Nix? I called out in my mind.I’m trying to rein it in, but she pissed me off. Her voice was low. I watched her shake herself, but she was still riled. Megan trotted over to her and rubbed her side down Nix’s. I watched as my one wolf calmed my other one, and when Nix finally nodded, I opened my eyes to see I had shifted back.I rubbed my arms, and Ronnie ran his finger through his hair. “Please don’t shift until your father has been fixed. I don’t think I could keep up with Nix, nor keep her in check.” Ronnie shook himself before heading back upstairs. I could still make out Aurora’s screaming, but we headed all the way back upstairs. “What about the tools?”“Beck will grab them.” I nodded and headed up the stairs while Ronnie closed the door behind us and he called back up to me. “Amy?”“Yeah?”“You, ugh, you have a knife in your back pocket.” Confused, I patted my pocket, and sure enough, I had a small knife I had grabbed from the room with the tools. I pulled it out and flipped
“Hold his hand out.” I pulled it out far enough, and Ronnie looked at me. “What?”“Hold his right hand out now.” My father was screaming. “What the fuck are you doing? Ronnie, if you fucking listen to her I will kill you,” He snarled. His aura tried to come out, but it didn’t reach us.“What the hell?”“Your dad spelled this cell so that he couldn’t make us release him. He wanted to make sure he wouldn’t be a danger to the pack.” I nodded and braced myself. I pulled his hand out as far as I could and nodded to Ronnie. He wrapped his hand around his arm. Once he was settled, and he gave me a nod, I let go. I wrestled his hand open, and I pulled the knife from my back pocket.“Amy, what are you doing?” My father fought harder, slamming Ronnie’s back against the bars.“Do you trust me?” I fought to hold his hand straight as I brought the knife closer.“Of course. But what are you doing?”“If I’m right, what I am about to do will not be pretty, but it needs to be done.” “What are you
“Alsh firmate alite.” The fire ball flew from my hands and exploded against the dry wood. It caught, and soon the fire was burning through the wood quickly. I fed more wood, bigger pieces into the fire, and waited for it to catch. I wanted to be sure that this was going to be burning for a while before I moved on to the next step. Once I was sure that the fire was good, I flipped back to the page I needed. I read the entire page twice before I put the book back on the ground. I pulled my mother’s necklace out of my pocket and my father’s skin. I prayed to the Moon Goddess that I was right before I tossed both in. “Ista nox luva sit nu.” I slowly repeated the word three times, and I watched as the fire flared and turned pink. I hoped that meant I was right before I sat back on my heels. Now I just had to wait. I fed the fire and watched as the necklace slowly melted away, and nearly gagged from the smell as the small bit of my father went with it. I let the fire go until I saw ever
The sun was breaking over the trees as I broke out of the forest. I didn’t realize that the burning took so long. It took the entire night. Megan’s voice sounded tired. I nodded as I ran into the pack house and up the stairs. I needed to see him for myself before I believed he was truly back to his normal self. I made it to the landing, and I was hearing the pack house wake up, but I was only focused on one thing.“Dad?” I slammed into the office and skidded to a stop. My father was there, sitting behind his desk. He looked like he was normal, but that didn’t mean he was. Ronnie was slumped in his normal chair and they both looked up to where I was panting in the doorway.“Yeah pup.” His smile made me burst into tears. “You scared the crap out of me, old man. I thought I had lost you.” I ran into his arms as he stood and he wrapped his arms around me.“I’m sorry Amy. I should have listened to you sooner. I wouldn’t have hurt you if I had.” He pulled back to look at the faded bruises
The Agora was breathtaking. The clearing looked like a natural stone quarry, if that made any sense. Rocks were staggered down toward the lower floor, like steps, and it was already filling up with the pack. There was a path that circled down the side wall of the crater until it ended at the bottom, where a chair, or should I say, a throne, waited. There was a smaller one to the side, which I could only assume it was for the Alpha and Luna. As I stepped down with my father, I could feel the truth settle in my bones. This was the birthplace of our kind. You could feel the ancient roots here wrap around you. The trees bowed outward, allowing the sun and moon to shine down on the people collected here. This was where fates were decided. My father and I reached the bottom, and he gestured me to sit in the luna’s chair and I nodded. I settled and my father walked to the floor as everyone filed in. You could see the wolves that knew the truth of this place fill with a sense of pride. And
“Because!” she snarled and rose up to glare at her parents. “You were weak. Both if you were so weak. I deserved to be a ranked wolf. I worked my ass off to become stronger, only to find myself stuck in the middle with you two.” She looked disgusted. Her parents reeled back with the hate. “We loved you.” Sheila whispered, her voice trembling.“What’s so wrong with being unranked wolf?” Someone from the stands shouted.“Yeah?” Another called down. Soon, the entire pack was riled up.“Everything!” Amanda stood and whirled on the crowd. “You are weak. Unimportant. Poor. Pathetic wolves who are happy in your pathetic, insignificant lives. I deserve to be a luna, I deserve to lead. I deserve-” She stomped her foot.“Nothing.” My voice echoed around the clearing. “You deserve nothing.” Amanda turned back to me with a glare. “Being an alpha, or luna, isn’t something we deserve. It isn’t even something we earn. We are born to lead. We are born stronger, faster, bigger than normal wolves. Not
