It was barely morning when Ace heard movement in his room. His eyes snapped open, already becoming alert. Ever since the incident at Shelled, he has become extra conscious, even in his sleep. He woke to little movement, and even a change in the wind would wake him up.He would never go back to the unguarded person he once was, at least not until the war was over. He sat in bed, and his eyes glowed in the dark, wanting to know who was now in his room. Judging from the steps alone, whoever it was, seemed relaxed—maybe clumsy.They didn’t seem like attackers. Yet he couldn’t trust them. The footsteps came to his door, and they stopped moving.When the door cracked open, Ace was already on his feet, ready for an attack. Clumsy or not, someone was in his room in his house, and they were uninvited. It was his duty to protect himself and his home from everything.As the door opened wide, Ace moved swiftly to it, yanked the hand of the intruder, and pulled them into the room. He was about to
Xavier woke up to see Mia already awake and lost in thought. His arms came around her waist and pulled her closer to himself, releasing a long sigh.“Good morning, my love.” He said and kissed her shoulders.She squirmed and turned to face him in his arms. “Good morning, darling.”“It doesn’t look like a good morning for you; you are already up.” He pointed out and kissed her shoulders again.She buried her face in his hairy chest to hide the redness thereon. “I was thinking.”“About?”“The coming war and what to do with Kim and Lyon?”“We already discussed this. The two, along with the rest of the children, ages 10 to 1, will stay at the high tower until the war ends.” He reminded her of the decision they made about this same issue, and she nodded.“But we do not know how long the war will last. They are children and are more than a thousand; the High Tower cannot be their home. We do not know what tricks the soldiers from Foth wield, and we cannot make that our last resort.”“What d
Xavier arrived at the palace to find Mia and Alpha Chado waiting for him. Being the alpha of security, he had been on the shores along with a dozen of the king’s men on guard, focusing on the ships coming from Foth. Their duties were to report the advancement of the ship so they wouldn’t be caught off guard.His presence now meant that the ships were not less than a few hours away from shore.“It is time to move to the black cove.” Alpha Chado said.Xavier didn’t have to be told twice before gathering the rest of the king’s men in the palace together to depart.They came to the palace compound, and a large portal opened before them, and Xavier knew who it was. Edward.He was the only one left to join the feast of blood they called war. He had returned days ago to report King Aeon’s agreement to send soldiers. Then later, back to Jade to bring the soldiers.He didn’t step through immediately, but the soldiers holding the banners of Jade stepped through the opening, marching out in tens
Edward watched as Kailani played with Kim while answering Lyon’s questions with a straight face. Some of his questions had taken her off guard, and they had been at it for over thirty minutes; he knew that because that was how long he had been watching them.He watched them.He watched her many nights and days while he was away.When Xavier assigned him the mission to Jade, he had thought she would stop him; that would mean being too far apart. She was in Foth, and at least in Wahala, he saw her, portaling in and out. Now, in Jade, he didn’t have that much privacy or time to do all that. He thought she would rebel and tell him how much she needed him. But he should have known who his mate was; she wasn’t built like other maidens.A part of him wished she was, though; he wanted her to desire his presence more or at least show that she did, and it hurt every time she showed a bold face.Perhaps he was at fault; he had trained her for years to survive without him because he saw them apar
Xavier pondered everything even as he waited for the force of Foth to assemble at the black cove. Aeon was right; if he hadn’t agreed to give Damien a fair shot at this war, he would have had the upper hand and already wrecked enough damage. Was it pride talking when he made that agreement? Did his anger at every sneaky tactic the King of Foth has used so far make him decide recklessly? He wouldn’t know.Assembled here at the black cove were twenty thousand soldiers of the three kingdoms combined. The enemies coming against them were estimated at fifty thousand soldiers, but he knew they could take them on because that was what they had trained for in the last few years. He had seen this day; he had seen this war over and over. For a while, he thought he wouldn’t be a part of it, but here he stood, about to lead the bloodiest battle ever known in the history of the four kingdoms.“The army from Foth and the slaths approach!” Sir Duncan sounded the alarm, and the army of Wahala fell in
“Did you see that?” Edward asked Xavier as he saw the next batch of the Foth army form their formation.Xavier had also noticed this and wanted to engage in another attack tactic. They were already before their enemy, and formulating a plan now felt wrong on many levels.“The ones we just eliminated only had ground-level training. The ones we are coming up against now are the slath army, and Damien has over fifty thousand of them at his disposal. This is where the war begins.” Ace answered even though Edward didn’t ask him the question.He was the right person to respond because, though Xavier could see, he couldn’t do well with the explanation.“What do we do then?” Edward asked, turning his attention to Ace.“Prepare ourselves; the slath army, unlike the Foth soldiers, does not have any fighting tactics. Their only aim is to kill as many as they can before being they die.” Ace answered before adding, “Our soldiers trained specifically because of this enemy,” in the form of assurance
