The storm had blown in quicker than I anticipated, darkening the skies and bringing with it a torrential downpour of rain. The heavy water droplets seemed far colder than should have been possible, but then maybe that was just the weight of everything happening under the cover of the storm. Lightning flashed across the sky giving brief moments of illumination to the gray clouds and darkened forest, in the otherwise black night. I had been forced to move my timeline up. The rains didn’t usually start for another month. I had been planning this for the last six months. I had set everything in motion last week when I knew the storm would be coming in. It was time to do away with Liam and Gwydia De’Lune. I would take what I wanted this time, instead of settling for what I could get. I had been working with a group of rogues and a handful of pack members tha
~Alyce/Faelyn~ I tossed and turned in my bed, unable to find any kind of peaceful sleep. I never sleep well this time of year. Nightmares would chase me down, pestering me until I could no longer avoid them. It was usually a good two week time period from start to end before I could begin to return to normal. Nine years. It had been nine years since the night I lost everything. Nine years since my family had vanished. Nine years since I had arrived at the Red Moon pack, sold to them as an Omega and essentially forced to work as a slave. Just eight when it happened, I still didn’t understand why I was spared unlike the rest of my family. The few memories of the night that I could recall had become hazy over the years. His face though… His face I would never forget. It was seared into my brain with such clarity that there would be no mistaking I had the right person when I came for him. Of that I was sure.
It was time to get cooking, pun intended. I ignited the gas burners on both stoves, lowering the griddle tops down over the burners and then turned to preheat the oversized double wall oven behind me. I lived and worked in the pack manor, which since I was the sole cook here I was thankful for. I cooked for Alpha Andrew and Luna Nora, Beta Ethan and his mate Bethany, Gamma Levi and his mate Christine, Delta Jake and his mate Faith and their son Matheau. Theo and Dean also usually ate in the pack manor. They were the future Alpha and Beta, both sons of Andrew and Nora. Thankfully Jewel, the daughter of the Beta, usually ate at the pack house; she was convinced I would spit in her food. Since I cooked buffet style I’m not sure how I would target just her food, but whatever. It kept her away from me for longer. She was my biggest tormentor. I had thought about leaving the pack more than once to get awa
~Andrew~ I could feel the muscles in my jaw tick, it was too early in the morning for this shit. Nora slipped her arm into mine and I calmed a little and my muscles relaxed. I didn’t like Alyce. She was forever a thorn in my side. Her stubborn streak and hard headed attitude were constantly forcing me to deal with petty squabbles amongst the younger wolves in my pack, usually brought about by her actions. I could feel my wolf, Oscar’s, annoyance as he paced in the back of my mind. He was as fed up as I was with this, *Let’s just put an end to this. I would like to have some peace and quiet today.* He growled at me. *Agreed.* I responded. I had never wanted to bring her into the pack when the trader brou
**WARNING: Following chapter contains sexual assault and description of abuse. You can skip this chapter if needed.** I had spent two weeks down in the isolation hole and while I had been prepared for the torture they inflicted. I had not been prepared for the surprise guest that showed up and their actions. Whether they were planned or not I will never know and it makes no difference. My visitor had made it onto a particularly specific list of mine and that was not a list anyone wanted to be on. Nor was it really one I wanted to add to, there was only one way off it and that was death. I shuddered a bit as memories of my time in the isolation hole flooded my mind. **Flashback** Ethan and Levi had carried me into the isolation hole with no resistance from me, even when they stretched my arms above my head and secured my wrists in the shackles that hung from a thick ceil
I had endured another three days of torture before Ethan had finally released me, throwing clothes at me, “Get dressed and go get cleaned up. We have a 3rd pack joining the banquet and the Alpha wants to see you about the additional preparations. Do not keep him waiting, and do not open your mouth about Vincent’s visit.” He snarled at me. I glared at him as I dropped to the floor. My legs were shaking and my muscles were too sore to take my sudden weight. I summoned all the physical strength I had left and got to my feet, putting on the sweats and t-shirt that he had thrown at me. I was drowning in the clothing that was far too big for me and it reeked of Vincent. I began to wonder if they had planned this. Everyone knew of Vincent’s infatuation with me over the last couple of years. Had Vincent planned to do this all along? To take what he couldn’t get willingly, while I wasn’t able to fight back, while
~Matheau~ I heard my mother shout Alyce’s name and went running down the stairs. Alyce had been my best friend since she arrived in our pack. She hadn’t always been so mistreated. Overworked and treated like trash, yes, but the physical abuse hadn’t started until she was about 12 or 13 and her personality really started to shine through. Thankfully Aramyth came on her 13th birthday and has been able to help keep her strong the last 4, almost 5 years through it all. I jumped the last 3 stairs and growled as I watched Alyce pass out in my father’s arms, “I’m going to kill them one of these days, I swear it!” “Calm down Matheau, she’s safe. She will be ok, she is the strongest person we know. Outbursts like that will only make things harder for her than they already are.” My mother spoke softly, sorrow in her eyes, “Let’s get supplies ready.”
