Clara
Realization flashed in his eyes as he stares into my eyes from across the field. Awe followed by suspicion is reflected in his eyes as he takes another step closer to me.
“Destined,” they whisper.
“That means nothing to me,” I tell them.
“We’re here for Harper and Harper alone. I will not be swayed by… an infatuation with a mutt.”
“Destined,” they say louder before going quiet.
I’m out under the moonlight as I take slow steps to the border, my chin held high. I stare up at the black wolf only a few feet away from me now. A tinge of guilt pierces my chest before I push it away. I won’t feel guilty for doing what I need to do for Harper.
I’ve reached the border now. My bare feet stand rooted in the grass, the urge to l
Viktor Jake and I led the way back to the packhouse in wolf form, she followed close behind unguarded. I had a feeling if she wanted to escape us, she could. She looked ethereal under the moon, her skirt flowing with the wind, her shirt sheer enough to see that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. Her pert nipples followed by the milk curve of her breast. Her lavender scent causing my hair to stand on end. Her curves glowing in the moonlight. Guilt riddles me as I think of Kacie. When we cross into District 1, she clears her throat and says something lost in the wind. Stopping, I turn around and I try to ignore how beautiful she looks even as my breath catches. Her smile flashes to the side as if she knows her effect on me. Distracted by my thoughts, I didn’t realize she had taken a few steps closer to me until she was standing right in front of me. The glow of her e
Clara “I’m sure Alpha Viktor has an idea of why I’m here,” I say, reminding him of what I know he felt at the border. There’s an elephant in the room that we both know of and I feel instant satisfaction as his face tenses. His brows furrow as he stares at me, questions flicker in his eyes. The other two turn and stare at him, and I watch as he leans back in his seat. “Why don’t you start by telling us about your vision,” he says, avoiding talking about what happened at the border. I know that wolves can smell their mates, and if he’s my destined, so I know he must know. “Tell us why you’re here, the girl demands. I let out a deep sigh, and pretend to look forlorn. The reason I’m here is Harper but I need to convince them into letting me stay longer. “My power guides me, I’m here to share my vision with you to help because of w
Viktor“Tell us why you’re here,” Jamie demands.Clara nods, studying me, her baby blues taking in my undoubtedly tired-looking face.My muscles ache from lack of sleep, my chest aches from missing Kacie, it hasn’t been a long time but it’s been long enough. I take a moment to focus on Kacie, my mate, my love waiting for me in my bed. I imagine her fully rested and ready for me.I stare back at Clara, ignoring the way my heart flip-flops when I stare at her. With the flick of her wrist, the lights dim and a chill spreads through the room. Standing up from her seat, her hips sway as she makes her way to me.Hardened points poke through her sheer shirt, Clara doesn’t look at Jamie when she speaks, “I’m here for my destined or as you wolves call it, my mate.”“LEAVE US,” I growl
Kacie Jamie and Jake come out of the room and when they close the door they don’t see me. Jamie turns to Jake, “I don’t understand why he’s sending us out,” Jamie growls in frustration. “I don’t know what he’s thinking but I don’t think leaving them alone in there is a good idea. I’ve said my piece but Alpha has sent us out. It doesn’t matter if he’s my friend, and your brother, above all else he is our Alpha and what he commands is law,” Jake says. The turn and head down the hall and I come out of my hiding spot. Jamie steps closer to Jake, “Our Alpha, our pack has a number of enemies. The rogues could be working with anyone,” she whispers low. Jake nods, “Yes, but the last thing we need is to make an enemy out of a witch,” he says witch with absolute disgust. Jamie flinches at the word. “A witch… What of the destined word she used? Do you believe an
KacieI hear Clara sigh and shuffling and feet drop to the floor. She’s clearly disappointed and a part of me feels good that he rejected her. For a second there I doubted him, I questioned him, I was heartbroken over something that hadn’t happened.Guilt floods my chest, I had no doubt in my mind that he chose her, that he was cheating on me. What about the whole mate stuff she was talking about?If she’s telling the truth, Viktor has two mates. Do we have to live together? Do we share him? Or does he have to choose between the two of us?My heart thumps harder at the thought of him choosing between us. I bite my lip and try to gather the strength to turn the knob on the door and open it.“Chin up, Kacie,” Athena encourages me.I lift my chin and ignore the shake in my hands as I reach for the doorknob. I take
Kacie“I won’t share him,” Athena growls. She doesn’t care about Clara or what she’s going through. It doesn’t matter that she’s hurting what matters is that Clara is still here.Clara stands there staring at Viktor expecting something and it makes our blood boil. “Let me handle this,” I tell Athena.“I don’t know what you’re going through and I would need more than a few minutes to try and… understand where you’re coming from.” I don’t look at him, if I do, I’ll crumble. I still feel him though. His hand hovering over my lower back.“We don’t know who you are. Until we confirm who you are…” I trail off. What does she do in the meantime? What if we somehow confirm that she’s his mate too? What then?All of
