~James~”When Malia was twelve, her parents thought they'd try and see what Malia was capable of and since she didn't have her wolf, they started beating her until she got angry enough to fight back. They could've given her some of their blood to speed up the healing process but instead, they tossed her back in her room, chained her to the bed, and left her to heal on her own. Malia never fought back because she couldn’t. She didn't know her strength, she had no guidance and no one to help her through her shifting. When she turned of age and got her wolf, she couldn't shift because she was chained up in silver. So her parents brought her outside and waited until she had shifted. For a born werewolf, the shifting is already painful enough, breaking every bone in your body, bending your will to fight the pain, the screams of agony, I've witnessed it. But for a vampire who is used to practically not feeling pain at all, ever, and then being turned to something everyone loathes and having
~Avery~James had gone downstairs after spending the better part of three hours thrusting into me from every different position there was. This heat was becoming much more inconvenient as time went by. He had appointed me to room-lock down, something about the other male wolves in the pack not being able to control their urges. Now that the heat had subsided my mind was beginning to work again and the story of Malias' childhood was causing me to feel all kinds of emotions- most of all rage. ’ You need to control that’You heard what Raven said, Xena, don’t tell me you don't wanna rip their throats out’ I do but I can control myself, can you say the same thing about yourself?’Well, I haven't gone there yet, have I ?’And if they were here? Knowing what you know now, If they were standing in front of you at this moment, would you be able to control that anger inside of you?’I didn’t answer Xenas' question, which gave her all the answers she needed. ’Didn’t think so and that is wh
~Avery~”It’s telling me to run,”Amber's eyes grew colder, darker, and more distant than they had been before. Her entire body posture went from slumped to rigid and Amber's hands pulled away as she got up on her feet and walked out of the room. Left behind was the cold loneliness I wanted to prevent, I thought telling Amber the truth would set me free in a sense, that I wouldn't be alone. But here I was, on the verge of a breakdown, alone. I couldn't cry because nothing would come out, I felt numb and fearful. Afraid of what lay ahead. Everyone was dealing with their own issues and everyone was on edge due to the upcoming war so I understood, but they dealt with it so regally. They knew of the dangers and their demons, we all had them, but they were handling theirs and I was afraid of mine. I wished I could do what they did, they handled their shit and then moved on with life. ”Here,” a pile of clothes landed at my feet and I looked up to see Amber already dressed in a pair of j
~Avery~”If you wanted to kill me, there are tastier ways to do it,” I said and slowly opened my eyes. The light was blinding and my vision was blurred. White dots were forming before me, blurry and un-symmetric as they bubbled closer together. I shut my eyes and shook my head, trying to regain my composure, I willed my eyes to slowly flutter open, letting them adjust to the lighting and once they had, I felt great. No more nausea, no stomach ache, and no heat. ”How do you feel?” Natashas' hand was on my shoulder, her thumb slowly stroking me as she helped me to the couch. ”Much better, thank you. What was that?””A mix of herbs and-” Natasha paused for a beat, her eyes darting between me and the cup. ”Other things,” Her lips formed a pout as she disregarded my question and placed the cup in the sink. ”What was it that you poured out earlier?” Amber looked at Natasha and both of us noticed the sudden change as Natasha stopped what she was doing. She had frozen, she wasn't moving
~Avery~We sat there and talked, a few moments were silent and peaceful-something we all seemed to appreciate.”Isn’t it hard for you, being away from Carlos?” Natasha scoffed and looked at the clock. ”He will be here in a few hours, there is no way that man would let me leave without coming here to find me. He’s with the pack during the days and then comes here at night. On the other hand, I wouldn't ever forgive him if he didn't come, we need each other and a single night away is one night too many,” ”I hear that,” Amber said lowly.She missed Malia and I understood her. Being away from James before was excruciating and considering they weren't marked either, the fear of losing the bond was there, I knew it because I had felt it too. So I could imagine the pain Amber was going through, only hers was worse because she had no idea when- or if- they'd meet again. But I would make sure they did.”How do you think the war will go?” She was asking Natasha.”Had this been another war, f
”WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?” James roared as he slammed his fists down on his desk. His eyes were glowing and Blade had surfaced, just as pissed as his human. Fredric, Alex, and Raven were there too and I could see the same amount of worry and anger in Alex's eyes. Raven, however, seemed madder at Amber so I was glad that she too got some of the heat.I winced and stepped forward. ”We went to see Natasha,” I looked back and saw Natasha standing there looking as cool as ever, not bothered a single bit by the tension that was growing. I groaned and looked back at my mate.”There is a war happening any day now and you decide to leave the pack without a single word? How stupid are you, Avery?” Alex spat his words and his hands were shaking, I could tell he was just as mad as James but his anger wasn't justified to me and rather it pissed me off. ”You’re the one to talk? You haven't spoken a word to me ever since the night we saved James, you've ignored me and you chose to ignore ma
