Douglas ghoul writhed in pain as it tried to warn Caleb, who was busy making preparations for his coronation. The Master,who was one of the great demons, was livid. So livid that it sent his wife's ghoul into the depths of hell. Douglas was tormented by her unending screams and wails.The moment Caleb sat on the Alpha throne in Brighton's conference hall, it kick started the sacrifice and if his coronation was successful, he was going to drop dead. But that would only provoke the Master further because it would get Caleb's useless soul instead of Andrew's powerful own. Douglas was dead but terrified of the repercussions that would hit him if such a catastrophe occurred. He floated above and around Caleb, trying to warn him, but the fool was blinded by what he thought was his victory. He didn't even notice when a lesser evil spirit pricked him and drew his blood on that night when Larry named him Alpha. Neither did he notice that his soul was growing weaker as the clock ticked. Demo
"I don't think the Moon Goddess blesses this gathering." Andrew's voice echoed around them.The energy immediately dissipated and Caleb fell to the floor growling.Emily floated into their midst. Her body was alight with the power of the moon. Her eyes were shining like the stars, her hair shone red and was floating with the winds. Clasped to her neck was the Moonstone that was emanating the same light as her body.She closed her eyes and jammed her palms together and power surged from her, pushing everyone to the ground. Caleb's hold on Brighton dissolved immediately.Out from the darkness came Andrew who was gripping Larry's throat, The Compliant who was gripping Mendez in the same fashion and Karen, whose body was bathed in blood.Emily's eyes remained closed as she wove a protection spell around their gathering completely cutting off Shirley and her witches from the coven, who had been using dark magic to pull out the essence of almost everyone seated in the gathering.Andrew smi
"What happened?!" Shirley screeched into Caleb's ear."Who was that? Who was that witch? Why can I not view her face or summon her spirit?"Caleb's eyes fluttered open and close.He was hanging from silver chains that held his arms up. Another set of chains were clasped around his abdomen down to his legs, merrily burning away his skin. His body was streaked with his own blood and different cuts. He was in unimaginable pain as the silver trackers that had been scattered all over his body pierced and created internal injuries for him."It's over." He murmured. "Tell the master to take my soul." Shirley cackled,"Do you think it's that easy? Your current worldly torment is a million times better than what the master will do to you if you die without fulfilling your part of the sacrifice."Caleb cried out in pain and Shirley cackled,"You wolf, are the most useless wolf to walk the earth. How do you find a way to always mess up the littlest things? I would ask for the last time before le
Done with mourning his friend, Andrew wiped his tears, got to his feet and ambled out of Laura's home. He bowed his head and paid his last respect to them, locked the doors and headed home.Andrew was meters away from his territory when Brown mindlinked him, telling him that Karen was planning to leave Brighton. Andrew quickly rushed to where she was,"Karen." He said softly on approaching her."Ugh. I didn't want you to see me leave." She groaned.Andrew engulfed her in a hug and she immediately broke down into tears."I'm in so much pain Andrew, I cannot stand the sight of this place. I hate everything about it. It reeks of evil and it took my baby away from me." She sobbed.Andrew's heart clenched in sorrow."So many bright souls have died unnecessarily. I'm so sorry Karen." He sighed."I feel like I failed as a mother. I let my pride drift us apart. I was mean and wicked, when I should have just listened to her, now she's gone forever.""Shhhhhh, you did what you thought was best f
"Where do I start?" Caleb announced as he walked into his father's packhouse.Dominic followed swiftly behind,"You can start by burning this heathen place down." He said reverently.Caleb's head snapped in his direction and stifled a growl.Andrew wouldn't do that. He said, quietly to himself and blew out a breath,"Not right now, this place holds a lot of memories, both good and horrible. A lot of horrid things have happened since I left and it weighs my heart down. I'm still trying to process the fact that father, Laura, and Larry are all gone in less than a month. I can't. I'm afraid, I can't let go just yet." Dominic hummed in understanding."Not until justice is served and Caleb has gotten what he deserves. He's the reason for all the calamity in Brighton. And I'm going to make sure he suffers for it and then flush out his witch friends. The coven will pay for what they've done." Dominic nodded."By the way, we checked the borders last night and found nothing of his witch assoc
Caleb's lips flailed open and close. "What are you talking about?" He asked.Shirley rolled her eyes at him,"Did I stutter or was there water in my mouth when I spoke? Andrew must die immediately because if you dare make contact with her, the spell I put on his wolf will shatter and he will roar in that dungeon and break it down and whether you're carrying his face or not he'll come for you and we'll be exposed."Caleb scratched his head,"Aren't you feeling the pressure? Can't you see the ghouls and demons lurking around us? We. Cannot. Mess. This. Up! You. Cannot. Mess. This. Up! We made a deal with a demon. Not just any demon, a prince of hell, the consequences of our failure are worse than you can imagine."Caleb swallowed and scratched his head. A slight tremor ran through his body. The Omega's words repeated in his head, blocking out Shirley. Suddenly, a growl burst out from him. He banged the desk angrily. "How dare he have the time to try to woo a woman or even like anyone
