"Mummy, why can't I let everyone know I have a wolf now?" The little girl asked, her lashes twinkling with curiosity as she stared at her mother. Her mother smiled, reaching her hand out to ruffle the girl's short golden copper-brown hair. The girl ducked a little out of habit. "Because the only way to keep you safe is to make sure no one ever knows you can shift. Now, what is the one rule you must never break, sunshine?" "No matter what I do, regardless of what situation I find myself in, even if facing death, never let anyone know or see my wolf. I cannot shift, I have little strength, little speed and no wolf. Staying alive is my number one priority." "Very good, darling, excellent. And remember…" she cupped her daughter's rosy cheeks with a teary smile, "Mummy will always be here to protect you." ______ She lied. She left me, she left me to face the cruel world all on my own. And it pains me most to know that it was my fault. If only I took her regular wolf colour, if only I
She kicked her legs in the water, staring at how it rippled and splashed, but not enough to scare the little ducklings away. Her mother took her to the pond to catch some fish. She sat on the bank of the pond, her new yellow dress bunched up on her thighs, her short hair dancing with the breeze. A particular thought ran through her mind, over and over again. She was curious, she was agitated. "Mother?" She called softly, not lifting her gaze from the water. Her mother hummed in response. "Can I ask you a question?" She asked. "Sure, honey, what is it?" "What happens when I find my mate?" Her mother stiffened, a small gasp leaving her lips. Never had she thought of that. The only thing she ever thought of was how to keep her daughter alive, not remembering that important part of the little girl's life. Her tensed shoulders tightened along with the veins in her neck. Without missing a beat, she spoke: "Reject him." ____ Sixty-two, sixty-three, sixty-four, sixty-five… twelve more to
"Son, tell me, what makes an alpha?" The man asked, crouched in front of his six-year-old son, the little boy's wrists in his grasp. The boy blinked a couple of times before shyly responding to his father's question. "His strength and ability to step up when needed, his power and his ruthlessness. To be strong enough to mercilessly crush one's enemy, to show no fear." "Very good, son. And what are you?" "An alpha." "And what would you do if any challenges you?" "Slaughter." _____ I swayed my chair from side to side, my leg crossed over the other and my mind was occupied with thoughts I couldn't pinpoint. I knew I was thinking, but what exactly I was pondering on is what I couldn't pinpoint, or even remember, though I was still thinking about it. It was a normal thing for me. It helped me think and at the same time, don't think. And spared my mind the agony of overthinking. With so much to do and barely enough time and energy to do it, not thinking and thinking was my best way to
She danced around with the ribbons, spinning and flying, as her mother hummed to the song. The aroma of her mother's food covered the kitchen and could be smelt from miles away. If there was one thing her mother knew how to do like a pro, it was cooking. Too bad she decided against being a chef. The little girl was positive her father had quite a good time when he was alive. Twirling on her feet, she shot her arms out, using the ribbons to grab a cup and a salad knife. Adjusting her body, she spun the ribbon, slicing the knife through the air with a smile on her face. She was getting better at this. "Mother, I have a question to ask," she spoke, bending her body backwards as she spun the ribbon spirally above her. Her mother hummed. "How do I identify my mate?" "It's easy," her mother smiled, "when you perceive the most intoxicating and pleasant scent, when the wind blows against you in a way you can't understand when you can't think of anything but that scent, just know that the ow
Along the streaming river, across a log of wood, one boy hopped on along the log, practising his balance. Another jumped from one rock pad to the other, while the third walked in the river, unperturbed by the current of the cold water or the fact that the river covered half his ten-year-old body. Among the boys, he moved without a smile, his eyes dull of every passion and emotion, the opposite of the boys in his company. The boy on the log waved his hands frantically, pretending to catch his balance. The one in the rock did the same thing, causing both of them to giggle. "Oh, stop being so stiff, Drix, have some fun," "We are late for training, again. I'm starting to think letting you two pull me away for lunch isn't much of a good idea. You both keep getting me in trouble," The boy in the water spoke blankly. "So what? It's not like the trainer is ever early. Loosen up, grouchy. If you keep going on like this, you'll scare your mate away when you meet her," "There's no need to wor
"Sapphire, my darling, there's something I want to tell you," the woman spoke softly, running her nails into her daughter's hair. The girl hummed, though she was drowsy and her mind fogged with sleep. "You shifted quite early, dear, but your wolf will never be able to identify your mate until you turn eighteen. If you find your mate before then, you will still feel the pull, you will still see him as the most attractive specimen in creation, that is if he is older and his wolf recognises you first. Please, dear, when you do feel like that, run away as far as you can." "Why, Mummy?" "Because if you don't identify the sign before you turn eighteen, he would have already imprinted himself in your heart, making it impossible for you to ever escape him and thereby triggering the curse. So please, never forget this valuable information, okay?" "Yes, Mother." The child murmured, every bit of her mother's warning going away with her thoughts as she fell into a blissful evening sleep. _____
