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72. What It Means to Lose
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2025-03-24 01:01:40Caleb slammed the door behind him as he got out of the car. He didn’t wait for me or even help me. He just walked into the house. Stepping out gingerly to the driveway, I slung my bag over my shoulder before slowly making my way into the house.
Closing the door behind me, I was surprised to find Caleb with a beer in hand, leaning against the kitchen counter. I didn’t even know we had beer, let alone that Caleb drank it. He shook his head as he looked up at me.
“You ruined years of mentoring and work.”
I frowned. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Galen Rue, you stupid girl. I have been mentoring him and pushing him to take over for Alpha Damian. It’s time that Damian step down. He has no children and I don’t think he ever will. Galen was the obvious choice and only needed a little help.”
For a moment, I stared at Caleb. I hoped he was joking. It didn’t look like h
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I curled up tighter, not wanting to hear whatever was going on downstairs. There was yelling, that was for sure. It got louder for a second before I realized it was because someone was opening my door. The yelling mellowed down to a murmur again. Someone touched my shoulder and I jumped.“Winter…”Tears that I thought were done filled my eyes and I curled up tighter, trying to get away from the voice. I knew it. It was the voice I wanted to avoid like the plague. Who would want a wolf-less mate? Who would accept anyone like that? And an Alpha at that?“Talk to me, Winter. Please.” His hand brushed my arm, but I tried to scoot as far away as I could. “Look at me at least.”Squeezing my eyes shut, I lifted my head. Slowly, I peeled them open. Caspian was sitting on the bench in front of me. His face reflected the worry I heard in his tone. My tears fell and I started to shake my head.“Oh, little wolf.
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*** Caspian’s POV ***I tried to be as normal as possible for Winter. She was already nervous going with Maddox and I to the diner. It was funny because we definitely turned a few heads. However, once we sat down, she relaxed a little. Not as much as I wished though.This had broken her. She spoke about not having her wolf but the fact that it had been taken from her. Not that she wasn’t supposed to have one, didn’t just devastate her. I was gutted. It wouldn’t change how I felt about having her as a mate. My acceptance of her wouldn’t change. This just felt so raw.I’d had Onan with me years before most wolves did. We were a team. Albeit a weird team. We didn’t think or work together like other wolves but he was the other part of my soul. My grouchy old man part of my soul.‘Hey.’I chortled. “Tell me I’m wrong.”Onan huffed. ‘Whatever.&
Last Updated : 2025-03-26Winter 75. Anger
The kitchen was quiet for a moment. My brother and I stared at each other. Ember was looking at me as well, but she turned to her mate. He didn’t look at her. His focus was on me and I wondered if it was because he was still deciding if giving me the truth was worth it. My hand curled into a fist.“Yes, we made the decision to lock Winter’s wolf away!” Ember was the one who answered, the words tumbling out of her mouth.My eyes continued to watch my brother as he sighed and rubbed his eyes, his back falling against the wall. He pulled his leg up and frowned. Damian looked exhausted, but not from the blooming bruise on the side of his face.“We…we made the decision. A choice. To protect her and the pack. Especially after Linny passed…” Ember sat back on her knees, looking up at me. “Yes, we made the choice. I’m sorry, Cas.”“Why? Why would you do that? What could a young wolf do to pose such a threat that you brought in magic, forbidden magic I might add, to seal away her wolf? You can’
Last Updated : 2025-03-27Winter 76. Loosely Considered Kidnapping
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I couldn’t help the smile that filled my face as Winter looked up in awe. We had gone through the entrance and I was speaking with the front desk for a moment to get our badges. I’d contacted Carrie to get some strings pulled. Under the guise checking out their research facilities for my work, I wanted to show Winter more than just the museum exhibits. However, looking at the awe on her face, she might have been okay with that.“I remember it being big when I was little, but I didn’t realize they were this big even as I grew up. It almost seems impossibly big.”“It is, isn’t it? Sometimes we forget that there are things bigger than us. Especially being wolves. We are strong and it can seem like we are at the top of the food chain. Except in the face of something like a dinosaur.” I was waiting for the director to come out and confirm my identity. “You said you came here before though?”Winter nodded. “We were supposed to go to the water park. It started to pour and the school had to ch
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Last Updated : 2025-04-25
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Winter 80. Standing Down
