MaiaWaking up, I’m alone in my room. I think of Damon. Does he know where I am? Will he come for me? Has he been lying to me? Or does he truly love me? I miss him. I stare at the maroon-coloured walls of my bedroom and their gold wainscotting and revel in how luxurious my room is. The sun is shining through my windows. The maids didn’t draw them last night because they didn’t want to wake me.There is a knock on my door, and Jewel and Leah let themselves in, and stand near a chest of drawers, holding a basket with a washcloth and some salve. Leah has an olive-green, floor-length, long-sleeved gown and places it on the bed.‘We’re here to help you bathe and salve your skin,’ Jewel says. I smile.‘Please, come in,’ I tell them, and I fling the covers back off my legs to get up. Jewel pulls the nightie over my head and throws it on the bed before leaning over a wooden tub and pumping the water.Jewel is struggling with the pump. She stops for a moment while she catches her breath.‘Here
We arrive at the training fields, and the soldiers stop and look at me in awe as usual. Commander James and General Zander approach us, smiling and pleased to see King Fenris and me together on Nimble.King Fenris hops down and then helps me from Nimble and ties the reign to a wooden post in the ground.We go into a large communal tent where a large table is stationed. On the table is a map of the two kingdoms and my home, the forest, in the centre.I walk over to the table and run my fingers over the forest on the map.‘I didn’t know the kingdoms were this big,’ I say, and King Fenris walks over to me.‘When the war is over, all of this will be one kingdom,’ he says neutrally.‘I'm sorry, King Fenris, but there has to be another way. Thousands of people and werewolves will die if you proceed with this war. There has to be another way to settle this.’Commander James and General Zander look at each other, then back at me, amused.‘How do you think I should proceed? What do you think s
I follow King Fenris back to the tent with Commander James and General Zander.Before I enter, someone grabs my attention. I stop and ignite both hands with a ball of flame. I angrily stare directly into Sir Hugo's eyes. The soldiers that stand near him step back in fear. I step toward Sir Hugo as the soldiers continue to step aside, creating a path as I walk towards Sir Hugo.‘Maia, whatever is going on?’ King Fenris asks.I stop and turn to him.‘I have a matter I would like to attend to.’ I say with a smirk on my face.I turn my attention back to Sir Hugo, not giving the King a chance to respond. At first, Sir Hugo isn't too concerned, but he becomes nervous as he realises that I am walking toward him. I stop a few metres in front of him. He crosses his arms and tries to mask his worry. He avoids eye contact even though it’s obvious I am staring at him in anger.‘Sir Hugo,’ I say in a stern voice.He looks up.‘Kitten... and what do I owe the pleasure?’ He says calmly.‘Well, you s
MaiaLeah and Jewel help me out of my second bath today, and when I’m dry, I walk into my room and sit on my bed‘Arms up!’ Jewels instruct, and I throw my hands into the air.Leah and Jewel pull a cream corset down my arms, over my head, and down past my underarms.‘Hands on your hips, Miss Maia,’ Jewel instructs as she and Leah stand behind me. They work their way up from the top of my backside and slowly upward, pulling at every piece of string, trying to kill me. The corset is tight, my ribs are being forced inward, and I can’t breathe.‘Are you trying to kill me?’ I ask, melodramatically, gasping for air and holding my sternum, feeling winded. Jewel and Leah laugh in hysterics at my reaction to the corset.‘Beauty is pain, Miss Maia,’ Jewel says, her face reddened with laughter.They tie the strings in a double knot at the top of the corset and tuck them into the corset, hidden away.‘What’s next? The dress, right?’ I ask, knowing it
Arriving on the castle grounds, Vivian loops her arm through Troy’s and takes in everything around us. There are lanterns lit every metre, and musicians play a symphony at the top of the stairs.‘Split up and mind-link each other if we see her,’ I say.After familiarising ourselves with our surroundings, I still hadn't seen Maia yet. I kept making my way through the crowd of people and looked around for her.Any signs of her yet, Troy? I mind-link. Sorry Alpha, not yet. Troy replies.The ball is only just beginning, so she may not be here yet. Plus, I haven't seen King Fenris yet either. I link back.Walking across the room, I lean my back against a pillar. Many women are giving me seductive looks and slowly approaching me. I roll my eyes and sigh. The women are giggling and fanning their faces. They attempt to hook their arms in mine.‘Well, hello, handsome.’ One woman says. She stares into my eyes with a flirtatious look in her eyes.I clear my throat, ‘I’m not interested, lady,’ I
MaiaI talk my way through the hall, trying to find Vivian at the same. Then, discreetly I leave the hall when King Fenris is busy in heavy conversation with others speaking about the war.I walk towards the staircase at the castle entrance when I hear Vivian’s voice call my name.‘Maia,’‘Vivian?’ I say in return with excitement.We hug each other, not wanting to let go.‘We need to go somewhere where we won't be seen,’ she says.She takes my hand and leads me toward the lake.‘Maia, I need to tell you something,’‘You've met Damon?’ I ask her.‘Yes, I have. I also know his Beta Troy,’ she says, blushing.‘Vivian?’‘Maia...the werewolves, they are not the enemy. King Fenris is the enemy. Damon, Troy and Zayden, I have met them all. Would you believe I had all three werewolves over for dinner at my house? Werewolves of all people!’ she giggles in disbelief.‘Oh, and I’m Troy’s mate. He is such a gentleman too. Werewolves are fa
