“Look at you!”. I cooed as I pulled back to look at her. “Welcome back to the land of the living”. “It’s so good to be back”. She said, managing a light chuckle.“How do you feel?” I asked as Dante pulled up another chair for me to sit on.“Well, we’re all alive and we’re here, so, I couldn’t be happier”. She spoke in a croaky voice. “Thank you for everything”. She said with a tender look as she put her hand on mine.“You don’t need to thank me”. I told her, still feeling like I could have avoided this for all of us.“Raven, you got us out of there!”. She said insistently. “You are the reason why we’re all here and safe now. We owe you our lives”. “Too right!”. Dante chimed in.“You owe me nothing! I should have been able to see past his façade”. I replied remorsefully.“Don’t you even dare start with that”. Izzy spoke firmly. “I knew him longer than you, and I didn’t know who he really was either. So if you’re going to blame yourself for not seeing his true colours, then we’re all
After I had seen Izzy and Dante, I went straight to Leo’s room, and I didn’t leave all night. I had pushed the small armchair that was in the corner of his room and positioned it right next to his bed. The nurses made sure I ate, kept telling me to be positive that he’d make a full and healthy recovery and at some point whilst I slept, they had draped a woollen blanket over me.I held his hand, I kissed his cheeks and his forehead, and ran my fingers though his now fresh and clean hair. I kept whispering in his ear that I loved him and that we were all safe, whether he could hear me or not, It was the only thing I could do to not fall apart every time I looked so longingly at his face.I had only left him this morning to take a shower and change into another set of fresh clothes that the omega’s kindly set out on my bed. Whatever they used to wash the clothes with, smelt of Lavender and Pine, like a blossoming meadow in the summer. I inhaled both the top and shorts before I put them o
I hadn’t visited Leo for two days, taking my father’s advice to give Caleb and Addison time alone with him and to wrap their heads around how close he had come to dying. Alpha Wayne was kind enough to update me on his recovery, but so far, apart from his wounds slowly healing, he still hadn’t woken up, not even a slight twitch in his fingers or movement from the sounds of anyone’s voices.I scrubbed my hair in the shower, deep in thought. The anger and impatience to end this whole nightmare once and for all. While we were steadily trying to take one day at a time, hiding behind alpha Wayne’s walls, Zach was still out there, and every night that I led in bed alone, my mind would race through all the scenarios of what he could be attempting to do next. He no longer had the nightwolves, which was a huge relief, but I couldn’t see Zach giving up on his revenge, just like that! Did he have a secret army, or another secret hideout? Did he have a plan B or a plan C if things didn’t go as he
“Raven, it’s so good to see you up and about”. Nurse Caroline greeted with a kind smile. “Such a vast difference from when I saw you last”. “Thanks Caroline. I’m guessing you saw me when I arrived with a bunch of new patients for you to take care of!” I replied with a chuckle.“I think you took us all by surprise. I did help look after you for the first hour, but then they whisked me away to look after the nightwolves. I couldn’t believe I’ve had the privilege to care for such a legendary breed. I thought I’d never lay eyes on one, and now I’ve seen nine!” She exclaimed, looking a bit star struck. “They’re right this way, follow me”. She added as we walked through Wayne’s palace to his secluded gardens.“Well, I’m just glad they’re in safe hands now, but no wonder they went into hiding for so long, it just seems like someone’s always wanted a piece of them”. “Well, as much as your breed is respected, you’re also feared for your strength and capability of tearing through an entire pa
I stood outside of Leo’s room, my hand resting on the door knob as I gulped down the regret and woeful misery of having to leave him behind. I inhaled a deep breath and opened the door, and my heart fell just a little bit more to see him lying so still, so unaware in the hospital bed. Fresh new bandages wrapped around his slow healing wounds, and his cheeks weren’t as sunken and bruised as they had been. His breathing was regular and steady as I sat on the edge of his bed and scooped his hand into mine, fondly admiring each finger as I grazed my thumb across them and brought them up to my lips to leave a lingering kiss and feel the warmth of his skin on mine.As the humid breeze flowed calmly through the open window and the sun lit up the room, I closed my eyes and imagined us walking together outside, hand in hand, laughing and smiling as he pulls me in for a loving kiss. Although we were alone, with Caleb whisking Addison off for breakfast to give me some peace with Leo, oh how I wi
It took us a full day and night to move the carts through the forest, with the sun beaming, holding back the rain, the journey wasn’t as gruelling being able to pull them along on dry ground. With the little pathway now in view of the camp, we all passed a little thankful chuckle between us, that we had made it all the way without any curious rogues in our way, or Zach! The moment we passed the tall line of trees and saw the cabins, the cooking areas, the water well and the lookout bridge, we all simultaneously dropped the straps and looked around us with mixed emotions of being back in our old home, but being here after all this time, with it completely empty and uncomfortably quiet. You could hear the creaking of the trees as they gently swayed in the breeze and the flapping of the birds wings as they bounced around their nests. It was a comforting but odd feeling. No chatter, no hustle and bustle as everyone gathered food, water, and roasted our catch of th
