JASMINEWhen it was time to attend temple service, Lucy had finally recovered and made herself presentable. I was impressed with how well she'd managed to clean up from how she'd looked that morning. She had a cute summer dress on and her long blonde hair was freshly washed and glossy. Libby was dressed in a matching outfit. If I didn't know better, I'd think Lucy and Libby were the perfect mom and daughter duo—possibly Instagram influencers with a huge following.As a fun little surprise for after the service, I'd arranged an ice cream social with some of the other women that were heavily involved with the temple. Lucy reluctantly agreed to help out last minute. I assumed it had something to do with her talk with Luke. We got there early to begin setting everything up to make it easy to roll out once the surprise was announced. Lucy was shockingly helpful, working efficiently to pull everything together, likely well practiced from working in pastry for the past few years."Did you se
GINGER "Where were you yesterday?" I asked Paige when she got home from patrol duty on late Sunday afternoon. "I went into heat again." "Damn. Where'd you go?" I asked. "Hotel again. If this keeps going on like this, I have a feeling the hotel staff are going to get to know us a little too well." Paige shook her head. "Don't get me wrong—not that I have much to compare it to—but the sex is incredible when I'm in heat—" "Incredible how?" I asked, curious to learn more. She blushed. "Goddess, I can't tell you, Gigi." "I tell you all the time!" "I know, but don’t you think it's weird that we're sisters and share the info with each other?" "No. I want to know." I pushed Paige's shoulder. She sighed and smiled to herself. "You're dying to tell someone, I can tell." I giggled. "And you know you're never going to tell anyone else. So tell me!" "Okay, fine." Paige stuck her tongue out and smiled playfully. "It's just like, we're so perfectly in sync. It's like we know what the oth
GINGERWe were all surprised when some of the ladies that were heavily involved with the temple wheeled out a buffet of large tubs of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and toppings, scoopers ready. Jasmine went up to the podium and announced that they were throwing an ice cream social for us. My whole family got in line, and I was delighted to see that they had a few fun flavors to choose from rather than just plain vanilla and chocolate. I got the Chunky Monkey and Paige got the Gimme S'more and we agreed to share so we could try each other's.They opened the back door, and soon everyone was spilling out into the garden. Paige and I took a seat on a bench and scooped out of each other's ice cream cups. I noted Heidi stayed close to our parents instead, which I was thankful for. She still boiled my blood every time I looked at her.After some time, Jasmine came by. I got up so she could sit."No, no, it's fine! I don't mind standing. Please sit." Jasmine waved her hand."You're too nice, Jaz."
GINGER "I was thinking Salem first and hospital after?" Tyce asked when I showed up on Tuesday morning. "Yeah, that's fine." "And I'm also thinking we should buy two of those potions this time, just in case." I cringed. "What?" He looked intently into my eyes. "Nothing. Yeah, you're right," I replied, not wanting him to know how poor I was. I would just insert my credit card. This was more important than money and credit card debt. This was about the rest of my life. He gave me a smile, took my hand, and then pulled me toward the car, opening the passenger door for me. Once he was seated in the driver's seat, I asked, "Are you okay to drive?" "Yeah, fine, why?" "You're still getting the wolfsbane injections, though, right?" "Yeah, but I'm getting more used to them now." "Are you though? Or are you just acting tough?" "I'm fine, Gigi." As he said this, he backed out of the pack driveway and onto the main pack road. "You're helping me. So if there was anything you needed he
GINGER When we arrived in Salem and finally parked, I stepped out of the car, taking a deep breath, readying myself. "Goddess, I feel sick," I whispered. "What was that?" Tyce asked. "Nothing," I replied. The ease I'd felt in the car had dissipated, and I was left feeling nauseous, my palms sweaty and my throat dry. I can do this, I can do this. Tyce took my hand in his and we walked toward the shop. I couldn't lie—his hand had an instant calming effect on me. "It's nice being able to hold your hand and not worry about who might see us." Tyce gave me such a sweet smile. "Now look who's hurting my teeth," I responded, but secretly loved it, my heart fluttering. I was dismayed to find Helena at the register when we made it inside the shop. Her eyes instantly fell on our hands. And something about it gave me so much satisfaction. Take that, bitch! He's mine! Mine. I kind of liked the ring of it. I'd never thought myself the possessive type, but Tyce had me feeling all sorts of way
GINGER Tyce stopped suddenly. "Hey, look! A haunted house! What do you think? Should we go in?" "Are you sure you can handle it?" I teased, pushing on his chest. Damn, his chest felt nice. I didn't even want to remove my hand—wanting the rub it all over, discover every part of his hard, muscular body. A hot shiver was overtaking me. "Oh, please. Everyone knows the only reason guys like haunted houses is because it makes the ladies grab onto us in fear. And then we can be their knight in shining armor. While your boobs are pushed up against us." He gave me a playful smirk. "Haha, okay, Mister Big Tough Horny Alpha," I teased. "Feel free to call me that from now on." "What's my nickname then?" "Miss Sexy Beautiful Spicy Damsel." "Damsel?" "Yes, Damsel in Distress that's going to push her boobs up against me in the dark haunted house." I rolled my eyes. "We'll see about that." We got in line to purchase a ticket to enter. "Quick tip." The clerk smiled at us. "When you go in, g
