No one gets to choose how they are brought into this world, nor how they leave it. The only choice any of us get is how we live in it. Unfortunately, despite one’s best efforts, life doesn’t always go according to plan, as said plans get tossed out the proverbial window faster than a speeding bullet. The Gods don’t live by the rules of mortals, forced to follow them for the rest of their very short mortal lives. And when you are a mortal who’s very soul had been sealed away since before your first moon, it only makes things that much harder. Try as we might to fight against the hands of fate, if destiny wants you to go down a certain path, she will drag you down it, kicking and screaming the entire way if she has to. So a piece of advice … Hang on for dear life and good luck, you’re going to need it. The Goddess of Fortune all but kicked down the walls of her seemingly perfect life to show this one, seemingly insignificant girl the entire world she was missing. Because the truth al
Freedom, what an indescribable feeling, this magnificent, wondrous freedom that she felt. To finally be free from the shackles that had once chained her was one of the most exhilarating things she had ever felt. It was even better than those first bursts of power that slipped through the cracks in her cage and she wouldn’t trade it for the world.Everything felt new, brighter, louder, sweeter and so much more powerful than before. As if she had been reborn and everything had changed, every one of her senses was heightened, she could see farther than ever before, colors held more vibrance, even the slightest of sounds reached her new and improved hearing, and the world held new scents for her heightened nose, it was just so much more, better than life behind that of human limitations. To feel the earth beneath her paws, the way her claws sunk into the dirt below her, the smell of the trees, pines, oaks, and all the other types of flora that she could never name, their leaves, the gras
When she entered the clearing after him, her sharp canine gaze immediately located him, standing in the middle of the small meadow, shoulders back, and head held tall. A sight that would have crippled her in her human form for the way it would turn her knees into jelly. Aiden Black stood in the middle of that clearing, as he always did, like a tanned herculean Greek sculpture, with very nearly every muscle on his body left on display for her to drink in. His face was framed by those thick locks that were blacker than a midnight sky, messy and unkempt from their playful game, just the way she liked it.His vibrant green eyes reflected the forest in them and were filled with pride, delight, and an emotion that she was far too afraid to identify but knew was there because it was always there, staring back at her with an almost painful glimmer of hope that it too would reflect back at him through her eyes. Something that left the feeling of lead in the pit of her stomach and made her a
After so many times changing back and forth, she was now able to identify each area in her body as her skeleton broke apart and reshaped into a more human form. She could feel each vertebra break apart and reshape, her paws widened, and her fingers elongated, her nails receded into her skin and her snout shrunk, her face becoming more human.She grunted as her canines shrunk back into her gums, but they always remained sharper, longer than they had been when she had been nothing but a helpless human, though hardly noticeable to the human eye. Something that served to remind her of her change every time she looked in the mirror, or ran her tongue over her teeth. But she felt it all, in excruciating detail.The last thing she was always aware of as all the changes occurred simultaneously was the fur, her fur, she would never get used to thinking like that, as it all but melted off her body until she felt the wind blow coldly against her burning naked skin.Her canine-like whimpers turne
‘Here let me help you,’She shivered as his voice swept through her, and for just a moment, a split second, she fantasized about his voice saying those words in an entirely different manner, one that had her wolf howling in her head.As fast as the thought had entered her mind, she shook it away even though she knew he had felt that minute flash of desire. It was evident in the way his eyes darkened, humor replaced by a look of hunger that had her throat going dry.Honestly, he had no right looking like the big bad wolf out to devour her, she couldn’t think straight. But for all that it was worth, he never mentioned it and she held onto that as her saving grace.‘I got it,’ she denied, smacking his hand away she rolled over onto her side, carefully maneuvering the sheet hiding her nudity to continue protecting her modesty, and pushed herself up with shaky arms. This time she’d made it to a squat, but when she attempted to push her legs straight, she found that that grass wasn’t as co
She knew it hurt him to have her say it, even if he himself didn’t say it. She could feel it through the bond. So she turned on her heel with her best impression of Mean Girls and stormed away, fighting off the guilt that surfaced which he felt his anger and hurt permeate through their bond.‘You’re going the wrong way,’ he called out after her.Alexa groaned and turned around stomping toward the other side of the clearing. Seriously, couldn’t he just let her storm off with some dignity? Did he really have to point out her terrible sense of direction?‘Not that way either,’‘Will you shut up!’ she threw her hands up in the air and turned back to face him. He just shook his head, and though minute and barely there she felt a sense of amusement underneath all the anger and the hurt, and her guilt lessened.Aiden just pointed in the direction of the packhouse and allowed her to stomp grumpily away as he followed. Both werewolves blissfully unaware of the storm brewing in another part of
