Elliott ran towards the rocks after he had morphed into his wolf form, rage coursing through his body and pushing him to run faster.He remembered something Melissa had told him long ago when he went to see her in Snowfall one last time. It was about being king. “The King of the Winter and the Spring.” She had said, but now he was not too sure if she had told him the truth.The howl. Another wolf was here to challenge him.He was more powerful than many wolves, Elliott knew, but he did not know another wolf with a howl so loud. And the snow in the distance too. What signs were these?The rocks loomed high in the distance, and Elliott could see the wolf atop. His challenger. The one with the howl. All the snow he had seen in the distance melted before him once his paws touched the ground, and the place was back to looking as though no snow had ever been there at all. Only a slick wetness remained to show.He soon came up the rocks, catching the scents of other wolves from the other sid
Alisa was close to jumping out of her skin when the cub wolf ran into her room.Its fur was black with streaks of white, but somehow she had recognised her son and was even more stunned to see him in a wolf form.Only...He ran off into the night and she had no choice but to follow, but not after throwing on a wolf skin cloak gifted to her by Elliott even though she had dreaded the wolf meetings. It did not worry her as much as the safety of her son did, so she followed, at least to keep him safe.But he was a wolf and she was a human, so she lost him and ended up wondering why she had followed him in the first place. She needed more protection than he did.He would have gone to the rock, she guessed, and Elliott would be there too. She had to be there, to see what was happening, so on and on she continued until she got to the rocks and saw even more wolves bigger than any she had ever seen at the Palm Springs meetings gathered at the foot of the rocks, all looking up.Atop the rocks,
TWENTY YEARS LATERIt still stunned Alisa that she was called the Mother of Wolves. You killed the one who killed the King, they told her when Jayden Christopher Wells breathed his last. He should have been King for winning the duel, but we had not honoured him yet when you killed him.Now she had three strong sons. Elliott Jr., who was now twenty-seven, Melissa and Elliott’s son Felix, whom she had adopted, and her third child.The one born because Elliott had deposited one last child in her before his death. For some reason, she had named him Jayden. The Jayden before him had had a good heart in his life but had let evil control him.So it was that Elliott’s son with Jayden’s name was the King of the Winter and the Spring in the end.The snow stopped when Jayden died, but it was known to fall from time to time, in its own season. Palm Springs City was no longer an all-spring city, but snow fell in it now.Humans were still oblivious to the wolves around them, even though the number
Alisa's stomach growled and her hands gripped her stomach, her mouth turned up at the corners.She had been at college all day, and was now walking home alone so she would get ready for her evening shift at the grocery store she worked.It was already evening, and the setting sun was pouring its orange glow on everything, the autumn leaves falling from maple trees on either side of the lonely path Alisa trod on. The path cut through the woods and was the only place that lacked green in Palm Springs City, carrying more brown in it than anywhere else.Her mind was on a secret apple tree she had found years back, and she wondered if she would find apples to eat there, and maybe even pick some for her younger brother, John and her friend, Stacy, the two most important people in her life since her parents death in a tragic accident some years before.She cut from the path and went deeper into the woods, a compass in her head guiding her towards the apple tree, the woods getting thicker and
Alisa jumped off her bed to see John face down on the floor, a pool of blood quickly forming around his head. Her hands covered her mouth in horror as she tried to scream, but no sound came out. Her head spun and her vision went blank for a while before she moved to take action. She rushed to him and painstakingly turned him around, putting his head on her lap and trying to wake him up or even check if he was still alive. People slumped and died, didn’t they? She was scared and her hands shook as she unbuttoned his shirt and felt for his heartbeat, but her hands shook so much that she couldn’t steady herself enough to feel it. She put her finger under his nose to feel for his breath, but she felt nothing, and then she managed to scream.She put him down on the floor again and searched for her phone to call the only person in the world she knew to meet for help, her friend Stacy who thankfully, was a nurse. Alisa screamed some more as the phone rang and tears ran down her cheeks, eve
The bright sun shone that Friday morning as the private jet’s wheels touched down slowly on the runway and then came to a stop. Almost immediately, a black Lamborghini Sian Roadster pulled up next to it and waited. The door of the jet opened, and a young man came out of it, an impassive look on his face and his eyes shielded from the glare of the hot sun by a pair of sunglasses. His jet black hair shone in the sunlight, shiny strands of it falling across his face and confidence radiating from every part of him. He had a plain white dress shirt on with the sleeves rolled up lazily, exposing his gold Rolex watch. The first three buttons were undone, leaving his ripped chest exposed to beat the heat. His shirt was tucked in his black pants, which hung from his trim waist and matched the Italian shoes that covered his feet. The long fingers of his right hand held up a phone to his ear, while his left hand stayed hidden away in his pocket. A man in his fifties whom the young man easily
