KaelanThe thick scent of blood filled the air, and with it, the smell of burning flesh. Everything was in ruins and flames engulfed everything around me. The earth was boiling, and the air around was dry, so dry that it was unhealthy for the lungs. Although I was submerged in the midst of all the chaos, I felt no pain. My bare legs walked through the hot burning soil, but I felt no fear, no pain, no emotions whatsoever. It was horrible what was happening, and yet I couldn't find out how and why all this had happened. What had I been doing?!The bones of fallen warriors littered the streets, and the wails of women and children had become the melody of the day. As I walked amidst the chaos I had only one thought in mind; 'Find Joye!' Although my mind was already torn about by everything happening, I still couldn't wander away from the fact that I wasn't with her. If anything happened to her I would never forgive myself. Slowly my pace increased, and in no distant time I was speedin
JoyeThe day was moving much more slower than it usually does. Kaelan had left the house before I woke up, and once again I had to spend breakfast by myself. I didn't judge him, he was the Lycan king, and a huge businessman, he was a very busy man. As always, I spent most of my time reading and doing well to increase my vocabulary and my knowledge about everything. Things were going pretty well until I got tired of reading and eventually got bored. Although the mansion was massive and all, there was absolutely no fun thing to do here. Mary was the only person I could hold some sort of conversation with, and even at that she was always too formal. I knew that as long as Kaelan was king and I was soon to be queen, developing a casual relationship with anybody around would be very difficult. With Kaelan's policy and act, they would all be terrified of speaking to me in any informal way. It was exhausting and annoying, but I had to learn to live with it. I was already getting used to i
KaelanYesterday was nothing short of hectic. The heat of the preparations was mostly felt the previous night. But after a successful night, today was finally here, the ball night and possibly our mating ritual.It was evening, barely sundown, but people had already begun flocking in but in mild numbers for now. The event would not properly start until the next three hours. And it would hold until dawn the next day. I had decided to get some rest and be refreshed before the event. But now I was awake, fully rejuvenated, and ready to get the events started.I got down from my bed and took a quick shower before heading over to Joye's room. I didn't need a soothsayer to tell me that she was nervous and probably scared. It was okay for her to be nervous. This was her first major occasion in this kingdom, and she was yet to be fully adapted. Then there was also the problem of her not fitting in, I understood fully the situation she was in, and that was why it was necessary to give her a con
JoyeI collapsed onto my bed the moment I reached my room and wrapped my pillow over my head. I was beginning to think I was cursed, or was fate just toying with me? Why must everyone I love eventually turn to hate me? I thought Kaelan would be different, I prayed that he'd be different, but that wasn't happening. The sparks in his eyes were gone, and just a few moments ago they had been replaced with rage towards me. He hated me now and that was for sure. I spent the next half an hour sulking into my pillow and blaming myself for everything. From the start, I was never good enough for the Lycan king. I had no idea why I genuinely thought that this whole thing, our union, was going to work out. I was once again going too far with my imagination. Jerking up the instant I felt a presence by my side, I came face to face with Kaelan. He was seated by my bedside, and although he wore a sad expression, I wasn't ready to forgive him just yet. "What do you want?" I asked as I wiped away t
KaelanAlthough things were going relatively well between I and Joye, I still felt the need to make a grand gesture, just to make things a bit better between us. "What's up with you and Joye?" Aiden asked as we both walked through the halls of the company. We had a meeting with one of the shareholders today and were currently heading towards the conference room."Does it seem like something is up with us?" I returned. I wasn't the type that spoke publicly about a personal relationship, but I knew Aiden had caught up to the recent happenings. Throughout the week I hadn't been myself, so noticing our issues would not be that difficult. "You've barely spoken for almost a week now, and you seemed down for a while. But you seem to be fine now, have you resolved the issue?""You seem very invested in my relationship with Joye, could it be you have an eye for my queen?" I teased. "Of course not, I'm only looking out for you, my lord," Aiden replied. At this point, it was useless trying to
JoyeA week had passed now since our trip to the countryside, and things were moving smoothly for the time being. My relationship with Kaelan had grown significantly, and I now had the freedom to leave the mansion and tour around the kingdom anytime I liked. Life was getting a lot better and easier, and I honestly couldn't ask for anything more. Rising from the bed, I sauntered towards the refrigerator to grab myself a bottle of water. It was the break of dawn, and for some reason, I had woken up earlier than always. Maybe it was because of the happy thoughts that were constantly popping up in my head, vivid dreams, and unending streams of reverie. It didn't matter, now that I was awake I wanted to be close to Kaelan as soon as possible. Without waiting for Mary or any of the other maids, I entered the bathroom and prepared my bath. A warm bath to compensate for the cold weather. Winter was coming soon, it was already more than obvious. After having my bath, I dressed up in the fir
