The next few days were difficult. Jadie had a week from when she arrived until she started classes, so that meant seven days of being trapped in the same house as her betrayer.
Lincoln popped in once in a while to start random conversations with her in between meetings or traveling to neighboring packs, making her reserve against him start to break a way little by little. He was currently at a pack almost four hours away, so the number of people she was comfortable enough to talk to diminished to zero.
Jadie made a dash to the kitchen to find something that her stomach would allow her to snack on. She woke up every night in a cold sweat, her screams echoing off the blank walls and haunting her thoughts for the rest of the day. If members of the pack heard her, they didn't make it obvious. They hardly even sp
Jadie woke up in a cold sweat. She had managed to change into a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt last night in the midst of her breakdown before she ended up asleep in the middle of her floor. The burn from the rejection was only becoming worse as the days progressed, and she didn’t know how much more of it she could take.The grumbling of her stomach woke her up the rest of the way. She once again didn’t eat dinner, so her body was struggling to hold her weight.‘You need to eat. We can’t live like this forever.’ Emerald interjected. Jadie rolled her eyes and peeled her sweaty hair off her face, tying it into a loose ponytail.Her bath yesterday was meant to be relaxing and calm her down, but instead she became lost in thought about the situation she had found herself in. She concluded that she was just meant to be alone, dragging her way through life without anyone there to help her.‘That’s just ridiculous. You
Jadie didn’t realize that when Lincoln said they were going on a hike, it meant they would be trudging over twenty miles deep into the woods, far away from any form of civilization. If she didn’t have a wolf, she would have been scared out of her mind.“How much further is this place you’re taking me?” She asked as her surroundings all started to look the same after a while.Lincoln chuckled and jumped over a small stream. “It’s not much further. We’re almost there.” He reached one of his hands out to help her over without slipping on the wet rocks. She took it and carefully found her footing on the other side before they continued on.They ventured deeper into the woods until the sound of flowing water distracted Jadie from her sore feet and growling stomach.“Don’t worry. We can run back in wolf form. It’s just better to be fully clothed in case humans are around.” He chuckled
Lincoln helped Jadie slip her sweatshirt over her injured shoulder when they returned to the pack house. He was eerily silent the rest of the trip home, on guard from the slightest noises around them.“Lincoln?” Jadie tried to get his attention, but his mind was elsewhere. The two silently walked through the back door of the pack house, Jadie wincing in pain when she accidentally bumped into the door frame.Lincoln froze and looked over his shoulder at her with a foreign emotion. “I’m fine. Just clumsy.” She assured him. It was already starting to heal anyway, just not as quickly as she had hoped due to her situation.He just nodded and continued to walk deeper into the house. Jadie followed him to his final destination, his office, and stepped in so he could close the door behind them.It was almost like he was moving on auto pilot, his mind too focused on whatever he was thinking about to understand what he was doing or whe
Jadie shrunk into her seat next to him. Listening to how cruel her brothers could be was hard, but Lincoln was more important at the moment. She would deal with Jack and Jeremy later.“Ian appeared out of nowhere. We overheard my dad talking about rogues testing our borders, but none were brave enough to come deep enough to be caught.” He snarled and gripped his hands into fists. “When Jack saw him, he grabbed James and started to run away. Ian knew exactly who I was because of my father, and he wanted some kind of payback for losing his land to the new expansion my father had just sent through. He decided that instead of taking his land back, he would end his pack altogether by killing off his successor.”Jadie reached over and grabbed his fist in her hand, squeezing tightly to try and comfort him so he could continue.“They cut me down and took their turns beating and tearing me apart with their wolves until I was completely unrec
The pack members in that area were just as friendly as the last. The last stop they had planned was a surprise that Lincoln had.The ground dropped off over a steep cliff, overlooking Lake Superior. The water crashed against the earth, carrying some of the dirt and sand with it.“This is part of your territory, too?” Jadie asked in amazement. The water was clear enough to see a sunken boat at the bottom of the lake, fading from the erosion of the water.“It is. And trust me, it is a lot deeper than it looks.” He nudged towards the edge of the cliff and sat with his legs dangling, his hands resting in his lap. Jadie carefully slid over next to him and looked out over the fading horizon.“It’s peaceful here. There aren’t many places like this back in California, and they’re definitely not within our borders.” Lincoln just nodded, listening to her as she spoke of her home. “We had trees and wild ani
