“There!” Julian pointed at a tree in the rice field and we all saw a dummy hanging by its hands.We all immediately stayed alert as we all knew now that there will be people attacking us. And attack us, they sure did.Like what happened earlier, Julian and Albert took the first lead in the fight while we all supported them. They took the dummy and passed it to us. I, then helped them defeat the now four warriors–it turned out they have another dummy with them on the other side of the huge tree—and we all ran away to reach their boundary, hearing Zen’s announcement with our success.“...15 victims to be rescued. 40 minutes until we finish.”“We’re leading!” We ran with enthusiasm at that fact. It was also hyping me up that the bugging thought about getting toward the void territory no longer bothered me at all.Besides, that tree was one of the markers of the end of Eden’s territory, yet a victim was put there.Making peace with myself with the thought, I followed through with my membe
“H-help…”I gasped and my frozen state crashed when I heard the man’s small croak.He could be Gerald or Albert!My feet had a mind on its own and it quickly went to the man sprawled bloody on the ground.“A-albert?” I asked, seeing how the man had a closer resemblance with that squadron member.“H-help…please…” he croaked again with heavy breaths.I hesitated for a while when I realized he wasn’t Albert or Gerald. But when I saw him reach a bloody hand towards me, my instinct to help immediately kicked in.“Sir, what happened?” I asked and walked to face him. His face was almost planted on the ground, but I could see the blood that came from his neck toward his chest. He also had splotches of blood on his face and mouth that I could see from where I was standing.“H-Help…t-they w-want…kill…” he coughed up blood. I stood back in shock but immediately crouched to make him turn around. “Wait, let me ask for help,” I said as I tried pushing him on his back so he could breathe properly.
Lia howled in the air before attacking the rogue that stepped back at the sight of my figure. Through Lia’s blue eyes, I could see the rogue’s confusion about my change. He looked like he still wasn’t able to process what just happened to me. That I turned to my wolf form. But without wasting time, I leaped through the ground again and let Lia’s now larger paws smack the rogue down on the floor. He was still too preoccupied to move and I took that as an opportunity to sink my teeth into him. But the moment I did, I also felt a scratch on my back, and that familiar burning from the last time I encountered the same kind of rogue came back to my senses. Biting back a groan, I continued yanking at his side, making sure to finish this off no matter what happens. With his bloodied appearance, he might have already taken out some people along his way. And I wouldn’t let him continue on. I won’t let him get further inside Eden. The marketplace is so nearby and a lot of children and o
I woke up so many times for the rest of the night, but I couldn’t recall anything. All I knew was I was in immense pain, and yet I couldn’t do anything. Right now, though, I could feel my fingers moving as the pain I felt faded. It was still there, but it has now been isolated in the area of my body where my skin was cut.Cut…The word made me think why I was in pain in the first place. It felt like all throughout the hours I was waking up from immense pain, I couldn’t remember nor think of anything other than that. I couldn’t even recall why I was in pain, or why I was lying down in this place when I was supposed to be training.Driven by curiosity, I pushed myself to open my eyes. Slowly, my lids lifted up, feeling a bit heavy as if every muscle in my body got exhausted from enduring such scorching pain it felt for hours.My eyes immediately spotted the cream walls that surrounded the room. I was in the middle of it on a small bed. I looked to the side and saw that I was alone i
“Hey,”I turned my head to the side when someone called. I was just about to leave the clinic, all thoughts regarding that brief confrontation with Lana still running around my mind.“Sebastian,” I mumbled, quite shocked that he was here.Leaning on the hallway’s wall wearing a plain white shirt and jeans, the Beta looked like he was still modeling for some sort of magazine.“It’s been a while,” the charming man said and waved a single hand at me with a small smirk.I sighed and just smiled back. It’s been almost a month since I saw him. And to be quite honest, seeing Sebastian felt good. Relieving.“Yeah,” I just said and completely closed the door to my room. Those blue electric eyes of the Beta went to it.“I heard Lana was your doctor.”I looked away from him and heaved a deep sigh. That made the Beta chuckle.“Had a word with the pseudo-fiance?” “More like a rant with the fiance,” I said and started walking along the hallway of the clinic.Just like the headquarters, Eden’s cli
“Don’t worry about the changes that might happen when people find out about your relationship with the king. I know it will be a transition.” The Beta shifted topic once more. I couldn’t help sighing at that. 'Transition' might be an understatement for what’s about to come. “We’ll be there along the way.” He tapped me on my shoulder. “You will basically be a Luna and Queen that is also mated to the king.” Hearing those words out loud, I couldn’t help feeling nervous. Luna. Queen. I’ve never imagined hearing those words being associated with me. And to be honest, I don’t know how to even feel about that. As of now, I just want to be with Titus. My mate. And after knowing how he truly is as a person, considering how huge his responsibility is, made me appreciate and feel deeply for him even more, not just because of our matebond. “Did Lana confront you?” My attention snapped back to Sebastian when he jumped topic for the nth time. He looked very intrigued and curious about it.
