“Hey Gracey, where’s Mom and Dad? Did they leave you here alone?” She knows they wouldn’t. I’m 10 years old but they still think I need a babysitter.
Swallowing the lump in my throat I answer, “I don’t know, they weren’t here when I got home from school.” Against all my effort my voice still breaks and my fear gets the better of me. Riley has me in her arms before I can protest.
“Gracey, hey, what is it?” I can’t answer her. If I speak, I know I’ll break. “Grace, what is it?”
I need to tell her but I’m too scared it’s true. “Something is wrong, Riles, I can feel it. I-I-h-had a d-dream last n-night.” Shaking my head, the tears begin to flow faster no matter how much I try to hold them back. With every word and touch from Riley the fear digs in a little deeper. How can I tell her I saw them lying dead in a shallow grave while some faceless man buried them? I can’t. I don’t want to believe it.
Just as I begin to pull myself together, a knock sounds at the front door. “I’ll get that, sweety. Why don’t you go get cleaned up and then we’ll go ask Alastair about Mom and Dad, ok?” I nod as I head toward the bathroom.
I know what the dream meant and I know who’s here now and why. I saw this too, and I know what’s about to happen and there’s not a thing I can do to stop it.
After five minutes of waiting in the bathroom for Alastair to leave, I exit to find Riley sitting on the couch with a look of shock, horror, and grief all mixed in one. “Riley?”
Coming back to herself, she schools her expression and pats the cushion next to her. “Grace, come sit, please.”
Though I really don’t want to, I do. “Don’t tell me, it’s not true. Tell me my dream was a lie and they’re okay.” Against my will, tears begin to leak from my eyes again.
Riley doesn’t say a word as she shakes her head; her eyes beginning to shine. My resolve breaks, along with my soul. Riley wraps her arms around me as I sink into her. Snot and tears pool on her lap as I cry myself to sleep.
Blood, heartbreak, and betrayal followed in my dreams after that horrid night. Beginning with the betrayal of our acting Alpha, Alastair.
Riley was supposed to be the alpha of the Shadowcrest Pack after our parents were murdered, following in our father’s footsteps. However, at the time of his death the Elders didn’t feel she was ready for the responsibility, seeing as she was only 13 years old. They agreed that Alastair would step into that role until Riley came of age at 16. Alastair however, did not agree.
Shortly after my 13th birthday, my dreams became darker and more disturbed. Future events, including my death, became clear but the details were always changing. The cruelest was the attacks on Riley. Nothing I tried to do would change the future in her favor. I quickly learned that I couldn’t change it, only the parties involved could change the outcomes. They needed to make the decisions. The only thing I could do was prepare, so I did.
The night of Riley’s 16th birthday, I woke from another one of those recurring nightmares. Dressed and ready to go, I sat on my bed hugging my knees and praying for the best outcome. Hearing Riley scream from down the hall, I cover my ears as tears start to well in my eyes, knowing if I intervene it will only make things worse for my sister.
Knowing what is happening, doing nothing, and waiting is the toughest thing I have had to do to date. I hug my knees tighter to my chest and begin to rock as I remember the dream of Alastair on top of Riley, pinning her to her bed as he forced the mate bond on her. The well of tears in my eyes overflow just as my door opens. Seeing Riley through my blurry tears I cry, “I’m sorry, I should have stopped him. I’m sorry, Riles.”
She grabs my shoulders and with a little shake exclaims, “Gracey, everything is okay, but we have to run… now!”
Thankful it was the better outcome of this night; I get to my feet and grab two bags I have had stashed under my bed for months. Handing one to Riley, she takes a peek inside. Shoes, clothing, snack, and cash meet her gaze. She gives me a quizzical look silently asking me what’s up. I shrug my shoulder and reply, “I had a dream a few months ago.” I don’t tell her it was a lot of dreams with varying outcomes. That would invite too many questions that I can’t answer. Gods, I wish Mom and Dad were here to answer them.
“Yeah, we’ll talk about these dreams of yours sometime, but now is not the time. We have to move… now, Gracey.” Riley grabs my hand and leads me down the stairs and out the door.
We ran from our home in Alaska to the border of Canada. I saw this too. I know where we’re going, who we find, and how it all ends. Do I tell my sister or do I just let things play out as they should?
“Keep up, Gracey. We need to make it as far from the pack as possible before sunrise.”
Riley’s worry is heavy and suffocating, I can see the weight of it dragging her down. She’s taken on so much to take care of me, I should give her this one. “Riley, we’re going to be okay. I’ve seen it, we just need to get over the border. We’ll be safe there. I promise.”
Riley stops in her tracks, disbelief written across her face. “Grace, tell me about these dreams. When did they start?”
I knew this would happen. I couldn’t keep my trap shut. “Riley, I’d rather not get into this.”
“Well too bad, we are. For starters, we have nothing better to talk about. Secondly, you knew this would happen. You said you had a dream months ago, but you never told me. Why?”
I know she’s not going to let this go. She’s like a dog with a bone. Ha, see what I did there. Begrudgingly, I explain, “Because if I had intervened, the outcome would have been different.” Riley snorts at that, so I just put it out there, “You’d be dead.”
