Sarah
I spend an hour submerged in the bathtub up to my chin. Sydney isn’t in the bedroom when I finally emerge, wrapped in nothing but a robe. I curl up in bed on top of the duvet and stare at the sunlight raining down through the glistening windows, my mind in shambles.
I have to knit myself back together somehow. I was taken from this place as a child, given a new home, a new shot at life. I have that now. I have a son, a mate, and a family that loves me and wants to see me whole.
I can’t go back to Crescent Falls carrying any burdens.
I hear the door open and close softly. Sydney’s familiar footsteps brush across the carpet. He touches my hip, likely just to see if I’m asleep, but I turn to him.
He looks exhausted. Broken and worn thin.
I open my arms to him, and he falls onto the bed on top of me.
“I think we’re going to be okay,” I whispe
SydneyA Few Days LaterI pour another ladle full of chicken noodle soup into the bowl on the tray I’ve been putting together for the last thirty minutes. The kitchen all around me is a complete disaster, but the tray looks nice. I smile at the little yellow flower I plucked from Sarah’s collection in the atrium. She’s been spending most of her days there this week, taking inventory in preparation for the spring planting season. She has huge plans for not only the historic gardens surrounding our manor, but down in the village as well where I’ve carved out a few new parks for pack use.The kettle squeals, and I pour a cup of tea–the kind from a box. I have no idea what Cosette puts in the tea she’s always drinking with my mate.I carefully pick up the tray and turn my back on the mess I left behind in the kitchen and make my way down the hallway toward the sitting room at the fron
Sarah3 months laterI clutch the steering wheel as I turn my car toward the private driveway leading to the castle. Blake claps his hands to the music humming through the speakers while Sydney, seated beside me, digs through his briefcase, mumbling under his breath.“What are you looking for?” I ask, glancing at him briefly.Summer is in full swing all around us, shading the road beneath the thick, deep green canopy of trees.“I had something drawn up for Cosette,” he murmurs. “From our estate. I think I might have left it at home.” He runs his fingers through his hair then down his face, murmuring a curse. “We might have to turn around.”“I’m sure you have it, whatever you’re looking for,” I laugh, and Blake squeals with delight as we drive over a bump then turn through the main gate.The front garden has been
RyanJames scribbles on a piece of paper as people file into the pack house out of the rain. The two-story community building I had built three years ago, when I established Silverhide, is built in a traditional style I forced Sydney to help me plan out. The walls are made of thick logs burnt a deep black. The first story is just a giant room with several long tables and enough chairs for everyone–all hundred or so members, including a few babies born this summer–to fit comfortably with room to spare.A fire roars in the massive stone hearth at the very center of the room, sending heat licking down my back as I pace back and forth behind the main table.James, my Beta, looks up as another group filters inside, writing their names down. Andrew, my head warrior, the commander of my meager forces, technically, sits on James’s other side, his hands folded neatly on the table's surface.I’m not sure what
AvivaThe wind hasn’t yet swept last autumn’s leaves off the forest floor. Soft, pale green tufts of spring grass poke out in heaps as I crouch behind a large bramble bush, the earthy scent of the early blooms all around us momentarily stealing my senses.But only briefly. Ten year old Shosannah smells like adrenaline and the pancakes with blueberry syrup she had for breakfast as her soft red hair whips across my cheeks, her body rigid and bright green eyes focused on the sparse trees ahead of us.Lora, six, fidgets on my otherside. “Aviva,” she hisses, tugging on the sleeve of my tunic. “I have to pee!”“Shut up, Lora,” Shosh whispers, her arm flexed as she draws back her arrow, which looks massive against the child-sized bow I whittled for her as a Solstice gift.“Breath in,” I whisper against the rim of my little sister’s ear. She does, holding her br
Ryan“What happened to you?” Andrew asks as I walk back to where he’s waiting with a few wolves and men in their human forms, all of them carrying goods or pulling carts with our tents and what I hope are peace offerings for our new neighbors.Andrew’s light brown hair nearly touches his shoulders now compared to the short cropped hairstyle he used to wear in Crescent Falls. His dark eyes, the color of coal, are brighter, though. Happier. More at ease.I look my lead warrior, my meager forces commander, up and down as I walk up to the group. The left sleeve of my long sleeve shirt–handmade from linen spun and sewn by hand–is stained with blood. I look down at it and shrug. “I met some friends.”“Friends?” Jacob, who used to run my garage, chuckles.I smirk as I rest my hands on my hips and scan the small caravan of men and wolves who’ve been traveling
