In less than a month, a tradition known to every single pack that populates Ashmore will take place. It is the day a new Alpha would take over in its pack.The La Muerte. It means death. Death of the werewolves that had tried to fight but were overpowered and conquered by one worthy werewolf. To be an Alpha, one would compete in a ruthless battle among the other werewolves who wished to claim the title. There seems to be one and only goal in that battle: To prove your strength, willpower, and capability to lead, and above all, your ability to attack to kill.But that depends entirely on the pack's current Alpha and Luna.They could choose either that, a one-day battle will ensue among potential, hand-picked participants, or someone that is a descendant of a current Alpha, favorably, male werewolf.The Bloody Immortals Pack, one that is led by Conrad and Tatiana for ninety-nine years, is not really fond of battles.Since they had Colin as their only son, he can very well rise to the
Lost SparkThe sound of ceramic cups clinking as it is being placed down on its saucer. A gentle breeze passed them by, ruffling the leaves of the tree that provides them shades in their usual afternoon tea.Elinor, Bonnie, Yves, and Tatiana were sitting down at a small round table with tea cups that are as fancy as the kettle and the dress they wore. Except for Elinor and Bonnie who had a very dull-looking dress."Is Suzanne coming? Does one of you girls tell her that we're having tea at this hour?" Tatiana asked them, her eyes darting toward Elinor.Her eyebrows slightly raised. "I'm sure she's gone to do something important, I don't know what is it though," she said."Five days left before La Muerte, she better be spending time with Colin." Said Tatiana.Yves dropped her teacup gently. Her eyes flickered to her mother. "Do you intend for my brother and Suzanne to marry on that day?" she sound so dumbfounded.Bonnie threw Elinor a glance. She cleared her throat and picked up her tea
Stealing Glances The stone rolled over down the cobbled path as he kicked it. Suddenly, it reminds him of Elinor's pearl in their first meeting behind the local pub."I haven't been here before," said Suzanne to Elinor.He was walking behind them, but his eyes were all over Elinor's back. Her slender neck, and her red hair in a tiny bun with some curls poking out and dangling around.God, he wished he was near her. He wished he still had the luxury of just touching her anywhere else and anytime he wanted to.But in their status right now, he no longer had that kind of access. He knew Elinor was one raging woman. But he is ready to ride all her raging waves because he knows that she will become calm again. His love for her stayed the same."Neither am I," Elinor said to Suzanne.Not long after, they reached the boutique where a local modiste sews clothing and dresses."I lived very far away, so I brought almost half of my dresses to the estate. But I surely would not mind if I bought
The WagerHis hooded, hollow eyes darted on the half-full moon. His pale white fingers tapped on the window's glass.Behind him stood Aurora, her skin in a deathly pale glow, her frizzy hair kemp to the side of her face.In a moment now, she will scream, as he would expect her to since she can get very easily irritated. Little things get under her skin, and the veins in her neck would look as if they will immediately pop out from screaming out loud.Whatever he has to say now will not only have her screaming at the top of her lungs. He bet she would drop to the floor, or she would dig her long nails at him. Either way, he would have to deal with her anger."I have decided that we should bend the rules now, you know." He turned around, and instantly he was met with Aurora's hollowed eyes burning with rage.She slowly tilted her head, her bones cracking as she did so."Whatever do you mean?" she asked, her voice eerie. She was asking, but he knows that is not a question but more of a th
Clandestine Meetings Elinor's eyes widened. Her breath got stuck in her throat. Just seconds ago, sleep was calling her whole, but it left her body almost in an instant when she spotted Colin acting very strangely and cautiously around the hall.He kept on looking behind him, and on all sides but he cannot see her because of the wall.Her mind is awakened now, disturbed by Colin's behavior. She popped her head a little bit, just enough for her to take a sneaky peak at him.He walked away, and Elinor did not let him get away from her eyesight. She followed closely behind, her footsteps light. She did not even bother to wear her shoes to further silence her movements.Colin took a turn to the left side of the wing. Elinor waited for some time before she turned.What are you up to, Colin? She silently asked herself.She knew to herself that the only way for her to find that out is to follow him.As she made a turn, all that was left for her to see was Colin's foot disappearing in the st
Truth and Lies"Do you trust my love?"The question really struck Elinor. It is how he said those words with heavy emotions in his eyes and tone. Not once did Colin's eyes left her green ones as they stood face-to-face inside her chamber. Of all places, they are having this conversation again where there is a bed nearby.But what struck Elinor the most was not because of how he said those words, but the way her mind and heart whispered the answer that only she could hear."Yes, yes, I do." However, she kept that to herself.Despite what she witnessed last night. Despite crying herself to sleep because of it. She still finds in herself the love and trust she has for him. It never truly, fully went away, she realized that now. Even if there are countless times already when she felt like her love for him died in some ways. And even if she had tried to convince herself that she had long buried it deep in the ground, and nothing he can do or say will make it come to the surface again.I w
