My mouth opened and then closed. It took me a minute to process that Kelsie was being serious.
“He’s mated.”
She scoffed. “To that she-wolf? Please. They are all but estranged.”
“He has kids. Like…my nephew and niece.”
Kelsie shrugged. “So he didn’t wait. It’s fine. I’m not either.”
My eyes narrowed. “What do you mean ‘wait’?”
Kelsie looked at me with a look that I had seen in Sky when she talked about Justin. “I know he’s my mate, Emmett. I don’t know how. I just do. I can feel it. It sucks. I wish I could fucking ignore it. I wish I could rip it out of my heart and body. I can’t though. I can just watch the train wreck that’s happening.”
“I’m sorry.” It was so immediately out of my mouth that it shocked us both.
“I don’t…I don’t
Sky continued to apologize over and over between her own sobs. Pulling up my knees, I curled up in the corner of the couch. I tried to take a breath but it didn’t help. My head was shaking, trying to convey that she didn’t need to apologize. She couldn’t see me though. I knew she couldn’t. I felt her absence like a hole in my soul.“Em…don’t cry…please…”I chuckled through my tears. “It’s a little late for that.”She also tittered and goddess it was good to hear. “I guess it is. How…how are you? Are you doing okay? Father isn’t…they haven’t…”Bowing my head down, I sighed. “I’m fine, Sky. Really. I’m not making waves so I’m not getting splashed.”A huge sigh was let out on her side. “I was so worried. You have no idea. I couldn’t…I couldn’t imagine what they would do to
Why did it seem like the floor was falling from beneath me? Why did I feel like my carefully curated plans were all falling apart? I looked out the window of the attic. My eyes stared down at the chessboard. My foot came up and I kicked the board across the room. The pieces exploded around the room and the board imbedded itself into the wood beam of the roof.“FUCK!”I picked up the smaller bookcase that was at the head of my mattress and threw it across the room. The books scattered and the shoddy work of the shelf made the lid come off. It wasn’t enough. I felt like I needed to destroy everything. Everything was wrong. This was all wrong. How the hell was I supposed to fix this?There were a few things left. My alarm clock flew across the space and the pieces fell all over the floor, mixing with everything else. There was a lamp, shattered. Sky’s laptop, destroyed. Her phone, that had been sitting on the shelf, fell to pieces. Nothing w
I slammed open Dad’s office door and stomped in. Beta Andrew was leaning over the desk and they were probably talking about something important but I didn’t care. My dad looked up and his eyes narrowed.“Now is not a good time, Sebastian.”I scoffed. “I don’t care. Beta Andrew, leave. Now.”Beta Andrew looked to Dad but my dad just nodded and he stood. His eyes were on me as he left but as soon as the door shut, I gave the now-closed-door a middle finger. I heard my father sigh as he got up and turned around to grab the box out of the bookshelf. I pulled one of the chairs forward and sat close to his desk as he set up his personal chess board. Grabbing the white set, I set it up on my side.“What do you want, Sebastian?”
Out of the corner of my eyeI could see Justin standing in the doorway. He had his usual blank look on his face. There was a lack of shift and he looked like he was wearing Caleb’s sweats. They didn’t quite fit him right. Justin was the last person I wanted to see. I moved the spatula around the pan to make sure the vegetables I put in didn’t stick to the side.“I haven’t seen Caleb today. Sorry.”He hummed and came over to see the food I had out. “Stir fry?”Nodding, I turned and threw in some strips of leftover beef. The front door opened and shut with Caleb making a ruckus as he came into the kitchen.“I knew something smelled good. You making enough for everyone?”He started to reach in to grab something out of the pan and I slapped his hand away. “Get your own!”“Come on! I just had a tough trainin
*** Skylar’s POV ***I continued to hit the punching bag even though I knew I needed to replace it. It was hanging on by a few threads, split in half from a couple of well powered kicks. Still, there was something thrilling about trying to sever the whole thing and have it fly off. Taking a deep breath, I did a low roundhouse kick and hit the meat of the bottom-half of the punching bag. The sound of tearing echoed in the quiet space of the workout area and the bag exploded from its spot. Flying across the room, it hit the wall and the grain or rice exploded against it.Biting my lip, I watched as Ethan brushed his shoulders as he walked in from the shop. I’d told him that he could come over any time today but I didn’t realize he was going to leave straight from his territory as soon as I said that.‘He’s lucky we didn’t hit him with the bag.’ Raine snorted in my mind.I was failing to keep t
Ethan waved Kevin off as I helped him to the couch. Sam was holding back her chuckle but she did grab a water bottle from the fridge. She put it in his hands and I watched as he struggled with opening the lid. Holding back so many jabs I wanted to throw, I took the bottle from him and opened it. He glared at me but I raised my eyebrows, challenging him to say something. Sighing, Ethan sank into the couch and closed his eyes. “I think I have brain damage.” “I think it’s way too late to be stating that.” Sam shook her head. Leaving Ethan on the couch, I went to the freezer and pulled out an ice pack. Holding it against my arms, I groaned. Sam was chuckling as Kevin looked from his Alpha to me. Coming over, he pulled up my arm and cursed. “Did you two need to go all out? Goddess…you could have been seriously hurt!” Ethan waved his hand. “I am seriously hurt.” Kevin scoffed. “Your brain rattling around just means that it’s still there, contrary to popular belief. Now we know. Skylar’
