"Interesting that you think you can give me, A Goddess, something. But we'll get to that later. First, tell me, do you love the man and wolf or do you love the shell? Do you want me to return his soul to you or just the body or both?" "I want both?" "Uh-huh. Think carefully. Ace and Doyen have loved you for two years, supported you and done their best to lay the world at your feet. But a part of Doyen has been tainted within the confines of my son's mind. So, if you get him back whole, will you be able to live with the hate that Doyen and Ace will feel for you? Not just hate, he may even do his beat to destroy you? But, I can return him to you with only a body and a new untainted soul. You can teach him to be like your Ace. He will be in this body so you won't even be able to tell the difference. I have studied Ace over the past month. I can assure you, I can create a beautiful soul just like his. Think well, daughter of Selene." Crystal raised her chin and spoke without a second th
"Luna Crystal! Please tell me what deal you struck with Goddess Indiva to get her to return Alpha Ace?" Finally, irritated with the man's whining who seemed to have caught this topic between his teeth, she spoke," I gave her the ancient crown, did I not?" "No! Goddess Indiva would never let go of a soul for a piece of metal! She thrives on collecting powerful souls!" "It doesn't matter what I promised her! What matters is that I have no intention of fulfilling the promise! And she will not be able to do anything about it! So you better concentrate on getting Ace all well again instead of being a worry worm!" Juan sighed deeply and rubbed his head. He still firmly supported that offering asylum to Crystal Snowheart, was the biggest foolishness his alpha had done. In fact, she should be named Crystal Troublemaker! "I have already given him what he needs and the rest will be done by Doyen. But I will not let this bit go, Luna Crystal. I have to know what it is that she wants. Haven't
Crystal would not have been more shocked if Juan had come and punched her in the face! Her hands cradled her stomach and asked," What did you say?" That reaction was enough to let him know that she was indeed unaware she was pregnant! Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. So much had been happening, and with her youth, Goddess Indiva had succeeded in pulling one over her. "You are five weeks pregnant, Luna Crystal. Your scent has changed and Indiva must have recognized that. I think her initial motive must have been to get you but then you were pregnant so she went after the prize. Selene is pure and serene. A child would be the same and from you, it would carry the essence to open the box and more. The purity would only multiply the power inside that box, feeding it with life energy and opening the box as well!" But Crystal not paying attention anymore as she held her stomach protectively. There was a life inside her. A life that she and Ace had made. No! She would have to ch
"Would you like me to pretend to be dead?" asked an acidic voice. Juan and Crystal both jumped apart at the voice, turning in sync to look at the man laying there. Crystal was the first to react as her hand covered her mouth and with a cry of sheer happiness, she raced to her mate. Holding his face, she pressed a kiss to his dry lips and buried her face in his chest. Soon after, it was Juan who reacted as he respectfully greeted him," Alpha Ace!" before moving to check his vitals over the many special machines he had been connected to. But instead of holding her, or even comforting her, Ace tried to push Crystal, ordering coldly," You need to step back." That cold voice suddenly chilled her to the bone. It was a tone that he had never used before with her. She had of course heard him use it on the other warriors and their enemies. Stepping back, she looked at his face searchingly. She did not know what she was searching for. Recognition or maybe the same indulgent look that he a
Despite her smile and warning to Ace, nothing could stop the hurt of the words that Ace had just caused her. It had felt as if she had lost her mate all over again. Until now, she had been told herself repeatedly that nothing could hurt her but now she knew that a few words from him could crumble the walls she had built to defend herself.Once outside, she let go of Erin whom she had kept confined in the recesses of her mind after losing Ace. Th white wolf blinked at the surroundings as she raced towards the small river bank which held most of her memories with Ace.A few minutes later, she felt the presence of her beta who had followed her. She knew he was not too sure of his reception but when she did not growl at him, he assumed that she allowed his presence. Once at the bank, Nate stood at a distance as Erin slumed on the sand. Her head on her paw, the wolf did not understand why her mate was not coming to her and why he seemed to hate her. Even as the many things tried to claim
As she moved back after force-feeding the soup, Ace wiped his mouth, glaring at the woman who had 'molested', bit out, "That is the most disgusting bit of soup that I have ever had! Do not touch me again!" In return, Crystal licked her lips and grinned wickedly," Well, I must say that this is the best way that I have fed soup to someone." "My beta is not drinking his soup outside! Would you like to go feed him the same way?" Ace bit out. Crystal shook her head and started to unpack the clothes that she had brought along and spoke," You are really lucky that I don't get angry easily. Or with the words vomit that you have been spewing, that soup would have ended up on your head." Ace narrowed his eyes at that. Did she just threaten to throw the soup on him? His eyes followed her movements as she puttered about taking out various things from his bag... were those his boxer shorts? While he was focused on her, he licked his lips and started sipping the soup, seemingly unaware of what
To Doyen, that simple touch had been enough to almost unravel him, making him almost forget that this mate of his did not shy away from touching other men and even flirting with them. But as he felt a hot tear against his back, it seemed to remind him that he did not like her. Stepping towards the bath, he bit out, "Are you going to keep touching me without my permission? Do not tell me that when you thought me dead, you had no other partners." Narrowing her eyes with anger at the cheap shot, she reminded herself that this was not her Ace. At least not totally. All his negative traits had been multiplied by thousands maybe. But really, this Doyen was going to learn to keep his mouth shut if he did not know how to speak nicely. She would teach him! Seeing that her wonderful mate had stepped into the bath and was not slowly sinking into it with difficulty, she let out a wicked smile. She turned back and waited for him to let down his guard. And he did exactly that. Well, poor him, he
Ace clenched his hands inside the water. He needed to push her away at any cost. Being close to her would mean disaster, he was sure of it. If she were not going to leave him alone with cruel words and tongue lashings then he would have to scare her away in some other way.With a sudden movement, he turned around, caught her hand that was massaging him, and pulled hard. She landed in the bath with a huge splash, causing the water to spill out on all sides as she flailed to get her balance.With his other arm around her slender waist, he pulled her close to him, as she huffed and tried to catch her breath. Bringing his mouth close to her ear, he whispered, "Do you want to seduce me? Are you unsatisfied with the other boys who have been hovering around you and that is why you are trying to do all this? I may be injured, but I can always satisfy you... so you don't have to work so hard. Just say it, Luna Crystal." His hand moved suggestively over her body, slipping under the edge of her
"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