My body jolted itself awake under the brightness of the sun and my attention fell straight on the wolves, realising I dozed off when Izzy and Dante took over patrolling last night. I sighed with relief, thankful that nothing had happened whilst I was sleeping. My body and neck ached from resting on the hard ground with my head against the log. Izzy and Dante were busying themselves, cooking and pulling up fresh water in the well bucket for our breakfast. I got to my feet with a stretch and scanned each of the wolves, checking their medicine and moving the carts under cooler shade. “Good morning sleepy head”. Dante chuckled as he roasted more fresh rabbit. “When did you hunt for that?” I asked curiously as I finished moving the third cart. “I went out this morning while Izzy watched over the camp. I figured you’d be asleep long enough for me to hunt and get back, that way
It didn’t feel as lonely and cut off for me Dante and Izzy with grams, mother and the guards now with us. All the guards took a break from their duty to sit with the rest of us when we all ate supper last night. There were more voices, chatter and conversation around the camp fire, and many questions for grams about the camp she was seeing for the first time. I had slept outside again, right next to the wolves with Izzy and Dante patrolling whilst the guards had their rest, and I woke up this morning to the smell of cooked fish that two of the guards had caught from the stream. Having them all here seemed to lighten our moods as Izzy and Dante laughed hand in had to their cabin after eating to get some sleep, and grams and mother were talking so intently as they set to making more of the concoction to last the rest of the day.Under the shade of the trees I carefully tended to each wolf, sponging down their paws and snouts, cleaning their wounds and applyi
“I have something for you all”. I grinned mysteriously at the women. We had just finished another training session, which I had kept up with for the last six weeks of becoming Luna to reassure them that my dedication to them wouldn’t change.“You have something… what?” Abigail asked curiously as they all grouped together in front of me.I walked over to my bag that I always stuffed a towel and change of shirt into, but today I had something else… something I knew they had been wanting since we first started our sessions.I took out the document and held it out for them to see. Their eyes all wandered along it, but I could see the puzzlement in their faces.“What is it?” Clarissa questioned as they all looked at me.“Its what you all wanted”. I smiled. “As Luna, I gave the proposal to your new alpha, and…. “ I paused to build up their anticipation. “And your alpha, was more than happy to sign it off. So, from now on, any female of Whitlock that does the appropriate training can become
“Wow look at our little girl”. Mother cooed as she and my father beamed at me in my wedding dress. “Soon to be a Luna”. She sniffled as father subtly wiped a tear that was about to escape his eye.“She’s not so little now, is she?” Father commented as he let out a heavy bittersweet exhale. “Our little girl… going to be the Luna”. He said as he shook his head trying to accept how much had changed. “You have come so far, my girl, all on your own strength”. “She really has, hasn’t she”. Mother agreed with a watery smile as I grinned bashfully at them, swaying my dress side to side, listening to the sound of the material swooshing.On the surface I looked confident and excited, but in reality my hands were sweating and so were my legs. I couldn’t wait to marry Leo, but every member of our pack were going to be at the ceremony today and to celebrate with us afterward. Having all of that kind of attention and eyes on me was something I still wasn’t used to, and in a way, I kind of missed t
I stepped out of the bathroom with a towel secured around my chest as I dried my hair with another. I inwardly smiled as through the balcony glass doors, I could see the sun was beginning to set, so I walked out to the edge and rested my arms on the balcony wall looking out at Whitlock. Apart from a few children running and laughing on their way home from the lake, it all felt so warm, peaceful and safe. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, savouring the cool spring air and my heart thumped cheerfully at how happy I was to finally be back home.I had arrived back late last night, and the first thing I did as rush to Leo’s room and woke him up with a kiss on his cheek, and the moment he opened his eyes, he wrapped his arms around me, pulled me onto the bed and frantically tore each other’s clothes off from the yearning arousal we had the moment we were back in each other’s arms. The next morning, I surprised my parents for breakfast and told them all about how Clemonte was comin
