TheonFarris Leighwen laughs out loud."You? Duel me?! Do you think you can win against me now, Rexellen? I’m the Alpha King here, and my strength surpasses your puny average-wolf abilities by miles. I can crush you under my palm like a bug even in my human form.""Well, then accept it," I tell him, feeling my anger rise with each second that passes. "If you're so fucking sure that you're going to win, accept my challenge and duel me!""No!" Valencia screams, interjecting. Her eyes are wide, and she looks afraid. "No, you can't do that Theon. He will kill you.""So what?" I ask. “Better yet, tell me what makes you think that you still have a say in what I can or cannot do?”"You can't die, you're mine!" she says, and I see red. "I'm not yours! I will never be yours, how many times do I have to say that before it gets through your head?!""We've known each other since we were children, and I know you inside out. We were meant to be each other’s love forever! And finally, I have the ch
TheonOnly a few minutes pass but that is enough for us to draw enough blood from each other to make the floor wet and slippery.My body hurts from all the tears and bites on it. I don't have instant healing as Callista does, so my wounds stay open for a long time with my normal werewolf healing. Farris is no better. He limps because of a rather powerful bite I delivered on his front leg. His teeth drip blood, and so does mine.I don't think I will ever forget the taste of blood in my mouth again. I get up from the floor, swallowing the copper taste in my mouth. My body protests, especially my legs. But I can't quit. He is so strong though. The strength of the Alpha King is no joke. But I have got to endure. I must defeat him. I must win. I need to get my pack back. With a growl, I collect all my strength yet again and pounce on him. As we grabble to bite and claw each other, distantly I wonder how Callista is doing. She hadn't made her way into the great hall yet, only Kellin is
TheonSomeone moves in front of me, blocking the incoming wolf. It's a man who is taller than I am, but also very skinny. My eyesight is too blurry to register properly.Farris’ jaws clamp around his human neck, hard. A scream, a guttural, painful scream echoes through the great hall, and I…I recognize that scream. Suddenly, my vision clears as panic runs through my entire being. I know that voice. That voice belongs to Elias!Elias falls in front of me with Farris still attached to his neck, hitting the ground with a thump. Blood spurts out from his neck, splattering all around us. Seeing that the target he attacked wasn't his intended one, Farris walks away, confusion marring his features. Elias writhes on the floor, trying to breathe. Half of his throat is gone. I don't know what takes over me as I witness the sight of my brother on the floor, fighting for his life as his blood bled out of him at a catastrophic rate. All the pain I feel is overcome by my rage, and I turn to Fa
TheonI scream until I feel the taste of blood in the back of my throat. There’s blood already on my tongue, the blood of the enemy that felled my brother, but this blood is my own.I scream until the foundations of the very castle vibrate beneath my feet, as if we’re in yet another accursed earthquake that started this all, but no, that’s just my body vibrating with the maelstrom of emotions rushing through it.I scream, cradling my brother's dead body to my chest, shaking him, asking him to wake up just one more time, dammit, to open his eyes and look at me because he can't leave, not after everything, not after us winning back our pack. How is this possible?How can he die like this?He was just alive a minute ago. He was breathing minutes ago!I ask- beg people for help. Anyone to come and revive him. But it's useless because there isn't anything anyone can do. There’s no magic in this world that can bring back a dead werewolf, not without turning him into a zombie or a thrall. Th
TheonAs soon as I tell Haden the news of Elias's death after I find him in the hallways of the castle looking for us, his face pales and his eyes widen. Then, without a word, he runs in the direction of the hospital. "He's going to be devastated," Kellin shakes his head, voice guttural and low from sorrow. Then, he glances at me. "Listen, Theon. I know that Dr. Haeger said that you need to step up as the Alpha now, but your brother just died, and you're only a wolf. If you need some minutes alone-""No, Kellin," I reply. "Thank you. But I need to sort this out. After that, I can mourn."I lower my voice. "Elias is finally at peace now. You were right before. He's released now. As much as I can't imagine waking up tomorrow without him, I know that he is in a better place."Kellin stares at me and nods. "He definitely is. We have to hold the funeral as soon as possible to ensure that.""Yeah. So, let's get to work. Round up the hostiles, throw them in the dungeons, secure the perimete
CallistaMy heart beats fast in my chest as I pursue Valencia through the snow-laden forest. The tall trees loom around me, stripped off their leaves unless they are evergreens. I'd lost sight of Valencia's distinguishable red hair for a while, but the prints of her footsteps are still clearly visible on the snow. I don't know if I should be following her right now. Maybe I should've stayed with the wolves and taken them to Theon before going after Valencia. I had to tell him about what happened and see if he was okay after being dragged into the castle with Ophelia’s vines.But if I let Valencia escape the Rexellen pack lands, Goddess only knows if we would be able to find her again. She'd been suspiciously elusive before. She would definitely use the same tactics to hide again. As I run through the forest, I wonder if I had done the right thing leaving without even a weapon in my hand. Valencia had her sword and her wolf with her. What do I have?Nothing!Okay, I may have done som
