Aria's povThe journey to the battlefield took a day and a half. Although it was in Ashville’s territory which had extreme heat, the battlefield was surprisingly cold. Eerily so.The closer we got the more the temperature dropped as we got to the land where thousands of lives were lost and their bloods soaked deep into the earth. The land was bad here— ashen soil, rocky cliffs, remnants of the dead could be seen everywhere.Nothing grew in this part of Lycara, it was as if the place was cursed as even the sky above it was grey as not even the heavens dared to shine light on this cursed place.We dismounted from our houses as we got closer to the centre. Vanessa was the first to take a step forward, kicking dirt with her boot. “It's eerie here. This place clings to the memory of the past.”“It does,” I murmured.Kaida stayed close, her eyes scanning the area. Rowan stood beside her with a protective stance, if it were any other situation I would have found it cute. The enforcers spread
Ava's pov)The morning of my eighteenth birthday arrived far too quickly than I would have liked. The early morning sun filtered into my room from my window as I stared up at the cracked ceiling above my bed.The selection was today. Right on my birthday. Every year the werewolves go to the few remaining human settlements scattered around the continent to take humans who have just turned 18 to work as their servants until they are 50 or if you are lucky enough to have a good ‘master’ — as they love to refer to themselves, who would let you start a family in a settlement close to the pack but you'd still come to their houses every day to work.Centuries ago, humans and werewolves lived together in peaceful harmony but that was until we became greedy, power-hungry. We wanted to have supreme reign over the werewolves. A war broke out and the werewolves in their great strength and numbers defeated us, the majority of the human population was lost. To stop the werewolves from completely an
Ava's pov Whilst I had been observing my house the warrior had called out my name twice and I didn't hear him. All the villagers were looking at me eyes wide, whispers could be heard as they all feared for her safely Turning I locked eyes with the warrior, his gaze was piercing. His eyes were cold, expression unreadable but promised trouble. “I called your name twice,” he said, bearing his fangs. I stepped forward, steps slow and unhurried. I refuse to be intimidated. I held his gaze, no remorse or apology, if something bad was going to happen it would happen on my own terms. “Ava Sinclair, I said I called your name twice.” He repeated, his voice low as if he was daring me to challenge him. “And now I've heard it.” I retorted, keeping my voice steady even though my heart was pounding. I will never be weak before them. Collective gasp could be heard. The warrior took a step towards me and I heard the villagers behind me take a step back. I will not be intimidated, I will not
Ava's pov)The trip from silver claw pack to Blackthorn was expected to take three days. I have never left the pack's boundary as it wasn't particularly safe for humans to travel.The trip was a bumpy one, we were all cramped in so I occasionally got an elbow to the side or a stomp on my feet. Sleeping was difficult, I'd place my head on one of Sylvia's shoulders to sleep and she'd do the same with me.We weren't let out of the carriage all through the trip. During the three days we spent on the road, a warrior would come to open our door three times a day to give us meals. At least they didn't starve us…I thought.They would also bring us out twice a day to do our business, although we were blindfolded.As I woke up today the ride was silent, I didn't hear the usual chatter of the warriors. The air was warm, meaning that we were far from the north.The warmth, body heat and the heavy layers of winter clothing we all had on made inside the carriage a burning furnace. My clothes are d
Xander's pov I sat in my office going over some documents with my beta,Magnus Kane, and younger brother, Rowan Blackthorn. There are 10 packs in Lycara — the werewolf continent. Blackthorn pack in the center, this is my pack, directly run by me. Silverclaw pack in the north, Stormfang pack in the east, nightshade pack in the west, blood moon in the southwest, iron claw pack in the south east, wildheart pack right next to us her in the central region, Ashville pack in the northwest, thornspike pack in the northeast and lastly rainville pack in the far east. Each pack has their own unique specialty. Silverclaw pack has elite warriors and high endurance to cold weather, stormfang are known for their agility and naval navigation, nightshade are known for their impeccable stealth and mastery of poison, bloodmoon for warfare, iron claw for blacksmith and weapon forgery, wildheart animal taming and archery, ashville explosive making, thorn spike traps and ambush, rainville healing and h
Xander's povStepping out of the office with Rowan and Magnus flanking my sides, I'm greeted by warriors stationed in the hallway, omegas and human servants alike going about their daily task.Looking out one of the windows in the hallway I spot the carriages that have brought the humans. The humans were being led out by warriors from each carriage.I spot a flash of silver hair belonging to one of the humans from the silverclaw pack. A female. Something about her drew me in, I couldn't see her face yet as she seemed to be shielding her eyes from the sun.A throat cleared, it was Magnus signaling that we should keep moving. Pulling myself away from the window we continued on our journey down.Upon getting to the ground floor where the throne room was situated, my ears picked up the sound of something or someone being dragged, there was some sort of struggle.Magnus, Rowan and I all shared a look. Could it be a human? That was impossible, they all feared us and dared not to even breath
