ELLA The cold slab marble that I am bonded to is beginning to hurt my back. The seven witches on the council study the runes that are tattooed on my arms. They murmur to one another in a language that I am unfamiliar with while they try different spells to remove the markings.“I know if we could free her from the chains that traitor put on her, her powers would come to life,” the High Witch says curiously. “But these runes are more than simply etched into her skin.” “They were burned on,” I yell from the table unable to stand their hands on me any longer. “What was that dear,” another of the witches yells in my direction. She has been holding a funnel up to her ear to be able to hear me better. “They were burned on,” I yell louder, and I can see her nod in the direction of the other witches.“They appear to be burned on,” she yells to the other witches surrounding me and I catch many of them rolling their eyes at her. I have to stifle a giggle from escaping my lips.
EREBUS We land with a thud outside of a run-down mansion. Lucian runs to the tree line and begins to vomit in a small bush as I try to stagger to my feet. I cannot help but notice the look of amusement on Grace’s face as she watches us struggle to regain our balance after being teleported.“This is where I leave you,” Grace says once Lucian and I are back on our feet. “You aren’t coming with us?” Lucian asks before swallowing another hiccup of vomit. “I can’t,” she says before turning to me. “If Ella bore your mark they wouldn’t be able to keep her from you,” she says before she teleports from the area. “Are you ready to battle some witches?” I ask Lucian as I slap him on the back. Lucian’s face is still green from the teleport. He holds up one finger and heads back over to the bush and vomits one last time. “Ready,” he says as he wipes the remaining puke on his chin. “You find your way to Ella…” Lucian doesn’t wait for me to respond before he runs towards the dilapi
EREBUS As soon as I sink my teeth into Ella’s neck I can hear the wind stop blowing downstairs. My skin stops burning and I fall onto Ella’s chest exhausted. Ella’s eyes are tightly closed as she tries to fight off the effects of my venom, but she isn’t strong enough and I feel her body go limp under my own. Placing my ear on her chest I can hear the subtle beating of her heart and I know that she is still fighting in there somewhere. I try to push myself off of her, but my arms are weak. Looking at the skin on my arms it appears as if I have walked through fire. Huge pieces of flesh are missing, and the rest is bubbled and blistered. The sound of footsteps running in the hallway outside catches my attention. I force myself into a sitting position, ready to fight for my mate. The door to Ella’s prison swings open and hits the wall with a thud. Lucian is standing in the doorway panting heavily, partially shifted with his claws extended, ready to attack. Looking around the
EREBUS The flight back to Lycan City was awkward to say the least. Andrew insisted on sitting next to his daughter’s unconscious body and growled any time I got near. My inner lycan wanted to rip his head off but I knew that Ella would never forgive me for killing one of her fathers. So I sat with Lucian and we went over plans on how to up security around the city so the witches cannot teleport in and out as they please. Once we arrive back at the mansion Andrew refuses to let anyone but himself carry Ella. Stoically he carries her into the mansion and waits to be directed on where to put her. “Place her in my room,” I gesture to the door at the end of the hallway, but Andrew doesn’t move. “No,” he says simply. “Where was she staying before?”“She will heal faster in the proximity of her mate,” I try to reason with him, but he is ignoring my words. “You know,” I say with a smirk on my lips. “I am the King. I could command you to place her in my room.”“But you won’t,”
ELLA I can hear voices surrounding me but all I can see is black. Every inch of my body feels like it is being engulfed in flames. I try to open my eyes, but it is as if they are sewn shut and my limbs feel as if they are made of lead. I can’t move, I can’t speak, so I can only burn in agony alone. Everything is dark until a memory fills my mind. “But I don’t want to be homeschooled,” I pout pushing my plate away from me in anger. Ten year old me is sitting with her arms crossed over her chest in protest. My brother, Emerson is pushing his vegetables across his plate refusing to eat them. My father, Andrew, pokes him in the side and points to the veggies with his eyebrows furrowed together in frustration. Emerson pops a piece of broccoli in his mouth and pretends to gag before he begrudgingly chews and swallows. “Ella,” my mother says gently. “It is time that you start your training.” “But I don’t even have powers,” I pout again. My mother uses her emotions to calm the t
ELLA The cold night of my first shift fades away and a new memories surge forth. Birthday after birthday rips through my mind. Disappointment after disappointment with every birthday morning I woke up powerless. The moments pause on my eighteenth birthday. The ringing of a phone awakens me from my sleep. “Mmmm ’ello,”I say sleepily into the phone. “Happy Birthday, my Love,” my mother’s voice rings sweetly through the phone like a song. “Do you feel any different?” She asks and my heart sinks with her words. “No mother,” I cannot hide the exasperation from my voice. “I am still powerless.” The memory fades and another comes into my field of vision. “No, Ella,” My uncles voice screams at me in frustration. “You aren’t paying attention. Again.” Taking a defensive stance in the center of the training field. I motion to my Uncle that I am ready. Circling one another I watch intently as he studies my movements. He expects me to be on the defensive but instead I hur
ELLA Dragging my eyes away from the literal Goddess that is standing next to me, I look back at my unconscious body lying on the bed. “I am dying aren’t I,” I whisper to the Moon Goddess.“Not necessarily,” Selene says gently. She guides me over to the chairs in the corner of the suite and gestures for me to sit. “Whether you live, or die is up to you.” “He marked me against my will,” I choke out through silent sobs. “What was it that you said to your wolf before turning yourself over to the coven?” I can feel the Moon Goddess flickering through the memories in my head. “One life to save countless others,” she repeats my words. “Ella, this is what you have been doing for years. Why do you think I put you back in those memories? You constantly sacrifice what you want for the good of those around you. Your mate was only doing the same thing.” My memories flicker back to my time in the coven, and I remember how they refused to let me go because Erebus hadn’t marked me yet.
