I walked back to my bedroom with everything just whirling in my brain. The she-wolves were staging a coup. My father was looking the other way to lure back my mother. Now there was a she-wolf that was doing something fishy. Knowing witchcraft is real, maybe there is something is going on with that.
I walked back into my room to see Cas in tears. “What happened?” I rushed over to the bed. “Nothing. I just don’t want you to leave.” I wiped her face and laughed. “Why are you already worried about the end of summer when I just got here?” I collapsed next to her on the bed and I listened to her sniffles. “I know, it’s stupid.” But I could scent the slight tinge of fear in the room, and I knew something was said. “Who came here while I was gone?” I watched her tense, but she relaxed. “No one.” She looked away and the fear disappeared. Like she got control of her emotions. “Talk to me. I can’t help unless I know.” I whispered to her as I wrapped my fingers through hers. “You can’t help, anyway. You will be gone soon and we will just be here again, alone.” Her hand tightened on mine. “Not alone. I will be speaking to the beta and gamma females and together we will get this pack in check before I leave.” This wasn’t going to continue if I could help it. “Really?” I could hear the tiny flair of hope in her voice. “Really. I already talked to my dad. This is all going to stop.” As an alpha, this power shift went against everything we stood for. The only ones with enough power to wield should be in the power structure. Everyone else was equal. That’s how the Moon Goddess intended it. That’s how it should be. “Now tell me what is going on with you.” “I can’t.” She whispered back to me and finally it all clicked. “Who said what to you?” “No one.” Fear leaked from her again, and she sat up. “Don’t push this Amy. Please.” I watched my best friend, my soul sister, beg me not to push. “Fine.” I relented. What else could I do? “Let’s get ready.” I pulled her up and over to the chair in front of my vanity. “No peaking.” Cas just shook her head and closed her eyes while I got to work. I started with her hair. I used my blow dryer to finish drying it, then I curled it. Once she was curled, I twisted her hair up and pinned it into a loose up do with curls falling out. Then I got to work with her makeup. Soft browns and golds accented her bright blue eyes. Her soft blonde hair was styled, and she looked stunning. I finished her with a soft pink lip and then I stood back. “You look gorgeous.” She went to turn, and I pulled her back to face me. “No peaking yet.” I poked her face, and she giggled. “Close your eyes again.” “C’mon.” She huffed, and I shook my head, like she could see me. “Nope. No looking.” I pulled her up and put her on the bed. “You can open your eyes while I get ready, if you promise not to look at the mirrors.” “Fine.” Cas huffed and opened her eyes and I laughed. “I want you to get the full effect, but I doubt you want to sit with your eyes close while I get ready.” I walk back over to the vanity and quickly dry and curl my own hair in soft beach waves. Then I did a dark, smokey eye and a red lip, then I was done. “You look gorgeous. The dark hair and makeup really suit you.” “I know.” I smiled back at her. “It’s time to close your eyes again.” I walk over to her and stand her up. I pulled her to my closet and rummage around for the new bra and under ware I picked out and had cleaned once we got home from the mall. “Put these on. Then close your and call for me when you’re ready.” I close the closet doors and waited while tapping my foot. I was about to just open the door when I heard a soft I’m ready. I walk in and Cas is standing in her under ware and she is holding herself around her middle. I pull out her dress and tell her to step into it, then I zipped her in to it. Then I changed into my own dress and pulled her out of my closet. “One last thing and we are done.” I slipped the necklace on myself and the matching bracelets and earrings. Then I slipped the second set on to Cassie and then I positioned us in front of my big mirrors. “There we are. Look.” Cass opened her eyes and her hands snapped to her face. “Amy I can’t.” “Sure you can, you are just borrowing it.” I winked as I gazed at the two of us. Her soft curves were held snugly in the golden dress, and the gold set with diamonds sparkled against her skin. My dark hair shone brightly against the maroon dress that hugged my curves. The onyx set in silver really brought the look together. We were stunning. There was a knock on my door. “Time to go, baby.” My dad’s word jolted us back to the here and now. This was going to be good.The room was full of wolves and my scent glands were going haywire. Gathering so many wolves in one place always did this to me. My nose was sensitive, and I had to take a few deep breaths to calm myself. “You girls ready?” I looked up at my father and nodded. “Can we enter without you guys?” I asked my father.“Why?”I smiled over at Cas, who was on Ronnie’s arm. “I…”“You are planning something with the she-wolves, aren’t you?”“Yup.” I smiled up at him and slipped my arm out of his. “If you hear a large fight, show up. But I swear, dad, if you fawn over another she-wolf in front of me, I will hit you.”My dad laughed at me. “I promise I won’t and if by the smallest chance I do, you have full access to punch me in my face.” He smiled down at me and I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Thanks daddy.”“You’re welcome, my girl.” I pulled my arm from his and held my hand out for Cassie. “Let’s go.”“Are you sure Amy?”“Yes, yes I am.” I smiled down at her and she shook her he
