“Thank you.” I smiled as we walked out of yet another store. I was exhausted, but we still had more stops to make. I looked at everything in my hands: my new sheets, blankets, pillows. Everything we threw away, we had replaced. Except for my bed. “I’m tired, my head hurts, and I’m-”
“Whining.” My mom finished. But she smiled. “We just need to get you a new mattress and get the old one hauled away.” “Plus, finish the laundry and get the carpets cleaned.” I pointed out. She closed her eyes. “I forgot.” She stretched out her back and tied her hair up. “Now, let’s finish this part up. I still need to fix dinner.”“Why don’t we just order food? Morgan and Shannon will survive a day of take out.” My mom rolled her eyes and I watched as she bobbed her head back and forth. Then she decided.“Fine. You’re right.” She gaThat stopped me for a minute. I looked back at my mother and she smiled. “Carl here, is what you would call a nomad. He was a part of my father’s pack, but trailed with me to your fathers, and then to here. He refused to swear fealty to Vince. So he stays off pack lands. He set up shop here, and since he is one of the few warriors skilled enough to make descenting spray, Vince tolerates him.” My mother went over to Carl and kissed his cheek.“Always a pleasure to see my Luna.”“Oh, so he meant he follows you.” I bounced my finger between the two and my mom looked up at Carl, who also gave a tiny nod.“Yes, and no. Carl here is also a shaman.”“A what?”“A shaman.” My mother held out her hand and I walked over to them. “Your father had his grandmother’s help with his pack.” She stared at me. “My father had Carl.” I could see it in her eyes. She was asking me to understand.“Shamans are like grandmother?” I tilted my head and Carl laughed.“Yes, and no.” This time it was him. “We are bl
I turned back to the spill and picked up the broken plastic bottle. I tossed it in the trash I saw and mopped up the spray. “You work here?” Brandon’s voice was incredulous.“Not really. Carl is my mom’s friend. We came here for descenting spray. But Carl asked my mom about a contact back in her dad’s old pack and then they took off. Asking me to watch the store.” I smiled as I lied through my teeth.“We didn’t see them leave.” Vince turned around and silenced Brandon with a look.“Well…I didn’t realize you were watching.” I laughed as I stared at them and I saw Brandon’s wince. “They went out the back, since that’s where Carl’s truck is. My mom rode here with me, but Carl will give her a ride back here and we will go home.”“Do you know where they went?” Vince shopped, and I made my way to the counter. I prayed I was going to be able to work the cash register.“They said they were going down the road for ingredients, but that they might have to go all the way to my grandpa’s pack for
Vince walked up to the counter with a few things. “Now, now, Brandon might have gone about talking to you in the wrong way, but he only had good intentions.” He put everything on the counter.“Yeah. I heard what his intentions were through the wall most nights.” I snorted my laugh. “I can appreciate the effort. Really, I can. But I have a rule. I don’t date someone a friend or family member has dated.” I met Brandon’s eyes. “I sure as heck won’t sleep with the same men.”I watched as he deflated. “What? You can’t be serious…” He looked at his dad. I could see the disbelief on both their faces.“What are you saying here, Amy?” Vince tapped a finger on the countertop. “That you would only be with a virgin man?” His laugh was annoying. “If that is a requirement, I think you will be alone for your entire life.” Brandon chuckled.I
“Oh.” My mother laughed. She waved her hand. “I think all parents want their kids to have high standards for the one they mate with. Don’t you Alpha Vince.” My mom wrapped her arm around me. “As parents, we just want the absolute best for our pups.” She looked over at Brandon. “Take your son, for example. You want him to mate with the best female he can find, don’t you?” Vince seemed to settle, and he nodded. “Yes. Yes, I do.” Vince stared at me but I turned to Carl. “Sorry Carl, I wanted to help, but I do not know how to check someone out.” I smiled and waved my hands over the register. “I told you to lock up.” Carl walked over and sniffed. “Did you drop a descenting spray bottle?” He pointed to the mop bucket next to the counter. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention and bumped into the shelf when I went to lock the door. I was cleaning the mess when the Alpha knocked to come in.” I grabbed the mop. “I’m sorry for not listening.” “No, it wasn’t
I looked down at the little girl in my arms, with the white, clouded eyes and knew that I would do anything to protect her. She wasn’t my pup, but that didn’t matter. She was helpless. Nix and Megan surged forward, and I lifted my hand. Claws and black fur flowed down my arms. I held Carly to my chest as footsteps came closer.I felt my fangs descend, and then Megan, beautiful smart Megan, tapped into our power and it too, flowed down my arm. I held my hand out. As the steps came closer, my power sent white whipping tendrils down my arm, ready to snap out of whoever came around the end of the shelves.I bent my knees, ready to run. It seemed like time froze and the realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I would kill Alpha Vince and Brandon for this little girl. Because I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach, that if Vince found her like this, he wouldn’t let her go.He would either take her. Or kill her.And I knew Carl