GINGER When we got back out into the sunlight, we decided to just grab a couple sandwiches and drive home, agreeing it was too risky to stick around out in public. "Hey, thanks for helping me out back there." Tyce squeezed my hand as we walked. "What was I supposed to do? Just leave you naked and helpless?" I snickered. "I may have been naked but I wasn't helpless." "You had literally two choices. Go out naked or as a wolf, in the middle of tourist central." "There was another option." "Which was?" He gave me an evil smile and said, "I mean, desperate times call for desperate measures. I could have just knocked out a human and grabbed his clothing if it came down to it. It was pretty dark in there. Great place for a real monster to lurk." "Damn, you're psycho." "You don't even know the half of it." I looked up, and he had the most ominous look on his face I'd ever seen, taking me aback—the look of someone you did not fuck with. The way he'd manhandled Lucy flashed in my mind,
GINGER Before I could respond, he brought his lips back to mine, and began feverously kissing me again. I gave in completely and knew for a fact that I didn't have enough willpower to reject him. There was not enough willpower in the world to reject him. I was playing with fire while drenched in gasoline, and I no longer cared. I had fallen hard and was now Tyce's prisoner to do with whatever he wanted. He kissed down my body. "Soft, perfect skin." Then he kissed across the top of my underwear. "Beautiful, luscious, grabbable hips." He hooked his fingers into the thin fabric of my panties and dragged them down slowly, kissing over the top of my pubic bone. He continued his journey as he kissed onto my legs. "Thick, mouthwatering thighs." I let out a soft moan, and he pulled my panties further down my legs until they were completely off. He kissed his way back up, bringing his lips back to the inside of my thighs, taking his time kissing up the inside of each leg. Soon he was nibbli
THERESA The excitement in the air was palpable. The whole pack had gathered on the airplane runway. This was the one part of the pack that was consistently plowed so that we’d continue to receive food and supplies throughout the harsh winters after we gave up on plowing everything else, especially the roads that lead to the main highway. It was how I was able to get back and forth from school during the holidays. Full moon runs were a long-time tradition of our pack’s and one of my favorite celebrations during the long, cold, sunless winters. Even when seasonal depression tried to sink its way into my bones and pull my spirit away, these runs tended to give me the adrenaline I needed to keep going. There was something magical about an entire community coming together to expel all their energy in the wilderness, and then subsequently feast together on the kill we’d contributed to the celebration. My heart was full of gratitude in knowing that no matter how tough things got, this pac
TYSON‘Twas several nights after the winter solstice (and one night after Christmas) when all through the packhouse, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. And thank the Goddess for that, because we weren’t really big fans of mice around here. At least I wasn’t. Although, I had come to warm up to rats… well, some very specific pet rats. Other than that, still wasn’t a big fan.But you know what I was a fan of? T&A, especially when that T&A was attached to my perfect, voluptuous, thick AF fiancée and mate. My mate that was very conspicuously missing from my bed. I had gotten used to having her warm body next to mine every night, and every inch of my skin was practically tingling with the loss of her. Because her family was very religious, it had been decided that we would stay in separate housing situations during the duration of our trip to her old pack. She at her parents’ home, and I at the packhouse of my ally, the Midnight Maple Pack.I knew she planned to go back to school
GINGER“Okay, I really thought the people out tonight wouldn’t be so… old,” Lucy said.I sighed but figured I should just make the best of it. Maybe once I got back to Alaska I could meet some friends that knew how to party for real. Not that there were many places to go out in the middle of nowhere where I lived. And it was so strictly conservative too. More so than the pack I’d grown up in, which was saying something.“Here, take these!” Lucy handed Paige and me fake IDs that, as usual, looked nothing like us. She then draped about a pound of penis necklaces on everyone.We all marched in, and everyone’s eyes instantly went to us. Lucy made a beeline for the bar and started ordering us drinks before anyone could protest. I followed her, excited to get my drink on. The bar was playing my favorite Mariah Carey Christmas song, and I was ready to start dancing.After we all had our drinks in hand, an older man with a grey beard asked, “What is this all about? A birthday?”I blinked a few
