As promised, I was permitted to go back to sleep once the guests had left. I wasn't tired anymore, but if I was going to run tomorrow, I was going to need my rest to gather all of the strength that I possessed. I managed to nap a little, but mostly, I thought about how I would escape. Patrols would be doubled with the lykaon nearby, and those four males hunting it could also pose a problem. I either needed to get enough of a head start that they couldn't catch up or find a way to slow them down. Pondering my options, my mind drifted to a little plant that I had thought of using on myself, but Silver had never allowed it. Now, it might give me the time I needed. The little wolfsbane had grown considerably despite my best attempts to prune it back to keep it hidden. It looked lush and vibrant, tucked against the wall where it grew despite the late February chill. The small buds had barely begun to form, but when they opened in several months, they would open into beautiful purple b
Skye gestured for me to follow him from the office to a small adjoining room that held a sink in the corner. “Thanks.” I gave my hands a hasty scrub with the antibacterial soap under some very hot water. When a quick sniff check confirmed that I had gotten all of the plant juice off my fingers, I sighed and dried my hands on my shirt, leaving dark smudges on the gray fabric. “Okay, well, if we're going to be leaving soon, we should probably start making a plan and packing supplies.” Skye mused. He folded one arm across his chest, tucking that hand in the elbow of his adjacent arm while tapping his chin with the other hand. His hazel eyes sought the ceiling in thought. “Do you know how long we'll be traveling?” He asked, turning his gaze to meet mine briefly. I shook my head, and he hummed. “We won't need a tent or sleeping bags since we can sleep in our fur. I won't be able to run on four legs, so stealth will have to be our prerogative.” “My wolf should be big enough for you t
The Healer and I mirrored each other as our heads whipped to face the speaker, identical expressions of horror marring our features. There in the open doorway stood Alpha Greyson, and he was pissed. I could only imagine how much of our conversation he had overheard since I was so engrossed in storytelling that I hadn't heard, or even sensed, his approach. Dread settled in my stomach like a ball of iron and turned my knees to jelly. How could I have been so careless? I was usually so alert! “Fuck.” The word spilled from my mouth and cracked through the still air like a whip. This was exactly the kind of thing that I was hoping to avoid. Greyson growled low in his throat, expecting me to drop my gaze and show my belly like a good little submissive wolf, like the weak pathetic thing he had tried to make me. “No time to pack, Skye. We go, now.” I growled back at Greyson and shifted. I quickly realized that not taking my clothes off before shifting was a huge mistake as the fa
I could see the path weaving through the trees, laid out before me like a silver glowing ribbon. The moon's pale light gave my tired body enough strength to dart beyond the jaws snapping in my wake.I ran as I had never run before, still breathing hard but no longer feeling faint.The pure terror that had gripped me lessened its chokehold as the fluttering of Hope began to unfurl in my chest, yearning to take flight. The Moon Mother was with us. She was guiding us to freedom. She was guiding us…To a chasm!The path before us clearly led to a wide yawning mouth in the earth from which the sound of rushing water assaulted my ears.But there! The path led over the rift by way of a decaying Fir tree. It would be extremely risky, but the Goddess was on my side. She had led us here. So we had to make it, right?“Oh fuck!” Skye whimpered, barely audible over the blood rushing in my ears and the river roaring from its bed. “No, no. Kendra, no!”But my paws had already hit the gertiatric log
I found myself cradled to Skye's warm chest instead of falling to my doom as he shuffled along the fallen giant. The Healer kept his weight balanced and low, moving with slow deliberation so as to not stress the fracture that I had made. “What…?” Was all I could manage through the tears as I looked up at the taller male. “You carried me this far. I can carry you across one stupid ravine.” Skye's jaw was set in pain, and I didn't need his gift to know that his left arm was causing him tremendous pain with every subtle movement. Over his shoulder, the three pursuing wolves were gaining on us, and more had begun to clamber up the gnarled exposed root ball of the old Fir. We weren't going to reach the other side. “You have to leave me, Skye.” I begged, tugging on the front of his shirt like a child. “You can make it out of here, but not like this. Not with me weighing you down.” “Shut up.” Skye growled and clutched me tighter. “I'm not leaving you.” “But-” “God dammit, Ken
My father never wanted kids. He couldn't stop my mother from having me, but once I was here, he was wrapped around my little finger. I was his little girl, his princess. My mother was missed dearly since she had died giving birth to me, still, I was loved, and no one blamed me for her death. The entire pack treated me like their own pup, and their kids treated me like a sister. We were a tight knit community. I was always happy. Our pack was happy. Happy until the first full moon after my seventh birthday. Happy until I was stolen.
I sucked in a deep breath of forest air and let it out in a gust that drifted away like a ghost. The most prominent smell was my pack, with undertones of night mixed with trees and small animals. I had always had a good sense of smell, but now it was even better!I looked over at Thomas and Lily, who lay on their sides panting and trembling with exertion. Thomas was sleek and dark brown with a white V running from his shoulders down his chest and along his stomach while Lily was a lighter brown with a gray splash across her left cheek. I waddled over and flopped on Thomas, chewing on his ear happily and committing his scent to memory.Thomas let out a groan struggling to move out from underneath me but too tired from the shift. "Get off, you lump." Thomas thought grumbled to me.Now that we had shifted, we had access to the telepathic link stemming from my father that bound our minds together. This link was what made us Pack instead of just werewolves.I decided to be nice and roll of
I thought the pounding in my head was what had woken me from sleep, but soon, a sound began to register through the fog in my brain. Someone was crying. Was it Lily? She had bad dreams sometimes."It was just a dream Lily, go back to sleep.""My n...name isn't...isn't Lily. It's Rain." At the unfamiliar voice, my eyes snapped open, and I sat bolt upright scattering scalps of cloth. Lightning shot through my head at the sudden movement, making me curl forward, clutching my throbbing temples with a whimper.“Don’t...don’t move too... too fast if you can hel... help it.” I groaned in acknowledgment and tried to uncurl slowly.The room was almost completely dark, except for a sliver of light peeking under what looked like a door up a flight of stairs. To my right sat the girl who had spoken. Her white-blonde hair glowed faintly in the darkness, allowing me to see her face. Subsiding tears had washed rivers through the dirt smudged cheeks that were too hollow. Her eyes were also sunken in,