Callista.There is no time to wait and rest. We have work to do. Theon immediately goes to work, getting an itinerary of the damages suffered by the Rexellen pack town and the castle, and directs the castle staff to aid in repairs to the power grid.In no time, the Rexellen pack regains electricity. After that, the castle staff goes to work, cleaning up all the damaged items in the residence, and the guards assist in securing the damaged area of the tower.Theon and Kellin go to the town to survey the damage, and because of my stealer scent, I can't join them."Go to bed, Callista," Theon tells me before he leaves, "It's late now, and there's no point in wasting time panicking over a natural disaster.""It wasn't natural," I insist. “The earthquake, that is, there was something off about it.”"Yes, I believe you. But we don't know if another will come. And if we do get another, it's better to get some rest before any other disaster strikes," Theon replies, giving me a kiss on the for
CallistaElias moves to a room in the eastern wing, in the least used hallway of the place. Apparently, he’d protested the decision at first, saying that it wouldn't be safe for the residents of the castle if he is kept that closer to them.To us.He wanted to be stashed in a tower, or if that's not possible, the dungeons."Hell, no!" Theon had yelled.We'd been in his office; him, me, and Elias. I was there to make sure that Theon went straight to his room after the discussion so he could get some sleep. I noticed that he had a bad habit of running himself to the bone, and I couldn't let him do that.As his mate and girlfriend, it was my duty to make sure he didn't do anything stupid like neglect his health. "Why not? As the Alpha, you should always put the safety of your pack before a single wolf," Elias argued. "Well, why can't I do that while making sure you're comfortable?""Theon, you have families staying in the east wing," Elias replied, sounding tired."I'm aware, Elias, I
Callista"Valencia!”I utter as I scramble to my feet.Valencia stands next to me, dressed in a camo jacket along with her usual black gear. Her hair is tied into a high ponytail, and her face is ever impassive. She holds the bottle of water in her hands awkwardly, the same one she offered to me moments ago. I honestly didn't think I would see her today. Yesterday, I haven't seen her, and she hadn't even approached us after the earthquake disaster. Theon supposed that she was still mad at both of us, and I had been a little disappointed that she couldn't keep her annoyance aside to at least check if her best friend was alive. "Hi, Callista," she says, her tone low.We stare at one another, and finally, she offers the bottle again. "I got this for you from a maid. Please have some, you look like you’ve walked through a desert in the middle of the summer although it’s basically winter now."I glance at the bottle. I do feel like I’ve trekked through a desert, with my throat paper dry,
Callista"No!" I reply immediately in a hard tone. "What the actual hell, Valencia, no, I will not do that."Valencia looks at me as if I just upturned her whole worldview."But...but..." She sputters, but I cut her off."Are you insane? I can't do that!" I exclaim, "In case you've forgotten, I'm the stealer. I can't just prance into Elias's room with my scent. It literally drives him maniacal, and the last thing I want to do is make him turn.""I'm not asking you to accompany me inside," Valencia protests. "I just want you to show me where he is.""I'm sorry, but no. If you want to do it so much, please ask Theon." I shake my head. "Goddess, Valencia, if anything goes wrong, it will be my fault. It took me ages to get into the pack's good graces. I'm afraid that if something bad happens because of my mistakes, people would turn their back on me and revert to their earlier thoughts about me!"Valencia nods, although it is reluctant. "I understand your concern," she says. "I'm sorry if
CallistaAfter I take a shower and get dressed in some comfortable evening clothes, I leave my room for Theon's and knock on his door. "Wait just a minute!" A small voice comes from the other side of the door, followed by noises of someone running around. “Oh, okay,” wandering what he’s doing, I lean on the wall by the door until he’s ready.The door finally opens, and Theon emerges with an enthusiastic, “Hey!”"Hi," I greet him, a smile playing on my lips. He’s quite red and out of breath."Well, please come on in," he moves over from the door and gestures into his room with a swoop of his hand.Giving him a weird look, and I walk into the room and gasp. His whole bedroom is lit up with candles. A soft orange glow basks the entire room with serenity as candles of all shapes and sizes burn with low lights. On the floors, there is a path formed by two lines of candles leading to Theon's spacious balcony, where a table is laid out for two on a pleasantly embroidered white tablecloth.
