I spent the afternoon wandering through the forest after carefully cutting back some of the fireheart, leaving some leaves to die.I was trying to re-calculate my plan, and sitting inside made everything seem more jumbled. My plans were vague, at best, and that used to be an advantage. I saw how hard it was to stick to something concrete, especially when death was involved.I wasn’t naive enough to believe that there wouldn’t be external involvement. I just banked on Alpha Raymond’s arrogance; I didn’t think that someone outside would send someone in.I wished I could find out who sent the hunter and who their spies were. In the end, it didn’t matter. My mask was airtight even when talking to the omegas.Alpha Raymond called him, so I surmised he was not part of this pack, because he was out of mindlink range. Even if I could sneak into his office and retrieve a number from his office phone, what would I do with it? No, it wasn’t a thread that needed to be followed. I knew that the hun
“I don’t want him, Dad. I already chose Paul,” Nolan seethed; he was clenching his fork so hard I thought he might bend it. He was always the quietest, usually staying out of the way while his brothers tormented and instigated those around them. I had rarely, if ever, seen him this angry.“He is the best of the best. Ezra comes from the Western Territories and was trained in this role from childhood. There will be no discussion.” Alpha Raymond barely glanced at his youngest, but his face seemed sour. That wasn’t a surprise. Nolan was the tamest out of the brothers; therefore, he was the least favorite. I don’t think that Alpha Raymond saw him even as a potential heir, so he made him give up his trainer for the trials so that the hunter could blend in without question. “But Dad-”“You will start with him tonight.” Alpha Raymond tried to leash his anger, but it never worked—one of his many downfalls. “He will make a great babysitter, Nolan,” Dominick purred.Hunter smirked at Nolan. “
I stayed out there for what felt like hours, and it very well have could been. I thought I sensed something else out there, but I heard nothing out of the ordinary once my ears could make out anything besides my muffled crying and my heartbeat pumping too loudly. I took one final shaky breath, wiping off the remnants of my tears, and settled into my mask, repairing the shattered pieces of it where I let emotion slip through tonight. Tomorrow was a new day, and I would be ready for it. I would be ready for battle.-The next morning Alice rushed in and glanced over me with weary eyes. I forced myself to shower the night before, even though the inky black sky was softening by the time I made it back to my room. I was glad that I didn’t run into anyone and I didn’t have to explain. I hoped the nightmare brothers thought that I just panicked and ran straight to my room. “You worried me when I didn’t see you after dinner.” Alice’s voice was soft. “I’m sorry. I- I just needed some time.”
I tied my hair into a tight braid and wrapped it into a bun, smoothing down any flyaway hairs. I headed out with the first light of dawn and slipped to an eerily quiet kitchen before heading to where the warriors got ready to train, knowing they would be outside now. That night, I watched The Hunter train with Nolan, and his belt hung over the rickety fence with his keys attached. He was either ignorant, which I doubted, or confident in his abilities not to find Dominick or Hunter’s trainers much of a threat. Or maybe he trusted them, but I doubted that too. I hoped whatever logic he applied to training with Nolan also applied to the warriors. I was happy to find that it did. Hung up neatly was his belt hidden behind his faded black leather jacket. It was nearly impossible to get the keyring off the belt, so I had to take the entire thing. I wrapped it around my waist and pulled my shawl tight around me, holding the keys in my gloved hand so they wouldn’t jungle.My heart rate start
A million emotions flooded through me. Fear as I haven’t felt it in years, confusion, shock, my mouth hung open, and I quickly closed it. I didn’t know the right response. Was he accusing me? He was, but how did he know? I didn’t know how best to react, so I settled into what I knew. A million emotions flooded through me. Fear as I haven’t felt it in years, confusion, shock, my mouth hung open, and I quickly closed it. I didn’t know the right response. Was he accusing me? He was, but how did he know? I didn’t know how best to react, so I settled into what I knew. “What are you doing here?” My voice came out shaky, and I didn’t have to fake it. “You’re not supposed to be here.” I pulled the blanket tighter around me. He didn’t say anything for a too long moment; the silence was a weight in the room. The only sound was my heartbeat in my ears and his heavy breathing. I knew that he did that for my benefit; for the show, he could be as silent as he wanted. “You should leave if you’re
“I don’t have enough evidence.” His frame came into view, and he stood with his back towards me, staring through the window to the bleak morning beyond. “Besides, I like to find out people's motives first.”“I don’t have enough evidence.” His frame came into view, and he stood with his back towards me, staring through the window to the bleak morning beyond. “Besides, I like to find out people's motives first.”“Why do motives matter?” I asked, genuinely curious.“Sometimes they justify the outcome.”“They always do for the people committing the act,” I reasoned.“Yes,” he mused, “But society doesn’t accept all of those reasons.”“And you speak for society? As a whole?”His shoulders seemed to tense a bit. “No. I speak only for me and my brothers.”“Cryptic.” “Not really. We try to uphold justice in a way that works for us, makes sense to us. Nothing is ever fully good or evil. We try to help others do good.”“Except you’re hired help.” I couldn’t help pointing out.“We choose our jobs
