Katharine hugged her stuffed bear closely to her chest. Tears pooled in the corner of her eyes. I hated knowing that I was the cause of her distress. She did not deserve such an absent mother. No child ever did. But one day when she is queen, she would understand all that I had sacrificed for her.
"Mommy, don't go." The little girl pleaded and stepped closer to me. Squatting down, I pulled her into my arms. Her body shook with a sob. Small. Fragile. If the war spilled into our home, I would never forgive myself. She deserved more than this, by far, but war was an ugly thing.
"I'm sorry my princess, but mommy has to go make everyone safe, okay?" I tried to make her understand. She might have been young, but she understood things far better than most people could. But this was no one of those things. My heart ached at her saddened face. This was horrible. This was the reason I couldn't come back as often as she wanted. Leaving her every time just became worse and worse
I stormed into the French castle, letting the double doors boom behind me. Staff scrambled in my wake, sensing the murder within my demeanour. "Someone get me a fucking whiskey!" I roared and strutted toward my office. By Now, Amelia would have stocked the room with all the essentials. Battle plans. Troop movements. Weapon developments. She was reliant in that sort of way. Shaking my head, I ambled to the office doors. There was an uninvited guest at one of my rallies. An Alpha, no less. If we hadn't intercepted him as soon as we did, fuck knows what could have happened. I growled again, quickening my pace to the office. "Luciana, calm down." Sophie pleaded from behind me, trying to keep pace with me. Safety was of utmost importance to me. Not just the safety of my family, but of everyone and that safety was breached today. Who had le
The house was silent when I stepped out of my office again. The Alpha's necklace dangled from my neck, a cold reminder of what I had threatened to do to him. After all, I owed him nothing but the brutality that he got. To come into my territory and threaten me would be his last shitty decision. Mikaela was taken and father had sent an Alpha to tell me this. War wasn't pretty, but dragging innocents into it was far beyond wicked. My wife was taken. My daughter. I would show no mercy in my pursuit of getting them to my side again. If even one hair is out of place when I do get them back, father was going to wish he had never procreated. To take my necklace from me was one thing, to take my wife and daughter was another. No mercy would ever be shown to him, blood be damned. They had my wife. They had my daughter. Our security's negligence would not go unpunished. We had a mole within our walls and that could lead to even more lives lost. That was our first priority. To find who
Julian had busied himself with paperwork whilst I sprawled out on the chaise, book in hand. For once my skills in deceit and cunning weren't needed. He had taken the reigns firmly in hand. Frankly, that suited me just fine. I was too busy worrying about Mikaela and Katharine anyway. Mikaela was carrying our second child, a boy, from what Julian had told me. That made me feel even worse. The last time we were expecting a child, I was in the hands of my father. History was repeating itself and it clawed at my heart to know my delicate wife was away from us in her condition. Had she started to prepare for the birth? To have another child on her arm? I flung myself deeper into my book, refusing to acknowledge the dread settling in my stomach. The Valkyrie was sent out early this morning to scout the area. No intruders would be allowed even close to our borders. Security was doubled and Sebastian hovered closer to Julian than ever before. Although Julian knew that I was not the s
When I was little, my father had wanted me to be mated to an Alpha. For obvious reasons. He had craved power my entire life long. Never being sated by just having the largest pack in South Africa. After a while, he had laid was to several other packs within the country, absorbing their members into our own pack. Father had never stopped pressing the issue of my mating with another Alpha. One, hopefully, from a larger and foreign pack. I would be the prized heifer he gave away in return for more power and a larger army. I had not only disappointed him but enraged him with my mating to Julian and Mikaela. He said he wanted the best for me, but I always knew he wanted what was best for himself. Change was a painful process, one he had refused to go through for as long as I could remember. Then he had realized what I would become. His worst fear. Mating with an Alpha was my father's dream, never my own. Now here I stood, fulfilling my father's wishes without me even realizing it
"We can't have him around the house! It's too dangerous! What if he runs off? Tells your father where we are? What we are doing? Fuck knows if he even wants you as his mate for the right reasons." Julian hollered and slammed my bedrooms door closed behind him. Rays of light danced through the sheer curtains, casting a halo around him as I turned around."What do you want us to do? Kill him? What if I lose my last chance at happiness? Or worse, lose my mind all together? You told me to do this. Made me believe it was the best decision. Well hell, we hadn't even asked him what he wanted! Now that you saw what he is like, now you don't want this anymore. Did you think it was going to be sunshine and roses the entire time?" I asked him and sat down on the edge of my bed. Today had gone down the drain faster than I had thought it would and I hated myself for it. I should have stopped what I was doing and assess what could happen afterwards. Now Julian wanted to kill Caspian all to
