Behave themselves when alone in private? Yeah even if Isak is the one who said it I don't but that.
While I’d have preferred that we relocate somewhere, Logan couldn’t come looking for Hana. This would do. She may have told Alex no questions and not told her parents, but that doesn’t mean he’ll hold to it. And given I don’t know the man beyond what’s in his Guild file, I can’t help but be mistrustful. The only people I truly trust are the ones in this car. Okay, I also trust Malcolm and Harris. Pamela is ify. She doesn’t know the whole or even a fraction of the truth to understand when to talk and keep quiet. As we walked in, and removed our shoes, I wasn’t sure what to expect of Alex’s house. Sure, his holiday decorations at the front of the house were a bit much, but he has a young son, so that was an excuse. I didn’t expect it to carry over to the extreme I witnessed when we walked inside. I felt like I walked into one of those novelty steakhouses that leaned hard into the cowboy theme. I wouldn’t mind the leather living room set or the wood furniture if there weren’t so much fl
Being alone with the three of them was such a BAD idea. It’d been almost two months since this Order interfered with their lives, forcing us to stay distant. Two months where I at least had control over myself. What do I do when I see them after two months? Go somewhere private and nearly completely lose control. I blame Aidan. He’s the one that insisted on a strip search. He could’ve just asked me to remove my weapons. I would have complied to assure them. Plus, I’d only been wearing my blade, so taking it off is no big deal. Instead, I was asked to strip, and it slipped into the land of things you shouldn’t do in your uncle’s living room. This is another reason I blame Aidan. I know I have a scar that only Isak had seen before. However, things could have stayed somewhat rational and just in a gray area of acceptable behavior if Aidan had kept his hands to himself. But noooo… he couldn’t do that. Instead, he had to look closer, touching and kissing my scar. It was all downhill fro
She knew. Mother fucker! Hana knew! We’d suspected she might have known, but nothing about her behavior indicated she did. After all, if she knew, why go on dates with us? Why let us kiss and touch her? Why write those letters? Why did she play along? How long had she known? “Why the looks of surprise? Did you honestly think I was that clueless or naive?” Hana laughed as she turned her head to look at each of us. “How long have you known?” I asked the obvious question. “Since the DKE party.” Hana shrugged. “I told you Miss Batista overheard us and reported back to Hana.” Isak shook his head. “Of course, Pamela heard you and told me. It’s girl code. You hear anyone talking about your friend, especially what you three stooges were saying, you tell them.” Hana nodded. “Then why didn’t you call us out on it then and there?” I asked. “Oh, I wanted to. I may not be a Kinsley by blood, but I have my dad’s temper.” Hana scoffed. “When Pamela told me about the bet to fuck me, I was ready
I was still processing everything they told me. They love me. I love them back, of course. I don’t know if I should. I don’t know if any of this is right. It felt right when I was with each of them, and tonight, when all of them were touching me, it felt even better. Despite how right it felt, some of my brain claimed it was wrong. It was rare that a werewolf had multiple mates. I didn’t know anyone who had two, let alone three mates. However, I’ve read about multiple mates in the Firewolf mating book. None of that helped me, as the men I loved and who’d just confessed their love to me weren’t wolves. I have no clue how the mating of demons or angels even went. I know a little about vampires, but not how it would work if their chosen mate was mated to others. Do demons and angels even mark like wolves and vampires? I would have to ask Aidan and Isak that question. The four of us still had a lot to talk about. Before we can do that, I must wrap my head around this. I’ve kissed Sha
Waiting for sunset was hell on earth. I spent the day looking at the Portland historic real estate market. If we were going to be serious about Hana, which I know is where this is going, we needed somewhere to stay. None of us would feel comfortable staying within the pack’s capital, Mount Hood. And there was no way we’d ever invite her to the nest again. That’s a trauma we would never ask her to face. I earmarked a beautiful historic house in Portland’s West Hills area. It had plenty of space, was close to activities in Portland, was not too long a drive to Bloodmoon, had plenty of space inside and out, and had the kind of old-world flare I know my friends and I prefer in a home. I talked to the agent about a viewing in a couple of days. Before the viewing, I wanted to discuss the property with my friends and Hana. The sun had only just set when Aidan burst into my room. I thought perhaps he was just excited to see Hana, but the look in his eyes wasn’t anticipation. No, that look wa
