There had to be a different kind of hell, ready to receive souls that were self-centred to the point everything became about them and what they wanted. There had to be. After the events of the past hour, where she was suffering from labored breath and sweat clogging her skin pores, seeping from the cracks in her body, Evan hadn't yet trusted her with a weapon. It also had been flimsy eighteen hours since she was presumably missing. Clavin wouldn't start looking for another twenty. She doubted she'd be here by then. Or alive. She was trailing behind him but couldn't shake the feeling that if she swayed an inch out of line, he'd handcuff them together.Jodie had seen crazy alright. Evan was paranoid and crazy. What made him that way? Past the hedgerows and a column of teak benches stocked to one side of the footpath, she wasn't ready for what lay beyond the clearing. Teak was expensive and so was the marble with Persian slogans embedded in it."Junkyard," she grumbled, "you had us walk
The cathedral below the kasbah was a castle built of earth. One of the hundreds that stayed hidden under newness of Nova Scotia with blinding lights and car spewn roads. Morocco had left some of its parts, like old lovers leave fond scars. Silas looked up, marvelling at its architecture. High gothic arc, semi circles of tiles on the roof, sound of water weeping through the stone.Intense pillars stood on all four sides like watchful eyes with broken chandeliers-made for candle sticks, not bulbs- hung like wormy bats. Disgruntled, frowning. If inanimate objects could frown. He dropped his bag and plopped down in the middle, felling the cool breeze making its way from openings in the cavern. Same old. Same old. These walls had been home to warrior clans and their retinue back in the days. He knew because he had come from long line of the clan royalties. They had kept secrets- wolves, cats, sorcerers-although countable sorcerers existed now, he had been an apprentice of one. Secrets of
To see them together they looked like the photocopier, an accountant and a desk clerk of a branch office on their way to sales convention. They didn't stick out like a sore thumb. A dark small man, a middle-aged white man, and a the one wearing sensible Birken-stocks despite the city pavement heat, the sort of millennial who tries to be cool. And all of them wore a bored, harassed expression that city dwellers are born with. No one would think they didn't belong here. One of them carried a satchel, fixing his time every now and then. They all looked like normal pedestrians, except three pairs of eyes were set on an old man. Maybe sixty, medium height, bulky. A doctor would've called him on the heavier side- after the BMI calculation but really his muscles had aged gracefully holding onto some fat. Light gray pants, wide at the top, narrow at the bottom, off white shirt with open collar, no jacket. The three men following him, not to his knowledge, weren't surprised he didn't wear a j
The hatch stayed open and even from the doorway he could smell two things-cleanliness and blood. Blood had spilled then been vigorously cleaned. The small handprint on the back of the door suggested the door had been used for support by whoever entered before shutting themselves inside. Long slender fingers, iron and wild flowers, both the image and scent imprinted on his mind. It'd take a long long time before he could forget about it. Mikhail reigned in his temper. And the snarling urge to call Noah and ask him how had he known Beatrice would be here- in one of the abandoned shipping yard. The small cabin lay down few stairs on the boat. And the boat was big enough to accomodate three people. His wolf had pre calculated the risk from the bridge across. The boat had been parked, no one had visited in past eight hours. The wait to get to Beatrice had nearly killed him but he couldn't risk her life for his impatience. He was buying time. He didn't know what he'd do once he found her.
Back in the cabin, where he had been almost a week ago with Vanessa, Noah had washed off her scent- scrubbing the place down himself and changed the interior to look like his office. Rhys had covered the roof with plenty of foliage to deter the use of hover-facalities, in case someone had an aerial eye on them, and to make sure no one can sneak upon them. Beside the briefcase containing the archives of every law passed, every meeting held stood a sleek computer screen pinging to be recieved. Rhys sat out of the line of sight when Noah accepted the call, but the man appearing on screen was so familiar, Rhys had no trouble recognising him. He broke out in cold sweat, a rebel to Noah's composed form. The man was Van Arik Leichtenberg, the notoriously famed second-in-commad of of Orgur Kosotva. Orgut Kostova was the most influential member of communion, his brand on all eastern European territories remained a token of his power. He was very passive too. Because Van Arik saw to it. Leicht
"I had Ashleigh create a lab-controlled DNA copy we found in those dead bodies. Remember when that creature attacked us? It looked gnarly, grotesque and not itself. The deformation had already begun. They were never going to be able to create a stable prototype because the ones injected with mutated blood were unable to survive. Desmond gave away his plan the moment he let that creature attack us, whatever it was." Noah shuddered in phantom disgust."Children adapt to new changes better than adults. Our priority is to keep them safe. And hold onto what our enemy wants the most. So I simply passed on the blood samples made in the lab to the members high up the chain. Greggory delivered it. That's why I could never tell you or Evan. You had Vanessa's best interest at heart. Evan is very…… fond of her. Secrets weigh a lot, Rhys. How can you carry them when I barely can? For what it's worth, I am sorry." Rhys swallowed another shot of rum. Noah had kept them in dark. All of them. He sud
