The white ceiling tiles blurred as I stared at them. My body was too weak to do much else. The more I thought about things, the more difficult it was to come to terms with the idea that I’d really been in a coma for a month. My memories remained a patchwork of confusion with loose fragments that refused to align. My mom holding me as I broke down in her arms was the clearest image. I could still recall the dream, but everything after that felt hazy, heavily drowned with fog I couldn’t seem to walk past. A soft knock broke through the silence. I turned my head, catching the moment Becca slipped into the room. Her usually cold eyes widened slightly when she saw me, and she let out a breath. Relief flickered across her face—genuine relief. I blinked in surprise. “Harlyn,” she said, stepping closer to my bed. “You’re awake.” I shifted against the pillows, my body protesting the movement with a subtle sting of pain. “Barely.” My voice was hoarse, shaken in tone by her demeanor.
I frowned, my eyes flicking between the two of them. What was that about? I was tempted to ask but as the door clicked shut behind Becca, my mom spoke. “The doctor says you’ll be here for two more days,” she said as she moved closer to my bed, her expression softening as she focused on me. I wanted to press her for an answer, but something about the way she avoided my eyes made me hesitate. I hummed. “When do you think I’ll be able to return to school?” I bit her bait, continuing the conversation. Whatever it was, I was sure it wouldn’t be that much of a problem. Blissful Ignorance. “Your dad was thinking, maybe in about a week? Exams are approaching and we don’t want you falling behind,” She reached to adjust my blanket, moving around my bed. I didn’t want to go back. Not just yet. In fact, not at all. I’d gotten a full month break away from Higan and the terrors that came with him and despite not being aware at the moment, I was hoping to enjoy the break a little longer
The mate bond worked in very perplexing ways, but we werewolves as a whole never truly sought to question it. After all, It posed a blessing from our goddess, who sought to give us comfort in a world that would reject us, and you’re not meant to question blessings. One mate existed to be another functioning part of you, a part of your soul molded outside yourself but made of the same thing. The connection between two wolves fated to be with each other was special, and it allowed certain things to exist between them, including the pain of their rejection. I would know that because despite Higan rejecting me, I could still feel the pain of his actions every time he became intimate with another woman, and the same applied to him. He would feel it if I ever got intimate with a man that’s not him. So, reading his messages opened a Pandora's box of fear and panic I never thought could be triggered in me. The most sickening dreadful idea was sinking in and worse, It would make s
The question echoed loudly in my mind, insistent and relentless in its search for an answer. The kiss felt faint like the leftovers of a dream slipping through my grasp. I hoped for a face, a voice—anything to make some sense out of it but came up with nothing. Was it Higan? No… it didn’t feel like him. The kiss in my memory was raw and consuming, driven by something more profound than desire—a connection that transcended reason. Higan and I did not posses that. Did I dream of it? Was it another dream like the one I had with the white wolf tearing my gut out? Frustrated, I rubbed my temples and let out a groan. My pulse still raced from the phantom sensation. Was this another trick of my scrambled mind, or something real I have long forgotten? The afternoon dragged on, and despite my best efforts to stay awake, exhaustion eventually claimed me. My eyes grew heavier with each passing second until I finally surrendered to sleep. I knew what was coming and it did come.
“I’m not an omega,” the words left my mouth in a weak whisper. Though, the haze of my dream was fading fast. Everything around me turned dark as the rustling trees dissolved into the sharp, rhythmic beeping of my heart monitor. “No, you’re not,” a woman’s voice danced through my thoughts. I tried opening my eyes, but the effort only made my eyelids feel heavier. Panic bubbled in my chest, seeping into every nerve as my body refused to move. "Relax, darling. Just keep dreaming. It’s better that way," the lady cackled softly. Her voice slithered through my mind like a taunt, doing little to comfort me. What kind of sick nurse would play tricks like that? Summoning every ounce of strength, I croaked out, "Nurse?" The word barely escaped my lips before my body betrayed me again, and exhaustion dragged me back down. For a few long, suffocating moments, there was nothing but silence. Then I heard it—a wet, choking sound followed by a heavy thud. My breath caught in my throat a
I turned, startled, as Khalid approached us in hurried strides. My stomach tightened, confusion flaring hot in my chest. "What is he doing here?" The question spilled from my lips before I could stop it. “I’ll explain on the plane Harlyn, but you have to come with me now,” He grabbed a bag from my mother I hadn’t realized she was holding. “Here are some of her things, I trust you can get her more when she needs them,” My mother stated. “My things?” I shrieked in disbelief. “Harlyn, this is serious,” my dad stepped in. I turned to look at him, but his face, illuminated under the moonlight, revealed injuries I hadn’t noticed before. “You’re hurt?” I reached to glaze over the bruise on his nose. Who hurt him? What was happening? I was starting to feel my panic rise at the sudden events, my eyes tearing up. This must be some continuation of that silly dream. They’re just trying to emphasize how my life’s in danger, this couldn’t be real. “Harlyn, you need to go!” My dad or
