Albwin led their rag-tag group back out into the woods as they helped one another to move as fast as they possibly could toward safety. Some of the rescued were crying in disbelief as they stumbled their way through the forest clinging to each other. Torin suddenly stopped as he muffled a yell, a sharp pain in his hip had him gasping for breath, the girl he was helping gave him a concerned look. Ember!“I have to go back. Ember’s been hurt!” Torin gave Albwin a conflicted look but he simply nodded in understanding as he doubled back and took the girl's arm from Torin’s shoulder helping her to reposition.“Go, we got them.” Lettie motioned with her free arm toward herself, Albwin, and the two trackers who flanked them.“Don’t stop, get them as far away as possible.” Torin hesitated torn between finishing his task or going to Ember.“Come, they can handle this group. Let’s go join the fight.” Archie grinned evilly and headed back in the direction they had come from. They hadn’t been tr
It had been a long week and he only wanted to go to the pub to let off some steam. He jumped on his bike and took off from the pack. He had been working hard at rising in the ranks of his pack and he was almost there. Today he had bested one of the top warriors in front of the Alpha himself. Alpha David even congratulated him personally and told him to keep up the good work. Shortly after that he was challenged by another runt who somehow took him down quickly. It was humiliating. That boy Caleb thought he was king shit, just because he was close to the Alpha and his parents. He sat alone in his corner of the pub drinking away his foul mood. Ale after ale he put back. The waitress tried flirting with him at first, but he would just asked for another pint. Being a wolf meant it took a lot more to get drunk than a human, and he was already on his fourth. He was just starting to relax when a tall dark woman walked in her hair sleek and smooth and all the way down to her bum. She was bea
“Come on girl, mean it.” Thomas yelled, “Where is your head at? Certainly not here, where it should be.” He bantered and swung in low sweeping Ember’s feet out from under her, landing her flat on her back in the dust.“Tell me you wouldn’t be distracted if you were leaving everything you know, tomorrow?” She breathed heavily, this was the fourth time Thomas had knock her on her backside. Usually she was able to keep up better than this. He was right, she was too distracted today. He smirked as he held his hand out to give her a hand up.“It’s not like you haven’t been there before. You have spent half of every summer there since you were little.” Thomas pointed out, as she dusted herself off and started to do her cool down stretches. “If you show up fighting like that, no one will take you seriously. You can’t let feelings distract you, when you’re fighting it’s just you and your opponent. No one else, nothing else. You clear your head. Do that and you have the potential to be one of
Grandad was beaming from ear to ear and he spread his arms wide as Ember stepped through the portal. “I am so glad yer finally here!” He bellowed in his loud booming voice. Ember returned his smile as she dropped her box and luggage and ran into his arms.“Grandad! I am so happy to be here!” She pulled out of his huge hug and turned to her Grandma, “Grandma Clary!”“Hello sweetie! My oh my, you look more and more like yer mum everyday!” Clary wasn’t from Scotland but she had been there long enough now that she had picked up a bit of the accent. Ember couldn’t wait to start picking hers up. Grandad grabbed her luggage and Grandma the box. “So tell me how was yer first shift? What does yer wolf look like?” “She’s a soft silvery grey. Not as light as mums but almost as big! She’s fast too, really fast. My shift went well, shifted in ten minutes.” Ember beamed proudly. Her grandad and grandma asked her all sorts of questions as they walked across the grounds. Ember couldn’t help but sto
“Torin, you don’t have a choice. You will be accompanying me to the ball, we need to get this sorted out and your brother needs to stay here to watch over the kingdom! You are a prince, you must start acting like one.” King Aeginar shouted across the throne room at his son. Torin rolled his eyes.“Why? It’s not like I am needed. I am simply a second son, useless to you accept for politics. You have your Heir. Let me be.” Torin spat back. This was not a new argument. The king thought his son was wasting his years. He had turned down three potential brides from powerful Fae families already. His father wanted him to marry for advantage, to strengthen the family lines. He just wanted to be left alone. He dated quite a few women, each one chosen to make his father angry. Torin had built quite the reputation for himself. The playboy Fae prince, and his father hated it. “Fae are going missing. We need to find out if it’s those wolves. If not for me, do it for our people. Either way you are
Ember was in her dressing room getting ready for the ball. She couldn’t believe it had been a week already. She was feeling fairly nervous. Her Grandma had informed her that there was going to be over 200 people there. Most of the pack would be there, the Alpha’s and Beta’s from Ireland, England, and Netherlands, as well as the party from the Fae Realms which included their king and prince. Ember had heard the Prince had quite the reputation, she was quite curious to meet him and see if he was really as handsome as the rumours report him to be. Most of the guests arrived last night and this morning. Ember had been asked to stay in her suite for the day as her Grandad had a flare for dramatics. He wanted to have a big reveal so to speak. He wanted everyone to see her for the first time as she would make her grand entrance into the ballroom from the giant doors. At least she didn’t have any stairs to walk down. She remembered her mom telling her about her Luna Ceremony and how she was s
