Miakoda is a young werewolf, but so different from all others in her pack and not in a good way. She have not been able to shift ever before, have not been able to find her mate nor companionship from others. But it all changes, when her working colleague offers her her friendship and a chance to go on a 'risky' trip with other youngsters. Their journey takes them to the far edge of the pack's territory, where Miakoda finally gets her answers. It should be a happiest day of her life, but it turns out for worst - a nightmare she will never be able to erase from her memory, nor probably, from her future life. She have become a part of an old tale and a part of a doom for her own pack.
"Once upon a time, in a deep, deep and dark forest lived a king. His land filled with sorrow and fear, his heart – black as his eyes. It is said, that everyone, who enters his domain, vanishes from existence, disappears from this world, from hearts of kin, from memories of people they lived with, to never be remembered again nor grieved for. He spends his days in a thick, fog filled woods and waits for his next encounter with his prey or something else.
He waits patiently, as death stands by his side, for someone to come, to wake him up from a long slumber, that he have spent half of his life. He knows, that he will rise again, for those who need him."
"For those who need him." All the kids chanted in a whisper simultaneously.
"RRaaRRRR!" a young teacher, called Silver, growled through the whole room, scaring children and making them scream in fright. ?Scared you all?" she laughed.
"Stop, Silver. They won't sleep at night, because of you. They are too small for such scary stories." I said.
"It is not a scary story, but an old tale." Megan – our oldest nanny stepped in.
"Why do we bother to tell them these 'tales'? What can our little pups learn from them? It is just a bunch of lies elders tell us, while we grow up." Silver could not help, but voice her opinion.
Megan sat in her rocking chair, with a book in her lap, but a tale she told came from her memory. When I was young I heard it too. Everybody knows, since they are little, but it is not written anywhere. It is embedded in our memory like a rule to obey. But none of us know a meaning behind it.
"Every tale has a bit of truth in it, Silver.... Miakoda." Megan's pale blue eyes were set on both of us. ?So do this."
"What is it?" I eagerly watched her and waited for Megan's answer.
?I wish you young wolfs to never know it. To never see that day to come." she eyed all of us in a room – me, Silver, and other 20 children.
"Megan... now you are scaring US." Silver said sarcastically.
"You are right, it is just a tale. You don't need to worry about anything, as we are a part of Clawed Moon pack and our Alpha Kodiak always protect us." Megan changed her mood in seconds and we all got our attention back to kids.
I am working in a kindergarten and look out for young pups of our pack. Just some of them. There are a lot more, as our 'family' is a biggest on this side of the country.
Alpha Kodiak's parents and his grandparents have worked hard to make a Clawed Mood pack the strongest and fiercest over many years. Now days, nobody dares to even look in our way, that is to cause trouble. Everyone is afraid to even come close.
I for myself have never experienced any collision with another aggressive werewolf group. Our generation is so lucky to live in piece. Our territory is very big and I live right in it's center. No one gets near us.
My thoughts are interrupted by Silver: ?Are you excited about a mating ball happening this summer?"
Her name fits her perfectly, as her wolf form is pure silvery gray. She is able to shift from a very early age, unlike me. In 21 year time, I have not shifted even once. I start to question myself, if I am able to do it at all? Am I even a werewolf?
I am.
I experience everything else, of what a wolf would feel or sense, but only just that small thing, which is so important to a young wolf, is denied of me. What need to happen in order for me to shift? A world needs to go upside down? I thought sarcastically.
You would think that Silver is my friend, but it is not. We are only working colleagues, nothing else connects us. She is in a group of popular youngsters, and I am not. I do not have talents to show people and I am unable to join them in our werewolf activities – running through the woods, enjoying freedom, play- fighting. All of their activities involves a shifted werewolf. As I am not, they even hardly notice me.
Sometimes I feel like a failure. And her question about a mating ball makes me depressed even more. Do I even have a point to go? I have been attending it for couple of years now, but I still haven't found my mate. It feels the same, like my problem with shifting. Is he even out there? I would expect to meet him, as everybody from our territory is attending a ball every year. Neighboring packs come too and I have not met anyone, who would spark my interest in a way everyone with a mate is describing it.
"Not really." I feel my mood go down.
"Why? You might finally meet him, your true love, your soulmate, your other half." She made a pose of imagination it, her eyes closed as she dreamed about a mate.
"I don't know. Honestly, I think he does not exist."
"Why so pessimistic? Off course he does. Moon goddess have taken care of it. Everybody has his other half somewhere. Have some faith in her."
"I will try."
"You do!" Silver ordered.
I wish we could be closer. She is a nice girl, but outside of work all her attention is on her mates – packmates. I feel kind of lonely.
