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
The observer ranted, letting loose the anger he held for so many years. “The elders didn’t even allow me to challenge the alpha when his father died. Instead, they laughed at me! Idiots just wanted to follow brute strength and ignore the value of intelligence. I chose James for his strength because I hadn’t tried the serum on anyone yet and knew the stronger the wolf, the stronger the chances of survival,” the observer explained.“However Kyle, don’t mistake me, I didn’t just choose him for strength alone, he also has intelligence and cunning! You should consider yourself lucky because, if I must remind you, you can’t even find your way out of a paper bag!”Kyle growled and hit the tree again, making the crack grow larger. “I am not stupid! I’m tired of you calling me that,” he snarled at t
James scrubbed his skin until it was pink and tender. How the hell did he manage to get so dirty last night? He shut off the shower and grabbed a towel hanging on the wall. Werewolves were not too different from most humans. The wolf influenced them, but it was nothing a little willpower and self-control couldn’t handle. All werewolves have to shift during the full moon and the balance between wolf and human tipped to the wolf’s advantage.The human becomes a mere influence on the wolf, but it’s the wolf that calls the shots in the end. They’re able to remember what happened during the night and know where they are when they come back into control. When James shifts, the beast always gains control but James is always aware of what is going but he can’t influence the beast in any way and vice versa for the beast. During the full moon shift, James loses complete control. So he never had any idea of where he is when he was when he wakes or how he got there. Normally he got flashes during
After a bountiful and delicious lunch, the alpha held a meeting in his office. Andrew sat behind his desk, Lily and Doctor Thompson sat in the two chairs in front of him while Tony and James stood each on opposite sides of the desk. “So, James, I heard you were investigating the scent of the imposter,” he asked once the meeting had started. James nodded and explained what he had found. The alpha seemed surprised, and the doctor cursed.“This is intolerable, Andrew. An extremely dangerous rogue could trample all over the forest and get so close to your home and that of your daughter! What exactly are the enforcers doing because they obviously weren’t doing their job?” The doctor snapped with irritation and the alpha held his hand up for Doctor Thompson to calm down.“It was a full moon. Xavier, we can’t expect them to perform to the best of their abilities. Howe
Lily shot James a nasty look, and Andrew shook his head. “I am sorry, James, but using Lily as bait is the only advantage we have over him, and I agree with Xavier that we must use it if Lily is willing to play the part,” the alpha told him. James frowned but kept silent.“I’m willing,” she started, then looked at Tony with a serious, but pleading, look on her face. “He’s proved that he can get to me when he wants. He’ll get me, but we don’t know when. Our best shot is forcing the when,” she explained. The Alpha and Xavier Thompson nodded in agreement. James just shook his head. She made all the sense in the world, but it just seemed too easy. This “maker” would see through it, and James knew he would have the perfect counter for it.“This won’t work and you’ll end u
“Lily, get out of here,” an animalistic voice echoed through Lily’s head and she gave a small squeak of surprise. They could communicate telepathically; she thought with amazement, but realized this was not the time to think about it. She had to get back to Andrew’s house as soon as possible. So, without another thought, she ran off into the woods.She nearly stumbled in surprise because she had automatically oriented herself in the direction back to Andrew’s house by using the scents of the forest and that of the other werewolves. Lily knew everything would be different, but never had she imagined the magnitude of the change. It was as if all her life she was seeing the world in black and white and now suddenly she could see in color.Everything was so much more alive. Everything appeared to be sharper and brighter and that was ju
The blonde smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Well, as I told you, I was disappointing to my parents. I’d been very strong and in our world, strength means everything. The other kids, mainly your brother and good old James, always picked me on. My mother and I had hoped when I could shift it would get better, but when the day finally came, I nearly died. I was just as weak of a wolf as I was in my human form. That’s when my father started with the insults and beatings,” he explained, taking the knife out again.“If that wasn’t bad enough, after that day, your brother and James decided their usual pranks on me weren’t good enough. They took it upon themselves to make every day a living hell for me! Every single day, they had some pranks on me. The bigger the crowd, the better,” he snarled, stabbing the table furiously.
“Where is she, Kyle?” Lily heard someone ask. That voice was familiar, but she wasn’t sure from where.“Where is who?” Fluffy’s teasing voice replied. So his name was Kyle. She’d have to remember that if she ever escaped.“Don’t play dumb with me, boy! You know very well who,” the other demanded and Lily suddenly got very excited as she recognized the voice. He wasn’t the maker; he was one of the good guys! If he was here, everyone else probably was out hiding somewhere waiting for his order to rescue her. He’d save her!“Oh, you mean the pretty little piece of bait, Lily, I think is her name. Haven’t seen her,” Fluffy or Kyle responded. She started pounding on the door and shouting that she was in the bathroom.