AvivaThe meeting hall is crowded from wall to wall. I hug one of the walls, my back pressed flat against it as I try to blend in with the dark stone. Everyone is merry as they walk between tables laden with food and drink. Everyone in attendance has worn their finest fabrics and beads. Many of the single, of age, young women have truly gone all out, in fact.I cross my arms under my less-than-ample breasts and tap my nails against the long gold chains looping around my neck, inlaid with multicolored beads of turquoise and amethyst.The necklace is one of the few things I have left of my mother except for Shosanna and Lora. Mercy didn’t want the necklace because turquoise is a stone rather than a gleaming gem, and amethyst “washes her out,” or so she says. In fact, she didn’t want much of mother’s things at all when she died six years ago, a few days after Lora came into the world. Her dresses were taken ap
Ryan“You’re sure there’s no way out of this?” Jacob asks Andrew two hours later. We’re sitting around a campfire roughly a half mile outside of the village.Andrew nods, glancing at me before hugging his knees. “These tribes are steeped in tradition, guys. I don’t know what else to say. If Alpha Ryan refused the girl, he would have been offered another, and another, and if he’d refused to marry outright, she would have been given as a… concubine, perhaps.”I close my eyes for a moment and sigh around the rim of my water jug. The sweet, heavy wine and mead I’d been served over and over again, my cup never empty, has my head pounding already.But the second I close my eyes, I see her. Aviva. What a name. It dances over my tongue like a song, and it seems fitting for her.She’s a very strange woman, and I mean that in the nicest way. She has a gla
AvivaRain patters across the wooden roof covering one corner of the old temple. I roll off the makeshift bed of hay and wool blankets I keep here. I stretch, rolling my neck. My hands are still bloody from the rogue I encountered last night as I gather my weapons and head down to the creek. I sleep out here sometimes, especially when the weather is nice. The old temple is just far enough from the village where I don’t have to worry about running into anyone during my nightly hunts but also close enough to keep me out of harm's way from the beasts that linger in the thick forest beyond the village.I’m washing my hands when I catch Alpha Ryan’s lingering scent. I forgot he’d come here last night, encountering me by accident, I believe. I try not to think about it as I walk back to the village, but it’s hard not to imagine every facial expression, especially the wry twist of his lips whenever I spoke.
Misty“Everyone’s okay,” I tell Lexa and Addy, laying them out in the center of Ryan’s bed, side by side. Both babies scowl up at me–Lexa, for not being her mother, and my own son for showing another baby attention. Lexa’s face scrunches. She puffs her cheeks out in the threat of a wail while Addy picks up on her energy and begins to whine. I cover my ears, taking the deepest breath I can handle, and scoop both screaming infants into my arms for the hundredth time in the last two hours. “They just won’t sleep,” I say, rounding the corner into the living room where Sarah is still camped out with her new babies, and Sydney is pacing like a madman in front of the windows, looking for any sign of Kenna, Ryan, Aviva, and the kids. Sarah’s fast asleep with her brand new twins resting in a floor cot nearby, but Sydney has free hands, so I thrust Lexa against his chest without saying another word. “Freya’s supposed to be coming up to help,” he says under his breath, still looking worse fo
AvivaRyan looks hilarious in the too-tight clothes borrowed from some rural villager half his height and weight. He glances at me with a scowl, rolling his eyes and cursing under his breath. “Don’t look at me, Aviva.”“I can’t help it. Your whole ass is out,” I giggle, wiping tears from my eyes. Goddess, I wish I had his camera with me. He reaches down to pull what had once been trousers down over his thighs while shooting me another glare. He had to cut them into shorts to fit. The shirt isn’t any less revealing, but at least he’s not naked… or worse, in his terrifying beast form. He’s too exhausted after being in his beast form to shift into his wolf, which would have been easier than this, but I’m enjoying myself thoroughly at his expense. A few of the men from the village titter behind us while I walk a few paces behind my mate who’s turning a deep red in the face and sulking as we walk up the rural road, passing a few shops and cabins where people peek from their windows as we
AvivaThe forest shifts from endless shadows to an assortment of pale gold as the sun rises. I’m sprinting in my wolf form, Ryan not far behind in his. There was no reason for him to shift into his beast, thank goodness. He’s actually slower in that form than his wolf, but we’ve covered serious ground in the two hours since leaving Silverhide. Forty miles, in fact. A new record. Panting, I reach the far edge of the forest that weaves through the tribal territories of the Deadlands. Behind us, the packs of Silverhide and Endova are just waking up for the day. Ahead of us, the sun hasn’t even begun to touch the towering mountains to the far west, where my new powers showed me a glimpse of Maeve and Logan. I’m still getting used to the prickle of energy that wasn’t there before. It’s now the air I breathe–the blood rushing through my veins–the rhythmic thump of my heartbeat. I’m changed; for better or worse, I don’t know. All I know for sure is that we have another twenty to thirty m
