Winter solstice is seriously my favorite holiday. I mean, this will be the first time I get to celebrate it. In the past, I was responsible for wrapping all the gifts for the Silver Moon pack Winter Solstice party. One year, there was an extra gift left over, so Beta Tate let me have it after everyone had left. It was a box of chocolate truffles. There were eight in the box. Each one had a different flavor filling, and I savored every bite. I knew I would never get another gift again, but that one meant the world to me. It didn't matter to ten-year-old Kas that it was just a forgotten box. It was special to me. Even if I haven't been an active participant before, I still love all the decorations, watching people exchange gifts, the music, the games, the special foods I get to bake, all of it. It is the feeling in the air. It is just so wonderful. Speaking of which, I want to give gifts this year, but I feel awkward asking Bronx for money. I don't want him to think I'm taking advanta
It's odd to say I feel more like myself than I ever have before. Almost like, this is the person I was always meant to be. For the most part, I feel more self-confident and I find I'm usually pretty happy. Bronx says he notices a difference and he loves seeing me in such good spirits. The only thing missing is Lex. Not having her around to share in my new happy life sucks, but I know she will be back soon. I can just feel it. Bronx and I meditate after dinner and try to connect with Lex and Saint. It's frustrating though. It's like when you're sitting down, and you need a pen and you see one on the other side of the table so you stretch to reach for it, but no matter how far you stretch you are just barely not able to grasp it. Just like that pen, I'm certain I am so close to reaching her. I can feel it. Sometimes I hear the distant howl like she is looking for me too. Bronx says Saint is stirring more and it seems like he is paying attention to what Bronx is saying, but still seems
He pulls out a little blue velvet ring box and opens it. Inside is a beautiful ring. The giant purple, sparkly stone in the center is square with rounded edges, down the sides of the band are little white diamonds. I gasp and put both hands up to my mouth. I feel my eyes getting wider. I look from the ring to Bronx and back again. A purple aura starts to glow brightly around me. Bronx puts his hand on my knee and starts to glow too. “I... Bronx, where... I... you..." I feel so flustered, I can't form a sentence. Tears start pooling in my eyes, threatening to spill over. I manage to pull one hand away from my mouth enough to point to the ring and whimper. "Where did you get that?” “I stopped in Paris after my first visit with you at the coven and had it custom made. It's a purple diamond. Like, it's a real diamond that's purple. Something to do with minerals in the earth. I had no idea diamonds came in colors." He chuckles a little. "The sales guy at Harry Winston told me they're supe
We have planned a little brunch gathering in our apartment, before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. We just want to make sure we remember what is important. And to Bronx and me, that is family. Lenora and Milo come over and I finally get to meet Bronx's parents.The first thing his mom, Sandy, does is give me a crushing hug and call me her son's saviour. A little extreme, but she's excited, so you know, whatever. I will take hugs whenever I can get them. I feel a familiar warmth coming from my hands. I quickly let go of her, feeling a little embarrassed. “Oh! Honey, it's alright. Bronx already warned me that your energy goes into overdrive when you're happy. I take it as a compliment." She smiles warmly at me. “Thank you, Sandy." I smile shyly. “No no no. You call me Mom, young lady." She gives me a faux stern look. “A-alright, Mom." I test the word in my mouth. It is going to take some getting used to. I have never called anyone Mom before. Not even my real mother. I hope
I look around and see the orange glow of fire in the living room. I run to the bedroom door and look around to find the room is engulfed in flames. The fake tree Ashley had set up for Winter Solstice looks like it's melting, causing noxious fumes amid the rest of the smoke. Some of the branches are starting to catch fire. I can hear people in the hallway screaming. Oh my Goddess. We have to get out of here! I run back into the room yelling and coughing. "Bronx! Wake up! We have to get out!" I shake him as hard as I can, but he doesn't budge. His skin is cold and he looks pale, even though the room is getting hotter by the second. I focus past the smell of fire. He smells like whiskey and wolfsbane. He's been poisoned! “Oh shit, oh shit. What should I do?” "Don't panic, Kas. You're a healer, you can save him. We learned about this. Come on!" I hear Lex call out. “Lex, are you strong enough? Can you help me?” “I can try, Kas. Go ahead. Let's save our mate. But hurry, we have to ge
Bronx’s POV I find the fire chief in front of the packhouse. “Chief Prost, any idea what happened here?” “Well, we have to investigate further, but it looks like arson. The areas that were damaged the most are way too isolated for it to have been faulty wiring or a candle. As soon as we have more info, I will let you know, Alpha.” “Thank you, Sir.” I pat him on the shoulder and move on. Reggie and I go around checking on everyone still milling around. Most people are scared but not hurt. A few people have minor burns. We send them to the medical tent so Kas and the doctors can heal them. I look over to see Milo and Lenora sitting on the back ledge of a fire truck, they are giving Lenora oxygen to be on the safe side. Whatever Kas did to heal Milo seems to have done the trick, because he isn’t even coughing like everyone else. We watch as people make their way down the road to the old packhouse. The firefighters finally start wrapping up hoses and putting equipment away. When I'm s
Kas's POV Things have been so uncomfortable since the fire. At first I thought it had to do with being in a different packhouse and everyone being in closer quarters than we are used to, but I think it's more than that. Bronx is like a man possessed. He has moments where he is very sweet like he always has been, but it's few and far between. He’s generally grumpy and rude to everyone, even me. That's if I even see him. People scurry away when they see him coming, hoping to avoid his wrath. He spends long hours at MasonCo and when he isn't there, he spends his time with Milo locked in the conference room. Most nights he doesn't get back to our apartment until the early hours of the morning. I pretend to be asleep, but I can feel the bed sag when he gets in. He always wraps his arms around me and deeply breathes in my scent. I hear him whisper how much he loves me and how much he misses me. The gross smell of cigarettes mixes in with his coffee and dark chocolate scent more and more ev
Milo's POV "You were right, Bronx. You made things more stressful for her and it triggered a vision. We have a lead on his next move. I have a team going to stakeout the dress shop to see if he shows and the team on the northern border has been given instructions to leave a gap in patrols. It's only a matter of time.” I say, reading off my tablet. Bronx takes a drag off his cigarette as he paces like a caged wolf, and with all things considered, he is. He has been intentionally keeping himself away from Kas. He had a theory that unfamiliar, stressful situations would trigger one of her visions and he was right. The night he told me about his theory, we stupidly decided to use a version of an interrogation tactic we used in the military on POWs. Basically, we slowly took away things that mattered to Kas and made her uncomfortable until she broke down. Aside from the obvious danger to her mental health, the other problem is, it was also breaking him down. We started by taking away Bro