The night was lively as all pack members of the NightCrawler Pack gathered to witness the first shift of the pups who had come of age. Tonight, under the moonlight and before their goddess, they will witness this life changing event. Children between the ages of five and eight have all awaited this day along with their parents. The night of the blood moon, which comes once every four years, was finally here, and the children couldn’t wait to meet their wolves. Once a shifter gets a wolf, they will immediately be considered full-fledged members of the and one who can bring great contribution to the kingdom and realm at large. Esme once experienced this adrenalin that came with that anticipation. How long ago was that again? Yes, that was eleven years at the age of seven when she also stood along with children her age before the goddess to be blessed with a wolf. That ritual had ended, and only she was left standing on her two feet while others walked about in their new skins. On
Esme rushed to her room to clean up, and that was when she realized how much blood she had lost. Her body felt heavy and eyes dizzy. Rest was an order, but she knew she couldn't have that. The guests were still around, and the pack was still in a celebratory mood. If she sleeps now, then she is only courting more punishment and public humiliation. She stood before the mirror, although covered in cracks. It was all she had. The dimly lit room illuminated only by a few candles was her not so safe haven. Now, before the mirror, she could see the crimson stain on her snow-white hair. A sharp contrast to the rest. Her clothes were also ruined, and although they wouldn't be considered worthy of wearing anymore, she would wash and sew them because she didn't have much to throw away anything. “It'll be midnight soon,” she said to herself, a gentle reminder of her eighteenth birthday being only minutes away. Many girls find their fated mates at hours like this. A girls eighteenth bi
Dane sensed the gaze of Esme directed at them, and he frowned. Searching for her, he found that she was indeed staring at them. No, to be more specific, she was staring at one of the youngest alphas of the kingdom, Julius Carter, alpha of Midnight Pack. His frown deepened when he turned and found Julius staring at her with curiosity brimming in his eyes. But he could also see the conflict brewing within them. It was not hard to tell what was going on when he knew that the brat down was of age now. Tonight. A small smile crept up his lips at the realization. He didn't need to do anything now. His deal with Midnight Pack would become a reality now. The girl has truly proven useful after all… Who would have thought? “Shall we join…” Dane began but was interrupted by Julius, whose gaze was still on Esme. “Who is she?” He asked. The scent of chocolate and vanilla had him surrounded, drowning out every other scent, and his sole focus at the moment was her. Everything around him se
There was something special to being a Hawthorne. The Hawthorne name was respected throughout the country because of this one reason, and that reason was that they were blessed by the goddess. Their silver hair, believed to bear semblance to the moon goddess, was what identified her as a Hawthorne and nothing more. While her family, though late, were remembered for the gifts—her father had great strength, one that rivaled the lycans despite being a wolf shifter if not surpassing most of them. Her brother possessed the ability to heal, not just himself, but others too. His battle prowess was sung by many. While, Esme, had not even a wolf of her own. Her mother, though not Hawthorne by birth, was a skilled warrior, but she—Esme, was weak. For someone born into a family of warriors, she was a disgrace, and if her family were alive to see her now, they would be greatly disappointed. Esme cried for herself for so long that she lost track of time and didn't even know when she fell asle
Every bad situation will have something positive. Even a dead clock shows the correct time twice a day. —Anonymous— With a darkened expression, Grant stared at his beta for a while without uttering a word. His mind was a wandering mess. “The seer?” Grant asked, and Leornado gave him a look with his brows raised. “Where is she?” He asked, rising to his feet. Without waiting for Leornado. He marched for the door, and Leornado had to run after him due to his long and fast strides. If there was one thing that they all knew was that the woman's words, though always twisted and probably exactly on point, she was never truly wrong. Whatever she saw, there must be some truth to it. He knew something major was about to transpire. “She is in her tower, your Majesty,” Leornado replied, finally able to match Grant's pace. Grant didn't speak after hearing that and rather increased his pace. The maids and guards they came across bowed respectfully to the alpha king, but he didn't acknowl
A low and ferocious erupted from deep within Grant that had Leonardo backing away from him, taking backward steps until he was out of the door and his back pressed against with his bowed and eyes staring at his feet. “Alpha…” Leonardo uttered, respect and submission dripping from his voice and stance. Grant staggered forward. The battle between them and the beast in him, visible. After almost two minutes of battling it out mentally, Grant leaned on the wall and slid to the ground, sitting with his elbow propped on his right knee while his palm covered his face. “I didn't mean to do that,” he said. Even without referring to anyone in particular, Leonardo knew it was him his king was talking to. Leonardo finally raised his head and looked at Grant. He sighed in relief, knowing the man had won over the beast. He then sat down beside Grant in a similar posture. “I know that very well, your Majesty,” Leonardo replied. “Have you figured out what he wants? The alpha beast, I mean.”
