My father sits on the couch in the living room. He takes a sip from his tea while he reads a book. The cover bears a strange, intricate symbol—the kind you might expect to see in a werewolf lore book. My curiosity flickers. Does my dad know something about werewolves?"Well, someone looks quite handsome," I joke when I fall next to my dad. He lets out a warm laugh and puts the book down."I tried my best. You think your mother will like it?" He stands up and does a little spin to show off his outfit. It’s a crisp navy suit paired with polished shoes that gleam in the dim light.I can't help but laugh, nodding my head. I stretch my legs out in front of me, grunting when they cramp. I am starting to doubt that I will be able to make it through a whole night parading around the fair."Mum is going to love the new suit." He grins, picking up the book again and tracing the pages to find his spot."Where are you going tonight?" He asks without looking up. I rest my head against the couch and
The brightness of the fair blinds me for a moment. I blink rapidly, trying to adjust to the glow of the lights and the vibrant chaos of the crowd. The air buzzes with the hum of conversations, laughter, and the occasional shriek from a nearby ride. It’s far more crowded than I anticipated and the sheer volume of people adds an overwhelming energy to the scene.We pass one of the speakers and the music blasts through the speakers. Jake clamps his hands over his ears, wincing. I can feel the bass vibrating within me. The poor thing with his werewolf hearing. I guess all good things have their pros and cons."Let's go over there," I scream as I point to an empty table next to a few stalls. Jake nods and follows me to the empty table. He barely removes his hands from his ears, listening for a while, and then he drops his arms to his side. He groans and leans back on the table, supporting himself with his hands. "I don't want to be here," he says and I hum in agreement."Where is Wes?" I
The guy hands me the gun. I grip it firmly, my palms a little damp. I know how to shoot things that stand still, but moving targets.That’s a whole different game.Focus on one at a time and wait for it to get to the middle. Pull the trigger one second before the target comes in.That can only be Kate or the author. Both? I roll my shoulders and stand firmly, gun pointing to the mini versions of those targets at a shooting range.I nod my head to signal that I'm ready. A whirring sound erupts from the machines and the targets start to swing from side to side. I focus on my breathing and aim, waiting for the target to come into my line of vision. I exhale.Okay, and one. I pull the trigger and hit the target. It falls to the ground and I cheer."First question." I'm not the best at multi-tasking, so I have to concentrate harder. I aim again and Jake speaks up."Do you really, truly hate Tyler?" I shoot and hit another target, not the one I was aiming for, but I hit something at least.
I tread carefully along the loose rocks and uneven ground in the woods, the almost-full moon casting a soft glow over the path. It’s the only light source, and not nearly enough. Meanwhile, the rest of the group navigates through the woods with ease. Stupid werewolf sight and strength.Jake appears in my peripheral vision, walking beside me and carrying the giant teddy bear. I struggled to keep my balance with that massive thing on my shoulder. So, Jake took the teddy bear from me, carrying it for me.It was my stupid idea and now it has become his problem.We trail behind Tyler and Allison, who lead the group through the woods. Allison, somehow, manages to keep up with Tyler, walking gracefully over the uneven terrain like it’s nothing. She’s human, like me. How does she keep her balance?"How far until we get back to civilization?" I ask out of breath. My legs are killing me and I think I sprained my ankle somewhere on the way here.Allison giggles while Tyler looks over his shoulder
A cold sensation on my arm wakes me from my sleep. I groan, keeping my eyes closed as I try to figure out where I am.I turn around and adjust the blanket but freeze when I feel something stirring next to me. I take a moment to figure out where I am.The heat from Jake enfolds me and my breath catches in my throat. We both must have fallen asleep during the movie, but I don't know how we ended up like this.My hand rests lightly on his chest, my head nestled on his shoulder.I bury my face in the crook of his neck, taking in his steady breathing. A faint snore escapes his lips and a small smile from mine. I shift closer to Jake. I could stay like this for quite a while.The coldness touches my arm again and I turn my head as slowly as possible away from Jake's warmth.Who is that? I blink as I try to get used to the darkness."Kate, wake up." I recognize the voice."Allison?" I whisper. What the hell does she want?"Come, I need to talk to you," she whispers and walks to the door. I d
Allison is lifted off me and she screams with frustration.My eyes flutter open just in time to see Jake throw her across the clearing with unnerving ease. I almost gave up on him. Jake has also shifted and he walks to me, his brows furrowed. He turns back to Allison who gets up."What are you doing?" Jake's voice is deep and filled with anger. He gets in a fighting stance and waits for Allison.Allison doesn’t attack. Instead, she straightens her posture, brushing dirt off her clothes as if nothing had happened. “What am I doing? What are you doing?” she snaps. “I’m your Luna, and you will respect me.”"I don't have to answer to you. You're not our Luna yet, so I only take orders from Tyler. Get away from Kate," he warns.I try to push myself up and my body trembles from the effort. Pain lances through my shoulder and neck, sharp and unrelenting. There is nothing left to fuel me. I sink back to the ground. "Tyler will be hearing from this." Allison spits out."What will I be hearin
