My father had prepared an evacuation plan for me, my mother and brother, as well as his most trusted Beta and his Beta's mate, in the event our pack was compromised beyond repair. My mind whirled with his instructions, my body on autopilot.
Three more steps and I reached the kitchen, located at the back of the house, positioned right over the cement bunker. I threw open the back door to make it appear as if I'd run out that way, and then I flew into the large walk-in pantry, closing the door behind me.
Diving to the floor, my fingernails scraped along the wood, feeling for the security latch.
It clicked open!
Lifting the lid just enough to shimmy my body through, I agilely dropped the remaining eight feet to the floor below. The fall didn't hurt me. Even though I had yet to shift, I had vigorously trained my entire life. My father had insisted on it, making me surprisingly formidable for my small frame.
The door settled in place above my head, and I heard the latch reengage. The avenue of my get-away wasn't noticeable unless you were looking for it, and would probably be under a pile of debris soon, making it impossible for Leander to find.
Snaking my way through the dark and damp cellar, I opened the small door to the underground tunnel that led almost a mile, all of the way up the mountain.
It was at that moment I heard him race across the floor above me and out the back door. A second of relief rippled through my body. I'd successfully eluded him!
But then, my reprieve was gone. I still had a long way to go to get free.
I flew through the utterly black tunnel, my extrasensory nose and eyes leading the way. The moist scent of the earth combined with the aged wood of the support beams scratched my throat. My nose wrinkled at the damp smell of mildew. But it was a hundred times better than the oxygen deprived, stifling smoke-filled house from which I'd come. I focused on slowing down my panicked breathing.
In. Out. In. Out.
I was fast. It would take less than four minutes for me to reach the safe house.
And if he were alive, Luca would be waiting for me.
Not blood by birth, my adopted brother was five years older than me. But even with the age gap, Luca had always been my best friend. I'd followed him around like a relentless puppy from the time I was four years old. And he allowed it. Even during his turbulent and hormonal transition from a juvenile into an adult wolf, he indulged the little shewolf who idolized him.
Panting, I reached the end of the tunnel and flung open the door. My heart burst in my chest when my eyes found him.
Luca jumped from his crouched position, where he'd been staring at the door, waiting for it to open, and snatched me into his arms. All of the air whooshed out of him as he exhaled, "Thank fuck."
My trembling in his arms quickly turned into full-blown shaking. He held me tighter. "It's going to be okay, Cinn! I'm going to get you out of here. I swear on my life!"
"Lucky... "I whispered the nickname I'd given him when I was five, my voice breaking. "What about mom? Did you see her? Is she coming?"
He fell silent.
I pushed against his chest. He released his tight hold, giving me some room, but didn't let go completely. I studied his sorrow filled face, absinthe green eyes unfocused, haunted by whatever memory he'd witnessed. His bottom lip quivered, and my heart broke. He never cried.
I knew the answer.
And my loss was his loss. My pain was his pain. My mother had been the only mother he'd ever known. He rasped, "I'm sorry."
"No!!!" a pitiful, barely-there wail came from my lips. I didn't have the strength for anything louder. I truly was an orphan now. We both were.
Lucky clutched me again in a bear hold, chest rising and falling with his tears.
After a long moment, I pulled back and swiped the moisture from my face with my sleeve. I looked up at him. I had to know. "Who did it? Who killed her?"
Violence contorted his expression, green eyes shifting to the dark pine orbs of his Wolf as he spat, "That bastard Alpha! I watched him break her neck and then tear out her throat. The sicko even smiled as he did it." I inhaled sharply, fear causing a full body shudder to rack up and down my spine. I could barely catch my breath. "It's...him. M-my...mate."
Luca's expression blackened. A hiss of disbelief came from his chest. "Your what?!"
"My mate," I whispered. I swayed unsteadily on my feet, feeling lightheaded.
My belly churned, and I forced down the bile that wanted to spew from my throat. "Leander, h-he saw me. He said I was his...mate."
