Lycidas POVBy the time we got back to the sanctuary, Mabel was already talking about moving again. Melina had assured us we were not followed, and she herself had concurred with that for a few minutes after she caught up with us. But as we walked home, she had gotten more and more paranoid till she was practically watching her back as she walked. I had thought she was just saying, but when she started packing up supplies right after we got back to the sanctuary, I realised she was serious about it. And that made me mad. I had only been here for three days, but still, it felt like I was not making any progress at all. The first day, I had fought corrupted, and that same night, the normal wolves invaded. I tried talking to Mabel on the second day so she would help me find Mia. That was when I learnt that Melina was supposedly the one in the prophecy. How that was possible, I didn't know. But it wouldn't be the first time the alpha had read the stars wrong. However, I had decided t
Amelia's POV I stood up, groaning. Even after a day, my whole body was still in pains from Garrett's torture. The bastard. I made a mental note to send him to eternal darkness when next I saw him. But at the moment, my concern was Lycidas. My heart physically ached for him. Though we were not mates, he's the closest thing I have ever had to a mate, and his long absence in my life was painful. It was made even more painful by the fact that I am the one that caused it, and the most painful by the fact that he might be in danger even as I lay here. The thought whipped me up and sent strength to my aching limbs. I pushed myself up from the mat and walked to Alpha Gonzalo's room. He was leaning over a piece of crystal that glowed red when I came in, a looking glass to his eyes. "Isn't it strange," he said without looking at me. "that there is this much power in our blood, and all we could use it for is just brute strength?" When he looked up at me, there was a fanatic light I was a
Mia's POV"You're Mia?" Lycidas asked. He didn't look all that shocked, which surprised me. Considering how eager he had been to find his mate, I had expected that he would have some big reaction when he finally learns that I am actually the one, especially as he had been near me all these while. "I am," I replied. "You don't seem shocked at all," I commented. "I guess I had been expecting it, even if I didn't know it." he said. "Now I think about it, ther have been hints throughout these three days that you're the one," I raised a brow. "Really?" He shrugged. "Mason's slip of tongue, the scent on the gloves, you didn't have a wolf, like Mia, you took the introductions from Mabel the first day I was here. And our intense hate for each other. I guess they never really clicked till now," I grinned. So we had even let out that much hint? "Well, you're numbskull for a reason. Not surprised they didn't click," I smirked. "The only reason they didn't click is because I couldn't thin
Mia's POVMy first thought when I woke up was that I seemed to wake with pains a lot more these days, so much that they have all blurred into one another and it now seemed like one long sleep of pains. I rubbed my head while I tried to recollect the particular instance that had led to being on the bed this time. It didn't take me long to remember. It didn't take me long to remember the almighty swing from Lycidas that could have sent me to the moon goddess' bossom.I gritted my teeth in anger and frustration.There was no way he could convince me that he hadn't meant that as a killing blow because how was I meant to survive that? I mean, I obviously did, since I was asking the question, but that must have been my luck forgetting herself for a few moments. Still rubbing my head, I lay back down and of course, somehow knocked the top of my head on the hard wooden bed. It shouldn't have been possible, since the sword had hit me on the top of my head and whoever has the top of their he
Martha's POVI opened my eyes. Everywhere was in almost total darkness. The fire we had made last night had already burned down to embers that glowed in the darkness, making it even thicker and more inky.I wobbled for a few seconds as I stood on my four legs, but I soon got my bearings, shook sleep out of my eyes and started picking my way out of the mass of furry wolves of varying sizes. Most of their ears perked up as I passed, but they remained still otherwise and I passed with relative ease. Though I didn't look, I knew that their noses twitched along with their ears, and they only remained still because they smelled a familiar scent. Had I been a stranger, I would have been besieged by about fifteen feral wolves before I had even gone three steps. That was the main reason Alpha Fenrir had us sleeping in our wolf forms through the night, though it made falling asleep hard and very uncomfortable until you finally accomplished it. I walked out into the bright silvery light of t
Selena's POVI stare around the empty room. I had been back to the castle for a few hours, yet I hadn't seen Hazel since then. I thought he might be in a meeting with Damian and his parents because they had mentioned to me that they wanted to meet him personally. But I knew that there was no way their meeting could last hours. I sighed and closed the door behind me. I had just gotten back from the garden he once stood and proposed to Mia. He went there occasionally and always stayed a long time. But he was not there. I was expecting him to be in the room when I returned, but the empty room proved me wrong. I collapsed on the bed and sighed again. Lately, Hazel had been getting more and more distant. For the first few months after our marriage, everything was fine and I enjoyed the fruit of my troubles. But he went on a mission Damian sent him one month ago and when he returned, he was a different person. That was when his thirst for power and his conquest campaign started. I swa
Selena's POVGently, I traced my fingers over the bloodstains on Hazel's back, my heart pounding with worry. The tension in the room seemed to heighten as I examined the wounds. His breath caught, but he made no move to stop me."Hazel, what happened?" I whispered, my voice barely audible in the silent room.He remained silent, his gaze fixed on some distant point beyond the walls. The air was thick with unspoken turmoil, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something dark loomed over us.Ignoring his lack of response, I took a deep breath and walked to a shelf in the study. I knew he kept a first aid kit somewhere because one time he had pounded me so much during sex that I bleeded and he treated me using a kit he got from a shelf here. Those were the good old days when we used to have sex everywhere in the castle, as far as there was no one around. "Hazel, you need to tell me what happened. Why is there blood on your dress?" I urged, my voice more determined this time.I dropped t
