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BALINI stood surveying the entire foodstuff being brought in for the young wolves. Whenever I take up a task, I make sure to see the end of it. These teenage wolves are now left in my custody and it's up to me to do all I can to ensure they shift safely. I couldn't trust anyone with the task of supervising their food. I mean, I don't even trust myself, so who should I trust?"Alpha, you've been standing for hours, go back in while I take charge here," Jarek told me and came to stand next to me.Seeing how annoyed I was with him, he chose to call me Alpha to avoid making me rage. I didn't say a word, I pretended not to have heard him and stood watching the food being heaped. He heaved and stood there. I spent the entire day with the young wolves, making sure they were comfortable and given the best treatment. I missed Marilyn, but there was no way I could go to her right now. I could just choose to leave, but then I knew these innocent young ones would suffer the consequences. Once
BALIN I got to the garage and pulled my car door open, just one foot into my car, I'm suddenly thrown off my feet. I nearly landed on the floor, but I grabbed onto the car for support. "Oh no, not now," I muttered. My hand instinctively went to my heart and I noticed it was beating erratically. "What's happening?" I pondered. I forcibly pushed myself off the car and tried to stand on my own. But then I could barely keep up, I stumbled nearly falling to the floor, but then Jarek caught me right in time. He steadied me and helped me take a seat inside the car. He got in and quickly shut the door, to avoid bringing the attention of others to me. "You are not okay, Alpha. Something is wrong with you," he said in worry. I didn't reply to him, Marilyn was out there alone, I couldn't afford to think about myself. What if she gets captured by another human and is being kept in dirty water cages? "Move, Jarek. I have to go find my mate," I tried to push him aside. But even my hands wer
MARILYN I swam tirelessly with no idea of where I was heading. Even though I had no idea of where I was and where I was heading, I had this unexplainable feeling within me that urged me to move forward, as if I was heading in the right direction. A very familiar large shell made me halt my step. I swam towards it and my eyes got misty. I gently placed my hand on it and reminisced old memories. The shell used to be a meeting point for me and my friend back when I was back here in the sea, my home. "My heart was leading me home," I mumbled and teared up. There was no trace of any mermaid. Making me wonder if the humans have succeeded in capturing us all or if they all relocated. I swam around, trying to know if I would see any mermaid, but there was none. I suddenly noticed the water was slowly reflecting a golden light. I swam up to the surface of the water to see the cause. There I noticed that the sun was going down. That instant, my quest which I seemed to have forgotten came ba
MARILYN I parted my lips to speak and true to her words I could actually voice out my thoughts. I was no longer restricted to having others speak what I have in mind all the time. "What about the curse?" I asked, feeling ecstatic. My lips parted in disbelief and awe. I looked up to the lady and she smiled gratefully at me. "Thank you for lending me your voice all this while. Thanks to you, I'm able to speak today." I stared at her, not knowing what to say. "Am I supposed to be happy that I got my voice back? Should I be mad at her for taking my voice?" I wondered. But then, I recalled I had something more important to deal with. The curse. She seemed to understand what I was thinking, so she immediately began to speak. "Since I placed the curse, only I can undo it. The curse ended, the moment you spoke," she informed me. I heaved a sigh of relief and lay on top of the water surface to catch my breath. "I'm so sorry once again." She apologized. "Your mate will soon be he
BALIN "The teenage wolves," I muttered. "Let's head back to the pack," I ordered immediately. Not wasting a second, we all found our way to the car and in a matter of minutes, we were speeding madly back to the pack. Judging from the appearance of the moon, it would only take a few hours for the full moon to be clearly visible, and we have to get to the pack before then. "What are you doing, Jarek? Step on the damn accelerator," I roared at Jarek, even though he was already speeding so much. As the Alpha, it is my duty to ensure the safe shifting of everyone and also make sure that none of the pack members injures any human living in the pack. When werewolves shift, they are often driven by animalistic instincts and most times, they end up hurting the humans. Only a few are able to have a hold of themselves. For this reason, it was decided that all Alphas will escort their pack members to the hunting ground before the appearance of the full moon to ensure that no one gets hurt
MARILYN The wolf gave out a loud howl and dashed towards me. But then, a gigantic wolf suddenly dived out of the room and pounced on her, pushing her to the floor. "Where did the second wolf come from?" I watched, nearly peeing on my pants, as the gigantic wolf that had dashed out of the room battled with the wolf that wanted to pounce on me. They began to fight each other viciously. I used the opportunity to slowly slip into the room trembling. I gazed around the room for Aylin, but she seem to have hidden out of fear. The other wolf was no match for the gigantic wolf, in a few minutes it got thrown out of the balcony. The gigantic wolf, now covered in blood, turned and advanced towards me. I held my breath, waiting for the worst to happen. But then it began to transform, first, its furs disappeared and soon its animal features changed to that of a person. My eyes grew wide and my jaw dropped, staring at the figure in front of me. I blinked multiple times to make sure my eyes we