"Most likely. He knows too much. Once his work is done, this person he considers to be his partner will end him. He is also a liability because he had promised his employer rogue children to. He can't deliver them since we moved them to Alaska." Inimical colourless tone in him suggested he was done talking about Desmond. But he was still sitting, and hadn't walked out. Rhys thought, 'Maybe he needs to say these things out loud as much as I want to hear them.' "So Desmond's work is done. You think he won't go against us to get to the children?" Their evacuation plan had been perfect, Rhys recalled with pride. They had moved children in tunnels, the majority of them. They had sent smaller groups of those children with fully trained mercenaries to protect them. Visac had distributed their scents all over America, different states, different clans, successfully throwing Desmond and his minions off the trail. And Alaska had clans the mainlanders didn't know about. Noah knew because his m
She should've visited this place in the morning. Lower Manhattan was vividly occupied by pedestrians even at this time of night. Five students-they looked students sat at the turning of the curb discussing Ophelia, their bandanas and tie-dye t shirts looked approachable but as she drew near, she realized she didn't have to. Across the street in typical New York style, made of red-pink bricks with hedgerow growing on either sides, filling up the lane, the Rattlestick theatre was a far cry from furnished. Vanessa darted around, a quick scan later she tried the door with her foot. The students might not see her now but they would if the damn thing creaked. They were theatre students doing a gothic version of Ophelia, how they were going to pull it off-she had no idea. Her thoughts scrambled like chicken at the barn. She had hid for the entire in set of public washrooms. Making sure she sat on the closed toilet lid, knees to chest and not on the floor. Because anyone would recognise her sn
'Love does find a way afterall. No matter what obstacles are laid before us, if our love is pure, it will win at the end, no matter what.' Vanessa thought as a smile lit her face up. She was sitting comfortably on a couch, in a large sweatshirt that belonged to Noah, now her husband.She thought back to their wedding ceremony, it was a wonderful affair filled with laughter, love and hope. All their friends had come, looking clean in their dresses and suits. Noah had left last night, in wolf form, hollering and calling loudly to the moon. A makeshift bachelor party- a wild run in the forest and then some chilled beer at a cliff with a nice view. That left Vanessa to sit back at home, thumbing through her favorite book and smiling now and then. It was midnight when she decided to call it a night and go to bed- her last night as a single lady. Just then, she caught sight of a rustling figure outside the window. It was Noah, his hair windswept and his cheeks red from being drunk. He was
She watched his face, less shy about its location on the map of her body. He was smiling to himself, mischievous, his eyes on his work. Small pool of sweat gathered at her lower back, at the dimples he liked so much. He was finger painting.She gasped, trying to twist away as he wrote more. But he didn't have to. "Noah...." Was she going to weep? She didn't want to weep. "Is that a yes or a no?" The wolf was relaxed this time around. Like it had gotten what it wanted for the time being, she knew the decision was equally human. "Yes! Yes, I'll marry you." "If you can stop snotting, maybe then..." She hit his shoulder. When he kissed her, on the psychic plane, his wolf appeared. Battered, strong, feral. And with him- a bond. It was a great shining thing, like a falling moon. An orb born of love tumbling in the creeks, in the meadows. She had only to catch it. And she did. With it came a smaller bond-Ian. Unafraid, she linked herself to it. The distance between them felt like sph
The last thing she remembered was his claws digging in her ass, and their pleasure sated bodies a tangle of limbs. Where was he now? Not next to her. But he had slept, the bed held his impressions. Coming to herself, she blushed. His smell was so strong on her, hers had nearly vanished. She had an inkling that these were the signs of mating bond completing itself. Even he would smell more like Vanessa than himself. The animal was playing for keeps, and it wanted to be kept as an equal. She found him sitting on the porch stairs. She grabbed his shirt, shivered at how sensitized her skin felt, trying desperately to keep herself from looking at the spot of blood on lavender sheets. Thankfully, they weren't white. His marks, teeth, hand, claws pulsed in her body. Her body held his secrets more tenderly than it did anything else. He sensed her approach, straightening his legs, making space for her between them. She went, hiding behind her hair. His content was contagious. Bare chested
The satisfaction coursing through him was so arrogant, so unfaltering in its ownership, her wolf quivered a little in fear. If he consumed her, would she live to see another day? Intrigued, he rubbed his jaw against the inside of her legs, her scent decadent, strong. He fumbled with his jeans before pulling them down. His wolf wanted to take. To turn her around on hands and knees, mount her, and when she'd arch her neck in pleasure, take a bite. It'll hurt but he'd share the pain. "Noah?" She was still here. Legs spread, waiting for him. He smiled. His mind was playing tricks on him, he won't take her like an animal. That'll have to wait. He suddenly dipped his head and she shoved a discarded pillow to her face. Which was a good thing. Because the scream that tore out of her was no human. Her eyes shifted, her wolf begging to have her equal measure of the sensations. His eyes still on her face, he licked her between her thighs. The tender bud begged for his attention, which in h
When he threw up his shields, she was back in front of him. Tonight, there was no leash. She wanted to play, he'll abide. The wolf bared its teeth.... She shot out with a grin. Adrenaline shot through her, she was nowhere near as fast as him. But she could read his thought clear as a bright sunny day. Apart from the high of the chase, she was humbled by the trust. He lowered his shields to nil and let her in. She had yet to do that.He was getting closer, the wolf didn't try to hide the heavy breathing, his massive lungs resounding in warning because he wanted her to know when he was near. Claws out, canines protruding, Noah was no longer human. Not a single part of him. Heart raising hard and fast, she sharpened her run into the direction of lower range, a steep one her much smaller body could maintain running at. Noah's much larger frame would tumble at this speed, so he pulled out an old trick. He laid down and rolled like a barrel. Laughter bubbled inside of her. 'Nice trick.'
