~ Zora “When those boys entered our territory, it wasn’t by accident.” Emelda began. “They were intentionally led by their gang leader, Marcus, who was an Alpha’s son and notorious for flouting rules and having no respect whatsoever for higher authority.” There was no lie in what Emelda had just said. I had heard about Marcus Darrington and he was a nuisance and a menace to society back when he was alive. “They had come upon two young ladies who had shifted and were having a good time running in their wolf form and playing around.” Emelda continued. By now, she had a haunted look on her face as if she was there when it happened. “These boys watched them shift back to their human form and thought it was a good idea to watch the girls play around naked. If it were just that alone, perhaps, everything would have been okay but Marcus decided, he wouldn’t just look but he'd also take from them.” Her mood darkened. An unpleasant shiver ran up my body making me break out in goosebumps a
~ Zora I waited throughout the rest of the day, even up until bedtime, yet Nox didn’t come home. Restless, I tossed and turned in bed, thinking of what I would say to Nox when he arrived. Eventually, I must have fallen asleep because I found myself at the edge of that cliff again. This time, there was a storm accompanied by blinding flashes of lightning. In the midst of the darkness, I noticed red, glowing eyes, watching me, triggering in me an overwhleming urge to run. But when I turned around, to my horror, I discovered that there was nowhere to escape except over the cliff. An ominous presence approached from behind, and when I turned, I realized the red-eyed monster was none other than Mabel, bearing a striking resemblance to Emilia. Mabel's gaze exuded menace and hostility towards me. Standing at a far distance behind her, I saw my parents, Hailey, Roman, Abigail, Emelda, Tyler, Emilia, Alpha Scott, his Luna, and several others looking on. I called out to them for help but th
~ Nox As I showered and changed, Zora’s words occupied my thoughts. I realized I had hurt her feelings and I mentally berated myself for it. It wasn’t her fault that she was bound to me, nor was it mine. But if I was being honest with myself, I had spent the entire night in the woods during The Hunt, and my wolf had chosen no one. Zora hadn’t even arrived until pre-dawn. There had to be something about her that I wasn’t seeing. Now, the question was whether I was willing to take a chance on her at the expense of my plans. On the other hand, Mabel was perfect for my agenda. She was the daughter of an Alpha who had a strong influence with the werewolves and came from a long line of nobility and wealth. At her age, she had already gained political recognition in our society and as the first daughter, she held a political role as an ambassador of her father to other packs. Aside from all that, she possessed stunning beauty, strength, and her family were known to be purebreds, meaning th
~ Zora Roman escorted me to another office where I waited until I was summoned. When Roman came in, his usual playful demeanor had vanished. Standing before me was The General, his gaze locked onto mine and they looked fiece. “No matter what happens in there, take it with a grain of salt. You hear me?” He spoke in a serious tone. I nodded, and Roman raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Of course.” I answered properly, so he turned around to leave but I was a bunde of nerves. “Wait!” I said. He turned back to face me, curiosity in his eyes. “There’s something Nox always does - he hides his emotions from me. Can you teach me how to do that?” Roman stared at me as if I had requested a punishment. “It takes time and practice-“ “I’m a fast learner.” I interrupted, determined. His gaze softened, and for a moment, the Roman I was accustomed to reappeared. “Most emotions are likened to the elements- water, air, fire and earth. Depending on the element you attach with the intensity of your emotio
~ Zora Queen. The word reverberated within me, stealing the air from my lungs, causing me to clutch my chest. Standing powerfully beside me was Nox, his gaze meeting mine, twinkling with an enigmatic emotion “Your Highness!” Alpha Scott exclaimed, taken aback. “Surely, you must know that is a mis-“ Nox's growl silenced Scott in an instant. “A what?” He demanded, his voice laced with anger. Alpha Scott swallowed nervously, averting his gaze. “Nothing, my King.” He replied, forcing a smile. “I applaud your union and wish you both nothing but my best wishes. If that is all my King, I request that we be dismissed.” Nox pinned Alpha Scott with such a piercing stare that the latter began to squirm where he stood. “Very well," Nox finally declared with a curt nod, "You’re dismissed.” With a bow, Alpha Scott and my hesitant parents headed for the door while Nox strode purposefully to his desk. However, before the trio could make their exit, Nox spoke, “But,” He said, raising a finger
