Here is the first new chapter in 2 months! Sorry for all the delays! Enjoy!
[Apple]"Of course," I nod, as I squeeze his hand and his body slowly relaxes.We check in and make our way up to one of the luxury Alpha Suites on the top floor. As the representative of one of the largest packs in the country, we have a very nice overview of the entire valley. Unfortunately, a handful of major alphas are on this floor and a few minutes later we hear Alexis' piercing giggle just a few doors down. Her voice is soon joined by a deeper laughter, which I guess must be Rodrigo.Sly's eyes flash red, his hands opening and closing as his nails lengthen and retract. But is it because of what he said earlier or what he hears now? Could it be that seeing this elder wolf with Alexis is setting off a nerve?"Sly?" I call out. When he doesn't respond, I call his name louder, "Sylvester!"He jumps, coming back to the here and now, and I release a deep sigh as his eyes slowly return to blue. "What happened," I step forward. He could tear me in two when he is in this kind of a mood,
[Sylvester]My mate is crying. I can feel her pain like a thousand needles stabbing my heart."She's worried about carrying our pup," Rufus sighs. “She’s worried about what that would mean. She doesn’t understand.”Entering the shower with her, I scoop my love into my arms. “Shh.” I hold her to me, my pain lifting as she nuzzles into me instead of fighting to get away even when I’m the one who hurt her.“I am so sorry, Apple. I should have felt something was wrong, I should have pulled out sooner, I should have…”Turning towards me, Apple’s eyes spark with a flash of anger, followed by a well of sadness, her tears mixing with the shower water as they trace the lines of her face. “No Sly, I’m the one who…oh what was I thinking!”Doing my best to mask my own fear, I project feelings of love strength, and support through her bond. I can’t have her feeling bad about this moment, one that if she were born a wolf, we wouldn’t be as worried about.“We don’t know that there will even be a pup,
[Apple]My handsome mate, the mightiest alpha in the west, is kneeling before me with his heart in his hands.“...You are already my Luna. Would you honor me by becoming my wife?”I can taste my pulse on the back of my tongue. So much has happened so fast. But when he looks up at me with those eyes the color of the sea, I know I’m lost.Bending down, I answer him with kisses, sparks igniting between us as my energy flows into him from where our lips touch. “Yes Sylvester Sterling,” I smile against his mouth. “I’ll marry you.”Whooping in joy, Sly rises to his feet and swings me around.Laughing, for a moment everything else falls away. The stresses waiting for us beyond this room are nothing compared to the strength of his love flowing between us along the bond, my own witch energy moving through us as well, so powerfully that Sly’s skin seems to glow.Sly is glowing. How?“Sylvester,” I pull away, “Stop. Put me down. You’re…”The door to the shop slams with so much force that I can he
[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 chuckles, warming me from
[Apple]Killed for loving a witch.Feeling dizzy, I sit back against the headboard, grasping the sheets in my hand for support as I wait for the world to stop spinning. I want to hold Sly, I want to comfort him, but I can’t when my own heart and mind are 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. I was 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 bond as he pulls me i
[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 spontaneous. That sly wolf probably had that dress planned too based on how it fit.Only one person other than myself knows my body so well.I miss him.Hanging from the
[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 death.And he didn't want me to die.Her flicker life hums with another energy and I know at once it is her wolf. She must be a hybrid--a creature 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 ca
[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 handle, I
[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