Harry was lying on his back, his lungs were on fire, and he was coughing from the heavy impacts on his ribs. He turned over onto his stomach, propped up on his elbows, and spat blood into the dusty dirt of the vacant lot behind the Crossroad Café. "I think that's enough for tonight. A year that I've been training you, and you're nothing like you were when I said I'd take care of you," Wayne said warmly as he pulled on his red and white plaid shirt. Harry let his forehead fall to the floor. With every exhale he made, dust rose from his nostrils and his eyes burned from the intense perspiration of physical exertion. "I know I can do more, Alpha Wayne," Harry said before grunting under the pain. The healing power of his wolf was in full swing, and the now nineteen-year-old could feel his ribs repairing and repositioning themselves in his rib cage. "Oh, I'm sure you can do more. But there's no need. You gave us a hell of a hand during the harvest. The omeg
Wayne had leaped forward and caught the girl before she fell to the ground. His eyes went wide, not understanding why his body had reacted so quickly to a woman who had no connection to him. Then he was startled when he saw Harry beside him. "Holy crap, it's Jane!" the young wolf declared. He had recognized her from sometimes playing with her when they were kids. "Let's hurry and go into the Café and call for help." When they reached the front of the Café, Old Al was already waiting for them there and beckoned them inside. "I've already called Alpha Black. He's on his way," said the Wind Tribe leader as a golden glint shone in his eyes. Old Al pointed to one of the large couches near the large fireplace, but the girl let out a howl of pain as she clung desperately to Wayne. "I know this is uncomfortable for you, Alpha Wayne, but it doesn't look like she wants to let go," Al said simply, placing a hand on Jane's forehead. The Wind Tribe leader close
Harry, 20 years old, Southern United States. The shadowy figure of young Alpha slipped through the woods without making a sound. Then, when he finally heard the muffled sound of voices, he stopped walking and raised his fist in the air. The two warriors of his pack, whom he had chosen to accompany him, stopped in their turn. They were fully clothed in the black combat gear provided by the Council, evidence of the mission's sponsor. On their chests was embroidered the badge in black thread: the letter C in Gothic lettering planted by six swords. The six swords represented the six significant races on the Council: vampires, witches, werewolves, elves, mermaids, and fairies. At first, dragons sat in the place of fairies. But, these creatures had chosen to give up their position since they were very few and had much more secrets than all the others. However, its voice had absolute priority whenever a dragon appeared before the Council. Since drag
Harry was revolted by what he had just heard. The massacre had not occurred because of a quarrel or prejudice. It was simply because of a piece of gossip. Those vile leeches had stuffed themselves as if they had entered a buffet and tortured their victims. He had had enough. He had been chasing them for too long. And, it had taken him too long to find the trail that would lead them to them. "Stay at your stations," he ordered, using his Alpha command. The two warriors with him immediately complied with the order, even though they hated the possibility of being unable to move if their Alpha was attacked. Alpha's command was a total order. No wolf who had sworn loyalty to his pack leader could oppose it. Harry rose to his full height and walked calmly toward the three vampires. When the three culprits saw him approaching, their eyes turned black. Long, sharp claws quickly took shape as fangs descended from their lips. Harry and Ti
Harry strode into the large Council Chambers after passing through several gates and security checks. It was always complicated to get in, as the building kept changing location. When Harry had completed a mission, he had to spend a few minutes reciting several incantations before returning to the Council. The first time he had to recite them, he made a mistake and landed in the middle of a shopping street at Christmas. People had looked at him, surprised, to see men dressed in combat gear appearing out of nowhere. It took the intervention of the fairies to erase their memories and make them a thing of the past. The courtroom was a white marble room where the Council's emblem appeared in gold on every wall. Depending on the season, the color and material of the place changed, sometimes taking the appearance of warm wood, other times the shape of black steel. It was a place of high magic that required the help of all creatures capable of using spel
(France _ Haute Provence) Emmanuelle was reading peacefully on her outdoor terrace. She wore a simple dress with provincial patterns that fell to her calves. She had chosen to put her platinum blonde hair up in a high bun with the help of a scarf, wearing the same pattern and color as her dress. Despite her years in the South of France, she had kept her alabaster skin. She often had to pretend anemia or lack of melanin for people to leave her alone after a day in the sun. Also, her gaze rested for a moment on the ring she wore on her thumb, which allowed her to live normally in daylight. The night was already advanced, and she had to force herself to turn on the electric lights to give the illusion of being human. Indeed, she did not need any artificial lighting to see at night. Only a dim light would have allowed her to continue reading comfortably, but years of living among men had taught her to behave like one. She cl