I look at Silver and feel little bit jealous, but happy for her at the same time. She have found her mate two years ago, even before attending a mating ball. This year will be her first, but.... she don't have to look for her soulmate, as she is already with him.
He is the same age as me and his name is Derek. Same cheerful guy as Silver. She looks so happy, when I see her with him and when she thinks of Derek.
Such a lucky girl.
In one hour my work shift ends and I will be free to go home. I love to spend time in my little log house. It is near the thick woods, isolated from a hustle of this town. Rarely somebody goes there, so all nature is for me alone. I spend hours just walking through that forest, enjoying and feeling every little detail of this 'magical' world. Birds chirping in a tree tops, bees buzzing near colorful spring flowers, sound of twigs snapping under my feet, a dew and slightly chill air in early mornings. I feel it it all, like my senses are heightened just being there. I feel so different, compared to, what I experience in city. Among the traffic of crowds of people, my senses seem to be dulled. I don't know why is that. I have asked some other werewolfs, but none of them experience things that I do. I am so different, like a black sheep I feel here, totally out of place between these people – werewolfs.
Parents of children are slowly coming to pick them up and take them home. Silver is in a hurry to leave and Megan will surely stay behind, as she always takes her time to finish her job.
I walk in to a bathroom to fix my thick brown hair. For a whole day they have been tied up and I can't wait to let them loose. I look at myself and can't help but imagine how my wolf form would look like. Probably generic grey coat or maybe earthly brown, like my hair. I can't wait for that day to come. It will be special.
As I drag my fingers through my wavy locks, I notice few strands of hair on my left temple have changed color to pure white. What is happening? I am sure that I am not so old to get my first grey's. I examine them closer, feeling little bit disturbed. They are not grey, I see, but pure white through all it's length. Felling uneasiness set, I pull them out, one by one, all five of them, in hopes to never see this sight again.
Thea's dreams have come true. She has her new love, new husband and a new life, but not everything is perfect. Being thrown in to a world so different, than she had ever experienced, brings new problems in her life, more worries, which will need to be overcome to keep her happiness and her family together. Becoming a queen is the complete opposite of what she was before. She is happy, but for how long will it last? Thea will have to endure - with help of others or completely alone. Will this be a journey of her life, that will break or make her stronger?
I felt a slight pressure applied around my waist. First, I didn't pay attention to it, as my whole focus was on nearly dying girl in front of me. It got tighter and I felt a warmth of air hit my abs through fabric. My gaze fell on the unknown source nearly under me. Laura. Her hands wrapped around me, her face buried in to the fabric covering my stomach. I felt her hot breath hitting me hard, her small form shaking. It appeared to me, that she was crying, her sobs - silent. "Please! Let her go.... Don't be sad......" she squeezed me tighter. Sad? I was not..... My head moved up. In the dark brown glass decor, I saw my face. I felt mad, angry and all kind of other emotions, but the only one visible was the sorrow and pain. The expression I have never seen on myself before. It looked so foreign, I looked so strange in my own eyes. "Please don't kill my friend, Bryce! ..... Please.....please..... please stop it...." From the shock, I released Sharlene's ...
After a traumatic, virus infected, robot attack, Kyra has to live with her father's purchased android bodyguard. Her life long fear of robots does not make it any easier, as she have to spend all her time with this strange 'man'. He is perfect. Everyone seems to fall in love with him. But there is something more to him. What if he is not just a simple machine. Kyra notices, he is not so perfect as everyone thinks. He is acting strange and does weird things, that Kyra cannot rationalize. Time passes and it seems he is getting worse. Is she safe from her own bodyguard? What is happening to her robot? And what meaning she has in his life?
"See, she is totally disobedient. You are gonna regret, if you take her." his old man said again. He didn't answer him. He bent down, little bit closer to me and pulled some strands of my hair away, to get a better look at me. My eyes were shut tight. Please, not me, not me. I was chanting in my head. He curved his smooth fingers around my chin and pulled it lightly, in attempt to make face him. As I did not, he took a stronger hold of it and forcefully made me finally look at him. "I said, look at me!" his voice was more threatening than before. I opened my blue, teary eyes and finally looked at the boy, who was bugging me.
Rena got into an entanglement with a big shot when she was drunk one night. She needed Waylen's help while he was drawn to her youthful beauty. As such, what was supposed to be a one-night stand progressed into something serious. All was well until Rena discovered that Waylen's heart belonged to another woman. When his first love returned, he stopped coming home, leaving Rena all alone for many nights. She put up with it until she received a check and farewell note one day. Contrary to how Waylen expected her to react, Rena had a smile on her face as she bid him farewell. "It was fun while it lasted, Waylen. May our paths never cross. Have a nice life." But as fate would have it, their paths crossed again. This time, Rena had another man by her side. Waylen's eyes burned with jealousy. He spat, "How the hell did you move on? I thought you loved only me!" "Keyword, loved!" Rena flipped her hair back and retorted, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Waylen. Besides, you were the one who asked for a breakup. Now, if you want to date me, you have to wait in line." The next day, Rena received a credit alert of billions and a diamond ring. Waylen appeared again, got down on one knee, and uttered, "May I cut in line, Rena? I still want you."