Kacie“Would you consider sharing him?” She asks. Before I know what I’m doing I’ve lunged over the table, hopped onto Clara’s table, my hands are wrapped around her neck, and a loud snarl fills the room.Clara stares up at me, unafraid, her eyes lock with mine. I hate how calm she is, how okay all of this is for her. How could she? How dare she. Athena’s taken control of me, and even though I know acting this way isn’t right, I don’t fight her for control.I want to make her fear me. I want to make her bleed. I want her to hurt as I hurt. Arms wrap around my waist and we turn to our mate.“You dare?” She growls at Viktor. Her hands remain on Clara, she thinks he’s protecting Clara.His eyes search her eyes, “Wolf, please give your human part control.”She
Kacie When I left them I’d hoped that Viktor would come running after me but he didn’t. The sky was black and the stars went on and on and I wanted to get lost in it. I had too many thoughts in my head and all of these emotions were overwhelming. I don’t know how long I was outside but when the sun started to peek out over the horizon I knew I’d been out for too long. “Fuck.” “We haven’t done anything wrong, we needed some space,” Athena said in our defense. “And, if I’m not wrong, I didn’t see him follow us out. I didn’t see him trying to look for us. He could have found us if he wanted to,” she continued. “Hell Kace, he could have linked us but he didn’t.” I whimper at the hurt in her voice. “You’re right, Athena,” I murmur. She is right. I needed to leave last night or I would have gone to the room and waited for him on the ground.
My heat aches as the thoughts flit through my mind one after the other. Tears prick the corners of my eyes before filling them. My chest pangs with the need to be wrapped up in his arms. I know without a shadow of a doubt that Jake would do all of those things. He would care for me as he had before. He would look after me as my Beta, my partner, and the father of our child.My soul wept for him, my heart broke for him, and my mind went mad for him. I curled into a ball on the bed and grasped at the sheets as the pain poured from my body. I screamed as it became unbearable and my vision went white. I cried out, my cry turning into a scream, as the door burst open. It slammed against the wall, but still my vision remained impaired.I couldn’t see anyone, but I heard voices. I felt the rush of people around me and hands checking me and prodding my belly. I froze when I felt the warmth of a hand on my shoulder and a familiar scent I didn’t think I would ever smell again. I threw my head ba
Kacie I want to bury my head into his chest but I can’t. I can’t bring myself to look away. I continue staring at him as Viktor lays down by his side. He props himself up and stares down at him. The love and sadness in his eyes blend into one. His gaze darts back and forth between the two of us. A sad smile pulling at the corners of his lips. “I love you,” I whisper. “I love you,” Viktor says quietly. We shared stories, we cried, we laughed. I told him about one of the mornings after my Luna Ceremony when I woke up and found Jake naked across from me. He flexed and tried to show off. Viktor chuckled and shared a precious memory from when they first kissed. It was sweet and I wished I could have seen the look in Jake’s eyes if he had heard Viktor tell the story. The next memory Viktor shared with me was the look on Jake’s face when I walked out that first day in Ken’s house. When he smelled me and knew I was his mate, he only trusted Jake to be alone with me. That’s why he let him
Kacie“I have one request,” I said.“Anything my love,” Viktor said.“I don’t want him in the lobby. I want him in our room. Can we do that?” I asked.“We can do whatever we want Kacie,” Viktor answered.In the olden days, it was common for our kind to spend the dead’s last night with them. It was like a ritual, we clean their bodies with a cloth, wash their hair, and clothe them in something loose. After the ritual the body is placed in the living room or the pack lobby if the dead was an alpha. The family would then bring their blankets and pillows to sleep in the front on the couch or the floor. It’s the last night you get with the dead. It’s a form of closure and was done away with one hundred years ago, or at least that’s what Viktor told me. When he told me about it I clung to the knowledge and asked him if we could do it too. He admitted that he mentioned it to gouge my reaction. We looked into each others eyes and knew without a doubt that we needed to do it.It may have been
Kacie “I’ve failed. I failed and lost him,” Viktor said. The weight on his shoulders was large enough to make anyone crumble beneath it. Still, my mate stood firm. My heart broke for the mate we’d lost, but it soared knowing that he was safe. Instead of keeping my thoughts to myself I would make sure he knew. I would make sure he knew every day how much I loved him, how much I needed him in my life. I would make sure he knew how loved he was, but first, he needed to face Jake. He needed to come to grips with it as I have. He needs to make peace with it, so he can move forward. We both needed this. “Come here,” I said. I watched as he mentally drew back, away from me as if he would hurt me. As if he thought he’d lose me too if he touched me. I reached for him, my outstretched hand open in offering for him to take it. He had to take it. Viktor stared at my hand for a moment before his eyes darted to Jake on the ground between us. Desperation clear in his eyes when he looked back at m