Ava's povThere was something about the way he was looking at me, it sent a tingling sensation through my body. My soul felt ignited, my heart was racing.What is going on?... I thought to myself.His eyes strayed away from my face and began scanning him. My face was flaming hot, his eyes were undressing me, smearing heat across my skin. This isn't me. Is this some new skill they have acquired? Bewitching humans to make them comply?...I thought to myself.Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was actually a couple of minutes, his gaze left my body and went back to the captain.“State your name, pack and rank.” The king ordered.The captain straightened his spine and went into full warrior mode.“Captain Rhysand Ryker of stormfang pack.” The captain stated.“Rhysand Ryker, noted.” I muttered under my breath.“Well, captain. Do you care to explain the ruckus you just caused at my castle.” The king asked, face dead serious and tone sharp.I heard captain Ryker suck in a deep bre
Ava's povI could feel eyes on me, more murmurs erupted, everyone was just as confused as I was.Why her? Why the sudden change of heart? What about his mate? Did the human do something to him…a mixture of voices could be heard, I was overwhelmed.“Enough!” The king ordered, his voice ringing in the throne room. Immediately the room became silent as though there weren't any people in it.“You, Ava Sinclair, I have chosen to be my personal entertainer.” He said, gaze locked with mine.I couldn't believe my ears. It's common knowledge that the king has never had a personal entertainer as he has been saving himself for his mate whom he has been searching for, for what felt like an eternity.At this point I wish the ground would just open up and swallow me whole. I said silent prayers in mind to whatever supreme being that was listening to let this either be a joke or a dream. Let the king either laugh at me and call it a jest or let me wake up because this can't be happening.I wasn't ju
Aria's povThe journey to the battlefield took a day and a half. Although it was in Ashville’s territory which had extreme heat, the battlefield was surprisingly cold. Eerily so.The closer we got the more the temperature dropped as we got to the land where thousands of lives were lost and their bloods soaked deep into the earth. The land was bad here— ashen soil, rocky cliffs, remnants of the dead could be seen everywhere.Nothing grew in this part of Lycara, it was as if the place was cursed as even the sky above it was grey as not even the heavens dared to shine light on this cursed place.We dismounted from our houses as we got closer to the centre. Vanessa was the first to take a step forward, kicking dirt with her boot. “It's eerie here. This place clings to the memory of the past.”“It does,” I murmured.Kaida stayed close, her eyes scanning the area. Rowan stood beside her with a protective stance, if it were any other situation I would have found it cute. The enforcers spread
Ava's povEveryone was busy trying to familiarize themselves with their new weapons when Lyra let out a gasp.“Guys. Over here!” She called out.Alarmed, we all turned and headed towards her. We found her standing in front of a bookshelf at one end of the forest. She had pulled a rusted chain attached to the wall which removed and revealed a hidden mechanism.After exchanging a look with all of us, she pressed the mechanism. A low click sound echoed through the chamber followed by a groaning sound then the bookshelf shifted.Dust fell down as the bookshelf continued to move, making me sneeze.Xander stepped forward, his expression unreadable. “What the hell is this?”Kaida ran her fingers along the stone, eyes narrowing. “It’s another passage.”Rowan exhaled. “How many damn secret tunnels does this castle have?”As I stared into the darkness, I felt a sense of familiarity settle in me. Like I had been down there before.“This path leads to something important. Something you hid long a
Ava’s POVThe forge had given us answers, but they came with more questions. The words rang in my mind."The path to reforging light begins with fire, tempered by will, and sealed by sacrifice.”What does it mean?Xander stood beside me, his gaze locked on the golden script as if he was commanding it to give us more answers. The others stood around us still processing what I had just said.“We need to figure out exactly what this means,” Rowan said, his brows furrowed. “We know fire is involved—probably referring to the forge itself. But ‘tempered by will’ and ‘sealed by sacrifice’… that’s more vague.”Vanessa crossed her arms. “I don’t like the sound of sacrifice.”Neither did I.Kaida, who had been standing silently beside me, suddenly reached for the book. Her fingers brushed against the ancient pages, and the moment she made contact, the golden letters shimmered and shifted once more.A new paragraph formed beneath the riddle"To awaken the light, the forge must be fed the gifts o
