Damon woke up in an empty and silent room, with the smell of petrichor outside his window and a bubbling potion on a single furnace. One clay pot was placed above the crackling fire and on it, moss green liquid swirling clockwise.The king held his forehead as he sat up. A slight groan escaped his lips, the reason being his body being sore. “Anyone there outside the door?” – he called out, slightly annoyed with the idea that no one was there on the room to assist him. The door opened, and two unfamiliar soldiers stood there with their hands hidden on their backs. “You called for us, my king?” – said the younger one“Where is everyone?” – Damon answered with another question. One of the soldiers stepped closer and leaned in. “Did you just wake up, my king?”Damon frowned. What does it have to do with anything?“Yes. My head’s still aching. Where are the witches?”The soldier straightened his back. He realized the king had no idea of what has happened with the queen. And the great
A week after, Harper’s attention was undivided from Hector. From the moment she opened her eyes in the morning, all her attention was on Hector. He cries, he poops, he twists and turns, but that’s nothing compared to the sleepless nights she had to endure taking care of the baby. Damon knocked on her door just when the sun came up. Harper opened it and invited him in. Automatically, he picked up the baby from the small bed. “How’s my little baby?” – Harper watched with a little smile.There’s something cute about the way he played with the small child. She was looking at them with twinkle on her eyes. He wasn’t the Lycan king everyone quivers to behold. He’s not the reckless and ferocious wolf that’s the bravest of them all. By doing this, he became a different person to her eyes. A loving king and a responsible father.Until Harper caught herself. She shook her head. No, she shouldn’t be distracted from what she planned before. She took the baby back from the king’s grasp.“I can t
The soldier waited for Brayden’s next instruction. He stood there with his hands hidden behind him, while the king took a lot of time staring down at the note. Something about it seemed to be too much to take. The soldier was certain that the message there couldn’t be that long to stared at much longer. It may only contain three to five sentences, max. “Alpha? Shall I let them in?”Brayden straightened his back but no response came out of him yet. He closed his eyes and sighed, still stunned by the message. Could it be possible that Alpha Draco was still alive? Did he really write this message? Was he at a near distance from him right now as he doubted?“Tell them they may come. Also tell the cook in the kitchen to ready a feast for later.”The soldier gave a slight bow and walked his way to the waiting squire at the front door. After delivering the alpha’s message, the squire murmured his thanks and walked limply to the gate. Brayden, on the other hand, watched him from his window.
The news of the Great Alpha’s return reached the other camp as quick as a flash. Upon knowing, Damon held a meeting with the team leaders of his soldiers. They were gathered on a locked meeting hall for almost two hours now, and Harper and the rest of the pack weren’t allowed to enter.Harper couldn’t keep her eyes away from the locked door. She was rocking Prince Hector here and there, with half of her attention glued on the room door. She hoped she could hear something, anything… but it was impossible. The meeting hall was soundproof, and only the most important of meetings were being held inside.Hector cried, perhaps a wake-up call to his mother to give him his full attention. A nurse-maid appeared and took the crying baby away from the wolf queen.“Thank you, Sheila.” – Harper said. Not meeting her eyes. Now with the baby taken away from her, she had her full concern on finding out what information can she get from the men on the other side of the door. With quiet and careful f
He’s back…He’s back…She considered herself warned. The things that she’s afraid to possibly happen is possible to happen now. All the fears, the threats, Harper felt them to be marching towards her in an impossible speed. She tiptoed back to her room when he heard the men wrapping up their discussions. She wouldn’t want Damon to know she has been eavesdropping of their confidential plans for the camp. As much as she wants, she should always be careful. After all this time, Damon still hasn’t gained her trust back.Speaking of the devil, the ajar door opened to reveal a stressed-out face of Damon. “Is he asleep?” – he asked, pertaining to the baby“He is. Would you like to come in?”He gave a single nod and stepped into the room. Immediately, the child twisted in his sleep, as if he felt the presence of his father nearby. Damon noticed the baby’s slight movement and stood there on the bed’s side, his arms crossed on his chest. Harper left the scene, pretended to be busy with the
