Tony
“Those women?” Matt asked. “The lunas?”
“I should have just gotten her a luna etiquette teacher from the beginning. I should have never let those women into our den.”Matt sighed. “Did you really have a choice? Politics and all? I mean… we can’t really afford to cut ties like that can we?”I set my jaw. “She could have been more prepared to deal with them if I had gotten her into lessons first.”Matt snorted. “And who was going to teach her? One of them? One of their friends?”“It would have at least been better for her.” I thought back to the look on her face, the way she seemed to withdraw more and more after that meeting. “Whatever they said… scared her. It didn’t make her feel safe with us. I know that’s not all of it, but it’s a part of it.”“We can’t fix what they said, Tony.”&ldqLucySomeone hurried by as I followed her toward the giant doors at the front of the building. I watched the step into the air and take off through the air. I gasped as the figure started to fly away.“How…”Araya chuckled. “Brooms would be way too obvious.”I looked over to another set of people who were conjuring fire in the palm of their hands and chatting over books. As we went through the doors, I smelled a different floral scent in the air. There was a pair of people, a man and a woman, with a bunch of books floating behind them. The largest one was floating just in front of them as they walked and talked. In the middle of the large room was a long row of desks a few feet into the building, but I could see people walking around and heading off into random doorways behind it. The back wall was all glass and showed a landscape that couldn’t have been real.Everyone looked so busy. It was kind of what I imagined a co
LucyAfter I told the man that, the session got a little awkward, and he hurried through getting me out with a disgruntled look on his face. I was glad to be out and even happier that I had sad something. I smiled at the thought. I had changed a lot in just this little bit of time. A few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have said anything.Just like she promised, Araya was there when I was done with my evaluation. There wasn’t an admission’s person available at the moment, so I had to wait a little while, but the more I thought about it, the more assured I felt.“Who pissed you off?” Araya asked, tilting her head as I grew closer.I sank into the seat beside her. “I… The evaluator wasn’t very nice.”Araya snorted. “They almost never are. What’d he say?”I sighed. “He… said that because I’m a werewolf I won’t want anything but to find my mate and have chi
LucyI looked up at the woman’s voice calling me. She looked a little older than the other guy and smiled brightly.Araya nodded me towards her. “Go on. We’ll talk plenty.”I nodded and went with the woman, hoping that she would be nicer than the man had been. She led me to her office which was cozy with squishy over-stuffed couches and a chandelier made of multi-colored gemstones that threw rainbows around the room.“Based on the scans, you’re best fit for at least the basic, internal magical courses. Once that restraint is off, you might have to adjust your plans, but for now, let’s talk about what is it that you want to do?”I looked down and glanced up at her. “I was thinking about magical law enforcement.”She nodded. “As a field operative or administrative support?”I bit my lip, considering it. Then, I heard Araya’s words in my head. I had
LucyI shook his hand. “Thank you for teaching me.”He chuckled. “Don’t thank me just yet. I have a feeling you’ll have more than one callous by the end of all of this.”He handed the pages back to the councilor. “First lesson, always activate your cloaking spell.”I frowned. He gestured to his neck. “Every anchor has one. It will keep someone from trying to take it from you and debilitate you.”I looked down at it. “How do I do that?”“Hold it in your hand and say hidden.”I frowned down at it and held it. It felt warmer and different than before.“Hidden.”A ripple of light went over it, but it looked no different.“Good. Now it’s keyed to you. No one else, except for me could take it from you.”I clutched it in my had. “Why would you need to take it from me?”“To charge i
LucyI sat up, panting and staring into the dark. Someone was knocking on my door.“Lucy? Lucy, open the door! What’s going on?”I shuddered and stumbled over to the door. Tears streamed down my face. My heart hammered in my chest. I got it open and Tina wrapped her arms around me. Several other woman who lived on the floor were outside too.She hushed me, stroking my hair as I sobbed.“T-There was… Blood—F-Fire… I—She—My mom—My f-family—I…”Tina hushed me and held me close. “It’s okay. It was just a nightmare. It’s alright. Come on, I-I’ll make you some hot chocolate. We can play cards or something?”My whole body was shaking. I heard screaming in the back of my mind. I shut my eyes as fire and blood danced behind my eyes. Then, I saw her eyes staring out of a face just like mine. Everything from the curve of her eyebr
LucyI couldn’t say how long it was before I could stand to talk. I told the officers what I could remember, and they left me in David’s care. He took me to a nearby café, draping his jacket over my shoulders. I watched him from the seat by the window as he ordered our drinks. He came back and set a tall steaming cup in front of me. I didn’t know what it was, but it didn’t matter. I wrapped my hands around it, enjoying the way the heat seemed to seep into my hands. I took deep breaths, shuddering as I tried to calm down. David sat beside me and pulled me close, sharing his body heat, but he didn’t press me to say anything or eat. I looked at the small tray of sweets in front of me and my lips twitched. “You… hate chocolate,” I said. David chuckled and took a sip from his drink. “They’re not for me.”My lips trembled. “Do you… Do you still like lemon?”“I do,” he said. “And you? Peaches?”I nodded slowly. I shuddered and looked up at him. “Thank you… f-for saving me.”He smiled and
