I turned around to try and catch another glimpse but just saw the edge of his cape glide through the trees and out of sight. There was no point trying to chase a phantom. Fyre sighed, frustrated and confused. I had much simpler, immediate needs...a strong drink and a chance to look as normal as possible until the news broke about Caleb and Jack. I headed back into the party making sure to give Alpha Jones and Luna Maeve respectful smiles so they wouldn't view me as absent, headed straight to the glistening long glass bar, now bursting with revellers enjoying the night and muscled my way to the front, purposely being annoying to remain visible to other guests. I kept waiting for the horns to sound and panic to filter through the crowd as news of their attack broke. /Keep calm/ Fyre soothed, /our new friend will take care of it./ But who is he? The question ate away at me causing me to bite my bottom lip in between sips of my drink. My exposed lower back still felt hot from where his g
Leaving the party upon the arm of Bella, surrounded by all these rugged, cloaked men I felt like an Alpha Queen and tried to enjoy the surprise I could feel rippling across the room as we strode out. I gave a cursory nod at Luna Maeve but Alpha Jones was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps news had now broken about Caleb and Jack, Fyre remained on edge, half expecting someone to grab me back for questioning. Calmly we emerged from the foliage tunnel into a cool forest night, guided by fire-lit beacons in an eerie procession. Both the men and women had their cloaks over their heads walking in a line of two guided by fire. I had hold of Bellas arm and heard a gentle whisper "hey...you did good tonight, really held your nerve considering everything." "Thank you," I whispered back, not daring to ask if she meant leaving Five Lakes or not running and screaming onto the dancefloor covered in my ex-Alphas blood. "We're just walking a couple of miles back to the Manor for the night. It's safer on
I immediately assumed it was Caleb and started fighting with all my strength, I twisted, kicked and punched as aggressively as I could until that fascinating scent of woods and spice hit my brain. I halted, arms mid-air and legs bent to try and get a kick in. I hadn't gained an inch against him, one gloved hand remained over my mouth and the other tightly wrapped around my waist. His huge body made me feel tiny and as I realised how tightly I was wrapped up within him the panic vanished. I should have felt my life was in danger but even Fyre was happy to let down the guard. I motioned with my hand an OK signal and felt his tension drop too. His arm across me relaxed a fraction but remained clamped around my waist, his hand against my ribcage. He dropped the hand from my mouth and left it on my shoulder, poised to put it back against me if I played games. I only had my tiny running gear on, the roughness of his trousers, shirt and cloak grated against my sweating body. "Why are you
The last couple of weeks have been a blur but I'm getting there now. I live in the capital, Silver City a two day drive from Five Lakes. My new home was once a grand castle but it's been split into apartments. A previous Alpha Romanov disbanded the whole royal aloofness to encourage loyalty and bonding between Alphas and Beta's, my heritage gets me a little single room with a large oval window looking onto an outer walkway wall where the security team patrol. Surrounding the castle is the township that supports the royal household, several hundred buildings which are enclosed within the huge castle walls. Beyond the walls is the estate with flowering meadows, agricultural fields and vast swathes of pine forest as farms the eye could see. Kyra and Ivan are a few corridors away which is nice but luckily Bella is the other side of my hallway so I don't get lonely. I think I was too quick to judge Kyra, she's a actually a very sweet presence against the sometimes prickly Bella now we've
A week after finding out I'd been involved with the murderer Alexander Romanov I'd managed to keep it together. It was the first full moon since my arrival, the White Forest Ball would shortly be underway, the castle full of the Alpha and Beta family groups. The next ball would be the day of my eighteenth birthday so I wanted to sneak a preview. I helped Bella and Kyra into their dresses and styled their make-up as best I could. Bella’s long straight dark hair was set off beautifully in a shimmering silver gown that clung to her slender shape whilst dripping with sparkling crystals. Kyra’s more petite frame and unusual grey hair was tightly wrapped up in a mermaid style neon blue gown which made her look like something from another realm. Neither of them had found mates yet and they didn’t sound hopeful of the night yielding any better results. “Wait until you see the Dance of Connection,” Bella sighed, “all that twirling around into the arms of everyone on the dance floor is just t
“Hello,” was the best I could manage, feeling foolish in my dressed down clothes. “Have you told anybody about seeing me?” he asked firmly. His brow furrowed and his eyes looked so deeply and seriously into mine. “Of course not!” I whispered taking a step towards him, “I promised and I…I wanted to see you again”. Stroking his hand through his dark, unruly hair, I could sense the tension within him dropping down a few notches. “Thank you,” he replied in a low rumble “so you know, I am not following you…you keep appearing” “Really?! That’s so bizarre…” as my words trailed off Fyre filled in the blanks for me, /we’re connected somehow/. The idea of our being connected made a shiver of excitement run through me. “I assume you might have heard some stories already?” his voice was rough and stern sending a shiver through me. “I've heard some things yeah. '' I couldn’t help but look at his body and face and hope he would take hold of me again. He had wanted me last week, the way he too
For the next five minutes I couldn't focus on the dance. I pulled on my sweatshirt, sat on the floor and listened to the music floating around me, trying to make sense of everything Alexander had said...and done to me. There was no way to truly believe the version of events he had given me, Fyre was drawn to him and I was massively attracted to him, but it wasn't proof. The music soared around me as the dance reached its climax and I made myself peep through the curtain. Over thirty men stood in four rows and as the music built to a spinning peak the partners broke and ladies swirled into the arms of a new partner. It was an intricate dance whose pace built up to the switch between partners heightening the drama. I spied Bella and Kyra, Bella still didn't look happy even as she whirled into the arms of a smiling Alpha Bram, her glistening dress and gorgeous figure couldn't compensate for a sour face I mused. Kyra looked to be having a lovely time as she glided into a tall brunette h
The shock of the attack on Caleb and Jack four weeks ago had prompted Alpha Jones to revitalise the training programs of Beta Dawes. It was now mandatory for every male to attend. Sweaty, back breaking drills and sparring sessions were the only noises through town as non-essential shops were shut to allow men to take part in drills and war games in both human and wolf form. Caleb and Jack had taken a few days to recover, whilst their throats had shifter healed, they were left with the faint silvery scars of claws across their neck and up into their jawline. Jack’s eye however was permanently lost, and he now wore a defiant black eye-patch to cover the cavern in his face. Rumours abounded throughout the pack, the original story of a rogue attack was slowly shifting towards a White Forest spy narrative. Most of the older townsfolk were reticent, haunted by the bloodshed from the decades before. It was quietly noted by many that a man would never pluck out another’s eye, it was normal