Clem stood at the outer courts of their pack house, looking steadily towards the entrance to their pack environs as if, he was willing a person or something to appear through it.
'"What's taking them so long?" He muttered to himself, checking his wrist watch. It was almost six pm.
"What are you looking at?" He heard a voice ask, and turning a little to the right to see who was talking, he saw Leo watching him. His mind-guess hadn't been wrong. Only Leo had that type of deep baritonic voice in their pack.
"Nothing really. Just waiting for them." He replied.
"Shane and Derek??" Leo asked, taking a long glance at the entrance of the pack too.
"Yeah, Shane and Derek."
Derek barged into the pack's conference room in anger, and wasn't fazed at all by the look of disappointment that appeared on his father's face at his entry. He totally ignored it, thinking that his old man should have had it coming; should have known that he wouldn't be pleased with the idea of merging their pack with another, let alone merging with Arnold's, even if it was for ten seconds. "Oh, if it's not my favorite nephew." He heard his uncle say, and scoffed. Surely, he would get back at him one day. He just had to find the right circumstance to do it. "Hello Uncle." He greeted, trying hard to rein his temper in, his teeth gritting in the process. "Hello nephew. Where have you been? We've been searching the whole area for you." Arnold said, with a smirk present o
Derek shut his eyes wearingly and cussed intermittently as he heard the voice which he had last heard, about seven years ago. Fisting his hands tightly, he took a deep breath, in and out, before swerving around to face his oldest friend, turned foe. "Maya.." He grumbled out, unfolding one of his hands, and inserting it into his deep left front pocket of his denim trousers; whilst still staring at the feminine beauty in front of him. He thought she was still the same, except older and more beautiful. "Hello Cousin Brother.." Maya said with a smirk. "How have you been. Long time no see." She continued, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Derek could tell, from the smirk that coated her lips, that she was also part of her father's plan, again; and it didn't do his mood
The walls of the pack house were designed with beautiful drawings of wolf-like art, which Maya thought was excellent and aesthetic as she and Derek walked towards the place where she had left her warriors an hour ago to heed to her father's call to follow the way up to the Pack's conference room.She was at least happy, that her Uncle, Derek's father, had still managed to uphold the pack, even better, since the last pack war. She was also happy that her betrayal hadn't caused Derek much mayhem later, other than a broken heart and a dismembered trust pattern.Watching the bustling activity going on in the pack, the children running up and down, a group of women talking and laughing, she concluded that the her cousin's pack was warmer than hers. Her father had stopped pack members, children mostly, from trouping into the pa
Derek sighed as he heard the bitter tone in his cousin's voice. He couldn't mistake it for pretence; his remark had really hurt her. He wondered whether she was now feeling sorry for the crime she had committed against him some years back. He wished she was, even though he doubted that they would be as close as before; the trust glass had already been broken."Spaced out again?"Derek heard Shane's voice through the pack link and swore. 'What was it this time around?' He thought.Looking around, he tried to take in his surroundings to know where he was actually at; as he had been oblivious of it even while walking because of his deep thoughts.He realized with a jerk-speed, that he was just at the entrance to
Maya's eyes bulged out as she beheld the fine specimen that had just interrupted her cousin's excuse; partly from his beauty and build, and partly from his scent which was so invigorating and exhilarating. She could also feel Sia, her wolf, howling in happiness. She had just found her mate! Oh what pure joy, it brought to her that she wasn't mateless at last.Taking candid but small short steps towards the handsome figure that stood talking with her cousin, talks that she was completely oblivious of, as her mind was entranced and all centered on her mate; she thought of the happiness that would cloth her mother's face at the news.When she had turned 18, and let out her wolf,Sia, everyone had been expecting her to show her mate forth within a week or two; but it hadn't been so. They had decided to let her be for a month or two.
Derek observed again, that for the second time under the space of thirty minutes, his cousin's eyes haf widened, more like bulged out. The first time had been when Leo had stepped into the Hall, interrupting the lame excuse he had conjured up to give his cousin who had seemed restless and impatient all of a sudden. The others hadn't noticed, but he had; perhaps because he was directly in front of her, or maybe because he had known her since birth.Now staring at her and her bulging eyes, he wondered what she was suprised or shocked about. Then with a startling speed, he realized that these reactions he was observing on his cousin, including the nose tapping which she did whenever she was nervous, had all started since Leo came. He dabated in his thoughts, whether the duo had known each other, sometime in the past, considering the fact that his best pack warrior was an ex rogue.
