“Connect with nature, pup.” Loki pushed me with his snout into the clearing. “You are running out of time.”“I know.” I headed to the center and sank to the ground. Today I was determined to succeed, and I wasn’t leaving until I at least figured out how to feel my magic. I closed my eyes and started down into the center of myself. My mind flowed down, circling my inner-self, until I burst through a barrier, stumbling into a clearing in my dark woods.I stalked deeper into the forest, moving in between then trees as I went. Nix joined me on my right, and Megan on my left. Comparing the two wolves was hard. Megan, while beautiful and majestic, was a small size wolf for a werewolf. “Megan?”“Yes, Amy?” Her voice was soft and gentle. “What rank are you?” I looked down at her and she chortled. “I’m a small gamma. Still ranked, but now where near what Nix is.”“You are still a ranked member, little one. And together, alpha and gamma, we will be able to better serve Amy together. You see t
I looked over at the stunningly beautiful woman, and something clicked inside of me. “Moon Goddess?”“I knew you were a smart little pup.” She smiled down at me and her body seemed to pulse with light. “Now talk to me.”“I can’t connect with nature…I won’t be able to save my father. I won’t be able to save myself.” I dropped my head to my hands and wanted to cry. “Goddess?”“Yes, my dear girl.”“Why?” I could only utter the one word and she gave me a sad smile.“Something’s have to happen.” She leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Something’s are set in stone so that everything unfolds the way it has to.”“But my pup.” I choked out, and her smile trembled.“Is by my side and I have taken the very best care of him.” The goddess pulled me to my feet and held my hand. “I tell him every day just how much you love him.”Tears fell as I nodded. “I wanted him so much.”“I know my daughter. And I’m sorry you had to live that life, but…”“It’s okay.” I waved her away. “Now, about connecting t
“Amy…” a voice called out, but it sounded like it was far away. I looked around the clearing and all I could see were Megan and Nix, patiently waiting for me. “Amy!” The voice was more insistent, closer, but still there was no one other than the three of us. “Who is that?” I looked at my wolves and they seemed to shrug. “AMY!” I jumped, my eyes snapping open and there was my father at the edge of the clearing, frantically pacing. “Wake up!” He called out again and my eyes finally focused on his face. He was pale and sweating. What’s wrong?“Dad?” I called out, wiping my eyes.He whirled around and pounded on a barrier that wasn’t there this morning. “Amy!” He forced his hands flat against the invisible shield. “Thank the goddess.”“Dad?” I was still confused. “What’s wrong?”“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Amy, you have been unconscious for over two hours.” He rubbed his eyes. “I’ve been calling you since I got here, and this is the first time you answered.”I stood and dusted the gras
We made our way back to the house and into my father’s office before I saw anyone else. An omega brought in plates of rare steak. “Dad?” My stomach clenched looking at the meat. I couldn’t tell if I wanted it, or my body was rejecting the idea of eating it.“You need a lot of meat. You wolf is begging you to shift. It’s her time to shine now that the power portion has been handled. But you have things to worry about other than shifting, and this will help keep Nix under wraps.” He nudged the plate in front of me. “Try it. I know it probably doesn’t look appetizing, but I promise you, you will enjoy it.”I reached for a fork and knife, but my nails shifted to claws before I could wrap my fingers around the utensils. I snatched up the meat and tore into it, blood dripping from the meat. It was still so rare. Nix settled farther back into the forest in my mind’s eye, and Megan settled next to her. I’m sorry Amy. I seem to be losing control. Nix started to pace as I continued to tear int
“Close you eyes.” I had barely wiped the sleep from my eyes when my dad sat me down in his office with Uncle Ronnie. I settled deeper into the chair and closed my eyes. “Now I want you to pull Nix closer to the surface until your eyes shift.“The wolfs bane?”“Won’t interfere. We waited the last two days to clear it from your system.” My father settled behind his desk. That made sense. I have been shut in my room for the last few days, doing my best not to shift. And staying clear of other wolves has been my saving grace. “Close your eyes Amy.” I nodded. “Once Nix is close to the surface, I am going to have Ronnie scent you. Once your scent has shifted, we can work on the next step.”“If Uncle Ronnie can scent me, won’t that screw me over?” I peeked out of one eye and my dad shook his head. “We won’t be shifting fully, just bringing Nix forward enough so we can tell when you manage cloaking yourself.” I closed my eye again and shook myself. “Nix, I need you to come closer.” I whispe
