Chapter 0292


    The weather is still turning fast, but no snow has fallen, just gusty cold wind and frost in the


    mornings that is taking longer and longer to melt each day.


    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.


    “Three days! I can''t wait.” Mina is jumping up and down.


    She has taken on some of the mannerisms of these college girls, and while it’s endearing when she


    does it, the rest of them just kind of annoy me. I don''t understand getting excited about a nail polish


    color or the sale at a certain store, but I get the excitement of going home for a few days.


    Home. That is such a weird thing to think about, because thepound is home to me. The castle


    is home to me. If I really think about it the Blue Crescent packhouse is home sort of. I don''t know if it


    will feel the same if or when I go back though. I have changed a lot being with the warriors and it


    hasn''t even been a year yet.


    I miss Lillian, Wyatt and Nathaniel. They took me in without question and honestly very little


    information. Everyone else seems to be an open book, but they all understand that I have my


    reasons for keeping details to myself. They all know the condensed story of how I got the scars on


    my back, even Mina has asked since they always seem to be on disy whenever Luna Anne and


    Sierra dress me. And they know I was attacked and drugged beforeing here.


    These friends don''t see me as weak though, they see me as


    a survivor and I have started to believe them. It makes me feel lighter, better, bigger somehow in my


    tiny five foot tall self.


    Just as I finish the thought, the front door to our little rental bursts open with Nicks covered in


    snow.


    “What the hell?!" Mina shouts.


    “Some kind of Nor''easter, I''ve been sensing snow for days, but I didn’t expect anything like this.”


    Nicks says, shaking out his hair and untying his boots. “The rest of the team is back at camp


    getting things settled there, ready if the storm moves that far south. I got supplies, but we need to


    be ready to be stuck for a bit.”


    “WHAT! NO! We were supposed to go and meet with the Elders this weekend so we could get our


    brands. Why does it feel like something is always stalling this process?"


    “Maybe because you both are too young to be doing this.


    Maybe because you are now eighteen and your mate is close so the universe is trying to keep you


    from blocking the pull. Maybe it’s the Goddess telling all these f*ckers that think you both are


    disposable little girls, that you are too important to be throwing out as bait for grown ass wolves to


    take advantage of if things go wrong.” He takes a deep breath and heads through the small sitting


    room to our open concept kitchen and starts digging in the fridge. :


    He still hasn''t given up the idea that we aren''t supposed to


    be here. I have tried talking to him about it and he just says it’s an instinct. He seems to be overly


    protective of the two of us specifically though, also ‘an instinct.’ He doesn''t act this way with Alyssa


    and she''s only a couple years older than Mina and she hasn''t found or searched for her mate either


    and she was given her brand with the rest of her warrior ss without all the fuss. So I don’t


    understand why he’s hung up on the two of us.


    “I have coolers all set for the stuff in the fridge to go outside if we lose power. There is plenty of dry


    firewood in the shed outback and more in the yard. The biggest thing is keeping the pipes in the


    house from freezing and exploding.”


    He moves to walk back to his room, which is where he spends most of his time. I love that here in


    the house he doesn’t hover at all. He lets us be and do what we want.


    The minute we leave the house is a whole other story, but he has his reasons I guess.


    “But seriously, aside from being able to see other people and train properly and use the hot tub,


    what about our brands? We need them and you know it. What is the point of all of this if we can''t


    even go out and know that you guys can track us if sh*t hits the fan?


    Because that’s the endgame right? For sh*t to hit the fan and for one or both of us to be kidnapped.


    No one else has thought of a solution to theck of being able to track by scent and apparently that


    is the only type of tracking we know or teach, also something we should be working on.” Mina is on


    fire and


    I''m not about to stop her, cause I agree. The dependence on our abilities has made us blind to the


    fact that they could be taken away.