LOGINShare
TWENTY | ON THE TRAIL
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56The drive home was silent. Kathrena seemed too embarrassed, too ashamed, to even look at me. I was too focused on my own plans to expend any excess energy worrying about her strange behaviour. The forest rolled by, the trees seeming to grow in stop-motion above us, inching higher and higher until they formed an oppressive archway, blocking out the sky.
Then I blinked, and the trees had shrunk back down. I let out a tiny sigh, and gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.
I knew what I needed to do. Now all that was left was to do it.
Kathrena’s dark eyes followed me quizzically as I dropped her off at home. I’d left the engine running, and my fingers drummed out a staccato rhythm on the steering wheel as she gathered her bag and coat.
“Are you sure you’re not coming in?” She asked, one hand on the truck door.
“I’m sure,” I
Related chapters
She Runs with Wolves TWENTY-ONE | WATERCOLOURS
I pushed my way through the spiralling branches of a mother tree, and settled myself on a fallen log a little way behind it. I could still just about see the building through the sheet of greenery, but it was distorted, blurred.There were a number of tiny, speckled mushrooms growing beside me. I bounced my fingers along them, tapping each in turn, desperate to distract myself from the conversation that was surely about to happen. Skye’s expression loomed in my mind’s eye, and I felt my heart ache as I thought about the fear in his handsome face.The pillars of light stretched into the forest, tickling the damp toes of my once-white shoes. I stretched my legs out, and then jumped so hard that I almost fell off the log I was precariously balanced on. Skye was beside me, a finger held over his sinfully curved, full lips.He didn’t say anything, and I narrowed my eyes at him. My eyebrows pulled inwards, fu
Last Updated : 2024-10-29She Runs with Wolves TWENTY-TWO | GHOSTS
I turned the heater on when I got back to my truck, even though I didn’t need it. But it filled the cabin with the last wisps of the scent attached to Skye’s jumper, and I pulled it up to my nose and inhaled deeply.There was a delicious thrumming in my chest, and a tingle that felt like the chill of winter frost nudging at my fingertips. These were imagined sensations, of course, but they felt real to me. I shoved my hands into fists, and pulled them up into the sleeves of his jumper. It was faded, the sea-green of it muted with wear. It seemed like one he’d worn a lot, over and over, and the fact that he’d given it to me sent heat spreading through me anew.I sat for a moment, letting the bliss of the early evening sunshine warm me. It met the flame inside my chest, and they wove together for a while as I watched the golden light dip across the bottle-green pines. There were a few stray bunches of heather at the roa
Last Updated : 2024-10-29She Runs with Wolves TWENTY-THREE | DUSK
"Oh?” I grinned. Skye led me over to his car, and I was pleased to see that it was almost as run-down as mine was. It had faded, peeling grey-blue paint, and it was spotted with rust around its wheel arches.“Yeah,” he said, his chest puffing out. “I thought it would be nice to get to know you a little better. But I know that you’re new here, so you probably don’t know the town that well, and I also know that you don’t eat. Though I don’t know why you don’t eat,” he added, giving me a sly, sideways glance.I shrugged. “I’m just not hungry, I suppose.” Technically, I thought, that wasn’t a total lie. I didn’t get hungry – but I did get thirsty.He shook his head at me, but he was smiling. He yanked open the car door with a creak, and I slipped inside. It was cramped, and I wondered how he fitted his long, broad body in here. My legs were scrunched up against the dashboard, and I was a good foot or so shorter than he was.There was a tiny, handmade wolf charm hanging from his rear view m
Last Updated : 2024-10-29She Runs with Wolves TWENTY-FOUR | CINNAMON
Skye held the door open for me, and I stepped inside. The coffee shop was warm and sweet-scented, with a slightly bitter undercurrent of roasted coffee beans. The walls were painted pale brown, with bright teal accents. There were booths at each window, wide and sloping, and there were trailing plants and succulents on wooden shelves, as well as smaller, potted plants on each of the tables.“Hey, Susie,” called out Skye, and I realised with a start that of course he would know everyone in Hawthorn. He’d grown up here, and he’d said it himself – there was only one of everything. That meant that every time he got a coffee, he’d see the same rota of staff.Susie was a tall, olive-skinned girl, with her black hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail. She wore no makeup, but her eyes were framed with thick eyelashes, and she had a teasing grin that immediately made me want to be in on the joke.&n
Last Updated : 2024-10-29She Runs with Wolves TWENTY-FIVE | BLURRED
We held hands as we walked down the high street, his palms cool and smooth against my own. I felt small beside him, but safe – his grip was strong, but not too tight, and I knew that even had I not been utterly capable of protecting myself, he would step in and rescue me. It was a heady, giddy sensation, and I found that I rather liked it.My coffee cup was still hot in my other hand, but cooling rapidly as the darkness drew in above us. The glow of the lamps was warm, and the strings of fairy lights made the autumnal trees glow orange. Crisp, fallen leaves crunched beneath our feet.“So,” Skye said, scuffing the toes of his shoes into the leaves, one by one as he took each step, “did you leave Hollowbridge because of – of what you are?”It was an innocuous enough question, but I knew that it was a segue into a conversation I wasn’t sure I was ready to have. But as I gazed up at him, tall, broad, but leanly muscled, with a softness to his face, especially around his eyes and lips, I kn