Misty“Briar,” Sarah says weakly, sweeping her thumb over the perfectly pink baby girl’s cheek. Sarah smiles softly, her eyes still glazed with exhaustion and her hair damp with sweat. “And this one–” she reaches for the second baby, another girl, nestled in a traumatized Sydney’s arms. “Celeste.”“Those are beautiful names,” Aviva says gently, laying another warm rag over Sarah’s forehead. I’m watching from afar, my trembling hands cupping a mug of calming tea that’s doing nothing for my system. I was a teenager when Sarah came into Sydney’s life. I remember whispers about her falling ill but didn’t understand how horrifically sick she’d really been until now. Sarah is a Mystic. She’s different. It takes so much more energy to heal her. Healing her sucked my powers dry, and I feel… shockingly empty right now. It was like running a marathon and then getting hit by a bus, but she’s alive, and so are her twins. Sydney accepts another cup of tea from Ryan with a weak nod. He looks lik
MistyCole doesn’t tell me I should get some rest, and for that I’m eternally grateful. I pace the cabin, watching as he organizes and takes inventory of his medical kit. I remember the day I found out he was a physician. It had been a shock. My arm had been torn to the bone by a rabid, cursed wolf, and this man–this stranger who I thought was evil–sewed me back together again. That feels like a lifetime ago. Maybe it was, honestly. Sometimes I wonder if our weeks in Richard’s fortress actually happened or if it were a fever dream. But the glint of lantern light on the sharpened edge of a scalpel pulls me back into reality as he drops it into a pot of boiling water. “Are you going with us?” I ask into the silence. Cole’s mouth twitches with something unsaid. He shakes his head, glancing at me over his shoulder. “No. I’m going to stay here with Addy and be available to anyone who needs a healer.”I wait for him to tell me I should try to get a few minutes of sleep, but he doesn’t. I
Aviva“No one needs to worry about me,” Sarah says confidently, cradling the swell of her belly as she leads our group through the woods toward the lake. “I’m not going to go into labor right now, I promise.”Sydney grumbles something under his breath in response, the words drifting on the warm breeze making the leaves dance above our heads. Ryan’s hand is on my lower back–a warm, solid presence. Lexa’s asleep in her sling on his back, and when I look up at the two of them–with Ryan wearing a traditional Endovian sling and his face cast in uncertain shadows–I feel a prickle of regret. Part of me believes I shouldn’t have told him about what I saw in the forge. The past lives I walked through, the wars, the downfall of our kind… and most importantly, the fact that in another life, we lost our children and were separated for decades, only to find each other again in the very last moments before we both died. It stings to think about, though it doesn’t affect our lives now. I’m not sur
AvivaI watch Sarah and Misty leave the room. Misty takes Lexa with her, giving me a moment alone. I should be resting right now. If Maeve and Logan aren’t found by sunset, I have to put these new, unnatural-feeling powers to the test. I listen to the soft conversations taking place just beyond the bedroom door. I already know Ryan’s on edge and doing his best to handle this situation, but having Evander and Sydney here isn’t helping his stress levels at all, I fear. His wife almost drowned, his uncle wants me locked up in Moonrise until my powers fully emerge to ensure I’m not a danger to myself and others, and Maeve and Logan are still out there, hopefully together and safe. The door opens a crack before widening, revealing my mate and a large plate of food. The scent of blueberry syrup fills the air, bringing back memories of making this exact breakfast for my sisters, but that… causes my mind to drift back to the tangle of new memories. Memories of the countless lives my soul
MistySometime in the dead of night, Cole took Addy from my arms and laid him in his crib. I was next and woke up tucked against Cole’s chest as the first rays of warm, morning sunlight drifted through the window. Addy wakes up happy every morning lately and is beside himself with glee when he sees me looking down into his crib, extending my arms for him. Cole thinks Addy looks like me, but I beg to differ. I think his hair will be blond, of course, given that both his parents have fair, light hair but his eyes are starting to change from that soft blue to a paler, icier gray, like Cole’s. I run my fingers through his hair while he nurses. Cole continues to sleep, and I let him. I’m dreading starting our day, honestly, and stepping out into the village to see the aftermath of Kyra’s destruction and wait for news about Maeve and Logan.I feel awful for Kenna. My heart is shattered for her and Evander. I hold Addy c
MistyCole’s arms are wrapped around my stomach, his eyes widened in disbelief as he stares at Aviva. She looks like a wet rat right now–completely soaked to the bone with her hair plastered to her face and her knife belt hanging off her waist, but otherwise she’s whole.My powers are a meer flicker of what they usually are, but I feel them simmering to life as the strange, glowing symbols all over her arms and legs start to dim, and the roaring in my ears fades to the point I can hear my rapid heartbeat and Cole’s heart behind me. Ryan looks devastated. Devastated, and shocked–a myriad of emotions I can’t even begin to put into words. He shakes his head, mouthing Aviva’s name as he reaches a hand toward her then retreats. Aviva looks terrified as she scans the group, panting hard, her breath coming in shallow rasps. She turns her gaze back to Ryan, and her expression shatters, tears welling in h