HelenaMy life as a slave and a single mother was hard most days, but the days that were good, it was so good I almost forgot about my circumstances. Almost. I feared the day my son would be old enough to work. I knew that most slave owners either put them to work or sold them and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself knowing that I was the reason my son was suffering.I tried to make his little life as bearable as possible. I quickly figured out that escape would not be possible in this city. Slaves who tried to escape suffered the worst consequences and I couldn’t do that to my little boy. All I could do was to keep my head down and work and pray that Oliver finds us some day. As the years ticked by, my hope grew less and less, and I made peace with our lives as they were.I have been bought and sold a couple of times over the years. Some of the masters were cruel, and I carried the scars of their cruelty. They never healed completely because I wasn’t allowed to shift. As soon as o
OliverAccording to my host, there were no mated females being held as slaves. He knew very well that it was against the law, but I wouldn’t put it past him! I knew from experience that these people didn’t care where someone came from or that they had family! My fury was overwhelming, and I didn’t see where I was going. I stormed into my room and in the process, my shirt caught on something.I cringed at the sound of the material tearing. If it was any other shirt, I would just have thrown it away, but it was the only shirt Helena bought me. I was surprised when she returned from her shopping trip with my mother, and she had a gift for me. She was supposed to buy clothes for herself, and it was awfully endearing that she thought about getting me something as well.I took the shirt off and the tear wasn’t that big. It could be mended. Without thinking about it, I called the servant outside my door and requested that they find me a good seamstress. She offered to take it to the seamstre
HelenaI could step in and tell Oliver that I never told my master I was a mated wolf, but all my mercy was gone. I tried to tell them all those years ago. I wanted Oliver to be there all through Eli’s first years, but the masters denied me that happiness! Maybe not this specific one, but he was still a master. He had slaves. I knew there was no way we would ever be able to stop them completely, but I could let Oliver get rid of some of them.“Helena, please!” He pleaded, and my heart turned cold. I didn’t say a word as I glared at him and Oliver’s growl echoed through the room. “Helena, please! Please tell the king that I didn’t know!” The man looked panicked, and I turned my back on him. I didn’t want to see Oliver kill him. I clung to my son and closed my eyes and my heart. I was done showing mercy to those who didn’t deserve it.If I didn’t intervene on behalf of the werewolves all those years ago, Liam wouldn’t have survived, and he wouldn’t have been able to kidnap me in the fir
OliverMy parents were shocked when I told them how and where I had found Helena and Eli. They were excited about meeting their grandchild, and it took everything I had to stop them. I could just look at him forever. He was the most adorable little boy I had ever seen! He was clearly tough, and Helena had done an outstanding job with him so far. He clearly loved her, and would protect her with his little life.I let them sleep in since I could tell they were both tired and when they walked into the living room in the late morning, I beamed. I had my love back home. We hadn’t really talked since I found them, but there was more than enough time to talk. I just wanted to bring them home. I just wanted them here where I could protect them and help them forget everything that they might have gone through. I ordered some food for them, and we couldn’t help but laugh when Eli’s little nose pulled up at the smell of the food.“Helena, I don’t want to upset you, but what did you eat?” My moth
Helena“The day they turned on us and kidnapped me, they betrayed the kindness I showed when I begged for mercy.” My voice was barely a whisper as we broke apart. Oliver and the Lycans showed me more loyalty than any werewolf ever did! “You and Eli are my family now. The Lycans are my pack.” Deep down, I knew that I didn’t have to say it, but I still did. I needed to make sure he knew how I felt. If life taught me anything, it was that it could change on a dime and if you didn’t say anything, you would live with that regret for the rest of your life.“Well, I guess we have to introduce the future heir to his pack.” Oliver smiled. Up to that point, there was still some tension between us, but now it was all gone. It was almost as if I had never left his side. It was mind-blowing that someone loved me that much. I nodded, feeling nervous about introducing Eli to the pack. They weren’t all convinced that I was the right person to be their queen when I left.“Is there a ceremony or someth
