"Then you have to make sure no one figures it out," I said firmly. "Do it."Arachne shook her head. "You're playing with fire. If this goes wrong—""It won't," I interrupted. "Just do it. Now."She sighed again, obviously unhappy, but started gathering her things. She took me in a little house in the middle of a forest. I watched as she pulled out vials of strange liquids, powders, and crystals, mumbling incantations under her breath. The air around us grew heavy, charged with almost electric energy.Whatever he had in mind, she added, her voice tight with focus, he'd better be prepared to deal with its fallout afterward. When this gets moving, there's no pulling back until the course is run.She just had to make it convincing.When she was done, she told me that it remained one last thing."We need to find a way to get the information to him."" No one knows where he is" I reminded her."I could find a way to get the information to him. I only need something of his -clothes, nail, ha
Of course we were going to sleep with an eye open, afterall a were wolf cannot be fully trusted.Ryder sighed "How long do you think it will take before you find her?""I don't know. I just know I need to find her." I replied."I understand. Let's get some sleep."I nodded and fell asleep only to wake up not too long after. There was a creature chasing Bolton. At first it was funny until, it started to kill the pack members in masses. It even killed Martha. I lunged towards it but then it looked at me and laughed.A sarcastic laugh."You call yourself Alpha? You and I know you aren't capable."I got confused for a moment, it could talk? What was this?I didn't have time to think carefully before it attacked me. If it killed me then I'd have died a useless Alpha.I attacked it with equal strength but it's hand morphed into a sword and was plunged directly into my heart.I gasped for breath. Only for me to realize it was just a dream. It was already dawn so I woke Ryder up "Let's move"
She didn't say anything. She disappeared and appeared in an instant. "He's coming back but what you are up against is mere illusion. Find the source early and all will be well."And before I could ask more questions, she was swallowed up by the shadows, leaving me to my thoughts but with more questions than I had initially had. I stood there for some minutes, the weight of her warning sinking in.In an instant, compared with the storm gathering over the horizon, the meeting tomorrow was such a trifle. Who was coming back?I walked back to my office. Why did Dorian have to leave? All this won't have happened! I didn't realize I had slept off on my desk until the next morning.Xixi's POV"I've done what you asked Kali; even about Derek's return." I said, honored to have received a task from Kali."That's good. Make sure to keep an eye on Arachne and report to me" she said.I nodded and was about to leave when I remembered something."She's working with a young lady and with the spell sh
This was the third family the Beta came to report. It was like the whole pack was becoming Simon's army. Only that I didn't know who this Simon was.I called my beta "I'm going to visit someone who could help us. I'd leave you in charge for now. If there's any more family that becomes the same way, put them with the rest."He bowed but couldn't leave without asking "Alpha, who are you going to see? We've seen all the witches we know and they weren't of help."I sighed "I'm going to meet Shikira."My beta looked at me with shock in his eyes "Shikira?! You're going to meet the Shikira? "I looked back at him wanting to ask if he was deaf now."Killian, are you sure about this? This is from a friend to a friend. You know who Shikira is? Her deals are out of the box. It's not worth it!""But you know how good she is with her work. I don't have a choice, is it until my whole pack is screaming 'Simon is Lord' that I'd begin to look for answers?""Look, we could travel to other packs and ask
Shikira's eyes flashed up, and she laid a finger to my chin, tilting my head upward. "Patience, Alpha. You don't give orders here. But." Her smile went wicked. "You have helped me think of a price.""What?" I asked, my stomach dancing salsa beneath my clothes.She spoke close, her head bent in, her lips nearly brushing my ear. "Your loyalty."My breath caught. "What does that mean?"You will pledge yourself to me," she said, stepped back, and fixed me with an unblinking stare. "In body, mind, and soul. For as long as you live, you will be mine and I'd be yours."My fists clenched. "Outrageous, you can't- "Oh, but I can," she cut in, her voice level and seductive as it was going to get. "You came to me, Killian. You knew the risks. And now, I am your only hope."There was a weight on me for survival-my pack depended on this very moment in time. Truly, would I give myself to her? Was it not worth it for their sakes, giving all?She smiled then, her face a mask of understanding. "Take yo
The thought sent a shiver down my spine, and I shook my head, as if shaking off such a premonition.No, I wouldn't tell him. Not yet.I would find it, even if it kills me. Losing him meant losing the chance at being something more than a witch.I stopped pacing and went to stand in front of the small window of my caravan. The moon was low in the sky, its pale light washing over the forest. Somewhere out there, Killian was thinking of coming back for answers, and I had none to give.But I could give him something else. I could give him hope, even if it was a lie.I took a deep breath, squaring my shoulders and turning back to the table. The papers and books laid out upon it were a mess, but they were all I had. I would try again and again, however hopeless it seemed.Because I wasn't just fighting for his pack or his survival.I was fighting for us.And if that meant keeping my failures secret for now, well so be it. For now, I'd keep putting on my 'infamous witch' facade.~~~Bolton's
