~Sebastian~“What do you mean by that?” She breathes, snapping her head at me.She is always guarded, shut off, or trying to keep emotions from her face, from her voice. Except for right now. Her voice is sturdy and full of questions, but her eyes tell me she is full of fear and dread. I have an inkling why she wants this war to take place. What I don’t get is the urgency.“Your alpha never showed up for the meeting, so they rescheduled it.” I watch her closely, trying to read between the line and the coolness she is trying to emit.“So he doesn’t know that the treaty is missing.” She says more to herself than to me, but I nod, anyway.“Birdie, if there is a reason big enough for us not to go into an alliance with this pack, I need to know.”She chuckles dryly.“Why would you care? You guys want a treaty
Nickolai paces across the worn carpet in front of me, his hands raking through his hair as if hidden inside his dark blond locks, is the key to all this shit going down. He is going to be sorely disappointed when he finally stops and looks at me, still not having an answer. I should interrupt him and tell him to sit down and shut up while I talk and tell him what he already knows, but I don’t. My mind keeps traveling back to that completely unplanned and unnecessary kiss. “Why are people following her?” He finally stops and saves me from my mind. “There is a lot she hasn’t told you,” I frown. “I know she isn’t some innocent guide, Seb. Give me some credit. I’m not a moron.” I smirk at him. “She leads a group of local rebels. I would guess that they are on to her or something along those lines.” Nickolai’s eyes go wide and he shakes his head. “Fuck,” he mutters under his breath. “Leave it to me to fall for a rebel. “ His words hit me hard. The truth of his admission makes m
~Wren~ It’s not the darkness that will drive me mad, but the silence. The complete void of noise that is so quiet that it’s deafening. My ears ring as I strain to hear anything I can, yet… nothing comes. No one comes. Just like no one stepped up to help me. After Sebastian left, I realized I forgot dad’s meds, and his soft sobbing had filtered through our paper-thin walls, reminding me I needed to take care of him. No one else would, and if I need him strong enough to withstand the rejection, I’m certain he will want once he realizes what mom has been up to. I need to keep him in prime condition. I expected to get in trouble tonight, breaking in once again to the pharmacy for the meds and herbs he needs. What I didn’t expect was to be snatched by the people following me. I mean yeah; I knew I was being followed, that Alden had even come to supervise once, so clearly I was on their radar. But I don’t know how I got there, or why. What we do is so small in the scheme of things. We a
Waylon steps into the room after Alden exits, watching me with his stupid, sympathetic eyes. With the shake of his head, I know he is disappointed, but I can’t bring myself to give a fuck. He’s not why I’m feeling racked with guilt. No, my father is. They will completely rip everything he has ever loved from him. Because of me. My execution will kill him. The proverbial nail in the coffin lid sealing his fate as much as I have sealed my own. But then again, did I really have a choice? Not only had Alden used his alpha’s voice, but I was raised to be strong where others couldn’t be. To stand my ground like my father had, no matter the consequences. And I still have Avi. I know he will take care of my dad for me. Maybe Avi could just tell him I had got out. I finally left. That would make him proud and not depressed. Right? A heavy dread rolls over me. I should have kept my hot head cool. I should have found a different word instead of picking up the new word I learned from the peace
~Sebastian~My hands twitch as they tangle into her soft auburn hair, pulling her hard against my lips. The way she melds with me feels so right it’s hard to convince myself this is all for show. But when she whimpers in pain at my lips, a menacing growl rips from me and I pull back, looking into her eyes that try to mask the pain and confusion she is feeling. Reluctantly, I pull my hands from her hair, worried that I somehow hurt her. Shit, I got caught up in the moment. I’m not a gentleman. I’m too big and brazen for my own good.My gloved hand runs along her cheeks and down to her jaw with gentle ease, where she whimpers again. My blood boils as I zero in on the bruises on her jawbone, the ones that are healing even as we speak but look like someone gripped her face with far too much force.“She’s injured,” I snarl, my eyes fiery when they land on an unbothered Alden.
The moment we hit the tree line I already have my shirt off with my hands on my jeans’ button, spinning to find Nickolai frowning at me as he runs my way all the while Wren’s eyes are glued to my tattooed chest. A pink flush runs up her pale cheeks and I can’t stop the knowing grin that finds its way to my lips. She swallows hard before finding a tree to step behind while we all strip down. “Toss your clothes out and I’ll shove them in this bag.” Tank says collecting all our clothes quickly after producing a packing bag the size of a wallet that opens up to be bigger than a woman’s purse. “Did you steal that from Luna?” I ask, raising a brow. Before shifting into my wolf. “Fuck you.” Tank mumbles before shifting into his sandy-colored wolf and collecting the bag in his mouth. Nickolai steps over to me in his gray wolf form, while we wait on Wren to finally reveal herself. She moves from around the tree, her smaller wolf looking near dwarfish to ours. We are big even for the male
Mayhem. Complete and utter mayhem. Tank is in the water thrashing around trying to get a wolf off of his back while others move forward, lying in wait for the right moment to attack. It seems like the whole scouting party is here, which means I only have to kill a few and the others will take off with their tails between their legs. I shuck my jeans, not bothering with my shirt as I shift into my enormous wolf and join the fray. Tank growls in gratitude when I bound over him, latching onto the wolf tearing at his shoulders, and taking him with me. I launch him into the nearest tree base, not even bothering to glance at the wolf again, knowing that the sick sound his bones made is enough to keep him down for at least an hour. A light gray wolf snarls at me and I take my rightful place next to Tank, preparing for more. Sure enough, the remaining five wolves leap forward, trying to overrun us. A formidable warrior can take on three wolves at once. But there is nothing formidable about
~Wren~ We left three days ago, after the first day and the beginning of the second day, It’s fair to assume I will die of exhaustion. Every single part of me aches and screams for a break longer than a few hours, and I mean every part. The hair on my headaches down to the tiny skin molecules on my feet, or, well, currently, my paws. We are all covered in dirt, but none of that seems to bother the guys, which only drives me even more crazy. Because they all smell pretty terrible, along with me, but, damn, they are getting a little grody. It’s near impossible not scrunching my nose in distaste when Nickolai wants to hug me or sidle up next to me. I should just tell him to back off until he smells like himself, but… let’s be honest, his smell isn’t the only thing that wants me to keep my distance from him. He has all but pissed on my leg to lay claim to me as his. Nickolai trots beside me as we try once more to find any way through the growing forces at the border of their pack lands