JoyeI stared at Kaelan in shock, perplexed and devoid of the right words to speak. Surely he wasn't being serious about this, maybe I heard incorrectly. "You're leaving for another trip so soon?!" I asked for clarification, but his answers remained the same. "Unfortunately yes, but I'll be back soon I promise." He reassured, but I wasn't listening. It wasn't a matter of him returning soon or later, I just didn't want him to go at all. "Are you sure I can't come along? I swear I won't be a hindrance." I pleaded, but the likeliness that I was coming along were rather slim. This time it was just more than just a business trip, it seemed as though this trip concerned Kaelan, and Kaelan alone. There was no way I was coming along this time, the disappointed expression on his face said it all."I'm sorry, but I can't take you along with me this time. It might be a dangerous trip, and I don't want your life to be put at risk." His hand stroke my chin gently, and with his thumb he wiped aw
JoyeIt's been three days now, and Kaelan was supposed to return home today. It was already evening and was drawing closer to Nightfall, yet there was no sign of Kaelan. I wasn't worried though, I knew he was alright. I just didn't want to be believe or think that for some reason Kaelan has decided to extend his trip.It wasn't likely, if there were any sudden changes Kaelan would have informed me by now. Maybe his flight was delayed, or maybe he was somewhere in the city, stuck in traffic. Whatever the reason was I really couldn't care less, I just wanted Kaelan by my side as soon as possible. Although we were frequently in touch with each other these past days, I still felt lonely, and my thoughts wouldn't stop harassing me. Ever since my trip to the country side, and after hearing the words of that elder I couldn't get it out of mind. He had referred to me as "The chosen one," and it has been bothering me ever since. He didn't explain his words, and I hadn't asked of the meaning
Joye A month had passed since the events of the red moon, and so far everything has been peaceful. Damages around the Kingdom were being repaired, and the Lycans and my people have reached a mutual agreement to not indulge themselves in war again. As the leader of our respective clans, Kaelan and I had been the ones who reached this agreement, and the others had complied. Both clans suffered casualties, and nobody wanted to feel the pain of losing a loved one ever again.A memorial was held for the soldiers that had fallen in battle, and their families were compensated. Although the destruction this time was mild, we all knew that everybody wouldn't survive. It was a tough problem to deal with, but thankfully we were able to pull through and stop a century old curse from wiping out good people.After the night was over, the elders had all visited me to apologize. I never really cared about them, but I still accepted their apology. We weren't friends, and I certainly wouldn't involve
JoyeIt was just as I had expected, not everyone of the infiltrators had listened to the man from earlier who I had learnt his name to be Luke. Out of the six infiltrators, two had remained adamant and continued to cause chaos in the mansion. As the only person who stood a chance against them, I had to intervene. Once again I had left regaining my strength to protect everyone in the castle, and fighting two people at once was no easy task. The little strength I managed to regain I had lost once more and time was quickly running out. There was barely thirty minutes before everything ended. If I failed to break the curse within these last minutes, then everything and the deaths would be for nothing. My strength wasn't fully restored yet, but I couldn't waste anymore time. Aiden and the others were waiting for me, I couldn't keep them waiting any longer than this. I got down from where I was, and took a deep breath, it was now or never, I couldn't risk failing a second time. "Let me
Kaelan"She failed?" I gasped just before I decapitated another adversary. A man from Aiden's unit had just informed me that Joye's first attempt to break the curse had not been successful, and she was yet to return to try a second time. We had barely thirty minutes until the red moon falls, and if she didn’t manage to break the curse within those thirty minutes, then we were doomed to repeat this experience in the next two years. I was already back in my human form due to exhaustion, and I was losing more strength as I fought off the unending horde of opponents. Although we had managed to keep casualties on our side to the minimum, most of us were already out of energy. This last thirty minutes would be the determining factor of this entire situation."I'm sure she's going to make it." I voiced out to the messenger's hearing. "Tell Aiden and the rest to keep guarding the place, I trust Joye, she won't back away so easily." I ordered while holding off the crowd from approaching the m
