RYDENThe underground bunker wasn’t affected by the earthquake and it could serve as their temporary shelter. Knight gave me this idea after those werewolf thugs attacked his vineyards. “If something happens to me, you know what to do. You’ll be the alpha of this pack until Amelia returns.” I gave Zeph the key to the office. “I’ve updated my will.” “Shut up. I know you will come back.” He hugged me tight. “Don’t disappoint me, Alpha.” The ride to Guston’s pack took more time than we had anticipated due to the crack on the road that caused the traffic. Nora and Walker rode with us while Ren and Theia took their truck with Lucius and Drak. I could feel Amelia’s emotions through my thoughts. “Are you okay?” I gripped her hand. “You barely said something earlier.” “This must be it. One last sign, the director will be formidable. Ren did not even ask if I was okay.” “You should talk to him.”“I know. It’s my fault he hates me.”“Hey. He doesn’t hate you. He’s upset, yes, but friends
AMELIA The next morning, there had been reports that came overnight of a werewolf attack at the neighboring pack of Nirvana’s grandfather, Case, one in Hawaii, and near the Mexican border. The New York packs were on high alert for full escalation. My gut told me, the director had been quick to take advantage of the earthquake situation, and his minions had made a quick stop before they moved to either of the two places. Fury pummeled me. I wanted to do something but one man couldn’t end this atrocity. I mean, woman. “I know that look.” Ren sighed beside me, his hand on my wrist. “What look?” I looked at him. “The blame look on your face, wishing you could have done something.” “Thanks for talking to me again. I could really use your optimism right now.” I chuckled as I squeezed his hand. “Months ago we were just hunting bad guys, and we did most of it with flying colors. Now we don’t have resources, it feels like we’re allowing the bad guys to get away. Tell me if I’m the only
RYDEN As soon as we made it into the gate, fear was thick in the air. There were supposed to be guards at the entrance. Right now, I saw no one. It was nearly impossible they left this tower unattended unless it was the plan and planted some explosives to detonate later. “Where are those people?” Amelia stood still as she scanned around the supposed-to-be crowded reception and sitting area. “They left for good? Or they’re dead,” Theia said as she went to the reception desk. “This is actually pretty awesome. I was expecting a tomb after a tomb with a counter made of rock and a magic hologram of a world map.” “Let’s move.” Lucius turned off the safety of his rifle as he headed towards the hallway. “Keep your senses heightened.” “Be careful. They could be waiting for us,” Amelia told Theia. “You can scan for living agents, right?” “Yeah, but I don’t see or sense anyone.” She followed me. Dane and Drak stalked behind us while Ren and Nora went to the next elevator on the right. “
AMELIA As soon as the door unlocked, the hair stood in all parts of my body. My heart pumped so hard as I stood at the horror before me. There were different species inside the symmetrical giant lab tubes similar to an aquarium. They were preserved, for what purpose, I had no clue. “This is sick.” “Amelia, look.” Ryden held my elbow and pointed at the huge rectangular glass framed with angel wings. “Oh, my Goddess.” I wrapped myself as I shivered in terror. I couldn’t fathom who could do this, cutting off wings for decoration, and whoever owned the wings must have suffered an extremely excruciating pain. They were beautiful, so huge spreading the entire wall, the color of ash reminded me of a cloudy dark sky before the storm. “What should we do with that?” “I don’t know, Ryden.” I sat on the concrete step when I felt like I lost all my strength. “I could be next in one of these glasses.” “Hey.” He kneeled before me, holding my cold shaky hands. “I won’t let that happen, Ameli
RYDEN “Brace yourselves!” Amelia yelled. “For what?” Nora asked. It didn’t take long, she said, “Oh, my Goddess.” Another earthquake rumbled, shaking everything around us. This time, it was stronger and longer than the last one in Tahoe. Amelia stared at me. She didn’t bother hiding her fear. “This isn’t normal.” “I know.” As the ground danced in waves, we stilled until it stopped. Then another howling roar erupted. This time, it came from both mountains. Are gazes flew to the mountains surrounding us.“This isn’t good,” I muttered, not hiding my fear. The mountains began to shake as if they were controlled. I watched its slope break and fall apart. A low rumble swept over the mountain causing a huge avalanche. The trees were falling like dominoes, rolling down from the top towards us in the form of a landslide. “Shit!” Lucius stared at us. Fear flashed in his eyes. “Run! Away from the valley!” “Go ahead, I’ll follow!” “Ren, what are you doing?” Amelia stopped running, turni
AMELIA “Oh, Goddess.” I instantly sensed extreme fear everywhere. The pack was under attack. I pulled out the sword from my back and swung it at the wolf attacking Jaxon, pinning him to the ground. “Jaxon, don’t move!”Jaxon froze. The wolf hadn’t seen me, and I took it to my advantage. The blade made a zing sound, piercing my ear. Its head nearly separated from its body. “Amelia, we’re under attack!” Zeph said. My brother was one of the members who hadn’t shifted yet, but carrying a gun. “Who are these people?” I asked him as he shot the werewolf in the head and watched him drop dead to the ground. “The fuck I knew. I called Zarah, but the New York packs were also under attack. I couldn’t reach Alpha Knight.” “Can you hold for a moment? Where are the others?” “Women and children are already in the bunker. The rest of the guys are fighting at the borders. Where are you going?” “Getting a reinforcement. It won’t be long.” I dialed Zarah, and she did not pick up, which left me on