A warm hand takes mine and gives it a squeeze. I let out a soft groan, trying to squeeze the hand back. "Hey, are you okay? Does your head hurt?” It’s Jake’s voice. That means I am alive. “Yeah,” I whisper, my voice croaking. Ugh. I feel terrible. With a lot of determination, I manage to open my eyes. I am in a different room, one that looks like a bedroom. Where am I? This has to be a room in the pack house or somewhere because I do not recognize it.I turn to the hand that is still holding mine and follow the arm. My gaze lands on Jake who is looking at me with concern. “Hi.” I smile at him and his hand goes to my forehead. He rests his hand on my forehead, his other hand giving my hand a squeeze again. “They gave you a double dose. I was scared you might not wake up,” he says softly, his hand moving to remove a strand of hair from my face. I open my mouth, but my mouth is dry which causes me to burst out into a coughing fit.Jake quickly moves to get a cup of water from the
"May I go home now?" I beg and Jake smiles. He nods with the same smile and stands up, holding his arms out. I hold onto his arms to steady myself as I slowly stand up. Everything aches and I grunt when I find my balance."I hate this feeling," I huff out, starting to walk."What feeling?" I can feel Jake's eyes on me."Being in pain." I laugh at the statement. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I don't know how people do things that inflict pain. I hear Jake walking behind me and he turns me to him."You'll get used to it," he mutters as he picks me up. I want to protest but I am aware I would not have made it through the bedroom door. Jake walks through the door and out of the cabin toward his car.When we reach the car, I open the door so that Jake doesn't have to struggle with that too. He places me on the seat and I notice a bag near my feet."What's that?" I gesture to the bag. Jake closes the door and walks around the car, getting in and closing the door."Your clothes," he says
Jake has never loved anything the way he loves her.From the moment he first saw her, mouth set in a scowl, calling Tyler an asshole for being a dick to Allison, he knew she was different. She wasn’t afraid of them. Of him. And when she nearly tripped in Art class, he caught her. His hands steadying her waist. That was when it hit him.Mate.He ignored it. Pushed it down. But he felt it, deep in his bones, something undeniable and terrifying all at once. He tried to stay away, tried not to look at her, but Kate was Kate. She was impossible to ignore. He remembers her at that party, wearing something that made his chest feel tight, the way she swung at Max without hesitation. He helped her clean up afterward.He remembers giving her his black leather jacket, the way she wore it like she was meant to, like it belonged to her more than it ever did to him. The way she clutched it around herself when she was cold, breathing in his scent like it was her favorite thing in the world. He rem
Emily jolted awake.Her heart was pounding. Her breath coming too fast as her hands clenched so tight in the sheets that her knuckles ached. Her chest heaved, lungs dragging in air like she’d been drowning in her sleep. Her alarm was blaring. For a moment, she couldn’t move. It took her a moment to register where she wasThe room was still dark, the faint glow of London’s streetlights seeping through the curtains.Her dorm. London. The familiar walls, the soft hum of city traffic outside her window, the faint scent of her vanilla candle still lingering from the night before.Not the cold ground soaked in blood. Not Jake screaming for help.She was finally home.Kate. Emily sat up so fast she almost knocked over the half-empty tea cup on her nightstand. Her fingers fumbled as she grabbed her phone, unlocking it with shaking hands.Did she die?Did Kate die?Her thumb tapped the Wattpad app, breath caught somewhere in her throat. The screen loaded slowly, the WiFi deciding now of all
The ground is cold beneath me. I feel it pressing against my back, the rough bite of dirt and leaves. But it doesn’t hurt. Nothing does. There’s just a strange and heavy sensation in my chest, like someone has reached inside and stolen the air from my lungs.I hear Jake before I see him.Not his voice. His snarl.It doesn’t sound human. It doesn’t even sound werewolf. It’s something deeper, darker, like the embodiment of every nightmare, every fear, every unholy thing clawing its way to the surface.And then. Blaire’s screams.This is different. This is fear. Raw. Terrified. Begging.“Jake. Jake, please! Wait—”The sound that follows is wet. A sickening crack. A choked gurgle.Then silence.I stare up at the sky, feeling the edges of my vision flicker. The stars look sharper than usual, like someone took a knife to the sky and carved them out. I wonder if that means I’m dying.Jake is there.I don’t even register him moving. One second, he was ripping Blaire apart. The next, he’s abo