Alpha Draco looked at the two girls. Both are equally beautiful in their own way. “None of them, Great Alpha.” – Brayden said after having a huge gulp of bubbling beerAlpha Draco frowned, confused. There’re no other women in the royal table. Brayden has been named as the pack’s alpha for how many years already. It’s impossible and improper that on all those years, he managed to survive without a mate to aide him.“What do you mean? Every powerful alpha needs a mate.”Brayden’s left eye twitched. He knew that. In the world of the wolves, even when you’re the most powerful of all, it would still amount to nothing if there is no mate for him. “Actually, I have one… but now, she’s…”Brayden let the rest of the sentence get drowned by the noise. The thing about Harper and being pregnant with the Lycan king’s heir seemed to not be a quality of one powerful wolf pack leader. “I didn’t hear it. What was that?”Brayden gulped and Shahila looked like she’s about to blurt out the truth. “Sh
It’s now or never, Harper thought.Right in front of her Grandma, she knew she had to admit her final decision. It’s not like any other fight or flight situations. It’s only a matter of time before she’ll get to know the consequences of what she’s about to ponder today. Grandma Laura’s reaction wasn’t helping as well. Her eyes were filled with worry, giving Harper the idea of what horrid things wait for her and little Hector in the future.“I won’t question your decision, Harper. I know you’ve taken long enough time to think about this.”She did, actually. But on her mind before this thought was a certain flight plan. No one’s more surprised of this than her but she’s done running away. Perhaps staying and waiting for things to unfold might not be that bad idea.“I have, Grandma. Also, I have to admit there’s some weird feelings I have for the Lycan king himself. I know it’s kind of expected but I didn’t see it coming.”The old woman frowned. Feelings? If she meant being in love with
Damon’s heartbeat doubled. To have a calm exterior to hide what’s worrying him inside took more effort than he expected. What he whispered Asher was only a simple and comprehensive message, “Let me take care of it.” In his mind, he liked to believe everything was under control.“Nice place you have in here.” – Alpha Draco said upon the first step inside the common room. The fireplace has been lit and the sound of crackling fire entertained the guests as they sat on the couch facing it. “Thank you.” – Damon responded, careful not to disclose anything else. It was Beta Simon who built this place with the help of few men. They were served hot chamomile tea. Just when each of the small glasses were filled, Harper got out of her room carrying the baby. She saw the guests and paused for a while. They didn’t look familiar.The nurse-maid came and helped her with holding the baby. “Do you know those people? Who are they? Why are they here?” – The questions came quickly like succeeding bul
“Alpha Draco requests your presence, sir.”The messenger talked in a slow fashion, careful that the Virgo Alpha would hear it properly. Marion just finished settling on an old room inside the common room. It looked like it belonged to a royal she-wolf, based on the expensive paintings on the wall and the hand-sewn dresses inside the closet. “Tell him I’ll be there shortly.”“He said it’s urgent, sir.”Marion nodded. There’s no excuses with the Great Alpha. Besides, he’s not in his territory. He’s at the Red Blood’s, the first time he got out of the roundhouse and housed in a different setting actually. The messenger left the door open. Marion put down the third pillow case he packed with him and followed the former to the main room of the common room. Inside, Alpha Draco was waiting. He’s sipping jasmine tea from a small teacup. A lady in waiting was at his side, holding the kettle by its handle. With a plain breakable plate placed under it.“You called for me, Great Alpha?”He lo
“I… I don’t understand. What do you mean, officer?”Harper was biting the edges of her nails in anxious anticipation. Surely, there’s nothing good that will come out from the end of this conversation. To mention the word “victim” mid-sentence doesn’t constitute good news. “You have no idea, do you?”Harper shook her head… then realized that the person she’s talking to is on the other end of the line. So, her nodding of head is not counted as a response.“I have no idea of what this is about. Please, just-“Harper couldn’t finish her sentence. She’s not even sure if she wants to. what has been unfolded before her eyes the entire day are facts - quickly given facts that either surprise her or catch her in the moment. And these facts aren’t even good news at all. “I’m sorry, miss. I didn’t think you are clueless about what happened in this house. It’s all over the news this past week.”What is?, she thought. But then, it’s Mrs. Keevah’s house. There’s no one else in the house that cou
In front of them were the men, the woman and the little baby that they all hated: the ones they denominated as “rebels”. They were on the front of Marion and Alpha Draco.“We meet again…” – said Damon.Harper and the rest of the group stood behind their alpha. The men were carrying their own choice of weapons, their own poison against the enemy. They stood gleaming at the site of fresh dead bodies on the floor. Proudly. The look on Alpha Draco’s face says it all. He wanted the war to be over. He wanted the war to begin as soon as it can. Right in this moment. Right in this spot. “Finally… I’m tired of chasing after your tail, Damon. You and Brayden can come here and let’s finish this once and for all. I’m tired of chasing and of canceling this to another schedule.”Damon licked his chapped lips. He has the same ideas. He didn’t come here to visit his father. He didn’t come here for peace. None of them believes in peace anymore. “I cannot agree more. Later, then. Once and for all.
