Beau, I was surprised at Wyatt’s suggestion. Letting Bri meet the old Bruja that manned the taco truck with her family alongside her friend Zoey was a big chance. Maria was different. When I pulled in behind them the food truck had a small line and the closer picnic tables were filled. I gestured to Zoey to head to the farthest one and followed Wyatt and Bri to the table with the men I had snatched as Maria’s niece eyed me. This was trouble. Or maybe Wyatt had a point. The old woman was one of the few people around who didn’t treat us as outcasts. I had spent half of my life using that to my advantage with women though. They wanted the thrill of a random romp with someone who wasn’t accepted, and Maria, that bear of a matriarch knew that. Bri knew too, I should accept it and own it regardless of how worthless it made me feel, pathetic. I got Wyatt and Zoey’s orders as I smirked at Bri.“What is it gonna be Sug?”“A girl only lives once,” she looked back at me, and the air became char
WyattHalfway home I pulled off to the side of the road and backed in next to a dilapidated dock facing the setting sun. Bri, who was curled into my side, looked up at me.“What's wrong?”“Nothing moonbeam, just wanted a quiet moment with you to myself before we go back.” I got out and jogged around to let her out. She allowed it. An action I wanted her to become accustomed to. As I helped her slide out of the truck I took her hand and led her to the back dropping the tailgate. I patted it as I eased onto it myself and she snuggled into my side once more.Our gazes trailed out over the water which mirrored the burnt oranges, deep pinks, and vivid purples of the setting sun.“It is beautiful,” She said, her voice thick with emotion, barely a whisper on the drifting breeze.“It’s pretty,” I agreed. Her fingers interlaced with mine as my other arm came around her and we took in the peace of nature, I could feel the tension as she suppressed the moon from materializing but the strain ease
“Shit,” he swore, scrubbing his face with his hand before he could rally a reply. Bri shifted out from behind me and sat next to me. I tugged her into my side and she leaned into me but there was a rigidness to her. Her gaze honed on Sean. When his eyes locked on hers as he looked back at us he paled.“What the fuck have you gotten into Wyatt?” I could sense his fear as his words blurted out. Bri’s legs swung leisurely back and forth as they hung over the tailgate. I looked up from her legs to her face. A cold smirk had twitched up at the corner of her mouth and when her gaze left Sean to look at me the wraith was full force in her eyes.“What? I thought I should show him what they made me, before he decided to talk,” she looked back at Sean who gaped.“See, I was supposed to be a creature of the light,” she said, letting the moon materialize behind her, “But they forced me to be what you see, so if I were you, I’d keep my mouth shut before I add you to the list of people I need to de
3 months laterBriI was in the kitchen cooking supper, and a pit had been gnawing at my stomach for the last hour. Anxiety brewed as I stirred up the gumbo, tossing it to low and yanking the heavy pot of rice off the heat. My senses stretched, they were coming, yet something was deeply wrong. All the insects and birds became quiet and I stilled at my task. The sound of the boat pulling up to the dock should have eased the feeling of turbulent dread poised to strike but as Lou and Claude shot through the house sending worried glances behind them I knew something was terribly wrong. The snarl that cleaved the silence shook me. Something that called to ache and dread. The Beast was angry, worse he was fighting the primal need to reprimand his charge. Bas. I don’t know how I knew. But it was like molecules between Wyatt and I had rubbed off on each other and became charged as our emotions escalated.That strong yet so fragile boy, the one who remembered the woman who left him. Who chose
BastianSadie, all this ruckus was over Sadie, and I couldn’t explain why I couldn’t just walk away from the girl I barely knew when the football jocks cornered her and her pack members just looked at her and walked away. She should be their future Luna, didn’t they know how lucky they were to have one? She’d be better than that piece of trash Bastard they paraded around like a trophy. I’m supposed to keep my pack safe, I should have done the same and turned a blind eye. Yet, somethin' in those fawn-colored eyes begged me not to. The idiot that I was, I listened. Yes, 2 of those boys were from her own pack, the incident would be brushed under the rug by the school and the police. However, Wyatt would definitely have to answer to someone for it. Not to mention that also put Bri in danger. That wasn’t my intention. Keeping Sadie safe was my only thought in the moment I had bared my teeth.The only repercussions I could think of at that moment was what if she turned out like Bri, lost alo
WyattWhen Bri had stepped between me and Bas, The Beast snapped out of his anger. Watching her walk away, herding him and dinner out of the house was the worst feeling for every part of me, and as I slunk into their house, with my tail between my legs. I felt like I was crawling on my belly, on my own territory like a pitiful pup, and laid at her and Bastian’s feet. She gave me no comfort as the reality of the situation drove home. Something terribly wrong was going on in that pack. Something Bas as a good young man recognized and chose not to walk away from. Even though his background pushed him to be weary of women. After everything we have tried to instill in him, I should be supporting my ward for his decision. The feminine sex was a gift, regardless of his experiences. In this pack, a good woman was worth everything. The scenario Bastain laid out, played over and over in my mind. I knew I’d have to bow before that pack but I needed to look harder and try to search for a loophol
“My father was a good Alpha, he took care of his people and was a decent man, but he didn’t have control. When Naudia vanished he questioned Beau and I and we tried to hold back the truth because we knew what was coming but my father and his Beast’s abilities saw through all that. He sent us for switches, but when we came back with them he deemed them not good enough and selected one himself. When he found out what we knew he beat the living daylights out of us. Beau’s mother’s weeping was the only thing that pulled him out of his rage. My mother didn't bat an eye.”“What did you know that set him off?” Bri asked quietly, her fingertips trailing soothing waves of energy over my heart as they moved over my chest lazily.“We knew she was seeing someone, we even covered for her a few times saying she was camping with us because she was so purely smitten with him we figured it was her mate and just a matter of time before he presented himself. Turns out he was just a con piece of shit lur
Wyatt~~~~~~~Beau and I had begun getting assignments on ocean rigs and our rotations brought us sometimes both away and sometimes home with Bri for longer periods. We didn’t ask questions, we just worked and most of the time, her time on the island without one of us was fleeting. The jobs paid well though and projects on the island long since abandoned came to life again. Sheds and roofs were fixed up, the hand-me-down clothes were replaced with new ones, and the boys started pursuing the island shacks around us, babbling which they would have when they got older. A future began to materialize and I realized all too often with a knife in my heart that it was one without Bri. It was a hard thing to picture and I saw every day how she was cultivating the boys to carry on without her. Lou took to cooking with her, and Claude found a new love for gardening and minding the chickens. Then there was Bas. Often they went on long walks or boat rides and “talked” his attitude had adjusted to t