AMIRA “The simulations here are crazy. It’s hard to tell that it’s simulated” Rune commented as we walked deeper into the forest and I shared his thoughts as well. If we hadn’t come through a door, I would not have been able to tell this place had been created. The similarities to real life was way better than what we had back at home. The creepy dark aura of the forest made chill travel down my spine with each noise and creak it produced. “Watch out, Rune” Koa caught him before he could trip over a branch that was laying on the floor “The forest might be simulated but the creatures in here aren’t so keep quiet and listen. We can’t let our guard down. We can get hurt here” “What crawled up your pants and died there?” Rune grumbled and ducked with a chuckle when Koa tried to smack him. “Can you both leave your bickering till later and let’s communicate through the mind link so we can hear our surroundings better.” Soren scolded and they straightened. We continued our journey
SOREN“I’m beginning to doubt the scientist guy and his statement about dangerous creatures in here. We’ve been walking for a while and yet to come across any. And how big is this place? We’ve been walking for a while but we haven’t seen Ami nor seen what we are looking for” Rune complained in the mind link.I was still pissed at him for causing the landslide with his carelessness but I was keeping it to myself because I knew I might lose control here and it wouldn’t be good for us so I chose to ignore him.“Just focus before you cause an earthquake this time” Koa warned, having an annoyed look on his face that Rune noticed which made him shut up.“Ami? How are you guys?” I asked her through the mind link because I was filled with worry. I couldn’t think clearly and all I wanted to know was where she was and if she was safe.“I’m safe” she replied after some minutes and I let out a relieved sigh “You?”“We are okay. We haven’t seen anything yet” I said with a sigh.I was just as tired
AMIRAWe had been walking for a while with the others nowhere in sight and thankfully, no creatures at all. It made me start to doubt that there were any here.I could not stop worrying about Soren and the way he sounded before he put a wall on our private mind link channel.“Let’s wait here. Hopefully, they would meet us here” I told Ivannah when we got to any intersection.I was hoping the road they were on would lead them to us since there were many parts connected to it. I didn’t want us to thank one and miss the others again.I took a seat without waiting for an answer from Ivannah. She had not complained again after I warned her not to and I hoped she remained quiet.“Are we just going to sit on the floor?” She snidely asked and I didn’t hide the irritation on my face as I glared at her. I guess it was too early to say she would behave the entire time.“If you can’t sit, then be my guest and leave” I snapped at her, not in the mood to deal with her.Ivannah grumbled under her br
AMIRA“Amira” Ivannah called again and I looked at her in surprise. It was the first time I would hear even something remotely close to concern for me in her voice.Growling dragged my attention from her back to the wolf that knocked me down. His eyes glowed a slimy green, indicating that he wasn’t a regular rogue wolf but one that had lost its mind and was dangerous—a dark one.I jumped on my feet, ignoring the pain that travelled through my body at the impact of the tree. I stared at the broken tree behind me and at Ivannah who had paled like a ghost as she stood with fear on her face as she stared at the wolf.“At least she would shut up now” I muttered, ignoring the concern I heard in her voice before running towards the growling wolf that was storming towards me.The wolf launched at me, claws spread and his eyes firm with the intent to kill me. I moved swiftly to the side,
SORENI was getting frustrated the longer we walked without any sight of Amira and my worries were stronger and my desperation to find her, choking.We moved cautiously, eyes alert as we watched for any rustle or movement in the dark forest around us.Suddenly, a menacing growl broke the silence, and a wolf emerged from the path in front of us. His eyes gleamed green with feral insanity.“Isn’t that a fucking dark one?” Rune asked with surprise and fear in his voice.“They had dark ones in here? Are they stupid or what?” Koa growled as well as he prepared for the attack.I don’t know what came over me but I wasn’t in the mood to waste time and deal with the delay in finding Amira, so I stepped up, fueled by my desperation and slayed the wolf in front of me with a powerful and swift strike of the blade in my hands.
