~Ace's POV~***Dumped in a large body of water. Tied hands and feet. Lifeless. My ears caught the faint sound of running water as I sank, unable to help myself. It got louder and louder, and louder. The water ran into my body, every single hole, and the sound got heavier as it happened. My hearing was still sharp and despite my situation, what troubled me most was the sound of running water. I twitched my face, trying to block the sound from my ear. It was disturbing. With every try, the sound got louder and when I felt I couldn't take it anymore, my eyes went open. The blurry sight of a white ceiling first greeted me and I blinked rapidly to clear my vision. Squinting, I gradually grabbed the view and I rolled my eyes to take in my surrounding. Where was I? I felt something heavy resting on my face but for some reason, I couldn't move my body to check what it was. The memories poured into my head, every single detail that led to this moment but their faces were unclear. I hea
_Ellen_ ~After my encounter with Derek, I didn't see him for the next two days. I kept working in the hospital and every day, more injured warriors were brought in for me to treat. Seeing how more injured Rogues kept filing in daily in large numbers, I knew that the war wasn't over yet. Which implies that Derek was still interested in me. He was my saving grace at this point and I knew he would find a way to take me away from Ryker as long as he was alive. And the only way was defeating Ryker, if that happened, my people would leave too. With all of me, I looked forward to that moment. Every day, before I resumed at the health center, I would visit and assure them. I vowed to bring them out of here even at the expense of my own life, they were the reason I continuously strived to be in Ryker's good book. "Omega!" One of Ryker's guards stormed into the ward, yelling for me. Omega? It had been a while since I'd heard anyone refer to me with the title. I hated it. It
~~I returned to my room, feeling uneasy and disturbed. Ryker's demand was something I should have seen coming but didn't. Unlike Derek, he was a tougher nut to crack. Seeing how he heartlessly got rid of his own terrified me. It proved to me how demonic and selfish he was. Ryker cared about no one but himself, and if I should perhaps go against him, he might brutally get rid of me too. At this moment, my power was my only strength, I could say it was the only thing stopping Ryker from hurting me. Thanks to it I've been able to stay alive with my people up till this day.Seated on the cold floor of my room, I attempted another mind-link with Ace but it proved yet the same result. It has been weeks without him and all I've been holding on to were my foolish thoughts. If Ace was alive, why wasn't he returning?Why can't I seem to accept squarely that he was gone? Why do I keep feeling a sort of life from him? With my fists, I grabbed handfuls of my hair, thoughts racing in my mind.
***The pain had subsided by morning and I was able to walk. Immediately, I head straight to the dungeon where the warriors were confined. I could still feel the stab now and then from the broken tie as I moved but I was determined to meet the warriors. I hoped that they were clueless about what I had done, as I wanted to tell them myself and explain my plan to them. Until Derek finds a way to get us out, or I defeat Ryker, I would appeal to them to stay quiet about it. Hearing it from others might cause misunderstanding, so I decided to spill it to them myself. In the dungeon site, the guards readily allowed me passage and I walked into the prison. I got my first shock for the day the moment I stepped in. There was a TV in the room and it displayed my interview where I cut off ties with the Ocean Howls Pack on the screen. My jaw dropped seeing the looks on their faces as they watched me abandon them. At once, I set off and disconnected the plug, hoping that there would still be
~Ace's POV~ ***My teeth were tightly clenched, and my eyes darkened with fury as I watched the interview from three days ago where Ellen severed our ties. The comment section was a hassle and recognizing that she was in Ryker's camp left me with mixed feelings. Why had she gone there? I heard a sigh after the door opened, "you're watching this again?" Meredith picked up the remote and turned it off. "It's about time you get over it, Ace." The broken tie left me in pain, added to the one my body was already passing through, it contributed in my confinement to the bed. Even though Ellen was yet to say anything about it, Ryker had held a press conference and announced their mateship. I refused to believe that she would betray me like that. That realization was worse than any pain I was feeling. If she truly thought I was dead, why would she go to be with the one who supposedly caused it? Ellen loved me. And except she deceived me all along, I knew she detests Ryker.Oh
***Every day was tougher with the broken mate bond, knowing that I could no longer feel Ellen troubled me and it was worse that I couldn't do anything about it. I was stuck in a goddamn hospital bed and I have no idea how long I'll be here. Every moment that passed, I couldn't help but think about Ellen drastically forgetting about me. My hunch was that Ryker propelled her to do the interview and I hoped that I was right. I hoped that Ellen was still the woman I knew and not the one the media portrayed. I looked out of the window, it was the full moon and unlike other nights, Dylan was still down. The door opened and Meredith walked in, she was alone and carried a cup of tea with her. She set the saucer down on my table and sat on the bed. "I got something for you." She reached into her dress and pulled out a letter. "It's a reply to the letter you sent." Hastily, I snatched the letter from her. "Only one?" I gave her a look. "There is no reply from Ellen yet. I don't think y
~Ellen~I smelt blood, like a rusted iron placed under my nostrils. I am alive. I squinted, accepting the sharp ray of sunlight and hoping it would blind me. Or better still, kill me. The cries from the Ocean Howls warrior as they roasted to their death rang in my ears over and over again, and each time I felt a heavier guilt. It was a nightmare that continuously disturbed me for days. How could I still be alive? I had purposely gone five days without food or water. If I wasn't restricted by the chains that bound me, I would have ended this torture myself five days before now. I was in the same standing position, for so long that I could barely feel my legs now and I had avoided food and water, basically anything that would contribute to my health, but I still woke up every time that I believed I had finally succumbed to the cold hands of death. I opened my eyes fully. I had cried so much that even the sharp sun rays couldn't take any tears from me. I felt dead but the mild so