MaiaIt’s bright and early. Jewel and Leah bathe and dress me for the day. I tell Jewel and Leah I would like to explore West Wallow, visit some villages, and ask if they can inform King Fenris of my plans.Releasing my hair from the bun, Leah insists I at least put some flower pins in, but I kindly refuse.Jewel and Leah exit the room to help prepare breakfast and let King Fenris know of my wishes while I stand in the fresh morning air on the balcony taking in the view of the lake.Skipping out of the room and down the stairs to the dining room, I wait for King Fenris. He enters the dining room a few moments later and sits opposite me.‘Good morning, King Fenris,’ I say with a big smile. ‘Well, my love, you are extra chirpy today. I was just informed you have plans to explore our kingdom?’ He asks.‘Yes, I want to learn more about this kingdom, see the villages, and meet the people,’ I smile.‘I see... well, I already have plans for you
I walk away towards what used to be a vegetable garden and kneel. Then, digging holes with my hands, I plant the seeds a few meters apart, place my hands on the ground, and concentrate.Everyone is silent, watching on in curiosity until the ground beneath them starts to shake and rumble.Everyone is panicking except the little girl standing next to me, watching the apple seeds sprout and grow into large apple trees. Hundreds of apples form on all the branches. I stand up to admire the trees and turn to see thousands of people staring at me, amazed. They shout their gratitude towards me and pluck the fruit from the tree devouring the fruit while other villagers approach me with different seeds. I continue planting and growing the seeds into ripe fruit and vegetables until I feel faint. I realise I need rest to regain my power back.King Fenris approaches me.‘My love? What is the meaning of all this?’ He asks.I speak as loud as I can for them to all hear what I say.‘King Fenris, the
MaiaDamon stands up and faces everyone.‘Let this be a lesson to us all, we must not fear each other, and we must embrace and accept each other's differences. Do this, and we can live together in happiness,’ Everyone cheers.Hugo approaches.‘I hear you’re looking to hire a nanny?’ Hugo asks. Damon and I both look at each other and burst into laughter.‘Hugo, I think we have a position more suitable to your liking that needs filling at the castle?’ I say.‘Oh, what position would that be?’ Hugo asks with keen interest.‘I'm looking for a knight, but he must be the best and most loyal knight I could ever ask for. So, what do you say, Sir Hugo?’ I smile at him.Sir Hugo looks at me with the greatest respect and kneels before me. ‘It would bring me the utmost honour to serve you, my Queen Maia, and you Alpha King Damon if you would have me?’Damon smiles and nods in approval.Hugo walks away proudly.The Orc children run up to Hugo and playfull
MaiaI run towards all the children and tap a little orc boy on the shoulder.‘Tag, you’re it,’ I giggle and runoff.He chases me, laughing.‘I'm going to get you,’ he yells.Ember comes running up to me, leaps onto my chest, and knocks me to the ground. I playfully grab him and lift him into the air above me.‘Ember, I think everything is going to be okay now,’ I smile.Sparkles begin to swirl around Ember. He is suddenly too heavy to hold. Different colour swirls engulf him, then two arms appear, then two legs and long red hair. Ember falls flat onto me as my arms can’t hold his weight anymore. Our foreheads bump together on impact.The girl before me is very pretty and around my age with beautiful long hair like mine, but in a lovely shade of red. Her skin is fair, with cute freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her eyes are green, and she has a cute little nose.‘Maia!’ She yells in excitement and wraps her arms around me.‘Ember, is that you
MaiaMy body trembles. I can't lose Damon. I can’t let King Fenris kill him! Flame begins to erupt from the ground beneath my feet, and everyone steps back in fear. The ground shakes vigorously as the harsh wind blows dust, debris and leaves around. The sound of thunder roars in the sky, and lightning whips through the clouds. My breathing becomes heavy, and the elements become stronger and more ferocious with each passing moment.I’m now engulfed in a ball of flame, wind, water and debris, and it’s only growing bigger.I try to calm my emotions to tame my powers, but I have lost all control of the elements. I know everyone here is now in danger of being killed.‘Run,’ I yell to the warriors and soldiers.‘What is she doing?’ King Fenris yells as he steps back, still holding the knife to Damon's throat.‘Everyone needs to move now, or you will be killed. I think she is losing control of her powers,’ Hugo shouts to everyone. Hugo helps an inj
