For a moment, I felt like I was struck by lightning. Alexei’s sudden appearance caused my ability to discern things to malfunction. I remained frozen as I gazed down at him, dumbfounded, not knowing what to react, think, or say. I was completely surprised, weighing down all the hatred I felt for him for the last five years.“Alexei...” I murmured, and then hated myself that his name escaped from my lips pretty naturally, as if he had never caused me pain and misery. All of a sudden, I heard haste footsteps from the door and saw Mason arrive by the door, gasping for air with a bruise on his right eye and a cut on his lips, fresh blood scattered on his chin, untidily wiped. I don't have to confirm who caused that wound because there was only one who intruded into the packhouse.Alexei.“Forgive me. I stopped Mister Volkov at the entrance of the packhouse. Unfortunately, I was defeated by the brawl initiated by Mister Volkov and I wasn't able to stop him from ruining today’s...” Mason tr
Three years earlier...“You need to choose an heir,” Diego suggested solicitously, his voice was low but vehement.I stopped taking a step toward my room when I passed my father’s office. Suddenly, I felt my wolf enlivened at the topic and forced me to stay. So instead of going on my way, I placed my ears near the open door while paying attention to my surroundings just in case someone passed and caught me listening to someone's undisclosed discussion, especially a discussion between the Alpha and his most trusted strategist.It wasn't my attention to eavesdrop. After every unjust treatment I received, nothing excites me anymore other than killing the White Stag. However, I have no idea as to why I tolerated my wolf’s inclination. I ended up taking it as my chance to find out what my father’s decision was about this important matter.At the very least, I have to admit that Diego was right and smart to have prodded this regard. At my father”s age, he was accustomed to choosing an heir
Four. There are four ways to kill this arrogant shifter by laying his hands on me, let alone wrapping his arms around me, just by the use of my hunting knife hidden in one of my boots.First is by wringing his neck, which will end his life for approximately thirty seconds. Severing the trachea below the larynx to prevent him from screaming and then meeting his death. A clean and quick murder, I could say, and preferred by most of the rogues to get away with murder after executing a wolf shifter that belongs in a pack.The second one would be cutting his wrist. Although the first one was faster than cutting his wrist, however, slow death is what Alexei deserves for rejecting me five years ago. It wouldn't be as slow as five years of suffering but I know it would be worth a sight to watch.Thirdly, by stabbing his heart directly and then twisting the knife to sever all the functions that were causing his heart to beat. My hunting knife was sharp enough to get through his heart and kill
“I think this will do.” Miya buried the shovel in the ground and shook off the dirt in her hands. When I remained silent beside her, she crouched down and tapped my arm. “Are you alright?”“I am,” I answered without looking at her, withdrawing my hands from flattening the soil. “I don’t think doing what’s right is what I need to do, Miya. I want to do what’s smart.” “I understand your reason,” Miya said, pertaining to the plan I told her to end my dilemma. “And forgive me for lashing out. I just feared losing you since your mate suddenly wanted to claim you back now. We used to jest about that before, and now it’s happening. It’s your choice to accept or reject him and not mine.” Dusting off the dirt in my hand, I turned to face Miya. “You’re a good friend, Miya, you know that. You are the only person who urges me to train and improve. If not for you, I wouldn't be here in front of you, in these very woods, and just locked in my room instead. But you have to trust me, okay? You and M
“Get out, Volkov!” Fuming, I pointed at the window when his grin grew wider on his lips. “Out!”Alexei threw his hands in the air as a sign of his surrender but it only aggravated me. He headed to my window with a huge grin and the longer I gazed at those curves, the more I remembered what he did to me.“What’s wrong? Don't you want to admit it? I was just saying that you might need me to do—”Before Alexei could end up his sentence, I strode towards him and carelessly pushed him out the window, not minding if the fall could kill him or get broken bones. Either way, it was still a satisfaction for me.“Goddess...” I muttered in front of the window and then massaged the bridge of my nose with my forefinger and thumb. When I heard a long groan mixed with spite and pain from below, that’s when I knew Alexei survived.After five years of being a rogue without any protection, of course, he made it; proving to everyone that he wasn't just an ordinary shifter like others thought he was. With
Ten years ago...“It’s your fault...” Aena said, her voice full of spite, her reaction cold, as we faced the grave of our mother inside the cemetery exclusive for the fallen high members of the Calisto pack.“Aena, w-what are you t-talking about?” I asked, trying hard not to choke with my words but failed when I didn't just choke but by stutter as well.I know how much my father and Aena hated it when I involuntarily stuttered, but the longer I forced myself not to, the more it turned worse. I find it hard to speak straight when attempting beyond my capability. I, myself, hate it when I stutter. It was a sign of shame in the Alvarez family so I was advised not to talk in social gatherings my whole childhood. Others even thought that I was mute, born deaf, an illiterate child of the Alpha, or for whatever reason a child shouldn't bear. For my father, hearing those rumors is more tolerable than actually hearing me stutter.“Mother died from taking care of you...” Aena responded, which m