“Her pulse is weak, but she will make it,” the pack healer said as she examined Esme. Her face contorted when she saw the many scars on the body of Esme, but she was quick to mask it before the wrong set of people saw it.“Give her the medicine and apply the herb to her wounds. She will recover faster that way,” she said again as she packed up her stuff. She knew the girl was maltreated qnd abused by everyone, but seeing her like that and the result of the actions, the marks on her body were equivalent to being branded. Such scars would leave a lasting effect on a person. The physical ones might fade with time, but the emotional scars might never fade, especially if she keeps on being subjected to such cruel treatment. She felt bad for her but there was nothing that she could do. Not unless she wanted to offend the alpha and his family as well as all of the NightCrawler Pack.“Thank you, Lucy,” Alicia said, truly grateful that woman could make it in time. Lucy nodded her head at t
WARNING!! THIS CHAOTER CONTAINS SENSITIVE CONTENTS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE ACCEPTABLE TO ALL!******************Esm only regained consciousness just before sunset. As soon as her eyelids fluttered open, she immediately wished her timing had been better. At least after the two people in her room were gone.She could barely make out their images, but she knew without a doubt that they were right there, staring at her without an ounce of pity, despite her close brush with death.She didn't want to look at them, so she turned her back to them, her eyes once again shut tightly. “And here I thought you were dead,” Dawson was the first to speak out of the two siblings. She didn't need to look at him to know what kind of expression they had on their faces.“I told you she is just feigning her illness,” Ophelia said, her tone laced with irritated as if she couldn't stand the sight of Esme. The smell of herbs filled the room, but these siblings acted as if they couldn't perceive it. Even Esm
Meanwhile, as Esme and Alicia followed Leonardo to where the cars were parked, they encountered Alpha Dane and Dawson. They instinctively became more cautious, but that also had their hearts accelerating, and the abnormality was at once noticed by Leonardo.He looked at them and found nothing wrong, but once his eyes caught sight of Aloha Dane nearby. He immediately understood why. ‘The healer wasn't lying after all,’ he thought. He had believed her when she told him everything, but he didn't think it would get to the extent that the mere sight of him would frighten the girl so much. He looked at her and didn't know how to address her. Grant hadn't said anything about it yet. Although it would only be right to call her the queen, she was yet to be crowned, and no one else knew about her being the king's mate. “Miss Esmeralda,” he called and even walked around them to shield them from the direction of Alpha Dane. Esme looked at him silently, waiting for him to state his reason for c
The healer looked around, making sure that no one else could hear them before she spoke. “The last Hawthorn. Please take her away. I don't know what they'll do to her once everything settles down, but I know that it will be severe. She warned the pack this would happen, but no one listened and even punished her for it. I am afraid she would be blamed for this too if…”“There's a surviving Hawthorne within the Night Crawler Pack?” Leonardo asked, and this was new information to him. He doubted even Grant knew about this. The report that was given to them in the past was that every member of the family was lost in the incident that claimed the family. Why would the Night Crawler Pack hide such information?The healer was taken aback by the question, but soon, it dawned in her that the royal capital didn't know about Esme. “Yes, there is, and she warned the pack about the attack a few days ago. We would have been more prepared if the alpha and the pack had taken seriously her words.”
