...Darius POV...I knew Wynter was really tired, so I figured by the time I finished showering that she would probably be out cold. I opened the bathroom door, expecting to see Wynter out cold. Only to see her munching on a half eaten pizza. "Where did you get that from?" I asked, surprised."I don't know. I thought you had ordered it." She says, putting down the piece of pizza mid-bite."Where did you get it?" I ask, suddenly alarmed."It was just over there, with all the others." She says, pointing towards the little kitchen nook in the far corner of the room. I turn to see where she's pointing, to notice that there are a stack of pizzas on the dining room table. All from various pizza places from around the city."What the..." I begin to ask, only to be interrupted by someone knocking on the door.I turn my attention to the sound, as I make my way over to the door. When I open the door, I find one of the omega's standing in front of me with yet another box of pizza. The omega bow
...Wynter POV...The next morning I woke up with a new sense of urgency. Almost as if we were on the same wavelength, Kenji burst into our room."Huh? What's going on?" Darius said, waking up with a start. When he saw everything was ok, he relaxed."Dude? What's the rush? Couldn't you have at least let us sleep in? And wait.. since when are you up before me?" Darius asked Kenji."That's not important. And no this can't wait." Kenji says."Fine. Just give us a chance to get dressed. We'll meet in my office in twenty minutes." Darius says.Kenji looks frustrated but ultimately agrees. He leaves the room, leaving Darius and I to get changed."What do you think that was about?" I ask Darius."I have a couple of ideas. I just didn't expect him to be up this early."I look at the clock and see that he's right. It's barely even five in the morning. "What are your ideas?" I ask."After we left the town yesterday, I had asked Kenji to follow up with Kayden to see how we could set up a meeting
The next few days flew by effortlessly. It actually felt as though we were gaining our own sense of normalcy. The first we did after we had finished our meeting with Kenji and Alpha Kayden, was to call a pack meeting. Darius wanted to address what had happened, and any questions or concerns they may have as well.Darius did a great job. He managed to keep his cool the entire time, regardless of the questions that were asked.Darius first thanked everyone for their support and for helping to make his transition to Alpha run so smoothly. He then addressed the elephant in the room. The reason for the Alpha Challenge. Up until now, all our pack members excluding Darius' top-ranking wolves were in the dark about everything that had happened. To the point that we knew that they were the most surprised that a challenge needed to take place.He didn't withhold any information, which I was really happy about. The best chance we had for everyone to gain our trust was to be completely transparen
...Darius POV...I was so impressed with Wynter. She continues to amaze me. While I wasn't sure if she meant to include me in the events she showed the others, I managed to see a lot more than I had realized. There was one event that stood out. It was back from when we were kids. My father had found her and directly threatened my life in hopes of getting her away from me. I had been unconscious at the time, as my father had thrown me into a tree. Another event that I couldn't even believe. Who was to even know that I would've just been rendered unconscious? A hit like that could've been fatal. Knowing the lack of empathy my father had for my own life, sickened me. I couldn't believe I was related to a monster like that.Ever since Wynter had shown my pack members those events, waves of apologies and promises of loyalty had begun to plague my mind as my pack members began to send my condolences. What Wynter had done was nothing short of a miracle. In that one moment, she had managed to
"GUYS!" Kenji yells, running into our room."GET OUT!" I curse at him, not liking that he interrupted my mate and I."I'm not looking. But you need to hear this.""You have two seconds.""We got word back from the Council.""What? Already?""Yes. That's what I thought. But it seems like they want to help." Kenji replies.Knowing that I couldn't let Wynter sleep anymore, I gently nudged her awake."We'll meet you in my office in an hour." I say, dismissing Kenji.Kenji wastes no time, leaving and closing the door behind him."Hmm?" I hear Wynter softly moan out.I hate having to wake her up right now, but I know she'll be upset if I don't let her know about this. So I gently wake her up."What's going on?" She asks, half awake."What makes you think something's wrong?""I can tell something up." She says. "It's nothing bad, I promise. We just heard back from the Council." "What?" Wynter says, suddenly wide awake. She kneels over top me as she searches my eyes."Yes. I told Kenji we'l
...Wynter POV...Darius didn't waste a second. We had barely entered the office by the time he had started questioning Kenji."What did the council have to say?" "Not much, but they have agreed to a meeting.""Ok. So are we talking like a skype call or facetime or Zoom meeting?" I ask."It doesn't quite work like that." Darius replies."What do you mean? What other choice do we have?" I ask."We have to go in person." Darius says."What? What the hell are you on about? Kyrgyzstan is literally on the other side of the world. It'll take at least twenty-four hours to get there. You're not serious, are you?" I ask, in disbelief."Unfortunately, yes. We don't have any other choice. The council is very old-fashioned. They don't rely on modern technology. So if we are going to see them, we have to go there."Suddenly that bad feeling began to creep up on my. "Wynter?" Darius asks, coming to my side."Why don't you dit down." I nod my head, letting him guide me."What's going on?" Kenji as
