The air was sucked out of the room. Justin was completely focused on Sky and I didn’t want to interrupt. However, if I thought maybe something would mend the relationship between Justin and Sky, this was not it. This would fracture them further, depending on how she reacted. Looking at her face, it was completely blank. Her eyes were the only thing that shifted and it was like she was trying to search for the truth. My eyes met Kev who gave me a nod.
“W-what…what are y-you talking about?” Sky finally spoke, her eyebrows knit together.
“Sky, I know…I know you love him. I know he’s your brother. Trust me. I wouldn’t…this is the last thing I would ever want to tell you. But Sky…he’s not…he’s not your Em anymore. He’s gone. He has been for a long time. We just never realized.” Justin searched her face but outside of the knit eyebrows, there was nothing to give away her f
*** Skylar’s POV *** ‘Sky…’I ignored Raine as I drove. All the windows in Thing were down and my face already felt numb as the cool air whipped around me. Blasting my playlist, I didn’t want to hear anything but the screaming and the wind. My own thoughts were my enemy right now. Even though it felt right now like Justin was my own enemy.Ethan made me believe that maybe there was something that motivated him outside of him just attacking Emmett. I believed Ethan, thought that maybe, Justin would have something that made sense. Something that I could have forgiven him for. Slamming my palm into the steering wheel, I felt the vibration in my other hand.I was so stupid. Seeing Justin in front of me, his eyes meeting mine, and I could feel my heart beat. It was like every feeling that I had for him roared back to life. The small moments we shared, the kisses, the touches, and just simple words of affection. His friendship meant so much to me. I’d done nothing but shove all those feelin
I hooked my keys on the little hanger right next to the stairs. I’d stuck around the mall until the shops started to close. I watched as employees pulled down their gates and said goodbye for the night. I stayed until the last showing of the movie theater let out a stream of people. The once packed garage of cars now was completely empty save for a group of cars that were most likely employees near the north end.Even then, I didn’t go back to Thing right away. I walked around the streets. The still open shops and restaurants that worked past the nine o’clock were lighting up the roads that now had a light dusting of snow on them. I walked until my cheeks stung and my hands were cold in the pocket of my sweatshirt. There weren’t answers in walking though. Not that I was looking for them.Raine and I got stuck in a loop of ‘what ifs’ without any proof and it seemed moot to continue going back and forth. I just didn’t feel like h
Anger, sadness, betrayal, everything I had felt when I heard Justin attacked Emmett roared to life but now it was regarding my own twin. My own fucking brother. What else had he done? What other lies was I not apart of? Who did he hurt?I couldn’t hold it in anymore as I leaned forward and wailed. Rocking back and forth, I tried to gather the pieces of myself but it was no use. Emmett never intended on coming here. He didn’t bother creating a home. Not here. Justin was right. Fuck. He was right and it felt worse than thinking he was wrong.My stomach rolled. Oh goddess. I was going to be sick. I needed out of here. Stumbling into the kitchen, I leaved over the sink and emptied my stomach. The apple, the coffee, hell, the lemonade from yesterday. It all burned as I threw it up, tears stinging my eyes. The cuts on my legs were leaving trails of blood and I grimaced. Taking out the pieces of ceramic, I dropped them into the sink before I felt my knees start to give.Sliding down to the fl
I heard Emmett snort, even without speaker being on. “For being so strong, sometimes you’re just so spineless.”My face screwed up in anger and pain. “I’m spineless?” I hit the speaker button. “What about you? You took my curse!”“You didn’t even notice! I started freshman year! It was a little at a time but I watched you. The moment you started to look at me odd, I’d stop. Let it settle. And then start back up. You didn’t even fucking notice! Not that it was gone. And not that I was taking it!” He yelled into the phone and I shook.“Freshman year…that’s…”He scoffed. “Don’t fucking bleed for me. I managed to set you up to take over. I set up everything. And yes, a few things went wrong. I never meant for you actually leave in the first place. But Dad and that stupid Alpha thought they would go around me to make a deal.”Shaking my head, I couldn’t even fathom what he was saying. “You said…you would…protect me. You only showed up because you knew already what was happening…”“I wanted
Everything now was hazy. At one point I think I may have picked myself off the floor. Or maybe it was Raine. She took over sometimes, gently nudging me out of the way. Most of the time though, I couldn’t feel her. I couldn’t feel anything.I spent my time curled up in the chair that faced the windows in my room. But I wasn’t seeing out. I wasn’t looking out. All my feeling was gone. Part of me half expected rogues to come attack and drag me back to the pack. Time continued to move and I’d been left alone.Wasn’t that what I wanted?What I asked for?Questions came and went in my mind but never any answers. Answers right now meant pain. All I wanted was to be numb. I didn’t want to feel anything. I didn’t even know who I was anymore.I probably should have been more alarmed when the creak of my bedroom door echoed in the room. Raine had tried to put some music on but I turned it off. Music was soul foo
“I’m sorry, baby. If I could take this away I would. You know I would.”I tried to swallow my sobbed but I could barely breathe. “He…he…” My eyes shut tight, trying to be able to spoke through my breaths. “He’s not…done. I’m…scared…he might…hurt you…or anyone…”“Hey, hey. It’s okay. Take your time. We will figure this out.” It was Justin this time.My eyes slid to his. “I…I don’t think…I can kill him…”Justin tucked some hair behind my ear. “No one is asking you to, Sky.”“But…”“Right now, that’s not what you need to be worrying about. We will figure it out. The fact that you have rejected his plans already throws a wrench in his plans already. It might take him some time to recover and plan something. In the meantime, we get stronger
A plate dropped into the sink and the two of them turned on me, their eyes wide. Ethan burst out laughing and Justin turned red.“No! The hell, Sky! Why would you ask that?”I shrugged. “You guys just seem in sync is all. That usually comes with taking your relationship to the next level.”Justin whined and looked at Ethan. “You’re supposed to help me! Say we haven’t!”Ethan shook his head, still laughing. “She brought it up before. I think she wants us too.”Justin gagged and looked back at me “Are you serious? Sky. I mean…we’re your mates. Not…I mean…we are but like…”My eyebrow rose as I watched Justin flail at an explanation. Ethan continued to find his struggle funny as hell and I tried to cover my own smile by sipping the Sprite I took out. Finally, he threw up his hands and stomped away to my bedroom, slamming the door. Dropping m
Hello everyone! I’ve been updating on my social media but I wanted to sneak in a quick update here. I’m sorry for the break. I promise it was not intentional. I’m actually beyond sad that I can’t write. A week ago I started feeling really bad and it just got progressively worse. I went to the doctor. Got meds and have been trying to hang in there the entire week. But after five days of mot even 2hrs of sleep a night, I was at my wits end. Hubby took me to the ER this morning. After x-rays, it’s confirmed I have pneumonia. Which is both good and bad. Pneumonia sucks but none of the medication that was previously given to me has been working. Now we can actually tailor the medication to pneumonia. I’m able to write this because I slept for 6ish hours today. ^_^ Finally. I can barely keep my eyes open. But I already feel so much better. I am going to do my best to kick this and get back to writing. I have been thinking about it. I want to write so bad. I just haven’t had the strength
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