A sense of satisfaction washed over Esme as she watched Alpha Dane struggle with his words. His rigid body almost had her laughing, but she fought against her urges. Then she heard his apology, it was far from genuine and sincere, but Esme knew that this was the first time in a very long time anyone in the NightCrawler Pack ever thanked her. Dane and his family were the worst. They worked her to the bone but never said thank you, not even once. Not that she expected anything from the people who tormented her, but at least, thank you wasn't a hard thing to say. And it was only to do so when a person deserves it. ‘Perhaps I am undeserving in their eyes’? Esme thought. Her fist clenched at her side, and her teeth gritted in anger, but her expression remained stoic, but that sense of satisfaction from earlier quickly faded away.“Are you satisfied with this?” Esme heard Grant ask, and she whipped her head upwards to look at his face. He was genuinely asking her if she was pleased with
A low growl reverberated through his chest as it made its way out, sending a chill down the spines of everyone who heard him. His gaze turned sharp as he stared at Dane, who had rudely interrupted his conversation with his mate even though it was unintended.Yes, sweetheart. Is there a problem with that?” Grant asked. Dane shook his head, and Grant took a predatory step forward, but Esme held him back. He looked at her, and she shook her head.“Forgive me, Your Majesty,” he quickly apologized, but the mistake had already been made, and there was no way he could take it back. “It is fine. I don't care about what they think or say,” she said, finally regaining her voice and strength to speak again. Maybe it was the way Alpha Dane was affected by seeing her standing beside the king or the disbelief in his eyes f as he was starting to piece together the fact that she meant more to the king than he had assumed. Whatever it was, she liked his irritation and unease. This mate bond may be n
It's in the palm of your hand now, baby It's a yes or a no, no maybeJust be sure, before you give it all to me— Katy Perry — dark horse —******“Can you talk to me…please?” Grant pleaded, wishing to understand what was really happening. One second ago, she was willing to go with him, but the next, she didn't even want to be touched by him at all. “Mate?” Esme stopped struggling when she realized how futile it was to keep doing that. His grip, although not too strong to hurt her, she was still unable to break free. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out, and she had to swallow the saliva before being able to speak properly. “You are the king,” she said in a whisper. Grant frowned but nodded his head as he finally grabbed what caused the sudden change in her.“Yes, I am, but right now, that is not important. I am your mate at this moment, and that's all that matters to me,” he said, hoping she would understand as he was able to put the pieces together. “We can dis
Esme stared at her hand, eyes wide with horror. Her already stable breath once again labored and she continued to step backward while shaking her head. Her actions like that puzzled Grant and he took a step forward but she keeps on retreating from him.“No,” she said, still shaking her head.“I don't believed either but it is what it is. None of us can change that,” Grant said. He tried to read her but he couldn't no matter how hard he tried. He just couldn't wrap his head around why she was rejecting what is meant to be.“You are going to reject me too, right?” She said and he frowned, not at all expecting that statement. “What?!” He asked in shock.“Then go ahead and do already. There's no need to waste your time. Just do it,” Esme said, not giving him the time to talk while trying hard to hold back her tears. It was better 8f he rejected her immediately. It would hurt less ans she wouldn't have to delude herself of pillar to lean on when ot would end shattering to pieces in no ti
Then it stopped its onslaught right after the last of those after them was dead and lying almost unrecognizable on the ground. He turned, and his eyes locked on Esme, and she instinctively took a step back.Seeing that, it growled, and her heart skipped a beat. Every cell in her body as well as the alarm bells blaring in her head told her to run but somehow, her heart was telling her to do the opposite and foolishly, her legs couldn't do anything other than step back slowly. The further she stepped away, the more the beast growled, and Esme was at a loss. What should she do? What could she do? Her thoughts halted when the beast stepped forward. Its steps are deliberately slow, but its eyes never left hers. She was about to turn around and run when it closed the distance with a single leap, and she stumbled backward. Her breathing was heavy, her chest rose and fell as the adrenaline rushed in, but even with that, all she could do was sit and wait. As he loomed over her, Esme shut
Esme stopped walking as everything that she saw in her dream started playing before her eyes. The screams of the people inside the packhouse and the unfamiliar growls of creatures she had never seen before erupted. Following it was the voice Dawson's roar filled with anger as he called out to the packager as warriors. “Stop running and fight.” thr alpha Dane's roar. Esme swallowed. She knew this would happen but seeing it play before her eyes like this now was an entirely different experience. Someone ran past her nearly knocking her to the ground had Alicia not been fast enough to pull her aside. “My lady,” Alicia shook her but Esme was rigid. Her mind reeling back to what she saw. If she wasn't wrong then the beast whose ferocious growl she had heard but never saw would be here soon and she… Before she could finish her thoughts, something leaped out of the burning packhouse, a creature unlike anything she had ever seen. It was man-sized with red eyes as if they were made
“Stop the car,” Grant ordered, and Leonardo instantly slammed on the brakes. It was after he did that he realized how lucky they were that there was no accident. He was so used to doing everything that the alpha commanded him that he didn't take a second to think about what he was asked to do and just did it. The screeching sound of the brakes of the cars behind them as they came to a sudden halt filed the air. Leonardo cursed under his breath at the disturbing sound. “Your Majesty…” the car's door slamming shut was heard. Grant was already out of the car before he could say a word and he let out another curse before unbuckling his seatbelt and dashing after the alpha. ‘Some of you come with us while the others find a good place for the cars, don't disturb the people here,’ Leonardo commanded through the mind link. He then heard a collective, “Understood,” from the warriors before cutting off the link. Meanwhile, Grant dashed through the street, his beast in full control and his