Hey friends! Hope that the week is treating you well. Poor Brandon is having a really tough time with his healing. Luckily, he's got some heavy duty drugs to help him out. Slade seems to be a good guy so far, but we still haven't gotten to his messed up back story. Leave me some love and let me know what you think. See you soon!
After we eat, Bella passes out the apple quarters, keeping two back for Citra and Michael. We all hold the apple, looking at each other dubiously. Bella seems nice and all, but do we really want to trust a witch? I think that some of the distrust between wolves and witches, at least on our side of things, is that they manipulate the natural world. Change it into something of their own choosing, not what it was destined to be. And as much as humans would like to think otherwise, we wolves are an integral part of nature. Anything that threatens that leaves us wary. I have no idea what their problem is with us. You know, for all of my open-mindedness about so many things, Iâve never stopped to examine this. Hmmm. Something to think on. I get that knee-jerk reaction not to trust Bella. Not to trust what she is asking me to put in my body. But why? What has she done that is making me not trust her? Citra trusts her. Citra wouldnât let anything happen to us. I look aro
While Chloe and Meredith get Brandon squared away, Casen, Corinda, and I greet Kesha. We havenât seen Slade and the girls in almost a year. Keshaâs in the kitchen, making homemade pizza when we walk in. Her cocoa colored skin shines in the ceiling light. Sheâs grown her hair out to her shoulders and wears it natural, with voluminous twists. Kesha now sports a nose ring, the thought of the silver content needed to keep the wound open making me wince a little. She wears all natural make-up, except for bright pink lipstick on her full lips. She has a curvy body and wears form fitting clothes in bright colors that match her makeup. Kesha smells like fresh dough and sugary icing, the perfect match for baking talent from the Goddess. Itâs part of how they support themselves, with a baking business that Kesha runs online out of their house. Sheâs short, the top of her head barely reaching my chin. Kesha wipes her hands before running up to each of us in turn to give us hugs. âIâ
Both Sev and I rush out of the house, Sev making the excuse that he needed to get something out of the car. I said that Iâd help him. When we get outside, Sev grabs me and slams me against the wall of the house. His lips crash into mine, his hand going to the zipper of my pants. I moan, trying to keep myself quiet. The whole purpose of us coming out here was so we could burn some of this off without letting everyone know what was going on. Sev rubs me through my pants and my knees feel weak. I reach for his pants, unbuttoning and unzipping his fly. I pull him out of his pants and he hisses at the feeling of sparks up and down his dick. I begin to move my hand, stroking his cock, and he moves away from my mouth. A growl of pleasure escapes his lips and he bucks in my hand. He pushes my shoulders until Iâm kneeling on the ground in front of him. I immediately take him into my mouth all the way to the base. One of my hands wraps around his waist while the other quickly pul
When Chloe comes back in the house, sheâs wearing a huge smile. When Slade asks her whatâs going on, she just giggles, saying that sheâs thinking of something that happened at work. A few minutes later, Casen and Severn come in, furtively looking at each other and shooting glances at Chloe. Itâs not hard to figure out what happened outside and I expect it to upset Rin. But sheâs too wrapped up in conversation with Kesha to see whatâs going on with her mates. Slade doesnât miss it though and itâs easy to tell that heâs having a mindlink conversation with Chloe. Whatever is said doesnât seem to make him happy, but he doesnât say anything. âSooo, Meredith,â Casen says, clearing his throat and clearly trying to clear up some of the awkwardness. âYou wanted to talk?â âWell, yeah, I wanted to know how itâs possible that you guys are friends, to the point that Slade would help us hide from murderous Madame Tussands wax figure rejects,â I say. âI canât imagine that a partnership
After we eat, we all separate to our rooms. Hakeem and I both shower and then lay together on the bed. We mindlink with Meredith, filling her in on everything that happened with the witches and getting updates from her about who Slade and the she-wolves with him are and how Brandon is doing. She seems to be doing well after the whole ordeal of her seizures and Madre Selene (Mother Selene) taking over her body. But, sheâs understandably exhausted. As our conversation fades, so does her energy. Vete a dormir, mi cielo. Has tenido un largo dÃa. Hablaremos contigo por la maÃąana. (Go to sleep, my heaven. You've had a long day. We'll talk to you in the morning.) I murmur to her in the link. Voy a Facetime tu mamÃĄ para poder ver a las chicas antes de irme a dormir. (I'm going to Facetime your mom so that I can see the girls before I go to sleep.) Meredith yawns through the link and Iâd be surprised if the call lasted more than five minutes. But I understand the need to see our p
