Elysia,The city lights flickered beyond the tall windows, their glow casting elongated shadows across the room. I lay in bed, my body burning with fever, every limb aching from the poison coursing through my veins. The dull roar of the bustling streets below felt distant, almost like a memory I couldn’t quite grasp. Beside me, Ruby slept peacefully, her tiny chest rising and falling in steady rhythm. It was astonishing how much power she wielded. To have taken down a female beta wolf without a single scratch was something even seasoned warriors couldn’t claim. And the teleportation—swift and precise—was proof of her immense strength. I should have expected nothing less, but even so, her abilities left me in awe. Yet, despite all that had happened, a nagging question remained in my mind. How had they found us? Hades had been tending to that woman since earlier. I had never seen her before, nor did I care to know her, but she was clearly of some importance. I could only assume sh
Hades,"Master!" Dallas stormed into the room, his face burned and his body tense. He looked around, scanning for threats or disapproval, but his discomfort was obvious. At the low table, Ruby had been occupied with her crayons, coloring something with deep focus. At his sudden entrance, she froze mid-stroke. Her wide, bright eyes landed on him, flickering with curiosity for only a brief moment—before twisting into rage. "You evil woman!" Her tiny voice rang out like a battle cry. The air around her crackled, and without warning, a small burst of fire shot from her mouth, aimed directly at Dallas. Dallas barely had time to react. He flinched, stumbling back in surprise and immediately darted behind me for protection. Elysia let out an amused chuckle but moved quickly, wrapping her arms around Ruby and pulling her close. "Calm down, Cupcake," she murmured, pressing a reassuring kiss to the top of her head. "It’s not the bad woman. It’s your brother, Dallas." Ruby blinked
Hades, Her pulse It thrummed beneath her delicate skin, a steady rhythm that sent shockwaves through my body. Each beat echoed in my skull, syncing with my own erratic heartbeat. The scent of her blood curled through the air, sweet and intoxicating, igniting a hunger so raw that it clawed at my throat. A primal need crashed over me. Instinct. Hunger. Desire. It overrode everything. I forgot that I wasn't only a werewolf, I was something else too. Something dangerous. Ruby stiffened beside her mother, her sharp instincts picking up on the change. Her bright eyes flickered to me, widening slightly, cautious and wary. Elysia, however, remained unaware. She reached out, her fingers grazing my shoulder, her eyes filled with pure concern and worry— But I snapped, “Don’t touch me!” The words ripped from my throat, harsher than I intended. I jerked away from her touch as if burned, my entire body rigid with restraint. Elysia blinked in surprise, confusion flickering acr
Hades,The moment the flickering lights of daylight hit my eyelids, I opened my eyes. A smile spread over my face when the moments of last night suddenly rushed through my mind unexpectedly. Her touch, the way her body curled against mine, and the quiet comfort of her breath against my neck—it all came back like a warm breeze. Assuming that my little mate would be next to me, I turned.But instead of seeing the sight of my little mate, I felt a cold, empty side next to me. The sheet was still slightly crumpled, her scent faint but lingering like an afterthought. A low chuckle escaped my throat. She was an early bird and I underestimated her. It was so like her to wake before me and slip out quietly.Throwing the blanket away from my body, I decided to head to the bathroom first and then to the kitchen or the gym. However, as the blanket hit the other side of the bed, a soft crinkle caught my attention. My vampire instincts, sharp and ever-alert, instantly honed in on the unfamiliar
Hades,“Take care of Ruby. I will return soon.”That was all she left behind. After translating it that was all I got from her note. One short line, scrawled in her unmistakable handwriting. No explanations. No details. No clue where she was going or why she had to leave so suddenly. I held the note in my hand, staring at it until the ink began to blur. The words looked simple—innocent, even—but I knew better. They were heavy. Laced with finality. And that terrified me more than anything.Elysia was gone.There was no sign of her presence in the house. Not even the faintest trace of her scent. Her aura, usually woven so thickly into the walls that I could feel it even in sleep, had vanished. She’d covered her tracks well. Too well. The last footage of her stiffed movement before she entered in my study was the only thing I could find.She didn’t just leave.She disappeared.And she took three parts of the Knowledge with her. The Knowledge wasn’t something you simply took and walked
“My child!”Selene’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. She stood a few steps away, glowing faintly in her usual graceful poise, her silver hair floating like mist around her. But it was her eyes—filled with worry—that caught me off guard.“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked gently. “You’re happy, aren’t you?”I looked at Ella beside me. She wasn’t just a part of me—she was me. Her presence had become clearer since the memories started coming back. She nodded slowly, as if giving me the permission I didn’t know I needed.I shook my head, not because I wasn’t happy, but because this went beyond me now.“I remember what Hecate said when she gave me this second chance,” I told Selene, my voice steady despite the storm in my chest. “I can’t let her win.”Selene’s expression softened. She stepped forward and reached out, placing one hand on my head, the other on Ella’s. The warmth from her touch sank into my skin like sunlight after a cold storm, and for a moment, I felt safe. L