Maya closed her tightly, as she heard Derek's proclamation. She didn't know whether she should be angry that he had said it out in the open without her consent, or happy that he had known her well enough, even to the extent, of telling that his best pack warrior was her mate. It showed her that he still hadn't really forgotten about their closeness. It also gave her a hope that they could reconcile, maybe later, if her father didn't require anything selfish from her."Derek, what did you just say?" She heard her mate ask her cousin, and sighed. This was getting harder by the minute."You both are mates." Derek replied Leo, folding his arms."How come you don't know?" He queried his friend. "Or are you ignoring the mate bond because of me?" He asked further, voicing his wolf's
Melvina's nostrils flared in anger as she heard Maya's statement. She tried to rein in her agitation, as she contemplated on how wicked her mate's brother could be; even stretching the threads of his wickedness to his own daughter."Mom.." She heard her son call, and sighed. She knew that he had already caught in, on her emotions; and so there was no need to hide the truth or the true effects of what the girl's father had done."Aunt..what is it? You are not saying anything." Maya stated apprehensively. She could already tell that something was wrong; the potion was wrong, just like her wolf, Sia, had said.As she mulled over on the issue, she remembered her mother's reaction when she had heard that her father gave her the Panjyo potion. Her mother's reaction had just been l
Emma’s eyes were as active as anything active as she watched the elders slowly walk into the hall reserved for judging cases, like Annabel’s. As she watched them, her feet kept dancing on the floor in a funny unsteady motion; she was unsteady. One, one. Then two, two. Then one two. Once, Amelia had looked at her, with a piqued eyebrow. ‘What is that?’ Her eyes seemed to ask, but Emma had given no answer. What is it? It should be what are they?! When they were hurrying over to the hall, after convincing the guards that they would be around for the trial too, her sister had whispered that the cabin, her parent’s cabin, had been burnt by the master, Slediv. It had brought Emma up short, making her stagger on her feet for two reasons. That Slediv had really traced them, even without her then, and that the cabin was burnt; the loss it meant for her parents. Would they regret helping her then? Prescott didn’t think so. But Emma was still worried about it, just like her mind had tried
One week later:Emma had run to the clinic, immediately Adah had burst into her apartment with the news that Annabel and Amelia were awake. Over the couple of days in class, they had bonded over gossip, and training, seeing as the latter was the only one that had been sincerely interested in her. Emma had run with Prescott in her hands, and Adah right behind her. And when she arrived at the room she had frequented daily with prayers, and saw her sister and her friend chatting tiredly, she let out a scream of happiness and hurried over to them. “Amelia! Annabel!” She called gaily, garnering the attention of the two females sitting cross-legged on the same bed. Before they could let out a shout or smile of their own, Emma’s hands were already around them. “Oh my goodness, I am so happy for both of you…” she paused. “but give me a heartache again, and I will skin you both alive..” Annabel and Amelia divulged bouts of laughter, with the nurses. Prescott and Adah weren’t left behind,
Caden sighed in relief at his mate’s words, wanting to believe at all costs that the years he had spent with her, that the love they had shared, hadn’t been in vain. He didn’t know what he would have done otherwise. Cry, brood? Neither was acceptable in these times. And so, he wasn’t moved when his son piqued an eyebrow at his mate’s words, or when his daughter’s lips turned up—in disgust or curiosity, he wasn’t sure. But he didn’t care. He just hung on to the thread that his mate was spinning with. “I didn’t cheat on my mate, I’m sure he would have found out if I had done so, considering the mate bond and all that…” There was a pause, where relief sunk its foothold the more in Caden and his children. “So, if that’s what you are thinking, Caden… if that’s what you all are thinking, cut it out. I was surprised too when Claire had met me with the news at first, and I didn’t tell you, Caden, because I wasn’t sure how to explain the phenomena to you. I knew you held the lineage of you
Chyra didn’t know what Clem was talking about—the end of the world, and all that—but she knew that she was to blame for Claire rejecting her mate considering what she had soaked into her daughter’s mind about the alpha’s family, about how the Luna seat was her birthright. She also knew that she shouldn’t be working with Arnold. But she was too proud to concede to that, to concede to anyone, and so she shrugged her shoulders to Clem’s question. In the next second, she saw why that had been a wrong play on her part. When she saw Clem fume in anger, when she saw Claire glare at her stinkingly, when she saw her mate watch her like she was foolish, she knew that she had made a mistake. It would have been best if she had kept quiet, than giving off that nonchalant attitude. But her pride held her back from apologizing. Why should she apologize for being a mother caring to give her daughter the best? “Mother, are you so daft that…” Clem was saying when his father shouted him down. Caden
At this point, Clem didn’t know what to think about his sister, Claire. He had thought that their parents had been her motivator to reject Curtis, to follow Curtis up and down, to join the meetings that prince Nathan held with the others, but from the thick astounded silence that dwelled in the room, it could be safe to say that his sister had been acting on her own, without any external influence. He didn’t know what to think of that. He looked at his mother; she looked more shocked out of her shoes and mind than his father, quite expected since the mother and daughter duo were quite close, since his sister had no mind of hers, except put into place by his mother. As much as he was not happy with his twin, he was happy that for once his mother had no part to play in her recent escapades. “What do you mean…Claire?” Caden asked, pushing himself ahead, his elbow resting on his knees. “What do you mean when you say that Curtis is your mate? When did that happen? When did you find out?
