Galen wiped at his brow with the back of his hand, throwing the shovel to the ground and sat down in the shade of the nearest tree. Just barely after eight in the morning and already the sun was beating down like it was noon. He reached for the bottle of ice-cold water next to him, taking long, deep gulps to alleviate some of the burning discomfort in his parched throat.
He'd cleaned up the garden pretty well, this last week. He'd also cleared most of the weeds, mowed the lawn and dug up a few very suspicious looking plants. He'd resolved that when he was finished cleaning up, he'd fix the beautiful angel fountain in the middle of the garden. He didn't know why, but it fascinated him.Almost as if he was drawn to it.
He had to get the place in decent viewing order. Some of the investors would arrive in a month's time and the owners expected him to at least get the garden in a respectable state. He didn't mind the backbreaking work; they w
"And you're only telling me about this now?"Becca looked fit to be tied as they stood outside the diner while Rachel was on her break.Business was indeed slow. For the entire morning, they'd served three customers and the heaviness in her heart, at the prospect of possibly losing her job, just added to all the stress she was under. And now this."Becca, come on. You know as well as I do, that spirits aren’t always the most reliable source of information. And if there was indeed a Sister Evangeline, bent on coming after me, why hasn't she?"Becca scoffed, pouting and twirling her dark curls. A habit from childhood she never quite shook."We also know, that when they issue dire warnings, sometimes they come true. Have you been back to the asylum again?""No, "Rachel answered, averting her eyes. "I haven't had the time. "Which was a complete lie of course. Now that her work schedule
Rachel pulled her white sweater over her head, casting a quick glance at the clock. Just before eight and the night was already pitch dark. She really didn't feel like going up to the asylum, not after the way Galen called her out earlier, but for the sake of the little boy, she knew she had no choice.This was what she did, what she had been doing for most of her life. Helping those in need to find peace and that little boy was definitely due for some. Whoever this Sister Evangeline was, she had to find a way to stop her, before she hurt her or anyone else. And to do that, she would have to risk running into her wolf.My wolf, what a joke, she chided herself. As if he'd declared his undying love and not merely flirted with her.It was jarring, the way he crawled under her skin. It wasn't just that he was so damned sexy, but also the gentle way he had about him. A quiet strength, the outcome of a fragile and perhap
Rachel walked up the steps, leading to the asylum's front door. The screams were so much louder now. She walked through the door, people rushed past her, a nurse and a doctor. They were running toward the room opposite the nurse's station on the ground floor. Another piercing scream disturbed the silence and Rachel turned toward the room, opening the door when she reached it."Just one more push. . . that's right Allison. . . just one more!"she heard the doctor say. She looked toward the bed, at the young girl, no more than fourteen, with her legs raised, her face a mask of pain and terror."Such is the price of sin and a whore's ways. "Rachel searched the room, to see where the voice was coming from. Behind the door,a nun, her voice stern and authoritative.With an almighty scream, the girl pushed one last time and the sound of a baby, its f
In a flash she was against him. He pinned her arms behind her back, the firm yet gentle grip of his hands causing her breath to catch in her throat. She was pressed against him, feeling every delicious inch of his body against hers. He bent his head down, inhaling the scent of her hair, his lips gently nibbling on her ear.Rachel found herself quivering inside as she inhaled his freshly showered scent while his lips trailed wanton fire down her neck. She heard his raspy intake of breath as his eyes met hers. There was no turning back from this moment."I'd rather be cuffing you to my bed,"he said huskily. "But only of your own free will."His mouth came down on hers, the gentle pressure of his kiss opening her lips, allowing his tongue to probe her mouth in fast, snake like movements. She leaned in, until it seemed their bodies were one, surrendering to his kiss. Slowly, achingly, he pulled away from her, releasing her a
Her flashlight cast a solitary glow in the darkness as she pushed open the front door to the asylum. Everything was quiet and literally not a soul was in sight. The nurses' station, the one she'd seen in her vision, stood as a grim reminder of the past. How long had the asylum been out of commission?For as long as she could remember, at least.As teenagers, her mother brought her and Becca up here, countless times to hone their craft. Both of them had crossed over their first spirits in this very building, under Liz Banning's watchful eye.Her mother told them back then, that the asylum was not merely used for the mentally disturbed, but at times for the homeless and destitute as well, specifically orphans. Perhaps the souls of those very orphans were the ones being used by Sister Evangeline, in her quest to return to this reality.But why would she want to do that?What kept her restless spirit bound to
"Rachel?"For a moment, Galen felt alarmed. Perhaps she'd fled after their tryst, but then he noticed her purse and cellphone were still on the nightstand. He breathed deeply in relief. She didn't buck and run. Which could mean only one thing. This was more than a one-night stand and she felt the same way about him, as he did about her.He sat up in bed, looking around the cabin. She must have gone up to the asylum. Crossing over the dead was her thing, as being a shifter was his.Galen smiled in the darkness, reliving their encounter in his mind. Of all the women he'd known in his life, none of them affected him as much as Rachel. The sheets were still drenched with the evidence of their passion, but it was so much more than sex. Something about her, brought out a side of him he never knew he had. He would gladly give up his life to protect her and it would all be worthwhile. This must be how Jax felt about M
