ELLAWho was that? I asked myself the question just as two enormous black wolves emerged from the forest.My eyes widened in horror, and I staggered backward, grabbing my clothes and pressing them close to my chest.Wolves!I’d never thought that this forest would harbor such dangerous animals.If I’d known, I would never have returned.Now, how was I going to escape?How would I even fend them off if I wanted to?They were so huge that the possibility of them tearing me apart crossed my mind, and I trembled.No. No. This was not going to be my end.I looked left and right.I looked up and down.I looked straight and behind.I was searching for the possible route to take if I eventually made a run for it. Because that was the only way I could escape this.Or should I lie back and wait for death to come because there was no way I could fight off these wolves?The wolves got closer, and my heart raced even more. It felt like it would burst out of my chest at any moment.The wolves stepp
THE TWINS (THIRD-PERSON POV)"You heard that, didn't you?" Tristan asked the moment he and Nathan transformed from their wolves back to humans."I did," Nathan replied. “Let’s get dressed first.”"She's planning to leave Alaska. She’s fucking planning to leave us!”"Tristan, where are our clothes?""I'm talking about something more important than fucking clothes!"Nathan sighed heavily. "Look, you heard all that she said. It's not her fault, okay? I always knew something shitty was up with her, but you refused to acknowledge it.""Seriously?!”"Yes. But I don’t want to talk about that now.” Nathan ran his fingers through his hair. “Why don't we try and fix this, stop her from leaving?"“And how do you suggest we do that?" Tristan hissed."We visit her parents. Find out more about what went wrong and why she’s so keen on leaving them. See what we can do to ensure she doesn't leave."Tristan was quiet for a moment. Nathan could still see the anger reflected on his brother’s face.“Very
ELLAI felt chills down my body as I stared at the empty box.Not even a single dollar was left behind.How? How?I’d been careful. I’d been extra cautious about how I stored this box. It was hidden perfectly in the ground, or at least I thought it was perfect.There was only one logical explanation for this. Only one person could have done this to me.I threw the box on the floor and stormed downstairs. At that moment, all I could think about was rage.God, I was so angry.Mom and Jack were on the couch watching a TV show when I got to the living room.Everything that’d happened earlier seemed like a myth, and they were all loved and coupled up. I almost gagged.Walking towards them, I stopped in front of the television and crossed my arms, my eyes brimming with unshed tears."What is the meaning of this?” Mom hissed, but I ignored her."Which one of you took my money?" I asked, my chest heaving as I tried to control my anger. "Who took my money?!""Your money?" Jack slurred.He brou
ELLA"Ella? Ella, are you okay?”My eyes cracked open a fraction. Someone was holding me, an unnatural strength in their arms.I blinked, my vision got better, and the freckled face in front of me got clearer. “Wendy?""Oh my goodness!" She gasped, holding me up, her hands on my shoulders. "Ella! What's wrong with you?”"I..." I started to explain but stopped when my body swayed again.Wendy caught me this time. She grabbed my arm and threw it over her shoulder."I've got you," She said.She held me, and we lumbered to the sidewalk. I felt like I drifted in and out of consciousness.Wendy hailed a cab and helped me get inside. "Drive as fast as you can!" she told the driver. "My friend is sick!"The car ride felt like a fever dream. But by the time we arrived, I could keep my eyes open enough to see what was happening around me."Where are we?" I asked Wendy.She got out of the cab and helped me out, too. "My house.""Oh, but I can't, Wendy. I have to get back home."Wendy stared at m
NATHAN’S POV(AN HOUR EARLIER)"I still can’t believe what happened in Ella’s house yesterday. It went very well, didn’t it?” I asked, not bothering to hide my displeasure as we entered the mansion.We’d just had our usual morning run.“Well done, brother," I said again, hissing loudly."What did I do this time?" Tristan snapped. He slammed the door closed as we stormed inside. "All I did was say the fucking truth! And you stand here, acting like a saint and pretending I'm not right?! You agreed to go with me! We were in this together!""And how did that end up?” I raced up the stairs after him. "Tristan! You saw how well that went! We put her in more danger!""I proposed that we go in head first, make our talk as quick as possible! And you....""What is going on with you boys again?!" Our father's voice boomed from the top of the stairs.Tristan and I looked up.At the top of the stairs stood the old man, looking disappointed as he glowered at us. Not to mention, he was wearing a tux
ELLAI stared at the sight a few feet away from me.The twins were walking out of their house with Grace.I stared at Grace, and she stared right back at me.As our gazes locked, I remembered the party, the rape incident I had narrowly escaped, and the whole person behind it.Grace.She was behind it all. She intentionally set me up while pretending to be my friend, and yet… the twins deemed it fit to still be friends with her.I dragged my gaze from Grace to the twins.They looked happy. They all did. I was sure they just had a fine dining.They belonged together, and Grace sure looked marvelous hanging on Tristan's arm.Subtly and again, I reminded myself that I was not in their class: their social status or pedigree.I was just an almost orphaned child who came from a poor, dysfunctional home with nothing to my name.They lived in mansions. I lived in a rickety apartment in the suburbs.I would never be the same as them. Never."Ella," Nathan called. He smiled at me and stepped for
NATHAN’S POV"Let me go!" Ella screamed in protest. "Put me down, Nathan. I'm not a tool for your enjoyment anymore."“No.”"Put me down.” She screamed and continued to struggle. Her hands hit my back. "Nathan!""I'm so sorry, but this is necessary,” I said.Wendy didn't waste any time and continued to yell at me as I carried her friend away, but I paid her no heed.She was the least of my worries now.I knew how uncomfortable Ella must be, hanging over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.And she didn't stop struggling. She didn’t stop cursing and yelling profanities.Strangely, her actions hurt me; they broke my heart.I turned and headed to the car.I opened the door with one hand and gently placed her in the passenger seat.She moved quickly, aiming to jump out of the car.I slammed her seatbelt on and locked the door. She banged on it, screaming colorful words at me.I quickly got into the driver's seat, started the engines, and drove off."Nathan!" Ella shouted. She grabbed my h
ELLAI grabbed onto Nathan's arms and held on tightly.He stood before me, his lips dropping kisses all over my face.Behind me was Tristan, who slowly took my shirt off my body."What," I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it down. "What are you...""Ella dear now isn't the time to argue,” Nathan purred, his voice low and seductive. He placed his hand over mine and guided me to remove the shirt. "You want this, don't you?""This?" I asked and stared at him.Did I want this?What was it?I didn’t even know, but I guess I did want it.I mean, I'd been craving their touch for a very long time. Even if they were, in fact, werewolves, and there was a possibility that I was one too, did it really matter?"I want it," I said quietly.Nathan smirked at me, pride evident on his face."Good girl." He said softly."Hey, don't hog her all to yourself," Tristan grumbled behind me.Nathan smirked against my lips. "Patience, brother, she's not going anywhere.”Guilt twisted in my heart at his w
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