James arrived at the small apartment complex on the edge of town. He couldn’t help but wonder why Greg wouldn’t have done what the Alpha told him to do; if Greg was anything like he remembered, he wouldn’t ever do anything that could make the alpha angry. As he walked the concrete steps to the second floor, he got the nagging feeling that something was wrong. He knocked on the door and part of him relaxed a little when Lily answered the door. She frowned at him and gave him that look Tony had told him about earlier. What the hell did he ever do to make her look at him like that?
“What’s up?” she asked and moved aside so he could come inside. He walked into the quaint little living room and was about to explain why he was there when he smelled it, the scent of the werewolf he had been searching for these past days. James tensed, looking around for the werewolf.
Lily watched the two werewolves, if they could be called that anymore, fight each other. James flew crashing close to where she was. She shrieked, backing up away from him, afraid to be caught in the middle. He turned his attention toward her with a soft growl and she shrank against the wall, not sure just how much of him was James the man and how much was an uncontrollable rabid beast. The fake Greg came crashing down onto the distracted James. She cried out in surprise and realized she had to get out of the house. She ran towards the door of the apartment just as they wrestled over to the spot where she was at.Lily took a deep breath of fresh air once she got out of the apartment and thanked God she had left her phone in her pocket after that strange call instead of leaving it where she did. She tried to dial the familiar number, but her fingers were shaking so much it was difficult to hit the correct b
Once they arrived at the house, Sandy swallowed Lily in a suffocating hug, showering her in kisses while Andrew, Chris and Tony took James out of the car. Sandy released Lily for a moment to check on James. Lily heard her take a sharp intake of breath as she looked over at him. “My poor boy,” she said with a saddened tone. “Go on and take him to the guest room. It’s already prepared, thank goodness,” Sandy added, then turned back to Lily and gave her another hug.“It’s good that James went over there when he did,” Sandy stated. Lily remained silent, not wanting to admit how right her mother was. “Go on upstairs and put your things in your old room, Sunshine,” Sandy told her, and Lily gave her a tight squeeze. She hated to have to depend on them again. Especially since she wanted nothing more than to stand on her own two feet, but she knew that if
Lacy entered Lily’s room during the evening with a steaming bowl of Sandy’s special chicken noodle soup. “Hey Lily pad, how are you feeling?” she asked with a soft tone and Lily smiled at her.“I am fine, just hot,” she told her friend, who set the little tray on the bed. Lily had opened the window and made a paper fan to fan herself with. She’d changed into a small tank top, and small thin short but she was still sweating like crazy. “My luck sucks right now,” she added, pulling the tray into her lap. “I get threatened, beaten, robbed, threatened again, lied to; witness two giant beasts fight each other and now a cold,” she listed grumpily, and Lacy smiled.“Did a black cat cross your path or something?” Lacy teased, and she smiled a little at the blond.
The young boy pushed his soggy hair out of his eyes. Powerful gusts of wind lashed at him, and the rain beat him to the point the drops almost hurt when they crashed into him. The thunder roared in fury, a fury James felt inside him, but he didn’t know why or what against. Lightning tore across the dark sky, allowing him brief seconds to glimpse the surrounding forest. He heard a hint of something on the wind that chilled him. Was the man coming after him? Terror struck the boy like he had never felt before.He couldn’t let that man take him back to the dark room. The boy ran as fast as he could. James wasn’t sure where he was going, and he didn’t care as long as it was away from the man, the dark room, and the needles. Bright lightning ripped through the sky and blinded James, causing him to trip on a tree root. He could hear them coming after him now. They most likely were the man
He returned to the alpha’s, house keeping his eyes and nose alert for anything that he might have missed the first time. The alpha looked hopeful when he returned, but James shook his head from side to side.“Nothing?” Andrew asked, the disappointment clear in his voice.“I wasn’t able to find Greg, but I found something. The imposter crossed paths with Greg. I can’t tell if it was at the same time or not, but I am pretty sure it means that they got him,” James explained.“They took Greg, but why? Greg isn’t strong; he doesn’t have a prominent position and what could they want from him?” Andrew asked, echoing James’ own doubts.“What worries me more is why they removed the real Greg to put some
Lily stared at the ceiling of her old bedroom and watched the morning sun fill the room as she enjoyed a few moments of doing nothing. She had spent the last two days attempting to reschedule her school workload, find another job, and appease her landlord. The school was time-consuming, but she’d cut down her six classes to three. There weren’t any other crime labs in the area, so she was going to look for something minimum wage which would hurt her bank account. The landlord flipped when he’d seen the apartment and started threatening to call the police, press charges, sue, and any other legal action he could think of.If it wasn’t for Andrew stepping forward and offering to repair the damage done and pay for all of it his own pocket while also paying the rent due each month until the apartment was good as new, she wasn’t sure what she would have done. She tried to offer to pay back the money to Andrew, b
That evening Lily felt uneasy and uncomfortable when Andrew called the Roberts family, Doctor Thompson, and James, into the living room to explain what she had told him. Lily feared how everyone would take the news, especially Liz and Chris. Would they understand or would they end up thinking that she was just like what the rest of the pack thought of her: a wannabe werewolf that wormed her way into the alpha’s family?“First, until we know who the traitor is, none of the information of which I’m about to discuss can go outside this room. Is that understood?” Andrew started and everyone nodded, looking a little confused. “I’ll go straight to the point...it is quite possible that Lily will be one of us after the full moon,” he started, and everyone gasped in surprise. They began shooting off questions, but Andrew held up his hands to silence the room.
