"Alpha! Please forgive me! I never meant to betray you!"
Ace Hunter looked down at the man kneeling and begging for forgiveness and sighed! He hated, absolutely hated when he had to kill people when he was on vacation. But betrayal was something that he took seriously and whether he had meant to or not, this man should have known better than to have leaked his whereabouts to the rogues. Because of him, he had lost two of his warriors. And because they had died, this man had to die too.
"Stand up!" Ace commanded. This weak man was the Alpha of the Appleby pack where Ace was a 'guest'! It was no wonder the pack had been dying slowly at the hands of rogues and their own neighbours. Who would want to ally themselves with a weakling Alpha like him? All Ace had to do was growl for the grown man to start snivelling. And he hadn't even used his Alpha voice yet!
The man stood up at once, relieved that he had been forgiven. He was about to bow down and thank Ace when the mighty Alpha spoke, " I will see you at the grounds after the moon rises! Alpha James of the Appleby pack, I hereby challenge you for the right to rule this pack."
***
"Kneel."
Ace Hunter did not even have to use his new authority to make the few hundred people kneel as they stared at the red wolf lying dead near his feet. This was the rule of the packs. The strongest won. And there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the strongest here was Alpha Ace who had killed James with a single swipe of his paw!
Nodding at the acceptance of the pack, he ordered his Beta, " Send for Healer Juan. He will help the pack get back on their feet and appoint someone to govern for us."
Beta Mateo nodded and was about to leave when a voice spoke through the pack link. It was no one other than Healer Juan, "Beta Mateo, bring Alpha Ace to the end of the forest. There is something he needs to see."
Of course, Ace had already heard the 'order' and nodded in acknowledgement. "Tonight, there will be no pack run. You will all go and rest. Tomorrow, I want every single member of the pack present here."
With that order, Ace turned back and walked towards the edge of the forest. If there was one person who could get him to do something without question, it was Healer Juan. But neither the Alpha nor the Beta expected to see the scene that met their eyes.
A woman... no a girl, held a dagger in one hand and a sword in the other and was fighting off three werewolves at once. And holding up quite well. Her movements were slow and she looked exhausted but there was a killing intent that seemed to be coming from her. She was no wolf but she seemed to have no hesitation in killing the rogues.
And then Ace noticed... two dead wolves near her feet. Their throats were slashed. This was a dangerous woman if she had killed two fully grown rogues... It was Mateo who broke the silence as he questioned incredulously, " Healer Juan? Why are you standing there and not helping the girl?"
Healer Juan shushed him, "She doesn't need help."
But, even as Healer Juan said this, Ace had already changed and jumped at the largest grey wolf who was now trying to attack the human girl from behind and jumped in his way with a snarl.
With an angry growl, the grey wolf stared at the black wolf that was now protecting the girl. Already he had been chasing the girl for a week and now this wolf was obstructing his way. Tonight nothing was going to stand in his way of getting the girl and bringing her back to his master.
Meanwhile, Ace studied the rogue wolf and could feel his determination. But why was a wolf after a human girl? Could this be the rogue's mate? But then, it wouldn't attack the girl so viciously.
Soon the wolf pounced, letting out a loud howl, but Ace could not be bothered in engaging in battle. Jumping out of the attack, he simply caught the wolf's neck between his jaws tearing out the wolf's throat.
Turning back to help the girl with the other two wolves, however, Ace was surprised to see that she had already killed the other two. That made a total of four rogues...And she was now staring at him with her wide hazel eyes.
Crystal stared at the black wolf who had appeared out of nowhere and saved her. She had been on the run for weeks and was just about to give up on her life. Her only remaining family was dead and the rogues that had been chasing her had exhausted her. But now finally, the moon Goddess had seen it fit to send someone to help her. But who was this wolf? And was he a friend or a foe? Because if he was a foe, then she knew that she was going to die at his hands. She had no strength left to fight.
Even as this thought occurred, the sword finally slipped out of her hands and she fell onto the ground, the blackness that threatened to engulf her, finally winning.
Ace padded closer to the girl as she lay on the ground and looked down worriedly. Without a second thought, he changed back into his human form and with no worry about his nudity, kneeled against the girl.
"Juan, why are you standing there? Help her."
But Juan simply shook his head and spoke, " No. Ace. It is better if you don't help her. We need to leave."
Ace ignore his healer who seemed to be suffering from temporary insanity and turned her over slowly. Even though she had let go of the sword, she still seemed to clutch the blade tightly.
The ancient-looking blade caught his attention and as he would have taken it out of her hands, Juan shouted," Dam* it! Don't touch that!"
