Perrin
“Any clue what she wants?”
“I don’t really care,” I told Lo, devouring a massive plate of eggs and bacon.
“It’s not like she can grovel for your forgiveness,” Kira added, digging into her own plate.
Kira had knocked on my door early this morning, itchy and frustrated. She needed to run, I knew. And I had no idea where Ethan was to help her exercise her cravings out. I had hoped he mustered the courage to confront his mate. But Kira needed help, and trusting my mate to understand, I had tiptoed out of the room, Lo still sound asleep, and went for an easy six miles with her. I was still sore, after all.
We were enjoying a late breakfast with Lo in the kitchen now. She looked completely at
PerrinLO: I don’t really feel like going out to dinner. Is that ok?PERRIN: Sure thing. I’ll be back from the Lodge in an hour. Want me to grab takeout?LO: Yes please.Easy enough, I thought. On the way home Charlie and I swung by and picked up several dishes from my famous tapas place. Ethan picked up a few for him and Justin, though there was a mutual agreement between the two of us that we’d be eating separately tonight.“How did the training session go?” Lo said, placing the containers of food on her kitchen table. We were eating in her suite tonight, my bed and bathroom still a delightful mess from our exploits the night before.
PerrinLo gave me a look across the room. There was no mistaking the “I told you so,” look on her face.“Calm down, Kira!” I said, watching her pace and flail her arms around my room.“She was out of her mind!” Kira exclaimed. “First she was throwing pine cones at me, then she thought I stole something from her? Why the hell is she hiding out in the middle of the woods anyway?”I grimaced. I had no idea. But I listened as Lo explained her own awkward run-in with her earlier at the infirmary to Kira, who stared wide-eyed at my mate.“So she’s not only a sociopath, she’s legitimately crazy?”“That’s not helpful, Kir
Perrin It was all growls and glinting moonlight on jaws and teeth. I jumped, clearing him by inches at the last second, rolling messily into a nearby bush. Small sticks stuck to my fur, but I didn’t care. I had dodged the first blow. But he was fast. Impossibly fast. He had my tail in his jaw within moments, and I felt the puncture of his sharp teeth conjure blood that seeped hot into my fur. His bite was intense, the pressure behind his jaws unlike anything I had ever experienced. His strength was crushing, and my mind flashed with horror as I tried not to think about the pain or let the sudden fear consume me. He was not like any regular wolf. Whatever kind of wolf he was–he was beyond dangerous. I twisted away, kicking my hind
Perrin“How is he?” Lo rubbed my back as she sat down next to me.I let out a sigh. “Thanks for coming. He’ll be fine. Jennivah said he’ll be here for the night but she re-set his bones and he’s already healing.”“That’s great news!”I gave her a look. None of what happened was great news.“What is it?”I tried as best I could to explain who–or rather, what– we had fought out there. Her eyes widened as she listened to the wild beast we had encountered.“And he just
Perrin“What do you mean? You said she was here!” My voice was nearing a roar but my temper skyrocketed and Justin stepped between me and Gowan, trying to put space between us.“She had been here,” Gowan said lazily. “But pardon me for not babysitting your friend.”“Watch it,” Justin growled at him. “That’s my mate’s sister.”Gowan scowled right back, seemingly unnerved to have both of us coming for him. What he was to Justin now, I wasn’t sure. Justin had abdicated, so Gowan by default was now, who–Jesmane’s Beta? I shook my head. That was a problem for tomorrow.“I
PerrinNo place that Jack had in mind yielded results. And Justin met us halfway through our search, having returned to the clearing with the waterfall and still not finding any additional trace of her scent.“Where the fuck IS SHE?” I said, retreating once more to Charlie’s awaiting vehicle as we climbed back in. “She could be drowning somewhere in her own vomit and we wouldn't know.”“You really think she’d go off the deep end like that?” Justin asked calmly from the back seat.“I don’t think addicts can help themselves,” I replied bitterly.“Give her the benefit of the doubt,” voiced Jack from somewhere behind me.
Lo The ceremony was just about as exciting as I had anticipated. The lore, the history of the Sacred Call–it was incredible! Deidre’s recitations of the process were lovely. I hopped anxiously from foot to foot as she spoke. Perrin squeezed my hand. “Are you nervous?” “Not at all!” I said honestly. “This is exciting!” “Didn’t you just see Justin’s last year?” He mused, eyes watching my face. “Well, yes. But I was in the audience as an onlooker. This is different, seeing it all up close.” He let a low chuckle sound in my ear as he pressed a kiss to my temple. “Are you ready for our big debut?”
Perrin“Where is she?”“Upstairs.”“She just showed up?” She asked, a little breathless, making her way as fast as she could in her shoes.“I don’t know. Ethan mind-linked me right at the end. I think Dina found her outside in the back of the pack house.”Jack appeared at my side. “Can you handle the press?” I asked him urgently.“Me?” Jack asked, baffled. “Uh, sure. Ok. What do I say?”“Follow Mark’s lead. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”Jack nodded sagely and turned to face the flashing cameras.
