ORLAMy life slowly bled out from between my fingers, trailing down my belly and into the rim of my trousers. Its warm stickiness constantly reminded me that I needed to get help soon, or else I risked bleeding out right here.I struggled for air, trying to keep my vision from slipping away from the monsters growling and approaching me with grim looks on their faces. Their teeth are large and so sharp that I was sure that a single bite from them could chop my head clean off.During the fight with the first one that had been trying to kill that girl, I had lost track of my surroundings, letting my guard down and not keeping alert in case someone planned to jump out of the blue and hurt me. In return, I'd barely been able to dodge out of the way before the second rogue, which I hadn't seen initially, jabbed the place where I had been with claws sharper than brand new knives.I'd escaped the full force, but still got deep gashes to my side. By the time I recovered from the shock of the p
AUTHOR'S POVThe crickets were eerily silent by the time evening fell. It was as though the things that had occurred had chased them all into hiding.Ryker wasn't sure why such a trivial detail stood out to him. Could it have had to do with the fact that he was trying to slip away like a ghost?After he had gone out to fight some of the rogues, it hadn't taken long for him to understand that there were a lot of the ruthless, destructive beings, and it would have been best for him to protect himself first.As he struck down the first and only rogue he actually fought, he started to look for a way out. The fight had gotten to a point that every side had incurred loss. The wolves of Dark Moon were dwindling in numbers, and so were the rogues.Now, all he had to do was find his father. He must have been nearby, especially since the rogues were so plenty in number. For him to control them effectively, he had to be in close proximity with them. He had come to the realization of this truth
ORLATHE DARKE RESIDENCEFingers ran through my hair, lightly teasing my scalp. The contact made me breathe easier, and gave me something to focus my mind on asides the carnage that occurred outside.My home had luckily been well fortified, and my parents were safe, although lives were inevitably lost in trying to protect it. We had returned to find some of the rogues dead, and others, scrambling back into the safety of the woods that they had been lurking. I couldn't call it a victory because we lost too many innocent people. I saw too many mangled bodies and bruised, battered faces to think that we came out on top.In fact, if the other rogues hadn't left, I didn't think we would have stood a chance against the savages.My wounds had been tended to, but it was physical. It would surely heal, but the injuries my mind had sustained this day would never be forgotten. These were my people, and I couldn't save them all. I couldn't protect them from evil. They were cut down like flies a
ORLAThe temperature of the room fell a couple of degrees lower than usual. I felt the weight of it all, I staggered beneath it as the fullness of Makila’s words settled on the top of my head. I pressed myself against a wall, secretly using it for balance. My knees slightly wobbled, and my chest went tight.Every face in the room was either focused on Makila, or on me.Out of the corner of my eye, Maverick moved closer, watching me with every drop of concentration available within his being.As though on instinct, I grabbed his hand, squeezing gently. It gave me a little strength, and hope that no matter what happened, we would eventually find a way out of it one way or another.We had to."You mean that there's another witch helping Daniel?" I asked, unable to quite believe the words myself.Makila nodded, not looking at us straight in the eyes. Slowly. "I should have expected it, but I was so sure she was dead until some things stopped making sense. I hadn't been thorough enough in
ORLAAlec and Ella left soon after that, and Maverick's packmates decided that it would be better to give us some 'privacy'. I wasn't sure why we needed privacy, because after everything that had happened, we were too tired and serious minded to think of doing much else apart from staring at the ceiling.When we were finally alone, it then occurred to me that Maverick would have to leave as well, seeing as we didn't exactly live together. Although the look on his face indicated that he was thinking the same thing, and he wasn't exactly happy about it.A particularly chilly wind prompted me to wrap my arms around myself. More of the chill came from the inside of me, from fear and anxiety that creeped up on me with every second that passed. Nowhere was safe for us anymore. We could decide to sleep now and wake up in the middle of an attack. Daniel wasn't going to give up until we put a stop to him, and now that he likely had Ryker back, and the other witch working with him, it meant th
ORLAWith the cool fresh air of the morning dew, also came a news that neither of us had been expecting.I had awoken to the sound of Maverick talking into his phone. The stark optimism and relief in his voice gave me a little hope. It had been a long while since we'd heard anything that wasn't related to death or impending doom.As he got off the call, he spent a few seconds lost in thought, momentarily forgetting everything about his surroundings."What's the good news?" I asked, getting out of bed and mentally preparing myself for a new day.Maverick's eyes lit up. "Everett's been found. And he's alive."***After a hasty completion of my usual morning routine, I followed Maverick back to his place, excited about the news as well. A little voice at the back of my head told me to hold on to the feelings of relief washing over me, because there was a chance that Everett's return could mean something.Something bad.We found Everett at the living room, surrounded by his packmates who
