《Unyielding Beloved (Complete)》 Prologue
Elementress got up out of the king-sized bed and slowly walked away from her man, Xavior. Xavior put out his hand and magical essence flew out to his beloved and appeared as a sexy outfit to cover her naked body. It showed his lusty desire, as it was practically see through, yet having a glamorous effect of making her curvy body look extremely satisfying. There was no one else with them, as they had gotten over having people serve them a long time ago, so whatever he placed on her, was for his eyes only. Now, they had spent centuries alone, deep within a castle that hovered over the land of Altervale, and they found ways to entertain themselves. ¡°What you doing, lovely?¡± Xavior asks, as he sat up slowly. Elementress turned back and smiled, ¡°I just remembered about my new idea!¡± Rubbing his face, his small stubble disappeared, and he smirked back at her. ¡°Which one?¡± The amount of times she had said this¡­Countless! ¡°The reincarnated wolf. It¡¯s been a while, so I thought I¡¯d check on her.¡± She said, taking a few steps up the luxurious room and saw a map of Altervale in front of her. Taping her thumb rings to her index finger rings, she muttered a few words. Dirt from the side of the alter lifted and became two earth totems, wind flew by her strange hair and a storm started to brew around their hiding castle in the sky. Xavior appeared beside her and took her in his arms, ¡°I can¡¯t even remember you thinking about that new idea¡­¡± She laughed, charmingly, ¡°It¡¯s been about two years¡­We got a bit carried away with the new game afterwards¡­Then got carried away again¡­¡± For an Immortal, time flowed differently. They could hardly remember their days as humans, where death was something that was going to happen. To them, now, they relaxed and never rushed into anything¡­What was the point of rushing, when they could live beyond a hundred years¡­A thousand? Ten thousand? Xavior let out another laugh, remembering, ¡°Mmm, let¡¯s do that again!¡± Elementress was an Immortal Shaman, whom had come from a completely different galaxy. As she had grown in her talent of becoming a shaman, her hair, like a few other shamans, had changed to that of being different colours and types...She had a few dread locks, then some really curly, then some was dead straight. Brown, red, blue, white and a few other colours mixed themselves permanently to her hair. The white wavy hair she has, she had gotten when she had learnt how to call upon the power of wind, and she received the brown dread locks when she had learnt to call the power of earth. Her two rings represented her two talents of the shaman, that of the elements and spirits. Of course, a lot of time had been taken to learn all this as she was still not as strong as two of her late masters... Xavior, who was an Immortal Wizard, was in that same galaxy, but from a different planet. He had worked hard as well, as immortality as his prize. He had been able to accomplish beyond his cheap, first master, and then his second...Yet, the late most famous and powerful wizard had been still beyond his power now. Both Xavior and Elementress weren''t able to continue to grow with knowledge from others, as, for quite some time, they were alone, trying to learn things on their own without any other alternative. Currently, they were runaways¡­Hard to believe. Yet, that¡¯s what they were. A certain galaxy had waited and waited, and like a frog in water that goes hotter and hotter, even the two of them were surprised!This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Instead of a black hole, something else appeared in the middle of the galaxy¡­It seemed to suck out immortality and both Xavior and Elementress had been extremely lucky to exit the invisible barrier out of the galaxy, to finally come here. They are unsure, till this day on how else to explain what happened, but all they knew is that the most powerful wizard and shaman had been taken into it and everyone had screamed in disbelief to the loss of them. How would they overcome it, when their master''s couldn''t? Fleeing was all they could do, yet, many began to notice...That there were all boxed in, jailed...Trapped! The planets closest to the edge of this barrier were filled with others like themselves, running from the inevitable pull of their immortality! The strange thing was, the humans were unharmed, they lived like there was nothing wrong and they were quite freaked out to all the strong people with immortality that were running around like headless chickens. How could they be afraid? It didn''t make sense...Yet, even when they heard that they were running away from this, some of the humans believed and some didn''t...The mess... Having met each other, Elementress and Xavior both combined their powers in a last ditched effort to leave the galaxy and escape... They weren¡¯t sure how much time had passed, but they had been happily living here since, just watching how these¡­Humans work, or how they exist. Upon the Humans on this planet of Altervale coming to an amazing halt and travelling backwards, because of fighting each other, Elementress had Xavior help her to include a new species. This new species happened to be called Shifters, after some time of wondering what to call them, and it was of the spirit of wolves and humans being together and that they could shift from one and into the other. Xavior didn¡¯t particularly care too much, but it seemed to make his woman happy, so he had no objection into helping her. Elementress, on the other hand, really adored the Shifters. She had chosen well, with the wolves, as being the spirit inside of another¡¯s body and she had been pretty happy with what she had learnt about this new species. Just like when there were only humans, and they would implant some interesting new thing that they could watch the reaction of, Elementress had done something different this time. Instead of reincarnating a Human, or Shifter, she had reincarnated the spirit of a wolf, that resided inside of a Shifter. ¡°So compassionate, my dear.¡± Xavior said, kissing her neck, knowing that there was most definitely a reason she had chosen that specific wolf spirit. He had no idea what it was, but it might have been something that had made her cry. He hadn¡¯t any other wish, just to be by her side. He had fought and learnt enough for a long time to come, before he had to run away. There were no regrets, as he had met his other half that way and even though their immortal life was a little boring sometimes, being with her was all worth it. ¡°Mmm, she¡¯s just sleeping¡­I was worried that I had done it wrong, but they are still together.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Xavior asked, distracted¡­ ¡°Must have been two years ago I forcefully implanted her into that child, but she seemed to have not budged¡­Wait a second¡­¡± Elementress mumbled and zoned further in at the spirit of the reincarnated wolf. ¡°Ha! Would you believe it! She¡¯s focusing on building up the Shifter¡¯s powers! What an interesting one!¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Was all Xavior said, hearing¡­Yet, not hearing her words. Lightly pulling away the beautiful, see through cloak from her shoulder, he kissed her creamy skin. Elementress knew what he was like and didn¡¯t worry about him not paying the subject much attention. It was irritating sometimes, but what was she to do!? Suddenly stopping, Xavior remember something and put out his hand on the map and flashing red dots appeared. ¡°My dear, war is already breaking out again on the other continent and the one your wolf is on is manufacturing silver bullets, want me to stop them?¡± Elementress looked down upon the wolf spirit, seeing quite a few red dots close to her, as these red dots meant silver. ¡°Mmm, not right now. It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t do it again anyway. Just wait and see.¡± Xavior smirked at her, pushing her closer, ¡°Are we still going to do as you suggest and add ourselves into the fray?¡± To a certain regard, he was looking forward to it. He would help the Human¡¯s and she would help the Shifters. It¡¯d be like playing chess! Elementress sighed and moved her head, her strange hair following suit, ¡°Mmm.¡± Xavior, excited, he takes her mouth with his own and pushed the magical clothing off her and it turns into nothing upon falling to the floor. Sighing to the pleasure, Elementress put back her head and put a hand through his hair, forgetting all about her new idea¡­ Chapter 1
The planet¡¯s name was Altervale and it was normal to know of Shifters and Humans living together. At first, they had fought together and lived together as one. But the Humans were always scared of the Shifters, as they were obviously stronger, faster and able to heal faster and more. The Humans thought they were able to rid the planet of Shifters and went against them, even becoming friends with their own human enemies, to have more help to get rid of them all. The easiest way to kill the Shifters for them, was silver and the hard to find wolfsbane. Yet, the Humans didn¡¯t win, and the Shifters lost as well. The surprise of the attack had the most damage upon the Shifters, yet with the Shifters fast and unique way of able to talk to each other, they were able to sync their attacks and gain the upper hand a few times. Luckily, just as the Humans had gotten on the same side, the Shifters had merged together as well. Upon the war finishing, both the Humans and Shifters disbanded, from the lose of so many, and only wanting to live the remainder of their lives without war¡­ The world went on for a long time, but stories were heard in the generations that the Human¡¯s and Shifters were not friends. They were enemies at heart but knew they were not strong enough to defeat the other through either fear of losing loved ones or fear of the huge wolves ripping your face right of your body! Both sides have a few spies or kidnappers to discreetly lower the population of the other, or to have a prisoner to bully, but war had not come to pass again. The Shifters are very protective and would happily just like to play with they pack, and just like the humans, they were all now scattered around the planet. Some Shifters concealed themselves within the human cities, giving themselves human names and houses, others didn¡¯t and used the wolf names that they were born with. For the most part, the Shifters were in their human form, especially those hiding within the cities, but obviously their inner wolves would make them shift and run out, wanting to feel the wind in their faces and the awesome feeling of freedom beneath their feet.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. *** The planet was made up of two large continents and a small island, and all land consisted of the usual areas of forest, hills, rivers, desert, tundra and plains. It was in the northern part of Altervale, that The Snowvalley Pack was situated, being led by a large, Alpha, grey wolf with stunning, golden eyes. His name was Alarick, and he had a past of being used and having to clean up a mess within his own pack. The Snowvalley Pack had nearly come to an end, but Alarick had stopped that and finally were able to fix the corruption and make the pack stronger once again. It wasn¡¯t easy, as years had gone by, but now they were seeing other packs take caution before thinking of them as weak¡­And finally, they were no longer fighting amongst themselves. *** A lone wolf was even further north, having travelled half of the large continent that they were on, and took residence within the snow. Her name was Rieka and she had a brilliant, white fur coat and dazzling, blue eyes. If anyone knew that she had been abandoned and thought of as an albino when young, they probably would have fainted seeing her now¡­As she was no albino. A pure white wolf could be seen as a curse or a blessing, giving her spirit wolf, Asuna, a sad past that helped her want to stay by herself in the north with her Shifter human master. So far, Asuna was still waiting, waiting for the possibility of saving the little one¡¯s life, and hers¡­Yet, that time had not arrived, and she had to always concentrate to keep what she had been doing all these years at bay. While she was like this though, she had spent very little time communicating with Rieka. But there were no regrets¡­What she always questions though, is why they were so different¡­Normally, both the human and the spirit of the wolf inside, think as one, as they are one¡­Yet, her and the little one, were so different. Two different beings¡­Something must have gone desperately wrong somewhere! Over the years, Rieka had become strong, able to handle being a lone wolf, a rogue. She considers freedom an asset, as she had lived with humans and tried to be a part of a pack, yet that had not worked out¡­ *** Then comes, a meeting of the two¡­A grey wolf, meets a white wolf. Chapter 2
Rieka POV The Cold breeze blows past me, moving my fur and making my ears slightly twitch. It went into my lungs, attempting to cool my body more than it already was. It doesn¡¯t bother me, as I closed my eyes, enjoying this breeze. The small amount of snow beneath my feet also did nothing to cool me down more. How could it? I felt like the world had already frozen over, that heat was something of a myth, that it was just a story that people read about. Summer¡­Spring¡­What was that? I was always in the depths of winter¡­It was like¡­I belonged here¡­ *** I licked my chops once again, still digesting my last meal. I had gotten used to raw meat a long time ago and it didn¡¯t bother me anymore. I had no intention to shifting back to being a human, as I was just lazily and leisurely just wasting my time here as a wolf, in the most northern, most coldest parts of the continent¡­ My fur rustled slightly to more cold breezes and I shook my wolf head and let out a big yawn. I never did much after eating, as any strenuous exercise would actually hurt me. I had unintentionally swallowed silver once, back in the day, and now I have to let my food settle if I don¡¯t want to deal with the pain for a short time. I guess, now, I just got used to it¡­It¡¯s something that I probably couldn¡¯t change, so what else am I to do? Besides the fact that this situation always reminds me of my past, it can be easily dismissed afterwards, now that time has moved on. My life wasn¡¯t about the past, nor was it about the future¡­I was living in the now and trying to make the best of it. Picking up my paw, I continued to remove the blood off it, as my pretty, white fur had some red on it from my amazing kill! I liked to think I¡¯ve become a hundred percent wolf¡­Yet, I know that I haven¡¯t. How could I? My wolf inside me was not playing much of a part in my life at all, so, to a certain decree, I was a human, just not in human form. It was strange, yet, something I got over. I tried to have things not get to me anymore¡­If I thought too much about things, I get sad¡­And who wants that? Through the small amount of times that my wolf does actually talk to me, she had said I¡¯ve gone a little eccentric or crazy, but honestly, once I thought it through, I was just trying to be happy. I mean what¡¯s the point of wanting to wallow in self-pity, right? So what, if I make the simplest of things become something that could make me jump around and put a strange looking smile on my wolfy face. So what, if my imagination had just grown so much that I could spend so much time alone without getting bored and dream days away in a fairy-tale. Wasn¡¯t this a good thing? Sigh¡­It was much better to be¡­Laid back and take the least amount of seriousness about anything. It was just the way I had become¡­ I knew many other Shifters went into their human forms often, and kids would be able to shift when they were two years old. Hell, I learnt this from Humans, so it seems to be quite common knowledge I suppose. I learnt that I was different pretty quick. Much of my life, till two, was a blur, but I remember two things quite clearly. That they called me an albino and called me a waste¡­Probably other names too¡­ I was abandoned and dismissed from whatever that pack was called, and on my own, when I was only three. As a human, my hair hadn¡¯t been very long, and my blue eyes had freaked them out. Actually, they weren¡¯t the only ones¡­When I got picked up and went to a normal, human orphanage, they were freaked out too! So, perhaps having so much little time with others, has given me this strange personality¡­ Obviously, I hadn¡¯t known different back then. I think I thought that what I went through was normal¡­ What a naive child I was though¡­Never thinking much about what was different about me, instead, I had wondered why they treated me as such. I wanted mum, I wanted dad¡­Yeah, like that¡¯s ganna do something you idiot, younger me, they are the ones that had abandoned you! I¡¯m sure I had other memories of them at one stage, but now¡­My memories of the past mostly hold all the bad stuff. From being a part of a family, to losing that at such a young age, I have completely forgotten if it meant anything at all. Is having a family a good thing? Is it worth it? For a long time, my little self hadn¡¯t been able to figure it out. I had not been able to connect with the wolf inside of me, nor did I shift to become a wolf, so I really thought that I was a normal child. So, I really did try at the orphanage¡­Pfft. Idiot, younger self is stupid! Being called names¡­Why did I cry and wonder why? My white hair was uncommon, especially in with the humans. To a certain degree, I didn¡¯t know how common it was with packs¡­But either way, it was like the button that everyone wanted to press to give them the right to want to bully me. I was sometimes even hit by other kids at the orphanage, and that was the start of not trusting humans¡­Just the start¡­But, I guess I mastered the art of hiding through being at the orphanage. I found that, if they didn¡¯t find me, they couldn¡¯t hurt me. Most of the time it worked, just for the times it didn¡¯t, I had gotten all sad and upset again¡­ Really, the only good thing about that part of my life, was going to school. Because I was able to have more space to hide¡­ It helped that I was relatively small, to hide that is, as I would still look like a six-year-old, when I had really been eight. Actually, I was still like this now, looking younger then I am¡­The only thing big about me was my wolf, she said something in mumbles earlier on about alpha blood, but I don¡¯t care to elaborate¡­Well, to be honest, it¡¯s because I¡¯ve forgotten what she¡¯s said¡­ Of course, the bad times overcame school and I could hardly remember it now¡­I didn¡¯t learn much, only attending it for about two years, but it still sucks when my wolf, Asuna, calls me stupid¡­Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. So what, I¡¯ve learnt the invaluable knowledge that bullying someone can hurt another¡¯s feelings and that it doesn¡¯t matter what¡¯s inside, and that if you have white hair and blue eyes, people look at you funny! Valuable knowledge that I had learnt, was that when I spoke, it wasn¡¯t worth it¡­No one wanted to listen to me anyway. And then, I had to rely on myself, because no one else wanted to be my friend. My knowledge to me was grand, superb¡­Yet, apparently, I still lack. I looked up ignorance once, when Asuna said that word, and I agreed with her and moved on. She must have thought that I wanted to open up, border my horizons and realise my ignorance, because she had been stunned that I continued on my merry way¡­Hell, I totally understood! I understood that ignorance, was bliss! If I knew about something, then I might want to do something about it¡­Or whatever¡­Who knows! ¡­Besides, it¡¯s not like I knew nothing¡­Sigh¡­ I guessed, back when I was a pipsqueak, that being bullied was how everyone seemed to became stronger, how everyone lived their lives, that it was normal, yet¡­I only saw one or two others get bullied as much as I¡­Then everyone else seemed to contain something I didn¡¯t. They were able to laugh and smile, talk and happily play with each other. To this, I was confused. I was also jealous¡­ On the rare occasion that I had enough courage to try and play with them, I would end up being the one that had to chase everyone and would search for them for hours¡­Then, only to find them having all forget about me chasing after them, as they were just playing elsewhere and laughing without me¡­And, that was probably the start of becoming my own crazy best friend. Really, I¡¯m a hoot to hang out with! Much better then those¡­Meanies! When I had turned nine, on a night of a full moon, I had shifted for the first time and it scared the living daylights out of me! I had the vague memories of wolves and shifting, but I was never taught much at all about them. Being tossed out at three and hanging out with humans since, I had no idea why it had happened like this! I really started to think my so-called family had tossed me out because I was a normal person¡­ Through my scared and painful state, I had hidden. A little white-haired kid, with blue eyes, went missing that day, yet, if they had looked hard enough, I was in the cupboard¡­Well, not my cupboard¡­But, oh well¡­ So, at that time, I had to accept that I wasn¡¯t Human, I was a Shifter. Fancy that¡­ With the small detail about Shifters that I did actually know, but being nine and with no teacher to guide me, I had been truly frightened¡­ I would rummage into bins to get food and steal from a house cat¡¯s bowl. Sleep in backyards, in parks and freak out because of the dark at night-time¡­ I guess my first experience of being alone in the world wasn¡¯t that great, but at least I was able to continue to depend on myself as I had been already. And having me inside myself, as my new best friend, really helped. Well, it wasn¡¯t like I was going to run away from me¡­Anyway¡­ Not thinking that I could return to the orphanage, because I was unable to shift back to being human, I ended up roaming the streets, wanting to whine my heart out. A sulk here and there¡­ Poor, little, idiot, younger me was lonely¡­I guess. I had already felt lonely as it was, but when I was by myself, it was a whole new chapter on my life. I never thought that getting my own food and water would be so hard. And, not having any particular idea on what I should do in that situation, I could only wander around¡­I may have been lost in that city, but I was also lost in my soul. I remembered the school teacher telling us kids that we had to work hard to get a good job and to look after your family. Yet, what do I work hard to do? My nine-year-old brain, which was only just starting to realise that being independent was hard, was starting to fry¡­ After a few days of this, I was just about to go into the bush, because of all the yelps and scares that seemed to happen around me, when someone had picked me up and threw me into a car. My size at that time wasn¡¯t too small, my fur wasn¡¯t as it was now. It¡¯s thick and long now¡­But back then, it was thin and only a centimetre or two long, at most¡­To a certain decree, I would have probably called myself ugly¡­ So, I was taken¡­Again¡­And I was thrown into a dog fights¡­Many times. That¡¯s right, I was put into a cage and I had no idea upon what I was supposed to do. Upon the first fight, I probably could have only handled two more attacks before death, when my wolf finally linked to me! While I freaked out over some strange bond that I never knew I had, my wolf took over and we survived the fight. It had been the very first time that she had done anything! I hadn¡¯t heard her speak, hadn¡¯t seen her move¡­Honestly, I was thinking that this was normal¡­That she had never existed¡­ Again, that was just me being naive¡­ My wolf was probably everything¡­I wasn¡¯t¡­So, for the poor, idiot, younger me, she became my idol¡­She was big, her fur a lot nicer than mine but sadly¡­She sounded like she had better things to do¡­ Trying for days and days, wanting to express my thanks and good will, she ignored me. It really was a let down for me, as I hadn¡¯t come across anyone being nice to me yet back then. I suppose I had really thought that she had no other choice but to be my friend¡­Guess I just didn¡¯t like that fact that I had been wrong¡­ I was somewhat certain that Shifters were supposed to get on with their wolf¡¯s. But I wasn¡¯t sure¡­ She only stated one thing, and that was to do it on my own. Well, I¡¯ve been doing everything on my own! I learnt to fight and continued to survive on my own, having it become so easy that a growl would scare them off! My own will power and dependence on myself had definitely turned towards being able to become aggressive, when I had to be. I strived to survive and not get hurt, because¡­Well, it was painful when they hurt me¡­And well, my wolf had gone back into some kind of slumber, so I no longer relied on her¡­I should say talk, but nope, I don¡¯t talk to her at all! I mean, she was strong and¡­And¡­She was in my head¡­And I don¡¯t need to talk to her¡­Sigh. It was like I was always reminded that I was on my own, when I saw her in my mind. With the words that she had spoken to me, I got stronger and stranger. Doing anything I needed¡­On my own! Never, ever, wanting to admit that I was actually really upset and unhappy that we couldn¡¯t get on. Never¡­ But what made fighting more difficult, was when I had eaten the silver, mixed into my daily meal, and fighting became harder. My wolf told me then, that I just had to become stronger! My idol! Yeah, and look at you know! No more ideas? I don¡¯t blame my wolf now, we had gone through enough together¡­Even though she woke up late¡­Even though she abandoned me. I felt like she was just a tag along, that I really did own this life. So, why should I blame her? If I did, wouldn¡¯t that mean I depended on her too much? As far as I¡¯m aware, I¡¯m very happy just depending on myself. She can just sit there and sleep for all I care. Sighing¡­I knew though, she did help me a little¡­That¡¯s just another reason why I don¡¯t blame her. After they used silver on me and even put silver on the dog¡¯s claws, things went for a turn for the worse. I had healed my wounds easily prior to these fights, but when silver was clawed over my skin, I started to obtain scars. That¡¯s when I started to become afraid¡­Of what I would look like when I would shift back to a human¡­If it was ever going to happen, I mean seriously, at this time I was a wolf nonstop for at least a couple of years! Did it bother me, yes and no¡­I was more bothered over Asuna not talking to me then being able to change. Yet, I wasn¡¯t bothered because I had to be a wolf to win, right!? If I was human¡­Well, let¡¯s just say I was glad I was a wolf when I went to fight another dog! Not long after, when I was about twelve¡­Give or take a year or two¡­They had even wanted to strengthen me or watch an interesting match and put me into an arena with another wolf¡­ I had won, having about three years of battle experience¡­But the other wolf was in fact another Shifter, like myself. I had felt wrong¡­Everything was going wrong. Upon seeing that mangled body after the Shifter went human to glare back at me, just before death, I was practically paralysed. Killing a dog seemed ok, especially since it was for survival, yet, for some reason I was unable to accept killing another like myself at the time. I hadn¡¯t come into contact with another Shifter, since my family had abandoned me¡­Pretty sure at that age, that I was indeed part of a pack, but still unsure which one. But, really, I¡¯d prefer to talk to them, you know. Why the hell would I wanna kill someone who I¡¯d wanna try and befriend!? Why the hell did they want me to do this? I was really upset with the glare the other Shifter gave me, it was full of anger and rage, yet, I was innocently apologetic and wanted to help them! Hey, can you tell me how to shift back? That would be a great question! When I had heard that this was going to become my life from then on¡­I had to leave! I didn¡¯t want to kill anymore wolfs! Even if they weren¡¯t Shifters. As it so happened, I was still somewhat stuck as a wolf¡­So, there was nothing else but to try and live as one¡­ Honestly, I ate like one, slept like one, fought like one¡­I am wolf¡­I am wolf! My wolf had said, all you have to do is ask. Yeah, I remember, you bitch! Why didn¡¯t she just teach me¡­But no¡­Let¡¯s make it hard for the pup who got abandoned uh!? Honestly, why don¡¯t you think I didn¡¯t ask? She ignored me, then was opened with me, ignored me, then helped me! She confused me! Sorry, I take that back, she has always, until this day, confuses the hell out of me! She¡¯s got some kind of aura though, that holds me back from yelling at her. Like some experienced and leadership type of aura that makes me go silent and just nod my head in submission¡­So annoying. All I can do is pretend I beat her up in my mind! I closed my eyes, trying to blank out my mind once again. My life held more problems but as it was, being reminded of this was¡­Depressing¡­Yeah, let¡¯s not¡­ Chapter 3
Rieka POV I was on a really good spot! If I cared to look at the moon and howl, wouldn¡¯t it be a pretty picture, uh!? I didn¡¯t care much for it though, howling at the moon was not what I was thinking! Nope, no sorry, nope, not going there! I didn¡¯t long for anything and¡­I wasn¡¯t restless! Didn¡¯t need guidance or fulfilment. So, why should I howl uh!? To be honest, for the most part, I hardly knew what those words meant, so, if I never knew, how would I want them? Although¡­One time, I howled because I longed for a blanket¡­Because I was cold¡­ This was a spot that looked over the area under the mountain. It was a snowy clearing, that had a forest of trees on either side. On one side, it led to the town Brolly and on the other side, it led to the town Vanin. I was pretty much right in the middle of them! I put my paw up and pretended to squash the land in the distance, acting like I had the power to do anything! But¡­One whole town was not even able to be seen from here, and the other town was small, considering how far away it was. I¡¯ve been here now for nearly five years, or is it five years? Honestly, I¡¯ve lost track of time. I was free here and hardly burdened by anything, including things that breathed! After I had turned eighteen, I had experienced a strange sensation twice, that makes me feel intolerably hot and yucky. My wolf explained a few things that I didn¡¯t quite understand, but what I got¡­If I could remember correctly, was that it was me going in heat to find a potential mate. Something along the lines of, I might not be good enough for my real, destined mate, but still good enough for any other bastard¡­Uh¡­Maybe that was wrong¡­I simply had to reword some things that she has said¡­And that was my rewording¡­That¡¯s how I understood it to be¡­ But, otherwise, I would run around, play, pretend to be a dominant ruler and teach my subjects some neat tricks¡­ I was a princess, a queen, a king, a prince, then I was some unfortunate old maid and then a supreme teacher! I¡¯d get excited over crickets and jump with the deer¡¯s¡­Except they kept running away from me. I¡¯ve even attempted to climb trees, for something new and different, but that was extremely embarrassing¡­Words from Asuna herself. I made pictures in the snow and dug out my own den. I had searched my surroundings a few times but never marked them, only marking my own small den. Actually, I find it strange to lift my leg and pee on things¡­I mean, if I mark it mine¡­What if the plant dies? For some strange reason, even though I instinctively felt like I should mark things, I went against it. I didn¡¯t want to not look after something accidently and have it die! What if an ant went into my territory! Mice! Nah, I forgo the extra responsibility entirely when I had thought through all this. So, I can not be blamed whatsoever about things not being looked after! ¡­Being right near the snow, I was glad that I was able to stay as a wolf all the time, as I was sure being in human form, I¡¯d probably freeze to death¡­But that wasn¡¯t the only reason. I still didn¡¯t like the idea of having scars over my body, even if Asuna said that my scars would heal over time, I did not believe it. There was a boundary to a pack that was towards Brolly, but I didn¡¯t wander anywhere close to it. I had pretty much been shown¡­That I don¡¯t belong to either wolf nor human¡­So, why go there and get into unnecessary trouble? I was¡­Neither.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. I was a human, who posed as a wolf, and did practically very little. Don¡¯t get me wrong, this lone wolf¡­Human¡­Whatever I am, is strong and would kick some butt, but who would want to bother meeting up with either of them¡­What would be so good about that? I honestly had no idea what I could gain from going into the human or wolf world. Here, I had whatever I wanted, and I was free¡­I mean, what¡¯s better than that!? I was better company by far! My time with the humans was terrible and my time with the packs was just as bad! The real question was¡­Which was worse!? Haha! I gave out a strange noise that would represent a wolf laughing. Yeah, I¡¯m good, right here, this is my spot! Twenty years, and I was¡­ A really overwhelming fragrance went through me, making me want to drool¡­ Uh? I rapidly moved my head to the side, seeing a big, grey wolf looking at me with gorgeous golden eyes, and dam! Surging in my head, my blood, my skin¡­Yeah, just about everywhere went nuts, even my wolf! What the hell! The invisible barrier I¡¯d put my wolf in was being knocked against by her paws and head¡­ My wolf and I hadn¡¯t gotten along very great in the last few years, so our link wasn¡¯t strong at all, not that it ever was in the first place¡­We were practically two entities now¡­Strangely, she was going nuts, trying to make her presence stronger and stronger, wanting to break this wall between us. Mate! she yelled at me, yet it only came out as a small whisper¡­ Blanking out, I stare at the big grey wolf and couldn¡¯t deny what was going through me¡­It had to be that mate bond whatever thing¡­ I knew a bit about it, but¡­I mean, it was a reason I stayed away from others¡­I was better off not worrying about someone else, they didn¡¯t fit in my leisurely lifestyle! I had simply thought that I would never met him if I never see anyone¡­What the hell was he doing all the way up here? Seriously, there¡¯s a huge continent, why come here where I am!? Shaking my head rapidly, I stomped on my thoughts and ground, blanking myself out. I didn¡¯t want to feel, I didn¡¯t want to care¡­My heart is fine remaining a huge icicle¡­Lesser worries is good! I yawned, ignoring the big, grey wolf¡¯s presence and shook my head to keep awake. Honestly, it wasn¡¯t easy looking like this didn¡¯t get to me. I was having a huge war inside of me, my eyes wanted to search his, my ears were waiting to hear his movement, my skin was growing slightly hot and I smelt the different, delicious aroma in the air. A few scents were mixed in, like the grey wolf had been rolling around with his peers, but¡­I smelt a better fragrance¡­Like the blanket in the carer¡¯s room at the orphanage, warm and cosy. Just smelling it made me shiver to the cold breeze the flowed over me. I wanted that blanket! All the other things can go, but the blanket can stay! I could already see myself pulling it everywhere to keep me warm! Meeting your destined mate was a lot different to what I had expected¡­I was originally thinking that I could just decline the bond and move on, you know¡­But, how the heck can I decline all these! I pointed an invisible finger to each and every one of my crazy problems and told them, ¡®No!¡¯ But, it hardly helped at all! By now, my head was strangely moved to the side, as I was conflicted, and I suddenly heard the big, grey wolf move a step closer. Snapping my head up, I immediately growled my displeasure. I did the works! Besides my growl, I lowered my head and bared my teeth, showing every ounce of my decline! The big, grey wolf stared at me, I guess I shocked him out of his wits! But then he growled at me in return! His growl was a bit scary, but he¡¯s just one wolf, and I had gone against more then that. I had been a lone wolf for at least five years, buster! You don¡¯t scare me! But at the same time, I knew I felt a strange, different emotion run through me¡­ After a short moment of my wolf becoming extremely upset and even my own self going into an uncontrollable depressive state, I took that moment to run off! As the strange feelings of disappointment ran through me, I waited. I wasn¡¯t stupid¡­He had declined our bond just as I did¡­ He seemed strong too, giving me more of a reason to not indulge in these absolutely stupid feelings. My wolf was really upset and sad after the meeting and I let her be. Her hopes were dashed into the dirt and she laid there and closed her eyes, feeling very painful¡­How could I help her when I somewhat felt the same way? To be honest, it scared the hell out of me. It was stronger than I thought, and I felt a strange sense of not caring about anything else. Just to be with him, would be enough to change my whole life¡­ Stop right there! This is ridiculous! Our mate bond, whatever link, seemed to be faltering already, making me think that it might disappear over time. So, was it me or is this broken as well? My link with my wolf hadn¡¯t arrived until I was nine, I had been broken and abandoned when I was three¡­Why is it¡­That everything is broken!? I gave out sad, little whimper. Perhaps, for me, this was normal¡­ The broken, lone wolf¡­Stepping, on snow¡­Ready to sleep. I crawled into my home-made den, in amongst trees and snow, and laid down. Just¡­Continue. I was so cold, wrapping my tail around me and curling up into a big, white, fluffy ball¡­So cold. Yet¡­I still felt that weak link between the so-called mate and I¡­I guess I still wanted that blanket¡­ Chapter 4
