Before Caleb could close the attic door, I looked at my brother. “He’s going to need you, Caleb.” I furrowed my brow and shook my head. “No, he’s going to need Cal. Our Cal.”
Surprise washed over his features. “Sky, what are you…?”
“You know what I am talking about.” I hissed. “You’ve been a terrible person, terrible brother, and terrible Alpha. You’ve been our dad and with me gone, he won’t have anyone in this house. He won’t have me to protect him. You’re the only one who can help him, Cal. You need to step the fuck up. He’s only seventeen. It’s too young to lose his shield.”
Caleb’s eyes furrowed. “You’re seventeen too, Sky.”
“We both know that isn’t true. After everything I’ve been through? I’m older than you are.” I gave him a smile and he just shook his head.
&l
“Is it okay if I have my usual seat? I’m more comfortable in this spot.”“Of course. Your brother though will need to be on the complete opposite side and not say a word.” For the first time, Mr. Anderson acknowledged his presence. “You, young man, can sit in the front seats there with your phone, but it must be on silent. Not vibrate, silent. Otherwise, I will take your phone and turn it off.”Caleb blinked for a second, confused as to why he was getting ordered around but he sat in the far corner in the front row. His phone was out but it was face down on the desk.“Skylar, which subject did you want to start with?”“Science, please. Science, Math, Language comprehension, and Social Studies.”He smirked. “Your class order?”“Yes, sir.” I smiled at him as I sat down and wiggled around in my seat.Looking around, I let myself settle into
“Oh! Shit! Almost forgot. The guys are coming over to the shop tonight. Giving me a farewell gift apparently. You guys are welcome to come. Emmett is coming. Stick up his ass here can’t make it, so it will just be all of us cool pups.”“I take offense to that,” Caleb chimed in. After managing to finish his burger he had moved on to the extra burnt fries.Vince shook his head. “Maybe you should quit walking funny then, Cuz.”I laughed and Caleb looked at Vince with a smirk. “I’d be careful, Vince. That Gamma position is still open. You don’t want to screw up your chances too soon.”His eyes went wide as he looked from me to Caleb and back to me. “You…you’re serious?”“Work hard and we will talk about it in a couple years.”“Oh shit.” Was all Vince could say as he tapped my foot with his under the table.I shrugged
Jaxon let go and stumbled back. Waylin had pulled him back, shaking his head. “Chill, Jax. Seriously. We have all night to start crying.” Looking over to me, he smiled. “Hey, Kick-butt. Get your tests done?”I nodded. “I’m pretty sure I got it. Won’t know until later though.”“I’m sure you got it. The band coming?”As if they were summoned, the door opened up behind us and Vince, Steph and Henry walked in. They waved and laughed as the other guys walked out.Carl was part of the elite squad of warriors that had been a long-standing tradition in our pack. That was until our father became Alpha. Suddenly, his need for power made him paranoid that there was an elite squad of warriors who together could take down an Alpha. So, he fired the warriors and terminated the entire elite program. Carl had already been taken off duty due to injuries, but his platoon ended up being retired as well. It in
“Are you really sure?” I asked again before Paul put the needle to my skin. There would be no going back after that.Jaxson chuckled. “We are so sure, that if we didn’t set it as a graduation gift, we would have done it years ago.”“Yeah and pissed off every warrior in the whole pack.” Bernard added.I tried to stifle my laugh as to not mess up Paul. “I dunno if they could be. I mean, my father got rid of the elite status.”“Yeah, but our markings still mean something. Outside of Greg, most won’t mess with us. The warriors are still jealous, but even if they had a chance, the elite status is given from within. Not even the Alpha chooses.”Steph asked from the stool near the kitchen: “Why? Why doesn’t the Alpha choose the warriors?”“So you don’t have situations like Greg.” It was Carl who answered her. “The Alpha isn’t alwa
It wasn’t even a second that my new squad stepped in to shield me. Justin’s eyes went from shocked to livid. Surprisingly, Dante didn’t make an appearance.“Justin, relax.” Carl put his hand on Justin’s shoulder. “It was ours to offer, hers to accept.”“If anyone sees her with this! If her father sees her! Do you realize what danger you’ve put her in now?”Emmett growled and I whipped my head up to find him. He was stalking toward Justin and quickly maneuvered around Drake and Waylin, who had stepped closer to me, to grab him. Blocking his path to Justin, I put my arms around him.“Em, no. Leave it.”Looking up, it was Marrok, his wolf, who was forward now. He growled again, trying to push past me.“You stupid fuck. You mean what happens when that Alpha sees her. Did we ruin her for him? I fucking hope so! You’re supposed to protect her like we are! You
Justin’s eyes slipped shut and he wove his fingers between mine.“J, look at me.”When he didn’t, I brought his hands up to my face and kissed his knuckles. His eyes opened, surprised. I smiled.“There we go. Much better.”“Sky, I…”I raised my eyebrow and he sighed.“Sorry. I shouldn’t have been upset I just…”“You were jealous.”He growled. “I wasn’t…”“You were. You were jealous that I kissed him.”I watched Justin swallow hard and nod slowly. “I was. I shouldn’t have been. I know you guys have been friends forever. I knew he…fuck…you already told me…”“Stop, Justin. There isn’t anything between us. It was a goodbye. You know that. I never reciprocated his feelings.”He tore his hands out of mine. “And me? Is
My lips turned down. “How do I contact you? How long do I have to wait?”“Sky, you can’t. Not for a while. They will be watching me. Watching everyone. You know that.”“Em!”He shook his head. “No, Sky. You have to wait. At least a couple weeks.”Tears filled my eyes and I buried them in my knees. Goddess, this was going to be shit.‘I’ll be with you. If you get bored you can talk to me.’ Raine snickered.Snorting, I snuffled. ‘Great. Just great. Kick me when I’m down.’Her snickering turned into full blow cackling. Shaking my head, I looked up to see amusement in Emmett’s eyes.“Snarky comment from Raine?”“Yeah.”He reached out and pulled my knees down. “Work, Sky. Open up the shop. Try not to take on more than you can handle but we already have a foot in the door with t
Stepping on the gas, she easily jumped to life and we tore down the road. My body wracked with sobs and I watched in the review mirror as Emmett stood in the middle of the road. It was hard to see through my tears and I finally had to wipe my eyes. As I did, I looked back in the mirror, but he was gone. Choking on my own breath, I screamed, beating my hand against the wheel as I continued to drive. I rocked in the seat, staring at the road but not really focusing on it. Inhaling, my breath shuttered and didn’t come out much better.It would take thirty minutes to get to the edge of the territory. Fifteen of those I spent fighting tears back and trying to get ahold of myself.‘Don’t worry Sky, this isn’t goodbye. Not forever. It’s…’‘Shut up, Raine. I know you’re trying to help but it’s not. It’s really not.’Raine stepped back a bit allowing me to just focus on one
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