As I turned away from Enzo and Elena, I could feel their heavy and concerned eyes on me. Each step I took toward the door seemed to echo. I made my way to the car, my mind a tangled web of thoughts.The ride back to the bed and breakfast was a tense silence, broken only by the hum of the engine and the occasional shifting of gears. Enzo drove, his jaw set rigid and his eyes fixed on the road ahead. Elena sat in the back, next to me, her worried gaze flicking between Enzo and me as if she was trying to work out how to fix our relationship that had never started.When we finally reached the bed and breakfast, I didn't wait for anyone. I pushed open the door and practically ran inside. Once inside, I leaned against the wall, my breathing heavy and erratic. The old wooden floor creaked beneath me, the familiar scent of lavender and old books doing little to calm my racing heart.I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. "Okay, Winter, get it together," I muttered under my breath. I p
Elena grinned and linked her arm with mine as we walked out of the dressing room. The music throbbed through the walls, the bass sending a pulse through my chest, matching the unruly beat of my heart. We made our way into the dimly lit heart of the club, the air heavy with a mix of sweat, perfume and alcohol. The crowd seemed to merge into a single living entity, writhing under the neon lights.As Elena and I approached the main floor, I spotted Enzo and Jake seated at the bar, their faces illuminated by the soft blue glow. I could already feel Enzo's gaze on me, so I tried my best to ignore it.As the hours passed, my attention was drawn to a man who entered the club. Something about him—a silhouette in the entrance, backlit by the doorway's neon frame—seemed hauntingly familiar. The feeling crept into the edges of my mind, like a word on the tip of my tongue. I tried to place him, but his face remained shrouded in the shadows of my memory.Before I could think too much about it, the
I woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside my window. To most people, it would have been a beautiful way to wake up, but for me, it was not. My head was pounding from the night. I snuck out again with my friends and went to a party. My family never let me do anything. They always say that princesses should be seen outside of their role I had to act perfect all the time, and I hated it. I knew that if they had found out that I had been out all night with my friends Lillie and Elena, they would be even made. Our friendship was forbidden. Our kinds were not allowed to mix unless it was for something that benefited us. I rolled over, looking at the time, letting out a loud, angry growl as I did because I knew my parents would be so upset that I had missed breakfast with them. They made it clear yesterday that I had to be there because they had important news to tell me. As I quickly got dressed and tried to piece together the events of the night before, my mind was filled with wo
I headed straight for my room once I was back home. I locked my door behind me. I had to be so careful with what I did so I wouldn't get caught.As I sat on my bed, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. I had made it back home safely, without anyone suspecting a thing.But I knew that I couldn't let my guard down. I had to be careful every step of the way. One wrong move and everything could come crashing down, and it wasn't only me that would be punished. It would be Lillie and Elena, too, and the last thing I wanted was for them to get into trouble because of me. I started making a mental list of all the things that I would need to take with me. I needed to pack light, but there was also so much that I would need. After all, I would never be able to turn home again. Once my family had worked out what I had done, they would disown me. Werewolves are meant to be pack animals, only ever doing things that benefit their pack. I have always tried my hardest to be a good pack member, but
I stayed in my room the whole day, ignoring the knocks on my door from maids coming to bring me food and father coming to check up on me. I even ignored my brother I didn't want to face any of them. It was easier to just stay away from them. It would make leaving so much easier, and I wouldn't let my emotions get the better of me. That's one thing I hate about being a wolf. Your emotions are so strong, and they control nearly everything that you do. One of the first things you start to learn in wolf school is how to control your emotions so you don't snap one day and let your wolf take over and kill someone. It's one thing I have never been very good at. I have anger problems, and I've spent most of my life trying my hardest to keep them at bay. Because of this, I ended up getting my wolf really early in life. Most wolves only get there when they turn 16, some even later than that, but I was 6, and it was on my first day of school when one of the other kids started to pick on me becau
We walked along, hardly talking at the start, too scared to in case someone heard us, but as we got further and further from our homes, we began to talk and enjoy ourselves as we walked through the forest."what do you think humans are like?" Elena asked as she turned to walk backwards to look at us, which was not a good idea for someone as clumsy as her. She is always falling over her own feet. "Who cares? It's not like we have to hang out with them or anything," Lillie answered as she tried to open the pack of flower chips she had been trying to open for the past twenty minutes."They can't be any worse than our own kinds," I said, knowing that I was dampening the whole thing but not really caring because I was overwalking and just wanted to hurry up and get there."you haven't said much this whole time, winter. is everything okay?" Elena asked.But before I could answer, Lilly let out an angry scream, throwing the pack of flower chips as she did. I stood walking, and Elena did, bo
The waitress returned with our food, but as she sat my plate in front of me, I lost all interest in eating. There was too much going on inside my head right now. I could feel her standing there staring at me, making me look away from my plate of food. Her brown eyes looked at me with so much sympathy . "is everything okay, honey?" she said warmly as she reached out touching my arm.I wanted to pull away from her—I hate being touched by anyone—but I stopped myself from pulling away, not wanting to hurt her feelings. "Yes, I'm okay," I lied. "Do you know somewhere we could go to possibly get a ride out of here?"She removed her hand from me, which I was thankful for. "there's a bus stop about six blocks down, but you won't get very far without any money." when I stayed silent, she went on. "there a prawn shop right near the bus shop if you have anything worth selling go in there and see dave tell him sally sent you and he'll give you a good price." I went to answer her, but Elena inter
We had no plan as to where we were going when we went and brought our tickets. We just booked it for the last stop and thought that we would just wing it. If we saw a city or town that we liked, that would be where we would get off. But after three hours of driving, we all drifted off to sleep, the tiredness from last night finally catching up to us. I was awakened by a gentle hand on my shoulder and the sound of the bus driver's voice telling us that we needed to get off the bus. Opening my eyes, I looked around and saw that the bus was empty Except for the three of us. I rubbed my eyes and stretched, feeling mixer of feelings as I realized we had arrived at our final destination.As we stepped off the bus, the cool air hit me, and I took a deep breath. Looking around, I saw that we were in a large city—bigger than anything I had ever seen before. I stood there, taking it all in for a second. The sound of cars driving and blasting their horns filled my ears, and the smell was like no