Life was as it should be. Normal and boring. I finished up in the study that Malachi had now handed over to me, but it felt odd to say that it was mine. It was almost midnight as I checked the doors and windows. I did this every night, it still bothered me how Bryan had so easily entered our house, twice.I climbed into bed next to Adara and she automatically moved towards me. I put my hand on her stomach and I felt little bumblebee kick in response. I smiled as I closed my eyes. I must have slept for three hours when something woke me.I sat up in bed and listened. The house was quiet. I got up and ran to the bathroom and vomited into the toilet. My head pounded and I felt dizzy. Something was wrong somewhere. I sat on the bathroom floor and after ten minutes the nausea went away. I splashed water on my face and went back to the bedroom. I was just getting back into bed when Adara sat up, she was in agony.“What is it?” I asked her suddenly.“The baby… it hurts!” She screamed loudly
Adara and Kai were discharged the next morning, and I was eager to take them home. Her healing had kicked in and they were both doing really well. The baby room had been ready for weeks and my sense of duty and responsibility toward them came naturally.Our first night at home was spent in Kai’s room. Adara and I stood by his crib and just watched him as he slept. He was absolutely perfect.“Thank you, Adara. I hope he got the best parts of both of us,” I said.“I’m sure he did,” she said softly.I kissed her and kept my arms around her. She yawned and I nudged her toward the door. She needed sleep more than I did and she sighed with contentment when I pulled her against me after we got into bed.“I’ll always love both of you,” I whispered.The pack had gone overboard with their congratulations and Malachi had instant love in his eyes the first time he held him. I could only imagine how he’d felt the very first time he’d held me.It was a love so instant that it scared you, the fear w
Depression. It’s a word that everybody knows, yet people rarely discuss it. The word depression is like leprosy. If you don’t have it, you have no idea what it feels like to be in that deep, dark hole.The best part of that deep, dark hole is the loneliness. You might find it odd that I say ‘the best part’ but it happens to be true. The loneliness is an escape in itself and that’s what makes it so dangerous.Getting yourself out of that hole is one of the hardest things you’ll probably ever have to do in your lifetime. It’s worse than losing a loved one. Yes, it is. You might wake up and feel fine, nothing happens and suddenly you’re there.That sinking feeling you can’t describe; nobody understands the extreme highs you feel and the extreme lows you sink to. It’s like a light switch. Nothing specific targets you, it’s just something that happens.Wanting to die is not a new feeling when you’re in that hole. Wanting to end your suffering and be done with everybody and everything; it’s
Adrian Peters sat in his car and looked at the house. He knew that Jeff Smith was inside. Jeff’s wife had died two years earlier, leaving him to care for their six-year-old twin daughters, China and India, by himself. They were identical twins and they reminded Adrian of little porcelain dolls.Jeff spent most of his time at home, writing books for children. Adrian prided himself on his abilities to be, firstly, a real man, and secondly, to gather information. Jeff seemed to lead a fairly boring life, just like the others he had preyed on. Jeff Smith had a live-in nanny that took care of his daughters while he wasted his time writing books.The look on Adrian’s face was one of utter disgust. Couldn’t he find a real job? He looked down on weak people and he refused to tolerate that weakness, especially within himself.Jeff went jogging at five thirty pm every evening with Travis Michaels, another pack member. Travis would drive to Jeff’s house and they would jog together.Travis lived
Adrian quickly put a smile on his face and displayed his badge. “Good afternoon, Sir.”“Yes?” Jeff was almost rude as he looked at Adrian. He was a big man but Adrian still felt sure that he could subdue him with the gun if he could only manage to gain entry into the house.“I’m going house to house to ask if any of the residents have noticed any suspicious activity in the area…” Adrian began to talk but Jeff interrupted him.“Like you, Officer? You’ve been sitting in your car for a week now, watching my house. I think I should call Chief McKenzie, who I play poker with once a month and inform him of the suspicious acts of one of his officers.” Jeff’s gaze bored into Adrian.“I apologize, Sir, my intention wasn’t to ruffle any feathers. I’m working overtime and watching certain areas every week on my days off.” Adrian tried to save the situation. He could feel that he was losing this argument with Jeff Smith.“Stop watching my house or I will report you!” Jeff said and slammed the doo
Dezrael opened her eyes and looked at the flickering light of the candle in front of her, smiling triumphantly. She was beautiful, like you would expect a movie star to be. She had long blue-black hair that came down to her mid-back with full lips and soft green eyes. In a way, she reminded you of a gypsy, with her olive skin and exotic cheek bones.She had finally found him; he was in Seward, Alaska, of all places. She sighed audibly. She would have to move, again. The half-breed Seiomaor was no longer a boy and the time was right. She wondered what he might look like and if he resembled his half-breed mother, Karani.She closed her eyes briefly and thanked her ancestral spirits for taking Karani’s spirit, hopefully to Muspelheim. She also sent up a quick prayer to her mother, asking for guidance in what she had to do next.Before today she’d been unable to find Kiran Sinclair, due to the cloaking spell Karani had placed around him from the moment of his birth. Dezrael had grown up w