The Pining"Don't you give me that look, Colin? I am your mother, in case you forgot." Tatiana glared at him from across the room. Her face still looked angelic and calm, but there is rage in her tone. He fixed his look on the outside instead. His shadowed face looked gloomy. "Should we at least try?" he asked, hoping it would convince his mother into taking Elinor as his Luna. Colin knew that if he would choose to listen to what his mother is telling him to do, sit back, and watch Elinor being taken away, he knew he would regret it for the rest of his life. He would regret not even fighting for her. "Try what, Colin?" his mother snapped back."I'll try to save her," he replied, voice filled with determination.His mother looked at him as if he is a lost cause. She looks at him worried at just how madly in love he is with her, that he would try and go against the most powerful forces known to them. It's like Tatiana heard something very impossible out of him."Oh, my poor son. It'
Dreaded DayThe bloody full moon peaks over all of the creatures below. Humans stopped in their tracks to tilt their heads back and gaze over at the moon, their fingers pointing it as if not everyone could see the only brightest light in the dark sky above. For them, it is not likely to see a full bloody red moon. The news on each television flashed a headline that says the next time the next full bloody moon could be seen again. According to some widely known space research organizations, the next time this phenomenon occurs, a century has already passed.It means that only once in a century can a bloody full moon peak in the night sky.It was unusual, and rare, of course. Humans take their time. Make meaning out of it. They say it brings bad luck, some speculated that it is a sign of the start of another hundred years, a new era, as they said.A lot of people blamed this occurrence for their bad luck, but there are also those who wait for a hundred years to pass by just for the fu
The once angelic face of Esmeralda now morphed into a grotesque-looking lady.All of it was a show. To lure her into believing that she is an angel, someone who will come and save her, but really, something sinister is hiding behind her angelic, perfect facade.Hearing those words coming out of Esmeralda's mouth, Elinor felt as though her whole world collapsed in one snap.But like any other being, the very first thing we try to do in an attempt to protect ourselves from the damaging truth is to be in denial.And just like that, Elinor refused to believe what Esmeralda said. She unconsciously starts to shake her head at her, her lips quivering with extreme anxiety.She felt as though her body would give up if Colin was really gone. And in an effort to keep herself together, Elinor strongly denied it. "No, that's... not true. You're lying." Esmeralda sneered. "Now that I come to think of it, you are right about that somehow."Her heartbeat intensifies every single second that passed.
One Against Many"Who is she?" Elinor recalled her dreams where she dreamed of the mysterious woman she thought was so divine and godly because of her captivating beauty."She was the very one who killed Judas.""And someone brought her back to life? Do I have something to do with it?"Ernest shakes his head. "I am not certain of that. But she showed up in your dream, did she ask you something?""She told me once that she needs me. But I didn't dream of her again after that. The next time she appeared in my dream was a few years part," she said. Elinor was waiting for Ernest to say something back. But when he was just sitting quietly beside her, she tilt her head to look at him and found that he was deep in thought.There was a crease forming in between his eyebrows, and his eyes were perplexed."If she is, you know, brought back to life. What will happen?"Ernest heard Elinor's question, but it was like an echo bouncing around his head, haunting him by just the idea of the possibili
Stolen LifeShe was taken by one of them, though she was not certain about that one yet, because she felt like she was being rescued for some reason. And those that took her first, the corpse-looking lady is far from rescuing her. One thing is clear for Elinor, they want her to be killed.He is dressed like the rest of the four: In a black hooded cloak. She could not see his eyes because he was covered with his long hair, not to mention his hood. She wanted to see if he had the same hollow eyes as them. In that way, she'll know if he's one of them.He came out of nowhere, wrapped his hands around her waist, and pulled her down to the dark forest. But they didn't land on the ground. He remained flying under the wide trees. To give those up there a hard time finding her.He recalled the moment they saw Elinor being captured by Aurora. They were too late. They found her too late.But despite having a deal with them on who will get Elinor shall win, Ernest has long abandoned that. It was
