They hop cautiously through the thick forest, eyes darting to scan every shadow and movement. It felt as though they were in motion for hours, and the evasive lock was still hidden from view."Where is it? It's supposed to be here," Maxine grumbled grudgingly, so annoyed as her eyes turned round.Alph's senses, sharp and alert, suddenly picked up something: a subtle shift in the air, a presence behind them that made his instincts bristle."Stop. Don't move." Alph's voice cut through the tension, low and commanding.Maxine froze in place, her eyes darting to him. "Why? What's wrong?”"There's something wrong with this place," Alph replied as he surveyed the ground with a suspicious eye. Before he could trace what it was, he felt something move under his feet. The earth beneath Maxine started to crack."Trap! Move!" Alph shouted. Just as the earth gave way beneath her, he plunged forward, pushing Maxine out of harm's way, only to fall into the crevice himself."Alph!" Maxine exclaimed,
"I didn't know we would get it earlier than I expected," Alph's voice suddenly pierced through her thoughts, snapping her back to the present.Maxine looked in surprise at his remark, but a small smile crept onto her face. "Yeah, we were lucky," she said, trying to shake off a little unease that had grown inside them since their tumble.Alph's eyes flickered to her, and for a second longer than necessary, she felt his gaze linger. "I have never seen you smile like that since you came back," he said seriously. "But yeah, it suits you better.”His praise caught her off guard, and the smile that came so readily now quickly fled her face. **Why should she feel embarrassed whenever Alph complimented her?** Maxine felt her cheeks grow warm again, and she quickly looked away, feigning interest in their surroundings. **He always managed to make things complicated somehow, didn't he?**She cleared her throat in a bid to rid herself of the strange, eerie sensation his words had left her with. B
She stumbled through thick undergrowth, the snapping of branches beneath her feet. Her heart raced against her chest; every beat was a reminder of a mission Leo had forced her into. The damp smell of earth filled her nostrils as she struggled to breathe, her mind clouded in fear."Brother, please, I can't do this!”She repeated the words in her head over and over, but they lost their power. She said them loud enough and begged for mercy, but Leo just wouldn't listen. He never listened.Leo was right behind her, his heavy footfalls mirroring hers, while his breaths came in short quips. He was furious, and when Leo got that angry, there was just no reason with him. "Fuck, why do I have a weak sister like you?" His voice was sharp, cutting contemptuously. "I'm giving you a chance to prove yourself to Dad, but you keep screwing it up. Are you that into Maxine, huh?"“N-no." Sarah stammered, choked by her fear. "I just don't want to do it.""Enough of your acting skills!" Leo shouted, grab
Maxine P.O.VThe ringing of the phone cut through the silent room and pulled me out of my thoughts. I reached for the screen, seeing my mother's name glowing on the display. A part of me wanted to avoid it, not to be put back into the tension in my life right now, but I could not do that to her. Swiping to answer, I listened as my mom's all-too-familiar voice greeted me so warmly, "Hello, Maxine,”A small smile tugged my lips despite the storm in my chest. "Mom, how are you?" I replied softly."I'm fine, hon. How does it go there?”I turned to Alph, who lay still sleeping. The gentle rise and fall of his chest were the only movements in the room. His back was to me; it usually was. The sight of him always stirred something in me, something stirring I could not name exactly. Complicated now, after everything that happened."Things are good, Mom. Nothing to be concerned about."Good, good," she said, her voice full of relief. "How's your brother? Alph?"I hesitated, looking at him again
Ador P.O.VThe screen flickered, casting the nearly darkened room in a dim light. My eyes were glued to the news report unfolding before me. A reporter who was still visibly in shock retold the horror events of the night: three college students were found in the woods, bloodied and delirious, with each bearing a jagged bite mark."Three students have been admitted to the hospital in a vicious attack, with suspicion that it could be a wild animal. The authorities are still in search of the creature responsible; however, the students remain in a critical condition. Strange patterns of bites have baffled experts-”I hit pause on the video, leaning closer to the footage of the bite marks. My gut coiled as I realized the distinctive punctures. These weren't random. They were calculated. Deliberate. There was only one kind of being that could make a mark like this.“This isn't right," I growled as my jaw tightened with growing anger. A year of uneasy silence shattered in one moment. I balle
Maxine P.O.V"I told you not to help me earlier." My voice was sharp as I opened the door to our room, stepping inside without waiting for him to respond. The adrenaline from the Annual Hunt was still coursing through my veins, but it wasn't just the hunt that had me on edge-it was *him*. Again."You behave like a child, Maxine. Are we not a team?" Alph followed close on his heels, his tone soft yet firm.I spun around to him, anger busting inside me. "No, we are not a team if you keep babying me. You keep rescuing me, and that is just not right. I did not come here to be rescued every five minutes by you. I came here to learn. To grow.”His brows furrowed, the confident air around him tightening. "I know you're strong, but it was just a little help. Don't make a big deal out of it."I slapped my forehead in disbelief. "*A little help?* You stepped in again when I didn't ask you to. It's like you don't trust me to handle things on my own.He stared at me, his silence slicing through t
