SEBASTIAN'S POVThe crimson eyes closed in, frenzied breaths steaming the frigid air. Two twisted shapes detached themselves from the forest's consuming shadow, loping towards our small company on all fours like decaying mockeries of the wolf. Our golden guide snarled fiercely, hackles rising in defense. But two against many could only end in defeat - that is if more horrors did not pour forth from the wood's suffocating gloom. The beasts' hunger burned rabid, twisting flesh with a fell intelligence that spoke of a far greater puppetmaster. Our enemy had found us at last in these blighted depths. Despair clawed my resolve, sapping the will to resist further torment. My gaze fell upon the whimpering young taking refuge behind my legs. No, I refused to let them meet such a fate without a battle to the end!A roar tore my throat, drawing chilled air deep into my scarred lungs. My challenge echoed back doubled by our female guardian, calling upon whatever spirits yet walked these corru
ATHENA'S POVI watched the sky grow dark, Sebastian had not yet returned. He never missed dinner without calling to let me know he wasn't returning."Ma'am, the kids are asking for you. They have refused to go to bed without their Father's good night kiss" the nanny said to me."What? Oh..." I said beginning to feel even more worried. At dinner, I had felt really bad, my stomach growled terribly and it was not from hunger. It was more of a hunch, a terrible hunch I could not quite place my finger on.I turned to their nanny and nodded. "I'll talk to them, you don't worry about it. Were you able to clear the tables? Did they drink their milk? What about Night Cookie? Did they have their night cookies?" I needed to find out that all their routines had been cleared and there was nothing left to distract them with. How on earth was I going to cover for their Father's good night kiss? "Everything was covered, Mrs Stone. Even down to the cookies. It was right after that they began asking
SEBASTIAN'S POVThe horrendous cackling she called laughter rose further in the air around us as her army of strange-looking wolves surrounded us. These wolves weren't what you would call regular wolves. There was something about them, something ominous, something old."Lycaons...Sienna, how did you..?" I asked still speechless."I have waited for this moment with all my heart Sebastian Stone and I assure you that I will make this moment worth your while." Her voice was hoarse and somehow it echoed all around us. She wasn't speaking because her lips were not moving at all.She spoke in my head, her voice was in my head, and suddenly a sonic scream went off in my head and I began to scream, the pain brought me to my knees."Boss! Boss?" Mateo panicked kneeling beside me."Now, you will know what pain feels like." She said."No!" A strong masculine voice said breaking the screams in my head."What are you doing?" She asked. This time speaking out."This is not the time and this is not t
SEBASTIAN'S POVAs I walked towards the door, the only image that kept flashing in my head was that of the several locations I had seen and the very near-death werewolf which lay on the laboratory table with thousands of silver-laced needles sticking through it.This was going to be a horrendous event, something we had never dealt with before, Sienna had gone far beyond the edges now. She was hungry for something more than revenge and it made me wonder what this was all about. There was only one person who had the answers to my questions, and she still lived in the one place I had come to despise and dread setting foot in...the Stone Mansion. That place which I had once termed home, now felt like a wasteland I did not want to ever set foot inside.I honked my horn outside the marble gates, she had hired new security."Mr. Stone" -and somehow he recognized me. I watched him nod at me as an acknowledging sign of respect, and then he ran back inside his post and pressed the button which
ATHENA'S POVI waited outside Anna and Hendrix's school during lunch hour. I had already called their teacher and asked for them to be brought out. I sat there tapping my green nail-polished fingers on the stirring awaiting their emergence from the school building.Something was very wrong. Why had Sebastian refused to tell her about what happened to him? We had already been down this road before, and since the last time Sienna attacked the kids, I had not been able to sit still whenever I had to pick them up. I drove straight to the front of the school building and waited. I had come early enough so it was unexpected.I began to have a strange feeling looking over me, a sense that I was being watched. I looked through my side mirror, past the school gates, into the group of cedar trees planted across the street from where the school stood.I kept watching the trees for over five minutes looking for shadows or a slight movement that would crack my hunch as right or wrong. I felt a sti
SEBASTIAN'S POVI looked at my mother with an unwavering gaze expecting her to tell me everything I needed to know about her alliance with Sienna mad what she had been planning all along. What did Sienna want with Lycans? And why was she experimenting with silver on werewolves?"Sienna and the Lycaons?" She repeated to herself again as though the first time I said it had no effect or made no perfect sense to her."I do know anything about Sienna and the Lycaons or why do you think I should know something about that " she replied"Bullshit mother, bullshit and you know it. You worked with Sienna for years, you can't tell me you didn't for once catch wind of her fancies or where she went or whom she spoke with or what she did when I wasn't around." I accused her"I was your mother, not her servant. I couldn't keep the girl under lock and key, she had her freedom and often visited her Father's house you know " she said to me."Why are you asking all these anyway?" She asked." Because I
SEBASTIAN'S POVI sat still watching her, I was affected by it but everything but my expressions reflected how I felt. I stared blankly at her...her worn eyes, the newly formed wrinkles around the edges of her eyes. Even her warm smile which I rarely saw had disappeared.Where was the strength of the Luna I once knew? But even in her frailty, I could still see sheer stubbornness written all over her eyes, a resilience that said she was still alive because she had refused to give in to the hands of death itself.She had battled, a tired warrior was all I saw and now even while I watched her twist her cane steadily on the cold, white tiled floor, her words rang unbelievably in my ears, "I am dying""What...what..." I could not even find the words to ask the question, but she knew."Cervical cancer, stage one. It is...quite high on the edge now" she replied."Why didn't you tell me? How long have you known about this?" I asked confused and uncertain of what my reaction was meant to be."
