Orion stirred as the first streaks of morning light poured in through the open window that Helena had forgotten to close.Her scent, covering evry inch of the room and now him made him purr, which caused the bed to tremble and ushered the witch into consciousness."Morning," he mumbled drowsily, his large hand gently kneading at her waist, as if he needed extra reassurance that she really was there."Good morning," Helena responded with a small huff, patting him on his back and freezing when her hand came into contact with his naked flesh."Um...""You're like a drug," Orion whispered, drawing a shudder from the brunette as he began pressing soft kisses into her skin. "I haven't slept as well as I do with you since I was a pup.""I'm happy to be of service, really, but your..."She made a small sound when he suddenly draped himself over her, his arms bracketing her head to keep his weight off, and then began rubbing his cheek against hers with a soft purr."T-This is too intimate. We
The night sky was filled with screams and cries for help, heart-wrenching sounds that would move even the cruellest of people except the ones causing it.Helena hung limply in the hands of her captors, her head swaying as blood dripped down her swollen and bruised face.Her feet dragged against the rough earth, pulling on grasses and scraping her delicate skin on rocks but the two men holding her were unbothered by her injuries. She was in more pain than she had ever experienced but the anguished screams of her people numbed her of it as she silently wept for them. The shackles that had been placed around her neck, wrists and ankles, dug painfully into her flesh, the sharp edges of it cutting her skin and creating large wounds. Helena knew that if she managed to escape and live to see another day, she would leave with horrifying scars that she would have to carry for the rest of her life.But she did not want to live because she deserved to die with her people in the land they had a
Bells. Helena could hear the soft and melodious ring of bells surrounding her like a warm blanket.They reminded her of her dear mother. The joyful woman who had loved tiny bells and always had a smile on her face, even when her sickness had gripped her and left her a shell of the person she was.Helena felt light and weightless, and the soft jingling of the bells added to the heady feeling. She struggled to open her eyes but it felt like they were glued shut so she gave up, choosing to enjoy the warm music.~Wake up, Helena~ She frowned and shook her head. For some reason, she felt dread at the thought of waking up but she could not understand why.~You have to, child. Everything depends on you waking up~"No." The bells stopped ringing and Helena was surrounded by a suffocating silence. Her eyelids grew lighter and she was finally able to peel them open.She was in a kingdom of white fluffy clouds that stretched as far as the eye could see. Helena slowly sat up, unaccustomed to ho
Her family's home was just like she remembered it and she looked around with a mixture of awe and sorrow. Soft blue and gold colours surrounded her and everything had a worn and lived-in feel to it, something she had missed while living with Rigel, who enjoyed new and impersonal designs.Helena thought back to when Rigel had presented as her mate and how eager she had been to pack up and run away from her people and family. Looking back, she had been selfish and self-absorbed, too caught up in her fantasies of a new life, to see how her avoidance and eagerness to leave had affected her sweet Father and hotheaded Brother. Charon hated Rigel the moment they met and had been against her leaving with him but Helena had fought back, seeing her older brother as an enemy she chose to ignore. Now, she knew better and will not make the same mistake twice.She walked into the large kitchen that her Father took much pride in and was greeted with the sight of him standing in front of the stove
The next morning, after her father and brother had left to carry out their duties, Helena was left to herself in their quiet home.She spent most of her morning exploring the home that had become a stranger after how long she had been away from it. Everything remained the same yet it all seemed so different to the woman who had defied time and death. The scratches and dents on the floorboards from her brother's younger days, when he could not control his wolf, were present and the smell of lavender that had filled the air after her mother's passing washed over her in a nostalgic, calming wave.She walked down the hallway that led to the bedrooms and stopped in front of a plain door with a name carved on it. 'Cassandra'. It read and she carefully traced the indent with trembling fingers. A memory of the shattered door lying among the rubble of her home flashed in front of her eyes and she took a deep shuddering breath to calm herself."You're not there anymore," she whispered as she
"Helena stirred the contents of the pot, simmering on the stove, robotically. Her trembling hands and overall shaky countenance had made it difficult to get everything done, as fast as she would have liked but she powered through and prepared a small feast for dinner."You're not evil," she whispered with a wide-eyed stare as she placed the lid on the pot and moved away from the stove. "It's not evil." She whispered again as she took a seat on one of the chairs and held her trembling hands out in front of her.Helena clenched her hands into tight fists and opened them back up. She stared down at the small purple mist that slowly poured out from the centre of her palm and her eyes grew moist."It's a part of you," she sobbed as she held her hands up to her face and allowed the mist to pour over her."Are you alright?" Came her brother's voice causing her to startle as she turned to stare at him, tears streaming down her cheeks."I'm..."A flash of purple light filled the kitchen and t