People watched us as we all took our bags down from the truck. I helped some of the cadets with me unload our things.What was supposedly a few more days of training before going back to Vamos for the Choosing Ceremony, turned into a half-day trip when the king decided to make us all go back to Vamos.“Too bad we had to get back. But people were hurt.” One of the trainees said as we continued unloading the truck.Packmates who had friends or family from the trainees started coming in, making the place quite noisy and a little bit welcoming with all the greetings. But one could not mistake the tension that was in the air.I was made to follow the warriors and the Council when Titus called me. I thought he was going to be with me along the way home, but they all gathered us first for the official announcement of the shortened training and what we were dealing with as of the moment.That what they all thought was a mere rogue incident, became a spark that could light a big fire that coul
Benjamin chuckled as he led me inside his office in the infirmary.“They for sure had barely any idea what they signed up for. I’m pretty sure the king and the Council won’t have much of a hard time picking the top 14, considering they wouldn’t have much of a choice once they start backing out.”I smiled as I sat on the chair in front of his table. He took a stethoscope and some other things he needed to examine me for the day.“You think they’re backing out?” He asked, despite already observing some things amongst the cadets.“Maybe some. But some may also have strengthened their resolve because of that. It’s either they get motivated with the challenge or back out from it.” The doctor immediately nodded at me. “True, indeed. I can see you’re at the latter part of it.”I smiled. “This would prick a little,” he said as he took a large needle to get blood from me. He chuckled as he placed the needle on my arm.“But I doubt this pain would affect you after you’ve been through those bi
“Make sure you’re right about this…” Nate exhaled loudly and mumbled, “the king is gonna kill me.” I sighed and nodded. “I’m sorry.” I looked at the empty entrance way of the dungeon. “And thank you for allowing me to be here. I swear I won’t be long.”Nate just nodded. Since I told him I wanted to see Lana and told him my reason, something changed in his demeanor and in his eyes. There was a bit of hope and something I couldn’t quite decipher that flashed through them but immediately went away. “I’ll look for you in the mansion after 15 minutes. If you’re not there, I’ll come back here and get you out.” I nodded. I know he’s just being careful.”Okay.” Nate once again nodded at me before he urged me to go. I turned my back on him and started walking inside the cold dungeon. The last time I was here, I was terrified. I saw probably the worst state any wolf could be in. Samuel. The last news I heard about him was he was taken to a facility to get checked. I don’t know his whereabout
“What are you thinking?”My hand that was immobile on his toned stomach flinched when he suddenly broke the peaceful silence around us. Titus looked down on me as I laid on his arm. He looked magnificent as his dark eyes reflected the sliver of sunlight that went through the glass window. It was still afternoon and the bright sun had finally braved its way through the thick clouds that had been darkening the skies of Vamos these past few days.“Hmm,” I exhaled a breath and looked down on his bare chest. My hand traced its toned skin. He caught my hand and intertwined our fingers. “Tell me,” he urged, knowing I was holding something back. The buzzing in my head never stopped since my headaches came. I realized that this also happened to me inside the laboratory just when I was starting to hear some other wolves. My head was still hurting a little, but I know now they were effects of hearing somebody else’s wolf.And I feel like there is a certain connection to that to what has been
”She was mad that all their plans were not followed. They said that Lady Lana dropped everything she had before she was betrothed to the king, even leaving her mate, but then you suddenly came into the picture… and that was the reason why she decided to betray the king… all of us.”I just listened silently at Maddie as she explained to me why Lana was arrested after seeing her the day I was abducted. I just continued staring at the large clearing of the pack before I faced Maddie who looked quite a bit down as she narrated to me what happened during the arrest.”Do you believe it?” Her light green eyes went to me. “Do you believe that she is the traitor?”Hesitation immediately flashed in those kind, green eyes before they looked down again. “I… I am in no position to disagree with the king and the Council’s judgment.”I stared at my best friend as she basically did not answer my question. “Tell me the truth, Maddie. Do you believe the accusations against Lana Wintour?” I asked agai
