It was on the night of a full moon.I had just returned from my usual secret hunt. Yeah, a secret hunt. My father would never allow me to even hunt or rally with the rest of the pack, just because of the condition I was born with.I was known as one of the weakest Omegas in the kingdom, and being of royal blood only made the stigma worse. Well, it's not like they were wrong though. I am indeed weak and frail as a werewolf.I could barely keep up with the bunny I caught tonight, even while being powered by the full moon. Only the heavens know what would have happened if it was on any normal night; that was why I always sneak out of the palace every full moon.Sigh… I sighed depressingly as I knelt before a lake in the woods. The silver full moon shone on the rippling lake, and I could see my wavy reflection.My black hair was dishevelled from all the running, and my blue eyes were pale — I was tired. I sighed once more, cupping my hands and dipping them in the lake.I scooped out a dec
Elora's POV“Huh? What do you mean?” I muttered in puzzlement, my eyelids fluttering incessantly like a butterfly’s wing.What did he mean by selling me off to the Greyhound Pack?The Greyhound Pack, I very much knew. It was one of the realm’s most popular Pack, or Kingdom in the case, only second to the Crescent Pack.I heard that their Lycan King, Alaric Greyhound, was more of a dictator than a ruler, but no one has ever left the kingdom. Instead, more people flocked under his iron-fisted rule, since that was what made the kingdom so prosperous.Tch. Why am I even thinking about that now? Now wasn't the time for history, now was the time to make history… Hopefully one with a good conclusion. Selling me off to another Lycan King was absurd.I was the daughter of a Lycan King myself. Though I must say that my father is quite old and has gotten weak, due to the many battles he fought in the past. It was thanks to people like him that most kingdoms now lived at peace with each other.Bu
Elora's POV ‘This is absurd,’ I muttered inwardly.It all still felt like some bad dream or trance. I mean, this whole trade thing couldn't be real, right?Sigh… I couldn't come to terms with the reality before me. A reality I never saw coming at all. As a weak Omega, my plan was to live a secluded life as a princess, maybe find my real mate and… That was it; I never really gave my future any deep thoughts. Maybe I should have.One of the four horsemen of Greyhound, moved away from his cohorts and stood before the steps that led to the throne. I don't know what he did exactly, but I saw him snap his fingers, and I was sure to have seen his suit give off a faint golden glow.Then, in the blink of an eye, a table appeared between him and the obsidian steps.I narrowed my eyes as I recognised that table. It had been in the throne room for as long as I could remember, but it was usually situated by a wall at my right.I turned my head and took a glance at the spot it usually was, just to
Elora's POV The horseman with Damon’s head in his hand, raised it high and gave a warning to everyone in the throne room.My father sighed ruefully, “That was foolish of him, I apologise.”The horseman scoffed, “You are not to blame. Children of this era have always been so naive. Perhaps, it's time we brought back the Scarlet-Crest era.”For the first time in a long time, I saw my father shrink in fear. What was so fearful about some Scarlet-Crest era? Perhaps that was one of the times in the era of war?He swallowed hard and dropped his headThe horseman simply shook his head and walked away. The other horseman still had his index claw out. I didn't even wait for him to ask before stretching my hand towards him. He made a clean cut on my thumb and gestured for me to press it on the parchment, which I did without complaint.I was still in shock of Damon’s swift death. I had no feelings for him, but he was still a wolf that had siblings to take care of. I decided not to ask anymore q
“Eh?” I stared at him blankly.Did he just call himself Alaric Greyhound? As in THE Alaric Greyhound that I've heard of?! The Lycan King of this Kingdom?I know I've gone through a lot from last night till now, but this couldn't be real. What would the infamous King of such a prosperous kingdom be doing in the dregs? Or was this how he greeted all the new intakes?“Are you alright?” His bass voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I sniffled and nodded quickly, “Y-Yes, your Highness. Thanks to you.”He smiled, making him more handsome than he already was, “Good to know. Now…” he turned toward the other three men, that were kneeling before the carriage driver, who was still writhing in pain.“I've heard about you guys and the stunts you've been pulling for a long time now,” Alaric said, slipping his hands into his pockets.The three men turned on their knees and looked up to him in fear.“All of that ends today,” Alaric added.“Please, your Highness. We were only punishing the offenders,
My grip on the handle of my bag tightened as I lifted it closer to my chest. Looking outside the window of the carriage, I gazed at the grand mansion looming ahead. Several tall pillars stood at different sections of the mansion and they were so large that I could only imagine how thick they were going to be if I was to get close to them. Thick ivy crawled up the pillars and scattered across the stone wall of the mansion, giving it shades of green that added to it's magnificence. Large arched windows lined the walls, giving off a golden glint as the sun hit their glass. The light casted off of it exuded a warm, almost inviting glow that seemed to be a stark contrast to the cold and imposing features of the building. My grip on my bag lessened.Slowly, the carriage rode into the mansion's compound and the uncomfortable graveled path beneath it's wheels slowly transitioned to smooth cobblestones. I was still taking in my new surrounding when the carriage suddenly came to a halt at th