Juan reluctantly checked the girl's pulse and sighed. At least she was out of danger. Or else his own life would have been on the line. Turning back to his Alpha, he muttered, "She is fine. The only reason she isn't waking up is that her body needs to heal internally."Ace looked down at the girl he had rescued two days ago and nodded. He did not know why but when he had seen her collapse, his wolf had almost gone crazy. For a minute he wondered if she was his mate but he would only be able to find that out after she turned eighteen.Before that, there were other things to be puzzled about. The fact that she smelled human but her healing and the way she fought with those rogues made it clear that she was not a simple human. There was also the extreme reluctance in Juan when he had ordered him to treat her. Juan was someone who would do his best to treat anyone with the slightest sickness and this was the first time he had actually refused to help without a direct command from him.As
Crystal opened her eyes and sucked in a breath as she found a man leaning over her, staring at her intensely. Hurriedly, the scene of her being saved by a wolf came to her mind. No. She needed to escape from here! Her eyes darted around and in the next moment, she pushed out one hand to move the man's arm and pushed at his shoulder with the other, quickly turning them so that the next moment the dark-haired man was under her while she straddled him. Breaking the bottle of water, she held it near his neck and questioned," Where are my things? You were foolish to not have tied my hands when you had the chance."For the first time in his life, Ace Hunter found himself under an unexpected attack. Ace had become an Alpha at the age of seventeen when he had challenged his birth father for the right to rule the Moonhunter Pack. And even though his father had been a ferocious warrior, he had been unable to defeat Ace.The only reason he had been able to win, Ace acknowledged even now, had bee
Ace looked into the eyes of the girl who looked wise beyond her years and accepted the promise with a nod. The girl was indeed smart. She had pledged her life to the pack and not to him. While Ace and Crystal stared at each other, Juan was not happy."Ace! What are you thinking? Giving her shelter would mean inviting every land-hungry pack to come after us. Even if you are the strongest pack, your first priority should be protecting your pack. There is no need to invite more violence to innocent people! And did you not see the rogues she was fighting? There is a rumour among the people that all the rogues have started banding together looking for someone. Who do you think is that 'someone'? And what Luna? To be an Alpha or Luna, you need to have land and a pack! Even though the land of the Snowheart Pack is protected by ancient spells, your pack has been extinguished! What is your life worth against our pack members! They already are hot on your scent, are they not? So, they just have
While Ace left Crystal to recover, Juan was once again pacing outside the cottage while Mateo stood still, seemingly deep in thought. Watching the Alpha come out, Juan muttered again and spoke, " Ace? How could you offer her asylum? Even if she can disguise her scent, it's not like we can simply show up at the pack with a girl and have no explanation? And then what happens when a girl with an appearance similar to what the rogues are looking for appears on our doorstep out of the blue? Ace, you are being foolish for a bi**h!"Suddenly Juan was hit with a force that caused him to stagger and knee. He looked up at Ace with horror. Ace had actually used his Alpha power on him!"Juan, you are my friend since childhood and that is why I let you get away with a lot. But that does not mean you can go around challenging my decisions and disrespecting Lunas of other packs!."Being hit full force by the Alpha's anger, Juan looked away, baring his neck to the Alpha. "I apologize, Alpha Ace."Wit
Ace felt like a dam* perv. He had raced into the room, expecting a rogue to have attacked her and instead, here she was staring at him as if he was the rogue. Her big eyes almost seemed ready to fall out of her face and she was clutching the blanket with a panicked face.Her eyes, if possible widened even further as she gave him a look all over. In his haste, he had only pulled on his sweats leaving his upper body bare. "Uh... Could you please put on some clothes," she squeaked.After seeing that she was pale-faced and shaking he guessed the reason for her scream. Ace walked out of the cabin without a word to get back his T-shirt. She must have had a nightmare. She had had those in the past two nights and it had usually ended in her holding his hand tight enough to stop blood flow into the appendage and if he were a human, break his bones!Crystal stared at the perfect V-shaped back of the man as he walked out. Her eyes however continued to flit back to the small tattoo on his shoulde