MattAfter Tony announced that exile was the other option, the whole room went silent. Our nanny went pale. “Where’s the luna?” Someone asked. “Lucy is off taking classes and getting treatment,” Tony said. “In the meantime, I’m making it a priority to clean up the pack and figure out how the hell she was taken in the first place.”His heart didn’t skip when he lied, but I could see that no one really believed him. There were a few people who seemed a little disgruntled as if they knew he was lying. “Alpha, do you want your report now?” Our beta said. His chin was lifted and his heart was calm. “Yes,” Tony said. “Since we’re on the topic.”“They say that she’s doing well. The poison is mostly out of her system, but they want to keep her a bit longer for observation… They still don’t know what kind of poison it was.”Tony nodded. Our nanny’s shoulders seemed to relax. I felt her relief and the belief begin to build through the whole pack. It seems that it’s still true: if you can g
MattWe walked downstairs and opened the door. There was a group of official-looking people accompanied with a tall, willowy woman who smelled like chamomile and wore a lot of yellow. There were a bunch of flowers in her hair. She looked more like a nymph from human mythology than a witch. She looked around with wide eyes as her two companions looked at us. “We’re here on behalf of the Council and the Inter-Species Liaison.” Each of them extended a thick envelope toward us. “You’re being charged with several criminal charges, including human trafficking and deadly assault, on the human and the supernatural side. We’re here to bolster your human and supernatural representation against the organization pressing charges against you.”I grimaced. “What human organization?” Tony asked. “Liberation Front.”I had never heard of them. I took the envelope offered to me. His eyes narrowed. “And the supernatural charges?”“Several counts of assault and related human trafficking charges.”I
LucyThe morning sun, a mischievous wink through the blinds, painted golden stripes across our bed. I snuggled deeper into the warmth of David's embrace, the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest a soothing lullaby. He slipped his hand across my lower back. The warmth of his bare skin against mine set a spark of pleasure through me. He rumbled low and content into my hair. “Wake up,” David rumbled. He kissed my head and twined a curl around his finger. “We have things to do.”“You shouldn’t have kept me up all night.”He chuckled. “You didn’t say that last night.”I nudged him. He dipped his head to nip my lips. “You know, if it’s too much, you can always tell me to slow down.”He’d been saying that for five years now, and I never found a reason to tell him to. He knew that. His eyes flickered between colors. I nipped his lower lip. “Give me a reason.”He smirked and rolled me onto my back. “To slow down or…”“To get up,” I said as he kissed
LucyI sat on the cold stone, watching her, but she didn’t move another muscle. I didn’t know how long it had been, but it didn’t matter. The spectral glow around her was starting to dim, and my mind was just too stressed to do too much thinking. The light of the ritual, the spell I’d used, the blood on my hands all flashed through my mind, and part of me wondered if it was all just a dream. I looked down at the stained and ruined gown. The armor was as pristine as ever, but most of the embroidered roses were torn or stained. This dress would never be white again, let alone whole. I flicked a piece of the long, gossamer fabric and shook my head. I really liked this dress.“Lucy!”I turned my head toward the sound of David’s voice, wrung out and relieved to hear him. He was rushing through the air towards me. He dropped down a few feet from me, looking so worried I could cry.I smiled at him as he dropped to his knees beside me and threw his arms around me,
LucyI sailed through the air, landing with a jarring thud within the ritual circle. With a trembling hand, I pushed myself up, my senses on high alert. A figure, cloaked in darkness, appeared in front of me. My blood ran cold. Selene."Well, well, Lucy," her voice, honeyed yet laced with venom, slithered into the darkness. "Thank you ever so much for making this easy at last.”I grit my teeth. I wouldn't go down without a fight. Straightening my shoulders, I met her gaze, my voice shaking but resolute. "You underestimate me.” “No, Lucy,” her voice dropped, and a cruel smile twisted her lips. "You underestimate me.” The chanting grew louder around me. I lunged for the necklace, my fingers grazing its cold surface before Selene snatched it away, a triumphant gleam in her eyes. But that touch, fleeting as it was, ignited something. I felt her pushing at my mind. I felt her shoving me back until I could see the forest from before, and we were fighting in a ci