~ Tyler The moment my father arrived and climbed out of his car, I was in his face. “What happened? What did the King want?” I asked. My father's face was twisted into an expression of anger, a visage that I always revered but now, I couldn’t bring myself to give a rat’s ass! His hands clenched into fists repeatedly, a sign that he was harboring aggression. Next to his car, the guards who had followed my father had parked and alighted. Amongst them, was my friend, Cade, who was looking particularly unhappy. As I wondered what could have happened to cause everyone to look grumpy, my father approached Cade, seizing the collar of his jacket. Before I knew it, my father landed three swift blows to my friend’s face, and in an instant, his claws were drawn out and ready to strike. I stepped between them, in time, pulling him away from my friend. “Hey, hey!” I shouted, grabbing my father’s attention. “What’s going on here?! What did he do?!” I asked. My father glared at me before shift
~ ZoraBy the time I opened my eyes, the sun had just begun to set. The orange-reddish glow cast a warm ambience into the room I was in. The doors to the balcony were open, letting in a breeze that moved the curtains softly. I was in a room that looked quite similar but also very different from the one I was used to. Blinking again, I realized I was not in my room. I was in Nox's. I stirred and my heart jolted when I saw him sitting on a chair a few feet away, watching me. "Feeling better?" He asked, moving to my side on the bed. I nodded in response, suddenly feeling dry in the throat. In an instant, he reached for a pitcher on the bedside table and poured me a glass of water. I sat up and gulped it down in less than a minute.Looking around the familiar room, I wondered how I got here, even though I was secretly pleased to be back in. "The Palace has secret doors and passageways one can take to avoid detection." Nox explained. "That's how I was able to get you out of there." My ey
~ ZoraInstead of confronting me like I anticipated, Abigail slammed the door in my face causing my heart to jolt. I gave myself a couple of minutes to calm down before I followed Emelda out of the hallway and back to the stairs. I couldn't help but feel like I had gained an enemy and a powerful one at that. I decided the best thing to do would be to ask Emelda about her and find a way to win her affection. The moment I got to the stairs, I saw Nox below, looking ravishing in a deep blue shirt tucked into black trousers. He was talking to some men and as he folded his arms in front of him, his huge biceps flexed, giving him a powerful look. The moment I climbed down the stairs, he turned and when our eyes met. His eyes darkened as they roamed over my body all the way down and back up, his lips curled up into a smirk and in a blink his eyes were back to normal. He stretched out his hand to me and I took it, climbing down the rest of the stairs. I gave him a small smile and he frowned
~ ZoraSeveral Months Later"Let me help you with that." My husband said, collecting a wedding present from my hand and taking it to the car. I stood in disbelief. "I'm just pregnant, you know? I'm not an invalid.Nox closed the car and gave me a shrug. "Well you have no choice." He bends down and holds my big belly before giving it a kiss. "As long as you're carrying my babies, you will do as little as possible." He came back up to kiss me and at first, I had my mouth closed refusing him entry. Then he tickles me in persistence causing me to laugh and give in. I wrapped my arms across his shoulders and leaned in deep into the kiss, letting him explore my mouth and ravish my tongue. He never ceases to amaze me with how much he could get my body to respond to his touch and make me want more and more of him. I felt a fire starting within my core and I quickly broke the kiss. Breathless, I stared at him and found him grinning to himself. "We can't continue or we'll miss the wedding."
~ Zora By the time I arrived back in Parsivia, driven by the man Roman left behind, I could see my people already in the process of packing their things. I wondered where we would go now that Emilia was getting her lands back. Once I arrived home, I sprinted out of the car and into the house. I was surprised to find that servants had begun packing as well. They bowed to me with smiles and I acknowledged them before asking about Nox. They told me he was upstairs in our bedroom so I ran up the stairs and.dashed straight for the room. The moment I came in, I found him standing at the balcony behind billowing silk curtains. He turns and finds me standing by the door and he crosses the floor to me while I do the same. By the Gods, he smelt so much stronger and looked so much better, that by the time he touched me, my body came alive like wildfire.I pulled his face in for a kiss and moaned into his mouth when his lips sent delicious warmth down my mouth and straight to my throbbing cor
~ ZoraIn a flash, Tyler steps in front of me and takes the knife in his chest. "NO!" Emilia yells and everything else happens so fast. Nox moves towards Troy and in seconds has Troy's head removed from his body.Tyler fell back on me and I had to hold him gently as I sank to my knees. Emilia rushes to his side to check his wound.Someone calls for a Healer we were told that yet they were tapped out and even Nox was spent too. Fortunately, Tyler's wound wasn't immediately fatal so he was quickly carried to one of Troy's cars. There was a pack closer to the scene which also turned out to be an ally of the Moonrise pack, we decided it was best that he was driven there for treatment.Roman offered to drive us and I had to go meet Nox, "I have to go. I need to make sure he's okay.""Go." He said but there was a certain sadness to his demeanor. "I'll watch over your family." I approached him and despite the blood he had splattered on his face from killing Troy, I kissed him on the lips.