BALIN "What the heck did you do to her?" I raged and held her neck even more tightly. The damn witch didn't seem affected even though I was holding her neck so tight. I flung her like a rag doll and she hit her back on the wall. Her mismatched eye colour returned to normal and she stared at me, breathing faintly. I rushed over to Marilyn and took her into my arms. "Will you tell me what you did to her or should I end you right now?" I roared. She coughed and held her chest, as if out of breath, but that's none of my business. "Save your anger for another day. Your mate is fine. She will wake up when morning comes," she says. "She’d better wake up by then. Because if she doesn't I'll send your head to your coven in a platter," I threatened her. I made to walk away with Marilyn but halted when I recalled that the young wolves were unconscious. "And the wolves?" I asked. "The young wolves will be asleep till the next full moon. However, you have to find the person responsible f
ALICIA I wasn’t able to go back to the pack last night. I was injured and battered and I had no strength left in me, all thanks to that stupid mermaid, who for some reason has the ability to shift. Annoyed is an understatement of the negative feeling surging through my veins. It is an insult to me to be taken down by a mere creature of the sea. I clenched my fist as I rose from the ground. I had hidden in the butler’s home last night. The Alpha had ended poor Eloise, all because of some mermaid that was bound to bring ruin and mishap to the pack. “I will make him realize that he made the wrong choice. I will see to it that he learns that mermaids and werewolves could never be in a union. We werewolves are supreme creatures, higher than any other creature. Mermaids are far beneath us and are meant to serve us, not to be mated to us.” My wolf, Lisa, scoffed on hearing my thoughts. “Even if the Alpha’s mate had turned out to be a werewolf, we are never going to let go. He has always b
MARILYNIt had been two days already since I had that talk with Aylin and following after, I had a discussion with Balin. I felt like we couldn't be walking on eggshells anymore and we needed to address the issue and we did.Which was namely the reason why the celebration in the pack house had started but I was still standing in my room, my gaze locked on the vanity mirror, staring at my reflection. I looked different. And it was in a good way.The slight knock on my door made me jolt back to reality and quickly grab my lipstick knowing that it was probably Aylin.The door pushed open and Aylin shambled in, her green maxi dress accentuating her curves while her hair was tied up in a bun and adorned with flowers.That was the event of today. We had faced devastation not long ago but tonight…It was the celebration of summer and apparently flowers were a big part of the night which is why everyone had a flower on their person tonight.My hair was still casually dropped down as I was still
MARILYNIt has been two days and Balin was out of bed already and already resumed his duties in the pack while I still hung around.I don't even know what I was still doing here, I should leave but I was in no hurry, everyone was nice to me and kept thanking me for saving them.Even though I wanted to be angry at them, I knew how they must feel at this point. They didn't even know what to believe. Alicia had turned out to be a demon, I turned out to be not as weak as they knew, Dmitri finally attacked, they lost people. Things must be hard for them.So because of that, I was nice to them and accepted their every apology while listening to them and getting to know them on a more personal level.I think something that earned me more respect was the fact that everyone now knew that I was a Maren. Occasionally my mind would drift back to the mermaid foundation and I wondered if they were okay.Yes, the mermaids there hurt me and mae life a living hell for me. But I couldn’t stop myself from
MARILYNThe cool stone of the fountain stood in sharp contrast to the warmth of my own stormy feelings. I sat by myself, the soothing splashing of water providing background for the recurring scenes in my head.Balin intertwined with another woman, the vision of that night came back agonizingly clearly. It had been the reason for my leaving and the reason I was still madI felt doubt biting at me. Should I have judged more quickly? Had I let wrath distort my view?Aylin joined me beside the fountain, a consoling presence among my swirling thoughts."Marilyn," she asked softly, "are you okay?"Though it felt empty and stupid, I forced a grin. “Aylin, I'm good. Just... contemplating.”She sat next to me, staring across my field of vision. "Regarding Balin?"Not sure I could meet her eyes, I nodded."I know you're hurting," she said gently. “Still, I know Balin as well from the short time I spent here. And I would never think he would act in such a manner."Her remarks caught me off guard