MattMy vision pulsed and flickered, a strobe light of pain blurring the edges of reality. Tony rained blows down on me, slashing with claws. Each hit chipped away at my resolve and my control, leaving behind a raw desperation to end this quickly. My armor protected me from most of the damage, but still. He was always the stronger of the two of us. I thought it was just because he was the older of the two of us, but this was different. I thought for sure he was going to bite off my head. Then, a flash of golden light arced through the air, and a spear lanced past my shoulder, catching Tony square in the chest. I turned back to see Ginevra hovering in the air. Her golden dress glowed as she passed me with a glowing winge spreading from her back. What the absolute fuck?Tony staggered, falling to the ground, and Dad darted forward, encasing Tony in a shimmering web of light. The wave turned to chains. He thrashed and howled, straining against the magical bonds, but t
LucyPeter's breath hitched, rasping, and shallow, then deepened into a cough that wracked his battered body. His eyelids fluttered, eyelids so pale they were almost luminous in the dim torchlight. He struggled to get up, leaning on his Spear and on Michelle. The light pulsing through the Spear rippled over his skin. He let out a soft sigh and stumbled a little. “Peter?”“I... It’s gone.”“What?” Michelle gasped as his hair started to change, losing the gray color and growing dark. His face turned younger until I was sure that he was all of twenty-something. He grew a bit taller, too, bigger until his shirt strained against his chest and his buttons popped. He flushed. “Well… that’s not…” He cleared his throat as Michelle smiled up at him. “So this is what you looked like in your youth?”He scoffed. “I’m much younger than you think.”He grunted, pressing a hand to his side. “Wish the Spear would heal the wound, though.”I winced. “Sorry… it’s a
PeterMy feet pounded a frantic rhythm against the uneven earth, branches whipping at my face, thorns tearing at my clothes. How long had I been running? How much further did I have to go? I didn’t know, and it didn’t matter so long as I got there. My lungs burned, legs screaming in protest, but still I ran. The trail of blood behind me and the patchwork of wounds across my body, chunks of missing and regrowing flesh, weren’t my concern right now. The creature—the wolf was after me, and unlike before, it didn’t seem willing to back off or slow down. It was going to kill me, and what happened after that was anyone’s guess. Behind me, the guttural snarl of the wolf echoed through the trees. Too close to be comfortable. Too close to make sense. This was too much like that dream, but worse. So much worse. The sky was a kaleidoscope of images I could barely make out. They flashed in the sky and in my vision, making it hard to see. I saw Lucy. I saw Michelle. The long
LucyAdrenaline surging, I grabbed Michelle and pulled her after me deeper into the inky depths of the tunnel.“Quick!”She panted. “What’s going on? Peter—”“He’s possessed,” I said. “Just keep running for now!”I saw my Allison up ahead, leading me down another tunnel. Behind us, I heard Peter's guttural snarls, the rhythmic thud of his feet echoed eerily in the confined space. We had to lose him and the other one quickly, but we didn’t seem to be putting enough distance between us. Panic coiled in my gut, urging me to run faster and push my body beyond its limits. Michelle kept up relatively well. We twisted and turned, navigating the treacherous path by torchlight and the spectral murmurs of White Moon's fallen. But the passage seemed to twist back on itself. When we were back at the forked path, the faint light that had been illuminating the tunnel went out, plunging us into darkness.Michelle shuddered. She drew closer to me and tightened her grip on m
LucyI was back in that house with that couple that adopted me. I felt the floorboards creaking as I went downstairs. I saw the men in suits. I shrieked, turning. Not again. I couldn’t be back here. Where was David? How had I gotten back here? I looked down. I wasn’t… wearing the dress or the armor. I had no daggers. My hair was just as uncombed and dry as it had been then. When I looked in the mirror, the skinny young woman who had barely had anything more than ramen and school lunch stared back at me. My stomach lurched. The door opened, and I turned to run, knowing what was about to happen. I dug my heels in as dark shadows pulled me towards the door. I felt myself being lifted onto someone’s shoulders. I fought and kicked, but all my training and all my strength were gone. I saw the calendar on the wall, but the date was different. It wasn’t my birthday. It was the day of the Crescent Moon Festival. I screamed, grabbing anything I could manage. Then, Sele
DavidOren's head arced through the firelit air, landed, and rolled. His body dropped to the ground, still spurting blood. Then, all hell broke loose.The shimmering barrier around the Ball faltered, rippling like a pond, before collapsing entirely. Hunters poured into the arena, their snarls blending with everyone's shocked gasps. “Defensive measures, now!” I yelled, my voice carrying over the sound of the attack. A group of dragon shifters took to the sky as my blade clashed with the first hunter. How had they gotten through the barrier? I saw a flicker of a ghost and growled. “Selene!” I shoved the hunter back, slicing through him before sending out a shockwave of air. She’d been behind this, and maybe she’d been planning this for years, using the werewolf virus to spy on the preparations. It would make sense to try and get rid of me. I was the direct descendant of Fenris. More than that, it was their movements. Each and every one of them moved e