Everything happened so fast. I opened the front door expecting Aidan, Isak, and Albert but instead found some douchebag claiming he was my biological father. I do not know how true that was. Frankly, I didn’t care. Whoever the sperm donor was, that’s all he ever was and will be to me. I have a dad. And that’s the one that launched himself at this self-proclaimed sperm donor mid-shift. That first snarl brought everyone running to see what was going on. Thankfully, someone was smart enough to tell the guards to stay in the dining room with the little ones while we ranked members stayed put. I don’t know why Uncle John, Charles, and Silvercloud tried to stop Dad. Silvercloud’s logic was about the only one I was willing to consider. I didn’t care why the bastard was at our door. So, I encouraged Dad right alongside Aurelia. That was until my stooges teleported in, and Isak got the ‘bright’ idea to interfere by teleporting Dad off the scumbag. My brain made a switch from cheering Dad on
It stung that Hana didn’t trust our knowledge of the Order and its headquarters. I’ll get over it because she’s right. If they had half a brain between them, they’d have made changes the moment Isak and Albert got me out of there. We couldn’t fully rely on our insider knowledge. I’m unsure what Silvercloud or his mate would turn up. The Order is very thorough in hiding their tracks. Getting Pamela back safely was the priority. We couldn’t leave anything to chance. It wasn’t surprising that the Order sent a lackey to Bloodmoon. They’d want to get their message to us and Hana. I never would’ve considered how tangled this web was that Kyou Miyazaki, a glorified errand boy in the Order, would also be Hana’s sperm donor. I refused to even think of him as anything else. He’s done even less for Hana than mine, or Albert’s fathers ever did. At least they were somewhat around. Kyou proved he knew nothing about Hana with every syllable he spoke. I don’t know what he expected showing his face
They were right. That scumbag showing up at my door changed nothing. Kyou was nothing to me before and will continue to be nothing to me. I don’t need to know or understand what my mom saw in him. Whatever it was, it was a carefully crafted facade intended to trick her into thinking he was someone he wasn’t. My mom found better, and even if it was too brief, she had a man who loved her unconditionally and has continued to love me unconditionally as his own. He doesn’t deserve any more of my time. The most I will worry about regarding him is ensuring his three children never become like him and are kept out of the supernatural world. Now, it was time to prepare for war. War may sound intense to get one person back, but the Order has proven they needed to be shut down. Taking Pamela was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. “Let’s head downstairs. We can turn the dining room into a war room. It’s the only place big enough to use anyway. Everyone should be done eating by now, a
Dear Readers, I will be taking the rest of September off from writing new stories to focus on getting The Reluctant Alpha ready for paperback. October will bring the return of Auðr in his short story The Hybrid's Vampire, where he takes a lead role with Sage. Their story will be added to the Bloodmoon and Incubi Anthology. Follow me on social media, look for Author Bryant, to stay up to date on everything I'm working on. See You In October! Bryant
I know they say that time flies when you’re having fun. I’ve never really thought about the passage of time and how fast it can go. I’ve always been an in-the-moment kind of guy. However, certain changes in my life have me contemplating that saying—not only considering it but also worrying about it. I don’t want time to fly. It’s been ten years since my life changed forever. It’s hard to imagine a decade of Pam in my life. I won’t say the years flew by, or they went at a snail’s pace. I savored every day I’ve had her in my life. From the day I met her on the rugby pitch to the day, I knew I couldn’t live without her to the day I proposed to her by Iris Pond, to the day we got married in a very intimate ceremony by Iris Pond, to today when our new house in an uproar of decorating for our baby shower party. Yes, you heard that right. A baby shower. That’s why I’m contemplating the passage of time in ways I never had. It still feels like it was just yesterday that I’d gotten on one kne
The further we got from the restaurant and my parents, the more relaxed I became. I am so glad they live far the fuck away from me. I don’t need that kind of pressure and negativity in my life. I wasn’t already super close to my family, to begin with, and now that I have this supernatural secret, it’s even less. Couldn’t they have just been happy for me? I graduated from a prestigious university. I have a well-paying job lined up for me in my field. I have a nice apartment lined up to move into. Best of all, I have a great and supportive boyfriend. These are things any parent should be over the moon about. I’m not the first kid in the family to graduate from college, but I’m the first who didn’t move home for a year or more after graduation to ‘get on my feet.’ “Pam, you know we didn’t need to rush out. I was perfectly prepared and ready to deal with your parents.” Malcolm said. “I know, but you shouldn’t have to. They’re my family, and I’ll handle them.” I shook my head. “That’
