“You’re still there?”I whipped my head around, looking at the source of my current predicament.I spent the rest of the night, cold and shivering. I couldn’t sleep because of how terrified I was. For hours, I tried to find my way out. There was nothing around me that would help. I tried to return the way I came but it didn’t work. The waterfall didn’t have time off to let me move.The only thing I didn’t have was the old man’s help.“Greyson!” I yelled. “Get me out of here.”He bit his apple and threw one in the air. My stomach growled. I had no choice but to almost launch myself and get it.“What if I don’t?”“Someone will look for me and you’re gonna regret it.”“Already threatening me, I see. Just barks, no bites. Do you remember what I asked you yesterday?”We talked about different things. He asked me a bunch of questions. How was I supposed to remember what he wanted?“The fire in your eyes, I recognize it. It’s the same as my daughter’s. If you don’t learn how to grow it, you’
Three months later: I laughed as I dodged one of Greyson’s punches. He didn’t hold them back at all. It has been three months since I left that apartment, not even paying rent or answering anyone. My phone wasn’t with me; I left it back home. Moreover, Greyson said it was better not bring it. “Perfect! You’re doing much better than the first day we started,” Greyson said, his voice full of pride. “You’re a natural at this. Only your wolf is lacking and you’ll be much more than perfect.” “Aren’t you complimenting me too much, old man?” I dodged one of his arms that tried to reach for me and snaked around it, outreaching him, hauling myself in the air and landing a critical kick on his face. Greyson staggered backwards but recovered faster than I expected. He immediately launched a series of counterattacks I dodged easily. His punches grew desperate. I used the force of his own flow to direct his attacks; he taught me this before. If I couldn’t block an attack, it was better directi
ADOLPHUS’ POV: Alice’s alarm woke me up and the first thing I felt this morning was regret. It was the first different feeling I felt since she disappeared and I couldn’t find her. No matter where I sent my warriors or where I went, I couldn’t get a glimpse of her smell. The ground opened and swallowed her whole. She didn’t even pay her rent. I woke up as usual, my sister looking as grumpy as usual, when pain began to pulse through my whole body. It was the first time this happened. The last time I had similar pain was when my heart almost stopped beating. This was mild. “Hey! Are you okay?” my sister asked from the bathroom. I just dropped glasses and plates as my hand looked for something to hang on it. “Yeah, fine!” Intuition is an interesting thing. ‘It’s similar to the last time,’ my wolf commented in my head. ‘The same pain, but it’s not as strong as the other one. The heart attack almost caused our death.’ ‘I agree. What do you think caused this? It’s pretty confusing.
EBONY’S POV:One second, I woke up and found him in front of me, looming like a demon with his devilish grin, the next, I was over his shoulder, still thinking how I ended up like that.I mean, wasn’t I with Greyson?“Shit!”My mind couldn’t process what just happened. I spent a few minutes thinking. First, I fainted for some strange reason. I was about to tell Greyson my secret when it happened. Second, I was thrown over Adolphus’ shoulders as if I was a sack of flour.“Don’t worry! Sweetheart! I will make you see shit yourself soon for the stunt you pulled.”Huh?His words were enough to make me realise that I shouldn’t be over his shoulder. The most important thing was: he was naked and he didn’t care.“I didn’t expect you to jump on me like a madman, jerk.”Greyson told me that once caught, it was game over for me. The best way to get away from such a situation was to run away. In case I was in a similar situation, I should take advantage of my captor’s low guard and so I did.Sin
It took me a while to recover my energy and do something about the way I was lifted.Adolphus chose the less crowded streets. The sun was in the middle of the sky when we arrived at the building. He laughed the entire time and threw some sarcastic remarks, how I was heavy, how I wriggled like a worm, how he preferred me squirming under him than over his shoulder… He even had the audacity to tell me to not waste my energy because what was coming was worse than this, which made me hit the back of his head.It’s pointless. Just stay still.Bah! Not an option! He was my enemy. He used me. He was no different from Frederick. The worst specimen alive. A devil in the shape of a wolf.Alice appeared on my side, coming out of her apartment when Adolphus was about to push the door of my apartment.“Oops! Busted!” Adolphus clicked his tongue. “Alice? Why aren’t you at the campus?”“Is that who I think she is?” she pointed at me.“No, sis. Just return to sleep. You’re hallucinating.”She slammed
Join his pack?A strange proposal. I never thought that one day someone would ask me to join his pack. For everyone, I was part of the Crescentmoon pack… because Frederick claimed so. But in this life, I wasn’t ready to accept it. I’d rather be a rogue than a member of Frederick’s pack.“What will you do?” Alice asked.I spent the rest of the day with her, “helping” her making pies and more food for next week. It turned out I returned on a Saturday, when all students of the campus returned to their pack for casual visits, so Saulville was quite empty.“I don’t know,” I continued to peel the apples. The only reason I stayed was because she cried for me. It didn’t sound fake. Moreover, the voice in the back of my head told me to stay. “If I join the Bloodmoon pack, won’t the Crescentmoon pack see it as treason? I don’t want my aunt to be in the way.”I knew about the rules. However, after what I have seen, I didn’t trust Frederick to follow them. After all, he lied about his mate bond w
