Brianna just stood to the side, and Violet pushed her toward the house. “No, Vi. This is Brandon. I told him we found the cure.”“You talk with him through your mind?”“Yes, we’ve done it since we were kids.”“That is astounding. I’ve never heard of a wolf having telepathic abilities outside the mate bond before.”“I guess we are rare. They said wolves never had twins before, either.”Brandon scolded her for telling their secret, and Brianna just smirked. How else could she explain his sudden appearance?Brandon was getting impatient. ‘Give me the pods so I can make the cure.’‘You have to shift. Violet says every part of the plant is poisonous and putting it in your mouth might kill you before you can help your friend.’‘Place it in a bag and wrap it around my body. Hurry Brianna. We do not have time. She might die and I can’t—’Brianna ran into the house and found a kid’s backpack. She emptied its contents and hurried to gather some of the pods, a few of the leaves, and the flowers,
Marina woke up in the comfort of her bedroom a few days later, weak and thirsty. A glass of water sat on her bedside table, and she gulped the liquid greedily, spilling some of its contents down her sleeping gown.She sat up in bed and wondered how she got there. The last thing she remembered was running through the forest and crying her eyes out. She had eaten the berries by the riverbed and asked for death to take her, so when the hooded figure appeared, she was sure all her problems were gone. It was death, come to take her home.Marina laid back down and screamed at the top of her lungs. She stomped on the bed and used both fists to pound on the soft cushion like a child throwing a tantrum.She was mad that even death wouldn’t allow her the peace she wanted, so she blamed other people. Why me? I wanted to die. This is all Brianna’s fault. That bitch keeps interfering with my life.And the first thing she did after taking a shower and hatching out her plan was to call Seth.“I s
Momentary silence…then angry growls erupted around her. Bree tried to reach for Bran through their link, but all she felt was fear. The terror she felt from her brother had been too great. It consumed her as well. She did not know what was happening, but if Bran was scared, it meant something horrifying was happening. He was the bravest person and feared nothing, so she knew to keep quiet instead of crying out for help.Heavy footsteps thudded closer to her location, and Brianna strained to see what made the sounds. Labored breathing told her they were closer. Sitting upside down distorted her perception, but a window to the left that remained uncrushed offered her the opportunity to see the feet of an animal twice the size of any regular dog she’d seen. It had such enormous claws that Brianna almost let out a scream.‘Bran, I’m scared.’ She cried to him as her body shook in fear. ‘Close your eyes, Bree. It’ll be over soon.’She could feel the end coming. The wolves she saw in the
Brandon woke up the next day with his back touching a mattress so soft he thought he was dreaming. It had been a while since he slept indoors. He was sure it was a trick his mind was playing on him.Bran was weighed down by several blankets to keep the cold away and as he peeled them off slowly, he noticed the scents of the items around the room reminded him of home. He hadn’t expected to stay in his human form, but after his drastic shift, it became difficult to switch back. Thorne had warned him not to interfere. But the thought of leaving a human in need felt wrong.He only had to think of Brianna lying alone in the woods and his protective instincts kicked in.Bran remembered visiting this human in her dreams repeatedly, giving him another reason to help.He could feel the sorrow and the pain she felt, and he wondered if he was empathetic towards her because he had felt the same feelings while growing up. While in school, he felt lost and alone, despite being among people he thou
“Bree—help—Silver—having dreams—wolves—out of time—don’t come.”Beep! The answering machine recorded the message just as Bree opened the door. The key always stuck, and she always thought of fixing it but never had the time.Her heart sank when the last beeping sound signaled that the person on the other line had dropped the call. She heard Bran’s voice on the other side of the door as she wrangled with the stubborn lock.He never called during the week, knowing she was at work, so she felt disappointed that she made a last-minute decision to pass by the grocery store instead of heading straight home.Bree tried to call the number back by dialing *69 but it gave her the busy dial tone. It had been a couple of weeks since they last spoke and not having her brother nearby for more than half the year got her concerned. And after the puzzling message Bran left on the machine, she felt more anxious. Why would he ask for help, and then tell her not to come? He had been in trouble before,
Days after Bree got that nagging feeling that something significant was about to happen in their lives, she made time to confront him.“What is happening, Bran? Why now? Why are you leaving? Aren’t you happy here with me?” She stood to level their stare, but he had grown more than a foot taller in just a year, making it hard to plead her case when he looked down on her.“I just want to find out who I am, Bree. See if I can do this on my own.” Bran stood by the bookcase in the living room, picking at the well-worn books on the shelf, ignoring her, so she sat back down.“Of course, you can do anything,” she said encouragingly. But then tried to pull at his heartstrings. “But why now? I’ll have no one.”He raised a brow. They were adults, and Bree had been always independent since they were kids. So he knew this was an attempt to make him stay.“Because we’ve always talked about this hiking trip with Mom and Dad, remember? And it’s time to conquer the great outdoors.”“I remember, but th