The last batch of the Foth army approached, coming out of the shadow to stand a few feet away from them. Like before, they stood in no formation, only holding their daggers and weapons.“So, do we attack?” Alpha Koz asked after a while, and no attack was made.“We wait for them to attack,” Xavier answered.Koz’s eyes narrowed at him. “We waited for them to attack earlier, and they took down almost all of our men.”“I know that,” Xavier answered.Koz frowned at him. “And you want us to wait.”“Yes, it is our only play,” Xavier told him.Koz didn’t want to do that, but he had no choice; the king made the rules, and they had to follow them.They returned to silence, so that the only sounds being heard were the heavily beating hearts of the soldiers on the field.“Fuck this!” Koz cussed under his breath and charged towards the army of Foth, standing and waiting for them.“Koz!” Xavier yelled at him, but he didn’t stop.Koz’s attack was reckless and not calculated, but he wanted his death
Edward saw Ace pass out on the battlefield and knew he had to return to the field and physically fight this war.Ace was the only other person with magic out there, and though he was still there, he was out.From this point at the black cove, he didn’t need to watch his back. He could see everyone from up here. As limited as it seemed, he knew this was safe for him. However, much was at stake, and he would provide great help down there.A part of him was scared. After his deal with the dark dimensions ended, he promised not to overbear himself with his powers, but this war asked for just that. He didn’t want to go down the path of no return. He still wanted to go home when this was all over and meet his mate, and together, they would have a happy life. That was if he survived this war. Pushing himself over the limit will rip it all away.He had no choice, though; they were losing. Chado was down, as were Alpha Grey and Ace. Xavier was barely holding on, and he was doing so because his
The alpha king's last wish when he thought his time had come was to grant his queen all her desires. It took many months for him to do that, but he finally did. With the full moon shift out of the way, they had at least three weeks with no need to lead a shift.He placed Alpha Koz and Luna Ursla in charge in their absence. And the boys, he handed to Edward and Kailani to take care of. Kim was now two, and Lyon was four, and they could look after them in their absence. They also assigned care to the boys so they wouldn't wear the prince and princess out.They headed for the Savanna River. It was the largest river south of the kingdom, and it connected Wahala to Jade and was the most luxurious spot to visit. Three months ago, Xavier took charge of creating a resort around the river, as he hoped to bring Mia with him. It took two months and one week, but it happened.The plan was to spend at most three weeks on the Savanna River alone with each other. Yes, they had decided Kim would be t
Xavier stood at the door, leaning against the frame and watching Mia remove her jewellery without saying a word. They had returned inside after she was done speaking, and though they held onto each other's hands, they uttered no word. There was so much he wanted to say but didn't know how to begin, so he remained silent.She finished with her necklace and then turned to him. "What?"She knew what, but he was ready to play along. "You were amazing with your speech; I hope you know that."After her speech, the entire mob that had gathered outside the palace gates for the last three days disappeared to their various houses, probably to do what the queen had told them to do. The joy and pride he felt watching her take matters into her own hands. This gave him a glimpse of who she was whenever he wasn't home. It was a turn-on."Thank you, then?"He pulled himself off the door frame and stepped towards her. "No, thank you. I just wanted to say you were amazing." Her speech today told him ju
With the awakening of the alpha king came many reforms around the kingdom. The kingdom needed to build back and regain what they had lost. He assured them they would recover it all.Many rumours flew around about his mysterious healing, and though many speculated he had made a deal, that was far from the truth.Xavier visited Shelled, and just like he promised, he made Lord Crow not only the alpha of the region but also an elder of the king's council. The lord was more than pleased to receive this title and vowed to do his best to ensure that the region remained loyal to the king's cause. Mia stuck beside him through it all. Her place was right beside him.With the war over, Xavier spoke to Edward about the next steps for the kingdom of Foth. Since the takeover, Kailani has ruled and done a perfect job at it. He also knew his brother's stance on being king and ruling. That wasn't his place. The throne came with many responsibilities that Edward knew he could never fulfil.As he specul