‘Maia, the war is about to begin. The army is waiting for your order to march forward into battle,’ Troy says.I nod and run ahead. I am now in front of the army of warriors. They wait for my command.‘My people,’ I yell.They all immediately kneel.‘As your Luna and Queen, I stand here today to fight by your side, free our Alpha and our King, and free everyone from the wrath of King Fenris!’The warriors and villagers all cheer and roar. They begin to thump their chests with their fists in a beat of war. It’s the same beat I heard in the dream I had.I turn and start running towards the forest. I raise my right arm and create a ball of flame.‘Charge!’ I yell. They run into the forest following my lead, still beating their chests in rhythm.We are in the forest, and I can see the army of soldiers charging toward us. The wolf warriors shift into their wolves. They are huge, at least three to four times the size of a regular wolf. They lunge at the soldiers, some yelp in pain as spea
Alpha King DamonWe pass through Wellmore and can see the army up ahead. King Fenris and his army set up camp outside the forest.‘King Fenris looks angry about something,’ Hugo says.‘I wonder what has happened? It won't be long until nightfall, we can watch them from here, and as soon as it’s dark enough, we can move closer and find Maia,’ I say.Hugo nods.‘I will go into the camp first. Hopefully, they haven’t noticed that I haven’t been around,’ Hugo says.We sit and wait until nightfall.‘Alright, Alpha, I'm going in. If you don't see my signal within the hour, then you can suspect something is wrong. Otherwise, if you get my signal, you know it's clear to sneak in,’‘Hugo,’‘Yes, alpha?’‘Thank you for helping me save Maia,’Hugo smiles,‘Whatever you say, Alpha,’Hugo walks towards the camp.It has almost been an hour since I saw Hugo.‘Come on, Hugo, what's going on?’ I say out loud to myself.Finally, I see Hugo’s signal. I quickl
MaiaIt’s early morning. King Fenris unchains me from the chair and waits for me to stand up. After a moment, he realises I have no intention of moving.‘Maia, get up now.’ He yells. I keep my head down. My cheek still hurts. All I want is to be in Damon’s arms.King Fenris takes my arm and drags me from the tent to his horse. Despite my best efforts, my emotions cause my elemental power to go into defence mode, causing my wrists to burn. As King Fenris releases me to the ground, I sob in agony.Looking up, I see thousands of soldiers giving me a look of pity. Only a few of them smirk. Tears begin to roll down my face.‘Is this what you all want? You all have the power to stop this,’ I yell. King Fenris knocks me out to stop me from convincing his men to stand up to him.Upon waking, I realise I am in King Fenris's arms. We are mounted on his horse.‘My love, nice of you to join me,’ he says. I look around to see where we are.‘Have we
Alpha King DamonI am running towards Shadowguard village. I know Hugo is following me, but I ignore him. I want to bite his head off for kidnapping Maia. If he didn't take Maia in the first place, she would be safe by my side.We arrive at the village. I need rest to regain my strength. King Fenris and his army would have left here this morning. He is possibly near Wellmore now.Eric mind-links me. He informs me of all the new pups that have been born, and the she-wolves are well but are all concerned about not seeing their mates again.Tell them there is hope that we will win this war and reunite them with their loved ones soon. We have humans from West Wallow on our side who are also willing to fight this battle, declare Princess Maia queen, and dethrone King Fenris. I mind-link.I may be able to assist Maia in claiming the throne, Alpha. After conducting some studies on elemental sprites, I discovered something intriguing this morning in a li
Sir HugoI want to kill King Fenris with my bare hands. He has Maia back in the iron cuffs that I regret putting her in when I had kidnapped her. I’m going to help free you, Maia. You are very brave and will make one hell of a Queen.I discreetly pull the reigns back, turn my horse, and head behind the army. I remain there until the soldiers and King Fenris are out of sight. I approach the villagers and tell them I have a plan that can help the princess, but I can’t do it without their help. A few hundred villagers follow my orders. I send a hundred of them to Hackle Spire Village and another hundred to Limestone village. The rest follow me to Shadowguard village and spread the word of what has transpired and that we should choose Princess Maia to be our Queen and put an end to King Fenris. I inform them the werewolves are not cruel and that the rumours are all lies, revealing King Fenris made him and other knights and soldiers spread the lie
I walk away towards what used to be a vegetable garden and kneel. Then, digging holes with my hands, I plant the seeds a few meters apart, place my hands on the ground, and concentrate.Everyone is silent, watching on in curiosity until the ground beneath them starts to shake and rumble.Everyone is panicking except the little girl standing next to me, watching the apple seeds sprout and grow into large apple trees. Hundreds of apples form on all the branches. I stand up to admire the trees and turn to see thousands of people staring at me, amazed. They shout their gratitude towards me and pluck the fruit from the tree devouring the fruit while other villagers approach me with different seeds. I continue planting and growing the seeds into ripe fruit and vegetables until I feel faint. I realise I need rest to regain my power back.King Fenris approaches me.‘My love? What is the meaning of all this?’ He asks.I speak as loud as I can for them to all hear what I say.‘King Fenris, the