“Okay. Now let’s try removing your scent all together.” My father tossed out and I had to think. What removes a smell from the air, other than air fresheners or candles?“I know this will sound stupid…” Ronnie started, but I just scoffed.“I’m picturing a scented candle in my mind to protect me from my shitty mate. Something that shouldn’t work, and it’s just ridiculous. I don’t think we can get any worse.” He pointed at me and smiled. “True. I was just thinking, a vacuum. It sucks everything in.” I debated the idea.“It doesn’t have to be a perfect idea. Just something you can focus on while your power does the thing you need.” My dad stood and walked over to me. “It’s more about an outlet for your power to flow through. Your power will flow the way you intend it, but you need something to start it.”I closed my eyes again and pictured a vacuum in my clearing. I angled the hose up and plugged the vacuum into an outlet that appeared on the pot, and clicked it on. The noise was deafen
“Grandma.” My dad stood and went to grab for her but she held up her hand. “I’m not here, boy-o. Not really here. She pulled me to you with that.” She pointed to the book.“Your book of shadows. I thought it was lost.” He turned back to the book and hovered his hands over it. “It wasn’t lost, it was hidden.” She looked over at me and smiled. “It was found by who it was meant to be found by.” She walked over and hovered her hands around my father’s face, almost cupping it. “I’ve missed you. But I can’t stay. Watch out for the darkness.”“I love you.” His whisper was soft.“And I you.” She leaned down to kiss his forehead, and then she was gone.He looked over at me and I could see the devastation there. “You met her?”I nodded. “She helped me find myself, my inner self, anyway, so that I could find my power. Even then, the Moon Goddess had to give me a push.”“You met the moon goddess?” Ronnie lept up and rushed over.“I don’t actually know.” I lifted a shoulder and looked back at my
“A Lycan?” I traced my finger over the picture. “I thought they were extinct.”“Most are. Only one left is the king.” My dad pulled the book away from me and switched back to the page he had originally settled on. “Lycans have two forms. A wolf, much bigger than a normal werewolf. And a half human half wolf form, like the ones you see in the movies. Weres can partially shift, but nothing that comes close to the wolfman form.” He pushed the book back in front of me. “Now I want you to focus on this spell and try to create a wisp without losing the change in your scent.”“A wisp?” I looked at the page and skimmed it. It was a step to step spell on how to create a wisp of light. A spell useful for seeing in the dark and one that doesn’t create heat so you can hold it for long periods of time without being burned. “Yeah, this was the first spell I learned from my grandmother. She said it is the safest option as a wisp has no way to ‘burn down the village’.” He smirked as his eyes took on
“What does that mean?”“It was a saying that was used back when your dad lived his first life. When he was killed in his first life, the attacker said the same thing. Like a mantra. And he never forgot it. So when Beck said it this time, he knew.”“So, we wait until this is figured out.” I sounded as defeated as I felt. I didn’t want this to continue, but I wouldn’t risk anyone’s life.“Yeah, but at least you have something to do.” Ronnie smiled over at me.“What do you mean?”He pulled the car over and hopped out. He went to the trunk and rustled around for a few minutes before coming back with a laptop bag. Once he settled back behind the wheel, he handed it to me. “This is for you.”“What is it?”“Open it.” He tapped the bag and got the car back onto the highway. I unzipped the bag to find a new, sleek laptop and a new ph
Ronnie finally collected himself by the time the plane landed. We quietly grabbed our things and made it to the car that was waiting for us. “You okay?” I sat in the front, next to the quiet Ronnie.“Yeah.” He nodded slowly and his eyes shifted to the mirror.“You sure?”“I just had the opinion of the last fifteen years of my life shattered, and I realized how toxic and shitty I have been, but yeah, I’m okay.” He wiped his face as he drove. “I never really looked at it from your mom’s side. You know.” He kept his face turned to the road, but his eyes looked at me.“I know.” I huffed out a laugh. “Neither did I until I knew all the facts. I thought she just moved on quickly. I went from living with my dad and mom to living with Morgan within weeks. I was a kid.”“But I wasn’t. I should have known your mother better than that.&rdq
Ronnie’s face was still a mask of confusion. “So wait. You are saying your mother agreed to marry Morgan just to raise Shannon? But then when did he renegotiate and why?”I rolled my eyes. “After a few years, he grew to enjoy my mother’s company. He fell in love with her. His mate was actually gone and his bond had faded. But my mother’s mate was still very much alive.”“Her bond never faded…” Lynn’s voice was soft, as if realizing what that meant.I just nodded. “My mother never let go of her mate. She never grew feelings for Morgan and was very content with their friendship. But then when he brought up becoming a couple in reality, my mom shot it down. But-”“He used the threat of divorce to coerce her into it.” I leaned over the seat and met her eyes, then nodded.“Exactly.”“That’s why your dad never felt the betrayal pain for yea