Alarick POV As I watched over my pack, seeing little wolves frolicking around and then adults getting a huge amount of food ready for lunch, I sighed. For some strange reason I started to feel agitated. We had been lucky to survive until now, but now that we were stronger, rivals had started to come. Since making a comeback and having others know how great our pack was, rivals just wanted to bloody steal it! Having been able to see what I wanted and how I could change things, I had been extremely busy! I wanted the pack to stay at peace and play, personally knowing how running a mile and playing with other¡¯s pups was like. It had taken so long to get to this point, that I still hadn¡¯t felt at peace since I had awakened the Alpha within me. Even though I was known as the Alpha at nine, my father was the one pulling all the strings. I hadn¡¯t been fully aware then, on what was going on, but I became quite observant and figured out a few things in the next few years. And that was¡­I was sure we had lost our way¡­ Not just the way of looking after the pack, I meant the way of our wolf nature. I read a few books, watched my dad¡¯s human connections and saw that we were living more like humans then wolves. Fair enough, having a toilet and a bed is great¡­But, when I go out into the bush, I felt freakin awesome! There was a difference, but I was young and still being used then. My father only put me in charge, so that if people of the pack wanted to blame someone, they could blame his son instead of him. Actually, I was lucky, that I had been training a lot on my own, as challengers came at least once a year to take our pack. Me, being only young then, I knew I just had to be strong, but still trying to figure out why I had to be strong. But when I was fifteen, my mother had died, and her last words of stating I was the Alpha and I had to protect my family, I had been fighting, not just physically, but fighting for what I believed in. I was certain that I needed to change our pack, change my family! Remembering my mother¡¯s absolute pain, I flinched. She had not only gone against her mate, but her mate had inflicted her pain before he had gotten someone else to kill her right in front of me. She had bluntly told me that something was desperately wrong and that had vexed my useless father to the extreme. He was happy with the way things were, they had been getting in a lot of money and quite a number of things that were worth something¡­But, my mother was seeing what was happening right under her nose and knew that it was wrong for her pup to be used like this. I know she loved me, having done what she did, I just hated that she had to die because she loved me. She had chosen me and the pack, over her mate, which is hardly heard of, and because of that, she was killed. Yet, I thought she was the toughest female in the world, no one could beat my mum! Not long after this, I was sure that having a mate wasn¡¯t very thrilling. If my mum could go against her mate, why is it such a big deal? Yet, the most important part¡­Was her last message to me. ¡®Protect your family¡¯, became embedded inside of me and that was when I felt the Alpha part of me explode out. My eyes had not reverted back to my normal brown colour since. I was sure that I would just continue to protect my family, so I now doubted that they would ever return to become brown. So, my mother¡¯s last wish, had become mine as well! After my mother passed, I found out so much, even though I knew of things already. And it really was appalling that we, as wolves, had changed so much. I wanted my family to smile. That was my Alpha, I didn¡¯t care for any kind of rumour, even if it were true, about my bloodthirstiness. What I wanted, is my pack to smile. This wish of mine was a lot harder to obtain then I had originally thought. I never knew how much we started to live like the normal humans and how further away from nature we were. We had cars, mobile phones, internet and computers¡­Making us forget the person who would be sitting right beside us¡­ But, before I could go into that¡­I had to protect my family first and foremost, as making them smile was my secondary objective. It was hard to believe, that a pack could be corrupted like ours was, wolves are said to be the total opposite, yet here we were as Shifters and living like that of Humans. The fact that I had to protect my family from my family itself, was something hard to endure, making me stronger inside once I had. I bloody hate humans! They¡¯re so fuckin greedy! Over the time of fixing up my own pack, I had come upon the information of my father working with Humans and that they had some kind of allegiance. Through this, and over years, the corruption seemed to have gone from the Humans and into our pack. My father wasn¡¯t the only one that brought this upon us¡­Two elders and my older sister had done it too¡­ It angered me still, that my father became greedy for money and land, without caring for his family! We gambled and let sparing go to the death, upon which laughter was heard, even though one of our family members had died. There was jewellery on nearly all the females and I rarely saw anyone, but enforcers, shift to their wolves¡­It¡¯s like a lot of the human world had been gradually been entwined into ours and we had started to think ourselves as such. As soon as I could, I banished anyone in the pack from trying to get along with the Humans¡­I was sure that Humans and their ways, was probably the biggest reason why my pack went downhill so much¡­I knew it was a huge change that could possibly turn the whole pack upside down, but I was the real Alpha now, I knew what I wanted!The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I mean, it¡¯s hard to forgot when I killed my own father¡­As I was sure, at first, everyone feared me¡­ Yet, as I tried to get a few on my side, to understand my point of view, I was able to proceed further in my plans. I explained a short description of what I wanted, a small basic and simple understanding, and figured that if they didn¡¯t want that too, they could leave! We had at least three hundred members before this decision was made, and the pack dwindled down to fifty. But those who remained were a lot more loyal, especially now, loving their new Alpha and feeling a lot more happier. Fighting those who wanted to take us, while we were weak, and fighting ourselves. Fighting challengers that were even rogues and the corrupted Shifters that were trying to hide within the pack¡­ Rogues had wanted to take advantage of us back then, but now they weren¡¯t so bold to enter our land by themselves. Of course, our population had steadily improved over time. But I wasn¡¯t going to let any Tom, Dick or Harry in and be initiated just like that! I was stubborn when it came to see rogue shifters wanting to join the pack and would question them well. How do they want to live? How do they feel about the Humans? What brought them here? What do they think, when they hear the word ¡®pack¡¯? Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m a nutter for information, but I can smell if it¡¯s real hey! Do they have the guts to lie to this man!? Hell, not just this ¡®man¡¯, but wolf as well! My wolf is totally happy in kicking someone''s ass! Most of them were scared out of their wits upon my glare and would speak very little and quietly. But, my new way of life, protecting the pack and my secondary objective, was crucial, and I wasn¡¯t going to let just anyone get in the way! I¡¯m not the ¡®world peace¡¯ type of bloke hey, I¡¯m the ¡®pack peace¡¯ man! Just get passed me and my wolf and your set! Haha! Over seven long years, our population slowly increased from fifty, to a hundred. I knew it still wasn¡¯t very big, but every one of this hundred in my family, we all wanted the same thing! It also wasn¡¯t easy when it came to take more into the pack, as other circumstances were involved. Since taking so long into getting where we are today, I was really glad that we had made it this far! Supposed it helped that I¡¯m the man, the Alpha, the one who can easily take on three or four at a time without a problem. So fuckin lucky! Just thinking of it always makes me smile with pride! It was only two days ago that we had a rival from another pack, come from the southern part of the continent, to stack a claim to my family! What an idiot! Walking all that way to challenge me¡­For what!? Well, I warned him! Challenging me and my might, only increased my popularity! My pride over being the man, the boss, and keeping my family safe was the best! I happily took on each and every one of them! Even though it supported the current claim that my bloodthirstiness was becoming quite popular¡­Of course, I wasn¡¯t the best Alpha on the continent, there were at least two others that overwhelmed my small reputation, but I was not in a competition¡­Ish¡­Well, let¡¯s just say that when I¡¯m kicking ass, I¡¯m doing it with style, but otherwise, no competition whatsoever! Many of my family members laughed at this a few times, when they see me want to make a child smile or help one of the older Shifters out. Honestly, I wasn¡¯t like the rumours unless I had to be, otherwise I was a protective but communal Alpha, always wanting to make them all smile. Even though my wolf inside me still was keen to always take on any opponent¡­I felt a strange feeling of it getting a little old, I felt like I hadn¡¯t been able to relax lately! If they could back off for two weeks, that would be cool! I¡¯ll take em on then! My work was piling up once again, because we had started to really do a lot of things on our own, without shops, human schools or hospitals. I had to get a healer to teach, yet we only had two healers. I had to school our own pups and have our females not only cook but even make clothes. The cars were all sold, I mean, we were wolves¡­The computers, all but one was taken back, internet gone, and phones weren¡¯t bought anymore¡­Once they were gone, that was it. We had to farm and look after our land. It was a lot more taxing work then it used to be, but I wanted my family to work hard and be thankful for what they had. We were a family after all, so even I would get on the farm and look like I¡¯m making clothes¡­Yes, look¡­Not actually make them. I had no idea about that crap whatsoever! So, to a few things, I was a supervisor more then a helper. As cooking didn¡¯t seem to sit right with me either, so, I¡¯d stand there and watch, making sure that¡­Things were done right! Number one Alpha here! ¡­Well, at least that was what I thought¡­ *** I couldn¡¯t believe it had already been a week since I last merrily played games and had a drink with my family. Hell, it was getting closer to my 26th birthday, when I was going to see a fight! I couldn¡¯t help but become excited, now that I thought about my potential, new partner in the future. At 22, and not meeting my mate by then, yet, I had told the elders that I would let the females fight for the Luna position when I turned 26. It¡¯s just a few more months! Can¡¯t fuckin wait! I had already made the mental note of making sure I had no work for that day, wanting to watch over my new partner from start to finish. It would be spars until all but one has accepted defeat, and I thought this would be the best way to obtain my future partner¡­My future mate. Sighing to my future, I held myself in check. I hadn¡¯t been with another yet. But as the time came closer and closer, I felt more heat inside of me, willing for time to go faster so that I could put others at rest about the opened spot in the Luna position and so that I¡­ Giving of a smirk, I couldn¡¯t help but want to take her, whoever she was, right now. To a certain happy decree, as the years had gone by, I hadn¡¯t met my mate, even when the younger girls in the pack had turned eighteen. It was disappointing that my mate wasn¡¯t in my own pack. I thought that bringing in an outsider, just because we were ¡®mates¡¯, hardly did justice. My wolf would always get angry with me when I dissed my destined mate like this, but I couldn¡¯t help but want to see my future partner fight to the best of her ability and just for me! Most of the time, my wolf and I would always agree¡­Except this. The only reason my wolf was relenting, was because we still hadn¡¯t met this destined mate yet and he was also itchy to start a family. An Alpha at 25 and with no partner was quite rare, and after what I had promised, when I had been 22, was really coming in handy now! I had wandered around a few times, to see my family¡¯s unmated female¡¯s training and them looking at me. I didn¡¯t show them much reaction, wanting to treat them all well, but it wasn¡¯t like I was unhappy. Especially since an ambition of mine was to make them smile¡­See, I was doing a great job! All I had to do was walk around¡­So awesome! For the most part, most of them were quite lovely, yet, I knew that there was something missing. My wolf was telling me that I would always feel that way until I had completely mated with my new partner. That this missing feeling¡­Was because these lovely females weren¡¯t her. They weren¡¯t my destined partner, the one that was supposedly the right one for me in every way¡­My other half, the one that would calm me and always be by my side¡­ Nonsense! All I could do was wait impatiently! Just a little more time! Come on! Hurry up! To be honest, I was still glad I made this fight happen on my 26th birthday, as we were still getting better from when my useless father had been the leader¡­And when he wasn¡¯t the leader¡­ The elders knew that I was looking forward to it, and since I was like this, they could only wait impatiently, like myself, for their new Luna¡­ What could they say? The promise is being kept and I have done the pack a world of good. I already knew that they were waiting for their Alpha to bring in his own pups. They had accidently, on purpose, already tried to get a few luscious women to mate with me in the last couple of years, but even the ones on heat didn¡¯t seem to faze me¡­Much! Come on! I am a man after all! I keenly watched them walk by and smile flirtatiously at me, unable to move! If I had moved¡­ Oh man! Such a bloody, nasty trick! I could only think¡­Hey they smiled! Haha! But dam, I shudda taken her! Chapter 5
Alarick POV I had to check the boundaries later, so I decided that I¡¯ll take a wander off our land and get some more fresh meat, as we did a lot more hunting for ourselves now. Normally I didn¡¯t put too much effort into hunting myself, as others did it instead, and we did have a farm and vegetables growing, but I wanted to do this for once. The thrill of it already excited up my wolf and there was no way I could undo this idea now! ¡°Boss!¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I said. Gundulf was my lead enforcer, staying behind when I left to do patrol. ¡°Tonight?¡± He asked. Between routine, it¡¯s easy to understand what he meant. I nod, ¡°I¡¯ll be off for a few hours, slept?¡± ¡°Yeah, good to go, you can even go now.¡± Gundulf said. He was a keen fighter, my best, always wanting to shoo me off so that he could take on any kind of rogues that wanted to come here while I was away¡­There was only one thing that stopped him from doing this. Of course, I still didn¡¯t quite understand the mating crap, but hey, it¡¯s only common sense to keep ya mate happy if she¡¯s in heat¡­Right? I was a little jealous of my buddy Gundulf, he already had two pups, unable to keep it in his pants¡­It¡¯s hard to believe his words when he stats that those couple of hours are the best ones in his life¡­Yeah, whatever, I¡¯ll find out later, I suppose. Honestly, it is a bit of a worry, I knew female Shifters seemed to have it harder to conceive when they are older, even if they do go on heat¡­And here I am at 25, nearly 26¡­Perhaps I waited too long¡­Nah, I¡¯ll just hope for some sweet, young thing to give me my pups! Problem solved! Really though, I wanted like five pups, or some extreme number hey! I wanted to watch five of them following me, making me feel like a huge thing, while they would be tiny and cute following me around¡­Yeah¡­ ¡°¡­Where¡¯s Radolph?¡± I asked, thinking of going now for a run wasn¡¯t such a bad idea, but just now, remembered of my Beta, who follows me just about anywhere. Going now was probably perfect, as the pack will eat soon and by the time that I¡¯d be hungry, it will be dinner time. I always tried to keep myself busy, even if it was just watching the pack. And most of the time, I always missed a meal because of it. But, I knew, that it had been years now, and wasn¡¯t busy all the time, but it was the excuse that I was sticking too. I was a strapping teenager eating normally, three meals a day had hardly filled me¡­Yet, one day, it all changed. Two meals were fine but the third¡­Forget it! My stomach felt sick thinking about it till this day! Over time, people had to accept it, seeing my sickened face and the way I showed that I wanted to vomit. I would get into trouble, but I seemed to never falter and continued to do this. I always wondered why and when I had finally asked one of the healers about it, they could only come up with that I just wasn¡¯t hungry or that my destined mate, whom I had yet to meet, was suffering. I couldn¡¯t believe that the so-called mate that I¡¯m so supposed to meet, would have such a thing on me, so I was certain it was because I wasn¡¯t hungry. Besides, who¡¯d wants such a weak mate? Why would my other half want to make me suffer? It was utter bullshit! Honestly, I was really disgusted with that idea, again, making me more certain that I did not want to meet her... ¡°He¡¯s playing with the pups, didn¡¯t you see?¡± Gundulf said, sighing. I looked up and saw the big, red rustic wolf, playing with the little ones and remembered. I didn¡¯t care much for looking at the big lad these days and probably just disregarded him¡­ He was getting on my nerves! ¡°Radolph! We¡¯re leaving!¡± Uh!? What about lunch! Even if you don¡¯t eat, it doesn¡¯t mean everyone else doesn¡¯t have too! Hearing his voice in my head vexed me. Sometimes, I did like the idea with humans¡­Rarely though. As shifters, we are able to go straight into each other¡¯s minds while we are in our wolf forms. As humans¡­I understood why phones were good, as shifters¡­It can be somewhat annoying! I always kept my mind relatively free, so that any wolf in my pack could connect with me at any time. I suppose it was an Alpha thing, as others couldn¡¯t hear the wolfs unless they shifted to their wolf as well, but I could even hear them as I was in my human form. But I had learnt how to block off people when they went on and on about mates too much¡­So, I dealt with it all, accepting this part of me, knowing that it was also an asset. ¡°Leaving!¡± I said, pulling off my clothes and shifted into wolf form, running off. Radolph could only grumble and follow his leader, catching up to me shortly afterwards. Boss, Radolph called, it¡¯s getting close! What¡¯s getting close!? I asked, quite distracted at checking my surroundings. Your 26th birthday! Finally, we won¡¯t be bachelors anymore! I let out a huff, while I ran a bit faster, knowing Radolph had been waiting for his mate just as long as I have. Now that I remembered, he was going to have the female that would come second in the spars. I already knew¡­I just forgot! Yeah, yeah, keep an eye out, will ya! I state while I continued to run towards the northern boundary from the south. Our land had grown in the last year, so that was another reason we had unwelcomed, or unhappy rogue Shifters and pack hunters come close by¡­But, I needed it! That¡¯s all I got, so they just gotta deal with it! Radolph had been with me for ages, but over the time from when I had been 22, I had slowly detached myself from him. He was so big on finding his mate at first and was always bringing it up! It had gotten so annoying, that I would oversee him and ignore him more than anyone else! I mean, I still loved him like my pal, but I couldn¡¯t wait until he was finally mated! I knew I was waiting to bed my future partner, but this guy¡­He was a lot hornier¡­ Radolph had wanted pups ages ago, sometimes even blaming me that he hadn¡¯t a family yet! So annoying! I could only sigh to the nature that was him, but my wolf knew exactly how he felt¡­ As a grey wolf and a red wolf ran along the boundary, I told him that I was hunting today. It wasn¡¯t a surprise to Radolph and he followed along, getting excited himself. *** An hour quickly passed, as we had rushed through the forest beyond our boundary. Both the grey and red wolves wanted to get a nice big catch, that could only reside further away from their pack. Search to ya right! I state, while I turn a bit to the left. Yes, boss! I heard him say through the link and we went our separate ways. I had been here a few times now, knowing it was relatively safe, twice I had seen a lone wolf, but mostly it was just too cold for a Shifter to stay here permanently. I wasn¡¯t worried about the safety of Radolph at all and continued... Seeing a deer, not too far away, I sigh. It was hardly worth a growl, yet alone a look. My ego just wouldn¡¯t allow me to get something so bloody small! As I went further up the mountain, in amongst the trees, I smelt the scent of a fresh kill, and I went closer towards it.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Sharply looking around from the dead elk, I immediately thought straight away, that there was a lone wolf around. Looking down at the carcass, I see it was at least half eaten and was pretty big. A male, lone wolf! Snapping my head around, I went to investigate the area nearby discretely. Radolph, keep an eye out for a lone wolf! When I saw the clearing in front of me, I thought that I shouldn¡¯t go further¡­But, I smelt it then. A dazzling, sweet smell that drove me and my wolf to a complete halt. I felt like I was running at a huge speed, just by smelling this fresh, cool breeze. It was like a sense of freedom had washed over me, practically knocking us out! Then, beyond my already crazed feelings, I smelt yet another scent¡­I absolutely wanted to fuckin drool my heart out. I wasn¡¯t sure what exactly I felt like, I just knew, that I smelt something so brilliantly pure, that I stopped breathing for a moment. Just my nose, was taking me to heaven¡­ Then¡­I heard a strange noise, from higher up upon a rock face, that came out of the tree line. Oh my god! I stared in utter astonishment at the wolf in front of me. She¡­Was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! The word beautiful wasn¡¯t even giving her the slight amount of justice! In all animals, humans or objects, she was so fantastically beautiful, that I stopped breathing yet again. Gasping, after a moment, I couldn¡¯t tear my eyes away¡­An intense feeling went through me as to tackle her then and there, wanting to make her mine! Unknowingly, because I had taken a step closer to her, I found her look down at me. I strangely wanted to scold myself from my paw moving without my consent. But I couldn¡¯t think beyond that, as I felt yet another surge going through me¡­ My wolf enthusiastically jumped like crazy and howled! I couldn¡¯t believe that this wolf not only had the most beautiful scent and was the most beautiful creature, but she had such pretty, blue eyes, that seemed to touch my soul. That she was the one¡­ The force was stronger than I had anticipated, it was beyond the world¡­A weak connection seemed to flow through me and entice any kind of feeling I had, making my wants and needs beforehand seemed to have become less important¡­ The figure before me seemed to become the most important part of my life, whether I had wanted it to happen or not¡­ The want to mark this creature was natural instinct and I felt it so badly that I was breathing slightly heavier. For a moment, I wanted to laugh at himself. I was such a huge fuckin idiot for ever thinking that I should never had wanted to experience this! As I watched this beautiful wolf yawn and then shake her head, I felt like I was swimming in honey. My wolf was also longingly looking at her too. Both of us were completely taken! Her stomp on the ground looked absolutely adorable! I was¡­Besotted! Again, I unknowingly took another step towards her, and that¡¯s when the earth shattered beneath me¡­ Her growl disgruntled both my wolf and I and I immediately found myself sobering up. I might have acted differently if she hadn¡¯t done this, but having her growl at me, in the way of decline and unacceptance as she did¡­ I growled back at her, remembering of my thoughts over all these years. Before I started to regret growling at her¡­She had run away¡­ Again, my earth trembled, and I heard my wolf whimper and want to eagerly chase after her. Go after her! I couldn¡¯t possibly believe it¡­I know that I hadn¡¯t really wanted to find my mate to happen, but to have her run off like this! My ego was completely shattered! If someone was to run away, it should have been me! Go after her! No! I yelled back. Whining, my wolf then glared at me. I was dead set, yet, I was still there pathetically looking in the direction she had disappeared to¡­What am I doing? My earth seemed to cry out to her, yearn for her, like I never yearned for anything before. Still staring, I was stock still, unable to walk away, yet unable to chase after her. My own convictions were in complete chaos! I still couldn¡¯t fuckin believe it! She growled at me! Me! I¡¯m a bloody Alpha! I¡¯m strong and¡­ My mood deflated completely¡­ I didn¡¯t understand how she was so eager to decline our mate bond¡­Now that I thought about it, our mate bond was very weak. I couldn¡¯t believe I had felt what I had felt, with something so weak! I didn¡¯t understand why I knew this, but I just knew it! Her wolf is weak, they aren¡¯t fully connected, let¡¯s go after them! My wolf¡¯s words did give me want to chase¡­The desire was so great, I nearly did it! God dammit, I turned and felt my heart break, but I decided to walk back the way I had come. My breathing got harder and I felt a huge weight fall upon me, but I kept going. All my life¡­All my life, I had been waiting¡­For this? No! I determine my life, it¡¯s done! I stopped for a short moment, even closing my eyes¡­Even¡­ I took a deep breath. Even if we don¡¯t meet again¡­I will never forget this day¡­ Shaking my head, I continued to go further away from what my everything desired. And with my wolf completely angry with me! Boss¡­ I stopped, shaking my head and finally spoke to the person that reminded me of his existence, let¡¯s go! I know what happened, Boss I breathed out sharply, I don¡¯t want to talk about it! Feeling him close by, having caught up enough, I started to run again. I didn¡¯t want to stay¡­Or I might go running back to her! My life was all set¡­I didn¡¯t need it¡­ Silence filled the rest of the trip back, but my thoughts were all of one beautiful wolf. The further and further away I went, I struggled more and more. I could just break it¡­ The weak, tiny link between us would not even be enough to find her exact location! I know it would probably be painful, but¡­ Just a couple of words¡­But I could not say them¡­For the life of me I couldn¡¯t even remember what they were! I¡­ Feeling helpless, I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to close it off and totally distinguish it. Which brought me to thinking that she hadn¡¯t either! The only thing that somehow gave me and my wolf some rise in spirits was indeed that fact. She hadn¡¯t completely broken it! Yet¡­She growled! My head was going around in circles! How fuckin troublesome! *** Two days and I couldn¡¯t last longer than that¡­I¡¯d gone from a manly Alpha to a cheesy, little girl with a crush! For the life of me, I tried to make the best of the situation. I had worked and worked¡­ It really was¡­Completely out of my hands¡­ I was lovin and hatin my so-called destined mate! After a day, I started to question things more, knowing she just wouldn¡¯t leave my head. Why was our link weak? Why did she growl and want to decline our bond? My wolf seemed happy that I was distracted and still wanting our mate, so he let me be. I honestly couldn¡¯t even believe that I started dreaming about her, even though I had only seen her as a wolf. I would nudge her or play with her, wanting her complete attention! I¡¯d lick her beautiful fur and chase her around¡­ Upon waking and seeing myself so excited, I was completely defeated! I tried to make excuses for nearly everything, remembering my previous thoughts before meeting her, but my god! The challenge ahead of me was the hardest one I¡¯d ever crossed! My dad, the corruption in the pack, my mother¡¯s unjust death¡­ My past experiences were all very important to me, I knew this, but this so-called destined mate was a whole new level! Over the two days, my wolf had already called her our mate several times, but I had not accepted it. Not completely. Not harmonically at all! I was at loggerheads with myself so much that it was becoming disturbing to others and Radolph told me that if I didn¡¯t want anyone else to know, then I needed to pull my head in! I could only sigh and nod, then try to pay more attention¡­Or look like I paid attention¡­ Actually, Radolph and I had finally come back to our previous best friend relationship, just because of this¡­He was the only one I could confide in! The first day of returning, that night, I made him drink with me alone, no one else invited, and he listened to me whine about my problems¡­ How fuckin retarded! The Alpha drinking his sorrows away like this! As much as I hated it, I couldn¡¯t help it! My whole world had done a complete one eighty! What the hell was I thinking when I thought I wouldn¡¯t succumb to this!? Thinking that it would be nothing! I was nuts! What a fuckin moron! ¡­The land seemed to be fine, at the moment, and I was not really in my right mind. So, having gone a little strange wasn¡¯t like it was bad timing. After a day and a half, a strange sense of pull seemed to have gotten larger and larger¡­The weak bond we shared, was it calling us? My wolf was pacing backwards and forwards, already had wanting to leave to find his mate, yet¡­ Upon spending 48 hours away from her, there was just no way out for me, I had to go. I had to find her! *** Not taking anyone with me this time, as Radolph only travelled just beyond the border, to only pretend that he was with the Alpha, I raced straight towards the clearing. My paws felt like they were flying, practically taking me there themselves. I raced through the forest and was panting when I finally made it, feeling a little better, compared to the last two days. She isn¡¯t here! I looked around, panting, and sighed with my wolf. Both of us seemed to have no want to do anything else right now, this was where we saw her last, this was where we wanted to see her again. I closed my eyes and hoped to find her through the weak, bond link that we had but could not track her down. It was just there, letting me know that she was still somewhere and alive. Even though I was not happy with her not being here, I was still glad that she was safe. A strange sense of relief flew over me and I felt a little better. Had I¡­Been worried about her? I really wanted to growl out my frustrations, but the relief was strong. I was pretty sure that she was a lone wolf, and I knew that they could get into big troubles. She was alone, all by herself¡­ A huge amount of want and need flowed through me to bring her back¡­Bring her where she belongs! I shook my big grey, wolf head and couldn¡¯t believe myself¡­Sigh. *** Unable to leave, I sat here for three hours, waiting. I even pictured her coming up to me, wanting it to secretly happen. But, as time went by, and six hours had come up, I suddenly started to get frustrated. Where was she!? Still unable to pick up where she was, I got up on all four of my legs and just ran into the opposite forest. I kept my ears and eyes focused on any possible thing that could be related to her but couldn¡¯t find anything. The forest went south and a bit to the north, and I thought that she would go south, as it would be even colder near the mountain full of snow. But I never found anything except animals and even a lone wolf that fled when I growled angrily at him. I was getting more and more frustrated and felt like giving up once again. No! Don¡¯t go until you find her! My wolf yelled at me. I shook my head, I¡¯ll go¡­And give her one more chance¡­Then this will be complete! My voice slightly shook but I did not take back my words. As much as I yearned for her, it wasn¡¯t like it would solve everything, even if we did find her. Thinking about her joining my pack, my family, and having to learn about everything and even learn about me¡­Become accepted, even though she seemed to be a lone wolf¡­ I was sick of this! This is bullshit! I ran off, not stopping until I reached the boundary of my pack and felt a bit more relaxed. It had been easier this time¡­ Not responding to the sadness overwhelming me, I got into my work. Strangely able to focus this time¡­ Chapter 6
