Jax
I paused for a moment at the door, noticing the tantalizing scent again, but the feeling continued to exacerbate so I shuffled out the door after the other two males, completely ignoring any comment Zeke may have made in protest.
The scent faded the further I walked from the house, and I had this odd urge to go back, like I had forgotten something. I pushed the feeling away and caught up with the other two. We continued walking down the path in silence for a while, me savoring my brownie while Asher shot me a pleading look, knowing Zeke would be able to hear us with his sensitive ears.
Finally, Reese broke the silence once we were far enough away not to be overheard.
"So, you want to tell us what all of that was about? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I agree with that everything you said, but you kind of rushed out of there. In fact, it looked like something was bothering you all night." Reese stated.
We continued talking as we walked down the rough-hewn path towards our dwellings for the time being. The trees surrounding the path all seemed to be a blur while I walked on mindlessly, lost in my own thoughts and not really paying attention to either of my friends.
Asher agreed, nodding his head, "Yeah man, I could tell there was something going on too. What happened in there? Zeke seemed like a total douche canoe, but we are getting what we wanted right? I do think we should have upped the timeline though. I cannot wait to meet my gorgeous mate."
I rolled my eyes at Asher, though I was impatient as well, then looked at Reese when I responded, "I am not really sure. Something was bothering me from the moment we got there, but it is like it was just out of reach. Something just seemed off, and there was this heavenly smell that I could not find the source of for the life of me..." I trailed off, looking at the path in front of me.
Asher laughed, "Yeah, did you see all that food? We demolished it man. I do not think I have ever eaten anything that delicious before."
Reese took notice of my disinterest in continuing the same line of conversation and rolled with the diversion Asher had provided, "It beat anything I have had for a long ass time. Nice job calling him out about his mate, by the way. I was interested in meeting the she-wolf that his guards kept going on about too."
"I am still pissed that fucker has been living it up, while we have been busting our asses, and then, to find out he has had a mate for damn near the whole war." I growled.
Asher agreed, "It is bullshit man. I would have loved to sit on my ass while everyone else did the fighting."
"Wasn't he supposed to join us after he secured the vulnerable in his territory? Why didn't he follow through with the elders' plans?" Reese added.
"I do not know about any of that. That is for the elders to handle," I said, shaking my head and running my hand through my dark locks, though not for the first time, I internally questioned their guidance.
I continued, "I am more interested in Zeke's reaction when I brought up his mate. Did you guys notice that too? And, he did not have a claiming bite either."
I looked around, noticing that we were getting close to our lodgings for the night. Asher nodded his head, agreeing.
Reese grimaced, "That begs the question, who was the girl the males were talking about earlier? I did not see anyone else or notice any sign of a female in that house."
I nodded gravely, adding, "And why did he tell us he was mated if he is not truly? He is hiding something, and I am worried we may be too late if we wait for long."
We reached the point in the path where we needed to split up, the sudden heavy topic casting a somber mood among us. The trees surrounding us just a few steps off the path, seemed to whisper softly in the wind as we stood there for a few moments in silence weighing the words just spoken.
I started, "I am heading there in the morning to find out about my sister anyway," running my fingers through my hair, I continued, "I am going to do some snooping around. See if I can find any sign of the girl the guards were talking about. One of you want to come with me and serve as a distraction?" I asked.
Asher agreed, "Yeah man! I got you on distractions, and I want to help. Sounds great, see you here first thing tomorrow?" he finished.
Before I could respond, Reese stated, "That sounds like a good plan. I will hang back and try to pump the guards for some more information. Jax, maybe try asking your sister if you cannot find anything while you are there tomorrow morning."
I acquiesced easily, "Alright guys. We have a plan. Let's meet back up here tomorrow for lunch to go over everything we find."
Both males agreed and said goodnight before heading in opposite directions to turn in for the night. It had been a long journey, and we still had a way to go now that we had arranged a means to resettle the she-wolves back throughout the territories. I continued down the path until I reached my own abode for the time being.
I entered, made my way to my room, and undressed, climbing into bed. I did not have energy for much else tonight.
I felt myself begin to relax, happy to have a plan and excited, yet anxious, for the prospect of seeing my baby sister again for the first time in nearly two years. How much will she have changed? Will she want to return with me to the Northern Province?
Though Ryker had kept me updated on her safety and whereabouts all this time, two years was a long time, and I had not kept in contact like I should have.
Would she be angry at me? Blame me for our parent's death? With those thoughts weighing heavily on my mind, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to be pulled under.
Hi guys, this is my first ever attempt at a novel so please feel free to leave comments. In fact, I encourage it! I would love to see where I need improvement, as well as where I am doing a good job! Thanks in advance and thanks for reading!
