A soft wind blew through the trees, sending leaves dancing from the breeze. Dappled sunlight shone through the tree tops, giving a little light to the otherwise dark undergrowth. I smelt him before I saw him.The Alpha.He smelt strong, his blood hummed and burned with such strength that it had me feeling a little nervous. Would this Alpha be kind? Was he going to like me and the rest of my group?He wandered through the trees, his eyes looking here and there as he stepped carefully, making sure he didn't disturb anything around him. He looked peaceful, almost too peaceful. It put my beast on edge.We hated meeting new people. It was always nerve-wracking for us. We thought too much, we got overwhelmed and we always panicked whenever we had to speak."This guy doesn't look half bad. I think I could take him," Tyler whispered from next to me. I turned my head to him, cocking an eyebrow. Tyler winked playfully and made me roll my eyes."You're not an Alpha, Tyler. I don't think you'd ge
"This is Alison Grey. She's Blake Grey's daughter," Henry introduced us. The man dropped his knife on the chopping board and he walked towards me with a grin.He pulled me into a tight hug. He held onto me like a leech and I — for some reason — liked it. He was warm, welcoming. His hug comforted me, and I felt like I could tell him anything. When the man pulled away, I smiled at him and he returned the gesture."I'm Ezra Charles. It's such a pleasure to finally meet you," Ezra greeted me. I nodded and smiled at him some more as Henry cleared his throat to gain our attention."I'll leave you two here to settle in and get to know each other. Alison, I will be here to collect you for your start in the morning. Dress in something appropriate for running, because you'll be doing a lot of it," Henry told me. I smiled and nodded at him respectfully.The Alpha nodded his goodbye to Ezra and I before slipping out the front door and disappearing. I felt his humming blood fade as he got further
I woke early the next morning. I got up quickly, much too excited to start my first day of training in Takiani. I changed into a pair of black workout tights that I found and then a navy blue tank top. I managed to find a pair of sneakers and I slipped them on also. They fit just perfectly, somehow.When I waltzed out to the kitchen, Ezra was already awake. The smell of freshly made coffee wafted through my nose and I bit back a moan and my wolf brightened up at the smell of caffeine."Morning, princess. Did you sleep well?" Ezra asked me as I leant against the counter. I stared at him carefully for a moment, wondering if I had kicked and cried during the night.The nightmares started after the incident, and they came every night. Sometimes they were really bad, other times, they were fine. I hadn't woken during the night so I assumed they mustn't have been that bad this time.Which was a relief."I guess so. It feels strange to not be home in my own bed," I told Ezra. He smiled and n
When we came back to the pack, there were people buzzing all around the area. Most people were in their skin, but there was some wolves sparring with each other in their fur. It was fascinating to see how this pack worked in comparison to mine.Henry shifted back into his skin and I avoided my eyes from his naked body as he reached into the trunk of a tree and pulled out clothes. He pulled on a pair of shorts and then tossed clothes to the two males and handed me a shirt. I took it and rushed behind a bush to shift back and pull on the shirt.I wasn't comfortable with anyone seeing me naked. I knew that most wolves didn't even care, but I did. I cared too much.I slipped the oversized shirt over my head and then came out the bushes. I walked hesitantly over to where Henry was now standing with a group of other wolves. I noticed that Kade was walking away to the sparring rings.Alfie approached me as Henry was rushed away. I assumed that he had Alpha business to attend to. I wasn't bot
Ezra sat me down at the dining table. I lifted my shirt up just enough so that he could see my wounds. He chuckled a little and shook his head."Alfie told me you did well today," Ezra told me as he opened the box of first aid. I nodded at him and yawned. I was exhausted and I needed food. The first day of training was hard, but I knew it was going to get harder. I had to toughen up."He made me spar with Kade. He was a good fighter. He bested me," I sighed as I felt a cotton pad touch my wounds. Ezra cleaned away the blood that was still sleeping from the gashes."Kade is the son of the Master of Arms. He has to be a good fighter," Ezra laughed at me. I smiled and rolled my eyes, sipping on my beer. Ezra continued to pat at the blood with the cotton pad, shifting around the first aid box."Don't worry about it, princess. Alfie told me that you had a lot of work to be done. These next four weeks are going to be absolute hell for you," Ezra laughed at me. I smiled but I nodded knowingl
"Morning, princess," Ezra greeted as I walked into the kitchen. I looked up at him and smiled as I yawned. I took his coffee mug from his hands and quickly sipped from the warm liquid. I handed his mug to him and pulled my hair behind my ears."Morning," I mumbled.My body was still sore from the day before. The gashes hadn't completely healed yet but they were fading quickly. I was happy that they were healing so fast."You going for a run this morning?" Ezra asked me, sipping on his coffee. I nodded at him and stretched. My back cracked and I smiled.Ezra didn't asked about what happened the night before and I was glad. I didn't need him trying to pry his way into my personal life. I wasn't ready to share that part of myself with anyone. I didn't think I ever would be.When the knock on the door came, I bounded towards it. I called goodbye to Ezra. I heard his light chuckles as I reached the door and pulled it open. I expected to see Kade and Alfie.Instead, I saw Lila and Brayleigh
