Lunchtime came too soon for Adara as she and Caitlyn made their way to the cafeteria and sat down at their usual table. It was near the windows at the back, where nobody else sat and Adara preferred it.Caitlyn started eating and almost choked on her pizza as Kiran and James walked past their own table and sat down on either side of Adara.Caitlyn looked at them with wide eyes, never in her wildest dreams did she ever think she would share a lunch table with the two of them. Adara started giggling but stopped when Kiran frowned at her. She wondered what Caitlyn would say if she told her that she saw Kiran shirtless on a daily basis.“Hi,” Kiran said to Caitlyn and the discomfort was evident.“Hi,” Caitlyn said in a dreamy voice and Adara had to stop herself from laughing again.Everybody in the cafeteria was looking at them. Kiran and James usually sat with the basketball team at another table. Some of the guys were looking over at them, clearly confused. They stood up when the cheerl
James and I talked about Ramos a lot. It was a source of frustration for me. I had no idea how to handle the situation or even what I really wanted to do. I couldn’t declare my intent to kill Ramos, because Adara wasn’t a part of my pack, and she didn’t belong to me either. I also knew that Malachi would never allow it.Malachi surprised us all when he announced that we were going away for Christmas break. We would be going to Sitka to visit Karani’s mother. It’d been a while since I’d seen my grandmother and I was excited for her to meet Adara, but also dismayed since it would be the first Christmas I’d spend without James.Karani suggested that James and Shoran stay at our house since James’ parents always worked over Christmas, calling it the silly season for a reason. Shoran hadn’t wanted to go home for Christmas and James said he’d stay with her since she wasn’t in a good place emotionally.Pregnancy hormones had taken over and changed her sweet personality into something that Ja
“Come on, Kiran. We’ve wasted enough time already. That wood isn’t going to chop itself,” Malachi said and I got up. Outside, we headed to the shed.“So, are you and James stalking people now?”Malachi’s words had me stop abruptly. So much time had passed that I’d forgotten about our road trip to spy on Ramos and I had no idea how he knew.“We just took a drive,” I said solemnly. It was no use lying to Malachi. He always knew when I was lying.“And sat outside Ramos’s house and watched him,” he said. “Kiran, you have to stop that. Ramos is a dangerous man. He has many years of experience on you. You can’t take him on alone.”I looked away from Malachi and gritted my teeth. “I want to kill him.”Malachi swung the axe and split the first log. “I know, but I’m not sure you’ll succeed. You need to have a better plan than watching his house. What would the two of you have done if he had walked up to your car?”I shrugged my shoulders. I had no idea what to answer him because I hadn’t thoug
James unlocked the front door and held it open for Shoran. They had ten days alone and James was looking forward to it. She put her bag in James’s room and smiled at the thought of spending Christmas break alone with James.They were planning to cook for Garrick and Stephanie two days later since Christmas day was always busy at the hospital. Shoran felt like the luckiest girl alive. She was going to marry the man she loved and she was carrying their baby.They spent the day unpacking and going through the pantry. They worked out a Christmas menu and talked about their plans once the baby was born. James had surprised her earlier with the baby’s first blanket, a neutral white with little rabbits embroidered on one corner.They sat in front of the fireplace that night, and watched old movies together. The next day they started cooking in advance. Shoran realized they needed a few more ingredients and James was sent to the store with a list.Shoran’s hand went to her baby bump, as it di
Ramos hit James on the bullet wound, causing him to nearly pass out from the pain. Ramos grabbed James by his hair and pulled his face up and turned it towards Shoran. “Tell me what I want to know and it all ends quickly.”Dave picked Shoran up and bent her over the table again. He turned her face to look at James. Tears streaked down her cheeks as she looked at James and she closed her eyes.“You’re a dead man,” James spat as he glared at Dave.“Where is Adara?” Dave asked Shoran this time. She gulped for air and Dave ripped the tape off her mouth. She sucked in air and coughed as her tears threatened to choke her. James looked like he was drifting in and out of consciousness, his white shirt stained bright red by his own blood.Dave pressed down on Shoran’s neck and asked her again where Adara was. His face was inches from hers and she spat at him. He slapped her hard across her face and she cried out.James opened his eyes and saw Dave on top of Shoran. Anger and hatred fueled him
We got Malachi’s car at the airport in Anchorage and started the two-and-a-half-hours drive back to Seward. I wanted to shift and run home since I knew it would be quicker. The hardest part was being patient. We still couldn’t reach anyone, until finally Karani had called the hospital to ask if they were working.“Yes ma’am. Dr. Thomas and his son are in the waiting room and Dr. Stephanie Thomas is in surgery,” the woman said.We decided to go straight to the hospital and I felt a little better knowing James was alive and in the waiting room. That could only mean that it was Shoran undergoing surgery, but that also meant that she was still alive.The drive to Seward felt extra long and tedious. It was snowing and Malachi had to slow down, but we still made the journey in two hours and forty-five minutes. The moment Malachi slowed down in the parking, I jumped out of the Navigator and ran inside.“James!” I called out when I saw him sitting in a chair next to his father. His face didn’