GINGERMy twin sister Paige finished twisting the last bit of my hair around her curling wand and sprayed it down with hairspray. "I miss this." She let out a deep sigh, sitting back on her heels, her body collapsing a bit. We had gathered on the floor of her bedroom while getting ready for the evening—the bedroom that wouldn’t be hers much longer. She would be the last to flee the coop, leaving our parents to an empty nest—something our mother couldn’t stop being melodramatic about. Her wedding was in a matter of days, which was the reason I had flown back to Vermont with my mate Tyce."It's not that much different from when I was in school," I replied, my stomach squeezing a bit, but needing to put a positive spin on our situation."Yeah, but you were at least home for the entire summer then. Now I'll probably only see you a week a year or something like that."Nonchalantly, I blurted, "Maybe the family can move to Alaska." At first, I meant it as an offhand remark that I knew wasn’t
NIKOLAI"Za zdarovye," Sasha and I toasted each other, and I took a gulp of the vodka. After piling our kill in a shed the pack had for exactly that, he invited me over to the beta wing of the packhouse to throw back a few."Not bad, eh?" he asked."Not bad," I replied.He gave my shoulder a shake. "Hey, Volkov, loosen up. Life's getting better. We're free now."I grunted.Sasha was my good friend going back to when we were pups. People had always remarked we could pass for brothers. They clearly lacked keen eyes. Sure, we both sported thick blond hair and tall frames—although I had at least a good ten centimeters on him—our facial shapes were much different. His was more rotund, and his cheeks constantly reddened with emotion.My features were far sharper, and hardened, and had become even more so in the past year. At times, I looked in the mirror, and I saw my late father staring back at me. His ghost haunted me from the beyond, shaping my features to mimic the forehead furrows, life
NIKOLAIForty. That's how many pack members were left in Severnaya Zvezda Pack, including me. A nice, even forty. Our pack had never been particularly large. As opposed to some packs in Russia and other post-Soviet states, where numbers could climb to ten thousand, ours had always maintained a balance of around a thousand. Now only scraps remained of what we had been.After months of coordinating with my late beta’s aunt, Julia Tikaani (née Yulia Vovchenko), we had finally arrived at her pack. When we first fled our war-torn home, we traveled in our wolf forms, carrying only what we could carry as we crossed into Moldova. From there, it took nearly three days by air to reach Alaska.We had left just about everything behind, and a sliver of hope remained.As generous as Luna Yulia’s invitation was, we couldn’t depend on her hospitality forever. Our pack needed stability—a place to truly call home. With my newly elected beta, Sasha, at my side—a man as ruthless in battle as I was—I set o
Author's Note: Several characters in this book are native Russian speakers. To avoid repetitive clarifications throughout the text, assume the following:If a conversation takes place between characters who are native Russian speakers, they are speaking in Russian unless otherwise stated.If a conversation includes one or more native English speakers, it is in English unless otherwise indicated.This approach allows for a more seamless reading experience while maintaining linguistic authenticity.***THERESAHalf-full. Between the two options, that’s the perspective I preferred. It’s not that bad things never happened—I was only mortal after all. But attitude was everything. And a good attitude was particularly important at that very moment as the crushing weight of a sandbag dug into my shoulders, snow crunched under my winter hiking boots, and wind cut at the exposed sliver of skin between my gaiter and hat. I climbed, each step more precarious than the last on the icy slope."Faster
TRIGGER WARNING: This final scene contains torture and is not recommended to the squeamish. It is not necessary to the plot of the book and was only added to give readers some satisfaction with tying up some loose ends. --- TYSON I picked up my ringing phone. "Sara caught the culprits," Trav said, not even bothering to say hello. "Damn," I replied. "She's already tortured them, but offered to let you finish them off. You know, for pack alliance reasons." "I have a feeling that allowing someone else to do the final deed is a gift of generosity in her eyes." I chuckled to myself. Trav's mate was something else. But I'd be damned if I didn't want to watch the motherfuckers that killed my grandfather take their final breaths. Before I hung up, I asked, "Can I bring Dad?" "Obviously that's still a bit of a touchy subject but…" his voice trailed. "But you know that Dad, more than anyone, would want to be the one that does it." I finished his sentence for him. Trav let out a breath.
*Three weeks later* GINGER "Goddess, it's been such a long week!" I flopped onto the bed after showering and throwing on some sweats on a Saturday night in late October. "Your alpha schedule is no joke," I griped to Tyce. "I'm ready to go to bed now." "Do you think you could stay awake for a little bit longer?" He came over and sat on the bed. "Because I have a surprise that just came today." "A surprise? Have I been so busy that I didn't even realize it's my birthday already?" I joked. "It's a 'just because' kind of surprise." "Goddess, stop, Tyce. I can't do all this sweetness. I need a dentist! I think I'm getting cavities." "Okay, the surprise isn't really for you. It's for Splinter anyway. Are you ready for me to bring it in?" "Well, if it's not for me, you should ask Splinter," I teased. "Splinter already said he's ready." "Okay, rat whisperer." Tyce gave me a cute little smile that made my stomach flip-flop. Fuck, why did he affect me so much? Even though we'd now bee