Chapter 2

JUPITER POV

SITTING ON THE BED IN my unshared dorm, I glanced at the clock mounted to the wall just right across the room and it signaled it was a little after 9 in the morning! I took a minute to admire the cream walls which were painted like a clean, neat canvas, displaying the secrets and the tales of this world, from my forefathers and ancestors before them.

The stone sculptures around the room and the drawings etched on the walls created a classic illusion of being succumbed into a different world, a paranormal universe where nothing but peace and stability reigned. The red dotted paint marring the cream white wall representing blood, the angry werewolves in their natural glory, and terrifying dragons stood proud on the wall, making one just want to dwell in this serene surrounding.

The only sad part was that; it was all in the past! It had been years since the secret divisions were formed and since the other one came to power. It has been centuries since we went into hiding from the fear of being hunted down and massacred just for existing. The world we lived in today was as cruel as a winter night and did not spare anyone. Only the high rankings were spared, to maintain the “balance”.

I shook my head clearing the disturbing thoughts that suddenly came to mind. Thinking about how poorly we lived angered me daily. But what made my blood boil, even more, was the fact that we couldn’t do anything, couldn’t take action to fight for ourselves without the Grisha!

Years have gone on and we have been waiting! At some point, I even thought that the whole thing was just a bullshit tale trying to get us down, but then my father, the greatest alpha of all the times had told me to trust in the prophecy and heed the warnings of the Vagarmours. I believed him because I had wanted to be like him the other day! To be the powerful leader and be the king of lycans.

The night he had sat me down and told me of stories that had happened to him and those who ignored the warnings of the Vargamour, it had been the best night of my life. I was a stubborn teenager and bent the knee to none but myself. He had sat me down, talked me out of my stubbornness. That night I had stayed awake, thinking of all the things he had told me. And then in the morning, I had watched as the Anuka slit his throat open and just stood there, helpless because they had bounded us with spells. My father couldn’t shift to fight for himself and the rest of his pack!

The guys that killed him left me with his dead body, and just when I thought I saw it all, I went outside to find literally everyone, butchered and lying out cold on the ground. Only I was left, while others flee and went into hiding. Days turned into months and I eventually got to know that the whole world has been massacred. If you were supernatural and were found lurking around, then you were killed. Only the royal descendants were left! The reason for the massacre was unknown, but ever since that time, our life changed drastically!

A soft ping on my phone pulled me out of my daylight nightmare. I sighed and stood up from the recliner and walked towards the side table where my phone was charging. The message was sent to a small private group on W******p. It was said that we would meet in half an hour at our “usual place”!

I placed the phone down and jumped into the shower and 20 minutes later, I was straddled on my red and black Dhoom 3 BMW beast, roaring life out of it as it swerved and looped through the heavy traffic of the morning! It was the classic newest model of BMW bikes and envious whispers followed me whenever I mounted it. I loved it so much because it just screamed at me!

Today was the busiest day ever since it was the day the freshers were coming to the big school! I have been here for a long time now and I should be used to all of the disruptions! But heck! There was no getting used to this shit!

I parked my bike in the small valley which was sandwiched between tall buildings and walked a few feet deeper, then turned to the left and stopped at the small metal which didn’t look more than a door of a toilet cubicle! The bulky human guard saw me and got up, greeted each other, and opened the door.

I got inside the huge hall which was actually of a clubhouse. The interior was red velvet with black accents and it was empty since it was still in the morning! This was the secret place where I and the other guys hung up, far away from the watchful eyes of Anuka!

“Hey, Jupiter? How is it, man?” Akim, the owner of the club called out from behind the counter. He was Anuka and the most trusted man in society, but he was also our only stronghold and helped us so much. He was indebted to the Ducazee and swore to our forefathers that he would protect us at the cost of his own life. He was playing some kind of secret-agent shit and he was rather good at it! If by any chance the word got out, that he has been helping us, then…

“Hey, dude. It’s all good. Where are the others?” I asked referring to the rest of us,

“Down there. You just arrived after them.”

“Okay, man! I should get down too.” I pointed towards the passage that led to his office.

“Sure. I will bring the drinks in a few.” I nodded and turned to the small hallway that led to his office. I entered and walked straight towards his enormous bookshelf and pulled a green, leather-covered book. There was a soft click as the secret lock clicked open and the bookshelf parted into two, revealing a trail of stairs that led to the secret, hidden underground reliquary. As soon as I stepped inside, the bookshelf slid close and I made my way down the ancient stone stairs.

I got to the clearing to find the other guys already waiting! For the hidden reliquary, this place was rather very opulent and very impeccable. The walls were a deep shade of green with big stone pillars all over. The furniture was the Medieval kind, giving the sense of the good old times. Upon my arrival, the other guys gathered around our meeting table and we all sat down. The table was a marble countertop that showed the map of the secret divisions, stretching from Khriva, down to Varagrafena, and beyond the mountains that led to Norspatia!

“Okay, what’s the rush?” Crescent called out in his deep, gravel voice.

“You won’t believe it guys but I saw her. She is coming!” Eriva informed exuberantly with a huge smile, her deep yellow eyes brimming with excitement.

“And who is “her”?” Poseidon was the one who popped the question, with deep furrows of confusion marring his perfect, clean, shaved face.

“Grisha! She is coming and she will be among this year’s intake.” She laid the news to us causing us to look at her in disbelief.

“You mean Grisha is a she? As in, she is a girl and she is only 18?” this couldn’t be happening. There was no way she could have been telling the truth.

“Shocking right? But I saw her. And according to my vision, she should be arriving today!”

“Well, that's insane. Considering that everything we have read about Grisha talked about a very powerful person who will have power over both Ducazee and Anuka. And there was no way we could have all imagined that it was a girl.” Volkavik chimed in with his heavy voice and I could have sworn I saw steam coming out of his mouth. This guy was one of those that made me tremble even when I didn’t want to. I was a lycan prince, the strongest shape-shifter but Volkavik, a golden dragon was someone I didn’t want to mess up with! The legend has it that he has lived for over a million years. So yeah! I wasn’t playing anywhere near him!

“An eighteen-year-old for that matter,” I added up shaking my head.

“And this is where it gets crazy!” Eriva clapped her hands once more and we knew we had to brace ourselves for whatever came next!

“Yes?” We all sang a chorus as we waited for her to drop yet another bombshell on our laps,

“She is man-blood!”