Chapter: Thirty-twoTara’s p.o.v. I’m restless. It’s been like this for a while now. There’s a burning sensation, deep within, like embers left to smolder for far too long, threatening to ignite if I don’t keep it contained. I can feel her stirring—the beast. Both of them, actually. I know it’s them, even if they’re not exactly the same, but they are. The wolf and the other.. the.. I dunno.. It doesn’t matter what they are. They are part of me, and they want out.The wolf is easier to deal with. She’s like the breeze on a warm spring day, playful, curious, and eager for a good run. I feel her nipping at the edges of my consciousness, her soft growls and happy whines as she tugs at my very essence. She’s impatient, wanting to chase, wanting to play. She’s a lot like me, in a way. Simple. Pure. She doesn’t understand the burden, the weight of everything that’s coming for me.Then there’s the other one. The one that burns and smolders beneath my skin like molten rock. The one that never sleeps, never calms
Last Updated: 2025-01-26
Chapter: Chapter thirty-oneThe roar of the crowd was my symphony, their bloodthirsty cheers a melody that stirred something primal within me. I sat atop my throne, the pit sprawling before me like a stage, where shifters danced to the rhythm of life and death. My necklace of trophies, claws, and fangs rattled faintly with every shift of my weight, a subtle reminder of the victories I had claimed. These beasts needed to know their place. They were born with power, yes, but that power was raw, untamed, and ultimately inferior to human ingenuity and control. I’d built this empire to show them that.Tonight, I expected no less than the usual spectacle. Two shifters entered the pit, one young and trembling, the other bruised but defiant. I leaned forward slightly, intrigued. The older one, Christian, had been a prize catch, the rogue shifter known for his cunning. Breaking him would be a triumph, I thought that takings his wife and child’s lives all those years ago would have done the trick but here he stands, capt
Last Updated: 2025-01-26
Chapter: a little bonus for your patience I watch from the shadows as Christian is dragged back to the cells. His head is lowered, his posture slumped, but there's something about him that doesn't break. His face is bloodied, a bruise already swelling beneath one eye, but his eyes, they're still burning with fire, still defiant, still unyielding. I can’t help but feel a flicker of something deep inside me. Hope? No. Maybe something worse.This place has taken so much from me,...so much from all of us. We’ve been chained and broken, forced to fight, to survive, to serve as entertainment for those who think they control our lives. And yet, here he is,..Christian, the rogue, the former guard, the legend, the one that brought bits of food and from what i heard, the one that saved so many when this all started.He’s not like the others. I can see it in the way he carries himself. The way his shoulders never fully slump, even when they shove him back into the cage. They throw him in like they’ve done to so many before him, and I ca
Last Updated: 2025-01-26
Chapter: Chapter thirty: In the pitChristians p.o.v. The cold, metallic tang of blood hangs heavy in the air as I sit shackled in this cold cage, my wrists chafed raw from the heavy silver cuffs binding me to the rusted bars. The distant echo of a roar, equal parts agony and rage, sends shivers racing down my spine. my heart is pounding, not with fear for myself but for the others, those who had been dragged into this hellish nightmare alongside me.My breath comes in ragged gasps as I strain against my bindings, my body bruised and battered from the trap and manhandling that landed me here. I underestimated them, the hunters, or Clan’s men, however you wanna call them, who ambushed me in the early morning. Somehow they’d known I’d come, known how to subdue me, and now I’m trapped in the belly of the beast.From my position, I Can hear the muffled cheers and jeers of a crowd, their voices rising in a sickening crescendo.The faint, rhythmic thudding of footsteps echo down the muddy path, growing louder with each pass
Last Updated: 2025-01-26
Chapter: Chapter Twnety-Nine: RestlessTara’s P.o.v: I stumbled into the cottage, each step heavier than the last. My legs quivering from the punishing combat drills, my arms screaming in protest at even the slightest movement. The door creaked as it closed behind me, the sound echoing faintly in the stillness of the night. I leaned against the sturdy wooden frame, allowing myself a r moment of vulnerability, and exhale a shuddering breath.The warmth of the cottage greets me, though it does little to soothe the storm raging within. My fingers tremble as I peeled off the sweat-soaked, dirt-streaked clothing clinging to my body. The day’s training was brutal, yet it paled in comparison to the shocking revelation that had emerged in the clearing: fire. Raw, uncontrollable fire that erupted from my hands with a fierce, primal hunger. I felt its heat, saw its searing glow, but now, as I stand here, the memory feels distant, almost unreal.“What the hell is happening to me?” I whisper into the quiet room, nearly expecting som
Last Updated: 2025-01-11
Chapter: Chapter Twenty-Eight: Trial by FireSam’s p.o.v.The morning light slices through the trees, golden and unforgiving. I’m standing in the center of the clearing, arms crossed, waiting and watching as Tara trudges into view. Her steps are slower today, heavier. The exhaustion from yesterday’s training obviously lingering in the tightness of her movements and the slump of her shoulders. Still, there’s that familiar fire in her eyes as she looks up towards me, like a glimmer of stubborn resolve that refusing to be extinguished.Good. She’s going to need every ounce of that stubbornness for what’s coming.I’ve seen my share of battles, but even if only half of what Linda told me will come to be, it’s going to be a suicide mission if she’s not ready.“Tara,” I called, tossing her weighted gauntlets. She caught them, though the force of the throw made her stagger a bit, her muscles must be sore. “Today, we focus on endurance.”She stared at the gauntlets, then at me. She wisely keeps any protests herself, though I saw a flicke
Last Updated: 2025-01-11