Michael walked through the bushes as stealthily as possible, which would not have been a difficult thing to do, had it been he was dealing with humans, but he was dealing with fellow werewolves, so there was every possibility that he would be heard if anyone happened to be close by. How Duncan expected him to find the prison, and the girl who was held in it, when he had never been here before, beat him, but he had to at least try. All of a sudden, he paused, because he could feel his wolf getting antsy and restless … something that hardly ever happened, and he did not for the life of him, understand why it should be happening now. Also, he was fast becoming aware of a scent that he could not quite figure out, and everything in him was pushing him to go find out the source of that scent, despite his best efforts to concentrate on the task at hand. His wolf was struggling to break free and run wild, and it took all of his willpower to stop that from happening. Following the exact direc
“Yes, I’m fine. Are you okay?” He asked her in turn, looking her over, and she nodded her head, her gaze carefully averted. By the time he turned to look at where the alpha he had been fighting with just moments ago was, there was nothing there. His opponent had run away. “How shameless.” Michael sneered at the empty ground. What a cowardly alpha this one was. “What?” The girl, his mate, asked him, clearly confused as to whether he was talking to her or to himself. He glanced briefly at her, trying to fight the undeniable attraction that he felt toward her, but he knew that it would be futile to do so. There was only one way to get rid of the attraction, and even though he knew it would be difficult, he would have no choice but to do it when the time came. From the shy side gazes that she kept giving him, he knew that he wasn’t the only one feeling the attraction. “Wasn’t talking to you. What’s your name?” He asked, scanning the area quickly to see if he would be able to find the ba
The boy had not even finished speaking when Sophia dashed back the way she had come, arriving at her mother’s side within minutes. The herbs that she had been gathering had been forgotten in her haste. Duncan hurried after her with them, followed by Toby, where they found Michael cradling Maria’s head in his lap and trying to soothe her, but there was nothing that could be done for her. Maria was coughing up blood now, and her eyes were barely focused. She had been unconscious for most of the night and was only just regaining consciousness, but it was clear that it wasn't going to be here for very long. They had obviously poisoned her with something and she was in severe pain. “Mom? Tell me what to do. Please, tell me what to do to ease your pain and heal you.” Sophia begged, kneeling beside her mom and wiping at the blood that oozed from the side of her mouth. “Please, leave us,” Maria said weakly, and the three other people, apart from Sophia, walked some distance away, out of ears
For the next three days, they traveled almost without stopping. The only time they stopped was when they needed gas and to buy food, which they did not even bother to eat in the place where they bought it, but ate in the car while driving. Michael did most of the driving, while Sophia sat at the back for most of the ride with Duncan. She barely spoke a word, more content to sit in silence and stare out the window. If not for the fact that she was grieving, she would have been beside herself with excitement. This was the first time in all her eighteen-plus years that she was leaving the pack territory. Of course, she had heard about the outside world and had imagined and fantasized about what it would be like, but the reality was even more intriguing. Although for most of the time, they passed through desert and forests, the houses that they had come upon filled her with awe. “Is this your first time coming out of your pack’s territory?” Duncan asked her, watching her closely as he ha
Michael had been driving for hours, after taking over the wheel from Duncan. He had insisted on them not stopping, as he could not shake the sense of urgency that he had for them to keep moving. He had a very good guess that they were being followed, and until they shook off their pursuers and lost them, they would keep driving. He was not about to lead a bunch of blood-thirsty werewolves to where he lived and have them come to attack him in his home. He supposed that it was not a wise thing to head home just yet, but he needed the comfort of his bed, and the familiarity of his home, especially as he planned on selling it off and moving on soon. It was only when that sense of urgency left him that he parked the car and asked Duncan to come down too, so they could talk. “So what’s the plan?” He asked Duncan, when the latter came over, a look of polite inquiry on his face. “Plan?” “You’ve had days to come up with a plan of how we’re going to kill that cowardly bastard who calls himsel
To say Michael was surprised by this move was an understatement. In fact, he was so surprised that he remained frozen in place as Audrey kissed him, and it was only when she moaned and shifted position to better enjoy the kiss that he gasped. Audrey used this welcome opportunity to slip her moist tongue into his mouth and moaned sensually, holding his head in place with her hands. Michael became aware of a low growl coming from somewhere within the room, and only then did he break off from Audrey, wiping at his mouth. What was wrong with this girl, and why could she not just take no for an answer for chrissakes? The growling continued and was getting louder by the second, causing Michael to turn to face the direction from which it was coming. It was Sophia who was growling, and to his horror, he could see that her eyes had turned from their normal brown color to an alluring amber color … except that they would be anything but alluring to Audrey, who even now, was trying to look around
