Two weeks later, after and extremely irritating ride home from classes with my brothers, I decided to go for a run before I eat dinner. I just wanted to get away from them for a while. Alex and Zach are bugging the shit out of me about finishing my degrees online. Zach kept saying, “But we’re supposed to be together! We were born that way.” Alex kept asking, “Why would you want to abandon us? You know we can’t get through our classes without your help.” I shook my head, “Micah can help you with your homework. And you wouldn’t need my help if you would pay attention in class and take notes instead of paying attention to your arm candy.” Alex gasped, “But It’s college. I’m supposed to sleep around and play.” I sighed, “It’s not my responsibility to make sure you behave yourself and pay attention.” When we got home, I put my bag in my room and told grandpa, “I’m going for a run to my usual spot. I need to run off some steam.” Grandpa nodded, “I understand sweetie. Be careful. The rogue situation is getting worse.” I nodded, “Okay. I’ll listen to my wolf.”
I walked to the tree line and told Singarti, “It’s all on you, girl. I’m trusting you.” Singarti replied, “I gotcha girl. I’m not going to put us in jeopardy.” We shifted quickly and took off running our usual route to the waterfall. My favorite place to think and calm down. I really needed it this time. I was ready to strangle by brothers. Micah understood and encouraged me to do this. He knows I need to be able to take care of our mother. Alex and Zach are more self-centered. They always came to me to help with their homework, and I always helped them. I guess I needed to stop babying them and make them figure it out for themselves. They needed to prepare for me not being near them to ask for help. I was so lost in thought, that Singarti had made it to the waterfall without me knowing, “Thank you, Singarti. I was so lost in thought; I wasn’t even paying attention to our surroundings.” Singarti sighed, “We have company, but they’re friendly.”
I looked behind me and saw my Grandpa Damien’s wolf. He sat beside me and nudged the side of my face. I nudged him back and he mind linked, “How are you holding up, kiddo?” I sighed, “I’m okay, grandpa. I was ready to strangle my brothers. I needed to get away from them for a little bit.” He asked, “Did they do something to you?” I replied, “No. I’m just starting to think I’ve been babying my brothers. Zach and Alex want me to keep going to classes on campus.” Grandpa laughed, “I think you’re right. Those boys depend on you too much.” I shook my head, “Alex spends his time in class flirting with human girls while Zach spends his time thinking up his newest prank. Then, when it’s time to do homework, they come to me asking me to explain it. It makes me crazy.” He laughed, “Sweetie, they’re just boys.” I whined, “But grandpa, they really aren’t boys. They’re grown-ass men who act like boys.” He laughed even more, “I know. They’re at that in-between boys and men stage. If they had their mates, they wouldn’t be acting like this.” I asked, “Grandpa, what will I do if mom dies before she gets a kidney?” Grandpa’s head whipped toward me, “Sweetie, please don’t think like that. Your mom is so strong and your dad dotes on her like she is his life.” I nod my wolf head, “I know. It was embarrassing when I was little. But now, it’s a life goal.” Grandpa laughs, “That’s the way your grandma described her parents’ relationship to me when we first found each other.” I laughed, “It must run in the family then.” Grandpa smiled, “Are you feeling any better?” I smiled, “I am. Thank you, grandpa.” He smiled, “I’m glad you feel better. Let’s head back and eat some of your grandma’s chicken and dumplings. She made an Oreo Cookie cake.” I looked down as my stomach started rumbling loudly. Grandpa laughed, “Let’s go, sweetie.”
Grandpa and I ran and played until we were met with six rogues when we got halfway home. I heard grandpa mind linking the warriors for help and we just stood there, waiting for the rogues to make a move… but they never did. They were all captured by the warriors to be put in the dungeons. I linked grandpa, “That’s what happened when I was coming back that one time that I had to call Alex and Zach. It’s really weird.” Grandpa linked, “That is weird. I don’t like it. Sweetie, I know you like to take your runs alone, but I really need you to start taking some warriors with you until we find out what is going on.” I sighed, “Ugh! I understand. I will do that. Thanks for not telling me that I can’t go on my runs at all.”