EPILOGUEMarge shuffled through the archive, her shoes making the only sound in the quiet stone building, echoing all the same through the high vaulted ceiling of the church building above. She raised a gnarled hand to the shelf and deposited the book after two tries, her hands shaking slightly with the cold. There were only a few books to return tonight. Far fewer than there had been when Leila had been here.So why had she waited until this late in the evening to do it? She just shrugged and pushed on, the slow creaking of the cart’s wheels punctuating the silence, her old watch on her pale wrist noting the time; 1:45 a.m.She really had no business being there so late. But she had gotten caught up in one of her research projects, spread out across her circulation desk and totally lost in thought until the rumble of her empty sto
Perrin“How long is it going to take?”I sat on Lo’s bed as she shoved clothes into her suitcase. “Maybe a week? I’m not sure.”“Why don’t you just leave all of that stuff here?” I pointed at the suitcase. “It’s not like you’re not going to bring it back.”She heaved a heavy sigh, full of fake exasperation. “I still have to pack it to move it down the hall. It’s just easier if I do it all at once.”“Nah. Let’s just throw it all in some garbage bags and unpack later.”She laughed. “Hand me those shoes?”I strode over and picked a pair
Perrin “Because I never want to create a monster like my father.” Silence hung in the room. I digested each word, the implications of it. “But you’re not…” I said, more for myself than for her. “No, I’m not. He never got his hands on me. My little brother made sure of that.” And even though she spoke in a viscous, quipping way; there was a hint of something grateful in her tone. “So he won’t be anything like him!” I said, assuring myself more than anything. “Does it matter?” She snapped, regaining her typical composure. “If my father’s insane lust for power is hereditary, then it’s best that the blood line ends with me. At least my brother won’t be breeding any offspring considering he’s gay–” sh
Perrin I glanced at my phone, then at Lo. We had made love for several hours, refusing to stop until we had our fill of each other. But each time hadn’t felt like enough, leaving us drained and happy but wanting more. After one particularly hot session in the middle of my bed involving whipped cream, I pulled her close to me, blissfully peaceful with her cradled in my arms. I felt her stomach growl against my hands. And apparently hungry. I swept my mouth to her ear and felt her shiver against me, goosebumps appearing up and down her body. I fought the impulse to warm her with every inch of mine. “Do you want me to get you a snack?” I said, and waved the small can of whipped cream in front of her face so she could see. She hummed lazily in my
PerrinAnd it had happened like that.I recalled the broad strokes for my friends.“You what?” Ethan said, shocked and nearly angry. “You can’t make that kind of promise!”Justin shook his head sagely. “That’s free reign, Perrin. And a dangerous move, backing out of every challenge. It puts you at a huge disadvantage if anyone trespasses on your territory.”“Or attacks on your land,” Ethan said.“Or poses a border dispute,” said Kira.“How will you expand?” Ethan asked, c
PerrinI tried to cover the nail marks she had left on my shoulder with a spare set of scrubs from Deidre’s office. It was no use. The scrubs were too small, tugging comically at my shoulders and Lo’s pink cheeks and ruffled hair couldn’t be fixed.We had retreated long enough to ourselves, and I pulled us back into the world of the living and down the hall, walking hand in hand as we rejoined our friends.Ethan smirked when he saw us. “Nice.”Kira rolled her eyes, glancing at her imaginary watch. “Couldn’t you two wait?”“At least get a shirt,” Ethan added, eyeing my bare chest. I had ditched the scrubs, unable to get them over my chest.
PerrinWe didn’t talk as much, even though that had been the plan.I had taken one of the chairs opposite Deidre’s desk, hoping to keep my brain thinking platonically for as long as possible. But part of me was still in shock. I could smell the smell of her coconut shampoo. See the glimmer of her earrings in the desk lap. And I had felt the tips of her fingernails as I held her hand; the short ones that she chewed on when she was reading and lost in thought.But I knew it was definitely her the moment I felt my head slightly dizzy with the draft of warm honeysuckle, intoxicatingly perfect.I wasn’t shy, needing to have her by my side. I pulled her easily into my lap, and she didn’t protest, as if still quite unsure that all of this was really happening either. She swun
PerrinAs soon as Mark dismissed the crowd, the crowd had begun to descend from the stands in droves. It hadn’t taken long for Lo to find me, fighting the current and pushing her way against the flow of teaming bodies and up to the platform.I sensed her, long before she ran up the platform stairs, Justin hot on her heels. I dove past my father, darted behind Mark and ran to meet her, not caring for any protocol or public indecency. I needed her.Her scent hit me first. It made my blood sing and my heart beat so fast I thought it would stop.And then there she was. The sight of my home and my heart, running and slipping across the wet platform towards me.My weight almost buckled beneath me, the unexpected reality of seeing her here st
Justin The arena was packed. I could hear an excited roar from the crowd from behind the Lodge, drifting over the top of the massive building and floating through the chill evening air. Lo parked illegally in front of the entrance to the building. Now was not the time to point it out. A series of battered and limp-hanging banners and signs showed the way around to the back. It had rained today, apparently, and we made progress towards the arena as quickly as we could, sludging through mud and the trampled pathway. A stadium had been erected, filled to the brim with stands of onlookers, cheering and applauding in a range of darkened colors, soaked from the rain. Despite the bad weather, it hadn’t dampened their spirits. The crowd had been here all night, awaiting the results. Colored tents for each challenging pack were spaced ou