Doctor King’s next entry to Jayden’s office was not empty this time. He followed behind Anita, carrying a file with him, and Jayden ordered that they should not be disturbed as Anita walked out.His grey eyes regarded Doctor King as the latter pushed the file across and observed that Jayden had changed the swivel chair to a bigger and more comfortable leather brown seat. He smiled at the lad, admiring his taste. Jayden, however, was not looking at Doctor King, but through the file. There were a bunch of forms, each of them carrying information about the women who had applied for the surrogacy with profiles of them stapled to the top left corner. A smile lit Jayden’s face, one of his broadest smiles in years. “You have seen a woman you like?” Doctor King asked, noticing the smile. “No,” Jayden answered, his smile vanishing like magic. “I only like how well I can predict humans. Look at all of them, ready to carry a baby they will never see again for money. A she-wolf would never do t
When Stacy had suggested the idea of being a surrogate, or a baby’s mother to Alisa, she had expected Alisa to reject it.And that had almost happened. But Alisa seemed to think it was her only hope. Carry a baby and make a family, or an individual happy while making enough money to save her brother through it— At least thinking of it that way made it feel honourable and good enough for Alisa to want to do.They got a form from Doctor Felix King, and Alisa applied. Part of her was pessimistic about it because for all she knew there were several other women with more desirable qualities going for the same thing. It was a legal thing in Palm Springs City, and it got women rich overnight, but elder members of the society frowned upon it and respectable people refused to partake in it, deeming it a thing for harlots.Alisa did it anyway. Her brother’s life was her stake.She had tried her best to remain calm during the period she spent waiting for a reply, in case she was chosen, and when
TWENTY YEARS LATERIt still stunned Alisa that she was called the Mother of Wolves. You killed the one who killed the King, they told her when Jayden Christopher Wells breathed his last. He should have been King for winning the duel, but we had not honoured him yet when you killed him.Now she had three strong sons. Elliott Jr., who was now twenty-seven, Melissa and Elliott’s son Felix, whom she had adopted, and her third child.The one born because Elliott had deposited one last child in her before his death. For some reason, she had named him Jayden. The Jayden before him had had a good heart in his life but had let evil control him.So it was that Elliott’s son with Jayden’s name was the King of the Winter and the Spring in the end.The snow stopped when Jayden died, but it was known to fall from time to time, in its own season. Palm Springs City was no longer an all-spring city, but snow fell in it now.Humans were still oblivious to the wolves around them, even though the number
Alisa was close to jumping out of her skin when the cub wolf ran into her room.Its fur was black with streaks of white, but somehow she had recognised her son and was even more stunned to see him in a wolf form.Only...He ran off into the night and she had no choice but to follow, but not after throwing on a wolf skin cloak gifted to her by Elliott even though she had dreaded the wolf meetings. It did not worry her as much as the safety of her son did, so she followed, at least to keep him safe.But he was a wolf and she was a human, so she lost him and ended up wondering why she had followed him in the first place. She needed more protection than he did.He would have gone to the rock, she guessed, and Elliott would be there too. She had to be there, to see what was happening, so on and on she continued until she got to the rocks and saw even more wolves bigger than any she had ever seen at the Palm Springs meetings gathered at the foot of the rocks, all looking up.Atop the rocks,
Elliott ran towards the rocks after he had morphed into his wolf form, rage coursing through his body and pushing him to run faster.He remembered something Melissa had told him long ago when he went to see her in Snowfall one last time. It was about being king. “The King of the Winter and the Spring.” She had said, but now he was not too sure if she had told him the truth.The howl. Another wolf was here to challenge him.He was more powerful than many wolves, Elliott knew, but he did not know another wolf with a howl so loud. And the snow in the distance too. What signs were these?The rocks loomed high in the distance, and Elliott could see the wolf atop. His challenger. The one with the howl. All the snow he had seen in the distance melted before him once his paws touched the ground, and the place was back to looking as though no snow had ever been there at all. Only a slick wetness remained to show.He soon came up the rocks, catching the scents of other wolves from the other sid
