My fingers ached my neck, shoulders, and wrists.That old hag had a loose grip on her cane, and I gritted my teeth as the thin wooden whip smacked over my neck again.“No! Back straight, shoulders leveled but relaxed. Never hunch forward, and make sure to hold your head up high but your gaze low!”She scolded, and I’ve yet to figure out how all this is possible at the same time! Head high and gaze low, I mocked in my head. I would look like an idiot looking down my nose! Not that I haven’t tried that.“Graceful, flowing! Move like a perfect lady and carry yourself with a calm and submissive attitude. A woman that knows her worth and rank knows how to present herself and her mate. “My skin burned just seconds after the swishing sound of her cane moved through the air. I swear to the goddess, if Ophelia wasn't here watching, looking worried and pained already, I would have snapped that cane in two and showed them so far up this dry witch´s ass that they peeked out her nose! “Goddess,
“Myra?” I called for her again; it had to be the hundredth time, at least. Each time I could feel her stir far in the back of my head, but still no answer. She was there, but something kept us from each other, blocking our connection. I’m not scared; I’m angry and frustrated. Not a chance in hell that spoiled brat touch me, and I’m sure as hell won’t let him mark me! I’ve had my time with a Mate; I’m not doing it again! To be so blind and naïve just because of an invisible attraction and a bite. I glared at the blue dress sparkling up the dimmed room with its mere presence hanging over the chair. It didn’t sparkle, not really, but in my eyes, it was like the light at the end of a tunnel. Only you knew this light did not represent freedom or escape; it was everything but that. I never fancied dresses, at least not in this life, but I can still remember the time I did. This was supposed to be my mateing ceremony dress, a dress for a royal Luna. Had my old Luna or mother seen this, th
Everything happened within seconds.My dress shattered and was tossed around on the stage. The so-called King literally jumped me, claws and canines flashing in the dancing light from the flames. But also, Myra bounced back; apparent, she’s been watching it all.I didn’t even get to reach them, but she did, and the growl that rumbled in my chest was her. Power and anger surged through me as her presence filled me and pushed me forward. We didn’t shift form, but she filled mine to the point that it felt like my skin would rip and tear at any moment. His canine scraped my collarbone, and his claws sank deeper into my hips. Blood trickled down my legs and over my chest. Seeing through Myra´s raging eyes, I realized we didn’t switch this time; she didn’t force me back and deny me control.Myra grabbed a fist of his hair and yanked his head back with such force that I thought she broke his neck at first. But I didn’t take time to care, didn’t take time to enjoy the sight of him forced to
Everything went by so easy and smooth, to the point it actually made me nervous and tense. I waited for someone to try stop us, attack us, anything really. But it didn’t happen. I got dressed and gave Ophelia the simple, child version of the nights event. Mostly to try make her feel safe again, and it worked. It made me feel bad, I never realized how tense and on guard she had been all this time, and I didn’t even notice before all of it left her in a deep breath. Her shoulders fell, her back relaxed and smiled, stating she was happy that old mean woman would never come near us again.Ophelia stood right next to me when we entered the stage again, and to my surprise everyone seemed to have showed up here. There might be a few missing, but not so it was visible on the size of the crowd. There was of course no sparkling joy and clear happiness, but u never expected it to be. I just killed their alpha, right in front of them and claimed his rank. They didn’t know me, for all they knew I
“It is okay; I’ve known this as long as I can remember.”She smiled,“Not even Clark or Sofia could help me if they wanted to. I know creatures like me die on their first shift. That is out of our hands, out of yours too. I do not have a wolf, at least not a wolf the moon goddess would approve of, so she would not let it have life on Earth. So, when my first shift is bound to happen, I will die with the beast assigned to me, which is deemed too dangerous and destructive for this world. I am okay with this, Mal; I find it peaceful. This way, I will never be a danger to all creatures; I accept that this is the only way the moon goddess can protect her innocent children,”I placed my hand over her mouth before she could continue,“No, Ophelia. Just no. This is all lies! I understand you believe them, as you grew up having to, but please believe me when I say this is false! This is not the way the moon goddess work, far from it! “I did my best to block all incoming mind links, feeling Op
“Want to try it again? Maybe you just need some help from a friend?” I scoffed, ignoring the blood that trickled down over my face and how my hair stuck to my face and neck. I knew I looked like shit, that I was covered in minor cuts and bruises. Still, I stood tall, smiling, looking over at that pathetic little man hunched over a couple of meters away from me. Because, If I look like shit, he seems half-dead already. He lost the strategy games, not only the first time but the second, third, and fourth times. He was loud and obnoxious and a soar looser on top of it all. Then he followed up with poor planning, reading the map wrong, then drawing up the lines on the map wrong after he was corrected about the map direction and size scales. He was a hot-headed brute, most likely used to scare people into doing what he wanted, yell at people, stop arguing, and just rely on pure muscle mass. He might do well in a drunken fistfight, but he had nothing on me, and the crowd had begun to see