Well, that was awkward. I turn back to look at Citra. Sheâs sweating slightly and her heart is beating fast. It wouldnât be evident to anyone but a werewolf, but itâs pretty obvious to any wolf in our group. I walk to Citra, pulling her aside, gesturing for Michael to stay where he is. âTalk to me. Whatâs going on?â âItâs nothing I canât handle,â she says, not looking at me. âI believe that. I just want to know what weâre walking into. How we can support you.â I duck down trying to catch her eye. Citra finally looks at me, a surprised smile spreading across her face. Suddenly, she jumps into me, hugging me fiercely. I look at Michael, who has been keeping a wary eye on us. Heâs not a part of my pack. This could be seen as a threat. I want to give him the chance to tell me to let her go. Michael smiles and shakes his head, as if in exasperation with his mateâs overfriendliness. He waves at me to go ahead and hug her and I gingerly wrap my arms around her slender
The next morning, I go to checkup on Brandon. Chloe is in the room, too. She had taken a paramedic and a few nursing classes before deciding to go for her dream of being a tattoo artist, so she is tending to all of Brandonâs medical needs. When I walked in the room, she was bending over and fiddling with something at the side of his bed, her tight jean-clad ass right in front of me. I couldnât tear my eyes away. She has to have some idea of what she's doing, right? None of this is coincidence, is it? She looks at me over her shoulder before smiling and straightening. âHey Sev. Gâmorning.â My mouth is dry and it takes me two swallows before I could respond. She's wearing a low cut tank top and her full breasts look mouthwatering. Snapping my eyes up to hers, I manage a smile. âMorning, Chloe. Howâs the patient?â Thank the Goddess, she turns to apply some vaseline to Brandonâs lips and I can adjust my boner so it isn't front and center against my zipper. Fuck! How d
I bring Casen and Severn outside with me and we walk a ways into the woods. I donât want anyone to be able to hear us, so I have to make sure that we get far away from the house. Iâm thankful for how kind Kesha, Chloe, and Slade are. Kesha loaned me a pair of sweats, though I was wearing one of Sladeâs long sleeved shirts, since I obviously didnât have any clothes of my own. The shirt hung on me all the way down to my knees and Iâd had to roll the sleeves up nearly half way to find my hands in them. Luckily, the pants were regular length instead of the petite that Kesha normally wore. I wasnât going to be setting any fashion trends anytime soon, but beggars canât be choosers. Quick glances back at them let me know that theyâre mindlinking, along with a loud âWHAT THE FUCK!?â from Casen. At that point, he pulled Severn to him and scented his chest. I knew exactly what he was doing, but I needed them to focus on what I had to say. I feel the Goddess inhabit my body, taking t
The tunnels twisted and turned in an endless labyrinth beneath the Hoia Baciu Forest. The scent of damp earth mixed with the faint metallic tang of blood and decay. The flickering torchlight cast eerie shadows along the stone walls as I strode through the corridor, my Thane, Sybil, walking briskly beside me.âHow is she doing?â I asked without breaking my stride.âShe is much more stubborn, much more resilient than we anticipated,â Sybil admitted. âBut we believe we may have turned the corner, High Priestess.ââOh?â I arched a brow, intrigued. Morganaâs torture had beenâĶ sluggish. Less satisfying than I had hoped.Torture, after all, is not simply about the bodyâit is about breaking the mind. True suffering comes when a victim loses their very sense of self, when they beg for death, only to have it denied over and over. And yet, Morgana had proven difficult to crack.Nine months. Nine months of relentless torment. We had shattered her bones and healed them daily, forced her to endure t
The ride from Texas to our packhouse should normally take 21 hours, but weâve made it a one-week trip, sending our beta, Landry, ahead of us in our plane. He will help our people move in and settle while Brandon, our parents, and all of our pups take a little side trip for some downtime.Carl, Richard, and Lauren elected to move back to Artemis lands with us. Itâs where they lived, where Carl and Richard grew up, and where they raised their older children. Now that they had a new set of pups, they wanted to come back. My mom and Charlieâs parents were also moving back with us. It was their way to see their grandpups grow but also to honor the lives of my father and Charlie.Carl, Richard, and Lauren were a little upset that Dev, Arya, Jakey, and the twins were remaining in Texas and that they wouldnât be able to see them as much, but weâve already got a couple of trips scheduled back and forth so that all the cousins could get together and we could see our best friends.Our side trip t
The past few months have been some of the most emotionally difficult of my life. Not only am I nearing the end of my pregnancy with our little boy, but we are also leaving Texasâ all of us. Except for the old Diana pack and Arya and Devâs pack, the rest of us will be gone by tomorrow.The last three months have been consumed with finalizing pack laws, succession rules, and building the new packhouses for each territory. We've been moving everything from our old homes, figuring out pack logistics, and ensuring every wolf is accounted for. Itâs been exhausting, but necessary.We also had to choose our new betas, gammas, and deltas. In a twist of fate, Donavon asked to be our beta so that Kesha could stay close to Slade and Chloe. Rin made the same request to serve under Case, Chloe, and Sev, so their families could stay together. That means Mike and Seth will also be moving up north. But the tech squad doesnât need to be in the same room to work together, so at least that transition will
