The moment Sarah had walked into the school, I was in love. At first, I was a bit dumbfounded. How could I be in love with a human? I knew she wasn’t a wolf. You could smell humans from miles away. She had this intriguing air about her.
We were fifteen when we met and life seemed uncomplicated and adventurous. That first week, I followed her home every day. I wasn’t stalking her, maybe a little, but not the dangerous kind of stalking.
I was fascinated by her and try as I might, I couldn’t get her out of my head. She came up to me one day during lunch and simply asked, “When are you going to ask me out?” That was how Sarah and I had started dating.
Sarah wasn’t a one-time thing for me, it wasn’t cheap. What we shared was special. When I first met Sarah, I wasn’t a wolf, meaning, I hadn’t yet shifted into a wolf. I was purely human, a special human, but nonetheless still human and so was she.
Before we turned sixteen, we would make out and hold hands. After my initial resurrection though, something else had woken up inside me. I felt everything more intensely, love, anger, lust, and hate.
She felt it too when we reunited after those three months. There was a passion between us and even though I had planned to break up with her at that first meeting, instead we ended up going a little further than usual. I tried to create a place for Sarah in my life where our relationship would be acceptable. I failed miserably.
At school we walked hand in hand to classes and it was obvious to everybody but us that we would date, even before we started dating. She was a cheerleader and even though I didn’t partake in sports, I was seen as a jock.
It was only natural that we would gravitate toward each other and become a couple. It had been obvious to James as well, but he approved about as much as Malachi did. I couldn’t blame him though, he was my Beta, and a stickler for following the rules.
In the cafeteria, the basketball and football team dragged five tables together and that was where we sat during lunch. The staff eventually just left the tables as they were and it became the table where we would sit every day of our high school careers. The cheerleaders joined us when Sarah and I started dating and after we broke up, they moved with Sarah to another table.
We were both popular at school and I had plenty of friends, some of them that would say I was with them even when I wasn’t. It became easier and easier to lie and say I was with someone other than Sarah.
I would drive Sarah home after school and most afternoons we were alone at her house. It would always end in a make out session of mutual exploration. I was her first serious boyfriend and she was my first serious girlfriend. I met her parents and they liked me. I had good manners and I was always respectful of them and of Sarah.
The first and only time Sarah and I had sex, was an unforgettable afternoon as we stumbled our way to her bed, fumbled with each other’s clothes and didn’t even think of using protection. In the heat of the moment we both just didn’t think.
We took our time and we kissed and touched. We weren’t shy and when she nodded her agreement as I hovered on top of her I was high on the intensity of our feelings for each other. Yeah, I was being a complete idiot, going against everything I believed in.
“I love you,” she said to me on that fateful afternoon as we lay on her bed naked and I smiled. We had gone all the way. It was a special moment that we shared.
“I love you too,” I said to her and we kissed again. It was true. I did love Sarah and I believed that she loved me too. That’s why I would be ashamed of my actions in the months leading up to and following her death forever.
I usually showered when I got home before I had to meet Malachi at the den for training. That specific afternoon was different. Malachi was in the kitchen when I came home late. I had lied to him and said I was meeting Sam.
It happened so fast and one moment I was looking at my father and the next moment I was fighting an Alpha wolf. He had smelled her scent on me, and carnage broke out. I was on the losing end of that fight and my father had lost his mind.
Facing a fierce Alpha in wolf form is no joke and I had no choice but to try and defend myself. Malachi was much larger than I was and he came at me ferociously. As I shifted I found myself pinned down and bite after bite rained down on me.
“Malachi!” Karani screamed at him.
Just as quickly as Malachi attacked, he retreated, and left me to lick my wounds. That surprised me because his anger towards me had been intense. It had threatened to choke me as I breathed his emotions in.
Karani hadn’t been pleased that her kitchen got ruined in the process of that fight. It was the first time I had seen Malachi as an aggressive Alpha wolf. To this day, it’s something that I can’t quite put together, the calm lawyer and the aggressive wolf that he could be when it was needed.
My wounds would start to heal but Karani cleaned them anyway. She shook her head sadly and I could feel her sadness in myself and see it in her aura. That was probably the moment that the realization hit me. I had hurt my mother.
Malachi had called me into his study. That was always where I got my lectures from him, but this time Karani followed me inside and went to stand at his side. That was definitely a first.
“You can’t keep seeing her,” Malachi said very calmly.
“She’s human and you might hurt her. That will cause problems for the entire pack.” He was right, of course, but how could I tell him that I loved her? How could I tell him that she was different from other humans?
“I tolerated your relationship with her before you shifted. Now, it’s just unacceptable,” he said to me and I looked down. He had known the whole time.
“Dad, I…” I couldn’t finish that sentence, the guilt was eating me up inside. The wolf guilt.
“Kiran, we love you, you know that. We just want what’s best for you, best for everyone.” Karani was looking at me intently.
“You’re a wolf, the next Alpha. This cannot happen again.” Karani had a way of getting her way and that was the end of that.
Even now I can still remember the look in her eyes, the smile on her lips as our fingers intertwined and how she felt in my arms. I don’t think I’ll ever forget, I can’t forget, and I won’t let myself forget. It was my greatest shame, and the most damning mistake I ever made. Regret came too late for me.