It’s been three and a half years since my world turned upside down. Things I thought were myths suddenly became real, and the world, which was already dangerous, became a thousand times worse. Sure, I’ve been in therapy to work through my abduction and this newfound knowledge of the supernatural. I still have sessions with Doctor Westbrook, but rather than weekly, it’s usually just a biannual check-in. Having Hana and especially Malcolm in my life has made dealing with this new reality easier. The guys at DKE were more relaxed around me once Malcolm not only told them we were dating but that I knew the truth. I thanked the ones who came to help save me. As for the ones that betrayed Hana and her stooges, my meddling wasn’t necessary. Malcolm and Harris had kicked all their asses, and when the frat president returned from break, they were formally expelled from the frat. I accepted that I could never tell my family about the supernatural. Not that they’d believe me if I did. However,
It was weird being around so many werewolves. Sure, we have our share of hybrid werewolves in DKE. Hell, Corin, Derek, and Edward are on the rugby team with me. So, I have no issues with wolves. It’s just different being around full-blooded ones. No one was outright rude or anything. I didn’t like all the eyes on me. I felt like they had a lot of questions they wanted to ask but didn’t know if they should ask them. “If no one’s going to ask it, I’m gonna.” One of the wolves spoke up. “Ask who what, Silvercloud?” Aidan asked, folding his arm as he leaned on the wall with me while we waited for Hana and Pam to finish their talk. I recognized the name Silvercloud—not as a person’s name but as a corporation. It was a tech company that I knew well as a mechanical engineering major. I’ve tried to get internships there but have yet to submit a presentation that was up to snuff. “Silvercloud? Like the tech company?” I asked. “Yes and no.” Aidan shrugged. “That…” He nodded his chin toward
“Where was I? Oh right. Albert, well, he’s a vampire. There are some dampires in DKE, meaning the children of a male vampire and a human woman. Dampires have potential powers, but they won’t be unlocked unless they are turned.” She explained. “McHickey is a vampire? Okay, that I can totally believe. No one ever sees him during the day. And I’ve bumped into him, and he’s cold, literally.” I nodded, which made the most sense of everything she’d told me. “How will that work? If you have to share a bed with him, it’ll be like a human-sized ice cube under the covers. Is his dick cold too?” Hana pinched the bridge of her nose. “I… wouldn’t know. I haven’t done anything like that with any of them.” “Fine, but after you do, you need to tell me. I’m curious.” I chuckled. “I’m willing to accept that these things are real. But how does that all add up to what happened to me?” “So Isak, Aidan, and Albert used to be part of the Order of the Jade Seal. The child vampire, Azer, and the African an
Waking up in a strange bed in a strange place was weird. I at least had Malcolm with me. If I kept my eyes closed, I could pretend we were still at Yale in his frat dorm room. That was normal. That made sense. No getting kidnapped off an airplane by a teacher. No being held prisoner by three crazy people. No fearing for my life. No seeing my new bestie shoot three people in the head. No washing brain chunks out of my hair. And no crazy conspiracy theories flooding my mind to try and explain it all away. Of course, I couldn’t stay in bed and pretend it was all just some nightmare. I’m Pamela Grace Batista. I’ve got a reputation to uphold. So, I put on my brave face. I tried to be upbeat. After finding Hana, I focused more on all the eye candy her hometown had to offer. Though not even the smorgasbord of chunks or finding out Malcolm had been calling me, his girlfriend could truly erase all the anxiety and trauma I was trying to bury. I was glad Hana didn’t plan for us to have brea
After I’d walked Pam to my room, I returned to the kitchen with my frat brothers. For those that were innocent, I understood and would apologize to them later. All this is blindsiding them. For those that are the rats, those fuckers should’ve seen this coming. Our frat motto is Kerothen Philoi Aei, which means Friends from the Heart, Forever. You don’t betray your friends. “You get all their phones?” I asked. “Right here. No one’s going to alert the enemy.” Harris nodded, holding up a grocery bag full of phones. “Why did you have Harris take our phones?” Sal asked. “And what is he talking about ‘enemy’?” Tomaso demanded. If either of them is involved in this, I don’t know how I’ll handle it. They are more than my frat brothers; they are my teammates. Also, if they are involved in this, I don’t know how I’d explain to Coach and the rest of the team why they’re at best on the injured list next semester or, at worst, dead. I didn’t want to think of that possibility, but I knew I had
After texting Hana, I took the initiative. Just call me Santa Pam. I played McFingers like a damn fiddle bringing up Dai-suk-it. He and his friends were already making their plans. I couldn’t hear what they said in that room, but I could imagine. The look on Aidan’s face was priceless when I told him Hana’s lackluster fling was sniffing around. I’ve never seen someone move as fast as he did to return to his room. I checked my flight status on my phone as I entered the frat’s kitchen. I knew there wouldn’t be many guys here over break, but there were close to twenty guys in the kitchen, and they all went silent when I walked in. I arched my eyebrow as everyone turned to look at me. “Um. Hi. Did I interrupt some super-secret frat meeting?” I joked. “Yes.” “No.” “This is bullshit.” “What’s she doing here?” “Get out.” “Are we done here?” It was a cacophony of different answers. Some contradicted each other, and others were just rude. Like fuck you very much. Who the fuck i