One enormous wolf stood apart from the pack in the center of the field. He raised his muzzle skyward and howled out our victory into the night. As he did so, the last of the enemy still within the field bolted across the plain, making for the shelter of the trees in defeat.
My wolfish eyes admired my mate in his hunter’s form, and I married my howl with his. As our tones paired, he came to me, transforming into his human form and throwing his arms around me as I shifted too. I ran my hands over his handsome face, marveling at his strong jaw and lean body around me. There was no shame in our nakedness as the rest of the pack shifted into their human forms too. Yet, I smiled knowingly as Dylan draped his arm around me, shielding as much of my bare form possessively from the rest of the pack. I could tell from his scowl he didn’t like the idea of me being naked around anyone but him. I thought about the other naked shifters, our pack, around us and hoped they didn&rsquBert gritted his jaw, his eyes blazing with fury, and he nodded as he charged off to find my Gamma and the team of wolves.I paced the room, and my fists clenched as I strode up and down my bedroom. Who had dared do this to my mate? My gaze roved over Cherry’s damp face, and I smoothed away her blond hair from her burning skin.Cherry’s dad sat on the edge of the bed. He tugged at his beard as his worried gaze tracked over his daughter.My mom pulled me away from my mate and hugged me.My dad clapped a shoulder on my back. “She’s going to be okay, son.”Fear blared through me. I felt as if I couldn’t breathe as dread twisted my insides. Everything felt tight as my muscles refused to relax, screaming at not being able to do anything for my mate. I needed to do more.My gaze fell on Cherry’s dad. “Mike? Fern should be here, would you–”“I’m on it,” he said, jumping up and h
CherryThe blurry edges receded, and with fluttering lids, I blinked my eyes open. I took in Dylan's muscular form by the bed. He was sitting in a leather armchair, and I realized we were in his house in Starsmoon. He looked tired, and deep bags rested under his eyes.Groggily, I tried to remember how I got here, but I couldn't. Awareness prickled over me as I realized I was wearing one of Dylan’s t-shirts and PJ trousers. Where were my things? Why was I in Dylan’s house? We’d agreed to wait until our bonding ceremony for me to move in. Then a flash of the battle with Bloodmoon skittered through me, and Dylan hugging me to him in the field…My mate must have heard a change in my breathing because his dark stare moved to me. Dylan startled. Then the next moment, he was next to me, crushing me to him. “Cherry,” he murmured.I could barely breathe; he hugged me so tight.As he let me go, I took a breath and said, “Dylan...” I trailed off, realizing there were tears falli
CherryI admired the window display. “This is stunning work, Maisy.” The fall dresses in oranges and browns rested in the store window, and my assistant had made sweeping sculptures of leaves in red, orange, and yellow tones as if gusts of wind carried them around the clothes.She glowed with pride under my notice, her long red hair and rosy cheeks looking just perfect with the fall collection colors around. I knew on the opening day tomorrow, she’d appear to great advantage here and no doubt make loads of sales. I turned my attention to the perfectly laid out store with just the right amount of railings, space, and displays peppered throughout, and only then did I try on the shimmering silver dress in the large client dressing room.Maisy gawped at me as if I was one of our A-lister clients back in Berlin. “I don’t think I need to do anything to this, Cherry. You look stunning.”I had altered much in size since the last time I’d worn it. The only difference was that the line of my bre
(1)Cherry After a long day of celebration, Dylan carried me bridal style to our room at night. It was finally just the two of us now. I couldn't remember when I had started wishing for the celebration to end so that I could have him all to myself. And now we were here? I got off his arm and spent the next second staring at him, until he decided to break the silence between us. “Hey, I have something for you,” Dylan mumbled. “Hmm? What's that?” He walked to the bedside table. From the drawer, he took out our passports, together with two flight tickets. “With everything that had happened, this is the least I can do for my wife and my Luna,” he said in a monotonic and ever sweet voice, handing the passports and tickets to me. I jumped in his arms the minute my eyes saw the destination. “Oh my God! Are we really...?” I took a pause, allowing my brain to process what just had happened. “Are we really going to Maldives?” I shrieked. Dylan smiled and caged my waist. I tiptoed and t
CherryDylan's incident left me deeply troubled. I lay awake the whole night after tucking Fern into bed eventually. With my father, Bert, Chris and Heather being away from the community, I had to face all this alone. After dropping Fern at school and reassuring that her daddy would be back from his "business trip" soon, I rushed to hospital immediately.From the door of the ward, I saw Dylan lying in the bed, pale and still. “This is so unlike of you, mate. I'm not used to seeing you like this,” I muttered to myself while eyeing him.The doctor walked towards me, wearing an expression that made me anxious.“Luna, I have some bad news. We detected wolfsbane in Alpha's body. He is now reacting to it. I'm afraid that, from right here, his condition would get worse and he'll lose memory.”"Wolfsbane?! How's that possible? Aren't I the only one who got the poison during that war?" Not believing what I heard, I turned to stare at my husband with my mouth half-opened. "Alpha is awake now.
DylanI dashed into a thick forest after running out of the hospital.I was not sure why I was doing it, but there was a voice in my head, a constant reminder that the forest was the safest place.“To the forest is where you should go. No one would harm you there.” Those words sounded in my head. A mist blurred my vision, and I could only run forward, aimlessly. Waves of intense pain pulsed through my head, as if it was on the verge of splitting open.I had no idea how long I had run, stumbling forward, until I collapsed onto the chilly forest ground.The smell of grass and earth seeped into my nostrils, easing my pain. With my eyes becoming even more blurry, I drifted into unconsciousness.When I woke up again, my eyes met a wooden ceiling and then found myself lying in a wooden bed. “Where am I?” I asked myself.There were thin rustling footsteps outside this room. I got off bed and gently pushed the door open. My eyes fell on a woman with her back to me, long, dark green hair fall
Cherry Dylan's missing was no longer a secret eventually. Some of the pack members got to know it.“I know that she is our Luna, but with the sudden disappearance of our Alpha, she would take over and lead us.” “Why are we letting a cursed shifter lead us? We should ask her to abdicate her right as a Luna,” one of the oldest shifters in the pack whispered to her granddaughter. ...I could feel the weight of their accusations. They suffocated me with guilt and heartache.However, I couldn't bring myself to just leave as wished. Not when Dylan was still missing. “Dylan, where are you? When will you come back? I am hanging by a thread here, and I really need you now.” I mumbled as if Dylan was around. He'd be able to hear that.Ignoring the hostile stares and cutting words, I ventured out into the stormy nights, searching for any trace of Dylan.“Dylan! Dylan, please come back!” I shouted, looking around just in case he would suddenly show up. “We need you! The pack is starting to fa
DylanChelsea and I returned to the Starsmoon pack a few days later."Dylan! Thank god you're back!" A young man of my age rushed in after that vicious Luna left. He must be Bert, my competent and loyal Beta Chelsea mentioned before."Hi Bert! Thank you for holding all this together during the absence!" I got out of the bedroom and patted on his shoulders."Not at all. Actually I just came back from the borders after Jason called to tell me what happened back here. Cherry's father is holding it there alone on the borders. By the way, did you see Cherry? I saw her...""How about talking about the pack affairs first, given I've been away quite a few days?" I cut Bert through when he was going to mention Cherry, the name that pissed me."Sure!"I got quite a lot of information that I badly needed in the following hour.“You did? Good for you!” I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Bert started a hotel business.“Yeah, we need a stable business. I don't think we want to be exposed to an