The battle rages on around me, the scent of blood thick in the air and it mixes with the damp earth beneath my boots. My breath is ragged and my arms aching, but I keep moving. I have to find Jake.Gunfire cracks in the distance, each shot sending a sharp jolt through my body. The screams, the growls, the clash of metal against flesh. It all forms a deafening, chaotic symphony that threatens to drown me. I shove through the dense trees as my eyes dart between the shifting shadows. I squint my eyes when I see a figure on the ground.Bianca.My stomach drops. Blood pools beneath her, seeping into the dirt. I rush forward and fall to my knees beside her. Her breathing is shallow, her hands weakly pressing against the wound in her abdomen."Shit," I mutter, tearing at my gear, my fingers fumbling for the small vial of antidote Wes gave me.The forest blurs. The air thickens, the sound of battle dulls into something distant, something unimportant. In its place, I hear another voice. A me
The explosion tears through the forest, a burst of heat and fire erupting in the darkness. The shockwave slams into me like a physical force and knocks the air from my lungs. The ground trembles beneath my feet as flames roar to life, licking up the trees.The blast illuminates the night in an instant, casting flickering shadows. The pack scatters, dodging falling embers and diving for cover as smoke curls into the air.For a split second, there’s nothing but ringing in my ears. Muffled shouts. The distant snap of branches. The crackling of fire eating through the dry leaves.The sharp crack of bullets pierces the chaos, but the pack is ready. They move like shadows, weaving between trees and bushes. A hunter barely has time to react before Tyler slams into him and takes him to the ground with a growl.Jake’s hand slips from mine as he launches himself forward. I watch him transform as he runs to the nearest hunters. I stay low, keeping myself hidden behind the undergrowth. My heart
The pack house is buzzing with quiet, focused energy when Jake and I step inside. Every single person is here. Some are standing in tense groups while others are sitting with protective gear. The air is thick with anticipation.Across the room, Allison and Tyler are deep in conversation with a small group. Among them, Oliver and Bianca stand slightly apart, listening intently.Oliver notices me first. His gaze flickers in my direction and I give him a small smile, lifting my fingers in a wave. He hesitates before nodding back with a slight smile.Jake keeps walking, guiding me toward the far end of the room, where Wes is hunched over a makeshift lab setup. His hands move quickly, mixing liquids, analyzing samples. He is so focused he barely registers us approaching.“How close are you?” Jake asks.Wes exhales sharply. “Very.” He doesn’t look up, instead pointing to a row of vials in front of him. “I’ve narrowed it down, but I need fresh human blood to test the final component.”“Take
The drive to the pack’s hideout is quiet, the hum of the engine blending with the distant sounds of the night. The road twists through dense forest, barely visible from the main highway. It’s a place only a few know about, tucked away behind thick trees and old, winding paths. I do not think I would be able to find it again on my own. Jake drives with one hand on the wheel, the other resting lazily on my hand which is on his thigh. My thumb moves in slow circles and he has a soft smile on his lips. By the time we pull up to the hidden pack house, my heart feels heavier. Jake parks in a concealed spot near the pack house. I unzip the bag on my lap and take out Jake’s clothes before getting my own. I place the bag back on the ground, careful not to wrinkle my dress. It’s ridiculous, really/ Considering everything we’ve just done, you’d think I wouldn’t care so much about keeping it pristine. But I do.Jake just watches, his lips twitching in that quiet but amused way of his.“What?”
I sigh in content as I press my forehead to Jake, still catching my breath. His hands are steady on my hips. He is holding me like he’s in no rush to let me go.“All right,” I mumble, shifting slightly. “I should probably get off now.” Jake just hums, but he makes no move to help.I try again and pushes lightly against his chest, but my legs feel like jelly. Plus, the position is… not ideal for an easy exit. I let out a soft huff. “Jake.”He lets out a quiet laugh as his hands move from my waist and place them under my thighs. Then, with zero effort, he picks me up and moves me onto the passenger seat like I weigh nothing.“Show off,” I mutter, adjusting my dress.He smirks and runs a hand through his hair. “You were taking too long.”I just shake my head, but there’s a grin tugging at my lips. I glance down at my thigh before I grab a tissue from my purse.“Lovely,” I say flatly. “Thanks for that.”Jake leans his head back against the seat, watching me with that quiet amusement. “Y
We move quickly but quietly toward Jake’s truck, my heart pounding in my chest. The night air is cool against my skin, but it does nothing to calm the heat inside me. We hurry into the truck and Jake starts the engine before he maneuvers the truck toward the farthest corner of the parking lot.The moment he shifts into park, his lips are on mine again. I sigh into the kiss as my hand moves over his chest to settle on his neck. His hands roam my waist before he pulls me onto his lap, making me gasp.“Jake,” I scold between kisses, pressing my hands to his chest. “Be careful with the dress.”He chuckles, low and deep, his breath warm against my neck. “I’ve got you,” he murmurs, fingers tracing the fabric slowly before he lifts it just enough.A giggle escapes me as he shifts my underwear aside. His touch sends shivers up my spine. “I’ve never done this in a car before,” I admit, breathless. The space feels both thrilling and awkward, the newness of it making me giddy.“I’ll take care o