***CALISTA'S POV***Malik was still bashing us, with his cuss words, and a sudden rainstorm suddenly began. The rain began to pour down in heavy torrents.The thunder roared in my ears, and I could feel the electric charge of the lightning bolts in the air. It all happened all of a sudden, and I contemplated that this has to surely be the action of the gods. Probably the god of thunder and lightning battling out with his rival.In a couple of seconds, the trees started collapsing, to the heavy thunderous windstorm, and a great volume of water flooded our feet. It seemed like the thunderstorm was also accompanied by an earthquake because I could hear the sounds of the earth quaking in the distance.Melinda and I scurried back into the cave, at the instant.I looked back, and I could still see Malik standing at the mouth of the cave, he was probably using his sharp senses to size up the carnage that was happening. His scent was overwhelming, but I pushed it aside, and I focused on savi
Malik and Melinda collided in a frenzy of fur and claws, their bodies slamming into the walls of the cave as they fought. Malik was stronger, but Melinda was faster, and the two of them traded blows with lightning-fast speed.I watched in horror as the fight raged on, unsure of what to do. I knew that I had made a terrible mistake, by bringing Malik into the cave, but I never expected it to end like this.As the brawl dragged on for hours, my mind raced with thoughts of regret and self-loathing. I knew that I had caused this unnecessary pain and suffering, and I wished with all my heart that I could turn back time and make things right.The fight seemed to go on for a long time, and Melinda withstood Malik's antics and tactics, and she also bodied him. It seemed as though Melinda was the more powerful.It also seemed like Malik was starting to weary, and exhausted, but he kept fighting; he let out a loud growl, gritting his fangs, and lunging forward again to attack Melinda to assert
The storm outside continued to rage on, the wind howling through the trees and the rain coming down in a torrential downpour. I could hear the sound of thunder in the distance, and I knew that we were in for a very very rough night.Malik stood up, and he placed his bloody hands on my chest, and my face, but I violently hit his hands away. "Get your filthy bloody hands off me." I howled."You're crying?" Malik said in a curious tone."Why won't I cry?" I roared. "You just brought an end to my only source of joy, and you expect me to move on like nothing happened, aight.""Hmm. This is not the time to think with your heart. Think with your head instead. That's all I'll say for now, at least you saw with your eyes, how she kept stepping on my toes." Malik said in a cold tone. He had no remorse at all, for the evil act he just carried out, and that was making me fume, with anger."I don't give a fuck about what Melinda has done for you, because for every meter Melinda has run for you. I,
The next morning, Malik and I were outside the cave in a clearing in the woods.I was ready to make him pay for the pain that he has caused me. Even if the least I would do is punish him by removing his nails. At least that'll give him an insight into the pain he made me go through.I frowned my face, looking at him skeptically as he slowly held out his hand.There was no knife or pliers around, so I resorted to using my claws to mete out my fury.I grabbed his hands and I held them tightly. I first applied the claws to his left thumb finger and I began to pull it out. Malik winced in pain, but he didn't protest. I kept pulling and pulling and things began to get messy. His flesh was getting torn off, and blood was also gushing out uncontrollably from the fingernail wound. I was undeterred, and after I successfully pulled out his left thumb, after several minutes of pulling, I heaved a heavy sigh, and I went for the next one.I repeated the process with his right thumb finger, and t
***CASSANDRA'S POV***It was already late in the night, and the moonlight was shining through the windows of my office, leaving an illuminated glow on my table.I was still relaxing in my chair, picturing in my head, how I will have a clean sweep, against all the packs on this continent, with my war machine in the person of Ubuntu; how I will have an empire that spawns beyond the eyes can see; how I will become the mighty Empress akin to Alexander the Great, that'll be worshiped and revered by all. Yeah, that'll surely be a marvelous sight to behold, and I seriously can't wait to achieve this. And when I succeed with this plan, I'll make sure I find a way to kill my war machine, Ubuntu. I can't afford to keep a glaring threat, so powerful as him, so close to my grand throne.Zelina ran into my office, with his face crumpled, and a sense of urgency creeping over him. "Ubuntu is here." He announced."What!!" I exclaimed. "Wait, why the fuck is he here? Ain't he supposed to be…" I wonder
AUTHOR'S POVThank you all for reading this book to this chapter. I am grateful, that at least you found this work of art, worth your while.Moving forward, please let me know what you genuinely feel about this book in the comment section; your constructive criticisms, your opinions about the characters, your honest reviews, and all. I'll be looking forward to them. Thank you.So, I'll be doing a short recap for the first set of chapters. I think this will prepare us for the next and forthcoming chapters. Trust me, we ain't gonna be stopping here. Sh*t, I'm sounding crude, already. Well, I just wanna say, we still have a long long way to go.Brace up, it's gonna be a rollercoaster ride.Okay. Here we go. Let's dive into the recap.Calista Maximoff, started her journey, from the Ridgewood pack, as a young wolfless daughter of Alpha Alex Maximoff.She was naive, and her naivety soon sent her packing from her place of birth, at a young age. She scampered, running for dear life after she m
