Iris
I had barely fallen asleep when I heard a noise. I knew Orion and Rose were going at it; you could feel the energy billowing from their room. On a typical day, I would have found it amusing and maybe even teased them about it, but it almost felt like a slap in the face today. Their frolic in the sheets just reminded me that I was miles away from my mate, and all I had gotten was some mild PDA.
It’s not that I wanted to jump his bones the first second I met him, but I sure wouldn’t have minded some slight groping. Maybe next time, I would get lucky and get lucky. Yeah, I was just a horny wolf, and I was very aware of it in the moonlight.
I groaned and groggily rolled over in my bed, shoving my pillow on top of my head, hoping it would muffle the romping noises drifting into my room from across the hall. I swear Aegle was trying to escape; she just wanted to get back to Avi, and so did I. I made a mental note to ask about his wolf the next time I
Rose I felt like I had been dragged behind a freight train when I woke up. Last night, I got next to no sleep between my playtime with Orion, Colton in Iris’s closet, and trying to figure out what was wrong with Colton. I think Orion and I finally crawled back into bed around three in the morning. The early morning light crept through the window; it would have been a pleasant way to wake up on a typical day, but unfortunately for me, it felt like a wrecking ball assaulting my head. I groaned as I rolled over and thrust my pillow over my head. Orion was passed out on his stomach with his arm dangling over me. I contemplated letting sleep consume me again and try to suffocate the pounding in my skull when I heard the faint whisper of Iris’s voice coming from the hallway.
Iris “Why can’t you cross the border?” My heart hammered away in my chest. Avi’s wounds were healing, but I didn’t comprehend what was happening. Avi groaned as he sat up and put his hand on my knee. “I’m not sure. I’m okay, though, so stop looking at me like I’m a fragile child.” I shot Avi a scowl as Rose slid over a boulder and kneeled beside us. “Are you okay?” “Yeah,” Avi grumbled as he stood up and took a step forward towards the border. He reached his hand out to cross the border again, but I jumped to my feet and clamped my hand around his wrist. “No, don’t do it.” I practically pleaded with Avi as I reached to grab his arm, but when I looked into his eyes, I saw a fiery determination burning in them. My hand fell to my side dejectedly. What was the mate bond doing to me? I felt like I was going crazy. I wanted to protect him, but I didn’t even know anything about him except he was a fucking Alpha, and when he growled, I swear
Rose***Rose, where are you?*** Orion’s voice slipped into my mind causing Delilah’s ears to perk up and stir from her nap.***Still at the border with Alpha Avi and Iris; Alpha Daughtry just left after refusing to let Avi enter the territory.*** I walked towards a tree and leaned against it, giving Avi and Iris an uninterrupted moment.***That’s kind of harsh considering they are related.*** Orion murmured.***Well, Avi can’t enter Red Spruce even if he wanted to.*** I sighed in response. The whole situation was so complicated and strange.***What do you mean?******Avi can’t cross the border every time he tries; he gets burned.******Burned, what do you mean?*** What did Orion think I meant by burned? Did he think someone was just insulting Avi every time he tried to cross? I chuckled to myself...at this rate, I was losing it.***Like angry blister kind of burns form on whatever part of his body
Rose “Wait, what?” Orion’s voice cracked as he grabbed my hand. “A child?” “I think it was.” I rubbed my forehead aggressively as I recoiled at the memory. The stench of the blood still loitered in my nostrils. The shadow had been so small it had to have been a child. I felt my voice quiver, “I could not make out any details; it was like I was looking at two shadowy silhouettes. The small one was on the ground, and then the larger one was standing over it, stabbing it with a knife. The only color in the whole vision was the blood that came from the child.” Orion pulled me into his arms, embracing me to attempt to smother out the memory. “Oh, babe. I hate that you have to see that stuff. You don’t have to try to get one from Colton.” “No, it is a good idea. We don’t know if I ever will get a chance to try again.” I looked up at Orion, watching the concern drift across his face. He finally loosened his grip around me. “Okay, just don’t push your
Pru "Still not working, huh?" Matt asked. We had taken the morning to ourselves; everyone else had branched off. We all had our own little missions, but Matt and I were trying to figure out why powers weren't working. I groaned as I fell back on my butt. My knees were going numb from kneeling on the ground for so long. Matt reached his hand out to me and pulled me to my feet. "Still not working; I want to go to the border to see if I can get anything there." I batted my eyelashes at my mate; I knew he would take me even if I didn't blatantly flirt with him, but I loved to see the sparkle in his eyes when I did. "Ugh, fine," Matt grumbled. I know he hated to admit it, but he was wrapped around my finger. He was such a teddy bear towards me, and I could get away with asking for anything I wanted, but I was never one to want for much. I just wanted Matt and to protect the people I loved. "Thanks, babe." I grinned at him before rising on my tiptoe
