"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
Clavin pressed his fingers to the arm band, a stolen piece of brimstone embedded in it. He loathed how ornamental it looked, when it was far more precious than any gemstone, Ruby or diamond encountered on a rock floating in space. It was a watered version of Earth but he prefered it that way. To believe in something bigger than himself. As for Brimstones, if he wished to collect them all, he can't do it without Issa's help. And Issa would question his intentions. Silas was a Karou. A wizard and a protector of the realm, of the old order inaugurated by the coven. Had it been Militia of Trackers and Valhallas, he would have had deployed an army (even though it went against his base instincts) to breach the highest ranks and get the brimstones for himself. But this was a matter of Coven (which no longer existed)- but families passed on duties generation after generation. Brimstones were alive, they had a weird pulsing connection with members of families bestowed to protect them. And in
Evan had double-checked his lpanto move her to states, provided en route everything worked smoothly. The could go via Spain nd be thre in two das ut the refugee crisis from Morocco meant strict border regulations- Jodie was not a reliable captor. The only reason she wasn’t runing was because without a plan, she won’t get very far. Once they crossed borders, wihtout her fake passprt she’d be detained. All he had to do was get her out of Morocco without a lsew of law enforcement behidn them. His asset in Morocco had come through with ther fake IDs. Another poolite option was Greece but leaving Morocco from any airway was-put plainly, stupid. Airport authorities were the ultimate errant id, they pokedand prodded everywhere. If Jodie casued ruckus, they’d both be taken in immediately. European countries sharing border crisis took no prisoners when it came to suspicious activities. So another laborous route would get them to USA. She was sleeping next to him in thecar. He knew she had a p
To her surprise, he did answer. Evan drew back his seat.“We are going to drop this vehicle two miles down the road. There’s an out croppinng of rocks, a bus waiting to take us to Lorca.” She might not be a messy sleeper but she was a messy eater. Crumbs of danish bread on her lap and shirt still stuck there. Lorca? That meant Greece. Was he trying to prove that despite the long hours, it took two days via bus to reach Athens, no one would come looking for her because they hadn’t yet?She curled her hands under her thighs, leather seat squeaking as she sat upright. Another dream. Another place. Another time. Camila didn’t dream of the healer for two nights.The last dream was the healer riding south. She never arrived to see her. Camila had waited at the gates, mistweaving a cloak to keep herself warm, and only a few market carts had passed by. At dawn, she rented a horse. Tessa followed the trail north, checking the map at each turn. Had the healer taken a wrong path, returning hom
Her saucer eyes followed him everywhere. Being near her was a lot like tipping the balancing world, to measure one’s footing, when all it wanted was to spiral Evan out of control- a spiral with no recovery, only impact. Pale silver eyes rimmed of kohl lashes blinking at him every few minutes of the flight until he excused himself to get both of them something to eat. She displayed no novice qualms at flying, so his theory disproved itself. She wasn’t nervous flying. And now that they had landed, the airport security once again having checked them, with mild surprise at their lack of baggage. Thankfully, they didn’t comment. They were both Morrocans, returning to work here for six months. Minnela and Connel Gerber, oil company engineers relieved to be back home. That’s the look no one questioned. It implied they traveled back and forth from Morocco enough times a year, they had made themselves a home in the Eastern African country. Now she was sitting at the bench, haplessly surveyin
The heart he'd thought he had cut out and buried long ago wrenched into a warped shape, twisted and broken- like a striga breaking out of it's grave- all wrong, it didn't belong there. The human was so aghast at his behaviour he tried to pull away. But the animal was in on a secret- it knew how she tasted. So it growled and pulled Jodie closer, taking her weight with him to stand up. They only broke apart when he realized they had gathered an audience. 'Be charming.' His wolf sing-songed, licking its imaginary paws. He liked getting into trouble, leaving the human to solve it. The flower lady shared a concerned look with the cap seller. When he walked past them, his lips curved in an apologetic smile. He made sure the dimples stayed even when he spoke."I am sorry. My wife and I found out we are pregnant. We've hit some… road bumps," wasn't that the irony, "in starting a family together. We liked the prospect of starting young. Right, love?" He pressed a kiss to her head. Thankfully,
'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