Last Updated : 2024-10-29She Runs with Wolves TWENTY-SIX | FALLING
“V-vampire?” He repeated. I felt his back muscles tense, and then my hands were left cold, frigid, as he stumbled backwards.“Yeah,” I croaked, looking down. I felt ashamed, and then I felt the sting of imagined tears pricking at my eyes, and burning the back of my nose. It wasn’t my fault.“Are you – are you telling me that’s what you are?” He asked, very quietly. Too quietly.“Yeah,” I repeated, my voice barely louder than his. “That’s what I am.”His fingers trembled as he pointed to my mouth. “I – I kissed you. But your teeth… you hurt people, Ellis.”“You said it wouldn’t change things,” I whimpered. “And – and I don’t. I never have.”“We’re taught about you. We have
Last Updated : 2024-10-29She Runs with Wolves TWENTY-SEVEN | SHE
He’d stabbed me. I was sure of it.I could feel his fingers punching through my ribcage, his nails slicked into sharp points and digging through my flesh as he latched on to my heart. It beat out an unsteady, anxious rhythm as he yanked it free, and he held it in his hand for a moment, blood dripping down his wrist. I could do nothing but stare up at him as I fell to my knees.The dim lamplight swirled around me. I felt seasick, dizzy, as the orange trees and the navy sky span, forming ringlets in the air. Then I felt the hard tarmac against my bare knees, and the heels of my hands following them onto the ground seconds later.I felt my skin tear on impact, but barely, like a flash of red through my vision. I could feel it, but it was dwarfed by the pain in my chest. My eyes fluttered shut, and I curled into a ball, my broken hands clutching at the empty space where my heart used to be.The wav
Last Updated : 2024-10-29She Runs with Wolves TWENTY-EIGHT | SHADOW
“Maybe we should go somewhere else to talk,” I whispered.“Maybe,” Skye agreed. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, and gave me a sideways glance. “I really am sorry, Ellis.”“It’s okay,” I said, and it sounded more natural, more convincing, this time. “I was scared of you, too, in the beginning.”“You never hurt me like that, though,” he muttered. His gaze dropped, ashamed. Then, before I had a chance to say anything, his eyes were burning, blazing gold, and staring into mine. “No. I won’t talk like that. It’s not fair on you. It’s my fault, not yours. You don’t need to make me feel better about what I did, what I said. It was a bad reaction on my part. But… I can explain.”“I think we’ve both got a few things we need to explain to each other,” I said, pulling
Last Updated : 2024-10-29
Latest chapter
She Runs with Wolves 108 | BOUND
The week following the defeat of the demon had been surprisingly normal. Well – as normal as a week could be for two vampires, a witch, and a werewolf.I leant back against Skye, pressing my body against his. His arms slipped around my waist, and I snuggled closer. I could see the darkness swelling outside, scattering the stars and drawing away the purple haze of dusk.Skye had all but moved in to the Clan house, and, whilst most of his belongings were stashed in the spare bedroom upstairs, he slept and spent all of his time in my room.I’d dragged another chair up the staircase and lugged it into my room, so that we could share my desk – though very little homework ever got done, what with our constant teasing and moments where, despite the desk and my laptop, despite the mounds of assignments and text books, nothing but Skye and I existed. Those moments ended in kisses, always, and though I was
She Runs with Wolves 107 | AFTER
The large, red-brown wolf in front of me panted, its claws digging into empty earth. I stepped closer, one quivering hand outstretched. The rain splattered onto its fur, slicking it down as it turned its huge, golden eyes to look at me.There was a nudging glee between our bond, as though we were both too scared to accept that we’d done it. We hadn’t failed. We’d won.I held the wolf’s gaze. He gave me a nod, and his jaw hung open in a lopsided grin.It was raining. I’d made it rain.I couldn’t make sense of everything that was happening. My grip on the knife loosened, and it clattered to the floor. Then Skye was shifting in front of me, and, rain soaked and bloody, we fell into each other’s arms. All around us people were waking up, witches and vampires alike, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I’d been holding. They were going to
She Runs with Wolves 106 | ICARUS
“If you have the power to do that,” I said, yanking the blade out from under my skort, “why not just kill us all now?”Cythraul clucked his tongue. “And what would be the fun in that? The realm I’m from is nothing like your world, Ellis. This place has hope, and fear, and love, and loss. There is duality in all things. It is a privilege for me to be here, you see. I plan to enjoy it.”“So this is just a game to you?” I spat, raising the knife. I tried to keep my eyes on the demon, not wanting to see the lifeless bodies of my family all around us.“Of course,” he grinned. “Though I’m afraid your chances are perhaps bleaker than I’ve made out. Your little witch friend, the red head – she was wrong about that stone around your neck.” He nodded at it. “It doesn’t mean what she thinks. Her first guess was right &n