She stared up at the stars, the fading twinkling stars in the night sky. Her head lay on her mother's lap, her mother's fingers raking through the soft threads of her hair and crooning. Just like every other day, she was in thought, thinking of her future and how it would play out; in every possible way. "Mother," the woman looked down at the small child. "Do you think we will ever leave this pack? I don't like it here," "If our destiny is to leave, then we will leave. However, I would prefer not to," the girl tilted her head back, blinking her curious eyes at her mother, "this pack is as ignorant as a blind fish. They don't care about anything else but themselves, which makes it easier to hide your identity and secret. I'm afraid that if we were to move to another pack, they might not be as oblivious to reality as this one. Some would be able to smell your lies, and if the alpha is strong enough, your wolf," "So if the opportunity presents itself, I shouldn't leave?" She asked sadl
"Monsters? What do you mean by monsters?" The boy asked his father in confusion. His father sighed, turning away fully from the window. He took slow steps towards his crying son and lowered himself to the boy's height. Reaching forward, he daintily wiped off his tears, forcing a smile on his sad face. "We are monsters by heart, for we kill with no remorse, slaughter with no soul and wield powers different from every other generation of werewolves, especially you. We are monsters because it's our path, and like every monster, we cannot love." "B…b…but Mum is your mate, you love her!" The boy cried distraughtly. "No, I chose her, but never loved her enough, or at all. If I were her mate, why then did she leave when her original mate appeared? Where is your mother if she is my mate?" He knew what he was doing, it was done to him and the alphas before him. It was a culture, their way of life; their tradition. However, unlike the rest, he wanted his son to hope, even if it would be tarni
Gillian returned from the mission and was extremely enthusiastic. He lifted me and spun me around, causing me to squeal with excitement and surprise. He put me down after three amazing spins and hugged me so tightly I saw stars.Drix snarled and the next second, I was snatched away from Gillian and he narrowly missed a claw slap. Gillian jumped back, raising his hands in surrender. "Whoa, calm down. I'm only hugging my friend,""You're registering yourself for a beating," out of nowhere, a scrawny girl with unkempt hair jumped in front of Gil, spreading her hands wide and creating a shield with her body. That startled Drix and me, and we looked at her confused."Stay away from Charming or I'll bite you!" The girl was probably my age or older and had a death wish growling at an alpha. She also smelled like… she didn't smell like a werewolf. I'd never perceived anything like her before, but again, she was a victim of a sick experiment. Still, there were a few reasons why a girl or anyon
I pressed the suitcase hard with my weight and managed to click the lock. I sighed as I stood up straight, putting my fist on the side of my waist and wiping the sweat out of my forehead with my other hand. "Phew!" That'll be all for shoes. Now what else am I missing?I looked around, calculating everything I packed and what else I needed. Hendrix sighed for the umpteenth time. He claimed I was overdoing the packing but he didn't understand. This vacation was important to me. A girl can't be too prepared. I need to make sure I have everything and anything. "We can just buy whatever you need if you end up missing something. We'll only be staying there for a week, Sapphire. You've packed more than enough,""We might stay longer and Scarlette and I are going to explore. We already have our bucket list, and Vecoria has hers too. I'm in charge of making sure we have everything ready– hmm, what else have I not packed yet?" I mused thoughtfully, completely forgetting that I was talking to so
"So it's not like I'm getting my powers back but someone like you," she nodded. "What use will that be?" I asked as the chains fell off."Zircon has been sleeping for too long, milady, please wake him up." I rubbed my wrist. "He knows a lot about curses so he'll know how to destroy the sword," "I still don't see the use," I grumbled.‘Oh fucking hell! Why are you so unnecessarily stubborn?!’ I froze. I blinked once, then twice, and more times. I was hearing things. I thought I was losing my mind. ‘You're not, bitch! I'm back!’I looked at Vecoria in complete shock, my jaw already hitting the ground. I was shocked out of my wit but one thing was for sure, I thought I was going crazy. I had to be going crazy because there was no other explanation as to why I could hear Zinnia's voice in my head. She died.‘I died as a curse, but Selene finally did something useful with herself and brought me back as a real wolf, sort of,’I fell on my butt, too shocked to remain standing. Vecoria panic