TheonI ran outside the pack, calling out from the top of my voice, “Callista!”Outside, the battle was almost over.The hostile pack members surrendered as soon as they felt their Alpha die, and the Rexellen pack guards and members worked together to apprehend them.Now they stand in lines with their heads bowed, standing side by side with one another as my own guards cuffed their hands. But unlike them, we didn't use silver-rimmed cuffs because we weren't savages even to our enemies. Several Rexellen pack members and guards turn to me as soon as they hear me bellow my mate's name, their expressions puzzled. Kellin comes right up behind me.“Theon, calm down!” he huffs. “The people are on the edge right now; the littlest thing can set them off. Don't make them panic again!”I blush at my own idiocy.“Right,” I give him a curt nod and turn to Ophelia. “Where did you leave her?”“By a clothing boutique near the town square,” Ophelia replies, looking around. Then she winces. “We had to
Callista“Cut the crap, Valencia,” I say, tired of her tricks. For a second, she had me going. Who did she think I was, a naive child? What was she playing at? Did she seriously think I would believe such a stupidly poor attempt? “Either you’ve gone mad, or you think I’m more naïve than I am. I know you're lying. You're surrounded and you can't escape, so you think you can come up with something ridiculous as that to get out?”She was not surrounded and she could escape, but that’s something she didn’t need to know right now.Valencia lets out that manic cackle again. “I knew you'd say that,” she says in between cackles. “You think the real Valencia would say something like I just did to escape? She'd rather fight you to death.”I brace myself to run, just in case. I can't make out what's exactly happening, but I know that it's bad. I should've never come here without any support. My impulsiveness got the best of me, and now I was stuck in the middle of the forest with this lunatic.
CallistaTen years later.I stand in front of Lily Lane Pup Daycare after ending my workday at Rexellen University, holding a stack of books in my arms trying to shove them into the backpack I’ve taken with me.It’s three in the evening, and the kids should be out in a few minutes.It’s summer again, the weather is pleasantly warm, and everything brims with life. There are bees flying everywhere, suckling nectar out of the numerous fully blossomed Leanderrs.The Rexellen pack town is as busy as ever, with people bustling around after clocking off from work, going on their errands, and their outings.Everyone seems happy, and they’re open and very friendly.Upon noticing me, everyone who passes greets me with a simple.“Good evening, Luna!”“Good evening to you too!” I always greet back.Some parents stop by near the daycare to collect their children, and we start pleasantly conversing with each other.I’ve been the Luna Queen of the Rexellen pack for ten years now, and honestly, those
CallistaFour weeks later.I walk down the shoveled path with a single lily flower in my hand, a smile on my lips, and my heart overflowing with joy.I’m dressed in an ankle-length, heavy-set gown that accentuates my form as if it had been sewn with me in my mind.It’s a silverish white in color in accordance with tradition, and a million tiny rhinestones create spiraling patterns all over the skirt. The long sleeves and the woolen cloak that accompany them give me warmth on the cold winter night.On my neck, there is a white gold necklace with a diamond as the pendant, the only piece of jewelry I wear, which is a gift from the witches who'd arrived a day before to celebrate the ceremony.The mating ceremony for Theon and me.In the background, a string quartet, comprised of two maids of the Rexellen pack castle and two guards, plays a tune that I can't quite name but can’t help but think is so apt for the situation.On either side of me, my closest friends whom I consider my family s
CallistaA week later.Valencia Everhart was sentenced to life in prison by the Supernatural Council for assisting the devil in his criminal endeavors such as kidnapping and harboring a werewolf, orchestrating a pack takeover on the orders of the devil, attempted killing of two pack members of the Rexellen pack and the biggest crime of them all, assisting the devil in massacring the entire Galdine pack.I thought the last one was a bit harsh because Valencia never really did know about that charge, but as Valencia had confessed in the court, she’d given the devil the location and information regarding her pack.She had been under the impression the devil was going to protect the Galdine pack from Theon’s retaliation against the pack takeover, but she’d been lied to.We attended the court on the same day as Valencia did, and I’m sure that the cries that ravaged her as she learned the horrible fate that befell her pack would never stop haunting my nightmares.I felt sorry for her, and a