“Hi, I booked a cabin,” she said to the woman working in the vegetable garden. She smiled at the woman who was completely gray and her face showed kindness.“Oh, hello dear, what’s your name?” The old woman looked like a grandmother with her garden gloves on her hands and her hair trimmed short. She had wrinkles but Dezrael could see that she had been pretty in her younger days.“Dezrael Danielsson,” she answered and looked towards the beach. The view was breathtakingly beautiful and for a moment she forgot the cold as she got lost in the thundering waves that broke onto the beach.“What a beautiful name! You can call me Addie. Let’s go get you settled in. Where are you from, dear?” Dezrael liked this older woman and hoped that she could be a source of information for her.“I’m from Sweden, on a retreat as I write my thesis. I’m studying Environmental Psychology.” Dezrael lied easily and she could see that the woman was confused.“What’s that, dear?” Addie asked her.“It’s the study o
Malachi hugged Adara tightly and kissed the top of her head as they stood in the airport in Anchorage. She was crying and she hadn’t really stopped since Kiran had left. She was withdrawn, depressed and moody, everything he felt as well.Malachi put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. “You’re not being punished. I just need you to be safe. With everything going on, I can’t keep an eye on the pack and keep you safe at home.”“I know, I just wish I knew what I did wrong,” Adara said to him.“You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s hard to explain, but one thing I do know for sure is that he’ll come back,” he replied gently.There was an announcement that the boarding gate would open in five minutes and Malachi looked at his watch.“You have to go and before you know it, you’ll be coming back with Kiran standing right here waiting for you.”Adara hugged him once more and then walked away. The smile faded from his lips as he walked back to his car. He drove back to Seward in
Adara and Kai were discharged the next morning, and I was eager to take them home. Her healing had kicked in and they were both doing really well. The baby room had been ready for weeks and my sense of duty and responsibility toward them came naturally.Our first night at home was spent in Kai’s room. Adara and I stood by his crib and just watched him as he slept. He was absolutely perfect.“Thank you, Adara. I hope he got the best parts of both of us,” I said.“I’m sure he did,” she said softly.I kissed her and kept my arms around her. She yawned and I nudged her toward the door. She needed sleep more than I did and she sighed with contentment when I pulled her against me after we got into bed.“I’ll always love both of you,” I whispered.The pack had gone overboard with their congratulations and Malachi had instant love in his eyes the first time he held him. I could only imagine how he’d felt the very first time he’d held me.It was a love so instant that it scared you, the fear w
Life was as it should be. Normal and boring. I finished up in the study that Malachi had now handed over to me, but it felt odd to say that it was mine. It was almost midnight as I checked the doors and windows. I did this every night, it still bothered me how Bryan had so easily entered our house, twice.I climbed into bed next to Adara and she automatically moved towards me. I put my hand on her stomach and I felt little bumblebee kick in response. I smiled as I closed my eyes. I must have slept for three hours when something woke me.I sat up in bed and listened. The house was quiet. I got up and ran to the bathroom and vomited into the toilet. My head pounded and I felt dizzy. Something was wrong somewhere. I sat on the bathroom floor and after ten minutes the nausea went away. I splashed water on my face and went back to the bedroom. I was just getting back into bed when Adara sat up, she was in agony.“What is it?” I asked her suddenly.“The baby… it hurts!” She screamed loudly
John looked disapprovingly at me and Malachi was in my head instantaneously. “What the hell did you just do?”He was anxious and nervous. I looked around me, the whole den was quiet, and everybody looked at me because I had killed a man that had tapped out. John walked into the circle.“Kiran! Do you care to explain? He tapped out and still you killed him!” John’s voice was stern as I still stood over Alexander’s body.“Wolf law nine, no claim shall be made on an Alpha’s position without due cause.” Malachi frowned slightly as I spoke to John.“That’s your excuse? An unlawful claim?” John shook his head as I smiled.“Subsection nine point twelve, any unlawful claim proven to be false shall be reverted back to the original pack with immediate effect without the Alpha having to defend his position, should a claim fight be the result, it shall be a fight of dominance.” John started laughing.“Quite right, that law hasn’t been used in many years.” John stated, and looked at me.Bryan look