~Avery~My patience was running thin and this chaotic group of idiots, whom I loved very much, weren't helping the situation.James took long slow strides towards me and stopped only when my chest was pressed up against his. ”There she is,” he whispered before walking past me and taking a seat. ”Throwing blame and screaming your guts out won't get you anywhere. We understand that we fucked up, and I am very, truly, undeniably sorry for the pain we caused you by leaving, but we had a good reason for it. I told Amber what I’ve been going through and I'm going to give you all a re-cap.” I sighed and looked at all of their faces, one by one they all started paying me their undivided attention and I no longer feared to tell the truth because I now knew how to handle it.”I’ve been fighting this darkness within me, a growing cloud of pain and hate, something that was making me angry and fearful. It was what came over me when James was on the deathbed, it was why I acted out of anger and f
~Avery~ I was standing outside Alex's door, I took a deep breath before knocking three times. When he didn't answer, I turned the handle and let the door slide open. Laying on the bed with Raven on top of him, I could tell he knew I was there in the room. I cleared my throat and Ravens' head turned, her eyes widened and her cheeks became flustered as she saw me. I lifted a brow and placed my hands on my hips. ”May I have a moment with him?” I said and waited for Raven to leave. She hurriedly picked up her clothes and ran out of the room. Alex scoffed and moved up on the bed, resting his back against the wall. ”You’re on fire with the ’ruiner of good moments’, a new nickname maybe?””Why would I need a new nickname when the old one ceased to exist after my first mistake?” He looked taken aback, but I wasn't going to coddle or sugarcoat anything. He was acting like a child and it was time he started seeing the truth. ”One mistake and you turned your back against me. One mistake a
When Amber and James returned, we met them downstairs. Amber looked in awe as Malia walked toward her. Alex and his mate came down the stairs, he was holding Isabella and all three of them looked amazing.Alex had taken his role of uncle as an absolute. There wasn't a day that had gone by without him holding her or making sure that she was alright. No one else had been able to hold her, nobody outside the family, he and James were very alike in that aspect. Very protective.”You look beautiful,” Amber said breathlessly as she wrapped her arms around Malia.I bit my bottom lip and hooked my arm with James’s.We walked to the clearing where Lisa, Jackson, Trisha, Raven, Lucas Lydia, and Micheal were waiting. Amber wiped away a tear as she saw what we had done.”Oh wow,” Amber said.”It looks amazing,” James whispered in my ear. Malia guided Amber onto the cliff and grabbed her hands. ”There is nothing I can say that will ever measure up to how I feel about you, but I promise to show
1 week later. A week had gone by since the war, Amber had adjusted quite well to the life of a vampire. The one thing that had been the hardest and continued to be was the fact that Stella was gone. Amber told me how she sometimes tries to communicate with her wolf but then remembers that she’s alone, there's no one in her mind anymore. I know the feeling, I had only had Xena for a few months and had gotten so used to having her there, the biggest difference was however the fact that I got my wolf back, Amber wasn't going to get Stella back. She had nailed almost every vampire ’super power’ there was, including speed, coercion, healing, and strength.Amber was now the one teaching Lucas, who wasn't as thrilled that the student had become the teacher but he seemed happy nevertheless with the bond he had created with Amber. Damien, my brother, had grown close to Alex, the two were running together, playing pool, and whatnot. Alex and his mate seemed inseparable and the big red bite
”I killed my mother, not because of what she had done to me but because I knew what she would do to you. You’re my family, this, these people, you’re all my family. When he hurt you on the field, he sentenced you to death and I couldn’t…I couldn't let you die, so instead, you were turned. We can't be without you, Amber, nobody here can. Your brothers-” She said and Amber's eyes shakily found her brothers. ”-They need you, you three are what’s left of your family and they wouldn't survive without you. Nobody would. Maybe turning you was selfish, because we wanted you to live, but letting you die wasn't an option.” Malia said sternly and let go of Amber's hand. ”So, this will take time and it will be painful and hard but we will get through this. We will help you, Raven will help you adjust to this new life but in the meantime, nobody is going anywhere. We are all here with you,” Raven cleared her throat. ”I actually have to go back, I do have my own responsibilities in my clan,” she
