"No, please don't do this!"
"You have to be stopped Allison, once and for all!"
Allison struggled in vain as the two men violently grabbed her, pushing her to the ground. Next to her, she saw the young boy, his neck broken and her face bleeding from where he'd scratched her as she strangled him, before ending his life.
"Hold her steady, "one of the men commanded. The other one sat down on top of her, pinning her with his weight.
The one who'd spoken, gagged her, then tied her hands and feet with rope.
They dragged her outside, in the dead of night, with her struggling in vain against them. Her white dress tore and ripped with the force of their anger.
"You will suffer, as you made others suffer, at your hand. "
Allison's eyes widened in terror, as they rolled her into the open grave, and the last thing she felt, was dirt being heap
Days Later. . . ."Rachel, are you sure you don't want me to come up there and help?"Rachel switched her cellphone to the other ear. "Yes, Becca. I'm sure. I don't want you to be here. We don't know what will happen when we confront Allison."Becca sounded agitated. "All the more reason for me to be there Rachel!""No,"Rachel said firmly. "This is my fight, Becca. I want you to stay out of it. I need you to be safe."When the call ended, Rachel stuck her cell in her jeans' front pocket, watching Galen and Anita walk up the pathway. Mrs Morris was with them, her face set in a mask of grim concern. After introducing her to Rachel, the four of them went to the cabin, where Rachel had made a fresh pot of coffee."I always knew, it would someday come to this,"the grey-haired woman said, in her crisp English accent. "My entire life has been defined by this woman, a
"I imagined buying this place, would give her a sense of peace, make her believe a part of me was with her,"Mrs Morris said. "I had no idea the darkness she dealt with, was so powerful."She was still visibly shaken from seeing her mother's remains and Galen pulled Rachel outside, to the porch, while Anita did her best to offer some comfort."I can't even begin to think what her life was like, being haunted for so long,"Galen said. "I think it was meant to be that you showed up here Rachel. You were meant to help her, to free her and give Allison peace."Rachel stared lovingly into his eyes. "A werewolf, believing in destiny. Now that's something new."He kissed her on the lips. "I'm not kidding Rachel. This is what you do, and I'm glad I'm here to see you do it."Her eyes twinkled with mischief. "I'm glad you're here to love me,"she said softly.He pulled her
They converged on the steps, leading up to the asylum. Rachel, Anita, Mrs Morris and the golden wolf. Galen had already shifted. They'd agreed he would be in his wolf form, in case of an attack. Anita stood with a canister of kerosene and a box of matches. If push came to shove, she would be the one to light the fire."It feels strange,"Rachel said, "knowing this will soon be over. Not that I'm complaining!"Anita chuckled nervously. "I've never attended one of these before. And hopefully, I never will again."Rachel gave her a warm smile. "Thanks for being here Anita. I was a bitch to you that day we met, and I'm sorry.Jealousy is definitely not a good look on me.""No worries,"Anita replied. "Just make Galen happy.He’s been through so much and I really feel you’re the one who can heal his heart and he will do the same for you."He walked up to Rachel, nudging her with his head. Sh
A gentle rain was falling, a few days later, where the four of them stood huddled under umbrellas, around Allison's grave. After all these years, she was finally getting a decent funeral. Galen held Rachel in his arms as Reverend Matthews said a final prayer, her sobs wracking at her body. It was over and Allison was finally free.They went to her house for tea, afterward. Mrs Morris wanted to leave as soon as she could. She wanted to get back to her business in New York. There was a spring in her step, now that it was over. She seemed relieved and happy, moreso after the funeral.A car was waiting for her and Anita and they stood on the porch, saying their farewells."I can never thank you enough, for bringing me closure,"she said. She took Galen and Rachel's hands. "The two of you, and my trusted assistant, have given me something worth more than all the riches in the world. Peace."An
“Why does the lone wolf interest you so much? You’ve cemented your place as Alpha of this town.You don’t need to strengthen your army.”Sophia Bruce turned in the high-backed leather chair behind her desk,in the direction of where the voice was coming from. Of course it would be Stefano,no one else in her pack would have the nerve to stride into her office and demand an explanation.“Forgive me,my Queen.How am I to serve you,if I don’t know the full extent of your involvement with him and his brothers?Why is it so urgent for you to have all of them in Colby’s Cove?”The raven-haired beauty smiled.Perhaps it was time for her most trusted confidante to know the truth.He alone would keep her secret safe.Till this moment,only he knew of the witch’s curse of immortality,which had kept her in this world, for 200 years.“I don’t need them to strengthen my army,Stefano.I need them to strengthen my family.”
