[Amor’s POV] “Two days?” I was never connected to Zahir or Venus on a deep level. I didn’t even consider them as friends, but they were important to her. That, besides my guilt, added up to actually worrying about them as if they were a part of my family. All the wrong they did to us, all the lies they told us, was forgiven from my side because they had a reason, a very important reason behind it all. Hearing Zahir had only two days to decide whether he would live or die made me feel really uncomfortable in my guts. Should I send a letter to Lucella or mind-link and call her here? I thought, but it was completely impractical because that would take over two days. “Do everything to save him. Don’t worry about money or anything else. Get all the medicine, herbs you need to treat him. He has to stay alive,” I told the doctor. He bowed. “I am using my experience and knowledge of more than a hundred years to heal him, alpha. If by tonight the blueness in his legs disappear, we woul
[Zeve’s POV] I can’t express in words how I felt seeing Venus smile again, even though it was faltering and filled with pain. I can’t explain how beautiful Venus looked holding Polaris. Can’t explain the tsunami of conflicting emotions hitting me with every thought. How do I inform her about Zahir’s condition? How do I break it to her that she can never become a mother again? Was there a less painful way to open the aftermath of such a tremendous storm in her life? I had never felt that helpless. What would my words do to her smile when she heard the excruciating truth? “Zeve, thank you so much for protecting my son…” Venus said in a dawdling voice. She hadn’t stopped crying since the moment she woke up. I knew those tears were of happiness from the reunion with her son. But beyond the two curtains between her and Zahir was the reality scarier than this beautiful daydream. I peered at the curtains slowly moving from the winds entering the hall through the windows. I dropped m
[Zeve’s POV] “Someone you don’t want to see right now, but also someone who can see you from afar,” I heard Amor’s voice. I unclenched my fists and tears started ruling my eyes again. I turned around as if I had never heard what he said. But he was right. He was the last person I wanted to see at that moment. Maybe I had forgotten the hatred I had for him in my heart. But everything was back to as it was. I was not only guilty for forgetting about what he did to my mate and my pack, but also for being so uncannily attracted to him. I was disgusted with myself for getting that close to him and wanting to get even closer. Just disgusting. My heart wavered at his voice. I felt at ease and safe. But it was wrong to connect those emotions with him. The only emotion I wanted to connect to him was hatred. “I hate you for so many things that I can’t dare put them out just to make an endless book out of it. I had hated no one as much as I hate you and will hate no one more passionatel
[Zeve’s POV] Once I was calmer, I felt like I shouldn’t have said most of the things I did to Amor. But that was also strangely calming, to just lash out at someone and they don’t hit you back or hurt you. Even though he was angry initially, by the end he understood that I was stressed out. It was my first time being so mad at him and him not reacting like he did in the past. He was more under control and tried to walk out of the situation when things became unmanageable for him. I could have repeated that scene with him in my mind and cringed over every word I said to him, but I was neither in that mental state nor did it matter to the least at that moment. The blueness in Zahir’s legs had decreased, but weren’t completely gone. The doctor gave mixed answers and looked uncertain. Amor said Lucella was coming, but how would she arrive so soon? It took us weeks to travel that far. Would it be possible for her to come before something bad happened? The answer to all my questions
[Zeve’s POV] “I don’t have time to explain. Trust me and bring everything on this list to me.” She handed him the parchment, and Amor set out with a few of the village men to get everything Lucella wanted. Venus was still sitting on her bed and peering towards Zahir’s bed lifelessly. I walked to her. I sat beside her and placed my palm on her shoulder. “Lucella is an exceptional doctor. I am sure now that she is here, everything will be alright. Don’t worry. I am sure he will return for you and his son.” Streams of tears flowed down her stoned eyes. “He… is my everything. I won’t be able to live without him. If something bad happened to him…” Her voice trembled as she spoke. “No, Venus. This is the biggest lie we tell ourselves. Our lives don’t stop because of someone leaving us. Our time doesn’t stop if we don’t have a certain someone in our lives. I used to think I might actually die if Chaz ever left me. He was the first person to love me, and I loved him so dearly that I t
[Zeve’s POV] The winds violently fluttered my hair as I stood contemplating Amor. He squatted near one lily, caressing its petals between his thumb and index finger. I averted my eyes, taking a deep breath. Even the insignificant things he did sent butterflies in my belly. Seriously! What the hell is wrong with me? “You said it wasn’t the fault of the lily if it expected rain, but faced the drought. You said that those tears on its petals were a sign that it survived and saved its kind. Right?” He looked at me. I nodded softly. “So… what should it do to prepare for the drought? What should it do so that no more scars add to its petals?” He asked, leaving the petals of the lily. I never thought those hands that were covered in blood almost all the time could, so gently, caress the petals of a flower without hurting them. “It doesn’t need guidance, it needs resistance, adaptability, new genes and mutation to keep up with the adversities it faces or the ones that are yet to come.