Two Weeks Later:"Who is that girl?"As Crystal followed Alpha Ace and beta Mateo into the training grounds of the Moonhunters Pack, she could already feel the power in the air. So, what she had learnt from Beta Mateo during her recuperation period, about this pack was all true. Alpha Ace was truly a well-respected and honoured Alpha. It was clear from the warriors that he commanded. Even when they were training, they had a fierceness that could be matched in a real match. And such warriors had pledged their alliance to the Alpha so he was worthy."Who Cares if he is not worth it? All that hot a**! We can enjoy him and then once I have come ito power, we can tame him, worth or not..." Erin, her wolf, whispered in her ear. Even providing images of the ways in which she could 'subdue' the alpha!Crystal rolled her eyes mentally at her wolf and tried to ignore the gazes being sent her way. As a human student, she had been used to merging into the background but as she walked among the wo
Since the Alpha had already ordered and everyone waited, Kai, suppressed his thoughts and turned to choose a young wolf. If what Mateo had hinted at was true then there was no female fighter who was good enough to train with her. In werewolves, there were rarely any female warriors for they could prove a distraction for their mates. Of course, in today's time, one might say that the opposite was true and female warriors could also be distracted due to their male counterparts but no one was interested in changing things. Alpha Ace had made an order that all males and females had to be trained so a few of the she-wolves had half-heartedly started training while others had found ways to get out of the compulsion for the time being. While Kai was lost in deliberation, the warriors were abuzz with gossip and conversation through their mind link. Knowing what Kai was thinking, Beta Mateo opened the mind link and spoke to Kai," Send Nate." Kai scowled and turned to look at the Beta. Nate
Crystal narrowed her eyes and threw the dart with such venom that Ace could not help but wince. That was a lot of hatred for the poor dart board. "I hope you are not imagining my face on the dartboard." That caused Crystal to pause as she turned her head to look at the Alpha who was now lounging against her kitchen counter with a serious look on his face. Rolling her eyes at him, she commented," Just because you ordered me to not flirt with anyone, you think I would be so vicious? I understand that you were jealous since you wanted me to flirt with you only but pettiness does not earn you darts!" "Then what does?" Came the clap-back question. Sighing, Crystal placed the darts on the side and crossed her arms in front of her as she stared at Ace Hunter. "What is the matter Ace? Why are you here in my humble abode at midnight, eating my fish and chips?" "Only you would have the gall to call me Ace without permission, Crystal. And the fish and chips are yum so why would I want them
"My baby?" The first thought that came to Crystal when she woke up and felt her stomach that everything had been a dream and her baby had been stolen by Indiva. As tears of agony came to her eyes and she tried to move, her hand was held by Ace. Tears in her eyes, she tried to speak when he placed a small kiss on her forehead. "Our baby is safe. She was just too small so Juan has taken her to a makeshift care unit.""She? We have a baby girl?"With a loud exhale, Ace spoke," Yes sugar. We have a little baby girl..."Crystal frowned at the weary tone of voice and questioned tentatively,"You are not happy?"Once agian, he leaned forward before placing reassuring kisses all over her face. "I am very happy. Just worried about the future...""Why? Is there some other villain posing as a threat?" Crystal asked wth a trace of fear."No! Sigh! Crystal... our daughter..." As Ace left the words hanging, Crystal widened her eyes, all thoughts of negative thoughts running through her...She held h
The silence in the night continued as scene after scene continued to change showing the siren's plan to kill the Goddess by luring Luna Crystal. A strange murmur raced through the crowd as everything continued according to the plan of the siren and Luna Crystal was separated from the battle by Ace and the siren. They watched from his eyes as he gazed worriedly at his wife who was suffering discomfort and seemed to be rubbing her belly continuously. Because the siren had been made with Indiva's magic she was well aware of the magic and easily led them to Indiva. But instead of engaging in a war, they had not expected that Indiva would disappear into the woods followed by Aenora. As Crystal would have followed them, Ace summoned Doyen and spoke to Erin with their mind link.”No. Wait here. And fight with me. Our people have already spread through the forest, she won't be able to disappear easily." They watched as the Luna Queen immediately stilled and followed the black wolf’s bidding.
