Ohhh I guess if I HAVE to stay...
~Luke’s Point of View~Once in the hall I pull my schedule out of my pocket, and sigh with relief when I see it's time for lunch. I’m starved, but then again, I always am. The council was able to make a deal with the school to accommodate me, and since I require something that isn’t exactly on the menu I have to be very careful. At the idea of quenching the ever present burn in my throat, my feet move a bit faster. But again, at a human pace. I make my way to the cafeteria, finding the space simply by following the smell. The foods of today are so vastly different and for the most part… garbage. I’ve been very spoiled living in the Shadows headquarters, getting meals catered to my needs. That isn’t going to be my daily reality now though the Alpha of my new pack is making an effort.I quickly see the side door that Chance told me would be there, and it nearly kills me not to just dash to it. Every second wasted is time I don’t get what I need. What I crave. Most importantly, it's time
~Harlow’s Point of View~“It was crazy, unlike anything I’ve ever seen! And then there were Shadows literally all over,” I say, eyeing the basket of food in front of me. But my stomach sinks, thinking about the male that died. I didn’t know him, he was a popular jock though, and his death will be a big deal.“I’m hearing his uncle is the Gamma of Dark Thunder,” Skip says, rubbing his face.My eyes go wide, figuring that’s really bad. Things like this just don’t happen here! I mean, not that I’ve seen. But then again, I don’t expect things like what happened to me to happen. I make a face and reach for an onion ring.I wait while Skip goes to speak to several others, and I slightly wonder why he cares about some teenage boy. By the time he comes back, I’ve downed the entire basket of food and a milkshake. I rub my full belly, noting the slight pudge that seems to get a little more pronounced by the day. This bar is gross for the most part, but the food is too good.“I gotta go honey, yo
~Harlow’s Point of View~“Doing okay? You weren’t at dinner,” I hear, as the voice breaks my daze. I look up from the laundry I’m trying to move from the washer to the dryer and see Luna Viola. “Yes, I just uhm, ate at work. How are you,” I quickly ask. Few people I know I have a “job” and those that do thankfully don’t ask much about it. You know like what I actually do there.If I keep a mild conversation with her, and act interested, she often keeps things short and to the point. There’s also been a few times she’s brought up things out in the open where anyone could hear, and I don’t appreciate that. I have enough problems! But I couldn’t exactly come here to live without the Alpha and Luna knowing what they were taking on.“Well I have some clothes for you if you want to come by my room later and--” She’s cut off immediately by two of her pups, running through the laundry room screaming. She shakes her head. “Sorry, I have to…” she says, making gestures. I simply nod, indicating
Chapter 12 - Accountability~Luke’s Point of View~“I can only conclude that the females of today are certifiably insane,” I mutter, rubbing my chin. The two females in the room both give me death stares, but especially Penelope, a Greek half witch half wolf hybrid who is posing as my mother. It’s obvious she doesn’t much like me, and I can’t blame her. She hasn’t even scratched the surface yet of knowing me: once she does, she may not ever look me in the eye. But her job here is probably more important than mine so I have to kiss her behind to no end. She keeps my secrets. Without her spells, everyone would know what I am. Imagine sitting in a crowded lunchroom and all of a sudden people smell a vampire. It would be a nightmare.I also have a “dad” who is a panther shifter named Stan. But the Alpha requested he immediately take up with the guardians who protect the pack’s borders. So he’s gone a lot. But it also gets him an “in” with all the gossip the higher ups have. Laughter eru
~Harlow’s Point of View~There aren’t going to be a whole lot of days this year where I can get away with a summer dress, so this is it. I look down at a mint green knee length dress with white polka dots and lace trim that I pulled from the rack. It's probably the prettiest thing that’s ever been against my skin. It even cuts a bit low, revealing some cleavage I seem to have gotten recently.I gape at my reflection in the mirror and literally don’t even recognize myself. In the last few months I’ve easily gained thirty pounds. It's amazing what happens when you can actually get food whenever you’re hungry. And Goddess knows I’m eating more than my share these days.Since my entire body has filled out, thankfully my belly pudge isn’t even that noticeable. For now. Yeah, it's just a muffin top. Curvy is just a word for females to feel sexy but that’s not me. I’m happily chubby because it means I’m not starving.My eyes move to the cute black boots against my dresser. I’m not entirely su
~Harlow’s Point of View~What the heck am I doing? Ohh damn these hormones! I thought I had them under control, but I’m apparently no match for Luke Payne. I’m likely just some warm body to him, there’s no way he cares about me.Right now I’m not sure it matters. Can I be one of those females that doesn’t have any emotion attached to being with a male? It’s just… scratching an itch right?Because Goddess I itch more than the time I got poison ivy!My mind whirls as I lead him outside, without a clue as to where I’m actually going. For a moment I think about going out in the woods where I get my morning package for Skip, but something tells me not to. I push out a door on the opposite side of the school that’s away from the woods, into an empty parking lot. For fire drills, everyone is supposed to go out front, unless they are being bad or just leave completely. Goddess why does it feel so good to be bad? Or maybe just do as the bullies who I hate do? Maybe just this once I can see wha