She Runs with Wolves 105 | SIX MINUTES
“You know?” I whispered. My mouth went dry, and I swallowed thickly, trying to wet my lips. Ice flooded my veins. We had lost. We had failed.He stepped out of the shadows, snakes of black mist pooling around his body as he moved. His smirk deepened, and I saw a flash of white teeth as he struggled to hold in his laughter.He looked, for the most part, human. His skin shone with a pearlescent lustre, but two dark horns protruded from his forehead and his eyes glowed red. He was tall – taller than any person I’d ever seen, be they vampire, human, witch, or wolf – and, as the fog parted, billowing away from his legs, I understood why.He had the upper body of a human, and the legs of a large goat. But, as I watched, they shifted and shimmered in the darkness, stars and sparkles of an indeterminable colour – too matte to shine like that, too black to be so bright; it was impossib
She Runs with Wolves 104 | OBLIVION
“I guess this is where I have to leave you,” I said, though I didn’t slide my hand out of Skye’s, or make any indication that I was planning on walking away from him. I was reluctant to leave him alone, even though I knew that his job was more likely to be safe than mine. That didn’t mean I wasn’t scared for him.“I guess so,” he echoed, though his clutch on my hand grew firmer.We’d agreed before that Skye should stay to protect the humans in the maze. With every second that we put off the inevitable, we were putting lives at risk. Our jaunt through the maze had been undertaken with the knowledge that we would likely be to first to arrive at the scene of any attacks – but there had been none, and, so far, it seemed as though the demon was planning on giving the maze a miss.The thought gripped me with fear, icy and unyielding, a frozen cage that constricted my
She Runs with Wolves 103 | HALLOWEEN
We had an hour to kill before the Clan were due to start their fight. I didn’t want to think that it might be my last, but try as I might, my barricades were struggling to stay in place. The two thuds played on a loop in my head, and I had to concentrate very hard to keep the images of David and Toby out of my mind.No. I couldn’t think like that. Tonight we would avenge David, and we would keep the rest of the town safe. We’d been lucky so far in that there had been only one casualty – there was something odd about that, I was sure, though I was grateful that was the case – but I didn’t want to put anyone else at risk.I took a deep breath. “Do you want to go through the maze?” I asked, turning to face Skye.He slipped his hand out of mine and rubbed it on the thigh of his jeans. “Sure.” He pulled a smile onto his lips, but it seemed that I wasn’t alone w
She Runs with Wolves 102 | TALISMAN
“Okay,” Molly said, clapping her hands together. “I think that’s everything.”“Finally,” Rowan muttered under her breath, and I had to stifle my laughter.It was the night of Halloween, and we were all milling around at the entrance to the maze. The committee had grown considerably since our meetings – we’d needed more volunteers to fill the maze, and there were parents, teenagers, friends and family stood beside us, all in costume. Molly had given out costuming guidelines before the event, much to the dismay of most of those participating, but even I had to admit that she’d done a good job with organising the maze and the activities within it.And, to my absolute delight, she’d made Skye come as a werewolf.“You’re just tall, and muscular, and you have all that hair,” she’d shrugged. “It makes perfect sen
She Runs with Wolves 101 | VISIONS
Skye let out a tiny, defeated sigh, but then he pushed through his disappointment and stepped closer, peering into the window beside me. “Are you sure they haven’t just changed the display around?”“The display is the same.” I groaned, banging my head against his arm. We were being careful not to say what we were looking for out loud – there could be ears anywhere – but I’d been so pent up all day, so focused, and it felt as though our plan had fallen flat before we’d even had a chance to start.“Hey, don’t do that,” Skye murmured, prying my chin off his shoulder. “You almost went through a window yesterday.”I shrugged. “It’s pretty much healed now. But – thank you for being concerned. It’s sweet. I like that you forget what I am, sometimes.” I gave him a tiny smile, and he pressed a kiss to my forehead, rig
She Runs with Wolves ONE HUNDRED | OCTOBER
I’d thought that my classes had dragged today, but they had been nothing compared to the committee meeting that followed.Beneath the table, I linked my fingers with Skye’s. We were in the same dimly lit classroom as yesterday, and, though it was still light outside, the room was cast in shades of grey. Outside, most of the leaves had fallen from the trees, leaving behind gnarled and bony fingers stretching up into the white sky.“So,” Molly said, tapping her stubby index finger against the whiteboard, “we’ll put the tomb right in the centre of the maze, and then I’m guessing you two want to be the ones to jump out of the coffin?” She directed her gaze at Carys and June, who both nodded eagerly, before turning to grin at one another.“Awesome,” Carys said.“Where’s the centre going to be?” I asked, frowning. It looked close