"No fucking way," Luca snarled as if intent on changing the Moon's mind. His fingers dug deeper into his grip on my arms. I didn't think he even realized he was doing it, but my pinched expression must have clued him in because he abruptly relaxed his hold. He rubbed my arms for a second and then turned to pace across the floor. "Cinn, this is bad. He's not going to give up looking for you. Ever. We can't stay here. Not even for the night."
His words rang true. I sank down into a nearby chair at the wooden table and bit my lip, trying to control my emotion. "Where will we go?"
He made another circuit around the floor, absentmindedly pulling his shoulder-length, dark blonde hair out of the band holding it tight at his neck and shook out the wavy locks as he always did when he was thinking through a problem. He turned to face me, his expression controlled. "You know we can't go to another pack."
"I know," I whispered.
Fate had chosen-I was to be a lone wolf.
But it wasn't right to drag Luca into that lifestyle, not if he didn't have to. Wolves suffered without the companionship of a pack.
I didn't know how I was going to live and survive on my own, but I'd do whatever it took to save Luca from the same horrible destiny. I worked to make my voice firm. "I can take it from here. There's no need for you to live that life. Any of the other packs would take you in. The Alpha isn't looking for you. You'll be safe."
His eyes narrowed, a growl ripping from his throat, "What the fuck nonsense is that?"
"It isn't nonsense and you know it," I snapped back. I had to make my brother see reason. "You still have a mate out there. You need to be in a pack to find her, not traipsing around the country with me. Staying with me will only hurt you." My tongue felt thick, barely able to swallow around the boulder in my throat.
Stay strong. I coached myself.
If I broke down, there'd be no chance of him walking away.
Although, as I looked at him now, jaw tight, eyes piercing, I already knew his answer. And when he made up his mind, he was even more stubborn than me. He crossed the room and sat at the table facing me, our knees almost touching. I let him take my hands which were still shaking. He spoke softly, but there was no confusion. He wasn't giving me a choice. "We go together. We stay together."
I looked down at our joined hands, unable to speak and just nodded.
"Good girl," he soothed. "We'll go north. We'll find a remote town tucked away from the rest of civilization and close to the mountains. There are still a lot of territories not claimed by who was my mate. I pushed out every emotion, leaving me numb and focused on the task at hand. Lucky saw my change in demeanor and recognized it for what it was.
"That's it," he coached as he quickly stood to his feet and wrapped his hair back tightly at his neck. We each grabbed our bug-out bags made specifically for us. They contained survival gear, food, clothing, cash and an alternate identity to get us far away from here.
Slinging it over my shoulder, I followed Lucky out the back entrance where several vehicles were waiting. He called over his shoulder, "Car or motorcycle?"
I looked at the selection. A car would be convenient in case of rain, but the motorcycles would give us more flexibility and speed, particularly if we had to go off-road.
"Motorcycle."
He gave a nod of agreement and then glanced down at my outfit of torn jeans and T-shirt. His brow furrowed. "You're gonna need to change first."
"Oh, right," I mumbled and dropped the bag, digging around until I found a black leather racing outfit.
Lucky turned and strode over to the waiting motorcycle, giving me some privacy while I shimmied out of one outfit and into the other. When I finished, I grabbed a helmet and leaped onto mine. "I'm done."
He glanced over, head already concealed inside of a shiny black helmet. He flipped up the visor, absinthe eyes assessing me. "Are you going to be okay driving that thing?"
That thing was a Ducati 1098S motorcycle, currently purring beneath me. I was only fifteen but had been riding since I was old enough to walk. I gave him a determined nod.
Rolling forward up the winding path, he called over his shoulder, "Does that bag have a valid driver's license for you?"
Oh. I hadn't considered that. We didn't have time to stop and look. I gritted my teeth. "I don't know."
"Okay, don't get pulled over. We need to avoid a police chase if at all possible."
I rolled my eyes. "Just try to keep up."
"Will do, Cinn. Will do." His words cut off as we progressed onto the nearby dirt road.
Ten miles later, the dirt road turned into pavement. It was nighttime, and we were already far from the city. Lucky nodded to me and cut off his headlights. I did the same.
