“Adara!” She jerked her head up at the foreign voice calling her name.“Yes, Miss Jackson?” Everyone in class was laughing at her. She had fallen asleep at her desk. Again. The bell rang, and Miss Jackson told her to remain seated as everyone else left the class.“Adara, is something wrong at home?” she asked so gently that Adara burst into tears. She always sat at the back of each class. She never talked to anyone. She did just enough to avoid being noticed. How was it that she noticed her? Where had she gone wrong?“No, Miss Jackson. I just went to bed very late last night.” She tried to give her a convincing smile and shrug of the shoulders like a regular teenager would.“I want you to go see the school counselor. You sleep in class every day. You don’t involve yourself with anything at school, and I can see that you’re losing weight. Your eyes have dark circles under them.” She studied Adara carefully and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Some people could be so compassionat
Juniper came into her room later and sat down next to her. She sighed loudly and looked at Adara. “Oh, Adara. What have you done?”Adara felt tears well up in her eyes. How could she be that way? Didn’t she care about her at all?“Ramos told them that we suspect you’re doing drugs and that you’re constantly in trouble with the police for shoplifting. I think they believed him.” She had said it in such a way that made it sound like a good thing.Tears rolled down Adara’s face, she shouldn’t even care about all that. They always did that. It hurt to know that everything people knew of her was a lie. What possible future did she have in this world? She felt so lost and lonely, wondering if her own mother ever loved her.“Ramos will take care of that nosy teacher tonight,” Juniper said.“What do you mean?” Adara asked but Juniper put a finger to her lips instead.“The school will have more pressing matters to deal with than a teacher worried about a student.” Juniper smiled at her.“Mom,
Malachi sat in his office, staring at the contract on his desk. He closed his eyes and rubbed his fingers against his temples. He felt inadequate and it was a feeling he hated. His son was hurting and there was nothing he could do to help him.He’d warned Karani, told her that it wouldn’t end well, but she’d gone against him like she always did when it concerned Kiran. Malachi sighed as he thought back to the conversation they’d had.“Malachi, he’s only fifteen there’s no harm in him dating her now, give him the freedom of choice you never had,” Karani said one night as they discussed Kiran and Sarah’s relationship.“It’s wrong, it’s unnatural,” he said to her angrily.“He’s in love.” Karani’s voice was unusually quiet and Malachi’s temper was ticking towards dangerous.“I don’t care if he’s in love, when he shifts for the first time in a few months, what do you think will happen?” Malachi had been brooding about this ever since he’d seen them together, walking hand in hand like they
School would start soon, and I wasn’t prepared to face everyone. The rumors had taken on a life of its own. Did Sarah kill herself because I dumped her? Was it because Jasmine had kissed me? Nobody thought of pregnancy. Sarah wasn’t thought of as cheap or easy, and she hadn’t been. Our relationship had been one of mutual love.I hadn’t seen any of my school friends, except for James. I didn’t take their calls and after two weeks they stopped calling. I was in my own emotional hell and I hadn’t switched my emotions on since the funeral. No good would come of that as I soon spiraled out of control.The newspaper published nothing more about Sarah. Just the lonely caption, ‘Local Teen Takes Her Own Life,’ with a picture of Sarah smiling. My name wasn’t mentioned in the article, and I had to wonder if that was because of Malachi or because of her parents.A week into the summer holidays, we traveled to inner Alaska and Canada to visit other packs. Malachi knew a lot of people and he held
James and I sat on that bathroom floor, with James’ arm around my shoulder, as he let me cry it out. I cried for Sarah as much as I cried for myself. It took a while for me to compose my emotions again but once I had, I felt better, and I splashed cold water on my face.James looked at me and nodded his head. This was what he had hoped for, that I would break down and cry, and let it all out. “Good, now let’s get a drink.”We could drink more than the average human, because our body heat burned the alcohol from our systems much faster. We could get drunk but we didn’t stay drunk for too long. How much and how fast you drank also played a role, but we could easily drink five times what our friends could.At 1 AM, I dropped James off at home and promised him that I was going home as well. I wasn’t. I needed space, time, and something. I wasn’t sure what though. Release maybe? I turned on 3rd Avenue and drove straight toward the Seward Highway. I turned left again and parked at the lagoo
In the reception area, the secretary nodded her head at a chair and I sat down and waited. After what felt like half an hour, the secretary cleared her throat. “Mr. Rush will see you now, Kiran.” I knocked on his office door and entered.“Kiran, please, sit down.” Mr. Rush remained sitting behind his desk and I sat down and looked him straight in the eye. An Alpha never looked down, it wasn’t in me, even if I hadn’t been a wolf, I still wouldn’t look down.“How are you doing, Kiran?”“I’m doing just fine, Mr. Rush.” It was the truth. Ever since I’d let go of Sarah’s memories, I was simply fine. It was a benefit of being a wolf.“I know you and Sarah broke up quite some time before she …er… the incident.” He looked uncomfortable as he searched for the correct words. “I hope you don’t blame yourself for what she did.”“It’s extremely sad that she did this. I’m sad that she couldn’t talk to someone, anyone, about what she was going through. I feel sad for her parents, but I don’t blame m
When I walked into our house, Karani was standing in the kitchen, the kettle boiling on the stove, but she didn’t seem to notice it.“Mom, are you okay?” I startled her as she jumped slightly and turned the gas off.“Yes, I’m fine. How was school?” The smile on her face warmed me and I knew I was lucky to have a mother like her.“It was …fine, I suppose. Mr. Rush asked to see me, open door policy and all that,” I replied. “He was very glad to hear that you guys took me for trauma counseling.” Karani laughed and nodded her head. She knew that it was a good lie.“Your father’s concerned.”“About?” I looked at her hesitantly. Malachi was always concerned about a number of things when it came to me, but his latest concern was college. I had to make a choice because I had no choice when it came to having a degree behind my name.“Your mate. You know we knew…”I cut her off abruptly. “Yeah, I know. You two were ten when you knew.”Everybody knew the story of Malachi and Karani. They’d been
I walked through the foliage and undergrowth behind our house and took the path that led toward the mountains. I love the quiet here and I was a regular visitor because nobody else ever came here except me.I had to stop walking as the physical pain of someone’s emotions overwhelmed me. I breathed in deeply through my nose and I heard the muffled cries. I’d felt her emotions before I’d heard or seen her.I walked further into the woods and then I caught her scent. She was sitting on a rocky outcrop with her head buried in her hands. Her aura was also rapidly changing with her emotions and it made me feel lightheaded.“Hey,” I said and sat down next to her.“Oh, Kiran.” Her face was streaked with tears and then she pressed herself against me, her body shaking with sadness.“What happened?” I wished I could read minds and realizing what she was doing, Shoran shifted away from me and wiped the tears from her face. “Is it James?” I felt worried suddenly, because why else would she be alon
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