ALEXIOSIt took two days to reach Nightshade territory much to my chagrin. Mother chose to follow me and surprisingly so did Fiona. I did want to tell her no. But she was her own person. As much as I knew why she was joining us, I didn't have the heart to stop her. I was convinced she would eventually come around. We were accepted into the almost desolate pack grounds that happened to be Nightshade. My heart thumped as the vehicle I was in slowly carouseled around the maze that was their settlement before eventually stopping in front of a mansion. It was vast in every manner. So much so that it almost rivaled the Rose mansion. In front of the entrance was Vitale, the new Alpha of the Nightshade, and next to him were two elders. One's demeanor was cool as the starry night. The other however looked as blue like a ghost. The whites in his eyes became almost bloodshot at the sight of me. I could hear his heart from the comfort of the car. He was very much afraid and rationally, there were
ALEXIOS The car door flew open and I watched as my mother and Fiona paced onwards. My name as being yelled. Although, all I could hear was white noise. My eyes were fixated on Fiona. She gave me a knowing look. Perhaps it was all in my head but the glow in those eyes had darkened. I saw guilt in those dark irises. Fiona rushed to my side, her hands were firmly placed against my head to stop the bleeding. She was crying. So was my mother. The world died in front of me before burning alight again. With the alien strength that arose within me, I pushed Fiona away from my line of sight. Pack members of the Nightshade pack were now battling with the reanimated corpse. Their goal seemed to be to free Vitale who was still impaled in the chest. "Where is Lydia?" The creature asked again, digging its speared fingers deeper into the Alpha's flesh. Vitale groaned in absolute suffering as the creature continued to forcibly extract information from him."I don't know." He wussed, crimson sputt
ALEXIOS I bolted up to sitting, aware of the way I melted into the bed I was in. The chill of air brushed against my bare chest, kept from my knowingly naked body by a thick duvet tucked around me. I half expected to see nothing but crimson. But the would on my forehead and the broken bones were gone. The room was dark. The lamps were dim and the curtains blocked a lot of the sun lights phasing through the windows. That and the broad dark shadowy figure that blocked the lamp light in front of me from reaching me.He stood before me. Vitale. Shadow cast across his cheekbones which hollowed out the features of his heinous face.I looked down, unable to hold his dreary stare, and muttered, “You saved me.”Even in my state, I knew how to act. Humble and grateful. Despite the rage surging inside me like electricity. Fiona had probably gotten what she wanted. An answer to where Lydia was hiding. "Where is my mother?" I further asked."In one of the guest rooms," Vitale answered. "She cou
ALEXIOS I wasn't sure what I expected to feel next. Perhaps I wanted the rush of emotions to overpower me. Perhaps I wanted to feel her around me once again. It was probably stupid but I had tried it. I grabbed a pillow and sighed whilst staring at the ceiling. I wondered if she was watching now. Selene, alleged mother of the night. The goddess who had done absolutely nothing for me. If she was watching, if she care at all, I wanted her to hear me."I'm trying. I am not a silly defenseless child anymore. For years, I have done without your protection or your so called grace but if you can hear me... If you give two fucks about that innocent girl whose life is currently in danger, You'll give her back to me." I paused, breathing in. I waited, expecting something. A sign. It was either that or having to scout the cemetery for clues. But there was nothing. No miracle. No magic. It was just like I remembered. The goddess was fucking useless. I did want to get to my feet and get to work.