With a simple twist of my wrist, the sharp rev of engines could be heard, accelerating us at a shocking pace, as we both leaned down and increased speed, keeping our bodies tight against the frame of the motorcycles, eliminating as much wind resistance as possible.
We flew through the inky blackness-the moon hiding behind thick clouds -at speeds close to 150 mph. Neither of us needed light to see. We could go much faster and were less noticeable in the pitch dark.
After several hours, the adrenaline began to wear off. It looked like we had gotten free at least for now. And my brain was right back to the family I'd lost and the pack I'd left behind. How many had died? Did any survive? The motorcycle hummed a melody of vibration in my body while my tears flowed freely, washing down my face, wetting the black leather vest I wore, before they were whipped away by the wind.
All gone
Everything
Just gone
In the tiny span of a few hours, my life had been reduced to a pile of rubble and putrid ash, simmering with leftover hotspots, occasional bursts of smoke shooting into the air only to be immediately dispersed and carried away by the Northeastern wind.
And all of those things a little girl collected and loved were lost forever. My diary and art journal. Filled with musings and colorful drawings, random whimsies of a young mind.
Ticket stubs from every fair and carnival and movie, any event, really, I'd ever attended. My favorite stuffed animal, a black Wolf with white markings, two front paws and the tip of his tail looked like they'd been dipped in white ink. My mother gave him to me when I was four.
At the time, the stuffed animal had been almost as tall as I. I'd squealed and wrapped my little arms around the plush toy, barely saying thank you, before running up the stairs to my room to play.
At the still tender age of fifteen, I'd outgrown my dolls and stuffed animals. But not my Wolf. Never my Wolf. He'd slept by my side every night, protecting me, always. Until now. Now, he was simply gone, just like everything else, as if he'd never existed in the first place.
Along with my mother and father.
More tears splashed from my eyes, my chest aching with the strain.
Luca navigated his bike closer, close enough to reach out and place a hand on my fingers clutching the throttle. He'd known I'd been crying for hours. His sensitive Wolf nose could smell my tears. He was hurting just as much as me. I gripped his fingers tight for a moment, before letting go. I had to pull myself together if I was going to make it out of this alive.
And in one piece.
LEANDER'S POV"Why?!!!" I roared out my frustration and prowled across the room like a caged animal, then back again, stopping only to hurl a bottle of hundred-year-old Scotch across the room at a bookcase. I watched the glass break, amber liquid saturating the books and yelled at the top of my lungs, "Why her?! Why couldn't it be anybody but her?!" Clearly, the Moon had it out for me, the sly bitch. Because there was no more hilarious mistake than making that female my mate!My father sat reclined in a comfortable chair, utterly unaffected by my foul mood. When he could get a word in edgewise, he asked evenly, "Are you ready to tell me why you're having a temper tantrum like a two-year-old and destroying the study?"I growled and flashed fang.Instantly, he was on his feet and in my face, a sustained growl reverberating in his chest. Even in his fifties, the man was cut with rugged bulk and muscle, hewn and cultivated over thirty years as Alpha of Adamant Moon. He was respected, and
From my father's description, the texture and scent would be different during these three days -sweet, not salty, and silky smooth, not sticky. We'd rub it in like some supernatural magical lotion and let it dry.Outside the cabin, the mated pairs would feast and dance, day and night, excitement building, looking forward to the final night when we would emerge. And when we came out, we'd literally be swarmed, the females to her and the males to me, eager to transfer our combined essence of love-making from our skin to theirs. And the more they gathered, the better chance they had of conceiving, so it usually became quite physical.When we had transferred all we could from our skin to theirs, the mated pairs would break away and copulate. Hell, most of them probably wouldn't even make it home before they coupled together. Sometimes in fur. Sometimes in skin. Or a combination of both.The scent of our sex would be so thick in the air by that point, it would drive their primal natures wi
