"So, you're shacking up with Damien now?" asked Haldir as Gretchen sat down beside him.
Gretchen's eyes widened and she curled her lips under as Jason looked up to her and smirked before returning to his food.
Haldir laughed and straightened his beard. "Relax, I'm just messing with you, Gretch. Not like you to be so uptight."
Gretchen bit her lip and pushed her food around on her plate. "You don't approve of it? Weren't you the one who dragged me here so we could make up?"
Haldir took a drink from his cup then said, "Don't be silly. Damien's a good man. I'm happy for you both, Gretch. About time something good came along for you." Then he looked across the hall to Eason and shook his head. He should probably tell him that Gretchen's off the market permanently before he gets smashed under Damien's boot heel.
"Gretchen Mason! Just the fucking wolf we wanted to see," Rhett sai
"So tonights the night, is it?" asked Hazel as she lay on Gretchen's bed watching her go through her clothing in search of the perfect outfit for tonight.Gretchen looked in the mirror and shook her head. "Jesus, I'll never get used to you people being in my mind like this.""You're avoiding the question, deary."Gretchen rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yes. Are you happy? Do you really want to hear about how I'm going to be riding your uncle's dick later?"Hazel chuckled to herself and looked over to Gretchen. "Now we're talking. You're so nervous though. Why?"Gretchen turned around and said, "I don't know."Hazel smirked because she knew the truth, even if Gretchen wasn't ready to admit it to herself. Gretchen breathed in deeply through her nose then said, "It's the full moon, I guess. My senses are all crazy, it's like I'm on full alert and just wait
As Damien walked out of the forest with the deer around his shoulders, Gretchen ran along beside him. He put the deer down on the ground by the fire and the soldiers carried it off to quickly butcher."Congratulations, Gretchen. That's quite a big stag you nabbed yourself." Hazel patted her leg and picked up Gretchen's bag from the ground. Gretchen took the strap in her teeth. "Now run along and get dressed. I want to hear all about it.""Gretchen!" She turned around to see Damien waiting for her. He nodded towards the smith's shop. "Come on."Gretchen followed Damien to the building and he waited outside while she changed into her clothing. As she sat on the table putting on her boots, Damien came in and shut the door behind him. "You did well out there, my love."Gretchen looked up from her boot as she zipped up the side. "It's not my first hunt."He fisted his trembling hands
"I'm not complaining, baby, but can we go inside now?"Gretchen closed her eyes and savored the feeling of Damien's soft, wet lips against her neck. His hot breath on her skin made goosebumps erupt all over and her weak knees buckled as her senses faltered with each agonizing touch. Damien held her tightly in one arm as he braced them against the wall and sucked on the crook of her neck while she combed through his hair with her fingers. He slowly placed kisses up her neck and jawline until his eyes met hers. "I've dreamed of this night a million times." Damien shook his head. "I can't believe this is actually happening."Gretchen softly pushed the hair back off his face with her hands then slid her fingers down his cheeks. "You're making me a little nervous. I don't want to disappoint you."Damien kissed her lips gently and said, "You won't. I'm the one who has the burden tonight, I'm afraid."
With the taste of blood still fresh on her tongue, Gretchen lazily opened her eyes and released her bite while her senses slowly returned to her. A smile came to her lips as she saw Damien laying underneath her until she realized what she had done.Gretchen slapped Damien's face and shook his shoulders as she tried to wake him, then she saw the wound the frenzied wolf who took her over created. “Oh God, what did I do? Damien!”She quickly pulled away from him and slid to the floor, then scrambled to put on her clothing. Gretchen knew that one of those psychics would know what she did and she didn't want to be stark naked when they showed up.“Oh, no! No! What did I do? Please be alright.” Gretchen frantically ran her hands through her hair as panic set in. Damien already had one bite, what would this do to him? She knew Tessa had two bites, but that was different. They were her both he
Gretchen's heart pounded against her chest as she heard Damien's door open and footsteps coming towards her room. She closed her eyes tightly and prayed Daniel hadn't changed his mind about killing her. Given the way he looked as he laid there bruised and naked, Gretchen thought he let her off easy.When her door opened she caught the smell of lemon and sage and her eyelids instantly parted. "Jesus, Damien," Gretchen said as she ran into his open arms. "Oh God, I thought I killed you. Are you alright, baby?"He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his face into the top of her head as he smelled her hair. "I'm alright. It'll take more than a little love bite to end me, my love.""I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do it, my wolf just took over and I couldn't control it." Damien smiled as he huffed through his nose, then he pulled away and looked down in Gretchen's face."I need to show you something, Gretchen. Y
Rosemary paced the hall frantically as she waited for Damien. When he pulled the bedroom door shut behind him, Rosemary sighed and came to him. "How is she doing?"He nodded towards the foyer and they started to walk down the hall. "She's sleeping finally. She remembers everything now."Rosemary clutched her chest. "That poor woman. Are you certain you should be leaving her alone right now?""There's no safer place for her in all the world, mother. Besides, I hardly have a choice. There are invaders at two borders."Daniel waited in the foyer and was putting on his cloak as they exited the hall. "I'm leaving Jason and Eason behind as Watch. How's Gretchen?"Damien shook his head from side to side. "She's seen better days."Daniel gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his shoulder. "You can take Rhett and the brigade to th
"You're so stupid, Gretchen. Why do you keep getting sucked back into their stupid goddamn mind games?"She paced the room as her embarrassment over being repeatedly mislead escalated into a fury that was quickly consuming her. "I can't believe I've been so fucking stupid. Rhett was right, I must be the most hardheaded woman on the goddamn planet. I must be pretty entertaining to you all." She walked to the bookshelf and grabbed a row of books then screamed as she threw them to the floor making Jason startle. "You mother fuckers are always telling me I need to remember and see the truth then you keep shit from me all the goddamn time." She pointed at Jason. "Every fucking one of you. Is this some kind of sick fucking game, Jason?"Jason shook his head. He grew up right beside Tessa and her husbands and was more than familiar with their family's poor tempers and tendency to act irrationally. He had warned Damien more than once that
As the burn of the cool air hit her lungs, Gretchen slowed to a walk as she traveled the path South through the forest. She stopped and bent over with her hands on her knees as she breathed in though her nose and out through her mouth.She took her bag of holding from her back then sat on a fallen log as she rummaged through the brown leather bag. After feeling around the inside, she found a whiskey bottle of Haldir's that she had cleaned out and put water in. While she sipped from the bottle, she thought back about the library.Having her other lives revealed to her had not had the effect that Damien thought it would. Gretchen didn't feel like she understood anything better than she did before, but she knew one thing to be true...Her father needed her now. She felt it in her bones when he looked into her eyes from the back of that horse in her vision.Being faced with the reality of her existence and having the final barrier to her mem