A ten-year-old Rainn Stonebrook looked over the landscape that he called home. It's 1845 in the countryside of Ireland. The view is breathtaking, the sky is bright blue and the grass in the meadow is a deep green. There are patches of purples, yellows, whites, and red wildflowers. As he stares at the beauty, he gets lost in a trance, letting everything else fall away.
He's rudely awakened from that moment by his little brother Liam, who had just turned eight. He was rolling down the hill unable to stop himself before barreling into Rainn. He was just about to start scolding him when he heard his mother calling for them to come back to the house because it would be dark soon. As they ran up over the hill towards their family's sheep farm, Rainn saw his mother just outside the house. Her red hair shining brightly with the falling sun at her back and her light green eyes sparkling when she saw her sons returning.
Rainn would forever hold that image of his mother in his mind because what came next would haunt his nightmares forever. They got ushered into the house and made to wash up. Both boys were grumbling about not being that dirty. Their mother laughed at their antics and started getting everyone their dinner. They sat down and the boys started telling their parents all about their adventures that day.
Just as they got to the end of their story when Liam almost knocked Rainn down the hill when the sheep started bleating. They looked out the window to see the sheep running in the pens in a panic. Then they heard the sound that their fears were made of. The howl of a wolf was ringing through the night. Their father got up to go out and check on the sheep.
“Boys protect your mother”, he said. Rainns father grabbed the musket from the mantle. Their mother grabbed his arm and begged him to stay inside the house. “My love, I can't afford to let that wolf kill the whole flock. We won’t survive the winter without them.”
Tears streamed down her face as she watched him walk toward the door. He slipped out of the house and headed toward the pens. At first, he didn’t see anything but then out of the darkness a big black wolf with glowing red eyes appeared. He raised the musket, but the wolf was too fast and was on him in an instant. They heard the struggle with the screams of their father.
Then silence. Their mother pulled open the hatch in the floor and set the boys down in the small space. She took one last look at her boys and said, "Whatever happens, keep quiet and stay down here.” She closed and locked the hatch. They could hear the wolf circling outside of the house, making low guttural growls, and their mother moving around.
After a few minutes there was silence. Rainn let out a breath thinking the danger had passed. He looked at Liam and reached for the handle. When suddenly the sound of the door being ripped off its hinges echoes through the house. They could hear the scuffling and then their mothers’ screams.
Rainn put his hands over Liam's ears and hugged him to his chest to try and keep him calm and quiet. Rainn could hear the wolf sniffing around the floor trying to pick up any other scents. A single tear ran down his cheek as he heard nails being pulled down the hatch door and a growl that seemed to shake the entire house. Liam let out a whimper and he immediately tried to hush him. Suddenly, they hear breaking glass and yelling.
They could hear the wolf growling above them. The sound of a sword ringing through the air followed by yelps filled their little hiding place until finally there was silence. They heard footsteps coming towards the hatch door and voices. Rainn hugged Liam tighter as the sound of boots got closer and closer to the hatch. It springs open and standing there is a huge man with glowing eyes.
Rainn put him well over six feet tall and broad shouldered with black hair, crystal blue eyes, and tanned skin. He looked at the two boys curiously and then reached his hand down to them. " It's ok boys, you can come out now," the man said. Rainn jumped up and tried to attack the man to save himself and his little brother. The man easily grabbed him by the arm and twisted him around.
"Easy now boy, my name is Ard'al and I'm here to help you," he said almost shaking the boy. "Where did you come from" Rainn asked finally realizing he wasn't going to hurt them. "I've been tracking that wolf for weeks. Come on boys, you'll stay with me from now on". Ard'al helped the boys up out of the trap door and tried to keep them from seeing the carnage that had destroyed their home.
He knew that rogue werewolves were dangerous, but he never could have imagined that this one would kill so many people. This rogue was rare however because it had been an Alpha that had been beaten but not killed for his position. The first kill had been three weeks ago three villages over. The council had gotten word immediately of the killing and had sent him and his men out to investigate. Ten bodies later and it was finally over.