When we got back to the house, I stopped at my spot at the tree line and shifted back and got dressed. I walked into the house and grandma was sitting at the table, waiting for grandpa and me. I went to the bathroom to wash my hands and Alex stood at the bathroom door looking sullen, “Sis…” I cut him off with my hand in his face, “Just leave me alone.” I walked past him and I heard Zach, “Damn. We really pissed her off this time.” Micah walked up behind both of them and smacked the backs of their heads, “Stop thinking about what she can do for you and start thinking about what she’s going through. Jeez, it’s no wonder you two can’t get a girl to stick around you past the first hour.” I chuckled as I shook my head, and sat at the table with grandma and grandpa, “I’m assuming the walking garbage disposals ate their fill already?” Grandma laughed, “I made them stop at a certain point to make sure you two got to eat. You know how your brothers are.” I laughed, “I do. Especially with chicken and dumplings.” Grandma laughed, “It was hard keeping them from eating all of the cake too.” I laughed, “That cake is the bomb, grandma. I just can’t eat too much of it at once. It’s super rich.” She nodded, “My face breaks out just looking at it.” I laughed at her, “I think mine does too.” Grandpa laughed, “It’s definitely the kind of cake that you need a glass of milk with.” I nodded in agreement as I ate my chicken and dumplings while looking forward to the cake. As soon as I was done, I cut a small slice of the most amazing cake ever and moaned as I ate the first bite. Oreo Cookie Cake is any chocolate lover’s dream. Two layers of devil’s food chocolate cake with a thick mixture of cream cheese, powdered sugar, whipped topping, and crushed Oreo cookies between them, and a heavy drizzle of chocolate ganache. It is my favorite, but I can’t eat much of it.
After I finished my cake and milk I got up and put my dishes in the kitchen. I kissed grandma on the cheek, “Thank you for the dinner and cake. They were both amazing as always.” Then I hugged grandpa and kissed him on the cheek, “Thank you for the talk, grandpa. You’re the best.” I then walked to my room and called mom. She answered on the first ring, “Hey, baby girl. How’s everything going?” I replied, “The boys called you. Didn’t they?” She answered, “Yeah.” I sighed, “Of course they would call you when my run interferes with them eating as much food as they want to.” Mom laughed, “Sweetie, they are worried about you. That’s all.” I answered, “I was pissed at them. I needed to get away from them before I broke both of their necks.” She laughed, “I understand that. Believe me.” I sighed, “It doesn’t matter now. Grandpa caught up with me at the waterfall and we talked. I just realized that I need to stop babying those boys. They need to start paying attention in classes and stop bugging me to explain the shit the same day of they were supposed to have learned it.” Mom asked, “What are they doing?” I laughed, “They didn’t tell you!” She laughed, “Apparently not.” I sighed, “They bugged the crap out of me all the way home from school today because they want me to keep going to college on campus. The only reason they want me to stay on campus is because Alex won’t pay attention to the teacher in class. He would rather pay attention to his human arm candy of the day and Alex would rather think of his next practical joke. Then they come to me to explain the same exact thing the instructor taught them the same damn day!” Mom sighed, “I can see why you were pissed off. I don’t blame you.”
We ended the call after talking about the other events of the day. I couldn’t help but notice that my mother seems weaker than usual. My heart broke a little.
When I put my phone down, Alex and Zach are at my bedroom door. I asked, “What do you want? Never mind. I already know. You want me to go to campus for classes. I am not changing my mind. I’m telling you one last time before I start kicking asses. I am not going to tell you again. It is time for you guys to start doing things for yourself. I will not baby you anymore. You will start paying attention in class and learning your shit for yourself. Trust me, you’ll feel smarter when you learn it the first time it is explained to you.” Alex looked at the floor, “I’m sorry, sis. I know why you want to do it, but we just have always been together. I know we will all feel incomplete without you here.” I sighed, “Guys, mom needs me more than you do. You know that.” Zach sighed, “We know that we just don’t want you to be away from us. It’s our job to protect you. That’s always been our job.” Just then, Micah walks in, “Forget about them sis. Mom does need you. If these idiots need help with hom
It has been a week since we found out why the rogues kept stopping me. Uncle Nico let them go and gave them the option of joining the pack. They went to get their families and belongings and chose to join the pack. Pack life is way better than rogue life. Rogue life is so much harder. They have to watch territory lines to make sure they don’t end up on pack lands where the alpha can legally kill them for trespassing. They are treated as sub-beings who are forced to hunt or fight for food. They are not allowed to own land on a pack, but there are always neutral lands to live on. They also have to fight one another for food, living space if they can’t find a rogue commune to live in, and they have to fight for pretty much everything they can get. If they are lucky, they will have enough skills to get a job in the human towns, as long as those towns aren’t on a wolf pack’s territory. Pack life is much easier. Housing is provided, food is readily available to everyone, jobs are available