Rieka POV The words ¡®Don¡¯t think¡¯, were always on my mind, after meeting that big, grey wolf. His fur was surreal, ah, it was a mixture of black, white, dark grey and light grey...It was sexy... I didn¡¯t want to think¡­I don¡¯t want to think! His golden eyes looked so charming, they said, ''Come here! Come!'' I would make a joke about ¡®Don¡¯t think¡¯, I¡¯d make a song about it and when I came up to making a dance about it¡­ Bang! If I could have heard my wolf, she had said watch out! But, those damned feelings and emotions, wants and desires, were so strong, that I was so distracted about not thinking about them and didn¡¯t know anything! Yeah¡­A cage. I didn¡¯t even know hey, hadn¡¯t a clue! When I realized I was in a cage, I became utterly depressed. My wolf shook her head at me and I just wanted to cry. The big, grey, handsome, golden eyed wolf ruined everything! A full day after meeting him and I was already going crazy, and now, on the second day, I was trapped. The people who trapped me, took me away and I resented myself more for it. If I was only paying attention¡­ *** After a day in this cage, I found two other people come to look at me¡­And one of them was the dog fighter man, who had taken me once before. I felt even more the idiot and depressed when I realized I had been close to here before¡­I had left, only to travel back, how the hell did that happen? Having the time to think about my travels, being locked in a cage and all, I did exactly that! I had literally left this town Vanin and gone south, only to come north, to be so close to it once again¡­ The amount of times I shook my head¡­ Oh, just to see the ecstatic look on the dog owner¡¯s face when he saw me, disgusted me to the depths of my core. With nothing else to do, but watch these damned Humans be the ones to think they could decide my fate, I couldn¡¯t believe what was going on. Thousands of dollars? Really? You think I¡¯m worth that much? Not knowing that practically every other untamed beast would be snarling, barking or clawing to get out of the cage, I just sat there, looking incredulously at these stupid humans wanting to buy me. Should I shift and tell them that it¡¯s not worth it? I sorta felt bad for these idiots¡­ Then I remembered my predicament, my wolf telling me that I was becoming stupider. Again, I wanted to cry. I wasn¡¯t like this for no reason! I yelled back at her, who else was going to be my friend except me! I wanted to have fun and be free and I was the only one that wanted the same! I had troubles overcoming every obstacle, and I needed one person¡­And I found it in myself! If I was serious, I know she liked me more, but I couldn¡¯t be serious all the time! I had to make my life worth living, dam it! And this was a big reason why our links were not strong¡­My wolf and I seemed to disagree too much, and I held a grudge against her. She didn¡¯t hate me, I know that¡­But¡­ After I was taken by the dog owner, I couldn¡¯t do anything when I entered the same old place that I had been once before. Except¡­ Before the cage was even away from me, as I was getting ready to run, a silver, neck collar went over me. Stinging overcame me, and my hairs and neck felt like it was burning! I had to endure this only once before¡­ The neck collar was specifically made for Shifters, as it might be able to go of the human head, if one shifts, but¡­There are silver spokes that protrude out and go against the neck, so if one shifts from wolf to human, the spokes just protrude out more. With this silver, neck collar, it would leave damaging effects if one dares to take it off over the head. There would no doubt be scars that would be left on one¡¯s face, probably for the rest of their lives¡­Who knows¡­ Luckily, the first time I had encountered one of these, I had run away while it had been off me. But, could I do it again? My wolf shook her head at me and turned away. Yeah¡­I¡¯m a failure¡­ My eyes started to water but like hell I¡¯d let a tear get away. Ha! I really had no words¡­My life was just one big letdown after another¡­ *** Several times, I had wanted to give up! Trying to figure out what was the point! I was mad with the whole world and wondered why was I brought into it!? But I can¡¯t do it, I couldn¡¯t end my live. So, I had to live it! Me going to the northern, snowy mountains, was me living my life! The big, grey, handsome, golden eyed wolf, and now this cage and future, as I¡¯m already aware of what the dog owner will probably want to do with me¡­ I let out a laugh, knowing that me as a wolf laughing would probably sound funny, but I couldn¡¯t help it¡­ After I finished laughing, I took a deep breath and then I felt better. I¡¯ll get out of this, I just have to be patient. Just like losing faith in the humans, I lost faith of becoming a part of a pack. I got over that! I accepted it! After I left running from the dog owner last time, I had run for days and found myself down the southern end of the continent¡­ Haha, I had run my feet to the core hey! Seriously, I was so hungry and thirsty, and I had wondered why! Thinking back though, I had been really scared¡­ Once there, I had felt reassured, and strangely, a wolf had invited me willingly into their pack. Having not much idea about packs and other Shifters, I joined. For the first time I could remember, I had found myself excited¡­Really excited! I scoffed again at my young, na?ve self. As the reason of being so easily accepted into a pack became clear to me after only one week, that the Shifter who invited me in, used me as a scape goat and even used my unknown background against me. He really was nasty! Till this day, I don¡¯t know what happened to have them want to rip my head right off of my shoulders, but they had chased me for a good day, before I lost them. I had traveled inland then, now knowing that I had traveled back towards the north, to try another pack and had been hoping for better results¡­ Only being fifteen, I was still three years away from being able to find my destined mate, but this second pack wanted me to mate with one of the elders. The elder had lost his mate and hadn¡¯t any pups. He didn¡¯t seem to be nasty or anything, just older, probably, I don¡¯t know fourty? Maybe? I wasn¡¯t very good with age, so I could be right off the mark!Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Anyway, he honestly did seem to like me and would smile a really happy smile¡­ The rest of the pack felt that it was a perfect idea. They were willing to wait for a time before the bond to happen¡­But I wasn¡¯t¡­ I really felt like I had been absolutely wronged. How could Humans and Shifters want to act the same way!? They just want to do whatever they wanted with me! My life, I noticed then, hadn¡¯t been set free since I was born! Only having spent two weeks in that pack, I had been off again¡­ I was already having trouble with my human form, as I didn¡¯t want to see myself in the mirror, and now they gave me more worries! After traveling most of the way up the continent, traveling to the west, I had found another pack. I was really thinking against it though, pacing before the borders. Will they except me? Do I even want to stay? Yeah, I took too long to come to a decision and they found me, taking me in some isolation area. This pack was more advanced than the others I had seen. They were not far away from Vanin, along the sea edge and on top of a cliff, and the entire pack seemed a lot different. When I had been brought out before the Alpha in the last pack, I had been scared out of my wits! Apparently, this was the real way to be initiated, but I hadn¡¯t known! So, this time, I wasn¡¯t as scared, but¡­The Shifters around me all looked at me and my hair. I really felt quite small, seeing all their gazes at me. They asked me who I was and where I came from but what could I say? I was just a nobody and couldn¡¯t even remember my first pack! All I said, was that I have been a lone wolf most of my life, having roamed most of the continent¡­ They seemed genuinely nice¡­But one stare freaked me right out! Some old timer had a long white beard and looked at me full of contemplation. I had only continued to bow my head after that, not liking that stare whatsoever. After a short talk and most of them coming to a decision, I was not able to be initiated and had to leave and never return. The only one who had expressed a strong desire to keep me there¡­Was that man with the beard¡­ A strange sensation overthrew me when I had looked at him and I didn¡¯t like it! Not at all! I felt like he was looking at what he owned, that I was his prize! Leaving as soon as they let me, I ran off to the north, yet¡­ After I had left, the old man told them that they should look up the white hair and even try and get her to return. He had only heard once, that someone with white hair, as a Shifter, could represent...Something... I had been up to the most northern parts of the continent, yet, not even knowing in the slightest, that for some time they had searched for this white-haired Shifter. Having found that one with white hair could be a curse or a blessing, they decided against letting me go¡­But hadn¡¯t found me till this day. Yet, the old one with a white beard, did not let go after all these years¡­After all, he was partially responsible of bringing her into this world¡­What a surprise that she could come of use now... Sadly, I had no idea about these affairs at all¡­But luckily it hadn¡¯t mattered, because obviously staying in the north, I hadn¡¯t been found! *** A day later, still inside my cage, I was still relatively calm and collected. I had done a few jokes in my head, to help me overcome the situation, so I was fine. A joke about a caged beast thinking that the beast was instead not caged, but free, because she was inside the cage¡­Yeah, sad joke. I pretended then that my tail had a mind of its own and started talking to it¡­ Anyway¡­ They took the cage from around me, taking the chain that connected to my silver, neck collar and they made me walk with them outside. This was it! Taking the chance of them not even thinking of me running, while having silver around me, I pulled as hard as I could, by grabbing the chain in my mouth, and ran off. The silver hurt me, but I just had no time to care about it while I raced out of the compound. My wolf even helped me jump over the high fence, that even hurt me. The chain connected to my neck had gotten caught and if Asuna hadn¡¯t of helped me, I would have been hanging there¡­ But it didn¡¯t matter, I continued to urge myself on! Just another thing I¡¯ve had to overcome uh! I started to feel myself once again, as I went towards the bushland, about two hundred metres away from the fence line. Walk in the park! Run you idiot! Dammit, I was running! Bang! I whimpered, as my body hurt. Not thinking of the pain or what happened, I pushed myself to the limit and continued into the bush, through the bushland. I ran and ran, knowing my limitation was reaching its maximum. I was running out of energy¡­ My wolf begged me to worry and stop, but I ran so fast that I reached my humble den in three hours. It¡¯s like I knew it was probably going to be my end. There was a silver bullet, in my body¡­And a silver neck collar¡­Was there any hope? I wasn¡¯t sure how crucial it was but¡­When I made it to my den, I passed out straight away. Feeling myself wander off into complete blackness, I still felt glad that I had made it back. If I was going to die, then here was a good place. My den¡­My cold, cold den... *** I have no idea how long I slept for¡­To be honest, I was surprised I was able to wake up, to a small regard. I couldn¡¯t even open my eyes, and the energy I had left wasn¡¯t very large at all. I felt hungry, cold and tired. I was having trouble breathing and knew that I couldn¡¯t do anything to help myself. If the bullet had gotten me elsewhere, I might be ok, but I couldn¡¯t reach it before, so I wasn¡¯t even going to attempt it a second time. Of course, if I had shifted to human it might have been a lot easier, but after being so exhausted and still hurting a tremendous amount, this idea had never come to me...I won''t say anything about how smart I am, though... Yeah¡­Guess I¡¯m done for uh!? My wolf whined, licking the invisible barrier. I knew she cared, she was just so¡­ Even though my eyes were closed, a tear escaped, and I told her that it was ok. Honestly, she probably won¡¯t feel any kind of pain¡­I¡¯ll take it all¡­ I ignored her after that and fell back into slumber, the cold and blackness taking over me and feeling like this was the end. *** A strange feeling woke me up. I felt like I was dreaming. I was nice and warm, I was loved, and I wasn¡¯t even as painful¡­ Knowing that my energy still lacked considerably, I still wanted to open my eyes to heaven! Maybe I was still in line¡­Or¡­ I wanted to smile, I wanted to laugh and jump up and down. Right now, I felt great! I let out a grunt in my strange, sleepy state and suddenly felt someone pat me. Grunting again, I heard a sigh. Uh? Who the hell is sighing? Desperately, I wanted to open my eyes but instead found myself succumbing to darkness once again. *** ¡°Wake up!¡± I shot up my head and frowned, I was in pain again. Uh? Suddenly, a whole heap of things hit me at once! The fragrance, the bond, my wolf, the pain, the warmth, the feeling of his hand¡­ I¡­Didn¡¯t die? I''m still dreaming? Laying back down, I look towards the pain and saw some blood gushing out of a small area. ¡°Ah¡­You moved too quickly.¡± Widening my big, blue eyes, I turn to see a man turn into a wolf and start to lick my wound. I had absolutely no idea on what to do¡­My stomach in full view¡­Not only that, someone was licking me! I had put my paw up instinctively and it was just there, like the rest of my wolf body¡­ The big grey wolf was so big in my den that he hardly had an extra room to manoeuvre¡­Looking down at him lightly licking my wound, I suddenly felt warmth once again. So¡­I really didn¡¯t die¡­The grey wolf¡­ I watched him, as he continued to lick, until the wound had healed even more then what it was before it opened up. My god¡­What the hell do I do? When the big, grey wolf stopped licking, he looked at me. We stared at each other for quite some time and those same things I felt that I wanted to get rid of, all became fresh within my mind. My big, blue eyes watched him as he suddenly moved closer and put his head near mine. I was so still, that I was uncomfortable. This was bursting my bubble, he was way too close! I let out a growl and saw the big, grey wolf move back away from me. I noticed that he had licked my neck and I forgot I still had on the silver, neck collar. He shifted, and I blanked out¡­ What the hell! I put my head down to the ground, looking away from his naked human body and covered my eyes with my paws. ¡°¡­Does¡­Does this bother you?¡± I heard him ask me. Yeah, I¡¯m covering my eyes and looking away for no reason! What a douchebag! ¡°I¡¯ll finish getting something that you can eat, I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡± When I opened my eyes to see him shift and run off, I sighed heavily. My wolf tried to explain to me how he came to be here. Something to do with sending a message over the link, while I was as weak as I was¡­She seemed to have some explanation of making the link bond stronger for a time, and I could only breath in and nod¡­ Ok¡­Whatever¡­ She only sighed at me, but this time she didn¡¯t turn away. She sat their and I felt that she was pretty happy. I wanted to ask about that happiness, but the man came back, carrying something¡­Still naked. Covering my eyes again, I heard him put something down and then chuckle. I frowned, wanting to bite him! ¡°Eat.¡± He said. I opened blue eyes, seeing him sit there like it was no problem¡­Was there a problem? Could I seriously look at him like this? Oh, and what a man he was uh! He looked strong and handsome, with a slight show of his abs and muscles...They weren¡¯t as large as I¡¯d seen it on another man or two¡­But hey, actually, I liked him like this, he was more handsome, like he didn''t live to be strong. He was obviously more tanned in some areas then others, but it seemed like he didn''t wear a shirt often. It was his higher legs that were slightly a different colour then the rest of him. I liked his nipples...I probably looked at them the longest, as for some reason, they intrigued me...Why? His hair wasn''t just one colour, it seemed...To be four colours, most of the top layer, showed black, then under that a dark grey, towards the back of his head, it was a light grey and white...Actually, he didn''t look old because of his hair, he looked...Scary handsome...I found myself really strange that I seemed to like everything about his looks...Why? When I was in packs, it wasn¡¯t hard to sometimes come across someone naked, yet, people still mostly wore something¡­But all the years with the humans, they were always covered...Was I not to care? Or... I was¡­Not used to this at all! ¡°Eat!¡± Ahh! I looked at the strange substance in front of me and blinked a few times¡­ ¡°It will be easier to digest¡­Ah, are you going to shift?¡± What!? No way! To the best of my ability I tried to take in what was in front of me while still in wolf form. ¡°Why don¡¯t you shift?¡± I heard him ask. I huffed out a snort and then tried to eat whatever was left. ¡­I didn¡¯t know how famished I was! This guy is a life saver! Maybe he''s that angel that helps people... ¡°Will you be strong enough to travel?¡± He asked. I looked up at him¡­ Why? Wasn¡¯t it fine here? Where would I go? ¡°I¡¯ll take you to get that silver, neck collar off and make sure that you get better.¡± He said, after clearing his throat. Yes! Go with him! ¡­I hadn¡¯t seen Asuna so excited¡­Ever! I felt too strange to give too much of a reaction, to indicate any kind of answer. The man stood then and just started to pick me up. I tried to move my feet, finding myself quite unwell, but honestly¡­What the hell! When he started to leave the den, I saw that I was in a predicament. I became stiff, as his heat flowed into me and his hands gave me electric little tingles¡­ After I heard him chuckle, I found that he was watching me. I couldn¡¯t look at him, when he had such an amazing smile! I put my head down, attempting to hide myself. But I was just so big! How can this man carry me!? I felt him hold me tighter and put my head near his neck. Then he sighed and started to run¡­ I wasn¡¯t scared, and¡­It wasn¡¯t really uncomfortable either. He seemed to take particular care of where I was hurting. But what gave me the biggest shock, was being near his neck. A strange sense of security and warmth overwhelmed me, and I barely knew how to deal with it. I wanted to growl and jump away¡­But found my eyes closing instead. Ah¡­Whatever¡­I¡¯ll wait until I¡¯m stronger¡­Or...Maybe...This is all...A dream... Chapter 7
Alarick POV (A few days prior) Getting back to my normal self, I finally caught up on some work. The pack hadn¡¯t come to any big trouble while I had been gone for those few hours, and there was a meeting coming up with the elders. I had a pretty good idea on what it was about, not only the look for future Luna, but the invitations to other packs to celebrate my birthday. The closest pack from us was The Misty Ice Pack, that lived south of Vanin to the west. We had always had trouble to come to complete alliance with them, to which, I could only blame my own father¡­Well, that was my best guess. To the south east of us was The Striker Den, which seemed more like a black market and gambling place for Shifters. They had two Alphas there and a two beta¡¯s, which always had me in confusion. We were friends with the Clan further to the south, whom have also been invited to see if they want their unmated females to participate in the spar at my birthday do. That clan is called The Oasis Clan, and they only became friends when I had fully cleansed my pack. They were the second most impenetrable pack on the continent, even though they were in the middle of the continent. Their clan was a lot bigger than mine¡­Their Alpha also had a bigger reputation then me... Otherwise, I didn''t speak to the other two packs south of the continent, we used to have relations but when I had awoken the Alpha within me and changed the pack around, we had lost contact. Since, I still was quite busy, so I hadn''t sent someone down. I didn''t want the extra work right now... The best-known pack on the continent, though, was The Misty Ice Pack, whom have been around for a very long time. But, again, I¡¯ve always had trouble with them. But what confused me about them, was the fact that they were always so close to the humans. I''ve heard some rumours about a few incidents...I hoped that they weren''t true... I knew that it didn''t matter if they were my allies or not, as I couldn''t really offer their pack anything. They were bigger, having closer to five hundred in their pack, and they didn''t seem to want for anything else. Their Alpha''s, now and in the past, were pretty strict and had quite a few under them to help look after those five hundred...I had always been worried that they would wipe us out, when we had been at our weakest, but I felt happy that they didn''t. I respected that a lot and really did want to offer peace and stay on their good side. But then, one question made me continue to be wary of them...And that was...Why was their population staying the same? They hadn''t been at war with Shifters, that I knew, but I hadn''t seen any kind of thing happen between them and Humans either. It really did make one ponder, after so many years, that they had not exceeded much beyond five hundred, it didn''t make any sense! With that in mind, I didn''t want to completely trust them, and I had already told myself to never rely on them because of this. That the peace I offer will most likely just for us to live simply and not involve them in any issue, I also don''t particularly like any idea of sending any of my pack members over there...Just in case... I sighed, at the moment there wasn''t any issue with them, and now no issue with The Oasis Clan...It was The Striker Den, that was the next closest to us, that was the problem... The Oasis Clan was strong and naturally easy to figure out, The Misty Ice Pack seemed to prefer solitude and known as large and strong...But...The Striker Den was confusing and hard to figure out. Two Alphas together, why? How can a pack have two Alpha''s? It didn''t make any sense! And, for me to try and understand them more, I have to make some kind of move first, and since my birthday is coming up... I decided then, that I wanted to invite at least one person from each of them. Whether it be an Alpha or Beta, I didn¡¯t particularly care. I''ll take this opportunity to figure them out! Of course, they had to bloody show up first! Sigh¡­ *** I continued with my routine that day, personally checking the boundaries and then working late. The next day, I went to the meeting with the elders to help them confirm everything, silently clenching my hands upon thinking of the beautiful wolf in my dreams, as I was living my life without her. After leaving the meeting, I was pretty determined to stop the mate link, even against my wolf¡¯s utter rage! I know I had decided to see her one last time, but I didn¡¯t want to change my mind anymore. Coming back from the snowy, northern most part of the continent this time, seemed to be a lot better, and I became stubborn with my decision. Yet, as I sat in my office, looking out of the window in a daze, I hadn¡¯t done it yet. I mean it¡¯s only a few words and feelings of rejection¡­ My thoughts instead traveled to that of my sister, whom was still alive but locked up in our dungeons. Prior to meeting my destined mate, I had never understood my sister. She had been totally corrupted and was supposed to die, due to putting the whole pack at risk. Yet, she knew of information that I had wanted to fully cleanse the pack.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. For two months, she had been confined in the dungeons, when she had suddenly changed her mind, all those years ago. And what changed her mind!? Back then, I was incredulously freaked out¡­She became a huge rat, just because she had finally found her mate¡­ I didn¡¯t fuckin understand it! She had been nearly thirty and lived at least half of those years under the wing of our father. Yet, two months and she had completely changed her mind! Thinking of it now, I wondered if I would have done the same¡­ I had a sudden want to speak with her, my sister, but I didn¡¯t stand up and go. My sister was partially part of our mother¡¯s death, and I had not forgiven her. I had originally wanted to end her life, but she had pleaded with me to keep her life, even if it was in live the rest of her life in a dungeon. I couldn¡¯t bloody believe it! I still don¡¯t! But she seemed happy, as she gets to see her mate on the outside of the cells every day, then once a month he is able to see her for half an hour inside the room. He was a lot younger than her, finding her at eighteen, and I couldn''t help but think it was perfect timing. It was what I needed to get information, but not only that, my sister seemed to be ready as well. This, gave me an interesting understanding upon the mate bond, not only did I think that it was a crazy, with the insane want to always be with your mate, but they came when needed...Or something like that... Then...Did my destined mate come exactly when I needed her? Was it no coincidence that we had met? Is the person she is, the exact person I need at this exact moment in my life? I sighed, I felt like there was no control over this whatsoever! When I thought about her, my feelings were of indulgence and want...Even need. Was that what it was like for my sister? Seeing my sister and brother in law so happy, even for this, really disgusted me at first¡­But now¡­How do I feel? I felt¡­Lonely¡­I wanted¡­Her by my side¡­ Yet, I was conflicted and knew of my previous thoughts and still believed in some of them¡­My inner war¡­Was with my choice¡­ Once I break the link¡­It¡¯s gone¡­There¡¯s no going back! And¡­I just couldn¡¯t break it¡­My destined mate and I¡­ My sister, her mate, still happy to see each other like this¡­And here I was away from my¡­From her¡­ Suddenly I let out a laugh, to remembering my niece. I hadn¡¯t known that one time my brother in law had gone in to see my sister, she had been in heat¡­ Shaking my head, I had thought to have stopped them when I found out two years ago. But now¡­ I sighed, as I also knew that my sister wouldn¡¯t probably have more pups anyway, and¡­They were just so fuckin happy! It just sucked how it had all worked out uh¡­She being held in the dungeons, still able to meet her mate, hell, I didn¡¯t even know that she had been marked till it was already done! Actually, my younger brother in law worked pretty damned impressively fast on that bitch! Even I was completely stunned! The want to mark that beautiful wolf, was still quite fresh, and that was just marking her¡­I couldn¡¯t possibly believe how it would be like, to go all the way¡­Did she look beautiful in her human form? Would she be as adorable as her wolf form? I started to picture a woman with no face¡­Thinking of it as her¡­ A gasp left me, and I raced towards the shower. *** The next day, was fine¡­Until I suddenly collapsed into a helpless heap on the ground and yelled out to a sudden pain that went through me¡­ Gasping and closing my eyes tight, I felt like I was hanging onto life by a thread, that everything, even laying down, was the hardest thing in the world to do¡­ Shifters came rushing over to me, but I never heard any of it while I balled myself up, unable to find any kind of comfort anywhere. My wolf screamed out his grievances and was able to start taking my pain away, stating, It¡¯s our mate! Run to her! Huffing and panting, I felt myself able to stretch out and shakily stand up. So that was her? So much pain¡­ I couldn¡¯t think, all I felt was pure torture upon thinking of the potential death of my mate! Without saying a word, I shifted, and bolted! Radolph got some quick words from me, but I was out of our pack¡¯s boundary within moments. As I ran as fast as I could, the bond link that had grown really strong, had suddenly started to weaken once again. Quick, find out where they are! I located where the bond link between us would lead and found myself upset. Instead of south, the way I had gone when I last searched for her, she had been north¡­ As I got closer and closer, the link got weaker and weaker. My wolf was desperate and yelling me to urge on and I couldn¡¯t help but become more and more worried. This big, troublesome, problem¡­Dammit¡­ I must go faster! *** Upon finding a small kind of cave, I smelt the weaker, luscious fragrance of her¡­And blood! Racing inside, my wolf went crazier, save her! Quick! I shifted and ran towards her, my hands were shaking in terror as I searched for where her injury was. My mate! I cringed as I found it and knew now why she was in such a bad state. Silver! A huge amount of anger went through me, as I realized she had been shot! Taking a deep breath, I plunged into her skin and retrieved the silver bullet. I hissed as it burnt me, and I quickly threw it away. Quick! Shifting once again, I licked her injury. To my displeasure, I found that silver speaks were inside of her, as they burnt my tongue as well. I hadn¡¯t seen this type of bullet before¡­Where it wasn¡¯t just one piece, that it seemed to shatter upon impact¡­ For the life of me, I licked until my tongue was numb! I could only offer so much of my healing upon my mate, giving her wolf some help. When I felt her tremble, I hadn¡¯t worried too much at first¡­But now, it was getting worse! Quick! Her wound was healed by half, but now, she became as cold as ice! Dammit! I wanted to give her warmth, but my wolf was angry when I wanted to scoot in between her legs¡­ Watch for her injury! I could only take the next best option of covering her back. I was bigger then her, so she should still be able to gain quite a bit of warmth, even if I was behind her. Her wolf didn¡¯t seem to have alpha blood, yet I felt some kind of strange alpha about her. She was¡­And she wasn¡¯t¡­Shaking my head, I tried to focus. Getting as close as I could, I put my big paw against her white beautiful fur and suddenly went into a daze¡­ She was right here, next to me. She felt so good, her beautiful fur. I wanted to rub myself all over her. I felt my protectiveness and possessiveness, as I wanted my scent all over her. I put my head to her neck and suddenly felt myself hurting once again¡­I had seen it earlier, but it had totally left my mind. This neck collar poised a problem. Not only to get it off, but because it was there in the first place! Rage went through me once again, at my mate being hurt like this¡­ I wanted to help heal her neck too and went to lick, but my wolf told me not to bother. Her injury and staying warm is more important, save your licks for that. It¡¯s not like I could help too much with her neck anyway, so I somewhat agreed to saving my saliva and tried to focus once again. I whined and snuggled more into her, even putting a back leg over her. She was still so cold and shivering, like a new born pup. I suddenly felt extremely glad that she was in her wolf form, it might have been harder for her to keep warm here in her human form. I placed my tail over hers and whined again at how much she trembled. Really, it was driving me insane! She wasn¡¯t healing, and she was so cold¡­If I hadn¡¯t of come¡­ Whining again, I tried to cover her more, wishing for her to warm up! Demanding it even! Chapter 8
Alarick POV Two hours later, I felt better. She had finally stopped shaking and was warmer. Her breathing was even better, making me unconsciously smile. I took myself away from her and then heard a noise, looking at her, she seemed so adorable, that I wanted to bundle her up and take her away! Right now! Unable to hold back, I shift and then pat her on the head, feeling her luscious fur through my fingers. When she made another noise, I could only sigh in defeat, as I knew I was desperate for her to wake up and be with me. So troublesome¡­ She seemed to have gone back into sleep and I slowly crawled up and put my forehead against hers. My hands patted her fur on her head and I kissed her furry forehead. I didn¡¯t even know what she looks like¡­I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s been through¡­ Shaking my head, I again sighed, as I did a minute ago. Completely defeated. Like I¡¯ve never wanted anything before¡­I wanted her! Was the mate bond a futuristic feeling? Telling me that what I¡¯m feeling now is how I would feel in the future? Hell, even though I don¡¯t even know her, and that she was a lone wolf, I felt so addicted to her already¡­ Seeing that she might not be able to move herself, I decided to go and get her something to eat and left the small cave, which I began to think of as her den. I hadn¡¯t exactly finished getting everything I needed, to make her an easy meal, when I needed to check on her. With our weak link between us, I was filled with worry¡­ I had already checked her once, but now this would be a second time¡­I couldn¡¯t bloody help it! Racing back to her, I found her snuffing and acting strange. What¡¯s wrong with her? Touching her, she seemed to calm down a bit and my hand started to rub her fur on its own¡­It was like that with everything. My eyes, my hands, my everything, just wanted her everything! Suddenly, she let out a small howl and I wondered if she was in a nightmare. Worried, I said, ¡°Wake up!¡± Seeing the wolf shift to sit quickly like that, I was a little perplexed¡­ Upon seeing blood coming out of her wound, I nearly freaked out, ¡°Ah¡­You moved too quickly.¡± Shifting, I automatically started licking her wound. Thoughts didn¡¯t really cross my mind at all, it was all just instinct¡­ I felt her eyes on me and I shivered, my wolf excitingly jumping a bit on his front paws. She was letting me lick her, even holding her adorable paw up. It was easier this time because of that, which astonished me and made me happy at the same time. She¡¯s watching me! I felt exhilarated to have all of her attention, it was like all my dreams coming into real life! Nearly getting carried away with thinking of her eyes were on me, I realized her wound was getting better. I knew silver seemed to be in there still but what had gone into one of her lungs, had probably been healed to the best of its ability now. It was just her skin that was still slashed opened, that needed more help. She had been so still all this time, that I suddenly looked up to see those absolutely beautiful, blue eyes. Transfixed, I could only stand there dazedly looking back at her. I wanted to mark her¡­Now! Upon seeing her neck, and how it was hurt, instinctively, I went to lick it, wanting to help her. Her growl stunned me, and I moved away from her. I didn¡¯t want her to feel uncomfortable, thinking if I shifted, I could also talk to her. Seeing her reaction to me going to my human form, I found it very amusing. I tried to hold back my laughter at her innocence and couldn¡¯t help but want her even more! ¡°¡­Does¡­Does this bother you?¡± I asked her, my voice husky to my thoughts. I got a little angry with myself, because right now, she needed to get better! I can¡¯t let my mind wonder off like that while she¡¯s in pain! ¡­Perhaps Radolph and I were more similar then I thought¡­ Remembering that I had something for her to eat, I quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ll finish getting something that you can eat, I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡± And quickly I ran off. I was very serious when I made her something to eat, trying to keep my cool. My wolf seemed to smirk at me, not saying a word, only making me want to sigh. The food I had gotten¡­Looked like mush¡­But, I had put more then a hundred percent into it! I was a goner! Having decided to make her mine, I was already thinking of taking her back with me to my pack. I knew they might not like the idea of her being my mate, but my god, I could not leave her here! But I couldn¡¯t stay away from my pack too much longer either¡­ For some reason, these issues didn¡¯t matter, I was just too eager! That¡¯s it¡­Eager to have her with me from now on¡­This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. And hence the sigh¡­I was a goner! Completely defeated by the most beautiful wolf in the world¡­ When I had walked in, I watched her cover her eyes again and chuckled. My heart was racing over the small, cute, little things she was doing already¡­ I put down the crudely made bowl for her, ¡°Eat.¡± Sitting down and watching her, I felt strange under her eyes¡­Feeling nervous! Clearing my throat, I repeated myself, ¡°Eat!¡± Seeing her not shift and just stare at what I made for her, I was getting worried¡­What if she didn¡¯t like it? ¡°It will be easier to digest¡­Ah, are you going to shift?¡± To my disappointment on wanting to see her human form, she tried to gobble up the bowl, while she was still a wolf! ¡°Why don¡¯t you shift?¡± Seriously, woman! She huffed! She huffed! At me! ¡­So troublesome! Actually, while I watched her finish her bowl, I was gaining my courage. Geez, why did I feel like I was only half a man when it came to her! I couldn''t cook a proper meal for her, I couldn''t just tug her away to a place to get her healed, she growled and huffed at me...Woman, you''re driving me bloody nuts! Taking that as my momentum, I let out the question, ¡°Will you be strong enough to travel?¡± ¡­Woman! Why look at me like u haven¡¯t a clue! I wanted to sigh out, but then remembered I had the perfect reason to take her with me! That¡¯s right, you have no way out my mate! Your coming home with me! I cleared my throat, ¡°I¡¯ll take you to get that silver, neck collar off and make sure that you get better.¡± Better, being the words described as my mate, never leaving my side, better. A whole minute went by, and I started to feel strange¡­Could my mate possibly be a normal wolf? Nah¡­Dam, though! I just couldn¡¯t take it anymore! She had no other option, she was mine, so her answer was obviously yes! I got up then and just went to pick her up. I was very gentle, I couldn¡¯t even think of hurting her in the slightest¡­It was a whole new law that I had never known about, until now¡­ After the big, white wolf was in my hands¡­The whole world seemed brighter to me! I was in my glory, so was my wolf¡­We just wanted to stay like this! But! With her slow, short movements on wanting to escape, I decided it was time to go! When she didn¡¯t move after a while, I chuckled, at seeing her wolfie face. I didn¡¯t really need her to tell me what she was thinking¡­What I saw¡­Was total innocence, like she had never been in this position before. To have her act like the way she smelt, I unconsciously smiled to both fantastic things that I seemed to already enjoy very much. I wanted to laugh again, when she tried to hide her big head, but instead, I held her tighter, quickly moving her head to my neck, beside my shoulder. Heaven¡­ I sighed to my happiness of just having her in my arms and so close to me. Since I was already on my way back home, I wanted to suddenly dawdle¡­I was just so happy holding her like this! Feeling her relax, I figured she had fallen asleep once again and I couldn¡¯t help but soften my walking, to not disturb her sleep. Upon my walk back, my mate¡­Yes¡­My mate¡­Didn¡¯t seem to budge at all. I knew her breathing seemed ok and that she was warm, but I was still too worried and sped up my pace. After two hours, I was getting closer to the border and I called out to Radolph. Within a few minutes, I got some clothes, to help with my mate¡¯s shyness, and carefully picked her up again. Radolph wanted to chat to me, but I told him to be quiet¡­Which only led to us having a conversation in our heads. She¡¯s the one? Our Luna? Mmm, honestly, I was still accepting it myself. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I was over the moon with her, just¡­I had practically nearly let her go and I was worried about who will accept her, how she would go with being my mate¡­ I never thought a man like me could worry so much about one troublesome, lone wolf¡­ I had absolutely underestimated the mate bond¡­Totally! Hell, I was already smitten, I was already wanting to initiate her into the pack with no one knowing any wiser! I can totally understand my brother in law now! Hell, I wanted to mark her and make her mine, this very instant! Why is she hurt? His question did make me upset¡­Hell, I still had no idea! It was all just driving me fuckin crazy! I sighed. I could see my future being one hell of a ride from here on in! A healer had already been prepared upon my arrival and he looked at¡­My mate¡­ Having to take more silver out of her wound, the healer had woken her up, even upsetting me. I heard the white wolf whine and the healer said, ¡°It¡¯ll be much easier if you shift, my dear.¡± I started to get excited, I really wanted to see how beautiful she was as her human form. But, to my utter astonishment¡­She was as stubborn as hell! She just covered her eyes with her paw and laid back down! Even though I wanted her to be healed, I found this aspect of her completely adorable! No wonder I had trouble finding my mate, she must have caused so much trouble with everyone! Suddenly, I was extremely excited about finding out more about her. I wanted to know where she has been, why she was a lone wolf¡­ Questions started to full my mind and I didn¡¯t hear the healer talk to me. ¡°Alpha?¡± I snapped out of my thoughts, ¡°Uh?¡± ¡°She won¡¯t shift¡­¡± Oh, yeah¡­For me, I was starting to get used to it¡­ Using my Alpha tone upon my mate sounded¡­Wrong¡­So they will just have to endure! ¡°Just heal her like that then.¡± So troublesome! A scout went out to get someone from The Misty Ice Pack, to get off the silver neck collar and I just stayed with her. Patting her fur, I looked at the now covered wound on her and bent down to lightly kiss it. The healer stated that it should heal a lot faster now, taking out most of the lingering small bits of silver. Having the healer unable to do much about the neck collar, I let him go. I had felt relief when they had all left and I continued to pat her. ¡°Hungry? Thirsty?¡± Hearing a grumble at my questions, I went closer to her head and asked, teasingly, ¡°Which one, hungry or thirsty?