LYDIA The day after Elliot sacrificed his totem to see my mother for my sake, I found peace. For the first time in ages, I finally found it in me to leave this place. It had always been a youthful dream of mine to travel around the world and now that the weight of my mother's murder was off my chest, I found it possible to finally do good on that dream. So I made it known to Elliot during breakfast. Elliot made bacon and eggs. The smell of simmering fat crammed the air. As Elliot passed my plate towards me, I cleared my throat to speak."I have to go and see Vitale today."I watched as Elliot choked on a slice of bacon. I rushed to the kitchen sink and turned the valve, filling a glass with crystal clear water. I rushed back to the side and placed the glass to his lips but Elliot refused it. "What do you mean you want to see Vitale today?""Well... I want to leave town soon." I began, dropping the glass in my hands on the counter. "I didn't reject Vitale. It would be unfair of me to
ALEXIOS"Mom," I began as the driver parked somewhere convenient. "You should have stayed back at the Nightshade pack. Who knows who or what is out there?" She could not care less. She had been trying to reach out to someone on her phone. Each effort kept returning to voicemail but she didn't give up. Finally, whoever she was trying to speak to answered."Elliot! She is in danger." She immediately screamed unto the receiver. She gripped her phone for dear life as the words exploded from her throat. She inhaled deeply and swallowed saliva. Her eyes lingered my way and I could tell she regretted having this conversation with me in the car. I had questions. Like who the fuck was Elliot? It was quite easy to piece the second part of her sentence together. But queries still remained. What did this Elliot guy have to do with Lydia? I watched her adjust the mobile closer. Elliot had been whispering and my acute senses caught it. Whoever was by the receiver had to have known my mother. Like
FIONA Fire licked my fingers as I trailed my fingernails against the familiar car that was now packed in the cemetery I was scouting. It had taken one murder to get something about Elliot. A jacket he had gifted an old friend. Burning that ugly piece of fabric had given me an answer I was so desperately looking for. His DNA had been little to nothing but it revealed this much. The omega who went by the name Elliot was around here. Imagine my surprise upon discovering that Alexios could have beat me to it. I clicked a finger and one of the car doors flung open. Someone inside gasped. The driver's seat opened and one of Rose's sentinels stepped outside. His initial riposte was to shut the unhinged door but his gaze instantly flew my way. I could tell his instincts told him to run, flee or scream. Anything to ensure he was safe. Unfortunately for him, the gift of intuition would be his downfall. "You bitch!" He tried to sound intimidating but I could hear the blood curdling fear lace
ELLIOTMy heart skipped a beat and I proceeded to put off the loudspeaker icon for Lydia 's sake. I could tell she was spooked. But before I could, Lydia snatched the phone from my hands and slammed it into the table."I want to listen." She whispered to me. Her eyes glazed with tears."Is she with you?" Clara moved forward to ask. "Please, don't lie to me, Elliot."I looked at Lydia first before attempting to give any reply. She nodded in the negative. "Don't tell her." She whispered. "If you do, She will put herself in danger. I don't want to put her in harm's way."I swallowed. I was about to lie to Clara and I didn't like it. But I had to agree with Lydia . Clara would most likely put herself in harm's way and I knew firsthand how dangerous a Blossom witch could be. "No." I lied. "Lydia left my protection two days ago." Immediately, the words left my mouth, Lydia ended the call and practically raced to the guest bedroom which served as her room for her stay."Where are you g
LYDIA This was madness, wasn't it? As our tongues tangled together, playful one moment, hard and desperate the next. I had never been kissed so thoroughly or gloriously in my life. I knew it needed to feel wrong. Goddess knows I wanted it to feel wrong but when his body touched mine, when his lips plundered mine, the gap within me seemed to close up. I dared to believe at that moment that Alexios completed me but it was immoral. Yes, It shouldn't have felt good when felt his hands drifted to my waist and in seconds, my promise to hate this man perished as the stiff denim material I wearing fell to my feet. If I felt nothing for him, why did I toe off my sneakers and slip off my shirt giving him unbroken access to body, mind, and soul? His hands fingered through my panties and brassiere and with a single flick, they become nothing but shreds of clothing on the graveyard floor. His strong hands lifted me to a gravestone and I welcomed him between my legs, pulling him closer. His hand
ALEXIOSImmediately the ritual was over, Fiona's body was dropped by my feet. They were kind enough to say a last prayer to the woman who had caused them harm in the first place but they weren't about to bury her in a sacred place for their people and I understood that. "I apologize again for this. If it was in my power to bury her here, I have no problem doing so but as a Beta installed Alpha, my stance is not to be questioned." Vitale told me.I looked up at him blandly. I couldn't even focus on his words because all that dominated my heart were the things that Lydia had said about me. She was right. I was an arrogant idiot and a murderer. Those two things were the personality traits I had garnered since my childhood was taken for me. They were the only thing I could grasp on to at the time because those aspects of myself wouldn't leave me as my father had done."I understand." I finally replied. "I have an idea of where to bury her. I have a feeling she would like it there.""If t
LYDIA"You didn't have to do that," I told him. "It doesn't matter what anyone thinks of me. The bodies will be buried after the rituals are completed and I will be out of town. But a thank you is deserved I must say. Now that you are here again, I am reaching out to that stubborn part of your skull to see past the bond that is blinding you and see common sense. Alexios Rose, it would be in your best interest to reject me.""You act like it's only my wolf that will be eternal torment. We both will so instead of placating to my stubborn skull, you should be subduing your headstrong attitude. I will not be rejecting you. If we must suffer together, then so be it.""The rules might not apply to me, Alexios . My mom made the goddess promise her that I end up happy. Whether I choose you or not, it doesn't matter. The rules do not apply to me anymore. So please, reject me." I forced myself to ignore my wolf and my body’s demands even when Alexios stepped even closer. One of his hands cage
