Katya rushes to the pack office as soon as she reads the message Theo sent him last night. As per the reports, Alana is dead. Alana Seashore is dead. Apparently, she was found dead in her house. The medical reports suggest it was a drug overdose and didn’t actually mean to kill herself. Katya has seen the pictures of the dead body and it definitely looks like Alana but she still feels that something is wrong. From what she has heard, Alana was strong-spirited and a powerful witch. The chances of a person who detected strong magic on Caleb so easily overdosing on drugs are really low. She knocks on the door twice. “Come in.” Azraiel is already seated when she enters his office. Theo and Matt are discussing something. “Ah..Katya…please sit.” Azraiel says. Katya takes a seat in front of him. “What do you think about the death of Alana?” Azraiel asks as he leans back in his chair and looks up. “I don’t think she is dead.” For the next few seconds, she can feel the eyes of the o
Charlotte sighs and closes her eyes. She has a headache and it won’t just stop. She has taken the medicine but looks like it isn’t working.When she opens her eyes she sees Katya walking towards the house. Charlotte slightly smiles and stands up from the chair.“Hey! Ready?” Katya asks.“Yeah. Just give me a minute.” Charlotte says and quickly sips some water and then follows Katya out.“So…Everything alright?”“Yeah..just a headache.”“Oh..okay…we can finish the session quickly if you want to.” Katya offers.“Nah…that won’t be necessary.” Charlotte smiles gratefully.Katya has been helping her work on her intuition. Her sessions have helped Charlotte a lot. She is getting better at mindlinking and weirdly enough she is no more uncomfortable or afraid about the shift. In Katya’s words, she has finally surrendered.Katya and Charlotte walk up to their usual spot between the trees and the ground providing comfort to Charlotte that she didn’t know she needed.“Close your eyes and relax.
Theo stares down the female in front of him with squinted eyes. He is surprised by the calmness and unaffected expression on her face.She is dressed in a navy blue T-shirt and black pants. Her hair is cut short till her shoulders and dyed a platinum blond color. On her face is heavy makeup, her eyes are lined with black kohl smudged at the edges and her lips are painted red. Her eyes look pitch black, maybe lenses. Her nose and right eyebrow are pierced and rings dangle at both places. She is carrying a bag pack that looks like it has seen better days.Theo has seen pictures of Alana and the woman in front of him looks nothing like her. Maybe he’d noticed the resemblance if he met her before all this but right now he feels like someone else is standing in front of him.Theo and Kira have been waiting for her to reach the pack borders since yesterday. Theo has already informed Kira and the Alpha and they should be here any minute now. They haven’t captured Alana as an intruder since s
“His real name is Austin Jones of the Black Onyx pack.” Alana’s words send a ripple of confusion through everyone’s mind. “Black Onyx Pack?” Alpha Azraiel questions with a raised eyebrow. “I- I know it sounds unbelievable but it is true! He really is from the Black Onyx Pack.” For a moment, no one speaks. Theo and Alpha Azraiel look at each other with a knowing look in their eyes. They have most probably mindlinked their suspicions about the witch in front of them. “Please elaborate.” Theo pushes with a clenched jaw. Alana nods furiously. “So…do you remember how the fall of the Black Onyx Pack and their Alpha lead to the story that everyone from the pack died except the Alpha and the one male that turned into an Alpha?” “You are saying it’s not true?” Kira narrows her eyes at her. “No.” Alana looks down for a second and then looks at Charlotte for a moment. She then returns her eyes to Alpha and says, “Years ago, when the Alpha of the Black Onyx pack, Emmanuel Reed went haywir
Azraiel looks at the forest with searching eyes. After Charlotte identified the portrait as that of Richard, Azraiel asked Theo to have them make another one with the help of Alana. It would help them know whether Alana is actually talking about the same person.Later he also plans to put Alana and Caleb in front of each other. He wants to know more about the time these two spent with Austin aka Richard.He is just doing what he thinks is right but is it actually right though?With all that has been going on these past few days, both Charlotte and he have been busy solving this mess. They haven’t really considered what will happen next.There’s just one day left for her shift!Only one day!“Hey, Love!”Charlotte snakes her arms and locks them in front of Azraiel’s stomach. She lays down her head on his back and sighs.“Hey..you okay?” He whispers and turns his head slightly at her.“Mhmm…”Both of them silently stay like that for God knows how long.“Come on…we have a long day ahead
Charlotte scans the area in front of her with alert eyes. She can feel a headache coming as she thinks about what Azraiel told her a few minutes ago. The Head-Coordinator is on his way to the pack and wants to share some crucial information. He asked Azraiel to ask her pack members where they want to reside for the rest of their lives…in the werewolf world...in the human world…or with their respective species packs…also to ask them if they indeed turn out to be therians then as which creature would they want to spend their lives as? As soon as it was confirmed that Richard is indeed Austin Jones of the Black Onyx Pack, Azraiel put some warriors to the task of tracing back the ancestors of her pack members. She kind of knows what he suspects but she won’t know for sure till he decides to reveal everything. In front of her, Theo along with several other warriors was helping Nicholas and Jamie to gather information about everyone’s ancestors. She herself talked to several pack members…
The room is silent. Everyone present is interpreting the information as per their fears and imaginations.“I know this is hard to process…,’’ The Head Coordinator breaks the silence. “I understand that there are a lot of things to be considered before taking any action but I’d like to propose something…” He looks at Azraiel.Azraiel nods for him to proceed.“There are hundreds of beings outside your pack's border. If they all shift together at the same tomorrow, things are bound to go out of hand. I know your warriors are competent and large in number but it will create a lot of pressure and tension among your pack members. So, I think it would be better to shift some of Charlotte’s pack members to a place that has more space and where they can’t hurt people even if they want to!”“And what place would that be?” Katya asks.“The Queen’s Palace!” Azraiel answers.Daniel nods. “The Queen’s Palace!”Queen’s palace!Charlotte frowns. Azraiel told her that the King’s Castle caught fire 23
