Waking up, it only felt like I had slept for minutes before my alarm went off. Grabbing my phone it said 530am. Groaning, I climbed out of bed and readied myself for the day. Linking my pack members here I shout them an alarm, “Goodmorning! My quarters, 30 minutes!”. After a few minutes I hear them all reply back, albeit very sleepily, “Yes Alpha!.” Rolling my shoulders back I get ready and soon hear knocking on the door. Opening it I let my pack members in, leaving two of my warriors outside to guard the door and shut the door behind them. They walk over to take seats in the living area of my room. I pull out a small black box from my bag and place it on the coffee table. It was a protector, making the room completely soundproof. With my magic it puts up a wall that is undetectable and unbreakable to keep secrets safe within. I prick my finger and place my pointer finger on it, activating it instantly. Blood wasn’t always necessary but it strengthened it. “As you all know, we are h
The smell of antiseptic and an obnoxious beeping woke me up from my deep sleep. I opened my eyes and see grey walls and white tile floor. My head feels heavy and my throat like sandpaper. Realization coursed me, clearing the haze that had surrounded my head. I was in the Pack hospital. “Soni! Soni! Are you there?” I frantically call for my wolf. My heart thumping loudly as I waited for her to respond. Seconds felt like hours as I willed her to respond to me. After a few minutes I felt a presence shift in my mind.“I’m here, Ila. I was healing you, so now I’m really sleepy. But we’re okay.” She sounds faint but she’s there. Sighing in relief I take stock of what’s going on. The beeping was coming from the machine next to, which had a constant track of my heart rate and vitals. An important thought rushed to the front of my mind, the ceremony. Before I had a chance to react the door burst open and my parents rushed in as well as the second pack doctor Dr. Richards. Shutting the door b
“Mom?”“Yes Baby?” She replies, stroking my hair she places a kiss on my head. Frowning, my brow wrinkles as I ask “where is the man that was with me?” Mom glances at Dad and a look of uncertainty passes between them. “Let’s get you home then we can talk about it, okay?” Furrowing my brows further, I just nod at them before getting up. Everything aces and the wound on my side is tender but is fully healed. Soni did a good job. It looks like there isn’t going to be a scar. They brought me a spare change of clothes so I wouldn’t have to go home in a hospital gown. Mom gave me a quick hug before her and dad stepped out so I could get changed. Something was definitely off about them and Soni was still too tired to even say much. I pulled out the hoodie and leggings my mom packed for me inhaling their comforting smell of home. Once I was dressed I pulled my hood up around my head to hide my ears and horns and opened the door to my room. All I see is mom waiting for me. “Where’s Dad?” I as
Our house was a little far off but the walk was nice and refreshing and gave me time to gather my thoughts. My mate, I found my mate. But he was none other than the most feared Alpha in the entire United States, and possibly the world. I chewed my lower lip in anticipation. I just didn’t know what to do. He smelled so nice and was drop dead gorgeous but deadly. And would he accept us for who we were? I feel Soni perk up slightly at my internal monologue. “He’s gonna love us Ily, accept mate,” I hear her whisper to me.She trails off falling back asleep. I felt horrible, I couldn’t deny my wolf her mate. Especially because it seemed like she already had accepted him. But I was scared, terrified really. My mom grabs me, pulling me from my thoughts. Looking up I see we are half a mile away from home, far enough to be out of reach of wolf hearing. Frowning, I turn my head to look at her. “Why did we stop mom?” Searching her eyes I see a slight panic that she is desperately trying to rep
I wince as people all start shouting and talking over each other before Azreal lets out a deafening roar that shakes the walls of our little house making me clap my hands over my ears, ears trying to buffer the sound. I look up and see the silver of Azreal’s eyes is swirling black with anger. “Grey, sit the fuck down.” He growls I see Grey roll his eyes at his brother, not at all afraid of him before going back to his spot. “I need to seal the room. No one moves.” He says, his voice sharp.Everyone but his pack looks confused as Azreal walks over to the coffee table and pulls out a small black box. Placing it on the table he lets his claws out, slicing his palm, letting the blood drip over the box. He murmurs a few words before the blood starts soaking into the box. “The room is now sealed, no one can hear what we are discussing from the outside nor can they see if they look into the windows,” he remarks plainly. As if this were a casual everyday experience. Walking back to me, his
“Baby you know why we couldn’t fight it?” My mom pleads. Pulling her into a hug, “ I understand momma, I don’t hold anything against you. This pack has done so much for me I could never betray them like that.” I curl up in my dad’s lap, letting him hold me. The three of us made a mess on his old recliner. Tears threaten to fall but I hold them in. I must be strong. “Momma,” her red rimmed eyes look up at me, “Why don’t you and Dad get the boys from Mema and Papa? I’m gonna go talk to Cyn and Kane” My voice cracks but I’m still able to hold back the tears. “That’s a good idea Sugar,” my dad says, the fresh air will help them. “Come on Honey.” My dad helps mom stand up and they get ready to head out the door. Looking at the stairs I brace myself for the shit storm I’m about to walk into. I know my time is limited so I square my shoulders and head up the stairs. I open the door to see Cyn crumpled on my bed, Kane is staring out the window, his knuckles are white as they grip the windo