¡± A huff came out, making me laugh. She moved her head away from me and looked away. I had put her on my own personal bed, not feeling the least bit upset to the sudden guest in my own room. On the contrary, I was so excited, that I moved to the other side of her. I felt like she belonged on my bed, that to a strange regard, some of it now already belonged to her! But even though I had lost some of my bed, I wasn¡¯t mad or upset. Not at all! This troublesome mate of mine¡­Sigh. Showing her my face in front of hers again, I even went to pat her ears, but she moved her head in another direction, letting out a huff again¡­ I shook my head and sighed. Putting my hands all around her wolf head, I snuggled into her ear. A strange noise entered my ears and I smiled in amongst her fur. Over the space of half an hour, I could see that she wasn¡¯t as aggressive as she was when I first met her and gained more and more courage. At first, I had just cuddled her ear and patted her head, but I ended up putting my hands down her silky, furry body and she laid into me. I smiled at her, patting her stomach carefully and she snuffed¡­Which confused me. Did she like it or not!? Was it painful? I knew it then, that I just could not wait to see her human form. She was teasing me so much! Troublesome! I don¡¯t even know her name! Just as I was going to shift into my wolf form, I was interrupted by the patrols Boss! It¡¯s the same pack as last time, they say that we should move our border back to where it was before, or there might be a real fight on our hands! I went into wolf form and responded, tell them we will move our borders back by a few acres for now. ...Boss? Only in the south east, move it back, I know we lose a hot spring but do it! I knew I had given the impression that I hadn¡¯t cared about taking more land, considering that it wasn¡¯t theirs either, but at the moment, I wasn¡¯t in the mood to fight with The Striker¡¯s Den. Looking over at my mate, I was taking a step back for the time being. They accepted boss. They are¡­Already happy¡­ I raised my eyebrows at the random personalities of The Strikers Den and was actually happy with what I had done. I had made the right choice then! Not changing out of my wolf form, I started to lick my mate, around the wound first, then¡­Everywhere else! A few grunts and snuffs later seemed to satisfy her into another sleep and I felt proud now. She had my scent all over her! Chapter 9 Alarick POV Changing out of wolf form, I left my mate there and knew I had a few things to do as I got dressed. I kissed her and walked out, planning to give her a bodyguard first thing. My pal, Harou, was a quiet shifter, and reliable. He had done a few scouts and even brought in a human or two a few years ago. He was like a Shifter Assassin! Even I, the manly Alpha, thought he was cool! But he was now going to be a protector, specifically for my own mate. Calling out to him and having said this now, I watched as the quiet man went to stay closer to my house. Since we had halted our contact as much as possible with the Humans, we had older homes that even needed repair. But, for the most part, the biggest residence was still able to contain a lot of my family. It was a three-story house that only used to have the main family in it, but after my father had gone, I let others stay there instead. Otherwise, there were a few homes and then over the last couple of years we had even made our own huts. Strangely, the huts got used more then some of the empty houses. The huts were made mostly of mud and straw, making it smell and look natural, but the most interesting fact was, the new pups slept better in the huts, a lot better than the man-made homes. That theory was really just an accident, purely because I wanted to give it a shot of making our own homes. Then, some of the younger pups would end up in there every now and again, surprising a lot of the adults. They had let their wolves take them there upon wanting to sleep and that was all there was to it. And that¡¯s how we found out that sleeping on dirt or grass, seemed to help us sleep better. So, we have three huts now and they are opened to whomever wants them¡­Unless they are already occupied. My intention at the moment, when it comes to living in this pack, was to have more huts and not worry too much about the deteriorating man-made houses. The pack funds were bulging with money, because of my father¡¯s efforts and selling off jewellery that we didn¡¯t need, yet, I don¡¯t really care much for money¡­I saw what it did to not only just my father, but my sister as well. My mother, being Luna and staying within the pack most of the time, was able to see what was happening because she hadn¡¯t interfered much into the financial part of things. But even though I didn¡¯t care much for money, I also knew that it still came in handy, making me realize that I will always have to have funds coming in! As it is, the water pipes had a problem a month ago, vexing me into already wanting to turn them off! But, seriously! Getting pipes fixed was that much money¡­Just rip my balls off while you¡¯re at it! It made me become more serious about our water problem, and I really wanted it organized! Taking the hot springs close to the sea, and above The Strikers Den, is something I felt I had to do. Even though, just recently, I had moved my boundary back away from it¡­My plans, though, had not changed! I will take those hot springs! When the water pipes were going to be stopped and then not used anymore, I had wanted the hot springs to bathe, but, luckily, we already had a well for normal water. Sadly though, they weren¡¯t completely ready yet, to depend on the well and hot springs, so the water pipes had to be fixed for now. ¡°Boss.¡± I turned to see Due, a female who was competing in the spar, ¡°Due, how are ya?¡± ¡°I¡¯m great! I¡¯ve got a whole new trick to show you!¡± Due said, showing a big smile to me. ¡°Was it about the turn that I showed you last month?¡± I asked, remembering a move I had shown to the ladies. It wasn¡¯t easy, I guess I wanted to see if anyone could learn it. ¡°I did it! But¡­I can¡¯t seem to do it again¡­¡± Due grumbled upon finishing her sentence. I laughed and shook my head, ¡°I won¡¯t give my secret away yet, after the spar I¡¯ll tell you why you might not be able to do it.¡± Due moved her body from side to side in dismay, she had been one of the young ladies that had turned eighteen recently. She was really unhappy to not have found herself the mate of the Alpha. Since she was sixteen, she had wanted to be by his side¡­To be Luna! ¡°No need to get upset. Keep practicing.¡± I said, shaking my head to her trying to flirt with me, even when she wanted to look as though she wasn¡¯t. I had normally just nodded, but now, I felt like I was just missing my mate more and more. I stopped suddenly, blinking with wide eyes¡­I¡¯m whipped! Shaking my head, to get out of my thoughts, I tried to focus. I had been doing alright¡­I mean she was right here! In my pack! How could I already miss her!A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. This is ridiculous! Walking into a house, that we now call the elders den, I found Raulin and Sabassa. Raulin had been here from beginning to end, whereas Sabassa hadn¡¯t. ¡°Boss.¡± A few chorused as I leisurely sat down and got comfortable. ¡°How¡¯s the water in the north coming along?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s not working, what we do¡­Isn¡¯t enough.¡± Raulin stated. I raised my eyebrows at him, ¡°I¡¯m not doing it their way, it¡¯s our way or nothing!¡± ¡°It would be simpler¡­¡± ¡°No!¡± I said, determinedly. I wasn¡¯t going to outlaw Human and human technology, and then change my mind! ¡°Fine! Then we probably won¡¯t be able to melt the ice and have it drinkable.¡± Raulin said, defeated. I sighed, ¡°The scouts?¡± ¡°Found nothing! There¡¯s nothing else!¡± I put a hand through my hair and put my feet up on the table, ¡°It¡¯s not a problem.¡± ¡°I have an idea.¡± Sabassa said. She had been initiated into the pack at least a year ago and was one of the oldest wolves that I had met! She was also a great supporter to me wanting the pack to be closer to nature. ¡°Sabassa.¡± I said, enticing her to continue. ¡°I remember when I was young, that more wells, meant more water.¡± I laughed, I had suggested more wells earlier, yet Raulin had to make a big deal about drinking the ice¡­Now, he was complaining! ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°Boss¡­¡± Sabassa said, interrupting me, ¡°Sorry¡­Could I be so bold to say that we have the well closer to the source?¡± I looked at her and started to nod. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t care if they aren¡¯t in the heart of the pack, just as long as they are in our boundaries.¡± Sabassa smiled and said, ¡°Then I can start?¡± ¡°Sure, grab a few of the teen pups to help you out.¡± I said. Bout fuckin time! We¡¯d been onto this for ages! Today was my lucky day! Once Sabassa left, Raulin spoke once again, ¡°Sorry boss, I honestly thought it would have been better and easier.¡± I put my hands under my head and sigh, ¡°We all make mistakes, but at least we know now. Don¡¯t worry about it gramps.¡± ¡°¡­I heard you found her.¡± Raulin said. I look at him and smiled, ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s here.¡± ¡°¡­To be so close to the spar?¡± He said, a little dismayed. ¡°The spar will go on as planned.¡± I said, not at all worried. Even though I¡¯d found my mate, why should the spar stop? Honestly, I wanted to see the girls fight anyway! We had a few fighters teaching the pups and all, but I needed them to show their strengths anyway. If they were good, I¡¯d consider putting them as enforcers or something, at least until they found their mates. Hopefully some of them learnt a thing or two while sparring! ¡°So, you will keep an eye out for a better Luna?¡± Raulin simply stated. I growled, this old man was getting on my nerves once again, ¡°My other half will always be my other half! I will not change her status! The spar is continuing for the beta female position. I can¡¯t possibly handle it if Randolph doesn¡¯t mate soon!¡± Raulin sighed and went silent. He may have been here since the beginning, but that was only because he wasn¡¯t the smartest of Shifters. Actually, a big reason I let him stay, was because he wasn¡¯t all that bright. He was old though, so all I could do is let him be an elder. We did have our differences, but he was pretty dam loyal, I¡¯ll give him that! ¡°Then how about letting your mate be entered into the spar?¡± His words made me growl again and I got up, startling him. He wasn¡¯t as scared of me as he was when I had first awoken the Alpha within me, as I had never actually hurt him. Without speaking another word, I started to leave, when I found Sully timidly holding papers just inside the door. ¡°Sully?¡± I asked, walking up to him. He had come into the pack when he found his mate here. I had never found out why he was so timid, but he never posed any kind of threat the entire time he¡¯d been here. His mate, Duko, was an old pal of mine and I was really happy for them. But, boy did I not understand them. One was huge, being an enforcer, and one was like a scared little bunny¡­Yeah, still don¡¯t get it! Sully lifted up the papers to me and I played with his blonde hair while I took it. I had tried a few times to have him not scared of me, but after a while, nothing had changed. Seriously, I wasn¡¯t that bad! Yeah¡­I¡¯ve killed a few Shifters and yell my ass off sometimes but come on¡­Like me! You damned little bunny! Duko told me a while ago that that was just the way he was, so I just had to make sure he knows that he can relax in my company. Still, I¡¯m glad it wasn¡¯t just me, as I did notice he was like that to everyone, but¡­Sigh. ¡°Hey! Stop touching my mate!¡± Duko yelled, running up to me. I put my hand up and away from Sully, the little rabbit. ¡°All good, he just gave me papers, see!?¡± Duko was one of the most possessive people I¡¯d met. I wasn¡¯t too sure if it was because Sully looked and acted weak, or because that was just how Duko was. I knew from ages ago, that Alpha¡¯s were very protective, but seeing Duko like this, made me question things. Then, I found out, that Duko had Alpha blood in him from a few generations back. It wasn¡¯t as strong as mine, but it was there¡­That¡­Possessiveness¡­ Thinking about it now, I guess I would be annoyed if someone touched my mate too. I even let out a slight growl just thinking about it¡­And hearing that tiny little growl, startled me! Putting my hand to my forehead and shaking it, I was at a loss! Sully only smiled his biggest smiles at Duko and went to him easily. But this was nothing special¡­As I¡¯d seen it heaps of times¡­ Looking at the papers, as they walked away, I realized that a few more things have broken down. Since we no longer had electricity, we had gotten rid of many things that required electricity to work. We had one generator, that the last computer would connect to and left-over phones, but otherwise we had been living with candles that we made ourselves or just dealt with the dark. Our sleeping hours had drastically changed, as we seemed to sleep earlier and wake early now because of this. But we were running out of candles and one of the fires that heated up hot water, was running out of wood, among a few other things¡­ As I walked back towards my house, I got someone to go out to get more wood and then got someone to find out what materials we needed to make more candles. Luckily, we didn¡¯t totally depend on them, as sometimes we would have a bonfire in the middle of our pack and even sleep out there all together, near the fire. To be honest, I prefer the bonfires and wouldn¡¯t even mind having an extra one a week. I want the pack to stay close together and sleeping all in the same area had grown a few bonds that I never thought would happen. The pups loved it the most, as they trotted to many of the adults, and through that, the adults would drink and yap about anything¡­ With this in mind, I got a few more people to go get even more wood, as I wondered what day to put this extra bonfire on¡­ So, the candles that we still had would last for at least another week or two, but I was one of those people that never wanted to get into a predicament of having nothing left! It was indeed a busy life, now that things had changed to this extent. So much had to be done! Walking into my room, I had food that I¡¯d picked up quickly from the kitchen and put it down on my own crafted desk and couldn¡¯t help but smile at the mess! I found my mate almost entirely covered by the sheets from the bed and her tail was wagging around happily. Little grunting noises were heard, and I could only smile to her amusing act. She was just¡­So damned adorable Chapter 10
Rieka POV The sound of steps interrupted my fun and I smelt the blanket smell in front of my nose. Wagging my tail to finding the source of such a fantastic smell, I tried to move and get up¡­But I was stuck¡­ Having woken to my blanket smell, I had rolled around in amongst the sheets and found myself unable to stop myself. So many pleasurable sighs, so many groans of happiness. My icy, cold heart was melting with just a smell! ¡°Having fun?¡± Sniffing towards the voice, I knew it was my mate¡­But¡­Another enticing smell came to me as well¡­Food! Suddenly, I was starving! I saw him bend down towards the bed, through the holy sheets that were over my head, and then heard his voice. ¡°If you want to eat, you have to shift!¡± I stopped moving then, my tail falling to the bed. I stared at my blanket, watching him go silent and even¡­Pout. He looked like one of the kids back at the orphanage, when they had wanted dessert, but couldn¡¯t have it¡­ ¡°And!¡± He continued, ¡°You have to tell me your name!¡± I sighed, then shifted. It had been so long since I¡¯d had been in my human form¡­I could hardly remember what I looked like. I was glad I was surrounded with the sheets, even though I had cut through some of it with my claws. I wasn¡¯t sure if I wanted others to see my body¡­Wouldn¡¯t it be ugly? Would he still want me after he¡¯d seen it? Wait! I¡¯m dreaming! So¡­It doesn¡¯t matter if he wants it or not! Reaching out my hands, I finally found the ending of the sheets and pulled them down. Upon seeing my blanket, he widened his eyes and gently touched my face. ¡°Finally.¡± My eyes were full of innocence, as I looked from the tops of my eyes, upside down at him. ¡°Food.¡± Laughing, he went to his desk and brought the food over to me. ¡°Name?¡± My eyes were bulging out at the food and I distractedly said, ¡°Rieka.¡± Trying to get out of the sheets, I was finally able to bring the tray of food over to my lap, when I sat up. Now, I could feel the stinging of the neck collar, as its spokes were on my neck and had been hurting me to my foolishness of rubbing into the blanket smell¡­ I sighed, I just couldn¡¯t help it! I woke up, smelled heaven and wanted it all over me! Strangely, I already smelt like a blanket, but the sheets on the bed were like another blanket, and I¡­Thought I could have two blankets¡­ Asuna didn¡¯t seem to mind me rolling around, so I honestly thought it was cool nonetheless and have somewhat thought that I was still dreaming¡­Except, in this dream, I was able to feel pain. Yet, Asuna being happy, only gave me more determination of knowing that it was very much a dream! She never talked to me, but when I look at her now, she¡¯s like high on life! She¡¯s waging her tail like a happy little vegemite! If the dream only lasted five days, I¡¯m ganna have five days of fun! So, I tried not to think of the stupid neck collar that I was still attached to¡­Because if I thought about it too much, wouldn¡¯t my dream disappear? Can''t have that! My blanket scooted behind me, to help keep me sitting up, as I was at the foot part of the bed, making it easier for me to fall off. I wasn''t ganna move, I liked it here! So, having the extra help was appreciated! Taking my waist into his hands, I heard my blanket sigh, what was wrong with him? Did my waist make him do that? Was there something wrong with it? Nah... I shrugged and continued eating, but I heard another sigh and a hand gave me a fork, then he showed me how to use it. I...Remember! I''m not stupid you know! I forcefully take the fork away from him and then use it myself, plunging it down into an egg, hitting the plate under it...This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. "Broken." I stated. It was normal right, whatever I use and whatnot, would always break. "It''s fine! Don''t worry about it." My blanket said quietly and huskily into my ear...Making me squirm a tiny bit and feel goosebumps over my skin. I figured it didn''t matter, that I broke a plate in my dream, so I just continued to eat...Dreams are magical...So I automatically assumed it would become ''unbroken'' when it leaves my sight. I didn¡¯t think much beyond that, as I moaned quietly to every mouthful of this delicious meal¡­Ah, human food! After I finished, I plopped the broken plate, that was on a tray, onto the floor, and saw that he was staring at me. "What?" "Beautiful!" Shock...I was in utter shock! "Me?" What about my scars!? Perhaps I should show him...Wait! If I show him, he might change his mind! "Yes! You, my lovely mate!" My blanket stated, tightening his hand around me. Hey, this was a bloody good dream! I felt...Great! I nodded with enthusiasm, my blanket was really good! I heard him chuckle and come closer to me, I innocently looked back at him, not knowing what to say. I mean...What do I say? Really? Tell me please! I''ve never been in this position before, and I do mean position! I was in holy sheets, in between a man''s legs and his eyes looked like he wanted to eat me...What the hell does someone say in this kind of position!? He licked my chin, and I felt...Funny...Isn''t this what wolves do? Should I shift? "You have food on you, it''s delicious!" He said, then continued to lick around my mouth. Fair enough, clean me please. I closed my eyes and waited, but I started to get carried away with the faint tingles going through me. I shivered and smiled at the same time. I felt like I wanted more, yet...I''ve run out of food to put on my face! Oh, what if I put it on my leg, would he lick my leg? I let out a noise and then I heard a low growl and my blanket put his lips on mine... I''ve seen this before! I had a fair idea what kissing was! Wasn''t it funny though, I knew about kissing but didn''t know what pie meant... Isn''t pie just meat? What''s that got to do with numbers? I don''t get it! I found my thoughts becoming blurry, as he moved his mouth on mine. I laid into him and bent my neck, feeling strength begin to get snuffed outta me¡­ Oh! This was¡­Really¡­Quite¡­Nice¡­ I should have kissed much earlier! When he put his tongue in my mouth, I was surprised! Do I bite it? Eat it? I felt full¡­And when I used my tongue to push his out, I felt my tongue get played with and more tingles appeared¡­ Wow¡­ I found myself pushing away, because I felt faint and was breathing heavily¡­ He really was snuffing my life force! Not just my energy but my air as well! Was he evil? I looked at him strangely, while I tried to calm my breathing and noticed Asuna was purring in her little hole. Oh¡­Was this normal? My blanket kissed my cheeks and closer to my ear and dam! It was like¡­I didn¡¯t own my skin, even though it was on me¡­My blanket seemed to own it¡­ Ahh¡­ ¡­Tingles raced through me and I felt spectacular! Feeling his hands travel over the holy sheets across my body, I didn¡¯t feel worse¡­I just felt like¡­Well, it was my first time feeling this and should I be scared? Being scared in a dream, meant it turned into a nightmare, right? Ok¡­Ok, I¡¯m not scared¡­I don¡¯t want this to turn into a nightmare! I let him roam my body and continue to kiss me, but I felt like it was too much. I felt like I was falling down a huge, steep mountain¡­Falling, falling! I held onto him for dear life, as warmth spread through me. ¡°Mmm, Rieka¡­Tell me I can mark you. Please¡­¡± My blanket mumbled. Mark me? Ah¡­Oh right, that¡¯s what wolves do! Ha! My blanket put a hand to my face and took my mouth once again and I felt a little uncomfortable, so I started to turn around. I had a bit of trouble, because of the holy sheets, so I had only half turned, and he had me in his arms. Ah! That¡¯s a little better¡­ He stopped kissing me and looked at me, straight in my eyes¡­ So¡­Pretty. I stared back at him, putting a hand up and poking his eyes. He jerked for a quick moment but didn¡¯t move anything but his head. I guess he doesn¡¯t like that¡­ Ah! I was so warm, I really liked it here! My blanket¡¯s arms were like my desire, warming me up and holding me tight. I didn¡¯t have the want to leave whatsoever! ¡°Please!¡± I heard my blanket plead. Hearing him do this, I felt the need to want to make him happy, so I gave him a short nod. ¡°Oh¡­Your neck¡­¡± His very upset voice made me upset too¡­ That¡¯s right¡­I still had a neck collar on¡­ I let out a giggle! My blanket is funny! ¡°As soon as it comes off, I¡¯m marking you, my love!¡± He stated to me. My¡­My love!? I felt funny good inside and I happily smiled back at him. ¡°Tell me, tell me why you are a lone wolf. Why are you alone?¡± I was surprised that my blanket asked me this¡­Was he really interested? He tightened his arms around me, and I happily snuggled into him. ¡°I¡­¡± I really tried to tell him everything, but I didn¡¯t get far because I wasn¡¯t very good at talking. By the time we were interrupted, I¡¯d only told him about the human orphanage¡­I couldn¡¯t believe how hard it was just to talk! Why hadn¡¯t I talked for so long!? Not only that, but having his undivided attention, seemed to interrupt me as well. I loved it! I loved my blanket and his attention! I felt funny good inside all over again! He was so patient as well, hugging and even helping me say words very softly. So sweet! Funny good feelings everywhere! Ah! ¡°Boss, you¡¯re not running today?¡± I looked up at the noise, but didn¡¯t see anyone¡­ ¡°Is it that time?¡± My blanket asked. ¡°Yeah, boss.¡± ¡°Run?¡± I asked¡­ I could run, and jump and hide¡­ ¡°You want to go for a run?¡± He asked me. I nodded back, clearly interested. He smiled at me and¡­The funny good stuff inside me went nuts once again, putting me into shock! ¡°We¡¯ll be out soon, how long until the person from The Misty Ice Pack comes?¡± My blanket asked¡­ I shrugged, not knowing. ¡°We haven¡¯t any word yet, boss. It will be at least a couple of hours still.¡± I looked up at him and he looked at me and smiled, ¡°Do you still want to run with the neck collar on?¡± I nodded, not really phased by the neck collar. Besides, it was a dream, maybe it¡¯ll just suddenly disappear¡­Poof! Chapter 11
Alarick POV I got my mate out of the holy sheets and since she didn¡¯t seem to mind her naked body being seen, I eagerly took it all in. But it didn¡¯t last long¡­As soon as she was out, she shifted into her beautiful, white wolf and I pouted. I had seen a few marks on her luscious body and had automatically wanted to kiss them. I wanted to put my hands all over her, but now¡­ Seeing her looking up at me, I said, ¡°Stay with me. No running away!¡± She licked my finger, that I had pointed at her with, and I let out a chuckle¡­Dam, she was just¡­ Shifting to my wolf, I snuggled into her, not really wanting to leave. I was in heaven just minutes before and I felt like I could have locked us up in here for days! No¡­Days wouldn¡¯t have been enough, weeks¡­Hell¡­I don¡¯t even think weeks were enough! Letting out a little huff, I ventured out and devoted a whole eye on her all the time, and my nose¡­Like hell I was ganna let her go now. She was mine! The problem was¡­We haven¡¯t got any kind of mind link at the moment. I want her to be initiated as soon as possible, and luckily there was going to be a bonfire tomorrow night. I had been somewhat traditional, because the wolf was somewhat traditional. And that would not only mean a full moon initiation, but also waiting until she was ready for not only marking her but fully consummating our bond. The full moon initiation is hardly in effect anymore, only a few packs on the planet still recognizing the old ways. But, since I had made my decision to live closer to being like wolves and as a tight family kind of pack, we have taken in that tradition once again. Especially since she was going to be the Luna, I wanted it to be special. I know my mother had been initiated by a full moon as well, wearing white and had made some kind of speech and then taking the vow. So, her new daughter will do the same! Then, finalizing the bond between mates, is now often done straight away, not waiting until their mate goes into heat. Marking my mate¡­Boy I couldn¡¯t wait! I was so keen that I had even forgotten about the neck collar! Sometimes it could take up to a month for a newly marked mate to go into heat, so I wanted to mark her as soon as possible! Even though I had waited all this time for her, I felt like I couldn¡¯t wait anymore! She was right here! I could slam all tradition in the ass and just take her but¡­Man! I could only sigh and see this as a good thing. Sabassa had told me a while ago, that the tradition is there for a reason and I really do understand¡­Something about connecting other ways, before the bond is completed. It¡¯s a time to see everything else about their mate and find the want to wait and spend the rest of their lives together. Blah, I can¡¯t remember any other words¡­But, I¡¯ll wait. Dammit, I¡¯ll bloody wait! I felt it though, the want, the desire¡­ I know I said I would wait¡­But it won¡¯t be easy, I can tell ya that! Leading my lovely mate outside, I saw Radolph breath in and stare at the white wolf beside me. I growled, then felt a head bump into me. She rubbed herself against me and looked at Radolph like she was shy.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Radolph coughed and then nodded, ¡°Ok! I¡¯ll just¡­¡± I saw him put his hands to his shorts and went in between my mate and Radolph, blocking their vision from each other. Wanting her to get used to people being somewhat naked, I still felt like she wasn¡¯t quite ready¡­Considering her first expression of what happened when I had been naked in front of her. Not only that¡­For some reason I didn¡¯t like the idea of her seeing other males in the nude¡­I mean it was normal, yet, I felt a fierce type of feeling go through me just thinking about it¡­ But she seemed fine and I gave her a tiny push with my head, before the three of us went for the run. I didn¡¯t want to do anything different to what I usually did, so we just checked the boundaries and I kept my mind opened to the enforcers I came across along the way. Every now and again, I¡¯d see a glimpse of Harou, before he disappeared out of my sight. I felt so good, knowing that he was there, even though right now I¡¯d prefer it if it was just the two of us. My lovely mate seemed to trot around like this was nothing, and it made me wonder if she knew we were actually working right now. She looked around and even on the occasion licked me. It was weird, because she¡¯d lick me anywhere and I was already riled up. And then, when I would give her my complete attention, she would be looking around once again. She was a bloody tease! Argh¡­ We took, twice as long to do my natural boundary run then normal, all because I would lose concentration! I also knew I wasn¡¯t the only one, a few Shifters we past stared at her and I wanted to growl at them! To a certain degree, I could see her being so beautiful is going to be a problem! When we finally returned back to the pack, I arranged for a dress for the initiation the next day. I then made sure that everything was ready for tomorrow, like the wood and rocks, and make sure that the area was clean. The pack used to be a lot dirtier, but nowadays I didn¡¯t have to worry so much about rubbish, so the area was fine already. And, all this time, my mate would follow me pretty closely in her wolf form, even though I had shifted to human form. I had a strange thought, that perhaps she had a little more self confidence while she was a wolf¡­ Having heard her talking before we went for a run, only hurt my heart. For a person unable to speak properly, really did question what kind of background she had. Being bullied like that at a school, and at such a young age, made me think better of my own situation. At least I had parents, well even though my father wasn¡¯t really that great, but I had a doting mother¡­Whereas she hadn¡¯t. My mate had no one. I patted the white wolf beside me and she banged her head into me, making me fall to the ground. I laughed as she put herself right on top of me and licked my face. I hugged her wolf and nuzzled into her, feeling the silver hurt me, making me flinch back. Right, when is that person going to get here? As I continued to pat her, I tried to mind link Radolph, but it looked like he was in his human form. Guess, I had to find him then¡­ I pushed the white wolf off me and then attempted to tickle her, making her give out strange, gruff noises. I wanted to do this to her in her human form, but, even in wolf form, she seems to be laughing. Tackling her body with mine, I was just so full of feelings for her, I couldn¡¯t hold em at bay! Then I heard a low growl and little nips in my waist and I jumped! The white wolf let out more gruff noises and I looked at her and laughed, she was just tickling me back! So¡­This was what it was like? That missing part of yourself, that half of yourself, your destined one, being together with you? How quickly do I feel that she had already become a big part of my life!? I loved having her attention, I loved that she wanted even my sheets all over her! My heart somehow was already swelling to an unimaginable weight, that I felt like I might pop! I put a hand through my head, and suddenly felt embarrassed¡­ She was stealing my manliness from me and making me all cheesy! I felt her rub against me once again and I smiled down at her. ¡°Let¡¯s see if that collar can come off yet!¡± Then I ran, looking back and seeing her chase after me. It was like she was playing a game every second of the day and we took twice as long to get to Radolph¡­ ¡°Boss! L¡­Luna!¡± Radolph stuttered when I found him. I was then suddenly pushed over by a beautiful white wolf. After she licked my ear, she got off me and looked at Radolph closely. I watched as she sat down and look at me¡­Was she waiting? ¡°Boss?¡± Oh yeah, time to be manly again! ¡°Have we heard word from The Misty Ice Pack?¡± I asked. ¡°The scout came back, stating that they are talking about it and will send the person who can take it off, if they end up agreeing to do so.¡± Radolph said. I frowned, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t they?¡± Radolph looked at the white wolf, then back at me, ¡°The scout said that when he brought up the wolf being completely white, things changed.¡± ¡°How did the scout know she was white!¡± I asked, worried that they weren¡¯t going to take the neck collar off now. Radolph sighed, ¡°I accidentally told him boss, I¡¯m still stunned! She¡¯s really pretty!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Sorry boss. But, what would it mean, because apparently, they had no objections at first¡­Now they are thinking twice, knowing that she¡¯s a white wolf¡­¡± I frowned again, could she be¡­In danger? But, if they are stating they wouldn¡¯t come, isn¡¯t that just staying away from her? It was a tad bit confusing and I shook my head. Perhaps I need to write them a letter¡­ Chapter 12
Rieka POV I was watching the pups play, while in a trance¡­Thinking that they were lucky, little things, being able to shift as early as two¡­And so cute! When I had changed, I was already a medium sized wolf, not the small paws, fluffy furred type of wolf that the little pups were. I heard that these little ones were making too much mischief with their other pup mates, which apparently happens a lot. The older ones are trying to learn diligently from teachers, for three nonstop hours a day, and those three hours did extend if there were too much interruptions. But I was conflicted on where I¡¯d prefer to be right now. I could play with the iddy, biddy, sweet, cute, little pups or I could go learn something and become smarter! After I got out of my trance, I believed that it didn¡¯t matter what I did, because I was dreaming. If I learnt something¡­Wouldn''t I just forget it? So, just as I made a decision to play with the little sack of fur balls, my blanket stood in front of me and got my attention. ¡°My lovely mate, come back and try this on. Luckily it only needed to be restitched on the bottom, otherwise it¡¯s ready for you to see if it fits!¡± I looked at the pretty dress and had the strangest urge to wear it¡­It would make me look very pretty! Not seeing my blanket check to see if I was following, I followed the dress back to where we were before we went for a run. I felt it, ah, his eyes roamed all over me, while I changed into the pretty, white dress. It made me feel strange¡­I felt heat rush up to my head and I was wondering once again if I was going to get sick. Sickness didn¡¯t go too well with me, I hated it! I was always so miserable and didn¡¯t have any energy at all! I quickly finished, with help as I had trouble, and looked at him step away to have a good look at me. I didn¡¯t know what to do¡­ ¡°My love, are you upset?¡± My blanket asked. I blinked innocently and shook my head. He came back to me and I loved his face, it was sweet, like I was the most¡­Special? Me!? I loved this dream so much I never wanted to wake up! He took me into his arms and I heard him sigh once again¡­Maybe I was getting sick because he was, and I caught it from him¡­ The neck collar was really a hindrance, as he pulled back from getting touched by it, ¡°I really hate that thing!¡± I bowed my head and remembered it as well. The lingering, dim pain that continued as it touched me¡­I¡¯d rather to continue to forget that it¡¯s there¡­ I felt my hand get touched and I looked up to see my blanket in front of me again, then he put my hand up and made me do a spin. Did he just¡­Mind control me? How did he know that I would do that!? Did he mean to!? I smiled, as it was still fun, so I did it again and heard my blanket laugh.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The world spinning like this, was close to when I was dicking around and going around in circles prior to meeting him¡­And after I met him¡­ Ah! That¡¯s right! He growled at me! ¡°You, growled!¡± I said pouting. I felt his arms go around me, ¡°Yes, but then again, my love, so did you! Actually, you growled first! Shouldn¡¯t I be angry!?¡± I bit my lip and trying to remember, but dearly couldn¡¯t, so it didn¡¯t happen! ¡°I not remember! You growled first!¡± I state stubbornly. I met his eyes and fell silent, feeling like I was getting sucked in towards a vacuum cleaner¡­ Touching my cheek, and then moving his lips slowly towards mine, he kissed me¡­And it was just like the first time he did this! Will it be like this every time!? I take his head in my hands and push him slightly closer to me, wanting more of the tingled, hot, tasty touch¡­ Until I could no longer breath, he pushed away, and I took in some deep breaths, wondering where all the air had went! Honestly, this blanket, was he trying to kill me? Then I heard his husky voice, as he put a hand on my bum, ¡°I was severely mistaken.¡± ¡°Uh?¡± I asked¡­Yeah, I don¡¯t understand what he said¡­At all! Squeezing my bum cheek, I let out a little yelp and he chuckled. ¡°I want that neck collar off¡­Right now!¡± I didn¡¯t understand his urgency, but I agreed, it was annoying. But¡­I then did what he did to me, by squeezing his bum cheek and saw his reaction. ¡°Hey!¡± He said, after taking a small step away from my touchy hand. I laughed loudly. It was so funny! No wonder he laughed when he did it to me! ¡°Funny! Come¡­I do it again!¡± I said, trying to get him again. But he ran away, and I couldn¡¯t get my blanket''s bum cheek anymore¡­ For ten minutes, we chased each other around and I had gotten to a point that I wanted to get upset! He made it look so easy yet, when I try and touch it, he¡¯d scoot away! My blanket was being naughty! ¡°No play no more!¡± I said, putting my arms crossed up to my chest in annoyance. My blanket came over to me and tackled me to the bed, ¡°Are you upset? Don¡¯t be upset¡­¡± So¡­I took his bum cheek and squeezed it, making him want to squirm away from me, but I held my other hand around him, so he won¡¯t suddenly disappear. I laughed and suddenly stopped, as I felt him kiss me once again¡­And totally forgot what I was doing beforehand. As an hour slipt passed, I found out, that I loved him touching me. It felt good, no great! The tingles weren¡¯t a bad thing, they were good, no great! And it felt like my blanket liked it too! I watched his expression when I touched him everywhere and he would change from looks to even giving out sighs or grunts¡­ There was something in the middle area of him that seemed to invite such grunts and had grown like magic! I knew it was part of the male¡­Something¡­It was a male thing. But¡­Seeing him so happy when I touched it, made me want to continue! For some reason, I really liked it when he was happy! It made me happy too! It was like a strange way to be happy¡­I was normally used to jumping around like a deer and playing in the snow to give myself a smile, but this happiness felt like I was full¡­Full of what? I have no idea! But, after some time, the male thing seemed to explode, and I let go in a hurry. ¡°Sorry!¡± Did I just break it!? Was I going to stop dreaming now? Stepping back in small steps, I felt myself start to tremble in my unhappiness. ¡°Wait! Rieka! Dammit, it¡¯s fine!¡± I heard my blanket say, but I was already backed up against the wall. I saw him rush to me and quickly take off the white dress before I shifted back into my wolf. Curling up into a ball, I guess I was waiting to wake up now. The dream had to be over¡­Right? I felt licking over my fur and nudging into my side, but I still stayed how I was, waiting¡­ Even when the licking made my ear ticklish, all I did was snuff out and continue to hide¡­And wait¡­ When was it going to happen! I felt my blanket go between my legs and rest his head over my wolf body and I took my head out to see his golden eyes staring at me. Then his tongue came out and licked me straight on the nose and I snuffed out once again. Grunting, I turned to be in a more comfortable position and he seemed to do the same. Letting out a deep breath I felt myself start to relax and droop off, thinking that I will probably wake up in the snow, in my den¡­Or somewhere completely different, like that of shifter heaven. I really didn''t want this dream to stop! It was...Well, it was practically like my life meant nothing before meeting this blanket! How could that be possible when I had spent years without it! Being only with him in my dream for about two days or so, felt like the world had completely changed! I started to lick the big wolf, hearing his grunts in response and I couldn''t stop. Yes, I loved smelling like a blanket, but now...I wanted to make some sort of sign on him as well. I wanted him to be mine, and mine alone! ¡­For whatever is left of this dream, this blanket was going to be mine! Chapter 13