ELLAI have been awake for three days and it has been three days of listening to my father and Erebus bicker over my wellbeing. Erebus insists that I stay locked in my room because I need rest. My father is sure that fresh air and letting Lily out for a run is the best thing for me. I just sit between the two of them and listen to them fight. Most days I zone out and think about the mark that I now have on my neck. I was certain that Erebus would have regretted his decision by now but every morning I awake to fresh flowers from the greenhouse in my bedroom. Each day a different flower and color. Not to be outdone, my father makes my breakfast every morning and brings it to my room himself. Every morning it is absolutely awful, but I don’t have the heart to tell him.“It looks like you will be getting your wish, Alpha,” Erebus says as he storms into my bedroom. My father shoots a deathly glare over his shoulder. I think he has forgotten that Erebus is more than just my mate,
ELLA Laying in the hospital bed I hold two tiny babies to my chest and watch their chests rise and fall with each breath that they take. Faris was born first, he came into the world screaming with his eyes wide open. One blue and one green, just like his father. Keena came quickly after her brother, not wanting to be left behind. She has a full head of dark hair and greenish blue eyes. Keena is much smaller than her brother, but we knew that would probably be the case. Faris’s scent of cedar is already strong indicating that he will probably have a wolf or a lycan. Keena on the other hand, her scent of roses is barely distinguishable next to Faris. I tried not to cry when the doctors told us not to get our hopes up that she would have a wolf or a lycan because the odds are low. Still as I stare down at them tears prickle at the corners of my eyes. Tears of both happiness that they are here and healthy but sadness because we do not know what the future will hold. Looking o
ELLA*Four Months Later* The warm summer air hits my round face as soon as I open the door of Emmett’s Jeep. I try to peer down over my large stomach to see the ground before I roll out of the vehicle, but all I can see is the bright pink shirt that covers my pregnant belly. “Emmett,” I yell knowing that I will need help maneuvering myself out of the Jeep. “Right here, Luna,” he says as he offers me his hand. I scoot to the edge of the seat and slowly lower myself to the ground. I can see Emmett smirking out of the corner of my eyes and I turn my head to give him a sharp glare. My bare feet hit the soft grass outside of the cabin and I wiggle my toes against the wet dew that had settled on the blades over night. “Ella… Luna…” Emmett corrects himself. “Where are your shoes?” He asks me with an air of frustration in his voice. “In your Jeep,” I say with a smirk on my face. “I meant why aren’t they on your feet?” He groans as he heads back to the Jeep to grab my shoes
ELLA*Two months later* The paper hospital gown itches and crinkles against my skin as I fidget in my seat. No matter how I turn my body I cannot seem to get comfortable. Anxiety pulses through my chest as I wait for the doctor to come in. Erebus, on the other hand, is sitting calmly off to the side flipping through the pages of a pregnancy book. “You aren’t nervous at all?” I growl at his relaxed demeaner. Erebus shrugs his shoulders and continues to flip through the pages of the book in front of him. “You are getting bigger by the day and we both have felt it kick. What is there to be nervous over?” “The fact that it could be human for one…” I pause as I realize what he just said. “What do you mean I am getting bigger by the day?” I can’t help the anger that is rising in my voice. “You can’t possibly be angry with me for saying that you are getting bigger,” Erebus pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. “You are pregnant. You are supposed to get bigger.” “But
ELLA Erebus swings the door heavy door to the dungeons open and the smell of mold and urine hangs heavy in the air. Murmurs of chanting fill my ears as I descend down the stairs, but it abruptly stops when I reach the bottom. Giving my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light I look at the cells that line the walls. Almost everyone one of them is full. During the battle I had only noticed the seven witches on the council, but it appears that there were many more fighting on their side. As I reach the first cell I frown at the sight that is before me. A young woman with jet black hair is crouched on the ground like a caged animal ready to attack at any moment. Her body shakes with fear as I look down on her. I try to remember what Grace and Sister Jasper both said, to look with my heart. Closing my eyes I let out a deep breath clearing my mind. We I reopen my eyes the young woman is staring at me curiously. A bright blue aura surrounds her body. I attempt to look into he