With The Hunter’s eye’s on me, I couldn’t possibly try something against him unless it was time to finish him. My waking hours were spent unwillingly confused by the questions he posed. Was The Silent Assassin his boss, for lack of better terms, or a warning? I couldn’t figure him out, and I found people so hard to read, especially in the past few years. This was the first time someone confused me, and I had to admit it was just as much as a thrill as an annoyance. It might have just done something to quell my boredom, but I was curious, even if his words were a diversion. I scoured the unorganized library and found nothing of note, but it gave me something to do. I wanted to catch him alone, but he was either with Nolan or not easily found, and I knew that’s because he didn’t want me to find him. As far as I could tell, nothing was told to the Alpha. We carried on the next few days as normal or as normal as they could be. _____I turned a corner with my head down, deep in planning
I silently followed him, my curiosity far outweighing my annoyance. It wasn’t until we reached the Alpha and Luna’s office wing that I paused. “We’re not. I’m not supposed to be in there.” I had a slight in with the Luna after I brought her flowers, and the Alpha ignored my presence. But I wanted to save that for when I really needed it. At the moment, there weren’t any specific pieces of information I needed that I knew were housed here; and I didn’t want to risk being outright banished from the place and lose that advantage I was saving. “They’re not here.” He paused. “There was a paint emergency in her new office, and The Alpha is meeting with his Beta and Gamma. Besides, I’m allowed to be anywhere,” he added, and I looked behind him down the dark hallway. There were no sounds, but was it a-“It’s not a trap,” he said, reading my mind. “But that’s what people would say if it were a trap, so..”“So you lie?” I asked.“I said people, not me.” “Well, I guess I’ll have to trust your
Nova and I unsealed the documents we found in the makeshift wall between our sacred areas. We uncovered what we expected, and a lot more—a whole lot more. It was the werecats history, written and drawn. Their history was passed through stories, word of mouth around campfires of temporary homes. Now, they had their homes restored and their true history remembered. “I feel as if so many have lived to come back here; it is a heavy burden to carry. That it is me who has led them back. Especially after so many have passed living an in-between life.” Nova’s lips pressed together, her golden eyes glassy. “I feel almost guilty, no, not guilt.” She pursed her lips. “Sad, mournful, I think.”“About?” “The fact we never settled elsewhere. I mean, we tried, but it felt wrong, something about being in one place for too long; it physically started to make my skin crawl, as if something was begging me, us, to move.” She looked to the ceiling and our lands above. “Here…this is the first time I hav
Ezra helped me meld the scattered pieces of myself. He gave me some new ones from himself that he would never ask back, and I forged some from who we were together.I had the hardest trouble sorting the pieces of what I used to be, what I was now, and what I could have been. I spent so much time trying to mold a persona, so much time perfecting it; when it was gone, it was both freeing and terrifying.Because I did not expect to have to learn who I was underneath it, the raw, confused, jumbled bits that were left of me.And I could not mesh them together.Was there a part of me that wanted to k.ill? It was an instinct now to start plotting the deaths of all the Alphas who said no to me during the challenge. I couldn’t understand if that was an instinct part of me or something I learned, that I created, or maybe someone else created in me.It was a jarring and difficult thing to try to piece yourself together from fragments, and I would only wish it on my enemies. Because it left me
Nova and I were working on rebuilding both of our respective packs. Which ended up being a lot of paperwork. So much paperwork. She was fine keeping this packhouse standing, and us to use it temporarily as she had no personal interest in it.As the days went on I could sense her anxiety.“It is time,” she stated, standing in the Alpha’s office across from me, her disdain and agitation from being here was palpable. “I cannot wait any longer.”I nodded. She glanced at Ezra sitting next to me who only replied, “I will be here if you need.” He nodded at us both.I followed Nova out of the packhouse, through the back lawn. Barely into the treeline stood a semi-cirlce of werecats.They eyed me, most with wariness, some with curiosity, and a few with possible gratefulness. Nova told me to expect as much, they did not know me or understand why I was standing at her side, the first wolf, well, the first wolf they knew of entering their sacred land before them. I knew they appreciated me restor