...Darius POV...I didn't want to say anything to Wynter, but I didn't feel good about coming here. I know she really wants her questions answered, and I want nothing more than to help her. But I can't stop this nagging feeling in my mind that something horrible is going to happen.We made our way to the castle that the Council members presided over. We had rented a car at the airport and had to leave it at the border of the council territories. Since they didn't recognize any modern advances, it meant that we would have to use our wolves to go the rest of the way. It was weird, the closer we got to their castle, it felt like we had gone through some sort of forcefield. It was like trying to enter a bubble. A bubble that only popped once we standing out front of the castle."What do we do now?" Wynter asks."Knock? I guess?" I suggest, shrugging my arms."Where?" Wynter says, searching the facility.Which is when I notice it. There doesn't seem to be a door anywhere. Before we have
I managed to make it to Wynter just in time to prevent her head from hitting the ground. "They bear the mark." Voldermort said, turning to the others.'What the hell are they talking about? Are they referring to Wynter's mark on my neck?' I ask Asher.'I don't know. Perhaps?' He replies, equally confused.'What does any of this have to do with my mark?' I ask him, knowing full well that he doesn't have an answer.I hold Wynter in my arms, stroking her hair, hoping beyond all means that she'll wake up.'Please, wake up, Farfalla.' I cooed to her in our mind link.I pulled her tight to me in an attempt to shield her from these monsters."Did I not tell you so?" I hear a familiar voice call out in the distance.I raise my head to see where the voice is coming from.'It can't be. No. Why would he even be here?' I think to myself.Sure enough, the next moment, I'm looking into the crystal blue eyes that I've only ever seen one other place– In the mirror. 'Great, 'cause this situation cou
...BONUS CHAPTER......10 Years Later......Wynter POV...A lot has happened in such a short amount of time. Not long after the merger of our two packs, did more requests come. Alphas far and wide were coming to us in hopes of merging our packs. What had begun as an alliance designed to help strengthen the packs, soon became to act as a Peace Treaty. Each pack we aligned with, were given the same conditions as Crescent Moon. The ranking members would remain in power, so long as they came to myself or Darius for any critical decisions. We had merged with so many packs, that we were no longer separate packs, but one happy kingdom. One of my more recent projects was to create a city devoted to the rehabilitation of rogues. Those that had been rogue would now have the opportunity to reenter pack life once they were deemed to not be a threat. Many of which had already successfully made the transition. Given our extensive reach, we were more easily able to help those in need. We now had en
...Wynter POV...After a lengthy discussion we all came to the unanimous decision to merge with the Crescent Moon Pack. Everyone had very valid concerns for not merging with them, however, I knew Alpha Landon's pleas were genuine. He was only coming to us as it was his only option. Without a merge, his pack could be killed. A fate no Alpha would ever want for their pack. The five of us decided to go over a sort of job description if you will, for Alpha Landon. He would be a valuable resource, but at the same time we couldn't afford to give him too much power. In order to successfully merge the two packs, there had to be one concise leadership. If others felt that they could turn to Alpha Landon for their problems, it could risk a mutiny.So while Alpha Landon would have power, he would have to go through either myself or Darius to make critical decisions. It was the only safe way to merge the packs, while also allowing Alpha Landon a position as well.Before informing Alpha Landon of
...Darius POV...After Wynter and I had finished, we quickly showered and got ourselves ready to meet with Alpha Landon. I was confused as to why he suddenly showed up. But decided not to look too much into it until I had a chance to hear him out.Wynter stayed by my side as we entered my office. Alpha Landon was seated in the chair in front of my desk. However, he stood as Wynter and I entered my office. "Alpha. Luna." Alpha Landon addressed us, bowing slightly.I had walked over to my chair behind my desk. Wynter dutifully followed, and planned on standing behind me. However, Wynter was my Luna and my equal. Whatever Alpha Landon had planned on talking to me about, now involved Wynter. She had just as much say as what happened in this pack as I did. Which meant that I wanted her to be treated as an equal. I reached over to her, and guided her to sit on my lap. I smiled as Wynter quickly obliged my unasked command, and sat on my lap. I kissed the side of her cheek before turning to
