“Communion is good at constructing a reality, for temselves and for the rest of us which is at odds with thousand other realities. They pick their favorite one and order others to believe it too. They will try to be confidential about any new information they find. Which is when we go public with it. Create enough panic and demand from everyone so the leaders are forced into taking some decisive action. The sooner they fin a culprit, the quicker they can please creatures. It is how it always works. Nobody is interested in due justice, they want quick justice. Desmond won’t see the light of the day before he knows what’s happening to him.” Noah was getting ticked by the second. Anyone who was here to pick up the samples should have arrived by now. “W should go. Staying any longer won’t do us good.” Mikhail was right. They should have left half an hour ago but something old Noah whoever was coming wasn’t late. They were cautioned. “There is an information leak.” What was he expecting
Ian caught on to whatever was happening and had left them alone. Neither spoke for a while, two people sitting in different corners unable to judge the distance or what it had done to them. But only one was angry, and it wasn’t Noah. “I work here.” The dejected whisper came from her stomach. Vanessa was not sure where this was going. The anger belted down, she thought he wanted her to be away for a day or two. But why would he care? “You are running away again.” His idle observation stuck a nerve, which is what he really wanted to do. He could feel her absolving into herself. And angry Vanessa was better than the one who second-guessed herself every step of the way. He could withstand anger, not broken pieces she’d have to collect when this was all over. Utterly selfish of him to make this about himself, but that’s all he had ever known until she came along. The nails dug in her palm. She could belch and ruin the mahogany table. That’d be a sight for the sore eyes. Like adding humi
“There is no way your mum allows us to go down the sea caves. We are sneaking. If you ask her, she’ll just keep a strict eye on us.” Vanessa didn’t know any other seven-year-old who got around like her friend did. They were partners in crime. Neither of them knowing that sea caves were not considered dangerous because of tides. Today was a low tide day. Water rarely clogged up the rocks and paths that had a huge gateway opening but water springs, even in the fall season, were a problem. Like there word-say, springs sprung on people out of nowhere.“Want to carry a rain coat in case, doofus?” The voice was familiar but not quite real. This was one of the memories she had made up, wasn’t it? The one where their child-like curiosity didn’t hang heavy as death. Why was she reminiscing about something that never had happened in the middle of her phone conversation with Silas. He was making his way down to Half Moon and his brilliant itinerary said he had to meet her first. After her ru
There was only one child, the youngest roaming the hall these days and someone who couldn’t pronounce busy so he spelled it. Ian had no reservations sitting with them and they entertained him like they would a child. “Hey! Where are you going?” Vanessa gathered forks for their desert, the last of the meal, ready to head out. Beatrice’s question stopped her from disappearing to the kitchen slabs.“I have something to catch up on. I can show you to your room later.” She didn’t like the eyes on her. Talking to the guest of the moment made it inevitable though. “Sit with us! Come.” Beatrice didn’t just stop at the invitation, she dragged the extra chair and placed it next to hers. Vanessa couldn’t possibly refuse now and if she did,it’d come across as rude. “This shold be fun.” Mikhail snickered. For someone who was mostly indifferent to everyone around him, he lately sounded irritated, for a lack of better word. She narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to continue.“So. You are my ne
“Would you be so avert as to leave me if my intentions weren’t honorable?” He fixed her a ‘I know I pique your inerest look.’ If only she could understand her emotions, whirling at once, she would’ve smarted off and walked away. But she didn’t, and that meant something to Rhys. “I don’t know what to say.” She hung her head.“Vanessa. This is not a one time offer. I want to spend more time with you, there’s nothing more to it if you don’t want there to be.” Rhys kept his distance but he was close enough to let her look into his eyes. They were sincere. Noah would have violated her personal space by now. See? This was the reason she needed to be with someone else, even just to get over a mental block that didn’t allow her thoughts to run far without being blocked by Noah Abel. “Okay.” She nodded and tried to smile at him. Rhys smiled back. He had an easy going way about him. When he stepped closer and kissed the side of her head, her stomach didn’t break out in nervous hives. Neither
She shuddered and pulled him closer, ever so slightly. He broke the contact so she rose on her toes.“This is a bad idea.” Why did he say that when he wasn’t willing to move away? "But I have missed you so much." So had she. She had missed everything about him, every waking moment. "You are not getting bossy?" She didn't know how she got the words out but Noah was being unlike himself. He was being accommodating which struck her anew.He simply laughed. The sound reminded her how much things had changed and if she should be thankful or not, her crush had dwindled into a flame that was a raging fire. Her body, the more instinctive one, had suddenly fallen into a blackhole of need which it knew so well and relished in. "Not today, Nessa. I simply want you." It was juxtapositional, thought Noah. The effect she had on him was surprising. If he was on edge, she brought him back and if he wasn't, she took him there. Even his self control couldn't protect him anymore. Whatever they had, h
“I am sorry. I didn’t know.” Her brain grew fuzzy. She wasn’t expecting any good news from him anytime soon. She could read the room and the tensions had been high since after the party. But this was felt closer. There were shadows under his eyes speaking a great deal, Noah was confused at how close to home this hit. She had nothing to do with it but she was scared, it only meant sense if he was too.“Are you scared?” They would both be on the same page then.“No. Not the quaking in my boots sort. The enemy is wise, whoever it is, so for them to provoke us like this means nothing. There is no movement here. There is no politically thought-out plan. I don’t get it. And that is what scares me.” Noah was never arrogant enough to believe himself invincible, that’s another one of the things she admired about him.“Maybe there is no purpose. Maybe they enjoy what they are doing, so they get some satisfaction out of tormenting others. Has this happened to other packs?” Vanessa was just speak
“You don’t know? With all your skills, you must have figured it out.” The man was loony as a bat. In Evan’s experience, loony meant crafty. He was important to the organization he worked for which is why he was protected. If they had to make him unimportant, all they needed to do was prove him to be a liability. Without the protection, he wasn’t half as intimidating. Noah had made that clear. The more tedious part was figuring out how to prove him to be a liability. “I don’t. I gave up after sixteen hours of watching through different sets of binoculars.” Not a complete lie, Evan had given up because the whole smuggling episode had struck him as a cliche. These people had underground networks which were nearly impossible to penetrate, why would they bother with trucks and black tinted SUVs to draw attention? Unless something had gone wrong, he was desperately counting on it. “Our usual routines failed, yes. Which I believe you already know.” It was like talking to a robot. Evan was
'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