I didn’t tell James or Adara about what had transpired in the kitchen in the late hours of that night. I wasn’t even sure that I believed it myself. Could it really be possible to get our pack status back?Malachi had also kept quiet and nine days later we received the summons to gather our pack at the den. John had informed Malachi that The Council would be present at this claim and that he would take charge of it himself.This time Adara and Shoran and Christian went to the den with us. Our whole pack gathered with us there and I was nervous. I hadn’t told her yet that I would be the one to fight Alexander and become Alpha of our pack. I didn’t think anybody besides us four in the kitchen that night knew.We stood in the den as Bryan brought in Alexander. He wasn’t pleased at being brought in by The Council. John Whitcombe and the other members were seated behind a table pretty much in the same way they had when we had been accused of murder. The difference this time was that we wer
Malachi had returned to work and there was a new energy around him. He smiled more until I had to sit him down one evening and have a talk with him. Adara had read Christian his story and they had both fallen asleep in his bed. I had carried her to our room when I went to check on Christian.Now I sat in the kitchen and waited for Malachi to return. It was eleven pm when his car finally drove into the garage. He walked into the kitchen and looked at me and I nodded at the chair next to me.He sat down and started laughing. “Why does this seem so familiar?” I laughed as well as it brought back memories.“I want to talk to you about drafting a will for me.”“Yes, it’s a good idea to make sure everyone is cared for should something happen to you.”We’ve had too many run ins and one day my luck would eventually run out and I wanted everything to stay in the family. I wanted to ensure that the children especially were looked after.“We should do it as soon as the baby is born.”“Thanks, Da
Jessica was good for his soul. Malachi found that he really liked her, all of her. She didn’t block anything from him and she was brutally honest. They spent as much time together as they could and after two months Malachi realized that they were a couple.“You do realize that technically we’re a couple.”They were laying in her bed one afternoon as Malachi played with her hair. Jessica laughed and turned her head to look at him.“Dude, we’ve been a couple since that day in your office.”She made him laugh and she made him feel good about himself without asking anything of him in return. She was just there, and he started laughing as he realized that he was in love with her.“We should tell Kiran.” Malachi sat upright in bed and checked his phone. It had been on silent the whole afternoon.“Why? Do we need his permission?” Jessica licked her lower lip and Malachi smiled.“No.”Jessica pushed him back down on the bed and bit his earlobe. “You are way too serious, Malachi.”“Why hide it
Malachi and Jessica held hands all the way back to Seward and she directed him to her house. He stopped the Navigator in front of the house and Jessica turned towards him. Malachi wanted to kiss her, undress her and touch every inch of her skin.“I like you, Malachi, but there is one more thing I have to tell you.” Jessica swallowed nervously.“It can’t be that bad.” Her nerves had him on edge. She didn’t come across as someone fearing anything but he knew whatever she had to tell him, it was important and likely to change things between them.“I slept with Kiran.” She watched Malachi’s face intently for some sort of reaction.“Okay…”“We were seventeen, he had just broken up with Sarah. We were both wasted and it just happened.”Malachi looked at her, listening; it was the truth he heard. Jessica’s mind was so open and she hid nothing from him, certain things were off limits, he could sense it and he didn’t delve deeper than what she was ready to tell him, but what she did show him w
Malachi smiled as he walked out of his office and found Jessica leaning against the front of the Navigator, looking care-free and young. She was young and he wasn’t so young anymore. She was also beautiful, intriguing and intelligent. She was still too young for him.“Took you long enough.” Jessica removed her sunglasses and smiled.“You are something else.” Malachi unlocked the doors and Jessica climbed into the passenger seat.“You can take me to dinner or a late lunch or whatever you want to call it.” She made herself comfortable in the seat and put her safety belt on. Malachi felt at ease, calm and happy. That emotion shocked him a little because he never thought he’d feel that again.Malachi could only smile as he drove out of the parking lot and headed towards the highway, heading out of Seward and in the general direction of Sterling.“Where are we going, handsome?” Malachi laughed as Jessica winked at him.“You know, I’m much too old for you.” Malachi glanced at her. She was d
Malachi sat in his office and thought of the events that had happened the last two weeks. He still couldn’t believe that they had escaped unscathed. If George Haynes had been a different Alpha, he and Kiran would both be dead.Malachi wiped a hand over his face. He had wanted to die that night; he’d wanted to die ever since Karani had died. She had been the other half of his soul and he saw no reason to go on without her.Even though he was an outcast now he knew that their pack would always remain intact no matter what status they had. He didn’t want to die anymore and he didn’t want to be Alpha either. He only regretted that Kiran would suffer the same consequences. He would’ve made a terrific Alpha.“Sorry Malachi.” Tim Oakes had been on his phone, leaving Malachi alone with his thoughts.“No problem. We can finalize the contract next week and you’ll be the proud new owner of the beach front cabins.”“Thank you. I really appreciate all the hard work you’ve put in.”Malachi and Tim