“What…what is going on?” Winter looked between her Alpha and her father.Onan was sitting just behind my consciousness. He was ready to take over and fight both of these wolves. The fact that one of them was our brother didn’t matter at this point. None of that mattered. These two were trying to take our mate away. I didn’t think they would try to go this far. It didn’t even register that this was an option.“No.”It was a single word from me. However, between Onan and I, the growl and the power that came with it, it might as well have been a right hook to the face of both of them. I was still holding Winter against me, her hand holding my arm. What’s worse is that I could feel her shaking.“You want to break an alliance, Caspian? We need to keep our alliances if we are going to survive. We break this, and we lose their support. Support we count on often.” Damian was struggling still under my anger. “We need this.”“Not. Winter.” I struggled not to shift, the only thing keeping me grou
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Winter 76. Loosely Considered Kidnapping
‘Just go in, Caspian. No one is going to think it’s weird you’re there.’ Onan was at his limit with me and I could feel his irritation at my hesitation.“I can’t just…go in. One, I’m not a teacher anymore. Two, I’d be picking up Winter. Which would end up raising flags.”He let off an annoyed sigh. ‘Outside the fact that she is our mate and it’s not weird. You are now Caspian Herne. The wolfs out of the bag. You can’t hide anymore that you are the Alpha’s brother. Both good and bad.’Rubbing my face, I let out a more exasperated sigh. Damian and Ember had been using that to their advantage. Every time I went into town, went shopping, or even at home, they had a wolf watching me. I didn’t know what they expected me to do, but apparently, it was something.Whether or not I wanted to let them be at the mercy of the Council, I worried that Winter would end up in the crosshairs. I worried that I would lose her simply because I wanted to spite my brother and didn’t wait to think about how I
Winter 75. Anger
The kitchen was quiet for a moment. My brother and I stared at each other. Ember was looking at me as well, but she turned to her mate. He didn’t look at her. His focus was on me and I wondered if it was because he was still deciding if giving me the truth was worth it. My hand curled into a fist.“Yes, we made the decision to lock Winter’s wolf away!” Ember was the one who answered, the words tumbling out of her mouth.My eyes continued to watch my brother as he sighed and rubbed his eyes, his back falling against the wall. He pulled his leg up and frowned. Damian looked exhausted, but not from the blooming bruise on the side of his face.“We…we made the decision. A choice. To protect her and the pack. Especially after Linny passed…” Ember sat back on her knees, looking up at me. “Yes, we made the choice. I’m sorry, Cas.”“Why? Why would you do that? What could a young wolf do to pose such a threat that you brought in magic, forbidden magic I might add, to seal away her wolf? You can’
Winter 74. Rolling Up Your Sleeves
*** Caspian’s POV ***I tried to be as normal as possible for Winter. She was already nervous going with Maddox and I to the diner. It was funny because we definitely turned a few heads. However, once we sat down, she relaxed a little. Not as much as I wished though.This had broken her. She spoke about not having her wolf but the fact that it had been taken from her. Not that she wasn’t supposed to have one, didn’t just devastate her. I was gutted. It wouldn’t change how I felt about having her as a mate. My acceptance of her wouldn’t change. This just felt so raw.I’d had Onan with me years before most wolves did. We were a team. Albeit a weird team. We didn’t think or work together like other wolves but he was the other part of my soul. My grouchy old man part of my soul.‘Hey.’I chortled. “Tell me I’m wrong.”Onan huffed. ‘Whatever.&
Winter 73. Who You Are
I curled up tighter, not wanting to hear whatever was going on downstairs. There was yelling, that was for sure. It got louder for a second before I realized it was because someone was opening my door. The yelling mellowed down to a murmur again. Someone touched my shoulder and I jumped.“Winter…”Tears that I thought were done filled my eyes and I curled up tighter, trying to get away from the voice. I knew it. It was the voice I wanted to avoid like the plague. Who would want a wolf-less mate? Who would accept anyone like that? And an Alpha at that?“Talk to me, Winter. Please.” His hand brushed my arm, but I tried to scoot as far away as I could. “Look at me at least.”Squeezing my eyes shut, I lifted my head. Slowly, I peeled them open. Caspian was sitting on the bench in front of me. His face reflected the worry I heard in his tone. My tears fell and I started to shake my head.“Oh, little wolf.
Winter 72. What It Means to Lose
Caleb slammed the door behind him as he got out of the car. He didn’t wait for me or even help me. He just walked into the house. Stepping out gingerly to the driveway, I slung my bag over my shoulder before slowly making my way into the house.Closing the door behind me, I was surprised to find Caleb with a beer in hand, leaning against the kitchen counter. I didn’t even know we had beer, let alone that Caleb drank it. He shook his head as he looked up at me.“You ruined years of mentoring and work.”I frowned. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”“Galen Rue, you stupid girl. I have been mentoring him and pushing him to take over for Alpha Damian. It’s time that Damian step down. He has no children and I don’t think he ever will. Galen was the obvious choice and only needed a little help.”For a moment, I stared at Caleb. I hoped he was joking. It didn’t look like h