The night was long for the both of them. When Jadie thought her torture was finally over, it came back about an hour later with more intensity. Lincoln sat awake all night, feeling useless as he just listened to her struggle and squirm on top of her blankets.Around six in the morning, once Jadie was finally able to sleep peacefully, Lincoln got a mind link from his father.‘I need you to meet me at the northern border. Now.’ He lifted his large head from his paws and lowered his ears. The tone in his father’s voice was serious, making his mind wander as he gave Jadie one last assuring look over his shoulder. He slipped out the door and pushed it closed quietly before padding down the stairs and out the back door.The pack lands were eerily quiet as he strode to the border near the cliff he had taken Jadie to the day before. There was a small area of land that was open to rogues next to it, but it was usually because of the way it was
Her first class was in an hour at the local college. She was starting with basic fundamentals until she figured out what she was planning to do after. As she made it through her first day of mainly introductions into the courses, Lincoln locked himself away in his office, not allowing any visitors. He couldn’t clear his mind of the image of the young pack member mangled on the earth’s floor. It brought back the same feeling of fear and weakness that Lincoln always fought to ignore. He trained harder and longer as he aged to make sure he could never be in that kind of position ever again, but now that Ian was coming back around, it was as if all his skills would disappear and leave him as that same terrified child once again. His office door flew open, and Wilson waltzed in as if he was welcomed. “Go away.” Lincoln growled, gripping his tousled hair in his fists and keeping his gaze on the mess of paperwork across his desk. Wilson ignored his demand an
The next day, Lincoln met Jadie at the same spot after her schooling with a grin. “Ready for training?” He asked, chuckling when she threw her head back with a groan. “No.” She complained dramatically. “Let’s get it over with.” He draped his arm over her shoulders and shook his head. “That’s the spirit.” He teased sarcastically and led her out to the training grounds where the females were already beginning to train. Jadie dressed in preparation for this before she left that morning. She wore a plain pare of black leggings and a green t-shirt with her school’s logo. Lincoln waved Kyra down from across the field. He jogged in their direction, raising his eyebrow at Jadie. “Alpha.” He bowed respectfully to Lincoln and turned over to her. “Ready to get started?” Jadie let out a deep breath and shrugged. “As I’ll ever be.” They set her up inside on the rubber mats with Kyra standing opposite her in a fighting stance. “I’m going to show you co
Lincoln’s mother forced her way through the crowd of wolves in determination. If her son was in danger, she was going to be the first to volunteer to help him. “This is going to be dangerous. We don’t know they strengths and numbers, but we must save your Alpha and future Luna at any cost.” Jeremy boomed over the bustling of anxious warriors. This was what they were trained for-they must protect their pack, and without their Alpha they would crumble. “Watch each other’s back, and be prepared for anything they may throw at you.” Jack looked over the crowd, impressed by the numbers. The pack he was part of was much smaller, and their warriors would be flooded by the amount that stood before him today. “Let’s do this!” Jeremy shouted, earning approval from the wolves as they all shifted into their wolves. The brothers shared a determined look at the front of the pack. “Wait! I’m coming with you!” Nadine shouted, stumbling over the mass of fur and muscle. Jack shook his head, but befo
“Aurora here is a witch, if you haven’t figured that out yet.” Michael snickered. The petite woman at his side wielded raven black hair that made her violet eyes stand out against her pale skin. Anyone could see the powers she yielded. Lincoln snapped back into reality and lowered his eyes cautiously to her. He had an unsettled feeling-if Michael was partnered with a witch, they were all screwed. “She is going to help me destroy you.” Lincoln scoffed. Way to be blunt. “How do you plan on doing that exactly?” He grumbled, his eyes remaining glued to the powerful creature in front of him. “Easy. She is going to make you kill your own mate.” Jack sucked in a startled breath, Lincoln releasing a threatening growl. His body shook in rage. “She can’t get me to do anything!” His wolf pushed to the surface, his eyes fading to black as all he felt was the sincere need to protect his mate. Michael pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked his cell door, nudging Aurora inside alone. “Go
Lincoln’s eyes shot open as a pain ruptured through his chest. His wolf whimpered from within him, making him squirm. A fire raged through him, alerting him that something was wrong. Jack groaned from across the hall. Lincoln’s eyes took in their surroundings-they were in opposite cells, both chained by their wrists to the concrete walls. “Jack.” He grumbled, his voice coarse. He had no idea how long they had been down there, but one thing was certain-that man, whoever he was, had brought them to Michael. Where Michael was, Jadie couldn’t be far. “Jack!” He hissed. The drowsy man groaned, wiping his face roughly. “What the hell happened?” He blinked a few times, trying to gain composure and come to terms with where they were. “Where are we?” Lincoln scoffed. He didn’t have the patience for this man anymore. “Where do you think we are?” He growled. “Now wake the fuck up! We need to find a way out of here.” Lincoln’s serious tone wiped any exhaustion out of Jack’s system. He shot