As soon as Charlotte shares what Daniel just told them with Nicholas, his face changes from calm to panicked in seconds.“Please tell me this is a joke?” His eyes pleaded with her.Charlotte looks at him as if saying sorry in every language but words refuse to come out of her mouth.Both of them then relayed the same message to the folks residing in the woods.A wave of panic washes over the crowd as they register their words! Charlotte sighs and begins saying.“Please!”Her voice is full of desperation and regret...regret of not being able to do anything for them.“Please, try to understand! At present, we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. We just want to take extra measures to avoid any mishap whatsoever. Please cooperate with us. It is for your own safety!” She tries to assure them.They quieten down but she can still sense their worry.“What if we don’t turn into something we want to?” one of them asks.“We’ll just have to figure it out as it comes I guess!” Charlotte sighs. “
Charlotte’s head feels like she has been hit with multiple hammers a thousand times over. A sharp, pulsating pain courses through her skull, making her groan softly. Her throat is dry, her limbs feel like lead, and her eyes itch as she struggles to open them.What the hell is going on?Where is she?The last thing she remembers is an angry voice screaming “RAVEN!”, and then… nothing.She puts every bit of strength left in her body into forcing her eyes open. It takes effort, but after a few agonizing seconds, she finally manages to pry them open. The first thing she sees is the vast expanse of tree leaves above her, their thick canopy allowing only thin slivers of sunlight to pierce through. She barely catches a glimpse of the sky in between the dense leaves.Great. More trees. That narrows down the place, she thinks sarcastically.A groan escapes her lips as she tries to sit up. Every movement feels like she is dragging a boulder attached to her body. Her limbs protest, but she pushe
Azraiel leaned back into the sofa, letting out a loud sigh, his frustration is evident in the way his shoulders slumped. Ayleen sat beside him, her small hand lightly clasping his. She knew her touch offered him no real solace, but it brought her a sense of grounding she desperately needed. People often saw her as delicate, a young woman barely stepping into adulthood, sheltered and untainted by the harshness of life. They were wrong. What they didn’t see—what she kept hidden behind her soft smiles and quiet demeanor—was the weight of grief she had carried for years. She had witnessed heartbreak and loss, endured the kind of pain that left invisible scars, and yet here she was, sitting strong and steady beside Azraiel. Her fragile appearance was a mask; beneath it was a will forged by fire, stronger than most in their world. She tightened her grip on his hand slightly, as much for her own reassurance as to remind him she was there—not weak, not afraid, but ready to face whatever came
Charlotte felt like her eyes were glued shut. The weight of her eyelids was unbearable, an invisible force pressing them down. Panic blossomed in her chest, sharp and suffocating, as she struggled to make sense of her surroundings. Her breath came in shallow, uneven spurts, and she willed herself to concentrate.“Why the hell can’t I open my eyes?” she thought desperately. Each attempt sent a searing burn through her eyelids. With every ounce of willpower, she took a deep breath, calmed the racing of her heart, and tried again. The ache behind her eyes intensified, but she pushed through. Finally, with what felt like a monumental effort, her eyelids fluttered open, and the world exploded into light.“What’s going on?” The thought was a quiet whisper in her mind, drowned in the overwhelming brightness that engulfed her.She raised a trembling hand to shield her eyes. The light was blinding, its intensity unfamiliar and disorienting. As her vision adjusted, she realized she was standing
The silence that followed Daniel’s call was as thick as fog. Everyone sat in contemplative unease, their thoughts spiraling into the abyss of uncertainties. Silver flames had been sighted 22 years ago—just a year after the devastating fire at the king’s palace, the same fire that claimed the lives of the werewolf royalty. Could these two events be connected? The implications of such a connection were as vast as they were terrifying.Azraiel’s drawing room felt heavier than ever, the weight of worry and exhaustion palpable in the air. Kira shifted uncomfortably, her gaze moving to the grandfather clock ticking loudly in the corner. Every second seemed to stretch into eternity.Suddenly, the sound of a door creaking open broke the tension. Everyone’s heads snapped toward the staircase, alert and apprehensive.Theo and Matt bolted to their feet, rushing up the stairs.“Azraiel?” Theo’s voice carried a mix of relief and worry as he spotted the Alpha slowly descending the stairs.Azraiel w
The weight of responsibility bore down on Daniel as he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face with calloused hands. The room around him was dimly lit, with the flickering glow of a solitary desk lamp casting long shadows against the walls. The soft hum of the ceiling fan was the only sound accompanying his tumultuous thoughts.He had just returned to his office after a grueling day spent ensuring the security of the forest surrounding the Blue Orchid pack. Every minute had been a whirlwind of meetings, coordination, and checks, with one goal in mind: to eliminate any potential threats before the ball. The gathering of so many Alphas and Lunas in one place was a political and logistical nightmare. It was a powder keg waiting for a spark.And now this.The phone call from Caitlyn had left him shaken. He stared blankly at the pile of papers on his desk, unable to focus on any of it. The words "silver flames" echoed in his mind, each syllable slicing through his thoughts like a blade.