He hated killing other wolves but in rare cases it was necessary, and the council always sent him. As they made their way out, Rainn saw the body of his mother lying in her own blood by the fireplace. He pushed Liam toward Ard'al and ran to her. He knelt in front of her and gently touched her face. Her panic stricken and empty eyes stared back at him.
He ran two of his fingers down her face to close them and gave her a kiss on her forehead. Ard'al walked over and told Rainn that it was time to go. "Please make sure my parents have a good burial," the little boy asked. "My men will make sure everything is taken care of, but right now you need to come with me." Rainn got up off the floor and looked down at himself.
His hands and knees were covered in blood. He ran outside to the water trough and tried to scrub his mother's blood from his body as tears streamed down his face. His hands would never be clean again. He scrubbed them until they were almost raw. He wanted to see his father, but Ard’als men would not let him get close.
Rainn heard someone approaching him from behind and turned around to look up at the man that had saved them. He realized that he wanted to be just like Ard’al. He made a promise to himself that night that he would do whatever was necessary to protect Liam. "Where are you taking us?" Rainn asked. Ard'al looked down at the two young boys that he had now taken into his care. "I'm going to take you home to the Vindicta", he said.
Rainn is the first one to speak and said, "What is the Vindicta?" "We are a group of people who hunt those humans or super naturals that choose to hurt others. You can train if you choose to and maybe someday if you work hard enough then you can become one of us.” Rainn knew that this was what he wanted to do because he would never get what happened out of his mind. He needed to be able to get vengeance and, in doing so, keep others safe so no one else would ever have to live through what they had. He looked at his little brother and nodded to him. Liam reached up and grabbed his hand as they followed Ard’al to their new home.
Hi everyone! I have started editing and updating the chapters. So exciting new stuff that I have added to the story to make it flow a little better. Hope everyone enjoys :) Chapter is updated :)
Eleven Years Later Rainn Rainn woke up in a cold sweat from the nightmare again, just like every night for the last eleven years. He could still hear his mother's voice and see the look on her face after her death. There are still days when he can't seem to scrub his hands enough to feel clean. He hoped that he would make his parents proud. He'd trained harder than anyone in the fortress and protected Liam as much as he could. He got out of bed and headed to get washed up and to get some food in him before training started for the day. There were already men on the fields when he got down there. You could hear the swords clashing and arrows whizzing through the air. He knew that today's training was going to be brutal because the elders on the council were here to choose the next round of hunters and everyone wanted those spots. Every ten years the council elders hold the trials and only the best of the best are chosen. This was what Rainn had been working so hard
Present Day- Seattle, Washington Adalyn The sound of thunder was deafening as I looked around trying to figure out where I was. The lightning was cracking across the sky, and I couldn’t make out much of my surroundings. Any normal human being would be terrified standing alone in a dark unknown forest in the middle of a thunderstorm, but I felt a sense of calm for some reason like I was supposed to be here. I continued to scan around me to find anything familiar but then I caught movement from my right, someone was walking towards me. My first reaction was to run but I realized that I was not afraid. I could see the shape of a man taking form. I could tell that he was tall, well over six feet and as he got closer, I could see his broad shoulders, muscular arms, and a very toned chest. He had tattoos down his arms and across his chest depicting many battles against evil creatures. His skin was a light tan, his hair was red, and his eyes were the most beautiful green I had
Rainn Rainn pulled up to the mansion outside of town that he and his brother Liam bought ten years ago. He's exhausted after a night of hunting a group of rogue demons through the city. He was so close to finding them and then the trail went cold. He needed to talk to Liam and see if they had any updates from the team on demon movements in and out of the city. He decided to head for home for a few hours of sleep before he would be back at it again. He got out of his car and decided to go check the gardens that he had put in this year. He told the gardener he wanted plenty of color and he wasn’t disappointed as he turned the corner and saw all the blues, pinks, purples, reds, and yellows. Rainn wasn’t particular about the kind of flowers that they planted but did ask that some were from his homeland. The garden was something that he and Liam decided to have put in when they first moved in. There was partially one already there, but it was small and overgrown. They w