CALISTA'S POV****Ten Years Later***Woah. It's already ten years, and everything just went fast like a flash. I couldn't believe that it was just ten years ago, since some nefarious calamities befell me left, right, and center.But, I'm grateful. It's been ten years of peace, ten years of love, and ten years of vitality. I am a better person now, and all the hurdles I've had to step over, have shaped me into the best version of myself. Just like the gold extracted from the earth has to go through fire to be called gold. I've gone through fire, I've survived it all, and all I can say is that I'm a better betwr person, right now.I just can't be grateful enough for everything that has happened to me in the past ten years; the good, the bad, everything that came with living the life. I enjoyed them all, the good and the bad — I think that's the two sides to life, and I've also come to terms that bad things are also part of life, and how I handle them when they come knocking at my door
The French village we stumbled into was named — Lourmarin, and since we didn't see any better alternative we decided to settle down in the French village.For me, it was kinda challenging to live among them, I didn't understand their language, and communication was a significant barrier. Despite this, I was grateful to have found a safe place for my pups and I, to stay after the traumatic events we had experienced.Damn, I forgot to say this. On our way to Lourmarin, we brought Meghan, an aged woman who also survived the wicked onslaught that collapsed the Mountain Dew pack.We stopped by at the Mountain Dew pack to take in on the damage one final time, and to properly bury our fallen heroes.But then, as we approached the remains of our pack's mountain, we heard a sound. It was faint at first, but as we got closer, we realized it was the sound of someone breathing. I exchanged glances with Malik, and I wondered if it could be possible. 'Had someone else survived?' I mouthed.We cauti
"Malik!!! Malik!!!" I yelled, trying to dissuade him from attacking the Lakewood warriors all by himself, but he wouldn't listen. I didn't want him to get hit again, but it seemed like he was utterly enraged, and nothing would stop him, from releasing all rage he had bottled up inside of him."Everyone, get into the pack, and burn it to the ground…" I could hear Menelik's voice faintly, from the distance, even amidst the heavy battle cries. "And Hammy. Finish her now!!!" He growled.Explosions ripped through the air at once, reverberating with a bone-shaking intensity, sending shockwaves through the pack. The deafening blasts echoed off the surrounding trees, creating an atmosphere of chaos and danger.The battle raged on, explosions continuing to rock the surroundings, I could still see arrows flying all over the place. And as I was still surveilling my surroundings, breathing haphazardly, an explosive was thrown, at where I stood, and I instinctively picked it up, and threw it back,
Malik and Melinda chose to be put in chains and cuffs, ready to be taken back to Alpha Menelik, against my wish, and I had no choice but to lead them out of the pack, to the battlefront. I walked behind them, as we neared Lakewood's pack camp outside our pack.There were several tents in their camp, but there was one big tent at the center, and I automatically assumed that that would be their Alpha tent. So we sauntered in that direction.And as we got closer to the tent, the Lakewood pack warriors trooped out of their tents, and the gazes of some, who were parading the pack, stretching as far as the eyes could see, shifted to us as we sauntered forwards. Some of them were jeering and making mocking gestures towards us, as we walked, but that didn't faze me one bit, I was only focused on the task at hand.A number of the Lakewood pack warriors formed a wall outside the big tent, with each of them wielding heavy metal weapons, pointing them in our direction."Stop there!!!" A gruffy
Ramsey and I were joined by the other Alphas in the bunker.The other Alphas made us know, that the Lakewood warriors had surrounded the pack, and they didn't give chase, nor did they pursue our own warriors into the pack as we retreated. The Lakewood warriors were only standing round, successfully putting the pack under siege.And that made me question their motive — because if the Lakewood warriors are truly here for battle, why can't they just waltz in, and finish the battle? Because it was crystal-clear that we were losing the war to the Lakewood pack, and it was glaring, even to the blind, that we were on the back foot, even in our own backyard.I was fed up and frustrated, and it scared me to the bone, to learn that the face of battle, that the face of warfare had evolved, beyond fists, claws, and fangs, to now explosives, and speedily moving silver bullets.The warriors reported, that with these new innovations, the Lakewood pack outmatched and outwitted them, annihilating and