Just when the silence stretched between Harper and Brayden, Damon got up from his sleep and pulled Harper closer from the waist.Brayden’s eyes followed where Damon’s hands were and gulped. In a moment, he turned to the other side and tried to forget what he has seen. He managed to turn and keep his eyes and body that way.“You’re up early…” – muttered Damon with a raspy voice.“Yeah… my body clock’s messed up these days.” – replied HarperThat was a lie. Her body clock has nothing to do with it. It’s always her thoughts that keep on saying something to her. It feeds her negative ones instead of empowering her to think of solutions. And of course, the place and the ambience did help with the thoughts. It even made the way for it. It even made her feel worse.“Is that because of the war?”“No, something else.”Harper looked at the ring that’s still on her finger. If Anthony didn’t cause a distraction, would that scary man really cut off her finger? For the sake of proving a point?Are
“Elias! You wouldn’t believe it!”Elias was cleaning the Great Alpha’s office when one of the guards from the office went to approach him. The guard was panting, his sweat rolling down his temples down to his neck and chest area. These droplets of sweat blurs his vision as they get past his eyes. “Do you have some news?” – Elias already has some expectations in his head. Hopefully, this is going to be good news. And hopefully, this is about the Great Alpha too. “Yes. you should go outside to see what’s up.”Elias nodded and then he got up to check if there’s really someone inside waiting for him. As it turned out, there’s a small crowd gathered outside over something. The question is, what’s the cause? Who is there that everyone seemed to be alarmed?“Is that…”The rest of the sentence got drowned in the air. the guard who brought Elias the news did not even let him finish. Whether it was excitement or worry, none of them can tell. However, it’s clear from the circumstances that the
“…and here we are!”Everyone of them looked around, expecting a tavern or a cabin in the woods. None of those things were present. They were only surrounded by different trees and the dark moon above them. “Here?” – Anthony repeated, confused“Yes. Over there.”Brayden pointed on the cavern behind him. The boys walked closer to see what he’s pointing to. Then, Harper followed. She already knows what it is, she only got closer so the others won’t speculate. They cannot know she’s been here before. “This is where your safe place is?” – Asher asked with a huge question mark on his face.“Yes. This is what I meant by that.”They all didn’t look impressed. But then again, they’re hiding from Marion and their men. Anything safe that they can use will do. Just not to be caught. Anything. Just not that. They cannot be captured. Not this time. With Brayden leading them, they approached the mouth of the cave and got inside one by one. Among them, only Hector seemed to be enjoying the show.“H
“Goddamn it, you have a knife! I don’t care if you cut her finger!”Harper’s eyes widened when the huge man on her right got a knife from his back pockets. It’s a new one and surely sharpened just before they went to the roundhouse. The slight shin of the knife reflected the fear in her eyes. Damon’s hip still hurt with the hitting. He was held by four men, struggling as he throws all sort of cure words upon Marion.The man with the knife neared Harper and she stepped back, pulling the two men with her. They can’t be serious. They surely cannot just cut off her finger when Marion tells them to. Or she could be wrong. It’s also possible that these men are Marion’s puppets and would do anything he tells them to. No matter howbrutal or illogical that can be. “Damon, just go… “ – Harper’s vision blurred as the tears welled on the corner of her eyesDamon shook his head. No, he’s never going to leave her. Not this time. Not ever. The man pulled her hand as one man from the side brought
Damon kept on looking behind him. He hasn’t seen Harper yet, the entire time that they were inside. The last time he did was when they were sitting on the benches. Back when nothing seemed strange yet.Aside from that, he hasn’t seen her yet. The thickness of the crowd barred him from doing so. However, he’s sure she’s still inside. The slight gap on the door cannot hold a person going out yet. Whoever attempts may be squeezed. “Harper? Harper, where are you?!” – the question roared in the air. They were stuck in the main room with lots of the Virgo aiming at them. Not to mention that the great number of its members were clawing their throats to make their way out. Aside from that, there are two Virgo men who’s at his back as he shouted. They were trying to catch him and bind him with a thick rope. The rope was too thick and Damon noticed that if that will be used against him, he cannot break it with his fists. He cannot set himself free from those.“Harper!”And then, like a mira
Hearts flutter in a negative manner. This isn’t good. It couldn’t be good.Harper sensed Damon’s tenseness. She looked at his brother and it’s clear that he’s also in his fight-or-flight mode. Any minute now, something is about to happen. She’s positive about that.“I’m sure I’m not the only one feeling there’s something odd here, right?” – Asher voiced out and Damon shushed himAsher nodded slowly. He has confirmed his statement. “… and it is the duty of the alpha to put his pack’s safety first. Even at the middle of the war, the safety of the pack shall not be compromised nor put aside. The safety of the pack has to be the paramount consideration. It is because of that that any threat, no matter how small or insignificant, needs to be gotten rid of.”- Marion ended his speech with a dangerous stare at the Red Blood pack’s direction. “This is not good. Come on. We have to get going.”“What’s going on?” – Norton saidHarper and Damon looked at each other’s eyes. They already understo