After dinner we all sit around in the living room, just waiting until the clock strikes 12 (hypothetically) and I will be whisked away. Cyn finally grabs the journal that has been sitting on the coffee table. Her fingers play with the tie on the front of the journal that keeps it closed. “Ila, this is for you,” she says softly as she hands me the journal.“But I can't, this is yours,” I stammer, looking down at the worn leather binding. I’ve never seen her without this. The idea of her just giving it to me confused the daylights out of me. “Just open it and you will understand,” She smiles. Frowning, I look at her for a moment, trying to read her expressions before sighing and carefully open the journal. My eyes widen as I sift through the pages. Hundreds of carefully crafted drawings show an entire wardrobe. Beautiful gowns to simple everyday attire this entire book is filled with them. What shocks me the most is that I am the model in every single drawing. I look up at Cyn, her e
I hug my grandparents and they wish me well. My grandfather hands me my favorite book of his, an old original of all the classic grimm's fairy tales. He’s a reader like me and used to read it to me growing up against my parents' better judgment as they are after all grim. But I loved them. He also hands me his favorite book, Treasure Island. It’s so old and worn in, I hug them both to my chest before placing them into my backpack. My grandmother gives me a jar of her special tea blend that she knows I love very well. I set that next to the books carefully. They pull me in for one final before letting me go. My dad grabs me in a tight hug and I breathe in his scent of earl gray tea for what I know will be the last time in a while. “I love you baby girl,” his voice cracks. “We will always be here, don't ever forget.” I nod into his shoulder. My mom is next, she has in her hands a small box. Opening it I found the most beautiful hairpiece. It’s white gold and made of pink diamond, the co
Stepping out the massive front doors open and Dre comes strolling out, a wide smile on his face. Not a strand of his white blonde hair out of place, and his three piece suit has been pressed to perfection. Grabbing my hands, careful not to touch the silver cuffs along my wrists he kisses my hands making me cringe in disgust. “My dear it’s so good you’ve finally decided to join us.”I stiffen and glare at him, janking my hands away. “What the fuck are you doing Dre?” I sneer. His eyes flash and he pauses, smoothing his hair back, a tic I remembered him doing that last time when he’s nervous. “Alpha my dear I am an Alpha, but I'll let it slide this time as I’m sure the altitude has affected your judgment. And well claiming what is rightfully mine of course.”I roll my eyes and scoff, “I don’t belong to you dipshit. I’m marked and mated and last I checked I don’t bear your mark and your name isn’t Azrael Whitlock.”I watch him ground his teeth. His wolf surfacing in his eyes before he c
When I wake I notice a blanket has been placed over me and Gabriel is gone. The sky is lovely as colors splash the surface as it starts to wake up. My eyes snap towards movement as Gabriel walks in from a small doorway. “The captain says that we’ll be landing in 20 minutes. From there we’ll be headed to the Grey Lake pack. To meet your future mate,” he smirks. I scowl, “He is not now and will never be my mate. I’ll die before then.”He shrugs, not caring about my reaction and plops back in his chair. “I don’t give a shit what he does with you as long as I get paid.”I tilt my head and study him. There is something off about him. His soul is trying to tell his mind a truth that he’s desperately trying to deny. “I don’t think that’s quite true.” He narrows his eyes at me as I stare at him. “You’re at war with yourself. There is a truth you’ve locked away within yourself Gabriel. One that is desperately trying to come out that is leaking at the seams.” I see a flash of emotion cross
I walk silently beside him, his hand latched in an iron grip on my arm making it ache and I know by morning there will be a bruise. “You’re so slow,” he hisses. I tilt my head up, scowling at him, “well I am barefoot and walking in a skin tight dress, I wasn’t exactly expecting to get kidnapped was I?” I snap back. He shakes his head and glares down at me, “once we get out of the tunnels we’ll get you out of this dress.” We continue along the path and I notice that not once has Gabriel looked at the map that Karlile gave him. It remains tucked into the back pocket of his jeans. Yet he still seems to know exactly where he is going. It surprises me as I don’t even know all the secret passages and this is my home. We continue the silence and after a few more turns the night sky finally reappears above us. “Follow my steps exactly,” he whispers. He’s agile like a cat, slinking along the shadows and I do my best to keep up. Willow’s fate is riding on this and I know that Azrael won’t be a