"Why are we leaving?" Maxine whispered, her voice heavy with confusion, silent and still in the shadows as they crept towards the back gate. It was 3 a.m., and the night lay still. The guards weren't patrolling the estate this time of night, and the silence around them only seemed to include the weight that hung above.“Shh! We have to be silent," Trevor said, his head flicking round over one shoulder. His usual lightness and vivacity gave way to a weightiness, an importance which unnerved Maxine. Urgency streamed through his very movement, every tensing step of his body.“But tell me why first," Maxine insisted, her frustration evident. She wasn't one to blindly follow without understanding what was happening, especially in the dead of night with no explanation.Alph walked ahead and half-turned, his gaze catching hers in the dim light of the moon. "Just follow me, Maxine," he said, his voice steady but carrying an edge that told Maxine there was no room for argument.Maxine puckered
Alpha Ador P.O.VTension was palpable, as Relon walked confidently towards us, all his features unreadable yet serious. Time seemed to slow in the flash of an instant, and visions danced inside my head-the day he left without a word-the day he saw me talking to Miranda at that coffee shop. I have never seen him that way before. The coldness he put into his silence and Miranda's fury said it all.I would never have pegged him to return.Relon was my beta for some years. The guy made a great friend and confidant, always standing on my side whenever I needed him. He was loyal, dependable, and sharp-- a true leader in my absence. But on the day he left, I came to realize that there was more to him that I didn't know, or at least, the extent of his connection with Miranda. She and I had quite the complicated history, and in many ways, Relon was caught right in the middle of it all without my even realizing it. Now, here he stood before me, as if burdened with the weight of the world upon h
Thirteen Years Later…."Maxine, your daughter was found in the woods," the messenger said his voice quivering in shock and disbelief. "It's not confirmed yet, but the healer said her blood matches yours. It is … from your bloodline."Maxine froze, the aching ache of longing in her chest now replaced by the flicker of hope that she hadn't felt for years. She had scoured the earth for Hannah, year after year, refusing to let go of hope. The pack continued to move forward, living and thriving, but for Maxine, her heart was suspended in time. Since Hannah was taken from her by Leo, nothing in her life had held the promise of joy ever again.Rededicating herself, Maxine sped off to the healer's chambers. As she entered, her breath caught in her throat. There lay, on the bed, a young woman who resembled she had been taken from the very pages of Maxine's memory—a young Hadzen, her son, at the age that had passed since his own existence. This young woman was carrying his features that so clos
Hannah P.O.V.It was going to be perfect. Tonight. I wore my white dress. Wildflowers clutched in my hand. The heartbeats in my chest are not from fear but with excitement. It's going to be the beginning of our new life. Now he stood before me at the altar, his face alight with a radiant smile as he looked out at me as if I were his entire world, the small circle of his family smiling warmly to engulf me in a feeling of belonging that, up to now, I had never known."Victor," I panted, barely above a whisper. This was it. We were here finally, about to promise our lives to each other. Away from the craziness, away from the world of packs and politics, we had found a haven within the humans. We could just. exist. Love. Grow.But I could take only one step in his direction when a sound pierced the stillness, like a knife. A heavy thud of paws on earth. My body tensed, my instincts screaming at me. I knew that sound. Wolves.They descended upon us before I even had time to react.The cere
Days slipped by, going to waste and slipping past one another in that little village where Lenor and her family dwelled. Hannah could see reason in her new life; she curled up in their little house in the warm spots and clutched a blanket she had spotted the first night there - light in scent with a fragrant smell of lavender - which Lenor brought home those aspects of comfort after years of love and care.In those early days, her quiet sobs filled the home, breaking the silence every morning and night. Only Victor, the ten-year-old boy who found her by the riverbank, could sometimes pull her out of her sadness." Hadzen…," she would whisper the name of her brother, softly, as if a fragile yet determined voice; as if saying it may somehow bring him closer: "Hadzen… "Victor would sit there, looking at her with a tearful light of sadness and determination in his eyes. He didn't understand the depth of her pain but could see how much she was hurting, and he wanted to help. After digging
