"How did the project go?" My mom asks as I step foot into the apartment. She even moved the chair so it would face the entrance, just to wait for me, smiling like a detective that has solved a murder."Alright." I avoid her stare and rush to get to my room."It must be an important one. You spent hours on it." She continues, even more determined, seeing that I get redder than a tomato. "I will take a wild guess and say you didn't even finish it. And you will start to spend a lot more time at the library."She emphasized the last word with air quotes."Mom! Stop! I know you know!""But they don't have to know that I know that you know that I know!" She laughs."You've been binging too much on that Netflix show! You start to sound like Georgia!""And you act like Ginny! Someone should make a show about this and give us money!" She gets up with a devilish smile. “Come on, tell your mom everything. You never had someone to lie to me about. It’s exciting!I roll my eyes and walk past her,
"Leave, Caroline!" Axel growls at her. I push my head into his chest, hiding away in fear. I must be shaking, because Axel looks down with a worried expression before warping his arms around me."You're so mean, my love. Is this why you've been so distant? A shiny new toy?" Caroline comes in and closes the door behind her. I can feel her coming closer, until her voice is right behind Axel. "Why have just one when you can have two?"With that, her hand creeps around his waist and slowly into his pants."Caroline..." He warns her, but grimes when her hand starts to move."I'm just saying... I can teach her how you like it... Just like I did with the rest. Who knows? Maybe you won't get tired of this one in a week."I'm almost pushed to the ground by how fast Axel turns around to grab her hand."I! Said! Leave!" Fire and fury was coming out of his mouth and for a split second, he moves enough so I can see her face. She is terrified."I just..." She doesn't get to finish her sentence befo
For the billionth time in a row, our time together was cut short by some pack emergency that Axel ran to take care of. We didn't even get to the house. Instead, he dropped me back home after his phone called and a guard cried out that the rogues had attacked. I cursed those vile creatures all night. But... only half-heartedly. Yesterday's shopping spree left a bad taste in my mouth and I wouldn't have wanted the memory of my first time with Axel behind trained by it."Rose!" My mom is banging at my door to wake me up. "We'll be late!"My grandma invited us over to spend the day there and I dread it with all my heart. Not only because the woman is vile herself, but because her house is... too much. Every wall is covered in pictures of my father. None are with me or my mom, of course. Just him, smiling from everywhere.The kick is that you can't mention it either. My grandma shuts down every conversation about him as she hates that my mother and I were a part of his life."Why are we ev
His fingertips linger on the lines of my body as a growl escapes his throat."I want you!" There is no shadow of a human in his voice, everything is lost in the animalistic instincts that have taken over him. I can not resist it. In a way that I can not explain, my body's needs overcame any trace of doubt, logic, regrets. Everything. Leaving only a sense of desperation behind."Axel..." I whispered, my voice unrecognizable, even for myself.He rips the clothes off and the sound of the fabric being thorn into pieces around me makes me almost loose my mind. Axel's hands are terribly cold, but the feeling of them on my bare skin makes every inch burn.I try to unbutton his shirt, but my hands feel clumsy as my pants fall prey to his impatience. Axel turns me around, pressing his body against me from behind, grabbing my breast with one hand while the other makes its way in between my legs."You're so fucking wet!" He groans as his finger draws circles around my clitoris. I am frozen, caugh
"When I told you to go to your mate, I didn't expect you to be gone all night!" My mom's first words were after I entered the house. Axel's dad arrived to deal with the rogues and he had to hurry back to the pack after breakfast."I didn't either, mom. But I regret nothing!" I answer with a smile. I get that she is not happy and I should at least try to look sorry, but I can't wipe this smile off my face no matter how much I try. I am very much in love.As she could read that off my expression, she sighed."You are eighteen. You are not a child, Rose. I won't forbid you to see him or anything, because I know the relationships between werewolves are very much different than human ones. I also know very well how it feels to meet your mate. Even as a human it was..." She has a dreamy expression for a moment, before becoming serious again. "But exactly because I know all of this, I can give you some advice. Love and infatuation are two very different things that look very much alike. Mate
The school was canceled for a few days as the pack healed itself. More than a few people died, so a series of funerals took place over the course of a week. Every day brought new dead bodies from the hospital, every day brought a new family's desperate cries. Even if I don't particularly care about the pack, this much sorrow is soul wrenching for anyone that has a heart."Rose, come help me with the pies!" My grandma shouted from the kitchen. We've been staying with her so we can help with the funeral preparations. It is quite different for werewolves, as they like to celebrate the life of the person rather than cry about their death. So everyone comes together, bringing their best dishes for a huge pack meal. The family and friends of the deceased tell stories about how kind, loving, funny, or whatever they were. People wear colorful clothes and there is music hiding the soft cries of the family.No matter how many I attend, it still surprises me to see the faked cheerfulness of the
