Elsie
I refused to move from the floor until I heard Rosemary's door snap shut. It burned me up that Jules had taken Oliver to Rosemary. I understand that she used to be a nurse before joining the circus, but that was years ago. Now she was just a broad who danced around on her mate's back in the center ring.
From the outside, it probably looked like Rosemary and I were just eggs to each other. That wasn't the case; we had our reasons. She was blaming her fall from grace on me instead of opening up her eyes to reality.
When I joined the circus, Rosemary was the big finale. She used to eat up all the attention Jules gave her, but that didn't last. Rosemary met her mate about a month after I joined. Thomas was a lowly pack
Thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read this book. I know it is weird and not like a typical werewolf book. I appreciate the support.
ElsieI spent a few hours hiding away in Shirley and Carl's compartment. Shirley was two years older than me, and she was my best friend. She was loud, confident, saucy, sassy, and demanding. Past her rigid exterior, she was the most maternal person I knew.Shirley was the one who found me half-dead on the bank of a river. She was the one who convinced Jules to take me in. He couldn't see my face behind the bruises, blood, and mud. Shirley was the one who cleaned me up and helped me adjust to my new life without my mate.Once upon a time, Shirley was the daughter of an Alpha, but now she was rogue just like me. Ironically both of us were rogues because of love. I was a rogue because of Clyde, and Shirley was a rogue because of Carl.Carl was just an average human who liked to play with fire...in more ways than one. One day he accidentally wandered onto Shirley's pack's territory. He was captured and would be slaughtered in front of the whole pack at dawn.
Oliver"How long has he been out?""I think about an hour.""What are you going to do when he wakes up?""I have no idea.""Better figure it out.""I know."Voices slowly started to register with me. Where was I? I was on something soft, but how did I get here?I focused on the last thing I remembered. What was I doing? I was in Jules's car...but why was I there? Elsie...Elsie was there. I felt the fear and confusion burrow in the pit of my stomach.Without thinking, I groaned and opened my eyelids. I wasn't in Jules's car anymore, that was for sure. I wasn't sure where I was, though. I was about to sit up when I heard a voice."Better think quick, Elsie; he's awake." A familiar voice spoke, but I couldn't place who it was.I turned off of my side as I sat up and locked eyes with Elsie. As soon as I saw those hypnotic eyes, the memory came flooding back to me. She had turned into a wolf. I scrambled backwar
OliverMy first morning on the train, we pulled into a station on the outskirts of Philadelphia right after the sun rose. The train was alive with energy as I pushed open my curtain. Everyone was thrilled to get out and be free from their confinement. I threw my feet over the edge and wriggled out of my bunk."Morning, Oliver," a woman with brown hair squeezed past me. I had no idea who she was. I couldn't even tell you if I had met her before. I wondered if she was a wolf or a human. Eventually, I would figure who everyone was and what they were."Mornin'," I grunted as I glanced up and down the aisle, searching for Grady's intimidating shadowing. I finally spotted him and snaked my way through the crowded corridor until I came upon him."Come on, kid." Grady nodded his head towards a door. Before I had a chance to say anything, Grady was already departing the train. I hastily jumped after him.I was terrified knowing that Grady was a werewolf, an
Oliver"Unfortunately, my Alpha accused me of killing my mate.""What?" I spat out. What kind of confession was that? Jules was acting nonchalant and, like that fact, was funny. He kept proving to me that I never would know what he was thinking. Our brains worked in entirely different ways."Yeah, I was only twenty when I lost her. It happened in the middle of winter; we had just had a snowstorm earlier in the day. She used to love to run in the freshly fallen snow. My mate, Odette, and I went for a midnight run. We got separated in the woods. No matter how hard I searched for her, I couldn't find Odette. I couldn't even find her tracks in the snow. It was like she had disappeared without a trace. When I went back to the pack and told them she had vanished, they, of course, helped me look for her. The Alpha of my pack happened to find Odette's body at the bottom of a ravine. Someone or something had attacked her. She was barely recognizable. Her blood stained th
OliverThe days began to slip away like sand between my fingers. I started to find my rhythm in this place. My days were filled with dirt, sweat, and a good heaping tablespoon of anxiety. I kept my head down and worked hard.I met other humans in the troupe. There weren't many regular humans. There was only a handful of us who weren't connected directly to a wolf. The humans were in charge of mainly running the food stalls or being a roustabout. I was the abnormality; I stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the rest.Jules gave me a real job. I was with Grady. I made the rounds up and down the train a few times a night and circled the tents with him. We lapped the freak show tent the most during perfor
Elsie "So, Oliver is the one who found it?" I sighed as I shrugged my robe onto my shoulders. It was bound to happen, but why so soon? "That's what Carl said. It's a shame it had to be him who found it." Shirley leaned over my small vanity in my compartment and reapplied her lipstick. "At least it wasn't his blood, though." "Yeah, at least it wasn't him." I sighed as I fell backward onto my bed. "Who was it?" "A townee." "Of course it was." "You know that means we will be leaving as soon as possible, so if you want to get any fresh air, I say do it sooner rather than later." Shirley walked to the door, letting her hand fell to the frame as she looked at me. "I might." "I think you should. Maybe even check on Oliver." Shirley winked before shutting my door with a snap. I lay in silence for a few minutes. Why did this always have to happen? Why couldn't we just not have this lingering over us? Could we never escap
Oliver After finding the blood, Grady sent me off back to the train. He called over some roustabouts, and they handled the situation. I don’t think Elsie would ever understand how much I appreciated her coming to check on me. Even though we rarely spoke, I felt strangely connected to her. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was so enamored by her looks or the fact that she was the one that showed me the secret of the circus. Whenever I spent time with Elsie, it was like a warm comfort enveloped my heart. There was something about her that brought me a sense of peace. Maybe it was the way her blue eyes were pools of stars the first night we met. Perhaps the way I could feel the fire in her soul. She really was indescribable. Knock. Knock. Knock.
OliverIt had been a quiet few days. We had a couple of shows at several stops, and thankfully there was no evidence of violence or any bodily harm. I was grateful for that. After seeing the blood in Philadelphia, it thrilled me to know it was back to regular business.The day was going by quickly; we had done two main performances in the afternoon and one earlier in the evening. This show was the final one before we began to pack up. The stars were waking up, and the last rays of light were vanishing behind the tents.The plan was to finish up and immediately pack up to leave tonight. We wanted to make it to a larger city before the weekend so the circus could make more of a profit.I had only found three grifters trying to sneak a peek at Shirley’s performance. I