Kerry slipped into a t-shirt, and zipped up his jeans. His irritation grew with each passing second. If he could punch his wolf without punching himself, he would have done it days ago.His wolf had begged, howled, and pleaded for Kerry to go check on her. Every. Single. Morning. It'd been like that since they'd made it back from the lycan battle. His wolf would do anything but ask nicely apparently."It's five o clock in the morning," he snapped.‘Go check on mate’, his wolf growled.All he cared about was getting to Demetria. It was annoying as hell.Yes, she was beautiful, funny and witty. However, she'd pushed him away. Kerry wasn't one to grovel, but apparently, his wolf didn't care about any of that.Kerry knew it wasn't a good idea. He needed to forget her, but he also knew it wasn't possible. Not after he'd tasted her, touched her, and been so close to claiming her before she slipped through his fingers. He'd never be able to shake the smell of her skin.There was no possible
FLASHBACK Jane stopped for coffee. Coffee. It was then Demetria realized Jane didn't comprehend the severity of the situation. Jane had only lived in the supernatural world for a short time, and they were able to defeat the bad guys. This time it wouldn't be that easy. Dark magic was different from the magic Demetria was born with. It had no limits. No boundaries. You want to bring someone back to life.Sure. Now hand over your life for it.You didn't get something with dark magic without taking something away. It was the balance of the universe, and Jane was getting…coffee."Do you want anything?" she asked over her shoulder.Demetria gave her a deadpanned look. "Jane, Sweetie, I'm going to be dead in five minutes, it won't matter if I'm energized or not."Jane gave the worker a look and chuckled. "She's joking. Here, keep the change."She looped her arm through Demetria's, andtugged her out of the coffee shop toward the courtyard."Aunt D. We're going to figure this out—,"Demet
"What?" Kerry asked, his voice stuck deep in his throat, threatening to strangle him. "He took her? He's going to take her soul. What…why wouldn't she say anything? Where did he take her? How did no one know about this-," it all poured out of him like uncontrollable word vomit.Alex stepped forward and carefully put his palm on Kerry's shoulder."Calm down. We're going to get to the bottom of this. Let's get back to the pack house and talk to Dad."Kerry swallowed the urge to cry like a little pup. He hated pity, and that included self-pity, but he'd already lost his first mate, he couldn't lose his second chance.He refused not to be there for her as he wasn't for Chelsey. She'd died in battle, a battle he was a part of, but didn't get there in time. He would get to Demetria in time. You don't get three chances, and he refused to let her die at the hands of some crazed warlock that thought he was God.Kerry nodded slowly, and slid into the driver's seat of Alex’s truck. Alex didn't
Jack’s scream roared in Demetria's ears along with the growing wind of the portal. She'd never been in one, or created one, but they were well known for traveling throughout the witchy world. Demetria held onto his coat, praying she wasn't sucked out of it, and a house tossed on top of her or something. When the wind began to die, the portal fizzled out, and she fell to the wet dew covered ground. The smell was woodsy, like she'd been dropped into a forest after a big rain. The field around her was wet from morning dew, and the sun peeked over the distant hills. The scenery wasn't doom and gloom like the one she expected. It was ... nice and poetic. There were wild purple flowers growing tall, and the sound of a river close by. It almost warmed Demetria's soul to be there, until Ike stood up from a place several feet away, and dusted off his outfit. His clothes were bloody and ripped to shreds. It made Demetria smile. Way to go, Jane. When he looked over, she could sense the ang
Kerry watched the bird fly away as his wolfskimmed the surface. The mocking spun in his head like a broken record, burning his blood to a boil. Before he could stop himself, his wolf ripped from within, and jumped into the air, grasping the tail feather of the bird. Kerry fell to the ground with a mouth full of feathers, as he flew away squawking."Kerry," Alpha Davis said. "Calm down-,"He stumbled to his feet, his paw digging into the wet ground as he chased underneath the bird that disappeared into the canopy of trees nearby.His wolf howled, spinning circles beneath a huge oak, while Alpha Davis called after him. "Kerry, shift back now."His wolf fought him, but Kerry shifted, fell down to all fours, and braced his forehead against the rain soaked leaves. "Son," Alpha Davis said, bending down beside him, his palm placed on his shoulder. "Get up. This isn't helping."Kerry wasn't stupid enough to think his wallowing in self-pity was helping, or chasing after a damn bird. But with
Jack monopolized their dinner with small talk that made Demetria want to vomit. She wouldn't lie and say the food was terrible, because it wasn't, but knowing who prepared it was enough to churn her stomach. She had no idea what he had planned to get his pendant back.How would he get back to the pack house, light…years away, without bringing her along? At that moment, it was her only source of hope on escaping. Then it hit her."Where is your bird?" she asked, remembering he brought it with him before. It sat perched on his shoulder like a stupid parrot.Jack glanced up from his plate, over the rim of a wine glass, and smiled. "Around. She does my bidding. Her name is Libby," he said, swishing his wine around. "Are you sure you don't want a glass of this? I'm told it's good for the soul."She clamped down on a bite off her fork, and slipped it from her mouth, taking careful bites of her pasta. At least he was feeding her, but she knew he needed her in good shape to take her life.It
"You want me to do what?" Lucas asked.Lucas was one of the pack's warriors. He enjoyed bow hunting in his free time, and that sounded just like what Kerry needed to kill the lyrebird.Kerry tapped his fingertips against an oak tree where Lucas stood before his run. "I want you to kill that lyrebird. He's been following me around and I think he's following me."Lucas narrowed his eyes to slits, and cracked his neck. Kerry became impatient as he stretched and jogged in place. "I don't know, Kerry. I'm not for killing animals for no reason. I mean, that bird isn't even native here. I'd hate to kill it.""The bird belongs to the warlock that has my mate, Lucas. He's flying around and keeping an eye on me. Not to mention, he's mocking me. I need you to kill it."He sighed, and scratched the back of his neck. "I…” He sighed, and scratched the back of his neck. "I didn't realize. Sure. Let me grab my bow, and I'll meet you there after my run.""Thank you," Kerry said, watching him jog into
Demetria hardly slept a wink the night before. That overwhelming feeling of being watched haunted her well into the night. She knew exactly when Jack woke, and began to move around the house because she was awake when morning came.Pulling the covers back, she rubbed her fists against her eyes, and walked over toward the door, finding it unlocked. The smell of coffee and breakfast wafted up the stairs, and actually made her stomach growl.Maybe she should indulge in Jack’s meals, and try to reach out to him. It would make it easier to get away when the time came, if he trusted her. If being the operative word.She backtracked into her room, finding an outfit, jeans and a t-shirt sitting on the edge of her bed. She changed into it, and pulled her hair into a half ponytail before making her way downstairs.Jack stood in the kitchen, wearing more modern clothes than the day before, humming to himself while flipping bacon in a skillet. "You know air fryers make those perfectly," Demetria