Even in a distant land, I found the moon to be my home. A constant reminder of where I came from and who I was. What blood still ran through my veins. Even if I found the wolves to be profoundly backwards, they were still, in essence, my people. Children of the moon goddess and all the glory that entailed her name. Being surrounded by war and violence brought out a new misery within me. So many people's blood stained my hands. All in the name of a better future. Honestly, I was no better than the humans. No better than the wolves who followed my father. Families were torn apart. Brothers. Sisters. Mother and fathers. All because some old woman had proclaimed it the righteous path. It was a never ending road, but one that would bring about peace. Hopefully.The humans spilt blood in the name of religion. I spilt blood in the name of equality and diversity. Everyone who fell beneath me were my pawns, even if they had families. During battle, I couldn't remind myself of that fac
Sophie lunged forward, teeth bared in a snarl. Sonja quickly side stepped her, grabbing her by the back of her uniform. But I knew this trick, taught it to her myself. Twist. Turn. Throw out your leg. Sonja fell to the floor as Sophie hit her hard. Before Sonja could recover, a knife was to her throat. Sophie looked up to me for approval and I smiled in reply. Sonja might have been my right hand, but Sophie was my sword. The rest my shield. I woke up this morning satisfied and happy next to Julian, but with a growing sense of urgency in my mind. Mikaela was still gone and Caspian expected more from me than I could give him. So I set about gathering the Valkyrie before dawn to train. A good training session would ease the tension within my shoulders. Besides, if I left them to their own vices, no one would train. "Excellent." I praised Sophie, crossing my arms over my chest. She had taken everything I had taught her and built upon it. Improved it with the years. She w
We had ended training after Caspian and I had fought. Everyone was confused as to what had transpired between us. The Valkyrie had demanded answers the moment we got into the house, but I had needed time to sort out my thoughts. Process what had taken place.Caspian had decided to stay and frankly, that was a relief on some level. Yet I knew that was the easy part. Julian wouldn't take kindly to a man constantly around me, whether that man was my mate or not. We still barely knew him and I already had two mates. Throw in another Alpha male and mating hormones and we were doomed. The three of us would have to sit down and talk about ground rules. Boundaries. But all of those tasks could wait until after Mikaela was back in our midst. For now, we needed as much information from Caspian as possible. To know what my father was planning gave us a great advantage.I was headed towards the bathroom for a shower when Caspian caught up to me. His face was red and the wound on h
Caspian's Point of View People spoke in hushed whispers before me, waiting with bated breath for the new queen to arrive. They were our new court. Noble houses we had formed in order to keep the peace and prosperity. Wolves, humans and vampires alike. Julian had insisted we make houses for the humans as well, equality being his main concern. Luciana had insisted that if those houses were to be made, they had to come from war heroes, instead of old and greedy politicians. I chosen her side. Everyone was dressed to the maximum, with jewels flashing in the well lit hall. They all anticipated the arrival of their new queen, finally made public in an orderly fashion. Yet the queen wasn't here yet. Mikaela stood to my right. Julian sat in his throne beside her. The throne beside me stood empty and waiting. This was where history would be made. We were on the cusp of a new age and everyone knew it. Finally, the monsters from their dreams had come to light,
Three years laterRoyals from all across the world had started settling into the palace. Flowers dripped from every surface around me as we welcomed the stuffy nobles. Staff members had prepared over a hundred rooms for this occasion. A hundred rooms all occupied by several members of our court. Several villas were also prepared deeper into the property for larger families.The war had finally come to and end. Brought about by my own hands and the hands of the ones closest to me. No one was more overjoyed than Sophie at the prospect of finally being able to settle down. We had finally gotten the incredible news last year that Ezekiel was indeed Sophie's mate, but they couldn't complete the ritual, as we were constantly away on missions. So we were finally granted a repieve from all the blood shed.A new treaty was signed a few months ago, declaring peace amongst all who had lost so much in this war. Peace. A powerful word that felt so fragile at
One Year Later Rain pelted the sides of the palace. December rain had come in full swing this year, leaving no stone dry. South African weather was unpredictable in that way. One moment there would be sweltering heat, the next, a flood could be washing away your trampoline in the back yard. We wouldn't have it any other way. To be back in our home was a blissful experience, but to know the next Valentine was on his way was even better. Mikaela was at the end of her pregnancy and we expected her to give birth any day now. Her belly stretched far out in front of her. Julian and Caspian couldn't keep their hands off of the growing bump the entire pregnancy long. Mikaela had resorted to swatting their hands away in an effort to maintain her personal space. Alas, that still wasn't enough. The Valkyrie had gone back to the battlefield only a few weeks ago, their vacations cut short by the growing threat of the humans. Sonja endured persistent peste