...Darius POV...I awoke to the sounds of birds chirping. I could hear a faint heartbeat nearby and felt an incredible warmth. I opened my eyes to see Wynter lying on top of me. Memories of early this morning began to swim in my mind. I kissed the top of Wynter's head, careful not to move her. She's been running at full tilt ever since she woke up from the hospital. We had nothing pressing that needed to be taken care of, so I decided to just lay here and watch her sleep. I smiled as I remembered our lovemaking from earlier. The feeling was so euphoric. We had both longed for this moment in so long, that it felt like we would never get it. Now that we had the chance, I never wanted this moment to end. Without even trying, Wynter made me the happiest man in the world last night. I began to daydream of our future together. Of Wynter chasing around our pups, as I watched from behind. I pictured myself training our son to fight and to become the next alpha. I pictured Wynter running to t
...Wynter POV...As Darius and I continued to run through the woods, I could feel Caedance grow stronger. It was almost as if we were feeding off of our surroundings. The rush was making us stronger. For the first time, I felt truly in control. I had the sudden urge to test my abilities. So far, Darius had managed to not only keep up with me, but he even managed to run past me. I was both stunned and proud. I wanted to perform a few tests of my own. Caedance had given me some suggestions, and I had wanted to see if they would work. Caedance had suggested we try to hide from Asher to see if he would be able to find us. Much to my surprise, he managed to find me each time. Typically when I would try to hide, I would attempt to cloak myself using a mixture of camouflage, similar to a chameleon. I would focus on my surroundings and soon found myself becoming invisible. I had to hide my scent from him as well, which was probably the most difficult task. Each time I had done it, Darius had
...Darius POV...The air in the room had gone serious as Wynter announced her suspicions. While Wynter and I hadn't had the chance to properly discuss what had happened, we were both suspicious of the outcome. People don't just come back to the dead without being changed. I also can't deny the change I felt inside of me. I had long suspected that I'd been changed, I just wasn't sure exactly how. I already felt far stronger than I already had been. To the point that I often found myself having to dial back my strength. I also felt far faster than I had been. It was as if all of my senses had been heightened. I could now see far better along with smell things from a large distance. I had gone for a run the night I had first woken up after the battle. I had a strong sense of restlessness. The urge to get out quickly became the only thing I could focus on. It was as if my entire body had been electrocuted. Every fibre in my being needed me to go on a run. To get out.I began to have flas
I felt uneasy as we made our way back to Darius' office. I could tell that Darius sensed that something was bothering me, but refrained from asking me. There was just one thing that I couldn't seem to forget. Once we made it back to the office, we all quickly resumed our positions. Darius sitting beside me, placing a hand on my knee as a sign of comfort. I found myself biting my lip as I continued to chew over the thoughts plaguing my mind.I looked over towards Kenji, waiting for him to restart the meeting. Kenji stood up, but didn't start the meeting right away. My anxiety started to run full-course. Before I knew it, I found myself speaking out."What does this mean for us?" I watched as all heads turned to me. Waiting for me to continue."What do you mean my child?" The oracle asks.I find myself nervously biting my lip. I look at Darius for support. I watch as Darius nods his head for me to continue."Xander had told me that if Darius and I completed our mate bond, that it wo
...Wynter POV..."Upon the seven daughters of the seven daughters, the completed ritual shall activate the rise of the true king. While lightning strikes twice, a proposal shall mark the age of love and become the fall of unholy ones. It shall be when fire burns red, the forgotten princesses face, will trigger the return of the resistance. Once the green sea swallows towns, a challenge shall mark the start of war and witness the return of the fallen. Those in power will bend to one knee, bowing before the lost queen.""So what does that actually mean?" Darius asks."It basically means that one the descendent of the Kazakh wolves finds her true mate. The true king will come about. A moment in time, born out of love, will result in the downfall of the ones unloyal to the couple.""But what about the princess triggering the return of existence?" I ask."Wasn't that when Xander first realized or at least suspected your origins? He constantly tried to keep you away from me." Darius remarks
...Darius POV...I was quite possibly the happiest man on earth. The love of my life just said yes to marrying me. She may have already said yes to me once before. But I didn't think it really counted. The first time I hadn't planned on asking her, but I thought there was no better time to do it. I had just shown her how I truly felt about her. No other moment would ever be as special. Even though we were mates, I didn't know for certain if she was going to say yes or not. A proposal isn't ruly a proposal if there isn't a ring. Something I had kicked myself for not having at the time. But it was just so spur-of-the-moment, that I had even surprised myself. While this may not have been the ideal proposal, at least I had a ring for her. I know it would never make a difference to her, but I felt she deserved the best. I wanted to show her how special she was to me. I would make up for my sporadic proposal later this evening. When Wynter was in the hospital, I was continuously plagued by