MELVIN’S POVThe rain poured down, mingling with the sweat and blood that streamed down my face. I knelt in the dirt, my heart heavy with defeat and sorrow.I roared loudly into the night and the sound of my mournful roar echoed through the night. A raw expression of the pain that consumed me.Ariel had slipped through my fingers once again, and the realization pierced my soul like a thousand shards of glass.I had failed to capture her, failed to bring her back to Blood Moon where she belonged. In the dungeons. The raindrops mixed with my anguish, washing away the dust and blood that clung to my skin.Time seemed to stretch endlessly as I remained on my knees, lost in my thoughts and regrets. The rain continued to pour, its relentless rhythm reflecting the turmoil within me. Each droplet that soaked into the earth felt like a reminder of my shortcomings.Eventually, I rose to my feet and made my way back to what was left of our camp. My tent still stood amidst the wreckage of our c
ARIEL’S POVThe journey back to Silver Moon was filled with some tension and weariness. The weight of the loss we had endured was heavy on all our shoulders. But the remaining troops and I pushed forward.The rain that started the night before had ceased, leaving behind a damp, misty morning that seemed to mirror the uncertainty that lay ahead.The closer we got the more the burden increased on my shoulders and then I realized this wasn't just my guilt anymore.It felt external.I looked around us, trying to figure out if something else was moving with us but I found nothing.The area looked peaceful enough.I tried to pick up the scent, but the rain had numbed everything. My wolf couldn't pick out anything other than our presence.As we approached the outskirts of Silver Moon, I sensed a stronger shift in the air. Something was definitely wrong.We continued moving but my instinct kept reminding me of the danger around us. I looked around one more time but everything looked normal.
ARIEL’S POVMelvin scoffed, his eyes narrowing with a mix of defiance and pain. It felt like my words were futile. Each of them only hardened his heart further."You don't know me, Ariel. You never did so spare me all these plain and meaningless words of yours." With those words out, he turned around and returned to his troop, his anger stronger than when he came.Tension between our troops grew as I was forced to return to mine as well.I hoped my words would resonate with him. I thought that the connection we once shared would awaken his dormant feelings.But time was against us, and engaging in a prolonged battle with Melvin was not what I wanted to do right now or even continue doing.Rather I wanted to save him and mend his broken heart, but the moment was not right. The safety of my remaining troops was paramount. So rather, I opted to stall him for now until we got the opportunity to escape.As the tension escalated, Melvin and his troops prepared for an attack, ready to wipe u
MELVIN’S POV'...I still believe in us...' It was distant, but I heard them.The words sounded in my head as I jolted awake with my heart pounding hard against my chest.What the hell? Who said those words to me? Where was I?!Confusion clouded my mind as I struggled to orient myself in the darkness. Gradually, my vision cleared, and I realized I was in my quarters within the walls of Blood Moon, the ancestral stronghold of my family.From the shadows, a voice sliced through the air, startling me once again. It was my father, Joharres, his tone laced with fury.He wasted no time in expressing his discontent, his anger directed squarely at my failure to capture Ariel once more."You pathetic excuse for a son!" he spat, his voice dripping with contempt.A frown covered my face immediately and all thoughts I had of the voice speaking strange words to me disappeared at once."How many times must you fail me, Melvin? How many chances have you squandered?" My father was standing right in
MELVIN’S POV"Listen, your father's expectations can be overwhelming, but you mustn't lose faith in yourself. You are strong, Melvin, in ways that go beyond physical strength. Trust in your instincts and your determination."Tears welled up in my eyes, betraying the depth of my emotions. "But Mother, I fear that time is slipping away. Father keeps reminding me of the urgency to produce Ariel. If I fail, What will become of me?"Her voice held a soothing cadence as she spoke, her words a soothing salve to my wounded spirit. "Melvin, my love, you mustn't let fear consume you. Life is filled with uncertainties, and sometimes we must face them head-on. There is still hope. Trust that the path will reveal itself when the time is right."I gazed into her eyes, finding peace and strength in her unwavering belief in me. "Mother, I don't know how much longer I can endure this struggle. The pressure, this constant feeling... all of it… I want it to be over."I was tired of the constant turmoil.