By the time Sophia woke up, it was pitch dark in the room in which she slept. She had slept like the dead and had no idea of how much time had passed, but still, she had not awoken of her volition. Something had woken her up, so she lay still in the dark, all her senses on high alert. Then she heard it … the sound of low voices conversing. The voices were male and sounded like Duncan and Michael. Sophia got out of bed and padded downstairs, where she found them drinking beer and discussing. They paused whatever they were saying as she came in, and Michael looked at her, his gaze unreadable. “Sleep well?” Duncan asked. “Yes, I did. Thanks. Where’s Toby?” Sophia replied. “He’s upstairs still sleeping.” “Are you hungry? There’s some food in the kitchen if you are.” Michael told her, so she went into the kitchen and brought the food to the living room where they were to eat it. “Um, Sophia. We’ll be going out later today to the bank.” Duncan told her. “The bank? What for?” “Your lat
“I don’t understand why you’re trying to dissuade her from going with us,” Duncan told Michael angrily. “Oh, come on. She’s a fragile girl who just escaped from a hellhole and is quite vulnerable at this time. She doesn’t need to be charging off fighting unknown creatures just yet. You keep on claiming she has powers, but I saw the girl, and she was beside herself with happiness just because her eyes changed color and she grew claws. That’s the person whom you claim has the powers to face monsters and free your fiancée. Forgive me if I don’t believe that for a minute, but that is how it is. I’m not letting her walk straight to her death.” “What do you care about her, anyway? I’m her uncle, while you’re just some guy she happened to meet because he wants to avenge his family’s death. Do you think you have her interest at heart more than I do?” “Actually, I do. At least, I’m not the one rushing her off to do dangerous things not long after her mother died, when she clearly isn’t recov
The group set out not long after with Bandor. Michael carefully avoided Sophia’s gaze, although he could feel her eyes on him most of the time. What he was doing was for her own good, whether she knew it now or not. In time, she would be better for it. This time around, they came across some other houses, although not much. “Where are all the people who live in this dimension or whatever it is? We’ve not come across anyone else, except for those soldiers yesterday.” Michael asked, speaking to Bandor. “Hush! You have to forget that we met those soldiers and never mention them again. You never know who might be listening here. You could get in trouble.” Bandor said urgently. “Alright, I’ll stop yapping unnecessarily. So, when do you think we’ll get to where we can order hire a car or something? You do have a phone, right, Bandor?” Michael asked. They had had to leave their phones behind because Duncan had told them that they would be frisked and their phones and any other technologica
That night after Michael left, Sophia found it difficult to sleep, despite how tired she was. Before, Michael had been blowing hot and cold, leading her to believe this minute that he felt attracted to her as his mate and in the next minute as though she was only deluding herself. Still, she could have sworn that she saw the tenderness in his eyes, moments before his eyes turned cold, but now, she knew she was mistaken.Finally, she fell into a troubled sleep but was rudely awoken sometime around dawn when aggressive pounding came on the front door of Sally’s house, startling her, as well as every one else in the house, wide awake. They all met in the corridor and hurried into the living room to see that the door had been broken down and a bunch of Drupas soldiers were standing there and turning the whole living room upside down.“What is this madness? How dare you come uninvited into my home and make a mess of my home?” Sally shrieked at them in righteous indignation.“We’re looking
"What the hell just happened here?” Toby breathed in amazement. “It’s called a disappearing spell. I had Sophia do the spell so that their bodies will vanish without a trace and it will look like they absconded from their duty post. That should distract anyone who might be searching for them for a while. I can’t bury them in the backyard in case someone comes looking for them.” Sally told them all. “That makes sense,” Sophia said, trying her best not to stare at Michael, even though it was very difficult not to do so. He was all that she could think about. Now was not the time to be lusting after her mate, though, as they had more pressing matters to attend to. Take for instance, they still didn’t know how Duncan planned to rescue his fiancée from Damien of Monstergate. He kept changing the topic stylishly any time they asked him, causing Sophia to suspect that his strategy was not something that they were going to like at all. “What kind of creatures were those? I don’t think that
“What the hell?” He began but stopped short when he saw that the other soldier was dead too, along with two others whom he hadn’t even noticed, that had been running over to join the fray. Sally was standing still a few meters away with her eyes closed, chanting stuff under her breath.“Come on, quick! Gather the bodies. They must not be found, otherwise, we’ll be in serious trouble. It is a crime to kill soldiers in these areas, but they left me with no choice. Damn! This is a mess, and I hate this, but what’s done is done.” Sally said hurriedly, opening her eyes at last.“How did you manage to do that?” Sophia asked in wonder.“I’m a sorceress, and I used a very strong and terrible kind of magic to kill them, but we have to hurry, otherwise, more of them will soon be on the way here, and I’m already drained of power. Even if I wasn’t, I’m not sure that I’d want to kill any more of them, because the killings will be easily traceable to me. Now, Michael and Toby, pick up those bodies.
