Brooke. “Thank you for that,” I reply to Jenna as soon as Caster gets out of our sight, “That was very uncomfortable. And yes, he was.”“Ugh,” Jenna mutters, “I loathe him. I didn’t like him much before but after yesterday,” The expression on her face morphs to one of regret, and she glances at me, “Speaking of yesterday, I meant what I said to Caster. I really want to apologize to you.”“Oh,” I comment, feeling awkward again.“I’m so, so sorry,” She gushes, “I really believed that the note was from Alexander so I did everything as it said. I should’ve known that he would never leave me a note, and if he wants anything he'd just tell me in person. I was an idiot and that nearly put the whole pack and you in danger.”“I understand,” I find myself saying, “I mean, I'm not going to lie, when you left me there, I was dead scared because I knew nothing about that part of the Lunar woods, and I was scared that I was going to take one step and go tumbling down a hole because it got so dark w
Brooke. After that event, Jenna, and Mikaela by association, become my friends. Apart from meeting up at the Training ranges, we take trips around the pack together, and on weekends when we don’t want, comes to hang out with us sometimes. They are pretty fun to spend time with, and they introduce me to various aspects of pack living like the public bathhouse, stalls in the market where to get the best things and take me to the tavern to have some fun. Because of the uncertainty of my age, I am not allowed to drink, but that doesn’t bother me. I still have a good time with my friends. I also notice that after the whole incident with Jenna, the members of the Lunar Legacy pack are friendlier to me. They greet me when they pass by and smile, even engaging in small talk sometimes.At first, I find this bizarre albeit delightful, as if the change had come over the pack overnight, but Alexander explains it by pointing out that because I stood up for Jenna and Alexander, two of their own as
ALEXANDERI know my brother well; he will throw a massive temper tantrum, leading to a major rift in the family. Just as I’m lost in thought about what’s going to happen, her voice breaks through my contemplation.“That’s what I feel,” she mutters, leaning her head on my shoulder. I love it when she sees metirs, a part of me that words cannot express.“So, what are we going to do?” I ask, utterly confused and helpless about the situation.“I don’t know. We’ll probably just go with the flow, I suppose?” She giggles, sounding like she’s asking a question. “I’m sure by the time he sees everything, he’ll throw tantrums, and after a while, everything will be fine.”I should feel happy with her words, but her last statement gives me pause. I know everything won’t be fine; it’s all based on hope. Carter is my brother, and he will go to any lengths. Yet, I can't bear the thought of losing her—the only person my eyes have ever been on, the only person my heart beats for. I don’t want to trade h
CARTER.I watch them both as they start to talk intently. The way she grabs his hands and hugs him is entirely different from how she treats me. My jealousy intensifies as I observe them, feelings surging greater than just anger. Just when I think about interrupting their happy moment, I sense something odd in their expressions. Brooke looks shocked and confused, while Alexander appears scared. I want to know what the problem is, but all I can do is watch them and refrain from making any rash moves that could jeopardize my chances with my mate.Call me delusional, but she is my mate; I’m the Alpha heir, and I’ll have whatever I want. She will never be out of my reach. In the blink of an eye, they are hugging.“I’ve never even had a handshake with Brooke, and he’s already getting a hug.” This thought infuriates me. I can't help but count the seconds: exactly 5 minutes and 33 seconds. Is his body that good and comforting for her to stay in his embrace for so long? Just as I’m about to st
I couldn’t help myself, I laughed out loud.“I’ve already proven two times I’m better than you.”“Three times a charm.”“No!” I rolled my eyes then jetted.I wanted my mind to simply stop reeling. There was too much to think about. Besides, it wasn’t that easy for me either. Even though I wanted to go back to my pack feeling like I belonged somewhere felt good. I had Ryan and Caleigh by my side. And I would have never traded them for anything. But I knew I wasn’t ready.I decided to keep running from the training grounds to the lake and back. And I did, seven times in a row. I barely broke a sweat but I wanted to stop. I wanted to ask Ryan to help me with swordsmanship. But by the time I got back to the training grounds, he was there and Caleigh was with him. They exchanged a look then Ryan spoke first.“We’re sorry. You were right. We both know that. But things are getting complicated. I think” he breathed a sad sigh “I reached my limits. I will not get any stronger at this stage. Un
His usual, annoying grin appeared on his face but I didn’t pay attention. I let Caleigh guide me like I would have been a beginner. Which, I technically was, but Otis didn’t have to know. The huntress lifted my elbow a bit and firmed her grip on my side.“Elbow up, darling!” she said and I could barely keep myself from laughing.“I know honey, but I will never be as good as you are!”“That’s why I’m here!” she said softly.I smiled softly. Would she be a human she would be great at playing different people and travel the world. And I honestly think she would have loved that life, too. She wouldn’t have gone hunting, sure. But she has always wanted to travel and see the world. I think this kind of life would also fit her. But she is not a human. She has never been and never will be. She has to hunt and hope for survival. She took a step back. I released the string and watch as the arrow started to fly and ended up in the middle of the target. I sent Caleigh a content smile and I saw fr
