The Storm

Her run across the room probably only took 30 seconds, but felt like an entirety as she collided with Evelyn as they both strode to reach the person who had shrieked in such terror.

The sight before her was striking. The group of ethereal looking men from MoonValley stood, fists clenched, looking haughtily up at a small army of brutal looking warriors. At the very front of this army stood the largest, most savage looking man Cassie had ever seen. Easily six and a half feet tall, broad and blatantly strong. His gruff features partially obscured by long black hair, his eyes, dark as coal, glistened, ready for a fight, and his gigantic hand was grasped around the comparatively tiny wrist of Nora. 

Her already large eyes seemed impossibly magnified on the man in front of her. She trembled as though petrified, but there was something else there, Cassie couldn’t quite sniff it out, but there was a gentleness to the man’s touch. In spite of his ferocious appearance, Nora seemed startled, but she wasn’t struggling to get away…

“What is the meaning of this!” The resounding voice of their father cracked through the silence, as he looked upon the scene in front of him with disapproval. The monstrous man, never letting go of Nora’s wrist, turned to face him and spoke simply. “These vain pups were trying to bewitch my mate and convince her to choose them once the festival has ended. She is fated to me and shall return with me at once to Brokenmane.

A cacophony of noises filled their immediate surroundings, but it was a dull buzzing noise compared to the leadeness that immediately filled Cassie and threatened to swallow her whole. Fated? To such a merciless man who would be Alpha to the Brokenmane pack? Their trail of destruction was long and well known. There wasn’t one of their kind alive who didn’t know to steer clear of messing with them, and yet now here they were. Nora, who just wanted to fall in love and start the rest of her life had found her mate, but it felt like a curse, to be destined for someone so ruthless. Ripped from her home, from her sisters…

This thought seemed to finally pull Cassie out of her reverie. This was her sister. They were a team, her Nora and Evelyn, there is no way that this man was taking her without a fight. Evelyn, as usual, was two-steps ahead, already jabbing her finger in the chest of the Alpha, who apparently was named, “Roman.”

“Like hell you’re taking our sister away! I don’t care who you think you are, but she isn’t going anywhere with the likes of you!” Roman looked down on her with benign amusement and said, “She is my mate, and she will come back with me. You will not stop us just because you’re her sister.” Evelyn reared again, ready to drive her point home, when the look of surprise spread across her face, as she felt her father’s hand come down upon her shoulder. “Evie…” he said, “Your sister has found her mate. We should all be happy for this moment that she’s waited so long for. Roman, she may of course accompany you back to your pack, should she choose to. However, if she chooses to stay…”

He trailed off, and everything and everyone around them fell into silence. Even the idea that the Alpha would entertain keeping his child from their fated mate was highly unusual, let alone dangerous. Roman seemed to grow another half-a-foot, as he towered over everyone, “Are you insinuating that my little mate here would not want to come with me?” He raised his eyebrow, “You must be aware that would not be acceptable to me or my people. I’d hate for our years of peace to come to an end.” Cassie could feel James' breath coming in shorter bursts behind her, his muscles tightening. Everyone was on edge, and the things she had feared the most were coming true. War, and her sister ripped away before her eyes.

Speaking of Nora, she was still strangely quiet. She hadn’t uttered a peep this entire time, just staring up at Roman with a perplexed, wide-eyed expression. She didn’t seem afraid, but she didn’t seem like Nora either, almost like she was under some kind of spell. Cassie had heard about what it was like, finding your mate for the first time, but this wasn’t really what you expected. But then again, who expects the upheaval of 19 years of peace, and the destruction of diplomatic ties at the mere mention of your fated mate?

“I’m not trying to suggest anything of the sort,” spoke Brahm in a voice filled with forced calm. “All I’m saying is that my daughter is always welcome to stay in her home. Regardless of any…developments.” Every muscle in his body seemed to tense at this comment, and a ruthless smile spread across Roman’s face. “You would regret crossing me Brahm, I can be sure of that.” Their father barely had time to respond before the Alpha and Beta from Swiftcrest, their closest ally, stepped into the fray. Jerome was usually a steadying, calm presence, but as he and Beta Graham joined in, you could tell how serious this was. Peace between their groups was tentative at best, a direct threat to an Alpha, let alone one as vicious as Roman, was essentially a call to arms.

“Let’s not be hasty, Roman. Congratulations, of course, to you and Nora, but why not let the girl speak. This battle of wills that the two of you are waging may be for naught. Nora, how do you feel?” Nora turned her glazed expression to the rest of the group, as though she were just realizing that they were there in the first place. “I…what?” She said, clearly confused. “Do you want to go back to Brokenmane with Alpha Roman, “said Jerome, as gently as he could. Do you want to leave your pack and join your mate as their future Luna?” “Leave?” She said quietly, where would we go? “You would join me and my pack. You are my mate. We are meant to be together,” said Roman. He bent down as low as he could so that he could look her in the eye. “You wouldn’t disappoint me, would you, my little mate?”

“I…” she began, when she was immediately interrupted by a shout from behind Cassie, “Why don’t you just let her speak for herself? Or are you afraid that she’ll reject you?” Cassie was shocked when she turned around and realized that the person challenging the Alpha was James. “What are you doing?” She hissed, she no more wanted her sister to leave with this man than she wanted a poke in the eye, but she also didn’t want to antagonize him further. What was James up to? Evelyn, on the other hand, seemed fully in support of James’ tactic. “Yeah! Are you afraid because you know that no woman would go with you voluntarily?” Roman growled and his already dark eyes went completely black with anger. “How dare you speak to me this way! She is my mate and she WILL return with me at once!” Cassie looked at her father, as he put his hand on Roman’s shoulder. He meant to calm the storm that was brewing, but he was too late. As soon as his hand made contact, the tsunami of anger, aggression, and exertion of power crashed down around then. The tenuous strands of peace were broken. Nora disappeared behind Roman as his warriors swarmed those assembled around them, Cassie heard a scream come out of Evelyn’s mouth as her fiery hair came down around her, and all that they had known was gone. 

This was war.