Mia's POVMabel sighed. "Look, I know you two have your issues, but you're stuck with each other now. The prophecy, whether you like it or not, ties you together. So, figure out a way to make it work.""Why don't you tell me this prophecy of a thing? How can they be two of us?" Mabel sighed. "I guess it's time to tell you," she finally replied.I almost leaped off the bed in excitement. "Really? You're going to tell me?" I asked. She nodded seriously. "I will, but not now," she said. "We have to go hunt for food now," My face fell. I knew she couldn't be serious. She was just saying it to shut me up."Why can't you go hunting and gathering tomorrow?" I asked."You weren't around so you don't know what finally happened between Hazel and I. But I somehow let slip that I had the early stage corrupted. That's, those that were corrupted when the Silver Hands knew even less about unnatural powers than they did know," she said. I frowned in confusion. "And?" I asked. "Now, he's intent o
Mia's POVA stone struck true, pulverizing the creature's eye with a sickening crunch. With a howl of agony, the wolf collapsed to the ground, its lifeblood staining the earth beneath it. As the last vestiges of life faded from its eyes, I breathed evenly and transformed back. Running up quickly, I jumped and kissed my mate. The flames on his hair were hot but they were not unbearable and they died down as he held me and kissed me back. It took all my willpower to break free from him and let us breath. Strands of sticky saliva trailed our lips as we parted and I was flushed up to my ears, breathless."Mia?" He breathed, looking at me in surprise.I would have grinned at him if I were not too busy being stunned."Xavier?!" I exclaimed. "What in the world?! How? I thought...""You never did see me without my turban," he teased. And he was right come to think of it."So the memory loss...""I did lose my memory," he said, shaking his head. "But I guess could say that an eyeball helped me
Mia's POVHe was no corrupted - he was much worse.In a desperate bid to end the chaos, I shifted into my wolf form, my white fur shimmering in the dim light of the throne room. With a newfound agility, I darted around the monstrous creature, my speed unmatched as I evaded its savage blows.But Hazel was relentless, his attacks coming fast and furious as he sought to overpower me with sheer brute force. With each passing moment, the battle grew more intense, the clash of claw and sinew echoing throughout the chamber.I ducked and weaved, narrowly avoiding each blow as I fought to keep the creature at bay. But despite my best efforts, I could feel my strength waning, the relentless pace of our battle taking its toll on my weary body..The battle raged on, each blow striking home with deadly precision as I fought to bring Hazel to his knees. With a primal snarl, I launched myself at the creature once more, my claws tearing through its flesh with savage ferocity.With one final, decisiv
Mia's POV"Yeah," I grinned at her. "Now please someone tell me what is going on? How did everyone get here?""There is little time for that," Amelia said, a scary amount of hope alight in her eyes. "Alpha King Hazel has gone mad and he is turning people left and right corrupted." I could see that everyone was surprised to hear this. But the forest itself whispered to me that she spoke the truth. "But he also has a way to cure the corruption. It is a wand in beneath his throne."I smiled at her and gazed out at the Sulfur Hands gathered. I did not see Lycidas but that was not a problem. I was certain he was alright."Well guys, it is the night of the blood moon. I have to tell you that I've got a castle to storm so come on out all of you and get away already. You've all done your part for me. Let me do mine for you."I saw them off and turned to face the vague direction of the palace.The eyeball (I could not get its name) had told me; Blood Moon prophecy Layer 5: The Inheritor shall
Mia's POVWith a surge of adrenaline, I plunged the knife into the creature's main body, my hands steady despite the trembling of my limbs. The blade sank deep into its flesh, eliciting a guttural roar of pain as the creature thrashed and writhed beneath me. Each movement was a dance of desperation, a desperate bid for survival against an opponent that seemed unstoppable.But even as I fought with all the strength and skill I could muster, I could feel the tendrils of exhaustion creeping into my limbs, sapping my strength and clouding my thoughts. How many times had I faced this creature? How many times had I died, only to wake and face it once again?The creature's death throes were violent and chaotic, its massive form convulsing with the last vestiges of life as it fought against the inevitable. But I was relentless, my resolve unshakeable as I drove the knife deeper and deeper into its flesh, refusing to let up until the creature lay still and silent beneath me.With a final, ragg
Hazel's POVAs I stand in the dimly lit chamber, the vial of corrupted blood held delicately between my fingers, I can feel the weight of expectation bearing down upon me. Zion's eyes bore into me with a pensive gaze, his expression unreadable as he observes my every move. The air is heavy with anticipation, charged with the possibility of what is to come.With a steady hand, I bring the vial to my lips and drink deeply, allowing the thick, viscous liquid to slide down my throat. The taste is metallic, tinged with a hint of something dark and otherworldly. But as the last drop passes my lips, I feel no surge of power, no sudden transformation. I am not surprised.I never expected the corrupted blood to grant me any sort of supernatural abilities. My purpose in drinking it was not to gain power, but to align myself with the prophecy, to force my way into its narrative. And in that regard, I believe I have succeeded.As I lower the vial, I meet Zion's gaze with a sense of calm resolve.