Alarick POV ¡°Boss.¡± I heard through my light sleeping. I was only half gone, because I was just so damned comfortable¡­But, it really wasn¡¯t my bed time yet! I hardly wanted to sleep until this neck collar was off, but¡­By seeing the sun almost set now, it may not even happen till tomorrow. I had written a letter earlier and had it sent, so this might be the response for it. Trying not to wake my lovely mate up, I slowly got out of her embrace and shifted to my human form. Quickly putting on some shorts, I take one last look at my beautiful wolf and walk out, ¡°Radolph.¡± ¡°Boss, there¡¯s no response to the letter, but they had written one to you beforehand.¡± I scratched my head, right, yeah, they might not have my letter yet. The travel time to get there and back wouldn¡¯t be now, so, this letter of theirs was written and sent, before mine was delivered to them. Taking it into my hands, I opened it and read, ¡®Bring her to us.¡¯ What the hell does that mean? It wasn¡¯t often we had pack members with silver neck collars, but they would always send someone out to us, instead of us going to them. But¡­Why now, why do they want us to go to them¡­ I had to admit¡­This was strange. ¡°Radolph, tell me again. How have they acted.¡± Walking over towards the elder den, I was filled in with the same information as before. That they acted somewhat normal¡­Until they knew this wolf was white. Now, not only are they ¡®thinking¡¯ about things, they want the Shifter to go all the way to them¡­ Why doesn¡¯t this add up? Taking another piece of paper, I wrote yet another letter. The first letter only stated the need for help, yet, now it was somewhat void because they would ask for the same thing, that my mate would have to go to them. I wrote for the possibility that they are to come here instead, as she was going to be initiated into the pack the next day and become a Luna. That if they weren¡¯t to change their minds, then I wanted a damned good reason why she would have to travel all that way! Honestly, I hated the idea, yet¡­How else could I get the silver neck collar off her!? Especially since I wanted to mark her so desperately! This predicament was really shitty! I wished now that I had brought her back the first time I¡¯d seen her, not only wouldn¡¯t she have gotten shot, but she wouldn¡¯t have that bloody collar on her! Putting my hands through my hair, I dropped the pen and sighed. I couldn¡¯t help but have a strange, bad feeling about this¡­The Misty Ice Pack were already questionable, with no evidence, now they wanted a pure, white wolf to go to them, when they had never asked of this beforehand¡­Why!? I decided then and there, that I wasn¡¯t going to send her if I didn¡¯t have to. After getting a scout to send the letter that I had written, with my obvious blood as evidence to seal it, to show that I had written it, I then sent two other scouts out to nearby packs to see if anyone else can come and take away a silver neck collar. Putting my feet on the table, I grumbled, it felt like fate was playing with me. I couldn¡¯t mark her, so she was still unmated, still basically free for the taking. And with just that going through my mind, I didn¡¯t want to send her to get her collar off¡­But, I needed her neck collar off, so I could mark her! I get someone to grab me a beer and I try and take my mind of the matter, as I tend to two other new things. One was the sudden disappearance of one of the pack members and another was a confirmation from The Strikers Den, stating that both an Alpha and a Beta will be coming for my birthday and staying for a night. Getting someone to set up a place for them, I then looked into who had suddenly disappeared, and found that it was someone that had been initiated about four or five years ago. Trying to remember when they had been added, I shrugged, I can¡¯t remember everything! But¡­What was strange¡­Was that their connection to this pack has not vanished and I could still feel him. Closing my eyes, to pin point on where he was, I could only feel that he was outside of our boundary and closer to the border of The Misty Ice Clan.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡­Was he there¡­ Looking down, to see the disappearance as of the day before, with no confirmations that they were leaving and had not shown up to tend to the farm¡­ Why was this looking so damned suspicious! I couldn''t help it...I was getting very suspicious and went as far as asking Sabassa about a pure, white wolf and was hoping that she would know anything about its history. Surely, she was old enough to know something! It wasn''t like a white wolf was completely unheard of, it was probably more so that Rieka was completely, a hundred percent, white...And now, that I saw The Misty Ice Pack acting like this, I had to see if there was something that I should bloody know about! You know¡­Because she¡¯s my mate and all! And that in itself gave me enough right to find out any bullshit about a pure, white wolf! ¡­Sabassa was very quiet at first, and I was getting edgy at watching a play of emotions on her face...Was there really something about the pure, white wolf? "...Mmm." Her response irritated the hell out of me! Why can''t she just say whatever she¡¯s thinking to make me feel better!? I''m not a bloody mind reader! ¡°Come on! Spill it!¡± I said, showing my irritation to the continued silence. ¡°Now that I think of it, a pure white wolf does have a history, but that information was hidden as swiftly as news had gotten out.¡± Sabassa said. ¡°What did you hear?¡± I asked, pulling myself into a more seated position. Sabassa looked at me in conflict, ¡°At the time I was in the south, I heard that a child of an alpha had been taken and went missing. She had white hair¡­¡± ¡°White hair¡­¡± I repeated, thinking immediately of Rieka. She had the obvious white hair! ¡°Is that all? Can¡¯t you remember anything else?¡± Sabassa sighed and said, ¡°I was young, this was a long time ago Alarick. It happened in the north of the continent, while I was in the south, I can¡¯t explain much more.¡± All I could think, is that of the obvious. They wanted her because of being a pure, white wolf¡­That in the past, someone with white hair had gone missing¡­ I did not see anything good out of letting my mate leave my side and I felt like I had already made my decision. She was not going to The Misty Ice Pack! If she was to leave and never return, it would be entirely my fault! Especially when I know this much! Hell, even if nothing went wrong and she came back with no neck collar¡­I felt like I couldn¡¯t give it the chance! Something was most definitely going on and as long as she stayed here¡­She should be safe! ¡°She won¡¯t be going there then!¡± I said, voicing my thoughts. ¡°Then¡­How are we to get off the neck collar?¡± Sabassa asked the obvious question. I looked at her and said, ¡°I sent out scouts to find another that can do it, hopefully someone else will come.¡± After that, silence overcome us while we were both in thought, I wondered if Sabassa was trying to remember the past, perhaps to help me to prevent something that might happen in the future. *** For the next twelve hours, nothing happened because I didn¡¯t want to let my mate leave and The Misty Ice Pack sent no one to come and help take off her collar. A scout came back, and they had news that someone could take the neck collar off at the border of the boundary to the south. The person was from The Strikers Den and that taking off neck collars wasn¡¯t their specialty. When I heard that, I was displeased, thinking that it was an amateur and that I shouldn¡¯t bother with them¡­But, it wasn¡¯t as I thought, when the scout continued and admitted that this person¡¯s specialty was bordering the inhuman type of specialties and even asked for a lot of money for him to do his job, I changed my mind. I knew about people like him, hell Harou was my own assassin, so I couldn¡¯t totally dismiss him¡­But he was the only other choice I had. Going to the border was better then making my mate leave my territory altogether and not only that, the person that was going to do it blandly stated his job and honestly asked for money. I had thought about it for awhile and figured that The Misty Ice Pack was scarier than this guy. I knew what I would get with this guy and would send protectors, with myself included, and that should be enough¡­With The Misty Ice Pack, my protectors probably wouldn¡¯t be able to freely go onto their land to follow my mate. My decision was made, I sent someone to tell this person to meet at the boundary an hour before the initiation, as the day had progressed further then I had thought. To be honest, I had started to think that she will have the neck collar on while being initiated and so I was a little happy to hear that it should be taken off by then! It was great news and I couldn¡¯t wait! Straight after initiation I would mark her as mine and she would already be Luna of the pack! Sometime within the month¡­We will be fully mated and there shouldn¡¯t be anything else to fear after that! Just as we were about to leave, knowing that the meeting was going to take place, The Misty Ice Pack¡¯s Beta had come all the way to our border and wanted to talk to me. Having a Beta come all this way, was obviously very important. You could nearly say that the Alpha was coming, if the Beta personally went to your boundary. I sighed and really did think it was bad timing. After I declined, and we were already half way down to the meeting point, Radolph came personally to get me. I was pissed! My beautiful girl was looking at me like I was her only trustworthy ally and here I had to leave? Why couldn¡¯t they wait the hour I had told them to wait!? ¡°He said it¡¯s very important¡­¡± Radolph said. ¡°He is unwilling to speak to me in place of you.¡± I let out a huge sigh and look at my mate. She had three protectors and a hidden one, if I left¡­Would that be enough? Making her stop, I pull her into my arms and take in her sweet scent. Freedom washed over me, even though I felt shackles from having to go to the west of our borders, while she will be here, south of our border¡­ ¡°Blanket?¡± Her question was filled with curiosity, but¡­Blanket? Is she¡­Calling me a blanket? Putting a hand to her cheek, I couldn¡¯t help but smile, ¡°I will go for a short time, but, tonight, you will become our Luna. When you get back, if you get back before me, one of the girls will help you look pretty and give you something to eat ok.¡± ¡°Mmm, pretty food¡­¡± I sighed, leaning in to kiss her, that tingled touch running over me and making it even more difficult to leave her side¡­ Fuck¡­I¡¯m whipped! ¡°...Boss¡­¡± Letting go of her, I stepped back and smiled, ¡°I¡¯ll see you soon!¡± Then I shifted, after quickly undressing, so that I could get to this ¡®Beta¡¯ faster and be able to get back to my mate faster¡­ Chapter 14
Asuna POV I watched as Rieka continued to walk as she was told to¡­She was spaced out and I didn¡¯t like it. Her thoughts continued to be as her weird self, like that of why was she in human form and stumbling so much¡­That having her blanket around had stopped her from stumbling¡­Honestly, I was quite annoyed that she had no reaction to the rumble that we heard just moments ago. I was really sure that it was something important...Something that we should worry about... I had heard from being here, about some of what is happening outside and felt like this was the entirely the reason I had come back from the dead. My whole second existence was making sure that I was ready for what may very well happen to me a second time! The Misty Ice Pack! Again! They wanted my life once again, one that is thought of as purity and told that it can bless that of a relationship¡­It was all bullshit! Someone had made it up! But in the end, I had still been killed for an Alpha and his Luna! Seeing that we weren¡¯t on our way west, I was still going to stay on my guard from now on. This silly child didn¡¯t have a clue though and I had no idea on how to tame her so that she would understand and would do as I asked. Would she really run if I told her too? I see her look back for a third time, to the way our mate went, and I let out a sigh. I was finally able to meet my mate¡­It really was like feeling complete, like a free type of happiness¡­The wolf inside of Alarick was very sweet and had even admitted to ¡®feeling¡¯ us, even in our deepest of troubles. He had wanted to help us as early as eight or so years ago, but the best he could do was understand what he ¡®felt¡¯ by disagreeing to having three main meals a day. I felt really special, because I could see, sense and feel that he was completely loyal to us and that he was absolutely happy to have found his beloved mate. His name was Mingan and to be honest¡­I liked him better then Alarick¡­ I knew our bond was weak, and I knew that our mate had all rights to reject us¡­But they were now both completely dedicated to us and I was already feeling the loss of not being close to them. They had given both Rieka and I warmth and happiness when we needed it and I already loved them so much because of all of this¡­ I didn¡¯t disagree to the silly child¡¯s thoughts of wanting to take her feet to where her feet wanted to go. She was still stupidly thinking that this was a dream and that she should just do whatever she wanted. I know I called her stupid, because she thought this way, and honestly, being with Mingan was sort of like a dream come true, but¡­I knew better¡­ Seeing her stop walking, as she honestly felt like she wanted to go to him, I followed her vision, when someone called out ¡®Luna¡¯ to her¡­To see that person get attacked from behind and fall to the ground unconscious. Honestly, wasn¡¯t it The Misty Ice Pack that I should worry about¡­ As I see her vision see that her other two protectors had also fallen to the ground unconscious, I started to panic. Right! How could I forget!? They could be here too! As it was, when I had perished the last time, The Misty Ice Pack was starting to take over other packs! They would put in their own people into other packs and slowly take them over, which is what happened to the pack I had come from¡­When I had been taken, there was already two Alpha¡¯s and two Beta¡¯s there and I had heard what was going to happen, from the people who had forcefully taken us¡­That they were just biding their time to take over the pack entirely, but look like the pack was another¡¯s! I¡¯m not sure what happened afterwards, but since the pack name was still the same now in the future, I guessed the only thing that changed was the allegiance¡­As the name might be different¡­But the pack was still under the orders of The Misty Ice Pack¡­ Now that I remembered this, and had seen Alarick¡¯s pack, I was sure that we just needed to go back there, as it seemed that The Misty Ice Pack hadn¡¯t taken it yet. At least¡­They were safer there¡­For now¡­ You idiot! Shift and run back! I yelled out to Rieka, worried as all hell! But she was such the idiot and too slow, that there was no time before she too fell unconscious. I sighed, as I knew she wouldn¡¯t be all that great in human form. As it was, she was already stumbling while walking here, and not having really fought in human form before, she was probably not able to think of any kind of strategy¡­ ¡°Ah! Bastard! Kill him!¡± A voice and smell that would be familiar to quite a few Shifters from Alarick¡¯s pack would know, came over me in my blackened-out state. ¡°No! Get outta here, quick, I¡¯ll stall this bastard¡­No, you are staying here! I¡¯ve been hired specifically¡­For you!¡± I couldn¡¯t see, but I could hear in the distance a shift and then some growls, wondering who had come out from somewhere else to protect us. I was pretty sure it wasn¡¯t our mate, but then¡­Who was it? Mingan hadn¡¯t been able to tell me too much in the time that we have been together, so I guessed this extra protector was what he had wanted to tell me when we had been interrupted that time when we had stopped running the boundary the day before¡­I had to admit, we were still pretty glad and happy to just be with each other and hadn¡¯t been able to seriously think through some important details yet¡­ My dearest Mingan¡­The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The feeling of being dropped and kicked, then I heard a car door close and then an engine going, as I felt us being tied up¡­ ¡°Faster, he¡¯s nasty, killed two of our men! We need to get back to the border of The Misty Ice Pack before he comes back after us!¡± ¡°Calm down! We¡¯ll be safer the closer we get! Besides, our man back there loves this! He could hardly wait to see if there was anyone there worthy of him to make him fight!¡± The Misty Ice Pack! ¡°¡­Your right¡­Phew! You can¡¯t blame me though, that guy was quick and¡­Oh, luckily we had our people in The Striker¡¯s Den¡­¡± ¡°It seemed to have worked out fine uh!? The Strikers Den must nearly be all under The Misty Ice Pack¡¯s control now! Haha! The Snowvalley Pack Alpha had no idea!¡± ¡°¡­Her hair¡­¡± ¡°What about her hair?¡± ¡°It¡¯s white¡­Like they said¡­It¡¯s weird.¡± ¡°So what! Just don¡¯t be the pervert you are and touch her!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Wanting to take over, but knowing I needed to save everything I stored up since being reborn, I could only pace and keep my anger at bay. When I had lived my first life, it had been a lot easier to take control¡­But¡­With Rieka, it takes quite a lot more out of me¡­ All the wolf powers I had collected for nine years, I had used a small amount to stabilize and strengthen the connection between us and our mate for a short period of time when we had gotten shot¡­But¡­I hoped, that I still had enough to save us! Because it seemed¡­That time may very well come now! If they had used wolfsbane, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything right now, and that was what happened last time. But¡­It looked like that they had just made her unconscious for now¡­So, it still might happen¡­ I couldn¡¯t help it, it was like I was revisiting a nightmare! I had kept the little one in the dark all this time, about me being reborn and what I was doing. I know I was somewhat cruel by not being completely upfront and honest with her, but if I had told her what happened to me¡­She may have done something stupid to make us stand out even more then we already do! To be honest though¡­Us being in the north, had been quite a good idea! We blended into the snow and we were alone often¡­Until now¡­ In my previous life, we had been knocked unconscious just like this, and they would ¡®sacrifice¡¯ me at a cliff. That was why I knew it was The Misty Ice Pack, that was why I knew I had a small amount of time! Time wasn¡¯t to run away, as I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t allow us to escape¡­Oh no¡­They would never let such a ¡®blessing¡¯ get away! Time¡­Was so that I could keep calm and prepare myself! So, I calmed myself down, seeing no reaction out of the silly child and hoped that I had the power to have us survive this nightmare! Wait¡­No¡­That¡¯s right¡­It¡¯s full moon¡­We were supposed to be initiated tonight at full moon¡­But, they think they need to do the ¡®blessing¡¯ on a full moon too! ¡­As I originally thought, we really don¡¯t have much time! They might even do it as soon as we get to the cliff! We had been held captive for two days before it happened last time, but the wolfsbane had stopped us from making any kind of escape¡­Which led me to think that this time too! If it was anything like last time, they will have many there to stop us from escaping¡­ Had they really prepared this so quickly to do it tonight!? Was it all going to happen in just a couple of hours!? No! I didn¡¯t slumber and starve this poor girl of wolf powers for nine years, and even sometimes in later years, to not survive this! We will be fine¡­Just stay calm! It doesn¡¯t matter¡­If they do it this full moon or the next, I will be prepared! ¡°Another hour¡­Yes, Alpha¡­Then I will contact you when we are there.¡± I might not be able to see, but I was able to hear¡­So¡­We had already traveled a couple of hours¡­ Trying hard to control myself, I thought it would be safer if she couldn¡¯t feel me, so that she stays asleep. If I lost control, I could also loss what chance I had to overcome this nightmare¡­ Stay calm! Asuna? Her soft, innocent voice worried me straight away, Shh, child, don¡¯t wake up. But I¡¯m not tired anymore¡­ Please, just act like you are sleeping! Why did she wake up now! What if she does something stupid! Why? Please! Have I ever asked you to do anything for me!? Listen to me child! Now is the time to be smart and not be silly! So just please, until I say otherwise, pretend that you are a bear and you are sleeping through the winter, okay? I felt a strange sense of happiness flow through me from her and I heard her happy voice, Okay! I¡¯m a bear! Roar! You can¡¯t wake me until the snow is gone! Oh¡­Ah¡­Asuna, I don¡¯t want to put dirt up my butt¡­ I shook my head to the urgency of the matter and her strange sense of not understanding anything¡­She hasn¡¯t changed¡­She doesn¡¯t think! I widened my eyes, to the grunt I hear her do, to express a bear sleeping, and I could not believe that the men taking this girl, didn¡¯t seem to do anything. I felt like I was on thin ice and the silly girl was playing! How did I end up with her!? I knew it though! From ages ago, that we had not been connected properly! I had thought it was something I would have to face against all this life, until we had met our mate. After we had met him¡­Our connection felt like it could be saved¡­ Not wanting to use my saved-up wolf powers to completely restore our connection on my own, I had kept this in mind, until I knew that the silly girl was going to her den and lay down after getting shot! What was the point of saving up all the wolf powers if she had died!? I did what I had to, and it had brought our mate to us, but, I hadn¡¯t wanted to use most of what I had saved up to complete the connection, just in case the nightmare would return¡­In which it has! Another grunt was heard, and I could cry to how stupid she was! Yet, how else was I to get her to do nothing!? Feeling our body get thrown onto a hard ground, I saw that the silly girl wanted to open her eyes! No! Close your eyes! Now! I heard her grunt, but she closed her eyes and I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack¡­ The Alpha¡¯s daughter had so much more potential then this silly, little girl! I really did miss her! As voices and steps were heard, I constantly told the silly girl to just act as though she was sleeping. While I tried to stay calm, I was remembering what I had wanted to prevent from the very first moment of finding myself reborn once again, and knowing that I was once again a pure, white wolf¡­Which, of course, had not been surprising¡­It seemed to be my sad fate¡­ ¡°How long? She might wake up soon?¡± ¡°The Alpha is on his way here with our Luna now. The ceremony should be ready in ten minutes, to start in about half an hour or less. I was told to dress her appropriately. Nothing else but white!¡± ¡°I can dress her?¡± ¡°She must be pure, Mutley! You cannot take her innocence!¡± ¡°I told you not to call me that!¡± ¡°Just do it, nothing but white!¡± I felt proud of the silly child, as she was desperately wanting to open her eyes, but didn¡¯t because I told her not too. She was strong in aspects, I give her that, but¡­I needed her complete attention now, while it counts, for me to express my pride and thanks to her about it later. It was nearly time, all this time I had harnessed the wolf powers to reverse whatever was going to happen in half an hour. That¡¯s right, all this time¡­All this time I had stolen nearly every part of it, just to survive. I knew the cruelty of what was going to happen, I was even sure that there was more to it after I had perished the last time, so I had to do this! First, two bites are made, one on each wrist, which apparently, that indicated the bond between the couple¡­ Second, they will cut off a lot of the hair, halving it between the male and female couple, and they will burn it, apparently this signifies how long and deep their bond will be. Third, a knife is held with both of them and they are to stab the sacrifice directly into the heart, apparently providing health and love to their children and children¡¯s children. After this, I was gone¡­But¡­I hoped, beyond hoped, that I had enough to help us out of more than this! Please, please¡­ ¡°Tie her up! It¡¯s starting in five minutes!¡± Chapter 15
Asuna POV Asuna¡­What¡¯s going on? I¡¯m starting to think this isn¡¯t a dream¡­ Oh, honey¡­It¡¯s not¡­ Rieka, you must not open your eyes! I knew if she opened her eyes, she¡¯d probably scream or something. She was already somewhat of a crazy being, I was really not sure what she would do actually¡­ Why not? Please Rieka¡­You will feel pain in your wrists, then your hair will be cut¡­ Suddenly, I could see, as Rieka had frighteningly opened her eyes and looked around. ¡°Quick, finish it up, she¡¯s awake.¡± ¡°She¡¯s mostly done, hang on.¡± I told you to close your eyes! Seeing Rieka kick one person and then another, she suddenly shifted into our wolf form and I wondered if I could get excited if we were able to get away. Could we do it? ¡°Quick get her!¡± I could see Rieka becoming serious and her instincts were taking over. She had lived a long time as a wolf, never shifting back to being human, so I really wanted to believe that she can get out of this¡­But¡­ There was like twenty of them, five already shifted to their wolf forms¡­ I didn¡¯t want to be cruel, but I honestly didn¡¯t have the confidence that Rieka seemed to have. I know she could take on a few, but¡­So many¡­ There was no chance to get away, even if I let her become stronger! With a wolf charging straight towards her, I watched as Rieka bent her head down and growled, before digging her claws down deep into the ground and pouncing on top of the incoming wolf. As the wolf went to bite her, Rieka had done what they hadn¡¯t expected and pounced of his body to go further away from where they had tried to tie her up. But, two wolves came towards her then from that direction, so Rieka turned left and found another two wolves. Charging towards the two wolves, she ¡®looked¡¯ like she lost balance, falling to her side, but instead, she skidded in towards one of the wolf¡¯s necks and bit down hard, shaking her head to stop the prey from doing anything she didn¡¯t want it to do. Just as she was letting go of the wolf¡¯s neck in her mouth, she was pushed by the other wolf and she shook her head quickly and regained her bearings to continue to fight. She raced towards a direction, which she had no idea which direction it was, and went to look like she would jump over a wolf, instead she rolled to the side and suddenly went another direction, stopping suddenly to see the edge of a cliff. I widened my eyes and couldn¡¯t believe the sense of dejavu! My memories of the past invaded me so much, that Rieka was seeing them as well. I couldn¡¯t help it, as soon I had awakened, until now and saw that cliff, the nightmare of my sacrifice had started! After seeing the cliff, the bites, the hair cutting, the knife¡­ A howl stopped me, and I found that Rieka was the one howling, as a wolf went for her front legs and two men jumped on her. Then¡­An Alpha was speaking¡­The Alpha tone was loud and clear! ¡°Shift!¡± I knew Rieka didn¡¯t have Alpha blood in her, but even though I had previously, it wasn¡¯t enough¡­Rieka had no choice but to comply¡­And then found herself quickly being tied up once again. This time her feet was tied at the same time as her hands, with more people helping. Her naked body was not covered this time, as the dress went into tatters when she had shifted just moments ago. Blood was on her face and on a bit of her naked body, but if one looked closer, you could see some old scars that hadn¡¯t completely healed because they were made with silver. Closing my eyes for a moment, I told myself that this was the outcome I was expecting right? Calming myself down, I opened my eyes and felt Rieka start to laugh hysterically. Her thoughts of my memories, and now sure that she wasn¡¯t dreaming and only to see that she was going to die, sent her into an inner sadness, that she didn¡¯t want to show. All this time, she had been too scared to accept such happiness, and that was why she had called it a dream. To be honest, I felt it to be ironic, because it had seemed silly to me at first, but now¡­As she laughed, to hold in her sorrow, I was sorta glad that she had made the best of her ¡®dream¡¯, while she could¡­ But¡­Now that she had to accept it as reality, she found that there was no point¡­Death was the end¡­And it was imminent¡­ I felt her pain run through me and I wanted to crawl up into a ball just like her. Now it wasn¡¯t just me that knew of our sad fate¡­The little one now knew as well¡­And we were both filled with grievances, our hearts and souls were a mess of sorrow¡­ Tears from the little one¡¯s eyes flowed down, and I did not have a clue on how to comfort her¡­Nor myself. There was no escape, and I really needed to hold myself together! I needed to! ¡°Add silver shackles, I don¡¯t want her to get free.¡± ¡°I¡­Re¡­Member you¡­¡± I heard Rieka¡¯s dead voice say. The old man in front of them had a white beard and he smirked back at us. ¡°Oh? I remember you too.¡± Rieka didn¡¯t say anything more, as I felt her wonder if he was her father and if he was, why would he do something like this. To be honest, I was glad she was thinking again, having quietened down from her crazy laughing, I was worried she would just fade away or something. ¡°You are such a good girl, providing your maternal pack with such a blessing.¡± ¡°Unwillingly.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Yes, very unwillingly! I agreed with the silly girl! ¡°Nonetheless, it is muchly appreciated, let us start! Alpha¡­Luna¡­¡± ¡°Elder.¡± The Alpha said, standing up with his Luna and walking towards us. I cringed, knowing about the incoming future. I¡¯ll take it all! Don¡¯t worry! I stopped¡­That damned silly child! She never wanted to give me any pain, she never¡­She¡­ Suddenly I wanted to cry. She had accepted that I had awakened late, not being upset with me as much as I thought she would be. She had learnt to be strong, when I told to be stronger, even though I should have helped her more! She didn¡¯t want me to carry the burden of pain, taking as much of it as she could, crawling up in pain in front of my very own eyes! She talked to me like I had great ideas or that we were always friends, even though I had mocked her and called her stupid¡­Even though her thoughts weren¡¯t always that nice about me, she never said them to me directly and didn¡¯t disrespect me at all! Even though I shook my head to her silly antics on how to entertain herself, I¡­I can¡¯t help but think¡­They were the best years of my existence! I knew she had been put into this type of fate, to be this type of person, and she¡­Still wants to do well by me, by taking all of the pain! That¡­Damned, silly child! After the shackles had been placed, the ceremony started and Rieka felt protective of me. I told her not to worry about it and to share the burden, but she was not letting me have the chance to feel any part of it. When the Alpha and Luna simultaneously bit into our wrists, Rieka stayed as calm and indifferent as possible, not letting me feel a thing. It looked like it didn¡¯t even hurt by seeing her face, but¡­I knew that it did hurt, I just couldn¡¯t take it away from her. We weren¡¯t in sync, we weren¡¯t completely connected, I couldn¡¯t accomplish much without using the wolf powers that I had stored. But¡­Luckily, this time, no wolfsbane had been used. I wondered why for a short moment, but I was interrupted by Rieka showing no emotion to them cutting her long, white hair. I suppose it wasn¡¯t painful to cut the hair¡­But, I knew, just how much time was needed for it to have gotten that long¡­I knew that, with hair that was now cut to her shoulders, it would be too cold for us to stay in our home to the north¡­We would probably freeze to death¡­ Up north, in the cold, where we had the most freedom¡­Perhaps we should have done everything within our power to stay there¡­In the cold north¡­That we can no longer stay in¡­ Honestly, even if we survive here now, will Rieka be okay? She always wanted to stop herself from getting hurt, she said she had a cold or frozen heart, but I knew what she had¡­Fear¡­And I don¡¯t blame her! She was tough, but¡­Through the experiences that she had seen and been in¡­I could feel her fear again now, just like the other times¡­ Fear of being abandoned again, fear of being outcasted and bullied, fear of being used and hurt¡­ I couldn¡¯t help but be scared as well¡­Scared of the present, scared of the future¡­Scared of both of our life¡¯s¡­ Scared that¡­Our mate doesn¡¯t even know that we are in terrible trouble¡­ I could send out a message¡­But again, it would take away what I may need for us to potentially survive this. It¡­Ha, it was great timing, I suppose¡­We hadn¡¯t connected to the pack, so we didn¡¯t have a link with anyone, and¡­We still hadn¡¯t been marked, which, I¡¯m sure, would have helped us with the connection between our mate and us. But¡­It wasn¡¯t like that, and I had to accept that our mate may¡­Never know¡­What happens here today¡­ I promise, little one, that we will both be ok again one day. I promise! ¡­Don¡¯t worry about it¡­Again, I wanted to cry. She didn¡¯t blame me at all, she was also looking at this with a different kind of thought¡­That perhaps she was ready to die¡­ Was she giving up? Was she accepting this fate? Telling me not to worry because it was the end anyway? Then¡­The knife came towards us, both the Alpha and Luna holding it, and I became completely serious and prepared myself. Even if she had given up, I haven¡¯t! As I expected, after the knife, we were removed from the silver shackles and neck collar¡­Then we were thrown down the large cliff, again by both the Alpha and Luna¡­ The complete sacrifice¡­To apparently give a complete blessing to a bond¡­The fall of the sacrifice, suggests something about luck, and pushing it away¡­But¡­I can¡¯t completely¡­Remember¡­ ¡­I could no longer feel Rieka, yet, our faulty connection let me use what I could, already healing her rapidly before being thrown off the cliff¡­Upon finally hitting the bottom¡­ My promise! Focus! Focus! Focus! Regenerate¡­Please, Rieka, little one, come back! I could only see the dark, since being pushed off the cliff. Being only spiritual, I was unable to get the dagger out of our body, until I forcefully regenerated from the tip of the blade outwards. I hated to say this, but I felt like I hadn¡¯t the power I needed! As time went on, I still had bones to reconnect and her head to clear! The regeneration rate might not be good enough or fast enough! I can¡¯t stop now! For years and years, this is what I was doing! No way can I stop! I pushed myself to the limit, to regenerate as much as I could, and as fast as I could! Even though I had started to regenerate straight away, with the wolf powers of nine or so years behind me, I was still feeling like I was dearly overwhelmed with too much work! Even though the knife was gone, and the heart was mended, I surged onward, unable to stop myself from thinking of the worst circumstance¡­ The water wasn¡¯t far away, as little waves came up onto the beach and I blinked back my tears, knowing that I had died before this place once before. Never again! The little one doesn¡¯t deserve it! The little one may be weird and strange, but she has a beautiful personality! If I hadn¡¯t had interrupted her with my memories, when she shifted into a wolf before, she probably would have fought off a lot of those shifters too! She was strong! I will tell everyone how strong she is! And they call lone wolves, rogues! The rogues are The Misty Ice Pack! Blinking back another tear, I focused once again! For what felt like an eternity, the brain was restored, and our chest was mostly recovered, through regeneration. Then, I focused on her spinal cord and tried to pump up the heart, hoping it hadn¡¯t been too long¡­ But¡­Had it been too long!? God! How long had it been!? If I had taken too long, then what was the point!? Is there a chance!? I promised! Dammit, come back! As our heart didn¡¯t seem to beat on its own, I focused the wolf powers there even more. Pump, pump, pump¡­ Come on! I dearly wished that I wasn¡¯t just a spiritual wolf using the wolf powers, so that I could pump her heart myself. Upon this realization, I forcefully and painfully swapped places with her, her body turning into my wolf and I breathed in, my lungs hurting like hell! Straight away, not only the pain, but even the slight breeze could be felt, upon a lot less furry coat. I was unable to stop a slight shiver¡­That will most likely not go away for a long time¡­ After many more shivers from the cold, I was still laying there, breathing as best as I could. And it was the hardest thing I had ever done before! How the hell can something so involuntary, be something so hard to do! I nearly wanted to stop breathing because it hurt so much! I had taken over¡­And¡­The pain was so immense that I had forgotten to focus on anything else besides breathing! I wanted to cry, as Rieka had held this all away from me! She had indeed taken it all! This pain is unbearable, and I couldn¡¯t believe I had been able to focus as hard as I had¡­If I had known or taken some of it¡­ This silly girl was¡­ A tear fell down my wolf¡¯s face and I found even more resolve to make things right for her¡­For¡­If I had taken too much of this pain, I probably would have failed! I felt her, she was where I was supposed to be, not that we hadn¡¯t done this before¡­But, she was still laying there in a heap, as she had been here outside¡­It just sucked that we spent so much extra effort for us to change spots, because our connection was really bad¡­ It¡¯s ok little one, take a rest¡­I¡­I will look after you now! By the time the full moon left the night sky¡­I had run out of all the wolf powers that I had stored all these years. But¡­I was still quite unable to move. Nothing else mattered, even the rumbling that echoes a lot more now across the sky and earth¡­Just surviving¡­That was all that mattered¡­ Now¡­It was only my natural regeneration powers that could help and that would take longer to heal this broken body¡­ I was really glad that I had stored so much, having thought beyond being stabbed. The impact of falling down the cliff was what took everything out of me. Bones, and even organs, had been broken to a point that I had thought that they wouldn¡¯t be able to be fixed. ¡­Nine years, nine years of saving up wolf powers so that I could regenerate what needed to be regenerated¡­And it still had not been enough¡­ I, having been able to see the damage, am not surprised¡­This body had been a mess and I felt like it was a miracle that we were still alive! Time¡­ There was nothing else but time¡­And I was completely exhausted¡­Even if we can move, at first, it will be to move into a safe place near the cliff side¡­Anywhere else, we wouldn¡¯t have the energy for¡­ Seeing that the little one could only move as much as I could, it was still something that made me happy. I had saved her! My mission¡­Was now complete¡­Yet, if it happened again, there would be no survival¡­So then¡­What will we do little one? We won¡¯t be able to go north¡­Will you want to go back to our mate? Can we? Can¡­We go back¡­To our most precious, beloved blanket¡­ And that seemed enough to have me black out into a deep sleep. (To all those wanting to see a scene of the two from the prologue...Yep...It''s next! Let''s see what they are doing in the next chapter! With all the rumbling...I wonder if their game of chess is truly under way!) Chapter 16