“Baby?” My dad shook his head and his eyes cleared. Then he rubbed his jaw. “You had to?”I nodded and cut my eyes to Aurora. “Something is going on.” I looked down at the woman cuddled in my father’s arms and I wrapped my hand around her arm and wrenched her away, tossing her to the ground. “Get away from him.” Nix came to the forefront and flashed my eyes. Her screech hurt my ears as she landed, but I turned back to my father and Ronnie. I cut my eyes to Cas, and she walked over when I nodded. “Alpha Devlin, Beta Ronnie.” She smiled at them and stood behind me. “What is going on?”“This she-wolf is driving the charge behind the unranked, wielding their power on the weaker wolves, Alpha.” The beta female, Tina, walked over and smiled at me. “How dare you!” Aurora stood and tried to touch my dad again, and I growled. “Don’t touch him.”“Who are you to demand anything from me?” Aurora tried to grab for him again.“She’s my daughter, and the only alpha female in this pack.” My fathe
The knocking on the door woke me up and I groaned. I wasn’t ready to wake up; I snuggled deeper into my bed and ignored the knock when it sounded again. Ugh. “What?” I called out and my father’s chuckle from my door had me cracking an eye. “Let a little too loose last night, did you?”“You know I did.” I tossed my pillow and buried myself back under the comforter. But my dad just tossed the pillow back to me. “Time to wake up.”“I don’t want to.” I groaned and grabbed my phone and realized it was five in the freaking morning. “Dad…” But his laughed interrupted my groan.“Sorry darling, but training starts now.” He walked over and ripped the blanket off of me and I screamed. The cold air jolted me more awake, and I wanted to whine more, but my father was already walking out. “If you’re not downstairs in five minutes, I’m dumping water on you.” I groaned and kicked a little before I got up. I know it’s stupid, and I needed to be better than my last lifetime, but I really wanted to st
My father skidded to a halt at the edge of a small clearing with a stump in the center. I slid off Loki’s back and he trotted off to shift. He walked back to me and gestured to the center. “Go sit.” I nodded and walked into the clearing. The tree’s shadows were still deep, as the sun has just breached the tree tops. I shivered, not from the cooler temperature since wolves burn hot, but from the feeling of woods. It felt like something was here. Something was waiting for this moment. I turned to face my dad, and he was still at the edge of the clearing. “Why are you still back there?”“This isn’t for me, it’s for you. I have already done my time in this place.”“Your time? What are you talking about?”“This is a sacred place. The clearing here holds our family’s power, and it’s warded against it.”“Against it? Dad, what are you talking about?”“Just listen. Sit down on the stump.” I sank to the top of the stump and then looked back to my father. “Take your shoes and socks off, then p
“Let’s go! Faster! Your wolves, not humans, you can do better than this!” I screamed out again and again, standing next to the Beta and Gamma females. Tina and Lynn watched the females struggle to run around the inside track. I turned to face them with wide eyes. “What is going on?”Tina shook her head and watched the struggling women. “The females here only train if they want to. Your father doesn’t force us to train.”“I told him it was a mistake.” Lynn the Gamma looked at the girls with a curled lip. “Look at them. It’s only been two laps, and they are already winded.” The muscled woman shook her head and tossed her arms. “I don’t understand this laziness. What happens if we get attacked?”“Well, I’m here for two months, and in the future, you two will continue this after I leave.” The two women cut their eyes to me and I nod. “I talked to my father, and he caved when I went over the last pack that kept this outdated opinion for the females in the pack.”“What pack?” Tina furrowed
I waited for the reality of what I said to sink in. “What? You said it yourself. I can’t command you to hurt yourself. Fine, let’s go with something else. What if I commanded you to give me all of your money?” I stared down at the girl and she looked away. “Something you’ve done I see.” I snarled. My eyes flashed. “What’s your name?” “Stephanie.” I slammed my aura out, and Nix took control as I raged. “Do jumping jacks until I tell you to stop.” Stephanie’s eyes widened, but I turned away to reel in my wolf. She started bouncing up and down, and some girls chuckled and I snarled. “You think this is funny? Do you want to join Stephanie? Being made to do something and not being able to stop yourself is a horrible feeling.” I whipped back to the girls, and Nix snarled again. My power struck out again, dropping everyone to their knees. “Everyone here will do jumping jacks until I say stop.” Everyone started, even Tina and Lynn, but I commanded them to stop. “What are you planning?” Ly
