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Chapter 046

last update Huling Na-update: 2024-08-21 16:42:09
[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 t
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  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 047

    [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

    Huling Na-update : 2024-08-24
  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 048

    [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

    Huling Na-update : 2024-08-24
  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 049

    [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 the p

    Huling Na-update : 2024-08-25
  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 050

    [Apple]"Congratulations...?"Why did her eyes shine for a moment? What is going on here?Nervously, I step back. "Apple," Hazel looks around. "We'll talk after." She gives Hawthorne a 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 professor is already speaking by the time I take m

    Huling Na-update : 2024-08-26
  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 051

    [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

    Huling Na-update : 2024-08-27
  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 052

    [Apple]This has to be a trick or a hallucination because none of this makes sense. Hazel’s words cannot be true. I can’t be a witch. Or a half-witch, or part-witch, or whatever.“I grew up in Pleasant Valley, California.” I remind her as I turn my head from side to side watching as my hair emits amber sparks, my skin glows and my eyes shine beacon bright. “A HUMAN ONLY community. They have hex-blockades and supe detectors installed in the roads leading into town," my voice is growing louder and as I blush in frustration, my skin's hue slowly blooming to match the flowers in my hair. "How can I be a witch if I grew up in a place like that?" "Witches are good at hiding." Hazel shrugs. "And I bet your mother or father tied your powers down so tightly they thought they'd never escape." She grimaced. "Probably even put a compulsion or two on you to keep you a virgin. That way your powers wouldn't manifest until you were ready." Hazel then explains that if my powers were locked as she s

    Huling Na-update : 2024-08-27
  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 053

    [Apple]"Sly," the sound of the door closing behind me tells me we are alone. I hold my breath. He steps forward, closing the distance between us, and pulls me into his arms holding me tightly as he breathes in my scent."I needed to see you," he says against my hair. "I'm so glad I found you." "You left me alone," a sob breaks free, muffled by his chest as I bury my face in his embrace, craving his touch and scent as much as any wolf. "You don't need me. You don't even want me."He holds me even tighter as I cry, clutching his jacket. "I know this relationship is just pretend to you, that you never promised me anything, but I can't help how my heart feels," I try to explain, my words moving quickly. "I can't give my body without my heart, Sly. When I offered myself and approached you, it was with everything, and I know you can't love me back, but I thought it wouldn't matter.""But I was wrong," I confess. "I want you to want me too. To have you reject me broke me.""I didn't reject

    Huling Na-update : 2024-08-28
  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 054

    [Sylvester]When I finally come back to myself, I realize that Apple is gone. Taking a deep breath, fall to my knees and inhale what is left of her scent. She couldn't have gotten far. I wasn't out of it that long, was I?Her friend, Hazel, looks shocked and hurt. "How could you do that?" she starts to shout, her fingertips glowing with light. Of course, she's a witch. That makes so much sense. A witch hiding another witch. I wonder if she gave Apple tips on how to seduce a wolf."She showed you who she really is and you took her heart and stomped on it." She snarls, disgusted. "I thought you actually cared for her, but it turns out you didn't deserve her after all." "She lied to me," I gasp, my heart aching as I feel that all too familiar burn of betrayal. "No, she didn't, you stupid mutt," Apple's friend snaps, glaring at me with golden glowing eyes. "She had no idea of her true identity. Apple's mother never told her and blocked her abilities away so tightly that she'd never find

    Huling Na-update : 2024-08-30

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  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 093

    [Sylvester]Glasses shatter, and the table falls over as I jump to my feet. My heart races and my mind pulls in all directions as I struggle to reconnect and find that missing part of me. She isn't dead. I'd know if she were. The feeling would be deeper than silence, all-encompassing hollowness. But something isn't right.Apple. Something has happened to Apple.A wave of numbness washes over me, starting with my heart and extending out in each direction. The room is suddenly quiet, too quiet. My mind is quiet as well, which scares me. Since finding my mate my mind has been full of her thoughts and feelings, and the gentle understanding that she is nearby, waiting.I can feel none of those things now. My mind is woefully, terrifyingly blank. Rufus' howls reverberate with the empty chamber of my mind, hurt by the sudden loss. Our connection hasn't been completely severed but is no longer accessible. Something powerful is blocking us from finding one another without killing one of u

  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 092

    [Apple]Hawthorne could incinerate Sylvester where he stands. Sylvester is the Alpha King with a small army of guards ready to pounce if anyone moves.The two men stared one another down, neither one relenting. Both are powerful and capable, both have the power to destroy the other, and both have my love in one shape or form. I'd never forgive the other if things got out of hand."I asked him to come," Hazel's small voice pipes up as she takes a bold step forward, facing down both men with the strength of a future matriarch. "I wanted my twin for company, but also our mentor insisted he come as...help." Sly blinks and Thorne takes a step back as he lowers his hood the rest of the way. "Araminta sent me," he admits. "I would never have come otherwise." He coughs, swallowing hard as he adds. "Alpha King." Sylvester doesn't move and so his guards also stand in position, waiting for orders as their king wars with the emotions swirling around inside his mind. He can barely tolerate Thorn

  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 091

    [Apple]When my eyes open, I am staring into a dark room. I must have fallen asleep at some point because Sylvester is wrapped around me, his body pressed into my back. Our bed is warm and rich with the smell of us. "Good Morning, My Queen," he kisses my neck. "Are you ready to meet your people?""Can't we stay like this a little bit longer?" I roll over into his arms, kissing his nose. His smile tickles my cheeks as his unshaven face touches me lightly. "A little bit, but then we need to go and greet our beta and your best friend," he kisses my chin, and then my cheek, and the space just beneath it on my neck. "And then our supporters. I intend to show you off today. I want everyone to fall as deeply in love with you as I am." "Oh," I giggle as his trail of love continues down my neck. "I thought you wanted me all to yourself." His hands roll down the sides of my body possessively, stopping at my hips, his fingers framing my waist as he pulls me into him, aligning our fronts. His

