~ZIRA"Get out!"My wolf sank deep within my ribcage. My heart began to pound heavily and my body started trembling. I did not want to leave. Not after what we had going. I was sweating all over."Kael, we can—""I said get out! Leave this place! Now!" He roared in my face.My mouth when shut immediately as I stared at him. I felt tears coming and my eyes moistened immediately. My lips began to tremble and I suddenly felt stupid.Why was I trying to force a relationship that he obviously did not want?I swallowed bile hard and held my head high. "I'm sorry for bothering you," I apologized in a firm voice before turning away and walking out.Luckily for me, Arden and his beloved had given up searching for me. They were now sharing drinks and giggling to themselves."Once the Moon crest is ours, I'll make you my Luna," I heard him say and Bella giggled.My wolf came to life at the mention of the Moon crest. I vowed to myself that I would never let Arden touch it, especially Bella."I lo
~ZIRAI was up earlier than I usually did.My fear was that if Arden were to wake up at the same time as me, then he might probably suggest that we took our bath together. That was the last thing I wanted.Luckily for me, Arden was still fast asleep.I cleaned my body and brushed my teeth quickly. There was determination in my eyes. I hoped that today was going to be better than the way yesterday turned out. I might have died and come back yesterday but today, I was only going to conquer my enemies.I chose a pair of pants, a sleeveless top and a dark leather jacket. I placed my legs into knee high boots, having it in mind that I might have to go hiking in the woods. There was no way that I would let the men search alone.I was just brushing my hair when Arden woke up. My wolf stirred in desperation. I had almost forgotten that the man still existed. I wondered why he could not just disappear."Sweet morning my beautiful mate," he began and I could not detect the lie in that. He was g
~ZIRAI flinched at the banging sound it made and I turned to him.Kael suddenly widened his eyes and looked up, surprised that he had reacted. I knew that it was probably his wolf acting up on him but no one else in the room understood the storm in his mind."Son? Are you okay?" Uther asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence first.He turned to his father and I saw him struggling to control himself. Kael did not give an answer right away."You okay, man?" Arden asked and I could hear the genuine concern in his voice.It was almost as if Arden only got real and filled with humane emotions whenever it had anything to do with Kael.Kael turned to his brother and that same confused expression was on his face. Eventually, he parted his lips. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle all of you. I'm fine," he answered and bowed his head to show his sincerity.Father exhaled sharply. "I'm concerned son, is there anything bothering you? You know that you can share it with your family. You have
~KAELI saw my father suppress a growl.Zira was making things hard for him and it was getting on his nerves. I was sure that all he wanted was to attack her and force it out of her but he had to control himself and keep his cool."As you wish, my dearest Princess," he stated instead through clenched teeth.Zira bowed her head slightly at him and went back to her food. Just like that, the dining area fell silent and only the clanking sound of spoons and forks against ceramic plates filled the air.Until Father dropped his cutleries first. I watched him take a napkin and I immediately understood that it was our cue to leave. I mirrored his actions as Father cleared his throat."I think I'm done here. My sons and I will leave now to start the search for the Moon crest," Father announced.Tyrone nodded with enthusiasm. "Please, take your time and let me know if you need anything. All the guards are at your disposal," he answered.Arden and I exchanged glances for a while, passing a secre
~ZIRAThe moment I heard their car zoom to life, I got up from the table as well.My parents stared at me with questioning glares and I pretended not to see their stares. My wolf stirred with determination and I just knew that I had to get out there and go about my search."Where do you think you're going, young lady?" Mother asked.I exhaled sharply. They probably thought that I was still their nineteen years old innocent child. I had seen death and survived it. I was no child. Even my wolf shifted in agreement."I'm going to search for the Moon crest, Mother," I answered firmly as I glared at her eyes.Mother shook her head in disapproval. "I wonder why you insist on being a rebel recently. When the Pack's Beta asked for your particle, you should have just handed it over to him immediately. You shouldn't have been stubborn. Since when did you become that?" She demanded as she stared at me sternly.I sighed. Perhaps I was acting up, what was I supposed to do? This was the first time