~Luke’s Point of View~Absolute shame hits me along with the fresh air near the football field. I dash into the woods, knowing I’m seconds from losing it. All of it. Having Godrey’s wrath reign down on me all because I had this moment of weakness.I knew that touching Harlow would be bad, no… heaven. She would be utter heaven. But my control… that… That was on the line. I was literally a second from ruining my entire existence. What I should be doing is confessing, I know several Shadows are here right now. I should call for help, come clean. I need to feed and the idea I could be having a warm human right now pushes me even further to the edge.But I don’t want just any human. I sure as hell don’t want a male. Only one that reeks of sunflowers and sun, has a kiss that’s like a straight shock to my dick and tastes like no one else I’ve ever experienced. And I haven’t even had her blood.No, I simply can’t. I know without a shadow of a doubt if I taste Harlow, I probably won’t stop.It
~Harlow’s Point of View~“You doing okay hun? You seem a bit distracted tonight,” Angel says, giving me a small smile. I shake myself a bit, knowing that the council witch is basically a human lie detector. She’s also served as a shrink to me of sorts, making sure that I don’t have any lasting effects from my attack. She’s been so knowledgeable with all of my thousands of questions. I really do look forward to our weekly appointments.“I’m okay. School’s been a lot. I’ve also been anxious for my scan tonight,” I say, knowing that it’s a big one. She nods with understanding and thankfully buys my explanation. I mean, it isn’t a total lie.“I’ll go ahead and renew the spells I have in place on you before you go, to keep things hidden. But pretty soon your body is going to change too much and it’ll be obvious. We’ll keep the scent hidden indefinitely as long as we can so it only smells like you,” she says, rising to her feet. I don’t answer her, because it's nothing I don’t already know
~Harlow’s Point of View~“Could there possibly be anything more boring,” I whine, propping my elbow on my knee and dropping my chin into my hand. Luke gives me a knowing look, equally as bored. The cheerleaders are half dressed, and I do all I can not to look at them. I notice Luke isn’t the least phased by them and that turns me on to no end. He doesn’t even look twice at any other female out here and he keeps holding my hand which I love a bit too much. “I might have asked you to go under these benches so I could sneak a kiss but I just watched someone dump a large cup of liquid through the floor. Why on earth would one do that,” he asks, and I let out a sarcastic laugh.“People are wasteful and stupid,” I answer, and mean it. My fingers twitch at his mention of kissing, and I wonder what he’d do if I just grabbed his face out here and--“So am I to understand that they all just chase a ball and hit each other over it? But they’re not allowed to actually injure the other? There are
~Harlow’s Point of View~What a fool I am! For the second time Luke has left me and I should do the same. I should use the packhouse phone and call for a witch to zap me into another time zone. Hell I don’t even know where the Shadow Warriors headquarters is, and I’m sure that’s how they want to keep it. Could be in another realm for all I know.Is that a thing?? Put that away for another day.I throw myself into my room and lock the door, fuming. I stare at the handle, practically daring it to open. The wait isn’t long, and there’s a knock. There’s not a doubt in my mind it's Luke, and I turn to look at the window as a possibility of fleeing. But I’m on the second floor and that doesn’t seem like an appealing escape plan.My hand rubs my belly absentmindedly as I hear feet shuffling. “Can we please talk,” Luke says, his voice low. I scoff.“Why, so you can lie to me? Make up something to justify you being so weird? Or tell me you have a girlfriend back at home,” I snap, and cross my
~Harlow’s Point of View~“Ohhh my gosh! There’s so many,” I squeal, as I run toward a mama and her puppies. They look as though they can’t be more than a few days old. They’re all nursing or trying to, since they want to crawl over each other.I immediately want all of them though I know that isn’t practical. But in my head, I’m already naming them. They’re golden retrievers and they are impossibly cute. A pet was something I always desperately wanted but in foster care it would have been another mouth to feed, and they don’t like that.“No,” Luke says, as his hands move to my shoulders in an attempt to hold me back.“But it's going to freeze tonight! We can’t leave them,” I protest, pouting.“Surely you know how crazy wolves are over transferred scents? She isn’t going to want our stink all over her babies,” he says. I make a face at that, but know there is probably some truth to it. My mind instantly wanders a mile a minute, trying to figure this out. “She knows what to do Harlow, l
