MAXINE"Take some of the servants with you then. You'll be able to find it faster with their help." He told me.I nodded. "The more the faster." I agreed.He immediately instructed the nearest one to fetch two more servants. The three of them followed me, holding flashlights.I had studied a lot of herbs and the best places to find them. Luckily, it wasn't too far from their house but it took us twenty minutes of speedwalking to get there.I described the herb carefully to them and told them to spread out so we could cover more ground.I kept checking the time. I didn't know how long we would have. I didn't know how long she had been in labor and how long the baby could last. I had to find the herb fast."I found it!" One of the servants yelled running towards me. I walked quickly towards him."Really?" I asked, excitedly. He held it up to the light. At first glance, it looked like it but when I inspected it further, it wasn't it. It was a similar plant. I sighed deeply."It's not it,
MAXINELiam sat on my couch, his legs crossed. He was pinning me with that stare and it caused my heart to drop."M-master, I didn't know you were coming." I stuttered going to put my back down so that I didn't have to keep looking at him.I didn't know if fear was going to take over me or if I was going to let the anticipation of what his arrival meant get to me. It had been weeks since he touched me or made me warm his bed. Being here was unexpected."You rearranged the place," he said instead of looking around. I didn't know where he was headed with this conversation but I was going to play along. If it meant he wasn't going to be angry with me."Yes, master. I have a new side job where I sell herbs to women. It helps them." I explained. I was sure he knew but still, I had to tell him. It only felt right.He chuckled, the sound dry and forced. "They're calling you a miracle worker." He said, with mockery in his voice. "You know, the woman you helped get pregnant."I stood in front
MAXINETwo days later, I went to Tobias and Ella's house. He wasn't around so I told Ella all about the delivery and everything that happened that night. I told her how small Sya was and her cries when she was born.I didn't tell her about Liam's visit though. I don't think I've told anyone about that and I wasn't ready for the questions they would ask or the answers I would have to give.She looked at me with wide eyes. "Tell me about the mother. Was she in too much pain?" She asked. I saw her place her hand on her stomach.I told her about her screams and moans. I told her about how she screamed when she was trying to push. But then I told her how she had smiled between her birth pains and afterward. It was almost like nothing else mattered when she saw her baby girl.Ella sighed dreamily. "I can't wait to hold my baby." She said.I grabbed her spoon and shoved some rice porridge into her mouth. "Eat your food. I'm sure you can wait. We're not in a hurry." I told her playfully smili
MAXINEEven though I was still helping all these women, I was still very much lonely. I didn't have a television and not a lot of people had one in their houses.A lot of people said hi on my way to work at the pack hospital. I signed in for my shift and got to assist the doctors and nurses with their patients."Maxine, I heard you helped deliver a baby." A nurse Nadia whispered to me. I gasped and looked around before pulling her close."How did you hear that?" I asked.They had promised not to tell anyone about my involvement in the delivery. How did Nadia find out?"Relax," she laughed, "I'm best friends with Lily. She's the midwife.""Oh," I replied, not knowing what to say."She told me because she wanted me to convince you. She thinks you'll be good as a midwife." She said.I started to shake my head, packing up the things she had used to work. "No, I can't. It's not—""Just listen to me, Maxine. Listen to what I have to say before you make a decision. You can even decide to jus
LIAMMy assistant put a couple of files on my desk along with the rest of them. This week had begun rather busy. Especially with the case of the werewolf hunters that were going around killing innocent wolves.They had yet to harm anybody in my pack but I had heard the complaints from the other packs. They had sent the information to the other packs to be on the lookout.I had notified the sentries and the guards to look out for any rogue wolves or newcomers. We had to be on high alert until the killings ended or the werewolf hunters were caught.Maxine was making this a thing. And I was not going to sit down and let this happen. Still, I told them to let her into my office. This time, I didn't act like I was busy or focused on some work, I stared at her.I knew she wouldn't be able to hold out for so long.She was wearing a yellow blouse and a white flowing skirt that stopped at the ankles. I approved of her modest outfit but it was the least of my worries."What do you want?" I aske
MAXINENick told me all about his life growing up. His parents had owned a large farm and after they had been murdered on a trip, his grandparents had stepped in to take care of him.They had been both kind and strict, making him the man that he is today. It was why he couldn't turn away when he saw someone in need. It was why he felt obligated to help me."One time, just one time, I had brought in four stray cats into the barn. They were as tiny as my fist." Nick said, making a fist for me."I thought that since the farm was big enough, I could raise them and my grandparents wouldn't have to find out. I was so wrong," he continued."My grandmother brought the box into the house, scolding me about picking up stray animals." The memory brought a smile to his face."Did she throw them out?" I asked."Of course. But not immediately. We raised them for a couple of months until they were big enough and then we let them out. They kept coming back though. So, Grandfather drove them to anothe
MAXINE"You must be Maxine. Hi, I'm Ariel, Nick's sister." She said still smiling. She held out her hand but there was something about her smile that made me uneasy.Nick didn't have a sister. He looked a bit flustered when I ignored his supposed sister and looked at him instead."Nick? You never mentioned having a sister." I said. That only meant that he lied to me. I wondered what else he lied to me about.She glanced at him briefly. "Don't mind him. I'm his cousin. Grandma and grandpa sort of adopted me and took care of me after my parents died so we usually just kind of play it off that we're siblings." She explained.This didn't sound believable but it was a similar story to Nick's. They were both raised by his grandparents.I looked at Nick. "Is it true?" I asked.He nodded. "It is." He said.I hummed my distaste but I decided to be polite. "Welcome to town," I said, finally holding my hand out to her. She shook it."It's such a nice place." She told me. The smile was still the
MAXINE"You're one of them. You're a werewolf killer," I said, realization finally dawning on me.He was new to town. He did home jobs. It meant that he had access to people's lives. That was how he chose his targets. That was how he knew the people to kill.He was a werewolf hunter. That was why I thought something was off about his sister. She's most likely one of them too."Maxine," Nick called but I was already turning on my heels and running away.I needed to get away from him fast. I needed to find someone who I could report him to. I had to get to safety.I took several turns and when I didn't hear him behind me anymore, I slowed down, looking around. Where were the patrol wolves when you needed them?"You shouldn't run from me, Maxine," Nick said as he hurried out from another alleyway in front of me.I took a step back, startled. "How did you…?" I looked back from where I had run from. "How did you find me?"Nick was still covered in blood. There weren't a lot of people on th