~KAEL"Hand over your particle, Father," I requested.Father stared at me through narrowed eyes. He shifted uncomfortably in the driver's seat. He knew that he had to give it to us since we were the ones going into the Black City. There was a possibility that we could pass by it without realizing but if we had the particle, it would be easier."You know it would be better in our hands," Arden joined in and released a light chuckle.Father growled like a child and retrieved the particle from his left pocket. It was wrapped in a piece of clothes which he unfolded and outstretched to me.My wolf danced at the sight of the stone. I could almost hear it calling to me as if promising me a future that I always wanted. My wolf stirred within me as I got lost in the power of the little stone."Kael!" Father snapped and it was enough to break me out of my trance.I stared at him with wide eyes, not sure if he had said something to me before. "Yes?"He gestured at the tiny stone. "Have it," he s
~KAEL"Dragon Slayer."The man widened his eyes and immediately unlocked the door for us. I stared from my brother to the man standing by the now opened door in disbelief. Was this really happening or was I dreaming? My wolf stirred with uncertainty and disbelief but I shrugged it away and followed my brother.Arden kept grinning as he graciously walked in. Inside, red and blue lights beamed, therefore causing it to appear purple at some point. The light was beaming from a corridor and I could hear loud music playing from where we stood. It almost felt as if these people might have somehow gotten their hands on old technologies.Arden stopped when he realized my hesitation. "Come on, let's go in," he urged and I sighed in defeat before catching up with him."That name, Dragon Slayer. . ." I began as I gave him a knowing stare. I understood what he had done. My wolf marveled at his choice of name.Arden smiled triumphantly. "It feels good to be able to talk about the name with someo
~KAELArden downed the entire content of his glass before turning to me. "He does exit. But I did not lie about not knowing his whereabouts earlier," he answered and I heard the sincerity in his voice.I sighed. I wondered how many times I had sighed today if anyone was counting. "So how do we find him?" I demanded.He smiled. "We ask around," then he rose to his feet. "Come on, let's get back to the dance floor. That's the only place that we can win our price," he announced.I downed my drink like he had done and followed his action. He pulled me back to the dance floor.Then he gestured at something before me. "See those ladies over there, they're our ticket. Try to show some interest even if you don't care," Arden told me.I narrowed my eyes at him as I felt as if he was up to no good. He pulled me to them and they immediately started giggling when they saw him.They had leather pants and tiny tops on. A thick black color lined the rim of their eyes and there were multiple pierci
~ZIRAWhen my eyes came open, they were met with darkness.I blinked multiple times in an attempt to force my eyes to adjust as quickly as possible. My body was cold and I doubted if I could move. I was trembling and mist kept escaping my mouth every time I breathed. My heart pounded heavily and my wolf kept stirring uncomfortably within. I felt uneasy as I could not explain what was happening. Was I dead?I forced myself to move and succeeded in getting into a sitting position eventually. I looked around the space and as my eyes adjusted, light began to brighten up the space. Sitting had chased most of the weakness away. I got to my feet and took in the space. The more I stared, the more familiar it became and realization finally dawned on me. I was in the same void where I had met the goddess the first time I died. "Hello?" I called. Like that was all the trigger needed, I felt the presence of someone extraterrestrial, of great honor and glory behind me. I instantly turned and
~KAELMy father's scream echoed through the space as thick blue mist rose in the air.I was still fighting with my supposedly uncuffed hands when I saw Arden's eyes go wide with shock. Then he instantly started running toward me as if to shield me from something. That was when my wolf growled menacingly and I looked toward my father just in time to see him launch a spear at me. As if on cue, my hands came free and I stepped forward but it was already too late. Arden took the hit for me. The force of the spear pushed him backward. He hit me and we both fell back against the pole that I had once been cuffed to. "I'm going to set the world ablaze! I'm going to destroy everything!" Uther screamed like he had lost his mind. The blue mist began to clear and for the first time, he saw that I was still fine and someone else had taken the hit for me. My heart sank as I turned a shaky stare at Arden who now had a long spear buried in the lower center of his body. I did not want to think an
~ZIRAI heard Uther's chuckles continue to echo around the space. I felt too weak to lift myself from the ground. I had cried so much that I could no longer stand. I felt numb and broken. I felt confused and lost. "Come on, Zira. The game is not yet over. We still have one more person to kill if you don't tell me what I want to know," he announced. The thought of losing Kael too made me shoot up to my knees. I stared at the man in disbelief. Was he really ready to kill his own son too just to make a point? Would he kill his flesh and blood?I turned a fearful stare at Kael. His blue eyes were filled with pain. "I'm sorry," he mouthed again. I could not remember how many times he had apologized to me in the last hour. He had been doing it over and over again. "Stop apologizing. . .please. . ." I said in a weak voice. "It's not your fault. . ." I said dryly. I realized that I was losing my voice. It was no surprise, given how much I had screamed and cried.Then I turned to Uther.