I stood on shaky paws, and I looked down at the girl between my feet. “What are you?”“I already told you,” Nix growled out as she lowered our head to Amanda’s. “I am an alpha of this pack, and I have made my decree.” Nix lifted our muzzle to the sky and howled. The loud lone call was matched with the shifted wolves of this pack. The ones that were left bowed their heads to us. “Does anyone disagree?”“No Alpha.” The call went out, even Jay and Sheila bowing their consent. “Mom! Dad!” Amanda called out, but they turned their backs on her. As did the rest of the pack. She looked around as she stumbled to her feet. She looked back to Nix. “From this day forth, Amanda Williams will be shunned by any of this pack. She will be joined by Aurora Williams once she is caught. We do not suffer betrayers in this pack.”“You have until sundown to collect the belongings you are taking with you. You need to be off pack lands or else the warriors have permission to attack on sight.” My father walk
I was able to tackle the wolf that dove for the pup and I made quick work of it. I whirled on the family, and they cried as I walked closer and sniffed around them to make sure no one was hurt. “You’re okay. Head to the closest building and lock yourself in a room.”The mom and kid continued to cry, but the father nodded. “Thank you…Alpha…” He trailed off, and I realized these people were too scared to scent me. “I’m Nix, Amy’s wolf.” I licked my muzzle to clean off any blood so not to scare the kid. But she threw herself at me. “Amy?”“Yes. You’re safe now, Sophie. Now, do as you’re told and go. Stay safe.” The mom and dad grabbed the pup from my leg and then hustled into whoever’s house they were cornered at. I heard a few doors slam and a lock turn before I ran off towards another howl.I made my way through the pack. One call for help after another. Sometimes, I made it in time, others someone else had already beaten me to it. I was about to run to the next howl, but it was cut
The room’s temperature dropped. Everyone stopped and stared at the two men, and not one person looked away. We were all watching this car accident as it happened. What did he just admit to? I tapped my fingers to my lips, still holding in my laugh, but then Nadine shot a glare to me and I lost it. I keeled over and started laughing. Tears were streaming down my face as I pooped back up, and I had to hold the stitch in my side. “What’s so fucking funny about this girl?” Thinius sneered, and I wiped the tears from my eyes.“You really are fucking stupid.” I wiped my face some more and sighed while I shook my head. “You would think with your age you have more intelligence, but here you are.” I waved my hand around and turned to face the crowd, then turned back. “Admitting to rigging the contest for queen, in front of the king, who you are forcing to select a mate when he wants to wait for his goddess given mate. You might as well just say that you all have banded behind his back to forc
Nina stumbled back, and Nadine went with her. “My king.” She cried out. “Are you really going to allow her to threaten us in front of you?” Rowan seemed to think about it for a moment. Then he shook his head and turned to me. I saw a flash of triumph on Nadine’s face. I lifted a brow and Rowan smile. “Are you threatening them?”“No, my king.” I grinned up at him. “I’m swearing an oath.” Another gasp went through the room. “I, Amy Maclean, swear that if anyone from this family provokes me in any way going forward, I will call for a Cath Báis. I will refuse any and all reconciliation methods brought forth by the council. Any more provocation will end in death, either Nina’s or my own. On this I swear.” I felt the world shift, the oath taking form. “NO!” Nina dropped to her knees. I drew in a breath of air, feeling lighter. Nix settled, and Megan rubbed her side against the barrier and then Nix, calming us both. Calm, sisters. Her voice was soft and comforting. The angrier you are, th
A gasp went through the room.“A death battle?” Rowan raised his eyebrow, but I just nodded.“This family has been pushing me since the beginning of the year. Nina has claimed to be the one that donated to everyone, using my money and my silence as a way to negotiate her work out of people.” There was another gasp, and I nodded. “She has used my generosity to get the grades she has.” I lifted one finger, counting on my hands the bullshit they have done. “She has tried to attack me when I was running, even though she knew who I was because she was trying to impress a wolf out in the woods.” Another finger. “She has used her rank, her influence, and her status as apparently the next queen to lord over this fucking school and, to be frank, I’m over it.” A few people clapped. “And then her sister and uncle come here to tell me that I have to fall in line with their bullshit power and influence. They have actively tried to get rid of unranked wolves, because to them, they are lesser than a