My phone was sitting on the coffee table and I was pacing behind the couch. Emmett said he was going to call on his new phone over twenty minutes ago. My nerves were on high alert as I looked at my phone every couple seconds, hoping I could manifest something that hadn’t happened in the last twenty minutes. Hell, I didn’t even know if he was able to get it. He could have been unable to get the phone today and all this pacing was just wearing our floorboards down.‘Sky, you need to calm down.’ Raine had been trying to calm me down this entire time but the way her tail twitched told me she was worried as well.‘I know. I know…I just…what if he got caught with it? What if something happened?’Raine sighed. ‘If something really bad happened, then Carl would call us. Don’t worry so much. He’ll call us…’She was interrupted by the ringtone of my phone. Ju
I sat outside of the pack territory in Thing. She was idling as I stared down the road. It was so weird thinking I was allowed to go on another pack’s territory. This was the first time I was driving myself and didn’t have an escort. I’d put the top up on Thing since it was getting chillier as we headed into the actual winter months. Taking a breath, I allowed Thing to roll over the territory line.Another packs territory felt weird. It was like a weight on my shoulders. Almost like the air was thicker, telling me that if I wanted to breathe better, breathe freely, I needed to get the hell out of here. I wondered if it would feel like that if I wasn’t a rogue but now I understood why rogues didn’t spend much time, if any, in packs even if they were welcome.My phone dinged and I glanced at the text message from Ethan.E: Welcome. Head on in, the guys know you are
I can't believe I'm actually here. We are at the end of Shift. Done. Complete. Marked and mated. ;)First off, thank you. All of you. Every single one who liked, who commented, who corrected my spelling, who didn't do anything but just read. Every single one of you have stuck with me and I can only hope that you guys enjoyed a peek into the lives of Sky, Ethan, Justin, Emmett, Kev, Sam, Kat, Caleb...and so many other characters. They are near and dear to my hearts and I honestly will say, closing this last chapter out was such a heartfelt moment for me.I could not have continued this without my regulars. You know who you are and I just want to say even when I felt down, I knew I had to keep going because I honestly didn't want to disappoint. As a lot of you know, I struggle with being sick a lot. So having my writing means so much to mean and having you guys be so patient during that time means the world to me. Especially when it feels like there is so much negativity on the internet.
My lips crashed onto Sky’s and it was an entirely different feeling with the electricity of the mate bond. Niru was growling and howling incoherently in my head but at the same time, it all made sense. I wanted her, needed her. Needed everything that she would give me. The thing that surprised me the most was that I wanted to share her as well. Pulling away, I looked at Justin who was just about foaming at the mouth.“She tastes like orange citrus as well. Would you like to taste her lips?”Justin’s irises blew out and a shiver ran through his spine. He reached for her but it was a lot more gentle than I expected. He brushed her cheek and sucked a hair behind her ear before pressing his lips to hers. She molded up against his body and I stepped up behind her, brushing the hair out of her face.“Can you taste it? Taste the orange with the salt from the sea?”Justin hummed as he pulled back slowly taking her lip between his teeth for a moment before letting it go. I smirked, feeling how
Justin chuckled. “You mean Fast Orange? Yeah, I smell it. Of course that’s what she would smell like. She uses that shit almost every day.”I smiled and I realized he was beaming too. This time we did follow our noses. She had been here but she wasn’t here anymore. We followed it back up the stairs as she wove through the art tents and through the throng of people that had amassed. I pushed through first, following just my instinct, Niru almost fully taking over.Justin was right behind me, never once straying or getting stuck behind someone else. I followed the orange scent and it started getting stronger. Like I had just stuck my nose in the bucket of the stuff she kept in the shop bathroom. The beach was relatively quiet since it was getting cooler as the sun was going down.Near the edge of the waves, just where it was lapping up onto the sand, Sky stood alone. Her large-brimmed woven sunhat was pushed back on her head and sunglasses were set around the top of it. She was wearing a