As a human she had very little control over her life and now as a werewolf even less so. But now her life is forever changed, and not by her choice nor even her own actions, but by the actions and choices of others who claimed to know what they thought was best for her. This left Alexa completely unprepared for the world she was thrust head-first into without so much as a lifeguard to keep her head afloat from the crushing pressure she suddenly found herself under. But to fully understand the events that had led up to this moment one has to go back to the night that changed everything … that life-altering night six months ago…Rewinding the clock back six months brings us back to the very same woods, only this time, its once peaceful tranquility was disturbed by rippling power and a lone mournful howl tearing through the night air. The warmth of summer turned into the chill of winter. The green of the earth was replaced by powdered white snow. And the very woods themselves seemed to
This wolf with snow for a pelt had returned to the once vibrant, serene, and beautiful Sanctuary, now defined by destruction, chaos, and ruin. Covered in rubble, blood, and snow as if the magic that had once been protecting it from the elements had been destroyed along with it. The snowy wolf now tinted with both gold and silver as if adorned with jewels from both the Sun and Moon, stood silently in the middle of the destruction, an almost indescribable ethereal beauty exuding from her very being, and finally the chaotic world stood still. Those who had successfully tracked her down watched wearily from the confines of the trees, mesmerized by the sight of the she-wolf standing tall and powerful among the rubble, the wind brushing through her pelt as if it were a long-lost friend, allowing the first rays of the day, and the last rays of the night to dance like glittering jewels on her back. She stood for a moment, then another, completely still as if taking in the world she was seei
Jayden watched him walk away until she could no longer see his large form. But before she could dwell deeper into the shame that consumed her heart, her phone beeped, reminding her of the time and her original purpose for the day. Jayden hiked the spell books into her arms, which quaked from the emotional turmoil she had experienced with that one very brief encounter with Aiden Black, son of the Beta of the Pine Hills werewolf pack, and mate to her one and only truest friend and cousin. He was right, of course, she knew that. But just because he said her innermost fears out loud didn’t mean she was ready to face the consequences her actions these past six months have created. She wasn’t ready to see the look of hurt and betrayal in her dearest friend’s eyes when she learned the secrets she so sacredly kept in the confines of her heart. The brunette squashed down her feelings, as whispers of concern not her own flitted into the recesses of her mind, reminding her that her feelings w
Two hours earlier… ‘Jayden!’The sound of Aiden's voice sent the former witch into a mild panic, as her body tensed, and her heart began hammering in the confines of her chest. Without so much as a backward glance, she increased the length of her sides, her face contorted in a stiff but alarmed facade. In her attempt to make an escape she ducked behind the first building she saw, feigning deafness as the werewolf continued to call out for her, but she was only human after all, and thus easily caught. Before she could feel the relief of freedom she felt a large, rough hand clamp around her upper arm, pulling her to an abrupt stop with such force she lost her balance and all the books she had been carrying tumbled to the floor with an audible thud, and sending her heart slipping into the pit of her stomach along with them, as her escape was effectively thwarted. ‘I know you heard me, I can hear your heart racing,’ Damn werewolf hearing! She cursed, there was never a moment she could
‘Sigh……’ Boredom … the sheer tedium she felt was almost as suffocating as the impossibly large tomes scattered across the mahogany desk before her. Her back protested in complaint at the abuse it had to endure as she slumped over the said tomes in a desperate attempt to absorb a fraction of their knowledge whilst unempathetic eyes bore down on her from above the edges of a newspaper. Not for the first time that day, Alexa found herself wondering how she had wound up in such a situation. With a groan, she leaned back into the leather chair which provided no comfort after having sat in it for so long, and stretched, the sound her vertebrae made as if snapped echoed in the silent room. Her eyes met the disapproving gaze of her captor, ah she means tutor, and bashfully she returned to her previous position, fighting off the need to yawn. Looking back at the words in the aged book made her groan internally once more. Now she remembered how she had been dragged into this hellish study ses