I've never imagined my life without Zinnia. I'd gotten so used to her that I couldn't remember how it felt without her. I was reminded the hard way. I could feel the emptiness in my head the moment I opened my eyes. I felt naked and alone. The silence in my head left an incessant ringing in my ears and my mind was just there, empty.The intense feeling of emptiness devoured me so much that even when I noticed the shackles on my hands and legs and realised that I was in an unfamiliar surrounding, I couldn't care less. I was so nonchalant and unperturbed, but all I could do was sit down with my knees to my chest and stare into space. Zinnia was gone and I was alone in a dungeon, unaware of who my abductors were.I hadn't come in contact with anyone since I was locked away. My food was given to me through the doggy hole twice every day but water came once a day. I no longer had a wolf, I no longer had the powers of a blood wolf or a werewolf. I was just a luna with a barrier and healing
‘This is useless,’ Alaric said flatly as I flimsily held up the last book with a slight knowledge of Selene's offspring. Just like the rest, it only had information about things we already know. No artefacts, no books, nothing. What is the use of coming here?Jerry sighed and tossed away the book in his hand. "What a waste of time,""Tell me about it. Let's just leave, it's useless at this point," Gil grumbled. "Not even the slightest clue about any of her children who laid a curse or anything that gives a hint of it. We could be missing something—""We are not, I would know," I said firmly, dropping the hard book on the table.‘I feel weird,’ Alaric said with a whimper, scratching at the barrier of my mind. We've felt that way from the moment we stepped into the temple. Alaric had it worse. ‘Drix walk out of the library and turn right, then left, and right again,’‘Feel something?’ I asked, rising from my seat.‘A hunch,’ I gestured to Gillian t
Chills ran up and down my spine, making me constantly shiver. Hugging my body did not help. I walked out of the tree, completely horrified. The reason why Zinnia knew so much, the reason why she was so different was because she was the soul of the curse Deianira created. I was petrified by it. I had most of the important memories from my life as Milena which consisted mostly of my time with Dad, a few times with my subordinates, and the time I spent finding an end to the curse. Most of my memories were of me as Sapphire.Sapphire is more human than Milena, and humans feel more emotions, they are vulnerable to pain. Sapphire had more attachment with many, unlike Milena whose world only revolved around Sapphire's father. The point was that I grew up with Zinnia. She wasn't just my wolf, she was a bigger part of my soul and I just learned that to end the long-lasting suffering, I needed to kill her. It was basically telling me to murder my sister, mother, friend, and child.I would have
I wiped off sweat from my forehead as I walked out of the room to find Scarlette. A lot of my memories were still missing and I knew exactly where I could get them. “Scarlette, where are you?”“The garden outside. There's something strange about it,” that was where I was going. I broke into a run. Finding my way was easier because I knew every corner of this castle. I stayed in it alone for years. One thing I now remember, the willow tree in Drix's garden is a fragment of the mother tree in my mother's gemstone garden. Then the pixie who happened to have been in danger must not have been a coincidence. She intentionally appeared there to create the gemstone garden already knowing I'd arrive someday.The original was far more magnificent than the copy. The garden was more like a forest, comparable to Brasher but bigger. Then she named the centre a garden. Different trees made of different gemstones and minerals stood firmly, with bushes, flowers, and other ground crops also made out of
My heart felt strange. There was a sense of familiarity to the castle and my heart didn't feel well about it. It felt bitter. Just like the cave, the walls were filled with pictures of Hiems, the person he was before he reincarnated. But unlike Liviana's, the pictures were decent and passionate, and a woman was with him in some of the pictures.The first time I saw her, I halted and stared at her with hatred. I couldn't tell why I felt that way but I've never felt the capacity of hatred as I felt for her. She had long sleek back hair that looked exactly like a moonless night with stars scattered all over the sky. Her eyes were more like galactic starry night than the galaxy itself. It was beautiful—she was beautiful. She had plump red lips and porcelain skin, a smile that could break wars or create them. She was a real beauty but instead of admiring her, I despised her.Hiems, on the other hand, was a tall man with golden yellow hair and sapphire eyes. His body status was similar to m
Kira opened a portal and it took us to a library. I found myself standing between two tall shelves. Certainly, we were trespassing because we didn't get permission to enter. Zinnia already gave me back my body but she kept her presence dominant.Kira began walking and I followed her. "Where are we?""Library of Congress,""Library of what?!" I screamed. She threw me a glare over her shoulder. I pressed my hand on my lips and looked at her apologetically. She returned her gaze straight ahead. She was wearing fluffy slippers so the sound of her feet was almost silent. I walked silently despite the shoes I had on. She walked urgently as if she was afraid something would catch up to her."How did you find him so easily? And how did Zinnia contact you?""You seem to still be ignorant of the kind of powers your wolf possesses," she took a turn. I increased my pace to catch up with her. "You know, I haven't had sex for months,""What brought that on?""Just saying," she shrugged, looking aro