The lone black wolf trudged through the forest in search of water. It had been seven days since it had been travelling and soon, he would reach his destination. He yearned to mind link with his mate and chat with her but with the distance, they were at, his energy would be draining and that would only hinder their goal. He had expected Indiva to set up many traps in these forests because it was one that Leo usually used to travel to Indiviana. So she was aware that Doyen knew of the route but instead once again the course had been devoid of all that. He wondered if she had instead poisoned the water or maybe the soil and food but everything he sniffed smelled normal. As he neared the small stream, however, he felt another presence. Whirling around Doyen observed his surroundings, looking for the person or animal making the rustling sound that he had just heard. It happened again and this time, Doyen narrowed his eyes as a young woman jumped out of the bushes with a large stick in her
Sitting around the large table in the cafe that now seemed to have become their new strategy room. Apart from foxes and werecats, Crystal had now successfully allied with werebears. Considered to be the most notorious and difficult to get along with, the mere feat of getting the Bear King to meet them had earned Crystal an even more reputation. At present they were discussing ways of breaking into Indiviana and getting rid of the demon guards that prevented people from entering and leaving. The werecat that presently was sitting in front of her was smiling at her in amusement. "You really are something, Luna Crystal! This plan that you have created is brilliant because of its mere simplicity. But, I do have a question. How do you know all this?""What all this are we talking about?"The werecat snorted again, mumbling something and spoke," The way to handle the guards. Aren't you too young to know all this?""I am. But I have been wanting my revenge since I was eight. And while I did
Inside the confines of Ace's mind, Doyen paced restlessly! It was his fault! He should not have let Ace come forth when he saw the human woman! How many times had he seen Leo use different ways to seduce and tantalize his victims and make them do his bidding? Infinity times! And having seen all that, Doyen had assumed that he would be able to recognize such a 'beauty' trap from a mile away! And despite this, he had let Ace answer the siren's call. Yes, now he knew that Aenora was indeed a siren. If only he had known when he had still been in his wolf form. While Aenora was powerful, sirens could not have much effect on wolves. Maybe confuse them a bit. And knowing this, he had ended up confused and surrendered control to Ace. Dam* it! Ace was human! Of course, he would surrender to a siren's call. Normal humans could not fight off a siren's call unless their will was too strong! And he had actually thought Ace was strong but the man had crumbled like a house of cards! Not even tryin
Crystal woke up to concerned faces staring down at her. Kai slowly handed her the glass of water and answered her unasked question," You spiked a fever and suddenly went unconscious. Everyone was worried. We had the physicians look at you but no one knew what happened." Sipping her water, Crystal stared at the dark door to the side. She had been caught in a long nightmare. And even now that she had come out of it, she felt uneasy as if she was still stuck there. She was sure that if she tried to speak now, she would be too sick to even say a word. Inhaling and exhaling softly, she tried to erase the remnants of the nightmare that clung to her and slowly her hand went to her neck. Feeling the canine marks there, she breathed a sigh of relief. Her dream that their marks had faded was just that--- a dream. A horrible one but not reality. Ace would never betray her. And never reject her thus causing their marks to fade. Maybe she could not mind linking to him because he was injured. An
"Everything is in place, Luna Crystal. We just need to signal the others and we will proceed. Have you been able to get in touch with the alpha?"Crystal shook her head as she rubbed her temple. The nightmares were getting worse and worse and each time the burning sensation on her bite made her want to tear her skin out. What was her mate being subjected to and would he be able to signal the or would they have to adopt plan B based on the assumption that Ace was no longer able to be with them?Seeing her distracted and troubled, Kai sighed. He knew she was worried about Ace. They all were. While all of them had the utmost faith in their Alpha, he was weak and had only just returned from death. And now he had to be the one who had to go alone again. Unfortunately, they might still lose him... something that he had already ordered him, Matt and Healer Juan to be prepared for."Crystal, we can at most lay low for the next two days. After that, we will lose the little element of surprise
It was later in the day when Juan finally contacted her again. "I think I have all the information about sirens." "Tell me." "As the lore suggests, they are known to attract humans and keep them as their slaves or pets. While they are very beautiful and their pheromones addictive, sirens have too much of vanity. There are two types of sirens. The born ones are able to lure humans but only if the soul of the human is inherently steeped in lust. And this means any lust. Thus the old talks about sailors with wanderlust disappearing. More like they had been kidnapped to be the siren's slave. The second type of siren is the one that has been created by evil magic and innocent sacrifices to seduce someone. Like the magic that created them, they are powerful and hold a special lure over humans. Neither the birth siren nor created sirens have any effect on the shifters. But, their humans have been known to fall prey to them in the past. There are not many created sirens in the world for t
The beach was littered with destruction and wounded shifters who had just been forced to retreat to the safety of the sea and were now almost dragging their feet off the shore. Though they had been well prepared and fought valiantly, the opposition had used something that had been unexpected to them.As they escaped Indivana towards relative safety knowing that they had lost the battle but not the war. However, the small battle had exposed to them their biggest weakness and fear. Uncertainty coursed through their minds and fear of the future flowed in their veins. Thankfully, though they were gravely injured, they had not lost their comrades. But that feeling was short-lived as General Kai reported their findings to Beta Nate Hunter who had just joined their troops."Indiva is not using demons as we expected but something worse."With orders to rest and recuperate, Kai took Nate aside and spoke," Most of the people who have joined our cause have done so to avenge their loved ones who
The black spirit-like structure similar to a reflection floated in the air. The demon's face was covered with scales like an amphibian while its mouth dripped green saliva. It spoke to the small bird and continued," Goddess, the animals have discovered our spies and set up a trap. They have learned about our secret forces and retreated but those troops are lost."The bird squawked loudly and, with a great flapping of wings, turned into human form. The next moment, the demon seemed to be set on fire as it let out a monstrous roar. "You are all useless. Do you not even know how to fight battles? Have you been complacent too long?"With another wave of her hand, the fire disappeared and she spoke," She will attack soon. Now I will have to use Ace. Summon Aenora. It is time you have a worthy general to fight and lead you all into the battle."The demon slowly disappeared while Indiva slowly walked towards the small pond of water. Looking inside she frowned at her ravaged appearance. Creat
"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