Orion
I had just finished a pull-up when an ear-piercing scream echoed throughout the packhouse. It was Rose. I immediately dropped from the bar I had been dangling from and hit the ground running.***Rose, are you okay?*** I mind linked her as I bolted up the stairs. Instead of receiving an audible response, all I heard was uncontrollable sobbing. Seconds later, I busted through our bedroom door, finding Rose a crying mess on the floor. As I took steps closer, I noticed she clutched a box in her hand, but her head hung low, blocking my view.“Flower?” I cautiously asked. At the sound of my voice, she hastily placed the box on the ground, scrambling to her feet. Tears streamed down her face as she launched herself into my arms. “Shhh, baby, it’s okay. I’m right here!” I tried to calm her, but it only seemed to fuel the raging inferno behind her emotional outbreak.“It...It’s...not okay.” Rose managed to choke out through her cries.“What the hell wHarrietThe thought of Matt being held hostage made me completely numb. I would always have a soft spot for Matt. No matter how much he infuriated me or let me down, deep down, I would never forget the boy with the floppy curly hair who looked so lonely staring out of the packhouse window. I remember the first time I really saw him, I was eight. I thought he looked like a sad miniature poodle or something. Whenever I teased him and called him 'poodle,' it brought so much joy to his eyes. He just wanted human interaction. Why couldn't the adults that walked around him see that?Growing up, we always had a pendulum type of relationship. Sometimes we rarely spoke, and sometimes Matt rivaled Rose as my best friend. The older we got, the pendulum seemed to slow drastically. Months ago, I thought that Matt would be my mate, it had felt like the swaying pendulum had finally stopped, but fate had other plans for us. The fire illuminated all the cracks and impurities in our rel
OrionAfter hours of staring at various maps of the surrounding mountains, we had come up with about a dozen areas that would be a suitable place for Kroll to be hiding with Iris and Matt. When I examined Iris’ ear, I knew that there was no way they would be in Silver Crescent. By the time her ear would have been cut off, packaged, smuggled into my territory, and delivered, it would become much more rigid if it was from as far away as Silver Crescent. I also knew Kroll was smart enough to not linger in my territory. He was a sociopath, but even in the twisted recesses of his mind, he was more intelligent than that. I sent out groups of warriors to only scout the areas. They were not to engage or put themselves in any danger. They were to report back as soon as they found anything.Damian had fallen asleep in one of the chairs by my fireplace, but Alastor was bursting with frantic energy as he paced my office deep in his own thoughts. I leaned back in my chair; exhausti
BrigidAt an early age, I knew I was different. It always seemed like I knew a little bit too much for my own good. I would hear these faint whispers that no one else could hear. The whispers always seemed to get me in trouble. Children in the town would refer to me as creepy and torment me whenever they could. Their parents never stopped them because, deep down, I knew that they thought I was bizarre as well. There were very few people who accepted me for me. I took comfort in my sister, my Papa, and my Mama. It was us against the world, a world that found me weird and unnatural.My Mama had light brown hair that she kept cropped right below her ears but always had beautiful finger waves gracing it no matter what her day held. My Papa had tanned skin and rich black hair. My little sister, Aisling, was my little defender, even though she was three years younger than me. She was so sweet, but her personality would flip as soon as someone was cruel to me. We lived on a s
Orion"I need your help, though. I need you to help me find Iris and Matt." I nearly whispered, but I knew she heard me. "I know it's been….""Don't you even think about saying decades." Brigid cut me off with a look that could kill me."I know it's been a while. I just need you to try...please. For Iris? For Alastor? For me?" I looked down at the ground as I finished my plea.The seconds felt like an eternity as I waited for her to respond to me. I focused on the soft roar of the rain falling on the roof, but instead of soothing me, it only made me more anxious than she would reject my request. I knew that Brigid stopped using magic before I was even born. I wasn't sure how her magic worked or even if she could do anything since she started blocking out the whispers so long ago. Anything she could do would be helpful. Knowing we were doing everything we could do was better than knowing we didn't try every avenue."You know, I can't make any promis
MattPain radiated throughout my head. I tried to open my eyes, but the world was fuzzy and began to spin uncontrollably. I blinked, trying to clear my vision, but if anything, it made my sight worse. Thud, thud, thud. My head pounded away. I was lying face down; something damp was pressed against my body. I splayed my fingers out, feeling around me. I wasn’t in my cell. Where were my shackles? Pan was still dormant, though. If the silver was gone, where was Pan? Why wasn’t he back? I inhaled deeply; the overpowering smell of damp soil and leaves invaded my senses, causing me to wince as the thudding in my head struck again. Pain ran down my spine, like a wildfire, as I tried to push myself up, but I groaned as I clasped my neck, falling back to the soil. What had Kroll done to me?“Iris…” I murmured as I tried to sit up again. My whole body felt as heavy as lead, and every slight movement sent my head spinning. Nauseous washed over me from the tip of my toes all the w
Orion“The shadows whisper about someone who will be on the edge of death.” Brigid’s voice haunted me even though I was no longer even in Black Moon Territory. Her talk with the whispers wasn’t as specific as I had hoped for, but I was grateful for anything I could get. The thundering sound of paws echoed throughout the forest. The sun had vanished behind the mountain, casting shadows over the land.“Matt and Iris are playing a deadly game with Kroll. Follow the river North to save a life.” Brigid’s voice would not leave me alone.Alastor and Damian flanked me. Their black fur almost caused them to vanish in the dwindling twilight. Twigs snapped as we slowed for a moment, sniffing the air and ground. Where was it? I needed a scent, anything to tell me where to go.***This way.*** Damian darted out from behind me, heading towards the west. His tail threatened to disappear into the trees without Alastor or me. Both Alastor and I hastily ran after him.
RoseA faint buzzing echoed through the hospital room as tufts of black and rainbow hair showered down over the white sheet as I ran a pair of hair clippers over Iris’s head. Iris had closed her eyes and seemed to zone out. It seemed like she was enjoying it, but I didn’t want to pry her about her feelings on it. Maybe it was like getting rid of the remainder of her time with Kroll that she enjoyed the most about it. The door to Iris’s room crashed open as her brothers entered. The curtain by the door fluttered in the air as Alastor threw it out of their way. Both of them were in talking over each other until they saw what I was doing. It was like they became frozen entirely. The curtain came back and hit Alastor in the side of the face, reminding him that the world wasn’t freezing with them.“What are you doing?” Alastor asked. Horror was written all over his face as he stomped over to snatch the clippers from my hands.“Get your head out of your ass. I
RoseHarriet and I walked out of the cold, sterile pack hospital with our arms linked. We were greeted with a shower of leaves drifting down from the tree branches in the breeze. Alastor, Brigid, Damian, and Orion stayed in Iris’s hospital room. I think that the boys just need to be around her while she was conscious since they found her in such a rough state in the river. I wanted to check in with Iris about how she felt about Matt finding his mate, but that was a conversation without her brothers or my mate present in the room. I made a mental note to check in with her later on the subject.“You look pooped.” Harriet broke the silence first. I turned to her and scrunched my nose with my tongue sticking out. Not a glamorous face, but it felt right in the moment. A pregnant pack member passed and gave a small chuckle causing a blush to erupt on my cheeks.“Doesn’t everybody look pooped these days?” I half yawned and stretched, trying to hide my slight em