Sam watched as Mya punched a boxing bag, one was already lying broken on the floor. Sweat dripped from her brow and ran in rivulets down her back. Her hair, usually blue and black, was long, unkept and most of the blue had grown out. Her bare hands were bruised, and bloodstains stayed behind after each punch. Sam knew she’d been at the bags for over an hour. Taylor, who’d dealt with her grief by taking care of everything alone, had asked Sam to check on Mya. Sam understood that Mya was grieving, but Taylor was too. And leaving her with all the arrangements, and dealing with Jane’s things, was unacceptable.
Sam leaned against the door frame and watched as Mya tore through another bag, and then hang another one. “You should take a break. Have some water, at least.” Mya gave no indication that she heard Sam, just adjusted her stance and started pounding again. Sam sighed and stepped into the gym. “Mya?”
“Just leave me alone, Sam.” Mya huffed. She didn’t look back, just kept hitting the bag. “Go.”
“I can’t,” Sam said. “Taylor asked me to check on you. She needs you.”
“I’m no use to her,” Mya grumbled and punched the bag harder. “Get out.”
“She’s dealing with the funeral arrange…” Sam flinched as Mya spun on her, her eyes blazing.
“Get. Out.” Mya snapped. She punctuated each word with a punch to Sam’s chest.
“You’re being an asshole, and you know it.” Sam stood her ground. “You both lost Jane. And you’re making her do all the hard stuff alone.”
“It’s my fault she’s dead. Taylor doesn’t need to look into my face all day and know that.”
“Bullshit!” Sam snapped. “Don’t diminish what Jane did, by blaming yourself. She went into that building, to do her job, one she was trained for!”
“And she died!” Mya snapped. “She never even turned! She stayed human, why?” Mya shoved the boxing bag and started pounding it again. “Why, the fuck, did she not, turn and kill him?” Mya snapped. Her words filled with pain. “She could have taken him. And who the hell was that woman who stabbed her?”
“I don’t know, Mya,” Sam admitted. She’d been surprised too, to find out that Simile and Emily had thought that Jane was one of the agents who didn’t shift. When she’d asked why Emily had said that Jane never turned. She’d stayed in her human form. And none of them had any idea why she’d done that. Taylor had said that it had something to do with Jane wanting to respect the fact that Emily wanted to win her fight with Diego fairly. And having two wolves against one would have taken away from Emily. Sam wanted to believe that was the case. Needed to. Because what else could it be? “But you have to stop blaming yourself. And start being there for Taylor.”
“She doesn’t want me around, Sam.” Mya circled the boxing bag and sagged against it. “I came home, Jane…” She choked on the name. “She didn’t. And seeing me reminds her of that.”
“Did she say that?”
“No, but she didn’t have to. I can see it in her eyes.” She’d promised to keep Jane safe. “I broke my promise to Tay.”
“Sit down,” Sam said. She walked to the bench in the corner and after sitting herself, patted the space next to her. “Come sit.”
“I don’t want…”
“Just come sit down, Mya, please,” Sam said softly. And after a minute Mya walked over and sat down. “Taylor doesn’t blame you.” She touched Mya’s knee to keep her quiet. “She never blamed you.” Sam closed her eyes for a second then opened them and looked into Mya’s eyes. “She blames me.”
“What? But…”
“I took you both with me. I said it would be okay to go, and only took Luke as a backup. I didn’t follow my wolf into a fight. I let her go with a stranger to protect that stranger, without backup. Taylor doesn’t blame you. She needs you.”
“It’s not your fault,” Mya said. She ran a finger over the open knuckles. “She did what she was trained to do.” Mya sucked in a breath. Her whole body shook as the pain ripped through her. “She did what we train to do. And she died.” She laid her head back against the wall. “I can’t go home, Sam.” Mya let tears roll, she didn’t even try to wipe at them. “Everything has her in it, on it. Her scent, her laughter, it’s all right there at home.”
“That’s a good thing, it helps you remember the good times. And you have to remember that you’re leaving Taylor with all that too.” Sam laid a hand on Mya’s knee. “She lost her too. She’s trying to be strong for you, but she’s losing her grip on that.” Sam shook her head. “She threw a book at Pax’s mom today. Then nearly bit Lucy’s head off over something small.”
“I don’t know how to be there for her when I can’t even get my own emotions under control,” Mya admitted.
“Maybe you should try and deal and heal together,” Sam suggested.
“Fuck, Sam it hurts, my soul hurts.” Mya dropped her head on her knees. “How must Taylor feel? She lost her mate! They were connected, heart and soul.”
“Same as you!” Sam rubbed her shoulders. “Don’t for one second think that your connection to Jane was any less than Taylor’s with her.” She looked up when Taylor came in. “It’s not.”
“Baby?” Taylor asked softly, when she saw the tears, felt the anguish in Mya’s gaze, she rushed to her, knelt in front of her, and pulled Mya into her arms. “Oh, baby.”
“I’m sorry, Tay, I’m so sorry!” Sam stood and left the women alone with their grief.
Amber walked toward Sam and held out her hands. “Are they okay?”
“No, but they will be, they’ll do better now.” Sam kissed Amber and looked back over her shoulder. “They’ll do better together.”
