Humming for a moment, she got up and this time I followed her as she wove through the rows of books. Stopping near the back, she looked up at the shelf, narrowing her eyes.
“What kind of information are you looking for exactly?”
“Territory lines, alliances, past Alphas, that kind of stuff.”
Her head turned slightly to me, a wry smile on her face. “You mean information a new Alpha would need?”
Chuckling, I nodded. She reached up and took a huge book off the shelf. It wasn’t just thick but was also triple the size of a normal book. My eyes widened as I took it.
“This one isn’t able to leave the library but you’re welcome to copy down any information. It’s updated every quarter, so it’s due for its next update in December, but it is still pretty much up to date as far as I know.”
“Perfect. Thank you.”
She turned and headed out of the aisle, and I he
“Then why not back Emmett? Help Emmett take over. He’s…”“Too weak. He’s a great communicator, a great leader when it comes to certain things. He’s not a fighter though. Emmett can’t back up his decisions wholeheartedly if it leads to death or having to take action. There is a firmness that he needs to be.”Justin’s nostrils flared. “Then help him! Stand next to him!”“As what? His second Alpha? People are going to mow him down if I’m not there. What kind of Alpha needs someone else to back him up and do his dirty work? Or make the hard decisions? No other Alpha is going to take him seriously. He’s too kind and honestly, I don’t want that position to corrupt him. He could eventually become the Alpha he needs to be in order to help the pack survive. But that would be at the cost of his soul, his very essence that makes Emmett, Emmett. So no. I would never put my broth
Ignoring Raine, I pulled off my sweatshirt and placed it on the bed. The whole room was decorated to be a kids room, where one of his pups would stay. He had done a lot, once he found out Alice was expecting, to make it nice. He hoped that having pups would change her mind. That they deserved a good and peaceful place to grow up. That wasn’t the case. In fact, she seemed to get worse. I’d read about postpartum depression but it seemed to hit her before her first pup was born.Grabbing the bottles, I took the empty ones and threw them in the recycling in the kitchen. The full ones I poured out in the kitchen sink before adding them to the pile of empty ones. I then tossed all the used joints in the little ash tray he’d brought into the room. The whole room would need to get washed and fumigated after this. The unsmoked ones I added to the bag in my backpack. I’d hand them off to my friends at school tomorrow. To hold them over while I was gone until som
My brother started to say something but I put my hand up. “You could teach him if he wanted to learn. He doesn’t want to learn though. He wants the power and the title to treat people like shit so they can’t talk back to him. So that he can be the ultimate bully all the while doing it in your name. He isn’t good. For you or the pack.”“So what do you suggest, Sky? I just not take him as leadership?”I shrugged. “Honestly, yeah. I wouldn’t. But if you’re set on it, make him a Delta. Put him in charge of something, one thing, and expect perfection from him. Be hard on him if he doesn’t achieve that. He will never learn, otherwise. Never be open to it.”Caleb sighed. “Father wouldn’t allow that.”I raised my eyebrow. “Oh, so Father’s taking Greg as his Beta?”“Well, no but…”“But what, Caleb? You need people aroun
Locking up the house, I noticed it took him a couple times to get the key into the lock. Throwing the recycling back into the trunk, I put my backpack in the back seat.“You drive. I’m still too hammered to drive. I don’t even know if I could get the buckle in before the sun went down.”“You better avoid our father then. If you’re drunk, you’re just going to piss him off today. I’d at least like to say goodbye.” I grabbed the keys from him as we switched sides. He slipped into the passenger seat and I slipped into the driver’s seat.However, considering how tall he was, I just dropped nearly to the bottom of the car. I couldn’t even look over the steering wheel. He started to laugh and leaned over gripping his stomach. While I had a smile on my face as well, I got started in lifting the seat up and forward. When I could finally reach the pedal comfortably and see outside, I started the engine.
Emmett handed it to me but before I took it, I ripped a hole in my sweats to make it easy to see my leg.“Caleb, hold my leg. I need it steady for me to do this.”His hands grabbed right around my knee and calf, holding tight. Taking a deep breath, I shoved the blanket in my mouth, curled my hand around the letter opener, and yanked it out. I screamed as the pain quadrupled for a moment; blood now pouring from the wound. Emmett was quick with a pad of gauze, pressing it hard on my leg, making me scream again. My leg started to shake but Caleb held tight. After about a minute, I’d successfully threaded the needle and was ready.Emmett stopped putting pressure, but it was still oozing a bit. I went in with the needle and thread, crying out, tears streaming down my cheeks as I sewed myself up expertly. Once I tied it off, Emmett cut it and then proceeded to gently wipe the area with the alcohol. Every time it touched the wound, I cried but held fi
My phone flashed 6:45 a.m., the time that the early risers of the pack house would be getting up. School also started in fifteen minutes for the first period. It felt nice to sit in the diner on a school day, not worrying about my classes or teachers or even my fellow students. I hoped the weed would be enough of an apology to the band that I was skipping out again.The waitress came over and smiled, “What can I get you, sweetie?”“I..um…can I g-get the breakfast platter? Eggs o-over easy, w…w…with bacon, and a l-large glass of orange juice?” I blushed, staring down at the table, wringing my hands in my sweatshirt pocket.Nodding, she scribbled down my order on her pad. “Nice to see someone who knows what they want in the morning.”Taking another deep breath, I tried to push past the nausea and the feeling like this waitress was judging me. “Did…did Reggie make the…um…coff
Gina brought my plate of food and I ate with gusto. Healing always left me famished. I knew my body worked harder to heal due to the suppression anklet. So the energy used left me dying of hunger. I watched Carl work on some of the cars as I finished eating. Downing my orange juice, I asked for another glass of it rather than coffee. I’d nursed it through my meal, but it felt so rich I didn’t think I could handle another mug.Looking down at my phone, there were three missed calls from Caleb and multiple text messages.Cal: Greg went to the school first. They pulled the security footage after you were marked absent. The middle finger was a nice touch.Cal: He tried to call Justin, since he knows all your hangouts but Justin got put on patrol duty after yesterday.Cal: What happened between you two? He’s bee
“You had a single fucking job, Greg. To find my sister. I didn’t say make a fucking detour by verbally attacking a pack member! I had to get called out here in the middle of an Alpha meeting!” Caleb yelled at Greg.I smirked. My talk with him must have stuck. Maybe the added letter opener in my leg was the solidifier.“He attacked me!”“You aren’t a member of leadership yet! You aren’t even a warrior! You didn’t have any authority to demand anything when you came in here. You’re pissed because you can’t find her, but you can’t just go around insulting people to get what you want!”Greg pointed at Carl. “I know he’s hiding her! They are always here! Her and her stupid man whore of a brother!”This time, Caleb’s fist connected with Greg’s face. He didn’t put nearly as much force into it as Carl had but it did make him take a step back. We
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