“Bran, is it too late to convince you not to leave?” Brianna asked as she picked on the straps of his backpack. She was still hugging him and wouldn’t let go. They were at the airport and Bree took the day off to drop him off before his big adventure.“Bree, I’m just a few states over.” Brandon pushed her off his chest a few inches so he could see her face, but she had her head bent because she did not want him to see the tears in her eyes. He grimaced and kissed her forehead. “You can always hop on the plane and see me if you want.”He hugged her again, making her tear up more.“I know that. I guess I just don’t like being left behind.” She mumbled.“I’ll be back in six months and then you’ll tire of having me around the house. Enjoy your time without me. Grab a boyfriend or two while I’m gone.”Bree snickered. “Sure, let me flirt with the hot police officers while I’m training. That will do me good.”“As long as you like them, then I’m okay with that. Don’t let them intimidate you
Bree paced at the car rental shop. The number of customers ahead of her could be counted on one hand, so there should be no reason for the delay when there were two employees present.She could hear the person in the front struggle with signing up. They were having issues with the mode of payment as the credit card company put a hold on the approval.Bree usually had the perseverance to stand on the sidelines and listen to people’s issues, but today she was getting short. As if sensing her anger, the other staff member finished making small talk with the person they were helping and directed them to another employee to get their car.When she got the approval to find her brother, Bree immediately booked the rental. The place he last called from was an hour away from the closest airport, so public transportation was definitely out of the question.Chicago had very awful traffic, and they had trains and buses everywhere, so there never was a need to get a car. And now she wondered if ma
Brandon woke up the next day with his back touching a mattress so soft he thought he was dreaming. It had been a while since he slept indoors. He was sure it was a trick his mind was playing on him.Bran was weighed down by several blankets to keep the cold away and as he peeled them off slowly, he noticed the scents of the items around the room reminded him of home. He hadn’t expected to stay in his human form, but after his drastic shift, it became difficult to switch back. Thorne had warned him not to interfere. But the thought of leaving a human in need felt wrong.He only had to think of Brianna lying alone in the woods and his protective instincts kicked in.Bran remembered visiting this human in her dreams repeatedly, giving him another reason to help.He could feel the sorrow and the pain she felt, and he wondered if he was empathetic towards her because he had felt the same feelings while growing up. While in school, he felt lost and alone, despite being among people he thou
Momentary silence…then angry growls erupted around her. Bree tried to reach for Bran through their link, but all she felt was fear. The terror she felt from her brother had been too great. It consumed her as well. She did not know what was happening, but if Bran was scared, it meant something horrifying was happening. He was the bravest person and feared nothing, so she knew to keep quiet instead of crying out for help.Heavy footsteps thudded closer to her location, and Brianna strained to see what made the sounds. Labored breathing told her they were closer. Sitting upside down distorted her perception, but a window to the left that remained uncrushed offered her the opportunity to see the feet of an animal twice the size of any regular dog she’d seen. It had such enormous claws that Brianna almost let out a scream.‘Bran, I’m scared.’ She cried to him as her body shook in fear. ‘Close your eyes, Bree. It’ll be over soon.’She could feel the end coming. The wolves she saw in the
Marina woke up in the comfort of her bedroom a few days later, weak and thirsty. A glass of water sat on her bedside table, and she gulped the liquid greedily, spilling some of its contents down her sleeping gown.She sat up in bed and wondered how she got there. The last thing she remembered was running through the forest and crying her eyes out. She had eaten the berries by the riverbed and asked for death to take her, so when the hooded figure appeared, she was sure all her problems were gone. It was death, come to take her home.Marina laid back down and screamed at the top of her lungs. She stomped on the bed and used both fists to pound on the soft cushion like a child throwing a tantrum.She was mad that even death wouldn’t allow her the peace she wanted, so she blamed other people. Why me? I wanted to die. This is all Brianna’s fault. That bitch keeps interfering with my life.And the first thing she did after taking a shower and hatching out her plan was to call Seth.“I s