With an idea firmly planted in her mind she took another moment to compose herself, her insidious plan bouncing around her head as she gleefully and expertly pulled a compact mirror out from the small sequined clutch purse she had somehow managed to hold onto throughout her ordeal with the redheaded Alpha. She nearly let out another shriek at the state of her appearance. Annoyance caused her face to contort, finally revealing her true nature beneath the beauty she took so much pride in. With a barely calming breath she studied the twisted smudged makeup, mascara tracks that had hideously run down her cheeks, even her lipstick had smudged across her chin, from what she couldn’t be sure, but the look she had worked so hard on that morning was completely ruined. She was a sore sight to look at, and Vanessa could not have that, she had an image to uphold after all. From that same clutch she pulled a makeup wipe and proceeded to clean her face, removing any sign of her weakness, of her f
Speed, to move faster than the human eye could see, that was what speed had meant to her. Her supernatural strength made her the top dog in the metaphorical food chain, but in all these years on this human infested earth she never once thought she’d be using her enhanced speed and strength to run away from something she had deemed nothing but an ant beneath her stylish boots, but there she was, scuffing her perfectly polished Gucci boots because a mutt had told her to. Her! Vanessa Lightwater! A purebred werewolf of the esteemed Black Pines pack, had been ordered to run with her tail between her legs by some Alpha-wanna be mutt… Just who did she think she was? The Lightwater’s had been part of the Black Pines Pack for centuries, and one day this abomination struts in and she has to bow down? Oh, she didn’t think so. Almost at the edge of the great Black Pines National Forest, at a speed far greater than that of any ordinary human, Vanessa sprinted as fast as her impractically tall s
‘Kneel,’ once again the order washed over Vanessa like a tidal wave and her legs buckled out from under her, sending her falling into the ground with another audible thud, her knees cracked at the sheer force. Tears began streaming down her cheeks, her expertly applied mascara running like rivers of black against her tanned skin. Vanessa’s breathing hitched in her throat as she struggled against the weight of an Alpha’s order. She panted as a cold sweat broke out across her skin causing the rest of her perfect makeup to run. Her fingers dug into the dirt beneath her as her knees ached. She shrunk backward, almost crawling on her hands and knees when Alexa continued to menacingly take steps toward her. Her lips trembled but no sound escaped, her sobs trapped by the first order. Eventually, Alexa caught up to the cowering she-wolf, towering over her with a look of anger that had Vanessa wanting to scream out in horror, but soon found herself unable to even whine. The redhead glared co
A chill ran down her spine as if a ghost had brushed up against her skin, leaving it feeling hot as sparks of annoyance were struck in the pits of her stomach. It just had to be her, and it had to be now, now that things had finally cooled down between her and Aiden. ‘Like you could be an Alpha,’ the haughtiness of the comment echoed as it had with the first one and only served to sour Alexa’s mood even further. It didn't take a genius to hear the impertinence in this newcomer's voice nor to one to identify the snide scoff that soon followed it. With an exasperated sigh, and the oncoming signs of a migraine, Alexa unwillingly turned toward the beautiful but arrogant Native American woman, who stood tall and slender like a model, her straight black hair falling like an onyx waterfall across her copper-kissed shoulders. Her chocolate brown eyes were surrounded by an expertly applied smokey eye shadow. And her lips were smeared a bright red which stood out against her perfect skin. Ye
Just like that, with a single call, all the tension in her body melted away, her shoulders completely dropped from their stiffened position and her hands relaxed at her sides. She turned her body toward the one who called out to her and a smile brighter than the sun spread across her face. Her pink and full lips split open to show her slightly sharpened canines, the corners of her eyes crinkled as the smile widened as she locked eyes with whomever had caught her attention, and a single dimple on her right cheek could be seen as her mood visibility brightened in what seemed to be a split second. Aiden was almost jealous, a feeling he tried to stifle, almost relieved she was too distracted to notice it flash through their bond. He'd never gotten one of those smiles before, it made him almost green with envy. All he had ever gotten was a tight-lipped smile or a sarcastic smirk unless he caught the woman, he loved off guard. But he couldn't blame the person responsible for her smile be
Alexa could feel his gaze on her back, but she had soon realized that she could always feel his gaze, as was their magnetic relationship. It didn’t bother her as much as it once did, instead it made her feel safe, knowing he was there, not that she’d ever admit it out loud, and if he asked about it, which thankfully he hadn’t, she’d vehemently deny it, even if he could feel it through their bond anyway.For the rest of their trek through the forest they had remained silent, neither brave enough to break through the tension between them, though less awkward than when they had first left the clearing due to their short conversation on the way back.The walk soon ended, much to Alexa’s disappointment, not that she’d ever admit to it that either.Without so much as another backwards glance at Aiden they both entered the bustling little village known as the Burrow.Everything had changed for Alexa since the first time she had woken up here nearly two years prior. She wasn’t the same damage