ALLISON KEELER Darlene was of great help to me, she assisted every time she could drop by. As an inexperienced mom, I went about taking care of my baby with maternal instincts. I had no one with experience to talk to, Darlene was equally as clueless as I was. I breastfed my son and rocked him in my arms singing sweet lullabies for him. My heart swelled each time he looked me in the eyes. There was a bond I believed nothing could break, a bond I was determined to strengthen for as long as I lived. The door flew open, startling not just me but my baby. Faye was by the door. Her face suggested she was not pleased to see my son. "Did I not say no to that thing in this mansion?" "He's my son. If I stay here then he'll stay. There's no one else to take care of him." I used the most soft tone I could so as not to rile her up. "You have options, he can put him up for adoption." She came closer to me, "You don't deserve that baby in your arms." "Yes I do, it's why the goddess
ALLISON KEELERIt started to rain the second I stepped out of the bathroom that evening. It was a premonition from the Goddess to remind everyone what that night was. Eclisir was what it was called. I heard the tale of the cursed moon, I knew it by heart. My eyes dropped on Fihl and he was kicking in his cot. My heart skipped the way it did every time I saw him. I got into comfortable nightwear and headed to feed him for the night. I made sure to pull the blinds and dropped on the seat with my son in my arms. The doorknob turned but the door didn't open, I had locked it. A loud bang at the door accompanied it. I gently placed my son in the cot and headed to the door. I opened it to see Faye by the door. What now?She stomped into the room. Her eyes searched until they landed on the cot with my fragile son in it. My heart thumped faster and my helplessness was plain in my eyes seeing the sly smile tugging the edges of her lips. "Did I not say no to that boy staying here?""Faye
ALLISON KEELER The forest was stone cold and every little noise was consumed by the thoughts and fear in my heart. I was afraid because I had no idea where they had taken my son or what they had done to him. I was beyond weak from the silver and drained from crying. This was the first time I was apart from my son since he was brought to me in the hospital, this was the first time I had been extremely hurt. At that moment, alone and frightened, my heart wished immensely that I was strong. For if I had possessed a strong wolf then my son wouldn't have been taken and these people wouldn't have treated me the way they did. I wished I possessed a strong wolf so no one ever hurt me or my baby anymore. But in the pit of my soul, I knew wishes never came true for if it did I would have been happy. I would have been with my son. I tried for the hundredth time that night to free myself from the silver chain but it wrought more damage on me than to free me. It weakened me every ti
ALLISON KEELERThere was a throbbing ache in my head as I stirred and turned in my sleep. It felt warm, it felt hard. My eyes flickered open and squinted at the sunlight. Instantly I sat up and darted my gaze painfully around to notice I was out here in the wild. My eyes dropped to the lark watching me from a few trees away. Then it hit me, the night before. My son. I didn't give the silver chain a second glance, I didn't remember how I got freed but all my heart was on was finding my son. I dust off the dirt on me ready to find him. It was strange how I could sniff his lovely soft scent. He smelt floral and I started towards the scent feeling more energetic than I ever felt in my entire life. I trailed the scent until I got to the back gate. I knocked lightly to alert the gate guard that I was out there. But no one answered nor did the gate go open and without wasting any more seconds I pushed open the gate. Strange. Strange how they left the gate unlocked but it was not of any
ALPHA COLTON "Write to the High King, I'm officially calling the deal off." I looked away from Karl's confused face to the array of pack defenders going about their routine. "The penalty for breaching the deal? What if the Northerners strike most crudely?" Karl's voice resonated with fear. "I don't work in fear. If they strike, we strike back. We have a greater advantage. The festival is far over and right now amongst other things I want to focus mostly on building a family." I appreciated how he chose to remain silent on the family subject. If I had brought this up a few months ago he would have jeered that I was too old-fashioned. But now, there was a gap in the relationship. I was sure as hell nothing could mend it soon. Vinny jogged to us, his body covered in sweat and a smile on the edges of his lips. "Have you checked your abilities?" He chuckled, "Eclisir was last night." "Thanks for the reminder," Karl sassed. "No defender lost their ability, no one so far in t
SHIRLEY HILTON "I don't want to have to deal with him," Jace insisted, "I was against coming from the start." "Don't be foolish, you have a plan, do you think you can achieve anything but living a million miles away from your adversary?" His calculating eyes met mine and his lips tugged at the edges. "Come here," he cheered, "You sly fox!" He pulled me into his arms and held me there. I broke the proximity when Owen, the nanny, came into the kitchen. "I'll have a glass of bourbon neat and extra ice." I instructed her, turning to Jace I smiled, "I've missed sunbathing. I'll just relax and have the time of my life." Owen started towards the kitchen door and my smile dropped. Jace must've caught my displeasure that's why he asked, "Where are you going?" Owen stopped in her tracks and regarded him with slightly rosy cheeks, "Lex's being fussy, I'll get someone else to get Ma'am the drink and ice while I make Lex's formula." "Looks like you can't handle these tasks," I strumm
ALLISON KEELERI spent the night watching my son sleep. I was afraid to close my eyes, the fear of having my son struggle for life while I was asleep kept the need to sleep away from me. I checked his breath and temperature at intervals and he seemed alright. Yolanda didn't reach out to me. She didn't bother to check in to see if my son was alright. Maybe she was after all as nice as I thought. Or maybe she had been encumbered with a lot of responsibility and I slipped her mind. The latter had to be the case here. Darlene didn't bring my meals but someone else did. I wondered where she was and why she didn't bring my lunch and dinner earlier.I didn't know I had dozed off until I came instantly awake at the sound of Fihl's wails. He wasn't loud enough to be heard outside the thick walls and doors but I still had to make him comfortable enough to stop wailing. I glanced at the time on the nightstand, two a.m. a few more hours before I began the day. I breastfed him and noticed he
ALLISON KEELER A screeching sound brought me abruptly awake. Blinking, I sat up from the floor glancing around, wondering where the deafening noise was piercing from. My first instinct was to check on Fihl. He was up and so unlike him to wait in his cot without being fussy. He was growing. A popping sound behind me made me duck as though trying to dodge a bullet, then I couldn't tune out the cacophony of chattering, laughter, the sloshing sound of feet, chewing, and slurping with every other sound around the mansion. The push on the door and how they pounced on the door made me realize it had to be Faye. Anger stirred in the pit of my soul. I opened the door. Karla stood by the door. "What do you want?" I asked her. She peered inside and tried to push past into the room but my hand on the doorframe restrained her. "Can you let me in, it's urgent." She tried to push in again and this time my restraint was stronger than the first. "I'm not going to let you anywhere near my son,