Alex's demeanor was still withdrawn over the following week. No matter what anyone tried or said, it seemed she forced or faked every smile or laugh. Danny was worried, as was his wolf. It wasn't good for either of them to have their mate this miserable. He wasn't able to concentrate on school, and his wolf couldn't focus on tracking. He needed to get Alex out of this downward spiral she was on and show her she had him and all her friends. It didn't matter whom she came from. It was who she was now that mattered.
"We all still on for the Saturday night bash at the Lovell house?" Danny asked Zach as the group sat around eating lunch. They'd planned to have their group over for a movie night, but somehow it ended up with Jacob inviting his crew over for the gettogether also.
Zach nodded it was all still a go as he crammed his fourth piece of pizza in his mouth. There were a ton of horror films on the pay-per-view channels, the ones where they'd laugh, and the girls would
"So, did you get any with all your fancy attire last night?" Jacob was helping Zach set up for everyone coming over for the movie fest tonight."Wasn't looking to." Zach's mind wandered back to the previous night after he and Emily had left for ice cream. Yeah, there was ice cream involved, but there was also a lot of other sweet non-food stuff happening. He found out she wasn't ready to go any further than they'd done previously, which was cool with him. She came straight out and told him she was a virgin, and of course, that made him and his wolf even more excited. Not because she was a virgin, but because it meant no one else, as in a wolf, had laid claim to her. If, no, when it got to that point in their relationship, Zach wanted her to be sure she was ready to commit with body, mind, and soul. It was the way of the wolf, and when they found their mate, like Zach had done, there was no other."Bullshit." Jacob threw the pillow at him. "We're all looking to get some
The lights were turned back on after two gory stalker scary movies played. Jacob stood and stretched his arms over his head. He saw Madison quickly look away when he glanced over at her and caught her staring at him. "I think I've had enough horror and porn for the night." He glanced over at Emily and Zach concerning the little show they thought no one else could see or hear.Emily's face reddened from embarrassment, and she buried it against Zach's chest. Zach shook his head at his brother and let out a low growl for his ignorance of embarrassing his mate."Jacob." Brindle's whiny voice brought both boys out of their staredown. The beer cooler was empty. Jacob, Will, and Anthony had drunk most of it, but Brindle and the other two had a few, and it showed in their slurred words and erratic movements. "I thought we could go for a late-night swim." She stumbled toward Jacob and ran her hands up and down his body while kissing his neck.After listening to Zach and
"Does your mouth always water, and your eyes show hunger when something nauseates you?" Jacob was only about six inches away from her. He placed his hands on the wall so his arms were on either side of her. He looked her up and down and noticed her lips were trembling and her nipples were erect. This could be due to the coldness of the night air or the arousal of him being near her. She continued to stare at him without any comment. This had been the scenario with them for the past two months. The once outspoken and always had a rebuttal comment girl was replaced with one who wouldn't give him the time of day. It could only be resolved with one solution.Madison beat on Jacob's chest for release as his lips claimed hers. He wasn't touching her with his hands, but the mere presence of his sumptuous mouth on hers made all resistance she felt break down and her knees weak. Instead of doing what the rational side of her mind told her to do, which was get out of the pool, she tugg
"Madison's your mate, isn't she?" Zach was certain about this matter as both Jacob and Madison showed the classic behavior signs of mates. Well, young mates that didn't know they were or maybe didn't want to be paired off with the destined person.Jacob removed the towel from his face. "No, she's not. It was all for fun." He sat up on the chair and grabbed his shorts on the deck. "Maybe if you and Emily wouldn't have given everyone an amateur porn show and I made Brindle leave, then I wouldn't have been so horny.""Bullshit, Jacob. You're both fighting the pull." Zach moved closer to his brother. "I don't know why we are all finding our mates now, Danny and Alex, me and Em, but just go with it. Quit trying to push her away. You're eventually going to lose her for good. You know it's not the right thing to do to your wolf or yourself.""I don't want her." Jacob felt his resistance breaking down. He didn't want to talk about this whole mate thing. He wanted everyt
The hunt was unsuccessful the previous night. The pack tried to pick up another scent or lead, but whoever was around the Lovell residence when Zach and Jacob were home with their friends had long disappeared.This afternoon they were all meeting over at Danny's house for football watching and some pizza from a shop in town. Zach picked up Emily and then the pizza. Jacob was going to shift and run over but decided he better take his Hayabusa. Will and Anthony were thankfully leaving Brindle and the crew at home for today's get-together. The room was all set by the time everyone got there and the boys, along with Emily and Alex, sat down to watch an afternoon of football.***"I can't believe you each ate a whole pizza." Emily looked at all five boys and was astonished each of them had put away sixteen slices in less than fifteen minutes. None of them showed any signs, as in weight problems, of overeating. They all had muscular legs, arms, and stomachs. She loved
