When Merari finally calmed down, I had to try again. I had to let her know that she was wrong about her assumptions of me. Again, I reached for her, gently placing my hands on her shoulders.
“Rari, I did…you meant so much more to me than a bedmate,” I said, my hand gingerly trailing down her arm to find her hand. “You still do. I…I have never forgotten you…even when I should have. Why…why do you think I gave Valene your name?”
She scoffed and dropped her stare. “How fitting,” she murmured.
“Merari, please…I…” it bothered me more than it probably should have when she could not seem to look me in the eye. I placed my finger against her chin, lifting. “Look at me,” and though it was visibly hard for her, she did. &ldqu
Harlyn: “Are we clear on your end?” I asked Talon through the pack link that was shared between us. As an alpha, the ability to establish a link to pack members was inherent for me, but it didn’t mean that I was a master at it yet. It took a certain strength to be able to reach as many people as my father could, and I was nowhere near close to that type of power yet. The best I could do for the time being was the link that I had established long ago with my two best friends, Talon and Penny. The link between me and my father went without saying; links between families were almost always a given. “Everything’s fine, alpha,” returned Talon through the link. “Found footprints along the inner tree line, but they look old. I’m going to follow up on them and get back at you if I’ve found something.” I could hear the brooding tone in his voice as he spoke. I cared about Talon, and I cared about his feelings, so naturally, I couldn’t help but ask, “Tal, are…are you alright?” “I’m fine, Ly
I stood there a minute, trying to find the right words to say. Then I walked over to the large log where Penny sat; this was the same log where Vali and I had our last heart-to-heart. I settled next to Penny.“Penny, there…is something that you should know.”“What is it?” she asked.I exhaled. “Valene was like a sister to me. In fact, legally, she was my sister. She was adopted as a baby, and because she enriched my parents’ lives for the better, they had me-their miracle child.” I confessed.While Talon knew the intimacies of Valene and I’s relationship, I never bothered to tell Penelope as she was far more close-minded. Something that I guess I should not blame her for as it was instilled in her by her aunt a
???Being back in such close proximity to a place that I’d long tried to forget but with great difficulty, could not, provoked a hoard of mixed emotions. Ever since that night, I’d found that I didn’t have as good a handle on feelings as I once did. Physically, things hadn’t changed too much, though there were noticeable differences. Mentally, however, I had entered a whole new world. My perception of everything surrounding me was as different as night and day to me now. I just wasn’t sure whether it could be considered for the better. Though, I’m sure the lives that I’d indiscriminately taken since my retransitioning to this world, would vote on the contrary.That was one thing, indeed, that I had a problem with, I’ll admit. Not the life taking-oh no, but the fact that I held no remorse for the lives that I had decided to take. It was as if all humanity was gone from me and where I once had it in the beginning, I now struggled to find out why I seemed to lack it now.“You know that
The extremely attractive young man was an interesting character and while I didn’t mind the idea of continuing this conversation, I thought better of it. But before I told him my decision, he took my hand.“Oh come on,” he said. “You remember Bones,” he glanced back toward the building.It was then that I realized where I was. The building was no longer the small and quaint hole in the wall that I once knew. Sad really; whatever changes were made seemed to almost completely take away the charm that the old bar and grille once exuded.Where once a one-way door stood, there was now a large male guard blocking the way to a revolving entrance from a long line of young men and women. It was a far cry from the old stomping ground that I once remembered. Suddenly, I cou
Alastair:“Bodies have been dropping like flies over the last week and the increase in so-called animal attacks have increased as well,” Toran announced at the table as we sat down at one of my more higher-end restaurants.The Veil, the restaurant was called; a namesake of our large town. On this night I decided to buy out the restaurant for the night to treat not only my active pack members but their family as well. For the night, the whole of Shadow Veil’s wolf pack would have a night of fine dining. It was the least I could do for all the high-stress situations we’d been placed in of late. When Toran informed me of the increase in attacks, it was almost a confirmation of Valene’s presence in or near Shadow Veil. My daughter…Valene.It was still a shock to the system to find that Merari and I actually shared a child. What was even more amazing was the fact that it was someone as special as Valene. I hadn’t even told Harlyn yet. I convinced myself that it was because she had alrea
The conversation tapered off after my declaration, and segued into less stressful situations. The families were seated at the front of the restaurant while the more integral members were seated at the back; which only consisted of John, Toran, and myself. The other active pack members didn’t need to hear about our plans until it was officially announced later. So, our conversation couldn’t be heard which was how I wanted it to be. Those who needed to be concerned for the time being were right where they needed to be.“So,” John initiated, pausing to eat his food. I stopped eating and passed a curious eye his way. “Merari,” he mentioned.The name itself made me my breath hitch and my heart pace and I just wasn't in the mood to feel these emotions at the moment. I could see Toran pausing from my peripheral. We both should have
Aziz:The brisk November night air was something calming to our senses as we walked down the busy streets of Richmond Virgina.For hours, I watched from the recesses of my more human counterpart’s mind as we ventured from Belle Isle to East Cary St. Since losing Caris to an instinct that drove all grieving mothers crazy, we’d found ourselves just as lost as our chosen was. Our actions over the last few months was a testament to how adrift we both seemed to be as well. Women were in and out of whatever bed we chose to lie in for the night, and it wasn’t just limited to Richmond. In truth the large city-a place closest to our home was the next stop in a seemingly neverending trip of our latest conquests.It was no secret that our bitterness was egging on the need to bed and bleed almost every woman that had the unfortunate opportunity to meet Alastair. Oddly enough, this trail of adulterous affairs all led back to Caris. If one can believe, this whole time we’d been searching for her
Alastair:“A true…mate,” said John, bringing me out of my reverie of the past. “A human mate?” he repeated almost incredulously.Surely his reaction was warranted. It was hard to believe for me as well. At the time, at least. I looked at John who seemed to be unable to wrap his mind around the fact that I had been trying to come to terms with for over twenty years now.“I imagine even in human form, the mate bond is powerful,” John finally said but with obvious doubt in his mind.“Powerful?” I scoffed, shaking my head. “It was…I have no other way to compare it to that of an inhuman on inhuman mating bond. I’ll say that a chosen bond harbors no comparison, however. It was...unworldly."