The FightThey were still in fast motion. Colin never even took a break for a while. He kept on running. It's like a never-ending chase. And Elinor was too afraid to even look behind them.But she keeps her eyes wide open. Both of them look ahead of the vast forest, never knowing when they could be out of the woods or if will they ever make it to safety. Until how long will this chase end? She doesn't know. And Colin doesn't know either.Above the trees was Aurora together with the two other members of The Spirit. Riding in their magical broom, they soared through the sky, heads looking below the forest, eyes frantically searching for the were-witch."They could run away, but they could never run so far," Aurora said with confidence in her voice.It is a good thing for them that Elinor didn't learn about her true identity from the moment she gained consciousness of the world. Her ignorance of her potential works to their advantage. One of the reasons why they were not as afraid as t
The SaviorIn a split second, Elinor was thrown high up in the air and then landed on Colin's back. He is in his werewolf form, and he's scathing at the two pale-looking men with hollowed eyes."No! You can't take her away from us!" The cloaked one, which goes by the name Fergus, shouted. "Give her up to us!" said the other one.Elinor chose not to look. She buried her face in Colin's fur and muttered a solemn, desperate prayer. Her life is on the line. She can feel it.Colin roared, making her grip his fur even more. "You don't understand!" a voice roared, but Elinor tried to just shut her eyes. Her heartbeat is fast like the rhythm of a drum being beaten so eagerly.She was in a great deal of stress. She does not know who and what they are. And why are they coming after her?Was it because she's a were-witch?Is she really a were-witch?All this time, ever since she had dreamed about Esmeralda, the one who told her about her being a were-witch, not once did Elinor choose to believ
Rescued Elinor's eyes stared at the empty seat in the center. Everyone was craning their necks, eyes refusing to settle in one place as they roamed around the hall, in search of Colin, who is supposed to be crowned as the next Alpha in this ceremony.The bloody full moon can be seen peaking outside the huge window made of glass. It is getting bigger and its fiery glow becomes brighter every time she takes a look at it. "Why is he not here?" Yves who was seated beside her whispered impatiently. She was itching to transform into her wolf form and find Colin herself.Where the hell was her brother on such a special night for the entire Ashmore, he cannot be seen around when he should be standing in the spotlight."Yves, where was he?" Tatiana glowered down and mouthed it for Yves to hear.Yves turned to look at Elinor. "Have you seen him?"She shook her head. "No," then looked down disappointedly.If she had known Colin would act up like this, she shouldn't have had that conversation w
Dreaded DayThe bloody full moon peaks over all of the creatures below. Humans stopped in their tracks to tilt their heads back and gaze over at the moon, their fingers pointing it as if not everyone could see the only brightest light in the dark sky above. For them, it is not likely to see a full bloody red moon. The news on each television flashed a headline that says the next time the next full bloody moon could be seen again. According to some widely known space research organizations, the next time this phenomenon occurs, a century has already passed.It means that only once in a century can a bloody full moon peak in the night sky.It was unusual, and rare, of course. Humans take their time. Make meaning out of it. They say it brings bad luck, some speculated that it is a sign of the start of another hundred years, a new era, as they said.A lot of people blamed this occurrence for their bad luck, but there are also those who wait for a hundred years to pass by just for the fu
The Pining"Don't you give me that look, Colin? I am your mother, in case you forgot." Tatiana glared at him from across the room. Her face still looked angelic and calm, but there is rage in her tone. He fixed his look on the outside instead. His shadowed face looked gloomy. "Should we at least try?" he asked, hoping it would convince his mother into taking Elinor as his Luna. Colin knew that if he would choose to listen to what his mother is telling him to do, sit back, and watch Elinor being taken away, he knew he would regret it for the rest of his life. He would regret not even fighting for her. "Try what, Colin?" his mother snapped back."I'll try to save her," he replied, voice filled with determination.His mother looked at him as if he is a lost cause. She looks at him worried at just how madly in love he is with her, that he would try and go against the most powerful forces known to them. It's like Tatiana heard something very impossible out of him."Oh, my poor son. It'
Truth and Lies"Do you trust my love?"The question really struck Elinor. It is how he said those words with heavy emotions in his eyes and tone. Not once did Colin's eyes left her green ones as they stood face-to-face inside her chamber. Of all places, they are having this conversation again where there is a bed nearby.But what struck Elinor the most was not because of how he said those words, but the way her mind and heart whispered the answer that only she could hear."Yes, yes, I do." However, she kept that to herself.Despite what she witnessed last night. Despite crying herself to sleep because of it. She still finds in herself the love and trust she has for him. It never truly, fully went away, she realized that now. Even if there are countless times already when she felt like her love for him died in some ways. And even if she had tried to convince herself that she had long buried it deep in the ground, and nothing he can do or say will make it come to the surface again.I w