I sent Sarah a text and asked her to meet me at our spot. Our spot wasn’t really a spot, it was just a clearing in the forest furthest away from our house where the roots of an old tree were visible in the earth and it made a natural buttress.“Hey, you,” she said, and smiled sweetly as I arrived, and found her waiting near the tree.I had switched off my feelings for her before I even entered the woods, because I knew that this was going to be hell. She put her arms around my waist and I knew her next move would be to kiss me. We’d been dating for almost two years now, and our familiarity with each other was intimate.Our relationship was more than just making out in odd places. We could talk for hours about our future, our dreams, and what we wanted out of life. Sarah wanted to be a teacher. She loved the idea of being there at the crucial time when young minds were shaped.“What’s wrong?” she asked me when my arms didn’t encircle her like they always did.“We can’t keep seeing each
We had a few other wolf children that went to the same school as us and I made a point of it to look out for them. There were two other families that lived in Seward that weren’t part of our pack, they were lone wolves and preferred the lifestyle.In an attempt to appear as if I was doing fine, I had started dating one of the girls from our pack but it was just for show. We didn’t hang out after school or even hold hands. James disapproved and he made it known almost every day.“Dating Michelle won’t change anything.” We were driving to school and I looked out of the passenger side window and thought about what I was going to say.“I know, but have you seen the way Sarah still looks at me?”It took all my strength to ignore Sarah at school. We had the same friends and the same classes, and it took all my resolve not to break my promise to Malachi. I should have known better because Malachi expected me to be better.“Do you want her to hate you?” James’ question was valid and I thought
I was startled awake, drenched in sweat. Death had been visiting me again. He was stalking through my house, walking from room to room. I didn’t know if it had only been a dream or if it was a sign. I had no inkling that my life would soon change forever.I sat down at the breakfast table and looked at my mother. Her aura was clear, by that I mean it didn’t have death lurking about. I exhaled not realizing that I had been holding it in.“How are things at school?” Karani asked. I hadn’t been home all that much, and it wasn’t due to training or Alpha lessons.“It’s okay, you know, same stuff every day.” I smiled at her.“I’m sorry you miss Sarah so much.” She had a way of just knowing everything. I nodded my head but said nothing. She knew I wasn’t seeing her anymore; I didn’t have to tell her.“Where’s Dad?” I asked and looked toward his study.“He already left for work, but he said he’d see you at the den later.”The den was where I met my father every afternoon to fight. No gloves a
“What’s up with you?” James asked me. He was connected to me in a way that only wolves could understand. We would probably die together one day, that’s how close we were.“Sarah’s pregnant,” I said flatly, and told him the whole story. He was probably the only person that would understand everything. He nodded at all the right places and eventually agreed with me, getting rid of that baby was the only thing to do. I knew it wasn’t right but nothing about that situation was right.“Come on, I know what’ll take your mind off everything. Sam’s having a party tomorrow night,” he said with that wicked smile of his.Another shiver ran down my spine, ‘I should stay home,’ said that little wolf voice inside my head. On the other hand, getting out and having a drink or two might not be the worst thing. Tomorrow was the last day of school and we had some vacation time to look forward to.I arrived home an hour before the party started and I took a quick shower and dressed. I was picking James
We were all in the living room, standing to one side. Marilyn was in the crowd dancing as she kept looking at me and James had just rolled his eyes. Her moves were suggestive but for some reason I wasn’t keen on hooking up with her again.Jasmine walked towards us and I could see that she had been drinking too much. I didn’t want a confrontation over Sarah but she stumbled into my arms and giggled non-stop as I steadied her. She chose that moment to kiss me in front of everybody, she was also Sarah’s best friend and I pushed her away. I could feel Sarah’s eyes on me and when I looked up at her she had tears in her eyes.Sarah walked up the stairs and I just stood there, watching her go. Her aura slowly turned black, and I froze. Death. Confusion took a hold of me because Sarah had never been to my house, yet Death had been lurking there.I chalked it up to being emotional and angry and I convinced myself that my imagination was playing tricks on me. I walked back to where James and Sa
Malachi tried to keep my routine as normal as he could. That meant, training at the den, every day. I wallowed in self-pity, and the prospect of training didn’t lighten my mood.“You have to focus,” he said as his bare fist landed on my nose, and a trickle of blood appeared.“I’m trying to,” I replied, and brought my hands up to protect my face. His punch caught me in the ribs, and I grunted, and felt it break. Malachi had no mercy on me. Another punch came for me and I managed to block it, but missed the punch that caught me on the side of my head.Malachi stopped and looked at me. “It’s no use trying to train you when you fight like a three-year-old girl.” He grinned at me and I returned his grin. He loved his insults especially if they added to my humiliation.We got into Malachi’s Navigator and drove home to shower. Karani just gave us a look as she saw the blood from my nose and told Malachi to take it easy on me. Tomorrow would be a rough day for me.It was the day of Sarah’s fu
Her name was Adara, and she was broken. That’s the thought she woke up with every morning. She didn’t need to tell herself that, it had been beaten into her ever since she could remember. Her mother, Juniper, was a weak woman. Nobody knew what had happened in her life to make her that way, she didn’t talk about the past at all.The only family Adara had in this cold world was her mother and her stepfather, Ramos. She didn’t remember hugs or kisses or even birthday parties. Soon she would be seventeen, and then it was just one more year until she could leave – if they let her leave.She didn’t have many memories from her childhood, almost like something or someone had made her forget, and sometimes she felt that someone inside her was missing. It was something that always felt just outside her reach and at times she wondered if she was going crazy.At first, it was just Adara and Juniper, alone in a small apartment. If she didn’t do the laundry or clean the apartment, it simply wouldn’
“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
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