Finals week was almost over! I had almost gotten all of my final exams done. I couldn’t wait to see how I did, but more than anything else, I was ready to get home to mom. I could tell she was getting weak. I didn’t want to think of her not living long enough to receive a transplant, but it was really hard not to. I just knew I would feel so much better when I could see her for myself. It was really bothering me, so after dinner, I went for a run. Singarti was running full-on through the woods until we made it to the waterfall. As soon as I sat on my rock, I felt weird. Singarti growled, “Someone is here. The warriors haven’t caught up to us yet either, so be prepared to fight.” I turned around and saw a huge man with coal black hair down to the middle of his back. It framed a pale face with dark brown eyes. I was immediately under his spell. It felt like the mate bond, but Singarti was apprehensive. I asked her, “Singarti, is he our mate?” She replied, “I don’t know. It feels like it
I got out of bed and looked in my closet. I found outfits of all kinds, but none that really appealed to me. I’m not a dress kind of girl and the closet only contained the skimpy dresses that are very short with super low necklines or cut-outs so big there is very little holding the top and bottom together. I went to the dresser and looked through it. I found a pair of leggings, and over-sized t shirt, then found a pair of socks, a bra and underwear. I took the clothes to the bathroom, locked the door and searched the bathroom for cameras. I found one over the toilet, took it down and smashed it after flipping him the bird. While I was in the shower, I heard the doorknob to the bathroom turn, but he found that I had locked it. After my shower was done, I got dressed, brushed my teeth and brushed out my hair. When I walked out of the bathroom, Dune was sitting his grimy ass on my bed. I threw his shirt at him, “I do not consider any of those clothes in that closet something I would wea
Micah POV I woke this morning for the last day of final exams. I immediately walked across the hall to wake up my brothers, then next door to my sister’s room and find she is still gone? What the hell? This is not like her at all. There is no way in hell she would miss the last day of final exams. I went to the kitchen and found grandma in tears, “Grandma, where is Adele?” She just shook her head and pointed to grandpa. I went in the living room and asked, “Grandpa, what is going on?” He replied, “She never came back last night. She left in the early evening last night.” I ran to the garage and saw her motorcycle, so she couldn’t have gone far. I asked, “Was she in wolf form?” Grandpa replied, “Yeah. She outran the warriors who were assigned to protect her, and they went to her rock. When they got there, she was gone. They tracked her scent as far as they could, but it was like she just disappeared.” I asked, “Have you called our parents yet?” Grandpa responded, “Not yet. I want to gi
Micah’s POV I nodded, “I remember Dune, but that was in kindergarten.” Zach shook his head, “No. He has been trying to get him to go out with her for the past ten years. Alex and I have been trying to fight him off, but his magic is pretty powerful.” Uncle Nico asked, “Any idea where this guy lives?” Alex shook his head, “No clue. We haven’t been able to follow him anywhere because he teleports away from us.” I asked, “So why haven’t the two of you told me about this? I had a feeling back then that we were going to see him again. That’s why I have spent my entire life concentrating on my warlock side. I have been strengthening my magic all this time too.” Alex asked, “Can you teleport?” I shrugged, “I’ve never been shown how. Dad has been the one training me. Maybe I should get King Billy.” Zach and Alex laughed, “That doesn’t matter now. Dune was really powerful the last time we saw him. The only reason he got away then was because Adele kicked his ass. As soon as he was down, we got
Adele’s POV I watched as the techs came in and took down all of the cameras and listening devices. Then I pulled one tech aside to hand him the smashed camera that I had pulled from the bathroom, “Is this the one you were looking for in the bathroom?” He nodded, “I’m sorry, princess. It was Dune’s orders.” I laughed, “I knew it was his idea. Not yours. Thanks for taking them down. I need to know; are there any more cameras?” He nodded and turned his back to the remaining camera, “There is one on the dresser, aimed at the bed. It’s in the bear statue. If you smashed that, you could make it look like you found it. If you got close to the TV, you would see it. That show you gave him this morning really pissed him off.” I smiled, “That’s what I was hoping for.” Then I walked away from him and sat on the bed, “Thanks for getting all of them out.” As the tech walked out, I locked the door and slid my foot across the floor, slightly, causing a sheet of ice to form in front of the door. Afte
Micah’s POV I felt a lot better after hearing from Adele. It energized my efforts to find her and rescue her. Judging by the looks on my brothers’ faces, it did the same to them, after I told them about our conversation. We all went to the pack house and used Uncle Nico’s conference room after mom finished mind linking with Adele. I could tell she felt better after hearing her voice. When this is all over, I know my mom will collapse for a couple days. She is running on pure anger and fear combined right now. She will until Adele is home, where she belongs. I don’t blame her. I will be surprised if my brothers and I sleep at all tonight. I came out of my own thoughts to hear King Billy suggest, “I have a spy in the Dark Warrior Coven. I would be willing to bet that he has her in the main house.” I asked, “You’ve been able do that without risking your warlock?” He replied, “I’ve been doing it a lot lately. They’ve been growing in numbers over the last ten years, so I have a few warloc