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[Apple]I cannot remember a time when I last slept so safely. I cannot remember much about my time with my mother before she married Doc, except for the smell of her body and her warmth wrapped around me as I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. It is one of my clearest memories of the time before everything went gray. She smelt like mint and fresh-cut wildflowers. Waking up next to Sylvester felt similar, but different in so many ways. Firstly, I do not remember ever sleeping with my mother nude. Nor did she have biceps large enough to be pillows. Or a downy chest to warm my face. She didn't smell like warm nights resting by a fire while drinking green tea. And she didn't purr contentedly like a giant cat while she slept. And yet both these moments feel like home. But I shouldn't let myself get too comfortable. I am after all just a fake Rental Luna pretending to be his real true love and fated Luna in a ridiculous plan to help Sylvester save his pack. "Rest," he kisses my tem
[Apple]In a flustered huff, I stomp towards the booth. If I had claws they'd be drawn now, ready to slash those posters to pieces. How embarrassing. It's bad enough that I am a Rental Luna, but to have my business spread around campus. "They can't do that," I point to the cutouts of me grinning out at us in a way that suggests AI may have been involved. "They can't just use my image to sell their product! Service! Whatever!!"Rudy holds me back with gentle hands. "I'm sorry Luna, but they can.""What?" I gape at him, aghast. "I never gave permission for ...for...this!" I shout and the woman at the table flinches. I forget sometimes how clear werewolf hearing can be. Even from a distance, they can likely hear everything. As he turns me towards the Botany department, he explains that Rental Luna has owned the right to use my image from the moment I joined their academy officially. "It was part of the deal we had to make to get you set up quickly and discreetly within their system," he
[Apple] The door to the Rental Luna facility doesn't look any more welcoming today than it did yesterday. If anything, it looks just as bad if not worse, as the bright medicinal-pink paint threatens me with degradation masked in toxic positivity. In other words, it promises to make me feel good about feeling back about myself. "Can't we just skip this today, Rudy?" I groan. "I'm tired and this place sucks." "Alpha's orders," he folds his arms. "Now come on, I'm staying with you today to make sure you get to your classes." The Beta handed me a blue button-up, "He also insisted you wear this today. He's worried that your scent will be too weak without him here to renew it." Wrapping it around me I feel much calmer, my body relaxing into his scent. It's crazy, just last week I was still running away from him, but now the smell of him brings me comfort and joy. Wearing his shirt is like having his arms around me and I smile. It all feels very sudden, while also feeling like
[Sylvester] A raging tornado, Apple storms through the door, her fists clenched and her heart beating so rapidly that I can see her pulse beating along her neck. Her scent is so strong that it almost blows me back. She hardly smells like me, but I'd almost mistake her for an alpha. "I'm done with that place," Apple fumes as she makes her way through the condo. "I'm not going back!" I don't need to ask where, or why. She's struggling at Rental Luna but I can't think of a better way to teach her what she needs to know. "Do you know who showed up today?" she stands there half-naked, wearing one of my oversized shirts that I insisted she wear to keep our scents blended. I can smell her ripe folds and I know she's not wearing anything underneath. My mouth waters. "She's upset. I know what will calm her down. We can give her a nice, long kiss," Rufus licks his own lips and I scold him. Apple does not need me to kiss her down there right now. She needs me to empathize with her and lis
[Apple]Sylvester has been so patient and caring. When I first met this alpha wolf, I was terrified, convinced he'd see me as prey. I realize how stupid that is now--He'd never hurt me. Even then, when he didn't know me and was upset at me for saying no, he'd never have laid a harmful hand on me.He's only ever been gentle. Gentle touches, gentle kisses. Even when his words sting he's never been cruel.I wish I could be everything he needs, but after today, I doubt I ever will be. Alexis made sure that I saw exactly what he liked and didn't stop until I understood how I couldn't ever be enough. Because to care for all of his needs, I can't ignore one of his needs for physical connection. All wolves crave connection, but Alpha Wolves in particular NEED to feel connected to those they care about.I've always thought I'd wait for true love before I gave my body to anyone, but now I'm starting to wonder if maybe I'm not so different from Sly after all. Maybe I need it too. And yet, when
[Apple]Slowly I move my hand as I open my eyes.Nobody is standing there, but I smell the traces of woodsmoke and know that Sly has been watching me. My cheeks burn with shame and lust. Just thinking about him watching me makes me bubble all over with nervous energy. Do I like that he must have seen me finishing with his name on my lips? Yes, I think I do. What kind of girl does that make me? "A horny one," a voice in the back of my mind thinks. "Perfectly natural for a woman your age." I have never been as free-thinking and as forward with my body as Tansy. Sharing my body with others has always been an area of fear. But there is something about Sly that makes me want to set aside my shyness and let him in. Maybe it's the way he looks at me, with a hungry fire burning in his eyes and I am something he'd love to consume.Standing on shaky legs, I walk over to the closet quietly, hoping he doesn't notice me passing. I don't want to deal with confronting him over watching me, I'd
[Apple]Now that we are free of the dark woods, I can see that it is a beautiful autumn evening. The full moon is glowing overhead as families and couples mill around these fairgrounds holding cups of steaming cider or large caramel apples.On the surface, the "Cryptid Carnival" looked like any other carnival. There are fair rides, deep-fried snacks, side shows, and games. But once you look a bit more closely, you can see all the ways it isn't like a normal carnival at all. There is a touch of magic everywhere you look.Underneath the full moon, there are far more people walking around glowing like lightbulbs and wagging shaggy tails than I've seen in one place. Even in downtown Crescent City where the supernaturals outnumber the humans 3 to 1, they still pretend to try and appear to be less spectacular. Rather than hide behind a mask of faked normalcy, the patrons here are wearing their uniqueness like a badge of pride. Even Sylvester is letting Rufus sit closer to the surface, his e
[Apple]My hands are shaking. It is not like me to be bold, and just the excitement of saying out loud what I am thinking and feeling is too much to feel all at once. I'm stuck between flight and freeze, wanting to flee my this prison of my desires.I want him to touch me. To taste me. I want to feel his mouth and hands on every inch of me. But as he stalks forward, his eyes glowing faintly, I wonder what I've done letting this wolf into my world. The passion I feel for him overtakes every thought and feeling that I have, and I lose the ability for logic and focus. As his woodsmoke and green tea scent grows stronger with each step, I feel it seep deep within me, becoming a part of who I am. I can't imagine a world without him anymore. And that scares me more than anything. In so short a time, I've become inexplicably attached to him. Even his touch drives me insane with how it tingles through me, electrifying my desires. I find myself holding my breath, waiting for him to brush a str