SableI stand with my face turned toward the early morning sun as it shines over the forest bordering the northern edge of East Pack lands.Somewhere nearby, perched in the trees, several chickadees whistle at each other and then flutter around like tiny wisps of light, while deeper in the forest, I can sense a herd of deer passing quietly—all of them aware that a couple hundred predators lie sleeping just beyond their woodland protection.The scene should be idyllic. I should be floating on cloud nine right now—I’m in love with four beautiful men, with a home to call my own and this glorious morning all around me. The sky is on fire, an aurora of pinks and golds being chased away slowly as the light blue overtakes them. My sharpened shifter senses mean I can smell everything, hear everything, even feel the sun’s heat on my skin with more intensity, feel the cool breeze off the mountains like a lover’s caress. Maybe if I could stumble through life wearing rose-colored glasses, I’d be i
ArcherMy dad’s entire house is as orderly as his life leading the pack was, and it stings like holy hell, because it reminds me how short I’m going to fall against his legacy.I came into Dad’s house thinking I’d have to split things up and organize. Pack documents here, personal documents there, knick-knacks and old clothes, all the little things that make up a person’s life. But as it turns out, my father must have been preparing for his absence a helluva lot longer than I did. An entire filing cabinet is already neatly alphabetized and labeled with my name in Dad’s crisp, neat handwriting.I stare down at the label for so long that my feet might as well have become rooted to the hardwood floor. I wonder when he wrote it, since his hands were shaking so much in the end that I can’t imagine the handwriting would have come out so clean.Did he do this right after the diagnosis? Before the illness even began to take him from me? I guess it isn’t that big of a leap to think he’d prepar
ArcherI sit up a little and drop my arms, and she doesn’t hesitate to crawl onto my lap. My arms wrap around her automatically, and I lean back into the comfy, misshapen cushions with her, burying my face in her neck. Her skin is warm like sunshine, and she smells like the outdoors in the best kind of way. I wasn’t sure where she disappeared to this morning, but clearly, she was taking a stroll in nature.I could probably use the same.For several seconds, I just breathe against her smooth skin. Her small, delicate fingers caress the side of my face, then move into my hair, massaging my scalp as she murmurs, “I’m here. I’m right here.”My grief wells up, and the tears build until I can’t hold them in anymore. Her innocent comfort soothes me, both through her motions and through the connection we share where her affection radiates like a phantom limb. But her love also breaks the dam inside me. I start to sob.I cling to Sable, because she’s my only life raft. I don’t know how to do t
SableI feel wrung out, like someone twisted me all around and hung me out to dry without considering the consequences to my well-being.Between barricading Cleo from my mind and helping Archer through his deep grief earlier, then spending most of the afternoon scrubbing blood out of the street in front of Malcolm’s house, I’m done. Well-done steak on a too-hot grill done. Too bad for me, life isn’t done asking things of me.Because now I’m surrounded by the entirety of three shifter packs on the field outside the meeting house, and things aren’t going great.I should have expected this cacophony of sound and chaos. Clearly, we have a lot to talk about, and some of it isn’t easy. Some of it sucks pretty hard. But I thought, given that several of the most respected elders are leading the meeting alongside my four mates, things would go a little smoother.That’s probably too much to ask for in a large crowd of people who just lost everything to win a battle they didn’t begin. It’s a mira
sableIn my opinion, we should stay together. We only beat the witches in battle because we joined forces. We managed to hold our own and come out on top in a fight that would have destroyed a single pack in a matter of minutes. If we split up again, each pack will go back to being vulnerable.Even though the crowd is making their support of me known, I don’t feel like I have a platform to blurt out my opinions. I’m a shifter, but I wasn’t raised on pack lands. All three packs existed for years before I came around, so the decision has to be something they work out amongst themselves without the half-breed sticking her nose in.Grady, a big man with a shiny bald head, stands up and booms, “I side with Ridge. Our alpha knows best how to ensure our ongoing safety.”Ridge nods once.Amora, who’s been silently watching from behind the seated elders, speaks up. “Grady’s right.” She inclines her chin toward the bald man. “Banding together seems like the safest route for our families and the c
sableIn my opinion, we should stay together. We only beat the witches in battle because we joined forces. We managed to hold our own and come out on top in a fight that would have destroyed a single pack in a matter of minutes. If we split up again, each pack will go back to being vulnerable.Even though the crowd is making their support of me known, I don’t feel like I have a platform to blurt out my opinions. I’m a shifter, but I wasn’t raised on pack lands. All three packs existed for years before I came around, so the decision has to be something they work out amongst themselves without the half-breed sticking her nose in.Grady, a big man with a shiny bald head, stands up and booms, “I side with Ridge. Our alpha knows best how to ensure our ongoing safety.”Ridge nods once.Amora, who’s been silently watching from behind the seated elders, speaks up. “Grady’s right.” She inclines her chin toward the bald man. “Banding together seems like the safest route for our families and the
SableI wake up early the next morning—so early I can taste dawn on the air, even from inside the house and surrounded by a cocoon of warm arms and legs.Ridge and Dare cuddle me from either side, their hands resting on my body and their faces buried against my skin. They’re both still dead asleep, breathing deeply, eyelids moving as they dream. I wonder briefly what they’re dreaming of, and if maybe I’m a part of it. They’ve both played host to dreams in my mind too, many of which were more than a little R-rated.I stretch, dislodging both sleeping men with very little effort. They readjust and continue snoozing as I sit up and rub away the sleep from my eyes.Archer sits in a cushioned armchair beside the bed, the last man on watch. He dragged the chair in here when we arrived before the battle with the witches, after I revealed that I was worried my magic might hurt one of them while I slept. It surges every now and then, the black marks streaking across my skin, the magic swirling
TrystanI try not to let my bad mood overshadow cooking breakfast with Sable, but it’s fucking hard.First, my pack being dicks last night at the meeting, and now, my father’s shadow hovering over me like an unwelcome specter. I want to be pissed at Sable for even invoking his memory, but I can’t blame her. I brought him up first.This is the first time I’ve ever questioned whether taking the title of alpha from my father was a good idea or not. It’s never occurred to me that I’m anything less than a stellar leader. Though I guess that’s because my circle was fucking smaller than a dime, and my pack spent so much time lifting me up, I wouldn’t have been able to see through bullshit with a flashlight and a map.By the time I finish flipping a few more eggs—not burned, this time—the rest of the guys drift into the kitchen, still in the clothes they slept in and looking just as rough as I feel. I doubt any of us are used to this kind of emotional fucking rollercoaster.The oven timer din