Willow I was startled awake by Zeke slamming open the door. I moved as far away from the raging alpha as possible, feeling very disoriented by the stark difference between my reality and my dream. I was having one of the best dreams I could recall ever having in my life. I tried to hold on to the feeling as long as possible or to remember even some small shred of my happiness, but the details were slipping away as the seconds ticked by. Zeke stomped into the room, kicking my shelf into the wall in his anger. Crack! The shelf splintered and pieces went flying. I had already curled up into a ball when Zeke pushed his way into the room, but I ducked my head down just in time. A large chunk of wood hit the wall right where my head had just been. Zeke yelled, "This is your fault. What am I supposed to do now?" As he continued stomping around the room, muttering under his breath. I remained cowered against the wall, knowing nothing I said or did would help. I did not even know what h
Jax I awoke slowly, hearing the sounds of the forest surrounding me. I rolled over in bed, noticing the sun was just beginning to shine through the slits in the fabric of the curtains. The sight did not surprise me. It did not matter where I was or how late I had stayed up the night before, I always rose with the sun. Some days, I wished I could sleep in just a little longer, but today was not one of those days. I must admit, we were shocked when Zeke informed us, we would not be staying in the pack house, as tradition demanded for visiting alphas. He rushed to assure us that he had acquired us private dwellings so that we could relax and conduct any business we may need while we stayed in the South. He said he thought we would prefer it this way after the turmoil of the war. We questioned his choice, but I knew I was grateful for it last night after my first experience meeting the guy. Even so, I did enjoy the sound of nature all around me while waking up, and it was nice not spe
Hi readers, I will be uploading more content soon, but, as you may have noticed, I am in the process of making a few changes to my book so it is able to be marketed better. I have made a few changes to the title and description of the book, and I know the cover no longer matches the title of the book. Please be patient, and I will be uploading something even better in its place sometime during the near future. In the meantime, please enjoy the new content I have added over the past couple days. Thank you for your patience as I embark on this new adventure of novel writing and remember to keep checking back for new updates!
Jax We were not waiting long before Zeke appeared to lead us down the hall towards the dining hall again, his annoying voice droned on. I tuned him out as I surreptitiously glanced around, looking for any traces of the girl. There were none. The faint hint of honeysuckle and vanilla seemed to be getting stronger the further we walked into the house, but it still remained elusive, until it disappeared again completely. I took a swift look around the room when we entered, doing a double take when I noticed my sister staring out the window, seemingly lost in thought. "Ronnie!" I called out, striding towards her. She turned, instantly running into my open arms once she recognized me. With tears running down her face, she pulled back to say, "Jax! I cannot believe you are finally here. I have missed you so much!" She continued hugging me for a few more minutes while everyone else took their seats. I held on tightly, not wanting to let her go, but of course, Zeke's obnoxious voice had to
Willow I was awoken from my peaceful slumber once more by the sound of the door slamming open. I scrambled up, pressing myself against the far wall and curled up in a ball, not that it helped much in this tiny closet. I felt like I had only been asleep for mere moments, but that did not matter to Zeke. Zeke barreled in, already yelling obscenities at me. "Get your lazy ass up. You do not have time to be lying around." He grabbed my still sore arm roughly, hauling me out the door and down the hallway, towards the dining room. He continued berating me as we went, "Clean this mess up first, and then go clean yourself up. You look like a fucking slob. You had better be clean before I get back. We have some business to take care of before that asshole's sister shows up to help you with the planning for the ball." He finished with a leering look. I was so used to tuning out Zeke's voice that I almost missed his words as I stumbled forward into the dining room. A ball. Wait, help me wit
Jax After what felt like an eternity, I was finally heading back to the pack house with Ronnie. We were alone, but I knew Asher and Reese were close and would be ready when the time came. It had already been one of the longest days of my life, and it was only lunchtime. We were not talking as we walked along the path, but I noticed Ronnie kept shooting me sympathetic looks. Gah! I ran my fingers through my hair again. I cringed; did I really look that bad on the outside? I thought I had been holding it together better, but Ronnie's looks told me otherwise. I tried to remain focused on the plan as we made our way towards the door. However, the sound of several loud voices and fast-moving feet rang out into the air. I had a feeling that any plan we may have come up with was obsolete now. I gave up all pretenses of acting calm and broke out into a run, barging my way in without even bothering to knock on the once solid slab of wood. I ran down the hallway, immediately snatching up th
Willow I sat shivering within the tiny confines of the cave that I was lucky to find on such short notice. I wished I could build a fire to dry my clothes, but it would be too obvious. I had been gone a few hours, but I had traveled little distance in that time. In fact, I was still huddled in the small crevice I had found a few miles down the river. I hoped that even if Zeke did follow my scent trail to the river, he would be smart enough to know that I had used it to hide my travels. Then, fingers crossed, he would think I was long gone already. I knew he was not too bright, and I had walked in the river, fighting the tiring current, to my present location. I knew there was no way he could follow his nose to me at least. Nonetheless, I remained vigilant to my surroundings, jumping at every sound that penetrated the lull of the gentle waves of the river rushing close by. I finished my pilfered food a while ago unfortunately. I tried to hold out, but I was just too hungry. Now tha
Jax I felt the beginning edges of panic creeping in as I sped through the forest as my abnormally large wolf, having shed my human skin as soon as I finished speaking with Reese. My thoughts raced as I ran. I was beyond proud of her for running, of course, but I did wish she had waited just a little longer to make her grand escape. If she could have held out until lunch, then we would have been there to rescue her. Instead, she was running through these woods all on her own with Zeke and his warriors, while I raced to save her. It was possible that she was already long gone. After all, she did leave several hours ago, but something in me was pulling me closer to the river, like she was reeling me in. However, I rapidly became even more alarmed when I realized that Zeke’s scent was nearby. I strained my ears to ensure none of his warriors were around as well. The last thing I needed was an ambush, though I knew Reese had my back and several of his warriors would be hot on our tracks