“We’ll need bricks or rocks to weigh the bags down,” Malachi said.I gathered a few of the biggest stones I could find and placed them in the bags. Malachi seemed so calm and while my heart was thudding against my ribs, I still felt like I was composed.“Don’t think about it too much,” Malachi said as he opened a tap on the outside of the den and washed his hands.“I’m trying not to, but the fact that Shoran did this…it just kind of amazes me that she’s handling it so well.”Malachi smiled as I washed my hands as well and leaned against the den’s wall. “Shoran’s stronger than people give her credit for. The fact that she came back and exacted her revenge tells me that she’ll be okay. What happened to her won’t rule her life and she won’t wallow in misery forever. It’s easy to keep lying when the odds are against you, but she won’t.”“I saw it in her eyes tonight. She won’t give up and that just makes me respect her more, but this is going to get messy, Dad. Ramos won’t stay quiet abou
Ramos and Juniper slept late the following morning. The house was quiet, and Ramos wondered if Dave was still asleep. He woke Juniper up and she went downstairs to make coffee.Ramos took his time showering and shaving. He felt rested and this morning they would sit around the table and come up with the perfect plan to get Adara to come to them. After today, all their problems would be solved. He and Juniper would live the life they had always deserved.Dave’s bedroom door was still closed when he passed it in the hallway. He whistled softly as he went downstairs. He found Juniper in front of the stove, frying eggs and bacon. He hugged her from behind and she laughed as she pushed him away.He had to admit though, life was so much better with Adara not in it. Juniper was more caring; she did things in the house and the sex was the best it had been in years. Ramos sat down at the table in the kitchen and gulped down his coffee.“Have you seen Dave yet?” He asked Juniper.She shook her
The sun crept through the window and I woke up feeling tired. I turned and looked at the empty space in my bed. The night Adara had gotten into bed with me, was the only night she had done so. Although it had only happened that one time, I missed it.I looked at my watch and realized I had to get up and get to the hotel. I hurriedly showered and got dressed. I took the stairs two at a time and found everyone in the kitchen.“Morning!” I said and rushed out of the door and into my Jeep. I drove to the hotel and asked Lina for a cup of coffee. I had been at the hotel more often and the staff was getting more used to my presence there.I saw this as work and dressed accordingly. I wore neat slacks, a buttoned shirt and dress shoes, but I drew the line at wearing a tie. The first of the pack members would start to arrive soon and I wanted to welcome each one personally, especially as their future Alpha.For ceremonial purposes, Malachi always invited the male members to stay in the VIP su
Adara didn’t have to wait long for Karani and soon they left the house and drove to Sterling. Adara sang along to the radio softly and Karani felt immensely proud of how far she’d come. She was going to be a great wolf. She couldn’t wait to find out what Adara’s powers were. She wanted to help her harness them, use them for good and help her perfect it.“Was Sarah Kiran’s girlfriend?” Adara asked out of the blue.“How do you know about Sarah?” Karani asked, shocked to hear the name again. So many things had happened that it felt like such a long time ago.“We drove past her funeral the day we moved here,” Adara answered.“Why do you think she was Kiran’s girlfriend?” Karani asked carefully.“Those were the rumors at school, that she killed herself because he dumped her,” Adara answered.“What?” Karani exclaimed. Kiran had never said a word about it.“Was she a wolf too?” Adara asked. Karani knew that she would have to tell Adara the truth about Sarah.“Sarah was human. Kiran should ha
They drove in silence for about ten minutes before Karani cleared her throat and glanced at Adara. “Maybe I can explain it a bit better. If you see it from our point of view, maybe you will understand it better.”Adara sat up straighter and turned to look at Karani. She always seemed so in control of everything. Nothing seemed daunting when Karani was there, everything felt easy and peaceful.“The very first time I saw you, it was awful. You were so pale and thin and you had these bluish circles under your eyes that I thought was malnutrition. My heart broke just looking at you, sitting there in my kitchen and trying to lie your way out of our house.”Adara blushed with shame as she thought back to how she had looked in those days and thought herself invisible. She had honestly believed that she looked presentable. She knew better now.“That is why Kiran was so rude to you at first. Your scent was a mixture of human but not quite, and something odd, something he couldn’t place, but hi
Karani parked her car at the den and Adara followed her inside. The den was illuminated by hundreds of candles and the women stood in a circle. They opened the circle as Karani stepped forward.Shoran took her place among the women in the circle and Adara stood there, feeling very awkward and self-conscious.Karani took her hand and walked to the fireplace where the flames leapt and danced. The women closed the circle around the fireplace. Everybody wore white and Adara felt strangely out of place in her jeans and jacket.“Take off your clothes,” Karani said and Adara complied without question. She stood only in her underwear in the middle of the circle, yet strangely enough, she felt at peace.The women stepped forward and started washing Adara’s body. She closed her eyes and she could feel something in the air.“This is to signify your cleansing for your resurrection tonight. Your soul will be cleansed when you shift and now, we cleanse your body,” Karani said softly as she watched
I walked out onto the patio and looked out over the garden. I was satisfied with everything we had done. It looked perfect, but I was sure Karani would change a few things. She always did. I looked up at Adara’s window and Shoran looked down at me, grinned, and closed the curtains. I laughed and went to find James.He was moving tables as Karani stood behind the kitchen island giving instructions. She saw me and instantly put me to work.“No, move it more to the left, a little bit more. There, perfect,” she said as we moved another table. James and I looked at each other and started laughing loudly.“What’s so funny?” Karani demanded to know.“Mom, everything is perfect,” I said to her and she frowned at me.“I will say when everything is perfect,” she replied and looked around the room. It looked spectacular. Everything was in its place. “Okay, now everything is perfect. Go, get ready! The guests will start arriving in an hour.”We stood in the middle of the tables and started to lau
The first shuttle bus from the hotel arrived, and we stood up to welcome our pack to our home. Malachi had decided against using the den for tonight’s ceremony. He didn’t want the memory of the basement to tinge tonight.The house filled up with people and warm greetings and hugs were shared. Laughter was heard everywhere as families celebrated together and suddenly, Karani was there, striking in a deep purple dress.“Wow, Mom. You look beautiful,” I said and she smiled.“Thank you, Kiran.”“You look captivating,” Malachi said and kissed her hand.Karani’s smile softened and I knew that one day I wanted Adara to look at me the way Karani was looking at Malachi. They had the perfect marriage and their love for each other would stand the test of time.She told us to take our places and the guests moved to take their seats at the tables facing the stairs. Once they were seated, Karani went upstairs to get Adara. We took our places at the bottom of the stairs and I could hear Karani knock
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