"Reports have been consistent from all of our sources. Other than one of the fae discovering what was left of Locastaâs body in the bayou, there hasnât been a single sighting of any Riding Hoods on American soil,â Hawk says.Weâre in one of our combined council meetings, with all the alphas from every pack in the U.S., as well as the heads and representatives of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone covens for Hecate. Thereâs also a representative from the Seelie Fairy Court and an ambassador from the Unseelie Fairy Court. The sooner we can get all of us on the same side, the better weâll be protected from groups like the Riding Hoods. Weâre hoping to expand this into a global allianceâa kind of supernatural U.N.For now, the fae are willing to let the U.S. be the test subject. Convincing the other shifter groups, however, has been difficult. Many remain elusive or outright resistant to the idea. Zakâs presence would have helpedâhis Goddess gifts have a way of swaying even the most stubborn mi
After the ceremony, Gregory and I help Jamal back to our cabin. Every time I see him in that damn wheelchair, I get livid all over again. Those witches. I canât believe Locasta and Morgana got the drop on him.He freely admits he was distractedâhe had taken a call from Seth and Mike about incoming witches. It turned out to be nothing, just the Crone coven sweeping through like they promised. Apparently, no one had thought to inform our tech team of that part of the plan. And no one but Jamal had their phone turned on.Morgana had woken up just before the call. While Jamal was preoccupied, she directed Locasta to retrieve a knife from her bootâsilver and coated in wolfsbane. They cut themselves free, then stabbed Jamal in the back of the neck, severing part of his spinal cord. He collapsed immediately. The wolfsbane knocked him out, and the silver cauterized the damage. For a time, he couldnât see, couldnât hear, couldnât even breathe on his own.Arya and Dev managed to purge the wolfsb
Zak and I have been in a fog since Charlieâs death yesterday. The one and only thing that has brought us any solace is our pups. It seems like, overnight, they began looking more and more like their mother. Though both of them have always had Charlieâs gray, raincloud eyes, their faces and bodies seem to have gotten leaner, their chins more pointed, their cheeks hollowing slightly to reveal high, sculpted cheekbones. Maybe itâs just wishful thinking, but others in the pack have noticed it, too.Our families are around us. Friends come in and out of our cabin. All of our mothersâLauren, Danielle, and Claraâbusy themselves with the pups, cooking, keeping things moving as if that will help. The house bustles with people, but I barely register them.The only things that ground me are Zakâs hand in mine, the weight of Christyâs sloppy kisses on my cheek, the warmth of Jerryâs small body as he curls into my chest.I know I eat. I shower. I dress. I might even respond to people. But itâs all
So many emotions. Thank the Goddess on High that Iâve been training on how to empty myself of other peopleâs feelings. If not, Iâd be drowning in them, rocking in a corner with my thumb in my mouth. Despair. Pain. Rage. Dread. Determination. They flood over me like a tidal wave, crashing against my mental defenses. But using the techniques Meredith taught me, I let them wash over me and drain away, like waves receding from the shore.I have to keep my head on straight. My job is twofold. First, I need to help my friends process their grief without letting it consume them. Zak and Brandonâs pain is like a living thing, a force that threatens to unravel everything if I donât keep it contained. I push their suffering to the back of their minds, tempering their anger to something useful. They donât want thisâbut they need it.Then thereâs Dev. His grief is just as raw, just as deep, but thereâs a difference. Beneath his devastation, thereâs acceptance. A flicker of hope. He knows that heâl
Zak and Brandon push through the door, Brandon almost immediately shoving Zak to the floor as a ball of lightning rushes through the air toward them. It slams into the door just above their heads before Gregory vaults over them, a shield of the same crackling energy covering us as we begin to move through the doorway.Gregoryâs ability to mimic Morganaâs powers surprises her, giving Jamal the time to step into the room after his mate. His power fills the space, nullifying all the goddess gifts of those within a 100-foot radius (we checked). That includes all the witchesâ powers. The only ones that wonât be affected by Jamalâs power are Arya and me. Our gifts arenât Goddess-given but Goddess-like. He canât take away what is part of the Goddess.The look on Morganaâs face as she drops like a fucking stone is almost enough to make me smile. Her scream echoes through the stairwell, the resounding thud as she lands and the breath whooshes out of her is immensely satisfying. Unfortunately, o
I donât know what gave me the idea of the salt trail. Honestly, I havenât been able to think of much since Iâve been here. The thought of us being so close to freedom seems unreal. I never thought that I would escape the Riding Hoods alive. It makes the frustration that Charlie is feeling about us going around in circles barely register to me. Iâm still finding it hard to believe that weâre going to get out of here.But the salt sparks a memory of my favorite childhood fairytale. My mother hated it, the way that the witch was portrayed, but I loved the thought of children being able to outsmart an adult like that. I read every version I could find and acted it out with my toys all the time. I even made Mom, Dad, and Bella call me Gretel for about a year.So, I really shouldnât be surprised that my old favorite story came to me in a time of need. The whole scenario was made better by the fact that Charlie called me Gretel. I feel like Iâm getting some of me back. Like Iâm starting to wa