ADOLPHUS’ POV:I used to be like that…I heard everything. To be honest, I stuck around to know what they could be talking about. There were a few things about her that still didn’t make sense to me.“Ladies,” Asher barked, his voice reverberating as if he was a general at war. “Is this how we’ll start this season? Remember our defeat? Do you want to be the scorned ones again? If you think your mates will comfort you like princesses, you’re wrong. So you better show me what you can all do.”To be honest, he was truly like a general at war. We were in a war. It was just that no one wanted to admit it. All the games were just a mild zone of war where everything was permitted, even killing your opponent.We just finished our practice and I was sitting on the side, watching as everyone had their heads lowered. Asher could be harsh sometimes but it was needed.There was a girl walking into our training area. Her long black hair reminded me of someone. I almost choked on the water I was dri
EBONY’S POV:I was about to hang out with myself when I came face to face with Adolphus. I needed to buy what I needed from the market, to not starve. I didn’t forget about my rent so I needed to go back to that café and check if the spot was still open for me.Seeing his face made me somewhat mad. I didn’t want to see him or his sister. It made me feel guilty, because Alice was right. I was the one who started this whole feud.It hurt me that she compared me to that bastard. I wasn’t acting like him. I was just trying to protect myself from trouble but now, I wouldn’t do this anymore.It’s better to strike first.I thought you wanted an ally. Why are you provoking your potential ally? The voice in my head asked.I can’t help it. He brings out the worst in me.When I saw her put her hand on him, her eyes looked up and down at me. I didn’t miss the way his friend looked at me. I knew his friend. He was one of the werewolves I forced to the edge, forcing him to make an impossible choice
Rayleigh laughed.“I am being serious here,” I pouted. “Grandpa left me with you because I requested so. I want to talk to you alone. It’s sad that Chronos isn’t around anymore but I think it’s for the better. Now, no one has to take meaningless responsibilities. I guess without them, everything will be peaceful.”“How do you know…?”I cut him off. “C’mon! You’re a smart man. You know there is no way a five years old child will talk like this. I’ve lived through two regressions and I’ve come back again as part of the plan, only this time, this is the final phase. We can’t lose.”“Ah! What happened? Why did Chronos disappear?”“My father was supposed to be the sacrifice. I don’t know why but unlike all the other Chronos sent, I am the only one who got to regress more than a decade. That’s why they left the burden to me. Since my father is still alive, I assume that Chronos took the hardest decision in his life. He chose to die and take the others with him. I don’t know if I should feel
EBONY’S POV:I opened my eyes early in the morning. I drank my milk and sat with my parents having breakfast. They laughed together and nothing reminded me of these moments. I have been waiting for my father’s heart attack for two weeks now and it didn’t happen.I checked my tattoo mark and it was there, just faint and impossible to notice.“Sweetie, do you want more milk? You’ve been sipping on your glass while it’s empty,” my mother said.Mom had long black hair and the palest, bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. They weren’t the normal typical blue. They were lighter and paler, as if they were diluted by white and became as blue as the sky early in the morning when the sun had finally settled in place.“Yes, mom.”And I was five.I couldn’t believe that it worked. My father was sitting there, wearing glasses and reading his early morning newspapers. Our house was small and it was full of magical artifacts. Maybe because I was five, I didn’t remember them. Or maybe because a lot happened af
FREDERICK’S POV:I stood outside, thinking about everything that happened to me, all the regressions, the people we lost. I’ve grown numb to all the deaths. As long as Adolphus was alive, there was always a chance to change the outcome.My final role was to kill him. For the regression to happen, he had to die after her.Now, whether we wanted it or not, things would never be the same. I would go back to the kid I was and Adolphus would go back to his old self too. To be honest, I was always jealous of how he had a choice in remembering or not.He got out of the underground cell built specifically for today.“You certainly put so much into this,” he said.“Of course. But this is where our role stops. No matter how much we want to influence things with our current memories, it won’t ever happen. We won’t remember anything.”“It’s true. But this is the price we have to pay if we want it to work. We only need to someone to warn them. They will do the rest. If it doesn’t work again, then
