An old toy chest gifted to him by some distant cousin rested near his bed. His toys had a mind of their own. A baby doll whose hinged eyes were broken but he could see how it broke, a velveteen teddy bear-his favorite whom he shared everything with, a spinning top. The top spun whenever he wanted it to, without physical labor. He drew the blankets to forehead, peeking out from underneath. This was the first time, according to his memory, they had one home. Two stories, his room upstairs with a glitter glass window. He knew the house was old, kitchen cabinets with crayon drawings on it, the wallpaper marked with a Sharpie announcing different heights. Guess they were also poor too, just like him, since the inches were drawn-near accurate. But he didn't fret. His world went beyond the riches anyway. There wasn't much to grasp within his peanut sized brain, but he knew he wasn't normal. Not even by changeling standards. His mother had put him to sleep with her fascinating stories, his
Vanessa bit her fingers on the way to infirmary, to stop herself from crying. Ian was shifted from the main in-built hospital to the small infirmary with other children. She stopped to peek inside- glass windows clear enough with blinds drawn back. He was with Noah. It didn't shock her. Her shields were tightly jammed, she didn't want Calvin roaming the streets of her psyche, so she didn't let anyone pass. Noah was still fighting her over this. Infact, everyone was. She'd thought Evan would understand, and when they met with sentinels of Serene pack, he'd have her back but he walked out of the room- any room, even kitchen- when she walked inside. She had to smooth her temperament, Ian picked on emotions very quickly. And he had the habit of picking them apart with a pair of tweezers. But the sight was very wistful, of Noah showing him a coin trick, that she was detected. She stood there long enough for two pairs of eyes to look at her and smile. One unabashed in its happiness, othe
"It isn't a crime, Ian. It's okay to do that." She understood it better. The psyche sensed danger and looking for chunks in the armor on a psychic plane was it's form of offense. If he worked on it long enough, he could shove pass the army of mind shields because no eight year old should be able to look inside Calvin's mind. Damn, he was powerful. She hugged him tighter. What personal cost would he pay for it? "Psst. You are not listening. I found something in his brain. Like a thought but it was a long, long thread. His powers come from the stone, the ones he showed me. Asked me if I could track them. And remember when you tickled me?" His small fingers poked at her stomach. She took a moment to reorganise her thoughts. Where was he going with this?"And you made it past my shields because I was relaxed and happy?""Yes. I remember...." She did. "Then one time he was relaxed and I saw what he feared. I don't know how." Interesting. Very interesting. Noah slid closer unconsciously,
"Let's move." She felt red, hot anger coursing in her veins. Thunderous at the suggestion, she snagged her book, left a hot tip under the cup, at least an over tired worker will benefit from her anger to see him wear his glasses with same slick neatness he did everything else and start walking in an opposite direction. What the...Follow him? Or keep her pride and move in other direction? Since the suggestion was hers, shouldn't she be the one leading them? He did know the place better.... "Turns out Jodie. Jodie. Yes. Is that your real name?" No. No it wasn't. She didn't know what her real name was. Issa had told her she was Jodie to them. Wistful, determined Jodie with blondest hair Issa had ever seen. She didn't have any collateral to refuse the suggestion with. What else could she say? Mija had reincarnated her in a way. Created a fake body to leave her old life right where it was. Under the snowshelled mountain, in a silo, deathly pale. That's why death never scared her. She ha
"Am I supposed to know her?" Jodie had bravely strapped herself to the backseat of Evan's car but now that she was here she the doubt kept mounting. A petite, slender girl-the same age if she was not mistaken, cupid bow lips, heart shaped face. The sort of vintage beauty everyone noticed. Her hair fell in subtle black waves but she had the greenest eyes Jodie had ever seen. When she sent a tremoluos smile her way, Jodie had a strange sensation, like a third eye in the back of her skull.She wasn't supposed to but she knew the smile. She wasn't supposed to but she knew the eyes. And how her lips would crease the cheek more on the left than on the right whenever she spoke. These were intimate things, like she had once read in the suspense column of a buzzword magazine, twins who knew each other to the point where they are fungible-fluid to each other's shape. Seemingly aware of the creepiness, the girl was about to approach him when a large dude- and dude was indeed her first thought b
"Where are we on the comms?" Communication centre for their backups on artilleries had been the first target. There was no way to figure out whether further inside the den territory, someone had sneaked in. If not for Vanessa, they couldn't have. Noah's wolf worried on the front that she was shaken up. She kept pulling herself inwards, preserving her body heat. An hour ago, the thin line between death and life had been real. Way too real. Enough to jarr him into anger. Sitting at a conference table, Rhys, Evan, Selene, Selene's Beta Carlos, her strategist Falkner and Silas har their attention drawn to the techie- a young woman, younger than Vanessa, who replayed the clip of the attack. "You are saying it was aerial?" Wolves were rich. The whole race richer than humans but a small attack smack in the face only to prove a point must have costed millions to whoever carried it out. Who had that kind of money lying around? Aerial defence was Selene Pack's weakness. The city relegated
"Because if they only wanted out reservoirs, they could have air dropped the bomb on locations. They seemed to know exactly where to hit. Why deploy a team on the ground?" Silas completed her reasoning. The old man had more experience than anyone in the room, which is why the lack of designation didn't matter. "What's the first thing you'd do after an attack like this?" Jodie asked."Evacuate the young ones, vulnerable people, codorn off the area with hospitals and food stocks. Basic survival amenities." Falkner answered with a shrug like it was obvious. Like it is exactly what he was planning to do once they stepped out of the room. Falkner was a dark, tall man with deep ebony skin. His shrug was comical. "Scattergun approach", Evan whispered but the hush of the room amplified his voice just fine. That's when she looked at him. Her heart coming to standstill to hold the moment, then pedalling into summer sunset. Cute. For another time."Yes," she felt herself smile anyhow, at the w
Jodie cleared her throat."I can't tell you the extent of Calvin's involvement in this. All I know is attacking, killing, maiming, all this mayhem-its not him. I don't mean that as a defense. He has bigger plans. This can't be it. This can't be his endgame." She shouldn't have betrayed Calvin, but there was husk inside her brain where he always had been, and husk tears asunder at the slightest harsh wind. "Jodie's right. We reconvene after three days. We focus on Calvin then." She shouldn't have felt a shot of pride at Noah's words either. But she did. It was late evening by the time decisions were made, plans put to motions. Jodie wasn't surprised when everyone exited at once but she was asked to stay put. "I'll not ask what went down between you and Calvin. A loyalty like that doesn't defect over a disagreement or a fight. I don't need to know in fact, unless it helps us win this war. But this is your place now, whether you want it to be or not. And for the time being, you pledge
'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