TheronGrowing up, the Cadre and I used to taunt each other to look in the Ostyn house window. We thought it was haunted or had spells cast into it. No one ever really came to this house; it was used every other decade when the Ostyn Priestess and her maidens would come for a meeting or ceremony. They stayed in it when the Priestess created the barrier around our town for safety. That was the last time this house was occupied for all I knew. We kept it vacant as a tribute to the witch clan, symbolizing they were always welcomed here. Never in a million years have I thought I would be sitting in the kitchen of this house, having a cup of coffee, while an Ostyn maiden was upstairs getting changed.An Ostyn maiden who also happens to hold my heart in the palm of her hand unknowingly. I looked around at the old kitchen; it had a gas stove and oven with a castiron kettle on one of the burners that looked like it was used daily. The layout was large and spacious, everything within perfect r
TheronI was nervous as we drove into the forest; I hadn’t ever taken anyone here before, to my secret place. But today would be a good day to show Kamari more of myself. As I stopped the truck and turned off the ignition, I turned and looked at her, really looking at this amazing human before me.“You’re so beautiful,” I said quietly, pulling a stray hair thread from her face and behind her ear. Her blush was visible on her cheeks, and I couldn’t help but lean in and kiss the warmth on her cheek.“It’s a little bit of a walk. Are you up for an adventure?” I asked, opening the door and holding my hand out to her, a silent offering.“Always.” was her only response as she took my hand and followed me. We walked into the forest silently. I held her hand the whole time, making sure to always keep some kind of contact with her. After about ten minutes of walking, we climbed up a small hill covered in rocks, then jumped down over a small cliff; I grabbed her waist to help her down, her hand
“I told you next time I wanted to taste you,” I said breathlessly, rubbing my nose up her matching lace panties, inhaling deeply before planting a kiss at the rosebud at the top. Her moan was my undoing. I bit at the lace, nudging the sensitive nerves with the tip with my nose. I looped my fingers around the top of the lace panties, sliding them down toward the leggings by her ankles. My eyes went molten at the sight of her, utterly bare for me. I spread her knees wide, the leggings acting as a bondage around her ankles. I pressed my hard-on against her core as I went up and kissed her lips deeply, plunging my tongue into her mouth, thrusting myself against the wetness I knew would be there. She moaned into my mouth, unleashing something in me. I dove down and, without warning, licked straight up her center, making her moan louder.“Kamari, you taste...” I couldn’t get enough. I licked her again and again, lapping up the taste of her sweet, sweet center. I stuck my tongue into her cor
KamariWe were quiet for a time, holding each other while listening to the water flow from the slight fall—the one from my dream. I hadn’t believed it at first. I looked around, hoping to find the predator, before turning to Theron, half expecting to see his eyes glow crimson. I only saw his surprised expression and felt this indescribable need to touch him, so strong it was impossible to resist. Touching him, feeling him, felt so right it tingled. My body began to heat up at his touch, and I lost all sense of control to myself.I needed to feel and connect to him; it was consuming. Even now, in our silent bliss, it felt like not enough. He quickly pulled on his pants and helped me with mine before needing to pull me back to him. He sat against a rock and held me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me and holding me while we gazed at the frozen scene before us, the lover’s waterfall I’d call it from here on out.“Kamari...was that your first experience?” He asked carefully beh
Kamari I drove the whole way home in Theron’s arms. As soon as we got in the truck again, we went straight for each other; I laid my head on his shoulder while his arm wrapped around me. It felt like neither of us wanted to be separated. We drove in peaceful silence; I decided to leave my question for another time, not wanting to disturb this feeling of being in his arms. When we returned to my place, Theron jumped out and held his hand out while I slid to get out on his side of the truck. He looked up at the house as if hearing something, smiling. I looked up at him and saw his knowing smile. “What?” Looking at him through narrowed eyes. He shook his head before throwing his arm around my shoulder, leading me to the house. “Nothing,” he said with a smirk, but I couldn’t help knowing he was hiding something. My mom opened the door before we could open it, Theron tensing when he saw her. I laughed to myself, realizing he was nervous about meeting my mom. My mom came out and gave me
TheronIt took the whole drive for me to find my senses again. The taste and closeness of Kamari's skin on mine was enough to drive me mad. The way her touches made my whole body tingle... I've never heard of a witch and werwolf mate bond, but somehow I knew she must be our mate. Hoku wanted to mark her right then, and there; he even forced our fangs out towards the end when I came. It felt so fucking good I could barely gain control and not mark her.Kamari still didn’t know I was a werewolf. What would she have done if I bit her neck, claiming her as ours? She would have freaked! I don’t think she saw the fangs; I was able to retract them in time. She did see my eyes, which she asked about, trying to change the subject of what she confessed to me. She didn’t have to explain; the answer lay in her lack of explanation. If I ever found the guy who hurt my mate, I would end him slowly, painfully, and with my bare hands.As for my secret, I wanted