"Control your breathing," Tristan whispered as he circled Helena's form with slow, steady steps."You are the master of your mind, body and emotions." He recited in a soothing whisper that did little to calm the purple-eyed woman trembling uncontrollably."I don't know how much longer I can do this." She whispered with a breathless huff, sweat trailing down her tense and achy muscles, and falling in little drops to the pavement below her.Tristan stopped walking and stood in front of her, giving an upside-down Helena a perfect view of his large, bare feet."Your magic is inside you, Helena." He informed her as he dropped to a crouch and placed a palm on her trembling abdomen. "To control something as uncontrollable as your power you need to push your body to the limit.""I know... I just..." She tipped over and began falling towards him, her weak arms unable to hold her body up.Helena relaxed as he easily caught her and spun her body so she was standing upright and leaning against him
Helena levitated the large fallen tree out of the road and rested it to the side, the gathered workers looking on with a mix of awe and disbelief.In the few days she had been using her powers to help get the pack and its surroundings ready for their guests, she has been given fearful, bewildered and fascinated stares by her people.Her last life had taught her the wide range of reactions her powers elicited, so she had prepared herself for the worst when her father suggested that she use her powers for simple but focus demanding chores, to help her control it better."Last night's storm was a beast but it's no match for our resident witch, eh?" Joked the man overseeing today's work with a playful nudge that nearly sent Helena crashing to the ground.She smiled with a small wince, thankful that they had all gotten to the stage where they could laugh about her powers (though there were still a handful of people who refused to do much as make skin contact with her)."This is the last of
Orion stirred as the first streaks of morning light poured in through the open window that Helena had forgotten to close.Her scent, covering evry inch of the room and now him made him purr, which caused the bed to tremble and ushered the witch into consciousness."Morning," he mumbled drowsily, his large hand gently kneading at her waist, as if he needed extra reassurance that she really was there."Good morning," Helena responded with a small huff, patting him on his back and freezing when her hand came into contact with his naked flesh."Um...""You're like a drug," Orion whispered, drawing a shudder from the brunette as he began pressing soft kisses into her skin. "I haven't slept as well as I do with you since I was a pup.""I'm happy to be of service, really, but your..."She made a small sound when he suddenly draped himself over her, his arms bracketing her head to keep his weight off, and then began rubbing his cheek against hers with a soft purr."T-This is too intimate. We
Rigel had always been a clumsy, straight-to-the-point writer, and while that was good for a quick message during battle, it made a stressful affair for Helena as she tried to decipher his many letters for clues."What's your obsession with this Alpha, anyway?" Charon complained as he dropped the letter he had just finished pouring over on top of the growing pile to the side."I'm not obsessed," she corrected, distractedly, brows furrowed as she studied every word for a double meaning. "I just think he's suspicious and needs to be monitored closely."Charon's responding silence was worth a hundred words and Helena glanced up at her brother's face, eyes narrowing at the teasing smile on his lips."What?" She hissed, defensively, straightening up from her bend to face him."You like him," he declared in a sing-song voice and burst into hysterical laughter."Over my dead, rotting body," Helena rebuked with a disgusted curl of her lips."Oh my Goddess," he gasped, wiping the tears from the
Fury bubbled in Helena's gut as she flung open the doors to the room the meeting was taking place, her magic causing the air around her to crackle."Wh-, What is the meaning of this?" Stuttered one of the gathered Weres, as he tried and failed, by his wide-eye stare, to appear unaffected by her presence.Helena prowled deeper in, ignoring his question, the sound of her soles tapping against the wooden floorboards echoing in the quiet room.Purple eyes surveyed everyone present, each person squirming as her piercing gaze roamed over them until her eyes landed on her chosen mate."Orion," she called out in a deceptively calm voice, her head cocking to the side, "What's going on?""My council and some of the elders in my pack are not pleased with our mateship. They summoned me to suggest ways to rectify this," he turned to one woman in particular, eyes pinning her tense form in place, "mistake.""Alpha Orion," exclaimed another man standing next to him, his eyes wide in aghast.Orion str
