HaydenI furrowed my eyebrows while waiting for him to answer my last question. And, he gave a small smile before replying.“Hehe, I thought you forgot that…well, I was just trying to have some fun. Imagine living here alone and having nobody to talk to or play with…it gets boring you know.”I nodded my head; solitary life would indeed be boring. After all, I had walked through this forest to find my sister and Madeleine all alone for days. I knew how he felt.Thus, I nodded my head again and replied, “So, what was that thing about Yin and Yang that you said earlier?”I tried poking at him again but he didn’t budge. Instead, he simply said, “Just walk into the small pathway and see what you find, the tree has obviously brought you here for something.”He said and I realized that I had no other option anyway.“Yes, but you have to accompany me so that you don’t startle me again?”Stem stifled a giggle and gave me a mock salute, “Sure, let’s go”I proceeded to walk towards the big tree
HaydenI furrowed my eyebrows at the way he was being secretive and not answering straight but I turned my attention back to the walls once again.“The drawings…they are fading…” I spoke in an alarmed tone.“Yeah, because the tree cannot keep writing it every single time, someone shows up. It drains him of his valuable heartbeats and magic that is dwindling day by day.”I had a lot more questions about his statement but I simply decided to observe the drawings for now. The script was too ancient for me to understand so I focused on the drawings instead.The first one had a group of living beings, werewolves living together in a community, eating, relaxing, and living peacefully.The second one showed a few of them going on hunting and killing off the wild beasts easily. The leader seemed to have gained a lot of power and the next one showed him becoming more powerful and standing tall while addressing his pack.The drawings were fading away so I couldn’t catch all of it, but it seemed
HaydenStem looked at me for a second before replying,“They died due to their selfishness and greed. Each time the tree gave them the option of not running after materialistic wealth and instead of looking at what was required of them to do.They hurt the forest and the tree, tried to snatch all the wealth for themselves, and even tried attacking the trunk, thinking that something even more valuable was hidden inside.They were given a fair share of chances before they were sent to the cave you just went to rot. Despite all their attacks, the tree was still patient and gave them a last chance of figuring out the puzzle in order to free themselves.They could not….except some who were given just given light punishment and sent off back to the place they came from”Stem trailed off and waited for me to process the information. “So…to sum it all up, I am the one you found worthy enough to defeat the lich…believe me, I want to do nothing more than to kill him. He has been the reason for
The next morning or rather afternoon, I got up when I felt the bright sun rays shine upon me, waking me up from my sleep. I got up groggily and looked at my cell phone.It was almost time for lunch. I really did sleep till late. After waking up, I headed towards the bathroom for a quick shower and changed into new clothes. Though I had rested well, I felt as if I needed to sleep for months altogether.Thus, I walked out of my room and went towards the common dining area where they were having food.I could hear people grumbling about being served porridge and bread for the 3rd time again and I chuckled. But when I saw Garcia’s pitiful expression, my smile vanished.I immediately went towards her and took the ladle in my hand and filled my plate with soup and porridge. Though there were fewer ingredients in it and the meal was uninteresting, I relished it and made loud slurping noises.“Just who cooked this dish? It tastes so good…”I said loudly and a few eyes looked in my direction i
“Maybe, you are the chosen one…” The voice of Madeleine suddenly floated towards us as she walked into the hut. I looked at her and for a minute our gazes locked, none of us saying anything. I had been so caught up in this mess that I had not even gone to her room to talk to her.But then a part of me had also been a bit disheartened to see that she had not come to me after I had returned when I had been missing for 24 hours.Luke spoke in my head, “Is she still angry with us?”I kept looking at that face that would take my breath away every time I looked at her. Luke suddenly started flashing images of me pushing her to the wall and kissing her senseless.I shook my head to clear the image in my head and asked him to behave.She held my gaze and I merely shrugged my shoulders, “What do you mean chosen one?”I obviously knew what she meant but I wanted to talk to her, wanted her to reply to me.Her silence and cold attitude were killing me so I would take whatever she threw at me.Th
HaydenGarcia replied, “It is working on him which is why he can be with us and not cut our throats in our sleep if the lich orders him to. I am not even sure why it works but just the fact that it is a potent herb that we reserve to cure rare illnesses and some major injuries that would result in the death of a person.When Leo had first come to me in that state, I had tried anything and everything under the sun and only this herb had been able to bring him back to sanity. Since then he is conditioning his mind to fight back the lich’s influence which costs him great mental energy.We only have a few reserves of it left and have to use it sparingly.”The headache now felt intense and hence I began rubbing my temples, “Then just pluck more of it. Tell me where to find it and I will go, I was anyways going to go with Raine to our territory. I will bring back some on the way...”Garcia replied, “I had sent a few scouts to get it from the usual place where it grows in abundance. But it i