That attraction, that pull, snapped together and became a tangible thing tying us together—binding and unyielding.I looked down as if I could see it, and Ezra did the same. He reached for my hand, and sparks jolted through me. His scent was consuming, powerful, a drug. I blinked at him, the sensations overwhelming. “Mates?” I asked both him and Aksala.Did you know? - I asked only my wolf.No - she responded - I felt connected to his wolf, I felt as if I could trust them, I knew I could immediately. But I did not know they were our mates. Ezra held a hand up, and I placed my palm against his. Those sparks and tingles danced around them and through me. “You are my undoing, Simone," Ezra Rumbled, his mismatched eyes looking at our hands. "Tied forever together.”Forever suddenly felt like not long enough.He pulled me against his warm chest and encircled me in his arms. I hovered between sleep and wake in a state made of pure buttery golden contentedness, a state I wish I could stay
His hand came to the nape of neck, fisting my hair as he pulled me to him. I gasped into his mouth, our lips tangled with each other as I was led to the bed, until I fell back onto it. He did not remove his lips from mine as his hands untucked my shirt and roamed up my body. There was a rip and a rush of air against my heated skin, alerting me that I was bare under him, my shirt and bra torn. That thought was ripped away as his palm caressed my breasts, his callused thumb running over my nipples.He groaned into my mouth and settled himself between my legs; heat radiated through both our pants.“Is this okay?” he asked, his breath short.“I am yours,” I told him. “Touch me,” I demanded.And he did. His touches were claiming yet soft, searching yet hungry. There was a carnal need wrapped in innate affection. I was addicted to it. I thrust my hips against him, grinding against his hardness as warmth and desire pooled between my legs. His lips were ripped from mine. My mouth opened in
Nolan stood on the other side of the door looking apologetic. “The remaining Alpha and Lunas are set to take off soon,” he told me. “Thank you, give me a minute?” I asked and he nodded rubbing the back of his neck. “Nolan,” I explained to Ezra, who was propped on an arm his muscles tense. “I need to get ready the others are leaving.”Ezra nodded and followed me in. We took a bit longer than I originally planned. He joined me in the shower and although we did not touch each other with our fingers, we took turns helping each other bathe. It felt strange at first, in a way that was unfamiliar but not unwelcome. Then, it turned into something more accepting. BLAH BLAHNolan was still waiting in the hallway when we returned and we followed him us all in a tense sort of way. He felt very… formal. Professional - Aksala added.That - I agreed.When we got nearer to the front Nolan whispered back at us, “I told them you would see them off, there were a lot of questions. Some wanted to stay
I awoke to a sky that was turning to dusk. I felt depleted, but in a way that I could live with. My muscles ached, and I could not cry anymore if I tried. Putting them to rest was heartwrenching but incredibly healing, more than I could have thought. It was an honor I did not know I would get to bestow on them. After they were buried, a few words were exchanged between us all; it was a harrowing experience even for those who did not know them personally. A few other Alpha and Lunas had shown, probably to satiate their curiosity. Some stayed, but I did not know who. I could not fault those who could not stomach or accept what they saw.I had no words to express my gratitude to those who stayed, and I was too tired to try. I would always be indebted to them, and one day I would start to repay that. Ezra pulled me against him and I settled against his chest, burying my face into it. It was so strange being able to spend time with him and not hiding; it did not feel real. I wondered if i
When we emerged, I was expecting it to be deep in the night. I was surprised to find it was still afternoon, I felt as if we were there for days. I didn’t know if it were me or if the lands truly seemed brighter, more vivid as if their life was slowly being restored to them. Nova insisted we return after we found some of her lost history, saying it was enough to know that something was waiting for her pack, her own hope reignited. I did have a few things to deal with, things that were, for once, easy to forget. When we returned to my packhouse, Ezra locked eyes with me, standing over his brothers. He made his way to me, searching my eyes and body before he relaxed. “We have not buried anyone, just started to lay them together, to prepare them. I hope that is okay.” I nodded, tears filling my eyes as I saw the bones beyond, together as one pack, honored instead of left as they died, strewn about and ignored as if they were part of the furniture. “They have not gone. They refuse to
I felt entirely spent but renewed. As the powers drained from me, the heaviness lifted, and now, as I lay there depleted, the rush of magic settled around the place, warming me from within. I lay down on the cool stone and let it wash over me.It was a sense of calm I could not ever remember feeling.After a while Nova spoke, “It was said our lands were connected between the pools.” She was speaking to me as much as she was speaking life into the caverns. I glanced at her to see she was lying near me, staring at the ceiling where the muted blue lights danced across, making waves in their wake.I looked around the space—my eyes snagged on a bit of mortar that seemed different, a cracked brick, a stone slightly off in color—but nothing stood out to indicate that this place ever connected elsewhere. But there was magic I had seen today I had never thought true, so I wouldn’t debase what she said off logic alone. I looked back up,“I-I—” she choked, seeming to shed something herself. I