In the drawing room at our house, Malachi kept a few lupiaries, or wolf diaries, and James spent a lot of his time there reading through them all. The books were filled with our lineage, history, births, deaths and imprintings that had taken place over the years. It was also filled with information on our kind and you could find almost anything in there.“I’ve been doing some research,” James said with a grin. We were in the library again and it was just before lunch.“About what?”James shifted closer to me. “Did you know that wolves can imprint without being mates?”“That’s ridiculous,” I said. I’d never heard of something like that happening. James loved knowing random facts and he started enlightening me with what he’d learned.When two wolves meet, and they imprint, they both realize it simultaneously. It takes a hold of your soul and that person becomes your everything. It was something you both felt, the same intensity and the same power.Being wolf-locked was when one wolf imp
Adara stood at the edge of the forest. It was still early and the house was empty. She’d seen the little path behind their house that led past a few others toward the forest. She felt at peace when she looked at the trees.She took a deep breath and edged into the forest. It was breathtakingly beautiful. She found a small clearing with some overhanging rocks to one side. If you stood on them, you could look out over the town. She sat on those rocks for a while, not really thinking about anything and allowed her mind to wander.She heard a twig break and she froze for only a second. Instinct told her to get out of there. She jumped off the rocks and ran to the edge of the forest and hid herself in the undergrowth of a large bush. She could still see the rocks even though she was some distance from them.She realized that she was holding her breath and slowly exhaled when two wolves appeared from the trees and stepped onto the rocks. One wolf was much larger than the other, yet neither
The doorbell rang and James got up to answer it. We were all sitting in the drawing room waiting for the Fosters. We weren’t formally dressed since it was a casual get together although Karani insisted on smart casual, meaning no jeans or boots.We heard James welcome them and stood up. The Fosters were led into the drawing room and I was formally introduced to Terry, Sonja, Lucy and Ethel. I had to smile as Ethel only had eyes for James.“Welcome, Michael and Terry,” Karani said with a smile and showed them to a couch. Malachi poured drinks for them while I catered to Sonja and Lucy. Ethel had made herself comfortable on James’s lap and ignored everyone else.James was so uncomfortable that I wanted to laugh. Ethel was blatantly staring at him and I could see the disapproval in Michael’s eyes.“Ethel! Please!” Terry’s voice was harsh as Ethel clung to James. Ethel wasn’t bothered by her mother’s admonition and Terry smiled apologetically at James. “Have you imprinted, James?”“I rece
James and Malachi awoke at the same time and almost bumped into each other in the hallway. “Kiran,” James said and rushed down the stairs with Malachi hot on his heels.They found the open sliding doors and saw my clothes in the garden. James shifted without undressing and his clothes fell to the ground, torn from his body. He started running at full speed and left Malachi on the patio where he undressed and shifted as well.Malachi was halfway when he stopped as James’ howl alerted him that he’d found me. He started running faster and reached us soon after that. Malachi shifted back to his human form and knelt next to me. James was sniffing the dead body.James shifted as well. “He’s dead.” Malachi only nodded his head as he listened to my heartbeat and breathing.“You’ll have to carry him back to the house, James.”James shifted back into his wolf form and Malachi picked up my dead weight and placed me on James’ back. Malachi shifted as well. “I’ll bring the stray. Get Kiran home to
Adara woke up, at first not realizing what was happening to her. Ramos was on top of her, fumbling with her pajama pants. He hooked his finger around the top and pulled them lower. His fingers were inside her underwear and her whole body stiffened as she realized what he was doing. She tried to scream but his hand was over her mouth and it muffled any sound that tried to escape.He ripped her underwear off with one hand and pushed his fingers deep inside her. She tried to fight but he was too strong. He spread her legs with his knees and pushed himself inside her. Adara felt a tearing pain between her legs and she screamed again.The weight of his body was crushing her; she was afraid that he would crack her ribs. He kept pushing himself deeper and deeper inside her. He was grunting and snorting and she clenched her eyes shut. She started praying for it to just be over. He gave one final grunt and his whole body shuddered.“Keep your mouth shut,” he snarled at her. He got up and walke
You could cut the tension in the house with a knife. Juniper ignored Adara most of the time and Ramos spent less and less time at home, which suited her perfectly. The nights he was home, he waited until Juniper passed out before he came for Adara.It became so regular that Adara didn’t bother to cry anymore, instead she tried to switch off the horror engulfing her life. She’d imagine that silvery white wolf and in her mind, she went deeper into the woods. Still, she didn’t contemplate suicide. What would be the point? There was no way she was going to let them win.She decided to be more rebellious. She started coming home late and skipped half the chores she would normally do. She was being beaten and raped anyway, what more could they do to her? Why try and placate them when she was being punished regardless of her behavior?Adara reached the front of the forest where she’d stood weeks before. There was a force pulling her deeper, like a voice in her head telling her to move furthe
Adara sipped the juice and sat up straighter as another man joined them in the kitchen. He stood behind Karani and placed his hand on her shoulder. She assumed he must be her husband. He was tall, well built, and he seemed important. He had grayish eyes and brown hair but he carried himself with confidence.“So, you’re the girl running around in our garden.” He was smiling as well and Adara felt a blush creep onto her cheeks, and she looked down. He must have been right outside the door because James hadn’t left the room to tell him.“I’m sorry. I got lost in the forest,” she said quickly. She was feeling guilty. These people were welcoming and nice and it made her feel bad for lying. Was this how normal people lived? Her mind got stuck at normal. They looked normal and felt normal, but something was oddly out of place. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.“Adara, this is Malachi, my husband.” Karani introduced them. “I think she goes to school with Kiran and James.”The name struc
“She’s like us, Malachi.” The shock was evident in his eyes but Karani wouldn’t lie about something like that. “Malachi, I have to help her. She…this girl… the horror…” Karani couldn’t bring herself to tell Malachi about all the memories she’d seen but Malachi could hear her thoughts and he was appalled at what the girl had gone through.“You’re telling me she’s a wolf?” Malachi had to ask because Karani’s thoughts were jumbled.“She is most definitely a wolf. She hasn’t shifted yet. She…she doesn’t know what she is. There is one powerful memory, buried very deep. I doubt she even remembers it herself. She’s so strong, Malachi. She’s going to be very powerful.”“What memory?” Malachi asked. He knew better than to push Karani. Even being Alpha, she was the one wolf he could not and would not try to control. Karani herself was enormously powerful.Kiran got one part of his abilities from her, a variant of it. Karani could pull your memories from you. She could see it in her mind and exp
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