HaydenTo say that his words confused me was an understatement.He grabbed me by the elbow and took me to one of the spare huts that were used as a meeting room. Motioning me to take a seat, he added,"Sit, I will tell you something you would not have believed happened years ago. I have told all of it to Raine but even she knew that you would not believe us because of your hatred for me and my pack.”I furrowed my eyebrows and he tried to correct himself, “I mean, yeah, I was an asshole too...I agree.”I was getting restless as to what he wanted to tell me. Hence, I asked him to get straight to the point.Garron pulled a chair and plopped himself in front of me.“Before I begin, I would like to know what you know of Madeleine and her previous pack.”I had opened my mouth to answer him and lash out at whatever he was going to say next but his question threw me off-guard. I closed my mouth again and when I really thought about it, I was stunned.I did not really know much about her pas
HaydenHe blurted and I halted in my tracks.I spun around and banged my fist on the door, “Now, why would the lich just single out her that too so long back when we are learning about him just right now? And just how is it possible that she has been staying with us like one of our own and we never knew she was under his influence?”“I know it sounds crazy, but since I have come here I have started to feel that the lich had been after us, or specifically Madeleine, due to some reason. He seems to have a personal vendetta against her and has been trying to keep her weak and wolf less for so long…”“The lich has got nothing to do with the awakening of someone’s wolf…”I dismissed him right away but even I had my doubts? Could this be really possible?“Well, you know when you were asleep after having returned from the forest after meeting the tree, Raine told us everything right? She also showed us the photo she had taken of the carvings and symbols you had copied on the leaf.And, when
Hello, all my lovely readers, The last epilogue marks the end of the story of Hayden and Madeleine. Writing this book has been a roller coaster of emotions for me and I hope I was able to do justice to the characters and to all of you who read the story, felt what the characters felt, rooted for some of them, and hated a few. I am still a novice writer and there is a lot for me to learn and improve. In these past few months, I have received a lot of love from you all which was my biggest dream; to be recognized as a writer. Putting my story out there was like putting my bare self out in the open for everyone to judge. I know I might have made mistakes, and that there is a lot of scope for improvement. I want to thank every single one of you for giving me and my story a chance, for giving me hope that I can write captivating stories that make you forget the real world and your worries, if only for those few minutes in which you read it. Reading your comments and reviews is the bigge
Epilogue (A month after the gruesome battle) Soft afternoon light spilled into the room where Madeleine was sleeping. The curtains rustled in the soft wind as she turned from side to side on the bed. For a month after the epic battle between her and the demon, she had been having nightmares. Pack doctors, herbologists, occultists and everyone who her family felt would be able to help her were called to her aid but their efforts bore little to no fruit. She was tossing and turning in her bed as Raine worried at her lip outside the room. She was carrying a tray in her hand that had a lot of different potions and medicines along with a cloth and a bowl of water. She quickly dabbed her eye and was about to reach for the door to open it when a hand stopped her. She looked at the man nervously and asked, “Are you sure, you want to do this?” He nodded his head gently and took the tray from her. “But the doctors say that it might shock her even more…” She said in the same nervous voi
Epilogue IISelene smiled at Madeleine, teasing her, “You really love him”Madeleine merely studied her body lying on the ground and thought of a remark but could not come up with anything.Selene spoke, “It is your wish, you have to ask for it”“I want Hayden” Madeleine spoke in a low voice.“Sorry? I can’t quite hear you,” Selene acted as if she had not heard a word.Madeleine opened her mouth and closed it again. She realized that the Goddess was making fun of her but then how long would they cry and mourn over the lives they had lost?“Please give Hayden back to me”Madeleine repeated herself and Selene said, “Louder please”“Give me Hayden!!!!”Madeleine screamed and immediately clasped her hands over her mouth. She was horrified that she had almost yelled at the Goddess but Selene did not mind.“Somebody found their voice it seems”Madeleine smiled and turned to look at him.“Come”The Goddess said and Madeleine’s soul drifted towards her. Slowly, they both neared Hayden and Mad
