Damn that Alexis! I hope Apple and Sly can figure out a way around this. If you are enjoying the story, consider leaving a comment or a review! Every comment, gem, and review brings more attention to this story and helps it find more readers! I appreciate all of you and look forward to hearing what you think! :)
[Apple]"Come," he holds out his hand, beckoning me forward.Sylvester has been so patient and caring. I was terrified when I first met this alpha wolf, 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 ensured 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 his primal need for sexual connection. All wolves crave sex, 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. Ma
[Apple]Slowly, I move my hand as I open my eyes.Nobody is standing there, but I smell the traces of wood smoke 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 my stepsister Tansy, which is how I lost Zion in the first place. 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
[Apple] 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. 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. Unlike any human carnival I ever attended, 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
[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 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 logical thought and feeling that I have, making it impossible for me to 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 my 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
[Sylvester]A virgin.She can't possibly mean to give me such an amazing gift."Our mate waited for us," Rufus is preening with pride inside my mind, more pleased than ever that we found her first to claim her. "She knew she was meant for us." "She's just a frightened child," I argue with my wolf internally as I pull away from her, kissing her forehead and telling her to rest. "We need to leave before we do something we regret." "But she wants to mate with us," he whines, howling.Her warm apple and honey scent blended with my own is driving my desire skywards. Knowing she's untouched makes me want her even more than before, and I already found her irresistible.If I claim her, I will be her first. I will be her only. She will never want anyone else but me. I will love her so well it will be forever.No. I can't do that. I can't love her and leave her craving me for the rest of her life.Moonstruck. That's what they call it when a human or a witch mates with a wolf and becomes so ent
[Apple] "You're a virgin." Something in his eyes changes as he takes a step back, his face becoming a blank mask. "Did I do something wrong?" feeling naked and vulnerable, I fold my legs into my chest, trying to cover myself as best I can with the sheets of the bed. "Oh Apple, you deserve so much better than me to be your first." He kisses my brow like I'm a child and slides out of bed. "You sleep here, I..." he looks outside. "I need to go for a run." Without a backward glance, he strides across the room, and walks out, leaving me alone confused and feeling rejected. "He doesn't want a virgin," I sigh, thinking back to Zion and how he cheated on me with my sister because of the very same problem. "I guess I'll always be one then." Everything feels heavier without him here. I need him to hold me and tell me it is okay, but he can't even be in the same room as me now that he knows the truth. Why does my lack of experience drive men away? I thought Zion and I were waiting for th
[Apple]"Congratulations...?"Why did her eyes shine for a moment? Did I imagine it?What is going on here?Nervously, I step back."Apple," Hazel looks around nervously before adding, "We'll talk after."She gives her brother a knowing look and he nods, his expression still hard but his eyes strangely soft, like his face can't decide what it wants to feel."It's a good thing, trust me," Hazel winks, and then leads the way into class.Looking back, I suddenly find comfort in Rudy being only a few steps away. Whatever Hazel has to say is going to change everything. I can feel it.The problem is, there have been so many changes in my life recently that I can't handle another. I'm already overwhelmed."Let's just get through today and worry about everything else later," I try to pep myself up as I enter the classroom.Today is a lab day, and I'm excited to see how my seedlings are doing. We planted peas in various soils to see how they'd grow, or not, depending on the environment.The pro