What Claire saw first when she stepped into her father’s room was her parents sitting in the living room, with Clem, their backs hunched, the air filled with pregnant silence, waiting. They were waiting for her. She knew it from the moment she had dropped a note in Clem’s mind that she was on her way home. That he hadn’t bothered with a response, should have been enough to let her know that her twin was still angry with her. But she had held out hope, until she had reached the borders of the pack and he hadn’t been waiting for her. This was very different from the times they had quarrels. She knew, however, that this quarrel was different. She had denied her mate, because of the throne; had gone ahead to push Emma away from the pack; and when Derek still hadn’t chosen her, she had returned to Curtis because he was an Alpha. Would she have returned to him if he wasn’t that? She didn’t know. That was the truth. She didn’t know. She might have gone back to Curtis, even if he wasn’t a
At Wind Winders Pack.“Dad, what is this? What was Zoe doing in my room so early in the morning?” Curtis questioned, a second after he rushed into the dining room where his parents were having breakfast. He had slept in obviously, but he didn’t care. Yesterday’s training had been rigorous after all. He darted his eyes between his mother and father; his mother’s widened eyes told him that she had no idea what he was talking about; quite expected since this turn of event hadn’t been part of their plans. Hence, he trained his eyes on his father; the old man just continued eating his breakfast like he hadn’t spoken. Curtis thought of repeating himself, but thought better of it. He walked up to his father, and took away his plate of food; an act that he wouldn’t have been able to try before; an act that might have spelt his death; but considering his father’s few options of allies, he knew that he had a chance to live. And so, when his father glared at him heatedly, he didn’t quake in hi
“Hey…how are you feeling?” Emma whispered, touching Prescott’s head softly, as she watched him open his eyes for the second time. The first time, she had screamed and had called for the nurse in charge of his treatment, not minding that Adah was with her. Nothing could have dampened her joy. She had just checked on Annabel and Amelia, who although their vitals were stable, was still asleep, yet out of coma. According to the chief nurse, a week was enough for them to wake up now. Then she had checked on Prescott, and only touching him with fondness had elicited the response of his eyes opening. Emma had been overjoyed. “Prescott, can you hear me?” She asked softly, dragging a seat to herself, whilst Adah watched on, not understanding the communication method of the squirrel and Emma. Like the people in the community, she had never seen a talking animal, or rather an animal that communicates as Emma had painted Prescott to be. Her friend who was in the upper echelons of the community
No professor spoke to her, and Emma couldn’t help but wonder why. Had Prince Shiloh ask them to avoid her? Or had professor Brooks’ defeat scared them away from her? Well, if that was the matter, then she believed it was for the greater good. She had no interest in making affiliations after all, so long as they taught her what she wanted to know, and treated her fairly. “So, do you think you can cope?” She heard Adah ask, and turned aside to see her new seat mate. The mischievous glint in the latter’s eyes made her smile, howbeit small. “I believe I can.” She answered, before getting on her feet. She took her bag which Gira had provided that morning and slung the straps across her shoulder. It was time to go home, or rather check on her friends. Classes were done for the day. “Where are you going?” Adah asked her, getting to her feet. As they walked toward the door, a couple of the students swiftly moved, and stood before the door, causing Emma to furrow her eyebrows. But she chose