CallistaMy breath hitches at those words and a thousand butterflies unleash in my stomach. Uncertainty battles with hope and anticipation. I open my mouth to reply, but I find that suddenly words have escaped me. Theon was wrong when he said that I’m the surprising one. The truth is, he surprises me every time."Callista," Theon asks, concerned. "Is something wrong?" That's when I realize I am not breathing.I close my mouth and breathe through my nose, soothing my burning lungs, and calming myself down in the process."Nothing. Just that I did not expect you to say that today." I reply in a dreamy, breathy tone. "You...you want to mate with me?""Yes, I do. If you accept it of course." "So suddenly? Like...today?!" My frantic mind starts to overreact upon being bombarded with this unexpected news.Did he want us to mate right now? Was that why he organized the date in the first place? To ask me to mate with him? I mean, physically I was more than ready but mentally. I mean, I do
Callista The next morning, I wake up snuggling Theon, feeling happier than ever.The morning sun rays stream into the room, paler now as the fall keeps fading. In about three weeks, winter will be upon us. Distantly, I wonder if it will snow. Back in the Leighwen pack, it snowed in winter. The Rexellen pack isn't that far away, so I guess the same climate applies here as well. We are both clothed because we didn't do anything last night. After cleaning up the dishes from dinner, we just cuddle more in bed, talking about anything and everything.Then Theon cleans all the candles out from last night, and we watch some new human movie on his laptop. Halfway through the movie, we get distracted by the glorious purpose of kissing.It’s one of the best make-up sessions I’ve had in forever. Naturally, it escalated to something naughty, where Theon showed me what exactly his fingers can do. By the end of it, my voice is hoarse from the screams, my body shivering from the orgasms, my pulse r
Callista "Oh, no," I say. "It is better if you don't bring any weapons with you. When it comes to Elias, Theon is almost paranoid about his safety."We walk in the direction of Theon's office. Outside the castle, the sky gets dark, and the hallways get colder. It starts to drizzle in no time, and distantly, I hear thunder rumble. "Damn, it's a good thing that we secured the western tower yesterday," I muse, almost to myself. "Otherwise, the west wing would have flooded from the rainwater.""Is that so? The construction crew was already at work when I passed the tower this morning. I hope they won’t be troubled by the rain," Valencia replies."I feel bad for the town workers though, they won't be able to do anything with the downpour.”We take a turn."I see," suddenly, she stops in her tracks and leans on a wall."Valencia, what's wrong?" I ask, concerned.To my horror, she starts crying.I've never seen her cry before. Her whole face transforms, and she looks oddly vulnerable. Her
CallistaAs soon as I exit the room, I stumble upon a girl who screams upon seeing me.I arm myself with my chain, not caring about her age. She looks old enough to have found her bear. The chain is bundled up with the piece of the bed post and the padlock, giving it a good heft, and I for a fact know that it would knock her out with one strike. “No, please don't hit me, I'm innocent!” She raises her hands in her defense as she stumbles back against the wall.“Who are you?” I snarl, not believing her entirely.“I just work in the pack house, please, I got nothing to do with what's going on!” The girl pleads, her expression filled with panic and fear. “I'm the one who brought you the food so Master Xaveraq could take them to you!”A quick thought passes through my mind.“You know Xaveraq?” I demand and she nods. “I was the one tending to all his needs. My Alpha assigned me to him,” she answers, and I hold the chain and point to it.“In that case, you got any idea where the key to thi
CallistaI can't believe it, Theon is here!Theon is finally here!The sheer relief I feel as soon as I see him nearly brings me to my knees, and I can't help but cry out his name. He's battling two bears at once, expertly dodging their lumbering attacks and hitting them with some of his own.He's fast and he's precise, and in a few minutes, he manages to draw out blood. Next to him, Haden fights, targeting the bears who come toward Theon. They act as a team to take the bears down. Haden has a scratch on his back already, but it doesn't seem to bother him.I find myself screaming at them whenever a bear turns towards them, and every time Theon glances at me, I feel better than I did in the last few days.It's kind of pathetic in hindsight, I guess, but I don't care.This is the first time I'm seeing my mate after four days, and dammit, I'm going to be as sappy as I want. I have so many questions. How is the Rexellen pack? What happened to Farris and Elias? Is Elias really dead? How
TheonAs soon as the Headmistress gives us the signal, Ophelia lifts herself off the ground using her vines and shoots out of the trees.We follow her out, Haden and I shifted to our wolf forms, Master Tsertinand wielding his magical disc, Kiran holding two daggers that look lethal along with a multitude of amulets, and Leita with her vast knowledge of spells and ability to call any animal within the range. As soon as we burst through the tree line, I notice the house and the army of werebears. There might be three or four dozen of them surrounding the hunting lodge-style house that stands in the middle of a grassy field. Some of them are turned while many of them are still in their human forms.I noticed the Gamma who I fought against, Edwin Teller, in the front, standing with his claws out, ready to attack in any given movement. The Headmistress is standing facing a man who is not visible through the trees. The bears get ready to face the witches, and as soon as we appear, they st