MELVIN’S POVI woke up the next morning, feeling the remnants of the sleeping spell fading away. It was as if a weight had been lifted from my body, and I could move with newfound ease.Pushing myself up on the bed, I welcomed the sensation of freedom that flowed through my limbs.Just as I settled into an upright position, feeling the renewed strength coursing through my veins, the door to my room creaked open.Mother entered, her gentle presence enveloping the space with a soothing aura. In her hands, she carried a delicate porcelain cup.The aroma of freshly brewed tea floated through the air, mingling with the soft morning light that filtered through the window. The sight of that steaming cup, the familiar gesture of warmth and care, instantly lifted my spirits.A smile stretched across my face as I looked at her. "I fell asleep in your hands, and now you're the first person I see in the morning," I remarked playfully.Returning my smile, she replied, "I just wanted to make sure
MELVIN’S POVShe had allowed herself to fall in love, to surrender her heart to a man who couldn't offer her the same depth of feeling in return.And yet, she had chosen to stay, weathering the storms of their tumultuous relationship for the sake of love's unpredictable hold.The realization hit me like a wave crashing against the shore —my mother had sacrificed her own happiness, willingly accepting the role of the second choice in my father's life —in his heart.It was a sacrifice born out of unconditional love, the kind that transcended logic and defied reason. But it was a sacrifice that left an indelible mark on her soul, a scar that remained hidden beneath the surface, silently shaping her every interaction.Gazing at my mother, I saw her vulnerability and strength intermingle, her eyes reflecting a lifetime of emotions kept hidden away so perfectly, one who wasn't close enough, would never notice.It was as if she had carried the weight of her unrequited love for my father with
ARIEL’S POVIt had been two days since our return to Silver Moon, and I wanted to give my troops some time to rest and recover from the intense battle at Velvet Moon and our face-off with Melvin’s pack on the outskirts of our land before we proceeded with our mission.The troops were gradually settling back into our routine with our return to Silver Moon, and it was important for everyone's well-being that we allowed the wounds, both physical and emotional, to heal.Even I, the Alpha and Luna of Silver Moon, needed this brief break from the relentless commotion of war and the pursuit of the Alpha King's throne.The battles, both physical and mental, had taken their toll on my spirit, leaving me yearning for a moment of calm and reflection.It was also essential to let the dust settle, allowing the chaos to blow away and granting myself the opportunity to regain the strength necessary to face the challenges that lay ahead.In these moments of quiet, I could gather my thoughts, reassess
Ariel's POV We had all settled into our new lives and the past had long become a thing of history, left to be shared with our children and their children after us.Fiona returned to her father's pack and she had grown strong as a leader and as a banshee. Seeing how much of a help she had been, her people had no choice but to reinstate her as their ruler.Selene was elevated as my right-hand person just after Melvin and she performed her duties with more than just loyalty. The war had made us closer than ever. She became that family I had sorted out for."My Queen?" A soft voice called out to me and I snapped out of my reverie to see who it was.A smile immediately covered my face as my eyes settled on her."Gio, you shouldn't work so hard with that bump," I said and she rolled her eyes."Ikea and David have refused to return from their honeymoon, someone is supposed to keep things running in here!" She mumbled as she wobbled toward me.She and Igor had been mated for a few moons now.
ARIEL’S POVIt had been three weeks since the whole debacle and like they say, the show must go on. The council of the court of the Alpha King had arrived in Silver Moon to officiate my coronation ceremony and officially crown me as the Luna Queen of the entire kingdom.The council had wanted this ceremony to be done two weeks ago as soon as we got back from the uncharted lands because they felt the throne had been vacant for way too long but I delayed it. Melvin was still mourning and I too mourned along with him.The ceremony was meant to crown me as Luna Queen and also crown Melvin as my Prince Consort. In truth, the ceremony would also serve as our official mating ceremony. So it didn’t feel right to hold it when each of us was still trying to come to terms with their loss.I wanted to delay the ceremony even longer to give Melvin enough time to heal but he came to me himself and told me not to delay it.“It is okay, Ariel,” He had said to me a few nights ago, “I am more than rea
ARIEL’S POVI instantly made the moon crest cast a bright glow toward Joharres, blinding his vision, so he wouldn’t see Melvin coming with another attack.Melvin ran through the bright light at Joharres and before he could see Melvin coming from within the light, it was already too late.Melvin punched Joharres in his guts making his upper body fall forward towards Melvin and he landed a more powerful punch across his face that sent him tumbling in the air before he fell to the ground with a loud grunt.I made the moon crest return to its normal dim light and quickly sped to where Joharres lay sprawled on the floor still dazed from Melvin’s punch.I lifted him, with his back to me, and held his arms out, spreading them apart, but I kept him on his knees. Melvin stopped in front of us.Joharres started to wake up from his daze but was still relatively weak. His strength was yet to fully return. Seeing the position I had locked him in and Melvin standing in front of him, he started to g