The road stretched endlessly before us, a ribbon of asphalt snaking through the darkened countryside. The headlights from the van lit the occasional tree or sign, casting passing shadows along the path. The van was silent. It was a chilling sort of silence that only comes after something major has happened and nobody knows what's left yet. I sat there, staring at the floor, my mind replaying the things that happened mere moments ago, most especially, the Melbringer. I heard they rarely came into contact with land owned by werewolves, so why was she there? A warm feeling still crept around in my chest when I thought about her and the image of her gaze searing through me. My heart felt hollow in a way as if it had stopped beating in that instant, yet I was still alive. I wondered if I was overthinking it—her eyes and the pain in my chest. Was it a coincidence or truly an attempt on my life like I felt? But why would she want to kill me? I'm not particularly anyone inte
I absorbed what she had said, trying to grasp the enormity of it all. A part of me wanted to ask more, but something in Abigail’s expression told me this wasn’t the time for a deep dive. The van finally came to a stop, and we reached the small, secluded airport. The reality of what was happening started to settle in. A sudden unease spread through me. I hadn’t imagined in all my years that I'd be lunged into this strange world of Melbringerand unspoken secrets. But now, it was clear that I was being pulled deeper into something I wasn’t sure I understood. Abigail, Khalid, and I climbed out of the van, and I followed them to step closer to the large black plane waiting for us. I didn't want to wonder whose plane it was and why it was being used to smuggle me out of the country against my will. I had enough questions to ask. The air felt cool against the skin of my exposed legs. I looked down at my sandals. I remembered then that I'd barely been able to change. My cheeks
The Stark mansion had been quiet. My room had been quiet. The kind of quiet you tell yourself is good but it still settled deep in your bones, heavy and suffocating.This place? The opposite.The towering wooden cabin downtown loomed ahead as Caleb drove closer to the crammed makeshift parking lot. Colored lights spilled from the building's tall windows, illuminating the sea of people sparsed onto the porch and yard.The air pulsed with bass-heavy music, I could feel it despite still being locked in the car. It almost marched my thundering heartbeat. Thank goddess for gloves or the entire car seat would be as frost-coated as the trees. I was unraveling.“Let's get the Christmas debauchery started,” Tyler quipped as he swung the car door open from the passenger seat at the front.“They're teens Tyler, not minx strippers in Vegas,” Caleb threw the concerning comment. I ignored it.“Thanks,” I muttered to Tyler who'd taken it upon himself to open my car door. Perhaps he sensed my urge to
His eyes flicked over me like he was peering right through my excuses. A quiet, knowing pause stretched between us before he finally spoke. “Surely you're not hiding in this room for their sake, right?“I blinked at him at his tone. He'd become too serious too fast. I clenched my jaw, looking away. My fingers itched so I gently played with my fingertips. “I’m not hiding.”His boots thumped closer and I looked right at him as he stood next to the bed. “Come then,” he challenged with a tilt of his head.“You should go.“ My wolf urged, her voice dancing through my thoughts. It felt like she'd accepted his challenge. I wasn't sure what to feel.On one hand, I hated to admit it but I was hiding and if I continued like this, it'd take longer to leave the house. On the other hand, I wasn't sure it was right to confront them all.Though, I did want to see someone. Becca. I hadn't heard much about her since I returned and I owed her an explanation for my disappearance. But I was hoping it woul
Things had surely been awkward for a while but I was really working toward moving past that and forward to whatever new thing would surely soon be sprung on me.I climbed down my bed and my feet met the chilly floor. The room must have dropped in temperature again when I'd slept. I was starting to get used to it, the sudden chill that clung to my space. It helped that December had settled in, and snow had begun its slow descent over the town.A week went by too fast, caught up in the process of my parents moving into the Stark mansion with whatever remained of our things. I thought it was odd that our old house was left empty until I found out that the Melbringer had crashed the building in search of me.I was sure the town was filled with gossip now about the Sage family moving in with the small mysterious pack of teens at Eldrood Street. But I wouldn't really know, I haven't stepped a foot out yet.That was a lie. I'd been using my sight and hearing, stretching it past the house to