"Oh my God, you're naked," Madison screamed out and covered her eyes with her hands. When she peeked out from under her fingers, he was gone.Did that seriously not happen?Madison looked around the field and saw it was empty.I'm going freakin' insane.Maybe it was the new herbs her grandmother told her to use, or perhaps it was from having Jacob in every other thought that crossed her mind since last night."Sorry if I scared you."The sound of Jacob's voice behind her made Madison jump up from her seated position."That was you, wasn't it?" Madison looked him up and down and was thankful he finally had clothes on. Not that she minded the free show, but it was kind of awkward to have a naked guy standing in front of her.Jacob nodded she was correct.Madison had no clue what to say next. Once again, Jacob left her speechless."Were you surprised?" Jacob sat down on the ground and motioned for her to sit
Jacob glanced at her from the corner of his eye and saw a look of panic written on her face.It's either she's scared I'm going to say her or afraid that I'm not.He slowly nodded his head."You."The expression on her face after his announcement went from nervousness to joy, then back to fright."Me." Madison pointed her finger at herself. "Um, how do you know?" She didn't understand all this mate shit he talked about.Jacob shrugged. "My wolf tells me you're the one. He can pick up on your scent wherever you're at. He can sense when you're happy, sad, angry. I don't know, Madison, it's just this feeling he and I have, and he says we're supposed to be with you."Madison sensed Jacob becoming frustrated with this whole notion of mates and all the finer details he didn't have the answers for. "And how do you feel about us being these so-called mates?"Jacob stared straight ahead, not looking at her. He didn't want to se
The realization of what happened and the consequences that could materialize smacked Jacob in the head like a two-ton boulder. He scrambled up to a sitting position and wrapped the blanket around Madison as he stood and quickly threw on his clothes.Madison began to get dressed as he finished putting on his shirt.Jacob grabbed her sweatshirt off the ground and pulled it down over her head in an attempt to help. She must have gotten the wrong indication from this action, as she slapped his hand away and pulled the shirt down without any assistance. Madison's whole demeanor had changed within ten seconds. She went from being gentle to picking up the rest of her belongings and slamming them in the bag she'd brought.Jacob pulled on her arm as she was about to toss another glass candle jar into the bag. "What's wrong?" Not only could he tell by her facial expression something was wrong, but his wolf had also picked on the negative vibe steaming from his mate.
The following morning, Lucas delayed opening the store as he took Cecelia home to get a set of her own clean clothes for the day. She’d put up a struggle having him follow her, but eventually caved in after he kept persistent about the matter for over twenty minutes.“Does everything look normal? Untouched?” Lucas glanced around at the sparsely furnished and decorated pile dwelling that Cecelia called home for the moment. The stilted home sat far back in the swamplands where alligators would be her nearest neighbor.“For the most part, yes. But we all know Rayne can put a glam spell on anything to make it seem untouched.” Cecelia rummaged through several drawers grabbing the necessities for a quick shower.“That is true. Rayne will do anything to cover her tracks. I’ll keep an eye and ear open while you take your shower.” Lucas stood by the front door and stared out into the vast land and water.“Alrig
Cecelia slightly waggled her head back and forth as she tried to figure out how to tell him what he wanted to know. “Are you connected to Rayne in any way?” She looked over at him so that she could interpret if he was telling the truth by his expression.“I was at one point in my life, but I learned that Rayne wasn’t the person who I thought she was.” Lucas didn’t want to divulge too much information until he found out what Cecelia’s association was to her.Cecelia nodded her head. It was a brief and basic answer. She wanted more as to how much he knew about their kind.Lucas saw the looks of conflicting emotions cross over Cecelia’s face. It seemed she was torn between telling him the truth or making up some outlandish lie. “I know all about the enchantresses of both black and white magic if that makes this all any better.” He hoped he just didn’t open up a whole new box if she had no clue what h
The electricity of their first kiss ripped through Cecelia. She had kissed men before, but this was one that no other could compare to. Lucas played with her by only allowing soft kisses until she wrapped her arms around his neck and forced them to be closer. His tongue lightly traced her lips asking for entrance, which she did without reservation. His hands that were once on her hips had moved around to fit perfectly on her ass. Cecelia softly moaned as his hips began to gently sway back and forth causing her to become wet in her panties.“Is this the type of business you are now offering, Lucas?”The sound of someone speaking halted both Cecelia and Lucas’s actions. They both knew who the voice belonged to, but neither knew that the other also knew Rayne.Lucas turned around keeping Cecelia behind him. “Rayne, it’s always a pleasure to see you.” He said this with as much sarcasm as he could put out right now. The past little