Shirley paced around her living room, running her hands and tugging her hair as she tried to block out Caleb's groaning and moaning. Spellbooks were scattered all over the place, some of them were open and most of the opened ones showed pictures of the marks and stamps on Caleb's body."What have I gotten myself into." She mumbled, walking to and fro. "You were marked from hell. There is another demon, another ritual, another big sacrifice on the chosen one's head." She lamented."Why is he not in pain?" Caleb croaked."Your soul has been marked from hell." Shirley hissed. "And shut up. I'm trying to think, we're in deep shit."From his point on the floor, Caleb croaked."The advisors have come to a decision. Dominic just mind-linked me. Tonight's panel will discuss Mendez's fate and it will be executed tomorrow. Andrew, his warriors, and the moon witch are supposed to attend."Shirley groaned, tugging her hair harder."I'll attend as the Moon witch, you'll have to think of a reasona
Vanessa tentatively approached Shirley and held her hands."Stop looking at me like that. There's nothing dark about teleportation. You just have to be strong-willed. It's like stepping through time." Shirley hissed.Vanessa gulped,"Now close your eyes and imagine the exact spot you want to be at, then project your spirit there first and then your body."Vanessa nodded."Whisper this spell after me." Shirley.Vanessa's hands trembled as she whispered Shirley's spell the exact way she said it. Before she could realize what was happening, she'd landed at the particular spot in the forest she wanted to go to.Immediately Vanessa disappeared, Caleb growled. He was drenched in sweat as he writhed in pain.Shirley palmed her hair and frustratedly tried to straighten the split ends, then collapsed beside Caleb. A tight frown marred her lips as she looked at him. She regretted getting entangled with him or Brighton.Fuck. She cursed internally. The High priestess had warned her at the begin
"Did he agree?" Emily asked as soon as her mother reappeared. "Yeah, after a lot of persuasion."Emily released a shaky breath. Her body was burning like she'd been bathed with acid. "Let's get into position then." She said, lifting herself up. The pain was too much had she found herself unable to stand. She staggered backward and fell to the bed. "Emily! What's wrong?" "It's like my body is on fire." Emily hissed,Vanessa came to her and inspected her body."It's the mark from hell. He's suffering from the mark from hell. Are you sure you can do this? I can tell Andrew the plan, I'm sure he'd be happy to do it in your place.""No." Emily said forcefully. The truth was that no one could execute the plan effectively apart from her. Even if they collected the totem from Caleb, she was the only one powerful enough to destroy it. Andrew's strength couldn't break it, and neither could her mother's magic. But her body burned and she wanted to crawl into bed and cry. She'd have to make
Emily purposely ignored Andrew.She also purposely ignored the nudges her mother was giving her, as she narrated her experience to everyone. She also tried to ignore the sparks that were ignited in her body when he pecked her and whispered that he had to go but he'll be back.But when her mother, who'd been attentively listening to her, rose up, dragged him by the side, and hugged him. Envy, heavily laced with anger as she'd never felt before, coursed through her body. It felt as if her mother was betraying her. Jacqueline was the first to notice the change in her countenance.She smirked,"Girl, that's what you get for ignoring your man. Now he's in the arms of another woman." Emily growled and Jacqueline burst into laughter."When did you start behaving like a she-wolf? Hold your horses Em, it's only your mother. It makes me wonder what you'd have done if it was another female."Amelia laughed,"She would have probably hexed her entire generation." She said,"Nah, Em's feeling m
Emily had given up on trying to escape her imprisonment before she realized that it wasn't real. It had been days, yet she'd not felt hungry and she woke up the exact way every time. The sun didn't set, her clothes didn't change, she didn't want to use the bathroom and everything was still and lifeless.The only thing that changed each time she awoke was her strength. It was as if something was sucking out her energy. On the second day of her entrapment, she remembered wandering around the sheet/film that locked her in search of a weak spot or way out until she got bored and forced herself to sleep.Now she could hardly move a limb. Anger at Andrew and his Kingdom burned within her chest. She allowed it to blind her reasoning and she began to blame him for everything that happened.She promised herself that she would hunt Andrew if she died there.She'd been making such plans when she noticed the potted gardenia again.With a lot of effort, she stood up, walked to it, and lifted it of