“No need for that, father...” I interrupted when Aena was away dropping to her knees while her head was held low. “This is a sister’s quarrel and it’s normal. Hearing my side and clearing things with her is all that matters. Whoever messed up my sister's room must have had a lot of nerves to dare such a thing. But I strongly suggest letting this matter go and fixing the room the way it was before, preferably before dinner.”I shot Aena a plain look before faking a sweet smile at her. Her face screamed disagreement with my decision but she never expressed her side.All of the things my father does scathingly with Aena’s meddling, I assured myself that all of it would come back to her one day. Not all at the same time, but gradually. With a spoiled like her, hungry for power and attention, Aena surely couldn't take it in one blow. It was more depressing than anyone would have imagined. If there's anyone who is familiar with those feelings, then it was me.I have no pity for my own twin
Eight hours earlier... “Unless you need me...” Alexei said with a huge grin. “Come on, Alvarez. We both know that killing a rogue is not a sin. In Canidae, it’s a boon. By killing the rogue who survived for five years, not only can you become a rogue huntress, but you can also be one of their high members given the fact that you are the Promised Wolf now. But you didn't kill me because you needed me... so do I need to guess what it is? Or you can make my life easier by telling me your plan.” Again, I underestimated Alexei. He could read me just like Mason. And nothing would exasperate me to admit that in front of Alexei, but then he left me with no choice. “You’re right, I do need you... no matter how much I wanted to reject you for us to get even, you are the only one who could help me leave this pack,” I told him and scoffed when that came out as a complaint rather than an explanation. “I don’t wish to reign the pack who never give me anything but pain and suffering. I agreed with
“I couldn’t believe that shifters here in Buenavista forgot the siblings after just two decades, what are your plans for the Martinez siblings and Calisto now?” Irino asked, breaking the peaceful silence I had with Alexei.“Well...” I looked at Mason and Miya and exhaled deeply. “I would love to give them a proper burial and let the Calisto know that they were the Martinez siblings who survived the fall of the Martinez twenty years ago. The shifters who should be the ones ruling Calisto and not the Alvarez. I would also love to conduct a rescue and search for anyone who survived other than Mason and Miya that day to give Calisto back into their hands.”“What if they were the last of their clan?” Irino asked.“I have no choice but to let Akim take Calisto as the new Alpha like everybody was expecting him,” I answered and paused before I faced Irino and the others. “But I won’t let the others face the same leadership here in Calisto, so I will take the shifters who wanted to leave the p
“I’m sorry, Miya...” I uttered under my breath when she dropped at the last blow.Witnessing how Miya shifted back to human, my knees gave up and I threw the gun in outrage, fear, and sorrow. As much as I was thankful that the gun saved me and Alexei, it was still the most dangerous weapon anyone could have possessed to kill one’s wolf.I immediately held my belly and made sure that the baby was alright inside me by caressing it several times. I watched the siblings' dead bodies lying on the ground and heaved a deep sigh.With a heartbreaking sight, I suddenly remember their fates read by the wolfsayer six years ago. It was blank. Unreadable, as the wolfsayer called it, saying she had trouble reading their mates and possibly that they were one of the few that aren’t fated for another. I recall refusing to believe our wolfsayer before, thinking that she only made a mistake.And it turned out that wolfsayers don’t make mistakes. Because the meaning of Mason and Miya’s blank fate is beca
Miya let out a horrified scream before she shot me using her malevolent, trembling eyes. “This is all because of you... this is all because of you! You killed my brother.”Stunned and weeping, I ignored Miya’s outburst and held onto Mason’s stab wound, pulling him closer to me as I refused to believe what Miya had done to her own brother. Mason's eyes were fluttering when I looked at him and his vision was unfocused while watching the setting sun.“Mason, look at me...” I told him as I kept tapping his cheeks. He slowly complied and gave me a sad smile when our eyes finally met. “The Moon Goddess is very kind to let me see you before my life ends, Aera. I had no regrets about saving you, so you should feel the same.”“No, Mason. You will not die! Do you hear me? You will live!” I persisted, but Mason’s breathing started to become shallow and short, making me panic more than I already was.I was now covered in blood. And I didn’t know where to place my hand when Mason suddenly reached
“I will not mess this up, sister. You can trust me,” Mason said, avoiding my gaze as he faced his sister and undisclosing the state I was in.He could have told Miya that I wasn’t unconscious anymore. Kill me the moment he had crouched down since I was secretly listening to their conversation when I should not. Slit my throat without waiting for me to gain consciousness but he didn’t. He remained pretending that I was unconscious for my own sake.With that considerate gesture, I felt like there was still kindness in him, which Miya had totally forsaken a long time ago because of her rage and her intense need for revenge. I most definitely feared that my life was possibly coming to an end, but I felt rather confident about Mason sparing my life.Silently, I just wished I was right.“I trust you,” Miya said to her brother and then she left the cell afterward, leaving Mason who suspiciously trailed his eyes on her sister and let out a big sigh of relief when she was finally out of sight.
