"WHAT?!" I moved directly for Malissa's mouth, covering again in an instant. As soon as she calmed down, I let go, but her expression of utter shock didn't leave her features. "Nia, you can't be serious. Please tell me you're not serious." I moved her away from the edge of the building and glanced around before rubbing my temples. When I didn't respond, Malissa understood it was silent affirmation. "F*ck…" she whispered, running a hand through her natural curls. "When did you find out?" "As soon as he showed up today," I started. "I had been feeling off all day…I thought it was due to the ritual but when I saw Leo, well…it was like something clicked. I-I don't know how to describe it." Malissa paused and I could almost see the wheels turning in her head, as if she were processing everything I had said. "Well, maybe we should take this as a good sign, yeah?" she spoke up, a smile crossing her face like she had just come up with an idea to solve all of the world's problems.
Fog scattered around my feet as I trudged through an empty forest. It was dark, and I couldn't see anything in front of me. I looked down to see I was in wolf form. Although it wasn't my coat colour. When transformed, I was a regal dark chocolate brown, similar to my natural hair colour. But this wolf was white. I'd never seen a white wolf before. I lifted my nose and sniffed the air, hoping to catch a scent to lead me in a specific direction. Except there was nothing. I moved forward cautiously, feeling the twigs and rocks underneath my paws, praying that I wouldn't run headlong into anything. Finally, I saw something dark in the distance. I moved ahead, keeping my senses heightened for any unknown sounds or smells. Eventually, the darkness grew, and the fog dissipated, and I was standing directly in the entrance to a deep cavern. I looked up to see what it was attached to, but the fog was too thick above me. I then looked back into the eye of the cave. A strong emotion presen
Leo dragged me to the edge of the forest just down the street from the pavilion and let my hand go. I could feel the pleasure fade away from my body, and heard my wolf whine at the loss of contact. It was cooler up here, and the wind passed through us, playing with the ends of Leo's coat, only highlighting his fitted form. I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jacket and pulled it tighter around my body. "Do you want to tell me what we're doing here? Literally back where we started…" "We're going for a run," Leo beamed. "We're…what?" "Going for a run," he repeated, stripping off his jacket and setting it on a nearby rock. "I–It's like 40 degrees out, are you mad?" "Are you?" he teased, kicking off his shoes. "By the time we get to the clearing, we'll be warm enough. Come on, you can't tell me a run away from all of the politics management doesn't sound good." It did. Nothing sounded better. I could almost smell the sweet grass and crisp, cool morning air, and sighed. T
I couldn't believe that this was happening. That I was letting it happen. Leo Mortenson was about to kiss me and I wasn't stopping it. Was I delusional? Crazy? Most likely. And yet, I didn't care. He was getting dangerously close. Whatever hatred we held was no match for a mate pull, and by Goddess, was it pulling."Leo–" I started, my eyes not breaking from his lips. His beautiful, plump—Quickly, a snapping noise came from the forest, jerking both of our heads toward it. Leo stood and stared into the woods, waiting for someone to approach. Then another sound resounded, and he leaned forward, as if on guard."What is it?" I whispered, my senses on high alert. No one ever came this far into the woods, and we both knew it. Leo listened, and then sniffed the air. "I'm not getting anything. I'm going to check it out. Stay here," he instructed. "What? No. No way. I'm not waiting around for someone to attack," I stated, standing and wiping the grass off my jeans. "I'm coming with
"The Ancient Alpha?" Leo echoed. Growing up, there were always flutters of stories swirling in the wind about the Ancient Alpha. We all knew it: a man who made a deal with the devil—or rather a warlock—to kill his brother to get eternal power and bring back his wife and child. It was one that all of the packs in the surrounding area knew well—a fable or children's spook story told by the elders as a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of power. But that's all it was. Leo leaned forward in his chair, his head tilting to the side as he spoke. "Let me get this straight. You're telling me that my father found the tomb of a …a childhood ghost?" The Shaman nodded slowly. "I know this must be hard to believe, young Alpha, but you need to listen carefully. Do you have the amulet?""The what?" "The amulet." He flipped to a page in the journal that showcased the image of a large, black and white jewel sketched out in pencil. It was attached to a long string that coiled around itself.
As we walked back down the main dirt road toward the shops, I could feel the glares and hear the whispers of the other pack members. Only this time it wasn't just about me and my inability to mate; it was about Leo. His arrival turned everything upside down, for me and everyone else, and they were still trying to process this disruption.If I could hear them, I knew he could too. I snuck a sideways glance at him, expecting him to be angered in some fashion. To be honest, I wouldn't blame him. I don't know how I'd react if I were in his shoes. But instead, he appeared unbothered, and regardless of their stares, he somehow managed to nod and give a small smile to everyone we passed on the street. "You're good at that," I spoke as we moved around emerging pedestrians. "Good at what?" "Managing people." Leo smirked. "Well, it is my job. One that, despite what you may think, I take seriously." "What I think?" I repeated. "I–" But Leo stopped me by giving me a side-eye that told m
The morning sun filtered through my bedroom window, stirring me awake. I sighed and grabbed my blanket, pulling it up to my chin before flipping onto my side. However, I quickly discovered I couldn't fall back to sleep, despite closing my eyes for what felt like 20 minutes.I groaned and put my head in my hands. Usually, I was ecstatic for Leo to leave, but now, my stomach churned. I was not looking forward to saying goodbye and soon found myself marveling at the transformation in our relationship in only a matter of days. Who would've thought? "Nia! Come downstairs. Breakfast is ready!" I heard my mother call from the bottom of the stairs.The last thing I wanted on a nauseous stomach was food, but then I smelt the wafting scent of vanilla french toast and my body growled in response. I sighed and hauled myself out of bed, throwing on a nearby hoodie and sweatpants before beginning my descent downstairs. I walked into the open landing and saw my mother standing behind the kitc
Leo's body stopped moving, but he didn't turn to look back at me. It was like he was second guessing what he had just heard and taking a moment to process it."What?" I heard Malissa chirp up from behind me, only I was too focused on Leo to pay attention.I caught up to them and touched Leo's shoulder, prompting him to turn and face me."I'm coming with you," I repeated, somewhat out of breath from my random burst of common sense. Leo observed me. I expected him to be excited, eager even, at my proposal. Rather, he was impassive and unreadable. His gaze flicked behind me and then back to my optimistic eyes, and I thought I saw his irises glimmer when the sun caught them. "No," he stated. "You can't." I swore I heard my heart shatter. "W-what do you mean?" "You can't come, Nia… Your family needs you, and your pack. You can't just up and leave with me." "But…the curse. The amulet…""Is my problem," Leo started. "You don't need to get involved."Leo turned back toward the