~Alyce/Faelyn~ I groaned, my entire body was so sore it felt like it was on fire. My eyes fluttered open, squinting against the sudden assault of light coming through the kitchen window. Slowly I lifted my head, looking around to get my bearings. I remembered leaving the Alpha’s office. I remembered making it to Matheau’s and then it was just blank. I blinked a couple times as everything came into focus, I was laying on their kitchen table, various medical supplies both new and used were laying about. Matheau was slumped over the table, head on his arm and drool on his cheek. I grinned a bit at the sight wishing I had a way to take a picture of it for later. I shifted my head so I could look towards the living room, Faith and Jake were on the couch, sleeping propped up on each other. They must have all been with me throughout the night. They truly were amazing people. “Matti
It seemed like time flew by in the coming days. Ivy and I had spent much of it in the Luna’s Library, scouring records and documents for any bit of information we could find. That was a task in and of itself and produced little concrete information.We had found a few mentions of confirmed traits and skills in the previous Crimson Wolves as well as mentions of potential Fae traits as well. We used the information we found and the bits and pieces that Ivy recalled from her time spent with my mother and the Fae that would come into the region to create a list of potential skills I, and even possibly Rian, could end up with.I explained to Ivy about the change in my eyes the previous week and we had tried to keep a vigilant eye out for information on that particular oddity, but no luck. We sat down at one of the tables where we had been taking notes and organizing them.“So we have a decent list after our days of hard work.” Ivy smiled at me as I rested my chin in my hand, worn out from
It was roughly half an hour before I had the burritos all made up, including some for the boys when they returned, keeping them warmed in the oven, not that we would necessarily tell them right away. It was another half an hour before we heard the boys coming down the hall, “Rian! Walking feet please!” Tristan scolded him in a manner that was firm, but gentle as it carried down the hall. “Sowwy Daddy.” Rian called back. He sounded closer and I assumed he had run ahead of the others in his excitement. I heard the door knob wiggle and Kami got up to unlock it and let Rian in. She reached out and scooped him up, shutting and locking the door again just as Brandon got to it, essentially slamming it in his face. “Oh come on girls! Let us in!” Mat sniffed the air. “I smell breakfast… Aly! Did you make what I think you made!?” he hollered at the door. Kami and I were giggling on the other side of it. She carried Rian to the table and set him up with his own smaller burrito, “There’s a
It was a good 30 minutes before Brandon and Kami made it to the dining hall. Both of them were soaking wet. He had actually dumped her in the lake! And joined her for that matter. Whether or not it was voluntary on his part or she drug him in with her was yet to be known. My eyes widened as the two of them came walking in the back doors of the dining hall. Tristan’s brows furrowed at my expression. Mat and Cedric were sitting across from us and thus could not see Brandon and Kami walk in, both looking perplexed at me and Tristan as well. It was only a moment or two before whispers and some scattered snickering filled the hall at the sight of the soaking wet pair. “He actually did it…” I pointed towards the two, drawing the boys’ attention to them. Mat and Cedric turned, not even trying to hide their amusement at the sight. Kami was trying to maintain a scowl as Brandon was laughing and teasing her. Cedric got up and headed out of the dining room, towards the downstairs shower room.