[Zeve’s POV] He said, and I tightened my fists. “What if I don’t agree? What if I am not as worthy as you think I am?” He rubbed his nape. “Until this day, my analysis about a person has never been wrong. I am sure of each word I have said.” He said. “Why did you suddenly tell me all this?” “Because ironically, the person who hates me the most was the first person to even try to understand me.” “Because I understood your vulnerability?” I said, and his stoic face froze. He squinted his eyes and nodded. “Maybe.” “I will not,” I said with a bitter fire occupying my chest. “I am sorry, I will do nothing for you, ever. You or your pack. I will not help you with ruling. Not because of my grudge against you, but because I don’t think I will do justice to your expectations of me as the luna of your pack.” He was marrying me because he wanted me to act like the mother of his child — his pack. That was the only value I had in his eyes. But would that make me happy? Never. Yes, it woul
[Amor’s POV] Zahir was recovering fine and Lucella had allowed him to sit and walk, but only a little distance. Most of the time, he was with Venus and Polaris. Seeing them together and happy once again gave me a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction as their alpha. But problems don’t stop coming. It was the harvest season and now that everything was fine; the villagers travelled to another village. Most of them had left for the harvest, and the village had aged people and kids. But they too stayed in their houses. We had been a burden on the villagers for weeks, so I decided to not bother them anymore. I was waiting for Zahir to get back to his normal health and Morfan to reach this village, then I would send this little family off to Arginieth with Morfan and Lucella. After that, I would continue on the pre-marriage journey. But in all this, the major problem was how can I cook food without burning it? I had never cooked before. Never needed to. Now that the villagers wer
(This is a free chapter. You won’t need to pay for it. So, please do it read it until the end.) Dear readers, So this journey had finally come to an end! First of all, THANK YOU so much for reading this book, investing your time, and giving it so much love and appreciation. Your every gem, your every comment, your every review has brightened my day and uplifted my spirit in my hard times. This is my first book on this platform and I couldn’t have ever imagined of getting so far. But you made this possible and I am super grateful for all your supports, lovelies. I know this book isn’t perfect and nor am I, but I always try my best to better my craft and create a world where all of us could unite. So, don’t forget to tell me who your favourite character/s was/were in this story? If you enjoyed the book, a review on the main page of the book is much appreciated. It really helps with the growth of the book. And so do your gems and comments. Thank you for coming on this adventure w
[Zeve’s POV] As I plunged into the magma, I had no thoughts in my head. My body was being consumed by the flames, while my heart almost stopped. It was cold inside the volcano. My clothes and armour melted away, but neither the flames nor the magma touched my skin. They flowed inches away from my skin. I held my breath. The bright red glowing magma flowed magnificently inside the volcano. It was scary how I could feel its heat yet not get burned. It was like one of those dreams came to reality, except this time the one to be burnt in flames was me and not Amor. The magma behind me started taking some kind of form. I felt Amor’s presence and my heart skipped a beat. I felt hands warped under my waist and knees. I shut my eyes with a shudder. The next thing I remember was I was sitting far away on the ground and watching the magma, ashes and rocks explode out of the volcano like fireworks. There was a dazzling figure hovering above the volcano, suppressing it back into the ground
[Zahir’s POV]Why don’t you smile?Why don’t you cry?Why don’t you fight?Why don’t you get angry?Why don’t you get scared?What the hell is wrong with you?You are my son, and you cannot be the monster they say you are.Feel!Feel something!Feel anything!Feel everything!‘If nothing, then feel the pain!’That face of a person I was supposed to call my mother.Those glowing eyes floating in sheer darkness.Those words were like pure acid, pouring in my ears.Those snarls of pure hatred and screams and cries, those slaps and whips.The dark bathroom flooded with water everywhere and blood dissolved in it through my veins.I remember.Maybe I felt nothing but cold. It was unbearably cold.That time, that’s all I felt. A cold that made my spine shiver.I wanted to feel, but how?Everything I locked up within me and in the magic and key core came back.It all came back, but I think it never left in the first place.Even after hundreds of years, I could still feel her presence by the s
