Avery and Heartless Gideon: A Werewolf Romance

I scribbled a note to my mother, telling her where I was going. I would swing into town and mail it, then stop by the kitchens and see if I could secretly pack some travel supplies. I was sad to be leaving. There were people here, like Anna and Madelyn, that I would miss. I…

I felt their hot breath panting on my ankles and flung myself at a huge tree, putting my back to it and trying to kick away those slavering jaws. “Avery!” The man who had been running up behind the pack shouted at me. I snapped my head up to look at him. It was Tegan.…

“I know, it hurts.” I tried to ignore that my head was easily in range if he decided to pop it like a watermelon.” This is deep. Crap. I need to bind it.” Up close, I could see why Gideon wasn’t shifting back. An injury like this was in a tricky part of wolf anatomy…

“News about what?” He persisted. “About you. About us.” I gestured with my free hand. “I didn’t know what to believe.” Gideon clenched his jaw. “Ask me.” “What?” “Ask me about whatever distressed you.” “It’s not important.” I turned my face away, but he caught my chin and turned me back to face him. “Your…

Now that this mist had rolled in, that would be very difficult. We would have to wait until it cleared to head b to the pack. Of course, I would be hauling Avery back with me. Her attempts at independence, while admirable, would not do. I needed her for my bride, and that was that.…

Was it the invocation then, that had allowed me to access that power? A blessing from the Goddess who had once appeared in my dreams? The stories my mother had told me of the old Moon Goddess Priestess hadn’t mentioned anything like that power. She mostly had told me about long holiday rituals and revels…

“…simple is usually best. Fewer things to go wrong.” He finished anyways, with a serious expression. There was a strong implication that I was the person who would make things go wrong. And he wasn’t incorrect. I was the person most likely to sabotage this union. “I will send you with warriors to retrieve your…

She just gestured for me to follow and turned to head through the woods. “What did you do to them?” I asked, but she just kept walking. After a moment, I scurried after her. The leaves crunched underfoot as we followed a winding trail through the forest that opened into a broad meadow. At the…

“Avery!” Hudson appeared in the office door, “What a pleasant surprise! Come on in, how can I help?” I explained what he was looking for and he hummed while he gathered up the ingredients. As he handed them to me, he grabbed my hand. “I can’t help but ask, but is everything okay?” Hudson said,…

If she were in her wolf form, it was possible she was out roaming the woods, though to what purpose I certainly couldn’t guess. Finally, I transformed and let my wolf take over the hunt. Holding him back when the moon was full was draining anyway. He wanted to run. He wanted to hunt. Embarrassingly,…