Two males, one female. The air of hostility surrounding them, was suffocating. They were here to fight, circling all his ways of escape. Female center, the two males angling towards the edges of the porch. All three were grey, with the same distinct black markings on their muzzles. Siblings, no less. Galen centered his concentration as the female shifted into her human form, his muscles tense with the urgency to shift. He could feel his incisors lengthening and his spinal cord straining against his flesh. His every instinct was to attack, before being attacked.The girl before him now, couldn't have been more than twenty. She observed him at an angle, in a crouching position, ready to shift if need be. Her body was covered in tattoos, or as Gustav would have said, her tramp stamps, Galen reflected grimly."What do you want?"Galen asked, his gaze darting towards the snarling wolves on either side of him. They were
When Galen saw the two grey blurs, suddenly coming from either side, he leapt forward at such a speed that he knocked Nora to the ground. In one swift roll, his wolf was free. As the first grey wolf pounced, Galen jumped, aiming for its throat. He caught it, tasting blood as his opponent gave a silent whimper as his life left his body.The golden-brown wolf was in a fury as the second wolf pounced, knocking him down. From the corner of his eye, Galen saw the girl shift into her wolf as her brother's teeth ripped into his flesh. He howled, realising he had the size advantage, drawing strength from his core.Turning his neck at an angle, Galen grabbed a hold of the smaller wolf's front paw, his vice like jaws, biting down until he felt bone crush in his mouth. With a savage growl, Galen was on all fours as the wolf lay next to him, yelping in agony. Before he could finish his opponent, Nora came like a flash, snapping and snarling, throwin
“Alive?” Rachel gasped in surprise. “Vivianne’s daughter… is alive? Where the hell is she then? Do you have her locked away somewhere?”She heard Stefano’s sharp intake of breath and when she looked his way, his expression was beyond incredulous. This was all they needed. Another one of Sophia’s secrets.How did she ever expect her sons to accept her as their mother, when a new skeleton tumbled out of her closet, every 5 seconds? Just how many secrets did this woman have?“By the Moon Goddess, Sophie,” Stefano said. “What have you done?”Sophia had the good sense, to at least keep her eyes downcast, in a guarded measure of shame. It was obvious that she never expected this secret to see the light of day. Vivianne spilling the beans, threw an unexpected wrench in her plans, to keep it under wraps.“She’s here, in Colby’s Cove,” Sophia answered. “I’ve been keeping an eye on her, ever since I spared her life. It gives me no pleasure to say, but I indeed planned to kill her, but when I s
Clouds aimlessly drifted across the moon as Rachel pulled up to the Bruce Compound. The guard at the gate let her in without question. It seemed everyone was aware of her position in the Alpha’s son’s life. Even the guards at the boutique the other day, treated her with a high level of respect.Vivianne had vanished before her eyes, in a whirlwind of fire swirling around her. Clearly, she was able to access her magic, while being inside Liz’s body, which made her even more dangerous than what they’d previously thought. The only glimmer of hope in all of it, was knowing that Liz was still in there, too. Stefano met her as she walked up to the front door. From the frown on his face, she could tell he was worried. He also looked tired. Pulling double duty with his two charges, was no mean feat.“Seeing Sophia this late?” he quizzed. “Is there news of Gustav? I was surprised when you called and requested to come here.”Rachel shook her head and gave him a quick recap of her confrontatio
Rachel locked her front door as soon as Becca drove away, leaving with the promise that she would go straight home and lock herself in, too. The thought of asking Sophia for a spare guard crossed her mind again, and she mentally chided herself. It would go against Becca’s trust, and she didn’t want bad blood between them.With Liz gone, Becca was the only family she had.She sauntered to the kitchen and made herself a sandwich and a cup of tea. She’d hardly had an appetite the last few days, but she knew she had to eat to keep her strength up. Galen would be pissed if he thought she was neglecting herself.Her heart broke for him and she didn’t want to add to his worries.Every time they spoke on the phone, he sounded a little more despondent. The search for Gustav was giving up dead ends on all fronts and it was eating away at him. She wished he was home, but finding his brother was important too.Finishing her food, she cleared up and was about to head upstairs, when a familiar voic
“Would you like to make the call?”Sitting in a small diner, Jax froze, mid bite from his burger, glaring daggers at Galen.“Why me? She’s known you the longest, even called you ‘son’.”Galen chuckled. It would take a lot for Jax to get on board with Sophia being their mother, even more than him. His gut told him though, Gustav would accept her with open arms, after giving her a piece of his mind. Between the three of them, Galen was the level-headed one, Jax was prone to indifference, and Gustav was the most forgiving. That’s why he stayed with the Munroes when both his brothers left. He firmly believed they could change, until he saw with his own eyes they wouldn’t so easily.“When we find Gustav, the three of us have to sit down and find a way to deal with this,” Galen said. “This woman is our mother and it’s not something we can or should ignore. At the very least, we all have to table our feelings, her included.”“Why shouldn’t we ignore it?” Jax shrugged. “She ignored us our en
Sitting in his pick-up, Galen wiped at his brow and reached for the bottle of ice cold water next to him. The sun was setting but the heat was still unbearable. Jax and the two tracker wolves were combing the warehouse district and he was on lookout. Not that he wanted to be. He wanted in on the action, but Jax had been on lookout the day before, so it was only fair.Thus far, all their efforts to find Gustav had been in vain, and it was getting more difficult by the minute to remain hopeful.He was grateful to Sophia for sending the two trackers. When he’d spoken to her, to tell her Gustav was missing, he could sense how anxious she was. He still didn’t acknowledge her as his mother though, and neither did Jax, who also briefly spoke to her on the phone. He was equally upset about the deceit and was trying to wrap his head around it.Galen tried to convince him to have Marissa and their daughter, Tamara, go to Colby’s Cove, for their own safety, but he was dead set against it. He wan
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