AMELIA Lucius struggled to start telling me the story of his sigil, but I waited patiently. I wanted to know why it came and went, and why it appeared now. He drew a deep breath and let it go slowly. “A few months after you died, I had constantly dreamed of you dying. It was a nightmare for weeks. I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t want to sleep, and it drove me crazy. One of the elders told me about a Shaman. I tracked him for a week and found him in Asia, in Mongolia. He was retired, peacefully living in the forest, but the people there accused him of practicing witchcraft. I saved him before they could shoot him with arrows.” “Oh, Goddess. That was awful.” “Yeah. Then I told him the story and my dreams. He healed me. I stayed there for a few days. Then he gave me this sigil. He only touched me, and the sigil on his arm moved to my neck. He said it would protect me from harm and evil spirits, and also warn me for the incoming threats. I didn’t trust it at first, then it sometimes felt l
AMELIA Tahoe, twenty-six months ago I wondered how long it would take to die. So this was how I died— so brutal— burn to ashes. What did I do to deserve this? Was this what it felt like to be trapped in hell for eternity? Smoke and fire were the only things I could see, obliterating the home where I grew up. “Help!” I screamed out loud as I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them as I watched the fiery flames devour my bedroom door, leaving me no way to escape. The crackling sound was horrifying. I was the weakest, the tiniest in the pack. At sixteen, I couldn’t even call myself a werewolf as I hadn’t shifted yet, which always got me bullied. Tears blurred my eyes. Thick smoke began suffocating my lungs, making it hard to breathe. Sweat covered my whole body as heat seemingly slowly melted my skin. I’d never been so terrified in my entire life until today as the flames began crawling over the pink carpeted floor. In point of fact, I didn’t want to die this w
AMELIA Lucius struggled to start telling me the story of his sigil, but I waited patiently. I wanted to know why it came and went, and why it appeared now. He drew a deep breath and let it go slowly. “A few months after you died, I had constantly dreamed of you dying. It was a nightmare for weeks. I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t want to sleep, and it drove me crazy. One of the elders told me about a Shaman. I tracked him for a week and found him in Asia, in Mongolia. He was retired, peacefully living in the forest, but the people there accused him of practicing witchcraft. I saved him before they could shoot him with arrows.” “Oh, Goddess. That was awful.” “Yeah. Then I told him the story and my dreams. He healed me. I stayed there for a few days. Then he gave me this sigil. He only touched me, and the sigil on his arm moved to my neck. He said it would protect me from harm and evil spirits, and also warn me for the incoming threats. I didn’t trust it at first, then it sometimes felt l
AMELIA “Oh, Goddess.” I instantly sensed extreme fear everywhere. The pack was under attack. I pulled out the sword from my back and swung it at the wolf attacking Jaxon, pinning him to the ground. “Jaxon, don’t move!”Jaxon froze. The wolf hadn’t seen me, and I took it to my advantage. The blade made a zing sound, piercing my ear. Its head nearly separated from its body. “Amelia, we’re under attack!” Zeph said. My brother was one of the members who hadn’t shifted yet, but carrying a gun. “Who are these people?” I asked him as he shot the werewolf in the head and watched him drop dead to the ground. “The fuck I knew. I called Zarah, but the New York packs were also under attack. I couldn’t reach Alpha Knight.” “Can you hold for a moment? Where are the others?” “Women and children are already in the bunker. The rest of the guys are fighting at the borders. Where are you going?” “Getting a reinforcement. It won’t be long.” I dialed Zarah, and she did not pick up, which left me on
RYDEN “Brace yourselves!” Amelia yelled. “For what?” Nora asked. It didn’t take long, she said, “Oh, my Goddess.” Another earthquake rumbled, shaking everything around us. This time, it was stronger and longer than the last one in Tahoe. Amelia stared at me. She didn’t bother hiding her fear. “This isn’t normal.” “I know.” As the ground danced in waves, we stilled until it stopped. Then another howling roar erupted. This time, it came from both mountains. Are gazes flew to the mountains surrounding us.“This isn’t good,” I muttered, not hiding my fear. The mountains began to shake as if they were controlled. I watched its slope break and fall apart. A low rumble swept over the mountain causing a huge avalanche. The trees were falling like dominoes, rolling down from the top towards us in the form of a landslide. “Shit!” Lucius stared at us. Fear flashed in his eyes. “Run! Away from the valley!” “Go ahead, I’ll follow!” “Ren, what are you doing?” Amelia stopped running, turni