I felt a deep pit settle in my chest the moment I stepped out of the house three days ago. An inexplicable ache stirred within me, one I tried to suppress but couldn’t ignore. I felt bad—terrible, even—but I couldn't stay. Not when Hades was around. Not when every fiber of my being warned me that our destinies had already entangled and unraveled before. Our fate wasn’t fresh or new. It had already run its course in some forgotten past, tangled in blood and sacrifice.For some reason, in my previous life, despite everything that happened on that day—the day I stabbed him in the chest—I kept getting this strange, haunting feeling: Hades didn’t die. He should have, but he didn’t. Our mate bond had been severed, that much I was sure of. But still, he hadn’t died. My gut screamed that he lived. That maybe, just maybe, the two cloaked figures who drove their blades across my chest that day were somehow connected to Hades. Perhaps it had all been to sabotage Hecate’s grand design. To destro
Hades,The wind bit against my face as I stood at the edge of the Moonlit Silver Wolf Pack’s territory, holding Ruby close to my chest. Her small hands gripped the front of my shirt tightly, her cheek pressed against me. She hadn’t spoken much since that morning. Not after watching me panic, tear the house apart, and shout into every corner for someone who never replied. Three days.That was how long it had been since I last saw Elysia. Since she sat at the kitchen table like a statue and then vanished into silence and chaos. The note, the blackout footage, the missing documents—every second since had gnawed at my sanity. Now, here I was, seeking the only person I thought might have some answers.Gamma Celeriac stood at the packhouse entrance, tall and rigid like a mountain. His presence had always demanded respect. But now, his expression was unreadable, carved from stone. He hadn’t aged a day since I last saw him, but something in his eyes looked heavier, deeper—like he already kne
"My father said…" The leader of the Wizards stood tall, his pale face tilted upward with arrogance, as though the world itself were beneath his feet. His voice echoed with a tone that sliced through the tension in the air, sharp and unsettling. "Witches are the hunters of Wolves and Vampires. The most thrilling moment of a wizard’s life is to make a stew from their blood… and drink them." He chuckled, a slow, rotten sound that sent a ripple of discomfort across our group. His sunken eyes scanned us, predatory and gleaming with amusement. "But those who dare to be arrogant," he paused, dragging each word like a blade across flesh, "should be bestowed with cruel, harsh deaths. Including…" He stepped forward, and that’s when we noticed the limp. A wooden cane revealed itself from beneath his flowing black robes, the intricate carvings glowing faintly with runes older than memory. Before I could react, Hades wrapped an arm around my waist and launched us backward with a powerful jump.
I was stunned when he said it.His voice had been quiet, almost hesitant, but the weight of his words struck me like a storm breaking over calm waters.He knew. He knew about my second chance at life.That impossible secret I had buried deep inside me, locked beneath layers of silence and fear—he had just spoken it aloud like it was nothing. Like it was normal. Like it didn’t change everything.I wanted to ask how. I wanted to understand. But I couldn’t focus on him anymore.Because the Dark Stone was pulsing in my hand.A deep, thrumming beat—slow and relentless. It wasn’t just a stone. It felt alive. And with every passing second, it dug deeper, pressing its will into my skin, into my blood, until I could feel it crawling through my veins like smoke made of shadow.It whispered to me."Power. Corruption. Madness."The words slithered through my thoughts like snakes, coiling tightly around the parts of me I didn’t want to acknowledge—the anger, the grief, the desperation. It knew who
Elysia,The moment the figure stepped into the moonless clearing, I knew we weren’t alone. Something ancient stirred in the shadows—its hunger palpable, its gaze unseen but heavy on my skin.I tightened my hold on Hades, but my eyes remained ahead, locked on the figure cloaked in midnight. Around us, the darkness pulsed with unnatural rhythm, and one by one, more emerged—cloaked beings, their hands already crackling with magic.Wizards. No... sorcerers. Old ones.They formed a circle, trapping us in a ring of glowing runes etched into the ground. Their faces were hidden beneath deep hoods, but I could feel their magic thrumming like a war drum—primordial, malicious.The sky was darker than we remembered.. The lightning was displaying like a hired actor in the distance. Hades bared his fangs, his eyes glowing crimson with fury as his wings spread wide behind him. The air turned colder with every breath he took, shadows rippling outward from his feet.“We’re surrounded,” I muttered, st