KamariI ran as fast as I could, barely able to feel the damp, cold earth under my feet. All I could think about was getting away from the look of shame on my mother's face and sadness on Theron's. I failed; the Goddess passed me up, and I am a disgrace to my mother and clan. At first, I thought the Goddess decided to bless me; I could feel the power radiating through me.It zapped within my body, tingling and burning under my skin. It hurt but was manageable, and nothing compared to the feeling of the power of the earth flowing into my heart, my soul. I raised my hands to greet it, sensing the rolling storm coming to welcome me, electricity reaching through me to touch the sky. With eyes closed and arms raised I felt everything, including another's presence within that felt like an old memory, glimmering into existence. But then something changed; there was a sharp pain in the pit of my stomach. I groaned, unable to withstand the excruciating pinching sensation, swall
"Say something, anything. Please, Kamari." Theron groaned, finally breaking the silence. He held his hands out to me, a submissive pose. I smiled as I realized what he had done. He allowed me to see his innermost secret, his monster within, matching my own from tonight's ordeal. I put my hand in his, intertwining our fingers, sitting on my knees before him. We were so close I could feel his breath. I held my other hand up and lined his jaw. He took it as an invitation to graze my jaw with his hand, brushing his thumb along my bottom lip. "I think I always knew you weren't human. From the moment I first saw you, I knew there was something different about you, though I didn't know what. This makes sense." I lifted my head to stare into his eyes. He held onto my waist, holding me against him. "You...you're not...afraid?" He asked as if he was scared to know the answer. His eyes held so much compassion and tenderness in them. "No, Theron. I am not afraid." I whispered, letting him care
The light of the day as it cascaded through the cave made her head pound more. She hated the sight. Spring was her least favorite season. All full of flowers and sunshine; it made her sick. Sitting on the cold, damp earth at least helped her find her bearings. She was still gathering her strength and her senses from when she teleported. It was a gamble; she had never done it before. She was only taught the spell in case she ever needed it in dire circumstances. Well, her daughter betraying her felt like a damn dire circumstance, one she would rectify once her strength came back to her. That girl was foolish to side with the weaker of her two sides. Her fathers blood would never overcome her Raven powers. Her daughters father... Zander. The name alone caused more pain in her chest than she felt like considering at the moment. She didn't even know she could feel such emotions anymore. Not since the first summoning all those years ago. Even her own mother's death didn't hurt quite like t
“Wait, what? Why?” With her now being a werewolf, we had discussed her staying here with the pack and her mate.“It won’t be long. I’ll be gone and back again within the month. I just need to settle everything with school and pack my things from my apartment to move here. Plus, I’d like to give my dad a heads-up. He’s been texting me worried since I haven’t gone to see him recently.” Sera’s dad was the only family she had left. Her mom had died giving birth to her, leaving her dad to raise her solo. I nodded my agreement.“I’m going with her,” Reed announced; I had expected him to want to go with her. Theron came and sat by my side, taking my hand in his while swirling his thumb inside my palm. I leaned into his warmth, laying my head against his shoulder."Are you sure you’re up for it, Reed?" Theron eyed his friend. I looked up at him. My expression must have shown the confusion I felt because Theron smiled before explaining.“With the Desert pack going silent with no word, I’m worr
As the morning sun rose, the birds chirped their morning song, signaling that the crisp, freezing winter was ending and spring was waking up. It had been two months since the battle of clans, with the pack busy repairing the town and healing its injured. Moriko sat outside on the porch in his white cat form, staring at the field that once held a great battle.I sat beside him, scratching behind his ear like an old habit, earning a purr from him. We sat silently for a moment, gazing at the peaceful morning sunrise. In the corner of my eye, I could still make out the black patch of ash that was Morana. It never lifted from the earth, like a scar.“Where will you go next?” I asked to break the silence.“I must return home to the Ostyn Clan headquarters. There is much to do and arrange now that the power has shifted to a new priestess, and the curse has broken. I am needed there to protect your mother.” Moriko had sadness in his voice; he had walked beside my grandmother for decades, ands