Raven squatted down next to Amber and cleared away her hair from her neck. She lowered her head, her fangs extended, and just as she was about to bite into Amber's neck, her eyes rose and she looked up at James through her lashes. She then punctured Amber's skin, sinking her fangs into her flesh and releasing the poison.When Raven pulled back, we were all standing and watching them. ”Now what?” I asked when she stood again. ”Now we wait for her to die.” Raven said and wiped her mouth with her thumb then sucked the blood off it. I winced and Lydia hulked.”What? I'm a vampire, remember,” she said and rolled her eyes. Raven didn't feed on humans, only blood bags so this must’ve been euphoric for her. I walked to the pool table and placed my hands on the surface, leaning back against it. I wasn't going anywhere, not until we found out how Amber would be.She'd wake up, but as a vampire, everything would be different. Werewolves are taught to hate vampires. Always have been, and pro
Natasha came running into the pack house, William was close behind her but he walked as though we had all the time in the world. Lydia came as well and seeing her was such a relief but we didn't have the time to relish in it for too long. William nodded his head towards me. ”Her.” He said and all eyes turned on me. ”Her what?” I asked him. ”You can help her.””Help Amber? How? I don't even know what’s wrong with her,” I felt helpless, I had become dependent on my magic but I didn't have that anymore. What did I have to could help Amber?’Me’Xena’You have me, Avery. I'm back now and we will learn to work together again’I’m sorry… I forgot’It’s alright, I've been gone for a while’ the sadness clenched my heart. I had forgotten that she was back but to be fair, she had been gone for a long time. ’Not on purpose’ Xena growled.I keep forgetting that you can hear my thoughts. It’s creepy ’Just place your hands on either side of her head’ Xena said as she rolled her eyes. I look
We were heading home to the pack house, I was holding our child and James was walking beside me. It didn't feel real, I didn't know when reality would hit and this would feel normal, perhaps it never would but nevertheless, we had created a life. As we walked into the house it was quiet except for some hushed whispers. We walked into the common area and saw everyone in our family sitting around, waiting.Amber was the first one to come up, she covered her mouth with her hands and looked down on the baby. ”Oh my goddess, you made this,” She said in awe. I laughed and James smiled. Amber held her in her arms and Alex came up to meet his niece.”What’s her name?” He asked. I looked at James.”Isabella-” I said. ”Isabella Lilly Knight.” Alex and Amber both looked at us. Amber gazed at her brother, wiping away a tear.”Your sister and our mother.” She said and nodded her head before watching Isabella again. ”It’s perfect,” she said. ”We never truly met, I'm Chelsea,” It was Alex’s
I didn’t look at James, I already knew the death glare he was throwing Williams way and I didn't want him to see the fear in my eyes. I kept my gaze locked on William, he wasn't bothered by James in the slightest. Both me and James knew that this had to be done, there was no other way and if going through this pain was what I had to do to save my baby girl, then I would and I knew that deep down James did too. I heard a low growl, one that turned all heads to the Alpha. ”It’s okay, James, you know it is,” I said quietly and looked at him. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were hooded but a slight nod, one so small that I would've missed it if I hadn't looked carefully, said everything I needed to know. ”Let’s do this,” I said and looked at William.His gruff expression didn't change, his head was still lowered, his eyes looking up at me through his lashes and his long hair fluttered in the breeze.William closed his eyes, he inhaled, his chest rising and his head lifted.He opened
I felt the power surge through me, having to push away the thought of what the magic was feeding off. ”I’m so sorry,” I whispered to my baby. I felt my hands heating up, reaching my fingertips and I placed them over his heart. The darkness was consuming, it embodied me and I allowed it, allowed it to take whatever it wanted as long as it brought me back my brother. ”Look,” Amber whispered through her tears to Raven. My eyes were closed but I felt it, I felt his pain, his life, his threads of existence and I healed it. I heard a breath and felt his heart beginning to beat slowly, his blood circling, and then I opened my eyes. Alex was watching me with hooded eyes, his shaking hand came up and his fingers wrapped around my hands, squeezing them tightly.I cried even harder. ”You promised you wouldn't leave me again,” I cried and saw how the tears fell from his eyes.Alex's lip tugged upwards but he didn't have the energy to fully smile. I saw in his eyes how happy he was to be al
I drew the fire and had it circling us all, the flames were cutting into thin air and moving vigorously around the enemies. With one hand I raised a shield over Amber and Malia and urged Alex to get himself and his mate behind it. But he was hurt, Alex was still bleeding and his face had turned pale and his lips were blue. Raven saw what I tried to do and with her speed, she grabbed Alex and placed him by his sister and then his mate. I held up the shield but Nicholas looked awfully cocky. Something I didn't like. ”You think you’re the only witch around here?” He asked and brought forward a man, long white hair, obsidian eyes, and an altogether dark expression.He raised his hands, circling them before pushing them up against the sky. The flames were uncontrolled, they were slashing at everything, including my own people. One of the flames cut through the shield and I heard Alex scream. It had hit his mate, her face was burnt.I circled my hands again, regaining control but only f