He laughed silently in pleasure as he watched Lily leave the shed. God, Andrew was so predictable. Well, at least it made his job a lot easier since he wouldn’t have to go looking for her in the woods. She slowly made her way up the porch steps towards the house. She obviously didn’t believe him, probably thought he was playing with her. Not that he could blame her, he did enjoy toying with her.He ruffled his fur, watching her scream and fall to the floor as she started her first transformation. The observer chuckled silently, wondering what was going through her mind. He smiled with morbid pleasure as she changed into her wolf form. She was dark black, which highlighted a cobalt blue in the moonlight. Satisfaction filled him; he had chosen the perfect woman for his plan.He watched her get up with clumsy stiffness and decided that now was his chan
“So,” she said slowly, and he was sure she felt as awkward as he did right now. “What brings you over here today?”“Besides the fact I want to spend some time with my son?” James asked, a little bitterly, and he saw her wince even though she tried to hide it. He knew it was wrong, but it made him feel a slight feeling of satisfaction. “I came here to let you know I want to spend Saturday with him.”Lily seemed to think about something, then nodded. “That sounds good. I heard the weather is going to be nice then, and I saw a cool park on main street,” she said and James was again a little surprised that not only did she have any problems with it but thought it was a good idea.“Good, so I’ll be here around ten?” James asked, and she nodded.“I’ll have him ready by then,” she offered. He returned her nod and stood up, about to leave, but Sandy insisted James stay for dinner, not that he put up a fight to leave. Her cooking was the best he had ever eaten, pl
James put his tools in the back of Freddie’s truck, feeling famished and ready to eat. “Hey James,” he heard someone called after him. Damn it, he swore silently. Why did everyone bother him when he was about to eat? He turned to see Chris walking up to him. What was he doing there? How’d he even know where to find him?“Hey Chris, what’s up?” He asked as he grabbed his food and took out the large sandwich he made that morning.“Well, I was wondering if I could talk to you about Lily,” Chris offered, and James sighed with a shake of his head.“What about her?” He said with an edge to his voice, but honestly, he didn’t care. What more was there to talk about that woman?“I know things are a bit messed up and you’re mad, but I wanted to ask if you would go easy on her,” Chris said and James scoffed as he took a bite of his sandwich. “Look James, she’s been through a lot during the time she’s been gone,” he added, with a hint of anger in his voice. James was getting angry.“Yeah, yeah, y
“So what are we really doing?” Chris asked once they were outside.“Well, first I'm really going to check out the town so I can be seen. Remember, I got to make sure it’s well known that I’m back in town,” Lily told them as they walked to her old car inside the garage. She really hoped it would start considering the layer of dust covering it. “I also thought about visiting Lacey,” she said quietly as they got into the car. Chris shot a pained look in her direction.“That one you’ll have to do without me,” he told her with a frown and she returned his frown.“I think you should go with me, Chris,” she replied as she attempted to start the car.“No, Lily. I’m not going,” he said firmly. She sighed, knowing he wouldn’t change his mind and continued to coax her car into starting. Finally, it started and purred to life and Lily smiled. I knew I could count on you, baby, she cooed silently.“Alright Chris, I won’t ask you again,” Lily told him as she backed out of the garage and down the dr
“But you hate me,” James said, sitting up when she admitted to wanting to be friends. His look grew more intense, and her nervousness spiked. She almost demanded that he quit looking at her like that, but she knew the situation was already on thin ice and that would make it worse.“I don’t hate you, James, and I didn’t hate you…not really. You were just a convenient target for my anger,” she told him, repeating Charlie’s words almost word for word. For a moment he kept giving her that look, making her squirm in her own skin.“So you don’t hate me and you want to try to be friends,” he repeated as if he wasn’t sure what he was hearing was correct and she stated once more that was what she wanted. “Alright, we’ll let the past stay in the past and start new. Deal,” he said.“Deal,” she replied, not feeling as happy as she’d thought she would. James agreed to start fresh, try to be friends, and he hadn’t mentioned mates at all. He got up from the bed and started towards the door.“James,”