SORENThe forest seemed endless, and we were growing tired. The fake moonlight was the only thing giving us light and it seemed like we were never going to find the symbol.“How big is this place?” Rune asked, breaking the silence. There was frustration in his voice, and we shared the same feeling. “We have been searching for ages, and we’ve found nothing. Are you sure it’s in here? It feels like we are being punished”Koa nodded in agreement “I can see why the alpha built this in the human world. He would have never been able to hide something this big in our world”“That’s not what I am talking about, who cares about how well hidden this place is” Rune growled and Koa only pursed his lips, amused and kept walking.“Maybe we should yell that we give up and we don’t want to do this anymore. The alpha can just hand the symbol to you when it’s time for you to take
AMIRAThe fire burned fiercely around us, threatening to consume everything in its path. I was frozen in both fear and surprise as I stared at Soren.He was roaring with so much rage, more anger than I had ever seen from him and the fire burned furiously like the anger he felt. It was terrifying.“What is happening?” Rune yelled. His eyes were wide with fear, and Ivannah looked like she was close to death.Koa was surprised but not scared, and it made me wonder if he had ever suspected or known that Soren was an elemental before us.“Ami, do something, or else we are all going to die here” Rune cried, snapping me out of my thoughts as I turned my attention back to Soren.The air was thick with smoke and his body was blood red. It looked painful like streams of flames were on his skin instead of sweating. It was a terrifying sight to se
SOREN“Is that it?” Rune asked with a raised brow as he peered into the chest “The Myre is smaller than I thought it would be” he said, and I agreed.When my father always spoke about the Myre, he made it seem like a very big symbol of authority, but it was a little bit larger than my hand though it weighed more than it looked.“Pick it up so we can leave” Koa spoke, and I reached down and grabbed it.The moment I removed the Myre from the box, the ground underneath us began to shake violently like there was an earthquake.“What’s happening?” Ivannah cried out as she held onto Rune who was closest to her for balance.She had been quiet ever since the incident with Amira and she had not said a word even when I caused that fire even though there was terror on her face, and I was happy she knew that her input
AMIRA“Talk?” Dad asked with a confused expression “about what?”I felt a tiny tug at the helm of my shirt before I could answer and I looked down to see Ezra with wide teary eyes staring up at me. “Ez?” I bent down so I was at eye level and wiped his cheeks “why are you crying, baby?”“Why did Daddy leave? Is he angry with me?” His trembling voice broke my heart and I pulled him into a tight hug.“No, baby” I peppered multiple on both side of his face “Daddy isn’t mad at you”“then why did he leave? I want to go with him” fresh waves of tears appeared again. My heart clenched painfully in my chest. There was no doubt that Ezra had gotten attached Soren. I wanted to be happy that Ezra found it so easy to bond with Soren just barely two days after they met but at the same time it hurt me that he would not be able to spend much time with his father since I planned to leave the pack when Elias had recovered. “ did you spend all the time when I was gone with your father?” I asked and
AMIRAI stepped out of the portal into the house. Thankfully, the portal brought us back to where we had left from.“The house is quiet. Are they at the pack house?” Koa asked as he stepped out after me.“No, they are still here. I smell them. They should be at the back” Koa followed me to the garden.As soon as I stepped through the back door, familiar delighted gasps reached my ears.“Mummy” Ezra squealed with wide eyes when he saw me. His small feet pattered across the floor as he raced towards me with his small arms outstretched.I bent down and picked him up as soon as he reached me. I missed him so much. I had never stayed away from them for this long. I peppered kisses all over his face and was rewarded with excited giggles as he tried to push me away playfully.“I missed you, Ez. So so much” I leaned back to study his face.“Me too, but I had so much fun playing with Daddy and Grandpa. Did you bring the medicine for Elias? Will he be fine now?”Amira softened, brushing his cur
IVANNAHI stared at the door with a new kind of numbness and hurt. I could feel everything I had ever worked for slip away from my fingers like water; it was terrifying. I lifted my hand to pound the door down. How dare Soren do this to me?I suffered years of humiliation and insults to remain by his side, as the Luna of the pack and he runs to Amira as soon as she returns. What happened to the years of hatred he harboured for that bitch?My hand fell back lifelessly against my sides. There was no use knocking. The result would only be as cold-hearted as the one I had just received, if not more.“Mum will know what to do” I whispered to myself before I turned away from the door.I ignored the sneers and looks of curiosity as my legs hurried me towards my mother. My breaths were uneven and ragged as I picked up the pace, almost in a sprint as my desperation rose.Mom had moved into the pack house after she had a nasty fight with Dad after Amira left. Dad was hell-bent on finding her ba