Jayden thought he would cry and fall to his knees when he saw Palm Springs City in the distance.The city was covered in darkness, a sheet of inky blue sky hanging above it, with yellow lights coming out of square windows. Behind him was the Moon, and it felt to him like a sign of favour from the Moon Goddess.He stopped at the border and took in a deep breath. For a moment, he doubted. He had returned home for vengeance, so he wondered why he felt the fear.Jayden took in a deep breath before he crossed the border gingerly as if expecting to have the ground swallow him when his paw touched the ground. But nothing happened for a moment and then...The wet loamy brown earth beneath his paw froze and small cracking sounds were made as ice covered the ground. He lifted his paw and there was ice under it. He was the Reincarnation of the long-dead Alpha of Snowfall, and now he had brought the snow with him to the city, a city that had never seen snow.His other paw touched the earth once a
They were back on his bed, both reaching their climax at the same time. Alisa’s eyes locked with his as their lips parted from one last kiss, and time seemed to stop for them. She could feel nothing but him inside her, could hear nothing but the sound of his heart beating for her, could taste nothing but his kisses on her lips, could see nothing that was not his eyes and could smell nothing but his scent. All her senses were connected to him, and only him. His finger brushed against the strands of her blonde hair slowly, smoothening it. “Where have you been, my love?” She heard him say softly, as though she was a pigeon in his hand. “How could you see me and not know me, when I have loved you for so many years and through so many lives? Did you forget me so easily?” For some reason she could not explain, she wanted to cry. “I am sorry.” She whispered in response, not knowing why she was sorry or what she was sorry for. All she knew was that she was sorry. “We have loved each ot
Alisa was watching her son cradle his puppy to his chest and plant gentle kisses on its head. It had grown considerably these past two weeks, and though it was still little, she knew it was going to grow big and strong.And for some reason, the puppy reminded her of Elliott. There was a certain shyness it sometimes showed that reminded her of how he used to act when they were together in school, and a certain playfulness too. Elliott had shown neither of both qualities these past few years, but well...“Can I go out to play, Mummy?” Her son asked, interrupting her thoughts.The sun was setting for the evening, and a mild breeze blew as an orange glow lit up the sky. Fine weather, harmless for her boy. “Don’t stay out for too long.” She warned him, but he was far away before she was done talking, carrying his puppy with him. The house was quiet once Alisa was alone, and it made her sad. She was trying to be a strong woman, but that was exactly where it hurt. She was strong, but she
The farther away the wolves of Snowfall went from the beloved mountain they had lived all their lives on, led by their fiery leader with his unusually large form and bright blue eyes, almost bright enough to cast a blue shade on the floor, the lesser snow they found on the ground until all they saw was green, a new and uncomfortable sight to them as their paws and feet found it unfamiliar.They moved through the night, male and female, Beta, Omega, Luna, and cub, treading through the thick woods to avoid being spotted by humans and spending the daytime in caves or in hiding, taking the time to sleep. Hunts were done by night, with their leader Jayden bringing in the largest game, and for a pack where a man’s measure was by the size of his hunt, they could not entirely see any leader better than him.Yet, there was something sinister about him that they all feared. They had gone to sleep only to be woken by the most evil sound they had ever heard, and when they heard it once again, th
It was so strange that it had to be a dream. It could not be real.He was lying on the floor of whatever place this was, that somehow had form to it like a small cell. It was a strange place; bleak, dark and foreboding, with barely any light in it even though he could see the four corners at the top, and how he could see in it was a miracle to him.Jayden was now sure he was dreaming because this place was as dark as the darkest hour of the night.He tried to get up and that was when he saw the form of Melissa’s body in the darkness, lifeless and far gone, and the memories of the previous night began to come back to him in the dream. He stood frozen with his mouth open and watched her sprawled body and the blood that stained the walls of the cell. Her stomach had been torn open, and her innards were spilling out.“I did that,” Jayden whispered to himself.“We did it.” A voice in his head answered him back in another whisper, and the sound echoed all around him, as though it was spoken
“For five hundred years, those of us in Snowfall have remained under the frozen chains of the curse. While you who live in Palm Springs City are slightly less wolf than we are, with your smaller bodies and more time for your little ones to learn to morph, we remain here in the snow, waiting for the curse to break so that we can get the sunshine our fathers dearly wanted.”“And with one King over you all, a King from Palm Springs City,” Jayden added. His body was relaxed now. There was no enormous power struggling to come from his body. Melissa’s words had calmed him down.“Yes. All we want is the sunshine, and a happy place for our children.”“I will lead you there. I was to be King, wasn’t I?”“You were to be King. But many times, fighting to get what is ours only takes it farther away from us. Don’t you think so?”Jayden said nothing in reply.“Do you remember the first blood you shed, Jayden?”It had been Alisa’s parents. He remembered it clearly.“You like to tell yourself you we