ATHENA'S POINT OF VIEWI helped the nanny serve Anna and Hendrix their lunch. They had been asking questions since I picked them up from school before they could even have their lunch break. Anna was the most inquisitive of the two."Mummy, is something wrong?" She had asked earlier on when I tried to help her out of her schoolwear."No honey, why do you ask?" I asked helping her out of her favorite pink jelly underwear."You never pick us up from school until later and...Hendrix said I had an episode again the night before, " her little sweet innocent voice said to me. I couldn't help but feel sorry that I could. not give her the answers she requested simply because they were too hard to explain.I did not have those answers for myself. Everything felt wrong the air, the way Sebastian was behaving, my nightmare, and the horrible, life-sizing, scary situation that had happened with Anna the previous night.I lifted her off the bed and did the smooth spin around I usually did when she
Hendrix POVI stood gravely before the large ceremonial fire, the flickering flames creating dance shadows on the old stones around me. For my family history, this hallowed place carried decades of power and memories. Tonight, I could sense the weight of that legacy heavy with respect and feeling.Raising my arms, I started the hallowed rights passed down over innumerable years. "We come here on this holy equinox to pay tribute to Athena and Sebastian, the fabled founders of our family. Along with building this wonderful family, the mates whose unwavering love and unbreakable friendship shaped the entire path of our lives.As the gathered members of my pack listened with great concentration, my words rang across the quiet forest grove. We gathered together as one on this night, mothers and fathers with babies in arms, wizened elderly with lined faces, raucous younglings hardly able to contain their excitement."Their story is one of huge hardships faced with far more fortitude, of dar
Athena & Sebastian's POV Athena's povI sighed contentedly as I savored the brilliant glow of the fall sunset streaming over the large den windows. I curled in my beloved overstuffed chair while ribbons of blazing orange and crimsons bathed the old timber beams in warm, nostalgic colors.Though my face showed the wrinkles and lines from a very busy life, I felt an ageless tranquility cover me like a gentle, reassuring blanket. Once so brilliant and strong, my piercing blue eyes now reflected a calm ocean of earned knowledge and fulfillment.A faintly familiar smell of cedarwood and spice floated around as two strong, worn-out hands gently rested on my thin shoulders with learned sensitivity. Sebastian bent down to tenderly kiss my forehead, and I reached up to grab his palm. "You look so wonderfully calm, my eternal goddess," he said softly, his voice rasping but preserving that virile tone that still made my heart flutter after all these years. Looking up at him with a gentle smil
Hendrix POVAs I looked at the young people fresh-faced before me, the crackling fires covered the ancient lair in a warm, flickering brilliance. Though soft in years, I could already see the marks of great leaders in their controlled poses and focused eyes.These dogs stood for the birth of a new age to be developed on the hard-earned ideas and visions left to us by my heroic parents, therefore reflecting the future of our combined packs. It was now my great responsibility as Athena and Sebastian's son and Jax my younger brother to educate this new generation those revered values and ancestral knowledge."You all know the significance of why we've convened here this night," I began, letting my rich baritone carry the whole weight of the occasion. "The holy ceremonies to raise you from students to sovereigns over the continuation of our civilization's enlightened precepts."A handful of the younger ones seemed uncomfortable at the gravity of my words. I wore a forced smile on my worn
Anna POVAcross the sandstone walls of the den, soft candlelight danced shadows that appeared to bring the old etchings to life. Scenes of great wars, somber ceremonies, and the otherworldly visues of the ancient ones danced in the dazzling light. I inhaled steadying, letting the holy aura envelop me as I dropped myself onto the soft fur before the ceremonial fire pit. My fingertips gently stroked the strong wood lovingly white oak blessed by Luna Amara herself, drenched in berries. Its airy, cleansing tendrils brushed my flesh like a phantom mist.Since I had formally adopted Alpha's mantle, today was the first full moon. A fresh moon cycle was breaking through a fresh era. One whereby I would guide our unified alliance into an unparalleled period of peace and illumination. No little chore for a young person two decades old. But my spiritual background and the iron will have passed on from my ancestors inundated my very cells with blessed power and conviction. Little footsteps' gen