I motioned toward one of my enforcers. "Get her down and do as I promised. Prepare her body. Find out if she has any family who wants her remains. If not, we'll include her in our mourning ceremony." Not a ceremony I was looking forward to. Many of our wolves also perished in the battle. I hated losing any Wolf, but the events of today needed to happen.I waited until they removed her body from the room. And then focused on the remaining two men. The taller one had dirty blonde hair and glared at me in the same fashion as the female had. But he didn't have that rare special spark of loyalty she had. Still, he would be the more difficult one between the two to break.Getting right in his face, I made sure he paid attention and fully understood my words. "I'll give you one chance-and one chance only-to tell me what I want to know. How can I find her? Where would she go? She couldn't have just disappeared. I have wolves combing through the woods, and there's no trace of her. Surely, a ju
**Three Years Later**Hycinth (age 18)"Lucky..." I groaned, sounding a bit too close to a whine for my preference. I cleared my throat and began again, edging my voice with firmness, "Luca Diamonte, you need to pull yourself together. We have clients in less than an hour." A muffled voice came from behind the bathroom door, "Patience, Cinn."Growling under my breath, I turned on my heel and paced into our small kitchen. Coffee was clearly necessary today. I placed the single-use pod inside the Keurig and settled my favorite mug-white with black polka dots and a startling orange and red chrysanthemum flower- on the little stand. I set the machine to brew. Two minutes later, my coffee was ready, and Lucky wandered into the kitchen. I gathered the mug and climbed onto a tall stool next to the granite island.Dressed in his usual attire of dark jeans and a T-shirt, he smelled fresh and clean. The scent of his shower gel hit my nose, spicy and aromatic. I breathed in the familiar smell, m
Careful attention was required today. Both tattoos we were working on today were complex with a lot of intricate shading. Complete focus was required for the quality of work we'd become known for.It was the reason we were able to afford our tattoo shop and the loft we lived in above it. After doing a sleeve and chest work for the President of the Grimm Motorcycle Club a year ago, word had spread quickly, and bikers from several states made appointments for custom artwork.I'd always loved to draw. My first job after we'd fled was with a local tattoo parlor. With an ID in hand that said I was eighteen, I certainly hadn't looked it, not with the fresh face and innocence of my true fifteen-year-old self at the time. The owner had been suspicious, but after some trial sketches, he liked my work enough to hire me anyway. I smiled at the irony-I wasn't legally old enough to get a tattoo, but there I was, madly writing in permanent ink on the flesh of every type of client under the sun.Of
Tommy ignored him and continued, "So, the Club is having a little party on Saturday night. Any chance I could convince you to join us? I promise to show you a really good time," he said seductively, his voice low and deep, and suggestively grabbed his crotch for emphasis as if I wasn't already clear on his meaning.Luca snapped, "I swear, you better not have a boner over there...or I'ma throw you out on your ass."Tommy laughed, "Don't worry, I'll keep it in my pants...for now." Tommy was a badass on his own merit, the Grimm MC's Sgt. at Arms, respected and feared. But all humans could sense Luca's animalistic danger. They didn't know what made him different, but they felt the predator inside, and no one provoked him. It was probably another reason we'd garnered so much respect from the surrounding motorcycle clubs.Without warning, an unmistakable smell hit my nose-Wolf!One I didn't recognize!Terror crashed through me. My spine went rigid. Lucky had also caught the scent and was sn
LEANDER'S POVTEXT: We got her. ETA 4hrs.When the text came in almost fours hours ago, I'd stared down at my phone in disbelief. Three long years of searching had gone by, and I was beginning to think I'd never find her. My little mouse had been clever in hiding herself, indeed.But not clever enough.Now she was mine.My brain spun, anticipation lighting up every cell in my body. She would be there any minute. Finally!I wondered what she looked like now. I'd only had one fleeting glimpse of her as she hid behind her father in the middle of the chaos, fire, and hatred burning in equal measures. Heart shaped face and pert nose, strawberry blonde hair whipping about, caught up in the rushing wind of the flames. And those eyes-deep blue with iridescent flecks like a mountain lake whispering the reflection of the moon.That one glance had been seared into my brain.So innocent.So young.But she wasn't a juvenile anymore. By now, she'd shifted, and was a fully matured shewolf.No longer
