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 homework, I can help them. I know you need to do this.” I sighed in relief, “Thanks, Micah. I will spend the next two weeks trying to get them used to paying attention in class.” Alex keeps staring at the floor, “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how badly we were hurting you.” Zach added, “It was Alex’s idea to keep nagging you until you gave in.” Alex sighed, “I never thought that you’d get this mad at us. I never thought that it would push you farther away from us.” I laughed, “You guys are idiots. I feel sorry for your mates. Do us all a favor. No more trying to manipulate anyone. You’re not good at it at all.” Alex and Zach nodded, “Okay.” Micah smiled, “We’ll see if that works.” I laughed as I shook my head at them.
The next day, grandpa went to question the rogues who were captured. The fact that they wouldn’t fight me disturbed me. Why were they just standing there? It made me wonder if they were trying to warn me instead of killing me. But why didn’t they just shift to their human forms? I really hope grandpa finds out something. It’s bugging the crap out of me.
While they were gone, grandma asked me to help her clean the kitchen. As we were rinsing dishes and placing them in the dishwasher, grandma asked, “How are you feeling, sweetie?” I smiled, “I’m okay. Sometimes it sucks be a part of multiples.” She chuckled, “Your grandmother said the same thing when she was a teenager. Nico didn’t make life easier for her. He was extra protective too.” I shook my head, “I have three of the things.” Grandma laughed out loud at that. I sighed, “They’re such a pain, grandma.” Grandma laughed, “And they always will be, sweetie. But they will also always be there for you if you need them. That’s just the way it works. I wasn’t blessed with a brother. Just two annoying little sisters. But they will always be there for me, if I need them.” I shrugged, “Lizzy and Emily are awesome little sisters. I just wish my brothers weren’t so annoying.” She chuckled, “That’s their job. To annoy the crap out of you.” I smiled, “Then they are excelling at it.”
It wasn’t long after we were finished cleaning the kitchen that grandpa came in with Uncle Nico and my brothers. Grandpa sighed heavily and sat down hard. He wasn’t a bloody mess, so I am assuming he didn’t have to get into any of the bloody torture. That may or may not be a good thing. I sat down next to him and let my waves flow a little more than usual and I could see him and Uncle Nico relax. Uncle Nico sighed, “Thank you, little one. How are you doing today?” I shrugged, “I would be better if I knew why there are rogues on my way home every time I’m coming home from a run.” He smiled, “Well, we can help with that. The rogues were very willing to talk as soon as we used the alpha command to make them shift.” I asked, “So, what did you find out?” Uncle Nico explained, “They were there to warn you. Nothing more. I used the alpha command to make sure they could only tell me the truth. They were there to tell you that there is a warlock/werebear coming after you.” I asked, “Do you have any idea who that is?” He replied, “They don’t know his name. He swears you are his mate though.” I furrowed my brows, “I haven’t felt the mate bond pull me to anyone.” Grandpa sighs, “It could be someone who is just stuck on you and he thinks you are his mate. The rogues don’t know anything about the guy. He used magic to get them to hunt you down and tell you that your mate is coming for you.” I sit back and try to figure out who could be doing this. I could care less that he is a werebear. Hell, all of my brothers and my father are werebear/warlock hybrids. The only difference between us and dad is that we each have wolves too. I just use my wolf more. My bear helps me with my magic. All of my brothers use their bears more than their wolves. We have a lot of warlocks in my family, but something is telling me that I’m not dealing with an average warlock. Grandpa then sighs, “Baby girl, I need to make sure you know that there is no way I can let you run alone anymore.” I nodded, “I understand. I would just rather run by myself. Can we keep the warriors to a minimum?” Grandpa replied, “I think two would be okay. Just give me a minute to get them before you take off each time.” I nodded, “Okay, grandpa.” I lowered my gaze and grandpa lifted my chin with two fingers, “Hey, sweetie, we are only doing this because we love you. I know you don’t like this, but we have to do it this way. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you.” I sighed, “Grandpa, if something happens to me, it would be on me. Not you. You are doing everything you can to keep me safe.”
I stood up and walked to my room. I sighed as I sat at my desk and pulled out my chemistry book. I had been working on my homework for a while when my phone rang. Looking at the caller I.D., I saw that it was my mom. I answered, “How do you always know when I need to talk?” Mom laughed, “Well, hello, my daughter. I really didn’t know you needed to talk. I just felt an overwhelming need to hear your voice.” I laughed, “I appreciate your instincts. They’re always spot on.” Mom asked, “So, what’s up, my sweetie?” I sighed, “You know how I told you about the rogues that just stand there and block my path?” Mom sighed, “Yeah. Grandpa said they captured some. Did they find out anything?” I answered with a prominent sadness in my tone, “Yeah. Apparently, they were just there to send a message. The message was from an unknown person to tell me that a warlock will be coming to me soon. He feels like I am his mate.” Mom asked, “They don’t know who told them to send this message?” I replied, “No. It was a spell that told them to do this.” Mom hummed, “Hmm. This worries me. Be careful. Okay? I can’t stand the thought of anything happening to you.” I sighed, “I will be home for good in less than two weeks. Okay?” She smiled, “I can’t wait. I love you!” I smiled, “I love you too, mom.” I ended the call and put my phone down.
I started my homework again and pulled out my laptop to work on my English Literature final project. It’s a five-thousand-word essay on our favorite author and I am particularly excited about it. As I started writing, it just started flowing and, before I knew it, I had it done. I was so satisfied with that one getting done, I saved it on my laptop to proofread later, then I saved it onto a thumb drive to be sure I didn’t lose it. I then started my psychology paper that I needed to write. I guess that must have been my day to write because every paper I started was finished on the same day. It was really nice to feel like I had accomplished so much. I went ahead a proofread that paper, saved it, then printed it out to turn in at class tomorrow. I don’t want to lose it before I can get credit for it.
I’m so ready for this semester to be done.
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
Adele’s POV When mom mind linked me to tell me that Gabe was actually a white warlock, acting as a dark warlock, I was really happy about that. I’m glad there is at least one person here who is on my side. I had finally gone back to sleep when I heard, “Adele! Are you awake?” I answered, “Huh? Micah! What’s up?” He asked, “We are just worried about you, sis. Are you really as okay as you are telling mom?” I could tell he was relieved to hear my voice when I answered, “My face is a little sore from the hit, but it’s not that bad. I can still sleep through it. Was I dreaming when mom said a warlock named Gabriel would be helping me?” He chuckled, “You were not dreaming, sis. It’s true. We are hoping to do it tomorrow. As long as Dune doesn’t start some shit, it should go okay. In the meantime, you should probably not try to provoke him.” I laughed, “What’s the fun in that? He looks hilarious when he gets red-faced mad.” He warned, “But he could also open up a whole new can of whoop ass