Calm. It was a feeling that had not graced her body for a long time and yet as she looked up at the plain ceiling above her, she felt at peace. Her breathing was even, her body felt no pain and the beast within her mind didn’t prowl around her mind waiting to pounce. It was like a breath of fresh air after drowning year after year in her sorrow.Adelaide turned her head, her head propped up by a pillow that rested behind her head and looked out across the room from where she lay on the couch. Her fingers rubbed together against the familiar plaid blanket that covered her, she didn’t dare breath in the smell. Not yet.She stayed quiet as she took it all back in, reviving her memories of the place of her birth and her childhood. She looked at each picture that hung from the walls, the coats that hung from the hook. The family portrait that hung above the fireplace. The nostalgia was heavy in the air.Her eyes blurred as her chest became heavy with emotion. She felt weak for
It had been an intriguing few days. Although her arrival had not been the most welcoming, she had adapted as best as she could to the new situation she was presented with.The life mates, Georgia and Theo, disagreed over her current living arrangements. She had exiled herself to the grounds surrounding the house. Georgia wished for her to stay in the house while Theo was far warier of her. He knew the tales of her warrior success which meant he knew the stories of her feral side that had quickly spread after the Pack Wars.It was a rainy day and early in the morning. Dew stuck to the ground and fog lined the tops of the tall trees that surrounded the property. Adelaide stood leaning against the wide trunk of a tree, it’s bark bit into her back, as she repeatedly let her eyes wander over the empty space. She was constantly assessing for threats as she took a bite of the red apple she held in her right hand while her arm was crossed across her mid-section.She sensed no threat
Adelaide had been born into a large, growing family. A loving mother and father. Fiercely loyal siblings.It had always made her wonder why the Goddess had chosen her.There were many other high-born families and regular wolves that were born with the power to rise through the ranks. That had the power to take on the mantle that the Goddess coveted for her most cherished. But she had chosen her despite all others.Her mother was an oracle, strong and kind, making her the perfect fit for the strong fierce power of her father. Adele Jones was the matriarch of the family and kept her children in line with her sharp tongue and stern words. Her siblings never once stepped out of line when their mother was around, too afraid of the fierce glare that would meet them if they dared.While her mother had been the rock of the family, her brothers made sure her days were filled with joy and laughter. Adelaide and her twin, Adam, had always had the more serious demeanour out of the seve
The power of the divines had always held a mysticism that no one could fathom to understand. The true workings of the Goddess were unbeknownst to all but herself, she worked in mysterious ways.Reincarnation was common within their world. Souls that passed on and then were re-born again and again. Adelaide had always had an aptitude for souls throughout her life. Conduits always showed a flair of a gift from a young age.It was why she no longer held any connection to the pack. The tearing of her mother and siblings’ souls had been magnified with her gift, it was what crippled her beast, and had turned her feral. She could see the bonds between people, sensed them all around her. She could bind mates together, take away their choice or solidify it; if she wanted too. Her ability also allowed her to see strengths and weaknesses which she used to vicious effect after her world had darkened.It also meant that she knew exactly who and what the boy was since their first meetin
Choice was always a tug and a pull in a female’s life. The debate of life-mates was controversial and a constant source of tension within packs. It came with the fall of the old faith within the packs; where they believed that fate had paired each wolf together. A childish notion. An attempt for alphas to keep control of their populations and control mated pairs from causing power struggles.It was easy to see that the notion of true mates had been used by Alpha’s as a way to control the population around them. The opportunity from breeding powerful wolves offered many rewards. Alliances, Powerful Heirs and a sustainable legacy.They truly believed that they could control fate. The entire thought that mates were pre-destined was a farce. The Goddess controlled many things, but choice was not one of them. Free Will was their most sacred aspect of life, the one right they were born with and the one they would die with.To take away choice was to take away their most basic ri
