Madeleine
Onigfer nodded his head and the rune floated behind me and hovered over the tree stump. That way, it was easy for me to redraw it.
The tree stump was hard and dry so it took me a lot of effort to use that small tip of the file and hold the nail cutter to etch anything.
My hands began to grow slippery as I tried hard to draw and make them visible enough.
Drawing straight lines was relatively easy but drawing swirls and curves was hard.
My fingers were starting to hurt already and I worried about how I would draw it on the rest of the tree stumps just with the blunt tip of the file.
Shaking my head, I cleared negative thoughts and tried to think of Hayden.
I was doing this for him, to help him in finding his sister and maybe even stay with him….if he wants to.
His smiling face flashed before my eyes and I smiled at the memory. He had always motivated me to keep trying so that was what I was going to do.
MadeleineThey all seemed to look at me and their little eyes were filled with gratitude and sadness. I bit my lower lip to not let sadness affect me as then the balls looked at Onigfer who smiled at them ruefully.The balls hovered towards him and he met them halfway, embracing all of them in a bear hug as I saw the reunion with tears in my eyes that threatened to leak once again.Wiping my tears away quickly, I saw the balls of light turn around to look at me before they began to fade away.Their little bodies disintegrated into countless particles that drifted through the air and disparaged from my view.For a few minutes, none of us said a word. Onigfer simply kept looking at the direction in which the particles had disappeared and I kept looking at the ground, too ashamed to even meet his eye.Breaking the awkward silence, he turned to look at me, “It’s not your fault child, you helped and freed us, and it was
HaydenGarcia nodded her head, “Yes, it took me a while to get everything correct and not miss anything important but I believe this is an accurate representation.”Taking out a small bamboo stick, she held it in her hand and pointed to a square, “This is where we are currently standing. And, where you want to go is here.”She said as she dragged the stick all over the map, showing me the fortress where my sister was supposedly held. But what intrigued me were the symbols that had been drawn around the fortress.They were peculiar and something I had never seen before.“What are those?”I asked while pointing to the odd looking symbols.“Those are runes, some very specific runes to keep trespassers away.”My eyebrows furrowed at her words.“Runes?”She nodded her head, “Yes, what you are dealing with is not some typical rogue. He is known to d
MadeleineThe surrounding air seeped in a sense of tranquillity in me and I felt a stronger connection to the Moon Goddess in this Shrine. Though, I was wondering if I would see a statue of the Moon Goddess to pray to.I had always wondered what she would look like and how grand it would be to be in her presence.As werewolves, we prayed to the Moon goddess but I haven’t heard of anybody constructing a Shrine or a temple for her. This was the first one I was seeing and I was glad that I had played a small role in seeing it being formed.The blue moonlight that spilled into the inner sanctum saw the construction of a small column that appeared from under the marble floor as the tiles slid away to give room for the column to climb up.The column was a white marble that was decorated with delicate flowers and leaves of all possible colors.Upon it, something began to shimmer in the soft glow of the blue moon and I peered at it.I b
MadeleineOnigfer asked me upon seeing me suddenly quiet down and stop sobbing.“I am not going to hurt you, Onigfer…not just because I am desperate to ascend…”I said with determination as I clenched my fists after seeing the dagger that was resting on his neck.“If anything, I will sacrifice my blood...”“No….”He shouted but before he could stop me, I had taken the dagger away from his neck and placed it on my palm instead.Placing the tip of the blade on my palm, I cut at it in one slash as red blood blossomed upon my palm trickling down my fingers.The dagger fell from my hand as my grip loosened over it as pain shot from the cut, traveling up my hand and my body all the way to my head.My hand was trembling as blood gushed out of the cut in rivulets but then I managed to limply hold the cut hand with the other one and held it above the flower.It took
Hayden“Yeah…that’s him.”I chuckled and so did my warriors beside me.Garcia nodded at her soldier and asked him to let Garron follow himself right until he was outside the office hut we were in.After a while, Garron’s voice drew nearer and I told her that I would handle it further.Peeking out of the window, I saw that he looked haggard and soiled and tired, just like my two soldiers. For the first time in ages, I felt that he really liked my sister because he had gone to such great lengths to find her.Holding a glass of water in my hand, I walked out of the office but a piece of wood smacked me right in the face.“What the fuck, Garron!”I exclaimed and he only stared at me with wide eyes.“What are you doing here?”I wiped the water that had spilled on my shirt and looked at him again“Giving you water, you dumbass, and saving your nec
MadeleineShe cracked her knuckles and replied, “Yeah, I work as a search werewolf, finding clues to missing werewolves, intruders…you know the likes…more like a secret agent or spy…I have helped my pack down south get advance news of how infiltrators or possible attacks could harm them.”My eyebrows furrowed at that, “So, you don’t belong to a pack?”She shrugged her shoulders, “I do…it’s complicated as of now”Looking at the empty glass in my hand she gave me a smile, “That is good, I think now you can leave in the next twenty minutes to wherever you want to go.”“Leave? I thought you were tasked with finding me?”She gave a wry smile, “I did find you, and I wasn’t asked you to take you back to Jack or anywhere specific.”While she said that nonchalantly, I could only stare at her appalled.“You ca
HaydenIt was after a moment that it clicked to me.‘Is this the same rogue pack that had attacked us back at the ball?I thought to myself and then my eyes widened in shock. Yes, they were the same.‘So, this is where they have been hiding all this while?’ I thought to myself as realization struck me.I decided to run through the melee and help those who were getting overwhelmed. Thus, I gave Luke free reign who dashed around, letting out a deep growl that echoed through the air like a war cry.Two of Garcia’s soldiers were getting overwhelmed by a single rogue that was holding its paw on the chest of one and trying to bite into the neck of the other who was desperately trying to push him back.I jumped on the rogue, as he was hurled into the tree nearby while the two soldiers got up and shook their furry bodies. I could see blood tricking down the chest of the werewolf who the rogue had pinned t
HaydenI traced my steps back a little and shook my fur, getting ready to attack but before I could do so, the rogue lunged at me, with wide open maw that showed his sharp teeth and his claws that were ready to tear me apart.I dodged him as I swiftly turned over and rolled on the ground, as blood and dirt stuck to my fur before I got back up again.But, he had run behind me as he almost lost his balance while rushing through the scattered leaves, positioning himself behind me.My ears twitched violently, attempting to locate him by sound and lunge at the opposite side before turning around to sink my teeth into his flesh.While I readied my move, the rogue’s claw swished through the air as it brushed my fur, before I jumped back to avoid getting pierced by his sharp claws.He let out an angry growl, annoyed that he had missed me.But, before I could revel in my small victory, he lowered his abdomen to the ground and kicked hard
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