HenryMagnolia taking her shirt off the way she did gave me the boost I needed to push Hendrix to the side and to come forward and see my mate.My memory of her and the life we had before is… complicated. It feels fuzzy and hard to remember all of the details of it. She looks so beautiful, just as I remembered from before. And… she deserves so much better than the hand she has been dealt.I never should’ve intervened with fate, I should’ve ascended.This man that I got paired with to be in the same body… he’s not good enough for her. He doesn’t try to be better, the only thing he cares about is his sister. If he has to be a monster to keep his sister safe then that’s what he’ll do. He starts pushing against me, frustrated that I’ve taken over his body. Even after five years since taking the place of his original wolf, he still doesn’t trust me. He doesn’t realize I’m different from the wolf he originally had and you would think after the near death experience he had that he would lea
MagnoliaHenry or Hendrix, I’m not sure who is in control right now, stays quiet as we walk to the Willow pack’s main house. This pack is much smaller, they need the alliance with us more than we need it with them. But even if they are small, they’re still good. The pack house is like a two story building. I know from being here last time that they only have on guest room here. They aren’t used to having guests, they haven’t had a need for more space. The Willow Pack is decently secluded and poses no threat to anyone. Alpha Lee and his Luna Kimberly are already waiting at the front porch. Kimberly smiles at me as she walks towards us and says, “I know you like to make an entrance, Magnolia, but a warning would be nice.”I give a smile in return as I say, “Oh, really? I thought you loved spontaneous guests.”Her eyes flicker to Hendrix and I give her the same introduction I gave Gamma Kenji, “This is Hendrix, he is a new recruit of the Moon Stone Pack and has been designated to be my
HendrixMagnolia is suddenly nervous now that I want her to talk. I suppose this whole thing is good for both of us. We need to bond, we need to grow close and be able to trust one another in order to survive the Solstice Pack. In order to survive Emery.Magnolia rolls onto her back and looks up at the ceiling the same way that I did. She tells me, “I grew up in the Renegade Pack. My parents were the Alpha and Luna and I was meant to take the Alpha title when I came of age. I was an only child so they had no other kids to pass it down to.”There’s sadness in her voice, like she wished she had a sibling like I do. I ask, “Did it bother you?”Her eyebrows scrunch together as she thinks about the answer and she says, “It bothered my parents. I know they would never admit it to me, but the people around them had multiple kids and I could see that it bothered them that they didn’t have more than just me. Meanwhile, I felt like I had siblings. I grew up with Charlie and he was like a younge
Magnolia My ears feel as if they’re ringing. I knew it would be hard to talk to Hendrix about this, I knew it would be even harder for him to truly be able to grasp the whole truth. But when he asks me, “Do you only care about me because of Henry?”It’s like my whole mind goes blank. I don’t know much about Hendrix, and what I do know about him isn’t the best. I can’t say that I’m falling for him because that wouldn’t be true. I admire how close he is to his sister. I think he’s incredibly attracted, but… in normal circumstances, that wouldn’t be enough for me to keep going in this relationship. He’s made it very clear to me that he doesn’t want me.I breathe out, my chest hurting because I obviously forgot to breathe in the past few minutes. I say, “I care about you and Harper because of who you are. Harper is Charlie’s mate and you… you are now mine. But that bond I have is to Henry, not you. I think I could grow to love you, but you keep me at arm’s length, it’s hard to envision a
HarperI jolt up from my bed with a sharp gasp. I’m pouring sweat yet I’m freezing cold. I call out, “Hendrix!”He’s not here. He left to go to the Solstice Pack, to keep me safe from Emery. I pull my knees to my chest as I let out a shuddery breath trying to prevent myself from having a full blown panic attack.I haven’t had one like this in a long time. Not since the Academy.Charlie. Charlie’s my mate. He would be here for me, right?I push myself out of bed and grab a robe and tie it tightly around my body since I was only wearing a nightie and I don’t know who I might run into in the halls. I struggle to remember what room is Charlie’s in my panicked haze. I frown, not wanting to barge into the wrong room but feeling a desperate need to be distracted from my racing thoughts.“Harper?” I hear someone say my name and I turn to see Violet. She looks at me with a deep frown and she asks, “Are you okay?”“I was, um, I was looking for Charlie.” I don’t know what time it is, but surely,
MagnoliaI ended up sleeping on the floor.I didn’t have to. Hendrix certainly didn’t want me to, but I couldn’t lie next to him all night long and feel the sparks with the two of us. It made the temptation too big especially knowing that deep inside of him is my true mate.At this point, I wonder if he’s right and I should just reject him. I hate thinking that way, really I do, but there’s so much going on. I run a hand through my hair, trying to calm myself down before I get too far ahead, but this is a lot more complicated than I ever thought it would be.His voice interrupts my thoughts, “Are you awake?”I nod as I murmur, “Yeah.”“Should we get ready and head out?” His voice is monotone. I think we both feel uncomfortable after last night.Last night, it was too vulnerable. Too much and I’m not sure how well we’ll be able to recover from it.“Yeah, let’s do it.”I push myself off the floor, I can feel his eyes on me as I go to my bag to find my clothes. He asks, “Are we just movi
MagnoliaIt takes us four more days to get to the Solstice Pack.Most of our journey we have spent in silence. Neither of us knowing what to say to the other anymore. I didn’t realize we made it there until Hendrix came to a sudden halt and stood still. I look in front of us, just trees, like everything else we’ve seen. I ask, “Why’d you stop?”He breathes out, “You can’t see it. You’ve never been a member of the pack or a mate of one of the members. In front of us is the Solstice Pack.”I frown as I look at the line of trees in front of us and say, “You’re pulling my leg.”He chuckles, “You had little faith in me, I don’t necessarily blame you, MJ. But I’m telling the truth.”“Well, then, how am I supposed to see it?”He shrugs, “It’s an illusion. I think if I hold your hand and walk through that it will break, but honestly, I’m not sure.”“And if you didn’t hold my hand?” I question. He breathes out, “You would think that you were continuing forward. In reality there’s some type of
HendrixI probably should’ve warned Magnolia about Isadora and Emery’s family. Emery’s parents appear on either side of her, both just as intimidating as she is. Her younger brother, Gabriel, sits on the floor in front of her with little fidget toys to keep him busy. He’s always been bursting with energy, the kid deserves to run and be normal, but his parents are too strict to allow that.Emery walks closer to me and looks at the mark on my face that hasn’t fully healed yet from Isadora. She says, “Izzy, you know how I feel about unnecessary violence.”Isadora responds curtly, “I don’t think it was unnecessary.”Emery shrugs in response and then looks to Magnolia and says, “So, you’re the new mate.”My body tenses as she walks over to Magnolia, walks around her looking her up and down, trying to figure out how big of a threat she truly is. Magnolia doesn’t look like a threat, but I know she is powerful. I saw her wolf, and currently, I can feel the power radiating off of her. I don’t