MAXINE"Oh, I know. Thanks." I smiled and stepped around her. I hurried to my room and closed the door. Weird children. Dear goddess…The next day, Cinder woke me up for breakfast. Not a lot of the kids were downstairs, mostly the younger ones because they didn't need to be at the table.Magpie was very sweet and she tried to share every single thing she was having with me.After breakfast, she took me out of the house and we walked along the edge of the mountain, taking the steps that were carved out of rock to the top. It was a long walk. I broke out in sweat despite the wind blowing in our hair.Cinder moved with zero effort. It was almost like she did this daily. I wondered if she did."Are you nervous?" she asked, breaking the quiet as we neared the top.I glanced forward at her. "A little," I admitted. "I don't know what to expect.""Neither do I," she said with a small smile. "But you'll be fine."When we got to the top, I collapsed on my knees and hands, catching some rest. Ci
MAXINEI sat up, heart pounding, straining to listen. The house was silent, but the uneasy feeling persisted.I slipped out of bed, moving quietly towards the door. As I stepped into the hallway, a chill ran down my spine. Something was wrong.The kids were all silent. I made my way toward the living room, where I found Cinder, Oz, Raine, and Zel deep in conversation. They all seemed to fumbling with one thing or the other, strapping things to their waist or their ankles.Surprisingly, Cinder was the only one dressed normally. The others wore fighting leather. They looked up as I entered."What's going on?" I asked."There are rogues in the vicinity. We think that they're trying to break into our decoy house not too far from here." Cinder explained.My mind immediately went to the children. If there was fighting, they could be in danger."The children," I began."Don't worry. They went into hiding. They know what to do." Cinder offered me a reassuring smile.I nodded, joining them. "W
MAXINEI shut my eyes, fear gripping me in a way that it had never done before. I had been shot. Never have I been shot before. I looked down at my body, searching for the gun wound.I needed to stop the bleeding. But I realized that I was fine. I looked at Oz, he was unarmed. And then Cinder. She was also unarmed.I heard the thud behind me and turned to see one of the rogues drop to the ground, gripping a gun wound on his chest."Thank you, Zel." Oz exhaled even though she couldn't hear him.Cinder frowned. A few moments later, Zel and Raine ran into the house. "Are all of them gone?" Raine asked.Oz nodded. "Yes." He replied, "Nice save, by the way. That was quick." He told Zel. She smiled."Where did you get the gun?" Cinder asked, her voice firm and authoritative. She did not sound pleased."It doesn't matter, Mom. I know you don't like guns but they're easier than swords and daggers, and even arrows." Zel replied.I wanted to defend her but it wasn't my place. I didn't have a sa
MAXINEI felt my heart drop at what she said. "Would I die?" I asked."It's not death, per se," Zel replied. I was reminded of how much she knew about these types of things. "Your body is going to be here, breathing. But after a long time without its soul, it will eventually die, giving you nowhere to come back to.""That sounds scary," I admitted."It is why we don't play in the realms. But, do not worry, as long as you're with me when it happens, you'll be fine. I won't let you." Cinder assured me with a smile. "Now," she clapped her hands. "Shall we continue?"We spent the rest of the day practicing balance. Cinder wanted me to get the basics down before we moved on to other techniques like channeling energy, focusing my thoughts, and then finally, controlling the transformations.The morning sun filtered through the leaves, casting a gentle light on the forest leaves. I stretched, feeling the familiar ache in my muscles. Zel was already up, meditating with the windows open.Howev
"How is that possible?" I asked, still shocked. I put my empty bowl down."Easy. I called it." Raine said as if that was supposed to explain everything. She handed her bowl to Cinder who poured a spoon of stew into it. Raine smiled in thanks.Zel rolled her eyes. "It's an old tradition of ours. There's this cave with weapons and based on the energy you have, the weapon chooses you. Once you accept it, it's like a part of you." She explained."So, you can call it from anywhere you want?" I asked, wondering how that was possible and if it could truly work."Not quite," Oz replied as he grabbed Magpie when she tried to touch the fire. She pouted, knowing that she had been caught."If you're close enough, yes," Raine replied. They all suddenly glanced at Cinder and I did the same."What?" She asked."Mom," Zel said, a tone to her voice. "Come on.""Fine," Cinder agreed. "But it's not everyone that you guys think is worthy of a weapon that I am going to take. The only reason I'm agreeing i
MAXINE"Why are they after Maxine's blade?" Raine asked. Their mother had told them a little about the blade and why it was special yesterday before bed. I, as well, did not understand why they were attracted to the blade."Get the blade. Come." Cinder told me. I nodded, undoing my apron and going to grab my leather bag. I took out the dagger."What about the rogues?" Raine asked."Zel?" Cinder called. "I'm going to need you to do it now.""I…" she said, hesitation in her voice. Then she nodded, a determined look settling on her face. Zel took off her apron and walked to a spot in the living room. She sat on the center of the rug and crossed her legs.She closed her eyes. A moment later, when she opened them, they were white. She drew a circle in the air, at the same time with both hands."Done. The protection spell is on. They can't come anywhere near this mountain or the decoy house." Zel said, bringing her hands together and clasping them.Her eyes were still open and completely as
