BLAKE After the trip to the Pine Forest Pack, things seemed to be back to normal with Jasmine and me. Between our work and training schedules, we didnโt have much time to meet up, but Jasmine seemed to have forgiven me. After almost a week of mostly text conversations and quick meetups just to bring her coffee before training, I was looking forward to seeing her later that night when sheโd be over for dinner. It was a Tuesday, and Luke and I were, once again, seated across from each other in the office, catching up on our paperwork. After my father passed, my work had practically doubled, now that I was also in charge of the casino. Fortunately, the casino had a whole management team, so my job was mostly just oversight. But there were still constantly decisions to be made, and I had to keep tabs on what was going on to make sure things werenโt getting mismanaged, especially since the pack relied on the casinoโs income to stay afloat. โHey, Blake,โ Luke called out to me. โYeah?โ I
BLAKE After I returned from my visit and finished up with work for the day, Jasmine came over at six. I had the table set for two and had asked Connie to make Jasmineโs favoriteโConnieโs chicken cordon bleu and potatoes au gratin. I set everything out on the table along with two small salads in preparation for the evening. She came into the packhouse, looking stressed as usual. โHow was training?โ I asked, pulling her in for a kiss as soon as she walked in. โIt was fine,โ she replied, pulling away. โIโm glad I finally have the day off tomorrow.โ โConnie made your favorite.โ I smiled at her, taking her hand to bring her over to the dining table. โI hope you came hungry. Although, if you arenโt, Iโd be happy to skip straight to dessert.โ I smirked, trying to cheer her up. She walked over to the table and took a seat. We each put food on our plates and began eating quietly. โIs there something on your mind?โ I asked, noticing she was being much quieter than usual. โNo, everythingโs
TALIA It had been two weeks since Iโd joined Blakeโs pack, and the dread in the pit of my stomach was getting worse. Iโd been completely avoiding the situation with Hugo and Alex. We were in early November, and it was now cold enough to require a coat when I went outside. Iโd finally be moving out of the packhouse and into my new apartment in less than a week. For now, I was saving money so that I could afford some furniture once I moved, even if it was just some random old furniture people posted for sale in the pack F******k group. I at least wanted to buy myself a new mattress. I was grossed out by the idea of sleeping on a used one. I was still able to use the Wi-Fi on my phone, so it wasnโt a complete brick. Not that it was easy to find places with Wi-Fi around here, but both the packhouse and the cafรฉ had it. It wasnโt always super reliable, but it got the job done. I could easily try to reach out to Hugo again through an I*******m DM, but then I was ashamed that I had promised
TALIA I scrolled through his phone and found Alexโs number, dialing it, my heart beating loudly in my chest as the phone rang and I paced the room, unsure of what Iโd say to him. โWulfric?โ he answered the phone. โItโs Talia,โ I replied. โOh.โ โHi.โ โHi,โ he replied. This was feeling very awkward. โHow are you?โ I asked, knowing that I was doing a very bad job of getting to the point. โI mean, Iโm completely shitty to be honest. But how are you?โ โAlex,โ I started, trying to decide how to continue. โThe thing is, Iโm worried about my friend, Hugo.โ โHugo!?โ he shouted. โYou banished him from his home. Heโs the sole provider to his family. His father died, and his mom and brother both depend on him. Iโm really worried.โ โThatโs who youโre worried about? Are you serious?โ He sounded very irritated. โIs there someone else I should be worried about?โ I asked. He sighed. โTalia, I feel like Iโm on some bad trip. Iโve waited for weeks for you to call. And when you do, itโs to s
TALIA Just under a week later, Iโd finally moved into my new apartment on my day off from work. Lucy had borrowed her uncleโs truck, so we could go buy and bring back a new mattress. At the moment, I didnโt have much. It was just the mattress on the floor with no bed frame and a kitchen table and chairs that I bought for cheap from the pack F******k group. Jasmine had gifted me a brand-new set of pans as a housewarming gift, which was very nice of her. And Blake had brought over a fancy coffee maker and a couple mugs. Lucy and Luke gifted me really nice towels and linens and a bunch of toiletries. Jack and Tyler came with them and gifted me a blender. I was completely in awe of everyoneโs generosity and gave everyone big hugs in gratitude. Everyone was so welcoming. It was nice to have friends. It felt like I finally belonged somewhere. It was now Saturday, and Lucy had invited me to her brotherโs birthday party that day. I wasnโt sure that I was up for socializing, especially with