That gets Riley’s attention and her eyes, wide and alert, meet mine. “Riles, don’t you think I would have done something if I could. I had that dream almost every night for two months. In each one I tried something different to try to prevent what happened. In every altered dream where I tried to stop him, you, or both of us, ended up dead. In the ones where you died, it was me that he mated. Not long after he’d force me to have pups for him, then he’d have me killed. The only dream where you lived and we both got free was this one.”
Her eyes are shining with unshed tears as she whispers, “Grace, I can’t image seeing that play out every night for two months. I wish I had known that was what you were dreaming about. What you were fighting.”
Coming closer, she puts a hand on my shoulder and pulls me in for a hug. “I’m okay Riles, just sorry you had to go through that.”
I can feel the tears that slip down her cheek hit my shoulder. She’s replaying what happened in her mind and when her shoulders begin to shake, I pull her closer to me. “Shift, sister. Let your wolf take the lead for a little while so you can rest. She’ll protect you and I’ll be okay.” She knows what I mean by her wolf protecting her. Right now, Riley’s emotions are raw and open. Her wolf can shield her from those, protect her, giving her a moment to just relax.
“I can’t leave you here on your own.” Before I can reply that I won’t be alone, her wolf will be with me, I see her eyes roll. I’m sure her wolf had some smartass remark to give her. I imagine something along the lines of, What am I, chopped liver? Or did you forget about me?
After a few silent heartbeats Riley huffs a “fine” before stripping down and transforming into her wolf. A beauty she is, too. Snowy white with silver shining eyes.
“Hey, girl.” Getting down my knee, I wrap my arms around Riley’s neck. “Is she behaving and giving you control? You make her relax in there.”
Riley gives me a sloppy wet kiss across my face before pouncing off.
Laughing, I stand and take off after her.
The sun sets as we make our way across the Canadian border and find our way to the cave I saw in my dream. “I’ll build a fire and we’ll just chill here. It won’t be long before we’re found.”
I didn’t realize I dozed off until I woke to the feel of a roaring vibration under my head.
A deep baritone voice rumbles through the cave, “Easy there, girl. I mean the young one no harm. My name is Jimmy and you’re on Stormwater Pack land.” Another rumbling growl sounds from below my ear. With a slight chuckle he responds to her aggression, “You are a strong alpha, aren’t you?”
I can hear him sniff the air around him and see the moment he is able to connect our lines. “You are descendants of the Shadowcrest Alpha. I know your father, he’s a wise alpha and loyal ally. What are you doing all the way out here? Is your father with you?”
Riley of course doesn’t answer him, being in her wolf form and all. I slowly rise from my position against Riley’s side and look the older gentleman in the eyes. “He’s not here. He is dead. If you were friends, how did you not know that?”
Jimmy’s eyes grow bright with a light reflection of unshed tears before he clears his throat and responds, “I’m sorry to hear that. He was a good man, your father. He helped me out of a tight spot a while back with some rogue wolves along the borders. We hadn’t spoken much over the years. We were both newly appointed alpha’s when we first met, each tracking a rogue pack that had split at the border. When we met up there, it was a pretty gruesome fight. He saved my life. Over the years when I needed assistance near the border he’d send his beta and small group, I never saw him. However, I did receive a letter from time to time. I believe the last one was about a year ago. As I said, a wise alpha and loyal ally. I guess this explains your alpha power. You’d be the new Shadowcrest Alpha I take it. What are you doing here, why aren’t you with your pack?”
“She is and if you don’t mind, though you are going to have a lot of questions after hearing this; can I just give you the cliff notes version, tonight? We can get into the long story tomorrow.”
“Of course.”
“Our parents were killed by a rival pack three years ago. Our Beta, Alastair, took over as alpha until Riley turned 16, which was yesterday. The ceremony for Riley to take her place as Shadowcrest Alpha is supposed to happen on the next full moon. However, Alastair does not plan to give up his seat. Instead, he tried to force a mating with Riley last night.”
“Ignoring the fact you said your father died three years ago and I received a letter one year ago, he what?” Jimmy barks out as Riley growls low and menacing.
“She stabbed him in the eye with a pencil and we ran.”
“Well, damn. Way to go.” Shaking his head in disbelief, he takes a deep inhale before continuing, “I can’t let you go back there. I don’t know how this will work with two strong alphas in one pack. But as long as you promise to never challenge me in front of the pack, you can stay with us for however long you want. I don’t have a family, other than the pack. But my house is big enough to house four families, so you’re welcome to stay with me.”
“I promise you, Jimmy.” Looking back at Riley. “That won’t be an issue. Will it, Riley?”
She rubs her snout along my arm, confirming her agreement.
“Very good then. Are you well enough to travel to my home tonight? It’s a couple of hours from here on foot.”
Riley gives me a nudge with her head. “We can head out.”
“Alrighty, let's go.”
To be continued in Death’s Gift, Norse Blessed Series, Book One
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Also by B. Livingstone
Shadowcrest Pack
Beautifully Shattered
Shattered Strength
Shattered Pack
Norse Blessed
Death’s Gift
About the Author
B. Livingstone is a Northern Native turned Southern Bell. She is a lover of books, coffee, movies, but most importantly her family. She has three wonderful children, one fur-baby, and one crazy husband who gracefully loves her erratic and erotic behavior. Livingstone is currently writing in the paranormal world with plans to enter other genres including contemporary in the near future. Regardless, of what genres she's in, her one goal she is to create characters you can connect with.
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Shattered Strength: Shadowcrest Pack Series Book Two Page 16