Bianca gasped slightly in surprise, not understanding what her friend was talking about. "He made you cry so much that you had to run away?" continued Emmanuelle. Bianca's eyes widened, and her mouth opened wide before she let out a silent scream at the realization. Then she raised her palm, shaking it in front of Emmanuelle's eyes. "Absolutely not. Technically, he's the one who left, and I jumped on him so we could have one last fun time together. But we fell into a lavender field, and we both got dirt in our eyes. He struggled and ran off. I think I scared him when I told him to let me do him," she completed, scratching her shoulder. "You told him that?" "Oui." "You're out of your mind." "It's one of the ways I've found to keep them from clinging to me. I show them the extent of my madness, and they run away like rabbits," Bianca giggled. "One day, you'll run into a lot crazier than you!" sc
(Harry.) Crac. Harry held the man's corpse firmly between his arms to lay his lifeless body on the ground. _ That's the third one today, Harry," Till grumbled. "I understand a little better why I'm here. It hasn't even been forty-eight hours since we set foot in France, and they seem to pop up magically from nowhere," the young Alpha remarked coldly. They had to get to work immediately, right after reaching their destination. The partner Harry needed to contact for the human's protection was much harder to find than expected. The young wolf was also surprised that his partner had not even tried to reach him as soon as he had informed the Council of his arrival. _Maybe he's already dead," the animal part of the Alpha suggested darkly. "I hope not and that he'll hurry up and show himself. I want to finish this mission quickly. Even though we can move through the elven portals, I don
The vampires stiffened at the mention of Emmanuelle's beloved's first name. The young blonde woman had burst into tears again, closely followed by Bianca. Augustin looked back curtly as he saw a blood maid standing in the doorway. She shyly held in her hands a square black wooden tray on which rested a box of tissues as well as a carafe of water and crystal glasses. Typically, the ancient vampire would never have tolerated such an intrusion into his family sphere. However, he had to admit that the gesture was thoughtful, and the two women in front of him were particularly boisterous. "Thank you," he said to the servant, and she disappeared as quickly as she had come. "Does Ari even know?" asked Bianca. Emmanuelle was at a loss for words and shook her head to say no. She rose from her rocking chair. "Damn, when I thought I'd said as a joke that you could take nine months to make a baby! If I could do that with the lottery numbers, it would make my life so much easier," Bianca
Emmanuelle, diligently knitting a child's bonnet, was startled. She was sitting on a rocking chair, enjoying the cool morning air and the song of the cicadas. She was stunned to see Bianca in the doorway.How could this be? She should have heard, even smelled, Bianca coming.The young brunette woman had rushed headlong towards her best friend, staring at her from head to toe.Emmanuelle gently placed her red woolen book on the oak coffee table beside her. But she remained silent.Of course, this moment would come sooner or later. But Emmanuelle had hoped to delay it as long as possible for fear of Bianca's reaction.Emmanuelle was still thinking about her best friend's lecture on contraception. But how could she have known then that she was actually able to get pregnant without a complete bond?Augustin's hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor. Obviously, the former vampire had done this on purpose. It would have been inconce
"Ouch!" Augustin had unintentionally crashed into someone while carrying several cartons of paper. It was when he'd backed up, and especially thinking he was alone in the office, that the accident had happened. The ancient vampire froze, then quickly turned his head towards the person. He was surprised to see Bianca rubbing her nose. The young woman had come in and tried to cover her eyes to play a trick on him. On the other hand, she had made a maneuvering error, and his best friend's father had moved much faster than expected. He was completely stunned. It was the first time in his long immortal life that a living being had been able to approach him without him being able to detect its presence. He squinted for a moment, searching for some hidden power within Bianca, but nothing. The young woman's heart was beating normally. Her big, caramel-colored eyes had that human life and light in them. And it was only after a draught of air entered the room that Augustin could smell the s