Rachel Murray pulled her dark hair from under the beret she was wearing,so it could hang down and add warmth to her freezing ears,against the biting wind in Edgewood Cemetary.Of course Caroline would choose the cemetary of all places to say her final goodbye.As obstinate in death as she’d been in life. “And please tell my dear John,I never meant to remove him as the beneficiary on my policies.I was angry,I thought he was cheating on me. Who could blame me though. He hired a tart 30 years younger as his secretary." Rachel smiled wryly.That was something she could relate to,only in her case it had all been true.For eight months,Peter had carried on with his tart,and when he finally manned up enough to leave her,he crashed and died,hating her. It was in this very cemetary,six months ago,where she’d crossed him over into the Light.The decision to forgive him,had been one of the best she’d ever made.It allowed her to heal,and open herself up to the possibility of falling in love again,w
“What’s with the get-up?”Rachel asked.”Halloween on the other side?” The Angel Of Death rolled her eyes.”My latest…client,shall we say?...He was a lowdown pimp and drug dealer.This was his idea of an angel,carrying him off to paradise.Which,believe me,was not where I took him.” Gabrielle closed her eyes and in an instant,her outfit changed,from the trashy dress,to her more traditional black,hooded cloak. “Stereotype,”Rachel muttered.”Just need a scythe and you’re good to go.” “Scythes are so overrated,”Gabrielle retorted.”No selfrespecting Angel of Death,would be seen dead with one.” Despite her best intentions,Rachel chuckled.Gabrielle was born to the duty of death,as she herself had been born with her gift to cross over the dead.Whenever an Angel Of Death was decommissioned,another took its place,and Gabr
“Not an option,”Rachel breathed through clenched teeth.”Not even close.Gabrielle,you can’t just barrel into my life and tell me the man I love,is on some hitlist,because of me.” Gabrielle took a step closer,placing a comforting hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “It is what it is,Rachel.Crossing over Allison Klein,brought you to the attention of a very dangerous group of beings on the other side.They resent you for helping Allison free the souls of the children she trapped.You set them back in their plans,and they’re not happy.They know so much about that night,its unbelievable.” Rachel opened her mouth to speak,but no sound came from her lips.All her life,this was the one thing she’d been good at,and now it seemed,perhaps too good.Her mother warned both her and Becca growing up,that crossing over earthbou
One Week Later…“When dad died, it was easier almost. We had a body; we knew he was gone…We could even plan a funeral. Now we don’t even have that…”“Do you think mom is really gone, Rachel? Would she just leave and go without saying goodbye?”Becca’s voice was tinged with sadness and Rachel reached for her hand, where they were sitting on the porch, watching the sunset.The last week had been rough. Since Allison’s revelation that Vivianne had taken control of Liz’s body, everything just seemed to go to hell.Liz had vanished. After coming back to her senses in the boutique, Rachel immediately called Becca and they rushed to Liz’s house, only to find her gone. They had no idea where she was or what Vivianne was planning to do.Sophia had the entire town combed by her best guards and even she came up with nothing. It was as if Liz had disappeared from the face of the earth.To make matters even worse, Gustav was still missing. Galen wanted to come back home the second he heard, but s
“Who’s Allison? Rachel, what’s going on?”Melora sounded as confused as Rachel felt. Why was Allison’s voice, coming forth from Mrs Landry’s corpse? There was no rational explanation, and Rachel motioned Melora to calm down.“She’s someone I helped cross over a while ago…she went into the Light. I have no idea why, or even how, she’s here now.”The creature struggled against her chains until she’d pulled herself into an upright position. She was struggling to form words, that much Rachel knew. Allison was in a body that wasn’t her’s. Controlling it, was almost an exercise in futility.“Come out Allison,” Rachel urged. “Tell me why you’re in this woman’s body. This is wrong, and you know it.”The corpse began to convulse and bile dripped from her deformed lips. Melora stepped back in horror, covering her mouth with her hand as if trying to contain a scream, threatening to erupt from deep within her.A soft glow appeared before them, and took shape, until Allison was fully formed.“Forg
The morning rain kept people at home. The town square was quiet as they passed through it and when the boutique came into sight, Rachel said a silent prayer of protection. She could only imagine the magnitude of what they would find inside. This wouldn’t be her first time coaxing a spirit out of a vessel, but the first involving a werewolf. She noticed that Stefano’s demeanor had changed from when they left home. He seemed pensive and she knew he was worried about Melora.“Thank you,” he said, “for doing this. I know this isn’t how you envisioned your day off.”“I’m glad you asked me. It’ll be nice to see Melora again, even if it’s under these circumstances.”It occurred to her that she missed the friendship they once shared. Growing up, Becca and Melora were basically the only friends she had. Doing what they did, made the Banning girls loners, and to some, outsiders even. But not to Melora. She gave her friendship unconditionally, perhaps because she too, felt like an outsider most