Nine weeks had come and gone… Nine weeks I had once again been away from home, and I was missing it more and more each day. Me and Leo had been able to speak twice a week on the phone, and I knew by his voice he was feeling the same as I was about us being apart for so long. But with his own duties, his training and taking over my classes with the she-wolves, there was just no time for him to visit.I had many conversations with Caleb and Wayne, and it was decided that Jonah would come to Clemonte with Wayne’s sister, Diana and her mate Corbin in just another weeks time. According to Wayne, most of Corbin’s family had since moved on to other packs and they had already been contemplating a new chapter in their lives, so it didn’t take as much persuasion as Wayne had thought. Jonah would help them for six months to settle in and learn their new roles as alpha and Luna to Clemonte, and with a son and daughter of their own, if they chose to mate with one of Clemonte’s members, that would
For the following week, me and my night wolves had taken over the rule of Clemonte. When Robert had killed James and we locked up his people, I spoke to both Caleb and Wayne about what had happened, and I was surprised by how relieved they sounded of his demise. But with no heirs, they had both asked that we begin to lead Clemonte back into shape until they could find someone to be its next ruler.We had no intentions of being cruel to them, neglect them or bully them whilst we were here, but from the way James and his pack house lived, there were clearly no strict rules, authority or structure. James always lived behind his wall that surrounded the pack house with his guards, their wives and whatever women they had become fond of and made the cut to living within his home.It baffled us at how little the rest of his people ever saw him or had protection from him or his guards. Every day, we let his people come out three times a day for fresh air, food and water, but we always kept th
We stormed all the way through the forest, until our tongues were hanging out of our mouths, and we were panting for breath. Luckily for our breed, the desire to protect and hunt down anyone targeting our own was stronger than the ache in our legs and the hunger in our stomach’s.As soon as we had Clemonte in sight, it gave us even more of a push to run faster. We sped along, growling deep in our chests as we stormed through his broken fence and across the field. Foolish James thought his mere wall would stop any intrusions but together as a pack we all rushed to it as a unit and smashed our bodies into it, smashing it to the floor, causing everyone outside of the pack house to scream and shout in alarm. We quickly rolled back onto our feet and began chasing all the men and women as they tried to flee or shift into their wolves. We’d grab them in our mouths, piercing their skin with our teeth, enough to cause them pain and submission but not to kill, and knocking them off their feet a
One month later:“Another successful session everyone!” I chimed to all the women as they wiped the sweat from their foreheads and walked toward me, panting with breaths.“Are we always going to be able to train? Because I don’t think I can go back to how things were before”. Clarissa asked as the other women nodded in agreement.“Of course. We’ll continue our sessions for as long as you all want to”. I responded, noticing the hopefulness in their eyes.“Oh, good, cause I haven’t had this much fun in a long time, and now I feel like I’m… I’m”. “Powerful?” Laura finished her sentence as Clarissa tried to find the right word.“Yes! Yes, that’s it”. She exclaimed. “I feel like I don’t have to be so scared now if any threat comes to our border again”. “Yea, me too”. All the other women agreed in unison“That’s amazing! That’s exactly why we’re doing these classes, it’s what I want you all to feel”. I smiled, seeing the passion in their eagerness to train.“But is there more?” Jodie quiz
You really think they could handle training alongside men?” Caleb asked with a doubtful frown as I filled out the progress of each she-wolf on their training forms.“Yes, I do”. I answered adamantly as I glanced up from the paperwork, but his frown didn’t shift.“But they’ve only been training for three weeks”. “Yes, but you should see them! They’re so determined to improve. They bring their A – game to every session. They’re honestly so skilled already”. “I don’t know”. Caleb sighed as he signed off the schedule sheets for the patrol shifts.I slumped my shoulders in annoyance that he wouldn’t even attend one session to see just how incredible the women of our pack were. For once they were given the opportunity to show their capability, and I was the first to say how impressed I was. “Could you at least consider it? Just think of all the new opportunities it would open up for them. They could help patrol the borders or become palace guards! They’d be so good at it, and I can see ho
I dragged him through the dirt, along the sharp stones, branches and thorns as he winged as my teeth still dug into his flesh and begged for me to let him go, but I knew a man like James and his pack needed a strong enough warning so that me and the other night wolves could be free to roam.The rest of the men all whimpered and didn’t try to retaliate as we led them all back to their land. We finally reached the border at first light as the ground beneath us now lay frosty and the grass was damp but the forest around us smelt fresh and earthly rich.We stopped at their dilapidated fence, and I glanced back at the night wolves to make some noise and they all howled together to alert Clemonte of our arrival. Moments later, James and a gathering of his men came out from his pack house walls and stopped at the top of the field, looking at us with apprehension. I dropped the man from my mouth and growled and he didn’t hesitate to try and scramble to his feet as he clutched his shoulder. He