Tabby I’ve called and left a million messages for Addie and no answer. Tonight, was supposed to be our girl's night out but I guess I'll be going alone. Addie has a habit of making plans but not actually going through with it which is why I'm one of her only friends. I got off the couch and headed to my bathroom for a quick shower. I started ripping through my closet to find something to wear. I probably have way more clothes and shoes than necessary but hey a girl has got to look good. I finally chose a form fitted red top with spaghetti straps and a short black faux leather mini skirt. Now what to do about shoes? I spotted my favorite red stilettos and grabbed them. I headed to my vanity and decided to leave my blonde hair hanging down my back in ringlets and put on a little bit of makeup. That should do just nicely, I said to myself. I headed out the door and hoped that eventually Addie would show up at McGinley’s. I jumped in a cab and gave him the address. Before I knew it,
Typhon I headed into the conference room of my security company, The Damascus group. I hate having to go to these meetings, but as the owner, it is necessary with certain clients. I mostly have bodyguards that get hired out for rich and powerful clients, but I do have some mercenaries. I have my second in command with me as always, Henry, who is a smoke demon. He pays more attention to the clients than I do. I built The Damascus group from the ground up and I only employ super naturals because, well, this company is a cover for something I enjoy much more. I sit down at the huge table next to Henry and the client starts complaining about his problems and why he needs a guard. I'm not listening anymore but zoning out, caught in a memory of long ago and how I became this person, well, not a person but the horrible demon I am today. I'm in my room and I can hear the screaming downstairs as it gets louder. It's my parents as always. I'm twelve years old and even though my parents f
Adalyn I ended up leaving the bar with Rainn and his brother, but we don't even make it to the car before we are in trouble. We were surrounded and I'm stuck in the middle with no idea what to do. Rainn looked at me with regret and said that he didn't want me to find out this way before his body changed and a skeletal appearance shimmered over his own. His brother changed as well; they took their fighting stances. I was sure that I was seeing things and, yep, I'm officially crazy. What have I gotten myself into. I decided the best option was to try and make it the last few feet to the car and hope it was unlocked. I took off toward it when one of the men claiming to be a demon came at me. I dodged most of his attacks, but he put me on the ground. He started stalking closer to me and I just reacted and ended up sending him flying with a pulse of energy somehow. I'm freaked out. My mind is racing and is having trouble coming to terms with what is going on here. I needed some air. My l
Rainn She had the reaction I was hoping for when she saw the house that would eventually be her home. I couldn't wait for her to see the rest of it, but first Liam and I had to get Malik settled in the cells until we could question him. I had carried her into the house, taking in her scent every step of the way. I realized now that I was already addicted to her. I put her down when we got inside even though I really didn’t want to. "Adalyn, why don't you explore the house a bit while we get Malik downstairs." "Ok sure", she said. We made our way through the kitchen and down the stairs to the basement. The basement runs the entire length of the house. We remodeled it a few years ago and split it up into different rooms. We have a gym with every kind of machine imaginable. Then, it's the armory where we keep any weapons that we might need for any mission, an interrogation room, and then finally, through the last door is the cells. We only have three cells down here, but they all serve
Adalyn My mind was reeling when Malik told me that I was a dream walker. I've never felt like there was anything special about me. I was a normal girl and nothing interesting ever happened to me. "I can prove it", he said. "How can you prove that I'm a dream walker?" "Easy, one of you get something for her to lay on, and then we will begin." Rainn and Liam looked at each other like they were trying to decide if this is a good idea or not. "Guys I need to know and if this is the only way to find out then I want to do it." Rainn looked down at me with so many emotions in his eyes but the most prominent one is fear. He moved closer to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He looked over at Liam and nodded his head, then put his head on mine and smelled my hair. "Why do you keep smelling me?", I asked, as my cheeks turned pink. He moved so his lips were right by my ear and whispered, "because you smell like a field of wildflowers, and it reminds me of home. It calms me." My cheeks tur