KamariShe was okay; she was bleeding, but Mother was going to be okay. I nuzzled her, overjoyed to see her again, letting loose some healing magic to knit Mom’s side up. Only she didn’t need my magic; she was already healing fast, which was new. She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me.“I knew you’d come, just in the nick of time, too.” She whispered to me. I nuzzled further into her, needing to feel her warmth and know she was okay. The sound of her scream before would haunt my dreams for days. I felt movement behind me; I turned out of my mother’s arms and moved protectively in front of her, watching Morana stand off with Verena.“Get out of the way, you stupid child!” Morana screamed at Verena’s wolf. The wolf held her ground, huffing air out of her snout.“What are you doing?! You’d choose them!? The ones that killed your father!?” a single tear escaped Morana’s eye as she spoke about Zander.“I’m doing this for you! So you can rule! Now get out of the way!!” The markin
KamariI was the wind and earth, I was lightning and fire. I ran into the fray with full abandon. I let the bond guide me to where Theron was fighting my Father. Snow stung my eyes as I dashed through the blizzard. As I ran toward him, I saw wolves stop to watch me run past them. They paused and stared before going back at it, battling the Phantom warriors and the animals of the forest that had joined the fight.A few light-colored wolves dared to run at me. I unleashed my fire on them in my wolf form, allowing Tala to mix her power with my Ostyn blood. Fire clashed with ice, creating water in my eyes from the raging snowstorm, and I lost track of what was real and what was magic. It almost looked like my magic formed through Tala as a bird of fire, tearing into the wolves as we fought with teeth and claws. A mountain lion leaped on the remaining wolf, fighting him off and giving me time to go to my mate.I still wasn’t 100 percent sure how I did it. I was running through the forest w
TheronDo you have any last words, pup? Zander spoke triumphantly into my head with death in his eyes. I mentally pushed on the bind the Raven had on me, trying with all my might to get free. She began to sweat with the pressure, but the bind held firm. Zander took a step closer than another. I moved my eyes to see the remaining warriors of our pack fighting viciously outnumbered but standing their ground.A wolf got through the Cadre’s barrier and slashed Dani down her side. She howled in pain, her blood staining the white snow beneath. Rune shot out off the ground, shifting in the air and throwing his wolf form at the wolf to get him away from his mate.It opened a hole in the barrier big enough for several enemy wolves and a few witches to break free and run towards the house. That was when the cat jumped through the busted door, attacking anyone near the opening. Alpha Zander had shifted back into his human form, unafraid of the vulnerability it put him in, and wrapped his hands ar
ReedIt was a fucking slaughterhouse. We were outnumbered three to one at least, and with everyone battling for the past several days, we were exhausted. The snow didn’t help either; it kept getting in our eyes, watering our vision, and making it hard to keep the focus on our opponent. Zander planned and executed this well. We would need a miracle to win this war. I swiped and killed mercilessly at the Desert Pack. From what I knew of the slave traders, they deserved nothing less.Where is he? Rune asked in my head. I looked to see him step up beside me in his human form with two broad swords. Rune had always enjoyed fighting with swords in battle and would often switch off between his wolf and warrior form “to ease the tension for both forms,” he had said. Rune was one of our most formidable warriors because he was so good in both forms and enjoyed both sides, sometimes a little too much. Where I would fight out of necessity, Rune fought for
ReedI stood staring at Ms. O as she worked her magic on Theron. At first, nothing happened. fear coursed up my spine when I saw the look on Ms. O’s face. She couldn’t hide the terror and sadness in her eyes. I couldn’t make out his heartbeat or even feel his presence for a split second. I dropped to my knees in shock, sitting there, helpless, beside his bed. This wasn’t happening, this couldn’t-Slowly, I saw Theron’s skin turn from ash to golden brown, and his breathing grew steadily. Without thinking, I burst out in laughter, a tear sliding down my cheek. My joy was short-lived when I heard slamming and hissing outside the room. Ms. O and I both looked at the door at the exact moment. I became alert immediately when Arkyn pushed to get out. He had been reeling the past few days, needing to fight and protect the pack battling outside these walls.“I’ll protect him. Go! Help them, save her, please.” The last
Izabele“NOOOOO! You can’t! You can’t sacrifice yourself like this!” I raged while I slammed my fist into the door that wouldn’t open. Whether it was her or the house that locked me in, I didn’t know, and I didn’t care; I was mad at both of them. I bellowed at the door, trying to claw my way out when someone interrupted me.“Umm, Ms. O...Ms. O? MS. O!” I turned to look at him with tear-stained eyes. He took a step back with his hands up, smart boy.“From the feel of her power, I-uh, think she can handle one witch, right? And-”“NO, she cannot. The High Priestess’s power comes not from fighting or battle spells but from healing. She is our greatest healer and greatest seer. She can see...She can see...she saw this. She insisted she came with me when I said I was coming here. She knew...” I trailed off, not wanting to say what I knew was coming next. Her words from a few day