“I know what they said… They said I ran away and shook hands with the enemy. I know what they said…They said that I betrayed my mate. I know what they said… They said I fell under the spell of a siren. I know what they said…They said I was lured away by the thirst for magic and power… kidnapped by lust. I know what they said…They said that I would not return to my mate…be killed by the Goddess I was meant to kill. I know what they said…”The small wisp of smoke that had arisen from the witch’s hand slowly took the image of Alpha Ace in the middle of the dark sky. With every word the smoky Alpha spoke, the chillier everyone felt. These were indeed the rumours that had been spreading through the ranks over the last many hours but to hear them from this wisp of smoke in such a voice was way too scary even for the most hardened shifters. It made them think of ghosts.The witch herself trembled and gulped as she uttered a few words, tightening the smooth lock of hair in her palm and spoke,”
Dissent spread through the army as the werewolves questioned Alpha Ace's presence beside Goddess Indiva at the beginning of the war while the foxes fed the fire of rumours. Even as most of the shifters would not dare to question either Crystal or Ace, out of sheer fear, they did not seem to have any qualms about discussing the same and spreading rumours. But nobody knew the truth of the matter as the Goddess had been defeated without any witnesses. Using this momentum the fox shifters questioned Nate," Beta Hunter. The Queen is still in labour. And the others are still in recovery but what about the Queen's consort? What about Alpha Ace? We all saw him standing there right next to that Goddess and whoever that woman was. Did he fight on their side? Has he betrayed his mate? All of us agreed to an alliance not just with the queen but also on the trust of Ace Hunter's mate and the backing of the warriors of the Moonhunter Pack. But now it seems Alpha Ace was not a part of this war. So,
As Crystal struggled to breathe through the contractions, she hoped and prayed that her baby would survive. Tears of happiness escaped her eyes. Her baby had decided to come just after the threat had been eliminated. Now they would be able to live peacefully. She would not have to constantly look over her shoulder in fear. But unknown to her, a certain threat still thrived. The fox clan were known for their cunningness but also their selfishness. At this moment, two red foxes scoured the remains of the dead. Like scavengers, they also looked for something from the dead and did not 'waste' their time in mourning their comrades. "Dam* it! Where is that box? Are you sure it is not there where that Luna buried the heart?" Grumbled the female vixen as she tried to look for the small box which held Indiva's sealed powers. The other fox glared at her and spoke sharply," Keep your voice down! I know it is not there! Do you think the Luna will be so stupid to put it in a place where everyo
As the net was cast and Indiva prepared to disappear, Aenora was not going to be easily defeated. Summoning all her powers, Aenora filled the air with pheromones so strong that the air started to feel sickeningly cloying. While Erin in her wolf form was barely affected other than feeling a bit hazy, Goddess Indiva, with little and now almost exhausted power, was forced to her knees. But Indiva was not going to let go so easily and continued to chant the spells, tightening the hold of the net on Crystal lest the wolf tries to escape or attack her. But Crystal seemed uncaring and unaware of her surroundings. Probably the shock of losing her mate and having to live with his betrayal seemed to finish her will to live. But Aenora- the siren on the other end had gone crazy as she continued to attack Indiva until finally, Indiva was unable to escape and finally lay panting on the floor as their almost exhausted powerful auras glowed faintly around them,. Seeing that she had brought the vill
"Do not forget that I am still a Goddess, Aenora," Indiva thundered. "It still holds the binding power of the heavens!" The siren snorted and narrowed her eyes, "And I don't think that you will find a way to say the words in such a way that the promise would be circumvented? No mistress. You will give me the box." Placing one hand behind her back, Indiva curled her fingers and urged, "The box is of no use to you, Aenora. It is mine. Ask for anything and I will give you." Instead of replying, Aenora let out a shriek and jumped at Indiva who was about to cast a curse at her. Indiva fell to the floor while the box slipped out of her hand. Kicking her in the stomach, Aenora jumped towards the box only to be hit by magic and thrown against the walls. As the Goddess and siren continued to fight, throwing curses t each other, two pairs of eyes continued to stare. A while later as it looked no one would be lost, a loud howl broke through the woods. The wolf's howl was filled with agony an
Aenora hurried behind the tiny bird with narrowed eyes. She needed to see where Goddess Indiva was going. That Goddess wanted nothing more than all the shifters to be eradicated and Luna Crystal to lose her life. And yet, now when Crystal was about to engage in a fight with Ace, the goddess was fleeing instead of staying to help or watch. Aenora searched the sky as the sun's rays hurt her eyes, looking for the tiny bird which had disappeared into the sky. Was Ace correct? This Goddess Indiva had only planned to use them and then kill them. But she had promised that if they succeeded in defeating Luna Crystal, she would let Ace and her leave together so that they could live happily... The beautiful face turned into a scowl and she touched the late trunk of a tree as she ordered," Tell me where the goddess has disappeared."A small hollow appeared in the tree as it spoke," The Goddess has entered the secret cave at the end of these woods. Our Goddess Siren, the Goddess Indiva is in a t
No word was spoken as the rays of the sun fell across the sand. With a single raised hand, Crystal directed her troops to march forward. While the others almost seemed to have fallen into a trance at the sight of Ace Hunter, the calm determination in Crystal's eyes and gestures seemed to re inforce their energy. Yes... Luna Crystal hadn't just spoken words about fighting the loved ones. She was also prepared to fight those she loved.Soon, the silence was broken by growls, howls and the sounds of war. Bones popped as humans turned animals and attacked those who had hurt their loved ones. For the army they fought may carry the faces of their loved ones but in the end, they were not the same instead the undead were reminders of what they had lost.As the silence was absorbed by loud noises, Indiva turned away from the battle, uncaring whether her own army lived or died. Crystal was holding up really well for someone whose mate had just cheated on her. She stared intently at Ace and Aeno