Rose “So, this is a magic rune?” I asked as I knelt beside the boulder that had been scraped of its moss. I did not know what I was looking at, so I would have to take Pru’s guidance on this one. I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what a rune looked like before now. “Do you know what it’s for or what it says?” “I don’t know the purpose yet; I need to go around and collect all the runes to figure out what they are here for.” Pru looked off in the distance, but I knew she was thinking about all the rocks. There had to be hundreds scattered around the edge of Red Spruce. “Once you collect them all, you’ll be able to tell what kind of magic this is?” Orion asked Pru, and she nodded up and down. “Do you think you could tell who cast it?” “If the shadows cooperate, I should be able to, or maybe if by chance I’ve met the witch before.” Pru’s eyes fell back to the rune. “Can we entrust this to you?” “Of course, Alpha. I’ll do whatever I can
Iris "Hey, Rose!" I called out in a mind link as I shoved my phone in my pocket and kicked off my shoes. "Yeah?" Rose's voice echoed in my mind. "I'm going to go see Avi. Could you guard my clothes?" I stripped my shirt off over my head and let it flutter to the ground. "Do I want to know what is going on?" "I'll tell you the details later." I peeled my socks off and shoved them in my shoes. "I'll guard your clothes like they were my own." "No, no, guard them like they are mine." I snorted as I shimmed out of my pants before stepping out of them. "Yeah, yeah." Rose ending the link, I knew she was probably rolling her eyes. I loved her, but the girl didn't care about fashion, and she had a bad habit of letting her mate destroy hers. It was a little chilly as the wind hugged my scantily clad body. A shiver ran down my body as I unclasped my bra and slid down my lace thong. I quickly kicked everything into a heap f
RoseI clutched Iris’s clothes to my chest as I stepped out of the forest, back into the village. Iris was off doing Goddess knows what with Avi out in the woods. I’m sure I would hear about it later, even if I didn’t want to know all the details. Orion, Matt, and Pru were still out searching for magic runes.To my surprise, Lorraine hadn’t popped up recently and mildly insulted me about either my hair or my clothes. I had expected her to make her presence more known; I honestly thought by now she would have tried to dress me up like she did when I was little. I was definitely not complaining that I hadn’t been turned into her human dress-up doll, but it was kind of weird and not like her just to leave me be like this when she could be nitpicking my every move.
Rose"It was like watching a bad car crash; you couldn't look away, but instead of a gory blood bath, nothing happened. Not even a spark or unusual noise. It took a minute for everyone to realize what happened or what didn't happen." I sighed out into the cup of coffee Iris handed me. My head throbbed, trying to put the past few hours into factual words.We were in the woods, in the unclaimed land between the packs. We had made a temporary meet-up place here after the anti-climatic scene. We were checking in with Iris and giving our minds a break from the heavy atmosphere surrounding the Alpha's family.Iris sat down on the fallen tree beside me. She poured herself some coffee out of the thermos she had brought with her. "I don't even know what to say.""You could tell Luna Emma was relieved, and honestly, I would have been more concerned if she hadn't been." My head hung down, staring down at the ground. "I could never hold it against someone who was relieved that their child did not
RoseWe swept the Red Spruce territory, checking every home and piece of land we could imagine, but we needed help finding Luna Emma or Colton. We knew where Alpha Daughtry was. Surprisingly, he acted like an Alpha should; he was shepherding his pack, ensuring they were alright and keeping the bubbling emotions of fear at bay. I may not have thought much of the man, but in those moments of evacuating his pack, he had a glimmer of redemption, but I knew it wouldn't be enough at the end of this ordeal."Where have we not looked?" Orion groaned as he shoved a handful of hair out of his face. Sweat was starting to drip from his nose because of our widespread search. His eyes scanned the horizon as if the answer would magically appear."What about the graveyard?" Matt questioned with concern in his eyes. I gave him a slight nod in reassurance. "We haven't checked there. There's no shelter, so it wouldn't be an ideal place to go, but then again, nothing about this place is ideal." Orion gr
Rose The seconds that ticked by felt like an eternity as I watched Pru; her body was frozen in place like a statue forgotten by time. The only slight movement I could detect was her chest's slight rise and fall as she breathed. Matt was going to kill me. I paced around Pru and the demonic crystal; the only noises were the distant water drip and my footsteps. Round and round, I went circling Pru and that crystal. I felt like a vulture circling a dead carcass and shivered at the thought. I stopped before Pru and dropped to my knees, "Pru? Are you okay?" Of course, she wasn't answering me. I don't know what I expected or secretly hoped for. Dread started to claw at the edges of my mind. I felt a brush of warmth caress my mind. It was Delilah. Even though we had not been in sync recently, she was letting me know she was there and that I wasn't alone. "Thanks," I humbly whispered out loud as I stood up and stepped back. Delilah did not answer me, but I felt her warmth as she stayed nea