Never had I even dared to dream of a life like this.I started as the ugly and chubby little duckling with parents that never were around. They were warriors for the pack, one of the best in their field, which meant they traveled a lot. It was never like I lacked anything special, but I never had anything special, either.My mother and father didn’t want kids, but they had me and did the best they could for a while. When I got older, they meant that I could manage myself. The disappointment on their faces when they realized I didn’t want to fight as they did and didn’t do well in combat training was heartbreaking. I knew very well I would never be able to follow in their footsteps, but the truth was I never wanted to.Either way, it didn’t make it hurt any less. They never tried to hide their disappointment and mentioned as often as possible that I wouldn’t be so fat if I trained like them. I liked the training, not combat and fighting. I enjoyed running and swimming, but that didn’t
“My ears work perfectly fine while standing up, dear. So what is this? Who is she, and why the heck are your hands around her waist?”The gorgeous brunette rolled her eyes and motioned towards the sofa on the other side of the table as they both sat down beside each other. I reluctantly sat down, watching Clark the whole time and waiting for an explanation for him to come to me, for him to hold me and kiss me before introducing his cousin or something.“ Mallory, like you know, I’m not the one taking over the Beta position; that’s Michael. That basically leaves me as just a pack member or Beta backup. “He spat out, sneering.I nod at him. I know this. We both always knew of this, and I had never heard that there was any problem with that. This was how our future was supposed to be, how we always discussed it.Before Clark started to talk again, the brunette got up and disappeared into the kitchen. I thought to give us some privacy.“We haven’t got any children yet. It seems that’s so
“Want to try it again? Maybe you just need some help from a friend?” I scoffed, ignoring the blood that trickled down over my face and how my hair stuck to my face and neck. I knew I looked like shit, that I was covered in minor cuts and bruises. Still, I stood tall, smiling, looking over at that pathetic little man hunched over a couple of meters away from me. Because, If I look like shit, he seems half-dead already. He lost the strategy games, not only the first time but the second, third, and fourth times. He was loud and obnoxious and a soar looser on top of it all. Then he followed up with poor planning, reading the map wrong, then drawing up the lines on the map wrong after he was corrected about the map direction and size scales. He was a hot-headed brute, most likely used to scare people into doing what he wanted, yell at people, stop arguing, and just rely on pure muscle mass. He might do well in a drunken fistfight, but he had nothing on me, and the crowd had begun to see
“It is okay; I’ve known this as long as I can remember.”She smiled,“Not even Clark or Sofia could help me if they wanted to. I know creatures like me die on their first shift. That is out of our hands, out of yours too. I do not have a wolf, at least not a wolf the moon goddess would approve of, so she would not let it have life on Earth. So, when my first shift is bound to happen, I will die with the beast assigned to me, which is deemed too dangerous and destructive for this world. I am okay with this, Mal; I find it peaceful. This way, I will never be a danger to all creatures; I accept that this is the only way the moon goddess can protect her innocent children,”I placed my hand over her mouth before she could continue,“No, Ophelia. Just no. This is all lies! I understand you believe them, as you grew up having to, but please believe me when I say this is false! This is not the way the moon goddess work, far from it! “I did my best to block all incoming mind links, feeling Op
Everything went by so easy and smooth, to the point it actually made me nervous and tense. I waited for someone to try stop us, attack us, anything really. But it didn’t happen. I got dressed and gave Ophelia the simple, child version of the nights event. Mostly to try make her feel safe again, and it worked. It made me feel bad, I never realized how tense and on guard she had been all this time, and I didn’t even notice before all of it left her in a deep breath. Her shoulders fell, her back relaxed and smiled, stating she was happy that old mean woman would never come near us again.Ophelia stood right next to me when we entered the stage again, and to my surprise everyone seemed to have showed up here. There might be a few missing, but not so it was visible on the size of the crowd. There was of course no sparkling joy and clear happiness, but u never expected it to be. I just killed their alpha, right in front of them and claimed his rank. They didn’t know me, for all they knew I
