The second that I shift into my wolf form, I smell them. Everywhere. All over this insane little podunk town. Wolves. Shifters. They’re here. The problem is their scents are so dispersed throughout the town with no clear starting or ending point, I can’t figure out where they are. It doesn’t take me long to check the area. Yeah, it’s spaced out, but there’s not much around. I make quick work of checking everything and I find…nothing. Nothing that gets me closer to the she-wolves, the pups, or the kidnappers. I make my way back to Finnegan and Caleb, hearing that they’re still talking to sheriff. Doesn’t seem to be going well for the human. He doesn’t know what kind of bear…or wolf…that he’s poking. I’m about a mile from them when the wind shifts and the sheriff’s scent hits me. It nearly stops me in my tracks before I burst out running. Frantically, I mindlink both Finnegan and Caleb, I scent the she-wolves and pu
The conditions that the women and girls were kept in are deplorable. The are kept in cold, dank cells and are obviously fed very little. Many are drugged beyond understanding what is happening to them, especially the children. I’m constantly having to bite back curses as I see the effects of the silver on their skin. Burns and scars that will never heel, just like the ones that on Ciara’s wrists. Finn, Ethan, and I are busy trying to get the women and kids out of their bonds and into the main lobby. That is after we cleared the bodies. Wouldn’t do to scare the shit out of them while we’re in the process of trying to rescue them. All of the cells are labeled with eh women’s names, so it’s easy to know their names. We take pictures on our cell phones of the name tags and them so that we know who they are. We’re halfway through the cells when Ethan calls me over. “Dude, I found something.” Moving over to him, I look at t
“BLAKE!” I cry out, tackling her from behind. She screams and I can’t help but dissolve in giggles. I love catching my twin off guard. Especially when she’s in the middle of training. Kennedy has been stationed Wyoming for the last several years. When we were about eight or nine, there was a huge boom in pregnancies in the Wyoming part of the pack. Seems that when some witches helped settle a new well for the wolves, one of their spells has some unintentional consequences for wolves, making them super fertile beyond the point where the birth control pill that we developed for werewolves. As these kids have grown, we’ve had to pour resources into this area. Happily, but consistently. They need more food, more clothing, more education, and a variety of other resources that we as a pack gave them. Now, it’s time for high school education before they come to Arcadia University and that is why Blake is here. She is an athlete, a runner that nearly beat Herm
“Are you sure that you’re ok?” Ollie asks me. “I can stick around until it’s time for you to go, you know.” I look over at my best friend and give them the best smile that I’m able to summon up. “I’ll be fine, Ollie. I have to finish proof-reading and turn in this paper before I leave. I’ll grab an Uber to the train station. It’ll be fine.” “Yeah, I know that you’ll physically be fine. But I don’t like that you’re going to be here by yourself. With everyone going back to their home, you’ll have no emotional support in case something happens,” they say. That makes my smile almost break. “Nothing’s going to happen, Ollie. He hasn’t contacted me in nearly a month.” Three weeks, two days, 10 hours, and 23 minutes to be exact. But who’s counting? Definitely not me. “You know that he’s been around. We’ve all smelled him and Javi has seen him outside twice. He’s just being stupid. And it would be just like a stupid boy to try and corner you while we aren’t here.” Ollie co
It’s Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of the year. I can’t believe that it’s something that wasn’t a part of the werewolf holiday pack until after my parents were mated and witches came to join us. We had only stuck to the holidays marked by Selene, with some passing nods to the holidays that humans celebrate. But with the inclusion of the covens into our pack has brought a wide variety of times of celebration. Christmas, Beltane, Samhair, Fourth of July. Holidays every month, sometimes multiple times each month. Feasting, presents, singing, fun, and family. It really is a good time for all involved. But, like I said, Thanksgiving is my favorite. The entire pack gets together, bringing together a potluck of foods. We eat until our hearts’ content and then the afternoon is full of games. Cornhole. Ladder golf. Tackle football. Poker. Throughout the day we wander from eating and gaming and fellowship. Other than eating a shit ton of food, there’s nothing that has to b
“This is so amazing! I can’t believe that you feast like this, without having sacrifices or anyone to worship!” I tell Alexander as I scoop another helping of stuffing onto my plate. “No wars or coups or anything. Just stuffing your face and hanging out all day. It’s the best!” Alexander tilts his head back and laughs and I have to stop to watch him. Even with several years together under our belt, my mates are still mesmerizing to me. The way that the fall light plays in Alexander’s red hair, warming the perpetual tan that his skin holds, and highlights on his cheeks holds my gaze and I can’t look away until the tinkling sound of his laughter fades and he looks back at me with a huge grin on his face. “Gods, you are adorable,” he says and leans in to kiss me. The second that his lips touch mine, a different kind of hunger stirs inside of me. The hunger that is always there for him and my other two mates. I love them so much. And this calm happiness t
“Are you sure that you don’t want to come?” I ask Ciara. I’m standing with her outside of the room that she is sharing with her mom, Violet. Violet’s been getting physical therapy here at the Center from repeated breaks in her legs that weren’t allowed to heal correctly because she wasn’t allowed to shift into her wolf form. Violet’s sleeping, hence the reason Ciara and I are outside of their room.It has been a few months since I got her Mom and all the other she-wolves and pups out of that hellhole, along with Finnegan’s and Ethan’s help. They are all recuperating well, but the she-wolves had been in silver longer than Ciara had and, along with the malnutrition, dehydration, physical and sexual abuse has made it difficult for them to make progress. Fortunately they seem to be putting on weight, the silver poisoning has cleared up, and many of the women are in therapy with our counselors. At least, all of those that are in the shape to talk with us are in therapy. Th
“I need to hold my nephew!” Grey squeals holding out “gimmie hands” to me as I pull my son out of his stroller. Wilder had been asleep when we got here and we were NOT going to wake him up. He’s had an ear infection and his werewolf healing hasn’t kicked in yet. Won’t until he’s a year old. So, there has been very little sleep in our house of late. If he is going to sleep then we’re going to fucking let him sleep.Now that he’s waking up, I know that he’s gonna be hungry. Luckily, I have a bottle of pumped breast milk from Freya with me. She’s at home, getting a bit of shut eye. She came early, got a plate, and then went back home before some of the games start later. I’ll take a nap when she gets back. She’s the new Head Priestess and needs to be there to judge some of the games. I don’t.I smile at my sister. “Let me change him first. Unless that’s something that you want to do?” The panicked look in her eyes is enough to give me an answer and make me laugh. If my par