Ezra stared at me as I sat with my head in my hands at the dinner table. He sipped slowly on his coffee and didn't take his eyes off of me.My mind whirled with so many different thoughts. Memories of my mother flashed through my mind like a slideshow. I felt the pain of losing her all over again.It'd been almost ten years, and I still wasn't over it. I couldn't help but miss her. I couldn't help but be bitter about her death. Alfie was right. It shouldn't have happened. But it did.My mind switched to my beast. She whined sadly in the back of my mind. She paced back and forward, her head down and her whines low and painful to listen to. She was upset. So damn upset.She knew what Alfie said was true. She knew it and so did I.Our fire was gone.Every wolf had a fire. Whether it was hot or not was the important part. I knew what Alfie meant when he spoke about my father.When anyone walked into a room with my father in it, they knew who was in control. Whenever I was in a room with h
The rest of the week I trained hard. I ran every day, either with Ezra, Alfie or Lila and Brayleigh. Each day, they pushed me harder and harder. I remember the morning after my run with Ezra that I collapsed to the ground. I had run with Alfie that morning. It was just him and I.Alfie was ruthless. He made us take a new track, one that extended all the way around Takiani. He told me it was the trail that the tracker wolves run, as it went along the borders of the pack. It was a long run, the longest one I'd ever been on.But I loved it.Alfie pushed me and pushed me. He wouldn't let me slow down and only let me get faster and faster. He raced me, purposely getting me angry to try and bring out my beast's fire. He said it worked, but he said it didn't work enough.After the run, I had to sit down. I was panting hard, my heart was beating so fast that I felt it in my throat. My arms and legs were tingling with energy.I felt different. I felt great. Something I hadn't felt in a while.
"Sleepy head, it's time to wake up," a voice pulled me from my sleep. "Come on."I groaned softly and rolled over, burying my face in my pillow. I felt hands shake my shoulder gently. Shocks and tingles made their way up my arm and torso. I smiled to myself."You have to get up if you want to see your brothers today," Liam told me. I sighed and shook my head."I can see them another time," I mumbled to him. Liam chuckled and pulled the blanket off my body. I kept my eyes shut."Sugar, I'll make you get up. You've got to shower," Liam said.After another ten minutes of him trying to get me out of bed, I finally gave up and got out of bed. Liam forced me in the direction of the shower and I walked into the bathroom and shut the door."You sure you don't need any help in there?" Liam asked me. I rolled my eyes as I turned on the water. My beast rumbled. She would love to be helped."Not from you," I replied cheekily. I undressed and then got into the shower.After showering and eating a
Liam licked his lips as he dunked the plate into the soapy dish water. He scrubbed the plate and then handed it to me. I use the dish towel to dry the plate and then placed it back in the cupboard. Jenny was humming a song from the dining table. She was reading over the human newspaper whilst Ezra was playing a puzzle game on his iPad.I took another plate from Liam and dried it before putting it away. Liam flickered his eyes to me again and then held my gaze when I looked back at him. I raised my eyebrows at him and he winked."The bedroom is ours after this," Liam told me hotly. I widened my eyes at him and felt a tingling sensation in my belly."Then hurry up," I told him cheekily. Liam smirked and continued washing the dishes. We worked a little faster and then wiped down the bench."Liam, have you found out when that meeting is yet?" Ezra asked as we were about to leave. I held back a groan. I just wanted to spend some time alone with Liam while I had the chance.Cass and Leon ha
I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I joined the group again. Lila held out her water bottle to me and I took it. I drank greedily and then handed it back to her half empty. She sipped it on slowly and flashed me a smile.The sun was beating down on us. We were all cooking under the bright rays. But it was good and refreshing. Plus, it was better than the freezing cold that we had just gotten away from. "You've all done great today. I think you all learnt something new out there. But now, to finish off the day, I'd like to get you all sparring with each other. I'll pair you up with someone and then you can all go straight to the rings," Quo told us. I grinned at Lila who looked straight to Lucas who was smirking mischievously. He wanted to try and kick my butt badly."Lucas and Austin," Quo said, beginning to read out the pairs. Lucas groaned and shot me a look. He jutted out his bottom lip and folded his arms. I giggled and poked my tongue out at him playfully."Lila and Kerri-Ann