MIYA26 years ago...“Yes, honey. You heard your father right. You will be the first female Alpha of the North and the North Canideans will love you once you take the highest rank,” my father, Manolo Martinez, said to me, twirling me in the air and my laughter and shrieks filled my room that blissful night.My mother, Susan Martinez, gave me a warm smile before she walked toward my father’s side. “Okay, that’s enough. The heir to the highest rank will need to get a lot of sleep so she can be the first female of the North when she turns twenty. And that is fifteen years from now. You need to be strong and brave when that happens, Miya honey. For your shifters and for Calisto.”“I would be strong and brave, mother. I promise,” I vowed with my hands spread in the air and then explained excitedly when my father twirled me even faster.After a few turns, my father placed me down and gently tucked me into bed. They kissed my cheeks and wished me good night as their daughter and now the newl
I woke up in a dark room with fear and anger filling me, my hands and feet tied behind my back and I was helplessly facing the floor, trying to shout for help but no words could emerge from my mouth other than a silent moan.Struggling yet determined to move, I tried to free myself by flinging my hands constantly behind my back but my whole body was still numb that I even find it hard to blink or even turn sideways so I would not put all my weight on my stomach since I was a month old pregnant. I am soon to become a mother and I couldn’t lose the most precious blessing the Moon Goddess has given me when other shifters are struggling to bear a child.I never thought that a shifter like Miya, let alone a shifter whom I treated as one of my closest friends and a sister more than I treated Aena would do such a thing to me. And maybe— no, certainly, I am to be blamed as to why I am here in this dark and cold room only the Goddess knew where it was located. It appeared that I trusted Miya t
A week later...Wearing a black dress, I made myself inside Calisto’s hall without minding the mixed gaze of everyone was piercing me.All eyes immediately turned on me when I stepped inside and they gave me a deep respectful bow when I walked past them. Not just Calisto but all shifters from other packs who paid a visit to my father’s funeral. After everything that I had been through, the praise and the exaggerated appreciation, seeing them treat me like I was next to the Moon Goddess was never new, especially when there was a rumor that I helped Muck and not long after when Andras revealed that it wasn’t a rumor but the truth.Aera the Great. That’s what they called me even before the revelation. Now that the truth was out, they began to worship me for driving out all the Antartis as though I did it by myself. I had help. Andras could receive some attention as well, including the Muck’s brave shifters who fought with me during the riot, but the North has never been a fair region eve
“I am what?” I blurted, holding my stomach, unable to believe what Yelena said. “No, I am not.”“You are. Look.” Yelena held my waist and made me face the mirror. And then she tilted me to the side and carefully scooped my bump I never knew I had. “You are pregnant.”I gasped when I realized Yelena was right and my hands flew to cover my mouth in shock and delight. “Oh, my Goddess... I am! I am indeed with child, Yelena.”“You are...” Yelena gushed and did a little jump while holding my hand. Out of excitement, the news made me jump as well with her, but Yelena stopped me immediately. “Careful, Aera. You cannot jump or fight, or do straining activities from now on. You have a precious life inside you now. Oh, what a blessing for you and your mate! We shall tell the others, especially Alexei.”“No,” I cut her off, making Yelena's eyebrows arched in wonder and confusion. “I'm afraid we have to keep it for ourselves, Yelena,”“Why?” she asked with a little wondering laugh that turned out
“W-What?” Mason asked, his tone in utter disbelief and rather contemptuous. “Aera, are you hearing yourself? Are you forgetting yourself? He is your father.”The corner of my lips arched and I looked away, dropping my gaze to the table with a silent yet spiteful laugh before I looked back at him testily.However, this time, my lips turned into a thin line and my reaction turned cold, my face went slack quite intentionally, not because I regretted what I said but because I was disappointed by the fact he had the courage to ask me such an absurd request when he knew my painful past. And seeing how he gave me the reaction, right exactly the opposite reaction I would like to receive from Mason, I knew that the madness inside me that had been kept and caged for long awakened, wanting to spew forth and wild.“A father who abused me mentally and physically,” I corrected him, my voice rising in fury. “Now, let me return the question to you, Mason. Are you hearing yourself? You know exactly wh