"Don't you fucking touch her!" He roared at the older man, anger making him shake like a leaf.Instead of watching, I curled into a ball and retreated inside my head. I had built a safe space where harsh reality couldn't hurt me. It was a pillow fortress made from every single happy memory I could salvage from a childhood I could barely remember. Only about four years worth.Blackberry picking with Thomas and Lily. Eating more than we put in our buckets.Riding around on my father's shoulders, tiny pudgy hands grasping for wisteria blossoms overhead.Grandpa Zeckle teaching us about the constellations. Stargazing and pointing out the ones we remembered. Making up names and stories for the ones we didn't. "Silver?"Playing hide and seek with a few of the older kids."Silver?!"I furrowed my brows in concentration. I didn't want to go back there, not yet."Come on, snap out of it."Learning to swim in the river near the house. "Silver?" This voice was new, gentle, warm like hot cocoa
After that first trip to the infirmary, Logan kept a much closer eye on me. Any time someone tried to hurt me, he stepped in like my own personal guardian angel. There were still occasions when he was kept busy, but on those occasions, he would always help me to the medical building where Skye would patch me up and send me on my way.It was during one of these visits that I discovered why Logan trusted Skye around me without any protective or jealous tendencies. Skye had no interest in women, and that made him safe for me to be around."I don't have to worry about him pulling anything or trying to take you away from me." Logan had explained sending butterflies fluttering in my stomach. "You're too special for me to share."Sadly, the newfound protection was cut short when the Alpha caught on and began to actively separate us. While still infrequent, the beatings got more severe, and I was left to crawl to the medical building on my own, leaving a trail of blood."Dear God!" Skye hastil
I paused in dinner preparations for a moment, a tear trickling down my cheek as I thought back to how Logan had been when we first met. Before he got pushy about us mating and demanding of sex. Had it only been a few months ago?At first, I had been all for us mating. I loved him with my whole being. I wanted us to be together, always. Again and again, we would stand under the full moon trying to bind our souls."Soul by blood and flesh and bone. Here in your heart, my spirit is home. My strength is yours, thine will is my own. I'll be beside you wherever you roam." We spoke the words in unison while gazing into each other's eyes, and a warmth would begin to spread outward from my heart. The mating bond would start to form then as we stood breathing in sync.This completed the first half of the ceremony. The second half began when we raised a wrist to the other's lips and bit down. The magic in our blood would spill forth in that rush of crimson. A promise to provide. A promise to sha
"Father, stop!"Logan was suddenly there, pulling his dad away from me. "You could kill my pup!"He knew?My eyes popped open in shock, and I pressed a hand to the tiny baby bump under the overly large shirt I wore. How did he know? It was just a bundle of cells at this point. There wasn't even a heartbeat yet! So how?I watched as the Alpha's angry face shifted into one of surprise, and he looked down at me. I quickly averted my gaze until he looked back at Logan."Shit." He breathed. It actually sounded like he felt bad. Not for hurting me, of course, but for potentially hurting his grandpup."Take her to the healer, then come right back here." Alpha Greyson ordered. "Leah."My attendant snapped to attention. "Sir?""Take over on dinner." And with that, he left the room, calling out. "And clean this mess up!" As he went.I breathed a sigh and winced. Those broken ribs would be slow to heal, but this latest beating could be used to my advantage. I could blame the beating for a miscar
And there it was. The rare way that werewolves were made accidentally.Rabies.The magic that allowed us to change our shape was in our blood. Sometimes, a weaker wolf would catch rabies and then bite their tongue as they went on a rampage or breathe so hard that they could cough up blood from exertion. The blood in their mouth would then mix with the foam forming from the virus, making the salivary glands overproduce.If they attacked a human, then their blood could be transferred in a bite with the rabies virus. If the human got to a hospital in time, then the rabies could be eliminated, but the shape-shifting magic would still be there just waiting for the next full moon.I gave Skye a sympathetic hand squeeze, letting him know I was still here. He wasn't alone.He gripped my hand tighter and kept talking. "The wolf attacked me before I could move. All I managed was to get my arms up to protect my face. It's a bit of a blur after that. I remember blinding pain and screaming, then a
In some ways, my quality of life improved after that night. Logan held true to his promise and rarely let me out of his sight. I attended meetings with him seated on his lap, where I started to learn this pack's politics and more about the surrounding world. I ate meals the same way. My stomach couldn't hold much yet, so Logan just loaded extra onto his plate and shared it with me, feeding me one careful bite at a time.I was just happy to be getting full meals now. I wasn't going to risk upsetting him and losing my food privileges, so I wasn't about to complain.One thing that I had not expected in the slightest was for Logan to begin teaching me. I had a very basic understanding of how to read and write, but my math was terrible. He helped me with these and also taught me history, which I greatly enjoyed. Surprisingly, he also began to teach me self-defense."So you can protect our pups." Logan had explained. Fortunately, the years I had spent tackling all of the manual labor around
"Alpha Logan, Sir?" A small voice called, drawing both of our gazes to the child that approached."Adella," Logan greeted. "What can I do for you?"The little girl fidgeted with the hem of her dress looking nervous. "Mamma asked me to ask you… she said… Mamma wants to talk to you." She finished in a rush, pointing to a light blue cottage with white trim.Logan followed the child's pudgy finger and nodded, standing to offer me a hand up. "Shall we?" He asked.But Adella shook her head. "Not her." She said quickly. "It's a surprise.""Right then," Logan dropped his hand but smiled warmly at me. "I'll be right back, babe. Two minutes." He promised and kissed me quickly on the forehead before striding off with Adella.The smiling mask I wore slipped from my face as a feeling of foreboding settled over my shoulders like a thick wet quilt. Smothering.Something was going to happen, and it would not be good. All I could do was wait for it to find me.I didn't have to wait long before Leah ap
Skye took a breath to steady his hand and brought the scalpel to my skin.“Are you sure?”“Just do it, Skye!” I didn’t mean to snap, but I was already fighting down my trauma, and I wanted this over with before Logan came back.“Okay, okay.” The blade bit into my abdomen, opening a trail of red across the orange iodine stained skin. The pain was familiar and helped me focus on my breathing.I had chosen this. This was my choice. That thought helped me settle my panic down further, so I kept repeating it to myself like a mantra. Sky made several more overlapping incisions. Each time, the scalpel dipped further and further into the bloody cave he was opening. He moved with precision, working quickly but deliberately, brows furrowed together in concentration.“Almost there.” He murmured.A trembling breath escaped my lungs in a soundless whimper. The emotional pain was worse than the physical pain. But this was why I had requested a hysterectomy. I couldn't keep doing this. As much as I