Ava's povXander stood next to me, his sharp eyes scanning the large chamber. The others were in awe as well, looking at the relics scattered across the forge.“This place is… incredible.” Kaida said in my mind, stepping forward. Her green eyes scanned the place.“Alright, spread out.” Xander ordered, his voice deep and commanding. “Examine everything. If there's anything here we can use, we need to find it.”Rowan, Vanessa, and Draven moved toward the far end of the forge where racks of old weapons lined the walls. Lyra and Kael studied the anvil at the center of the room, their fingers tracing the glowing runes embedded in its surface.I took a deep breath then exhaled, trying to familiarize myself with the energy around me. I felt Aria do the same as well. “There’s something else here.” I murmured.Xander glanced at me. “What do you feel?”I wasn’t sure how to explain it. The energy of this place wasn’t just hovering— it was waiting for something.I reached out and brushed my finge
Ava’s POVWe listened as Rowan and Kael explained their discovery to us. I could feel a lot of energy radiating from the hallway they had opened.Xander stood next to me, arms crossed with his grey eyes locked on the map which floated in front of us. His expression was unreadable.“I can't believe this.” Xander muttered, his voice low and laced with curiosity. “There has been an entire forge beneath us all this time.”Vanessa leaned forward, studying the map closely. “If this is true then why are we wasting time? Let's go.”I ran my fingers over the glowing runes on the map, the magic dancing across my fingertips. “I'm impressed Kael, at your quick thinking and the way you located the bookshelf after a few minutes of studying this map.”Kael gave me a small bow. “Thank you so much, Ava.”There was a slight murmur that rippled through the elders, warriors and enforcers as they stared at the hallway. Most of them have spent their entire lives in this castle yet none of them had any know
Kael's povWhile Ava, Xander, Vanessa and the council were focused on deciphering the book and its connection to the riddle. My group and I were focused on trying to find spells— protective wards, enchantment and crafting magical weapons.It was quite shocking to find out that the entry to the dark forge would be in the same place the first war took place. It was a smart location to hide it, plus it wasn't far from Ashville.Everything was beginning to tie together perfectly. I was loyal to my king and will forever remain loyal, now, my loyalty also extended to the Luna queen Ava.Although she hadn't been formally announced as the queen, I already saw her as one and would treat her accordingly.I ran my fingers along the spine of an ancient book on the shelf. Dust rose to the air slightly disturbing my nose making me sneeze.Rowan, Draven, Lyra and a couple of enforcers worked alongside me scanning the shelves for anything useful.“This place is a goldmine for knowledge. ” Lyra murmur
Ava's povXander addressed the warriors next. “The rest of you will assist where needed, but you will also stand guard. Ava and I do not know the full extent of magic in this place and we want to ensure everyone's safety Incase if anything happens.”Elder Garrick scoffed, crossing his arms. “We’re wasting time playing scholars. We should be preparing our warriors and—”“You will do as you are commanded,” Xander growled, letting his alpha king authority wash over everyone in the room. “Or you will leave.”Garrick seethed but after exchanging glances with the other council members, he said nothing.To everyone's surprise, Xander's father spoke up. “I am not one to say something like this but I do believe we should trust Ava and Xander and see where this goes.”Everyone stared at him in shock. I turned to look at Xander who had his eyes locked on his father, something quietly passing through them.“Okay..” I said breaking the silence and taking a step towards the floating boom. “It's set
Ava's povXander who had been watching silently finally spoke up. “You said they have met each other in several lifetimes. Show us the. Show us what happened before so that we will understand what we're up against.”The keeper extended its glowing hand towards us. “You both have seen most of your memories. This is the last part of it.”The night shimmered then suddenly, we were standing in a large battlefield. The great war that changed everything. The air was thick with the scent of blood and smoke, werewolves and humans alike were clashing in the distance. War cries filled the air.In the woman stood a familiar woman, her silver hair although stained with blood, it still shone under the sunlight as she moved like the wind, killing those who attacked her, werewolves and humans alike but she never attacked anyone.“That's… Ava.” Thane whispered. I turned to see everyone watching the woman— mesmerized, by the way she flowed seamlessly on the battlefield.My eyes shifted to the figure t
Ava's povA soft, golden light began to glow on one of the high shelves. Like the one that had led me to the chamber months ago. Slowly, a thick ancient book began to float out of the shelf, we watched as it moved and gently landed on one of the stone tables in the center of the room.The cover was made with leather and had intricate runes that glowed faintly on the cover. Written in a bold, elegant handwriting was “the protect”The room was filled with a stunned silence.Then the familiar voice of the keeper echoed through the chamber. “That holds all the answers you seek.”The glow of the book brightened, filling the chamber. I looked at the council of elders who were now speechless.Xander gripped my hand then whispered in my ear. “This is it, my love. Our next step.”I nodded, my heart pounding. Whatever lay within those pages held the key to understanding our bond—and perhaps much more.Everyone stared at the book not knowing what to do or who would touch it first. Kael cleared h