“Good morning, Alyce darling.” Faith hugged me tightly.Jake wrapped me into a hug and lifted me off my feet, causing me to squeal in surprise and laugh. He set me back on my feet, kissing the top of my head. “You look like you’re adjusting well.”“I am, thank you.” I smiled up at him and he mirrored it, “How are you two enjoying your new space? Is everything working out ok?” I really wanted them to feel comfortable in their new home and pack.“It’s wonderful Alyce, really. Stop fretting.” Faith smiled reassuringly.“Good. Be sure to let me know if you need anything. Promise me. You two have taken care of me for years. Now I get to take care of you, even if only in some small way by comparison.”“Nonsense. You’re the daughter we always wanted. We’re family.” Jake’s tone implied that was the end of that. I just smiled.Tristan pulled me into his side and kissed my temple. “And I couldn’t be more grateful for the wonderful family you have.”“We have.” Faith corrected him. This just made
~Alyce/Faelyn~ The alarm went off at 5am, stirring me into a semi-conscious state and eliciting a groan of protest from me. I was currently laying on Tristan’s chest, his arms wrapped around me like he was afraid I might escape in the night. His fingers were playing up and down my spine, his eyes still closed as I snuck a peek up at him from beneath my lashes. “Good morning, gorgeous.” He murmured softly, still not bothering to open his eyes or make a move to get out of bed. “How did you know I’m actually awake? I could have just been shifting in my sleep?” I slid up his body enough that I could press my lips against his softly. “Good morning.” “I could feel your eyes on me. I can always feel your eyes on me when you’re looking at me.” A coy smile formed on his lips as he opened his eyes to look at me. “Not my fault I can’t keep my eyes off you.” I laughed and rolled off his chest, sitting on the bed next to him. I knew without looking that his smile had grown wider at my laugh. S
~Alyce/Faelyn~ Kami and I had checked the rec room, to find it pretty well deserted. No sign of the boys. So we passed through and continued on our way to the dining room, Rian between us, holding both our hands. We would occasionally swing him up off his feet as we walked, eliciting a giggle from him. We paused in the doorway to the dining room, both of us looking around, expecting to see the boys. There was no sign of them. There also seemed to be less people than normal in the room. “Odd, they’re not here either… So where are they?” Kami asked. “And everyone else for that matter.” I scooped Rian up into my arms and crossed the hall with Kami. “Also a good question.” One of the older kitchen staff caught my eye as we walked through and motioned to the doors to the back lawn with an amused grin on his face. I smiled at him and gave a nod in thanks. We headed to the doors, slipping out them to find a small crowd of pack members watching Tristan, Cedric and Mat dog pile on Brando
I pulled her into my arms and wrapped them around her tightly, holding her close. She instantly buried her face against my neck, inhaling my scent. After a few moments her aura receded and she lifted her head, looking up at me. Her eyes had changed, well one had anyway, her left one was now a translucent red instead of her usual translucent pale green. I didn’t try to hide the shock on my face. “What is it? What’s wrong?” She looked at me, searching my face for the answer. “Your eyes Aly… They’re different…” “What do you mean they’re different?” She glanced over at the others as if looking for confirmation. “Holy shit Aly, one is red!” Mat jumped off the couch, walking over to inspect her eyes. “What?” She jumped out of my arms and ran to the bathroom to look at them in the mirror. “How?” *Aramyth, do you know anything about this?* She did notice the mind link did not cause her eyes to haze over at all though and she could track both the internal and external going ons. That wou
Mat, Cedric and I were waiting on the front steps as Alyce and the group pulled up to the pack house. We had gathered a handful of Omegas to help with the unloading as well. I could see Will driving, and once he had come to stop, our group descended down the stairs to meet them. “Daddy!” I could hear Rian’s excited proclamation as I opened the rear door. I chuckled a little and couldn’t help but draw in a breath as I was also greeted with Alyce’s radiant smile as well. “Hello my loves. Did you two have fun?” I helped Alyce out of the truck before reaching in to undo Rian’s buckles and help him out as well. “Yeah! I got two selfs!” Rian took my hand pulling me towards the back of the truck where everything was. “It wasn’t the worst shopping trip I’ve ever had to endure.” Alyce giggled at Rian’s actions as she spoke. “Whoa Rian. Slow down.” I scooped him up into my arms, laughing a bit myself. “I know you’re excited, and I am super excited to see what you picked out, but let’s get
~Tristan~ We listened to the ring on the other end of the line. Titus, Brandon and I collectively held our breath as we waited. I had put the call on speaker phone after instructing both of them to be quiet and merely listen. A gruff voice picked up on the third ring, “Silver Moon, Alpha Lucian speaking. State your business.” I’m not sure what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it. I quickly recovered from my momentary lapse of speech, “Good evening Alpha Lucian. This is Alpha Tristan of Moonlight Pack.” “I see. What can I do for you, Alpha Tristan?” Lucien was cold and sounded as though he was irritated by the phone call. “I have a pack member who is looking to find a chosen mate. His fated mate passed away many years ago. He is originally from Silver Moon and was hoping to perhaps visit his home pack and start his search there. I would, of course, never expect you to invite a virtual stranger, original pack member or not, into your lands without meeting them first. So I was calli