(All the epilogues are in 3rd POV instead of 1st POV)It was dark and gloomy while the pungent smell of smoke, charred flesh, and death hung heavily in the air.A silhouette of a woman was sadly walking through the ground, as silent drops of tears flowed down her cheeks. She was in pain; she was grieving and her ethereal form was blipping in and out of existence just like a candle’s flame that would fight against a breeze of wind to stay alive.She was Selene and she looked around at the wreck of a forest that she had lovingly and painstakingly nurtured. Her feet slowly took her to the demon’s corpse and she studied it impassively to see if there were any signs of the wretched demon left in that hollow vessel that he called his body.Then her eyes flicked to the severed head that lay not too far from the corpse. She picked it up and looked at it, dead in the eye.The demon’s eyes were thrown wide open, probably in shock and surprise at the way the dagger had cut through his neck. Sh
“Noooooooo”I let out a shriek. My eyes could suddenly see well beyond my limited vision and I saw that the crack fell just short of affecting the tree, the giver of life of the forest.The cracks stopped just a few meters away from the tree that shuddered from the impact of the demon's fist that cracked open the ground.It sobbed and gave out a terrifying cry that I had never heard before. I did not even know that it could cry but maybe it was the Goddess who could hear it and not me.I looked around wildly, wanting to find something that could stop him...something, anything...My eyes spotted the very same dagger that Valrok had hurled at me to make me cut myself and give my blood.I got up and swayed a bit but made my way towards the dagger. He saw me get up and let out a mirthless laugh.“Running away from me? That is what you should have done earlier, Selene”He taunted and looked back at the tree that was far away from both of us. And, I knew what he was going to do next.“You a
MadeleineAs I turned to the side, I saw Hayden looking at me, holding a long pole. I stared at him in shock as he raised his hands with the pole and brought it down upon me, smacking my back hard.I was so taken aback by his act that I was flung away from him and the demon. I crashed to the ground as the demon’s laughter reached me.“Fight your children, Selene”He mocked and I could feel the Goddess fuming inside me. She had been calm and composed all this while despite the demon taunting and jeering her but even a Goddess has a limit to her patience.I got up from the ground as I felt the anger wafting off me as it reached its peak. My hands shot to either side of me as I felt an uncontainable energy surge through me.The demon shot his hand forward in response as a ring of white light began to form around me. The ground below me began to crack as hellfire shot up from every possible opening, shooting straight up.The small crowd of onlookers who had dared stay back to witness our
MadeleineI took a step forward and I saw him curl his fingers into fists.“Hello my old friend Selene, took you long enough”He greeted me and I looked at myself in confusion. It was then that I realized that I had turned into a living, breathing halo. All of my body was glowing brightly as if I was made of nothing but pure, white light.The words that left my mouth were not necessarily mine but it did not matter. The Goddess had chosen me as her vessel and I would gladly let her.“I thought you had learned your lesson last time, Valrok.”'Valrok? That must be the name of the demon', I thought.The Goddess or rather I continued speaking, “I gave you enough chances to stop this madness, to not let innocent lives suffer because of your selfish goals but you leave me no choice.”Valrok snarled, “You gave me chances? You are the one who reduced me to this state! It is because of you that I had to rely on puny humans and werewolves until I grew strong enough”“There is still time, stop th
MadeleineEverything happened so fast but it was as if I was seeing it in slow motion. As I watched in a daze, the white beam hummed with a vibrant and restless energy. It was so bright that I had to shield my eyes for a while. I believed it must be so bright and big that almost the entire forest must have witnessed the spectacle. The entire dark night that was filled with terror and gloominess and all the negativity surrounding the demon was suddenly punctured with that beam of light. Even the demon stopped chanting for a while and looked up at the sky.His expressions, at first, were of confusion but quickly it was replaced by rage. He had left the cave and came up on the land, left his stronghold, and decided to walk on the surface thinking that he was now undefeatable.Looked like he had gotten it all wrong.A smile appeared on my face as I looked at him for a brief moment and he grimaced. I did not say anything but my expressions were more than enough for him to understand what
MadeleineI opened my eyes and felt that my face was wet. I touched my cheek and realized that tears had trickled down my eyes. However, what I had seen was just a memory but a powerful one. My mind began to come up with various theories as I replayed them in my head. The runes, the chants with me in the centre…that had to mean something.I was not sure why the memory had been hidden from me all this while or why it had resurfaced only now but my guess would be that the similarity of my current situation with the past memory might have brought it up in vivid clarity.The words of the old man and his conversation with my parents told me once again that the lich wanted to use me not harm me.I recalled everything that had happened in the cave and realized that it had been true. Whenever Amanda tried to hurt me, the lich shunned her. My blood had been too precious for him and now I knew why.Somehow, the wizard, which was what I called him in my head because of his appearance, had combi