Joye I had no idea who sounded the alarm, but I recognized that scream very well. It was Olivia's voice, I had no idea what had happened to her, but I was certain she wasn't doing well. "You need to rest, she's not important. You need to conserve your energy in order to face Azira." Rainbow advised. She had read my thoughts. I wanted to rush out to save Olivia, but Rainbow had reminded me just how much I hated Olivia. Wasting my energy on people like her wasn't worth it.Countless times Olivia had shown just how much she despised me, and I still had no idea why she hates me so much. I wanted to blame it on the fact that I was different from her and the rest, but I knew her hatred went beyond just being different. "She's Kaelan's sister, I have to help her." I said, but Rainbow wasn't on board with that decision."Save her then what? Waste your recovered energy on another fight? If you leave this room you're going to run into an enemy. And once you run into one, you'll be forced to
JoyeI sat on the podium that tormented my every nightmare, the same podium where Azira had been burnt. I could feel her energy all around me, but I chose to focus on completing my task rather than focusing on a dead woman. She had caused pain for these people, and needed to be stopped at all cost. The red moon had already risen, all I needed to do was end the curse on time and help the Lycans regain their strength. This was a do or die situation, failure was not an option.I savored the flow of power in me. The pure energy that flowed from the air and nature around me. This was purification, the air around me was being purified and soon the kingdom will be as well. This curse has harmed a lot of innocent families and stolen happiness away from them. I was going to restore the peace these people once had and stop this curse once and for all. I was almost at the climax of power when suddenly the flow stopped, my body suddenly began feeling unwell and for some reason. I felt pow
KaelanEvery passing second felt like a torturous hour to me. Only twenty four more hours were left until the red moon fully rose in the sky. In a few hours my people would be torn apart by the demons that hunt us every two years. Joye was our only hope, if she failed to break the curse tomorrow night, then we were all doomed. A handful of the enemies had already made it past the borders, and although we had managed to capture a lot of them, there were still some that were in the kingdom waiting for the right time to strike. It didn't matter how much we fortified our borders, the enemies always found their way in. It was something that was beyond our control, but that didn't mean that we would just leave the gates open for them to jump inside all willy nilly. The fear in my heart was persistent, but I chose to have faith and trust in Joye. Even though everybody doubted her, my trust in her remained unwavering. She had trained from morning till night, the least I could do to acknowle
KaelanThe day was calm, and although everybody seemed calm and happy, I could tell they were all horrified as the seconds passed. The red moon was approaching fast, and everybody was on high alert for the few intruders that had been spotted randomly around the kingdom. Although we had managed to get our hands on some of the intruders, they committed suicide immediately to keep themselves from leaking any information. James had tried using magic to extract information from them, but that too had not worked. These men were prepared more than ever, and I feared that things might actually be worse this time around. Speaking of James, I had been trying to get close to him and build some level of trust between us, but the man gave me no chances. He was Joye's father, and as her husband I wanted to know more about my wife's father and their people. However, James had the complete opposite in mind.He really wanted nothing to do with me and he made that abundantly clear every single time I
JoyeAlthough Kaelan seemed a bit hurt by my words,he didn't exactly take it to heart. He knew that what I was saying was the truth. His people did kill my people because of one person, and he knew that it was wrong in all sense. "You have to come with me, Joye. They're going to come for you if you keep staying here." The stranger maintained. He had not given up on taking me out of this place, and the both of us had been so engrossed in the argument that I had forgotten to ask for his name. I only realized that I didn't know his name after he had called mine out without thinking about it. "I don't even know your name. What should I call you?" I asked because it definitely wouldn't be father. Even if he was my father, he was going to do a lot more than this before I can acknowledge him. He might be trying to save my life now, but I could have died a thousand times before in Nightfall Pack where he left my mother and I to suffer. "It's James." He answered curtly. "James..." I drawl
Joye I woke up with a slight headache, it was already past noon, and Kaelan wasn't in the bed anymore. I remembered passing out near him after countless hours of healing him. Somehow I couldn't help but feel that everything was my fault. If I had listened to what he said, and hadn't let my pride and anger get in the way, perhaps I might have saved him before things got critical. I got down from the bed, my head still spinning and the energy in my body at its minimum. I had overexerted myself to the point of losing consciousness, I didn't particularly expect to wake up full of energy. I managed to saunter into the bathroom to run cold water over my throbbing head. I felt a bit relieved and happy at the same time. The fact that Kaelan wasn't on that bed meant that he had regained consciousness and had left to carry out his duties. I wasn't mad that he wasn't by my side when I woke, I was far too focused on the fact that he was okay now to get angry. I called for Mary and demanded fo