“Harlyn.” My mom reached for my hand, but I pulled away faster before she could touch me. It wasn't necessarily on purpose, it was more an instinct to reject whatever she wanted to tell me.Her eyes widened in surprise before her face crumpled, but I looked away. I didn't have it in me to care even if I didn't mean to hurt her.“Parenting you was the last order given to us by our Alpha,” my dad said finally. His voice was steady, but I caught the way his fingers tensed against the dresser. “Your father. Alpha Torren Lockwood of the Moonstone Pack.”His words settled over me like frost. I let them sink in. Let them claw their way inside me and burn me cold. I shivered.The last order. It was an assignment. A responsibility handed down by some dead Alpha I’d never even known.My heartbeat was a dull thud in my ears. “So when he died, I technically became your problem.”“No,” my mom whispered, her voice cracking. “It was never like that.”“Then how was it?” I snapped curtly.My dad stood
A knock resonated through Ethan Stark's office study and I'd never been so grateful to be interrupted.Ten minutes ago I'd been sat on his desk as he ravaged me with his mouth but he'd quickly rejected another round of a makeout he initiated and I was feeling pretty silly.“I should go,” I rushed right for the door, ignoring the pounding of my heart against my chest and the lingering sensation between my legs.“Your mom's asking for —” I walked right past Tyler as he spoke, not in the mood for whatever reaction he'd give to my apparent state.I shouldn't let anyone see me like this. No one that mattered anyway.Running my hand to smoothen my clothes, I walked back to the living room to look for my parents. With the authority off, they should be able to look me in the eye and hold me perhaps without feeling like they're crossing a line.They were gone and my heart sank further. I listened in for them, trying to catch their heartbeats in the passing wind. I did. They were upstairs, in m
“I know,” he whispered back, his warm breath fanning my face.His heavy musky sandalwood scent had found its way to my nose, and the heat of his body made me hyperaware. We weren't touching, but even the slightest movement could change that.“Relax,” he ordered harshly, but it sounded more addressed to himself rather than me. He was really pushing himself, or so it seemed to me.“I am relaxed, are you?” I retorted sharply, resisting the urge to swallow the torrents of butterflies raging through my gut.“You're icing the table,” he tilted his head to his right, his hair shifting slightly to cradle his forehead.I was? As if to affirm it, my fingers itched with a familiar icy feeling. “You didn't answer me,” I shot back in defense, keeping my gaze locked with his deep-pooling amber pair.“Turn it off,” he insisted.“I can't,” I told him honestly.“Please,” he faltered, leaning in closer to rest his arms by my side, his head hung low by my left shoulder. Both his palms were against the t
I had a dream once, years ago. I could barely recall anything, but I vaguely remember striding through a forest of red willow trees and falling skies with everyone I cared about.At some point, they couldn't continue with me, so they urged me to move on alone. They would never reach me, nor find me, and all my legs could do was walk forward, even when my heart begged I stay back.It was scary, and having my parents crouched down below my knees felt like that dream.And I knew then, that routines I once used to take advantage of had slipped through my fingers, my normalcy had been reviewed to fit parts of me I was never familiar with, and the two people meant to comfort me the most might never treat me the same again.How was I supposed to react to my parents kneeling before me like I was some god they'd once lost? I wanted a hug, not reverence.I stared at them open-mouthed and befuddled. My shoulders had slumped, and all excitement dried up as an ache grew in my chest. “Can you pleas
Not just in the way that sight naturally adjusted in the dark. It was clearer, too clear. I had somehow stepped closer to the scenes without moving at all.I could make out the faded silver coating of the streetlights, the subtle sway of an old porch swing, the flicker of movement behind curtained windows, the creases on the skin of passing strangers.A dull pressure settled behind my eyes, like a harsh whisper scratching against the inside of my skull and it itched.Then the sounds came.Dampened and muffled at first, like voices heard underwater, indistinct but present. A wooden door creaking open, a burst of obnoxious laughter from a group walking home, a low conversation threading through the air.“...definitely here...““...yellow doesn't go with green...““...Tess is such a bitch you know...“It went on, with names I'd heard before and with unfamiliar voices. A rush of static buzzed in my ears as if I had tuned into too many frequencies at once.I squinted my eyes shut as I trie
What? I flushed from the idea, shuffling my feet before turning away sharply to grab my clothes, putting some space between us.I swallowed, gripping my towel tighter. “I should get dressed,” I murmured before turning to face him with my clothes held against my chest.He blinked, seemingly surprised before he nodded and moved to face the door. He didn’t leave. A small smile grazed my lips.Tension stayed thick in the air between us but my paranoia was long gone. I quickly changed into a pair of large comfortable grey sweats. My fingers trembled all through despite the warmth lingering on my skin.I could feel Ethan, his presence, his awareness of me, even with his back turned. By the time I finished, the air in the room had shifted, but neither of us acknowledged it.Not yet.Ethan remained where he was, his back still facing me. His head tilted slightly, his dark hair tousling. It felt like he was hesitating before he finally spoke. “You expected me to leave entirely, didn’t you?”Hi