Athena POVTen Years A flickering in the lifetime of an eternal, but eons appeared to have changed all around me. From the roots of conflict and hardship Sebastian and I had lived, so much had blossomed.The den bathroom mirror flashed back a mature beauty, residual youthful brightness now enhanced by a royal, almost imperial posture. Laugh lines framed whole lips, showing a ten-year history of great happiness. My small, toned body nevertheless turned alpha heads. Sebastian most definitely never gets bored with destroying me every night as lovesick newlyweds do.As I turned the diamond encrusted wedding band around my finger, I felt a gentle satisfaction. Now the perfect unity symbol I had created for that terrible Sienna embodied the purest spousal loyalty. The great light of our love had sterilized her deadly daggers of betrayal and evil. A high pitched shriek pulled me from dream. I grinned, adjusting my summer tunic as tiny feet pounded closer. The door opened and a tiny tornado
Sienna Mother POVMy tending tools' regular clunk against the hard-packed mud floor offered a calm cadence. Every careful cut of root vegetables and herb mixing functioned as a little ritualistic offering to drive out the demons of past misdeeds.I still felt the weight of that darkness weighing down on me, an inky, stifling miasma of sadness, wrath, and misplaced vengeance almost corrupting me beyond redemption even now. The road I had begun down in the name of exacting revenge for my daughter Sienna was one tinged with terrible crimes and sins. But I had been spared completely giving my soul to those horrible depths by the kindness and intelligence of the Nightwalkers and allied packs. My life had been given an improbable continuity, a chance atonement I knew I could never merit.Sometimes even the basic tasks of attending to the spiritual and medical needs of our new haven felt like an unjustified privilege. The mother of a deranged, homicidal monstrosity, how could I be given r
Athena POVOur caravan reached the last mountain pass as the first rays of light were barely peeping over the horizon. A collective silence descended over the worn-out procession of wolves as the jagged forms gave way to the expansive views beyond.This was it the rich valley Hendrix had sought with every deliberate step of our exhausting journey. Virgin and pure like the earth before the embrace of civilization's development, a real paradise unspoiled by human efforts. As we first viewed the panoramic sight, Sebastian's calming presence at my side helped me. From this distance, the promise of refuge emanated from the very ground itself - a rich, earthy scent that piqued my increased lupine senses. Hendrix signaled for the packs to make camp just inside the pass, clearly understanding the need to gather before setting off into our fresh starts. Though tired to the bone, the assembled thrumming masses carried a tangible pulse of relief and expectation."Well!" The austere rumbling of
Sebastian POVOur large pack was leaving the gathering grounds as the first rays of dawn just peaked on the horizon. Though my body had long since given up the vitality of youth, in those first moments an almost electric stream of energy surged through me. This was it, the start of our magnificent journey into hitherto undiscovered territory.My eyes strayed over the line of wolves walking solemnly beside me. So many well-known people, generations of bloodlines and kinships entwined under those lupine pelts. It was a humble sight that sent off a reflexive protectiveness right down in my core.Whatever paths forward, whatever dangers we were destined to face, I would make sure our people came out on the other side intact. Too much had already been given up to let this desperate endeavor fall apart before it could start."You're quite reflective this morning." As Athena dropped into step next to me, her little voice caught my attention. " EVEN for you."I sensed the rueful half-smile of
Hendrix POVI waited in the hole for the packs to react to my suggestion in great silence. The choice of whether to leave our ancestral house felt like a millstone around every lupine throat. It was against every strand of our beings to uproot our whole lives and to turn our backs on the places that had protected us for ages. Still, the hard fact of cold could not be overlooked the human world was invading far too much of our land. If we stayed, exposure and the carnage that would surely follow seemed like an increasingly certain fate. The alphas started nodding their terrible assent one by one. First was Drystan, with his sharp but firm rugged features. The grizzled warrior understood the great need of this circumstance after seeing enough cycles of violence and death. "You make a good point, Hendrix," he rumbled, his rich baritone booming across the hollow. "Much as it hurts, we have to give our packs top priority. If moving is the only way we can guarantee our ongoing safety and