???'s POV Amidst the vast expanse of the celestial realm, I found myself floating among the stars, my consciousness adrift in a sea of cosmic wonders. Suddenly, a commanding voice reverberated through the void, pulling me from my reverie with its otherworldly resonance."Little thing," the voice called out, its words echoing through the cosmos like the distant rumble of thunder. Startled, I responded tentatively, my voice barely a whisper in the vastness of space. "Who... who's there?"I was ignored as the voice continued to speak. I listened intently as the voice spoke of the troubles that plagued mortals, of the ebb and flow of life, and of the chaos that reigned in the mortal realm. The voice seemed to ramble on for a while, its words swirling around me like a whirlwind of cosmic energy. It spoke of mortals and their endless troubles, of how they always seemed to find new ways to bring chaos and destruction upon themselves. It seemed rather easy to notice that it was the 'eyeball'
???'s POVI opened my mouth to protest, to demand answers to the questions that burned within me, but she cut me off with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I don't want to hear it," she said coldly, her gaze hardening as she turned away from me. "Just go. Leave me alone. Go do whatever you want to. I don't care. My Lycidas is not here. Please, just... Stop. You truly are not Lycidas. I do not know who you are, but you are not my beloved."I stood there in stunned silence, the weight of her words hanging heavy in the air between us. Part of me wanted to press her for answers, to demand to know what she meant by all of this. But another part of me knew that it was futile – that she would not deign to repeat herself. And even though I could not claim to know much else, I knew somehow that she was hundred percent certain that I was not Lycidas. And not in a character or behavioural kind of way. As in, I was fundamentally not Lycidas.With a heavy heart, I turned and walked away, the sound o
Lycidas' POVThe soft glow of moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting a gentle illumination over Mia's room as I sat by her bedside, my fingers intertwined with hers as if holding onto a lifeline. The rhythmic rise and fall of her chest was the only indication of life, her face serene in slumber as she lay unconscious before me.I never realized how much I would miss her until now – the absence of her laughter, her vibrant energy, leaving a gaping hole in my heart that seemed impossible to fill. And yet, here she lay, so close yet so far, trapped in the grasp of an unknown darkness that threatened to consume her whole.I squeezed her hand gently, willing her to wake up, to return to me so that I could see the light in her eyes once more. But no matter how fervently I wished for her recovery, she remained still, her breathing steady but shallow, a silent reminder of the fragility of life.My mind drifted back to that fateful night when the ritual had gone awry, the memory of t
Amelia's POVI sat in the room with Alpha Gonzales and the injured Alpha Fenrir, my mind consumed by a whirlwind of thoughts and worries. The conversation between the two Alphas drifted in and out of my consciousness, the words fading into the background as I struggled to focus on the present moment.My thoughts kept returning to the letter I had received just before setting off with Alpha Gonzales—a missive that had filled me with a sense of foreboding unlike anything I had ever experienced before. The words were etched into my mind, haunting me with their ominous implications.In my mind's eye, I saw the image of the small mouse, my faithful messenger, as it hurried into my room with urgent purpose. Its tiny paws had trembled as it presented me with the letter, a sense of urgency emanating from its very being. With trembling hands, I had broken the seal and unfolded the parchment, my heart sinking as I read the words inscribed upon it.The once cryptic message had become alarmingly