We came out of that conference with a tentative agreement-not the best, but at least we knew how to get the best out of it. The Greenridge delegation let good enough be good enough; Gavin's questions still would go unanswered.Gavin was walking us out but hung on the threshold. "You've done well, Bolton," he said softly, even a shade too calmly. "But a pack's only as strong as its Alpha, and I do pray Silvermoon's leadership holds solid.""Of course," I said, smiling without ever breaking. "Thanks for the concern."I let out that long, slow breath that released the tension from my body when we were finally out of there. It wasn't a closed deal, but at least this was one step in the right direction. I just hoped our secret stayed buried a little longer, until such a time that Silvermoon got back on its feet.I went back to my office, and all of a sudden, tiredness just poured over me like a flood. The sun was dipping below the horizon; a golden hue colored the room. As I drifted into s
Behind the mahogany desk, a strange man sat in the dark of his office, slowly puffing a cigarette between his lips. The sweet smell of tobacco and leather was alive in the space. The documents on his table, nearly arranged, a further testimony to his fastidious nature. He leaned back in his chair, blew out a plume of smoke, and let his mind wander to Gina.She had been a humble servant when he first took notice of her, an ambitious flicker in her eyes. After he was done with her, he had planned to kill her but she'd begged him and told him she was ready to do anything.***Thane's POVI stood up from the bed and wore my trousers. "Go downstairs when you're done cleaning up."She immediately began to beg "Please , don't kill me. I can be of use to you. Please don't-""Go downstairs!" I said without listening to her pleas. Tears fell from her beautiful eyes as I walked out of the room. As I got to my study, I thought about the man that had pissed me off lately.I heard he was the Alpha
She came as a ghost, her step as silent as breathing, her presence cold that seemed to penetrate to the very heart of his pack. She stood before him, her eyes bottomless black as always, her lips as cold as ice."You owe me, Thane," she whispered, her voice sweetly tinged with threat. "And this day's payment."Thane's ground fell away beneath him. All that it had cost him those years of running, that effort to remain one step ahead of his devils, had been for nothing. He had seen today on the horizon, but there before him, weighed down by the burdens of his conditioned responses, a strangling sense of despair struck him.He looked at his pack, whose faces he vowed to protect, and knew he could no longer flee. He had to go back to Arachne, and face the wrath of what he had done, however repulsive. "As you will," he breathed out, his voice slick and unfaltering.The grin of Arachne spread wider, her hunt gleam eyes burning hotter."Oh, Thane," she breathed softly, her voice silky as poi
Bermont’s throat had been ripped out, his body lying lifeless on his desk, his empty face blankly regarding the ceiling. And beside him, Lyanna, her elongated body twisted into an impossible shape, her beautiful face contorted into face of terror.Thane's stomach lurched. This wasn’t a clean kill. It was a massacre.The room was trashed, desecrated by gigantic claw marks bigger than what any wolf could have left and through his friend. Obscene symbols, painted red, thick black smudges, painted on the walls. It was an abomination of deformed, ritualistic butchery, painted to look like that of some horrific supernatural being.Backwards, his wolf started snarling in shock and horror, receding and receding until Thane backed away. Not this. This kind of killing was not what he had signed up for.He suddenly felt like he was being watched. From a corner he saw her. Arachne.She had emerged from the shadows, her hands and lower forearm smeared with freshly-shed blood. She glowed."You—" Th
Years Ago-The room in Bermont's study glimmered blackly with unwritten things, weighed down by pungent smell of burnt pine and acrid taste of bitterness. Bermont, a huge fat man, collapsed over his enormous wooden desk, his shadow falling on pieces of paper here and there.His wife, Lyanna, at the window, statue of coldness, her eyes over some point far away beyond frosted glass. The theatre of authority, its rough tactlessness."You know you can’t be Alpha, Thane," Bermont told him, his tone laced with thoughtless disdain of a man who was certain he was in charge. "You were born to be a follower, not a leader. Learn that, and perhaps, perhaps I'll continue to allow that you might stay at my side. A pet, perhaps."The second half of that tense almost-snarl, cautious bite.Thane's fists were balled, fingernails pressing crescent moon shapes into palms. The wolf within him, that source of strength, snarled fury, its primal power bursting in harmony with his own.Years of that, of provi