There was a read receipt but she wasn’t replying. Not that I blamed her. Sky probably saw right through my charade. Justin looked over my shoulder at my phone. “Yeah, because that’s not over the top.” I growled at him but continued to stare at the screen. Finally, I held my breath when the three little dots appeared. Justin was the opposite, breathing heavy as he started at my phone as well. S: Well, it’s nice to be remembered today. Both Justin and I winced. Oh yeah, she was mad. ‘Who can blame her? I sure can’t.’ Niru added his two cents. Shaking my head, I typed up another message. Mate #1: I’m sorry, baby. Really. Come on, let’s celebrate together, yeah? We can go to your favorite place in the city, have a nice dinner or whatever you want. Justin snorted. “Way to lay it on thick.” “What else do you want me to do? We fucked up. She knows it. We know it. I’m not about to lose the chance to be with her on her birthday because of it. Are you?” That shut him up as we both
*** Ethan’s POV *** My alarm went off and all I wanted to do was throw my phone at the wall. I’d gone to bed at three in the morning and I knew this alarm was for eight. My eyelids didn’t want to open and I turned over in bed, burying my face in my pillow. This had been the first time in three days I’d gotten to bed. It was a chore dragging myself up the stairs but I’d made it.Normally, I loved doing the work behind the scenes. The problem was is that the inspector with an entire tree trunk shoved up his ass decided that he was going to nitpick laws that weren’t even updated in this century. I would know because I fucking checked. Mr. Marrow had been out three times and each time we passed the first set of requirements but would find even more to throw our way.‘You need to be extra safe when it comes to our youth. You know, they are our future and the path to a better tomorrow.’ Niru copied his grating voice almost perfectly, before growling and snapping his jaw. ‘If I could just s
*** Four Months Later *** My eyes peeled open and I reached out for my phone. The screen flashed four in the morning and I groaned. My hand fall back against the sheets and I laid there for another moment. However, it was Raine who started to bounce up and down in my head.‘Raine, come on.’‘But Sky, aren’t we doing to do the thing?’Her exuberance and happiness made a smile creep onto my face.‘Come on, Sky. If we go early, we can be there early!’‘Alright, alright! Fucking hell.’Throwing the blankets off of me, I got up and padded into the bathroom. Going pee and taking a quick shower, I woke up enough to feel somewhat alive. Coffee would get me the rest of the way there. The kitchen was quiet when I walked in and I still continued to thank the Goddess for it. It had been a month since everyone moved the hell out of my place. There was still work needing to be done in the apartments but I left that to the contractors and the guys themselves.For now, I would enjoy the simple peace
I sat on the stairs of the porch, looking out over the back yard of the pack house. Everything was so quiet here. It was nice to take a break from the chaos that was now my home. At least for a few minutes. The wind blew and I tucked a stray hair behind my ear. Looking down at my phone, I stared at the messages that were there. E: Hey Sky, I feeling a little better today. Sam made some kind of soup. It was completely inedible. She had to order pizza. It reminded me of when you tried to cook that pasta dish and you somehow managed to burn the pasta. E: I went shopping online today. Got some more clothes. Bernard came by and cut my hair for me. That was nice. It was getting in my eyes. They won’t talk about you though. It’s like you don’t exist anymore and I hate it. E: Today was a bad day. I don’t know why. I just woke up and I threw up until there was nothing left in me. Sam tried to help but I felt disgusting. I’m reminded of what I did. What I had done. It’s like it comes back
We headed down the road in Ethan’s truck. I was squished between Ethan and Justin in the center seat of the bench. Still, it felt nice as I rested my head on Justin’s shoulder and my fingers laced with Ethan’s. I’d need them to handle this trip.“I gave one of the new homes to Sam. Her and Emmett have been staying together.”“So she didn’t reject him?”Ethan squeezed my hand. “She didn’t. She hasn’t marked him but when she heard what you did, I think she thought it only right for her to give him a chance as well.”My heart lightened just a little, knowing that something good may actually come from all this pain. Ethan turned down the road that was brand new and I could see the new homes that were being built. There were three blocks of them that were already finished and he pulled into the driveway of one that was a block down. I scooted out of the middle and Justin helped me down from the truck.“Whatever you do, pretend like I’m not here.”Both Ethan and Justin gave me confused look
I woke up screaming and my eyes flung open. Everything was hazy and I didn’t know where I was. All I could remember was the all consuming feeling of the darkness. How sticky my hands were from Emmett’s blood. The last sound that came from Marrok as I killed him. My heart sped up as I started to hyperventilate, as my stomach started to roll.“Hey! Sky! It’s okay. You’re okay. You’re safe.”A hand brushed my cheek but I flinched away from in.“Shit. Hold on. I’m pulling over.”I felt bile start to come up but I just coughed, forcing myself to not throw up. I hadn’t realized we were moving until the motion stopped completely. It helped a bit for my stomach but I still felt like I couldn’t breathe. Hands slipped under my arms and pulled me up from my laying down position. My head fell heavily against Ethan’s shoulder and arms held me tight.“You’re okay. I’ve got you. I’m right here.”That broke the damn. I started to cry as I grabbed onto the front of his shirt, balling it up between my