[Sylvester]I know the Board of Directors is trying to tell me something important, but I can't focus. My thoughts keep shifting back to last night, the way she felt, the way she tasted, and the way she called out my name as I brought her release with my fingers and my tongue.My sweet, perfect, Apple.I need to see her. Why did I push her away?"So, as we were saying, we need to meet your Luna immediately. Waiting until the end of the month is no longer good enough," Beta-emeritus Clancy Greystone announces briskly. "And if she doesn't meet our standard, you have no choice. It's Alexis. Do you understand what we are saying?"I want to answer back with something flippant, but I hold my tongue. I need to see Apple. I don't have time to fight him."Of course, Beta Clancy," I remember my manners, giving a deep bow. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have important work to do, running our pack. I'm sure you understand."I'm given the details of the time and place to bring Apple, but I don't even
[Sylvester]5 days have passed since the men with whips came to show me my place. Five long days of being locked in a room, planning what will happen next. After they knocked me out the first time, they took me to this…place. I don’t know where I am now, except that it is some kind of medical facility. All the guards and technicians are humans, and all the patients are…not. I’ve seen Calix twice since arriving. The first time to gloat, the second time to let me know that he has sold his entire rogue pack to these monsters. “My payment for your power,” he sneers. “They’ve been testing this new drug on my father. Funny, I’m surprised the old dog is still kicking.”The last time he came by was to laugh as they whipped me. That was two days ago.My body is sore, but I am not broken. They haven’t managed to make me do a damn thing they want me to do. “Kneel, mutt, and drink,” the human asshole holding the bowl of blood demands. My chains are thicker this time, made silver reinforced wit
[Sylvester]My body is cold and stiff as I slowly regain consciousness. Whatever the bastards drugged me with burns my veins and makes my head pound. I don’t want to be awake, it hurts too much.The sound of birdsong in the distance lets me know that I am still in the forest. The cold, slick, wet floor beneath my cheek and the soft trickle of condensation dripping from a stalactite informs me that I am in a large cave, bigger than the one I had woken up within before. And the heavy weight around my neck and ankles tells me I’m bound and chained. Heavy footsteps approach. “Get up,” cold water splashes across my face, shocking my already stressed system. Sputtering, my eyes snap open, and I snarl upward at the tall figure before me who is hard to make out while backlit by the setting sun. Struggling to sit, I pull on the chains enough to stand in a somewhat crouched position. I guess I should be grateful I can move at all. “You’re going to feel like shit for a few days,” the younger
[Sylvester]This was a trap.This pit is at least 12 ft deep. Deeper than I could leap even if I were in perfect health, which after a week of prison I am not. Whoever dug this must have had it prepared in advance, waiting for the opportunity to spring this trap.Because that is exactly what it was--A clever ploy to bring me out here and put me at the mercy of this lone wolf. Somehow, someone knew my reaction to seeing a red wolf and capitalized on it.The wolf who led me away during the confusion in Moon River City is standing over my dank prison, bending over so that I can see his young face as his jackal-like laughter taunts me from above."Oh how the mighty have fallen," he snorts, as he takes pleasure in my pain. "What a shame."He's right to laugh. I was a fool. My desire to see my old mentor was so great that I charged blindly into a dangerous situation without weighing all the possibilities.Seeing him up close, it is very clear that this young wolf was not Lysander. How could
[Sylvester][Two weeks earlier] The rogues overwhelm the room. I’m not sure how or why, but for some reason, I can push back the worst of their infection with my touch, a glow sparkling along my fur as I reach out and touch their bodies with a clawed hand. Now that I know my mother was a witch, it is as if a floodgate of power that has always been there has finally made its way to the surface. I was more than enough as an alpha. I've always been the strongest, even when I was a pup. Now that I'm a man, there aren't many alphas who can match me. Now, it makes sense. I was never just an alpha. I was a hybrid. A hybrid that had been powerless until now, who had been poisoned by his own mate's bite because I was far too much of a wolf to receive it, and she was still far too much of a witch to give it. I wonder if things would have been different now if we had marked each other after finding our true nature. Walking through the chaos in my wolfman form, my glow brightens, curing eve