The smell, lights, music, and ambiance of the chosen restaurant caught Cecelia’s attention as soon as Lucas pulled the car into the parking lot. “How did you know I liked Cajun food?” She looked at the many people that were seated at the outside patio tables and then back to the long line forming by the front door. “Looks like we’ll have a long wait.”Lucas chuckled. “I doubt that. I have good connections that will probably allow us to bypass that line.” He took hold of Cecelia’s hand and led her in the opposite direction of the front entrance.“Where are we going?” As soon as Lucas led her back into the darkness behind the restaurant and away from the hustle and bustle that was going on in the front, Cecelia started to get a little anxious.“Right here.” Lucas knocked on the back door and waited for someone to open it.The back door swung open and a petite, beautiful woma
It had been two days since Cecelia went to the small store along the main street. She’d kept her presence in the Bayou hidden since venturing out the last time, never knowing when Rayne and her coven of black magic witches were going to poke their ugly heads up. Not that they were really ugly, quite opposite in fact. They were the most beautiful coven of enchantresses that she’d or anyone had ever seen, it was just their practices that were ugly.Cecelia’s cell phone buzzed to life with an incoming call. Only one person had the number and she’d given it to him as a gamble, which could have been deadly if he’d been a pawn of Rayne’s.“Hello,” Cecelia answered the call cautiously.“May I speak with Ms. Towne?” Lucas knew it was her as the sound of her voice had been floating in his thoughts for the past two days and nights. But he wanted this call to sound formal so she wasn’t so easily scared off b
Cecelia opened the back door of the small, wooden shack that was hidden amongst the cypress trees and swamp grass of the deep south. The heat, humidity, and musky smell rising up from the Bayou filled her senses as she walked across the pier that linked her small home on stilts to the mainland. She’d been in hiding since leaving West Lakes and knew this place would serve as a great cover. She'd left her home, her sister, and most importantly her niece, Madison, all alone at a time when she needed the protection of everyone in the coven.The dark ones, the enchantresses of black magic, would find her no matter where she took refuge. But, the seclusion and shadows of the Bayou would serve as protection for the time being. Cecelia had encountered those who practiced black magic when she was sixteen years old. Being of a rebellious nature and not wanting to follow in the steps of her older sister, she experimented in the dark, mystical essence that always seem
Madison opened her eyes. Wherever she was it was still pitch black and she couldn’t see anything in front of her. She still had some kind of rope binding her hands together and her ankles were crisscrossed and wrapped with some sort of material. Her whole body ached and she felt like she’d been in this prone position for years. She heard a door unlock and soft footsteps coming closer to her. She closed her eyes and pretended to be back asleep. The darkness that was once in front of her now had a soft hint of light. Whoever had come in obviously was lighting some sort of candles as she smelled a hint of burning wax in the air. Madison kept her eyes closed, but opened them enough that she could somewhat see. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, then she could make out several details of where she was at. The walls were bare and seemed as if they were made of dirt. There were three candles in a smallholder that was placed to the side of her. A couple of empty IV fluid
“I’m here.” Zach burst through the door, still pulling the shirt over his head. Danny, Adam, Derek, Dr. Scott, and Jacob followed close behind. He rushed over to Emily’s bedside and picked up her other hand. “It’s going to be okay.” He saw the pain she was in as her face scrunched up as another wave of discomfort took over. “Just breathe and try to calm down.” He stroked her hand with his.“Fuck you,” Emily hissed out as the pain kept getting stronger. She let out a loud piercing scream that made everyone hold their ears.“I don’t think we have enough time to make it to the clinic.” Dr. Scott was observing the scene and then motioned for both Zach and Maureen to step away from the bed. “Can you all give us a minute or two? I need to check how Emily is progressing.” Derek motioned for the group to follow him out into the hallway. Once they were alone, Dr. Scott addressed Emil
“Has anyone talked to Jacob lately?” It had been over a week since they all had last seen Madison and Jacob. Alex hadn’t had any more visions, even with concentrating and focusing as the elder had suggested, she just couldn’t get any read on what was happening with either of the two.“He’s still looking for Brindle, who has also gone AWOL since all of this went down.” Danny had picked up Jacob on a few of their tracking runs, but he still hadn’t come back home yet. “Have you talked to him?” He looked over at Zach, who seemed completely exhausted with all that had been going on.“Um, I saw him once like two days ago, but he wouldn’t or couldn’t shift back to talk. It looked like this whole Madison being missing is making him go insane.” Zach had only had the chance to track both Madison and Jacob twice this week. Emily, who was now confined to bed rest, had him up day and night.&