On the other Continent... It was a few days prior to the near death of Rieka, that Xavior was starting to get bored¡­ Both he and Elementress had set out on their separate ways to start this chess game, but nothing big has happened as of yet. When he had lazily sat at one of the human¡¯s tables, to state that he would help with the war, he had not thought that even days later, there was no difference in the information that they had received about the Shifters. The Shifters on this continent had all banned together once again, just like the humans, but their whereabouts was still scattered, moving around from place to place. With this same news, yet no reason indicating why the Shifters hadn¡¯t banned together in only one pack, the humans had been indecisive upon using this time to start the official war. It might be easier, to take them while they are not all together, but it was like the Shifters knew that doing this would confuse the humans. It was also a matter of if the humans headed out, beyond the safety of their town and safety precautions, would it be worthwhile? If they head out towards the Shifters, yet to find them not there and get attacked instead from behind, who could they blame for that? It really was a predicament as the humans no longer traveled outside of the cities, because it was not safe for them, so they had no idea upon the way that the Shifters were patrolling outside of the towns¡­Making the humans a bit scared to leave their safety measures to venture out there¡­ Having lost quite a number of airplanes, helicopters and jets, due to a very strong, unexplainable wind, it was rare now for them to use that type of procedure to try and get the Shifters that way¡­And the humans hated this very much! They had this advantage over them but was unable to use it! Considering that Xavior was mostly there to counter Elementress and really didn¡¯t care about putting more effort into helping the human¡¯s win this war, Xavior had come up with a great idea to pass the time. He had not made a treasure map for his lover for a long time. Well, she hadn¡¯t made one either¡­ The last time she had made a map for him to find treasure, it had only taken him a couple of days to find the treasure! Elementress had just not put much thought into it and Xavior could only let it pass and do better for when he does a map for her instead. The last time he had done a treasure map, she had taken a few years to find the treasure¡­Well, she did get distracted a few times¡­But to see her so excited like that¡­ Since it¡¯s been another few years since then, Xavior had already come up with the idea of the treasure map, which was going to be a picture of a tree, near a cliff¡­But this tree was picked for a reason to be the ¡®map¡¯, because there were three very similar trees within this world and Elementress wasn¡¯t the best at remembering these precise details. What he knew, is that she could find the tree much easier with her earth powers, if she really thought about it, but¡­She had learnt a long time ago that using her powers when there was no need and perhaps in a form of cheating, actually completely diminishes her excitement over things like this. ¡­So, Xavior was certain that this treasure finding should take a while for her to figure out because it depended upon which tree this map was referring too, and it would be simply because she will refrain from using her elemental energy. The treasure finding didn¡¯t end there either, as another map would be where the right tree would be. He had placed magic inside the second map and if she were to figure it out, the magic would connect to the magic of the first map and become instead some words, which was the next step to finding the treasure¡­So, in other words, the second map, if not merged with the first, was a decoy¡­ The new words on the first map was for her to figure out a solution to the picture, and when she figures out the problem, the magic would then change from words, to yet another picture. Xavior¡¯s provocative was to make his lover search high and low and from one continent to another. He wanted her to use her powers and head, and also that of perhaps getting into a feud with her allies, in which were the Shifters. It was a bit harsh, but Elementress wouldn¡¯t care. With all the years of them existing, they were bored, and this would be something that would put a smile on her face! And that was the main idea! That smiling face of hers just brightened up his day, no matter how bored he was! Magically making up this map, it came before him in a 3d setting and linked itself to the paper. It was the last step now for the treasure to be looked for, as he had accomplished the other steps within the last few months whenever he had felt like it. Folding up the paper, Xavior was then thinking of going to go to his lover and see if she would want to do this instead, but first, he should go check out what was going on¡­For¡­If she has finally started to play chess, then he would gladly comply! It was only in the process of a few hours that he had gone missing, to do this on his own, but in those few hours he found that the war had finally started! Putting the map safely inside of his universal bag, Xavior teleported to the main base of the human¡¯s and was completely stunned to the way they were acting¡­ So¡­What did my lover do? Within moments, Xavior found out that the Shifters had completely done something unforeseen¡­They had not come to the main base, instead, they had gone to another human town and put the town on fire and enclosed it into a huge earth wall! On this continent, there were several human towns that went from the north to the south and the main human base was in the south¡­And it was evident on what the Shifters were probably doing¡­They were stopping the human¡¯s from getting help from elsewhere¡­ Having already started at the next biggest town from them, the Shifters then looked like they would work towards the north and each town was probably under the same fate as the first¡­Fire and an earth wall. Xavior saw that two towns were already destroyed and unable to come out to help them if they needed it, and also knowing that, it was only going to get worse. Many humans came here to the main base, at Worrendale, but it didn¡¯t mean that they had completely evacuated everybody! And even if they wanted to, they couldn¡¯t because the Shifters owned the land outside of the towns and even the air! Every town had communications, they had people on the lookout at all times and normal people that were doing their everyday routine. Some towns had goods that could be used, some had good food being grown or animals¡­Then¡­Some towns had doctors that they could have used¡­The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. This was very sudden and Xavior had to give it to his lover! She was great! ¡­She was nearly on the verge of checkmate! Smirking, Xavior clicked his fingers and a shield started to form around the whole of Worrendale. The shield could be seen by the naked eye, looking somewhat seen through but held sparks within it, that sparkled every now and again. After the shield was done, Xavior did not stop, he blinked away and back again, saving the humans from other towns, especially doctors, before they were to be killed. He really didn¡¯t want to use magic to heal, why should he when doctors existed? Besides, it wasn¡¯t like he and the humans were best of friends or anything¡­He was just playing chess¡­That¡¯s all¡­ The human¡¯s around him were trying to talk to him all this time, but Xavior simply ignored them as he continued to try and stop his lover from winning this game! For days, nothing had been said, no new information¡­How could it be that the towns were completely destroyed so easily? They don¡¯t even know if Shifters were involved at all or not¡­And they had no way of finding out either! As a few hours went by, Xavior saved more and more people and tried to think of how he should act in return¡­Especially since it looked like he was in the losing end¡­ ¡­He could go to the other towns and fight her there, when she went there to destroy one of them¡­ The Shifters ¡®King¡¯ was Elementress, and obviously, she was doing most of the work! If he could just counter her, then the war would go back to being between only the humans and Shifters. Just that idea made him smile, many times he had been able to make her lose focus, dragging her away from whatever she was doing¡­ Excitement ran through him as he pondered if this should be his next move. They had previously talked about this chess game and he had thought that Elementress was mostly keen on just being around the Shifters, instead of coming out in full force like this! If he knew this was going to happen, he might have slapped his magic hand upon each and every pack out there, destroying everything it touches! Sighing¡­He really didn¡¯t have it in him¡­He wanted Elementress to try hard and do her best! He wanted to see her strong powers and sexy figure look charming at him, like she was the winner! So¡­He did not make the first move¡­Simply because he wanted her too! The problem was¡­Her first move was quite extensive¡­ This was why he had not acted earlier either¡­Well, he had not cared too much anyway, as it wasn¡¯t like it was important. But¡­Xavior had gotten into this now! He was psyched! He wanted to beat her! Rubbing his hands together, he strengthened the shield around Worrendale and decided to send out his own little spy! It was time to see how excited his lover was! Well, that and to see what she was planning and where she currently was! But just as he started to focus, to try and follow her raw elemental energy to where it was casted from, he felt the earth beneath him rumble! As the earth shook, people fell over and even trees and buildings were threatening to tumble over as well, Xavior¡¯s eyes sparkled! No wonder he loved this woman! She¡¯d most likely made this trap before he put up his shield! She had planned upon his normal reaction of putting up a shield, thinking of using it herself! It would be no surprise if Shifters would come now¡­Isn¡¯t that right, lovely? Seeing that the earth rumbled the most where he was, Xavior smirked and connected his magic to those nearby and teleported them away from the area¡­Then, seeing the main base in the distance, tumble as the earth split up underneath it, Xavior clapped his hands¡­Well Done! But¡­It was now time for him to gain the upper hand through this! ¡­Seeing Shifters race out of the opened earth, where the main base used to be, Xavior strengthened the shield and turned to the humans, ¡°It¡¯s the time to fight! They are trapped! Get your silver and wolfsbane ready!¡± They were now at a smaller area that had already had defences up, but the humans were absolutely flabbergasted to the damage that had been created! At least a few aches of the town had been completely ruined, due to the earth coming up out of nowhere, and now¡­Shifters were there, in seeing distance, already taking lives of those who had not been teleported out of the area and had fallen in amongst the rubble! Not only that, but some had not stopped to kill any live humans and directly made their way over towards the rest of them here! After speaking for the humans to attack, Xavior dedicated his focus on making his shield smaller, to slowly entrap just the Shifters inside it and then let the shield change into allowing incoming objects! What are you going to do now, lovely? You did well in getting rid of the communication and taking us by surprise, but now your wolves are trapped! Before he could tell the humans to fire at will towards the Shifters, he felt a strange ominous feeling overcome him and moments after, he heard a noise that was slowly getting bigger and bigger¡­ Looking behind him, he saw a volcano coming out of the ground and magma already falling from it¡¯s opening¡­Heading straight towards them! Magnificent! His heart was full of love as he saw yet another trap! Ah, she was so amazing! Releasing his magic all around him, he started to glow and then he pushed his hands out as his magic flew towards the rising volcano, to stop the magma! ¡°Fire at will towards the Shifters!¡± Xavior yelled at the dumbfounded humans, that were just standing there in a daze. ¡°Now!¡± To Xavior, they moved in slow motion and it started to really piss him off! Elementress was thinking just like him and knew that it was most likely because they were the two most powerful figures that they had ever seen. But this was forgotten quickly as she fought her man and his powers! She knew that if she didn¡¯t get him to fight with her, then the Shifters would be at a loss and die very easily! It had taken her these years to come up with this strategy and it had gotten better with the help of the Shifters, but¡­They were still stuck now, and it could be bad, as she heard that the humans could shoot at them! She had only one card left to play, and that was letting the Shifters that stayed on top of the earth, to go after the humans that are no longer in the shield¡­Should she let them go? This was precisely a part of the plan that the Shifters had helped her with! They had brought up the obvious idea that their kin going out of the earth tunnel, could bring a lot of damage, and Elementress could only nod in agreement to this. So, they had told her that they will keep half of their fighters out, just in case¡­Well, they had their doubts already back then, for who could really make a tunnel right under the humans? It might be a great plan but was it doable? So, to a certain degree, their doubts helped them save lives¡­ Breathing heavily, to the huge amount of energy that she had released in so little time, Elementress pushed herself more, so that the volcano would continue to erupt and keep her man busy! Her hair had lost its strangeness now and was blowing around her wildly as she claimed her reserved powers from it. The colours had almost disappeared to show her original light brown hair, also her dreadlocks were nearly completely unravelled¡­ She was really¡­Just about ready to faint into exhaustion! But¡­In the end, she didn¡¯t have to say a word and the rest of the Shifters, as they raced towards the humans to save their kin! If only they could save her now, as she was just about out of elemental power! She will have to spend a good year to obtain all this nature energy that she had lost here in one day! Xavior smiled hopelessly as he continued to stop the magma from reaching them and keeping the shield up behind him, to stop the Shifters from escaping. The humans had started to fire their guns, but just as they had started the turkey shoot of the captured Shifters, they had to switch targets to the oncoming Shifters that were outside of the shield and coming directly towards them! Life after Life was taken away and it looked like a great loss on both sides. Quite a number of the Shifters inside the shield had been shot and killed but a lot of the mercenary human¡¯s had also been able to be taken down as well. Shifters that were shot outside of the shield howled before taking their last breath and both Xavior and Elementress saw the pure dedication in each Shifter that was still alive. Wanting to do the same for the humans moral, Xavior yelled out, ¡°Keep shooting and wait a bit longer to use the gas! Wait as long as possible!¡± That¡¯s right, lovely, bring your pawns over here! It was really a let down that his lover had overtaken the main base as she had, making them have less of everything! But, knowing that this town would be attacked, they did have provisions where they were now too! He had not told her about the human¡¯s new invention, wanting to use this gas as last-ditch effort to call ¡®checkmate¡¯ upon her! The problem with the gas, was that the Shifters had to be relatively close for it to do the affects that it was made for. And it was specifically made to not hurt humans but to hurt Shifters¡­So¡­The humans were doing their job well, as bait! ¡­As Xavior and Elementress continued to push and push each other, the volcano started to look very strange, as it started to become a small arc towards them. The sparkling magic that was stopping this volcano made everything look pretty and amazing, making both Shifters and humans lose their focus upon the war at hand for a short time! They had never known how powerful their new allies where until this day! Seeing the volcano go so high, that they could hurt their necks looking at it, was really overwhelming to each and every one of them! ¡­What was even stranger, was that Xavior was smiling so happily! And just like that, seconds and minutes ticked by. Deaths happened on both sides and a volcano was leaning even more strangely into an arc¡­ It was¡­A massacre amongst beauty¡­ Chapter 17 ** When Alarick left his mate, to go to the border in the west. ** Unknown POV Is everything understood? The voice in my head asked firmly. Yes Alpha, detain The Snowvalley¡¯s Alpha for as long as possible, even if I use the evidence to do so. I answered back his orders, knowing that this was important. Right, oh and Carlos, let me know when he and his pack are ready to move out. Yes Alpha, I answered, knowing that my leader had put in some thought to this. I just¡­Didn¡¯t know how to feel about it. Elder Knull seemed to have become someone always by my Alpha¡¯s side recently once again, and I knew he wasn¡¯t always one to be trusted! ¡­It¡¯ll be his weakest moment, yet our most strongest moment. After the blessing is complete, there is nothing left to stop us from claiming his pack through a fight! For a split second, I was completely shocked¡­Did he just say ¡®claim¡¯? ¡­Yes, Alpha¡­ I could only think that Elder Knull had come up with this idea as well, being one to be selfish and greedy, even though he wasn¡¯t even the Alpha of our pack...He was always in the Alpha¡¯s ears, whether it be the previous Alpha or the present one¡­And when he was whispering things, strange events occurred, events that had to be covered up! I will be on my way as soon as the ceremony is complete! ¡­Understood¡­ What do I do? My best friend may be taking this too far¡­Yet¡­He is someone that I can not go against either. The last time I questioned Elder Knull, I had lost one of my pups, with my mate¡¯s life held in their hands as well. It had been twenty years since then, and I had gained the trust of my friend back¡­But¡­ I couldn¡¯t help but think of what was going on. That¡­Someone¡¯s mate was going to be killed, being used as a sacrifice¡­And I was the one stopping the two from finding each other¡­I was going to be the one that ¡®traps¡¯ this pair from never seeing each other again and both of them may end up dying to my leader¡­ Shifting to my human form, I waited at the border, hardening my heart¡­ If only¡­ I became distracted when a huge rumble came over the earth¡­ Switching back to be a wolf and connecting myself to others, I came to see that the pack were questioning what was going on¡­But they weren¡¯t scared¡­ What I did see though, was that two of the members were getting ready to attack a woman with white hair¡­ Alarick POV ¡°War?¡± Okay, I have to admit, I did not expect that. Perhaps this was pretty important. Maybe that describes why I felt that rumble earlier, uh? Maybe the war has already started¡­ ¡°Yes, our spy in the human network had found and decoded that the humans are going to join in the north in six days¡¯ time, then go after us together as one. I am not sure who they are going for first, but I know they are planning to start the attack a few days after they join together. It is said that the war has already started on the other continent and I am here, on Alpha¡¯s orders, to ask if you are willing to join forces and act as one against them.¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Already started? A week? I must have showed a strange expression, as the Beta continued, ¡°We have evidence to support our theory and will be willing to show you if you are willing to join forces. We are in the process of sending people to other places as we speak, to do exactly what I am doing right now.¡± I blinked, I knew the humans didn¡¯t like us and had done a few things that had resulted in death to Shifters¡­But war? And so soon? Didn¡¯t this take preparation? I had been so busy getting my pack back together that I hadn¡¯t put too much thought into war! We weren¡¯t ready at all! I still didn¡¯t know how to reply to what the Beta said, when I got an incoming voice in my head, Luna has been attacked¡­I am currently¡­Going against a professional and can¡¯t get to her¡­They were travelling¡­ Then his line was cut off¡­ That was¡­Harou! Knowing I won¡¯t be able to see anything from here, I still looked in the direction that my mate should still be in and frowned. It hadn¡¯t been that long since I left her side¡­Why!? Why is my mate being attacked? And while I am here!? Our bond was weak and even if I focused entirely on it¡­I still felt like I wasn¡¯t sure if she was scared or hurt¡­I just sort of knew that she was still alive¡­ ¡°¡­Alpha Alarick, I have come to invite all the members of your pack, to stay with us. We are sure, for defensive procedures, that we all would have a better chance of surviving in The Misty Ice Pack then you do, by yourselves here.¡± I turned back to the Beta, having troubles paying attention to him. Most of my focus was upon my mate and not knowing what was going on! I desperately wanted to just go to her! If I leave now¡­How long would it take to get there? What would I do if I get there and find that she¡¯s gone! Linking myself to someone close by, I told them to check it out and get on my mates¡¯ scent. Not only were they closer then I was, but I should finish up here before I go to her. So¡­Turning back to this Beta, I asked if he could repeat himself. I knew that this was most definitely important, if it was real¡­But¡­My sweet, lovely mate¡­ The cut off, last message that I¡¯ll ever receive from Harou, rang and repeated itself into my head. Having one of my family members also cut off from me, I couldn¡¯t help but go silent in pain for his loss. I loved all of my members, they were all my family! And not only Harou, but my lovely mate as well¡­She was supposed to be initiated tonight, she was¡­I was going to mark her, and we were going to be¡­ ¡®Luna has been attacked¡¯, ¡®Luna has been attacked¡¯¡­ ¡°Alpha Alarick! We must act now, a day¡­No, an hour too late and we may not be able to survive, are you willing to see the evidence¡­So that we can join forces and fight together!?¡± I could hardly hear his words¡­Or make sense of them, I felt like my wolf was a bit strange too, but even he didn¡¯t even know what was really going on. This¡­ ¡°Radolph! Get a few men and race to the southern border, I got a message saying that the Luna was under attack!¡± Putting a hand to my forehead, I knew, right now, I couldn¡¯t go. My pack was indeed my family¡­Yet¡­It was so difficult to make this choice! The best I could do is send more people and stop wasting time! I have to pay attention dammit! I hoped that Harou¡­But, if he was lying, then why was he dead!? I shook my head and heard the Beta trying to get my attention again. ¡°Alpha Alarick, please say that you will join forces with us, and we will show you this evidence immediately and I also suggest that the pack is to move as soon as possible!¡± Taking a deep breath, I finally thought about joining forces and really¡­Didn¡¯t want to! I had some strange feelings about The Misty Ice Pack lately and I really didn¡¯t like the idea of joining forces! But¡­They say they have facts and evidence¡­ ¡°If you have brought this so-called evidence and I see it¡¯s truth, I will gladly join forces, but our packs are to remain the same.¡± That¡¯s all I could do. I know it was putting the pack on the line, but if it wasn¡¯t true, I felt like I was saving them! ¡°Very well, Zenic, get the evidence! Please just wait a short moment, Alpha Alarick.¡± I took another deep breath, already thinking of my mate once again. I heard a howl or two from my pack, as they also felt another link break, but¡­My mate wasn¡¯t even initiated yet¡­ Was she ok? Why did something happen to her down there!? Had I not taken enough precautions with four bodyguards? I and my wolf both, couldn¡¯t seize our worries. We were infatuated, mesmerized and completely devoted already to our mate¡­What if something happened to her!? Having sent Radolph, and the few others, didn¡¯t seem to be enough to calm both of us down, and even though it had only been ten or twenty minutes, I sent a few more enforcers to go to the southern border for news to bring back, leaving me with just a few Shifters left for not only my protection but the borders protection. Sadly, right now, I wasn¡¯t too sure if we would win a fight if The Misty Ice Pack wanted to fight us. They only had the Beta here with me, but I could smell quite a few surrounding the area outside of our borders. Putting a hand through my hair, I was becoming totally frustrated and I had to focus on breathing slower to calm myself down. ¡°Beta¡­¡± The Beta interrupted the Shifter running with a bag coming towards us, ¡°Yes, bring it here. Show Alpha Alarick as soon as possible.¡± I watched, as the Shifter put down the bag and brought out a USB stick and plugged it into a camera, then handed the camera straight to me. I was observant, but it didn¡¯t seem to matter. This ¡®Zenic¡¯ seemed normal and didn¡¯t show any kind of ill intent towards me¡­What bugged me, was the ¡®Beta¡¯¡­He didn¡¯t seem right, but I didn¡¯t know what was wrong about him! It really shit me off! Chapter 18
Alarick POV I took the camera and watched the screen, seeing that whoever took this, was trying to be as discrete as much as possible. It looked like they were hiding inside of the building, using vents or something else to get around and without being seen. As the camera made its way to a room that was empty, voices could be heard from the next room¡­Then, when a cupboard was slightly opened, the camera saw the people that were talking in that next room. I watched with more vigour from then onwards¡­I needed to keep my eyes and ears opened to what I was about to see and didn¡¯t want the small chance that this could all be a lie instead of the truth¡­ But¡­ The one with the camera had done well, they knew this would be shown to other Shifters and they showed that the people who they had taped had in fact all been humans, instead of Shifters, as they had discretely showed silver being used against them and nothing happening. Not only that¡­But¡­An army of people, guns and other weapons¡­Maps, ideas, even a leader¡­ It was real! There was no way that this information was fake, especially when the town of Vanin was clear through seeing outside of this ¡®warehouse¡¯ type building, so the known location was something even I knew about. The maps also stated where we were all situated and even a Shifter that had been clearly beaten, by showing bruises, had also been taped being scared and talking a little about one particular pack, namely ¡®The Striker Den¡¯. Having clearly named our weaknesses and those silver bullets and wolfsbane also been seen from the camera, it cleared most of my doubts¡­ Even if it was a hoax, I had known a small amount of the humans already planning something through my own spies¡­I just didn¡¯t think war would be upon us so soon! ¡°We would have come sooner, but we had to make copies to show this to other packs on this continent. Like I have just told you earlier, we would like to band together as one, just as we had in the last war, so that we have the biggest chance of surviving! Please, Alpha Alarick, tell your people and let us join together at The Misty Ice Pack!¡± Letting out a defeated sigh, I gave back the camera and bit my thumb to show my sincerity of a future alliance, putting out my hand then to show the first action of joining forces. The Beta nodded, not giving much else but to do the same, to show the same amount of trust¡­At least all the trust that we could get at that moment, especially since he was just a Beta and not another Alpha¡­ I knew this would be a long process as we would band together, we would break up the pack that I had strived so hard to obtain, yet¡­For survival, we needed to start gathering together as one¡­ At the moment, all we had done was agree to come together, but terms will have to be set so that I will be able to continue to protect my pack as much as possible¡­And the first step would be to do as said and go to The Misty Ice Pack area, simply because it is better defended and more Shifters there to keep my pack safe¡­ The process will take time, but time really wasn¡¯t on our side and I knew that I had to be careful in the coming days, so I won¡¯t rush to a stupid conclusion and waste what I had been doing for most of my life¡­ I will protect my pack! I will survive! And I will make sure that other Shifters will not be our enemies! Well, that is what I hoped as I knew new rules and regulations will be set and that our pack way of life will be different and might cause a ruckus¡­Which we can¡¯t afford right now!Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. After our shake, Alarick dropped his hand limply, and stated, ¡°I will inform my pack and get them to help each other and we will leave as one¡­As we are one¡­¡± The Beta showed no disrespect to what I said, but I also felt no disrespect from him either¡­On the other hand, I didn¡¯t know how much respect I had for him and his pack though¡­ I¡¯m not doing this to bow down to you strange lot of Shifters¡­I¡¯m doing this to protect my family! Agitated, I felt like some stress had lifted upon the Beta turning and feeling that some hidden Shifters had taken down their guard¡­ Frowning, I see that they really wanted to dominate what was going on and noticed that they didn¡¯t have any intention to leave until my pack and I were leaving our land¡­ It seemed that I had no choice but to comply anyway, as if I hadn¡¯t¡­ What made my mood worse, was that they shouldn¡¯t have to force the issue¡­Obviously, I knew now that there was a war that probably will happen soon yet, they still had people here that seemed ready to beat me up if I didn¡¯t do what I just did! Suss! This was all so very suss! I didn¡¯t like it and I felt extremely insulted! If only¡­ Sighing, I couldn¡¯t help but be a little out of it because of my mate¡­If I wasn¡¯t so worried about her, I would have been a lot angrier! Both my wolf and I were seriously displeased! I was just about ready to be the man I¡¯ve always been and tell them that I am an Alpha and will not be rushed¡­But¡­ A sudden force of unbearable pain went through me then and I fell to the ground in complete agony¡­ What¡­ Yelling out, I felt something snap and I lost complete composure as I unknowingly changed into my wolf¡­ Hearing a deafening, sorrow filled howl, I was completely stunned to find that it had come from me. Asuna! As my wolf spoke of Asuna, I had thoughts on Rieka, and sadness crept into me before I even figured out what it meant. Heart wrenching pain took over me and my wolf, and we laid their panting and growling¡­ What was going on!? Why¡­Why do I feel like¡­ I didn¡¯t want to continue that line of thought, but it was hard not to when I was experiencing such pain¡­Why is it that I feel like she had died? What was going on!? Linking myself to each one of my family, trying to find any type of information on what was going on, I continued to want to think that something else had happened¡­That there was no way that this feeling would mean what I thought it meant! I felt bad when I wanted to think that someone else in the pack was in trouble, but I couldn¡¯t believe that it was my very own mate¡­I couldn¡¯t! I hadn¡¯t been with her enough! It can¡¯t be her! Besides, our link is weak so it wouldn¡¯t cause me this much pain, it has to be someone else! Yet, seeing a links that hadn¡¯t come undone, due to someone else in the pack dying, I continued to concentrate and only found one strange thing that didn¡¯t make sense¡­And that was, one of my family members were currently to the south of The Misty Ice Pack¡­ Why¡­Why was someone there? But they weren¡¯t hurt, no, the only ones that had perished, were the ones from earlier when my mate had been kidnapped¡­No one had died since¡­No one¡­The pain of them¡­Hadn¡¯t been this strong! But I didn¡¯t want to believe it! I don¡¯t want to believe it! Over such a small time, my mate was already so precious to me! How could she just leave me!? But there was just one link that would describe the reason why I felt such heart wrenching pain¡­ No! I won¡¯t believe it! But I found my eyesight continue to go more and more hazy and my growls had now turned into whimpering¡­ With only one option left, I force myself to find Rieka¡¯s link and push myself to find where it is¡­I knew that I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to know her location, or talk to her through it, because it was so weak¡­Yet¡­This time, it was like it had completely disappeared¡­ I couldn¡¯t find it! Rieka! There was nothing! ¡°Alpha Alarick! Can you hear me!?¡± No¡­I can¡¯t believe it! I tried over and over again, to feel the link between Rieka and I, but never found it! ¡°Alpha Alarick!¡± I vaguely saw the Beta of The Misty Ice Pack come into my view and I dazedly just stared at him. ¡°We have to move now! Do you want your pack to die!?¡± Move¡­Die? I have no idea on what your talking about¡­My mate¡­My mate! I can¡¯t find my mate! ¡°Alpha¡­¡± The Beta came close to me and whispered quietly into my wolf ears, ¡°Alpha, I have orders to fight you if you don¡¯t do as we ask. Please don¡¯t make me fight you!¡± An alpha feeling once again took over me in my dazed state and I found myself getting up slowly upon all my wolf legs. It looked like Mingan has taken over, as I found myself having been pushed back easily due to my current inability to think properly¡­Well, both of us were unable to think properly but my wolf seemed able to hold onto more sanity then I¡­ We both felt like crap, we were both thinking badly and unable to hold onto to our emotions very well¡­It¡¯s just Mingan was able to do something, where as I wasn¡¯t able too. My wolf nodded at the Beta and I found that we were running back to the pack, while Mingan was giving orders in his deeply and more authority voice. While I¡­I was still stuck in a trance. He tried to calm me down but gave up as he felt insecure himself. We were¡­A complete mess! *** Chapter 19