The first thing I did when I woke up was to check the gemstone necklace, it was still seated in my pocket; unnoticed by Ryker and his men. I withdrew it and clutched it around my fingers, recalling all the sweet memories of Ace and me. Could it be true? Is Ace really alive? I sighed, blinking back the tears. That slave, was she trying to tell me that Ryker hadn't killed Ace as everyone thought at the expense of her life? Or perhaps, I was reading more meaning into it? I was so confused and unsure of what to wholly believe. If Ace was alive, where could he be? Why wasn't he coming back? From their conversation, Ryker doesn't seem to know where Ace is either. He seemed sure that he got rid of him. There was no one to give me an explanation of the situation, so I knew I had to find the answers myself, and my first goal to achieving that was getting out of Ryker's camp alive, which I knew quite well would only be possible if Ryker suddenly turned compassionate or dies. I strongly doub
-My fingers ran through the gemstones, a grin resting on my face. "This is forever beautiful," I cried, letting him twirl me around gently until I was facing him. "You sure you don't want this one instead?" He asked, referring to the expensive gold necklace on his palm, seated in a jewelry box. "That one is a bit old.""I'm sure," I beamed. "It was through this necklace that I was able to know that you were alive. I was ready to give up to Ryker. I had prepared to die after he killed the warriors, but this gave me a reason to live."As I spoke, I remembered the Rogue maid who had lost her life for revealing Ace's situation to me. Bless her soul. I was alive because of her too. "To me, this is the most beautiful jewelry in the world, and it is important to me because it is important to you, too."Ace nodded, his eyes lighting up. I could sense that he had briefly recalled a part of his past. It was the day of the coronation for Ace's new position and we were in our room after get
-My thumping heartbeat decelerated as I stared at Derek's lifeless body, my eyes filling up with tears of relief and gratefulness. Ace dug his claws into Derek's chest, uprooting his heart and signifying the end of the war. Like a whiff, all the memories and history I had with Derek raced through my mind. "It's finally over," I heard Acantha sigh, and the tears dropped from my eyes. It was really over. Derek was dead! It was over for good. My nose crinkled in disbelief, my eyes furrowing as the reality settled within me. My gaze shifted to Ace and despite the loud chants and celebration, I could hear the beating of my heart clearly. Despite the amount of people around, my eyes could somehow only see Ace. Amongst the crowd hovering around him, his gaze found me, too, and before I could burst, I swooped into his arms. He caught me easily and I buried my face into his chest, releasing my emotions shamelessly. Two of our greatest enemies were now gone for good!Ace nuzzled his face
-Ace held my hand, stopping me from getting any closer to Derek. "This is not over, I promise you," he gritted, his eyes sending daggers at me.We watched quietly as he contested with the pain, trying to subdue it. He attempted to get up several times, cussing violently every time he failed; his eyes were filled with rage and determination as he continuously tried to move. After a final hectic attempt, he crashed to the ground and burst into laughter. "It's funny how easily fooled you can be, Ace," he cackled, blood dripping slightly from the side of his lip.I figured he was trying to buy time and gather his strength again so he could take us unaware but before I could act, Ace charged at him. "No, it's funny how you think you can stall me while you buy some fuckin time," Ace grabbed him up roughly. "Why?" Derek scoffed, feigning strength even though he was limping. "You're scared I'd beat your ass up if I wasn't in this situation?""We both know what the truth is-"Then why d
-Ace glared at Derek, making sure his body obstructed mine."You will have to go through me first to have her!"Derek's steps faltered, and he seemed even more angry. "If that is what you want then I shall do as you please and get rid of you.""You seem to use your mouth a lot, don't you?" Ace scoffed. "I use it better, too; you can ask your little mate to tell you what I mean."I put my palm in Ace's, ensuring he held me, and preventing him from rashly going at Derek. Derek was trying hard to provoke him and it made me wonder what he was up to. "We had a little fun while you were out there in the wilderness, struggling to survive."I opened my mouth to speak and vehemently curse at Derek for lying but Ace beat me to it. "She must not have liked it as much as you think seeing how she still tricked and escaped from you. She came back to me, that should tell you a lot of things.""Still she betrayed you!""Oh Derek," Ace breathed out, "you don't get it, do you? What matters is whos
-We stood in the open, ensuring that the passage to our secret safehouse was out of sight. Everyone took their position, mine was beside Ace, as we heard the enemy's footsteps approaching. I held my breath, trying not to squirm under Ace's hold. I knew he would at once detect my discomfort and send me back in. I didn't want that; I wanted to face Derek; I burned to see him fall with my own eyes. Derek showed up first, leading the warriors of his pack; he growled and roared as they approached us, arrogantly announcing his presence. Ace moved me to stand behind him and I stayed without arguing. I took the chance to fix my discomfort, ensuring that I showed no weakness in front of Derek. "What a surprise, it is indeed true that you survived. Fuckin luck," Derek mocked, scoffing at Ace. "Well, it's too bad because this time, you're going to the land of the dead, and there is no escaping it.""If I were you, I'd do more fighting and less talking. Did you forget you're in my territory?"
