ELLATEN YEARS LATER“Welcome, Luna.” The small, bespectacled woman bowed with a smile. “The kids have been waiting. They can hardly sit still at the moment.”I favored her a warm smile. “That is to be expected of kids. You know how they are, young and full of so much energy.”Today, I was to spend some time with kindergarteners at the pack’s new daycare center.Little ones who had no idea at the moment that they weren’t humans, babies, in the sense of the word.She adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses and laughed softly. “Ah, yes. Right this way, please. Would you like anything to drink? Tea or coffee, perhaps?” She gestured to the hallway ahead, where the walls were painted a soft baby pink with motifs of flowers, rainbows, and stick figures playing in green fields.We walked down the hall side by side.“Water is good.”“I shall arrange for that.”We paused in front of a door.From the glass screen, I could see the kindergartens running about, smiling brightly as they chased one another
ELLAI never thought I'd be relieved to leave Seattle.I loved Seattle at one point, but a lot changed — a whole lot. So when Mom announced we were moving to Alaska, I didn't argue.The drive up had been long and tiring, but as soon as we pulled into the small town, something inside me eased.I couldn’t exactly describe it, but it felt like an invisible boulder had been lifted off my shoulders; I felt at ease, I felt as though I was truly home.My expectations fell short when I saw our new apartment.It was small and a bit shabby and it was surrounded by thick, inviting forest. The forest I liked.Immediately I had set my eyes on it, I was drawn, and I knew I had to explore it someday.But not today. Today was about settling in.I surveyed the room.The door was rickety, hanging slightly off its hinges. Each time I opened or closed it, it groaned in protest. The windows were old and drafty, with bits of paint peeling off the wooden frames. The wooden floor had creaks, unlike the smoot
ELLAI pushed the front door open with my hip since my hands were occupied with shopping bags. The smell hit me first—one of old beer and sweat.Jack was sprawled on the couch in the living room, surrounded by empty beer cans, eyes glued to the TV screen.I sighed and then I trudged over to him.I dropped one of the bags, and reached to the other to pick out the condoms.Without saying a word, I shoved it towards him.He sluggishly leaned up and then he took the box from me with a greasy, yellow-toothed grin. "Good girl," he slurred.His breath smelt of alcohol and something I didn't even want to identify. It was simply horrible and I grimaced immediately.My stomach churned and I felt like vomiting right there. Instead, I clamped my mouth shut and turned on my heel, making for my room.As I walked away, I could feel his eyes on me.His gaze followed me through every single step and I heard him chuckle as I disappeared up the stairs.When I reached my room, I shut the door and dropped
ELLANathan's smirk was enough to send a shiver down my spine. "Well then.” he said, looking me up from head to toe. Slowly, and then his smirk widened, “We’ll see you later.” He added and patted his brother, they both turned on their heels and left.As well as the other students, the drama was over so they returned back to what they were doing, whispering amongst themselves.Slowly, the hall cleared out.I was rooted to the spot however.I could still feel both their touches on me; my wrist and back still tingled, and I could still feel the sensation of his tongue against my ear.It made the hair on my skin stand on end, and for a moment back there, I felt my tight-nerves start to become undone.I tried to shake off the tremors coursing through me, but it was no use. Their touch had left an indelible mark, and I hated how much it affected me.This was bad. This was really bad.It felt nice, but it felt really bad—I couldn't place why. I felt as though this shouldn't have happened, an
ELLA“You freak!”Those were the first words I heard from my mother after she’d hit me with the beer bottle.A sharp pain radiated from my forehead, and I could feel the warmth of blood trickling down my face.Great. Just fucking great."How do you feel now that you’ve gone and caused trouble again?” She was speaking again. “How do you feel knowing I can’t get any respect in this new town?” She finished and spat on my face.I flinched.“Mom! What are you talking about, I didn't even do—”“Will you just shut up! We haven’t even been here for a week and you’re already bringing disgrace to our name! You know this is a small town and news spreads easily yet you and your friends connived to beat up Mr Sanders.”Mr Sanders. Jack’s friend. The man that’d grabbed my ass and almost molested me today.My jaw nearly fell off its hinges.What sort of incredulous lie did that old twat tell them?My cheeks burned in anger, and I grit my jaw. Aside from the ringing pain in my head, I felt my chest t
ELLA“Open the fucking door, Ella!” Another loud bang came on the mahogany wood.The force shook the door, nearly shifting it off its hinges, and the knob rattled.“Come on, Ella, open up. Don’t be such a bitch.”I said nothing. I refused to. I just prayed that he would get tired and leave. Or, in the provision that he wouldn't, that this door between us would hold long enough till his mother returned and hopefully catch him here.“Goddamn it, Ella! You’re such a little brat, huh.” Another heavy bang sounded again. “You think I can’t get in. You think I don’t have the power to subdue you if I want. You don’t scare me, you hear me, stupid girl. You don’t. Now. Open. The. Damn. Door!”God, please. God, please.“Jack?” My teary eyes shot open when I heard that voice.Mother.“Where are you? Who are you yelling at?” She spoke again, and suddenly, Jack stopped hitting the door.“Thank goodness you're here, honey. Your daughter has had me in a swivet for almost thirty minutes now. She sudde