ARIEL’S POVMelvin nodded at me and we started walking to where his Father had landed when Melvin dealt him a blow earlier.However, he wasn’t there but neither of us was surprised. Joharres wasn't a common werewolf like the others that would stay down from one measly punch. We looked around the area searching for where he might be.“I guess you are looking for me, right?” I heard Joharres’ hoarse voice say behind me. Melvin and I spun around immediately to face him.Our faces were straight and focused and our fists were already firmly formed. We came ready for him. We came to put an end to all of this madness and violence.Joharres let his fur coat slowly slide down his body to reveal his large bulky build that was concealed under his large coat.“You know, you had me stunned for a while,” Joharres said with a chuckle, “but then I realized that Melvin must have made all this plan. Disrupt and attack. Divide and conquer. Create chaos and then triumph.”Joharres paused and laughed at
ARIEL’S POVI never back down from a challenge so I was ready to give him the pleasure of losing woefully to me. I leaned forward to caress the side of the Rinitor to calm it down.“Easy boy,” I said to the Rinitor as I stroked it under the chin, “why don’t you let me handle this?”As I continued to slowly stroke the scales of the animal, its camouflage came undone and its scales began to vibrate. I thought it was starting to cave into my petting and was becoming calmer as I asked it to. I was so wrong.The Rinitor roared aggressively at Darius and along with its roar came fire. I jumped backward with shock at the release of the bright yellow flames and stumbled off the animal, falling to the ground.I looked up just in time to see the flames from the Rinitor’s mouth engulf Darius completely. By the time the animal stopped breathing its yellow flames, Darius’ upper body had been burned to a crisp. He dropped down to his knees and fell face-first into the ground with a thud.I slowly s
ARIEL’S POVImmediately I heard Melvin’s command, I gave him a nod and sprang to my feet. I bolted past the surrounding soldiers who were surprised by my sudden movements and couldn’t think fast enough about what to do.As I ran in the direction of the uncharted lands, I took a glance behind me and saw that Jada and Selene were hot on their heels too.We got to the barrier of the uncharted lands in no time and rather than run through it, we all instinctively just jumped through it.“Alright, we need to focus and call as many Rinitors as we can,” I said to Jada and Selene as soon as we landed in the uncharted lands and they nodded back at me.Selene and Jada closed their eyes and stretched out their hands and I did the same. First, we had to make a reconnection with the uncharted lands before we could reach out to the Rinitors.I started to feel some sort of tingle all over my body. It felt like something was rapidly welling up inside me and it continued to build until it got to a cre
MELVIN’S POV“How do we bring the uncharted lands to them? It is not like we can move the thing,” Selene’s face squeezed with confusion as she reacted to what I had just said.I chuckled a little at their cluelessness. “You are all taking my words literally. Just calm down and listen to me for a second. We have three navigators of the uncharted lands at our disposal and we also have a land full of mythical creatures that could wipe out an army in the blink of an eye.”I looked over at the Blood Moon army, “They currently have the upper hand with their numbers. That is an army of about a thousand soldiers and we are barely up to a hundred and fifty. Since we are outnumbered,” I looked back at the group in front of me, “I say we level the playing field and even out the odds in our favor.”“Balance our numbers out with some mythical friends from the uncharted lands. With three navigators, I bet we can invite just enough of our friends to this party,” I straightened myself with pride and
MELVIN’S POVI gritted my teeth as I struggled to find the exact harsh words I wanted to use to describe him. No words could qualify how angry and frustrated I was at the moment.“You think you are a big bad wolf meanwhile you are just a sad little man inside who just craves to make the whole world feel the same shitty way he does too. I see now that nothing will deter you from doing what you want. Fine!”I took a step closer to him, stomping my feet on the hard ground, “But I will also be doing what I want, whatever I like, and with whomever I choose. You don’t tell me what to do!”I turned around and started walking away from him towards the camp I had chosen as the one for me. The camp that had my heart and my home with it."You are my son and as much as I hate to say it out loud, I have the right to stop you from making a grave mistake!" He yelled but my counter was ready.“You lost that right a long time ago.”After walking a few meters away from Father, I stopped. “And as for Mo
MELVIN’S POVI was able to get Ariel back to our camp. It was good I was able to get to her on time and held her down before she let loose and did something drastic.I completely understood how she was feeling but I couldn't let her attack... Not yet.I saw Niko rip Ralph’s head off his neck. It was gruesome. A grotesque sight to behold. Anger welled up in me too but I believe not as much as Ariel must have felt it. Afterall, she was closer to Ralph than I was.After getting back to our camp and a few words of consolation, Ariel was able to calm her anger and the color of the moon crest went back to being blue.Falling to her knees, Ariel broke down into tears almost immediately. I went down to her to pull her into my arms and offer a consoling embrace.“Ra—Ralph… h—he is dead,” She sobbed, “J—Just like that… and… and there was nothing… nothing I could do…to save him.”I pulled her into me, tightly wrapping my arms around her. “I am sorry, Ariel. This is mostly all my fault. I am trul