve made of the kitchen—flour on the counter, the floor, and somehow even on me. He grins wider when he sees a streak
As I dig into the takeout, I catch Luke watching me with that soft, adoring expression that always makes my heart do a little flip. The food is good, and the company is better. After a long day of classes, this is exactly what I need—a quiet evening with Luke, no stress, no pressure, just… us.We settle into a comfortable silence as we eat, the clatter of chopsticks and the hum of the city outside filling the space. Luke’s arm rests on the back of the couch behind me, his warmth seeping into my skin. I lean back slightly, savoring the moment.“How was your day?” I ask, turning to look at him.He shrugs, his lips quirked into a half-smile. “Busy, but not too bad. Had a few meetings this morning, checked in with Callum and Raina this afternoon. Things at the pack are going well.”“Good,” I say, genuinely relieved to hear that. The pack’s been through so much, and knowing that Callum and Raina are slowly finding their footing again makes me happy. They deserve it.Luke looks at me for a
The evening felt like the perfect reunion. My parents sat comfortably on the couch, their familiar presence filling the room with warmth and ease. The scent of Luke’s takeout still lingered in the air, mixing with the smell of freshly brewed tea. My mother, Muna, looked more relaxed than she had in months, her dark hair tucked behind her ear as she chatted animatedly with Luke about the city. My father, Ray, though still recovering from the injury inflicted by the wolf hunters, was a quieter but solid presence, his health having visibly improved since the last time I saw him. The sight of him sitting there, looking healthy and at peace, made my heart feel full."You know, Cheryl," my dad began, breaking from his usual quiet demeanor, "there was a time I wasn't sure I'd get to see this—us sitting together like this. I owe a lot of that to you."His words hit me like a soft blow to the chest. I smiled, though there was a lump in my throat. "Dad, you don’t owe me anything. I was just doi
We settled onto the couch, my head resting on Luke’s shoulder as he flipped through the channels. He landed on a cheesy action movie that promised endless explosions and improbable heroics. The sheer absurdity of it all was exactly what I needed to distract me from the tangled mess of emotions that had been swirling inside me.Luke grabbed the remote and turned up the volume, the sound of gunfire and dramatic music filling the room. “Prepare yourself,” he said with a grin. “This is about to get incredibly ridiculous.”I laughed, feeling the tension in my shoulders begin to ease. “I’m ready. After today, I think I can handle just about anything, including whatever this movie throws at us.”He pulled me closer, his arm wrapping around me in a protective cocoon. “I’m not sure if I should warn you that there’s going to be some serious plot twists or just let you be surprised.”“Surprise me,” I said, snuggling in against him. “I could use a good laugh.”As the movie progressed, it quickly
As we all moved to the reception area, the atmosphere was filled with laughter and chatter. Raina and Callum were recounting their own milestones, and Cillian was engaged in a deep conversation with some of the pack members. The sense of unity and celebration was palpable, and it felt like the culmination of so many struggles and victories.I took Cheryl’s hand, pulling her gently aside from the crowd. “Can we talk for a moment?”She looked at me with a mix of curiosity and amusement. “Sure, what’s up?”We walked to a quieter corner of the airstrip, where the sound of the crowd was a distant murmur. I glanced around to ensure we had some privacy before turning back to her. “I just wanted to say how incredibly proud I am of you. This day, this achievement—everything you’ve worked for—it’s amazing.”Cheryl’s cheeks flushed with a pink hue. “It means a lot to hear you say that. I’ve worked so hard, and sometimes I wasn’t sure if it would all be worth it.”“It’s more than worth it,” I sai
It was another mating ceremony. I glanced over at Luke as we both watched the couple perform their rites, it was sundown, by the time the moon was out they would walk into the woods and come out by the morning. That was how these things went down.I could feel the waves of emotions; possession, longing, hurt … as it pulled through Luke all in my direction. I was shocked at how others couldn’t feel it. Luke was standing next to his father, at a closer distance to the couple. Not many humans turned up for ceremonies like this, except you were close to the couple. Luke’s brother was standing next to his father, who was in between Luke and Callum. Callum’s mate Raina was next to him, Luke looked not necessarily like the weaker one of the two but looking closely you could just tell there was something meeker about him. He finally glances at me and I manage to give him a huge grin which he returns and turns his attention back to the ceremony. After the ceremony both my parents and I walk
“…. May your hands forever be there to lift each other's heads and your hearts full of love, congratulations Lana and Draco, to the happy couple.” Callum toasts to the new couple.Ceremonies like these are especially hard for him and I. I feel his eyes lock on mine, my every move, every breath I take his eyes trail. Till I finally give in and look back at him, he takes a slow dragging breath before he realizes I’m staring at him and realizes that he was staring and fills his face. He smiles sheepishly and apologetically and turns away from me.I remember vividly the day we realized. I was 14 and he was 17, a crazy age gap, but it didn’t feel that way, we had grown up close together for some reason. Always close, for as long as I could remember. I always wondered why my parents lived so close to the enclave and why they never batted an eyelash over our families closeness. A human and a wolf, it was more common nowadays in this town but I imagined it hasn’t always been that way.We were
“What?!” I say frantic, backing away.His dark eyes turn back to normal as he realizes what just happened.“What do you mean mate?!” I ask again.“I’m sorry,” his eyes pleaded. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”We both go silent, trying to grasp what this means now, mate. Me! Mate… me, I’m Luke’s mate. This can’t be happening, it didn’t even make any sense. This has to be a dream. This was playing out like a badly written wattpad werewolf fanfiction. I couldn’t understand or believe it.Luke avoided me for the next few weeks. He stopped coming over, it was like he disappeared from school, he just vanished and wasn’t around anymore. But at night I’d look out my window and see yellow eyes staring at me through the woods. By that time I basically already had his wolf memorized, it was so unlike his appearance in human form. Very light ash with deep spots of jet black, black paws and dark spots around the left eye. It was stunning, I was always fascinated by it.He would shift and sit next to