~ ZoraIn shock, she grabs his wrist trying to get his hand off her neck as he slowly lifts her off her feet but he wouldn't budge. "Hey!" Tyler said running in but was soon stopped by about half a dozen wolvescoming out of nowhere, almost surrounding him and snarling at him to go no further.“It’s a damn ambush!” Roman mutters, stepping back while staring at something from afar. I look in time to see wolves coming out of the woods around us. They surround Nox, Roman and the other lycan soldiers. "What are you doing?!" Emilia chokes out from Tyler's grip. I could see the fear and the disbelief in her features as she looks at the man who once meant something to her.. "You dare come here barking orders at me? Who are you to believe you can be a ruler over me?"Emilia fumbles for words, clearly speechless! Her face suddenly became red as her eyes slid to mine. “Help me, please!”"Zora, get away from there right now!" Nox mindlinked me and I see him walking towards me despite wolves sn
~ Zora"I can't do that!" I immediately responded. "I can't kill Nox!"Troy gave me a sympathetic look that was meant to be mocking. "I guess your sister will have to die then." He said and turned to leave. Behind me Hailey coughed and I had to make a decision in a split second. "Wait!" Troy stopped in his tracks and half turned. "Yes?" He drawled with a malicious grin. I used that moment to try and invade his mind but I was instantly met with a blinding white light followed by a great pain hammering through my head. I cry out in pain as a result,, falling to my knees and holding my head in my hands!Troy’s laughter echoed towards me as he came closer. “I knew you would do that! Now, ain’t that a bitch?!” He chuckled. “You think I’d be dumb enough to come down here without fortifying my mind and that of my men against your power? Come on, Zora. You should give me more credit than that.”My head continues to hurt as if an electric current just passed through it. “What you just expe
~ Zora"Zora, wake up!" A groan escapes me when I feel hands on my face and open my eyes. My vision goes blurry at first seeing a warped figure above me but when I blink a few times, a person's face comes into view."Mom?" I ask. "Yes dear." She said, stroking my hair. I immediately went still. The last time my mother had stroked my hair, I was eight and had fallen terribly sick. It was an illness that lasted months and was part of the reason we quickly went broke. My mother noticed my unease with her affection so she stopped, retracting her hand from my hair. Behind her was darkness that I was unfamiliar with and around us and around us was a smell so bad, I had to sit up. Doing that caused the worst headache I had ever had. A pounding ache assaulted my head and began to pulse in my right eye.Another groan, yet I chose to look around. "Where are we?" I asked.My mother shushed me gently and whispered, "We are in a cell."At her words, I instantly became very alert. "A cell? How
~ TylerI shouldn't have but I had already started counting the days until I would see Zora again. Our last encounter had left a bitter taste in my soul and my spirit, corrupting my nights and leaving me sleepless. The harsh words that poured from my lips and became the stones that I threw at her now played over and over again in my head like a bad soap opera. I knew if I truly wanted to have peace, then I needed to see Zora again and beg her forgiveness.This was why I was a little bit excited when the guards came to drag me out of my cell to an unknown place. I was so riddled with thoughts of seeing Zora again that when I was brought into an office which had only Emilia, Nox, and his second in command, I automatically searched for her. "Where's Zora?" I asked as the guards worked on adjusting my chains so I could sit in a chair next to Emilia. Nox was seated while Roman stood and I noticed how both men looked sad and angry at the same time, as if something terrible had happened.
~ NoxWhen Elsa died, it felt like a part of me had died with her too. Before her, I was in a funk, dealing with the consequences of having a cruel father and a depressed mother. Growing up, Roman was the 'ray of sunshine' who didn't let me stay entirely in the dark and when Elsa came, she totally brought me into the light. She made me feel entirely vulnerable with my guard down. She was a girl I'd do anything for, including fighting my demons and conquering my fear of letting another human into my heart. Everything was fine until the curse took her and she died with her hand in mine. That was when I began to freefall into the deepest darkness I had ever been in and put up layers and layers of protection around my heart.And then Zora came along and began to chip away. She was a woman with a hammer breaking through my shield until she got to the last layer. Elsa. It was a layer I wasn't ready to bring down, not when death hung over her head. Now I find myself wishing she'd walk t
~ ZoraI woke up to the rhythm of my own heart beating and when I opened my eyes and looked around, I couldn't help the frustrated sigh that left my mouth when I realized I was in a hospital again. "Zora?" A familiar voice called and I turned my head to the right to see Nox sitting in a chair close to me. "Thank the gods, you're awake." He said, taking my hand in his. Although, I felt sparks tingling up my arms, they felt more like an inconvenience rather than something enjoyable. "What happened? How did I get here?" I asked, racking my head for my last memory. "You don't remember?" I shook my head. "The last thing I remember was…" I pause, suddenly remembering myself drowning. "... dying…and then you pulled me out."Nox met my gaze and I suddenly felt a mixture of guilt and relief emanating from him. "You saved my life." I concluded. “Thank you.”Nox responds by taking my hand to his lips and kissing it repeatedly and it should affect me in a positive light but the more I look