Everyone froze. The entire room held their breath as heavy footsteps clipped through the crowd. I felt both my wolves perk up as Rowan made it through the crowd of women. I closed my eyes, reining in my anger and shifting my fangs away, doing my best to settle my insides before he came over to me. “Hello, my king.” I turned and looked up at him. His eyes zeroed onto the blood on my face and I watched his eyes flash to his wolf’s. “Hello rabbit.” His words were a soft whisper that I barely caught. I felt heat crawl up my neck again. “Hello Alpha Amy.” This time, his words were loud enough for everyone to hear. “Do you mind explaining why you’re using your aura on the three in front of you?”“My king!” Thinius cried out. “This bitch is-”I growled, and a surprising amount of others did too. “My king, if you would allow me to say something?” A woman called from the side of the room. I turned to find the very first woman from earlier walking over. Rowan looked at me, raising his eyebrow,
“How is this possible?” His words were a bare whisper as he stared at me, slowly walking towards him.I laughed, what else could I do, when a man stood in front of me sure of his strength and he was realizing it wasn’t doing anything? He pushed more, the strain evident on his face, but it barely moved me. Sure he was strong for other wolves. But not me. He didn’t even come close to the king’s strength and even Rowan couldn’t put me on my knees. Not with his power, anyway. Nix’s voice was amused, and she pushed a thought into my mind. I was on my knees in front of Rowan and his hand was in my hair. I pushed the thought away. Not now. I admonished her, but I felt the heat crawling up my neck as she laughed. A pained moan snapped me back to what was going on. I could feel that Thinius was pushing himself to his limit, but it started to hurt everyone else. I turned to find everyone one, including Toya, pressed to the ground. I felt my eyes narrow as I turned back to see Nina staggerin
Her scream was immediate. I watched with detached amusement as she dropped to the ground, cupping her hand with the other one. Her sister turned and crouched down next to her. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” She snarled up at me and I rolled my neck. “Wrong with me?” I dropped down to look her in the eye and let Nix push even closer. My eyes flashed to their golden hue. “Nothing.” Nix pushed harder, and her voice joined mine, again. “I’m just tired of pathetic alphas trying to dictate how I live. How I behave. And more importantly, who I can talk to.” I felt the blood flow faster as I smiled. The fangs pressed into my lips again, slicing into the freshly healed skin, but I didn’t care. “You can’t do this,” Nadine pressed, but I just laughed. “Are you going to stop me?” I stood and looked at Thinius. “Or are you?” I tilted my head. “I will tell you right now that you won’t win.” My smile growing bigger. “But please, try.”Thinius stepped closer to me. “You shut this table down no
“What? Did Nina not tell you that these applications were routed straight to the king’s email?”Thinius turned to look at Nina, and I watched her back up a step. “No, no, she didn’t. But it doesn’t matter. All applications need to go through the council.” He tried to rally and stepped closer. “The council has been already checking to see who is appropriate for the position.”I nodded. “I figured you might say that.” I pulled out my phone and scrolled back to the press release from Rowan. “And I quote ‘Any single and unmated female may apply. Regardless of age or rank. All applications will be considered.’ End quote.” I clicked my phone off and turned to look at Thinius. “But according to some ladies here, they attempted to apply through the council and they application was denied before even being reviewed.” I felt my eyes shift as Nix grew impatient. “Was that you? Or did another council member decide to go against the words of the King again?”He sputtered at that, and I watched his
Her words gave me goosebumps. It was obvious she was looking for a fight. The moon on her forehead glinted.I’m tired of holding back Amy, and Nina keeps poking at me. Nix looked a little rabid as she came closer to the barrier in my mind. She was standing with her hackles already raised, and drool foaming at the sides of her mouth. I took a deep breath and turned to the voice that was working its way through the crowd to stand next to Nina. I nearly rolled my eyes when I realized it was the council member. And not just any council member. It was Nina’s uncle Thinius and Nadine. “And what exactly are we waiting for?” I smiled as I tilted my head.“Do you know who this is?” Nadine snarled, but that only made my smile bigger.“I am assuming you are trying to intimidate me by bringing Uncle Thinius the council member, to my table.” I watched as Nina and Nadine smiled. “But I think you overestimated yourselves, and him.” I looked down at my nails. Then back to the trio now hovering by m
I ran to the caff to grab a breakfast sandwich and a coffee, then made my way to the table where the girls were already gathered. “Hey.” I took the last bite of my sandwich and slid into a seat, only to nearly choke to death when Hanna and Micca both yelled.“Amy!” The food hit the back of my throat when I inhaled and I started to cough. The two of them came over, bouncing while I tried to swallow the food that was currently trying to kill me. I finally swallowed the lump in my throat. “Yeah?” I coughed more and they at least looked apologetic. “Sorry.” Hanna patted my back, but Micca just pushed her away.“Look at your hair!” Micca pulled on my newly shortened strands. “Does it look bad?” I grabbed a curl, tucking it behind my hair.“No!” She fluffed up my hair some. “I think it looks amazing on you. Your curls seem to have more life, more bounce. It looks fantastic. Who did it?” Micca looked around. “I’ve needed a haircut for a long time.”I pointed to Toya. “She did.”“Oh my god