I stared up at Lynn and once the realization sunk in; I broke out into a smile. “You beautiful woman.” I jumped up and grabbed her arms. “You’re right.”She nodded and smiled. “You can dish out every bruise and cut lip your mother suffered through and give it back tenfold. And the Alpha won’t be able to step in because of his own rules. Otherwise you can call the king.”I turned to Ronnie, and he nodded. “I would call the King ahead of time and give him a warning.” He winked. “Just be proactive.”I nodded and settled back into my seat. “Brandon has been making my mother’s life a little difficult. He has been doing his best to weasel his way into my space as well, but my mother has barred him from the room.”Ronnie chuckled. “She could always get her way with alphas.”I cut my eyes to him and I could see bitterness there. “Do you know why my mother marr
I stomped up after him and got to my seat. “What is so funny?”Ronnie laughed harder. “You learned so much this summer pup, but there is one thing you still need to work on.” I tilted my head and he leaned over the aisle and flicked my nose. “Work on your poker face.” His chuckle broke up at his words. “Your face was priceless. Pure disgust as you texted him.”“Well…come on.” I shot him a side look, and he bent over his knees, laughing harder.“I know, but in all seriousness. He is an alpha. And most have egos bigger than a house. If you have that look on your face when he is trying to hit on you, or even talk to you. He will make your life a living hell in that pack.” Ronnie’s face fell serious. “You don’t want to offend him if you can help it.”I nodded. “You’re right.” I wiped my face and settled into my seat. “But that is
The drive to the airport was silent. I took the time to gather my feelings about going back and what had just happened. Ronnie and Lynn gave me the space I needed, which I was thankful for. My phone started buzzing non-stop as message after message came in. Confused, I opened my phone to watch the messages roll in from my mother. Finally, they stopped at the last one.Mom- Amy, for the love of the goddess, will you answer me?I messaged back.Amy- Mom? What’s going on? Why are you messaging me a million messages all at once?Mom- Amy? Finally! I’m so happy I finally got a hold of you.Amy- What’s going on? You ignored my calls and messages all summer and now you’re texting me a novel…Mom- I didn’t. Or I didn’t mean to. I thought the same thing, that you were ignoring me the entire summer, but I realized today that you were blocked. I resent
I stood at the door for a few seconds, debating between leaving him or going back in to plead to stay a little longer. But I knew once he decided he would stick to it. And right this second, his mind was made up because something was going on back home.I dropped my hand and turned away, feeling like garbage, but giving him the space he needed. He hated when I left back to the mom’s, so did I. I huffed out a breath and headed down the stairs.The pack house was eerily silent. I was so used to hearing someone run through the rooms, or the omega’s cleaning, that the silence was deafening. But I shook it off. I was being dramatic. I just didn’t want to leave. I reached the bottom floor, and I saw the two families I saved were waiting by the door with Ronnie. “What are you guys doing here?”The four little kids ran over to me and all hugged me. “We don’t want you to leave.” Ry’s voice broke out above the re
My father and Ronnie were waiting for me as I dropped in to the chair. “You okay pup?” My dad asked as my back hit the chair and I hissed again.“Yeah. Just keep forgetting it’s there.” I laughed it off, but my dad shook his head.“I meant, are you okay after saying goodbye to Cass?” I swallowed and then nodded. He watched my face closely and sighed. “Here.” He slid the book over to me, and I grabbed it and tucked it into my backpack.“It’s a good thing I don’t have to go through the airport with this. I would be called crazy for hauling a stone around with my electronics.” I shook my head as Ronnie laughed.“True. It is weird to see.” Ronnie settled back and then he and my dad shared a look.“So, are you going to show us?” My dad leaned back and quirked his head. I smiled and stood. Pulling my top over my back, but covering my front,
Five hours later, we were walking out with giant grins. “Thank you for coming in so early for us.” I kissed MJ and Neil as we left. “It was our pleasure.” MJ called out as he shut the door, and locked it behind us. “They aren’t staying open?” Cass looked back to the dark door. “Nah. They are usually closed today. They just came in for us.” I hooked my arm in hers and we walked into the bustling mall. “Where to now?” I looked down. “I wanted to get some new clothes. Now I want to get some even more. I need to show this off.” She stared down at her right arm. It was covered in a black and white version of the moon goddess with a full moon behind her, and wolves hidden in the forest around her wrist. It was gorgeous and Neil did an amazing job drawing it up on the spot. I nodded, and she stared down at the fresh ink. “How does it feel?” “It stings.” She shook her arm and then smiled. “I didn’t realize what went into doing tattoos on wolves.”&nb