“I think…” Adara began to speak.“You’re not going back there, Adara!” I said hotly. My voice was filled with anger and Adara shrank back a little.“I know it’s not your fault, Adara. I just…I can’t stop seeing her, pressed down on that table by him, threatening to rape her again.” James had started out calmly but he ended up shouting at the end.We all looked at him in horror. It was the first time he mentioned that Shoran had been raped. Adara had a look of horror on her face and I could see so many conflicting emotions in her aura.“What about the baby?” Adara asked the question we were all thinking.“There’s no news yet…” Sadness replaced the anger in James’s voice.Adara walked over to him and hugged him tightly. She had tears in her eyes and James leaned against her, silent tears sliding down his cheeks.“I just don’t understand why she wasn’t healing,” James cried.“Our healing pauses when we’re pregnant,” Karani said and I was surprised that James didn’t know that. I knew that
Malachi took James aside as soon as he saw him. They spoke in hushed tones since there were still other people in the waiting room. James nodded his head a few times and they continued speaking. When Malachi was satisfied, he patted James on the back, and they walked back toward us. “I’ll take James to the station to give his official statement. You should all go home,” Malachi said and I knew better than to argue with him. James gave me the keys to my Jeep and apologized for the mess in the back. I found some wipes and cleaned up as best as I could. Karani sat in front, next to me and Adara sat in the back. She’d been quiet since we left the morgue and I was really worried about her. She had been raped by Ramos and with this happening to Shoran, I knew it had to bring back all those horrific memories. She wiped a tear from her cheek and looked out of the window. As the lights brightened the driveway, I saw that the garage door was still open, as was the door leading into the house.
I heard the car pull up to our house. A few seconds of silence and then a car door opened and closed. I wasn’t particularly worried, more curious at what I smelled; it was Robert outside and he was afraid and nervous. I had become very attuned to the emotions of other people around me, even people I didn’t know.The doorbell rang and I opened the door for him. He was pale and very worried. I asked him inside and wondered what this could be about. I didn’t have the energy for this. I had been on my way upstairs to sleep. The ceremony had been very taxing on all of us and the pack didn’t linger afterwards.“Evening, Officer Jones,” I said to him and showed him to a seat at the kitchen counter. He was not wearing his uniform so I could only assume he was here in his personal capacity.“Kiran, I’m so sorry for the loss of your mother,” Robert said and I thanked him. I thanked him because it was the polite thing to do and Karani would want that.“Thank you, Officer Jones,” I said.“Call me
The house was eerily quiet and dark. I sat down at the counter and knew that on any other day, Karani would be in front of the stove. She would have something baking in the oven, bacon frying in a pan, the coffee maker would be filling the kitchen with its aroma. She would be smiling, and I would kiss her on her cheek.I broke down again. I cried and just let it out. It came out as a mixture of a scream and a growl. I couldn’t contain all of this. My soul felt empty although it was bursting with emotion. I was exhausted physically and emotionally. I just had to get through this day. I wanted to die.I shuddered as I remembered the last time I walked into this church. It was the day we buried the Goldman’s and before that, Sarah. Today was my turn to sit in the front pew. I wanted to turn around and run out, but Malachi put his hand on my shoulder, and I had to keep going.We sat down and I looked at the coffin in front of me. I could smell her there. I didn’t want to be here but if I
I was unconscious for three days following the emotional pain I took from Malachi. It had been accidental. I hadn’t meant to take all his pain. While I was subdued, Karani came to me in both her wolf and human form. I held her and cried for her. She held me and cried with me. She soothed me, and we talked for hours as Death sat nearby and watched me with keen interest.The pain from Malachi’s soul was so intense that my body needed that time to recover. I still carried that pain inside me, and I could barely function on my own. Everything hurt, from my soul to my skin and the thought of opening my eyes felt like too much of an effort.Buried deep in Malachi’s soul was a secret. It was a secret that hurt so much that I couldn’t grasp the reality that surrounded it. My mind was playing tricks on me, I was sure of it. Then again, I did see him with Karani. She had smiled as her image drifted away from me.“Kiran, you have to try to eat something,” Adara said to me.“Just leave me alone,”