"I am sorry I made you feel unwelcome. Consider this an apology." He kissed her knuckles, a small key pressed to her palm, the soft crinkle of paper-a note. She couldn't read his thoughts anymore. But he walked away with a purpose. Dusk clambered in the Nebraska, the summer of dragging afternoons fast learning to evade the gossamery warmth for autumn seeping in sycamore trees, yellow golden leaves ready to replace the greens. Beyond the moonbeam dancing stream, stood two peaks, protecting the land from the unknowns, so many unknowns. The peaks, they are not exultant, and they no longer believe themselves to be the instrument of some great intention. They are, but a shadow of those living beings looking up at them, creatures grasping at life with stained hands. Waiting. Hoping. Vanessa hid her gasp, swallowing the thick ball of emotion in her throat. A heavy weight ruffled the decidous low hanging branches in the trees but she didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Her soul
Home.The black villa doors opened to reveal the place she had thought would save her from the mountain of debt she had buried herself under. The debt was the answer she had been waiting for, and apparently so was Silas. Greggory Flynn, she had kept his ashes in a thurible, had never given her complete answers. They arrived, to find Mikhail, Beatrice and Rourke waiting for them in the foyer. Vanessa was searching for Mrs.Kemp and her cupcake smelling apron. Beatrice looked healthier but the awkward distance between her and Mikhail didn't go unnoticed by anyone. "This here, little heathen, has more body count than me, brother. What do you say to that?" Evan dragged Vanessa from under Noah's arm to his side, strangling her in a side hug. Vanessa was beyond grateful. She didn't know how to break ice with Mikhail. The last time he had her tied to a chair in the basement, he had his reasons but that didn't make it okay. She didn't know where to go with him from here. She loved Noah but
Vanessa shuffled inside her closet, her claustrophobia all but gone. She was done packing but not ready to head back home. Things felt so incomplete. In past two days, she had tried to access Calvin's mind but had failed. When all of them, Selene, Falkner, Silas, Noah, Evan and Jodie convene for finalizing border control policies she had to tell them. She wanted everyone to know there were others like her, the Communion will want a hard proof. "Come in." She knew it was Evan. "Hii. I am resigning. Consider this official." He had been in a jolly good mood, he always was when he worked on secret plans but this time, Vanessa knew it was about Jodie. His mind was a back to back movie night on weekends, filled with lewd imagery of things he'd like to do to her.The powers did have it's shortcomings. "Resigning?" His shields were up. "Yes." Evan folded his legs, sat on the newly purchased futon, which Noah had gifted Vanessa because she liked to sleep on the floor. Bed after thirty six
He begrudgingly admitted nudity was her last preserve right now. She shifted but did a very poor job of hiding herself, the swell of her ass, small and pert with tan lines- he groaned- held his attention. Until he moved it to her shoulder. Stripes, more stripes of red, white, yellow, blue. What the fuck was it? How did she get bruises this bad? Before he could ask, she begged for a clothing. Anything he might have. He stripped off his shirt and threw it to her. She scrambled into it like she was on fire. No more inadvertent strip show, his cat saddened by the perspectiveShe knew what he was going to ask. It was always there, in the manner people stood, slightly skewed, uncomfortable of her reaction even before she had reacted. Scars. He had seen them. And she knew he won't let it go. "You aren't going anywhere until you answer me." Lonely, she wanted to be with her own kind after being denied association for so long. Walter Desmond's death made her breath for the first time, free