It's the first day back to school and everyone is quiet in the hallway. As it's only pack members accepted here, no one dares to make a sound after the events of the last week. We all walk past each other, keeping our heads down.Even Caroline and her minions are in a corner, with empty expressions on their faces.I looked around for Axel, but he was nowhere to be seen. I am still a bit upset about everything so I didn't message him and he didn't reach out either. I started to grow more and more anxious over the weekend and I shoot him an 'How are you?' message, in the morning, but he didn't reply yet. A few members of neighborhood packs will come this week to discuss aid requests, so he may be busy, but still... it's been a bit long to forget about your mate.And by the end of the day, the only thing that changed was the color of the sky. Axel is still nowhere to be seen, the school is silent and I feel like the lump in my throat is only getting bigger.I look at the sky as I get out
"Sweetheart, the doctor should look at you." My mom kisses my forehead and pushes the cup of tea towards me."I just got scared, I don't need a doctor for that." I say as I push the cup away. Two is enough. How much can one drink?Axel is standing next to me, holding my hand, acting like if he takes it away, I will vanish. My grandma is just standing at his hide, staring at the future Alpha holding her half-human granddaughter. I hope she took her heart medication."If I hadn't gotten there in time..." Axel whispers, his voice breaking a little with every word."It wasn't aggressive. And it saved me..." I don't get to finish before he shakes his head."You don't know these bastards. If he saved you from one thing, it was only because he wanted to do something way worse to you." He comments, tightening his grip."It was your luck that the future Alpha was around, Rose. I don't know where your head was to go alone in that park." My grandma chimes in. I would roll my eyes, usually, but t
"Damon! We really need to hurry!" I try to sound assertive, but it sounds more like a moan. His hand is roaming under my shirt , leaving a burning sensation of pure desire on every inch of skin he touches. I get drunk with his smell, his presence, his love. So much so, that it worries me what I will do when the mate bond finally snaps into place. Will we ever leave this room?But to find that out we really need to leave. Like five minutes ago.I manage to peel Damon off of me with the promise of tonight being our first time as mates and with that we are out the door to Caroline's Alpha ceremony.We drive by the southern packs that managed to rebuild most of what was destroyed in the war. By how things are going, they will become fully independent again in less than a year."The road helped a lot of them connect to resources." I say, proud that we could make it real. My grandma started it by telling me how nice it would be to be able to just drive to her cousin's pack in the north. Wit
Werewolves don't fight in daylight. I think it's one of the first things I remember my teacher saying, way before I could truly comprehend the meaning of it. It was fine until a century or two ago when, if any unlucky human saw anything they would have been considered mad, but now, with phones and cameras in everyone's pocket?We are wolves in the shadow, humans in the light.We were. Until this war. Until the rogues broke every rule we have ever been taught and we had to push ourselves out of everything that felt right in order to defeat them.Once the sun starts to rise, and the piles of bodies gather around the open field, every instinct screams at me to run. To hide. I see everyone around me feeling the same, everyone remembering what we've been taught. Except our enemy, who teached their children that victory must come at any price.I see people so tired, they can't maintain their wolf form. They fall on their knees, so tired they don't raise their heads when the enemy bites off
"This time, everything will work perfectly." Damon seemed confident, even though that never happened before. And I really, really wanted to believe him, mostly because I needed to, but also because he made it seem so real. Like we had a chance.But that chance slips a little bit through my fingers with every look the council throws at each other. Or even worse, with every look they sneak in Thomas' direction. Waiting for him to take a decision, to take the lead. And unfortunately, Thomas is not desperate, he is young and has all the time to be cautious and smart about his decisions.After a bit of bickering, the king explains his reasoning in an avalanche of ill-fitted sentences."It would be unwise to march, while we lose the base." Someone comments."This is absurd!" Thomas finally bursts and shouts at his father. "Damon doesn't have enough men to take over the pack. We left enough warriors there to make sure of that. We can't march back, wasting everything because you got informati