~ZIRAWas the world always this ugly or all the beauty had been taken out of mine? My mother gasped as her eyes went wide open. Father gasped, Uther laughed before he pulled the sword out of her body. She let out a pained sound that further broke my heart.The world seemed to slow down and all sounds around me began to echo. I did not know what to feel or how to react. I forgot how to breathe. I forgot how to speak. All I did was gasp breathlessly. Nala stopped dancing and I felt tears begin to form in my eyes. My father let out the loudest roar as the pain of losing his mate must have hit him hard. My mother still with her hands handcuffed behind the pole slowly began to slump to the floor. She was staring at me as if she wanted to say something. Blood spurted out of her mouth and she smiled at me. Then her body went still.My wolf sank to the darkest part of my mind and I had gone into shock. I just stood there and watched helplessly as my world had come to an end. "Zira. . ." I
~ZIRAMy heart skipped triple beats as I saw men spring out of the park and pounce on us. Kael let out a menacing growl as he prepared himself for battle. The first man that tried to grab me got struck by Kael's claws. This sent the man flying across the park. He let out another growl to warn them from coming. But the men were determined to apprehend us. Two more came at a time and he grabbed one by his neck as he struck the other man. Yet three more attacked him from behind. "Kael!" I screamed as they hit his head hard.This rendered him weak immediately and he went down on his knees. They used his moment of weakness to apprehend him and I did not try to fight back as they grabbed me. It was all futile and I wondered why Kael even tried fighting in the first place. They dragged us to the stream side of the park. From the distance, I spotted a set of poles arranged in a quite large circle. It was once used to play a dancing game in the old days. The center was where the dance batt
~ZIRAMy heart sank when I saw the note. My wolf continued its dangerous dance a plea to be unleashed. My world was slowly crumbling down before my eyes and I did not know what to do about it. My already trembling body only got more violent as I looked at the note."Do you want me to read the content for you?" Kael offered when he noticed that I was slowly losing it. I nodded and he took the letter from me. "If you want to save your parents, come to me unguarded with the Moon crest as my present. Meet me at the old park closest to Black City by sundown," he concluded. I could feel tears threatening to weaken me but I refused to cry. I needed to be strong. I could still fix things. The goddess would not let any harm come to my parents. Kael suddenly wrapped me in a protective hug. "We'll make it work," he assured me. "What will the goddess think if I give him the Moon crest? The whole point of my mission was to protect it not for selfish interests but for the safety of the world,"
~ZIRAI never expected what Kael did yesterday. But it turned out to be the best way to solve everything. I always knew that I would have to expose the truth to my parents but I never knew how I was going to make it work. I even had the fear that they would still not believe me after showing them the truth. But as fate would have it, the goddess just allowed me to sit down and watch the outcome of things unfold before me. I must have done a great job of planting doubting seeds in Kael to make him take up the job himself. I smiled as I looked up at him. We were now seated together in the packhouse mini lounge. My parents were seated opposite us and dressed in their usual royal attires. While I was clad in a short dress as always Kael wore his usual loose clothes. It was a set of blue this time that complimented his eyes. We had taken the liberty of explaining the entire truth from the top to the current state. Which was from the day I died to how I tried to convince Kael to find o
~KAELArden stared back at me in disbelief. Zira turned to face me and gazed at me with concern. "This was what was bothering you this entire time, wasn't it?" She asked. I only nodded. "I'm not done yet. I know that Arden still thinks that I have been brainwashed. Which is why I took the liberty of bringing proof!" I spat and turned to my father. Uther narrowed his eyes at me as he waited to see what I had on him. I revealed my satchel and took out his journal. "This here is my father's journal and it contains all the evil he has done. It even dates back to where his anger began," I revealed and placed the book on the table. Father widened his eyes and threw calculative gazes at the people closest to him. Then in a swift action, he launched at the journal on the table. But Tyrone was faster than him. He swiftly grabbed his foot and pulled him backward with one hand so that he landed back in his chair."I think that you have done enough! Sit still or I will be forced to take dras
~KAELFather looked as if he was sitting on fire. Eating had become a very hard task for him as he began to stir his potato aimlessly around with his fork. "Come on Father, what are you waiting for to tell us the intriguing tale of how my mother died? The world is listening," I teased him.Father began to grit his teeth but remained silent. He refused to speak. It was almost as if he was ready to sit there for eternity."You're always so eager to tell it. Why are you so quiet now? I wonder what might be wrong? Do you need help telling it? Should I begin so you can finish it?" I pointed out as my voice began to lose the amusement within and it started to turn into anger. Ocean began to dance wildly as my stare turned into hate. The more I looked at him, the more I asked myself if this man was truly my father. How unfortunate Arden and I were to be brought into this world by him. "Say something, Uther!" I roared. Everyone at the table flinched and that was when they realized that i