Soul Crossed

Soul CrossedTangled Creek Werewolves Sheryl Quinn Contents Chapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29 Chapter One The moon never called to her the way it did the others. For Siobhan, the moon was a whisper, a caress against her skin guiding her change from human to wolf instantaneously. For the others, it was a once-a-month command, a force of nature that broke spines and muscle, crippling the human until the change was complete. She never divulged this secret. Pain was a rite of passage in the Fire Clan, something to be proud of. Siobhan never liked pain and thought it odd others did. Why would she subject herself to it unnecessarily? This was one of the many differences between her and the other wolves in her clan. Her mother had already gone for the day, out gathering the herbs and wild edibles for tonight’s dinner, one Siobhan was responsible for making. She didn’t mind this chore. Cooking for her was a way to pass the time, a chance to get away from the pokes and jeers from her clan. No one dared mess with her on the nights she claimed the kitchen as her own. It was the one thing she excelled at, and there wasn’t a wolf in the entire United States who would jeopardize their dinner over a bit of prodding at the weird girl. But before this came her other chore, one she abhorred above all others. It wasn’t that she hated cleaning. It was that she hated cleaning for other wolves. Hating her had become the favorite pastime of almost everyone, and when they knew it was her day to come around and tidy up, they ensured Siobhan would have to work the entire day without rest. She’d enter the first house to last night’s dinner dishes scattered across the table and sink, food still sitting in pans, spilled wine, dirty sheets, clothing everywhere, piss and shit all over the bathroom. Whatever they could find to make her life as miserable as possible, they would do it. Sometimes, she had to admire the sheer ingenuity of their messes, even as she forced down the gags threatening to overtake her. But she never said a word. Siobhan never uttered a single complaint. She shut her mouth, put her head down, and scrubbed shit off the floor without a single whimper. They tried their best to break her, but Siobhan had learned not to be an oak long ago. She became a willow, supple and flexible, swaying with each punch, prank, or deliberate chaos they set upon her. She would not crack. She would not break. Even if her mind was a hollowed-out shell, she never allowed it to show. Siobhan knew better. She’d seen what happened when you broke. The Fire Clan had a mass grave at the back of their property where the weaker wolves lay, not a marker in sight to remember who’d fallen. Just a giant hole in the ground where they threw the empty shell when they were done. Survival was her only goal. To get through it, she had to go through it. Even if it felt like trudging through frozen mud during a blizzard while being attacked by mountain lions. Or wolves in her case. Siobhan grabbed her yellow mop bucket and other supplies and headed out the door, ensuring she locked it behind her. She and her mother had the smallest house in the clan, a tiny one-bedroom hovel with a dirt floor and a hole in the ground for the bathroom. Her mother had made a complaint once about the state of it. Only once. And now the fingers on her left hand bent at odd angles permanently. Wounds set permanently when the Alpha didn’t allow you to heal. Siobhan took their disgraced status and wore it like a burning badge of honor. She’d make it through. She’d gain her independence and leave this place, and once she did, she’d return in the dead of night and burn this fucking place to the ground. Click one. Two. Three. Turn the key. One. Two. Three. Check the door handle. One. Two. Three. Check it one more time. One. Two. Three. Satisfied it was locked and secure as she could make it, Siobhan jogged down the stairs, her cleaning supplies bouncing with a rattle against her thigh. Today wouldn’t be so bad. Shepherd’s house was on the schedule, and he was the only one who treated her with an inch of kindness. He never left a mess for her, not anything she couldn’t handle at least, and he always picked his dirty underwear up and put it in the hamper. This was two hundred percent more than anyone else did for her. Shepherd always put his dishes in the dishwasher and left it for her to turn on, and he always emptied his trash cans into one, so she didn’t have to go to each room and do it herself. When he could, he always left her a hefty tip and a chocolate bar on his nightstand with a note that always had some cheesy motivational quote. The only times he failed to leave something was when another wolf was over or watching him a little too closely. This was more for her sake than his. Betas were the most cherished and protected wolves in the clan. He never feared his place or worth, but if someone caught him extending kindness to her, she’d be the one punished for it. The Beta was intelligent enough to know this and ensured he never put her in that position. When Siobhan torched the place, she’d get him out first. Shepherd was still home when she arrived. Instead of going straight in like normal, she apped on the door and waited. His comforting presence beat at her shields, but she’d closed