The small group of people trudged through the short savanna in which they found themselves. Michael carefully avoided Sophia’s gaze, even though it was very difficult to do so. He was acutely aware of her and her every move, as he was sure she was with his. She wasn’t even attempting to hide it.“Although this place does not look like the best place on earth by any means, I don’t think it’s as bad as we thought,” Toby said, breaking the silence that they were walking in.No sooner had he said that, than an arrow came flying out of nowhere in the growing dusk to land at Sophia’s feet, startling the living daylights out of them all. Michael immediately sprang to attention, growling at the growing shadows and all but ready to charge at whatever it was that had thrown the arrow.“Shhh!” the old woman - Sally whispered fiercely and urgently. There was a rustle in the shadows, and then out stepped three creatures who looked like human beings, except for the snouts on their faces and the thi
“What the hell?” Michael began as soon as they stepped to the other side, his facial expression showing utter disbelief. The expression on the faces of the others mirrored that of Michael’s as they all looked around, hoping that they were dreaming.“I don’t understand … how come we’re back exactly where we started?” Sophia asked no one in particular.“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I can’t believe it. What a waste of time! Duncan, what’s going on? Care to explain?” Michael asked, his tone suggesting that Duncan had better have a good explanation for this.“We have to go through the tunnel seven times before we get to the other dimension.” Was the nonchalant reply.“Whaaaat?!!” The other three chorused.“I’m sorry, but the rules guarding this particular portal are very rigid. I think it’s to deter nosy humans who manage to sneak past the security from entering into the other dimensions. It’s a shame it wasn’t enough to deter Vanessa from going there.”“So, what you’re trying to
They got to the portal around two in the morning the following day. Nothing eventful happened on their way here after the events of last night, and Sophia had not had a chance to use or test her powers again. She still felt the same, something that was quite disappointing, as she had thought that there would be something to show the fact. She was fast asleep, and so was Toby who was sitting beside her. “Alright, guys, we’re fast approaching the portal now,” Duncan announced loudly, waking Sophia up. Toby still slept peacefully, and as usual, was snoring loud enough to wake the dead. Sophia wondered how she had managed to sleep so soundly with him snoring right into her ear and then realized that getting her powers must have somehow drained her of energy. “Hey, Toby. Wake up.” She said, shaking him awake and looking around as she tried to clear the sleep from her eyes. They were driving along a very high fence that seemed to go on for miles before they finally arrived at a large gate
Michael had Duncan by the lapels of his shirt and was growling fiercely, while Toby tried unsuccessfully to pry him off poor Duncan, who was sputtering in indignation and trying in vain to free himself. Sophia could see why Michael was so distraught. She was still kneeling down in the same position in which she had been before her trance, with her eyes tightly closed as she remained unaware of her surroundings. “Make her normal this minute, or I swear to God that I’ll rip you into tiny pieces,” Michael yelled, not caring that he was practically choking Duncan, who was trying to convince him that he wasn’t responsible for what was happening to Sophia in vain. “Wait. Let me try something else. I swear I didn’t do anything to her. I don't know why she's like that. Please, let go of me.” Duncan managed to ground out. “Oops. I thought he didn’t like me or want me as his mate. How come he cares what happens to me and what doesn't?” Sophia told her parents. “Even if he doesn’t care, he ca
Sophia followed Duncan into the sparse bushes silently, her heart beating a mile a minute as she did so. If she failed to gain her powers, of which she was seriously beginning to doubt that she indeed had any, they were certainly going to be doomed. Duncan did not look like he had any intention of abandoning his fiancée in the other dimension, and neither would she want him to. Michael had promised to help him, so he had no choice but to do so, but aside from that, he did not strike her as someone who would abandon a mission all because he was afraid. From the little that she had seen of him, he seemed to be someone who thrived on dangerous situations a lot. Toby did not have where to go and was willing to follow the two men and do whatever he could to prove himself, and probably earn some money while doing it. That left her, who had gotten an escape route because of Duncan's fiancee, at least in a roundabout way, and there was no way she was not going to do everything she could to sa