On the second night of the funeral march, once we reach the fourth pack that abandoned their territory, I see Thomas starting to put things together. His father calmed down a lot and is now advancing slower, making sure the sentinels spread in between the bases and the army can maintain the pack link and keep the communication open. No shadow of the Strychnos plant.That's not good."This doesn't feel right." I say to Thomas as we find ourselves walking next to each other."Why are you scared? Even if it's a trap, your mate will protect you. No one will jump to punish a Moon Priestess.""Yeah... But..." I let the silence speak as I look at the ground. I know Thomas looks at me so I brush my hair off my face so he can see my teary eyes."But you're not sure." Thomas tries to sound sympathetic, but I would be a fool not to feel the satisfaction in his voice."He is my mate, he would... protect me.""You know, every time you say the story of your past life, there is one detail that doesn
Caroline is standing so close to me, I can feel her breath on the back of my head. The king wanted her to be on the other side of the little funeral march as Damon called it, but Caroline looked ready to snap a few necks before she would be separated from me."As long as my pack stands, she is my Luna! It is my duty to protect her or die trying!" None of the men in the office questioned her determination, so she was allowed to act as my bodyguard if it came down to it."Wish you'd have been as determined in the last life too." I can't help but clap at her as we make our way to the MoonWalk pack's borders."Yeah... me too." She answers, to my surprise. Usually, when I make remarks like this she counters with the fact that I wasn't powerful or useful enough to be accepted, let alone respected as Luna. She must sense my surprise because she's quick to explain. "I know. That's what I thought all my life, but... I know Omegas who wouldn't have betrayed the pack for all the power in the wor
"Your friend was put in another room." Thomas is by my side when I wake up, gently pressing an ice bag on the left side of my head. But even with that, I can feel every second of Caroline's training throbbing in my head. I bite my lip as i get up and make sense of my surroundings, mostly of the little silver bracelet that stands as proof of the fact that I am not a good liar. If I would have, the king would have trusted me by now."It's fine... I deserved it." I tell him as I grab the hand he offers to help me stand up. He holds it for a second longer than he should and I realize I was staring at him. Well, not at him, at every feature that reminds me of Damon."I'm sorry about earlier. I just... A lot of things happened at once and...""It's ok." No it was not and he is a piece of crap, but if I can't fool the father maybe I can the son? "I was surprised since you said you have a girlfriend and you know... I have a mate.""Yeah... She really doesn't want to be involved with this so s
"I haven't seen you freeze like that since you got a wolf." Caroline snarls at me as she closes the door after us."I wanted to test something.""And?""And it confirmed that the off feeling I had about Thomas was because he was… interested not because of something more sinister." I answer while trying to use the pack link to tell her that she can't, in fact, trust Thomas. But despite everything, I am still blocked."Remind me to complain about this logistics flaw to the Goddess. She can't lock me out forever." I say to Nala, but the ancient she-wolf is not in the mood for joking."She has enough on her plate. You need to find a way to return to the meeting and warn them!""She can't see what is going on?""To make your mate's prison stronger, she locked herself in too. They have no connection to the outside. The only reason you were able to wake up was because I pulled you out by force." Nala explains and my last hope of a plan finally working, as Damon promised, gets tossed down the
I am shaken awake by Caroline, who has a terrified expression on her face. I almost jump out of bed when I see her, but as soon as I open my eyes, she sighs in relief."You sleep like you're on fucking drugs!" She snaps after I ask her what the hell happened. One second I was sitting with Damon in front of a very angry gathering of Alphas, the next, I am pulled back by Nala in a panick.I hear a loud bang on the door before Thomas' voice comes through, full of annoyance and urgency."Listen here, you little pack girl, you have one minute to wake her or I'll..." He doesn't get the chance to finish that pseuodo-threat because I open the door."What the hell happened?""So you're not in a coma.""Oh, come on! I am a good sleeper, but this is ridiculous. And it's not even morning yet!" I point at the pitch black sky outside, wondering how on earth did they figure everything out so fast."Apparently, some Alphas, if not all of them are in some type of coma. Our spies reported that they wou
The Alphas who agreed to help from the start moved closer, pushing the rest to the side so we can discuss a thing or two. I can see Axel with the corner of my eye, but I don't have the courage to face him yet. In the explaining that I did earlier, I had to mention a few things that involved him in the past life and I know he is hurt, but... this requires a longer and more private conversation.Fortunately, everyone is so caught with the entire war thing that no one thinks to ask why Damon stands next to me instead of my mate.Everyone but Luna Karina. When everyone spreads out for a small break, she approaches me with a stormy expression. Damon takes the hint and walks away, all the eyes following him like he's a jailer. With a straight posture and a half-smile, I can see he's enjoying it more than he should, though."I tried to break through this dream a few times. Just like the other Alphas surely did too. I tried to connect with anyone from my pack to try and wake me, but that was