ORLATHE BLACKWOOD MANOREverett's outburst left everyone in complete shock.We stood there for minutes after he'd left, wondering to ourselves what exactly had transpired. Even Makila was stunned, and plopped to the ground with a confused sigh. "What . . .?"The only person that I really worried about was Maverick. Because Everett's outburst was majorly directed at him. I touched his hand, offering him some of my comfort. He twisted his hand around mine and held on for dear life. Through the bond between us—that bright thread of light—I could sense all his emotions. Even the ones that he couldn't reveal. The pain. The guilt. The anger. Everything. It hurt, and I was pained for him as well. It never occurred to me that something that brought me so much joy, could make someone else feel hopelessly abandoned."No," Maverick said. "It's not your fault at all. He's just angry and lashing out at everyone. I'll go and talk to him.""I'm not sure if you noticed, Mave, but he was pretty pi
MAVERICKTHE BLACKWOOD MANOR"What do you want?" Everett asked as soon as we made it past the door of his room. I was even surprised that he'd let us in.He was perched by the window, staring outside at something we couldn't see."We need to talk," I said."About what?""About everything."He looked away from the window slowly, and dropped the full weight of his gaze on me. I had to admit that it made me falter a bit. For about five seconds, I found myself at a loss for what to utter. In all my years with him, I'd never seen him look at me with so much anger.The last time he'd been angry with me, was when we were both in our early teen years and I'd accidentally told off a girl that was trying too hard to get me to notice her. Apparently, he'd had a crush on her, and was offended that I made her cry.But even with that, we were back to being best buddies before the next nightfall.He gestured around with both hands in an exaggerated, mocking manner. "You have the floor," he said."I
AUTHOR'S POVA YEAR LATERThe usual belief about life is that a person only lives once. For Orla, though, that wasn't the case. From being mistreated, abused, and ultimately killed in her previous life, she awakened to find herself given another chance to make things right. A chance to fix the wrongs that led to her unfortunate demise. A chance to build that which she should have lost.Another chance . . . to find love.+_+_+Orla bent down, crouching as far as she could go to pat the last heap of rich brown earth into place. She'd always wanted to try gardening since she was a child, and now she had finally made that dream come true.She sighed contentedly, and sat back on her haunches, looking up at the sky whilst wiping off her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand. Although it was still quite chilly, and the ice hadn't completely thawed, strenuous physical activity could still make a person feel like they were stuck inside a furnace.The advice Alec had given her was to plant
ORLAIt felt like an eternity. The darkness. It had neither a beginning or an end. It took me—grabbed me in a suffocating hug and refused to let me go.At some point—I didn't know how long it took, but it came to my understanding that the darkness was of my own making, and only I could free myself from its clutches.So, I opened my eyes, and welcomed the light back in.The first thing I saw was a face. One too familiar, and at the same time, dreadfully disturbing.Blood seeped out of his nose, ears and mouth and dripped on my shirt. His eyes had gone blank, with its usual icy colour sucked into the cold emptiness of death.Ryker was dead.I pulled my hand out of his neck, unable to ignore the feeling of gore and slippery blood. His weight had become suffocating since life no longer flowed through his veins.I pushed his corpse off me, and sat up with a groan. The wound in my chest was still struggling to knit itself back together, but with the bullet still lodged inside of me, it wou
ORLAA gun. That was what he had been holding. I'd failed to recognise the hidden shape in his hand on time. I had been too occupied with other things to think about the fact that he'd probably had a plan B.He fired three rounds without pausing.I only had milliseconds to respond, but I wasn't fast enough. He'd surprised me, and I had to deal with the consequences.Cold descended on me as I realised that I had indeed acted too irrationally. Searing pain bloomed in the left side of my chest, and another in my thigh. The last one grazed my cheekbone, and that was only because I pushed my head to the side just before the bully made impact with my flesh.Blood rapidly started to pool in my mouth, filling up my throat until air couldn't pass through and I had to spit it out before it choked me.I fell on my good leg, clutching my bleeding chest.I hadn't foreseen this. I'd been so eager to get him that I had forgotten how cunning he could be. There was no way he would have just been here