Right after lunch we got back to the training grounds. Ryan’s bad feeling seemed to be contagious though. Giving Otis a piece of my mind felt good at first. But then I couldn’t shake the feeling he would come after us soon enough. I wished he would go on another quest. We kept training. I was just getting better at swordsmanship. Ryan started to struggle with hitting me. Even though my attacks needed improvement, my evasion skills were getting even better.Caleigh made some arrows in the meantime. She seemed to be deep in thought. I think she also felt something was not right. Nobody had spoken their mind as straightforward to Otis is I did. Maybe it was a stupid idea. I knew if he found out about his brother and me, we were done for. But being careful was getting hard. All I wanted was to be with Ryan. I wanted to be in his muscular arms and let him kiss me wherever he wanted. I blushed at the thought, letting him hit me on my thigh.“Pay attention!” he called me out “What are you th
Once we arrived to the river the huntress put off her clothes without hesitation and took a dive in the river. Since I was getting more comfortable around her I put my clothes off as well and joined her. She still seemed deep in thought. I somewhat understood her. There was much to do and time was getting shorter. If my plan about Otis backfired, we had to go as soon as possible. But I had a feeling she felt uneasy due to other things, too.“So? Will you talk?” I asked.“Was it that obvious?” she chuckled.“It was, yes.”“I really appreciate you want to help during our journey. And actually, the whole thing. You know you’re not obliged to bring me along. I have no quest. You two have a higher purpose. I don’t want to get in the way.”“So that’s what your problem is.” I chuckled “Taking it funny, we need a hunter so we don’t starve do death before we find the witch and reach my pack. Taking it seriously, you are our friend and we can’t just leave you here. Just think about what Otis wo
Lydia. We run through the forest as fast as we can, without looking back. I can feel my heart breaking inside my chest with every step we take. I left Ryan. I left Ryan to fend himself against his murderous tyrant of a brother all alone. I left him on his own. I left the love of my life. The pain is too much to bear, and I feel myself slip off. In the spirit plane, my wolf is startled to see me. The purple and magenta sky of my mind's world is strewn with multicolored stars, but I can't appreciate that beauty today. Disregarding my yipping wolf, I stride towards the remaining chain. I need to break this in order to gain my full potential. I don't care if I'm still too weak. Ryan is in danger, and I need to break this chain in order to save him. I need to go and face down an entire packet to reclaim my beloved back. My wolf comes growling and snaps her jaws at me. She tries to warn me off the chain, as she knows I'm not strong enough yet. But I am too far gone to listen to reaso
Lydia.Otis hollers as I stab his arm with the arrowhead, his cry waking up everyone in the near vicinity. I start to hear voices coming from all around me. But caught in the throes of my anger, I don't care for them. I want to see Otis hurt for what he was trying to do to Ryan. With a yell, I pull off the sharp metal from his chest, and he cries out once again. Clutching the injured arm, he stumbles back a couple of steps and hits the wall, hard, with his head. The impact makes him lose consciousness, and he falls to the ground.I brace myself to pounce on him again and end him once and for all. I could feel the bloodlust taking over me, poisoning my mind like a scarlet berry. My vision tinges with death, and there's the gushing sound of an ocean in my ears. 'Kill, kill, kill,' my mind chants, and there's nothing I want more than to listen to it. I want to see fear clog his face, I want to see him choke on his own spit. I want to watch the life bleed out of him. I want to watch him
Lydia.The shadow moved discretely as if it was aware that it was being watched. Or perhaps it was not taking any risks and was acting as if it was already in danger.As I move through the darkness the trees provide, being extra careful not to make a sound, I start to see the owner of the shadow.It was a man, judging from the body. He was dressed in all black, covering his body from head to toe in dark garments that blended in with the night. His face is wrapped in a black scarf. He looks almost like an assassin, but I know that his gait is too sloppy to be that of an assassin's. Besides, an assassin would never creep around the caves so slowly. The man stops near a certain cave. There is a window carved into the stone, and it's open partially due to the humidity. The man straightens and peers inside the window, opening it slowly enough not to make a creaking noise as it was bound to do if opened quickly. Then, ever so carefully, he places his palms upon the windowsill and raises h