"Shit!" breathed Ever."Motherfucking bitch!" The eyes of his Dagger's Wolf glowed black, menacing. He raised his hand to smack her."Do it and lose the arm!" I snarled fiercely, my body now vibrating with fury.How dare he raise a hand to her?I wasn't playing. If he hit her, I had no doubt I would remove his limb from his body. As it was, it took everything in me to hold my Wolf back from shifting and ripping out his throat.Again, Dagger's shocked expression met my feral one. He put his hand down, but the fury didn't leave his features.The little mouse bounced lightly on her toes like a boxer, eyes darting all around, calculating her next move. Even my father sat forward in surprise as he watched her.I wasn't sure what to say to calm her down, so I focused on Dagger again, looking at the claw marks on his face and blood on his shirt. His nose also looked a bit distorted. "What the fuck happened to you?"Tension rolled through his large frame. His jaw twitched as he spoke through
Something had changed."I don't care. It's not that fucking late to get it out. What the fuck do you have a degree for? Don't you do this all the time?" A voice roared in my head, Leander's voice. It was full of tension and worry.I peeled my eyes open and stared at the window in front of me. It showed the backyard of the house. From there, I understood I was in Leander's bedroom. Everything came to me in a rush and sweat collected around my forehead before my pulse quickened and I rose up from the bed."It's already too late..-" The man in the white suit, the doctor, stopped speaking when his eyes fell upon me.Leander spun around and saw me, "Hycinth." He called out my name and rushed me in such a hurry I had never seen before. "Are you okay?" He asked, curling his hands around mine."No," I shook my head as I became furthermore aware of what had happened. "She poisoned. Oh," I breathed out. "Leander, she -she poisoned me." My eyes teared and I lost control of myself entirely."It's
I waved at Leander as he got inside the car to go handle a few pack matters. There was a group of rogues seen nearby the border and he went to question them along with a few other wolves under him. I stayed at home during the next day, pondering and having some chai latte whilst Gwen was making dinner. The night had passed by with ease. I slept in his embrace, forgetting all of my worries. When the morning sun shone, I turned over a new leaf and decided to not listen anything from Sydney anymore. Whatever she spat out, it was bullshit and I truly needed to stop listening to her."Don't you feel bored here? I mean, Gwen, you cook all day and light." I said, hands underneath my chin while my shoes were knocking against the table's leg. I had found boredom finding its way to me after leander had left. There was nothing more to fight with him about.We had invited Grayson, the Alpha of the Goldridge Pack and his mate, Claudia over for dinner and Gwen was preparing exactly that. They had c
My body was on fire and it burned through me when Leander pushed me over the bed. I curled my legs around his torso, sealing him, as if I needed to do that. I raced my hands over his back, feeling every inch of him while he deepened the kiss.It wasn't just about sex- it was more than that. It was ensuring that Leander was going to be with me forever and the only way possible was for me to let him in, to let him take me whenever he wanted to, to let him fuck him. I was his mate, he had marked me and l didn't want to loose him.I squirmed underneath him, rubbing my legs and arms all over him as warmth filled me up till the core. The feelings came by itself, it didn't need to be forced. It was always there, buried deep inside.He drew my lower lip into his mouth and bit down hard till I moaned loudly. Chuckling, he pulled away from me and that's when I saw his face. His eyes, brimming with lust and desire not for the first time.I ran my tongue over my lip and rose my arms as he reached
"I was once fucked by Leander, just like he does to you. We all the same. We want power , dont you?" She grinned at my response and the proudness appeared in her eyes for a longer time."I don't , I'm nothing like you." I stared down at her with disgust in my tone. From the corner of my eyes, I looked at the food and said, "Eat it if you want to live. I don't mind burying you at all.""You wouldn't be here if you wanted to bury me, Hycinth." She huffed and sat back, pressing her back against the cold wall. "What are you going to do? Keep me here for the rest of my life? Kill me? You and I both know you can't do any of that. You have to eventually let me go. You still weak.""So you can kill more people? Take more innocent lives?" I asked her in all honesty.What did she want more? She had nearly ruined everything for me and now she was killing people left and right with the poison she had created."And who helped you create the posion? Where is he?", I asked."Don't worry about my
