Eighteen years later. Herald sits on his porch facing the training grounds behind his house where the wolves are training. All the first transformations or Lycanthrope in their language happens here on this holy ground on full moon nights. For the mortals, werewolves are merely ‘a folklore’; but the truth is over decades as the number of clans perished, werewolves also practised controlled and wishful shapeshifting in order to blend among humans and save their species from extinction. Moon Mother’s blessings have filled their muscles with inhuman strength and also very long lives indeed; but they have not attained immortality or complete immunity to fatal injuries. Since his birth, Herald has been in the forefront in every battle as Alpha’s son and now as Alpha himself whenever the peace of his clan has been threatened. He has lost many warriors of his handpicked wolf pack trained to be savage killers since birth. Being the leader of the gothic legends, he had to show great restr
Niya toys with the sizzled venison on her plate that she so skilfully killed and butchered. She was so excited and proud about the kill but her father’s words have squashed everything. She knows she is not physically capable of being the heir of Alpha Winterfrost, not for being the second in line but for being a weakling and not having the type of physique desirable. She has been named kitten which she used to despise for a long time but then turned the tag to her advantage eventually. She knows how to fight, how to defend her own while facing danger but still she is not a precious arrogant male wolf with supernatural strength. Years of being in the back foot of He-wolves, years of being protected have made her dislike the entire concept of mating. Her heart and soul is set on proving her father wrong, proving her worth and she never thought giving away the same heart to someone willingly. Vivi gets excited about all this dreamy stuff. Being one year older than her, Vivi must have
“Vivi!! Vivi!! Wake up!!” Vivian opens her eyes to find Niya shaking her frantically. “Go away Kitty and let me sleep.” She tries to turn sideways but is pulled back by her sister. “Don’t call me that!! Come on, you sleep like a sea monster, wake up already!!” “What is your problem?” Vivi shrugs Niya’s hand aside and sits up with groggy eyes trying not to scratch her sister’s face. “You have to teach me something.” Niya says finally settled in a cross legged position. Vivian at last looks at her attentively. “Am I dreaming?” She asks as seriously as possible. “You are asking me to teach you something?” “Yes.” Niya grits her teeth “Well what is that ‘something’?” “Teach me how to flirt with boys.” Niya says, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Since when did you start fantasising about boys?” “Since last night.” Vivian gives her a sceptical look and says. “These things cannot be taught, it comes naturally. You set your eyes upon a boy and you make him notice
The healer hands the paper to Herald and starts working on Malakai’s wounds. The Alpha takes a minute before leaving the cottage and facing anyone else. The note is small with - ‘Hounds of the Horned One are coming’ -Zedakh NightClaws The use of forbidden tongue in the note is proof enough that the followers of evil have risen. The history has so many versions that the exact reason for tribes getting fractured, and wolves abandoning their pack for the thrill of gaining sinister objectives is lost. Not that the reason matters now when all the evil forces have banded together under the same banner. There were rumours about the NightClaws Clan rallying and taking in every rogue wolf under their Zedakh, in common tongue Alpha- the great black wolf Balkan. The NightClaws abandoned the grace of Moon Mother and accepted sanctum under the devil Sammael. They have tainted their souls with dark intentions and want absolute control over the clans to establish Sammael as the one and onl
Herald stands before the fireplace soaking in the warmth to dispel the chill that has settled on his bones. He doesn’t fear about his life, his life was already snatched from him that night when Rosalyn died. He is afraid about the fall of his clan and for the safety of everyone he considers his family. The main issue is that no one really knows what the strength of Balkan’s clan is, where they are hiding now and what is his motive? This makes them more dangerous. “Herald.” “Ah Cory. What’s the update?” “Malakai is awake.” Herald doesn’t waste a single moment and rushes to question Malakai. He is the only one who might know something about Balkan’s intentions. When he reaches the healer’s cottage, he finds Malakai all cleaned up in his human form lying awkwardly on the bed. His entire torso and shoulder is wrapped in white bandages with red patches that suggest blood leak. “Will he survive?” Herald asks the healer. “Yes he will, but he needs some time to recover. I have a
Perks of being short is that you can adjust yourself anywhere and be a good spy. If what Donny said was right then Father and his wolf pack will meet here in his study. The fireplace is where Niya used to hide when she played with Vivian, or she had to observe the Alpha share war strategies with his Beta and wolf pack. Thinking about the memories soothes the ripples of tension in her heart and softens her face with a small smile. Tonight however she has to be careful and so she has sprayed some Lupine petal water on herself which will effectively mask his scent. The flowers are so rare nowadays that they are carefully stored in the sanctum underneath their cottage. Only father and his wolf pack have access there and Niya has found a way to enter. Thank the Moon Mother that she is short. Soon enough the wolf pack enters, led by Father and Cory locks the door. The wolf pack consists of six members: Father, Cory, Hans, Jessie, Felix and Malakai. When Niya was a youngling she used to
Niya is standing on the rooftop, her hands shoved in her pockets with cool air brushing past her cheeks. Tonight is different. Tonight the entire tribe is hushed, as if everyone is put under a spell and are sleeping under the blanket of fear. A tear trickles down her cheek and she sighs at the warmth. Slowly she takes out her right hand and immediately the mark begins to burn and glow. She is accustomed to the agony now, but tonight she feels something different, something she can’t describe; like an invisible tug, like an unspoken language. The longer she looks at the mark the more she loses any other sense, as if the world is muted and only she is real. Suddenly her focus shifts to shadow, a silhouette standing under the birch tree a few metres in front of her cottage. Niya squints her eyes but is only able to see the hooded figure staring back at her. She can’t see the face, nor can she identify the gender but she knows, she knows in her gut that she is being watched. As if in a
Finally the time has come for them to leave for Clan BloodBane. Alpha Jaden has welcomed both of them in his clan and is sending one of his sons to escort them. He will reach here by nightfall and they will start journeying early in the morning tomorrow. Niya is still not convinced that she should go or not, especially after the events that happened two nights prior. She has not seen the hooded woman again but every night she has the gut feeling of being watched. Like someone is trying to keep tabs about her movements. Whoever she was, she felt otherworldly, ancient and she could have killed Niya easily. At least that is what makes sense. The fact that she didn’t attack her or try to kill her makes no sense at all. What if she doesn’t want Niya to leave? If those are the savages threatening to attack our clan, then no one will survive. Father can be ruthless and powerful but even he would avert his eyes from such scenes, such savagery. No one blessed by Moon Mother is capable of