Life’s Spiced Up with Some Werewolf Reads
Roxy whooped, throwing her fists in the air. Judy laughed with unguarded joy. Talia clung to Finn’s arm, wide-eyed, as if she couldn’t tell if this was real. And me-I turned slowly, letting the moment wash over me. That’s when I saw her. Celeste. She stood with the Frostbane group, in the center, her golden…
Either way, we were about to be separated, and half a team was no team. “Judy! Talia!” I shouted, sprinting forward. The slabs were moving too fast for them to pass through without the risk of being crushed. Judy braced her shoulder against the stone, muscles straining, face twisted in effort. “It’s no use! I…
Once again, I’d ingested the instructions and chanted them back to myself repeatedly: Six hours. Navigate the maze. Reach the Echo Altar at the center. Strike the correct sequence. Escape. Safe to say, this new weight pressed on my lungs like a vice. The walls were etched with strange markings-curves and slashes, dots and crescents,…
She remembered? I set the bags Judy’s family had given me down, hands trembling, and lifted the lid. The aroma hit me first-sweet, tangy, spiced. Familiar. My chest constricted. It wasn’t some generic flavor pulled from Celeste’s favorites. It was mine. My favorite pie, at least. Cherry and almond, dusted with cinnamon sugar across the…
“Sorry, I-” I clamped my mouth shut instantly. I didn’t know who owned the raspy, shaky mess of a voice that had come out of my lips, but it sure as hell wasn’t me. The corner of his lips twitched in what I would have called amusement if the look in his eyes wasn’t so…
I didn’t know where to put the feeling it stirred. And oh, gods, the longing. It was actually painful, the knowledge that I didn’t have a family as warm and bright and happy as Judy’s. Siblings who adored me. A mother who doted on me. What did that woman in the forest say? ‘There is…
Her teammates snickered on cue, voices dripping venom. “Had to have been luck.” “They won’t last another round.” “Losers dragging losers to the finish line-pathetic.” I was used to condescending barbs, and they all bounced off my skin like rubber pellets. But I couldn’t say the same for my team. For Talia, who shrank into…
“I will,” I said softly, blinking back tears. “For you.” The call ended, but the warmth lingered, cushioning me as I finally drifted off to sleep. *** Morning found me at the OTS cafeteria, the heavy fog of the trials replaced by sunlight streaming through the high glass windows. The aroma of coffee and toasted…
“Okay,” I said at last. “Until the shards are gone.” He inclined his head, sealing the verbal pact. “Side by side.” We set off together in a wary procession of near strangers united by necessity. My team stayed close together, vigilantly watching our surroundings, while William’s group moved out slightly ahead, scanning the path and…
I drew in a long breath, as if daring the fog to try its worst on me. One shard left. One slot left. SERAPHINA’S POV The last shard gleamed faintly in the fog like it had been waiting for us all along. My fingers brushed the rough, moonlit stone as I pulled it free from…