James Lacrosse packed up his tools, graciously turning down the offer of lunch from the scantily dressed owner of the home he’d been working on. He never understood why women thought that if they wore less clothing, a man would suddenly become more interested in them. “Didn’t stay for lunch, did ya?” The older werewolf and his boss chuckled, and James just shot him a glare in reply, which only made him hoot with laughter.“Good. Let them think you’re playing hard to get,” he went on through bales of laughers. “They pay more that way…just to see your pretty boy face, they’ll pay me double of what I usually charge,” he went on gleefully and James shook his head. He swore his boss, Freddie, sounded more like a pimp every day. Not that he could blame him for pushing an advantage. Freddie was getting up in the years and close to retirement.He wanted to pad his nest egg as much as he could, but James just wished Freddie had stopped padding his nest egg at his expense. “Maybe I should be ge
Lily’s brother had taken over being alpha for Andrew during the whole Xavier incident and it appeared that not even the power and prestige would get him to get rid of ole Ginny, his beloved jeep. She parked next to the battered jeep and slowly got out of the car. Here we go, she thought as she walked around to get A.J. out of his car seat. She held A.J. on her hip, then grabbed the duffle bag that contained her things.They walked to the front door hesitantly and slowly. It was just her family; she told herself once she noticed how difficult the simple task of knocking on the door was. The door quickly opened and Lily was swallowed in a hug. She wasn’t sure who had her trapped in a hug because all she saw was a flash of blonde hair and all the Roberts were blonde. Lily returned the hug, the scent revealing it was her adopted mother, Sandy.“We
“The queen says I won’t be in the fight this time,” Lily told them. “I should never have to do anything really but play bait and let others take down the bad guy this time.”A smile finally crossed Chris’ face. “You sit on the sidelines? Yeah, right,” he teased, and she rolled her eyes.“Yes, now I’m sideline Lily. No more rushing into the heat of things,” she told him pointedly, and his grin grew.“What about A.J.?” Jia asked and once more Lily sighed.“The queen says it’s better if I take him with me. Apparently, her visions say it’s not a good idea to leave him here,” she explained.“And what about James?” Chri
“But I can’t,” Lily demanded in response to the queen’s suggestion. There was a time where Lily would jump at the chance for a fight, but not anymore. Not after she realized what could happen and all that she could lose. “You know what happens when I get physical,” she argued.“That was then, but now you’ve been letting the wolf and the vampire out regularly and that’s beside the point because you won’t be in the fight…you’re just the bait. We’re controlling the information flow of who knows Silvano is free. You’ll go home under the pretenses that you’re visiting your family, introducing them to A.J. and all the while unawares that Silvano escaped,” the queen explained.“But the truth will be that you’ll have our best team stationed nearby waiting for an
Lily Nawassa stared into the microscope, holding her breath as she carefully placed the newly created serum into the sample. She let out the breath, waiting to see the results. “Come on,” she whispered when nothing had yet to happen. “Come on, come on, come on,” she chanted when still there wasn’t any reaction.“Sounds like you're trying to persuade it,” she heard one of her fellow lab partner laugh. “I don’t think vampiric persuasion has that much power,” he joked, and she sighed. She looked up at Bruce and gave him her best “you’re so not funny” look. One would think being a two hundred-year-old vampire, he’d know how to make an actually funny joke.“Well, I guess no reaction is better than a bad reaction,” she said with a sigh and leaned back into the chair, tryin
Lily sat in the little cafe sipping on her hot coffee, enjoying the warmth it provided her as she listened to detail what Veronica wanted to do and the offer of a job with the Aequivalere. “Honestly, ever since I heard of James Lacrosse, I’ve wanted to get my hands on a genetic sample, but he never stayed in one place too long and when he was in town, I only found out after he left. Though, I’m kind of glad if everything they said is true,” Veronica told her.Lily couldn’t resist the small smile appearing on her lips. “Well, first Veronica I’m going to check you out,” Lily started, and she nodded. “If you’re lying, I will probably kill you,” she said, intending to scare the vampire. “When I confirm that you’re with the Aequivalere, then you have yourself a little lab rat,” Lily told her, and Veronica smiled.Lily sighed, looking out the window. It looks
For the next few hours, everyone sat at the dinner table, eating one of Sandy’s gloriously delicious meals. James was there, staying in the guest bedroom until he decided what he wanted to do. Or at least, that was what Andrew told her, because James didn’t speak three words to her or look in her direction.Tony explained to her about the shift of power from Andrew to him and Lily looked over at Andrew. He was looking very proud as he listened to Tony. She smiled as she saw the powerful man she knew as father had returned. He may not be the alpha anymore, but he seemed happy and back to his old self again. Once Tony finished, he exchanged a look with Liz, who had a large ear to ear grin clearing her throat.“Tony and I wanted to let you all know that in six months we will be expecting our first,” she announced.
That night, there was a celebration for the rescue of the children. Also, even though no one dared say it out loud, they were also celebrating the doctor’s death. Wendy led Lily around the center of town, talking almost nonstop. With a smile, Lily let the teen pull her around and introduce her to all of her friends. Besides the weirdness of it all, she felt almost back to herself and that felt good. She could almost forget what had happened earlier with James. It made her feel awful things ended like that, but at least now he could think for himself.Pushing away her dark thoughts, she enjoyed herself. When she was finally free from Wendy, she looked around the crowded park where most of the celebrations were taking place. She smiled at Crocell and Karya. She bet they knew how to have a good time. “To the victory,” Karya cheered, handing her a drink as soon as Lily walked up to them.“To the victory,” Lily repeated, downing her drink, earning a look of approval from Crocell. They fill
With a wild look in her eyes, Lily continued. “I guess you want to hear how I continued to lose it to the point I enjoyed all the pain I caused Xavier much more than any good and sane person should! Or how when I was finished, and I found that Wendy was still waiting for me, I was tempted to do the same to her.” She turned away from James to throw herself into a chair. “It’s a miracle I managed to come back... but not completely,” she said, the anger suddenly gone from her face. “I’m not the good person I thought I was. I have darkness inside me,” she finished.“You’re a good person. The darkness comes from your vampire and the wildness of the beast,” James told her, wanting to comfort her, but she glared at him, her anger returning.“You don’t know anything, James Lacrosse,” she snapped, shooting up from the chair. “You want to know what that is,” she said, looking at the vial he still held. “It’s what Xavier gave to Lacy, so she wouldn’t be mated to Chris anymore,” she told him, and