Alarick POV Before I knew it, while dazed into oblivion, a day had passed, and it seemed my pack had moved to The Misty Ice Pack. Vaguely, I had watched a lot, seeing how my pack did as they were told and did not question Mingan¡¯s authority at all. They had an understanding that I was going through something big and some of them even knew that it was most likely because of losing my mate but never said anything about it to me. I saw some of their looks, as they pitied me, and I felt more alone then I had ever been in my life¡­ Seeing all the mated couples in my pack, only made me more depressed and I continued to let Mingan led the entirety of the pack all the way to The Misty Ice Pack, while I flounder away my sorrows. Before I had met my mate, I had been fine and happy to have a chosen mate, to watch as they fight for me¡­Now, I couldn¡¯t dream of that type of future at all¡­ Since I knew and met my mate, I had not ever thought of a life without her in it¡­ We were going to be together and that was it! Never¡­Never did I ever imagine that I will be living a life without her¡­ I felt like death had taken me, as I didn¡¯t feel right anymore. My life felt ruined, even though I knew I was still a proud and strong Alpha¡­It was not as important¡­My whole existence was on the brink of complete devastation and I now understood what it was like for those who had lost their mates. ¡­It was unbearable! Being told that time will heal the wounds does not help at all! Being told that I will find another, makes me angry! My heart had become full of only her without me noticing, how could I have another!? As it was, I hardly knew her and look at what she had done to me! We were perfect for each other! We were destined to be! I knew those words were only to try and bring me out of my depression, but they did the opposite and only made me want to cringe back and cry like a little baby! I wanted her back¡­I wanted her back so much that I felt like that this proud, strong Alpha would cry himself silly! ¡­Rieka¡­ Finally able to think properly after this day, but still feeling lingering pain come over me, I was able to shift back into human and take back over Mingan. Seeing my family safe and sound helped me concentrate, yet it was all so difficult to keep my mind off the missing link that could no longer be found. ¡°Boss, Recco returned.¡± Radolph stated, coming up to me half naked¡­It seemed he had just gone over everyone in the pack again, linking himself to others to get them organized in this new place. ¡°Recco?¡± Oh, that¡¯s right, that¡­His link was to the south of this place when¡­ Frowning, now that I thought about it, why had he been there!? For so long Recco had been acting differently, but he¡¯d been with the pack for nearly ten years now and was out often, so I had not taken his actions into account. He was a bit like Harou, a spy or an assassin, so I thought that was just a part of who he was, but why¡­Why had he been to the south of The Misty Ice Pack that day!?Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Alpha Alarick!¡± Turning, I found the Alpha of The Misty Ice Pack and his Luna come towards us and I stood straight, ¡°Alpha Avan.¡± ¡°Speaking to your wolf kept me on edge good friend, it seems that you have come back now though, what happened?¡± Staring at him, I found him acting strange¡­Like he was probing me¡­ Swallowing, trying not to think of the desolate empty place inside my heart, I then said, ¡°It seems more pressing matters¡­¡± I was interrupted, which made me angry, ¡°It isn¡¯t a secret, as you might think. Some know it well, Alpha Alarick, what you had gone through must have been¡­¡± Looking away from him, I tried to hold back from thinking of my mate, the pain and suffering¡­So what¡­Who cares that you know, then why bring it up and make me want to cry out for her!? ¡­I didn¡¯t like him! ¡°I apologize, Alpha. I didn¡¯t bring it up last time because your wolf was very professional and business like, I just wanted to state that if you need anything, let me know.¡± I want my mate back! I want to find her! Can you help me with that!? I looked back at the Alpha, asking these questions in my eyes and saw him flinch. Uh? Frowning, I just felt like something was completely off with this Alpha! As Alpha Avan and I had a strange stare going on, the earth suddenly moved and we were all knocked off our feet, falling to the ground. ¡°Ah, well, it seems more then one pack is here already. Great!¡± Different types of reactions took place to the new being that came out of the ground and walked to be in front of us. We were in a huge shed type place now, with another pack on the other side of the shed and now this new being was in the middle, putting the earth back into place after she had spoken. ¡°Who are you?¡± I heard Alpha Avan ask. ¡°I¡¯m Elementress, I¡¯ve come to help you win the war against the humans. Sadly though, I am not at my strongest¡­¡± Silence went throughout the big shed and since we felt that the new being in front of us wasn¡¯t a Shifter, we all unconsciously moved closer to her to entrap her. For the first time, I felt us different packs move as one and realized that this was a good idea¡­ It seemed possible for Shifters to once again reunite as one, yet¡­So much more work needed to be done first beforehand. As it still stood, we were not in the same pack yet as my wolf had not let it happen because his demands had not been met¡­ But¡­It seems like it could happen, seeing all us Shifters band together in front of this unknown, new being! When the new being finally looked around, with a very excited look upon her face, she then stopped on one particular Shifter¡­That Shifter being the Alpha of The Misty Ice Pack¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t like you!¡± She stated firmly, then mumbled something and played with her thumb rings. Suddenly, earth came up and detained the body of Alpha Avan in one shot, making him unable to move. ¡°What are you doing!?¡± Alpha Avan yelled. Beta Carlos went to be in front of his Alpha, and stuttered, ¡°¡­We¡­We have no quarrel with you, why are you doing this to my Alpha?¡± Clearly it wasn¡¯t just him that didn¡¯t understand what was going on¡­The rest of us were looking wide eyed upon what happened with the earth! Never had anyone seen this power before! Elementress humphed, then said, ¡°He hurt my creation. If I had not had to spent time searching for her, I would have come earlier!¡± I was caught completely off guard to this new being¡¯s emotions! She really sounded upset, yet¡­I swear she wasn¡¯t one of us! Earth rose close to me then and I suddenly saw a pure white wolf within it, ¡°¡­Rieka!?¡± ¡­Could it be? I swallowed and breathed out quickly and hoped beyond hope that this white, very familiar looking wolf, was my dearest mate¡­ ¡­Could it really be her? Quickly, I went to her side and found that I could touch her! The wolf was real! She was real! But¡­I also saw that she was really hurt! ¡°Blame him and his stupid elder! They think she would do some kind of cleansing and so they used her life for it!¡± Elementress easily stated, walking over to the white wolf and pat her head, after bending down. ¡°Poor thing, I wasn¡¯t even able to pay attention when it happened! Xavior really took a lot of work to hold back in that fight!¡± I didn¡¯t hear her next words, but I don¡¯t think they sounded very happy¡­I was just thrilled at having my mate back in front of me once again! She was here! She was right here and¡­Alive! ¡­She was here! Touching her made me unconsciously smile and I breathed a huge breath of relief! Thank god! Who ever this new being was, thank you! I nearly cried then, having to work hard at not losing myself, I bit my lip and breathed out a large breath. I wasn¡¯t going to lose my cool right now! No¡­Having my mate here and alive gave me a new hope, a new strength and be damned if I wasn¡¯t going to use it! I widened my eyes when I finally remembered what the new being said about why my mate was like this, and took my hand away, knowing how angry I was becoming right now. Having seen Elementress point to the very Alpha who had just brought up my own mate, like he knew nothing about what had happened, I glared at him, fisting my trembling hands together. Both me and my wolf raged inside, hardly keeping our shifting at bay! How dare he touch her! How dare he bring her up! How dare he use her! My alpha aura leaked out of me, making many around me bare their necks or turn submissive in any other way¡­ ¡°Wait!¡± Alpha Avan weak response, to the earth going against his neck, didn¡¯t halt my action of standing up and slowly walking towards him, ¡°You¡­You sacrificed my mate!?¡± I felt myself start to tremble very violently and before I knew it, I had shifted into my wolf, unable to hold myself back! How dare anyone do this! How dare they lay a hand on my mate! Chapter 20
Alarick POV I saw Beta Carlos shift to his wolf and growl at me, trying to keep me away from his Alpha, but it had no affect on me, this Alpha! I could already feel him tremble just to my aura! He was nothing! Power within myself burst forth and I felt the pride over myself once again. All those times that I had to survive since young and then having to always keep it up afterwards with others wanting to take my pack, I was absolutely ready to show them what I was good for! Mingan and I were elated and couldn¡¯t wait to let lose upon our feelings of anguish and rage over what had happened recently. Again, I was back to being strong and full of vigor¡­The number one Alpha! An Alpha wanting justice for my mate! Immediately, I went into combat with Carlos and through my anger rising, I quickly had him pinned down and ripped off one of his wolf forelegs! Then I rushed ahead to get to the Alpha but found others from The Misty Ice Pack that had shifted to their wolves and went towards me. Through a scurry of fur and growls, I let myself fight to the bitter end with these mongrels and did not care to kill a few in my way! It had been at least a week since I had fought last, but I fell into a rhythm like I always had, using my teeth, my legs and strength as where I had learnt. My wolf was just as determined as I to get our revenge for our mate and so we fell into sync and worked as one, as we fought our way through those who stood in our way! Another Shifter lost a leg, another got my claws into their necks and another got their sides spilling out to my gash to their side. I bit into a neck, then another neck and I was even pinned down at some point to then use my aura and my quick reflexes to quickly get up at the earliest opportunity¡­ Through this, blood spilt everywhere, and I knew that I had also gotten some bites in return. I had a gash on one of my legs and my eye was just millimeters from being clawed into! But¡­I felt my pack transform and fight along with me, their Alpha, and a full-blown bloodbath started between us and The Misty Ice Pack! Our bond against theirs, our fighters against theirs! My family¡¯s fighters¡¯ thoughts aligned with mine, as they too wanted justice! They also fought bravely and showed others that we weren¡¯t a pack to be trifled with! We were strong, resilient and worked well as a team! And wow was I proud of them! My family was something else! It became clear then, how our numbers did not compete with theirs¡­What we had though, was determination! Each and every one of us wanted to get revenge for my lost mate and the pain that I had gone through to her loss! We were family and even though Rieka had not been initiated into the pack or even mated with me, everyone had easily found out that we were destined to be with each other, making her part of our family! We packed together and my enforcers took the lead, leaving other fighters to help along the side. We used our connection and our training to continue forwards very slowly, but our numbers were just not enough against this other pack! Becoming encircled and trapped, each one of us could only growl at those growling at us. ¡°Hang on! Geez, war hasn¡¯t even officially started on this continent yet and if you fight each other, who¡¯s going to fight the humans! We need to win dammit! Xavior will not care if there¡¯s little of you left! Come on, stop it!¡± It was hard to make sense of the words coming from the outsider, the new being in the room, but I did hear them¡­ No one relented, yet no advance was made, and the growling stopped¡­This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. I did not take my eyes off Alpha Avan, and the new being came into my sight, showing herself next to him. ¡°I don¡¯t blame you for wanting to kill him and to be honest, I don¡¯t want him to be the leader here. So¡­Everyone else back off! This fight is just between these two!¡± My eyes went from Alpha Avan, to the strange, new being, and I didn¡¯t know what to do next. Was she helping me? ¡°Back off!¡± I saw the woman yell and put out her hand, seeing wind push at others around both me and Alpha Avan. ¡°I might not have a lot of nature energy right now, but I still have enough to kill each and everyone of you! So back off!¡± I saw her humph and put her hands to her chest¡­ Was she¡­Pouting? To a strange degree, she reminded me a bit of Rieka¡­Which only made me remember that poor looking, white wolf that was hurt¡­My rage instantly returned once again¡­ ¡°It¡¯s just between these two!¡± Then, suddenly, she lowered the earth around Alpha Avan and took a few steps away herself, leaving quite a few metres in all directions that was free¡­With only Alpha Avan and I in the middle¡­ Seeing the strange woman nod at me, I choose to think of this later, while letting myself feel that hate and revenge once again fill me up and I dived straight towards Alpha Avan! A black wolf emerged in front of me and I moved away from his jaws, so that he wouldn¡¯t bite me in the neck, he then jumped towards me again and as I dodged, he still got hold of my tail and I pulled myself out of his hold, making me whine to the loss of skin. This bastard! He puts in a lot of strength and pounces! As I just thought this, he had circled me a bit and then did the same thing again, jumping into my location and I narrowed my eyes, rolling to the floor and put my wolf feet out to retaliate. Having clawed a bit of his insides, I still felt like this wasn¡¯t a very good idea, when he was trying desperately to get to my neck. Pushing with my feet, I growled out as he instead hooked his jaw onto one of my legs and so I took in his neck fur in my mouth. Pulling on it hard, I felt him whine and let go of my leg, getting off me and I quickly turned, and watched him. We were silent, as we circled each other and I just knew that he might be waiting for something, waiting for me to be distracted¡­I ¡°Alpha!¡± I heard, and there it was, he pounced, and I raced to go under him and wanked at one of his hind legs, that was still in the air, and pulled with all my strength to get him back down to the floor. With a big noise, a huge wolf fell to the floor and then I dragged him around, taking in a few kicks from his other hind leg to my face. Bastard! I was so angry, so bloody angry! Putting a paw down over the other wolfs private parts, I heard him whine and struggle against me, then I put myself over his body and yanked at his foot, that was still in my mouth, away from his body and a noise vibrated out¡­ A deep whine entered my ears and I felt a slight release to my anger. But wasn¡¯t this nothing to what my poor mate would have gone through? If only I knew her circumstances, so that I could do exactly the same to him, but all I knew is that she had died, or come that close to death that our connection had completely broken! That¡¯s right, doesn¡¯t he have a mate too? Letting go of the leg in my mouth, I saw it go limp and immediately fall to the floor. It looked like Alpha Avan was unable to use it now, so¡­If I wanted to show him how it felt to lose a mate, now was going to be it but¡­ When I searched for this mate of his, she looked completely scared and was crying, making me lose that idea completely. Dammit! Looking back at the ¡®dog¡¯ that gave me rage, I saw him backing off away from me and unable to use one of his legs. Seeing him shift into human and fall to the ground, with his arms up in surrender, I growled. How could I let him go!? ¡°I was wrong! I was wrong!¡± His pleas didn¡¯t do much for me and I took a step forward, only to hear another come forth and bend down next to him, ¡°Alpha Avan, this is a great time to kill him and take his pack!¡± In the next moment, a wind blew the old man with a white beard away and I saw that the new being had her hand out. Looking back at Alpha Avan, I wondered what he was going to do¡­ I had heard that whisper and wondered if this elder was someone that he should also kill! ¡°No.¡± Hearing the great Alpha of The Misty Ice Pack say this, I stopped in my tracks. He looked back at me and nodded, ¡°I¡¯m not stupid, this woman here is powerful, and I can see how loyal his family is. They wouldn¡¯t recognize me as their leader¡­¡± You¡¯re damned right! I guess he isn¡¯t stupid! Staying vigilant, I stood still, watching him like a hawk. My family¡¯s ideas greatly differed to his and they would want this type of person to be either killed or imprisoned! I guess this Alpha Avan is seeing things realistically¡­Not only that, we weren¡¯t the only packs here! And then there¡¯s that strange new being that has a power that seems to control the earth and wind! I waited for what he would say next, as he stared back at me, and he nodded again, ¡°I got the idea to sacrifice your mate from him! If you are still angry, I will give him to you!¡± I growled¡­ How long will this go on for? Blaming one person, then another¡­ Who was it that put my beloved mate in the position of being nearly killed!? He then spoke again, lowering his neck to me, ¡°I am willing to admit defeat, willing to have you lead, just please, don¡¯t kill me!¡± What a coward! Growling again, I took another step forward and he put his hands out, ¡°Please don¡¯t! I didn¡¯t even think of what the pure, white wolf was! I heard everything from him! He¡¯s the father of her, he should be the one that should get killed!¡± ¡°Alpha!¡± The old man¡¯s voice spoke out in fury, and I turned to him in complete displeasure. He¡­Is her father? My poor, lovely, beautiful mate, has this shameless bastard as a father? Without further delay, I raced towards the old man and aimed for his head, wanting to rip it straight off his shoulders! Chapter 21
Asuna POV Little one, open your eyes and look! Seeing no response, I sighed. Rieka had hidden herself so much that I was unable to change back from being a wolf. This was the most amount of time that I had been in control in both lives and I was starting to get sick of the little one acting like this! Aren¡¯t you stronger then this! Why are you acting so differently now!? Again, I got no response¡­ ¡°Please, please can I talk to Rieka?¡± I humphed at Alarick, looking at me with desperate eyes. I want you to talk to Rieka, she¡¯s just¡­Not coming out! As much as I loved speaking with his wolf, I knew that Rieka needed her mate. We needed to complete our bond, we needed to mate! It was even the perfect time for it! It was still a full moon, the last day of it¡­ With our bond still so very weak¡­Both us wolves and Alarick were scared that the bond will completely disappear¡­We were scared that if we don¡¯t do something soon, we might lose our chance! Look, little one, your mate wishes to speak with you, come out¡­ ¡­I don¡¯t care¡­ Breathing out in defeat, I vaguely feel her thoughts upon wanting to go back to having a heart of ice and live in the depths of winter. She had left her home in the north only to feel like she¡¯s regretted it¡­ This is silly behavior little one! Didn¡¯t you always want to live for now, look with your eyes and see that your mate is desperate to speak with you right at this very moment! Seeing the very guarded and hidden little being peak out and see through my eyes at our mate, she did not speak a word. ¡°Please¡­Rieka. I know you¡¯re there. I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t protect you, I will forever make up for that, but please¡­Come out!¡± I felt my heart ache for the two wolf and man, who desperately wanted to connect with us once again. While the little one continues like this, we didn¡¯t particular feel much of that bond between us¡­So, she needed to come out! Little one, I have watched you for a long time now. You survived a lot on your own, becoming your own best friend and didn¡¯t depend on anyone. I know I have not spoken much with you, but I will change and speak with you! I am at fault, not you! I am the one that should have said that you weren¡¯t broken, that you weren¡¯t stupid and that you are beautiful just the way you are! The poor little thing¡­ I felt my mate touch us again then and saw Rieka flinch. I knew she felt that slight tingle and probably even smelt that blanket smell that she likes so much¡­ Feeling our mates¡¯ arms around us, I spoke to Mingan, I know both of you are eager, but I don¡¯t know how long it will take to bring Rieka out. Silence overcame us then, as I felt slightly more at ease at having our mates¡¯ arms around our wolf body. Upon waking up to find Alarick close by, I was ecstatic, I was absolutely happy. Of course, I questioned why I was suddenly in a different place, but the answer didn¡¯t matter as I felt safe and in the right place¡­ Still healing, even better now with Alarick¡¯s help, we are nearly better once again¡­ I have no idea about the time that had gone by, but I am aware now that it seems the Shifters had come all together and that Alarick is highly seen as one of the leaders or commanders for the new pack that has already been formed.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Not sure on what specifically has happened in the last couple of days, but I know now that time was of the essence and that Alarick may be fighting soon¡­Which meant that if we wanted him at his best and have more of a chance on surviving, Rieka needed to come out! Little one, weren¡¯t you always so jealous of others that were laughing and smiling? Why make it so hard for yourself to obtain that!? Have you forgotten what it feels like to be with our one and only!? Don¡¯t you remember how happy you were!? Seeing Rieka finally come out of hiding, but still not take over, the tingles grew slightly stronger than before. Just as I thought, Rieka needs to come out! I wasn¡¯t sure beforehand, but both our mate and I now know of this fact! It sort of hurt my feelings, that her and I weren¡¯t completely at one, but¡­I was reincarnated after all¡­Perhaps, because of that, Rieka had the most rights to be known as Alarick¡¯s destined partner and I didn¡¯t. ¡­Nonetheless, I have already happily fallen for Mingan and hope that Rieka will finish this connection for us. ¡°Rieka, please come out and be with me. I¡¯m a mess without you!¡¯ Like myself, it looked like our mate was going to help me bring her back out. How about you gain back the blanket that you want so desperately!? Suddenly, I was pushed back¡­Seeing myself see through the eyes of what Rieka was seeing¡­Finally! Tingles, smells and the link was suddenly so much more powerful, yet at the same time weak, and I sighed with relief. It was still there! Before, I was sad because of the chance of Mingan and Alarick not taking us as their mate anymore, but it¡¯s alright now! They have not only made it obvious that they want us very much, but the connection between us was now back to as it was before¡­Now, all that there was left, was to strengthen it! Feeling Mingan agree with me, I felt myself grow jittery¡­It would be the first time that I would be officially mated¡­ ¡­I couldn¡¯t wait! Seeing the little one snuggle desperately into her blanket, I couldn¡¯t help but let out a happy laugh. Good girl! Now let¡¯s spend the rest of our lives with our mate! Rieka POV My blanket! ¡°Rieka!¡± I rolled around, hearing my blanket groan and I suddenly felt like that I was perhaps being too rough. ¡°My love, at least shift to human if you¡¯re going to roll on top of me.¡± Oh¡­ Shifting into human, I laid on top of my blanket and clung to him¡­Now remembering how I had felt with him those times, when I had thought that I was dreaming. It was real, this feeling, this want and desire¡­It had never been a dream¡­ Feeling arms around me, I couldn¡¯t help but feel the complete opposite to what I had felt the last couple of days. I had been empty and scared, upset and sad¡­Now¡­Now I felt full! I felt wanted and safe¡­ Yet, was this really not a dream? Can I really have this? Granted, I didn¡¯t want to be upset, just as Asuna said, but¡­What if I go all happy and it disappears all over again!? Opening my eyes, feeling to have been the one that was now on the bottom, I see him put his hand to my face and give me a look that made me feel like crying. ¡°Rieka¡­¡± My blanket¡­ His touch to my face was gentle and I touched his face too. I had pictured his face many times, yet nothing was compared to touching it and seeing it in front of me like this! His eyes told me things and I felt like he was taking my breath away once again, like he had some time ago ¡­ Finally, his lips upon my own made me remember even more then before and I tried to take in whatever he was giving me. As I became lost to his lips, I was getting lost to his touch and smell as well. My body burned to where he touched me and I let out a noise, unable to know why. His smell drove me nearly insane as I clung onto him even more then I already was and when we finally parted from the kiss, that again took my breath away, my mind was completely blank¡­ I wasn¡¯t thinking anything, I was feeling¡­Feeling for more, feeling great and feeling wanted¡­ ¡°Rieka? Can I mark you?¡± Remembering something like this previously, I felt even more emotions go through me, again making me want to cry! Did he really want me? Did he¡­ Asuna wondered why I was waiting so long in saying ¡®yes¡¯ in return, after waiting for so long¡­I feel that desperate need from her, even though it wasn¡¯t very strong, and I couldn¡¯t help but feel even more heat rise up within me. That¡¯s right¡­Why would I say ¡®no¡¯? Having lived alone, I had been dealing with it fine but¡­I know that the future that I would have with my mate would be different to what I previously had at other packs and when I was with the humans. I felt different, I felt like I wouldn¡¯t be chased out and used, that I wouldn¡¯t be bullied and abused¡­This was¡­Different. And¡­How could I? To me, he was the most handsome man, one that I wanted to touch and for him to touch me! Hell, if it doesn¡¯t work, perhaps I¡¯ll leave¡­Later¡­Much later¡­ Surely this mate bond thing won¡¯t be too hard. Perhaps it may even be great! Wouldn¡¯t that be nice, to be loved and wanted, being looked at like he¡¯s looking at me now. To be touched all the time, like he¡¯s touching me now¡­ I want more! Finally my mind started to work again and I really did cry¡­I was scared that my questions and emotions may be too much but¡­ ¡°My love, please be with me forever. Let me protect you, stand by my side, be the mother of my pups¡­¡± Feeling his gentle hand caress my face, wiping away a tear, I blinked to his statement¡­ Isn¡¯t that like what the dream made me want? To be with him, by his side¡­To have him mark me? Before I could change my mind, knowing how much I desperately wanted to be with him, to be able to laugh and smile like everyone else, I nodded and eagerly took his lips with mine! His hands drove over my skin, making me feel even more crazy then I did before! Already I felt somewhat hot, but now I felt even more hot! Not only that¡­I wanted him to touch me more! My blanket! That¡¯s right, he¡¯s completely mine! And before I knew it¡­I felt pain in my neck, making me groan and hold onto him tighter. Chapter 22
Alarick POV I had never had to spend so much effort into not doing something! Eagerly I had wanted my mate to resurface, not able to completely pay attention to the coming and goings of what was happening to the Shifters. Having my Beta and good mate to help me focus, we had indeed gone into one pack now. The terms we had made were simple and they were a lot easier to accomplish now because I became well known to everyone because of my fight with The Misty Ice Pack and it¡¯s Alpha. After that little fight, our easy terms of being able to break away afterwards with the same Shifters, no more or no less and to have the same land, was easily satisfactory to the new leader of this new pack. The new leader ended up being Alpha Rendell from The Oasis Clan, who was indeed someone that had a reputation of being stronger then even I was¡­So I can understand why he became the leader. And our new pack name of ¡®As one with Many¡¯ ended up being decided within half an hour, simply because we all felt like we didn¡¯t have the time to waste on a name¡­Well, that was nearly everyone else¡¯s reason, as my reason was because I wanted to get back to my mate¡­ Even with the strange, new being that was always around us now was of no interest to me, well not as much as it should be! No, I had even gladly taken a step back and not been the official leader of our newly merged, one pack¡­Even though I seemed to have every right to be. No, I didn¡¯t want the work and the fact that my mate was more important to me, would not look good! Yet, because of this reasoning, and refusal, I somehow gained respect instead of losing it¡­I haven¡¯t really thought about the reason why, as I have been trying desperately into getting my mate well once again and then to come out of hiding! So, the new leader was from The Oasis Clan and I happily am stated as one of the Shifters that was an aid to them. I wasn¡¯t their ¡®Beta¡¯, as he already had one, but I was a well-respected commander¡­ It had been a long couple of days, as all this was worked out, but I was able to keep a good watch upon my mate, simply because I couldn¡¯t bear to have her out of my sight for too long... She was a lot better now, as before she could barely move! Now, finally after begging and pleading for what felt like days instead of hours, we have finally taken the first step into becoming complete mates. Having her finally shift into human form and being naked and on top of me, had drove me nearly to the point of insanity! How could I not have kissed her and touched her!? I was a man and I finally felt our weak bond come back, of course I had to investigate upon my mates naked body! I touched her face lovingly, gently and kissed her openly¡­Yet, my other hand was a lot more misbehaving. Hearing her moans upon touching some special places, I nearly lost myself completely! Her perky nipples delighted me so much that my pants were very tight, due to my enthusiasm! The curves she has were perfect, making me go further into investigating her body¡­Right to her bum cheek and higher leg. Having her legs go around me, I was ready¡­I was ready to mark her, to make her mine completely! After finally asking her, pleading more with her, telling her I wanted her by my side and that I would protect her, she finally made me breath out in relief when she nodded. Yes! Having bitten her in the neck, my wolf and I felt fantastic! Licking up the blood that had escaped from our mark, I felt her tremble crazily below me and I lost it! Her moans and body were completely overpowering! Even though I was still wearing shorts, I pushed myself into her, wanting to complete our bond straight away¡­I wanted her so much! Feeling the same want go through her, as now I was able to feel her thoughts through our new and strengthened bond, really¡­It was so difficult to not complete our bond straight away! ¡°It¡¯s like a dream.¡± Hearing her words, I nodded dazedly, and said back, ¡°It¡¯s most definitely like a dream!¡± But what happened next made me so completely astonished, that I felt like I really was dreaming! Whether it was just starting now, or had already started but I had not realized¡­My love got even more enticing to me and my wolf¡­ Her smell was even more now then it was just moments before, her body even hotter then just moments before¡­Her wetness was a lot more fragrant!If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I wanted to question why this occurrence of her heat was coincidentally happening now, whether it was because Rieka had finally came out, or was it because of the full moon that was in the sky only one more day¡­But I had no time to think of answers as I groaned into her. I had never been with a woman and I was ready, I was so ready that I never felt I had been ready like this for anything else in my entire life! Feeling her cling onto me tighter and each one of her enticing features grow more and more crazy, I lost myself completely as they went through me¡­ Her wet fragrance, her body, her other smells and just her pure seductive and naked form¡­ Breathing more and more heavily, I vaguely became glad that no one was around at the moment! This was it! For so long, both my wolf and I had been waiting for this moment! Reaching down to take my pants off, kicking them off me shakily, I felt her moist against me and I found myself breath even harder¡­ ¡°Rieka¡­¡± Dam, I was a man on the verge of desperation right now! Was this what it was like for all of us!? For¡­I had never desired anything so much in my life! God, we hadn¡¯t even done anything yet and we were sweating! ¡°Blanket¡­¡± Fuck! Her eyes full of desire, reached to my depths, and I just somehow knew that she was ready for me. I hadn¡¯t wanted to hurt her, but how could I not trust my natural instincts? Slowly placing myself inside her wetness, I hear her moan and I watch her reaction very observantly. Seeing that things seemed to be better then I thought, I couldn¡¯t help but plunge myself completely inside her now, feeling that I finally have come to satisfy a need that I never knew I had. Her heat and wetness overcome me completely and I gasped to how good it felt. Grabbing her waist, I drove as deep as I could, pushing her into me and pushing myself into her¡­ How perfect¡­ Everything about her was perfect¡­ Everything that I remember knowing about what my mate, my destined partner, my other half was¡­It was right! She was just right for me in every way and I can¡¯t believe that I had thought of it as nonsense! Years of that missing feeling was now completely gone, years of feeling incomplete¡­Gone¡­ I was now full and had never been so bloody happy! I could feel it, that I wasn¡¯t the only one here completely smitten¡­No, I felt that each of our wolves were finally satisfied and happy as well. They were already ready to have their pups! Well, I wasn¡¯t against it¡­In fact, the thought of finally starting my family seemed to drive me into feeling more hunger for my lovely mate¡­Unable to stop, even when her heat was completely over! *** Having little time, because the humans are said to have already met up in the north, I had not been able to spend days with my mate. Hours¡­That had been all I had¡­ And yes, for hours, I made love to Rieka, my most precious mate. After her heat had subsided, we were able to slow down, and our heaven slowly turned back into the planet we were on and I finally understood what others had meant while their mates was on heat. It was incredible! Amazing! I really had no words! And I felt like more of a man then I did before! Fuck, it was amazing¡­ ¡­A few times now I had been yelled at to get my attention back, so I had to pay attention¡­ ¡°I know you have just mated for the first time, Alpha Alarick, but can you please pay attention!?¡± I nodded at Alpha Rendell. I was not embarrassed at all, to what seemed like everyone knowing this news. No, I was far from being embarrassed! I was the man! Hell yeah! I wanted to tell everyone! ¡°Elementress states that she hasn¡¯t much of what she calls ¡®natural energy¡¯ to help us at the moment and she also states that we are better off backing off towards the south of the continent, do you agree?¡± I nodded again, trying hard to keep up and not think of my naked and gorgeous mate, that continuously is shown to myself in my head. ¡°¡­Ah¡­I don¡¯t doubt her as an ally. I also think that we are better off giving ourselves more time to defend¡­The more we are able to come up with defensive and offensive strategies, the bigger chance we have at winning the war and not losing as many Shifters.¡± ¡°Then we have come to a conclusion of moving south. At first, I want to rally everyone to where my pack used to reside, then we may even go further south and even hope to pick up more Shifters to aid us in the war. Alarick and Cain, you will be the leaders, show them the way to the boundary of where The Oasis Clan used to be. I will be in the rear, to keep everyone safe, and you others go along the sides, to keep everyone together, understood?¡± A few choruses were heard, and it seemed to be the end of the meeting¡­ Gathering everyone up, becoming ready to move out wasn¡¯t that hard. My family may be in a new pack now, but we still stuck together and had already known about moving, just like a few others had. Not only that, but we had only moved here a couple of days ago, so what we had was already something easily to travel with and pack up. Having finally, officially, came to the conclusion of moving today, it only took half an hour to get my family into order and where we were meeting up to start our run down south. Getting a few of the males to already shift, so that we could tie up some things to them, that we were taking with us, the rest of us shifted not long after and waited for everyone else to be ready too. At the front of the mass of Shifters, I rubbed my wolf into my mates and felt her lick upon my fur. I really was besotted with her¡­Completely¡­ Licking her back, her gorgeous white fur, I then rammed more of my body into her, not feeling close enough¡­I wanted more! Much more! I couldn¡¯t wait until we finished our run down south, until we could sleep¡­I couldn¡¯t wait to take my love into my arms once again and make love to her, before we would fall asleep in each other¡¯s arms! ¡°The leader stated to leave in five minutes.¡± I looked up to see the Beta of the leader run up the line and I turned to Radolph and told him, through our link, to keep an eye on the time. I guess Alpha Rendell was too busy to give the order himself, even though all he had to do was say it¡­ As I felt my mate lick me again, I didn¡¯t care to question further upon why I hadn¡¯t heard the order directly from the leader¡­I was lost again to my mate¡¯s smell and touch! ¡­It looked like the leader was in human form still, but we were able to mind link all together now, well, for at least these four packs. Not all of the packs had come together, so they will not be someone we would be able to talk to telepathically. Having to talk a lot about what to do, having to be in human form to do this, we hadn¡¯t been able to do this very often but now that we are all wolves¡­It was quite chaotic inside our heads¡­ Well, except that of little ones that were two or younger¡­As they hadn¡¯t shifted for the first time yet¡­And even some pups a little older weren¡¯t shifted, probably because they might feel better in their human form still. Thinking of little pups¡­ I turned to look at my mate once again and felt both my wolf and I unable to hold in our excitement at our own future pups¡­ My wolf had been waiting for a long time, but me¡­Me, I finally got all excited just in the last couple of days! Beforehand, I had only wanted to have pups because others did and that I knew I should have an heir at some point because I was the Alpha, but having met my mate, the idea upon my own pups started to grow and grow and now it was strangely a desire that I held most dear to me. To have a pack like family was great, to spend time with other pups was also great but finally¡­I started to really look forward to my own pups, my own little family¡­The ones that I could teach and cuddle whenever I wanted! I couldn¡¯t wait! Boss, time to go! ¡­Alarick! And so, we were off, and our first stop was where The Oasis Clan¡¯s boundary was. Chapter 23