SORENI held Ezra to my chest as I walked around the room. He had fallen asleep in my arms, and I was reluctant to put him down. I pressed a kiss to his curls as his heartbeat matched mine. It was peaceful and calm.I felt warm holding him to my chest and I would stay like this forever if I could. His tiny hand clutched my shirt tightly and I told myself he held me like that because he trusted me and didn’t want me to leave.Noah had something to do in town, so he left me to watch over the kids. Meridia had come over earlier to check on Elias and make sure that the venom was not spreading fast and left me with a vial to always give him a drop every hour.A knock at the door interrupted my moment with Ezra. I took a whiff off the air and my eyes narrowed when I smelt Ivannah. What was she doing here?I took Ezra back inside and lay him down beside his brother. I kissed the both of them on their foreheads before walking out of the room and shutting the door behind me.When I approached
IVANNAHTheir eyes followed me as soon as I stepped into the pack house, and I scoffed at their hatred. If they thought those malicious looks would ruffle me, then they had another thing coming.Whether they liked it or not, I was Luna and Amira was gone. It was a reality they would have to live whether they liked it or not.“I don’t know how she manages to keep her head high when Soren can’t stand her,” one of the pack members whispered to her friend, who also had a glare on her face as she eyed me.“She is so shameless. Soren will always be Amira’s whether she likes it or not”A glare from me had them scurrying away and soon the hallway before me was empty.Amira.As much as I loved to pretend that I won, I didn’t. That bitch was still everywhere and the pack members would not shut up about her. The comparison affected me more than I would like to admit and I hated it.I pushed my thoughts to the back of my head as I made my way to Soren’s office. I was getting frustrated each day a
SORENIt’s been a day since they left and I hated that I was worried about her. Ever since they called about the attack and went in search of the man Inara had told them about, they were yet to call back with any more details.I had been in Noah’s house since they left, not bothering to go back to the pack house or my home. Why would I? When my kids were here?The thought caused me to look at the sleeping child in my arms. Elias's small chest rose and fell as though he was having a peaceful slumber, but I knew better. Meridia suggested that I hold him as much as I could. He may not know me as his father yet but his body would recognise our bond and my touch would be as useful as any medicine they could give to help him.I was still struggling to wrap my head around it but I was not stupid to keep doubting it. They were mine without a doubt. I felt so many emotions at once whenever I looked at the frail boy in my arms. Guilt. Regret. Shame. Anger. A deep ache for all the developmen
AUTHOR’S POVThe air cackled with magic and flame in Curtis’s dimly lit bedroom. The room was dark, with light only provided by the flame from the fireplace. Curtis sat motionless in the dark corner, eyes hard as he tapped on the armrest, a slow, rhythmic and deliberate sound that echoed throughout the empty room.His eyes glowed golden, his legs bouncing slowly with anticipation as he waited.“My patience is wearing thin” He growled to his wolf, Zel. “Patience, Curtis” Zel warned with the ever dark tone he always spoke with “Haste has never gotten us what we want” He was about to argue when the air shifted. Then, as though the shadows had been torn opened, a portal shimmered in the dark, lighting up the room.Curtis didn’t move. He simply remained seated and watched as a hooded figure stepped through the portal, into the room. The portal disappeared and the room went back to its original dark state. The figure knelt in front of Curtis, head lowered in both fear and respect.“You
AMIRA Was this man insane? Could he hear the rubbish he was spewing from his mouth? A mate bond, developed in the lab? “Can you hear yourself? How is it possible to create a mate bond? It’s not” I yelled and stumbled away from him. There was no way I was going to believe this bullshit of a story. “It sounds unbelievable but it is true. Your father can testify. I was there when it happened. We had been researching for a way to make it happen for years and we didn’t even think it was going to be possible” “I don’t believe you” I shook my head violently “The moon goddess…she gave me and Soren our bond. It couldn’t have been all a lie. It wasn’t …” My words faltered as I struggled for more words to hold on to. The man just shook his head, pity and understanding that I didn’t want to see evident on his face “I know it’s difficult to accept but the bond was not something the moon goddess granted. It was something your father created” My stomach twisted in nausea. I didn’t want to beli
AMIRAI took a step back, eyeing the man like he had gone mad because there was no way he would have uttered such a word if he was sane.“What did you just say? What experiment?” My voice shook with belief. What kind of psycho had Inara made us come to?“You are the child from the lab. The one we thought died in the fire” He repeats with a definite voice, his eyes hard and determined on the stupid words he was spurting.Fire? Died? Now, I was certain this man must be on something because I had never been associated with any fire incidents since I had been born.I shook my head in denial “You must be mistaking me for someone else. I have never been in a lab and I certainly don’t remember anything about a fire” I chuckled nervously and glanced at Koa who was looking at the man as though he had grown two heads.The man glanced at Koa who was already outside the house “You. Wait here”And with that, he slammed the door close, grabbed my hand and pulled me deeper into the house.“What are