HelenaWe put Eli to bed, and I watched him curl up with his new toy. I realized what incredible creatures children were. Eli adapted to our new circumstances so quickly. He seemed happy, and I would probably only find out years later if anything was seriously wrong. There was no use in running for the future. I had to appreciate the present.I looked at Oliver as he pulled me a little closer. He was so handsome. Even though the war and everything after that made him look a little older. The slight change in his hair colour made him look even sexier than before. I didn’t want to leave Eli in his room, but if Oliver and I were going to bond again, I had to. I wanted to. I wanted to feel Oliver’s fingers stroking my skin.I turned off the light as soon as we walked into our room and Oliver turned it back on. I glared at him. I wanted to make love to him without worrying about the scars. I felt so self-conscious about them all of a sudden that I couldn’t get over it!“Oliver, please.” Ho
HelenaI agreed with him that the slave traders had to be punished. I just wasn’t sure what would happen to the slaves when they were released. Some of the slaves I met had been slaves for generations and didn’t even know where they originally came from. Then again, most of them weren’t very helpful when I was there. Most of us don’t get involved in the matters of others.You were safest when you kept your head down and didn’t get involved. It was the only way to survive in the slave world. That was why I felt so torn about Oliver’s decision. I could wait and see what happened, or I could do what I did for the werewolves. I sighed as I looked out of the window at the city. It saddened me to think that, for some people, the precious gift of life meant nothing.“Are you okay?” Oliver’s voice floated into my thoughts. I turned around and sighed deeply, wondering if I should tell him what I thought. He pulled me into his arms and I couldn’t help myself.“No. I hate that we have to punish
Helena“If you do this, you are going to leave an entire generation of vengeful creatures for our children to face!” I shouted. Oliver and I were having our first proper fight. I paced back and forth in our room while he just glared at me. I waited while he oversaw the arrest of the masters, but as soon as we were alone in the room, I started shouting. Couldn’t he see what he was doing?!“What? Should I kill the children?” He looked disgusted and I rolled my eyes.“No, but if you kill their parents in front of them, you will be scarring those children for life, and they will come after you like the werewolves did, Oliver!” I was still upset, but I had lowered my tone of voice a little.“This is an impossible situation, Helena. Someone has to be punished and someone is going to get hurt. That’s just life.” He sighed, pulling his fingers through his hair. “If we don’t act then people will think we are weak, and they will come for us anyway.” I knew he was right. I just couldn’t help but
THE LYCAN KINGDOM was never restored. Kings and queens were never appointed again, but there was peace. A world council was appointed to protect all the creatures, and they prepared for the day the humans would return.Supernatural creatures combined their powers and knowledge to better the world and soon everyone was flourishing. The creatures opted not to use their new-found technology to explore the heavens. They didn’t want to run into the creatures that nearly destroyed the earth. They had learned their lessons from the mistakes humans made and whenever greed showed its ugly head, they would quickly be shut down.The supernatural creatures had been given a second chance, and they were going to live their lives to the fullest this time. It was called the cleansing and whenever people referred to it, they spoke with huge respect for those who returned to live new lives. Elizabeth did return with Oliver happily by her side. They took jobs as teachers and had a second full life.Oliv
ElizabethAs the world turned, the Lycan kingdom changed. The days of the great wars were forgotten. The days of peace and trade passed. What was once a great nation splintered into the world and the beautiful castle was left abandoned. The human world grew stronger and the supernatural had to hide from it to stay safe. Traditions were abandoned, so they could hide and the fact that these creatures were real was turned into a myth.The history of the great Lycan kingdom was turned into a legend. The amazing lives of Oliver and Helena were forgotten, and their history books turned to dust in an abandoned kingdom. Witches, dwarfs, pixies and fairies became the creatures that only existed in fairy tales. The age of man had arrived. The rhythm of life took over as the creatures had to hide deeper and deeper in the darkness.Thankfully, the wheel of life always turned, and these creatures found their way back. They grew stronger and fought wars to make a place for themselves in the world.
ElizabethOur children grew and with them our pack and also our little village. My projects that seemed huge when I started them now seemed small, and we had to expand our vegetable garden sooner than planned. We quickly became the second-largest trading post in our region. It wasn’t surprising when we got word that the werecats wanted to talk.A young new alpha had been appointed. She had taken over from her father and had very different views to him. I was pleasantly surprised to meet the young woman. She was strong and confident but not overbearing like most males in her position. She negotiated a very good trade deal between our pack and hers and people who used to be enemies quickly became good friends.It was a time for peace in our world. I knew war would come again someday, but for now we were all living in peace. We were trading and even started a student exchange. After visiting the witches, I really wanted my children to experience something similar when the time was right.