Before Harry knew what was happening, he was back in human form. He soon found himself lying on his side, in a gun-dog position.His breathing was ragged from the rapid, forced metamorphosis imposed by the Mad One's order, while a sense of emptiness gradually invaded his mind.Memories flooded back like a burst dam, and he felt a lump in his throat.However, he didn't have time to react as Black threw a pair of black gym shorts at him.It was Wayne who'd been in charge of quickly fetching clothes the second he'd seen the Mad One revert to human form."Stand up," Black ordered once he was clothed himself.Harry had struggled to his feet and dressed himself, keeping his head down. His body had begun to shake as memories returned more clearly, and he managed to organize his thoughts.The young Red Moon Alpha had to clear his throat again and blink rapidly to chase away the emotion gripping his heart.When he
The red wolf trembled from head to toe as the black wolf circled him. The disapproving growls of this fantastic beast with glowing red eyes left no doubt as to what it thought of Harry. Why did we swear to protect him?" growled the black wolf to his human counterpart. "Because he's alone," Black replied coldly, without trying to say anything more. He already knew what Harry's wolf was thinking, and he suspected perfectly well what would happen next. _He's not alone! He's got a Mate!" barked the black wolf, still showing his fangs in his mind, but also to the two trembling Alphas in front of him. Black merely sighed. His wolf was as stubborn as he was, and he knew perfectly well that his wolf would still go after Harry no matter what he said. And this wasn't even for valid reasons, but simply because he was jealous that the red wolf had been rewarded with a soulmate before him. "He's alone," Black repeated. The black wolf's growl had grown even m
Harry had seen Alpha Black's face gradually take on the appearance of a wolf with fur as black as a moonless night. This should never have frightened him so much. However, what should have been a commonplace occurrence in a werewolf's daily life had turned into a horror movie for the young man. Had it been any other wolf, Harry wouldn't have cared a lick about it. Yet he never thought he'd have to deal with the Alpha Black wolf himself. During their training sessions, the Mad One had always made sure he had the upper hand over his animal side for fear that his wolf would try to hurt the young man. Now, for the first time in his life, Harry found himself face to face with the great black wolf. The fear he felt was so great that he felt as if everything frightening he'd experienced up to now had been a walk in the park. The Mad One's bones had cracked in transformation, while his skin was covered in a long coat as black as night. A menacing growl arose, amplified by the spherical sh
Harry was now sprawled on his back. His arms stretched out crosswise to his sides. His nose was bleeding from the kick he'd received in the face, and he had to cough to get rid of the blood filling his throat. The young redhead let out a pained groan as Alpha Black lifted him by the hair. Harry's usually well-groomed brush cut had grown long enough for the Mad one to grab it quickly. Alpha Black lifted Harry so that he was at eye level and stared at the young man in front of him. He wanted to see Harry's healing speed and was shocked at how slowly his wolf's power was working. This confirmed that the red wolf was dormant, and Black knew he had to act quickly if Harry's animal side was not to sink too deep inside him. The Mad One knew perfectly well what it felt like to be deprived of his animal part. He couldn't even tell the last time he'd been able to talk to his own wolf. Despite Black's pleas, the animal remained walled in silence, communicating only by growling. Despite his
Witnesses who had seen the scene had tried to follow them, at first squealing with delight. They all felt happy and reassured to see their Alpha fit enough to go out. However, when they finally became aware of their pack leader's posture, they finally realized that something was wrong. Worse still, they had begun to cry out in horror at the sight of the Mad One heading straight for the arena. The Red Moon pack's telepathic link had been flooded with warning messages and cries for help. Beta Connor, who had spent the day organizing meetings with other packs, had lost his balance and abandoned whatever he was doing to rush out. The pack's collective panic had prevented him from thinking calmly, and his body was now only acting automatically. He had shouted to the soldiers and guards positioned at the borders of the pack's territory to join him as quickly as possible. Alpha Black tossed Harry's body without a moment's hesitation. He remained completely indifferent to the growing crow
Harry slowly opened his eyes. He had to blink several times to adjust his vision to the blinding brightness of the room. The young Red Moon Alpha had no idea where he was or what he was doing there. He took a few deep breaths and recognized the aseptic smell of disinfectant so characteristic of hospitals. Then, at last, the sound of machines reached his ears, and he became aware of the plastic tubes to which his body was connected. "Till?" whispered Harry. He couldn't understand why he was in a hospital bed or why his wolf's power hadn't been enough to heal him. It wasn't right that he should be placed in a condition where he had to be bedridden. Nervous spasms moved his facial muscles as he gradually became aware of his wolf's silence. Alone. A feeling of anguish gripped the young Alpha's heart as that single word echoed in his mind. He was alone again and unable to contact Till. But he had something else. So it wasn't just Till's lack of response that paralyzed the young Alpha