The silence settled around us as Carl mourned over his daughter. “But we aren’t for sure…” I waited, hoping someone would say something, anything. But my mom and Carl stayed quiet.“Amy.” My mom started.“Can we delay her learning somehow?” I tried to think of any other solution that didn’t leave a little girl without her father.“No.” Carl’s voice was soft. “If I even try, then the universe kicks in and we have a shaman that doesn’t know their full potential.” He finally looked up from his daughter. “Ainsley…I hate to ask this of you.”“You don’t have to ask.” She leaned down and kissed his cheek.“I need to know how long…” I pushed.“Why?” Carl looked at me.“Because.” I walked away and came back. My skin was itching to tell them to leave now. Something w
“Daddy?” Her soft voice was terrified. “What happened?”“Hey baby.” Carl’s voice softened. “How are you feeling?”“Are you going to leave me now?” Her voice quivered, and I heard Carl choke up.“Not yet, baby. But soon.”My eyes finally started to clear. “He will never truly leave you, young shaman. That I can promise. Our ancestors live on through us. And he will watch over you.” The voice was softer, and when my vision fully cleared, I held her face n my hands.“Amy…you promise?”“I promise.” I kissed her head and she sighed.“I saw what’s to come.” Her voice was stronger. “I know my daddy will go, but you will be there with me. Every step of the way.”“Of course I will.” I didn’t even think about it. I promised to take this baby in.“Amy!&r
I looked between my mother and Carl. “Yeah. It is.”“Have you settled in and started on anything?”I laughed. “I have been home for less than I day. I’ve just been focused on cleaning my room.”“Removing the rest of the old scent, I assume?”“Yeah. The Alpha and his son met me at the house as soon as I arrived back home.” He laughed.“What a joke. They tried to catch you as soon as you got back.” His voice grew serious. “Carl, I’ll have everything ready for you.”“Daddy?”“Yeah?”“How fast can the plane get back here?”“One second, we might be in luck.” I heard him put his cell down and pick up his desk phone. “Ronnie, where are you right now?”There was a silence. “How long until you two make it to the plane?” There were a few uh huhs, and then my dad said
“It’s okay.” My mom tried to calm her. “I forget things all the time.” We both laughed and waited.Mrs. Sandlewood settled a little and chuckled along with us. “Oh. Well, some days are like that.” She laughed as she clicked a few times on her computer. “First thing. I forgot to give you this.” SHe handed me a piece of paper. “This is a list of things needed for your dorm. Blankets, sheets, daily life items people take for granted.” I nodded along. “On the back is a list of things Alpha Vince thinks the Alpha’s should bring to be easily identifiable.” I furrowed my brows. “What?” I flipped it over and read what seemed to be a checklist of superiority. “Louis Vuitton jewelry, or other name brand items. Luxury brand clothing only. Purses and other accessories should be above $10,000 in price, daily.” I looked up from the list and Mrs. Sandlewood was actually sweating. “Why?”“What in the goddess’ name is he trying to do? Even if a person is the Alpha, some packs can’t afford this.” My m
“Usually you would get your key when you were assigned, but since you’re late, I’ll just give it to you now.” She pulled a key on a wristlet and handed it to me. “The dorms are open to move into this weekend and class starts on Monday morning.” I looked at my mom, and she shook her head. “You waited to the last minute, didn’t you, baby?” I just grinned. “I informed the university I was spending the summer at another pack out of their territory.”“That you did. I saw your note on the file. You were actually the next thing on my to do list. So you saved me the hassle.”“Next on your to do list?” I laughed. “Why?”“The dean wanted me to follow up on all alphas that have registered this year to ensure that each got the classes they wanted.”I nodded along, but my mom frowned. “What happens if a beta or gamma wolf picked their classes before the alphas and were accepted into the program, only for an alpha to ask for the same spot?”Mrs. Sandlewood frowned. “Unfortunately, with the newest
I walked through the front door of the university and to the admissions office. I pushed in through the door and waited at the desk. “Hi can I help you?” The lady behind the desk was a tiny old woman with curly hair. She walked over, surprisingly spry in her old age.“I hope so.” I smiled over at her as my mom pushed through the door.“There you are.” She smiled over the counter at the woman. “Hi. I hope you can help us. We are here to get my daughter registered for her classes this semester.”“Oh my. She is starting a little late. Hopefully, the course she wants is still open.” She hustled over to the swinging half door and pushed it open. “Come here, you two. We will get you settled.” We followed her back to her desk, and she pointed to the two chairs and settled behind her computer. “Now. Why the late start?”I sat in the chair and my mom settled next to me. “