Ember only got to have that first dance with Caleb, since once she hit the floor it apparently opened the floodgates. Every time a song stopped, much to Calebs dismay, there was someone else to take her hand. She was being twirled and spun and whirled. It felt as though there was a never ending line of wolves hoping to get their chance with her. Some were polite, some were way too flirtatious or handsy, some could barely keep eye contact for more than a second, none gave her the thrill of the bond. Finally there was a break in music and Ember used it for her chance to escape. She slipped out of the grasp of her latest dance partner with excuses of needing a drink and snuck out the glass doors closest to her onto the terrace. The sun had long since set and the cool night breeze was a blessing on her skin. The moon was high and clear that night, it’s light cascading down in a soft glow. Ember quickly walked to the end of the terrace and slipped off her shoes sitting on one of the bench
Torin left shortly after Ember was carried out. He went straight to his room ignoring the calls of a few she-wolves trying to get his attention. His mind was a whorl of emotions. It was her. He couldn’t take his eyes off her when she first walked into the ballroom but it wasn’t until he took her hand in his that he felt the sparks run throughout his entire body. He couldn’t stop dancing, he didn’t want anyone else touching her. He had never felt jealousy before, but when that wolf grabbed her hand he wanted to punch him. He took off his boots and tossed them on the floor running his hands through his hair.Why didn’t she seem to feel the same? Perhaps it was how much she had had to drink. The Fae wine can dim the senses easily, even after one glass and he assumed she’d had a couple. That wolf boy though was acting as if they were mates. Torin shook his head confused and a little angry. He was feeling it already. She was his Fated, and it was taking his entire self-control not to head
Albwin led their rag-tag group back out into the woods as they helped one another to move as fast as they possibly could toward safety. Some of the rescued were crying in disbelief as they stumbled their way through the forest clinging to each other. Torin suddenly stopped as he muffled a yell, a sharp pain in his hip had him gasping for breath, the girl he was helping gave him a concerned look. Ember!“I have to go back. Ember’s been hurt!” Torin gave Albwin a conflicted look but he simply nodded in understanding as he doubled back and took the girl's arm from Torin’s shoulder helping her to reposition.“Go, we got them.” Lettie motioned with her free arm toward herself, Albwin, and the two trackers who flanked them.“Don’t stop, get them as far away as possible.” Torin hesitated torn between finishing his task or going to Ember.“Come, they can handle this group. Let’s go join the fight.” Archie grinned evilly and headed back in the direction they had come from. They hadn’t been tr
Ember’s mind raced as she tried to come up with a plan. She knew if she tried to take him out now his coven would open fire, but what could she do to buy more time? Quinten watched her with a slight grin on his face as if he could read her mind and found it amusing, yet his eyes swirled with hunger. She suppressed the shiver she felt at his gaze. “What are you thinking my Darling? Have you finally come to the realization that there is only one way out of this?” His grin grew as he held out his hand beckoning her to go to him as his tongue slid across his bottom lip. “It will be much more pleasant for everyone if you come of your own free will Darling. Only a few will get hurt. Eventually, everyone will adjust to our new world.” Quinten’s tone made him sound like a fanatic as his eyes grew bright. What if we pretend to go with him and then attack when his guard is down? Artemis suggested. No, I think he will expect something like that. We need to outthink him, I’m just afraid I don
It wasn’t long before they both slipped around the corner, breathing heavily. Lettie had a small cut on her cheek but she didn’t seem to notice, her eyes were bright with excitement as they both nodded, confirming their side was cleared. Albwin and Lettie took up position guarding the door so they could keep it clear for their escape. With a last look around Archie eased the door open just enough for them to squeeze through. Torin had to blink a couple of times to adjust his sight, they were in a long dark hallway barely lit by small pocket lights placed every few feet down the wall. Torin could just make out the sounds of a whizzing hum and the beeping of machines coming from somewhere deeper in the building. It didn’t look much like a stable anymore from the inside, the vampires had converted it into some sort of facility. The hallway had three doors, two along one side and one at the very end which seemed to be where the beeping was coming from. Archie walked to the first door and
