I let out the breath I had been holding. For now, I felt like I was safe. There was a distinct feeling that I needed to thank her wolf for giving me a chance. Skylar’s personality was very much independent and willing to push anyone away. Raine must be snipping at her to try and make some kind of effort with me.
Skylar got up and took her plate around but I rose as well. She started to put the leftovers in a container while I rinsed and put the dishes in the dishwasher. Her curiosity seemed to get the better of her and she chortled behind me.
“Do you normally do dishes?”
I nodded. “Depending on the day. We don’t keep staff on except for one of the cleaning services out of town. We hire them to come in and clean a bit. The cooking and everything else is left to the three of us living in the pack house.”
“Is that…usual? ‘Cause it definitely wasn’t in our pack.”
This made me laugh. &ld
‘How the hell did I get here?’I stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling. It was the same color as my ceiling at home but the room was completely different. Honestly, just in terms of color, furniture, and art, everything in this room was better than my room at home. It felt…good. Not that I belonged here but that I didn’t get the weird feeling. That feeling I was somewhere I shouldn’t be when I slept away from the pack house. It was still disconcerting.‘You’re overthinking this.’ Niru was annoyed as my mind continued to run.‘I’m not. If I got used to this…if this felt normal…then I wouldn’t mind spending time away from the pack.’Niru grumbled. ‘It’s good to step away once in a while. Take a vacation. You never relax.’‘Of course not! I’m Alpha! I never…’‘Your
Pacing my office, I ran my hands through my hair for the umpteenth time. Niru was silent but only because I had pushed him back over a hour ago. Was it too soon to text her? What did I text her? Would it just be a normal conversation? Or would she think I was imposing too much? What if she didn’t even answer? Would I need a reason to text her? Could I think of something stupid? Or maybe just say I needed some information to give to Heath?There were so many questions that kept me from reaching out to Skylar. It had been three days and I hadn’t heard a single peep from her. We exchanged numbers so she could text me if she needed to be on territory, but there was nothing from her. Was I supposed to reach out to her first? Was there some kind of etiquette that I didn’t know about?“You’re going to go bald if you keep doing that, sweetheart.”I nearly yelped as my mom stepped into the office. Her eyes widened and she covered her m
Despite my mom being excited about the new incoming items, she still ordered one of her favorites; the Cedar Plank Salmon. Dad went with the twenty ounce ribeye and I decided on the Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin. They both ordered a bottle of wine but I passed on the wine, ordering a beer instead. “So, what is the situation with the Alpha King?” My dad asked. I only shrugged. “He did reach out and told me that he heard his mercenaries were taken out. I told him that after he left, I headed up to see the damage and what I needed to clean up.” I shook my head, taking a sip of beer. “I also expressed my irritation that I didn’t know what was going on before hand. That I’m not a fan having to scramble to clean up his mess when he already was going against what we talked about as an alliance.” “You didn’t!” My dad looked shocked. “Of course I did. The only reason he did it on my territory was because he knew I wouldn’t snitch to the other guys. It doesn’t
The ride, for about an hour, felt awkward as I drove her in the passenger seat. She fiddled with her jacket and jeans. I stopped her apology after the fourth time that she might get grease or blood on my seat. It wasn’t a big deal since this was mostly my daily use car. If it was Hera, it might have been a different story. But knowing Skylar’s love of cars, she probably would have insisted on taking a shower first.“It’s the inhibitor, right? It stops you from being able to heal at a normal rate.”She wasn’t expecting me to say anything because she jumped a bit at my voice. “Y-yeah. It suppresses the healing ability. It also stops me from being able to mind link anyone other than Raine. I was lucky that she broke through the barrier pretty early to speak to me. Emmett wasn’t so lucky. We had to take some time to work with his wolf to get him past the barrier.”I nodded, looking out at the road. “I told
“What do you mean they are in the garage?” Kev’s voice sounded the same as it did back in elementary school.“Yes, Kev. I brought Skylar with me. I need to grab the witches gate key from my office and I am going to head up north with her.”Kev threw his hands up. “Why didn’t you warn me? If you weren’t headed down the same time that I felt it, I would have sent the guys after her!”I chuckled. “The fact that I was coming onto the territory at the same time, Kev, you should have been able to put two and two together. I expect you to use that brain more.”He sighed as he followed me into the office and I opened up the safe behind a stack of books. Pulling out the gate key, I shut the safe and put it back. Ignoring Kev, I walked past him but he still followed me back into the living room.“So, what is she doing here?”“I invited her, Kev. We need to speak with t
*** Skylar’s POV ***I woke up with a start; sitting up ready to attack. My heart was racing but there was no one in the room. It was dark even with the window open. There was a blanket that was coving me and I was laying on a bed. Raine was growling in my head but she seemed as tired as I felt.‘They tried to bind us!’ She spit out, pissed.Pinching the bridge of my nose, I tried to get the hammering of my heart under control. ‘I mean, it wouldn’t work. We aren’t a witch.’‘It hurts like hell though!’ Raine was foaming at the mouth.I sighed and tried to take better stalk of my surroundings. It was a fairly plain bedroom. The furniture was slightly mismatched but all of it was dark wood. There was a door partially open on the right side that was a bathroom, the light on was the only light in the room. On the wall to the left looked like sliding doors for
Raine and I’s surprise mixed together. Kat’s anger was enough to make us take a half step away from her. The air shifted and it suddenly became hard to breathe. Raine was starting to panic and I shook my head.‘Just put your hand on her shoulder. You’re the one who wanted to do this. So fucking forgive them.’‘I didn’t say I was going to forgive…’She didn’t say anything else as she placed a hand on the Luna’s shoulder. The air wavered but went back to normal as Kat’s hand covered ours. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at Raine and gave a small smile.“Sorry.”Raine shook her head. “No need. It’s…nice…that someone cares enough about us.”“You weren’t this mad when the Alpha King attacked her!” The smaller witch, Sophie, grumbled, plopping back down in the chair.“I’ve s
‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry…just…I’ll do what you want. I’ll let them do whatever, just let me take the pain. Let me handle it.’My forehead touched the barrier and I slid down to my knees. I didn’t know what was going on. All I knew is that I needed to get to her. No matter what. Suddenly, the barrier wavered again, another scream rippling through and I threw my fist as hard as I could into it. It shattered, the pieces blowing apart and I raced forward, out from the confinement of the darkness.Sliding forward, I took hold of Raine. Her wolf form was limp as I placed her head in my lap. Stoking her fur, I kissed the top of her head between her ears.‘I’m here. It’s okay. I’m here now.’‘Sky…’ Her voice was scratchy and she sounded exhausted.I smiled and nodded, running my fingers through her fur as my nails scratched her s
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