Brianna just stood to the side, and Violet pushed her toward the house. “No, Vi. This is Brandon. I told him we found the cure.”“You talk with him through your mind?”“Yes, we’ve done it since we were kids.”“That is astounding. I’ve never heard of a wolf having telepathic abilities outside the mate bond before.”“I guess we are rare. They said wolves never had twins before, either.”Brandon scolded her for telling their secret, and Brianna just smirked. How else could she explain his sudden appearance?Brandon was getting impatient. ‘Give me the pods so I can make the cure.’‘You have to shift. Violet says every part of the plant is poisonous and putting it in your mouth might kill you before you can help your friend.’‘Place it in a bag and wrap it around my body. Hurry Brianna. We do not have time. She might die and I can’t—’Brianna ran into the house and found a kid’s backpack. She emptied its contents and hurried to gather some of the pods, a few of the leaves, and the flowers,
Brianna had been worried about Brandon. After he almost ran into Seth’s men, she had been more worried, but he was stubborn, unwilling to compromise his freedom.Grayson was right. They were more vulnerable apart. So she tried to convince him to stay in the cabin with her, but Bran insisted Grayson was enough to do the job of guarding her. So she let him be. There was no convincing Bran to do things when he’d already said no. Not having her link with Bran made it more difficult to stay in the cabin and read through her mother’s books. She couldn’t bother Grayson too much during the day because he needed to concentrate on doing his job as the sheriff.Bree was amazed at the amount of information the books contained. It had everything from the beneficial uses of everyday household items to love potions, curses, and cures for every ailment.She wondered if modern medicine would benefit from reading through any witch’s journal.‘What is the cure for Belladonna?’ Bran interrupted her thou
Trigger warning: this chapter contains manipulative scenes and sexual acts that may be disturbing to some readers. Proceed with caution.Brandon had finally shaken off the goons after him and was on his way to check on Brianna when a brown wolf darted across his path. He sniffed at the odor it left behind and discovered it was a female wolf.The trail she took would lead her deeper into the forest, and he wondered if he should follow. There was something familiar about her, but a scent masked her true identity.Thorne, his wolf, objected to following the unknown wolf because they just evaded four of Seth’s pack members and didn’t want to run into them again. They had been relentlessly on his trail the past few days, but Brandon won the argument. Leaving a stray wolf to two rival packs bent on finding each other might mean trouble.Thorne, like any wolf who grew up taking care of Bran and Bree, could not let a lost wolf wander in the forest without protection. So Bran pursued the brow
Trigger warning: this chapter contains manipulative scenes and sexual acts that may be disturbing to some readers. Proceed with caution.Seth was using his alpha command on Marina, and she had no escape. There was no choice but to follow his every command.“I want you to suck my cock, but don’t worry, we’re not having sex. That is reserved for Brianna, my little angel. And so are my seeds. We need that to make beautiful children.” “But, Seth—” He grabbed her hair with his right hand and shoved her face to his crotch.Marina felt mortified as her face came into contact with his balls.“We both saw what they were doing. Suck my cock like Bree did with Grayson. And don’t think about biting me, or I will end you.” “But I haven’t done this before.” Marina angled her head away and felt him tug at her hair. Stronger this time. “Well, there’s no better time to start than now. I’m an excellent teacher,” he sneered while using his left hand to cradle his cock and raise it to her mouth.“Ple
Trigger warning: this chapter contains manipulative scenes and sexual acts that may be disturbing to some readers. Proceed with caution.“Don’t shift. I want to see your magnificence in the moonlight.”Brianna opened the door before Grayson could wear the clothes he left in the planter outside the door.A layer of sweat covered his body, enhancing the musky smell that filled the air and highlighting the muscles that covered his entire body. With enhanced vision and a sliver of moonlight outlining his body, he looked like a work of art. Every portion of his anatomy looked chiseled by a master craftsman.“Brianna, what are you doing out here? I told you to wait inside.”He grabbed her shoulder a little too roughly to push her into the house. Inside, Gray kicked the door shut, ready to scold her for going outside, when he saw her smiling.“What are you smiling about?”Bree lifted both arms and with a circular motion, like she was wiping the windows with both hands, shook off Grayson’s h
The heat coming from Grayson’s stare was enough to melt iron, but nothing seemed to faze Seth, who shrugged his shoulders and smirked.“Wait.” Brianna held Grayson’s hand and pulled him to take a seat. “Before we go. I need to know. Why are you so interested in finding my brother? You’ve never shown an interest in us before.”Seth gave them a sneer that would have put every evil villain in shame. “I know your brother has shifted into his wolf form and is wandering the forest as we speak.”“And?”“As demonstrated earlier, you are on the brink of shifting. I wanted to witness this happening.”“You’ll never drug me again.”“Sure. I conducted that experiment to see if it’ll affect you. Too bad it didn’t.”“You—” Brianna wanted to reach over and strangle Seth for what he did. Now that Grayson was beside her, she felt more empowered.“Tsk, tsk, tsk… People are watching, my pet. Grayson, how well do you trust your mate? Do you know she hasn’t told you everything about her brother?”She frown