The first day of spring came faster than anyone anticipated. There wasn't anything more exciting to wake up in the morning to a warm breeze and a beating sun. It was relieving for the snow to have finally melted and for the warmth to have returned.No one wanted it to go away ever again.Not to mention, it was the day Liam was returning from a business trip and the day to get back into routine.Winter had been a train wreck. It was fine when it started in north with Liam's family. It was perfect, actually. When I returned, the first week or two had been a little rocky, but after that, it eased up nicely.I had spent most of the winter cuddled up with Liam in bed or on a couch in front of the fire. If I wasn't with Liam, I was with the girls. I felt like I was changing, becoming a different person.I felt like I was getting stronger, evolving and becoming a better wolf. I hadn't trained in months but I was stronger, mostly mentally. Ezra even mentioned to me often that my veins hummed
I slowly treaded through the snow. My four feet were freezing from the crunching cold, but I barely cared. My heart hurt and I felt terrible. I felt like someone had repeatedly smacked me in the head with a brick and I felt like I could drop dead.I looked up as I heard voices. There were people walking around tending to their morning routines and duties. I noticed Alfie walking with a group of warriors and even Kade, Lila and Brayleigh by Lila's cabin. I wasn't in the mood for talking.I lowered my head as I walked. My fur was damp from the cold of the night before. I was cold and I needed a hot bath immediately."Hey! Ali!" The moment I heard Lucas, I turned sour. I didn't want to talk to anyone.I looked up and snapped my teeth at him as he bounded towards me. He stopped in his tracks and watched me pass him. I knew I would need to apologise later, and I would.I headed into the house, the door already open from where Ezra and Jenny were standing on the front porch. They watched me
The blizzard was in full swing. The cabin often creaked against the strong winds and I even feared that a window would cave in and smash. But the cabin was sturdy and held well in the wind.The snow was falling hard. I was sure that by the morning, it would be too deep to walk in. The temperature had dropped wildly, and it was below freezing outside. But Ezra had lit the fire in the living room and the cabin was warm and toasty.I sat with Ezra and Jenny at the dining table and we began to eat. They were both quiet at first, exchanging glances with each other. Then, Ezra cleared his throat."Princess, did you speak to Liam today?" Ezra asked me. I shook my head at him, starting to eat my soup. The smells swirled around the room and my belly rumbled.Being angry at Liam was draining. We weren't arguing but the angry and upset feelings toward him were draining enough. My chest hurt and my head was spinning.The bond ached and throbbed. It begged for us to be together.Damn pull."No," I
"Good morning, Alfie," I greeted the male as I approached him. He turned his head and looked up at me with a wide grin. I had missed him.Alfie pulled me into a tight hug. He held me close for a few moments before he pulled away and grinned some more. I offered him a smile also."Ali, so glad that you're back. It gets a little boring around here without your constant complaining," Alfie teased as I walked with him. I chuckled a little and rolled my eyes."Well you won't have to put up with me for much longer, since this snow doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon," I huffed out. I was bitter about the snow. I wanted to train and I wanted to get better, but I knew this winter was going to be a long one."Very true, kiddo. Where are you off to? There's going to be a storm tonight, I think," Alfie asked me. I smiled up at him and motioned towards Lila's cabin."Lila, Brayleigh, Cass and I are having a girls day," I told him. Alfie snorted at me. He shook his head and I giggle
"Feeling better now, Ali?" Cass asked me as she brushed her fingers over my arm. I smiled and nodded at her as I sipped on my coffee. The female shot me a small smile and then begun to make her own coffee.After the incident yesterday, I stayed in the doctor's hut for a few hours before they let me return back to my cabin. I spent all day lying in bed with Liam who cradled me and stroked my hair. He licked my wounds and they had mostly healed overnight because of it.After dinner, Nicolas and Christian came over to talk to me about the incident. The tracker wolves couldn't find a single scent of the rogues. They had disappeared completely. Not to mention, the damn bodies had disappeared too. The first two rogues I killed were towards the pack more. Their blood was there, but there weren't bodies and their scent didn't trail off anywhere else. Someone had come through and taken the bodies without leaving a trace.It didn't make sense.Apparently, the rogue that they'd spared wasn't tal
When I woke the next morning, Liam was still sound asleep. His arms were wrapped tight around me, his face nuzzled into the crook of my neck. His legs were tangled in mine and it felt good. He never let me go during the night. We always slept in each other's arms. It was perfect.I shifted a little and then I felt it. The stiffness of his pants.I shot my eyes open and tried to look back. Liam stirred in his sleep and moved a little. I felt his body push a little more against mine and bit my lip.He was hard against me and he was unaware. But I couldn't say that I hated it."Liam," I whispered his name. He stirred some more."Liam," I whispered louder this time. He groaned softly. Liam hated people waking him up. He was good at waking up early on his own, but otherwise, he sucked."Liam, I have to go to the bathroom," I lied. Liam sighed and kissed my neck gently before he released me. I jumped out of bed and rushed out the room, moving past the bathroom.I made my way into the kitche