TALIA The next day, I had to work the early shift. Around eight thirty in the morning, true to his word, Tom stopped by with a big smile on his face. โGood morning, Talia,โ he said as he stepped toward my register. โItโs worth waking up a little earlier to see you at the start of my day. You are quite a sight for sore eyes.โ โHi, Tom. What can I get you?โ I asked. โHow about a large coffee with cream and sugar, and I canโt say no to those delicious cinnamon rolls they have here.โ I slowly typed in his order, still in the process of learning the register system. โThat will be six eighty-eight,โ I said. โWould you like me to warm the roll up for you?โ โYes, that would be great.โ He smiled. He was very smiley; he had a really nice smile, with bright white teeth. And really nice blue eyes. Yes, everything about him was nice, very nice. I pulled out a cinnamon roll from the case and put it into the small oven to warm it up. I then turned around and watched as he slid his card into th
TALIA Tom came in again the next day, and then again on Tuesday, when he convinced me to go on a date with him that night. After what Valerie had told me, I began to feel suspicious of his intentions. But I figured that one date wouldnโt kill me. We agreed for him to pick me up that night at six in front of my apartment. After work, I had my personal training session after two days off on Sunday and Monday. I began to understand that most of the pack shut down those two days. We started the session off with stretches and some warm-up exercises. Then we practiced some more meditation. After that, Xander had me do some weighted exercises. โYou know, Iโve been keeping track, and you donโt seem to be progressing on the weights at all. Iโm becoming concerned because werewolves normally progress fairly quickly, and it isnโt normal that youโd still be at the same level as you started almost a month ago, especially with us training together five days a week.โ โWhat could cause that?โ I ask
TALIA After the date, I asked him to drop me at the packhouse. I rang the doorbell and Blake answered, standing next to Jasmine. โTalia, what are you doing here?โ he asked. โI came to see Lucy,โ I replied. โOkay, Iโll go get her, one second,โ he said, climbing the stairs. I then turned to Jasmine. โJasmine, I have a question, and can you be honest?โ โSure,โ she replied, raising her eyebrows and came closer to me. โDo you know of anyone that ever settled down with someone who wasnโt their mate, except obviously Lucy and Luke and you and Blake?โ She crossed her arms and looked upward, appearing lost in thought. After a moment, she finally said, โThe only other person I know is Tylerโs mom.โ โWhy did Tylerโs mom settle down with someone who wasnโt her mate?โ โHer mate rejected her because she had Tyler. But it ended up being for the best because he was a really bad person.โ โMy mate might be a bad person too,โ I said. โBut what if I canโt find another mate to mark me after I rej
TYSON "Good night?" Blake smirked at me, as he caught me entering the packhouse after I'd gone for a run, his eyes crinkled in an amused expression. "What?" I asked, confused. "I saw that girl you had here last night doing the walk of shame this morning. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." He chuckled. "I see you're enjoying everything my pack has to offer." "You saw her?" I asked. "Yeah, her family was worried about her so we put out a search. Like the pack security? Make sure you report that back to your family." "Do you know who she was?" "You dog!" Blake pushed on my shoulder with an amused smile. "You didn't even get her name? I always at least got the name." "Well, what's her name?" I kept my expression neutral, not sure whether it was better for Blake to think I'd banged her or not. I still needed to find out what she was hiding from her parents. As much as she infuriated me, I didn't want to blow whatever cover she had for whatever the fuck she was doingโwhich I a
GINGER Oh Goddess, fucking Artemis. My head hurt, my stomach burned, my chest wheezed. The sun was so bright. I kept trying to open my eyes, but the light streaming in through the window made it very difficult. I moaned, in terrible pain, my whole body sore. This was worse than my worst hangovers. Even when I blacked out it was never this bad. I really did need to go to the pack clinic. I'd cry out for Paige to carry me there. She was a full-time warriorโher muscles were definitely strong enough by now. I finally forced my eyes open and was instantly confused by my surroundings. This wasn't my bedroom. I'd never been in this room before at all. Had I hooked up with someone the prior night? I tried to think back. What had happened? The full moon! It all hit me at once. I had taken the double batch of the potion and then everything got blurry. And, oh my Goddess, was that a dream, or had that douchebag from the fortune-telling shop really appeared? It had to have been a dream, right?
