Madeleine
I wasn’t sure what time I fell asleep but it must be late at night. I rubbed my eyes as the sunrays filtered in through the windowpanes, sending a soft glow of light everywhere.
When I got up the first thing I noticed was that I wasn’t even in my room. I was in a different room and then I recalled having traveled with Kyle to his territory.
All the memories of the past day came rushing to me.
And with that came the memory of Hayden.
I immediately looked around to find my phone. It was lying on the edge of the side table and I quickly turned around to reach for it.
‘Damn it’
Its battery was dead and so I didn’t even know if I had received a message or call from him. Fine lines of worry appeared on my forehead as I tried to recall where I had put my charger.
I was still half asleep but drowsily I got up from my bed and scrambled towards my bag.
After fumbling through it f
HaydenI nodded my head and he added, “Come in.”I went inside the office and it was nothing like Hayden’s office either. It had nice furniture, ample lighting, and plants that were placed in the corners everywhere.“You seem to love nature.”I added thoughtfully as I looked around the office.“We are werewolves, aren’t we? If we don’t love our habitat and make it comfortable for ourselves to live in, what is the point of living in a forest?”I couldn’t agree more. It did feel like a breath of fresh air as opposed to the previous two packs I had lived in.He sat on the big chair across his desk and folded his hands, “So, Madeleine. You are a guest at my place but there are some rules I would want you to follow. There are no exceptions to this and everybody is expected to abide by them.”I nodded my head, indicating that I was following him, and waited
HaydenExactly an hour later, we all were ready and had packed a set of clothes in a small bag that we could carry even if we changed into our wolves.We could easily sling it across our necks if we were forced to change into humans and do so without revealing our naked selves.“Keep your phones charged and keep in touch. We will keep updating each other of the distance we have covered at the end of the day or say every few hours. The network would most probably be spotty but if we don’t go astray, it should work.”Garron had returned in less than an hour and was staring at me, eager to go look for Raine more than i was.“Didn’t you say earlier that you could mind link with your pack members over large distances?”I smiled at him and replied, “I can…you can’t”I gave him the same retort I had given him months ago when I had first trespassed his territory uninvited.Ga
As my eyes darted to him pacing around, I got nervous. A plan and a reckless one was forming in my mind and I couldn't be sure if it was a genius or a stupid move. But for now, I had to keep quiet. As I kept thinking, Jack suddenly gave a startled cry. “Ahh, I remember something.” My eyes went up to look at him hopefully and he smiled, “Well, do you know that there would be a blue moon in a week? This could be the perfect time for it to bloom. At least, if I look at the moon calendar, it has been roughly six months since it had last bloomed and disappeared.” I clapped my hands and shouted, “That is amazing. Do you know where exactly would one find it?” “Umm…somewhere in this forest itself. But far too deep. The moon goddess certainly wouldn’t plant that gift for the werewolves on another planet, right?” I gave him a sheepish smile, “Yep, it wouldn't make sense otherwise” The more I spoke to him, the more I felt that my plan would work. Jack was giving me more information than H
HaydenThough, I was tempted to say that I simply disconnected the call. Had it not been for Raine, I would never have even spoken to him again.However, my sister cared for him so I had to be good to him even if he irked me most of the time. I had to let go of my prejudices and accept him, for Raine, if not for anyone else.I had transformed into my human self to speak to him and was butt naked but it was not like there was anybody to even see me here. Thus, I shifted to my werewolf form yet again and picked the bag in my mouth.What I hadn’t noticed was a pair of grey eyes that had been watching me.At first, I simply kept walking ahead and ignored the surroundings that now had the same feeling. All green and dark for as far as my eyes could see.From time to time, I heard some sounds such as wings flapping or the faint rustle of leaves. But apart from that, there was not much to it.But after a while, I got a sense that
MadeleineI let out a groan as I felt the little rocks and twigs dig in my palms and face. I turned my face to the left and was getting up from the ground when I saw something.It was a faint light bluish color that had appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared as quickly.I blinked my eyes and peered at the spot between the grass where I had seen it.Was my mind already playing tricks with me?I tried to get up and dusted my hands and clothes while looking in the direction of the bluish glow.Confused, I kept staring at it for a while before I told myself that indeed my mind was playing tricks with me. No sooner had I thought of it than something caught my attention from the corner of my eye.When I looked at it again, I saw a blue ball of light floating in the air. I stared at it intently and it hid behind the grass.Not wanting it to be afraid of me, I tried to speak, “Please don’t be afraid,
KyleThe way she had asked if she was supposed to stay for a month had made me realize that she didn’t want to spend a day more in my pack.Well, if she didn’t want to, I wasn’t going to force her either. But now I had to find her or I would have no face to ever meet Hayden.While all these thoughts ran through my head, Jack answered, “Of course, I looked everywhere before running to you…”He trailed off, keeping close yet a little distance from me.“Where do you think she must have gone?”I asked and Jack fell silent. I looked around but there was no answer from his side.I added, “Perhaps, did she run back to Hayden’s pack because she doesn’t want to stay here?”Again, I heard no answer and my eyes flicked to him.“Jack, I am talking to you.”My beta and younger brother had suddenly gone silent and I felt that he was hiding some
MadeleineThe wisp was just floating through the forest and I kept following it. From time to time, it kept throwing me a look as if to ensure if I was around.It was nice to have a companion with me throughout the rest of my journey. I had been running through the forest all alone so it was relieving to see that I was not alone anymore.My lips felt dry and my throat was parched again and I looked at my water bottle. It was half empty because I had taken more than a larger gulp of water to quench my thirst.An idea occurred to me so I quickly asked, “Where do you think would I find water to drink? I am thirsty and my water supply is running a little low.”I spoke to the wisp that seemed to stop advancing ahead and simply hovered in the air for a minute. It then turned around to look at me, blinked its eyes as if it was thinking something, and tilted its head yet again.I found that action to be super cute and smiled at it. The w
MadeleineThe blood was sticky and the thought of the dead boar made all my thirst vanish. Now, I was feeling anxious rather than thirsty.It had not been a lot of time since I had had water and I believed that I could survive on that half bottle for a longer period.Wiping my hands against my clothes, I looked up and saw that there was a light coming from the far end. It was not blue but an eerie mix of blue and green and red.Biting my lower lip, I looked at the wisp and then at the light,“Do you think I should follow that light?”It blinked furiously and nodded its head, the first sign of communication from its side.All this time, the wisp had only looked at me and at most tilted its head but never responded to me.Feeling that the wisp was now beginning to trust me a little, I tied my head in a ponytail that had gotten loose and said, “Alright, let’s go.”I kept following the wisp thro
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