“Did you see where Taylor went?” Mya walked up beside Sam and looked around. “She said she was coming over to speak to you, but then I lost her in the crowd.” It was a week later, they’d just buried Jane, and paid tribute to her wolf. Her heart was still raw but since they’d started grieving and being together, she and Taylor had found a little bit of solace in each other.“No, she never came past here,” Sam said. She looked at Amber who nodded.“She didn’t come to us.” Amber agreed. “Maybe she needed a few minutes alone.”“Maybe.” Mya agreed. But she didn’t like being away from Taylor too long. “I’ll go find her.”“Give her a second,” Amber said gently. “How are you doing?”&ldqu
Sam stood at the window of the conference room the next morning. She held a steaming cup of coffee and a bacon and cheese sandwich. Amber sat at the table with the same, talking softly with Morgan. Alex, Hunter, and Gem sat at the other end of the table. They were waiting on Michelle, Ash, Mya, and Taylor. Sam wanted to keep Mya and Taylor out of this, or as far as she could, but she knew Mya would never agree to it. She wanted to keep everyone safe. She thought back to the call she’d received late yesterday. Simile’s voice was still clear in her head.“I’m so sorry Sam, I’m just going to say this, but please know, I wouldn’t do it if I had no other option.” “What’s going on, Simile?” Sam asked. “An ex of mine, Paine, came to me tonight. She said th
Taylor watched Mya as she sat in the lounge chair on the back deck of their cabin. She held a whiskey glass, half-empty, as her arm dangled off the side of the chair. Taylor poured herself a glass of wine and walked out to join Mya. She gasped when Mya grabbed her arm and pulled her down onto Mya’s lap. Then she settled more comfortably and relaxed into Mya’s chest. Mya was shaking as she held Taylor, they’d lost a part of their hearts, but they still had each other. She just hoped that she would be enough for Taylor.“Whatever thoughts you’re having, stop,” Taylor said quietly. “Let’s see. It wasn’t your fault, what happened to Jane. I miss her too. I don’t blame you. And we’re going to be okay.”“I should have gone in with her.” Mya dropped the glass to the floor
Paine stood on her balcony. The smoke billowed around her head as she looked out over the expanse of her property. She’d bought the old ghost house since it was far from any neighbors. And she had privacy for her, not so quiet, extracurricular activities. She took another drag of her vape and blew the smoke out slowly. She knew she should get back to her current plaything. But the night was crisp and clear. And the man wasn’t going anywhere anyway. She chuckled to herself. Paine had been good. She’d not taken a treat for weeks. But tonight, when he’d followed her into the alley after she’d left the bar, it had been like fate. With Simile keeping her end of the bargain, she’d dropped Davey off at the bar as she’d promised. Unharmed. She hadn’t realized how tough it would be not to hurt the child. But it had taken all her self-control not to even give him a little scar. This man was her reward. Or at least that’s how she thought of
Ava stood with a cup of coffee in her hand, watching Gina run a drill with their guards. They hadn’t needed to fight since she’d created the safe space, they now call home. And since she’d found peace with herself and her life. She knew that Sam still saw her as a threat, and she kept that illusion going, it kept her people safe. When she’d decided to create Beta, and take people who’d been treated unfairly, she’d thought that one day she’d take her army and take out Sam. But as the time passed and she and Gina settled, her need for revenge had diminished. Now all she cared about was keeping her people safe and happy. She wondered, not for the first time, how long they’d be able to keep their home a secret. With the new market that sold herbs that they grew on their land, word about them would spread. Especially under the witches and shamans who flocked to their markets. She’d been to a few. And she’d witnessed how much wha
An evolved Amber.After Amber spoke to Dom and settled things for Simile and Emily, she decided to find Jake and bring him back to Silver Moon. As soon as she was out of their eye line, she called on her Lycan. She had no idea how it would react, or if it even could trace Jake’s scent. But she had to try. How she was going to convince Sam to go home without her, she’d worry about that when the time came. Fully shifted, she stood on her hind legs and tried to find the middle ground between her mind and her Lycan’s. She needed to merge them, needed to get comfortable with what she was. She’d use the time it would take to find Jake to do it. She could feel the wolf fight the vampire. And the vampire fights the wolf. She needed them to merge, all of them. The fae genes seemed to be dormant and trying to stay out of the other’s way. Amber shook her wolf-like head, spit flew as she growled. She could smell Jake, knew his direction and how fast he was m
“Where are you?” Sam asked quietly. They were standing on the edge of a clearing, watching Morgan, Alex, and another woman set up a barrier around Ava, Taylor, and Mya. “I was thinking about what happened to me,” Amber said. “The whole Tribrid thing.” “Oh.” Sam tried to suppress the growl that rose from her depths.
Jake sat in his cell, his head bent low over a table as he wrote on a piece of paper. He’s been getting letters from Mark for the last four days. And it was almost time for them to swap letters again. Mark always came at the same time every day. With a cup of coffee for both and chocolate. They’d spend an hour just talking and then they’d exchange letters. He found himself looking forward to those letters almost as much as their daily visit. Even resenting his prison, he felt calmer, happier, knowing that Mark would come to him. His head snapped up as he heard the door open at the top of the stairs, and Mark came walking down. Since he was the only one down there now, they’d left lights on, and he wasn’t in the dark as he was when he was locked up with Mark. He wondered sometimes, just how much Mark had to do with that. He knew Lucy also advocated for him. She’d always stood by him. He stood then froze as Mark took a key out of his pocket and unlo