Helena was left on her own when they stepped into the house. Orion being led away by one of his stone-faced men.She watched him disappear out of sight then sighed, deeply, feeling frustrated by how everything was going.When she had first travelled back in time, Helena had not given much thought to what could go wrong, having assumed that the goddess would create a straightforward path and she would get her revenge.But now, it was clear that there was no guarantee of her success and it left her feeling insecure and worst of all, frightened.If, in her time here, she had accomplished nothing and already lost all of her motivation, then maybe she was the failure people often tagged her as."Hello, Helena," Greeted a familiar voice."Allistor," she greeted the older man, embarrassed that she had been too caught up in her thoughts to notice she had walked all the way to his office."How are you?" She added, awkwardly, her eyes roaming over his well-dressed figure.The grey-eyed man had
"Here you go." Octavius handed a bottle of water to Helena as he settled down beside her on the grass. They were both covered in a thin layer of sweat from the short training they had just finished and Helena felt like she had been run over by a truck.The silver-eyed Alpha was fast and did not hold back, forcing Helena to use every trick up her sleeve and still end up on her back with him smiling above her."Are you alright?" He asked, his nose twitching as he read her scent. "I hope I didn't hurt you too badly?" His eyebrows tightened and she smiled."I'm just thinking.""Would you like to talk about it?"She drew in a breath and released it in a great sigh. "It's complicated. Maybe even too complicated."And it was. There was no way of explaining herself to him without looking crazy and while she knew he would humour her 'insane ramblings' like he had done last night, telling of the death and destruction to come might not be met with the same amount of patience.Orion hummed with
A hand on her elbow drew Helena away from her thoughts and she turned to look at the silver-eyed Alpha staring at her in concern. "Are you alright, darling?" Her father asked from across the table, drawing her attention to their empty plates and her half full one."Yeah," she responded, weakly, the hurricane of thoughts that had been swirling around in her head, still lurking at the corners of her mind. "I just have a lot on my mind."Charon made a sound with a teasing smirk on his lips and her Father gave him a scandalised look, his cheeks turning red.Helena rolled her eyes at the older man's bashfulness and began gathering the empty dishes."Let me," Orion offered, as he followed her to the sink, his small stool groaning in thanks for being relieved of its burden."Don't worry about them," she said, her eyes unconsciously staring into the moonlit forest just beyond the window. "Charon will handle them." "But Orion and I had planned to go hunting tonight," he argued with a bit of
Allistor Grundy. A man people say could convince a mother to hand over her child. A man Helena had once witnessed deceive a pack into surrendering to Rigel, despite it not being in their favour.A man Helena had once trusted and thought she knew better than anyone else. But it was all a lie.He was Orion Damon's uncle and Beta of Blood Moon pack, a fact Allistor had not thought to share with her when he had whispered sweet nothings and daring promises to her.Helena knew shouldn't be surprised at this bombshell of a revelation because It was hard truly knowing a person who had been a spy most of their life, but it did not in any way lessen the hurt and betrayal.If he could lie about his identity, and convince he was just as trapped under Rigel's thumb and a trusted confident, what else had he lied about and how much of the person she had loved with a guilty heart was real?"Helena," Orion whispered, drawing her away from her thoughts and she suddenly felt sick. It was one thing to
Morning light spilled in through the small gaps of the closed curtains and cast a warm glow on the bedroom's floors Helena walked in her with a food-laden tray floating in front of her and with a flick of het wrist, the curtains slowly slid open.The figure on her bed stirred and she set the tray down beside his unclothed figure as silver eyes slowly blinked open."Good morning," she greeted, softly, seating cross-legged in front of the tray and beside the large man."Breakfast in bed," he commented with a surprised lift of his brow as he sat up and leaned against the headboard."You deserve it after last night's performance," she shrugged, trying to joke but her flaming red cheeks revealed her bashfulness."I didn't know what you like so I..." She waved at the many dishes crammed into the tray."I'm not a picky eater," he informed her with a small smile. "Thank you, I can't remember the last time I ate something that wasn't raw or hastily prepared."He ate a small sausage and Helena
"F*ck," Helena hissed as she crashed to the ground with a painful thud, the shock of it temporarily paralyzing her.The purple portal hovering over her slowly shrunk until she was left staring at the white ceiling of her bedroom."This can't be happening," the purple-eyed woman denied while shaking her head. She stumbled as she got off the ground and stood on unstable legs.Her wide eyes went to the window and she stared at the bright moon sitting serenely in the night sky, hoping for an explanation she knew she would not receive."I need your help," she begged, desperately as her body began to tremble but the glowing orb gave no response."I don't think I can handle having another mate and I..." Helena wiped away the tears trailing down her cheeks but it was of no use as more came spilling out.Mateship and all that it came with was supposed to be behind her. Things were supposed to be better in this life and she was supposed to be a stronger woman who would never fall victim to the