“How did it go today?” My father nudged me to a seat across from him and waved to an omega. She brought in the plates. “Thank you Manda.” “Thank you Manda.” I smiled up at the girl, and she ducked her head, then left. I turned back to my father. “It went as well as expected.”“Which wasn’t good at all.” I pointed to him and nodded. “Exactly.”“What happened?” He dug into his food, and I told him about the day.“We started with running, and even those that had already shifted were…”“Weak?” my dad threw out while waving his knife around.“Pathetic.” I countered. I cut into my steak and nearly moaned with the first mouthful. “They barely made it two laps before they were huffing. Then I called them over, and we started to talk about what was going on.”“And…”“And then some girls were giving us push back about commanding other wolves. So I made a point.”“What was the point?” My father focused fully on me and I grimaced. He might not agree with my decision. “They wanted to hide behin
“I look exactly like her…”“Well, you have your mother’s nose.” My dad laughed. “I didn’t want to scare you.” He peered at the picture, then at me. “This is where we come from, Amy.” He tapped the photo. “Our power stems from her. We have her to thank for everything we can do to protect our pack.” “You use your power to protect your pack?” I met his eyes.“Of course. We do what we have to do.” My father sat back down and wiped his face. “Anyway. Let’s forget about that for now. What are your plans for the girls?”“I commanded anyone that was using their power to demand things from weaker wolves to never command again.” I cut my eyes away from his face. I knew this would not sit well with him. “Amy!”“I know, I know. It’s against the law, but there is something going on with them. One girl was going to say something, but then one of the others commanded her to shut up. So I made sure she couldn’t command anyone else.”“But you can’t fight against wrong doing by following suit.”“Comm
Toya leaned over and kissed my head. “Let’s stop talking about it.” She pulled back a little more and fluffed my hair. “Wendy, hand me the blow dryer.”Wendy got up and handed the cast aside dryer. But I turned. “You don’t have to.”Toya pulled me back like my mom used to do when I was little. “Sit still. You can’t go to bed with wet hair. And you can’t get sick. We have a long day ahead and need to be up in a few hours.” She clicked on the hair dryer and Wendy came over and whispered in Toya’s ear, then she slipped her shoes on and left.“Where is she going?” I yelled over the sound.Toya leaned closer and spoke directly in my ear as she continued to blow dry my hair. “She needed to grab some things from our place. She will be back in a minute.” I just nodded because I was too exhausted to ask. I leaned against my own knees with my eyes closed as Toya dried my soaked hair. It was the most peaceful feeling I have had since I was a child. I hadn’t realized how tired I was until Wendy
I opened my eyes to find Wendy and Toya staring at me expectantly. “What’s wrong?”Wendy glanced at Toya, and she turned back to me. “We just wanted to see if it worked?” I stared at her for a moment, and she smiled. “Your wolves? Are they okay?”I smiled and opened my mouth, but instead of words, a yawn large enough to crack my jaw hit. “Yes.” I smiled softly. “They are tired, but alive.”“Thank the goddess.” Toya sat back and went back to my hair. “Now, your wounds?”“The Mara. I didn’t know she could hurt me. But as I ran away from the caves, she grabbed my hair. She was dragging me back into the caves and I knew I couldn’t let her pull me too far back or else I would get lost. So, when my hand shifted to my claws, I sliced through my hair, but she had already done some damage.”“Some damage?” Wendy scoffed.“You are missing a huge chuck. And I know it will grow back fast, but you aren’t healing properly right now, so I don’t actually know that.” Toya paused with her fingers on a t
I closed my eyes in disbelief. “Is that bad?” Toya leaned over and whispered. I just nodded. “This isn’t the end. The goddess has a plan.” I told her and I hoped it helped a little with the pain of everything she was dealing with. “She wouldn’t do this to you unless there was a reason.”“I know. And I think this is the reason.” She whispered, her voice growing lower. “Why?”“Because everyday Vince commands me to come to the pack house. To sit next to him and Derek.”“What the fuck?” Wendy’s eye grew wide. “That’s torture.”Lynn sniffled and, for the first time, I could hear how much this was killing her. “It is. But only because he refuses to accept my rejection. Even though my wolf has accepted her fate and is trying her best to recoup, he won’t let the link die. He calls to us, every night. And makes us come stand next to him every day. The bond on my side is shattered, but my wolf is still in pain.” Lynn took a deep breath. “Anyway, I didn’t call you to complain.”“It’s okay if y
“Holy goddess.” Wendy’s fingers twitched in my hair.But Toya just nodded. “As I read more about spirit walking, I learned about the Mara.” Toya wiped my arm and caused me to hiss again. “The Mara?”“It means bitter soul. It’s like what you explained. A lost soul, whether they lost themselves while they were still alive, or after they died, and they wander, looking for a life to take over. If you had read more about it all, you would have been prepared.”“Hey now.” I pulled back, but she pushed me back down. “Lay down. I want to check your head.” Toya pushed again and Wendy helped her part my hair. “Amy.” She hissed as she saw the damage.I laid back down, but huffed out my breath. “I read that book, inside and out.” “There were a few pages stuck together. I don’t know why.” Toya tapped a page. “Wendy helped me figure it out.”“I had to use a tiny bit of water around the edges to release the pages from each other. Then I used a blow dryer to dry them again.”“Seriously?” I hissed a