EBONY’S POV:I was sweating profusely. I would die. I would certainly die. For the second time. I knew this was coming but I didn’t expect it to be this soon. I was trying to make a plan to fix things but it seemed all the effort I spent on that was a waste.“Adolphus, please be gentle.”Adolphus was confused. “Aren’t you mad that I killed your father?”“I’m sure he wanted that. He didn’t play a big role in my life so it doesn’t matter. But can you untie me?”He didn’t untie me because Frederick was ready to shoot me. But thinking about it, didn’t he kill me before too? No, he said that Adolphus must have poisoned me so I was dying anywhere. But I didn’t cough blood, which meant it could be that I wasn’t poisoned.‘Don’t overthink. These jerks planned a lot that they won’t say. Well, since we have no choice, let’s just wait till they settle their score. Maybe they’ll fight.’“Wait a second, you look like shit. Did my father beat you that hard?”Adolphus shot me a glare.“Woah! My fath
ADOLPHUS’ POV:Instead of finding Frederick, I found her father. He was waiting for me in the middle of a clearing, playing with some cards. I shifted back to my human form.“You’re late,” he said. “I expected you to get here faster.”“Where is Ebony?”“With Frederick.”“Alright! I will go find her.”“I am afraid that you can’t do that,” he waved his hand and something shifted in the air. “You have to stay with me here. I want to fight you.”“What are you planning, both of you?” I growled. “She’s your daughter.”“I know.”“And you want to leave her alone.”“Frederick said that every time, you said the same words. That’s why the plan was for you to hate her but you still didn’t do that. He wanted you to hate her, to reject her while she wasn’t aware that you’re her mate. But it didn’t happen. I know why a part of phase 2 failed. When planning, no one thought of how my daughter is a variable.”“You won’t stop me.”I shifted and started running. He didn’t stop me. I thought he was all ta
I woke up in a cell. It was easy to recognize it because I’ve been there multiple times before. It reminded me of the torture I was subject to and how I suffered. I didn’t want to go back. And where was my father?The cell was dark. I couldn’t see anything. I tried to move my hands but they were tied. I was on a chair. I had to wait for a long time. I lost track of counting. Maybe it was the third time I reached one hundred.‘This is getting weird. We were with dad and then everything went black. Any idea?’Yeah, but I don’t wanna say it.‘Ammm… Yeah. Horrible. Dad is a jerk.’After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened. It was behind me and I finally caught sight of a lamp and a desk in front of me. Someone stepped inside. I felt him in my bones. Fucking Frederick.“Did you have to make my father into a jerk?”“He understands the consequences, don’t worry?”Frederick walked around and sat on a chair, not far from me.“How do you feel?”“Seriously? You’re asking me that? I fee
ADOLPHUS’ POV:When I saw a white wolf, I was confused. She was running and she didn’t care about the three that followed her. It intrigued me. And then, I felt my mark on her and knew it was my Ebony.I was stricken by how beautiful she was. She looked so free that it made me sad. She didn’t get to shift before and now, she felt how important it was.I didn’t want to overreact but I wanted her. Seeing her naked had only made me want her more. And then, there was her father. I was shocked. When Frederick said someone was telling her things, I didn’t expect it to be someone who was supposed to be dead.‘We gotta do it.’It’s hard to do it.‘We cannot run from this. We have to send her back and as quickly as possible. If she regresses to a time where everything can change, it will be better for all of us. It will undo everything.’But she will remember.‘It doesn’t look like she is suffering anymore. Look at her. She is happy. If she goes back, she will get what she lost and she’ll have
I was a wolf. I was running as fast as I could in the forest, forgetting everything that happened to me. It was so wholesome that I didn’t have to think about anything else. Nothing mattered but running.I felt freedom. Being one with the wind. For thirty years, I’ve never shifted once and here I was, running like a wolf. Nova was happy too. We were happy, ecstatic even. It was a feeling I’ve never felt before.I kept running and running, the wind over my fur but I didn’t feel cold. On the contrary, I felt complete. I finally had the chance to become what I was, a werewolf. We rolled in the grass, chased a few rabbits but didn’t catch them and howled. For the first time, I felt like a child.I didn’t care about anything else.I only stopped when the moon felt so wholesome. I stared at it for a while before I heard a laugh.When I saw who was laughing, I remembered my father, Brandon Wildknight.“Petra was white like you,” he said. When he stood next to me, I realized I was taller than
EBONY’S POV:I closed my eyes and waited for the blood to ooze from me but nothing happened. There was also the fact that I had to deal with a lot of pain. I laid on the ground and curled into a ball.There were a few more gunshots but I didn’t care. It was too much to handle. I hated pain. I hated everything that made me suffer. If this was how shifting worked, I didn’t want it.I heard a crack on my back and then a series of similar sounds followed, but it was slow. So slow that it put me into agony. I wished to sleep it off. Or maybe give my wolf control.Can you take over?‘I am. Why do you think it hurts? It’s because I am taking complete control. Your body is fighting it because you have Wildknight blood.’I felt a warm hand on my hair. It caressed me and then, I smelled something. It was like a smoke that made the pain fade. Slowly, I lost consciousness.Again, my wolf and I were sitting one next to the other. I was conscious of myself so it didn’t sound like a dream and it did