Pru Air hissed by me as I focused on the fluffy tail of Maera. Before I knew what was happening, my body collided with something so hard my breath from my lungs escaped, as it felt like I had burst through a glass wall. I squinted my eyes shut and threw my arms over my head, trying to protect myself from the impact. When I pried, my eyes opened Maera had vanished. I scrambled to my feet and brushed myself off. No longer was I in the town; I did not know where I had ended up this time. I looked around, finding myself in what looked like a dark cavern. My footsteps echoed softly as I walked along the wall of the cave. I reached my hand up and casually grazed fingers across the border. It wasn’t rock; it was cool to the touch and as smooth as glass. It was crystal; I had finally found my way to the heart. I let out a sigh of relief as I peeled my hand from the wall. I was getting closer. The sooner I was done here, the sooner I could get back to Rose, and the sooner I could get back t
Pru A flash of powerful lightning licked the air around me as I fell into the abysses. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as a scorching breeze whizzed past me. The temperature cranked up the further I descended. Sweat rolled off my brow and evaporated instantly, leaving only the whisper of its presence. I couldn’t tell you how long I was falling; it could have been seconds, minutes, or hours. The further I plunged, the quicker I lost track of time. It was just me and the darkness, but this wasn’t the darkness I knew. With every inhale, the air was sharp and painful, almost as if venom was seeping into my veins. Each breath was more brutal than the last; it was like an elephant was stomping on my lungs. Abruptly, dozens of tiny red orbs rained down on me with a crack of irate lightning, the souls. In my freefall, I reached out and touched one of the wisps. It burst into violent flames, and a cloud of thick black smoke poured. I coughed as I tried to wave the smog away, bu
Rose“What do you mean, Pru?” I asked with a shaky voice. I trusted Pru with my life, but my stomach knotted at her words. Why was it best the guys weren’t here?“Do you trust me, Rose?” Pru’s eyes reflect the soft glow of the crystal.“Of course I do, but what are you going to do?”“Promise you won’t tell Matt.” Pru’s eyes fell to the stone floor.“I-I promise.” I gulped and nodded. As soon as the words left my lips, Pru turned to face the crystal.Pru fell to her knees in front of the pedestal and lifted her hands to the crystal. It was only then did it hit me what she was going to do.*************************************************************PruAfter I officially joined the Black Moon pack, Matthew and I had some growing pains. I was introduced to a new place, a new lif
RoseThe floorboards creaked underneath our feet as Pru and I crept through the empty packhouse. Even though I knew no one was around, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that we were being watched.“Rose,” Pru’s voice was soft and comforting. She wasn’t looking for a response. If anything, she was reassuring me that I wasn’t alone in this, that she would be by my side.I nodded at her and tried to lift my chin higher as we walked to Luna Emma’s study. Did Pru and I know what we were doing? Hell, no, but we would wing it until we destroyed that damn crystal.Once we were in Luna Emma’s study, Pru’s eyes ran wild, taking in everything she could. If we had the time, I knew she would love to go through everything in the room and soak up all the information she could.I immediately stepped up to the desk like it was second nature and rummaged through the drawer to open the secret passage. I hear
Orion I watched as a sea of confused faces streamed past me into the forest. Children, women, and men filed past me. Each one was more oblivious than the last. I couldn’t believe this was where we were at now. I had never even thought about potentially evacuating my pack, but then again, I had never tried to kill them all. There is no way we could have asked Iris to try to convince Alpha Avi to have Lunar Lake house any more of the Red Cedar pack members. After the magic was snuffed out, or maybe even contained, what was going to happen? There was no way in hell I would just leave Alpha Daughtry and Luna Emma in charge of their pack. I doubt there was any hope for them. If their pack members didn’t kill them first, we would have to report them to the council. Realistic
Rose The sun lazily crept through the curtains of the packhouse, shedding a golden pool onto a fruit bowl on the countertop. I sat at the kitchen bar, staring at a bruised banana, tapping my fingernails on the counter. The noise echoed throughout the empty room as my heart chaotically hammered away in my chest. It had taken everything in me to walk away from my mate and come back to this house. He was on the other side of the border; he was safe, for now. Matt and Orion were helping evacuate the oblivious pack members. None of the villagers knew the truth; they just knew that they were being forced out of their homes and evacuated into the woods. Eventually, the truth would be revealed, and that is when the shit would hit the fan. All the stability of their pack would