“Do you think she is going to be back soon?” Wendy’s voice was soft as she squeezed my hand.Toya started down at my body and raised her shoulder. “I don’t know.”“It’s been so long.” It felt like days had passed since I left my body and started down the black chain leading to Amara. Toya smiled. “It’s barely been an hour.”The truth hit my stomach. An hour. How was that possible? So much had happened in the short time. I stared at the lost soul, listen to her manic laughter as she faded. And my stomach dropped again. I cracked open my eyes to find the two women still clutching my hands. “Amy!” Wendy screamed and dove into my arms. “You’re back.”I smiled and nodded. But Toya, Toya seemed a little reserved. “I read the book while you were gone.” I turned to her and cleared my throat. It felt dry and painful.“And?”“Tell me something only Amy would know?” Her words were measured and her eyes stared into my soul. “Our fathers are still alive.”Toya seemed to glare at me, as if tryin
I ran until I felt another tug. Every time I worried I was heading in the wrong direction, or I would hear a howl behind me, I would get another tug and I would head straight towards it. Soon, the world melted away, as it did on the way towards Amara. The edges of my vision wavered. But through the entire time, the lost woman, the lost soul followed, desperate to find my body first.I was terrified. What if she got to my body first?What if I was left to wander this plane, to wither and moan while she walks around in my body like it is a suit to wear, a part to play? I shivered as I thought about what she looked like before she absorbed my life, my vitality. How could anyone live like that?But then the thought hit me: it wasn’t living. It was almost the exact opposite. Stuck waiting until you find an empty shell to take over like some kind of living hermit crab. But instead of just finding a new home, you become a new person. A new face, body, entire life. And do you get new wolves?
I felt something move over my shoulder and I dove. “Come back, I’m so cold.” The woman’s whisper sent chills down my spine. I rolled and sprang back up, facing the woman, or the creature the woman had turned into. Her hair was stringy and matted, clumping together in long tendrils that were a mix of dreadlock and braid. Chunks were missing, leaving pale skin it the gaps. Her eyes were sunken down into dark pools of need. She knew nothing else, only need. Lips had pulled back, leaving her teeth exposed, giving her a perpetual manic grin. A dark dress body, once beautifully draped and stunningly jeweled, that now hung off her emaciated body. It was like her entire soul had whittled down to nothing while her dress stayed pristine. The thought was terrifying, knowing that she was looking to take over my body, my life. “Stay away.” I turned and ran as she started after me, moving surprisingly quick. She scrambled over rocks and dips as I ran, but somehow she was quicker than me, moving li
“If I wanted to shatter the spell, I needed to shatter the necklace. But how do you shatter a talisman from so far away?”“Who says you’re too far away? You are right here…” My grandmother walked over. “You might not be able to touch anything, but you still have your power. It’s connected to your very soul.” Her hand came to rest on my shoulder. My power is connected to my soul. I turned away and headed away from the light. I needed to be alone to see if this would work. As I walked, I mentally scrolled to the page in the book I needed. A shatter spell. It was pretty simple. But it had rules attached. It could cause no physical harm. If it did, it would rebound three times stronger back to the caster. So practice was necessary. I picked a big rock, and with a flick of my hand and a quick mumbling of the spell, it violently shattered, sending shards everywhere. Well, that would kill Amara. I turned to the next, but someone had come running, and I froze. “What the hell was that?” The
I was frozen in my spot outside of the light. My words seemed to bounce back to me, almost as if to mock me. “What the fuck is going on here?” I couldn’t stop the words from leaving my mouth again. But I was invisible to those in front of me, so it didn’t matter. Another call went out, but being so close this time, now I understood. It was a normal howl. A call from a shifted wolf, that the walls bounced back, echoes layering onto it, making it sound like some deranged beast. But it was just wolves, a lot of wolves, in the circle of light. And now everything I knew about the dead caves, or thought I knew about the dead caves, seemed to be just the horror stories of a child. There were no dead here, no specters of the wronged flying around these caves. Just a pack of wolves, desecrating the land of the dead. Tombs were smashed open, robbed of anything good, the bones of the deceased thrown about. I walked closer to the light, and I saw one man drinking from a skull. I froze as som