CallistaI rush to the window of my room, thankful that the chain is long enough to allow me the movement, and throw open the windows. There is an army of werebears, both turned and in human form, surrounding the house, facing the forest from the east.Near the tree line stands a woman dressed in the white garb of the witches, flowing pants tucked into her boots, a white tunic over a long-sleeved bodice with a sash tied around her waist, and a scarf wound around her neck. Her snow-white hair is tied back from her face, and her pale eyes glisten with an ethereal light.She stands in a posture that radiates power, her head held high, her spine straight, standing tall against an army of bears.I can't help my astonishment. The Headmistress is here!Her eyes flick upwards to the window and focus on my face. They widen slightly, and I can't help but wave like a lunatic and scream, “I'm here! I'm here!”The Headmistress gives me the smallest nod, visible relief in her eyes.“You are the He
CallistaI can't sleep. I anticipated this before. Although the unrest outside had dwindled, I was still alert and wide awake, listening to every little sound. I'm pretty sure it's past midnight at the moment.I'm not a stranger to insomnia, but after having some good nights of sleeping blissfully before this whole fiasco started with Farris taking over the Rexellen pack, my old sleeping habits were making an appearance. The information the devil revealed today doesn't help me either. I still can't wrap my head around all of it.Of all the things to happen to me, I never expected that I'd end up a prisoner to an ancient being who killed thousands just because he wanted to ‘unify all races to save the world’. I mean, come on, that sounds like the plot of an action-packed Hollywood movie. And certainly not one with the supernatural in it. But that is the reality I'm living in. Both the earthquake and the Geraldine pack were his doing. How could he be so callous? So emotionless abou
Theon“Now, the deviless, who'd been raised apart from her parents because she was blessed as a deity, didn't know what love even was,” the Headmistress continues. “It was a different time than ours, and back then, even language was at its infancy. Books were not invented yet. When she asked her servants about the strange emotion she felt whenever she saw the devil they wouldn't give her a straight answer. The servants were certain that the deviless couldn't feel love the way the normal folk did. The poor deviless was confused about herself and decided to ask the young devil warrior for answers herself.”The Headmistress pauses to glance at the barrier, and then turns back to us. It's nearly midnight now, and fortunately, we haven't had any animals wander into the campsite so far. We heard some chirping and rustling here and there, but it was nothing big.My bet was that they were rabbits or squirrels, or some other critters that size. Haden and I were alert, nevertheless, just in cas
Theon“Where's Aldar?” Master Tsertinand asks, making way for the Headmistress to approach the camp.She's dressed unlike I've ever seen her before. The Headmistress usually opts for long dresses and cloaks that look gothic and ancient.But now she's dressed in a costume similar to what the protectors like Kiran wore while they were in the Guild, although it is pure white in color. The protector outfit suits her significantly, making it easier for her to blend with the surroundings and accentuate her strong frame.Her hair is tied back from her face in a severe style, highlighting her angular features. She wears rings studded with stones on all of her fingers, and a stone pendant around her neck. “She had to stay behind to take care of the Guild in my absence,” the Headmistress replies, smiling at all of us in greeting. “The Academy is very busy at this time of the year with the first years getting ready for the Annual festival. Matron Aldar and I can't afford to leave together at su
Theon“We saw a dirt path,” I reply as soon as I transform back to the human form from behind a boulder, using it to hide my nudity. “It's just a moment away from here. There are rocks all around so we can have a cover.”“A dirt path?” Master Tsertinand questions and send the ring a dirty look. “Couldn't have shown me that, could you, you little shit? We're trying to save your damned owner!”The ring, of course, does not answer. “We nearly ran into the barrier when we saw it,” Haden chimes in next to me, having transformed back himself. “Your bird was a great help.”As we say that, the bird itself arrives, chirping. It spirals around us, nearly touching us, and then flies straight towards Master Tsertinand. As soon as it collides with the weapon smith's body, it vanishes. “Did you call the Headmistress?” I question, pulling on my clothes.They're at the same spot I left them. Master Tsertinand was right when he said that the perimeter was smaller than that of the Rexellen pack. It o
Callista“Holy shit, you're the one behind the earthquake too?!” I yell out, unable to believe what I'm hearing.I expected him to reveal a lot of things, but this was not one of them.“I did not mean to. I was never a fan of causing an unnecessary ruckus, and the earthquake did exactly that. It even sapped up some of my own powers in doing so, that I had to absorb more souls to compensate,” Xaveraq says. “Anyway, after that-”“Woah, Woah, Woah,” I stand up from my bed, my heart beating fast in my chest.I'm trying to piece together this puzzle in my head with all the information I'm being given. That part of absorbing souls, whatever that may be, rings a bell in my mind.A very disturbing bell.“So, where did you get your souls?” I demand.“Is that really important at the moment, Callista?” Xaveraq questions in a bored tone. “I thought you wanted to know how I found you.”“Tell me where you got the souls from,” I insist, feeling dread mount within me.I desperately hope he would not