And so it continues... Chapters 61-67 are newly updated with the most recent version of the story. Please be patient as I slowly bring the whole story in sync with the new timeline! More story to come soon, I promise. VictoryAnne
[Apple]I have no idea where I am going. All I know is that I need to get away from this place.After the fool Sylvester made of the two of us on stage I am feeling hot and gross all at the same time.Is it a wolf thing that he’s so into public displays of affection, or is it a Sly thing? Am I engaged to some kind of pervert?"He's just trying to protect you," the voice inside of my head urges. "You should give him a bit of grace. He loves you.""He barely knows me!" I shout to nobody in particular as my sweaty hands push down the edges of my skirt. Even with some distance between us, the ghost touches of his fingertips on my flesh make me shiver with want and anger. "If he knew me, he'd have never done that to me! On stage! In front of the entire pack!”"You're both still learning about one another," the voice urges and I pause. Is that all it is, the awkward growing pains of a new relationship?The sound of wood crackling underneath my footfalls draws my attention back to my surround
[Rudy][At the studio earlier]Apple races past me, her mascara running down her cheeks. Her tears are silent, but I can feel her embarrassment, shame, and anger as if they were my own. “Luna Apple, are you...” She doesn’t turn. She doesn’t respond to me or anyone else as she passes by, her mind elsewhere.Looking back over my shoulder, I see no sign of my alpha. Her words were loud and clear enough for all of us wolves nearby to hear. “Do not follow me!” she had commanded. She is our queen, our Luna. We obey. Even the Alpha, it seems, cannot bring himself to cross her. Not when she’s like this. “Damn it, Sir,” I swear under my breath. I’ve known Sylvester my whole life, and I’ve never seen him as happy as I have when he is with her. I hope he hasn’t ruined it for all of us with this stupid stunt. Both my alpha and luna need care right now, their hearts are hurt and confused. Right now I’m torn between the desire to shake Sly and remind him that being a good Alpha also include
[Apple]The door flies open. “WITCH!!!” Zion is screaming, his hand pointing, his face bright red as he gasps for air between shouts. “DEMON!!” I turn, expecting him to be staring at my glowing hands now burning with sparkling fire. But he isn’t, he’s staring at the figure in the doorway. A tall young man in a black leather coat glares at Zion with unflinching hate. His auburn hair floats around his ears, held aloft by the power flowing through him, glowing brightly through his skin. Hawthorne Sparks, my best friend’s brother, now stands between me and my captor as he enters the back of the van, his fingers aglow with a vibrant violet flame.His lips twist into a snarl as he leans over Zion. “That’s right, Asshole. I’m a witch and you’re just a wee bitty human who messed with the wrong mage.”In a flash of light, the fire surrounding Thorne’s hand leaps from him into Zion’s chest. It sizzles as it grows across his chest, stretching to cover his body, coating it like a blanket that
[Apple]A sharp pain pierces my heart as an overwhelming feeling of loss takes over my senses. “No,” I press my forehead against the door. I can feel my connection to my mate waver and the sudden loss of that connection catches my breath. “Sly. SLY!!”“Calm down, Apple,” Thorne places a hand on my back and I shake it off, angry and confused. Why did he trap me here? He knew I needed to get home. I need Sly like I need air and sunlight.Not just want. Need. “Damn it!” I cry, cursing. Stupid, stupid Apple. Why did I wander off? Now I might never make it back again. Pressing my hand hands against the door, I struggle to open it, but it’s no use. It isn’t just locked, I realize as a zap of magic travels up my arm, it’s enchanted. Pressing my face against the cool wood, I hear a lone wolf crying in the distance. “Please, Thorne, this isn’t funny, Thorne,” I try to sound strong and tough, although inside my heart is breaking. “Let’s just head back.” “Like I said,” Thorne walks away fr
[Apple]“Yes,” Thorne, swallows hard as he gazes at me so intensely I can see a storm larger than the one outside swirling inside of his large, hazel eyes. “A simple press of the lips. It doesn’t need to be more than that. I just want to feel, for a small moment, what we could have been like together.” He makes it sound innocent and friendly, but as he holds me in his arms, his face so close that I can count each of his eyelashes, it feels like a betrayal of my mate bond. And a betrayal of our friendship.“I don’t think this is a good idea,” I insist, my voice barely more than a whisper. “I don’t want to change things between us. You’re my friend. You’re like a brother I…”He flinches at the word "brother" but rediscovers his grin as he lines his body up perfectly with mine. “You’re probably right,” Thorne agrees ruefully as he pulls me in even closer. “And yet…” His lips are soft as they brush against mine in not quite a kiss, just the slight touch of skin to skin. I try to pull m