Lily walked over to the rickety old desk and opened a drawer. Digging through old papers and reaching way in the back, she found what she was looking for. Lily sat on the bed and looked at the framed picture. She brushed the dust away with a sigh as she examined the three smiling faces. The man was tall and strong, with long dark raven hair and a bronzed complexion. His hand was on the little girl’s shoulder. She had the same dark hair and complexion. He always seemed so strong, Lily thought with a small smile. She turned her attention to the woman.Her brunette hair was cut in a type of pixie style; she was wearing a black tank top with cut-off shorts. She loved to wear them when the summer heat came. This was the only picture she had that her mother wasn’t high, drunk, or looked like she’d rather be anywhere else but there. Maybe that was my fault too, Lily thought as she remembered one
That could have gone better; Lily thought as she closed the porch door and walked towards the fireplace. But when she thought about it, Lily couldn’t say she was surprised. Deep down, she knew he was right. She was being selfish and…a coward. With a sigh, Lily warmed her icy hands. She didn’t feel the cold while she gave her vampire more control than the lycan. Lily had learned how to play with the balance between them and herself to work to her advantage.“Hey Lily, I would like you to meet our new lead enforcer and his family,” she heard Andrew say, and she turned to her father. The new lead enforcer was a bulky and tall man. One that looked like he could crush a man’s skull just using his biceps and next to him was a smaller woman, smaller than she was, with curly brown hair and hazel eyes. With them was a little girl who eyed her with curiosity. “This is Darien Smith,” Andrew introduced him.“A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Nawassa,” he said in a deep, smooth, baritone voice.“Thanks,
James felt a sense of relief, knowing that the little boy didn’t have to face the duality of Lily’s existence, but sorry to hear he’d be like him, though she still hadn’t answered his question. “I understand why you didn’t tell me during the pregnancy and maybe even the first months, but that still gave you plenty of time to tell me,” he told her in a hard tone.She sighed and looked a little lost in what to say. “I don’t know James. My life got busy and time flew. I figured you would have moved on and wouldn’t care anymore,” she said with an exasperated tone.“Wouldn’t care? How the hell would I not care to know that I have a kid?” He demanded, his voice rising slightly, but he didn’t wait for her to answer. “Why don’t you just say the truth, Lily? You didn’t want to tell me, just as you didn’t want to tell me about that serum of Xavier’s,” he went on. “Only this is worse. Instead of trying to kick me out of your life, you’re robbing me of my rightful place in the life of my own son,
James had to see Lily. He followed her scent when Tony blocked his search. “Hey Tony, how’s it going?” He asked out of politeness alone, at the moment he couldn’t care.“Well, it’s been interesting,” Tony said with a half-smile and James stopped and looked at his friend, confused.“Interesting?” James asked, not sure what he meant by that.“Yep, Lily hasn’t been here for but a few hours and she’s already pissed most everyone off,” he said and it surprised James to feel a smile cross his lips.“What she did she do this time?” He asked, amused and happy to see that at least some things stayed the same, but another flash of surprise hit him when Tony looked a little uncomfortable.“Well, I can’t go in to great detail, but let’s just say she’s been keeping something to herself she shouldn’t have been,” Tony said and James’s smile died. Dread filled him, as all he could think of was that she had indeed replaced him with another man.“You’ve got to tell me, Tony, is she…with someone else? I
“Hey James,” a high pitched gleeful voice broke James from his thoughts. He looked up and did his best not to cringe as he saw the woman approaching them.“Hey Ginger,” he replied, trying his best not to sound as irritated as he felt. She was an attractive wolf, there was no doubt about it, but he wasn’t interested, and Ginger just didn’t seem to get that in her head. It didn’t help that six months ago he let her kiss him when he was feeling really low and lonely. Thank God he came to his senses and stopped her before they went too far, but it was too late to keep her from getting ideas.“Hey ya, Ginger,” Freddie greeted with a sly smile. He knew what had happened and, of course, thought it was hilarious. She gave him a brief wave of the hand and instead kept her focus on James.“I wanted to come by and invite you to lunch,” she told James with a bright smile and James wanted to roll his eyes. He knew she wanted to invite him, that’s why he had been ignoring her calls.“I’ve already g