Lydia.That day, I bring down my first deer. It feels almost surreal, but the arrow that pierces through its unsuspecting eyes is mine. The deer falls to the ground as soon as the arrow hits, and although I feel remorse for it as always, I also cannot keep myself from crowing out of triumph."Good job!" Caleigh claps me on the back before running towards the carcass to start gutting it. We pack the meat inside our packs and dump the entrails far away so other carnivores could make use of it. With meat-heavy backpacks, we make our way back to our caves so we could drop the bounty off in the kitchens. The stores of meat in the pack would be full after this."How strange," Caleigh mused as we dropped the meat off, gazing around the pack lands, "Your unwelcome shadow is absent today."I'd noticed that too. I have yet to see Otis for the day; he'd been absent from my site since this morning. Maybe he finally came to his senses and decided not to pursue me. But I knew that thought is too g
Lydia.The next day, as soon as I woke up, my eyes fell on the bow.It was a thing of beauty, and I could see that Caleigh spent much time perfecting it. The wood appeared to be from a mature rowan tree, and I wondered where she even found one. They grew high up in the mountains. Made from rowan heartwood, it was polished and stained with the juice of peppermint leaves. I know this because I could smell the refreshing minty smell from the wood. The middle of the arch was wrapped with cured leather that was firm to the touch. The bowstring was taut and strong, made from fine hairs twined together to make a thick string.I gripped the bow from the middle and raised it in an arc, bringing it in front of me. With my other hand, I pulled the bowstring. It was surprisingly easy after the newfound powers I gained after breaking the chain last night. As I perfected my posture, I felt it flow through my blood. It made me feel as if I were already invincible as if I could take down my enemies w
I sent her a warm smile. I could only imagine how bad she wanted to be set free. She yawned and looked at me. She seemed much calmer than before and I hope this was not only because of the exhaustion. I held out my hand. She pushed her nose against my palm and I petted her.“What do you think?” I asked “Are you ready?”She nodded. I was getting worried. She was still not willing to talk. I doubt that she was unable to. And she didn’t hate me anymore. For me it was something I just couldn’t understand. In addition, it made me feel bad. If she didn’t hate me, why wouldn’t she talk to me? There were many things we could have discussed. I breathed a sigh but tried to understand her.I stepped to her leg and looked at the chain. She turned her head to me then nodded, implying it was really time to release more of her power. I grabbed the chain. I struggled with that one. I hoped I was just exhausted. The animal looked at me. Her eyes narrowed. She cooperated with me: she took some steps so
I grumbled as Caleigh shook me in the following morning. My mind was still reckless and couldn’t sleep much. Besides the already existing problems I couldn’t stop thinking about Ryan’s body.“I told you.” the huntress told me “Come on or I’m going to leave you behind!”“Okay, okay.” I moaned but got out of my bed.I followed Caleigh to the forest and I did my best not to fall back into sleep. I started to doubt that I could have broken another chain. We remained silent. The huntress was sure there were some deer nearby. It was undoubtedly her favorite type of meat. I saw as her muscles became tense and in the same moment I smelled the animal’s scent. It was near. She motioned that we would switch places. I was reluctant but she wanted me to hunt the deer down.I kept listening to the noises and waited for it to appear. Once it was within eyesight I breathed a silent sigh and picked an arrow. I kept my eye on the target but I became nervous all of a sudden. Even though I aimed at the h
When I reached the training grounds I saw he was pulling some weights shirtless. I smiled to myself but stepped in and reached him. It was time to play again. A part of me enjoyed this part either with Ryan or Caleigh. But another part of me was annoyed because I just wanted to be myself. I wanted to be with this man. I wanted to be free and careless. Instead of all this, we had to be careful and play roles, acting like we were nothing more than friends or training partners. Once I reached him I put my hand on his shoulder gently.“Do you need a partner?” I asked.“Maybe.” he grinned “How about a night run?”“Oh, I’m in.” I chuckled then leaned closer to him “I thought you can’t get any stronger now.”“I can’t.” he sighed “We’re acting. That’s all. And you can become stronger.”“You’re right.” I nodded “Let’s go then.”I kept my pace with Ryan’s. Outrunning him would have been no problem. We still had to pretend everything was normal between us. I hated that part. I was proud we foun
The huntress looked at me and sent me a warm smile.“So how far did you get?” she asked.“Not far.” I blushed “I’m afraid someone will notice.” I sighed.“Believe me, Ryan is careful with this. He wouldn’t risk losing you.”“I know, I just don’t want to take any unnecessary risks, you know? If we leave the pack before I unleash my full power, the journey is going to be even more dangerous.”“I know you’re right. But he loves you.”“I know.” I smiled “I wouldn’t sneak out for nothing. But even though it feels so good and so right, I can’t shake off the feeling of something bad is about to happen.”“I understand what you’re talking about.” she said grimly “It’s like it’s way to quiet right before a huge thunderstorm. And I don’t like it either.”“I wish we could have met under different circumstances.”“I wouldn’t leave this place without you.”She remained silent for some minutes and I was waiting for her further response. I knew she was grateful I turned up out of the blue several day