ANNA KYLIN CHESTER My mind was brewing with many questions but I held my tongue and followed Lorna as she marched in long strides through the street. As I hurried to catch up with her, I ignored the greetings of "Welcome home, Luna," from many of the people that I passed.She got to her cabin and stormed in. When I got in, she was seated on the couch, her face was buried in her face and she was crying silently. I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, not knowing what to do. After a few seconds of awkwardly standing around, I went to the kitchen.I read somewhere that tea always made things better. I opened her drawer, expecting to see normal coffee seeds and ground tea and milk, but I saw strange plants locked in glass jars. I ransacked the whole kitchen, but I didn't see anything that was vaguely familiar."What are all these?" I wondered. I picked up a shriveled plant from a jar and sniffed it. It smelt like vanilla. It should make a good drink, I concluded, putting it into a k
MITCH CHESTER THE REST OF the morning a glum one for Mitch and Draco. After the meeting with Lorna, they had hung around, not knowing what next to do, then Draco had muttered something about taking his mate to the town, and he had walked out.Mitch sat in his office, drinking alone and thinking of what to do. He closed his laptop, unable to look at the gory picture again. It was already engrained in his mind. He could still see the head of the woman lying in the dirt, a few feet away from the body. The tear at the neck was rough like the head had been ripped out savagely.Tiredly of staring blankly at the wall of his office, he stood up and walked out of the palace. "Surely, the morning sun should spark some ideas in me," he muttered as he walked along the street. The weather was clear, he noted staring at the distance. The storm seemed to have blown over and was no longer hovering over the northern mountains.The kingdom was very busy this morning, it was the weekend, so school was
ANNA KYLIN CHESTER WHEN THE SUN went down, it was time for the induction of the new family. Patty stood with her sister's family in the packhall, waiting for Mitch and Draco. I looked at them and stifled the feeling of jealousy in my heart. I wished I had such a lovable relationship with my sister. I had never been to any senate meeting. I knew the members, but not very directly. I knew Lane Cahill, the kingdom's lawyer. He is doing well for himself in the human community as well.Most of the Senate's members stared at me with open hostility. They couldn't do anything to me, of course, because of Mitch, and I was still their Luna even if they didn't like it. I ignored their stares and looked at Liz, Patty's sister. I flashed her a bright smile to encourage her. She returned it with a nervous smile.A few minutes later, the door opened and Mitch walked in, flanked by Draco and two other guards. We all stood up in respect. He sat at the head of the table, Draco by his left side, and
MITCH CHESTER"NEVER HAVE I seen such an overruling," Mitch chuckled as he accepted the glass cup that Draco held out. "You saw it too, yeah?"Draco nodded and rolled his eyes. "I did see it. I was there in the room." He walked to the window and took a sip of the whiskey. "And even if I wasn't there, you have not said anything except describe the faces of the senate when Anna vetoed them."Mitch laughed. He was very proud of Anna. He wasn't expecting her to do anything like that. Coming in, using her Luna aura so strong that it gave him goosebumps, and silencing Bob and all his minions. He swiveled in his chair."You didn't get to induct the family," Draco noted.Mitch nodded. The induction of the new family could have been done that afternoon in the pack hall after the meeting, but Anna had not given them the chance when she came blazing in and then took Liz away. "We'll do it tonight," he sighed. "I think it's even a full moon tonight.""It is.""We can have a full kingdom howl," Mi
ANNA KYLIN CHESTER WHEN THE SUN went down a few hours later, subjects trooped out of their houses excitedly. Wolves were social animals, we enjoyed being with each other, I looked over at Mitch, he was standing at the window, staring down at the street. I walked up to him and rested my head on his arm. "You don't have to," I said.His arms came around me. "The kingdom needs it. It's been a long while since I had them together in their wolf skin.""You are not going to enjoy it," I noted. Lycans were more solitary people. They moved alone and preferred solitude, unlike werewolves."I am not going to enjoy it," He agreed. "But I don't have to enjoy something to do it if it's necessary." He pulled off his clothes and shrugged on a bathrobe. "You should change too," he said to me as he knotted the belt.I nodded and put on a similar bathrobe. The air outside was terribly cold. I rubbed my palms together, to warm up. My breath misted as soon as I breathed out. I could see some people had
IN A DISCREET bar that could easily be ignored if one didn't know it was there before, Vladimir and Vorenus sat at the counter. Vladimir's gaze was pinned on Alice, who was staring at the fat bartender. He could see the bloodthirsty look in her eyes. To Vladimir's humor, the bartender had mistaken the deadly look in her eyes to be lust. The man thinks he can get an easy fuck with a beauty tonight, Vladimir thought to himself."What are we doing here?" Vorenus asked. He tapped his fingers on the chipped counter. "This is not your taste." He looked around at the empty and dim-lit bar."Yes," Vladimir nodded. He gestured at the bartender to bring them some drinks. "This is the bar closest to the Lycans kingdom.""So?" Vorenus snarled. "We don't have to be here. We can put some fledglings here to keep a 24-hour patrol. They will report anything they see to us."Vladimir scoffed. "24 hours patrol..." He started to take a sip of his drink, but he froze when a long melodious howl rang throug
MITCH CHESTERAFTER THE GENERAL moon howl, the pack dispersed. Many of them still remained in their wolf skin, and played around, running through the trees and burying in the snow.Mitch looked at them with pride. Living up here in the mountains with these harsh conditions had made the wolves adapt. They were bigger and furrier than most of the werewolves in any in-land pack. Mates moved together, nuzzling each other gently. Some of them groomed each other, sharing the physical bond and contact. Some other wolves chased each other in the snow and ice, play-wrestling.As he watched them interact with each other like this, he realized something; that this was not a kingdom. Not like this. They were actually a pack. In their human skins, they were a kingdom, doing their duties - being guards, traders, or cooks - but in their wolf skin, they were a pack. No matter how he tried to term it. He chuffed and stood up, walking on four legs so as not to intimidate the ones who had not gotten u
MITCH CHESTER MITCH STOPPED AS his uncle came forward and walked by them without stopping or even sparing him or Anna a glance. Anna growled as he brushed past them and went down the mountain."He's grumpy like that," Mitch mindlinked Anna. They turned and followed his uncle down the path.His uncle walked on two legs, towering proudly over everyone in sight, and making them shrunk back in fear as he went straight to the palace. The guards started to bar the front doors, they didn't know who this strange man was. None had been born the last time he was here. Mitch cocked his head at the guards and they let his uncle through. His uncle shifted back to human as soon as he entered the palace, he took a long overcoat from a rack near the door and shrugged it on. His human form was just as his Lycan had been - big, brutish-looking, but he had a surprisingly handsome face crisscrossed with age and the scars of several battles he had won.Mitch accepted the bathrobe handed to him by a serva