Bob has already been activating his plan to take down Kadeem that he told his secretary about. Bob sits the recliner chair in his hotel room. He got exactly what he wanted from Susan, information about Kadeem’s weakness. Bob takes another sip of his drink and chuckles. Susan has no idea what he’s been up to. Bob leans his head back against his recliner and shuts his eyes. He goes through his memories of all the havoc he has created in Kadeem’s pack.Bob recently met Dylan and Anders, brothers who want power and control of the pack. They are willing to do anything to get it. For years, they have been the leaders of the Red Blood gang that harasses the pack. Bob went to them at their usual hangout, a small diner on the outskirts of the city. Bob declared himself the leader at that time. He also agreed to pay Dylan and Anders for every action they take against the pack. So far, Bob has paid Dylan and Anders $500,000 to graffiti walls
he next day Kadeem sits at his office in his home. He shakes his head back and forth trying to make his thoughts of Ardal disappear so he can focus on work. Being hypnotized by Matteo is working. His memory is coming back. Jumping in water with Ardal is also working. Kadeem thinks back to the refreshing feeling of being in the water. His body is weightless. The waves in the water move him around. As the waves wash over his body, waves of memories enter his mind.Kadeem lays his head down on his desk, and he lets his mind drift to thoughts of Ardal in her sexy swimming suit. Ardal always wears a pink string bikini that shows off her perky breast and tight ass. Kadeem has often thought if he pulled on the string, her top would fall and expose her firm breasts. Kadeem moans in yearning. He just wants to squeeze her breasts and massage them gently, feeling her soft warmness in his hand. As she moves closer to him, he wishes she would pull down his swimming trunks, since his hard
KadeemKadeem gasped as water flooded his mouth and nose. His arms windmilled through the churning water, searching for anything to grab onto.But there was nothing. Only the deep end of the pool, stretching endlessly below him.Panic seized his chest, squeezing the breath from his lungs. His heart hammered against his ribcage as if trying to break free.Through the haze of terror, a single thought surfaced: I'm going to drown.After everything he'd survived, this was how it would end. Not in some epic battle, not while protecting his pack, but in a stupid accident in his own gym.He struggled to stay afloat, kicking his legs frantically. Then a flash of copper red fur and bright green eyes filled his mind. Ardal.A surge of adrenaline shot through his veins, and with it came a rush of memories. Running through moonlit forests together as children. The first time he'd kissed her, nervous and fumbling, as teenagers. Their wedding day, when she'd walked down the aisle in a cloud of lace
Ardal The sterile white walls of Dr. Jack Rayburn's office do little to calm my nerves. I sit beside Erbao, clutching his small hand in my own, as the doctor reviews the latest test results.With five six year-olds - four of them boys- we seem to go from one accident or disaster to the next, and Dr. Rayburn knows my quints very well at this point. I’m still touched by Kadeem rescuing poor Milo today. That was one disaster averted, but here we are now.This time, it’s for Erbao, who hasn’t been looking well the last couple of days. I called this afternoon to get him in for a quicker appointment, and Dr. Rayburn squeezed him in immediately."His kidney function has declined another ten percent." Dr. Rayburn's normally cheerful tone is grim. "If we don't act soon, renal failure is a very real possibility."My stomach twists into knots. I glance a
ArdalI stared at the mirror as I fussed with my hair, smoothed my black cocktail dress and checked my teeth for stray lipstick, trying to ignore the knot of nerves in my stomach.This is my first date since Kadeem. I want everything to be perfect.A knock rattles the door, and five pairs of feet pound down the hall. The door bursts open—my quintuplets tumble into the room, a tangle of chatter and questions."Is that what you're wearing,” asks Silas, eyeing my dress.I smile. "You don’t like it?""You never wear dresses, Mommy," says Lottie. “Tonight’s the kind of thing you have to get a little dressed up for,” I say. Lottie’s not wrong. I pulled this dress out from the very back of my closet.Erbao tugs at the fabric. “We’ve all talked about it. We want
Kadeem Kadeem's fingers drummed on the worn wooden table, each tap echoing his wolf nature that seemed to pulse through his veins like a restless storm. As he and Mateo sat in "The Howling Moon" – a popular werewolf bar – the atmosphere buzzed with primal energy, making it difficult for Kadeem to focus on anything but the growing strength of his inner wolf. Since his memories had flooded back a few days ago, he had also been experiencing a full resurgence of his wolf. Scents and sensations bombarded him, dragging him under a tide of recollection. Flashes of memory assaulted him. The combination of the two was akin to an emotional atomic bomb. He’d been avoiding Ardal at the gym, shuffling off quickly after training appointments, and shutting himself in his office. Mateo had been pleased when Kadeem told him about the recovered memories. The memories after his car accident still felt tangle
Kadeem“Awoooo!”Kadeem and Mateo spilled out onto the sidewalk half-drunk. Okay, more than half-drunk. “Did you see the look on his face,” Mateo said, slurring on the ‘s’ sounds and stumbling past a group of women entering the bar. “I’ve never seen a vampire turn that color before.” Kadeem grabbed Mateo by the shoulder to keep him from colliding with the women. One, with purple hair and a silver nose ring, shot a look of loathing and disgust at Mateo. Mateo took no notice. The man was Teflon to the disdain of others. “How does the undead get flushed,” Mateo asked, completely oblivious to how close he was coming to trampling another crowd of passing strangers on the sidewalk. “He went as red as a cherry tomato!” Irritated, Kadeem helped Mateo weave through the other group of Weres. “How the hell would I know?” “Maybe he had just eaten,” Mateo said, shrugging Kadeem off of him - as though Kadeem was the annoying one. Kadeem rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw. He already need
ArdalI awake with a start, the sunlight streaming in through the window and casting an ethereal glow over the room. As my eyes adjust to the light, I quickly remember where I am. Jack lays beside me, his chest rising and falling rhythmically in slumber.I can feel the warmth radiating from his body, and it sends a shiver down my spine. The sheets are soft against her skin, yet they do little to soothe the tempest of emotions brewing within me.'Last night was... wow,' I whisper to myself, memories of our passionate encounter flooding my mind like a tidal wave.I remember the way his body felt pressed to mine, starting a fire within me that I hadn't felt in years. Our bodies had melded together as one, and the things he'd said to me – the sweet nothings and fierce declarations – had sent my heart racing like a wild stallion galloping across the plains."Jack, you make me feel alive," I’d gasped between breaths, our b