AMELIA As soon as the door unlocked, the hair stood in all parts of my body. My heart pumped so hard as I stood at the horror before me. There were different species inside the symmetrical giant lab tubes similar to an aquarium. They were preserved, for what purpose, I had no clue. “This is sick.” “Amelia, look.” Ryden held my elbow and pointed at the huge rectangular glass framed with angel wings. “Oh, my Goddess.” I wrapped myself as I shivered in terror. I couldn’t fathom who could do this, cutting off wings for decoration, and whoever owned the wings must have suffered an extremely excruciating pain. They were beautiful, so huge spreading the entire wall, the color of ash reminded me of a cloudy dark sky before the storm. “What should we do with that?” “I don’t know, Ryden.” I sat on the concrete step when I felt like I lost all my strength. “I could be next in one of these glasses.” “Hey.” He kneeled before me, holding my cold shaky hands. “I won’t let that happen, Ameli
RYDEN As soon as we made it into the gate, fear was thick in the air. There were supposed to be guards at the entrance. Right now, I saw no one. It was nearly impossible they left this tower unattended unless it was the plan and planted some explosives to detonate later. “Where are those people?” Amelia stood still as she scanned around the supposed-to-be crowded reception and sitting area. “They left for good? Or they’re dead,” Theia said as she went to the reception desk. “This is actually pretty awesome. I was expecting a tomb after a tomb with a counter made of rock and a magic hologram of a world map.” “Let’s move.” Lucius turned off the safety of his rifle as he headed towards the hallway. “Keep your senses heightened.” “Be careful. They could be waiting for us,” Amelia told Theia. “You can scan for living agents, right?” “Yeah, but I don’t see or sense anyone.” She followed me. Dane and Drak stalked behind us while Ren and Nora went to the next elevator on the right. “
AMELIA The next morning, there had been reports that came overnight of a werewolf attack at the neighboring pack of Nirvana’s grandfather, Case, one in Hawaii, and near the Mexican border. The New York packs were on high alert for full escalation. My gut told me, the director had been quick to take advantage of the earthquake situation, and his minions had made a quick stop before they moved to either of the two places. Fury pummeled me. I wanted to do something but one man couldn’t end this atrocity. I mean, woman. “I know that look.” Ren sighed beside me, his hand on my wrist. “What look?” I looked at him. “The blame look on your face, wishing you could have done something.” “Thanks for talking to me again. I could really use your optimism right now.” I chuckled as I squeezed his hand. “Months ago we were just hunting bad guys, and we did most of it with flying colors. Now we don’t have resources, it feels like we’re allowing the bad guys to get away. Tell me if I’m the only
RYDENThe underground bunker wasn’t affected by the earthquake and it could serve as their temporary shelter. Knight gave me this idea after those werewolf thugs attacked his vineyards. “If something happens to me, you know what to do. You’ll be the alpha of this pack until Amelia returns.” I gave Zeph the key to the office. “I’ve updated my will.” “Shut up. I know you will come back.” He hugged me tight. “Don’t disappoint me, Alpha.” The ride to Guston’s pack took more time than we had anticipated due to the crack on the road that caused the traffic. Nora and Walker rode with us while Ren and Theia took their truck with Lucius and Drak. I could feel Amelia’s emotions through my thoughts. “Are you okay?” I gripped her hand. “You barely said something earlier.” “This must be it. One last sign, the director will be formidable. Ren did not even ask if I was okay.” “You should talk to him.”“I know. It’s my fault he hates me.”“Hey. He doesn’t hate you. He’s upset, yes, but friends
RYDEN “Guys, Guston’s territory is affected by the earthquake. Two houses in his pack just fell into the rift.” “Oh, Goddess. Was anyone injured?” Amelia asked. I was still wrapping my head around the fact that I almost lost her, and it fucking hurt that she risked her life to save Lucius. My throat was still tight with guilt that I wasn’t there to help her, even though she managed to stay alive with flying colors. Though I could still see the horror in her eyes, she looked elated getting her wings. “I don’t know. He’s still checking the damages. Trent, tell everyone to report through the GC, and make sure no one is hurt.” “Okay, alpha.” When he left, I turned to Zeph. “Call your dad, ask him if the road is accessible.” “I’ll check if Mom is okay.” Amelia grabbed her phone and looked at Lucius. “You should call your people. I know it’s far from here, but make sure they’re okay.” “Holy shit!” Walker walked to the edge of the fault line. “It’s fucking deep. It looks like it has
AMELIA I froze. My heart was pounding so hard making it hard to breathe. “Amelia!” He gripped my hands. “Look at me!” “Lucius!” Panicking, I stared at him in shock. I could see the fear in his eyes, too, and Lucius wasn’t easy to be scared until today. “What the fuck is going on?” The rumbling went on and on. I looked around, everything was moving, trees were dancing, and the ground was rolling in waves. “Earthquake!” “No this isn’t. I’ve never experienced an earthquake as strong as this.” I began to shake in fear. “Don’t let my hands go. It’s gonna be okay,” he said, trying to calm me down, but he knew it wasn’t working.As the apprehension trickled down my spine, my power pulsed through me, making my senses heightened and slightly agitated somehow. It only lasted for like ten seconds, yet it felt like an eternity. When the forest went dead silent, the back of my neck tingled. “Something is wrong.” I barely finished my words, a low rumbling vibration ran between us again. T