~Luke’s Point of View~Play it cool, don’t panic because she’s a couple minutes late. Goddess you’re pathetic.*I don’t think so at all! In fact being away from her has put me in quite a pissy mood. I could really get used to--* Dante cuts himself off when we see her. He doesn’t even want the distraction of his own thoughts and I get it.Her glossy red mane is loose again, not that I don’t like the pigtails. But this just makes her even more of a Goddess. She’s got on another form fitting dress with those boots, ugh!I lick my lips before I can help myself, and stand like a fool by her locker. We were barely able to sleep last night with everything going on, and with such fresh memories of Harlow’s soft body, her heavenly aroma of arousal and--“Good morning,” she says, giving me a big smile. Before I can even control myself, my lips do that crazy thing that they never do. As she stares at me, I can’t keep myself from laughing.“You have a bit of…” I say, raising my finger to her mouth
~Harlow’s Point of View~A yawn escapes my lips as I listen to Ginny carry on about her day over dinner. Today was a true test of my patience because it seemed to drag on forever. Without Luke to be a distraction, I had just my daydreams of last night with Tate. I don’t know what to make of Luke not being in school, but it irritates me. But also, a part of me has to wonder if he was telling the truth. Maybe he didn’t leave because of me. If that’s the case, how will I handle two males in my life at once?“So? The clothes are good? You look super cute,” Ginny says, pointing to the new yellow blouse I’m wearing. I had picked several tops that were loose enough to give me room to grow.I smile down at myself, definitely happy with the new wardrobe. But I was also desperate to get up to my room and into just a nightgown. My boobs and feet are killing me and the jeans I’d chosen are a bit tight. I’d stayed late after school in the chemistry lab, trying to make up for what I missed yesterd
~Tate’s Point of View~*We shouldn’t be here,* Colt grunts, as he thunders through the woods. I can only agree. I’m practically faint with the memory of her touch, her breath, her everything.I’ve never been more sure of the fact that Harlow is indeed my fated mate. Just thinking about her practically naked on my lap…*Make a right, you’ll see us,* Hunter shouts over mind-link, as my wolf abruptly turns.When we break through and into the clearing, I see literally the entire council assembled, and my dearest grandfather barking orders. There are at least a dozen Shadows. Ugh, gonna be a long damn night. For the entire council to be out, together? Not good. They rarely involve themselves in our day to day.“Tate! Where have you been,” my father snaps, with my mom by his side. He’s harder on me than any other of my siblings and since we’re the youngest, yeah it pisses me off. But I do like rising to meet his demands in a way. It’s a tit for tat and based on the stories I’ve heard about
~Harlow’s Point of View~“I’m sorry what,” he asks, and his face is absolutely priceless. I scold myself when I realize what I just said and shake my head with embarrassment.“Goddess I didn’t mean… uhm… I mean like everything you do just seems so effortless. You move with such ease like you’ve already mapped it out in your head,” I say, somewhat stumbling over my words like an idiot. I look off into the distance, feeling my cheeks heat. The hot water doesn’t help.Like you could think straight sitting in the lap of a hot warrior with a massive erection!! HUUUGE!I mean elephant trunk huge!! That isn’t normal! I’ve seen plenty of naked males and none were close to this!“Oh that’s just my training,” he says, and I can feel him looking at me. I start to pull back, sensing how awkward this is, but his arm snakes around me in the best way. It's quiet for a long minute, and I have absolutely no idea what to say. It’s all I can do to not panic. No, to hell with that, it's literally all I
~Tate’s Point of View~My heart races and the blood in my body practically heats to a melting point every time I’m near Harlow. But tonight, sharing her ultrasound with her, was everything. I could tell it was to her too. Good thing I’d been pacing in the hallway like a lunatic waiting to see her for an hour.Colt is restless in my mind, already having played out the entire night in his head. I just need to convince her to go along with it.*We almost had her last time,* Colt says, whining and hanging his head.The full moon is in a couple days, so naturally all unmated males are keyed up. But that’s an excuse for us feeling this way; because obviously it’s just Harlow. We’re like this every time she comes out here, and I know that as her pregnancy progresses, she’ll only have more and more appointments. As I turn to stare at her, I simply can’t help the butterflies in my gut, and the stupid smile on my face.“So uhm, you in a hurry to get back at all,” I ask, as I wipe my mouth. The
~Harlow’s Point of View~“You doing okay hun? You seem a bit distracted tonight,” Angel says, giving me a small smile. I shake myself a bit, knowing that the council witch is basically a human lie detector. She’s also served as a shrink to me of sorts, making sure that I don’t have any lasting effects from my attack. She’s been so knowledgeable with all of my thousands of questions. I really do look forward to our weekly appointments.“I’m okay. School’s been a lot. I’ve also been anxious for my scan tonight,” I say, knowing that it’s a big one. She nods with understanding and thankfully buys my explanation. I mean, it isn’t a total lie.“I’ll go ahead and renew the spells I have in place on you before you go, to keep things hidden. But pretty soon your body is going to change too much and it’ll be obvious. We’ll keep the scent hidden indefinitely as long as we can so it only smells like you,” she says, rising to her feet. I don’t answer her, because it's nothing I don’t already know