Showered and dressed, Rachel reached not only for her pepper spray, but also the small dagger she kept in her bedside drawer. She sheathed it out of sight beneath her jacket and made her way downstairs.If everything Stefano had told her was true, she didn’t want to take any chances.The dagger was a gift from Becca, after her ordeal at the hands of Sister Evangeline, that dark night at the asylum, when Galen almost lost his life. Becca had found the dagger in a secondhand store and decided they both needed added protection when doing what they did, and bought one for herself too. They’d always thought there was limited physical danger when it came to crossing over the dead, but that night proved their theory wrong, in more ways than one. Not only had the dark spirit trapped her in the asylum, but it also sent mind controlled minions to kill Galen.Walking down the stairs her cell rang and her eyes lit up when she saw Galen’s name. He’d been gone for hours and the silence between th
The night Mrs. Landry died…“What are you doing here, Gwyneth? Melora isn’t here, so you have no one to spit your poison at. How did you even get in? We closed an hour ago.”Maggie Landry proudly face the imperious woman before her. Gwyneth Channing was a piece of work. Every so often she would drop by the boutique, merely to berate her daughter. It never dawned on her that Melora was an adult who could make her own decisions.Never in her more than 200 years on this earth, had she ever seen anyone enjoy doling out misery with such passion. Almost as if it were her life’s work to be the town bitch.“Maggie Landry,” Gwyneth slowly said, enunciating her name and making it sound foul. “You truly have seen to it that my daughter hates me, haven’t you? You’ve turned her against me. Just know I will not let this insult slide. I will destroy you and everything you’ve ever worked for.”Maggie scoffed. “Delusional as always. You and you alone are responsible for Melora wanting nothing to do wi
“What happened?” Rachel asked. It pained her to know that Melora was going through a rough patch. Their friendship may have forcefully died down years ago, thanks to her snob of a mother, but that didn’t mean she didn’t still care about her.Melora had always been the outcast of the Channing family. While her older siblings, Jack and Jennifer, were heavily involved in the family’s shipping business, Melora decided she wanted to pursue her own path. Even in high school she’d always dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. She was shy, but so remarkably talented and that caused even more friction with her mother and siblings. Their elitist sensibilities were at odds with Melora’s independent, kind nature.They simply couldn’t understand why a billionaire heiress would choose a life of struggle, when she’d been born into a life of absolute privilege. They all turned on her, judging her and berating her every chance they got, but her mother was the worst. The one person who was supposed to
Galen left before sunrise the following morning, to find his brothers and tell them the truth about their heritage. Watching him drive away, Rachel felt a shiver of apprehension run down her spine. Who knew how Jax and Gustav would react, if Galen was so torn up about it? As the eldest they looked to him for guidance, but if he wasn’t ready to face the truth, that Sophia was their mother, then how would they?Not to mention the inevitable confrontation looming with the Munroes. After everything Sophia told him about them, she could only imagine the ticking time bomb, waiting to explode.The morning was cold and wet and she pulled her fluffy gown tighter around her, feeling in her pocket for her pepper spray. Colby’s Cove was a sleepy, quiet little town, but she preferred to not take any chances, when it came to having to defend herself.The days after Peter’s death were the worst, when any sound would wake her up at night and even her own shadow scared her. She’d been living in survi
“The Munroes were both adulterers, who brought great scandal to our pack,” Sophia casually announced. “Their affair was… quite disturbing. I banished them myself, once it came to light."Galen felt his jaw open and close. Was he really prepared to hear the truth about the people who raised him? Part of him regretted asking Sophia to tell him what she knew about them, but he also needed to understand why they did what they did. Why would they blindly raise three children who weren’t theirs? Were the monthly cheques from Sophia that lucrative? That they would sacrifice their own lives and ambitions to do her bidding?It baffled him to the point of absolute frustration. Yes, he could understand why Sophia sent them away for their own safety, but he couldn’t fathom why she had these people pretend to be their parents. It made no sense. Why had she not been a presence in their lives all these years?She literally left them, with people who he now knew, were two adulterers, banished from
Leaving Galen and Sophia in the living room, under the pretense of making more coffee, Rachel and Stefano found themselves seated opposite each other in the kitchen. From his initial brooding demeanor, he seemed more relaxed now, and Rachel found herself warming towards him. He seemed nice enough and she could tell how protective he was of Sophia. Could they be more than friends? Stefano smirked mischievously. “I will tell you the same thing I told Galen when I met him earlier today. I have the gift of reading minds. Please shield your thoughts from me. And no, Sophia and I are not lovers.” Rachel was mortified, and she felt her cheeks turn red. Galen did not mention that interesting little fact. “I’m sorry, I was just curious. I sensed your closeness when you arrived. You surely know I have certain gifts myself.” Stefano smiled, pulling the scones towards him. “I know, Rachel. You have gifts of second sight, intuition and you can see the dead, as clearly as you see me now. I i