Warning: Sexual Content. Read at your own risk.Jadie shook her head and pleaded as Vince’s hands explored her body. He grew frustrated with the cloth that was between them, and his anger grew until he gave in and tore the thin fabric from her.She was now fully naked-exposed to a rogue that was forcing her into giving something sacred to her. Something she was saving until she found her mate-something that belonged to Lincoln.Her innocence.His growls of appreciation grew when he lapped up her appearance greedily. Even though all the other beatings he had sentenced her to weren’t enough to stop her from fighting to escape, she knew for sure this one would break her.“I’m going to enjoy every second of this.” He took the dagger and placed it against her cheek, reveling in the red line that appeared from the pressure he was enforcing.The pounding of Jadie’s heart flooded her ears, and she clenched her eyes closed to try and pretend this wasn’t happening to her. She imagined she was b
Lincoln’s wolf slowed down to a halt once they neared a familiar clearing. This was a place marked on his map, and so far there was no signs of life other than the wildlife that scurried within the trees and bushes.“Search the area. Meet back here in twenty minutes.” He commanded his warriors and stuck his nose to the ground to try and pick up even the faintest of scent.Jack followed him close behind, the rest of his pack members dispersing to cover more area. He buried his nose into every space so they wouldn’t miss any clue as to where his sister could be.He let out a frustrated growl and shifted back to his human form, gripping his hair tightly.“How the hell could she just disappear? They couldn’t have gotten that far!” Jack hissed, his fists tightening at the top of his head.Lincoln did his best to ignore him as he kept his nose to the ground, traveling deeper into unclaimed territory.“How are we supposed to find her alone, anyways? It seems pretty pointless if your warriors
Lincoln was trudging through the halls towards his room when he made an unexpected detour towards a familiar bedroom he had gotten used to being around over the past couple weeks.The plain white door that separated him from Jadie’s scent and belongings seemed so simple, but it was enough to made his body become rigid, and his hand at his side that was once prepared to grip the handle felt like a heavy dead weight.He stood for a while, just staring at the grooves under the paint of the door, thinking about the day he had fallen asleep in the hall and was later caught by Jadie. The urge to be near her was strong, but it was nowhere near what he was feeling now. He felt empty, something that was all-too familiar to him. He didn’t have many friends growing up—most of the kids were close to Michael and steered clear of him. Once his father’s health started to slip, his mother started focusing everything on him and that left Lincoln with no-one.
Jadie groaned in pain when she was awoken by a solid object burying into her stomach. She barreled over, but was unable to move far with her hands tied behind her back.“Wake up!” The man growled, glaring at her in hatred. Jadie examined him through pain-filled eyes, his face looking familiar. He had the same color hair as Lincoln’s, but his eyes were a muddy brown. His features were softer than Lincoln’s sharp jawline and straight nose.This man resembled Nadine more than Anthony, and Jadie could tell exactly who he was right away.“Michael.” She spat, squinting her eyes against the bright LED lights that hung from the ceiling of the cement room.He gave her a sickening smile and stood straight, crossing his arms. “Oh, so he does talk about me!”Jadie shook her head. “Only bad things.” She taunted. His face fell to a scowl as he reared his arm and back handed her with all his strength. She cried out in pain when her head whipped to the side, stinging
“Where are we going?” She asked, struggling to keep up with his speed. Jeremy looked around to make sure they weren’t being followed before continuing on, deep into the woods. “There’s a safe house a few miles south of here. If we can make it there, we should be fine until this is over.” Jadie huffed and pushed her legs as fast as they could go as they weaved through the trees. “How do you know about this place?” She shouted over the sound of their pounding footsteps on the ground. “We used to hide there from mom and dad when we would pull things on your mate.” He grazed over, his eyes flickering around to be aware of their surroundings Jeremy froze when he sensed someone nearby. He shushed Jadie who was about to ask him what was going on, scanning the trees with cautious eyes. “I knew he would send you away. What a fool.” A familiar voice chuckled, echoing through the shade. Jadie glared at the redhead that stepped out into the light peaked throu
Lincoln snarled in warning and pushed his shoulders back. This wouldn’t be a difficult fight for him; he had Alpha training and strength that Wilson didn’t have. “Not anymore.” He glared, waiting for Wilson to make a move. “Back down before you do something you will regret.” Lincoln warned, but it was too late. Wilson shifted, snapping his teeth at his Alpha. “He’s challenging him.” Jeremy mumbled, staring at the deranged beta as he lifted his lips to growl again. “Is he insane?” He turned to his father with wide eyes. “He lost his mate. Wolves do crazy things when they’re rejected. It probably doesn’t help that she’s paired with Lincoln now, either.” They all watched as Lincoln looked over his shoulder at Jadie, motioning for her to back away towards her family. Jadie clenched her hands together in nervousness and backed up into her father’s arms. Once Lincoln knew she was safe, his eyes faded to a charcoal color and he let out a roar that sent sh