Sally woke with a startled cry. It took sometime to get her bearing’s right as her eyes came back into focus. Until she could her breathing as deep and laboured and there was a stinging pain to her temple.
She was lying on her bed, alone. Her finger’s brushed gently at her temple. There was a bandage there. She searched her mind, becoming sick with worry at the same time. Celeste had been fighting Luna while Sally had stood on the sidelines. It was hard to piece together, but she had been immersed in the feelings and reactions of her mates. The worry and fear had hit her two fold and had left her trembling. It had fed into her own panic until she couldn’t handle it anymore.
She had to stop it.
Sally sat up slowly, cringing at the throbbing pain and the spike of nausea. She had to wait for the world to stop spinning before she could take stock. She was still in her clothing for their trip to the Clan House, and even though the sun ha
"Thank you," Hunter said quietly in the dim car. He couldn't be sure how long ago Sally had drifted off, but it had been a while. They had fallen into silence, and while Yuki and Tyler had settled comfortably, he knew neither were asleep. Tyler opened one eye from where his head rested against the passenger window."Thank you for helping me get them out of there."With Sally slung over his shoulder he had moved to try and lift Celeste when Tyler had stepped up without a word. Luna had not moved to stop them and her presence alone had stopped any other Clan member from challenging them. It had taken a while, even together Celeste was a unweilding weight to carry. Luna's last attack had done some damage, and she bled profusely over them before Tyler had been able to stem the flow in the car.Now Tyler shot him a tired grin, stroking his hand down Yuki's feathers. "Celeste is the head of our Clan, no matter what the old pricks might say.&nbs
Yuki was not surprised when she took to the air at the sound of the flock answering her calls. They might be daytime owls, but strangers incoming to Flock lands would keep most of them awake all night. Change was not something that came easy or often to her people. Thousands of years of tradition didn’t stop just because they’d immigrated to Australia::You have returned Granddaughter::Her grandmother’s voice was always a mess of contradictions. How could one person sound gentle and firm at the same time? Welcoming and disapproving in one breath. It always left her on the back foot when it came to their conversations. But, to be completely fair, the whole family suffered from the same trouble. Only Yuki’s mother had ever seemed unaffected by her verbal sparring. Yuki was forever grateful her mother was usually on her side.It had been her influence that had ensured she remained in school with Sally. That her best friend
Hunter dropped a kiss to the top of her head. She sat in a small room in one the houses. When Yuki had said her family had many doctors, she wasn't expecting a whole medical building. They had Celeste on a bed and a older man had checked her over already, the bandage had been removed as her wounds had healed. She still hadn't shifted or woken though and Sally tried to curb her worry."You're safe here," Hunter knelt before her chair, his hands on her knees his golden eyes watching her. “And I need you to stay with Celeste.”Sally shot him a smile, “you don’t have to babysit me, Mate.” She teased him gently, stroking his knuckles with her thumbs. “This is a lot, but you need to do your thing.”“You are the best sort of distraction,” he grinned up at her. “I’ll send Yuki back once we get things started.”She lent down to drag his lips to hers. She already missed kissing him and it had b
Her body ached in a way she had never felt before. The hollow feeling seemed to pull at all her joints and tendons, dragging her down, holding her still. It echoed around her skull and took her a long time to figure out what was happening.The connection with her Clan was gone.As her eyes blinked at the grey ceiling it crashed down on her, leaving her gasping for breath. They were all just gone.Sally wrapped herself around her instantly. She trembled, the grief running on feedback between them. Sally was so attuned to her, to both of them, and so soon after mating. Celeste wrapped her arms her body, bringing her Mate closer, breathing her in."I'm here," she whispered, clinging to her. "Not going anywhere.""I know."There was a soft cough and Celeste's eyes rested on the Asian man by the bed. Obviously a Doctor with a white coat and a clipboard in his hands. His hair was a dead give away; mostly black but the occasional white
Hunter smiled to himself as he felt Celeste and Sally together. His wife was being naughty, but he was more then happy to let them go. After the evening they had all had it was good for them to let off a little steam. He also had no doubt Sally still felt guilty for the outcome of the fight, Celeste could do a lot to ally that fear."Are you still with us, Mr North?"Yuki's Grandmother was an old battle axe. He could see she ruled over her Flock with an iron claw. But he could also see the soft spot she had for both her daughter and granddaughter. Yuki didn't seem to notice it, she often twitched when her grandmother spoke in a particularly harsh way, but Hunter could see it. Her mother, Usagi, also appeared aware, smiling secretly whenever grandmother was not looking. The family dynamic was close and gentle between the three women and it left a smile on his face."My mate has just woken up. after she has completed the required tests and has the permission of yo
Even Sally could tell Hunter was keeping something major from them. Celeste was becoming more and more frustrated as the car ride continued. She had sat in the back with Sally out of spite for Hunter’s secret, but he took it on the chin, keeping up a steady stream of conversation. Mostly one sided conversation.It did sound like his meeting with Yuki’s grandmother had gone well at least. The older Matriarch dad been willing to entertain a alliance with the North Clan at least. Yuki had thought so to when Sally had got to say a quick goodbye before they left. Her friend had looked a little forlorn, it had been a long time since she’d been at her family’s home, but it appeared her mother and grandmother weren’t willing for her to leave yet. Tyler had already left in the early morning.“They wont let you miss to many classes,” Sally had pointed out, hating the fact it was the only thing so far that had brought a little hope
Celeste lost count of the amount of times she made Sally come undone in the back of that car. At some point she'd swapped into the middle seat to get closer to her mate. That steering wheel probably had gouges in it from the sheer force of will it had taken Hunter to keep his hands on it.That in itself was telling. Where ever they were going, he didn't want her to know until they were there. The fact he hadn't caved and pulled over, fucking them with in an inch of their lives. Well. Celeste had an inkling she wasn't going to enjoy this.The gps indicated they were getting near their destination, finally. It appeared to be just more bush land, though Celeste could see some houses just past the tree line. She could only wonder who Hunter has brought them to see.“If you have finished punishing me you might want to tidy yourselves up a little. We’re almost there.”The words were mostly unnecessary as they could all see the litt
"Celeste North! You get your hair butt back here!"Hunter had guessed she would run. It was the main reason for not telling her he'd found her Nona. He'd employed Memphis often over the years, and when he became aware of the Elder's scheming he'd asked him to find her and keep tabs on her whereabouts, just in case. Celeste would never come to Nona for help, even when she needed it the most.Nona did not look like her 74 years, she stood on the porch of her home, hands on her hips as she watched her granddaughter race away. She shook her before turning to Hunter. He smiled cheekily and she rolled her eyes."It's taken you long enough, Boy. I expected you to bring her here a lot sooner.""Sorry for the wait, Nona," he laughed, striding up the stairs to pull her into a hug. She came willingly with a laugh of her own, thumping him on the back. "She hasn't wanted to disturb you."A very unladylike snort followed his words but she looked over