Out of the shadows emerges a young man, he’s large, like the gyms is his only friend kind of large, and is probably about 16 or 17 years of age. His hands are stuffed into his leather jacket and he lazily walks over to stand by Karlile’s side. Goosebumps rise on my arms and the back of my neck as his crystal blue eyes look up to me. I’m surprised by the emptiness that I see inside them. Someone his age should still have the innocence of youth pooling through them but his eyes are like empty glass orbs. I don’t need the wind to tell me that the guy in front of me is a hunter. Willows taught me to be able to identify others by the magic that buzzes around him. Every living thing attracts certain types of magic. While I don’t see colors around them, I associate the types of magic with a color. Sirens have blue or calming magic, wolves have silver or physical magic and Daemons have purple or chaos magic.I’ve never met a hunter myself but from what I’ve learned is that magic avoids them li
I’m not sure if it’s the dancing or all the champagne but as Azrael spins me around again my head starts to feel fuzzy. He pulls me into his arms, cradling my face in his hands. I reach up and grab his wrists with my hands. “You know, you look absolutely ravishing my love,” he whispers to me. I giggle, my face breaking out in a wide smile. “So you’ve been telling me all night.” I rest my head against his chest as we sway to the music. In a few days time we were headed back to my home pack to celebrate the new year with my family. The Forest Moon pack always had lovely decorations for the holidays, just as nice as we have here. We invited them to come up for the holidays but mom is far too long in her pregnancy that it’s not safe for her to travel anymore. The song ends and I pull away, smiling up at my mate. “I’m going to go get some air. I'm feeling a little dizzy.” He frowns, “everything okay?” Shaking my head I wince but flash him a reassuring smile, “nothing some crisp cool air ca
The next couple of weeks pass by quickly and relatively smoothly. The snow from the mountains has made its way down and covered our castle, making it look like someone took a very large piping bag and painted it with white frosting. The town has been covered in decorations for the past month, really bringing in the Christmas spirit. We never really had snow in my old pack so while Azrael is already sick of it I’m relishing the time that I have with it. I’ve settled in a nice routine where I take care of any of my Luna duties in the morning, train with Willow in the early afternoon and spend the rest of the evening with Azrael and/or the other ranked pack members and family. I spend a lot of my time with Serena, but now that Sophie is feeling much better she’s been spending more and more time with us as well. It’s Christmas Eve and Alice has planned this elaborate ball to celebrate the occasion. I’m currently sitting on my vanity chair as Serena pins up my dark curls in ways that I wi
I sit on my couch, with my legs curled up to my chest, looking out the window with worry. Azrael said it was going to be fine but I couldn’t shake the feeling of dread. Rogues were common but I still didn’t like the idea of him going out into their territory. He didn’t let me go with him to send Margo off, saying it could be too dangerous. Serena offered to keep me company but I politely declined. As much as I love her this was something I wanted to do by myself. I needed to strengthen my resolve. It was gloomy outside and looked like it was about to start raining, what if that made it harder for them to see? What if they got ambushed? I know they were only dropping her off at the border but frustration bubbled up inside of me and I looked down at my hands. If only I could harness my power better than I could help them and this pack. Willow said I was close to mastering the wind. I just had to get a hold of my emotions. The door slammed open and shook me from my thoughts. The smell of
I roll my shoulders and straighten my back as I once again stand at the top of the stairs leading down to the dungeons. Azrael is standing at my side and behind us is Margo’s family. My heart aches for them but her actions are unforgivable and it would be a crime against the pack to allow her to continue staying here. As angry as she made me I really tried to come up with another way to punish her but nothing was good enough. Kane wanted vengeance for what happened to his mate and I completely understood where he was coming from. If the roles were reversed she would already be dead. Scar looks down at me and gives me a reassuring smile before placing his hand on the doorway, unlocking it. The entrance to the dungeon was enchanted. There were no handles on the entrance, making it impossible to open. Only those who were given access could place their hand on the stone wall and then it would open like a secret passage. Making our way down the dark stairwell I blink my eyes, quickly adju
Ilayda sits in my chair behind the desk. Even being dwarfed by my large chair she sits up, her back straight and eyes attentive looking every bit the powerful Luna she is. I lean my arms crossed in front of my desk, slightly off to the side so she can still see. Reggie and Tiana, Margo’s mother and father, sit in the two chairs in front of me, eyes tired as their oldest, twin boys Carmen and Cias stand behind them. Carmen is a succubus like their mother and Cias turned out to be a Marquis to the surprise and pride of his parents as Reggie is a wolf. The room is tense as they wait to hear the fate of their youngest. I roll my neck, cracking it before sighing, “I assume you know why I’ve called you all here. Margo’s fate has been decided.” I pause, taking in their facial expression. Not surprisingly no one seems hopeful. They are all very well aware of the likely consequences of her actions and are mostly here to get it over with. “She will not be sentenced to death by our hand, howeve