“I couldn’t believe that shifters here in Buenavista forgot the siblings after just two decades, what are your plans for the Martinez siblings and Calisto now?” Irino asked, breaking the peaceful silence I had with Alexei.“Well...” I looked at Mason and Miya and exhaled deeply. “I would love to give them a proper burial and let the Calisto know that they were the Martinez siblings who survived the fall of the Martinez twenty years ago. The shifters who should be the ones ruling Calisto and not the Alvarez. I would also love to conduct a rescue and search for anyone who survived other than Mason and Miya that day to give Calisto back into their hands.”“What if they were the last of their clan?” Irino asked.“I have no choice but to let Akim take Calisto as the new Alpha like everybody was expecting him,” I answered and paused before I faced Irino and the others. “But I won’t let the others face the same leadership here in Calisto, so I will take the shifters who wanted to leave the p
“Stand straight, Aera, or I will make you. You wouldn't like it once I will,” my father, Antonio, scowled at me when he noticed that I was slouching.Fear surged through me after hearing my father’s warning. I immediately stood straight and fixed my posture because I know my father won't hesitate to strike me using his wooden crane when he loses his nerves, even if we are in front of many people. Not that it was foreign to me since he chastised me a lot more than I can count. It’s just making a scene would be inappropriate in such a sacred mating ceremony. I don't want to disappoint the Moon Goddess. “I-I’m sorry, f-father,” I stuttered and looked down when my father glowered at me, afraid that he might hit me if I continued to meet his gaze. “Fix that disgusting stutter of yours!” he hissed through his teeth and then cluck his tongue out of disappointment. “Try embarrassing me today and I will whip that back of yours over and over again until it bleeds and I will starve you for a we
Even though I was the Alpha's daughter, they didn't hold back on saying cruel judgments in front of my face, slapping me with the reality that I had always endured for the past twenty years.On the other hand, my father was only looking at me like he could strike me any minute because of dissatisfaction. He never even defended me to his subordinates before, why would I expect him to defend me now? For the umpteenth time, I feel so small... and useless. I felt like I became even tinier than before and that I could be stomped and forever forgotten. I would never meet their expectations. I would never excel in their eyes because I was born with a stutter and a person like me should always be criticized. “Now that the news about our Alpha’s daughter has been rejected and will spread in Canidae. That was such a disgrace to our pack, Alpha Antonio,” one of the first-ranked betas said calmly, the right hand of my father before darting me a deadpan look. “What are you planning to do now?” “
For weeks, Miya’s bold question kept me pondering at night. When she went home that evening, she left me with a map where she discovered a secret passage that could be accessed through my room and a location where I was supposed to head for our secret training.I glanced at the map and tightly shut my eyes, discouraging myself from my growing curiosity. Every hour, I seemed to keep thinking about sneaking out to train with Miya. But then, I was halted by my fear and agitation. What if my father knows? He wouldn't let it pass without punishing me, that's for sure. He had planned on starving me for days, which he failed without his knowledge because of Miya's help. Truth be told, I was content being abused in our house, yet suddenly I woke up wanting more to achieve for myself. When I heard a prolonged howl from the outside, a curfew sign in the North Canidae that everybody was already in their respective house, I hastily walked towards my table to check the location Miya gave me. Miya
If there was something I know nothing about, then that would be the existence of the White Stag and its significant purpose. When other regions said that the North Canideans believed in such a legend, I never acknowledged the idea of being one of the high believers because I thought that it was preposterous. The prophecy itself was absurd and unimaginable. That’s why most people in other regions, specifically from the Central, looked down upon us for not accepting change and refusing to adapt to modernization, unlike others who had accepted it long years ago. We, people from the North preferred to call our place Town when all of the regions upgraded theirs into a City. Our houses and infrastructure remained to be just a little wooden hut, our packhouse was some sort of old castle built centuries ago and had never been renovated even once, our clothing is perpetual, staying to be conservative, and we preserved our land by staying the way it was our ancestors left them for us. Almost a
My heart was pounding inside my chest and my wolf was getting out of hand. I could feel her swelling up together with the burning of my body. Oh, Goddess... I was no stranger to the idea of the traditional mating of wolf shifters like us, but I had no clue that depriving my wolf's needs was such a torment for both of us. At the age of fifteen, our family's duenna taught us that our duty was not only to be a good wife but also the purpose of the wolf in heat and how we are able to manage it. After the acceptance of claims during the sacred mating banquet, we are obliged to give him our first liquid release to be fully marked and imprinted forever. And then, at the mating season, we are obliged to succumb to the heat to give our mate children if required. Basically, the only way to ease the heat needed to be done by mating. Except the problem was I had no mate to ease the heat that ignited inside me. Rather, I had, but he rejected me and now I was suffering this excitement that I had
“Any luck?” Mason queried, dodging my attack when I tried to give him a swift jab in the face. He locked my fist in his palm, twisting it, forcing me to veer before pushing me as his defense. Panting, I glowered at him. “Would I be here trying to defeat you if I have?” I didn't wait for Mason to answer and charged through him, aiming to land on his face and followed by a supposed to be knockdown attack. But as quick as Mason, he predicted my offense and sent me back from my position by kicking my lower back, making me slightly wince in pain. Fortunately, I didn't lose my footing but I did felt the pain gnawing in my back. My wolf howled inside me all of a sudden, offering her strength for my assistance. If only I hadn't been attempting to defeat Mason without shifting, I would have let my wolf help me earlier. Defeating Mason is all I have wanted to accomplish since the moment I met him, now that five years had gone by and I still haven't found the White Stag, I just want to prove
5 years earlier...“What?” Miya asked incredulously, as if she heard the most absurd idea she ever perceived. “You are going to what?”“Revenge,” I answered promptly, still striding towards the woods where I frequently look for the White Stag. I walked past the members who were spearing their eyes at me in contempt, so I huffed and even hastened my step. “I’m going to take my revenge on them. All of them. Aena. The high members. My mate who rejected me. Including my father.”Without looking, I felt Miya winced in disappointment when the tenor of her breathing changed for seconds, before she continue to take quick breaths as she trailed after me with long steps.“Are you hearing yourself?” Miya asked, which made my forehead crease. Not just because her query was carries a hint of inhibition but because I couldn't believe that she didn't understand my notion given the fact of my dire situation that she's been always aware of.“Of course, I am. I am never been more certain doing something