I thought the night would be spent without incident, peacefully, as it always should. Elysia was in my arms, warm and relaxed, her body pressed against mine. We slept in that timeless, serene way, until the sound came—unnatural, strange, slicing through the quiet like a scream from the past. My eyes snapped open, heart racing. It wasn't the usual sounds of the night. Not the wind rustling through the trees or the distant hoot of an owl. This was different—something far more sinister. It caught my attention immediately, and as I tried to focus on the source, I heard voices outside, growing louder, laced with panic. Elysia stirred beside me, half-awake, her fingers curling around me instinctively. She was still groggy, but the unease in the air seemed to drag her from sleep. I felt her body shift as she clung to me, her breath warm against my chest. “What is it?” she murmured, barely awake, but already sensing the shift in the atmosphere. I opened the window, the cold night air bitin
Hades,The horses’ hooves echoed in the stillness of the night as we made our way toward the village. The forest around us seemed to watch, as if holding its breath. Elysia had been quiet for hours now, her usual confidence replaced with something softer, something I couldn't quite place.I turned my gaze to her, watching as her eyes scanned the path ahead, her back straight and poised. The way the moonlight caught her hair made her look ethereal, as if she didn’t belong to this world at all. After discovering our identity, we decided to shift to our original form except letting our Wolf roam freely. Otherwise the witches would spot us. I hated that she’d been forced into this situation. I hated that she’d taken parts of The Knowledge, to protect me. But I’d never been one to ask for explanations—not when the truth was hidden so far beneath the surface.The road wound toward the small village, nestled in the valley like some forgotten corner of the world. There was something quiet
Unknown's POV,"Haris is burned to death?" My voice was calm, or I thought I was calm. However, every vein in my body was screaming.Haris, one of my trusted people, died? By whom? A young woman? This was unacceptable."We found no more traces of that woman. However—" Kaelan hesitated, pulling out a handkerchief from his robes —" We have found traces of abnormality in these ashes. It wasn’t a witch or wizard's flame."He opened the cloth in his palm and revealed a pile of fine, dark ashes. They were unremarkable at first glance, but the moment I stepped closer, I felt it. That strange hum in the air. The unsettling vibration that laced the magic left behind.My eyes widened. In a world ruled by witches and wizards, what kind of flame could reduce someone like Haris to ash in seconds?I reached out and took a pinch between my fingers. The moment the ashes touched my skin, a violent surge ran up my arm. It wasn't pain—it was a shock, a jolt of power so foreign and dark that my muscles r
My heart sank when the dark shadows shrouded the sky, surrounding us like a layer of thin black polythene. At first it felt like our soul had been deprived by something stronger, heavier and suffocating. But that feeling soon disappeared when Bryan's hand reached my shoulder. " Who are you?" He whispered, " It seems like you are their target. Are you running away from someone? Be honest with me if you want to stay alive!" He warned with a shiver-sending coldness. However I could feel the edge of the concern and genuine worry in his tone. My palms sweated as I grabbed the leather jacket that I was wearing. The night was cold and it was freezing my body. But the tension felt unbearably suffocating. " I...!"" If I am not wrong!" The person in the shadow, wearing a black robe and a book on his hand, cut my words... " You are Master Bryan from the front line Border area!" His voice was condescending. His eyes glistened with a distinct red flickering. A sharp light came out of the bo
He had Two different colors like Hades had. But before I could ask, the color changed. And, The fortress shook violently. I didn’t know what to expect.The roots, those monstrous, writhing tendrils of darkness, seemed to be multiplying with each passing second. The air was thick with dread, suffocating, as if the fortress itself were alive, breathing down on us, caging us in. I could feel the walls closing in, the air getting heavier.Bryan didn’t wait. He moved, swift and deadly, like a shadow. The shimmering blade in his hand cut through the chaos around us, the magic crackling with energy, searing the air. Sparks flew in every direction, the sound of blades slicing through the air mingling with the guttural growls of the creatures encircling us.I watched him for a split second, too transfixed by his movement—his grace, his power—before I forced myself to snap out of it.Focus.I drew my dagger, its cold metal steady in my grip, though my hands trembled slightly. The trembling ha
Elysia,Within ten seconds, we were no longer in the dark chamber that held the Breath of the Dark Stone. The moment we inhaled it, everything shifted. Now, we stood before an enormous fortress, its towering walls strangled by thick vines of thornbane—a plant I recognized instantly. Black thorns curled outward like claws, and tongue-shaped violet blossoms swayed as if breathing. The very air felt hostile.The burning sensation in our throats had dulled, but the aftertaste of magic lingered like smoke in our lungs. We didn’t know how we got here, but it was clear—this place was nowhere near safe.Thornbane. Poisonous. Paralyzing. Hallucinogenic.I remembered its profile from Grandma Aurora’s herb book. One brush of its thorns could freeze the lungs, make you hallucinate until your heart gave out. People didn’t survive thornbane. It survived them.I scanned the environment, instincts prickling. Bryan stood beside me, silent, his face turned toward the fortress that looked like it had be