Revenge, the sweetest morsel to the mouth that ever was cooked in hell - Walter Scott_______________Magic made my nose itch. The green, brown herbal powder was charged with it when Sara had finished working the spell. I never thought magic would’ve been so tangible before today. In all of Balric’s memories of it, I had never remembered such a feeling. It chilled me to the bone or maybe that came from sitting in the wet earth, surrounded by a damp, chilly fog of the very early morning.“There, done,” Sara said when we had finished. She got up from the ground. Her white dress was stained from the earth, but she didn’t seem to care.I stood up as well, but I tried to remove the dirt that stuck to me. “So Ian breathes this in and bam! No more super-powered werewolf.”She gave me a small grin. “Correct. Why don’t you go back inside? You look cold.”My head shot up. What did she mean by that? Sara laughed, ignoring my silent demand for an explanation. Well, if I was honest, I was freezing,
For nothing now can ever come to any good - W.H. Auden, Another Time_______________I dressed and left my room. I needed to talk to Caius and stop whatever Daniel was planning on doing, but as I turned around the corner of the hallway I nearly ran over Mia, the praetor’s assistant.“Oh,” she said with a bright-eyed look of surprise.“Sorry,” I said, and tried to move around her, but she stopped me.“Actually, I was coming to see you. Sara wishes to speak with you.”“Does it have to be now?” I asked.“She did say it was important.”I sighed and nodded. “Fine, lead the way.”She gave me a tight smile and started towards the little room Sara and I had been working in. Neither of us spoke as we walked. I glanced over at her and noticed the tension in her shoulders, the clenching of her jaw... *Balric, something is up.**She’s not afraid. I don’t smell fear on her. Keep your guard up,* he replied.When we came close to the room, Mia stopped. She held out an arm for me to go first, not spea
Grief is forever. It doesn't go away; it becomes a part of you, step for step, breath for breath - Jandy Nelson, The Sky Is Everywhere_______________I looked for Carl and Sam, noticing I was no longer being followed by an enforcer. Maybe Caius was for real about that whole, not a prisoner thing. I found the two in the large living room, each was staring intently into their computer screens. “Hello boys, how’s the hunting?” I asked, walking in to join them.Sam got up with a sympathetic expression. “Des, I’m so sorry. How are you?”I ground my teeth. What kind of stupid question was that? How are you? How did he think I was? Knowing he didn’t mean anything other than he was sorry and he was worried for me, I forced a smile onto my face. “I’m here,” I said. “What do you have?”“Why should we tell you, anything Betrayer,” Carl snapped, glaring at me. The blame in his eyes was easy to read. To him, I was guilty of Daniel’s death too. Of course.“Because we work together. The praetor’s la
Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed - Alexander Pope_________All morning I worked with Carl and Sam to find Ian. I focused on my own fake ID’s while Sam looked into any identities that Ian may have had made for himself, and Carl was searching to see if he could find any trace of Ian in the other towns, namely the Virginia area, Bigfork, Babbitt. I still believed that Ian hadn’t gone that far. He was still in town somewhere.Sam got a call and set his cell on the table. “What do you have, Sir?”“We’ve got a positive location for Ian,” My father said then with an angry growl said, “He’s squatting in Desirée’s house.”“I told you,” I said to hide just how violated I felt with Ian staying in my house.“Thank you, Mr. Deleon,” Carl said. “Keep a watch on the house and once we inform the praetor, you’ll be given further instruction.” I bit my lip to keep from laughing as I imagined the look on my father’s face at being given orders from someone like Carl.
Resolve, and thou art free - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_______________“Stop,” I shouted at Ian as we ran through the trees. He’d put my partner down with one hit. Of course, Ian didn’t stop. “Damn it, Ian, if you don’t stop Mia is going to die.” That worked.Ian skidded to a stop, glaring at me. “Do you think I’m stupid, Balric? You’d never hurt an innocent,” he said through panted breaths. His eyes were wide and darting around, watching for the others.“Yeah, you’re right,” I said then gave him a cold grin. “But you’re not dealing with Balric, but me. Now here’s how it’s going to go. You’re going to take this stuff here…” I held up the magic powder pouch. “You can eat it or snort it. I don’t care, but you’re going to do it and return all those lives you’ve stolen back to where they belong.”“You want me to believe you’d hurt someone without Balric’s influence?” Ian asked, obviously skeptical.“I see I played my part perfectly. You all think I’m the innocent victim of the evil Betray
We’ve all got the power in our hands to kill, but most people are afraid to use it. The ones who aren’t afraid, control life itself -The Night Stalker.__________A soft rumble of thunder rolled through the night sky, followed by a humid, chilly gust of wind. Hopefully, I’d finish my business before the rain started. While werewolves didn’t get sick easily, I didn’t want to push my luck. Another breeze sent chills down my spine.*I told you not to dress up for him,* Balric said. His voice rolling through my mind like the thunder we’d just heard. He never could resist an “I told you so” even if he was wrong. Not that he’d ever admitted he was wrong of course. *A girl can never go wrong with fluffing a man’s ego,* I thought in reply. The sound of a door caught our attention. The aging couple stepped out into the night from the bed-and-breakfast across the street. Mr. and Mrs. Claymont, the elderly couple who owned the powder blue victorian styled bed-and-breakfast, walked to a small r
No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected - Julius Caesar_____________Tapping my foot to the quiet music, I compiled the research I’d supposedly made on Balric. I’d put it all together a year ago when Balric and I first played with the idea of bringing Ian here.*There. Done.*I twirled the flash drive between my fingers, before slipping it into my skirt pocket. I still wasn’t sure why I had let Mom bully me into dressing nice. It wasn’t that I minded dressing nice or professional, but I knew she only said it so I might catch the eye of my mate… or any single male, for that matter.“God, save me from meddling women,” I breathed in prayer. Walking around my desk and sitting on the edge, I wondered who the praetor would bring with him. Ian was a given, but if he had a crapload of enforcers too that could be a problem.As praetor, Noah had only the best of the best. I could go one on one or two on one, but if there were more than a handful… not so good.*Don’t
A man cannot be too careful in his choice of enemies. I have not got one who is a fool. They are all men of some intellectual power, and consequently, they all appreciate me. - Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray_______________I stepped out of the shower slowly. My muscles still ached from my three-hour weapon training. Now that Ian was here, I had to step up my game. He wouldn’t find an easy target in me. Darth Vader’s iconic theme sliced through the silence of my house as I dressed. Mom. What did she want now? I rejected the call then scowled when she just called back. With a sigh, I picked up the phone. “You rang.”“Let me guess, this is the part where you tell me that you forgot?” The sounds of people in the background made it a little difficult to hear her.“Um,” I said, drawing out the sound. I really did forget this time.“The dinner, Desirée. The dinner at the alpha’s house to welcome Praetor Noah to our territory. The dinner you were supposed to attend nearly twenty minu