ELLAI had more concealer on my face than a burn victim.My mind thought about everything and nothing at the same time.The rhythmic sound of my pen tapping on my notebook sounded like the clock counting down to its last minutes, and if anyone asked me what I learned today, I would be at a loss for words.The bell signaling the end of the school day rang out, shrill and loud. I quickly packed my books and pens into my bag.'Are you going to do this?' Ava asked, her voice worried as opposed to her usual preppy tone.Drawing in a huge breath, I replied, 'Yes. I have to. If I want to have a hitch-free life until graduation day, I must find the twins and tell them to leave me alone.'Ava went silent. But I knew she didn't like that. For whatever reason, she liked the twins way more than I did."Hey!" A loud voice interrupted my packing.I shuddered, jumping in fright.A girl sat on my desk, swinging her legs in excitement. I looked up to see warm brown eyes and a kind, freckled face smili
ELLAStupid twins. Stupid care. Stupid bruises. Stupid town. Stupid, stupid me.The words kept ringing in my head as I made my way home.Why did I have to bump into them? Why did they have to see the bruise on my forehead? Why did they even care?The sun was starting to go down by the time I got home.I’d planned to slip into the house and go to bed without meeting either Mom or Jack, but it seemed fate had other plans for me.Right on the porch was Mom, drinking coffee or what I presumed was coffee out of a large chipped mug. She heard me approaching and turned, her eyes flashing haughtily."What's with that look on your face?" She snapped, turning to face me fully.I stared at her, wondering what she was talking about.Didn’t she see the large bruise on my forehead? The bruise she’d caused? Or was she going to turn a blind eye to it?"I don't have any look on my face," I replied and headed to the front door, but before I could take a step inside, she grabbed my arm and pulled me bac
ELLATEN YEARS LATER“Welcome, Luna.” The small, bespectacled woman bowed with a smile. “The kids have been waiting. They can hardly sit still at the moment.”I favored her a warm smile. “That is to be expected of kids. You know how they are, young and full of so much energy.”Today, I was to spend some time with kindergarteners at the pack’s new daycare center.Little ones who had no idea at the moment that they weren’t humans, babies, in the sense of the word.She adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses and laughed softly. “Ah, yes. Right this way, please. Would you like anything to drink? Tea or coffee, perhaps?” She gestured to the hallway ahead, where the walls were painted a soft baby pink with motifs of flowers, rainbows, and stick figures playing in green fields.We walked down the hall side by side.“Water is good.”“I shall arrange for that.”We paused in front of a door.From the glass screen, I could see the kindergartens running about, smiling brightly as they chased one another
ELLA“At this point, I think you have a laughing disease or something.""She's just high, we all are.""I'm not fucking high.""Yes. Like you didn't drink an entire winery barely thirty minutes ago.""Can you two quit your incessant rambling and take this gown off me? Hello? I'm trying to get dicked down right now!”Nathan and Tristan turned to me, eyes shiny with mirth.It had been a long day.The wedding after-party stretched into the night, long and packed with fun.And right now, I have a beautiful wedding ring on my finger, which matches my mates' rings, too.We had a joint shower and settled down to drain the Blackwood family cellar."You want to get dicked down?" Nathan asked, his brows wiggling suggestively as he approached me. He pulled me into his arms, and I shuddered just at that touch alone. "Mrs. Blackwood,""Oh, shut up," I laughed to myself. It started small and soon blew out into a wild laugh. "I think Wendy spiked our drinks,""With what?" Tristan hugged me from behi
ELLAA WEEK LATER."We look amazing, don't you think?" Sara said, her head tilted back and forth. "These gowns are the best, don't you think?""Um...yeah. I..." I tried to say something, but my nerves wouldn't let me form a coherent sentence.My hands balked into fists at my sides.My cheeks were tinged rogue, and it wasn't from blushing. I felt a million butterflies released in my belly.I was so fucking nervous! And I wanted to pee too."Hey, hey," Sara said softly. She grabbed both sides of my face and turned me to face her. "What's the matter?""I’m nervous?" I said with an uneasy laugh, and Sara laughed, too."Tell me about it; I am terrified." She put her hands over my shoulders and gently steered me to meet our reflection in the giant mirror in front of us. "But think about it this way: We are about to get married to the loves of our lives. Don't you think that's amazing?"We looked stunning.I had always imagined myself in a wedding gown, but none of my imagination topped the
