RheaThe boys stood there, unsure of what I was asking them. I knew what I wanted, and I knew they would give it to me. I just had to make them understand.“Are . . . are you sure?” Ezekiel asked. “You’ve had a rough night, maybe we shouldn’t—”“I want to forget,” I repeated, “and you can help me do that.”“Okay, okay,” Lionel said, raising his hands in surrender. “Just lay down, and we’ll get you to sleep. We’ll make sure you don’t have any dreams, either.”“No, that’s not what I mean!” I exclaimed, frustrated. Why weren’t they getting it? Did I really have to spell it out for them?I pulled my shirt over my head and threw it to the side. The boys all stopped and stared as I shucked off my jeans. I stood there in my underwear, hoping they understood. Judging by the lumps now in all of their pants and the blush creeping up their necks, they did.“I want you to help me forget,” I said a third time, looking directly at Ezekiel. “This is my wish. Can you do that?”
RheaI woke up and felt better than I had in a long time. I stretched and felt a little bit achy from all the physical activity, but it was a good burn in my muscles. I turned to see that Lionel and Zek were still naked and asleep next to me.My cheeks burned and I felt the instinct to cover up. I knew it was silly and foolish. They were my mates. I had slept with them so many times before but it felt different this time. I felt… awkward. I felt like I wasn’t sure I could be myself around them since I had been so open and vulnerable the night before. The previous night helped a lot with my anger and worries about Lionel and Zek but I wasn’t completely over everything. I didn’t feel completely secure yet—about anything. I got up quietly, headed for the closet, and got dressed. I felt a little shaky as I started to think about the monster and all the things still weighing heavily on my mind. I took a few deep breaths and tried to relax. I tried to remind myself they were still
RheaThe boys had been spreading the word for days. They sent information around to different packs and asked about the monster and Adonis. Adonis seemed to be an elusive mystery. No one really seemed to know anything about him. Several people had heard the name but no one knew anything else about him.It was like whispers of his name were all there were.I started to get concerned and a little discouraged. Perhaps this man had disappeared like my mother or died. My mind wandered through so many different scenarios about what could have happened and why he’d be impossible to find.Of course, there was the obvious—all I had was one simple name. I didn’t know his pack, his last time, or the type of wolf. I had no idea where he was originally, only the location where my mother ended up and sent the letter from.I groaned in frustration thinking about how little information I had. The task of finding the right Adonis seemed impossible. But the monster… the monster theoretica
RheaOur trail went cold. We couldn’t find the monster or any traces of it. Frustration built with every passing day. I just wanted to know what it wanted from me, and more importantly, why it called me by my mother’s name. I just wanted answers, and I was tired of not having any.Emma and Nina showed up at the pack house one day. They were glad the boys and I had made up, but that was the least of my concerns right now. I didn’t tell them that, though. I let them be happy for me. I hadn’t been happy with the boys for a while now, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to celebrate the little victories.Still, I was constantly distracted thinking about the monster. Where was it? What did it want? Did it want to kill me? I didn’t think so, but the option could not be discounted. I tapped my fingers on my legs, trying to keep myself in the moment. I tried to listen to what my friends had to say, but my thoughts drowned them out.“So, what’s going on?” Nina asked after a while. “You se
RheaThe monster huffed, its hot, smelly breath hitting me in the face. I tried not to wince. My eyes closed for a brief moment as it breathed on me. It looked at me, studying me like it had before.The mist swirled around its feet and leeched over to surround mine. It looked worse than it had the last time we met. More patches of fur were missing. I heard my mates behind me react to the ever-worsening smell of dead flesh and blood. Someone gagged, and everyone else made disgusted noises in the backs of their throats. The monster’s bright red eyes locked onto my blue ones. “Veronica . . .” it growled. It didn’t sound intimidating or frightening, though. It growled in a longing way like Veronica was the most important thing in the world to it.“I’m not Veronica,” I said with authority in my voice. I kept my shoulders and back straight, my chin high. With my powers, I was able to project my voice more than usual. “How do you know my mother’s name? Who are you?”The monste
Rhea“What? What did you just say?” I asked, demanding roughly from the monster. It took a step back and seemed agitated and confused. “Please tell me again! Tell me more!” I kept asking and moving closer to the monster but he kept backing up and getting more unsettled. I started to get desperate. “No. N—” it started to say but then shook its head, confused. It said nothing else, or at least nothing else human enough to understand. I could tell that it was getting upset and starting to lose focus. The boys urged me back but I pulled away from them. I couldn’t let it go. Not yet. They listened and let me keep going with the wolf, but they stayed close. Lionel looked ready to grab me and pull me away at a second’s notice.“Who are you? What’s your name?” I asked. But the monster shook its head and growled. It looked like it was having some sort of mental battle between how it was when it spoke and when it seemed more mindless and violent. I backed up and tried to give i
RheaThe whole room was eerie now as Emma leaned forward and kept her eyes on the ground. She continued like she was telling us some dark fairytale and we all listened intently. “I wasn’t sure in the beginning, though I couldn’t imagine what else could create a monster like that. Still, it wasn’t until I saw his reaction for myself that I knew it must be a curse. This is a seriously powerful curse from a strong dark witch.” Emma shuddered at her own words before continuing, “Dark witches are terrifying. They are completely outlaws—enemies of both werewolves and other witches alike. Most witches are good and work alongside werewolf packs when needed. They live outside the boundaries but they are peaceful and always willing to help. But dark witches…that’s another story. They are unfriendly to all and their magic is evil. It comes at a high price.” “So if it’s a curse we can ask another witch to look at him and break it, right? I mean they might not practice dark magic if they
RheaWhen I woke up, people were surrounding me, yelling. Someone held me. It took a second for the world to come into focus. I was still in my bedroom, but I appeared to be on the floor. I pushed whoever was holding me away.“Guys, she’s awake,” Dylan said, his voice coming from above me. I looked up, and he was the one who had been holding me. “Sorry, Dylan,” I mumbled groggily. I forced myself into a sitting position. Pain shot through my head. I pressed the heel of my hand against my eye, trying to use the pressure to relieve some of the pain. “What happened?”“You passed out from overworking yourself,” Gerard said. “We’re worried about you, Rhea.”“Yeah,” Ezekiel said. “You’re doing far too much in far too little time.”“You’re scaring us,” Lionel admitted, his voice small.Hot shame crept up the sides of my face. I didn’t mean to scare them. I just wanted to help my father be free of his curse. I looked down at my hands, hoping to hide the tears springing in