Andrea Deciding that I was going to skip a day at work so I could have first time sex with my boyfriend seemed like the most absurd decision I could ever make. Or at least that was what I'd thought. Until I'd walked in on my said boyfriend cheating on me with some redhead and decided to get my revenge by losing my virginity to his wealthy billionaire father instead. Crazy, right? Trust me, I know. Like that's not enough, things take a drastic turn for the worst after I realized I was in love with him and pregnant with his child. Before I could get the chance to come clean about every including my feelings formhim and the pregnancy, he finds out about my trickery. Alejandro's not one to condone being lied to and deceived so he immediately tells me he doesn't want to see me again. So what do I do? I pack up and leave the country. But it seems like the universe isn't done with us just yet. . . Alejandro I should have known better than to get involved with someone way younger than me. It was something I've never done before. But like the saying goes, there's a first time for everything. The first time I met Andrea I was captivated by her beauty. More than that there was this innocence in her that called out to me like a moth to a flame. I ignored all the warnings in my head and went after what I wanted. And what I wanted was her. Unfortunately what she wanted was revenge against my son. I told myself that it had to be some kind of mistake. There was no way she had been playing with my feelings and planning some silly revenge this whole time. But she had. It had taken a surprise visit from my son for me to find out her true intentions. Even then it had been hard to believe it. But I couldn't deny that she'd fooled me real good alright. So naturally I cut ties with her. And that's supposed to be the end, right? Wrong. Turns out that our story was never destined to end just there. . .
As a simple assistant, messaging the CEO in the dead of night to request shares of adult films was a bold move. Bethany, unsurprisingly, didn't receive any films. However, the CEO responded that, while he had no films to share, he could offer a live demonstration. After a night filled with passion, Bethany was certain she'd lose her job. But instead, her boss proposed, "Marry me. Please consider it." "Mr. Bates, you're kidding me, right?"
For two years, Ashton had poured his heart into his marriage, yet Emalee's heart remained cold. Despite his dedication, Emalee presented him with divorce papers. She bluntly stated she could not remain married to a man whose net worth was less than a million dollars. Ashton signed the papers, closing one chapter of his life and stepping into a new beginning. Then, Ashton revealed his secret identities: a music mogul, a medical expert, and a martial arts master—each persona impressive enough to stun the world. As Ashton’s true capabilities came to light, Emalee was overwhelmed with deep regret.
It was a big day for Camilla. She looked forward to marrying her handsome groom. Unfortunately, he abandoned her at the altar. He never showed up throughout the wedding. She was made a laughingstock in front of all the guests. In a fit of rage, she went and slept with a strange man on her wedding night. It was supposed to be a one-night stand. To her dismay, the man refused to let her be. He pestered her like she had stolen his heart on that night. Camilla didn't know what to do. Should she give him a chance? Or just stay away from men?
I received a pornographic video. "Do you like this?" The man speaking in the video is my husband, Mark, whom I haven't seen for several months. He is naked, his shirt and pants scattered on the ground, thrusting forcefully on a woman whose face I can't see, her plump and round breasts bouncing vigorously. I can clearly hear the slapping sounds in the video, mixed with lustful moans and grunts. "Yes, yes, fuck me hard, baby," the woman screams ecstatically in response. "You naughty girl!" Mark stands up and flips her over, slapping her buttocks as he speaks. "Stick your ass up!" The woman giggles, turns around, sways her buttocks, and kneels on the bed. I feel like someone has poured a bucket of ice water on my head. It's bad enough that my husband is having an affair, but what's worse is that the other woman is my own sister, Bella. ************************************************************************************************************************ “I want to get a divorce, Mark,” I repeated myself in case he didn't hear me the first time—even though I knew he'd heard me clearly. He stared at me with a frown before answering coldly, "It's not up to you! I'm very busy, don't waste my time with such boring topics, or try to attract my attention!" The last thing I was going to do was argue or bicker with him. "I will have the lawyer send you the divorce agreement," was all I said, as calmly as I could muster. He didn't even say another word after that and just went through the door he'd been standing in front of, slamming it harshly behind him. My eyes lingered on the knob of the door a bit absentmindedly before I pulled the wedding ring off my finger and placed it on the table. I grabbed my suitcase, which I'd already had my things packed in and headed out of the house.