ElizabethSadly, I was very wrong. The werecats were planning war. They wanted our territory and nothing was going to stop them. Our son was born in the midst of all of it and I had a hard time convincing Oliver not to send me back home! He wanted me and our son to be safely tucked away in the castle while they fought the werecats! Who the hell did he think he was mated with?!As soon as my body allowed, I was right there by his side fighting for our people. The war didn’t last very long though. We won fairly quickly thanks to the Royal Army standing behind us. I didn’t realize how incredibly proud I was of myself and of our people until I stood on the porch of our new pack house looking out at our people.Everyone looked tired, and I could feel the sadness in the air. We haven’t just fought a war. We built our new pack house while fighting! Oliver wanted to keep the people busy who had to stay behind. He listened when I told him that life had to continue while we were off fighting fo
ElizabethI had always thought losing Jason was the worst thing I could have gone through, but as I sat there waiting to find out if Oliver had survived the attack, I realized that it wasn’t. If I lost Oliver, I wouldn’t survive. I would appear strong for the pack. I would carry on and raise our pup, but my heart would be broken forever and there would be no healing it this time. It was a scary thing to realize, but it was the truth.Oliver wasn’t just my mate. He was my best friend. The one I relied on. Literally, my other half. Losing him would be like losing my most important limb. I would be able to adjust and move on and live, but something would always be missing. My eyes shot up, and my brain froze the moment we heard someone touching the door handle.“Elizabeth, it’s me. It’s safe. You can come out.” Oliver’s voice caused a collective sigh of relief in the room and I rushed to open the door. Rushing into his arms as soon as I saw him. I breathed in his scent and he smelled of
ElizabethOur celebrations didn’t last long, as soon as Oliver realized that we were under threat. His face instantly turned from happy to worried and I sighed deeply. This was definitely going to affect my life in far worse ways than I had anticipated.“You can’t work on the gardens in your condition. What if we are attacked? How are you going to get to safety in time.” He was talking to me, but it looked more like he was talking to himself as he started to pace back and forth.“Oliver, seriously? I’m pregnant. I’m not an invalid. I’m not even showing yet, for goodness’s sake! I am not going to spend the next couple of months in bed hiding from the world. I won’t do it!” I glared at him. He stopped pacing and sighed deeply as he looked at me.“But you are carrying precious cargo …” He started and when he tried to put his hands on my hips, I pushed him away.“Yes, I am. Cargo that will require exercise and healthy food. Not to mention fresh air. If you want this baby to be born health
ElizabethMy family hadn’t prepared to stay very long, which meant that when the werecats didn’t attack two days later, they had to return to the castle. The men seemed to agree that the werecats were playing the long game. They somehow knew the royal family was visiting and either they weren’t ready to attack yet, or they perhaps didn’t want to take them on.It infuriated me to live in this kind of limbo. I hated trying to guess what my enemy was up to. I hated having enemies. If we had done something to them, I could understand, but we hadn’t. They were just being greedy. I sighed as we said goodbye to my family and watched them disappear into the forest. It was nice having them there, but life had to go on.We would all still be living in a constant state of wondering when we were going to be attacked. Oliver was convinced the werecats were trying to lull us into a false sense of security. He was sure they were going to attack as soon as they thought we had forgotten about them. Wh
ElizabethOliver and I decided we were going to split up because of this. He would stay behind and protect the pack since we were convinced the werecats would come for our prisoner. I was taking the prisoner to my brother. If the werecats thought they could attack the princess of the Lycan kingdom, they would have to think again! We didn’t waste time and within an hour I was ready to go. Oliver pulled me into his arms and kissed me before resting his forehead on mine.“I know you can protect yourself, but please, please be safe. I won’t survive if something happens to you. Keep your eyes and ears open and don’t, under any circumstances, untie the prisoner.” He sighed deeply and I nodded.“I won’t.” I kissed him before pulling out of his arms.“We will take good care of her, alpha.” My future gamma guard promised and I smiled. Their training had gone well so far, but they weren’t ready to protect me all on their own just yet. My royal guards still had to be there as well. As our group
ElizabethOliver and I didn’t go away on honeymoon since there was just too much to do, but it didn’t bother me. I loved being able to finally put my knowledge to the test. We built his parents' garden faster than anticipated and when the entire pack gathered to look at it, I felt pride in my work. In all of them. So many pitched in to plant flowers and grass that it all came together beautifully.Oliver’s mother had tears in her eyes when we revealed the finished product. She had told me a couple of weeks earlier that she saw the gardens at the castle when she was a little girl and had wanted something like that since she was a little girl. I was glad that we could give it to her. I even convinced my family to sponsor some of the flowers right out of the castle garden to round things off and give it that special look.All around the sides there were beautiful flowers with grass divided by walkways and a small fountain in the centre. Oliver built four benches that were placed around t