*Axel*
Maggie’s screaming rips through my silent defenses, and I’m compelled to fling myself to her side. I have to blink furiously to clear my eyes of the nightmare I am clearly witnessing, only to find that it’s all very real. Liam watches in horror as Maggie thrashes around, gurgling out sobs of pain. I try to touch her, but her movements make grabbing a hold of her near impossible.
Her body creaks like a tree branch under extreme duress, while other parts pop, resulting in awkward angles and more terrible moaning. Her claws lash out at her own skin, slicing and ripping herself apart, trying to get to the source of her pain. The ratty quilt is spattered with her blood as I leap onto it and straddle her waist.
Her strength is unlike anything I have ever felt in a she-wolf before as she tries to buck me, sobbing for the pain to go away. I can see her jaw twitching and my heart breaks knowing what is coming next. A
After waiting fifteen minutes for Maggie to not reappear, Brutus threw out some choice words and now we ride in a toxic silence. Brutus stares at his phone while Linus, who has taken Maggie’s place in our vehicle, snores loudly. I look up at Liam, who is driving, and his eyes connect with mine in the rear-view mirror. His eyes look angry and torn like he is fighting an internal struggle. I’m convinced he helped in her escape. He turns his eyes back to the road, sighing heavily.“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Brutus snaps at him.“We are close,” Liam says, annoyed.“And how would you know? You have never been here.”“I can feel my mate.”“Weird, is that a second chance, mate thing? Because I can’t feel my mate.” Brutus says, looking around.“I don’t know,” Liam says, sounding short.“Linus, wake up,&rdq
*Maggie*The tears stopped falling hours ago. That’s what happens when you have nothing left. I am empty of anything other than rage and determination. I am determined to get to Axel, to find him and get him out. Fuck living in peace and quiet. I want crazy, loud, obnoxious circus people. I want blazing passion that I can barely contain; I want Axel. No, I need Axel.Every step further is a shot of agony to my already tortured heart. I want to be angry at his demanding me to find the Freakshow, yet it seems wrong to be mad when I’m the one that put him in this predicament. The longer I wander, the more the reality of everything settles in. For years now I have been living in a non-stop rush, the high of a new assignment, the excitement of finding my mate, finding the person I have been searching for, and then falling in love with him, only to betray him.I have run it all through my head thousand times over. They wo
“What?” Beatrice says, her eyes bugging out of her head.Jacob chuckles as he moves closer to the fire and takes a seat on a log. He tosses a bag of marshmallows to Jasper, who hands the bag to the quiet couple sitting close to him. I watch them both closely as the older man strokes the hair of the woman who sits in front of him with her legs crossed. She opens the bag and spins, feeding him a marshmallow.“Really Declan? Could you and Rosie please be less gross?” Beatrice whines.“When you find your mate you will understand,” Rosie says softly, covering her face in embarrassment.“You have seen the Alpha since you were last bit?” Rosie asks excitedly.“Yes,” I whisper, not really wanting to discuss the matter. I still have the command I need to follow that he forced on me. Getting too detailed will only prolong my travels. It sits in the pit of my stomach like
*Axel*It’s been four long days. I have spent every moment since arriving here in a poorly lit, musty room that is lined with silver and wolfsbane. It seems a little counterintuitive if you ask me, trying to drag forth the wolf in a man by using the two things that can harm it, but I’m not a science man, so maybe there is something to it I don’t realize yet. Liam’s mate sits in a corner on the opposite end of me, afraid to speak or even look my way.Twice a day, the men arrive and give her bread and some pills to take. Judging by the sweaty nature when they come with the medication, they aren’t always coming within the suggested time frame. I’ve tried and failed a few times to coax her into talking to me, but she scowls and turns her back on me. They take us to the restroom three times a day where someone carries her or depending on the mood of the guard, they partially drag her as she attempts to move he
Brutus dumps me out of the chair with a loud thud as I land on my side, too broken to move or make a sound. My eyes are heavy and my wolf whimpers inside my head, only making the ache that much worse. The cold floor beneath me provides little to no relief so I roll onto my stomach in a sad attempt absorb more of coolness. I can still feel the poison in my veins as it slithers through me, burning hot enough to make me sweat. The convenient thing about being what I am is that I seem to metabolize much faster than they thought I would. Even after going through their entire supply of poison, they were unsuccessful at trying to lure my ultima powers out. I could try to explain to them that my powers only come with the blue moon as if my wolf is a moonstone, rechargeable only at the right times, but not only would they not listen, they would think I’m lying. I feel someone gently touch my arm, trying as carefully as possible to pull me ba
*Maggie* I stare at the growing puddle just outside the window of the rundown shack where we are stuck. It’s been seventeen days since I’ve seen Axel, seventeen days of an increasing tightness in my chest knowing I haven’t fulfilled his alpha command. The Freakshow continues to evade us at every step. I swear we are so close I can almost taste the sweet release of the command, and yet they are nowhere. When the rain started, everyone let out an audible sigh of relief. Admittedly, I haven’t allowed them to rest as much as I should. But every time I am still, my wolf paces around in my mind in an anxious rage because we are stagnant. How hard can it be to find such large people? Apparently pretty damn hard. “Agh!” I yell, throwing my metal mug to the floor in a fit of anger. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing!” “Maggie, I know you want to find them. We are doing our best.” Jacob says walking over and picking up my cup.
The wolves growl from behind their alpha, inching forward as if ready to pounce. My pack responds in kind, growling and stepping closer to protect me. The woman covers her mouth as she bursts into a fit of giggles. Abraham glowers at his mate before releasing his nose. The rain slowly washes away the blood from his face as his jaw clenches in anger and he looks to meet my furious glower. “Is this your entire pack?” He asks, glancing over my shoulder. “This is everyone I have with me.” “Come. Let’s discuss things at the packhouse and not here in the middle of a storm.” “No, we don’t have the luxury of time,” I say “Don’t worry. The invitation goes away the moment this storm is done. But for now, you will come with us and we will have a discussion. You are better off following along in your wolf forms. It will be faster.” he says, turning his back to me and shifting. I look over my shoulders at everyone
“You know Alpha Angus?” I ask in shock. “I know of him. He was one of the few growing packs until he got sick. I assumed he died from whatever disease he had.” “Werewolves don’t get diseases,” Jacob scoffs. “We don’t get sick.” “And what would you know? You’ve been a wolf for all of five minutes,” Abraham says, brushing him off. “I was an omega. Born with human qualities in a werewolf world, nothing special but the genes I carry, but Axel fixed that. He made me what I was destined to be.” Jacob says, getting riled up. I reach out and touch his arm. He slides me a glance and bares his teeth before scowling at Abraham and backing off. “I didn’t know omegas could be transformed,” Madelyn says, joining the conversation. “Is there a rule book that states otherwise?” I snark at her. “Do you think the committee knows?” She whispers to Abraham. He tosses her a stern glare, and she rolls her eyes. “If they d