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
Chaos of thought and passion, all confused; Still by himself abused or disabused - Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man_______________Drying off my sweat covered face, the smell of lavender tickling my nose, I looked at the dry erase board. In the top left corner, I had Ian’s personnel file. Next to it were a couple of others I thought could be Caius. He was once a commander of armies and I started second-guessing my idea of him being a bootlicker. He was probably among the enforcers. If the praetor’s chief enforcer wasn’t a woman that’s where I would’ve looked first.*Caius, shouldn’t be our priority. Not when we have Ian so close. I don’t care if Caius gets away in this lifetime as long as we get Ian.*I frowned. *Really? But he's the one that agreed and let Ian kill your son?**Yes, his brother was dying. Ian was the one who had no personal investment but put forth the idea. He’s the more dangerous of the two.*“Hm, all right, Jefe. So forget Caius,” I said and tapped my finger on the
It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone. - Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy_______________The cold water was a shock to my heated face and I debated on simply sticking my head under the faucet. At least they’ll never think to look in my direction as the Betrayer. I scowled at my reflection. *Bal, seriously, how is this possible? For the love of God, I’m human. I’m not even supposed to have a mate, much less two.**After the Great War, it was said that the praetor’s wolf was sundered by the demon spawn - Deabru, and placed into two different bodies, thus two twin brothers with the same wolf. I had thought it was talk. Soldiers bragging, and all that, but if it was true, if they shared just one wolf then it’s possible you can connect with both of them.*I grabbed a hand towel, drying my face, still scowling. *Except for the part that I’m human a
I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun. - Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice_______________My head felt heavy and fuzzy as I sat up on the bed. Feathers of remembered pain danced down my limbs. Balric was still silent. I suspected he might be so for some time. He didn’t deal with the nightmares any better than I did. Agron, the proud warrior who didn’t always think before he ran to save the princess. My heart ached with loss as if he was mine to lose. I ran a hand over my face and got up to take a shower, hoping it’d help wake me up.When I got out, I noticed I missed several calls and had almost as many texts from Carl. I rolled my eyes as I scanned through them. He sounded like a jealous boyfriend, demanding to know where I was. He even sank so low as to threaten with ‘repercussions’ if I wasn’t there A.S.A.P. Swallowing the urge to tell him to stick his threats where the sun doesn’t shine, I sent him a text telling him I’d be on my way and headed out the door.As soon as
Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive - Elbert Hubbard_______________I stepped into the office, glancing around. “Is Carl here?” I asked Sam. I’d been avoiding the praetor’s tracker as much as possible, working from home, and sending Sam the updates I had prepared ahead of time so I could work on figuring out which room of the manor Ian was staying in.“No,” Sam said.“Good.” I blew out a breath. “I swear I’ve never met a person more condescending in my life.” I sat on the corner of his desk, picking up the tacky snow globe he’d picked up from his trip to Alaska five years ago. As if we weren’t far enough north here that he had to even go farther. “He’s gotten on my nerves so much I’ve actually started to consider your offer to get rid of him for a lap dance.”Sam gave me a tilted grin but whatever he was going to say was cut off when someone else asked, “That open for anyone?”I scrambled to catch the snow globe, almost dropping it. Daniel was leaning ag