[Zeve’s POV]“Mother, stop!” Killian yelled.“Venus, calm down… we can make things right, ok? Trust me. Put down the blade…” Zahir coaxed Venus into his manipulative tone.Venus distanced the blade from her throat as if Zahir’s words were controlling her on a mental level. Her hands were shaking as she held the blade to her throat.Her eyes were frozen, as if she was in Zahir’s control. She shook her head with a gasp, “no, not anymore. You can’t control me anymore…” her voice came out hoarse and shaky.And she put the blade against her neck again, this time cutting her skin and bleeding.“NO! NO! Stop!” Zahir panicked and stepped back from Venus, raising his hands.“What the hell is going on here? Venus!” I called out and was about to go to her when Hikari held my hand.I looked at him and frowned. Hikari shook his head.I looked at Venus again and the blade was Hikari’s katana.“Your katana?” I felt a strange fear take over me as I stared at Hikari for an answer.“I must have dropped
[Zeve’s POV]‘I see him burning and these nightmares just don’t stop. Day after day, it’s always the same thing. I try to save him, but the flames always find their way to him. His body… it’s like it’s melting. I couldn’t get these nightmares out of my head and it’s disturbing. A lot. So, I came to you for guidance. Do these nightmares mean something?’‘Dreams are often a window for the future. We just need to interpret them rightly,’ priestess Melantha said when I met her in my third year in Phantoria. ‘For a seed to turn into a sapling and then into a huge tree, the seed coat needs to break. He’ll burn for you and this world.’‘No, he won’t. I won’t let death touch him, not because of me — especially not because of this world.’ This was what I told her, and then she replied with a subtle smile.‘What is the definition of death for you, luna?’ She asked.‘I don’t know. Death for me is what it’s for everyone else. Bad, painful and gloomy and… end.’‘When the right time comes, you will
[Zeve’s POV]There were two souls active inside Killian. One was of Derek and another of Polaris. Killian decided based on the soul that dominated him at a time.That was the only sane explanation I could give to why he was using Celeste as a hostage when Killian saved her, risking his own life.“Fine,” I said, calmly. “Let them go. But I don’t know how to get the core out of my body. Extract it yourself.”Killian frowned. “No hidden tricks, Zeve. I don’t have time for that.”I raised my hand to my shoulders as if I was surrendering myself. “I am telling you the truth. I was born with this core and never took it out. I am not playing any tricks.”Killian thought for some time and then stretched his palm towards me. Four black magic circles appeared around me. One above my head, one below my feet, one in front of my chest, and one behind it.“I am already stuck here. I can’t escape. Please let them go now,” I said. The hellhounds backed off from Lucella and Celeste.The suction from
[Zeve’s POV]The sound of gunshots, along with screams of the knights getting attacked, mashed up with the howls of the hellhounds dominating the road. Killian coughed vigorously and threw out the broken pieces of rock with his teeth and blood from his mouth. “Oh, I know what devilishness it takes to create a utopia. But you really piss me off whenever I see you…” Killian snarled at Amor.Killian created a dark energy ball between himself and Amor, who was pressing him against the ground. The energy ball exploded, flinging Amor far away from Killian.Amor jumped back to his feet and drew out his sword. The armour worked. Amor wasn’t hurt badly. But I could just stand and wait for him to be hurt.I looked at the sky with my apprehension increasing with every second.On the training grounds, the screeches of shadow eaters were tackling the fire wall, keeping them locked within the magic circle. It was as if their screams were summoning the rain because heavy clouds had started looming
[Killian’s POV]Dark clouds stirred over the ruins of the Aura palace and its training grounds. The land had prepared to devour the souls and vomit a curse in the darkest shade of black to open the portal to the dark world from where the creatures of hell would flood the land, turning it into their grazing field. They would feed on souls and lock them in timeless gloom — in a world of nothingness and doom. Their minds were under my control and their souls on my command would set themselves ablaze on the magical ground.I was prepared and so was the enemy.Heavy military and army of hundreds guarded the boundaries around the precinct of the Aura palace and its land. The knights were armoured and ready with their swords, defending the boundaries of the palace from outside.Warriors were ironclad in their wolf forms. The wolves of darker colours were standing on the front lines and surrounded the training grounds.The soldiers created a wall of shields on either side of the criminals’ p
[Zeve’s POV]“Should I take off this gown now?” Celeste asked, walking to me and then standing beside me as we peered at the air where Killian stood seconds ago.I looked at Celeste and caressed her cheek. “I know it’s uncomfortable, sweetie, but wait a little, hmm?”Celeste looked into my eyes and nodded once.“You did a good job. I am proud of you,” I said.A week without the key core and Celeste already looked so fragile. I had to get back the key core from Killian after the plan played out the way I wanted it to.I looked at the sky. The chess board was laid out, the only thing left was the game to begin.“Zeve, I don’t like this at all. You are pregnant and even if everything goes according to your plan, it’s still dangerous because we don’t know what might happen when things actually start happening,” Amor said.I looked at Amor and smiled.“I have heard kids take after their parents. I want my child to be brave, and for that, I have to be braver today. I am going to be a mother