ORLA'Don't think. Don't feel. Just act.'Those were the words ringing in my head as I swung the wooden log into the side of Sonja's head with every power that my body could muster, bursting it open like a balloon. Blood splattered all over my clothes, but I didn't matter. I had killed her. She was dead, and she would never, ever hurt my family again.I had made a promise to go as low as killing just to save my child, and I was glad that I hadn't hesitated when it mattered the most. Although it was a flimsy defence, I had no other option. She had raised her knife to stab Amaranthine, and Maverick was too far away to get anything done.Makila had spotted her and her counterpart from a distance, and was able to perform a spell that teleported us right behind them. We'd also seen the vampires that seemed to also be trying to help her, and decided that it was best to stay out of their line of sight.Sonja's body went limp, and her remaining eye remained wide in horror and shock. She mus
MAVERICKWe followed the trail judiciously, paying attention to the location the trackers had presented us with. We'd gone by car to eat up the most of the distance, but since the trail eventually led into a dense, seemingly unused path, we had to turn to out feet for transport.Under the guidance of the moon, we pressed on, too determined to even stop for a moment to speak to each other. I took mental note of the people with me, and found myself grateful for having such wonderful packmates that were willing to do this with me. Of course, the years had strengthened our bond, but I still was baffled sometimes by their immense loyalty and dedication to me. Amaranthine's kidnapping had been a huge blow to the pack, but it didn't change the fact that she was my daughter, and most of the pressure to find her fell on Orla and I, but they all took the issue and placed it on their shoulders as well, making the weight a little bit easier for me to hear.We kept walking, keeping caution close
ORLANight came, and all our hearts were ready and prepared for what was to come.I stood in the bathroom, staring at my reflection for the second time in six four hours. The time was already a couple of minutes past seven, and as Maverick had told us, it was go time.Everyone else had gotten ready, and those that were at the first part of the plan had left a little while ago. Tim, Everett, Blair, and Avery had gone with Maverick, following the coordinates given on Everett's tracker. From what we'd seen, Ryker and his witch friends hadn't left their positions since the time we had deliberated on the plan. The plan was quite straightforward. Maverick would go with his people to scout the area and then proceed to lure the witches and Ryker out. Again, I had been thinking that I had been sidelined from the plan itself, until Maverick told me that I would go in with Makila to get Amaranthine. Makila's presence couldn't be downplayed simply because she was the only one with prior knowled
ORLAI was sick and tired of waiting for things to happen. The day after my last discussion with Maverick, I'd been unable to rest my jittery nerves. Every second, minute or hour physically disturbed me. I wanted my child. I needed her back in my arms.The fact that I had no idea what they could have been doing to her made me panic even more. What if they were abusing her? Or casting marks on her smooth skin just to cause her pain? What if they were starving her, and watching as life slowly seeped out of her little body?I had to hold on to the hope that she still lived. I couldn't think about anything else.Maverick had called for a compulsory meeting, and as much as I wanted to keep avoiding him, I couldn't turn away when my child came into the picture.The noon was blazing hot, so I already dressed in a black tank top and some denim shorts, baring the skin of my arms and legs. In this, the mark Maverick had branded me with was on full display—an oddly symmetrical line of five dots
ORLA"She's waking up," someone whispered. My eyes couldn't fathom anything but darkness. My mouth felt like something was keeping it from opening, and pain spread at different points of my body, like I'd been run over by something.I opened my mouth to speak, and only a groan could find freedom."Shhh, don't talk. You might hurt yourself."'I already feel hurt,' I wanted to say, but speaking still seemed like a hassle to me. I reached out blindly, and warmth came to my hand. A familiar touch. "It's okay now, you're safe."With a painful flash, the memories of what I'd gone through previously ran through my mind. Makila yelled at me to go.Getting attacked by a woman.Ryker threatening Amaranthine's life.Just like that, my eyes flew open, and a scream finally came out of my throat, wrapped in somebody's name. "Ryker! He has Amaranthine!" I shouted despite my sore throat. Maverick came to my side, rubbing my back and softly whispering, "We know."I looked up at him, recalling my
ORLAIt couldn't be though, that witch was dead. Even if she had escaped death before, it couldn't be possible that she happened to resurrect again . . . Right?The woman before me laughed softly. "Why are you looking at me like that? Does my face ring a bell in your head?""Where is my daughter?" I asked, deciding to go straight to the point. There was nothing worth more than her safety right now. Not even my own curiosity.She frowned playfully. "Your daughter? Hmm." She lazily patted a finger against her chin. "Probably dead by now."Another thing that I found different about her was her behaviour. Sonia had been incredibly loyal to Daniel, and hardly spoke unless it was so say something that showed that. This one had a lighter disposition.The woman didn't even seem bothered at the sound of those approaching. If anything, she seemed to get even bolder. "And what's that I hear? You brought backup?"I looked down at Makila, who still sat behind the shrub, pressing the bottom of her