Alpha Alaric stood before the fireplace, one hand in pocket, the other holding a glass of wine, and his face turned towards a large picture that stood at the end of the room. Large drapes covered the windows, blocking out the sun outside. Little light peaked in from one of the windows occasionally as it swerved in the small draughty breeze that managed to slip in through the slots of the windows. The room was dimly lit, the flickering flames of the candles around and the soft-roaring fire in the fireplace being the only source of light. The light from these flames cast off different shadows that crossed the room and danced around the place. Somehow, I felt at ease as I stood in the room.Alpha Alaric took in a sip from his wine as he continued staring at the picture. Now curious as to why he was looking at it, I slowly turned to the large frame handing on the wall by a suit of armour.Although partially obscured by the low light, I managed to see what was on the picture. It looked l
The servants quarters weren't as good as I thought they would be. Mud and different types of waste surrounded the space, giving it a very dirty look. I hoped the inside looked much better than the outside. Boy, was I wrong? I entered the room that had been assigned to me and sighed. Throwing my bag to the ground, I walked over to the closed window and pushed it open. A cloud of dust swirled in the dim light, filling the entire room as the window creaked open. Coughing and sneezing, I quickly placed my hands over my nose and ran over to the window. I took in a deep breath of the air outside, only to gag as the air filled my lungs. I quickly closed the window and retreated back into the room as the urge to throw up filled me. I cupped my hands over my nose as I ran around the place, looking for some kind of relief. The stale, musty odour that had been trapped inside the room was overwhelming and somehow seemed to seep in through the crevices of my palm, making the situation even wor
CAYDENI gave them a puzzled look as the all stares at me. "What?" I asked. "How do you expect me to lure him out? The guy hates my guts. He's basically starting this whole war simply to ruin me.""That's exactly the reason why you are the best person to lure him out," Marcy replied. "He seems to be holding a deep and terrible grudge for you. All you have to do is tug on that grudge.""What?" I asked, confused. "I don't understand.""I'll be straightforward with it then," she said. "We can't win against that guy when his brain and mind are functioning properly. He is incredibly smart, cunning and overly cautious. He might make a mistake in battle but not one that we can exploit. He might also have a vast army by now considering all of the deaths he's caused. He's even had time to turn them into his minions. There's no telling the amount of abominations he can unleash on us.""I still don't understand what any of that has to do with me and how it helps me anger him," I replied, lookin
CAYDENI stared at Marcy, at her beautiful eyes as they stare back at me."You're right," I nodded. "He must going around and talking to anyone he believes would be strong enough to be a threat to him.""He won't be simply convincing them either," Rafael added. "He threated me with death when I refused. I believe the others would be getting the same offer I got, both the good and bad aspects of it. He gave up on killing me for reasons I wouldn't disclose but I don't think the others will get that luxury."We pondered it for a bit and Marcy started to speak."What do yo-""Switch," Raphael suddenly said, looking beside him. It took me a while to figure out that he was talking to one of the women he was sleeping with. "Oh, and pass the gag as well. I'm still having a meeting.""Oh, so you remember you are in a meeting," I hissed. "Couldn't you do this at a more convenient time?""You know me, Cayden," Rafael smiled. "I'm actually showing a bit of decorum here. At least give me some cred
MARCYFor goddess' sake, these two would never stop bickering. I couldn't help but sigh at Cayden's blatant response to her name, obviously angering Beatrice who stared back at him with resolute indignation."And I couldn't be bothered that this bastard is an Alpha," she retorted."Okay, that's it," I said. "Beatrice, you would have to excuse us for this conversation.""The Beta too," he added as Alex silently perused the documents, choosing not to involve himself in their conflict.Ever since Cayden accepted Bella back for the sake of my children, Alex had developed a form of respect for him. He still hates him with a passion but just like me, he has learned to tolerate him as well."I don't think it would be a good idea for Alex to not be present," I replied. "If this is about nobody, that is. He's been doing a lot of research on him and the kind of creature he is. I believe he would have some important information to share."Cayden seemed... displeased?It might just be my imagina