  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 090

    [Alexis]The news was broadcast across the city as soon as the conclave of elders was done casting their votes. “It is time that we as wolves took a step towards a brighter future,” Alpha Emeritus Alphonso Greybeard announced, his long hair framing his dignified face for all of wolfkind to view on their screens. “Which is why with a majority vote the council of Elder Alphas have chosen Sylvester Sterling of Silver Crescent Pack to lead us as the next Alpha King.” A cheer could be heard reverberating across the city. It wouldn't have mattered who had won--there would have been cheering just to see a selection had been made. And yet, if you were to pick any wolf out of those in the running based on intelligence, ambition, and charm, Sly was an easy choice. "He was born to it," Alanna agrees in my mind, her chest puffing with pride. "He was born to be king." "He was born a rogue," I shoot back silently. "My father made him a prince." "And you were his princess," she reminds me, sull

  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 089

    [Sylvester]Oh Goddess, what a mess we’ve made of things. My mate…I should have left her alone when I met her all those months ago as a terrified girl from a small town. She’s have been safer with her witch friends, learning about her powers, and growing fully into the bloom of womanhood, without having a political nightmare forced upon her. She’s still so young. Twenty-three. When I was her age, I was a new alpha married to the pack princess still figuring out what my world was all about. Apple is still discovering her destiny, and now she’s Luna Queen. How will I keep her safe now? “Sylvester,” her small voice sounds exhausted. She’s been through so much. Too much considering she’s carrying our pup. “What are we going to do.” That’s a good question. “We’re going to keep her by our side and protect her,” Rufus growls. “You’re their King. She’s their Queen. We need to keep her close to keep her safe.” “If they find out I’m a witch…” her small fists grasp the edges of her dress n

  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 088

    [Apple}"What's my surprise," I try to keep my voice light, even though the joy from the square is quickly dissipating from my system as the weight of what had happened just before sinks into my bones. The hybrids in the witch war, the hate of the people watching Sly speak, the words of the witch in the shop, "I don't do abortions. You're too far along..." Two months, this sweet little life has been trying to show me she's here for two months and I missed it. And now this little life needs me to keep her safe, to keep both her and her father safe. I need to leave to save my family. Pulling over, Sly takes my hand and places it on his chest. "What is it, Apple?""We'ren't heading towards your surprise," I change the subject away from my feelings, not sure how I to say what I need to say.His lips turn downward as a small crease of worry forms between his eyes."The museum, did you know that your father-in-law paid to have it built?"He nods, not surprised. "He had a lot of influence

  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 087

    [Alexis]"Where are you going, Apple? Where have you been?"Hunched in the back of the crowd, I cover my face with a hat as I watch her scamper into a dark alley. My connection, Willow, will arrive any moment now with evidence that will destroy this weak bitch once and for all. She's got a secret. I can tell. A woman knows when another one is trying to hide something shameful. Whatever Apple's up to, she doesn't want anyone else to know.Which means, of course, that I must know everything she's been up to. Every small detail. Looking over my shoulder, I keep my face blank as she follows Sly into a luxury rental. I don't think she saw me. Not that it matters. There's nothing she can do. I know at least one of her secrets, one that can tear everything down if the public finds out. "I'm sorry, Sly. But everyone needs to know the truth about her. Especially you." Dipping into the shadows of the alleyway, I find what must have been her destination. An apothecary shop. Turning the han

  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 086

    [Apple]The faint echo of her words shakes the branches of my mind as my feet, rooted in place, level me frozen, unmoving and staring at the witch before me unblinkingly as my heart and lungs fight to settle.With just a handful of words, everything I knew to be true about me changed.“Two months,” I repeat, placing a hand over my belly. Concentrating on my core energy, I send a tendril of my warmth and light into my abdomen, hoping to find nothing. A faint spark flickers beneath my palm. She's been with me this entire time, from the first time Sly and I mated, back when my life was in danger and he claimed me as his because a life tied to him was better than deathAnd he didn't want me to die.A second flicker flutters beneath my hand. Her wolf. She's a wolf and a witch. A hybrid. Too dangerous to live. The apothecary shakes her head sadly as my feelings telegraph across my face. “You poor child, you had no idea. May I assume the father is…willing to help you care for your child?”

  • The Alpha and the Rental Luna   Chapter 085

    [Apple]The next morning, I wake to find Sylvester gone. My heart jumps until my mind clears from the fog of the night before and I notice a tray next to the bed with a covered plate and a single red rose in a tall crystal vase. The note next to the tray says, “I’ll be back this afternoon. Enjoy yourself. I’ll meet you for lunch.” Beneath the note is a platinum card with his name engraved in bold letters. Below his name is my own, although not quite my own. The card reads:“Alpha Sylvester S. Sterling. Luna Apple B. LeRoux Sterling.”“Cheeky wolf,” I smirk. “When did he have this made? Awfully presumptuous. We aren’t even married.”“Yet,” the voice in the back of my head adds. My heart flips with nervous joy. He wants to keep me. He must have planned that dress to be part of his proposal. He made it look so casual and Hanging from the back of a chair is one of Sylvester’s scarves. Picking it up, I breathe his scent deeply feeling my body calm. I’ve only just woken up but I already

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