It was easy to become lost in the wild.The temptation of it was tantalising. Like a female in heat or a fresh kill between teeth. It was a drug like no other.Time moved quickly when travelling endlessly between the tall trees, but Adelaide knew full well of how much time had passed since her departure from the child who had captured her soul. Almost a year.Too long had she been separated from Grace, even longer from her father. It felt cruel on her behalf, to begin to heal and then to be separated again, to protect females that had done nothing for her. But she did as the Moon commanded, without question.Although hesitant at first, the females progressed rapidly from her teachings. The few males that had joined them soon learned that their place was no higher than that of the female next to them. Both male and female were equal. It was only those who were born and gifted for higher purpose that rose through the ranks.There were three new Alpha’s in her mist. Two fem
Eating was not a simple task when it came to the way of the wolf. It was a vicious dance of tooth and claw to gain the prize of prime flesh between jaws. If a wolf wanted to eat, then they needed to find their place at the carcass. Human etiquette was abandoned in the wild and instead the need to take was the only instinct to follow. It had taken time for the pack to adjust and find their places. No wolf went hungry, they just needed to find the will to eat. Since the loss of the old way’s werewolf society had gotten lost in stereotypical hierarchies that had conditioned generation upon generation of wolves into submission. The basic instinct was there, all Adelaide did was trigger it once more.Adam had adapted well to the pack. No doubt her father’s teachings had taken great effect to the beast that resided within him. He had taken to his fur as was the way of the pack and had integrated with the help of the link he now shared with each of them.He had taken the pack
Age was a powerful figure to a werewolf. Age brought power as well as knowledge. A powerful asset in the game of life. Adelaide’s age far surpassed that of Adam, she’d seen much while he had seen little, and with her age came history. His claws in her neck left her open with only a few small barriers to protect parts of herself that could not be allowed to be seen. He watched as her life played out before his eyes while she did the same to him.As a young boy, the youngest of three brothers, his childhood was very different from her upbringing. After the Pack Wars each pack had made it their mission to eradicate memories of the past discord within their kind and did their best to ignore it. Adam had been brought up in a time of peace, with no real idea of the dripping red cloud that hung over their history.Although he had been brought up through peaceful times of politics, it did not mean his home life was one also of peace. Michael had always been one to administer pu
He watched from the shadows of the beach.He watched and waited. The spray of the sea chilled his warm skin and his blood ran cold as he watched the scene play out before him and there was nothing that he could do to stop it.He had been standing there but a second when he watched her fall. Fall from the edge of the Blood Rock and into the depths of the sea.She fell silently, only the crashing of the waves filling space as it welcomed her to the deep. He moved without a conscious thought, his legs moving quickly as his chest felt a tightness like nothing before. He ran through the swell of the sea before he got no further on foot and dived in with urgency.He pulled in a deep breath to his lungs and swam deep, where the raging sea turned slow and peaceful.That was where he found her.Floating. Sinking.He gripped her tight and kicked to the surface, battling the waves to drag her back to land.Her body lay against the sand, cold and blue, for the first time in her
They hadn’t spoken in the hours that had followed. They had moved quickly and travelled a long distance.Their power allowed them to keep up with one another and move faster than if they were burdened by other wolves. The snow had receded the further they moved away from the north.They had moved through old human cities that had long since decayed. Natural plant life had retaken what was ripped from them and entire buildings were covered with plants that now flourished. The world was thriving without the humans that had once destroyed it.Adam hesitated as they passed through the physical evidence of a devastating past. He had never experienced the cities while they were full of life, he would have only experienced what the wolves had claimed for themselves.They didn’t linger for long as she pushed for them to move onward. Her connection to Grace had grown stronger the further they moved from the north and it had soon become clear to Adelaide where they would be going.