ELLA After the battle the wind no longer blows in strongly from the North. The Sisters of Wisdom have been put in chains and led off to the cells below the Royal Mansion in Lycan City. I watch silently as the those that are injured are helped to their feet. There is no line between lycan and hunter at this moment. Everyone is on the same team. “You did an impossible thing tonight.” Someone says as they silently approach me from the side. I turn and see Sister Jasper watching as a lycan carries an injured hunter through the woods back to hospital in Lycan City. “What was that?” I ask not taking my eyes off of my warriors. “You brought together two enemies to fight for the future of all of our kind,” Sister Jasper says, and I cannot help but notice how her eyes flicker to the amulet that now sits in the hollow of my neck. “The Sisters of Wisdom did not give us much of a choice,” I say in no more than a whisper.“The lives that they took from us can never be replaced.” I r
ELLA Everyone watches in silent reverie as Grace’s ashes dance on the wind as they climb higher and higher into the sky. It is as if they are jumping from one cloud to the other as she makes her way up to the heavens above. It would have been a beautiful sight if I was not so damn sad. Looking down to my left I see that Lilith is nothing more than ash now as well. I resist the urge to kick her ashes into the mud and snow. Walter grabs ahold of my shoulders and pulls me away from what remains of Lilith’s body. “She would want to be with her,” he mumbles. “That’s what Grace would have wanted,” he clears his throat as he speaks trying to hide the sobs that threaten to escape him. I look up into his brown eyes that are filled with tears, and I know that he is right. Grace and Lilith spent centuries at each other’s sides. Puckering my lips once again I blow a gentle breeze over the ashes that were once Lilith and send them into the heavens so she can be with Grace. Huge tear
ELLA A blistering cold wind blows in from the North as we approach the outskirts of Lycan City. Wrapping my coat tightly around my ever growing belly I try to maintain some type of warmth on this cold night. All I can think about as we approach the Wolf’s Den is the defeated look on Grace’s face as I stared at her through Lilith’s eyes. Off in the distance I can see a cloaked figure waiting in the darkness and I know that she is waiting for me. Holding up my hands, I gesture for those that are walking behind me to stop but none of them do. Taking a deep sigh I place a barrier between the cloaked figure and the group of hunters and lycan warriors. Stepping through the barrier I turn back to Erebus who is banging against the invisible barrier trying to break through. “Let me through, Ella,” he yells threatening. “No,” I say in no more than a whisper. “This fight is mine and mine alone.” “You cannot win this alone,” Erebus’s voice sounds panicked as he and the hunters and t
ELLA The pages of the spell book glitter and shine as I flip through them like they have never done before. Gently I turn the pages one by one, mumbling the names of the spells as I pass them by. “Summoning Spell… Tracking Spell…” The symbols on the page morph and transform into readable words before my eyes. Running my fingers over the page a long, thin, blonde strand of hair catches under my fingers. Between my forefinger and my thumb I grasp ahold of the strand of hair and hold it up to the light. The blonde shimmers slightly in the dim light of the library. I have only seen hair this color twice before. “Please belong to Lilith,” I mumble to myself. Just then a knock on the wall behind me startles me. I quickly place the hair back between the pages of the book and slam the cover shut. “What was that?” Erebus asks curiously as he lays his head on my shoulder and wraps his arms around my waist. I sigh to myself before I answer. “It is a strand of hair that I found o
ELLA The tension in the room is so thick that it could be cut with a knife. The Hunter’s Clan sits on one side of the room glaring at the Lycan Royal Guard that is sitting on the other side. Erebus, Walter, Lucian, Emmett, and I all sit in the center of the room, none of us knowing who should speak first. Finally one of the hunters clears his throat and stands up from the corner of the room. “Are we all just going to sit around and stare at one another or are we going to talk about the problem with this witch coven?” His voice quivers as he speaks, and his hands are clinched at his sides to keep him from shaking. Erebus nods at the hunter who quickly takes his seat. “He is right,” Erebus says a little too loudly. “The Sisters of Wisdom have gone too far attacking innocent werewolves and lycans.” Erebus begins to explain. “They need to be stopped.” “It isn’t just your kind that is being attacked,” one of the other hunters stands up. He is a large burly man with a long bea