BALIN"I'm awake." I blinked, my eyesight fuzzy, the world around me a hazy swirl of forms and hues. My body felt heavy, as though I had been asleep for a thousand years and my head throbbed with a dull agony.Marilyn's face came into focus as I tried to squint, her lovely features marked with a mixture of relief and... something else. Fury? Indifference?"Marilyn," I said, my voice hoarse from neglect. “You're here.”She showed a look of warmth, but it was fleeting and soon she was wearing a guarded look.I reached out to her, my hand shaking just a little. "I'm so glad you're safe," I said, heart aching with a love that refused to die.Her eyes hardening, she withdrew from my touch. "Don't," she murmured, her voice hard. "Just... do not."I felt confusion sweep over me. Why was she pulling away? She had not disappeared. She had stayed and she had been here. I could faintly still feel her lips on my head when I was coming back to consciousness even though I didn't hear what she had
"I'm sure," I replied, my voice firm. "I need to make sure everyone is getting back on their feet."Jarek nodded, a hint of admiration in his eyes. "You've done a remarkable job, Marilyn. The pack... they respect you now. You're doing an amazing job even I'm not sure that I could have done."I scoffed, a bitter taste in my mouth. "Their respect is a fickle thing, Jarek. Earned through bloodshed and fear. It's not the kind of respect I wanted but it's what I got."He sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I know it's not ideal, but it's a start. You've given them hope, Marilyn. We underestimated you, you're clearly one of the best things that have happened to the pack."I sighed. “It's fine. You know I always wanted revenge and now I'm helping rebuild. Ironic”Jarek cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him. "I have the casualty report, Marilyn," he said, his voice a whisper "We lost twenty-three pack members. Another fifteen are severely injured, but the healer is hopeful they'l
MarilynI didn't move for a good 5 seconds, my eyes fixed on nothing and the sounds of the battle ravaging around me faded Into nothing. All I could see was Balin, his lifeless body slumped against mine, his words—his final words—ringing in my ears."I love you, Marilyn."A sob tore through me as I realized he was still slumped against me, unmoving, I had been harsh on him, I never got the chance to tell him that I didn't hate him, and now he was gone. Because of me.A weird feeling engulfed me. Was this grief? Pain? Regret? Whatever it was, it hurt like hell.My body refused to move, paralyzed by a grief so profound it threatened to consume me whole. I slowly pushed him off me and fell to the ground, my face staring up at the sky, the sound of the demon's laughter echoing around me and the sound of the battle around me. I wouldn't mind death at this point. It was a part of me that had been torn away.Aylin, her face streaked with tears, rushed to my side, her voice a desperate plea."
MARILYNAlmost as terrible as the battle, Alicia's fall had been the cause of the silence that followed. The expressions of the people revealed confusion, incredulity, and a growing fear.Ever the protector, Balin responded first, his focus on the slumped figure of Alicia. He hurried toward Alicia's almost lifeless figure, crouching next to her, his hand extending to feel for a pulse."Alicia?" he asked, his voice full of a desperate hope that made me angry for some reason. "Alicia, can you hear me?"Many pack members, startled, gathered around Alicia, their voices a cacophony of worried questions.“Someone got the healer!”“Is she breathing?”"What happened with her?"Her face was white and her eyes were wide with panic, Aylin grabbed my arm firmly.She said, "Marilyn," her voice shaking, "What's happening? There's a weird energy"I shook my head, confused yet my gaze fixed on Balin who was worried. "Aylin, not sure. But something doesn't seem right.""She's the demon!" Aylin yelled
MarilynAfter my shout, the stillness that followed was dense and weighted with a mix of amazement, terror, and incredulity. Once a site of wild violence, the battlefield was now terribly quiet.Rushing to my side with a look of mixed concern and shock in his eyes, Balin broke the quiet first.I staggered back unconsciously as he neared me, my heart aching in my chest. He didn't deserve to be this close to me. What was stopping me from speaking to him? Everyone said I should hear him out but what they didn't understand was that the sight I met that day was not something that I could recover from. Ever.He said, "Marilyn," his voice strained, "Are you alright?"I scowled at him, my wrath blazing with every once-over I gave him. I pushed him away quickly, my senses heightened and wary."Don't touch me," I growled, hatred tinging my voice. "You have no rights."He staggered back, his face a mixture of pain and bewilderment.Elder Oakwood, with his pale and drawn-in face, came gently up to
MARILYN"Game on," I echoed, my voice calm and my fingertips flexing as I cracked my neck. I was certain that I could kill Dmitri after practicing for a while.Dmitri unsheathed his dagger and cocked his head at me. “I think it's only fit that we face off against each other” he suggested.Balin immediately opened his mouth to protest but I beat him to it.“Deal.”“No weapons? Is that how confident you are, Maren?” Dmitri asked with a smirk.My hands swirled and a blade materialized on my hand, shining with a blue unearthly glow. Dmitri's eyes flickered to the knife and I knew it unnerved him by the way his smirk wavered but he kept his ground.“Since we're playing dirty,” He muttered, tucking his blade back in his sheath.Ah, he was going to be using his wolf to attack me instead. More the challenge for me."You think you can defeat me with that?" he scoffed, his voice laced with disbelief.I merely smirked. "This is just the beginning, Dmitri," I said, my voice laced with a newfound