ELLADr Celia was dead.We found her body and that of the witch who was controlling her outside of the altar, badly burned up.The altar itself was on fire, but the fire was going down as if being suppressed by an invisible hand.Magic was probably at play, we guessed so.Some of the saved werewolves offered to bury the dead.Even as I stared at the dead body of the witch who controlled and killed my mentor, I didn't feel any feeling of satisfaction that she was dead.I would have felt a million times better if I were the one to tear her apart bit by bit and leave her body parts for the vultures and crows to pick her bones clean."There's someone inside there," Tristan said as I watched the wolves dig a grave for Dr Celia.I turned to him. He and Tristan had gone to check the altar, but they didn't get as far as the door."There's a witch inside." Nathan said. "Just how many of them are they?""It's a coven." I said and turned to the altar. "There's a lot of them. And we're going to k
THIRD PERSON POVBeing under a witch's control was like being trapped in your head.Dr Celia didn't know exactly when she fell under the witch's control.All she remembered was waking up one morning and finding that her body wasn't in her control.She had woken up in the lab with no memories of getting there.She still had her consciousness, and the witch would sometimes let her take control for a few minutes or hours at a time, depending on what was needed.Celia did try to break free, or run, or alert someone of what was going on.But before she opened her mouth to speak, she would find herself slipped back to the darkest corner of her mind, and a strange presence would take control of her body.She hated it. Absolutely hated it.It went on for long months. An unspoken rule. "Keep your mouth shut at all times."The witch searched her brain, all her memories, the treasure robe of medieval knowledge and experience that she had. And the witch used them all to her advantage.Not only di
ELLA“What the fuck is that thing?" Tristan asked, his voice carrying the awe and surprise we all felt.The large circle was the size of a small football field. The land strips around it looked like they had been lynched of all life. The circle glowed a pulsing red, dark and ominous, like something from a horror movie."A circle," Wendy said, her voice shaky.I couldn't even speak."I can see that it's a fucking circle, Carter. But what exactly is it?!""We don't know," Nathan replied. "We don't fucking know."We had been able to save most of the werewolves who had been mind-controlled and injured.I couldn't shake off the feeling of something being wrong.Then we noticed a light in the distance, not far from the altar, and traced it to this weird circle."You've got to be fucking with me," Tristan said, his voice cold and angry."Oh my goodness." I gasped, my eyes going wide.Out of the circle werewolves, many of them coming out in their numbers. Their eyes glowed red, signifying tha
WENDY’S POVMy entire body screamed out in protest.The ache had settled deep in my bones, and each step I took worsened the pain.I felt lightheaded and on the verge of passing out.Vomit rose in my throat, and everything felt too bright and too loud.I was bleeding. Those idiot vines had thorns that cut into my skin. The cuts hissed in pain as my contaminated blood flowed out of it.My heart hurt like a banger.I was literally about to pass out on the cold forest floor.But seeing Ella's face above mine, her brows tight with concern, her lower lip between her teeth in a way she did when she was stressed, the smoke and burns all over her body when she had pulled me out of that fire — how could I pass out when my friend needed my help?"Wendy?” She tapped my chin. "Hey! Can you see me? Wendy!""I can," I groaned. “Thank you; I feel better now."I felt like shit.But at least I didn’t feel the burning of that disgusting wolfsbane in my body."Here," Ella extended her hand and helped me
ELLAI burst into the altar first.Inside, the weirdly circular place was dark, even with the numerous candles lit everywhere.I looked around frantically, my heart beating so loud in my ears.My eyes were drawn to an inverted cross in the center of the room, raised on a flat stone altar.There was a girl bound to the cross with tight, thorny vines that slithered and moved across her skin.My eyes widened as I saw the girl, her face bloody and dirty but familiar."Wendy!" I screamed out, my voice laced with horror. I rushed to her side.Wendy's head rolled to the side, and she looked at me.Her eyes were blood red, similar to the wolves who had been under the witch's mind control. She bared her fangs at me, growling in anger."I'll get you out of here!" I cried out. I grabbed the vines and pulled them. "Argh!" I stumbled back, my hand cradled in my lap.The vines cut into my palm, and blood dripped steadily down the cuts onto the floor. Those vines looked alive, moved, and sounded lik
ELLAMy flashlight shot through the dark forest, a flurry of bats scurrying to safety overhead.The twins and I walked through the thick forest, and with each step, the feeling of foreboding over me grew.The forest was too silent.It was too dark.And I could swear I saw things moving at the corner of my vision.Every sense I possessed tingled, and all my instincts warned me to run away—to turn and run.I pressed forward, my grip on the flashlight tight, even though I was trembling.Tristan walked in front of me, Nathan behind me. I felt safe between them, but I was still worried.Perhaps we should have waited till morning.But I didn't want to see what would happen if we waited.Each time I blinked, I saw the map with the red-marked location glaring at me."There's someone here," Tristan said and paused.I looked around, but the shadows in the forest moved and slithered. The beam of his flashlight moved from left to right, too."I feel it, too," Nathan said.A low growling sound rea