CAYDEN"What was I thinking?" I chastised myself under my breath, mentally facepalming at my impulsiveness. "This is all Jace's fault. That bastard."Jace's words had plagued me after he said them. He wasn't wrong. All I needed to do hear from Marcy was call her. It was as easy as that.But that was incredibly tough for me. I don't think I've spoken to Marcy since we started walking together. In fact, we've never talked on the phone from the day I knew her. Calling her now would not only put of character, but it'll be awkward as well.I couldn't bring myself to do it.I also couldn't deny the fact that I missed her presence in the pack. Hateful as she may be of me, she brightened up my mood when I saw her. This only increased after our imprisonment in the Bloodless Pack. She had grown to tolerate me and at least give me a chance to talk to her without it divulging into an argument about my horribly stupid past mistakes. She even allowed me interact with her children who strangely ca
MARCYHectic.That's the only word that best describes my return to the pack.It turns out having a competent Beta cam only make your work harder when you leave for a long time. Alex handled everything and being the man that he is, decided that there are some decisions that require my exclusive input and they were too sensitive to be discussed while I was in the Blue Heart Pack because of the possibility that we were being watched.That has only served to complicate my life more now that I'm back as I had a plethora of meetings, hours of perusing documents and even more hours of signing such that my wrists hurt.Knowing I would be going back, Alex was making sure I did all that could be done before leaving.I groaned audibly as I read through yet another document. Alex is in the chair opposite me as he silently read and sorted out other documents. We've been at this for five hours now and I am both exhausted and bored.A knock on the door attracts our attention and I hope against all
CAYDEN"Jace!" I yelled as I rummaged through my office in search of a particular document. "Jace!"Jace calmly walked in on my second call with his usual expressionless face. "You know, you could easily call me through the mind link. You didn't have to yell.""I do what I want," I retorted as I continued to rummage through my shelves while Jace stood there calmly, watching me.After a few minutes of fruitless effort, I turned to look at him. "Well?" I said with annoyance in my eyes. "Help me out, will you?!""You still haven't told me what you are searching for, Alpha?" He replied calmly. "I can't find it if I don't know it.""The contract we drew up with the Nightwalker Pack. I want that contract," I replied as I continued to check through numerous files and documents."May I ask why?" I looked up at him again, this time my annoyance turning into anger."No, you may not! Just fucking find it!""That's why I said you could have just asked me through the mind link instead of going
CAYDENJace's words bit deep. All I could do was stare at my Beta as he quite calmly admonished me for my foolish mistakes. I had no words for him as I stared at my table, unable to even look at his face."Well, who am I to chastise you," he shrugged. "I don't know what it's like to be Alpha and I've never ruled a pack. You probably were desperate at the time and I can understand that desperate times call for desperate solutions.""Jace," I sighed after a few seconds of silence between us. "What do I do to get out of this mess?"He didn't reply for a few minutes before taking a deep breath."Solve it."I finally got the courage to look up at him."What?" "First of all, get that weird sorry look off your face," he said. "An Alpha must never falter. You know that better than I do."I continued to stare at him, puzzled."I've never been in your situation before because I've never had to kill a woman I impregnated, so I don't have a set path I could advise you to follow," he continued. "
yCAYDENI tapped my fingers restlessly on my table as I sat at on my office. The atmosphere is quite relaxing with rays of sunlight illuminating the office through the window and a tranquil silence that would easily put anyone to sleep.Yet, I was restless.The door opened and Alex walked in distractedly as he eyes were glued to a few papers in his hand."Good day, Alpha," he greeted, still distracted. "You called for me.""Yeah," I nodded. "Take a seat."He promptly obeyed but still didn't look up from his papers. They seem to have him entranced."Eyes up ahead, Jace," I said as I tapped louder on the table to get his attention.He finally looked up at me with a question in his eyes, obviously displeased for having to look up from whatever he is reading."What do you have there?" I asked out of curiosity."Documents of our expenditure and a few other observations the scouts and administrators reported about the pack. Apparently, we might have neglected quite a bit in the past year."
MARCYThe atmosphere was tense in my office. I was on high alert and I scanned my surroundings carefully for any sign of his invisible minions. He knew they couldn't escape my eye so he brought none. Even still, I wasn't exactly at peace around him.There was something inherently wrong about his entire presence. Except for the obvious scent of death surrounding him, I can feel there was something else but can't quite place my hand on it.I don't want to admit it but he gives me the chills."A warning, huh?" I asked coldly as I tapped my fingers on my desk. "Are you gonna threaten me in my own pack?""I wouldn't be dumb enough to do that, would I?" He chuckled. "I'm hoping not," I replied."So, if I do warn or threaten you," he said as he leaned forward. "It's because I am confident that I can."I stared at him for a few minutes and leaned forward as well."Then you must be the most foolish being on earth, whatever you are."He chuckled for a bit and then leaned back."I like you, Al