Adrian was in the middle of the clearing, scowl deeply imbedded on his face. Everyone else was coated in blood by now, their weapons flying through the air, but he just watched in amazement. I caught the look of madness within his eyes when our eyes met. Trust him to be vain, even in battle. Too self-righteous to even fight his own battles. As if he was a god. The insanity of it all finally settled into my bones. We had sent thousands to their death. Thousands more would follow if I let him walk away from this. This needed to end here. End now. We couldn't call this a battlefield, it was more a massacre. His last resting place. "I wondered how long it would take you to kill Jasper." My father murmured and turned to face me. No remorse was evident. He couldn't see how mad he was. How insane all of this was. This had started off as a simple act of defiance on my part and had ended with both sides losing more than was necessary. Prophecy or not, I knew this was how it was all s
The trodding of feet soon turned to an echo as I sped up. Since the transition, my powers throbbed beneath my skin. Pulsing like a live wire. They couldn't keep up, even if they wanted to. Nothing would stand in the way of what I had to do, not even my mates. All was fair in love and war. Claiming my father's life was something only I was able to do. Something that needed to be done since the first day he had splayed me open. The direction was clear within my mind. A field filled with ant nests slowly came to view. Just within the opposite tree line, an army of men stood. No more than fifty people in total, but still more than I could handle all at once. A few had guns. The other held knives and bows in hand. They wouldn't know what hit them if I caught them off guard. Upon my approach, a scout yelled out to my father, standing at the lead of his group. Lines littered his face that weren't once there. Mother stood a ways back, her eyes never finding mine. The woman w
Caspian's Point of ViewLuciana had stormed off, leaving a bitter taste in the air. You could cut the tension with a sword and still struggle to push the blade through. Sophie hadn't taken well to the outburst, cusses flying from her lips. Claire had wanted nothing more than to chase Luciana as she went, but I had stopped her, my hand clamping down around her arm.Luciana needed to be alone at the moment. Too many demons flew about within her mind and someone trying to pry them from her now would do more damage than just leaving her be. Facing her father had always been her end goal. The one monster she had to overcome before she was able to truly be free."What the fuck is her problem all of a sudden?" Reverie growled from next to Emory. All eyes had turned to face me. Some pierced my soul and I found myself unable to look them all head on. Only Sonja looked somewhat remorseful. She, too, understood what was eating at Luciana. From what I had g
The day before I faced my father felt like any day other day. Julian had asked for all the staff back. Even the Valkyrie had obeyed his orders and returned without a silent complaint. No questions were asked about my sudden reappearance from the staff. But the Valkyrie was another question entirely. Julian had given them a run down of the situation as best he could, without revealing our daughter. We hadn't yet told them of Katharine. Didn't intend to until it was absolutely necessary. No one liked witches and I would do anything to protect my daughter. Her state of mind was extremely important to me, and witches deteriorated much faster, mentally, than any other species on the planet. Staff members dove through the house, cleaning away the last remnants of my second birth. One as a hybrid. Buckets of red were being thrown down drains, the last time I had noticed them cleaning. The Valkyrie had decided to train for the day and I had decided that I was desperately out
I didn't know where I was going, only that I had to get out of the house as fast as possible. The air inside had suffocated me for far too long. Katharine's hopeful face kept popping into my mind's eye and I couldn't ignore it for much longer. The burning in my chest. The fear of losing everything and everyone around me. Walls of iron wrapped around my heart and squeezed. Knees buckled as I saw the smile on my daughter's face. I had never feared death before. never needed to, until I had died. Until I had left behind everyone I had ever loved. Katharine had brought me back, but would she be able to when my entrails were outside of my body. Or my head was metres away from my body? Death had never felt as close as it had only a few hours ago. But I was to face it again in two days. Two days I could be spending with my family, happy and safely. The only thing was, part of my family was missing until I faced death again. Mikaela would be a stranger to me once we reunited, but sh
"Mommy!" Katharine squealed as she dashed towards me. Chestnut hair trailed behind her in waves. The girl had dressed herself and it was evident. Sneakers closed around her feet whilst she donned a bright green dress. Yet the smile on her face was contagious, leaking onto my own lips as she drew closer. Somehow she had grown tremendously since I had last seen her. Even her eyes held a certain intelligence within them. As if she was more aware of the world than even I was. That was what it meant to be a witch. Intune with the world, whether she wanted to be or not. "Baby girl!" I squealed and bent down a little to grab her in my arms. Her tiny body was fragile beneath my new found strength. Every muscle beneath her dress tensed within my arms, then melted into nothingness. The feeling of having her in my arms kicked in, sending tears rolling down my face. Thick and hot. When was the last time I had held her like this? When was the last time I had bathed in her presence? My li