LYDIA I stayed. Not because of any of the things that Alexios had spewed. I did it for myself. Okay. Maybe I wasn't being completely honest. Alexios 's words did make some sense. I couldn't trust the Nightshade to give Elliot a proper burial. They couldn't even do it for my mother who was part and parcel of the pack and a goddamn Luna at that. Elliot had been an outcast at the time he died, as much as I viewed him as a hero, it was really tragic that plenty had no idea what sacrifices he had to make because I didn't matter, and neither did Elliot. The clean-up process had been fast. Swiftly wrapped up compared to the tragedy that befell us during the aftermath of the divine justice that befell my father. I couldn't quite tell if this was because of better leadership or prior preparation. By evening time, the bodies had been wrapped up and brought to a platform where the traditional rites of soul passage were read out for them. It almost brought tears to my eyes seeing Elliot's body
ALEXIOSMedics from the Nightshade finished strapping the last of their bloodied, defeated pack members onto stretchers. They were being taken to the pack's healer for treatment. I stared at the bodies on the floor. My eyes lingered where my mom stood, an inch not too far away from where Fiona's body lay. The medics around walked towards her body. Some of them had been rounding the bodies. But when they got to Fiona. I notice the scowl and disdain they all had on their faces. They all ignored it. In their eyes, Fiona was Blossom trash and I was torn. I did pity Fiona. I couldn't hate her. No matter how rational I tried to think about it. Not even when she had summoned a ball of fire to kill me as I continued to protect Lydia . But Fiona had been a true Blossom at the last moments of her life. She has become the very thing she hated about her family and that was the legacy she had left for herself. I felt guilty for that. Because as much as I tried to water it down. It was still my fa
ALEXIOSI had never shifted to my wolf form fully unless it was serious business and this was serious business. After being left stranded in the middle of nowhere by Fiona, I was pissed and downright worried. One of my pack members had been murdered by Fiona. I didn't know how to get out of that. As my mother and I sprinted on all fours, I made time to ponder on a truth that bothered me. I wondered if Fiona was worth saving at this point while also cementing the fact should the scenario eventually occur, Fiona posed a danger to Loretta. I couldn't let that happen. After running miles, we eventually made it to Nightshade territory. My keen senses caught the chaos. I could hear screaming the closer we got to the gates. It was not the scent of fire, smoke, and wood burning that made my wolf skid to a halt. It was the horrific sight in front of me. Lydia had pinned Fiona down. Her right hand was clasped to Fiona's throat. Her windpipe was blocked ensuring she couldn't cast any spells. H
FIONAWhy did I stop? I asked myself looking at the girl I was supposed to kill. My chimera had paused too because it sensed my hesitation. I did want to kill Lydia but that moment when she dropped to the floor and fetched Elliot's body shattered me. It brought back something I believed I could keep buried inside me for as long as I needed to. My humanity. Tears streamed down Loretta's face as Elliot breathed his last. Lydia remained rooted where she kneeled. She was cold and stiff as marble but beneath the surface, I could sense anger surging out of her frail little self like jolts of electricity consuming everything in its path. Her gaze rose from the body below her and she chuckled between gritted teeth. Eyes the color of a dark storm landed on me, twinkling with malice. I swore that the color of her irises altered. A menacing silver gleamed my way. I couldn't be seeing things because moments after Lydia Nightshade's irises turned ghost white. Her hair did too. "What the..." I t
NOTE: This conversation takes place mere seconds after our FL (Female lead) ascends to the second dimension. Time works differently here. However, this conversation is important for readers to understand what is about to happen soon after. The wolf stepped forward. The hair on its skin moving in molasses. Each stand moved like seaweed in the waters. Beautiful and mesmerizing. It didn't speak but I could hear its words loud and clear. I didn't quite understand it but neither was I so wary about it. "Do you know your mother was here last time?" The creature told me. "She stood at the very spot you are now. Covered a pool of her own blood. Yet all she did was think about you."I looked at the floor. The earth was filled with fine sand. Each smithereens looked like crushed glass. To think about that awful memory yet again brought me nothing but suffering. I swallowed a lump in my throat and looked at the ethereal beauty before me. "That is why I am here." I mused. "You want me to ask f
LYDIA Whatever fantasy I had conjured in my head died when I arrived at the gates. The great oak that had once barricaded the entrance had been shattered to smithereens. I saw bodies scattered across the ground. Some were missing heads. Some legs. The singular thing the bodies did share was that they were extinct. "Run!" A sentinel shoved me away from his path. The distress in his face was eminent as he raced for the creature his brothers were also fighting. Whatever it was, it looked like a man. It was double in size and riddled with tattoos that glowed red hot and singed deeper into its blue skin every passing second. The wind that blew my way confirmed that the enemy was anything but human. My nose simmered just inhaling. The air surrounding us smelled like sulfur and rotting meat. Behind the creature was a smaller figure unbothered by the chaos enveloping them. I squinted my eyes a little and realized the figure was that of a woman. Her hair danced in the hot whiff that encompas