Kacie In an attempt to feel whatever warmth Jake had left I pushed my body as close as I could to his. I ignored the unevenness of his body, the difference between it now and what I remembered. Everything in me came flowing out as my hair flowed out all around me. My hands grasped at his muddy shirt and my heart broke for the second time today. Jake’s body was hard and the finality of it pulled the sheet from beneath my feet. I was no longer able to deny the crushing reality. The warmth was seeping out of him as quickly as the clouds had formed above us. Footsteps squelched behind me announcing Viktor’s presence. My pain vibrated in his chest as he stopped behind me. It was enough to pull him away from mourning his sister. The curiosity outweighing the fear led him to me. I could feel his pain as he felt mine. I knew when he saw who lay beneath me because he made an unintelligible sound behind me. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to lift my head. I couldn’t look back at him. I couldn’
KacieI’ll hurt you.I don’t want to hurt you.I don’t want to hurt him. I wouldn’t hurt him. The urge, no, the need to make sure I don’t hurt him runs through my veins as the idea of burning him strikes me hard in the chest. It’s like an ice cold bucket of water and I feel like I’ve jolted awake from a dream. The flames protest against my will as my mind refuses to hurt the man in front of me. For the first time since becoming aware I look at him. My eyes wander over black hair, a sharp jaw, and full lips. Dark tired eyes filled with worry stared down at me. My mate reaches for me a second time and this time I extinguish the flames with the flick of my wrist as realization dawned on me.My mate.He’s okay.He’s alive.If my mate is here than why am I so hurt?My does my heart bleed?I lean in toward him and his hand gently grazes over my cheek, his shoulders relaxed, and relief stared back at me. I was safe. I was in one piece. I had survived. If he hadn’t gotten my attention things
Kacie My father’s breathing is haggard and strained beneath me. At my words he roars angrily. He’s weak, useless below me, unable to get away. When I straighten my back, lift myself up, and stare down at him. I take a moment to look over the expression of fear and regret in his eyes. I don’t bother with emotion because right now, I feel nothing. There’s only a high, a haze of bliss from his acceptance. It’s settled over me as I hover over him. The power of taking what I want, getting the revenge I sent out for. I’m hurting him, torturing him, killing him. I focus on this as he stares up at me. “All of this will do nothing. You may have killed my friends and you may have won the fight between you and I, but there’s one you haven’t and can’t win. You can’t win against death,” Charles chokes. I don’t want to hear anymore. I don’t want to hear the truth drip from his lips like poisoned honey. I won’t let him win and I won’t let his words get to me. I won’t change my mind and I won’t hea
Charles yanked his arm back but I didn’t let go. I did the opposite, I dug my nails in as he pulled, my claws dug into his skin and ripped. Blood pooled and burned, he yanked again this time, ignoring the bite of my nails as they pierced deeper. He wrenched his arm free, or what was left of it. I could feel his skin under my claws, chunks of meat between my fingers, as he cried out in pain. I take a moment to enjoy my work. His once scorched pink skin had turned black, blood ran down his arm and dripped to the floor. Charles turned to glare at me, and for the first time since meeting him, fear stares back at me. He clutched his injured arm and I watch as his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows nervously. Sweat pools on his temple and slides down his brow. I chuckle at this small victory. He must have thought that I would be an easy kill. The young girl he once knew died a long time ago. Did he think that his words would have weakened me? Did he think that his words would have an affect
KacieNow that I knew Viktor would be okay, I could give in to what I’ve wanted since seeing the devastation the Elders caused. Now that I knew that Clara would have Viktor, I felt the opposite of what I’ve before at the thought of them together alone. I felt relief. She would make sure he was safe. I turned from Clara and focused on that man I once called father.Answering to the call of my growing flames I dashed forward. I promised to give them what they wished soon. The need for blood, for sliced skin, and the smell of burning flesh drove me forward. I would have what I desired, I would have my vengeance, my revenge. My anger fanned the flames and they grew hotter than they ever have before. I screamed out in anguish as I rushed toward the man who should have been the father I deserved. He was nothing but a disappointment.Tears run down my cheeks before they dry up and evaporate. I don’t cry for him or what I’m going to do, no, I’ll revel in my father’s death. The tears continue