Everything happened within seconds.My dress shattered and was tossed around on the stage. The so-called King literally jumped me, claws and canines flashing in the dancing light from the flames. But also, Myra bounced back; apparent, she’s been watching it all.I didn’t even get to reach them, but she did, and the growl that rumbled in my chest was her. Power and anger surged through me as her presence filled me and pushed me forward. We didn’t shift form, but she filled mine to the point that it felt like my skin would rip and tear at any moment. His canine scraped my collarbone, and his claws sank deeper into my hips. Blood trickled down my legs and over my chest. Seeing through Myra´s raging eyes, I realized we didn’t switch this time; she didn’t force me back and deny me control.Myra grabbed a fist of his hair and yanked his head back with such force that I thought she broke his neck at first. But I didn’t take time to care, didn’t take time to enjoy the sight of him forced to
“Myra?” I called for her again; it had to be the hundredth time, at least. Each time I could feel her stir far in the back of my head, but still no answer. She was there, but something kept us from each other, blocking our connection. I’m not scared; I’m angry and frustrated. Not a chance in hell that spoiled brat touch me, and I’m sure as hell won’t let him mark me! I’ve had my time with a Mate; I’m not doing it again! To be so blind and naïve just because of an invisible attraction and a bite. I glared at the blue dress sparkling up the dimmed room with its mere presence hanging over the chair. It didn’t sparkle, not really, but in my eyes, it was like the light at the end of a tunnel. Only you knew this light did not represent freedom or escape; it was everything but that. I never fancied dresses, at least not in this life, but I can still remember the time I did. This was supposed to be my mateing ceremony dress, a dress for a royal Luna. Had my old Luna or mother seen this, th
My fingers ached my neck, shoulders, and wrists.That old hag had a loose grip on her cane, and I gritted my teeth as the thin wooden whip smacked over my neck again.“No! Back straight, shoulders leveled but relaxed. Never hunch forward, and make sure to hold your head up high but your gaze low!”She scolded, and I’ve yet to figure out how all this is possible at the same time! Head high and gaze low, I mocked in my head. I would look like an idiot looking down my nose! Not that I haven’t tried that.“Graceful, flowing! Move like a perfect lady and carry yourself with a calm and submissive attitude. A woman that knows her worth and rank knows how to present herself and her mate. “My skin burned just seconds after the swishing sound of her cane moved through the air. I swear to the goddess, if Ophelia wasn't here watching, looking worried and pained already, I would have snapped that cane in two and showed them so far up this dry witch´s ass that they peeked out her nose! “Goddess,
I had refused to let them take Ophelia, even if the old ladies swore, they would just take those dreaded clothes off and put her to bed. I could do that; just show me where. Apparently, it wasn’t that easy, and I’ve made more than one enemy in these early morning hours."Sit!"I slumped down in the little wooden chair, strangely placed in the middle of the room. But it is okay; Ophelia is sound asleep in the little room just behind me, and I’m not going anywhere while she is.With an arched brow and probably the most bored face I could muster, I watched as the red haired brute stepped aside. Walking in the door, he loosened his cape and flung it at the redhead without even glancing in his direction. He grabbed a chair and dragged it over the floor, and placed it right over me before he sat down. Without a trace of shame, I looked him over, slowly from head to toe. Rolling up his sleeves revealed several scars and tattoos. Well-trained and muscled, I’ll give him that. His chin was shav
" I do not have to listen to this!"Sofia's voice was a pitch too high, interrupting his harsh words and outright scolding session.Lifting her chin up, her lips pressed together to a tight line. It was apparent she felt she outranked this man but also feared him. Sofia had eventually given up batting her eyelashes, holding around herself while not so subtly pressing her breasts up. She even added the quivering pouty lip and that half-shy tilt with her head looking down to the side.It amused me to see all her attempts failed, and now her cheeks were flustered, and all the charm she tried was put away. Irritated and embarrassed, I bet she would have run away long ago I he had just turned his back on her for a second." I did my part! I even went above and beyond and did a fucking good job! "A dry "Hah!" was enough to set off her hurt ego and activate the entitled princess rant,"Hah? She is clean; believe me, every single part of that bitch is scrubbed soar! And look at her! Fucking
“What? Cat got your tongue now?”Sofa pressed her cheek against mine and chuckled.But I didn’t care; guilt and disbelief etched through my intestines. I wanted to be angry, but not even that could I manage right now, just gaping and staring. Blinking, hoping she would be gone the next time, I opened my eyes, but no such luck.“Isn’t she pretty? Clark has a special gift, and he loves displaying his art. Unfortunately, it has been a while since he was able to display it for all to see, so this was a golden opportunity to show how he had improved his skills since last time.”Art? Does he call this art? Her naked body was tied around the highest point of the water fountain, making some of the water pour over her face and hair and the rest of her body. There had to be some stick behind her back, or at least something, because she was displayed just like Jesus when crucified. Her hands right out to the sides, one foot over the other. The only difference was that she had not been nailed dow