“Can you please tell us, what happened when you were conscious in that lab, Miss Ringwood?” One Councilor wasted no time and asked. I looked at all of them, seeing how serious everyone was. I have always felt kind of intimidated by this group of men and women, but there was something more somber and sinister in their presence today. The kidnapping and the discovery of what those rogues were up to really changed it for them.”When I…” I paused, feeling my heart in my throat. I don’t even know what I’m so nervous about.”When I became conscious, I was able to speak to one of the leading rogues inside that lab,” I said.”What’s his name? Do we know him?” I shook my head as an answer to another one of the Council people’s questions. “I didn’t get his name. But he was tagged as the leader inside that laboratory. Though, I heard him say they had a master. And I personally recognized him from years ago.” I added, wanting to be very transparent and honest about this. It’s the only way I kno
As soon as we stepped outside the Andreyev mansion, I immediately felt how different the atmosphere was. Vamos has always had this somewhat filled atmosphere around. Hundreds of years of history has already etched itself in this very land, and it housed the greatest lycan kings in history so I understand. Its atmosphere could sometimes be light, most of the time, it could be quite heavy. But this heavy was different. I looked around the wide clearing and saw many Warriors walking around. All in complete uniform and armed. Most were on lines and some were speaking as if meeting for some important mission one last time before they went out and did it. The scarce normal packmates of Vamos were merely passing by and getting back inside their homes. No one was there to walk around leisurely like how most usually do. Everyone was busy. But it wasn’t the typically busy grounds of Vamos. It was buzzing with tension. With an eager force to attack. With men in uniforms occupying the grounds
“I’ll be back before the sun gets down.””Okay,”He leaned in to give me a kiss. But what I thought was going to be a peck became a deep smooch as Titus pulled my neck towards him. I held on to his shirt as he devoured me. And I couldn’t complain as I loved everything he’s been doing to me. “Don’t go out without me, Sebastian or Nathan, okay?”“Okay,” I nodded, knowing he’d need my assurance that I will be safe. I don’t want to defy him with that again. It has been our issue, and something grave has already happened to me. It’s the least I could do to help him and to be safe. “I love you. I’ll see you later.” He once again gave me another kiss before he started walking out of the room. I watched him in his usual black pants and black long-sleeves. He said he was going to have numerous meetings today for all the investigations they’ve been doing after getting some evidence in the rogue lab they got me from.“I love you, too,” I said and waved back at him before he closed the door to
“W-why…” was all I could say as I gaped. Maddie just looked down, sensing how confused and worried I got. I closed my mouth and turned to the window once again. Titus was no longer there. Sebastian was left and he was commanding the now divided troops into who-knows-where. “You’ve basically been in a coma for the last month, Rina. And according to Sir Ben, it was least likely you could recover. We could barely feel you. When the king heard that, the troop mission to annihilate every rogue in our lands intensified. King Titus could no longer be stopped, even when it was already hurting some civilians.”My figure just froze there. Not knowing what to feel about it.The last conversation I had with Titus, he opened up about his worst fears and experiences. He had finally opened up to me and I also did to him. So, I know this must have been very hard for him. I couldn’t imagine what must be going on inside his head as he thought he was going to lose me. It was his worst fear. It was e
“… wait. She will recover. She’s strong.”I stirred, hearing voices around me.”She has too many rogue venom in her. I’m just afraid…”The voice sounded so troubled. Like they were crying. But I couldn’t recognize who’s voice it was.“You did well, Maddie. You were just in time. It’s not your fault.”Sobs echoed around the room as the girl started crying. I couldn’t move myself nor do anything. That went on for how many more minutes until the voices faded away. It’s either they went away, or I just started drifting away again.Sounds came back to my senses when I heard a loud beeping sound. It wasn’t exactly irritating to the ears, but I was bothered by what it was. I started opening my eyes.Bright light immediately greeted my vision. I was looking at a cream ceiling—my vision was still quite blurry. I blinked, adjusting to the light.I slowly looked over my shoulder, following the beeping sound that had me woken up. It was a machine that monitored my breathing and heart rate. I imme
My vision became hazy as exhaustion got to me. Sweat dripped on my forehead. I took huge breaths. I watched everyone outside—seeing Maddie getting taken away by the doctor beside her out of the bed as a fight broke inside. A constant ringing blared on my ears. I could see the people outside fighting with another group. I could make out how messy everything has become. But I couldn’t hear them—I couldn’t hear anything besides the sharp ringing in my ears and the compliant whimpers from other wolves inside my head. What’s happening? ”M-Maddie...¦” I mumbled as I saw her getting hauled up by the doctor who had been constantly beside her. After taking out the last needle in her body, he immediately ran out and took her away. Away from me. Where I couldn’t see what they’d do to her. ”M-Maddie...¦” My voice broke as tears fell hard on my cheeks. Whatever remaining strength was left in me was given to the act of just watching everything unfold. The doctors inside the lab, includ