Aunt Caitlyn sat on the plush sofa in Azraiel’s drawing room, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. The rich, dark wood of the furniture glinted faintly under the muted glow of the overhead chandelier, and the scent of pinewood from the hearth lingered in the air. She had rushed over in her nightclothes, barely taking the time to throw a coat over her shoulders when Ayleen’s desperate call came.The sound of Ayleen’s sobs still echoed in her ears, and Caitlyn’s heart clenched at the memory. The young woman had flung herself into her arms the moment she stepped through the door, her body trembling with unspoken fears.Now, as she sat in the center of the tension-filled room, Caitlyn couldn’t help but notice how heavy the atmosphere was. Matt and Theo stood to the side, their postures rigid, their expressions grim. Siobhan sat beside Ayleen on the loveseat, murmuring soft reassurances while rubbing her back gently. Ayleen, her eyes red-rimmed and swollen, leaned her head against Siobhan
The moonlight cast a faint, silvery glow on the forest path leading to Alana’s house, illuminating the route just enough for Kira to navigate without stumbling. Her boots crunched softly against the dirt, the sound oddly loud in the stillness of the night. She glanced up at the looming trees, their dark branches intertwining above her to form a canopy that swallowed most of the moonlight. It felt like the forest itself was holding its breath. Alana’s house came into view, a small structure perched on the edge of the pack’s territory. Its isolation was deliberate—an unspoken acknowledgment of the unease the pack felt around the witch. Even as she approached, Kira couldn’t help but feel the weight of its placement. It wasn’t just physical distance that separated Alana from the others; it was a barrier of mistrust and fear. Kira slowed her steps, her hand instinctively resting on the hilt of the dagger strapped to her thigh. She didn’t expect trouble, but being cautious never hurt. The
Katya tossed aside another of her mother’s journals, letting it fall to the floor with a defeated sigh. The thick stack of ancient leather-bound books was strewn across the room, each one filled with spells, enchantments, and writings about flames of every imaginable color—blue, black, green, even a rare purple. But nowhere, not a single line, had mentioned the mysterious silver flame. It felt as though the answers she sought were just beyond reach, buried beneath years of her mother’s guarded knowledge.Katya rubbed her temples, feeling a growing frustration behind her eyes as she got up from the floor, carefully stepping over a couple of loose pages that had scattered during her search. She wandered into the kitchen, her bare feet padding softly on the wooden floor, where the hum of the refrigerator and the ticking of the wall clock punctuated the otherwise heavy silence of the night. She reached for the coffee pot, her hands moving almost mechanically, measuring out the coffee grou
For the next two hours, various tests were conducted on Charlotte to determine the cause of her condition. They wanted to be certain that she was physically fine before drawing any conclusions. Some of the test results came back normal, and now they were awaiting the others.Dr. Humphrey had checked Charlotte’s vitals earlier—her pulse, heartbeat, blood pressure, and brain activity were all normal. Yet, despite these signs of life, Charlotte remained unconscious, as though trapped in a deep slumber. Azraiel lay beside her, his body healing slowly from the burns, but his heart was heavy with worry. The others had left the room to give them space, gathering downstairs in the hall.Katya had left the house altogether, determined to search her mother’s books and journals for anything related to the mysterious silver fire and its effects. Ayleen, who had been inconsolable earlier, reluctantly joined the others after Dr. Humphrey insisted they needed the room to monitor both Charlotte and A