"Ok. The pack is all clear now!" Melinda breathed, her heart pounding in her chest.Melinda, Ramsey, and I stood in the middle of the pack, gazing round at the empty structures, save for the scanty warriors who were holding their grounds inside of the pack. Melinda, Ramsey, and I had escorted the young ones, and the women, who couldn't volunteer in the battle to safety. "Ok I'm going to join the warriors in battle…" Melinda let out a low growl, her eyes booming with intensity. "I have to go, even the scores…""No…" I boomed with authority, holding her by her hand. "You ain't going, nowhere, Mel. I don't want them to capture you again, or even turn you against us, as they did to Kieran…""I gotta go, Mom." Melinda retorted, her face entwined with worry. "I know Kieran would surely be out there. And um, I don't know, I have to…""But you said, he was all out of control, and he doesn't recognize us anymore…" I said in a curious tone, my voice laced with sorrow, as I gazed intently at Me
The shadow warriors sprung up to action at the nick of time, and they caught Cassandra in the air, just before she could attack Ubuntu. They knocked her to the ground, they cuffed her hands, and they made her sit back in her seat.The hall was booming with silent tension, and the rest of the congress watched in silence, as their Alpha was being disgraced by her own warriors."Y'all see, she's a nuisance…" Ubuntu smirked. "But this is a serious allegation, Ubuntu." Adonis Graham chimed in. He was the Alpha of Woodbury Pack."He's lying…" Cassandra yelled, her face crumpled and distorted with rage. "Tell them, he's lying, Calista.""His words are true…" I muttered. "I can confirm that it's true. Alpha Cassandra herself, narrated the true version of the cause of the destruction of Ridgewood to both Ubuntu and I before she tried to murder Ubuntu...""What!" Cassandra bellowed. "You're taking sides with this traitor!!!" "No, I ain't. I'm just done playing this delicate game with you." I
******CALISTA'S POV*****"So, was that all that happened???" I quipped, sighing deeply, a great sense of weariness sweeping over me."Yeah, Mom," Melinda responded, her voice laced with subtle fury, as she laid her head on my shoulder.We were both seating on the bench outside the room, where Malik was being treated in the pack's clinic.Melinda just narrated the gruesome, heart-wrenching, and calamitous chain of events that happened, after we were separated from each other, and I just couldn't help but feel a great wrench of sadness. My spirit was heavy, and my heart ached with unspoken agony.I was close to tears, but I tried to hold myself together. I tried to picture the sleepless nights, the grueling events, the pain, the agony — that my family had to go through, all because of me, but I just couldn't. It was so hard for me to process.I thought about it, back and forth, and the fact that I brought Kieran and Melinda into the world, only for them to go through tribulations upon t
Malik tried to defend himself, but the energy remaining in his frail muscles was only a tiny fraction of Hammy's, and there was nothing he could do, other than to lie there, and humbly receive death blows from the boy he raised from birth.Melinda was shell-shocked, and for a second, she found it hard to believe, that her own twin brother, would viciously go up against her, and their Papa — Malik. For a second, she wondered why he won't even answer to Kieran anymore, but Hammy. Melinda was so shocked, that she couldn't even retaliate to Hammy's brutal blows.The Lakewood warriors aimed guns at Melinda but they couldn't shoot, because of the crowd, at the square. The scene was chaotic, and the warriors were trying to take control of the situation. The junior officers tried to disband the crowd, but they wouldn't leave.The whole of the Lakewood pack was stunned and thrilled, by the recent turn of events. and they wanted to stay at the square, to watch the showdown. It was as though th
*****AUTHOR'S POV*****The whole of Lakewood Pack stood at the pack square, all gloating and murmuring amongst themselves, as they stared down at the helpless Malik, with some pups even throwing stones and specks of dirt, at Malik who was kept in a silver cage fitted to the center of the stage for all to see.Malik was weak and almost powerless. He had withstood vicious attacks and beatdown, from Menelik's puppets, all week long since he arrived at Lakewood pack. They didn't stop the assault for a minute, save for the occasional moments, they'd stop to force some food and water down Malik's throat. Malik often rejected the food, and sometimes he'd try to summon his fangs to stop the warriors, but the warriors had to find a way to boycott Malik's defense. They had to use any means possible to see to it that Malik was fed, that he ate something, for it was all on Menelik's order.Menelik also made sure Malik was bruised, battered, tortured, and manhandled at Lebron Dave's abandoned c
"I won't harm you, kid," I resounded, placing my left hand on his shoulder. "...but that's only if you'll answer my question. You're a guard, and I know you hear rumors that even the whole pack does not get to hear about. So, you ought to know Malik's whereabouts; the fellow question is the Alpha's brother, and I wanna know, whether he's still…""Ooh, that's even who you're talking about…" He chuckled, and sat up slightly, looking me dead in the eyes. I was amazed at how his once fearful guise suddenly turned to a confident one, in a couple of seconds. "Well, he is on the stage at the square right now, and he's about to be executed… just like you are…" he groaned. And the next thing I saw was the bruised guard suddenly raising a gun at me. And before I knew it, he pulled the trigger, and a bullet came running at my head, but I dodged it, at the nick of time."Waoh," I exclaimed. My face turned red, a solar-red-hot fury streaming from me, and I unleashed all my anger upon him. Befor