"Hadzen!"The hysterical voice echoed through the night as Hadzen leapt out of bed his heart pounding. He could hardly see the figure in the darkness on the balcony but he knew he wouldn't mistake that shriek."Hannah!" he yelled jumping to his feet as his twin sister's body was dragged away by a tall, dark figure.Looking over his shoulder, he flashed Hadzen a derisive smile before leaping over the balcony. "Catch you later, Hadzen."He plunged into darkness with Hannah's screams."HANNAH!" Hadzen shouted, sprinting toward the balcony-but she was already gone."Hadzen! Wake up!" his mother cried in a panic, shaking him out of dazed shock.Hadzen blinked, dazed. To his left was his mom, Maxine, crying, her face streaked with tears, scared. His father, Alph, paced around the room, scanning everywhere, up and down."Where's Hannah?" Hadzen stuttered his words, his voice thick with panic. He looked to the bedside he shared with Hannah; she was gone."M-mom. she was here, right next to me
Five years had passed since then, and the children's laughter was again louder, as Hannah and Hadzen played with their cousin Dylan under the great oak tree in the courtyard of their estate, a warm afternoon spent in sheer energy as the three children ran round the great oak tree in the garden."Hannah! Slow up, wait for me!" he yelled as he chased after her as she plunged toward the tree. He had just been bumped by Tylan, their family friend, and was laughing as he tried to catch up with Hannah who always seemed faster."Catch me if you can, Dylan!" she laughed as her brown curls bounced and she climbed higher into the branches of the tree.Hadzen sat on a nearby bench, with a book in his lap, reading and looked up from his story with a frown. "Hey, don't be so noisy!" he said sternly.Hannah stopped half-way up the tree, looked down to Dylan who stood under, panting. The two looked at each other, their mischievous grins even as they understood each other without words — this was som
Eight months had passed since the arrival of her twins, Hannah and Hadzen, and the house was full of baby laughter and gentle cooing. Sunbeams streamed through the windows as she sat on the floor playing with Hannah cradled in her arms. "Dada, tell him Dada," Maxine said, nodding towards Alph, who was sitting nearby cuddling their son Hadzen.Hannah's look remained steady, directed up at Alph as her mouth worked on the syllables with a visible effort. "Da-ah," she said, her voice unstable but clear enough to send a shiver down Maxine's spine.Maxine opened her eyes widely in amazement. "Oh my gosh! You spoke!" she squealed, hugging Hannah closer. "That is my baby girl, such a rapid learner!Not to be outdone, Alph grinned and held Hadzen aloft in the air, bouncing him lightly. "Okay, little man, let's show your mom what you've got. Can you say 'Ma-ma'?"`Hadzen was shrieking with laughter as Alph twirled him around, his chubby little hands reaching up toward his dad. Though no words
There she lay in the bed, her body now enervated but the spirit of her high and big. She could hear the softly crying sounds of her newborns-the twin babies that she had fought hard to bring into this world. They were perfect, tiny, with so much life within them. One boy, one girl. She already decided on the names: Hannah and Hadzen. And as she looked at them there, all rolled up in their cradles, they all seemed like such ordinary babies. Their innocence filled the room, and it was quite impossible to believe that so much danger still surrounded them.Her heart hurts to love and to worry for them. She was a mother now, and truly, she wanted to be able to protect them. However, at the back of her mind is the warning her mother had given her: the curse of the eclipse essence. It still lingers over her, over her family. She needed to know the truth.Coreen, her stepsister, stood in the same room with her maids. She had come to visit as soon as she heard about the birth, but Maxine could
Miranda paced back and forth in the dimly lit room, her heart racing as she tried to keep her tears from falling. The weight of her decision was suffocating, and her chest tightened with every step she took. She glanced at Erick, her oldest and closest confidant, hoping he might have some way to ease the unbearable pain in her heart. But his face was set, his eyes focused."You know what will happen!" Miranda snapped, her voice breaking under the pressure. "I already told you that! This isn’t just some story or legend. It’s real, Erick."Erick leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. "I know, Miranda, I know. But we have to do it anyway. We don’t have many options left.""What options?" Miranda's voice was laced with frustration as she threw her hands into the air. "What way out do you think we have? I don’t want to lose Maxine! She’s the only one I have left." Her voice faltered as her fear took hold. "You know how dangerous it is to have the eclipse essence in one bloodline. I
Maxine poured milk into a glass, watching it swirl before handing it to Coreen. She looked at her sister’s swollen belly, trying to imagine what it would be like to hold her own child in her arms.“So, you and Trevor?” Maxine asked, raising an eyebrow as she leaned against the counter.Coreen grinned, placing a hand on her round stomach. “I didn’t know I’d fall for that jerk, either,” she admitted with a laugh. “But he’s hot, I’ll give him that.”They both burst into laughter, the sound filling the small kitchen. It felt good to share a moment of levity, especially given how serious everything had become lately.“How many months now?” Maxine asked, her gaze flickering to Coreen’s belly as she took a sip from her own glass.“Eight,” Coreen replied, her voice casual despite the significance. “It all started after that one wild night, and well… it just kept going from there.”Maxine shook her head, smiling. “So, you’re about a month ahead of me, huh? You always were a bit ahead of the ga