*Delilah*I fixed the back of my earring and sighed as I looked in the mirror. My injuries from the various fights I’d been in were finally healed but I couldn’t say the same for my mind. Today was the day we all said goodbye to Kendra. Despite what she’d done, I still mourned for her. She was like my blood and at one time, I’d loved her dearly. I remember being a child and being so excited to have a younger sister. I thought we’d be best friends and that I’d always have someone there for me. And someone I could be there for. Our lives hadn’t ended up that way, but for a while there I thought we were finally getting close to that. I still had a hard time believing that she had been so nice to me and to the kids all while planning to have them kidnapped. Andrew said that the only reason they attacked was to be a decoy for Kendra to get the kids, and then eventually me. One of the prisoners had easily given up the information after the battle was over. The Carter pack wasn’t e
*Delilah*“Mom, we’re fine. You and Daddy beat all the bad guys.” Flora looked at me with irritation in her gaze. “I just want to make sure you guys are ready for this. You have all been through a lot and–”“Mom, we want to go back to school,” Kyle said in a serious tone. I glanced at him through the rearview mirror and saw that they all looked eager, excited even. I sighed and nodded, smiling to myself. “Okay, okay.” We pulled up to the front of the school and they all unbuckled and grabbed their bags in seconds. They all told me bye as they flew out of the car, happy to be back with their friends. I watched them go into the school before I drove off. It was so hard to watch them walking away, even if I knew they would be safe. “Mom … moooooom?”Cody’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts and back to the moment. “Sorry, babe. What’d you say?”“I asked if we could have a feast for dinner?”I chuckled. His version of a feast was just having multiple pl
*Delilah*“Mom, Zach told me today that we are basically heroes now,” Flora said as we walked inside together. I smiled, making sure not to laugh and discourage her. “Did he really? I mean, you guys kind of are.” Andrew shut the door after he and the boys walked in behind me and Flora. “Yeah, I mean how many kids can say they could get away from a full-grown wolf?” Andrew asked. I looked over my shoulder at him adoringly and he winked at me as he quirked the corner of his mouth up in a smile. We had been spending as much time together as a family as we could lately and tonight was no different. We had plans to have a movie night and watch the kids' favorite animated movie. I took them outside to run off some energy before dinner. They managed to pull me and Andrew into a game of hide-and-seek. I was able to find him every time but nobody could manage to find me anytime I hid. Kids were never great at hiding or seeking and I could only help so much. I stepped away
Months Later*Andrew*The gardens looked perfect. The gazebo was decorated with fairy lights and had flowers scattered around the edge of it. I paced the gardens, double-checking everything to make sure everything was in order. Flora had corralled the boys and sent them to work on finalizing touches. Kyle and Cody argued a bit, but Flora kept them in line. I watched them work with a smile on my face. I was so grateful that they had been able to participate, and I know that all three of them were thrilled by today’s event.“Okay, everything looks perfect,” my dad said with a slap to my back. He had a grin on his face as he looked around at the work we had put in. Dad’s grin grew as he watched my mom work with Flora, Kyle, and Cody. “Do you think she’ll like it?” I asked, worried as my nerves started setting in.“I think she will love it,” Mom said, coming to join us. “Now, come on. We are going to go have dinner at our house and we will be back before you propose. I will t
*Delilah*The bell rang, causing students to lurch to their feet to get into the hall. I took my time; I didn’t want to be around most of them anyway. I had no best friend to talk to or boyfriend to speak of. I did my best just to keep my head down and remain unnoticed.I finally gathered all my things and stood up from my desk to walk out behind the last person. The hallway was full of people talking, laughing, and enjoying the break between classes. I only had to make it through one more class before I could go home and enjoy my solitude. I walked to a bench and rummaged through my backpack, switching books for my next class. I looked up saw a group of guys standing together, with Andrew at the center. His life was exactly what I wanted. He was normal. He had friends, his parents loved him, he was handsome, and he had never dealt with bullying a day in his life. People loved him.It was hard for me to admit but I wanted that more than anything. I wanted parents that didn’t t
*Delilah*“I saw you roll your eyes. I won’t tolerate it,” Dad said, looking at me sternly.I looked him in the eyes, calmly. “She’s lying. If you want to believe her, fine. But I won’t fake being happy about it.”I saw Kendra smile at this. Dad’s face grew ten shades redder, and if shifters could produce fire, he would’ve been breathing it at that point.“Delilah, you will respect Kendra. Just because you’re older, that doesn’t give you the right to bully her or to lie about her.”I chose to remain silent. I wanted to eat, and if I kept going, he’d send me to my room without food. I was too hungry to fight at this point.I started putting food on my plate from the various dishes on the table. I put my fork into my piece of meatloaf when he said, “Do you understand me?”I looked at him before putting the food in my mouth. I nodded rather than speaking because I couldn’t trust myself to hold my tongue.That settled, the three of them went back to the normal routine of
*Delilah*The next day at school was uneventful, for once. I was grateful but nervous. I didn’t see Kendra at all. I also slept without dreaming for the first time in about a week. Maybe it was a birthday gift.I groaned and rolled over in my bed, not wanting to get up yet. It was my birthday. I was finally going to come into my full powers as a shifter.I stopped and lay still, trying to see if I felt any different, but I couldn’t tell if something had changed.A soft knock on my door broke me from my thoughts. “Come in,” I called out, hoping it wasn’t Kendra.My dad opened the door and poked his head through. “You decent?”I laughed. “Yes, Dad. That’s why I said come in.”He smiled at me and said, “I’m glad to see you’re already up. Happy birthday, Del. When you’re ready, we have some things to give you in the kitchen.”“Okay, I’ll be right out.”He nodded and left, shutting my door behind him. I lay back on my bed, not ready to face them all, even if they wer
*Delilah*My father stole me when I was just a day old. He knew he’d be labeled a rogue, but his mind was broken by grief at the time. He felt responsible for my mother’s death and felt that the pack would hate me for taking her from them. So he ran and took me with him.My first memory from when I was about two was of him teaching me how to pack my own bag to carry. He made me a small pack out of one of his that had holes in places. He sewed it and taught me what we needed most. First, I’d need a fire starter of some kind. We always needed to be able to make a fire; it was his most essential tool. The next thing was a small tarp. He taught me how to roll it so it would fit in there well. Then, I’d need an extra change of clothes, with two extra pairs of socks. Everything we owned could fit in our two packs. For the first few years of my life, we camped and lived like nomads. We roamed through many different wooded areas, careful to stay away from other pack territories, a