Andrew and the Compliant narrowed their eyes at Vanessa."Do you understand it? Can you see how clear the prophecy has become?" Vanessa asked,The Compliant and Andrew glanced at themselves and then back at Vanessa."You," She pointed at Andrew, "became the enemy, you were the destroyer. He used your body to commit all these atrocities. Right now your people do not trust you. You'll need to do a lot to regain their trust. The second prophecy has come to pass. Can't you see it? You aligned with the enemies, you brought harm to your people and if I didn't save you, you would have perished.""Oh." Andrew agreed, nodding. "Now I'm very curious about the 3rd and 4th ones. I wasn't one to believe in those prophecies. My husband did and I often mocked it for it. I didn't think the prophecy concerned us witches and hoped you didn't find the key. I even hexed you."Andrew shrugged, he didn't understand where she was going or what she was trying to say.Vanessa chuckled mirthlessly, "And afte
"Where am I?" Andrew growled. His eyes were still shut and he wasn't fully awake.Vanessa, who had been standing behind her kitchen counter from the moment she dropped him, shivered. He's not going to rip you apart. You saved him, remember? She repeated in her head."Where am I?" Andrew asked again, propping his eyes open, then shielding his face with his arms.His wolf prowled around restlessly in his head. It wanted blood and it wanted it now.Vanessa steadied herself by gripping her kitchen counter. Her knuckles turned white and the bones in her fingers threatened to snap.Andrew jolted up."Where the fuck am I?"A shudder ran through her body and she swallowed involuntarily."My home." She said, her voice sounding more confident than she'd expected.Andrew's head snapped in her direction and he growled. Vanessa could see the malice in his eyes and feel the anger rolling out from his pores. Gathering as much courage as could muster she stepped forward. "I've been waiting for
The first thing Shirley did when the bodies exchanged was to try to get hold of Caleb before he fell to the ground.Later on, she would regret it deeply and ask herself why she didn't disappear like she normally did. Maybe it had something to do with the mark from hell that she'd seen reappearing on Caleb's body.Shirley's illusion flickered and she could feel her powers waning out as she bent to check on Caleb and wondered why. After confirming that he hadn't been knocked dead, she vented out her frustration on him and tried to wake him up. After trying several spells that didn't work she shook him roughly and punched and kicked him but he remained unresponsive. She'd also said another couple of spells that were supposed to be potent and yet the effect remained the same."Coma!" She yelled, "You're in an induced Coma you son of a bitch! Motherfucker, you get to sleep while I think of a way to save us!"If she had stopped screaming then and paused to do the actual thinking, she would
The next morning Vanessa snuck into Brighton and stood amidst the crowd of werewolves standing before the platform in the form of a man. She had to dig up her husband's old spell books and read and practice them throughout the night before she was able to perfect the spell. She stood within wolves knowing that any mistake she made meant death. She trembled, her hands were balmy and her forehead was clouded with sweat. Although she was terrified about being exposed, she was more terrified about failing. It seemed like the fate of the whole world weighed on her shoulders and that was enough to make her shake. Before leaving Andrew, she'd given him a sleeping potion and was glad that it was still in effect when they dragged him out of the dungeon that morning."Who are you and what have you done with Vanessa?" She muttered under her breath. Never in a million years could she imagine that she, Vanessa, would dare to do what she'd been doing in the past few hours. It was very out of char
It was the time of reckoning. Caleb thought, trying as much as he could to keep a grim expression on his face when he was bouncing with excitement inside him. The platform had once again been set and the pack members gathered beneath it chatting away as they awaited the death of Brighton's number one enemy. The gates of the dungeon creaked open, shushing the crowd of onlookers. The advisors and some stakeholders, followed by a barrage of guards and warriors who dragged Caleb's unconscious body processed solemnly to the platform and ascended it. Caleb had never felt so powerful in his entire life and he loved it. Thrills of victory ran down his spine and he clasped his eyes shut and struggled to keep at bay, the smile that had been threatening to break out from his lips. "I still don't understand why we are hurrying his death." Someone murmured dispassionately.Caleb scowled as his head snapped toward the direction of the sound. It had come from one of the stakeholders.He sneered
A thrum of energy buzzed in Shirley's brain signifying that some of her spells had been activated. And she knew the exact ones, it was those she'd said to trap the moon witch.A slow smirk spread across her face and she ignored Vanessa's righteous rant. She'd come on her own with the idea of threatening her into submission. But the once pale woman had suddenly developed a backbone of her own and was now shooting back and matching Shirley word to word.Of course, Shirley was irritated and had started thinking that maybe it was time to slice her throat. Shirley's threats were like water on a rock to Vanessa and it amazed Shirley to see her fired up like that.Unexpectedly, the new members of the circle swooped in, grabbed her, and secured her. They'd been hunting for a few days now. Yet, instead of Vanessa cowering like she normally would, she screamed some more and accused Shirley of doing everything under the sun. It had started grating Shirley's nerves when her spells suddenly activa