Adrian Peters switched the television on and settled himself on the couch. The rest of his house was in darkness. It had been a week since his last killing and the news station was showing only highlights of the murders in Seward. He turned the sound up and listened to the news anchor describe his handiwork.“This is now the third home invasion in Seward that has ended in the brutal murders of the families residing at these locations,” the woman said and the television showed the outside of the houses with the bright yellow ‘do not cross—police’ tape cordoning off the area.“The first victims were Marrick and Susan Goldman and their four children, Jackson, Rupert, Sumari and Kyle. Two of the children died from poisoning while the rest were shot at close range. Nothing appeared to be missing from their home. The second set of victims were Peter McPherson, his wife Tanya and their daughter Michelle. Michelle was strangled to death but Peter and Tanya were shot at close range just like t
At the house, Adara concentrated on Edna. It was as if she could communicate with the illness itself, identify it and she instinctively knew.“She has pancreatic cancer,” Adara said softly.“How did you know?” Robert asked her in wonder.“I don’t know, it’s like I can see it. Can I try something Robert?” Adara asked him and he nodded.Adara placed her hands on Edna’s abdomen and started concentrating. She was whispering to herself, but her words made no sense to me. I was enamored with what she was doing. I could see a shift in Edna’s aura.“It’s working, Adara. I can see her pain shift. Keep going,” I encouraged her. I could sense Adara’s power rising, her aura started to glow, a deep bright white with a yellow tinge. It started turning light red.Thirty minutes later Adara slumped from her kneeling position and supported her body with her one arm. Her aura glowed a bright red, but she had done it. She had taken all of the cancer from Edna’s body, her aura throbbed and returned to it
“Adara,” Juniper said after we had all gone upstairs and left Ramos alone in the cell in the basement. Adara looked at her with no emotion.“I…I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Juniper said in a small voice.“I told you!” Adara shouted at her so fiercely that I went to stand next to her in case she went for Juniper. Juniper took a step back at the ferocity in Adara’s voice.“I think it best if you just left Juniper,” Shoran said to her while leading her out the door and closing it in her face.Adara sat down on one of the chairs. “I’m sorry. I just…I don’t want anything to do with her,” Adara said, her soul exhausted at the ordeal we all just went through.“Adara, you never have to apologize for feeling the way you do about her,” Malachi said and then he surprised us all by hugging her.Adara broke down and cried in Malachi’s arms. I took that time to phone Karani and told her what had happened. She was crying and then told us to get back home immediately.“Malachi, Karani said to get home i
Bryan came back after an hour and took Shoran and James away. I had no idea what was happening downstairs, but I could guess that we were in for a long wait. Bryan came back and told Garrick, Stephanie and Karani to go outside. I jumped out of my seat and a strange man tried to push me down.“Where are you taking them?” I demanded, almost shouting.“They are free to return home. They have been declared innocent,” Bryan replied and took them outside. I heard a car start and drive off. I sat back down again and continued to wait.James and Shoran sat down as Malachi stood up and leaned against the wall. He smiled at them both trying to encourage them.“James Thomas and Shoran Thomas, you have been accused of kidnapping and murder,” John Whitcombe said to them.“James, did you take Dave against his will?” John asked him.“Yes, well he was unconscious at the time so I couldn’t ask him if he wanted to come or not,” James said and Malachi had to contain himself to not laugh out loud.“Don’t
Neither John nor Richard found anything suspicious in Marrick’s records. He had no enemies, and was well liked at work. They led a normal life and there was no reason to think it wasn’t a home invasion gone wrong. Malachi had sighed at this and said that it still confused him that Marrick could be caught off guard.I woke up as I heard the sliding door open downstairs. As I opened my bedroom door, Malachi stood behind it and put his finger to his lips. We remained quiet and crept down the hall towards the stairs.The smell was wolf and foreign. We went down the stairs as quietly as we could. I turned the corner and was struck by a fist full in my face. I went down as another man jumped Malachi and they were grappling in the dark. I was up on my feet again and grabbed the man by his arm. I pulled with all my strength and threw him over my shoulder. He landed with a thud on his back.He was quick, I had caught him off guard. He faced me with his fists raised when the light in the kitche
Malachi sat in silence for a while. He got up and went to his study. He came back with a list and gave it to James.“Phone John and ask him to go through Marrick’s financial records. I will speak to Richard to get us Marrick’s phone records and so on. We have to find out who did this and why!” Malachi said. On the list he had written down John’s phone number and the instructions for James.“Karani, speak to any mutual friends you and Susan had. Find out if there were any marital problems or concerns that could have led to this,” Malachi asked and Karani got up with her phone to arrange lunch dates with the friends.“Kiran, you need to go find Jackson’s friends. They will know who you are, Jackson liked to boast about you. Find out if they know anything. Kids talk more openly than their parents. They are more honest with their friends,” Malachi said and I nodded.“Adara, you can join Karani and take note of how she handles the humans,” Malachi said. He must have known that she would ev