I feel a heartbreak coming...
[Hyacinth]Why did I come here? I am such a fool. And I keep making the same stupid mistake.“Get the hell out of here, Cindy!” Ash snarls. She's right, I shouldn't be here. Hadn't I learned my lesson the last time I came by to see Slate? Hadn't Ash made it quite clear that I was unwelcome here?I stumble back from the door, my eyes unable to blink as I take in the scene before me--Ash is standing in the doorway wearing a rumpled suit, her hair wet from the shower while beyond the open bedroom door the sheets on the bed are rumpled and the pillows are scattered on the floor. If those clues weren’t enough to tell me what had happened, Slate standing in the bathroom doorway, wet and dripping, wearing nothing more than a towel and a shocked expression, made everything come into focus. Closing my eyes, wishing I could burn the image from my mind. Instead, as the tears run down my face, I fear it might be engraved on my heart forever. Turning, I run back the way I came. “Cindy, wait!”
[Hyacinth] I am going to die. This is my last thought as I hit the ground and raise my hands above my head in a weak attempt at a defensive move. I know that if this wolf wanted to tear me apart, my hands would do almost nothing to slow him. And yet, instinctually, my hands raised, ready to protect me. As my body reacts to the cold, shocking sensation of the water flowing around me, my mind is thrust into the last moment in my life when I feel so helpless and alone. I am in the bathroom of the truckstop, only this time I remember a bit more. As I was blinking in and out of consciousness, and they began hurting me and violating my body, something woke inside of me, something lethal. Reacting to the fear of this moment, my mind reaches deep to find that well of deep power, that lethal feeling. My hands burn with the need to touch the wolf, to make him suffer the way my own body did that terrible day as I felt them leave their marks on me. "Wait," the voice inside my head begs. "P
[Hyacinth] I’ve been testing their blood samples, while the Gamma’s men interrogate the three rogues we found in the woods. A rushed DNA test revealed a couple of hard truths. While these rogues were responsible for the brutal physical attacks on previous visiting wolves, they were not responsible for the most recent sexual assault, which means there is at least one more of these rogues on the edges of our territory. The other thing we learned is that they are indeed humans. Since it is impossible for humans and wolves to procreate with one another as we are a completely different species, hybrids do not exist. There is no way it should be possible for three human men to transform into wolves, and angry powerful insane wolves at that. At first, we thought they might be werewolves that didn't know they were werewolves, living as humans in secret. But the blood doesn’t lie. They are not wolves. As I get the last of the blood results analyzed, I drink my third cup of coffee and send
[Slate] It felt good to be walking next to her again, our footsteps finding a natural rhythm. I didn't realize how much I missed our afternoons together, and our lunch meetings. She has a sharp intellect and child-like humor that always makes spending time with her, even if we are doing nothing at all, pleasurable. Ash had demanded that I stop meeting with Cindy alone after I came back and proposed to her with my mother's ring. I had been heartbroken over seeing the doctor kiss Drew and believed Ash's lies that Cindy was someone to play around with other's hearts only to watch them suffer. It was easy to believe with the way my heart was hurting at that moment. I know I shouldn't feel anything for this woman, but I cannot help myself. I cannot keep myself from having feelings about her, even if I know it isn't a good idea. Her apple blossom and anise scent soothes me and my wolf, as we find joy in just being near her. We have never felt this way about Ash, not even once. While I wo
[Hyacinth] "Cindy, are you sure," Slate looks concerned. Very concerned. "What makes you think it is insanity and not something else?" "Well I have been under a lot of stress lately," I start to ramble, "and some of the things I'm hearing and seeing and remembering make no sense. My best explanation is that none of it is real, except in my mind." He looks at me as he quietly holds my hand, his thumb brushing my knuckles absently. "But what if it is something else, something incredible, something a lot better than going insane," he takes a moment to bring his hand to his nose and take a deep sniff. "What if you are finally getting your wolf?" I try to think back to when Bash started manifesting his wolf. Did the voice come first, or were there other signs? "When you talk to your wolf, does it respond?" I ask, "Because this voice never does. It's more like a blurt here and a blurt there, more like the things I don't want to say out loud than a separate personality." "Sage doesn't
[Slate] “Why did I do that!? Why did I kiss her?!” My mind is reeling, my thoughts spinning as I walk briskly towards the packhouse. In just over an hour I am expected to sit at a table next to my fiance at her family’s weekly brunch. And Hyacinth will be there this time. Dear goddess above, what have I done? “The first smart thing you’ve done in weeks,” Sage grins wolfishly inside my mind, an image as clear as my memory of my lips pressed against hers. “I think she likes us too.” “That was not smart!” I argue internally. “Smart would be keeping my distance from her. Smart would be letting her go to have her own life instead of pining after her like a lovesick pup.” “I don’t see what’s wrong here?” Sage growls in frustration. “Claim her as your mate. Mark her, mate with her, do whatever but don’t tie us to her hag of a sister!” “Why do you hate Ashlynd so much,” I interrogate my wolf. “What has she ever done to you?” “Other than forcing us to marry and mate with her?!” Sage is
[Hyacinth]The large cast-iron gates to my family estate were open and inviting, welcoming me home like an old friend after a long time away. The only problem is, this isn’t my home anymore. It hasn’t been my home in over six years. It feels so strange to be standing here between the open gates seeing that so little has changed. The front of the house is still perfectly groomed with expansive well-kept gardens and long green lawns while the back is still wild and untamed, a proper forest for wolves to prowl and hunt. It is so familiar that my heart aches, remembering all of the happy times we had here as a family before everything fell apart. Like a photo of the past, my family home appears to be trapped in time, a little faded around the edges but otherwise the same. “Mama, this house is scary,” Sebastian looks up at the giant estate, his eyes wide with wonder and fear. Maybe he is just feeling my fear of returning, or maybe it is something about the vibe of the house itself, but m
[Hyacinth] Standing on the stairs, looking down distastefully at the scene in the doorway, is the she-wolf who used to give me warm hugs and make me mugs of hot chocolate when I was feeling sad. She is the one who patched up my skinned knees and broken spirit when the other kids would tease me for not having a wolf. But much like her daughter, her attitude towards me has completely changed. From the ice in her gaze to the steel in her spine, she makes me quite aware of all the ways I am inadequate without even opening her mouth. I hate how much I still care about her opinion of me, and how much I seek her approval, even as an adult. I guess in some ways, she will always be my mom, even if she doesn't want me anymore "Tabitha," I respond simply trying to keep my voice steady. Rolling my shoulders and standing up a little straighter as I pat my son's back to let him know he's safe, Under her predatory gaze, I feel more like prey than a guest, but I won't let her lack of courtesy or