[Sylvester][Earlier that evening]Something inside of me snaps, and with it, so do my silver chains. Screaming in pain and heartbreak, my wolf tears free of my body, leaving my clothes a tattered mess on the floor of the closet where I’ve been imprisoned. Voices just outside the door rumble into the room like nonsense laced with fear. “He’s free,” a man in the room shouts as I break through the wood. “Dear Goddess, he’s huge!”Tilting back my head I howl. I need to find my mate. Her pain and fear are pushing me past my usual limits, propelling me forward, burning the poison from my body as I push through the crowd gathering around the room. “Sylvester!” Alexis shouts after me as she stands next to her uncle and a few other members of our Board of Directors. “Somebody stop him! He’s gone rogue.” A bullet whizzes by my ear, followed by another. Something hits my thigh and I look down to see a tranquilizer dart dangling from my thigh.Another hits me higher and a third hits my shoul
[Apple]The rogue wolfman’s teeth snap, dripping with saliva as I struggle to stand. My nails dig into the clay-like mud, pine needles stabbing my hands and thighs as I push away. “Stay back,” I warn, holding up my hands. “I’m warning you!!The rogue saunters forward slowly, taking pleasure in my struggle. He smells of rotting things, of failure and death, with yellowed teeth and chipped, cracked claws. Even in his current wolfman form, he doesn’t look as strong as he should, the strain of living without a pack slowing down all of his werewolf advantages. His tattered clothing, hanging from his body, looks like the remnant of a nice business suit. He hasn’t always been a rogue, and by the look of him, the change has been recent. But based on how hard the experience has hit him, it is clear that he wasn’t Alpha level when he was cast out. “Do you remember me?” he hisses. “I remember you, Luna. The way I see it, you still owe me.”Grabbing a handful of mud I throw it in his direction.
[Apple]Gasping for air, the rogue reaches for the hand wrapped around his neck, his eyes pleading as the much larger creature lifts him into the air. Kicking and flailing, the rogue twists his body as he struggles for his last breath. Not wanting to look, but more afraid to look away, I keep my eyes forward, unblinkingly staring at the scene before me. “Stop…” I start to say when with a sickening wet pop, the rogue’s head is squeezed from his shoulders, propelling his head to land on the ground beneath my feet. Covering my mouth to hold in a scream, I back away from the carnage, closing my eyes as if that could change what I’ve seen. But there is nowhere to go. Colliding with a tree behind me, I hiss, biting my lip as the rough bark of the tree behind me opens new wounds along my back. I am trapped. The mark on my neck makes me a luna, but I’m not a wolf, I’m a witch, and a weak one at that. I have no way to defend myself from a beast powerful enough to remove the head from a wi
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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?”
[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
Chapter 084[Apple]Killed for loving a witch. Feeling dizzy, I sat back against the headboard, grasping the sheets in my hand for support as I waited for the world to stop spinning. I wanted to hold Sly, I wanted to comfort him, but I couldn’t when my own heart and mind were spinning. What have I done? Has loving me condemned my mate?“I had been living with Lysander Moon for two years. His mate, I always just assumed she was a wolf. As a child, I didn’t think about those things yet or asked questions about things like that. I had mostly grown up as a rogue and hadn’t spent much time around witches or even many wolves other than my mother. Looking back, I realize there were small signs, but they were very careful.”Sly’s breathing is shallow and rapid as he relives the past. Reaching forward, I place my hand on his clammy cheek. He calms instantly, falling into my touch. Turning his face until his nose rests on my wrist, he inhales deeply. A shiver of gratitude trickles through our
[Apple] After the fiasco with Alexis, Sly decided to spend the rest of the evening curled up in each other’s arms. It wasn’t sexual, but it was intimate, and a much-needed balm to the stresses of the last few days. It was enough just to feel one another and wrap ourselves in one another’s scent. I had never been so driven by my senses before meeting Sly, if anything I avoided feeling too much. I never let Zion get this close to me. Even when I thought I was giving him my love, I realize now that there was always a wall between us placed there by me. Was I aloof with Zion because I wasn’t ready, or was it because he wasn’t my mate? Either way, thank the Goddess that I waited. I couldn’t imagine having him touch any part of me now. It all belongs to Sly. Every part. Lying between his legs, skin to skin, I cuddle up to Sylvester’s chest. His arms, wrapped with a thick woolen blanket, envelop me, pulling me into him. He smells like heaven and I tell him so and he chuckle