CallistaQaetanya and Xaveraq reached the afterlife together.One was willing, the other was not. One sacrificed herself, while the other, well, I had to kill the other.Xaveraq’s soulless body lays in the circular chamber, and I don’t look at it again as we exit the room, both of us still in wolf forms.I feel numb as we stumble out of the temple as soon as possible after I release the devil’s and the deviless’s souls into the gateway.None of us speak, although I could feel everyone except Theon patiently waiting for the right moment. They look stunned as we walk through the doorway. For a moment I’d been afraid the doorway wouldn’t be present because of it being only shown with the blessing of a devil and all, but fortunately, it stands.As soon as we all exit the temple doorway, it starts to shudder. And then the most bizarre thing happens.Numerous high-pitched screams ring through the air, and greyish white mist starts to shoot from all directions towards the doorway, getting su
TheonI can’t process half the things that are happening as I stand outside the little circular room, trying and failing to get in.One moment, Callista is being choked by the devil, and the next moment, in the place of Callista, stands a majestic white wolf! The wolf shimmers as if she were the Moon Goddess herself in wolf form, stepping down from the moon to aid us in our time of need.But when the wolf looks at me for the briefest moment and howls in ecstasy, I realize that this wolf is no Goddess.That’s my mate!After months, no, years, of agonizing, Callista has finally found her wolf.But then she turns towards Xaveraq and leaps towards him with no hesitation.My scream deafens my own ears, wondering what the hell she was doing. I witness the whole scene as if it’s unfolding in slow motion.As Callista nears the devil, whose shadows are closing in on her to consume her, a flash of blinding white light erupts from her, filling the room with a glow akin to the sun.I shield my e
QaetanyaHer wolf is beautiful, reminiscent of the first wolfwoman I met in the forests of Gaul all those years ago.She is larger than most wolves, were-creature or otherwise, and when she stands, she cuts a majestic figure, even in the confines of the squat, circular room. Her coat is a silverish white, and it glistens as if it was created by moonlight, as if the Goddess molded the wolf herself.Her emerald eyes shine as she stares at Xaveraq in confusion, and amazement, stunned to her very core.She can’t still process that after years of hope and dream, she’d finally transformed into her secondary form.I had watched her wolf grow from a pup to an adult within her as I was trapped in her mind ever since she was born. Throughout the three thousand years I’ve been with Callista’s bloodline, I’ve witnessed hundreds of pups being born within the babies, but never have I seen a wolf as beautiful as this one.Even I was in awe when she first appeared, sleeping soundly, growing along wit
CallistaThe very first time I witnessed a werewolf’s first shift I was just five years old.It was at a birthday party, and of course, it was for Ruelle.Naturally, almost everyone from my adoptive parents’ families was invited. I liked my relatives because they didn’t favor Ruelle over me to the extent my parents did. At this time, all I had were Ruelle’s hand-me-downs. Her clothes, her toys, her books…The only thing I had for myself was a pair of shoes because Ruelle’s feet had always been smaller than mine, and there was no way my feet could fit in her shoes.I loved those shoes so much.That didn’t mean I never got gifts. My parents’ relatives would always give me presents of my own when they came to visit. It didn’t matter if it was Ruelle’s birthday or mine.It didn’t matter if it was a special day, a holiday, or even a plain, random visit to see how we were doing: clothes, shoes, toys, and new books; everything a little girl could want.Granted these things would be taken awa
Callista“My, my, Qaetanya, you’re actually stronger than I thought. Here I thought that you wasted it all by giving that werewolf a special scent,” the devil taunts the deviless as he circles us, his eyes set on us as if he’s a predator.“I was blessed by the Goddess,” arrogantly, Qaetanya declares, flexing her digits so the electric sparks flicker around them. “Such a power cannot be hindered by anything, least of all you!”“All except the summer solstice,” Xaveraq grins before hurtling another wave of shadows towards her.Qaetanya ducks them swiftly, and the shadows hit the wall behind us, getting absorbed into the stone. Using her momentum, Qaetanya attacks Xaveraq with a light wave of her own, which Xaveraq detracts by a shield of shadows.“I told you that information because I trusted you,” Qaetanya replies to the jab. “Because I believed the man I loved wouldn’t even think of hurting me with that information. But you did exactly that. You might preach about me manipulating you
TheonA pillar monster falls right in front of me, nearly crushing me, but I jump away just in time. The sheer force of the fall breaks its stone arm in two, and the eerie silverish glow in its eyes subsides. The pillar monster stops moving.“I think he died,” I tell Haden, who is panting on the other side of the fallen monster.This is the only one that we managed to fall, and by the looks of it, kill.“Holy shit, did that actually work?” Kiran screeches.He was the propellent of bringing the monster down. Now, he jumps back to the ground from the shield he’s been standing on and jogs closer to the pillar monster.Tentatively, he reaches out and touches its cracked shoulder, where some of the previously seen symbols are visible. I remember them running all around the pillars before the monsters came into being, glowing.I look at him and nod, trying to confer my thoughts via body movements.Yes, I think it actually worked.“Guys, we managed to bring a monster down!” Kiran yells back