-With Henry's suggestion, we swiftly gathered around. He had already drawn out a quick plan on how we were going to face Derek and his goons, and he discussed it with Ace. Inputting Acantha's suggestion, we came to a conclusion on how to face our attackers. Ace stepped out and dished the instructions and everyone immediately set to work. Leaving out the pups, younger and ailing wolves aside, the rest of us came together to be grouped in smaller forms. There were many hidden parts of the Ocean Howls pack that the Crimson pack or any other pack was not aware of. Ace had reconstructed the country after his father's defeat in a way that we would mostly have the upper hand against the enemy. That was a big advantage for us. Ace regrouped the warriors into ten smaller groups and individually gave them a goal, coordinating each group separately. Some groups were focused on studying maps of the Ocean Howls Pack territory and securing strategic locations for refuge in case our attackers
Ellen-"Our only way in now is through the emergency back gate; hopefully, through it, we can arrive at the pack house in time before Derek's men reach it," Ace revealed. He was a lot calmer now. "Who else is aware of this entrance?" Acantha asked, being cautious. "Only Henry and I know about it. Out of safety, we didn't reveal it to the pack members yet. I constructed it as an emergency exit for situations like this, there is also a safe house behind it. I believe Henry must have evacuated the members to the safe house," Ace spoke. From the tensity of his breathing, one could tell how furious he was. The situation had gotten chronic. If Acantha hadn't stopped him at the time she did, from running after the warriors, things could have taken a drastic twist. I didn't want to imagine what could have happened. Ace led us to the emergency exit, and we walked as quickly as we could. If we could arrive before Derek's men, we would be able to prepare ourselves beforehand.
"Your bravery reminds me of your father," Acantha voiced after being quiet for a while. "No matter how hard I try to overlook it, I see his face when I look at you. How did he die?"I lowered my gaze, talking about my parents had always been a sensitive topic for me. It was something I didn't fancy discussing with anyone. It was the only topic that could break an Alpha like me. Georgia was the only one who had successfully managed to get a word out of me concerning it, and it was probably because she experienced the torture with me. "I'm sorry for bringing that up, it's fine if you don't want to talk about it," Acantha apologized. "No, it's okay," I bit my lower lip, making my expression stoic. I needed to get over it, and also build my relationship with Acantha. For Ellen's sake, I wanted to do this. "I was twelve when he was murdered, he died trying to protect me after we were attacked unaware. My mother was killed on the same day, she was raped to death, and I was made to watc
-"Ace, I-I can't. My powers are gone," Ellen vibrated, her hands shaking out of fear, her eyes teary. I glanced at the beasts who had already reached us and I pushed Ellen to my side so my body was facing them.She started to shake her head, trying to stop me from my thoughtless decision but I was hell-bent on protecting her. With her powers gone, it was even more dangerous for her to be close to these beasts. I would rather die than watch her face that fate. In despair, I prepared for whatever was coming, determined to fight even to death. Just as they growled, attempting to jump at us, I felt a familiar presence and her voice echoed through the cave when she spoke. "Acantha!" I heard Ellen exclaim in excitement. I turned to find Acantha emerging towards us, holding a staff in her hand that radiated a great amount of power. The strength that exuded out of her alone was enough to cease the beasts' steps. Calmly analyzing the situation, she stepped in front of me, facing the bea