Torin had to fight his own self-conscious over and over again as he walked away from Ember, each step felt like he was ripping himself in two and he couldn’t help glancing back in the direction they had come from. He had a bad feeling about leaving Ember’s side. He had only just gotten her back and now they were both walking into a very dangerous situation—again. Separated from each other—again. It took everything Torin had not to turn around, march back to her, take her in his arms and never let her go. Ever. He caught himself gently rubbing his new mating mark as he thought, gentle sparks tickling his skin, it was both soothing and calming knowing it meant he was forever connected to Ember. He thought it was going to hurt a lot more to be bit by her, but after the initial sting, it was almost erotic. It was the most intense feeling he had ever experienced and if they hadn’t been in the middle of the forest surrounded by wolves with very sensitive hearing he would have taken her rig
Torin and Albwin’s group left first, silent as shadows melting into the trees. They needed to be in place before Ember’s group got there. Ember felt her heart wrench as she watched Torin slip away with a last glance back at her, she felt a swell of love as he blew her a kiss before disappearing out of sight. She knew this was how it had to be but it didn't make it any easier. Ember closed her eyes and took a deep breath getting her emotions under control before she turned back to her group and nodded, it was almost time for them to move out. Ember sighed and tried not to glare as four warriors approached her with Caleb and Derrick in their firm grip. Thankfully someone had given Caleb and Derrick shorts so they wouldn't be trekking through the woods naked, Ember had had to put her Alpha command over them forcing their cooperation. She didn’t like doing it, she felt like she was abusing her power but Callum told her that's what made her a strong leader. She shouldn’t like it, but she'
Half an hour later, Ember’s group along with Lettie and Angus, the wolf who stood up to talk for the warriors, huddled around a small campfire with a map laid out beside them as they finalized their plans. Torin stayed as close to Ember as possible as they kept absently reaching for one another, craving each other's touch. The more they touched the more it was driving Ember mad. She wished she could take him somewhere and finally have some time with him, but now was not the time or place. They both knew it, Artemis sulked in Ember’s mind. “Ok, so if we send the main group to attack the front like he’s expecting then we send a second group to attack the back on the other side to make it look like we are trying to surround him.” Archie drew x’s on the map to show the spots he was talking about. “That should distract them enough to turn their attention away from this barn. Are you sure this is where he's keeping them?” Archie looked to Ember. “I’m almost positive, I could smell wolf whe
“Shit, you guys run. If I stay with Lettie I can try to talk down the warriors—reveal the truth.” Ember looked at the others, she didn’t want them hurt because of her. This was turning into a bigger mess than she ever imagined. “No, we won't leave you, Luna.” Archie growled out first, followed closely by the others.“I second that.” Callum raised an eyebrow as if to say how could she think it, as Albwin just crossed his arms. Torin didn’t even shift a muscle still standing strong with his arm holding her close. “Love, we won't leave you to face this alone. Perhaps Lettie can link the pack though, telling them to wait and listen?” Torin suggested. Lettie gasped and looked like she was about to face-palm herself as her eyes glazed slightly. After a moment she focused back on them again. “I don’t know how many listened. Caleb tried to cut me off, but I am sure I piqued some interest.” Lettie sighed as she turned and bowed in front of Ember and Torin as well. “I’ll stand with you, my L
Ember was following Albwin through the forest talking with Artemis about how they were going to save the supers when the wind shifted. She stopped in her tracks lifting her nose to the air and letting the most amazing and comforting scent wash over her. Mate—Torin. Ember and Artemis both thought together and before she even realized it, her feet were moving again launching her towards the one person in the world she needed to see right that minute. She burst into a small clearing surrounded by bushes and saw him, the moon's glow illuminating his soft features. His head shot up and turned towards her their eyes meeting seconds before she threw herself in his arms knocking him over. “Ember…” Torin’s voice came out as a cracked whisper, that one word was filled with so much emotion she felt something click into place deep inside of her. Torin sat up pulling her onto his lap as she shifted so her knee’s where on either side of him straddling him, their eyes met once again, Torin smiled
“Well hello, Luna.” Albwin was engulfed in a hug and pulled inside the room quickly. Ember glanced outside and pulled the curtains shut most of the way.“You shouldn’t be here!” She whispered as her eyes darted to the door leading into the castle. “Where’s Torin?” Albwin rolled his eyes. -Luna? Did I just hear you say— Hello, Luna?— Did you find Ember, is she okay? Is she hurt?- Torin’s voice sounded off inside Albwin’s ear. That was one of the flaws of the speech spell. You couldn’t pick and choose what the other person hears when you speak, and Torin talked a lot. “Torin is ok Luna, he’s with the Gamma Twi—” Ember held her finger to her mouth and pointed to the door, indicating someone was on the other side. He nodded and leaned in closer whispering next to her ear. “They are just out of range of the vampires on patrol. What’s going on here, why are they so heavily armed, are they expecting the wolves? — Yes Torin I found her she seems to be in decent shape.” Ember gave him a weir