MAXINEThe very thought of that was scary. I had heard tales about demons, angels, and guardians. The demons were always the villains. They were as conniving as they were destructive. There was never a good deal with them."How do you know this?" I asked."Setting up protection around the mountain house and decoy house is also similar to seeing how the whole place is. I saw what happened.""Okay…" I nodded. "What do you think the deal was?""I don't know, Maxine. I don't know if she made a deal or the old-fashioned approach where she made an exchange. I don't know what it is, and it scares me. I don't know if she's okay."As we were speaking, there were a couple of knocks on the door. The door automatically opened, hearing the beat of the knock. It was one thing I found out. The house was like it was living.Luna walked into the house, holding up bags and bags. The kids screamed, "Luna!!!!" They surrounded her, jumping around and grabbing her hand."Easy, easy," she told them. "Where'
MAXINEThe first thing that came to my mind was, "So soon?" I had thought about progressing and making a transformation and I had somehow manifested it. The artifact's energy was working in weird ways.I let out a scream as pain rippled through my door. Cinder's expression turned grave. "Maxine, it looks like you're starting to shift. You need to focus on controlling it."Panic surged through me as the pain grew worse, spreading through my limbs. "I... I don't know how! Help me!" I cried with fear."Stay calm," Cinder instructed, her voice steady. "Breathe. Focus on your breathing and try to stay in control.""Come on, Maxine. You can do it." Zel assured me, keeping a safe distance away from me. I could tell she wanted to help me but her hands were tied. This was something I had to go through.I closed my eyes, trying to follow her instructions, but the pain was a lot. It felt like my body was being torn apart from the inside.Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, a sudden,
MAXINEI got a job working at the pack hospital again. This time, I signed up to be a real medical practitioner. I was going to become a midwife. There were a few familiar faces at the hospital and lots of new ones.Still, I was grateful to Ronan for giving them this opportunity again.That evening, I walked back into my apartment. The dead herbs were still in a box on the floor in the kitchen. I wondered if I would go back. I used to pick herbs and sell them to women who wanted to get pregnant.It felt like eons ago. Times were simpler. Back then, I saved lives not help take them. That was a time when I didn’t have blood on my hands.I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. I wanted my simple life again. It was simple but everything made sense. I didn't have to try to untangle myself from this mess that was my reality.A knock on the door brought me back. Zel was back from work. She worked as a bartender a little while from our apartment. Zel had gotten the job. After the manag
MAXINEI nodded, not trusting myself to speak without crying. Ella was right. I needed to let myself grieve. The love I once had for Ronan still occupied my heart.Lindsey reached out and held my hand. "We’re here for you, Maxine."I squeezed her hand, grateful for their support. They were right. I didn’t have to go through this alone. I had them.Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.***Going back to my old life felt like stepping into a strange place. There was the feeling of losing something. My apartment felt like a place from a faraway memory. Zel was gone and I was feeling so sad.I was back from saying goodbye. I unlocked the door and stepped inside. The space was just as I’d left it. There was still dust over everything. At least, I had something to do with my time.I took a deep breath. I hadn't lost everything. I was still okay.I began to clean up slowly. Lindsey stopped by to help me out and together, we covered a lot. As I was cleaning, I heard a knock on the door.“Are you
MAXINEI wanted to believe her that everything would be okay but deep down, I felt guilt and grief. This was my fault. I pulled back from her and wiped my eyes. I gave her a shaky smile. “It doesn’t feel like it.”She cupped my cheek. “Everything isn't always as it seems, my dear. But, I can tell you one thing I know for sure.” She said.“What's that?”“It's not your fault. I'm sure you don't know where to go from here, what to do, or where you belong. You want to come with me, you want to continue your life back at the place where you and Zel liked and you want to go back to how things were in this pack.” Cinder explained.“But, I see you staying here. This is where your strength lies, where hope lives, where you have friends and support.” She lowered her eyes and winked. “It's where you have a future.”“And, we'll always be here for you to fall back on, regardless of what happens. We're your home away from home.” The Luna Queen said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “I'm very proud.