[Apple] I am standing in a mist-covered field, a gray sky overhead, the sun hidden behind a massive black cloud promising rain. In the distance is a wolf. He is large, far taller than a man even on four legs, his silver-tipped fur catching the faint light filtering down to us. Around us, everywhere, are bodies. Some wolves, others men and women with glowing skin. “Mate,” the wolf growls from across the field. “I’ve found you. “Mate,” I repeat, my heart mourning the loss of so many lives, my own hands stained red with the blood of the wolves by my feet. “Why did it have to be you?” The wolf transforms in front of me into a tall man covered in scars. His black hair curls around his shoulders and his eyes are the most startling shade of blue-green. “Alpha Rufus,” I call him. Strangely, he has the same name as my Sylvester’s wolf. He looks a lot like Sylvester too but with bolder lines and a stronger chin. “Witch Queen Astrea,” he bows, his eyes flashing as my glowing hand lif
[Rudy]We are so close to finding Sylvester. I can feel it. I know this is going to work. I trust Hazel and her abilities. She is a powerful witch, she just doesn't give herself enough credit. Just because her magic isn't flashy doesn't mean it isn't as potent."Well she's put a spell on me, anyway," I grin as I dart across the street from the park, her juniper berry scent freshly imprinted upon me, the taste of her still on my tongue.Shortly after I first met Apple, I realized there was something special about that brunette witch with sparkling eyes the color of changing leaves—green, brown, and gold all at once. I wasn't sure what it was at first, as I've made a habit of avoiding any type of closeness that could lead to confused feelings. I didn't want a mate; I had no use for one. I intended to spend the rest of my life serving the Alpha family. It is a duty that I am glad to have, a responsibility that I cherish.I love my job. I had no intention of ever giving it up.And then I m
[Hazel]“You’re doing the right thing,” Rudolph tries to convince me as I say goodbye to my dearest friend one last time. “You and I both know it isn’t safe for her above.” He’s right, and I hate him a little bit for it. There are a lot of things that I’ve grown to dislike but also love about him. Damn it, Moon Goddess, sometimes you have a funny sense of humor. “Well let’s just make sure that none of us regret this,” I push past him, our bodies tingling as our knuckles brush against one another. “Let’s go find your alpha and bring him home.” “What about your brother?” the stubborn Beta crosses his arms as he leans against a wall and watches me pack my satchel with various spell components. Unlike Hawthorne and Great-Grandmother who are both sorcerer-class witches, as a hedge-witch my energy needs to funnel through another medium. This means my magic comes through in the forms of potions and tinctures, a magic that can be felt with your fingers and tasted with your tongue. “We don
[Hawthorne]It's a portal. This wall was hiding a portal.Taking a deep breath, I follow after my family matriarch in a leap of faith, biting my lip to keep from screaming as the chilly dark of a void portal takes me to wherever she's gone. Traveling in the spaces between spaces, the void of eternity is a skill that only witches have. You need to have enough glow to sustain the cold, hungry darkness, as it feeds off our life force, taking a small bit into itself as payment. Even witches need to be careful, as a less powerful witch could be drained dry from anything other than the shortest of distances. It feels like I'm falling forever before my feet find purchase on a well-woven rug covering a smooth, stone floor. Usually, portal travel is quick, only seconds. That it felt like several minutes meant that this place wasn't anywhere near Crescent City. It also means that wherever we are isn't a place for a common witch. If I weren't descended from Araminta Thorpe herself, the most po
[Hawthorne]I was three drinks in when my great-grandmother swept into the tavern, her sudden appearance quieting every laugh and sob with the sheer power of her presence. Even the music seemed to disappear as the door closed behind her and she made a direct path to the bar where I sat surrounded by other lovesick witches mourning their losses over cheap beer.“Come with me child,” the old witch commanded in a voice barely above a whisper, as she leaned in. “If you want to help her, you’ll come. You aren’t doing either one of you any good moping around here.” She barely masks her disappointment as she looks me up and down. I've seen that look on her face before, every time that I disappoint her. Now is no different except for the rushed intensity of her movements. Her glare has the power to incinerate stone, so I moved quickly before there was nothing left to me than ash.The powerful Coven Mistress doesn't wait for me to catch up as she sweeps from the room, her cape billowing behind