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
"Here, come sit down, and I'll explain everything." Wynter says, pointing to the couch behind us.I sit down, and conference call Kenji and Kayden. I had sent them a text earlier before we got in the shower so they would expect our call within the hour."Oh thank the goddess you're ok!" Kenji called into the phone, barely giving it time to connect.Both Wynter and I stayed silent at that comment. Were we really ok? Cause I sure as hell didn't feel like it, and I'm sure Wynter probably feels ten times worse than I do.Noticing our silence, Kenji also went mute, realizing that something must be wrong. Kayden connected a few moments later."I'm sorry for the short notice, but I wanted to tell you two the same time I told Darius." Wynter said, getting straight to the point. Both Kayden and Kenji nodded their heads, signaling for Wynter to continue."I'm not going to go into full detail about everything that happened, as both Darius and myself are still pretty shaken up by it. But I'll exp
...Wynter POV..."What do you mean by testing it?" Kenji asks."It's not exactly something I've actually tried before, but what if I just try to tap into one of my sides, and we can see what happens?" I suggest."Do you think you can do it?" Darius asks."To be honest, I don't really know, but it's worth a shot.""What do you plan on doing?" Kayden questions."I'll try to tap into my Vampiric side. It's probably the easiest side for me to use, as I've had time to practice."The guys nod their head, but remain silent, waiting to see what will happen next. I calm myself down, focusing on what I need to do.I turn my head down, taking in a quick breath before turning my head back towards the screen. "Kenji, I want you to teach me how to Dougie." I say, with a snicker forming on the corner of my mouth."What? No!" He shouts, but before any of us has a chance to say anything, Kenji immediately stands up from his chair and begins swaying his hips. "Gangnam Style." I command to Kenji.Inst
I can see death all around me. Wolves dismembered along the ground, and blood everywhere. I can hear the screams of horror and mayhem in the distance. The smell in the air is absolutely putrid. I could feel my nose raise from the horrible smell of blood and decay. My eyes are burning from the tears shed from each of the wolves that have lost their lives around me. I take a closer look at the bodies around me, noticing that they're not all wolves. Rather there seems to be vampires and witches mixed in.I don't understand what's going on. How did I get here? Where am I? I begin looking around, searching for clues that could answer my questions. Seeing no movement around me, I run towards the screams, hoping that I can help whoever's in trouble.Before I can get there, a sort of force pushes me backwards, nearly sending me through the air. I stumble, only to feel a cold and lifeless grip around my throat. I look up to see a pair of deep orange eyes staring back at me. Before I can react
"NOOOOOO!" I scream out, tortured by what I just witnessed."Wynter?" I hear someone say, but I pay it no mind.It feels like my body has gone into shock. My limbs are vibrating, as I feel as though I'm drenched in sweat. It's impossible to breathe. "NOOOO!" I manage to scream out once more.'Wynter? What's wrong?' I hear Darius say in my mind.I open my eyes, noticing that I'm no longer on the battlefield. The smell of blood and death is no longer present. Instead, Darius' familiar scent, mixed with the smell of fresh linen envelopes me.I look around, trying to figure out what happened."It's ok. You're safe. I'm here." I hear someone say, but unsure as to where the voice is coming from.I can feel the familiar sparks, as Darius holds me tight to his chest. Rocking me gently."Shh... it's ok. You're safe." Darius coos to me.I look up into his ocean blue eyes, searching for answers. But before I do so, I sink my head into his chest, just needing this moment with him.Darius doesn't
....Darius POV...To say I was worried would be an understatement compared to how I truly felt. The way Wynter reacted when she woke up from whatever she had seen was absolutely horrifying. I don't know exactly what happened, but the more she told me, the more concerned I grew. I wish there were someone we could talk to about all of this. I hate seeing her struggle.I was thankful when she finally fell asleep in my arms. She's been through a lot in such a short amount of time. I stroked her hair as I held her in my embrace, not wanting to leave her side. While she was sleeping earlier, I could feel her fear as if it was mine. It was a feeling I hoped she would never have to experience again. For now, I just wanted to be there for her. once she was asleep, I carefully picked her up and laid her gently on the bed. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her tight against me. I placed a soft kiss on the back of her head and allowed myself to drift off to sleep beside her.I felt Wynter st
...Wynter POV...After we ate, we called Alpha Kayden and Kenji. To say they were surprised would be the understatement of the year. Kenji, being Kenji, was in full-blown warrior mode, and wanted to run after Xander himself. It took us a while to be able to calm Kenji down. However, once he realized that there was really nothing we could do at this point, he calmed down."So where do we go from here?" Kayden asks."That's actually another thing we need to tell you." Darius says, placing his hand on my knee and squeezing.I look over to him, offering him a wry smile. He nods his head, then signals for me to continue. "We think I may have had a premonition." I say looking anywhere but at the screen ahead of us. I'm not even sure where to begin. They'll probably just think I'm crazy."What do you mean?" Kenji asks, seriously. Making me turn my head to glance at the screen, wondering why they weren't laughing.Seeing my apprehension, Darius speaks up for me."While Wynter was resting ear
...A Few Months Later......Wynter POV...A few months had passed since we had gone to see the council. We had been expecting a war to break out, but everything seemed to remain quiet. Almost like an eerily calm. It was too calm. We were all waiting for the shoe to drop. It was like being in the calm before the storm. We knew that a battle was inevitable. By this time, we were merely wondering as to when. We already managed to get many on our side. However, we also knew that this wasn't an easy task. Many packs did back out from helping us. Regardless of their choice, we never thought any less of them. They were simply choosing to put their pack first, which is what any Alpha is trained to do. All Alphas put their pack ahead of anyone and anything else. I knew we could've changed their minds if I let the others disclose my status, however, I didn't want others to feel obliged to help me. I only wanted people to join us in the battle because they truly wanted to. Otherwise, I'd be n
...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