The cold bit into her skin as she stood at the lakes edge. Earth and snow squashed between her toes.A deathly silence had overtaken the space. The only sound being that of water lapping gently at the edge of the ground. The moon had risen high into the sky and a cold wind whipped through the air, moving her hair back from her face and away from her neck, leaving her bare.The atmosphere was strange. A mixture of hurt and despair along with suspense. No one knew what the world would now bring, where the Goddess would guide them. The last of the High Alpha’s had been killed. Murdered no less and now the wolves were left without clear leadership.Adelaide knew they would look to her for leadership. The thought passed through her mind easily as she stood in the lake, the water lapping against her bare skin. But she was no leader, only an executioner.Everything she had done in life had led to this point, whether it be by her own will or not, and she knew where it would l
Life and death.The two things that made up the very fabric of life. Natures law and the survival of the natural order were what kept the world balanced. When a rip occurred, the balance tipped viciously. And vicious it was. And the pain.Unbearable.A hole in the soul, imprinted forever. The breaking of a bond was enough to drive any wolf to the edge of their sanity and an Alpha was trained from birth to withstand the breaks they would feel from their pack members. But the breaking of a family bond, especially in a vicious manner, broke the body physically as well as mentally.The severe weight of the broken bonds upon her mind were now further burdened by the madness of the beast within her, the Lycan. The madness that circled her was a strange entity and allowed her mind to circle continuously.Adelaide stared up at the cave ceiling above her as she laid on her back. Her hands rested on her stomach and her legs laid flat against her bed mat on the floor. She breathe
The look on Leonidas’s face gave reason for her most haunting fears. The world around her slowed as her heart rate sped to unbelievable beat and her breath caught in her chest. Her head rang with the howl of a beast, untamed and ready to be let loose. She felt the beginnings of panic overcome her as she tried to feel for any sense of her father through her connection to himBefore she could fall into the depths of despair and allow the inner beast to overcome her, a hand clamp over each of her wrists. Leonidas stood before her, eyes aglow from the wolf within, and a gaze full of worry and anger. His firm grip brought her back to earth and for a moment she felt a sense of déjà vu; she’d been in the same situation, in the same place a long time ago.“What is happening?” She asked desperately.He took a breath, and it seemed like an age had passed before he decided to speak again.“Michael seeks to fulfil the challenge that was issued, much has changed since you have
Thump after thump filled her mind as her feet pounded against the dirt. The ground around her thundered with the footfalls of the pack around her. One hundred sets of paws racing against time.Racing to save those who were in danger.The urgency within her was near hysteria as she ran, her legs pushed to their limit. The pack struggled to keep up with her as her mind gave way to instinct and the beast took over. Adam ran beside her but kept some distance. Her beast took over the very air that was breathable with dominance and power. The very trees of the forest bent against her will as she breezed past them in a clear path. One goal in mind.A vicious roar erupted from her throat as she cleared the tree line of the pack house in a leap. The acrid smell of vampire filled her nose and a purple haze filled her vision. Her heightened senses showed her the purple blurs within the clearing; vampires had no heat signature.Savage growls filled the air as her pack of wolves w
Age was a powerful figure to a werewolf. Age brought power as well as knowledge. A powerful asset in the game of life. Adelaide’s age far surpassed that of Adam, she’d seen much while he had seen little, and with her age came history. His claws in her neck left her open with only a few small barriers to protect parts of herself that could not be allowed to be seen. He watched as her life played out before his eyes while she did the same to him.As a young boy, the youngest of three brothers, his childhood was very different from her upbringing. After the Pack Wars each pack had made it their mission to eradicate memories of the past discord within their kind and did their best to ignore it. Adam had been brought up in a time of peace, with no real idea of the dripping red cloud that hung over their history.Although he had been brought up through peaceful times of politics, it did not mean his home life was one also of peace. Michael had always been one to administer pu
Eating was not a simple task when it came to the way of the wolf. It was a vicious dance of tooth and claw to gain the prize of prime flesh between jaws. If a wolf wanted to eat, then they needed to find their place at the carcass. Human etiquette was abandoned in the wild and instead the need to take was the only instinct to follow. It had taken time for the pack to adjust and find their places. No wolf went hungry, they just needed to find the will to eat. Since the loss of the old way’s werewolf society had gotten lost in stereotypical hierarchies that had conditioned generation upon generation of wolves into submission. The basic instinct was there, all Adelaide did was trigger it once more.Adam had adapted well to the pack. No doubt her father’s teachings had taken great effect to the beast that resided within him. He had taken to his fur as was the way of the pack and had integrated with the help of the link he now shared with each of them.He had taken the pack
It was easy to become lost in the wild.The temptation of it was tantalising. Like a female in heat or a fresh kill between teeth. It was a drug like no other.Time moved quickly when travelling endlessly between the tall trees, but Adelaide knew full well of how much time had passed since her departure from the child who had captured her soul. Almost a year.Too long had she been separated from Grace, even longer from her father. It felt cruel on her behalf, to begin to heal and then to be separated again, to protect females that had done nothing for her. But she did as the Moon commanded, without question.Although hesitant at first, the females progressed rapidly from her teachings. The few males that had joined them soon learned that their place was no higher than that of the female next to them. Both male and female were equal. It was only those who were born and gifted for higher purpose that rose through the ranks.There were three new Alpha’s in her mist. Two fem