The reality struck me like a sledgehammer. I respected her, I looked up to her, and never ever admitted that I loved her, not even to myself. I was just too afraid, too occupied being the person I was supposed to be, too afraid to be rejected.But now that she was in danger, I could not play games anymore. I loved her, had loved her for years, and would do anything to win her back in one piece.There was a knock on the door, shattering me out of daydreaming. Greggory stood there, his face creased with concern."Alpha," he said, "we have a problem."My heart sank. "What?""We've been told by the border patrol," he explained. "They did see tracks, off our territory, into the Nelder forest. But not ordinary tracks. Lena's."I bolted upright, my fists clenching. "Are you sure?"Greggory nodded. "Yes. They picked up her scent. She was definitely there.""But she's been gone for so long," I said. "Why would her scent still linger there?""We don't know," Greggory admitted. "But the prints s
"Words are breath, Alpha. An oath of loyalty must… be flesh." I touched him, my hand tracing the harshest plane of his jaw, feeling the shuddering under his flesh. "Kneel, Alpha," I commanded, my tone falling to a silky pitch, but supported by adamant authority."Pledge yourself to me, here and now, before the ancient powers that lie in wait within this caravan."There was a flicker of defiance in his eyes, the lingering of his Alpha pride. But that was quickly overwhelmed, smothered by the crushing weight of his desperation. Reluctantly, he knelt down, slowly, his gaze still on mine, an internal battle unspoken."Repeat after me," I ordered, my voice low and rich, calling on the inner strength that coursed through me, generating a sense of drama around the event. "I, Killian of the Skyline Pack…"He echoed the words, his voice rasping, just audible, every syllable a concession, a fragment of his freedom surrendered."Promise my allegiance."He stood before me, the gravity of the word
Shakira's POVMy frantic investigation had turned out to be nothing but murky suggestions and dead ends. Ancient texts mentioned domination spells, psychic intrusions, everything apart from the inexplicable, mass damp that hung over Killian's pack.I really couldn’t admit that I knew nothing of what was happening. Not to Killian. My well-crafted reputation of an infamous witch demanded an aura of omniscience, of proficiency at the divine crossroads. To reveal my fallibility, would be to destroy the illusion, to jeopardize all that I had struggled for. And to lose Killian… that was something I was not going to allow to happen.My defense would be in deception. I would pretend to have a solution, to stall and keep Killian in my control, while I desperately searched for a real one, or… created one myself.I got up from my chair, the groaning old wood grumbling a welcome creak in the still caravan. I gazed about at the crowded shelves of jars, bottles, and desiccated herbs. Ingredients. I
Killian’s POVThe weight in my chest was more than crushing, it was overbearing. Every beat a leaden weight in my chest, every breath a struggle. Shakira's words haunted my quarters, taunting me. What did it even mean, to yield to another, to a witch with such a reputation as that? The very thought sent a shiver down my spine.And yet, the happenings in my pack flashed through my mind, the stunned horror and fear on their faces, the unearthly incantation of "Simon is Lord!" ringing in my ears. Dexter's sickening smile, insincere, repulsive, revolved through my thoughts like a record stuck on a groove. My pack was falling apart, family by family, and here I stood, contemplating and hesitating to submit to Shikira's request.Delaying was not going to cut it any longer. Something had to be done but what? Xavier's suggestion of going out to other packs and begging for assistance was practical, logical even. But his advice was replaced by an increasing horror that compelled me to listen to
She took a deep breath, her eyes snapping open. The pool was calm, its reflective mirror of the moon's glow unbroken. Aurora was not. She could feel it. The power that lay within her was no longer latent. It was alive, humming with energy, the essence of White Luna.She looked at Selene, her eyes shining with sudden understanding. "I… I think I understand."Selene's face erupted into a warm smile."The way has just been opened, Aurora. There is much to learn, much to prepare you for. But you will not be doing it alone. I will be here, every step along the way."Aurora's heart was a tempest of the expectation and terror that battled within it. She was a goddess, a new White Luna. Her journey would be challenging, but giving up was not an option.The weight of a new life was heavy on Aurora, more heavily even than any material weight. She was the White Luna, a goddess reborn. Her mind was heavy with the words, a reminder of just how great a weight was on her shoulders. She looked at her
Those words hung heavily in the empty garden, alone-an affront to all she had ever conditioned to understand about the world. She was an Omega, the lowest one to exist within the pack, born to take orders and not give them. This… this could not be. And yet, visions, power flowing through her veins, Selene's presence here-everything screamed for a truth she could not help but believe."Preparations?" she managed to croak with a throat parched and raspy. "For what?"Selene's visage became unbroken. "For war coming. The war you saw earlier. One to raze not your pack alone but all the packs. A war unlike any other."Her mind was a wild knot of possibilities. The rumors of the Thane of Redblood-whispers of another foe-it fit together all too sickly. This, however, was not a pack war; this was a war against something older and far more evil than anything imaginable. Survival war."But..but I am just myself," she stammered without faith in herself, helplessly waving her hands. "I know nothin