I paced nervously around the communal waiting, located area just outside the meeting hall. Every step in unison with the seconds that ticked by on the clock on the wall, my breathing and heart racing so loud it was only increasing my anxiety.
The meeting was planned, everything was ready. All that was left was Aleric. Any minute now he would be walking through that door with the news that would decide my fate. How strange that once again I would be finding myself tempting death in the hands of Aleric; though now relying on him as my saviour, not my executioner. Though I had to admit, I would be lying if I didn't acknowledge that he had been doing that very thing anyway these last few months.
But no, I wouldn't be killed. I had to believe in Tytus' own thirst for power should the worst-case scenario come to play. I had to believe that my value outweighed my death... at least for now.
Around me were several other people. I could see a few Elders that arrived early
"Alpha... I am here today to confess my crimes of treason."The room around me became icy cold, a deafening silence hanging as no one even dared to breathe too loudly. All of them too shocked over my words.And, among them, seeming the most shocked and hurt... my father. I hadn't told him what I'd done. In fact, we'd barely spoken the last few months since we'd had that argument about Thea. Not because I was still angry at him, Goddess knew I was in the wrong there, but because I was ashamed. I'd tried to force him into doing something that jeopardised not only his safety, but my mother's also. Even in grieving, it was stupid.Tytus looked me up and down, the only person who hadn't been affected by my sudden announcement. Knowing him, his mind was already thinking of ways to turn whatever I was about to say into something that could benefit him."...Elaborate," was all he said.Strong. I needed to be strong."I...," I started, my vo
In the past timeline, I was sixteen when I first realised I had feelings for Aleric, eighteen when I knew I was in love with him.All my life I'd grown up believing that he would be mine one day, hoping I would make him proud. I was groomed, controlled, and moulded to become the perfect Luna from the moment I was born.I remembered my first shift, how it felt once I saw him with the mate bond connecting us. It was like the air around him shimmered, beckoning me forward, demanding that I gravitate around him. If I focused enough, I could even still recall how his skin felt on mine; like tiny sparks of pleasure wherever it touched. So strong, an incredible leader, and capable of feats in battle no one else had accomplished. Those were the good memories of Aleric I'd buried.So why was my mind surfacing this now? Maybe I was trying to justify to myself that at one point in my life I'd wanted this. That the old Aria would have revelled in this moment. To wear an Alp
'Three hundred and one… three hundred and two… three hundred and three… three hundred and four….'I crept my fingers like legs along the wooden panel as I sat curled up on the seat of the windowsill nook. In my head, I would count the steps I made until my hand couldn’t reach any further… then I’d repeat. How many steps could I count until I was eighteen?Everything felt like it blended together, almost as if two timelines were now indistinguishable. It must have been at least a month or two since they dragged me in here kicking and screaming. I had tried to run the minute I saw where they were taking me, a reaction that surprised even myself. But this place held worse memories for me than even the trial grounds where I’d died.'*“No, not here,”*' I had said adamantly as they tried to force me to go inside. '*“Anywhere but here.”*''*“This is
A loud knocking sounded at my door the following morning, instantly waking me up.It was dark, maybe dim morning light, but definitely earlier than I had expected to be disturbed that day. It was so early that I knew even Lucy wouldn’t have arrived yet.Despite my best efforts, my brain had refused to quieten down after I’d gone to sleep the night before. Figuring out a possible theory to do with Thea had awakened a new spark within me, one which had prevented me from settling my mind down. As a result, I felt exhausted from the little rest I had managed to get.I pulled myself out of bed sluggishly and made my way to the door, opening it to see a dishevelled looking Aleric on my doorstep. It appeared that early mornings still disagreed with him even after all this time.“...Aleric? Why are you here so early?” I yawned, too tired to conduct the required formalities.“So you just open the door for anyone without checkin
“If we can request a forty per cent decrease to our alliance tax for just the next five years, I believe that this amount alone would allow us to grow exponentially,” the Alpha from the Red Star pack said. “You’d easily see the missed returns back in full from the tax break, though I think easily more than full, once our annual revenue grew further. Currently, we have several plans in place for expanding our business interests, but we’re just short of the funds required to implement.” Aleric took a moment to consider before finally replying. “I’m happy to allow that,” he said, “but I would expect an increase of trade goods to come through the Winter Mist during that period of discount, something that would assist with both of our economies. In addition to that, I will also add the condition where, should you fail to increase your total gross income after ten years, the Winter Mist will reserve the right to claim the amount in missed taxes during the initial five year
The rest of the meeting went without further incident and soon everyone disbanded from the meeting hall to congregate outside. It was sunset by this point and I could feel everyone’s exhaustion around me as they waited for their sleeping arrangements to be made available for the night. Aleric and I stood to the side, avoiding further interaction after the events that had occurred. Not that I imagined anyone would be upset by that. If anything, they would be grateful for our distance, not wanting to find themselves as the next subject of our focus for too long. But there was one individual I had a feeling wouldn’t pick up on that obvious social cue. An individual who had just left the building, their eyes beginning to scan the area around them. Without hesitating, I quickly pushed Aleric around the corner of the meeting hall building to hide ourselves from none other than Alpha Fredrick. Only he would be brazen enough to not let sleeping dogs lie. Or i
'Reach for it…' 'Stretch...' I dug deep within myself, searching where I had felt that familiar energy first stem from. Before it used to always feel like it was just out of arm's length, as if only the tip of my fingernail could graze it, but now it felt as though I needed several more appendages just to get anywhere near it. But it was there. I had to believe that it hadn’t just been my imagination. 'Stretch just a little further…' But then I exhaled quickly in release, panting from the strain it had caused to my body. I’d been sitting on my bed practising ever since arriving back at my guest lodgings. However, since starting over an hour ago, there had been little to show in progress. I knew there had to be a trick to this, some sort of internal cue to summon it. Elder Luke had mentioned that this energy was something that could be trained but I was now trying to accomplish it with a sever
…. With a sudden lurch inside my chest, my eyes flew open. I was gasping heavily, trying to compensate for the suffocation that had afflicted me only moments earlier. … Except I wasn’t mounted on the glass shard anymore.... I was in my bed. My hands frantically grabbed at my body, inspecting for any sign of damage… but there wasn’t any. So it wasn’t real? But I had felt it. It couldn’t be a dream. I know it wasn’t a dream. But it ended up easier than expected to figure out exactly what had happened. The nausea hit me first, forcing me to throw myself over the side of the bed and empty out the contents of my stomach. Then the ringing in my ears followed… then, finally, the bloody nose. ...It was a vision. Easily the longest one I’d ever had; the realest one I’d ever had. Somehow it had been strong enough to show itself even with my collar, now punishing me with the worst side effects I’d ever had to date.