Emma couldn't contain her happiness when Annabel revealed that she knew the location the coordinates pointed to. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, knowing that she had finally solved her mother's puzzle. She couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as she exchanged "I told you so" glances with Prescott and Amelia.Seeing Annabel's understanding filled Emma with a sense of accomplishment. Left for her alone, she would have spent countless hours deciphering the clue left behind by her mother, determined to unravel the mystery that would have haunted her for so long. And now, her effort in trusting Annabel has finally paid off.But amidst her happiness, Emma couldn't shake the feeling of unease that lingered in the air. She could sense Prescott's lingering suspicion, his eyes darting between Annabel and the coordinates. Despite Annabel's assurances, he still harbored doubts, and Emma knew that she would have to tread carefully around him.But for now, she pushed asid
The room fell into an almost palpable silence after Claire's confession, each word hanging in the air as if suspended in time. The atmosphere was thick with shock, the weight of her revelation pressing down on everyone present. It was as if the very walls of the sitting room absorbed the enormity of her words, amplifying the tension that gripped the space.Claire stood in the center of the room, her posture defiant yet vulnerable. Her eyes met Curtis briefly, a flicker of uncertainty crossing her face before she steeled herself once more. She had laid her heart bare, and now she awaited the reactions of the people with bated breath.The silence was abruptly shattered when Curtis stepped forward, his expression hardening into one of cold denial. "Claire," He began, his voice firm, "I don't know what you're talking about. We aren't mated."Claire's face fell, the hurt and confusion stark in her eyes. "Curtis, please," she pleaded, her voice trembling with emotion. "I know this is my fau
00:45 am The soft glow from the chandelier above cast a warm light on Annabel’s features, revealing a calm but intense expression. She took a deep breath, ready to share her story. From her position, she could see that her last words had shocked her friends into a huge mute phase. Emma, for one had her mouth open. "My family," Annabel began, her voice steady, "…has a long and unique lineage. We are the opposite of hunters. While hunters seek to destroy supernatural beings, we have dedicated our lives to protecting them."Emma and Amelia, seated across from her, exchanged curious glances. This was not the introduction they had anticipated."Our family, the Ingodils, has always stood as guardians of the supernatural," Annabel continued. "For generations, we have been entrusted with the safety and well-being of those with extraordinary abilities. It is a rare calling, and even among humans, it is rare to find individuals with the gifts that we possess."Emma leaned forward, intrigued.
In the midst of the subtle chaos that had ensued with Freya and Lucille groaning in pain, Nathan stood with an air of solemnity in the large living room. His gaze was fixed on his two daughters, who were slithering on the floor like frustrated, pained, snakes. Beside them were their mates.“Kane!”Kane turned sharply to his Prince, his attention divided between his almost wailing mate, and his stern Prince.“Take Lucille outside. She is about to shift. She would need the calmness of the forest air.”Kane, without the slightest hesitation, obeyed. He carried Lucille in his arms, and hurried out of the room, without turning aside to notice the positions of the others. However, Shane and Clem followed after him, including Dobah, to offer protection incase of unpredictable circumstances.“Peter, are there rooms which we can use to work for healing magic?”Peter nodded, eager to be useful in this situation.“Then, take Eva to one of the rooms. Margo, and Keturah, you go with him. We might
“She is about to shift! Oh my god! Quick, let’s help her up. There’s enough space outside to shift!” Annabel shouted, immediately Emma fell to the ground and started twisting like an earthworm that had been dumped in a tray of salt. Amelia immediately moved, keeping Prescott on the center table. She held Emma by one side, whilst Annabel took up the second position by Emma’s other side. Emma herself kept cursing the gods for putting her in this situation. Who said she wanted to be a wolf? Or that she wanted to save the world? The pain racking all over her body idled her brain intermittently, so much so that she lost consciousness of her surroundings sometimes. Other times, she was aware that she was being pushed, mainly by Prescott’s magic, through the hallways, and then to the open air. Amelia and Annabel weren’t doing much, even with their grunts. She wondered if they were aware that Prescott, even though they had left him inside, was the one actually pushing her. It amused her,
Two Days Later:Emma woke with a start, disoriented and groggy. The room seemed unfamiliar, shadows playing tricks on her tired eyes. She blinked, trying to remember where she was. Slowly, the events of the past day flooded back to her consciousness.Shift.Annabel.Rare humans.She remembered that she had transformed into her wolf form after a long shift, her duties as a chosen one demanding all her strength. The change left her feeling strange, now she was in her human form. It was terribly intense. Emma wasn't sure she would want to go another round. She wished it could be a one time thing. But how possible was that?Rubbing her eyes, Emma sat up in bed, the sheets clinging to her skin. Her limbs felt heavy, as if they didn't quite belong to her yet. She ran her fingers through her tousled hair, noticing how coarse it felt compared to usual. Everything felt sharper, more acute. It was like her senses had been turned up to their highest levels.Glancing around the room again, Emma s
Freya sat in a cozy armchair, flanked by Aiden and Maya, surrounded by the family which has become extended, and untied to an extent. The witches, Margo and Keturah, were there too. Esther was still recuperating from the attack, and they had chosen to stay to take care of her, to return to the community when the young witch became whole again.Eva, now healed, was leaning comfortably against Maya, her small head resting on the latter's shoulder. At intervals, Maya stroked Eva's hair gently, as if to reassure the little one that all was good now, that no one was annoyed with her, that all was forgiven.Across from them was Lucille. She was sitting on a plush sofa with Kane. After she had woken up from a fitful sleep yesterday, she had been unable to seperate herself from the male, or the mate bond. She couldn't deny it any longer either. Now, they were inseparable.Around them were other members of the extended group; Nathan and Sheila, Melvina and Peter, Dobah and Blenda, Julius an
Silence descended in the room when Freya uttered the name, ‘Emma.’ A silence that was different from the others that had fallen on the room at intervals since the meeting started. This particular silence had everyone’s ears at attention, and everyone at the edge of their seats. Anticipation thrummed in and around the hearts of everyone in the room, including Claire. ‘Put the call on loudspeaker, my love.’ Freya turned up her lips at Aiden’s suggestion, but she was too happy to ignore or get annoyed over the suggested intrude in her privacy. She obliged. She removed the phone from her ear, tapped the loudspeaker tab, and kept the phone on her lap. “Emma…is that you?” A lighthearted chuckle resonated from the speaker, a chuckle that caused the drum of joy to begin to beat in the heart of Nathan, who was just hearing his first daughter’s voice for the first time. He had heard from Kane, that once, the girl had spoken to him through his mind, had bypassed the mind barrier. For the 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