TYSON If I were being completely honest, it was nice being away from my pack for once. That place could be so suffocating most of the time. I mean, my grandfather was a complete dick, and my dad wasn't much better. It's like they say, alphas always have to be in charge, and more than one alpha is volatileโan explosion just waiting to go off. In the case of my pack, there were three of us, which made the whole thing pretty combustible. I'm actually surprised we hadn't battled it to the death yet. Granted, things werenโt exactly smooth sailing coming to Alpha Blake's pack either. We were still two alphas with competing personalities, but it was better than dealing with my father and grandfather. Blake was pretty reasonable and wasn't hell-bent on making my life miserable. Although, I'm pretty sure Blake wanted nothing to do with me coming to his pack to "check things out". But he was desperate to make his mate's family happy, so he agreed to the arrangement for the summer. That worked
GINGER "Gigi!" my sister Paige wrapped her arms tightly around me as soon as I entered the house. I hugged her back, so appreciative to be reunited with her again, returning to my pack in Vermont after finishing up the school year. Being twins, we had a special connection. It had been much stronger when we were younger, a lot of my own resentment toward her pulling us apart over the years. It wasn't her fault, but I couldn't help but feel envious that she was able to accomplish all my dreams. An unsettling feeling that someone else was living my life constantly choked me, salt rubbed into the wound. The thing is, becoming a warrior was always my dream. Our dad was a warrior, and I was always way more into it than Paige. I'd love to go with Mom to watch him spar on nice days out. I loved when he spent time training me to fight and defend myself in the backyard. Yes, I was a daddy's girl through and through. And the way I hung onto my dad was the way Paige hung onto me. Even though she
Thank you for reading Wolfblood. This now begins book 3 of the series, Wolfborn, which introduces some new characters and also continues Jasmine and Blake's story. Happy reading!*** GINGER Secrets. Everyone has at least one, right? Mine was that I lost my wolf. It happened a long time agoโit was an accident. It was one of those moments in life that changed everything. You know what I mean. One day, everything was normal, great even, and the next thing you know, your life is destroyed over one bad decision. Yep, all it took was one stupid decision and my wolf was gone. I kept crossing my fingers that there was a chance she might come backโthat she was still somewhere deep within me, stagnant, in a coma, just needing a little shove to wake up. That's why I went to see a witch on a regular basis. That was my other secret. My parents were suspicious of witchesโus werewolves and witches didn't exactly have the best relationship. Lots of old wives' tales, I thinkโthat whole 'be carefu
*** 2 weeks later *** TALIA โGood morning, beautiful.โ Alex placed a mug of coffee onto the bedside table early one morning and then instantly slid into the bed next to me. The connection between us was much stronger now that we had marked each other. It was almost as if we had become one, our emotions connected when we were near each other, his running beside my own. At that moment, Alex felt both content and worried. I was sure that the worry was for his mother. โIs your mom okay today?โ I asked, brushing my hand through his hair. โShe seems okay today. I brought her her morning tea and toast, and she seemed happy with the small gesture.โ โYouโre such a good son.โ I kissed him on the forehead. He grabbed me, pulling me tight against his body, kissing me deeply. โOw!โ I pulled away. โWhatโs wrong?โ he asked, furrowing his brows. โMy boobs are just really sore.โ I rubbed one of them. โDoes that happen often?โ he asked. โNo, not really. Sometimes when I get my period, but I do
JASMINE โAll set, our flightโs been rebooked for tomorrow night.โ Blake smiled as he plopped down on the hotel room bedโthe one we were supposed to have slept in the previous night until, well, things didnโt exactly go as planned. He stared into my eyes. โYour face is looking much better now. My only regret is that I didnโt get a chance to torture that motherfucker for what he did to you.โ โItโs okay. Itโs over now,โ I whispered to Blake, wanting to forget what happened. โYou were amazing today, a true luna.โ He brushed his hand through my hair. โI canโt believe you ever even doubted yourself.โ I sighed. โIโve actually realized a lot of things in the past week,โ I replied. โReally? Like what?โ โLike Iโm excited that Iโll be able to use my influence as luna to make changes in the pack.โ โWhat kind of changes?โ โLike Tyler and Jack took me to a secret pack LGBTQ+ meeting. And everyone came up with great ideas for how they could feel more welcomed in our pack. I want to help them.
TALIA After I completed my portion of the mission, I went back into Alexโs car, and Jack and Kyle followed me inside while some of Alexโs men stood guard outside of it. I couldnโt lie, my heat was unbearable. The longer I went without petting my cat, the more painful it became. Tears were brimming my eyes as I squirmed in my seat. โBlake owes me big time,โ Jack said from the back. โGoddess, this is awkward,โ Kyle replied. โI canโt help it,โ I cried out. โCanโt you just go outside?โ โCanโt, we have two alphas on our asses now,โ Kyle replied. I whimpered in response. I glanced in the rearview mirror as he turned to Jack and said, โI mean, maybe we should, Jack. Let her have some privacy.โ โThe last thing we need is to give her some privacy and then someone from Bois Sombre sweeps in when none of us are looking. Bad idea, Kyle.โ โJust a thought, bro.โ He frowned. โConsider yourself lucky. I had to go through over four hours of this before.โ I grumbled, reminded of the last time,
JASMINE Not even an hour after I killed Charlie, a man in either his later thirties or early forties with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, tattoos covering his forearms, approached my cell. His distinct gray eyes scanned the entirety of the small room I was in. I could instantly sense this man was evil, a shiver traveling up my spine. My instincts were in full overdrive, my inner wolf howling with fear. I stood up, panicked. โHmm, not such a weak mate, I see.โ The man spoke with a French accent, scanning the room, smiling evilly at me. I stared at him, wondering what he was planning to do to me. After some time, he said, โI canโt decide if I should cut you up or fuck you. Why not both?โ He pulled out a switchblade, exposing the knife to me. I began hyperventilating and the world was spinning around me as fur sprouted up my arms and legs. I was having a panic attack. As my body tried to force me to shift, agonizing pain shot up my arms. I cried in agony from the metal cutting into