MAXINEI didn't feel anything. No pain from a stab whatsoever. I looked between us and that's when Ronan smiled. His lips were close to my ear and he whispered, “I would never hurt you on purpose, love.”I didn't know when I screamed.Ronan collapsed into my arms, taking the both of us down to the ground with him. I tried my best to hold his head up on my lap. My eyes traveled down to the blood pouring down the stab wound in his belly.“Ronan,” I called, tears filling my eyes and rolling down my cheeks. He had stabbed himself.My hand shook as it hovered over the wound. I didn't know what to do. The dagger was in his chest.Ronan had chosen death. Death over a life without me.“Maxine…” he called, his voice unnaturally calm for someone who was dying. He reached up to touch me and I guided his hand to my cheek.“I'm here, I'm here,” I cried. “I'm sorry,” I whispered the last part. My hands shook as I held him. I never wanted this. I didn’t want him to die.Ronan gasped. He looked up
MAXINEI held my breath as Ronan kept his eyes on mine. When he was close enough, he stopped. Neither of us said a word. The battle continued around us but I couldn't get myself to make the first move.He didn't either. I wondered if it was hard for him to see me. I wondered if he thought he could fight me. I also wondered if he thought that he could kill me.I spoke up first. “Ronan,” I called. My voice was sounding more longing than I wanted.I missed him, to be honest. I missed sitting down in the quiet and reading books. Strangely, I missed making his cinnamon coffee.Ronan didn't say anything. Instead, he took a step closer. “You don’t have to do this,” he said.There was no hurt, no anger in his voice, just nothing but kindness. I wished he would yell. I wished he would curse me and call me evil for everything I've done.“Come with me.” He said, softly. I heard it regardless of the noise. “We can fix this, Maxine. We'll leave everything behind together.”It sounded so good. But,
MAXINEHe caught me off guard. It meant that he still cared about me. I didn't focus on that though. “I won’t, I promise,” I replied.We stood there in silence for a while, neither of us knowing what to say. I could feel it though. I could feel it. The unspoken feelings and questions we didn't have the time to ask.Or we didn't dare to ask, I guess.After everything that had happened, I still wasn’t sure where we stood. I said I was okay with him hating me but, I didn't know anymore. The lines between us were confusing now. I didn't know how to fix that.But now wasn’t the time to focus on that. We had a mission and that was a priority. Every other thing could come after. We would cross that bridge later.For some reason, Liam stepped closer and I held my breath. “Regardless of what has happened between us, out there?” He said, “No matter what happens, we’ll get through this together. Do you understand?”I nodded. “Together,” I repeated.Before I could say anything else, Zel appeared
MAXINECinder gave me and Zel a brief of the plans that night when she showed us a bedroom. She and the Luna Queen were sharing the one right next to us. They told us to come to them if we faced any issues.Sleep didn't come easy because my mind was entirely on Ronan. I didn't know how I was going to face him again after betraying his trust. But, I knew I couldn't sit out of this fight.The sun had not even risen when I was woken up by the sound of Liam's voice. He was given instructions and I heard more footsteps around the house than the number of people I had seen the previous day.It meant that Liam was already up and gathering the troops. I could hear him giving commands like it hadn't been two months since he was last in power. He was a natural-born leader. He carried this air of authority around him.He was giving orders, explaining ranks and positions for this fight. Every single detail was important to winning.Zel was still asleep, of course. She wasn't a wolf so she wouldn'
MAXINEI chuckled bitterly. “What about now?” I asked. “Will you take me back now that I have a wolf? Isn't that what you've always wanted?”His eyes widened slightly but he kept himself composed. “That would be unfair to you. It would be wrong. If you want to come back to me, I will take you but the choice is yours now. You have a choice and I see now that I was wrong. I’m so sorry, Maxine. I hope you can forgive me.”Tears welled up in my eyes. I hadn't thought about this but I let the anger roll away from me. He was still family. He was my father. “I forgive you. You're my father, whether you abandon me or not.” I said.“Thank you, Maxine.” He said. He reached for me hesitantly. I would have settled for a handshake but he wrapped his hands around me. For the first time in what I knew was forever, my father hugged me.I didn't know what to feel about that.LIAMAfter Maxine spoke to her father, they returned to the living room. However, she moved toward the far end of the room, away
LIAMDespite everything that was unfolding in front of me, my thoughts were stuck on one thing.Maxine had a wolf.I couldn't wrap my head around it. After everything that had happened to her, it didn’t make sense. I glanced at her. The strange white-haired girl was sitting between us.Maxine was staring out of the window. The white-haired girl squeezed her hand. Maxine turned to look at her and offered her a small smile. That was when she caught me staring. She looked away, taking her eyes back to the window.It left me confused. Was she pissed at me? I was the one who had the right to be mad at her. She had chosen him over me. Well, the distance between us was necessary.I didn't know what I would say or do if I were sitting next to her. Kris took a sharp turn, causing Maxine to grab the handle of the car door. I opened my mouth to say something but I stopped myself. There would be time for questions later.“You alright back there?” Varis asked.“We’re fine,” I said. I didn't know i