-I woke up to a sharp smell of metal and soft mumblings. My face wrinkled as I struggled to snap my eyes open, my head felt heavy and I could feel my body being pinned to something soft. My active senses showed I was awake but my body was drained like I had been working nonstop for weeks."This is a bad idea.." the voice was skeptical and familiar, but I could barely figure out its owner. "I don't know what I was thinking, I just... I just wanted him to stay. I didn't know he would pass out," a shaky voice followed. It was feminine. Meredith?I tried to move my head to see the people interacting before me, but a stinging pain followed, and I grunted. "Ace, are you awake?" Slender fingers touched my face, and I blinked in an attempt to clear my hazy view. "Ace, can you hear me?" Her voice shook. "My body... I can't move.." I forced the words out, my forehead etching and pain coursing through my insides."Don't fight it, it'll get worse if you do. I had no idea it was this powerfu
_"Did it work? How do you feel?" Henry poured out questions while standing beside me, looking ready to offer assistance in case the antidote turned out to be a failure. "Better," I responded and he breathed out in relief when I sat up effortlessly. "How is Meredith?""She's alive," Randolph answered. I studied him for a few seconds and I knew that Meredith was in safe hands. Randolph was going to protect her. "I'll go stay by her side," he took permission and left the room. "You don't plan on crying, do you?" I faced Henry, seeing all the emotions that he was locking up. It was one of the perks of being powerful, not showing petty weakness. He shook his head at once and faced away to comport himself."I'm sorry, I'm just really glad you're alive. It's so good to see you again," his words were soft and tugged at my heart. It was my first time seeing Henry act that way and also my first time feeling that way towards him. I missed him too. I couldn't tell him that but I couldn't d
_Ellen_-"Hey...""Hey, sleepyhead. It's time to wake up.." Daffodils. The smell of daffodils hit my nostrils as my senses awakened. My mouth was salty, and I could feel my body floating, but the soft voice continuously spoke to me, urging me to wake up. I tried to open my eyes but it seemed my eyelids were stuck to each other."Are you really going to give up like this?"That voice. It was familiar, and I didn't know why, but it twigged at my emotions and made my eyes water. "Ellen. You can't give up now, you have to keep fighting..."The tear dropped and my heart raced in my chest, my body fighting to inch near whoever was talking to me like it was the haven I had been searching for all my life."Natalie.." it was in my head. I couldn't move my mouth but my voice was clear in my head. "Is it you, Natalie?" I tried to ask, more tears pouring out. "Please answer me, I can feel you.""I have always been by your side. You were never alone.."I broke down. My eyes were stil
-"You are the healer?"My breath hitched, but my gaze remained on her; her emerald green eyes glowed but revealed nothing. She didn't attempt to break the eye contact and that was when I realized that she had asked a question. I had thought she confirmed my identity already. It was hard, at this point, to decipher her expressions so I just kept my worries at bay. Does she have something against the healer? Or perhaps Ace's clan and she has figured that he was associated with the healer? Does she plan on getting rid of me over a grudge?Or worse, would she hand me over to Derek?I had no idea who she was. It was usually rare to find a witch among us, so I was certain that I had done nothing personally to offend her but I couldn't take any risk. "No, I am not the healer. I am just a traveler who lost her way and has walked around for days in this place that I know nothing about, not even its existence."Her brows furrowed and her lips moved into a lopsided grin that didn't go furthe
-"Here you go, child," I looked up to see the old woman holding a cup that was steaming. It had tea in it but I kept it wrapped in my palms, warming my cold hands. I was too worried to consume or do anything. It had taken an hour to stop my tears and here I was, seated on a mat, weak to my bones and rethinking all that had been revealed to me. Ace was suffering the effect of a curse placed on his family, and I was a victim of it by fate. It could get worse or I could break it by getting rid of him. It was too much to contain and I had no idea what to do. Getting rid of Ace was not an option; I had grown to know him as the most important person in my life. No matter what changes, I couldn't see anyone else the way I saw Ace. He was a part of me that I never knew existed until he walked into my life, he was a part of me that made the whole of me want to stay alive. He was the best part of me, the part I never wanted to let go of."Worrying doesn't change anything you know," she sat
In less than an hour, I had forgotten all about Acantha's revelation involving Ace and was now chatting with her like I had known her all my life. Hearing her story triggered something in me and made me realize that not everyone who looked normal had a normal life. It made me feel a bit comfortable around it and kept my mind at ease like I could trust her.On the inside, she was a mess but she was living to fulfill her vows. Seeing her console me made me think she couldn't relate to my feelings; she was a witch, and until now, I hadn't thought they bore feelings, but she had passed through worse torture than me. What could be worse than watching your loved ones being murdered right in front of your eyes and not being able to help them? What could be worse than having to stay alive even though there was no one to live for? I felt that same way when I lost Natalie but I had found a will to live now. Ace. He was the only reason why I was willing to fight through every day. No matter ho
Acantha drew closer to me, placing her second hand on mine while gazing at me with concern. "I know how difficult it is to relive a memory, child, I'm sorry I made you go through that without considering your feelings. You can cry all you want, I will console you," she spoke softly, rubbing my palms.I shook my head no, trying to curb the tears so I could speak and reveal to her that her dead daughter was my mother and that while she thought she was dead all along, Mabel had survived. "Go on, let it all out," she patted my palm as she consoled. "No, you don't understand," my voice broke and I swallowed hard, fighting my heavy emotions. "The woman in that picture is my mother."At once, Acantha's face blanked and then her expression slowly twitched as she now looked confused. "My Mabel is.." her voice trailed in disbelief, and I nodded. "I might not have grown up with her but I know very well what she looks like. Your daughter is my mother, Acantha.""Are you certain?""Very. I'm
Slowly, Acantha faced me and her head gave a little shake as she nodded, befuddled. "I have been played."Afterward, she fell silent for a moment and stared into space, still looking shocked and confused. "Is something wrong?" I asked, "Is Ace okay?" I was now alert. Did she perhaps see something about Ace with her sorcery skills?"There is something you must know," she began, pain evident in her voice. She slowly released my hand and took a deep breath, avoiding my gaze. My curiosity piqued and my heart drummed against my chest in fear."Othniel Black was the Alpha who killed my eldest daughter, Camila. He was Alpha of the Ocean Howls Pack at that time and he was the one I had placed a curse on. I believe Ace is his son."I retreated, "what?""As at that time Ace hadn't been birthed yet, Kyra was still pregnant with him. I had cursed him in her womb without even meeting him," Acantha bitterly lamented.My jaw dropped, but for some seconds, I was speechless. Acantha was the one who
-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