He sat there frozen as I stared at him. I could see the anger in his eyes, but I just stared at him. “That isn’t fair.” I turned to face Shannon. “What isn’t fair? How you treated my mother like an omega? Or that she refuses to bow down to your pathetic demands any longer?” She glared at me but I just tilted my head. “Neither one of you can give me a reason why I should step in and ask her to move on. So no. I refuse to help the two of you.” I picked up my phone and my coffee. I took another sip and went back to my scrolling as Shannon fumed next to me. “Then fucking leave.” Shannon slammed back into her chair, toppling it to the floor. Her chest was heaving as she panted in her anger. “Take your whore mother and fucking get out of our house.” Shannon glared at me and I put down my coffee again, then turned to Morgan. I smiled, and I saw him pale. “Now why would I leave the home I own?” Shannon screeched. “This is my house! My father w
I woke up with my grandmother’s words in the air. “The first werewolf and witch created the same night. The fates intertwined our lines, and both goddess blessing run through our veins.”I woke up groggy, as if what I dreamt of was something I actually did, instead of a dream I had. I rolled over and the bed was empty.I got off my bed and checked my phone. It was seven in the morning the next day. I slept over twenty-four hours. I stood and stretched. Then I went into my bathroom and took an actual shower.I walked to my closet and realized my clothes were clean and hung up. The descenting spray lingered in the air, and it was like the room was a vacuum of smells. Or lack of smells.I grabbed some clothes and got dressed. I did my morning routine and then walked down the stairs, not sure what to expect.I walked into the dining room to find Shannon and Morgan waiting at the table, but my mother was nowhere to be found. I looked
“How dare you come here with your demon spawn? Look at what they did to my son. Just look at him.” The woman stood over her son and screamed at the goddess followed by wolves. The three faced goddess moved to the woman and held open her arms. The woman dove into them and started to sob. “Please save him, Mother. I have dedicated my life to you and I have never asked you for a boon. This is my ask. Save him. Please.” She pulled back and looked at the goddess, but her face was grim. “I’m sorry, my daughter, I can not.” The three faced goddess held the woman in her arms as she broke. Her legs failed her, and she crumpled down to her knees. “I will do anything, give anything, just save my son.” She wailed as the goddess held her. The goddess with the wolves moved closer to the young man, boy really, and she crouched over him. The wolves all moved closer and closer until they, too, were crouched over the boy. “Get away from him. Look at what you
I closed the door and turned back to my mom. She was leaning against the door frame with a look on her face that I couldn’t read. We went back to the bathroom, and she leaned in. “How am I supposed to stay here for four years and deal with that man after finding everything out?”“I don’t know. But at least you have a good reason to be mad. You can hold this against him for a while.”She nodded and then shut the water off. “I have to go downstairs and clean up.”I grabbed her arm. “That can wait until tomorrow. Today has been a very long day.” I looked out the window, and the sun was starting to come up. “A very long day.” She nodded, and I noticed the bags under her eyes. “Lets catch some sleep on my brand new bed, and we can try to figure everything out later today.” We crawled into the new bed, and I am thankful it was delivered and we made it up with fresh sheets last night before t
“Say it.” I growled out one last time, already losing my patience.“You did this.” He crumpled to his knees, heaving. “It would have been perfect if you weren’t here.” He cried into his hands, and if he would have stopped there, I wouldn’t have suspected him. But he is Morgan, and he is an idiot. “Why couldn’t you have just died in the fucking attack?”I froze.How did he know about the attack? He continued to cry and scream, but I was focused on the words that seemed to flow like lava from his mouth. It was pure hatred. Hatred of my father and me. “If you would have just died when your dad was attacked years ago, I wouldn’t have had to raise you. Money that your mother would have inherited would have been mine, or Vinces. We would have been set. But no, you both survived. It wasn’t until you father was stupid enough to cheat on her that she moved here.” His voice tailed of
Morgan backed up a little as he raised his hands up in surrender. “I was worried about you.”“Bullshit.” My mother spit back. “You wanted to control our run, or come with us, but you are not Amy’s father. You don’t get that right. You are her stepfather, and after today, that is even up in the air.”“Hey.” Morgan tried to push back, but my mother was having none of it.“Hey nothing. When Shannon shifted, what did you say to me?”“I can’t remember it was so long ago.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes, but I saw the anger there.“Don’t lie to me. It was less than three months ago. You were so proud, don’t you remember? You rubbed it in that Shannon shifted earlier than Amy. ‘Look at how fast and strong my daughter is. I wonder when Amy will get here.’ Yeah, that BS like we all don’t know that stronger wolves take longer to shift. Amy sur