It had been a tedious task to call Grayson and his mate, Claudia, over to the house. At first, we tried to come up with everything that wouldn't seem odd as we didn't want to attract any negative thoughts from them. We didn't want to let them know that we were ambushing them in any way.After another long hour of deciding, Leander finally placed a call over to Alpha Grayson's Beta who then handed the phone to the Alpha of the pack, the man we needed to bring in and question.Upon hearing his voice, I was more than sure that he was in possession of the poison and that it could be only him Sydney would have made a deal with.The Goldridge Pack was a known, favored pack around the area. It wasn't far from the town but not closeby as well. The drive could gather around for three long hours but by plane it would be merely a few thirty minutes, even less.Leander invited Grayson and Claudia over for brunch and to discuss future pack matters that couldn't be discussed at the charity event ea
Magnus and Allison arrived at the house soon after we had called for them. We had told them the details they needed to know and put them on work. There were at least twenty packs surrounding ours, some couple hours drive away while some a small plane ride away. The packs that were small, covering little towns were ruled out as they were wealthy enough to buy the poison Sydney and whoever had helped her create it.Leander knew Sydney and she wasn't going to give anyone with a cheap price. It was her work and she must've received a great sum of money by selling it.We short-listed five packs and then looked at the timeline of Sydney's visit to these packs. The ones she hadn't visited at all were ruled out as well.At the end, we were only left with three packs.The Goldridge PackThe Iron ClawsThe Silverpaw PackWe had our suspicion on all three but couldn't find enough evidence to blame one.Night fell and the sky became as dark as it could. Heavy clouds formed, promising a rainy nigh
There was a little pause before he asked, "I can?" He spoke slowly as he still seemed to be unsure even after I told him to have it."No, I can't." He shook his head and looked away, changing his thoughts and killing the hunger within himself."Why not?""I can't hurt you.""You're not hurting me," I shook my head. "I want you to have it." I whispered, leaning closer to him and resting my free hand over his shoulder.He had resisted it yet again which meant he had the control but I couldn't leave him without fulfilling the need his eyes that continued to grow as every second passed by.With his gaze on mine, he pulled my hand closer to his mouth and then ran his tongue, tasting my blood at last. Watching him do it was enticing and terrifying at the same time. Suddenly, a heat grew between us. He pressed my palm harder against his lips and continued drinking my blood for a long minute.His eyes were wide open and on me. The hunger disappeared. My lips parted and I almost gasped at the
I stared at the fireplace inside Leander's office and warmed my hands while he scurried through papers behind me. "Did you keep track on her?" I asked him while looking over my shoulders.He seemed confused, "I don't know. I'm not sure but I did have one of my men follow her. Though, I didn't keep track of the updates as I was dealing with problems of my own." He looked behind and met with my gaze while holding a bundle of papers. "The last time I had seen Sydney was at the same time and she had poisoned me then."Problems.I understood what he had meant by that. After Sydney had given him the poison, he began changing and with that came awfully terrible things. He was not the monster that we had encountered in the forest as he had learned to control himself. I didn't know how he did it but I knew it was difficult and it took plenty of his time.I lowered my eyes to the papers in his hold before lifting myself off the ground and walking over to him. "What's this?" I placed a hand ove
Pressing my hand against my mouth, I took the stairs up and then slammed the door behind. There was a loud thud and then silence after that. I could no longer hear the taunts of Sydney. Her words had pierced into my head, deeper than I had imagined yet I knew it that she was a fucking psycho.Did Leander love me?!I stepped away from the basement and into the corridor where silent whimpers became loud. A tear fell from my eyes and onto my hand as I covered my mouth with it, to kill the sobs before anyone could hear it.Did I lose my child because I was meant to be alone?Can someone who really killed your family members really love you?!I thought about it for long and hard as thoughts of my child hood years flooded in my head.That one time when Leander killed my father in front of me.Did I really deserve a mate like him?!.Footsteps cascaded toward me and I stopped crying momentarily. My hands ran quickly over my cheeks, rubbing them dry and I cleared my throat before turning aroun