They gave it their best shot, was all he could tell himself.His eyes grew glassy. "We have to go, Lyon," he said, touching Lyon, but the little boy was now as cold as his father.Fear gripped Edward's heart, and his mind raced with thoughts of what could have happened. Was Lyon trapped in the realm of the close-to-dead, or did he enter Hades with his father?Nothing could trap Lyon, not with the level of power he possessed, but then he was just a little over three, and that left him in a vulnerable state.The shadow sickness would not think twice before harming him if she dimmed him as a threat. Perhaps she had.Edward didn't know what to think.Did his quest to save his brother leave him blinded to the vulnerability of his nephew?Mia would never forgive him, and he would never forgive himself for losing Lyon."Lyon!" He gripped the little boy's face and shook him out of fear. He found himself in Hades, the realm of the dead, immediately.Confusion and surprise took over Edward as h
Edward opened the door and stepped into the royal chambers, even without knocking. Judging by Mia's observation of the king's condition, he could tell they were barely on time now. They needed to get to doing what needed to be done.Mia turned to him as soon as they stepped in, and she sat up in bed, her eyes filled with panic."Mother!" Lyon squealed, and the little boy stretched his hand out to her.She ran off the bed and over to her son, taking him into her arms when she got to Edward and hugging him tightly.She stared at him and shook her head, telling him Xavier was dead and there was nothing they could do. She was breaking down yet, doing her best to stay strong through it, probably because her son was watching this all unfold.Edward didn't let her emotions and the truth, which she wanted to confirm, deter him from his mission."How long?" he asked, stepping towards the bed."A few seconds ago." She replied.Good. He thought. That gave them much room for hope.He nodded and m
Mia opened the door to their chamber and stepped inside, and she found Xavier on the bed the same way she left him. It wasn't like he could move anywhere without her help, though.For the first time since finding out about his shadow sickness, she had hoped, and it was the most powerful thing she ever experienced. She would hold on to it, telling herself it wasn't time to give up."Where did you go?" Xavier asked as she stepped onto the bed.She turned to him and found that his lashes were still shut; he must have picked up her scent. Despite the shadow sickness, his abilities were not completely gone."I was with Edward." She answered. There was no reason to lie to him."What did you discuss? Funeral arrangement?""You said you would not give in until the end.""And you said you would stay by my side until the end." He replied, and his weak emerald eyes settled on hers as his lashes fluttered.Her teeth gritted. "I am beside you, and this isn't the end." She reached out and took his
“How was it?” Xavier asked, as Mia stepped into their chambers and silently made her way to the wardrobe to change out of her robe.She had worn a two-piece black, easy-to-remove robe for the funeral rite at the black cove. She had now taken off the first piece.She turned to him and said, “It went well, but the kingdom took a massive loss. So many sons and daughters would never get a shot at life because they laid it down for the kingdom’s cause.”“It was a great price, and they knew this before joining the warrior’s institute.” He answered.“I do not know how I would feel if those were my boys.” She mumbled under her breath, and he heard.“War is the last thing anyone ever wants. But if the inevitable occurs, we must do whatever it takes to preserve the land. You know this.”She nodded. “Yes. I do, and I understand. I wish there were another way.” She turned to him.He mumbled his agreement under his breath.“How do you feel?” she asked, stepping towards the bed.“I feel like I have
Three hours after they returned from the black cove, Mia sat beside Xavier in bed with his hand in hers. She sat, thinking about all the years they had spent together as mates. It was the best she ever had; he was the best mate the moon goddess could have given.Watching him now broke her heart, and there was no way of consoling it. This was where they would give up.There was no game plan, and there was no escape.This was the end.She wiped the tear that rolled down her face and sniffed the rest.“Thank you for the happiest years of my life.” She began to speak. I can still remember how it used to be, and I remember how it is now. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, but I am happy I spent the time I did with you.”She felt warmth in her hand, and she glanced at it before looking up at Xavier and seeing his lashes lifting. His amazing emerald eyes settled on hers, and for a moment, she forgot to breathe. He was the definition of perfection on foot. He has always been her
Xavier could hear his heart pacing as he ran towards where Damien, the king of Foth, stood with about three dozen of his guards as protection.Such a coward.He wanted to wreak havoc on Damien and see the fear in his eyes before he snuffed the light away.Yes, they were just seven warriors, but these seven warriors were stronger than average. Aeon had the strength of six mighty soldiers combined, and Xavier could still take on the same number at once, despite his weakness. The queen also wielded strength beyond most imaginations, as did Alpha Zayn, who had just lost his best friend, Alpha Chado, in the war. They were all men scorned by the king of Jade, wanting a fair share of the price."Since you have almost lost this battle, you are here to see if you can take me down instead." King Damien said from where he stood on higher ground, shielded by his soldiers."That is exactly what I am doing, so why don't you come out and face me one-on-one?""That will not be a fair fight then, beca