(The next part would make sense if you had read ¡®Anonym and Switch, Obtaining Power to Retaliate¡¯. If you haven¡¯t, Anonym is someone who is seeking her ¡®father¡¯, to get back at him for making her reincarnate for hundreds of thousands of years¡­And Altervale is where she has teleported to, with Switch¡¯s help¡­) Just as ¡®As One with Many¡¯ Shifters went south¡­Something else happened in the north¡­ In a place covered by snow, there was a clearing, with trees on each side¡­But, suddenly, there was a big dragon that appeared, making the place look small! Looking closer, it wasn¡¯t just one, big dragon¡­No, there was more, some people and then other smaller dragons were on top of this big dragon! No one here would know that these black dragons of Enoor were from the world of Bracabra, which was a place that also had leprechauns and witches, but there was even someone there from another completely different planet, known as Roneglaise. And this person¡­They shapeshifted from being the big dragon, to that of a pretty and young woman¡­ ¡°Timothy¡­Where are we?¡± ¡°Every time! Why, why is it that every time we go somewhere, you ask me!? I don¡¯t know!¡± Switch sighed, ¡°Timothy, I believe she knows that you wouldn¡¯t know, except¡­You always seem to get angry and get provoked every time¡­That¡¯s probably why she keeps asking you.¡± ¡°Driving me crazy!¡± This ¡®Timothy¡¯ stated through clenched teeth. Anonym smirked and sat down, putting her hand up towards Switch. Another sigh later, Switch then placed a cup into her hands and Anonym smelt it, before she smiled and drank it. Ah¡­Freedom elixir! Till this day Anonym checks her drinks, as Switch had once giving her horse urine, instead of ¡®freedom elixir¡¯! She will never fall into that trap again! ¡°Ride!¡± Looking back over to his son, Switch goes to pick him up, to stop him from further annoying the smallest of the black dragons, ¡°Wait for your mother, perhaps you¡¯ll fly around soon.¡± ¡°I want to ride now!¡± The little boy, Alex, stated firmly. Anonym laughed, ¡°You will not! None of you will fly before me!¡± ¡°Ride!¡± The boy almost yells. ¡°No!¡± The mother states firmly. Switch shook his head, ¡°Both of you¡­¡± Then, they were suddenly interrupted by a man that came out from one side of the trees, ¡°Who¡­Who are you¡­¡± The man was blinking and stuttering, seeing the dragons before him¡­He really couldn¡¯t believe it! It¡¯s a myth, a legend¡­And it seemed like one of the dragons thought it was a great time to roar like the dragon that he is¡­Making the man fall to the floor, making a yellow patch beneath him, ¡°¡­Dr¡­Dragon¡­¡± Anonym took another sip of her drink and stood up, curiously looking at this man, ¡°What¡¯s this place called?¡± At this time, another man came before them, eyeing them wearily, ¡°¡­Have you heard of the place of Gillard?¡± Silence came straight after, as both Anonym and Switch looked at this other male that had come from the tree line. He looked completely different to the other whom was now trembling in the snow¡­ The trembling man had some type of uniform and Anonym found it refreshing¡­But this other standing man seemed to have a similar attire to Switch¡¯s clothes¡­ ¡°This is Gillard?¡± Anonym asked, no longer caring about clothes. The amount of times that she had been in different types of clothes was countless, being both male and female and both young and old¡­ The other man frowned, and said, ¡°No, this is Altervale¡­Never mind.¡± Anonym nodded and looked around, ¡°Altervale hey? So, what¡¯s good in this place? Is there any good freedom elixir?¡± ¡°Freedom elixir?¡± The man still standing, frowned again. Switch took a step further, holding firmly onto his son, and said, ¡°I am Switch, this is Anonym, we have come from Roneglaise and Bracabra¡­¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°He wanted to know what freedom elixir was, not who we are¡­¡± Anonym rolled her eyes. ¡°He is a wizard, Anonym. Don¡¯t just spout nonsense.¡± Switch replied, watching the standing man observantly. ¡°So what!? You think I can¡¯t take him?¡± Anonym frowned herself. She wasn¡¯t someone that would just run away and hide¡­No, she was the complete opposite! In the meantime, while Switch and Anonym were bickering, Xavior was taking them in, wondering if he had even heard of the places of Roneglaise or Bracabra. From the galaxy he had come from, he had mostly visited wizard worlds that held magic and¡­He should have heard of at least one of these places¡­But no, none of those names sounded familiar¡­ ¡°I am Xavior. I am with Elementress, who is currently with the Shifters.¡± Stated Xavior, whom was wondering what to do with these new visitors. ¡°Shifters? You mean shapeshifters?¡± Anonym asked, simply curious. Already, she wanted to see what it was like to fight these ¡®Shifters¡¯¡­ ¡°No¡­And yes. They are humans that can shift into wolves. We are currently ready to go to war on this continent.¡± Xavior stated, looking at Anonym once again. He could see the magic within the person known as ¡®Switch¡¯, also seeing that his magic was even more stronger then his own, but this ¡®Anonym¡¯ was not someone he was able to know the strength of¡­ ¡°War!? That¡¯s great!¡± Anonym laughed heartedly. She rubbed her hands together and looked around. Where was this war, hey? Switch turned to Anonym and sighed, ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s best if we move on from this planet, did you not notice that it¡¯s not the right place?¡± Switch had already found that this powerful wizard before him was not like himself and Anonym, who were created by what Anonym calls ¡®father¡¯. This wizard before him was born and seemed to have grown powerful, making Switch secretly admire him, yet there was no other connection like themselves here on this planet, now that they had been here for a little while. ¡°Uh? Oh, not really¡­¡± Anonym said, then after a moments thought, she smiled, ¡°Aren¡¯t we looking for more power!? You said he was a wizard right, he can fight with us!¡± Xavior frowned, he was used to being the strongest for so long, so holding himself back from this strange, unique person was taking a toll upon him¡­But that didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t like the way that the woman spoke of him like he should be a servant for her! It was always just him and his woman here, no other visitors as strong as himself had ever come! They had wondered how they would act and what they would do many, many years ago¡­But seeing these people today was very surprising! It seemed that Xavior had come to accept that they were alone¡­And probably would forever be alone¡­ Taking another sip from her cup, Anonym narrowed her eyes for a moment, ¡°You said that there was some ele¡­Ele¡­Something right, is there someone else that¡¯s strong too?¡± This wasn¡¯t good! Again, the woman sounded like she was recruiting us! Xavior looked at Switch and stayed silent¡­These people had dragons, they numbered more then he and Elementress¡­If they wanted to take them as slaves or something, how was he going to stop that? Being immortal did not state that he was stronger¡­And, being slaves for god knows how long, would be an extremely unbearable future! Xavior could only think that he and his woman are probably better off staying here, even though it would be another lot of countless more years of being alone¡­ Xavior¡¯s thoughts weren¡¯t completely wrong, Anonym would like him as a slave because she likes people working for her, on the other hand, Switch was still more so thinking of protecting his family, instead of bringing more along with them! What would be the best plan of action? To keep his beloved save¡­Should he not go to her? Or should he go to her and get her back to their castle? What if these people and dragons would be able to find his castle? In his silence, Xavior was pondering on what to do¡­He was even aware that nothing may happen as well, or that they may even be able to become allies¡­He just wasn¡¯t too sure on which path would be taken¡­Especially with the woman and how enthusiastic she was for war! Yet, he knew, he knew without a doubt, that Elementress would be completely interested in these new comers¡­ Xavior sighed¡­ ¡°Oi!¡± Anonym said, walking closer to Xavior, making Switch widen his eyes and follow after her. Xavior put out his hand out and Anonym banged right into some shield and fell back, falling to the ground. Switch bent down, stopping Alex from wanting to go onto the ground and asked Anonym if she was alright. Truly, these two didn¡¯t feel danger. Why, why don¡¯t they ever feel that the circumstances that they could be in, could be bad!? Standing up again, with Switch, Anonym grumbled and wiped off the cold snow from her clothes. ¡°Wizard, uh? Would that mean I¡¯d be going against someone like you?¡± She looked up at Switch, wondering if she could ever beat him, even with her being able to go invisible! Xavior flinched, to his defence he just hadn¡¯t wanted Anonym to get any closer, now the woman seemed like she wanted to fight him¡­Not good! Yet, Xavior was still more worried about Switch¡­Then the little woman that seemed to want to fight¡­ ¡°He has different magic.¡± Was all Switch stated, looking back at Xavior. Anonym took a deep breath and then smiled, ¡°How bout it!? Wanna fight!?¡± Xavior shook his head, trying to think of what he should do... Seeing the little woman pout, Xavior nearly smiled, ¡°I mean no offense. I do not wish to be on your bad side.¡± Anonym looked at Switch and then put her cup up to him once again and he filled it back up, watching her sit back down onto the ground. ¡°We won¡¯t stay for long.¡± Switch said, looking back at Xavior. Nodding back to Switch, Xavior then turned and dragged the man still on the ground away from the area. ¡°Ride!¡± Anonym looked up at her son, and then smiled, ¡°Yeah, lets ride!¡± ¡°Yay! Ride, ride!¡± Alex cheered, wanting to get out of his father¡¯s arms. Taking a big gulp of the drink in hand, Anonym then burped and stood up, pointing at one of the biggest black dragons, ¡°Come here!¡± As the dragon came before Anonym, bowing its head into a submissive gesture, Anonym took Alex from Switch and climbed up onto the black dragon. Switch sighed, only able to get Presley, his good friend, to go and watch over his family in the air with Timothy on his back¡­As Switch would not go with them¡­As he was afraid of heights¡­ After Anonym left with Alex, all the other dragons followed and soon their flapping wings and little roars could no longer be heard, and they were out of sight¡­ Switch continuously teleported to the ground beneath the dragons, looking around as he went, but the men that were getting ready for war with the Shifters, that had been close by¡­They had seen these dragons and all of them had their mouths opened in pure shock! Xavior returned to the men, also seeing this quite marvelous sight and frowned once again. How long were these uninvited guests going to stay? *** Chapter 24
After quite a journey of touring this world of ¡®Altervale¡¯, Anonym and Switch found themselves upon a desolate place. They had travelled over the sea and then came to the land on the other side¡­To see quite a sight! The only conclusion that could be said, was that magic had been used and seeing such a huge, forced change to the environment, gave Switch an idea upon who Elementress could be. It seems that a war happened, and magic went up against another type of magic, yet¡­Xavior acted as though Elementress meant something to him¡­So then, why had they fought? Anonym didn¡¯t question these things though, she was not the mastermind in the least! Instead, Anonym looked around for freedom elixir! Since an already made ¡®den¡¯ was formed in some ruins in a city, the dragons found their resting place, while Anonym looked around at the strange, new place and saw that it was different from that of both Roneglaise and Bracabra¡­ The buildings weren¡¯t magical or historical, they were¡­More advanced, but less advanced¡­ She couldn¡¯t figure it out¡­ Then, there were dead bodies and weapons, that she¡¯d never seen before, and even had to get Switch to get rid of warm lava that was close to the area, as she was going to rest here for now. The area seemed strange, because there was no one around. Even the volcano, that seemed to have gone dormant, looked completely strange to Anonym and she really started to think that she¡¯d found upon a strange and unique planet! There were a lot of bullets on the ground in one place but also spikes coming up from the ground, that had been the reason for many deaths. Feeling strangely bored, Anonym had seen much war but this time¡­It seemed that she had come too late! Here, the war was over¡­ After testing a few liquids, Anonym finally found some ¡®freedom elixir¡¯ and they started to relax. Alex played with the smallest dragon, even though the dragon did not want to play with him. Presley was happy looking after his newly appearing treasure, just like the other black dragons, and Anonym was teasing Switch, because she felt bored. ¡°You¡¯re drunk already.¡± Switch stated, pinching Anonym¡¯s cheek. They had already eaten dinner and now they had been outside in the dark for some time. Seeing Anonym like this, Switch was very familiar with it, like it was the same every night! ¡°Haha, this¡­This is good stuff!¡± Anonym slurred, getting closer to him. If it wasn¡¯t fighting, and with her son being entertained or sleeping, the next best thing was to annoy Switch! ¡°Then I won¡¯t be making this stuff for you in the future. You get drunk too quickly!¡± Switch stated, letting go of her cheek. ¡°But, I like it!¡± Anonym stated, nodding her head once, then falling into his lap. Switch pulled her up and into his arms, cuddling her, ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to treat me really good in the future, for me to present this¡­Stuff¡­To you!¡± Smirking at her flushed face, Switch then leaned in and kissed her, grabbing onto her neck and making her open her mouth to him. Anonym accepted everything he gave to her, as they had now been together for awhile and this was nothing new. Without even knowing of how poorly she was treating her loving ¡®freedom elixir¡¯, Anonym dropped it upon the ground and put her hands around Switch¡¯s neck. Moaning to his hand upon her breast, she put a hand into his clothes and sat up better upon his lap. Putting his arms around her tightly, Switch kissed Anonym, letting her do as she pleased with his lower half. The one that wore the pants in this relationship was her. The one that gave him something to do, was her. The one that entertained him and made him want something¡­Was her. Having reincarnated so much in the past, just like Anonym, and come to be so powerful and having nothing fazing him, Switch was still very grateful to have found someone exactly like himself¡­So, it was like they were made for each other!This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Using magic, with a click of his fingers, he put on something that he¡¯d only just found the name of in this world and waited for Anonym to plant herself on top of him. With the magic he possessed, it was based on existence¡­ For some things, he knew of already, but other things that he has done, it is only because he has been able to think of it and try it, for it to work. What he had just put on, was something that helped prevent from having children, which was something that Anonym had placed as a restriction as soon as she knew it worked! For Switch, he was also in no rush to leave this planet of Altervale, having already learnt a couple of things from this planet. One being this ¡®condom¡¯ that he had now been using for months, but there were other things here that he¡¯d never seen before¡­Like that of cars. Upon discovering what they had today, seeing these so called ¡®cars¡¯, Switch had indeed fell behind the dragons to get a good look at how these ¡®cars¡¯ worked. There was also a place that held what they called ¡®planes¡¯, and Switch teleported to be inside of one, but found himself completely lost to what he was looking at! His magic might be about to conjure up these things, because they existed, but that didn¡¯t mean he knew how to use them! Which only left Switch to think that they should remain here a little longer, so that perhaps he could figure it out! Perhaps he could even figure out what he had done quite some years ago now to Bracabra, where a city in the sky had been completely devasted for many years, and still might even be unapproachable¡­ But¡­Right now was not the time to think of these things, as he looked at the desire Anonym had in her eyes¡­It was not time to think of anything else but the woman in his arms! Taking over, Switch took advantage of Anonym¡¯s drunken state, just like many other times, and made her call out his name over and over again¡­ ¡°Mummy! Wakie Wakie!¡± ¡°No, Alex. Mummy sleeping.¡± Anonym mumbled and grabbed onto Switch tighter. ¡°Daddy!¡± ¡°Come here.¡± Switch took his boy into one of his arms and held his woman in the other and already knew that they won¡¯t be able to sleep anymore. Alex got in between them and poked his mother in the face and then giggled. ¡°You poke me again, and I¡¯ll poke you back!¡± Anonym mumbled, still, her eyes were closed. Alex poked his mother again, giggling crazily¡­Obviously, he knew what would happen, as this has happened many times before! Anonym smirked at her son, finally having opened her eyes, and said, ¡°That¡¯s it! You¡¯re done for, you little brat!¡± Switch watched his family run around and shook his head, yet still had a doting smile on his face. Alex had taken after his father, when it came to being able to use magic, but there was a hell of a lot more of his mother¡¯s personality in him! Alex used his magic to make one more of himself, for him to poke his mother with, while he giggled frantically as he ran away from her. Yet, to what happened next was what had made Switch nearly die, to have to be reincarnated again, as he had tried to find information upon how to teach Alex about his magic. Not long after Alex made a replica of himself, he didn¡¯t need to do much more for another replica to be made. Within another minute or two, Anonym was getting ruthlessly surrounded by her son and replicas of her son, and she laughed as she shapeshifted to win! ¡­These two idiots¡­ ¡°You have an interesting family!¡± Switch turned around and saw someone come out of the ground. Seeing Xavior come out as well, rolling his eyes, Switch clicked his fingers to have his son appear in his arms. ¡°Daddy?¡± Alex had tried to get out of his hold, but after he couldn¡¯t get out, he turned and wondered what his daddy wanted. Anonym shapeshifted back from being a little bird and stretched, ¡°The brat can get annoying at times¡­¡± Switch sighed. He knew that Anonym cared for their son, but she never really showed it¡­ ¡°You should treasure him more, for some can¡¯t even have children.¡± The woman said, coming closer to them. Because Elementress had become immortal, she could not bare children and on the rare chance would feel the loss of this fact. ¡°Lovely, perhaps it would be best to be on our way¡­¡± Xavior stated, putting a hand around her, not wanting to trust them as easily as Elementress would. He had only wanted to peek on them, but he should have known better and knew that Elementress would have come out! Elementress turned to Xavior and then looked back at Anonym and Switch, ¡°I am Elementress, a Shaman from the world of Purdonteala. Xavior tells me that it was like you appeared out of nowhere and that one of you is a wizard like himself.¡± Anonym turned her bored expression towards Switch, but Switch was not looking at her, instead he nodded, ¡°I am a wizard and we are¡­Traveling¡­¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± Elementress asked. Her attitude was a lot different to Xavior¡¯s, being opened and curious, perhaps even a bit rude. But, even if Xavior would be able to live alone with her forever, Elementress would like to know of more places¡­ ¡°We are searching for a particular galaxy but have yet to find it.¡± Switch answered, while widening his eyes to one of his son¡¯s replications of going up to Elementress. Again, his boy needs to have a lot more caution! All went silent as the replica looked up at the woman curiously, and said, ¡°I have a dragon!¡± ¡°¡­Dragon¡­¡± Elementress then smiled widely, she had indeed wanted to see these dragons! Bending down to the little ¡®boy¡¯, she then said, ¡°Will you show me your dragon?¡± The boy didn¡¯t need anymore asking, he left straight away, along with the rest of the replica¡¯s¡­ ¡°Ride!¡± The real boy in Switch¡¯s arms started to squirm, wanting to follow his replica¡¯s. ¡°Stay!¡± Anonym said, but her next cause of action only made Alex completely upset, as his mother followed after the replica¡¯s. ¡°Mummy!¡± But his little yell went to deaf ears! Elementress followed after the other woman happily, desperately wanting to see these dragons! ¡°Xavior told me that he saw you riding on them, is that true?¡± Anonym nodded and kept walking, not even realizing that Xavior hadn¡¯t followed, to stay and talk with Switch. And just like that, the women went to see the dragons, Anonym even making one of them have to succumb to being touched by this new comer¡­While Switch handled his son, while speaking with Xavior. Chapter 25
After a day of being acquainted with one another, having another drink and coming more relaxed in each other¡¯s presence, an idea had spawned in Elementress¡­ ¡°Why don¡¯t we split up and go to war? Anonym and I will be on the Shifter¡¯s side¡­¡± ¡°Love¡­¡± Xavior tried to speak but was interrupted by Anonym. ¡°I¡¯m interested! Let¡¯s do that!¡± ¡°Anonym¡­¡± Switch hesitated, but it was of no use, Anonym already looked excited and ready to go¡­ ¡°Then it¡¯s settled! We¡¯ll go our own ways from now.¡± Anonym looked at her drink and realized that if she wasn¡¯t teamed up with Switch, she wouldn¡¯t be able to get Freedom Elixir whenever she wanted to¡­Was this really going to be worth it? It would be a hell of a lot better if Switch was teamed up with her¡­ Letting out a laugh a moment later, Anonym realized that it wouldn¡¯t matter, she¡¯ll just rock up in front of him and demand it, even if they were on opposing sides of each other! Both of the females got up and smirked at each other, Anonym had already asked many questions about these ¡®Shifters¡¯ and couldn¡¯t wait to see one of them, momentarily forgetting about the implication of not being able to drink her Freedom Elixir. ¡°Anonym¡­¡± Switch got up and took her into his arms. He already knew that there was absolutely no chance of talking her out of it but that didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t have to like this idea! He hadn¡¯t even stated how much he¡¯d prefer not to be on opposing sides and that he couldn¡¯t bare not just himself but someone else hurting her! He knew of her strength it was just¡­He still didn¡¯t want to take the chance that he could lose her¡­ Already feeling like he should keep an eye on Xavior, now there was a reason that even humans could hurt her, just because she decided to be on the opposing side! This wasn¡¯t their war! Why is she always so keen to fight!? Switch sighed and held her tighter, thinking of why he had to fall for such a warmonger! Grabbing onto Switch and giving him a big kiss, Anonym then let go and turned into a bird, leaving without even looking back. Without saying a word, the black dragon¡¯s of Enoor followed their leader, coming out of their cave full of treasures, and flew after Anonym, to which makes Alex extremely upset as soon as he finds out! Upon finding out that they had to travel back to the other continent, both Anonym and Switch could easily travel there and to Elementress and Xavior¡¯s frustration, they would be beaten back if they traveled on their own¡­ Elementress went into the ground and left the two man and sleeping child behind, making both of them sigh. ¡°Sometimes, Anonym acts more like a General.¡± Xavior stated. It wasn¡¯t like he hadn¡¯t seen such a person, he¡¯d been here for a long time and saw the human¡¯s past of them having Generals¡­ Liquor and fighting¡­Was there something else that Anonym thought about? ¡°Agreed.¡± Picking up the sleeping Alex, Switch clicked his fingers and his staff appeared. Making the treasure in the cave disappear, to which Presley scooted out, wondering what was going on. ¡°Switch, are we leaving?¡± Switch sighed at Presley and Timothy, two beings that are now caught in a war, even though they had nothing to do with this world! ¡°We are going to the other continent.¡± With that, Switch tapped his staff on the ground and then they too disappeared, leaving the place very desolate once again. Elementress had buried the Shifters, but there were some humans that were left laying around lifeless, as only some of them had been burnt¡­For them, who had either immortal lives or ones that had been reincarnated for thousands of years, all they had to make sure of was that they wouldn¡¯t get sick, otherwise¡­The bodies weren¡¯t really cared for¡­ That continent only had very few surviving humans and Shifters that had survived the war. After grouping up with their women and children, there still was less than half of what they had when they had first gone to war. The humans and Shifters went in separate directions, in one group, and realized that it will be a very long time before something like this would ever happen again¡­But, a life experience turns into a memory, a story to tell others and then slowly, after a few centuries, turns into something that doesn¡¯t seem real... Upon Anonym arriving on the other continent, she wondered where these ¡®Shifters¡¯ where. She had come across a town with people but wasn¡¯t sure if they were Shifters or not. Hovering in the air, the dragons staying close to her, screaming started to be heard as the people ran amok down below. People tripped over, they ran for cover and some of them just feel to their knees thinking that it was their end¡­ Figuring that the people below were actually now her enemies, Anonym did not want to waste time and shapeshifted to be the big dragon, making the other dragons roar to her, to their leader! Just before she was to let lose upon breathing out fire, she noticed that many of them, if not all, were women or children and felt like this attack might not be such a good idea. She was all for war and fighting but doing something like this held no honor in her eyes! Attacking this town would be beneath her and she could not proceed, thinking that she might as well continue her journey to find the Shifters. Flying away from there, with her dragons in tow, the women and children did not stop trembling for half a day after their departure¡­This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Again, a legend is born about dragons being seen, a huge one with several little ones that had been in the sky above the town¡­A life experience turns into a story and then that became something like a myth and seemed unreal! Anonym had gone west, then south, to finally see a long trail of wolves and celebrated on finally finding what seemed to be the Shifters. Landing upon the ground in front of them, and shifting to human, she laughed at the wolves in front of her. They were no longer in a line, instead a few of them stood out from the rest but¡­They all looked completely scared, putting their heads down in fear, some even on the ground in a submissive gesture. Seeing that her pet dragons had also landed and stood guard on either side of her, Anonym let out another short chuckle, how great would it be if the dragons could ¡®shift¡¯ to human!? With this idea, Anonym was really quite tempted to see if it could happen! They were already loyal and having them smaller might be a benefit¡­It could also work as a surprise to her so-called father! I must see what this Shifter is like! Walking up to them, there were only a few that lightly growled, but that didn¡¯t stop Anonym, ¡°I¡¯m with Elementress, my dragons and I will help you win the war!¡± There was no ¡®lose¡¯, it was ¡®win¡¯! How could the Legendary Great Master Belwin accept defeat!? No, this was going to be training, as she knew she needed a lot more strength to beat up someone who had enough power to make planets and to make someone such as her! Even though the words were said, to claim that Anonym was on their side, the Shifters were brutally scared and could not help but fear this person, who had transformed from a huge dragon! It really was unbelievable and scary! In their moment of trance, Anonym touched one of them, and focused¡­ Ah¡­I see¡­ The conscious seems to be split, yet was one¡­Interesting¡­ They really were people that could shift to become wolves, just like the shapeshifting technique but a bit different! Feeling the wolf and the human, Anonym smiled and really wanted to see what her dragons could become with Elementress¡¯s and Xavior¡¯s help! Once again, Anonym focused and attempted to see if she could shift into the wolf, even though she knew it was different to a normal beast¡­But, Anonym hardly believed in much being impossible! Well, besides immortality¡­Hang on¡­Isn¡¯t Elementress and Xavior immortal!? For a brief moment, Anonym lost her focus and really considered upon finding out how her new slaves became immortal! In a swift thought¡­Anonym found that she had to make both Elementress and Xavior follow her from now on! With immortality being the prize, she could tolerate another two slaves in her entourage! Finally, able to focus yet again, Anonym shifted to a wolf, which happened to be twice as big as the biggest Shifter there, and they all cowered in fear! Haha, she laughed inside her head, she was a cultivator and would obviously be a lot bigger and stronger then these little fledglings! Anonym let out a strange noise and shook her big wolf head, then shifted back to human once again, ¡°Ah! We didn¡¯t have these creatures on Roneglaise! They are pretty cool!¡± At last, one of the front wolves shifted to human and got down to his knees, ¡°Are¡­Are you really not an enemy?¡± His desperate words were noticeable to Anonym and she nodded, ¡°Elementress is on her way, do you have any Freedom Elixir?¡± Silence was her answer and Anonym looked around the area, only to find that it was mostly just land¡­With no buildings¡­ She doubted that she¡¯d find some Freedom Elixir here! ¡°May¡­May I ask what is Freedom Elixir?¡± The person in front asked, not getting up onto his feet. Anonym looked back at him in mockery, ¡°What else would it be!? It¡¯s an elixir that provides freedom!¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­I¡¯m sorry, I¡­I don¡¯t know¡­¡± The Shifter stammered back. Anonym sighed, thinking that she will have to go and see Switch earlier then she had originally thought! The Shifters continued to cower in her presence, obviously keeping their loved ones away from the front, because they didn¡¯t want them to get hurt, but now it was more like a semi-circle, half surrounding Anonym, who was wondering if she should go back to that human town from before, to see if they had some ¡®Freedom Elixir¡¯¡­ The ground opened up then, to show that Elementress had come, and the Shifters let out a soft sigh of relief¡­ It must be true then, that this¡­Shifter, that can turn into a huge dragon¡­Was on their side! Pouting, Anonym turned to Elementress, ¡°I want Freedom Elixir.¡± Elementress smiled, ¡°Let us speak with them first, they might be heading towards somewhere with alcohol.¡± ¡°Elementress, you¡¯ve returned. Is it true that¡­This Shifter is on our side?¡± Again, the one in front took the initiative to sort out all their questions. Elementress nodded and looked over a few of them, ¡°This is Anonym, she has joined us in the war against the humans.¡± After a moments silence, because of shock, a few more Shifters went to become human¡¯s and went to their knees too. Anonym put her hand up to her chin and nodded, she wondered what it would be like if every time she shifted into something, she would be naked upon becoming human again, ¡°They really are different to me, it looks like shifting and being naked, is there thing! Haha! I can¡¯t imagine it!¡± Letting out a laugh to one of her recent experiences of fighting a certain Emperor¡¯s men, and how not only her but even some of the shapeshifters within the fight hadn¡¯t gone naked, she thought it would have been absolutely hilarious if it had happened that other way! Silence again drifted throughout the area of Shifters and Anonym let out a huff to it. They really didn¡¯t look excited here! Isn¡¯t there a war!? Why all the gloomy faces!? ¡°Where were you heading?¡± Anonym asked. The one in front looked at Elementress, ¡°We were still heading south because we weren¡¯t sure on how to attack or defend against the humans just yet.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Elementress said, thinking about what to do next. She had taken ages to come up with her last ideas from the last continent and really had nothing new now¡­Well, she had ideas, but to take on Xavior they needed to be great ideas, not just ideas that floated in her head with no help to winning! ¡°Elementress, if I may, why don¡¯t we continue to go south and rest at the next pack¡¯s location?¡± The leader of the Shifters looked briefly at Anonym, feeling inferior to her and hoped that what they said was true, he hoped it to be true so much that he could see a huge bonus to the strange shifter being on their side! Dragons! They flew and could control the sky but¡­Was this ¡®strange being¡¯ really on our side! Could it be!? ¡°Agreed, lets continue this conversation when we reach the next town.¡± Elementress stated openly. But just as they were about to head off, a whole new scene appeared in front of the Shifters, behind Anonym and Elementress. ¡°Shoot!¡± Anonym turned around and saw that Switch had teleported a whole lot of people that were opposite them! ¡°Hey!¡± She said angrily. She saw that Switch held their son and looked at her in worry. Xavior smirked and thought his idea of surprise had worked. It hadn¡¯t taken him long upon wanting to use anything to his advantage and seeing that Switch could teleport more then one person, he stated that this could be what wins the war! Elementress put up a wall of earth, to stop the incoming bullets, but a few got through and a few yelps were heard. Mourning howls erupted from those who were still wolves, and the ones who had shifted to humans clenched their fists before trembling into wolves once again¡­ ¡°That¡¯s it! Bloody mongrels!¡± Anonym shifted to her dragon and roared, scaring everyone, including the opposing humans. Spreading her wings and getting into the air, the wind that was formed nearly made the wolves get swept away! Anonym, before she went any further, went invisible and the dragons behind her stopped and looked frantically around for their master. She went over the wall and immediately let loose upon her fire, hot breath and blasted it towards the humans, who were shaking in fear. ¡°She¡¯s invisible.¡± Switch stated, putting a shield up quickly before the fire would kill any of them off! He was glad that the fire was seen at the very least¡­ Xavior put a shield up too and the fire that was directed at them from out of nowhere, reflected for some time, before Xavior¡¯s shield collapsed, leaving only Switch¡¯s shield remaining. The other dragons, seeing fire being casted towards a particular direction by their master, they too flew towards the humans to do exactly the same¡­ Switch knew that he could teleport everyone away whenever he wanted to but did not do anything. At the moment, even though the air was owned by Anonym and her ¡®pets¡¯, it still did not necessarily mean that they would lose the war¡­No, the shield was made to be able to allow them to shoot out, while they were still safely inside it. ¡­The problem was¡­The humans no longer were using their guns with silver bullets¡­ Chapter 26
Humans were beside themselves with not just fear but complete astonishment! They really had seen dragons a couple of days ago! Their eyes really hadn¡¯t lied! The magnificence of seeing that they were real and breathing the fire that dragons were known for, really made the humans stunned to stand there and do nothing but watch! It was such a pretty sight, seeing fire directed at them but be stopped and have it flow around the shield a bit more as it reflects from it¡­ Within moments, several dragons were blasting fire towards the humans and Switch¡¯s shield rang out it¡¯s worries, hurting a few ear drums and knocking realism back into some of the stunned humans. ¡°You said I could use my magic through your shield, right?¡± Xavior asked once more, putting out his hand. Switch nodded, trying not to get distracted by his squirming son, who desperately wanted to ¡®ride¡¯ and be a part of the attack. Alex¡¯s little squealing seem to interrupt one of the dragon¡¯s and it flew around a bit, making a few see it and wondering what it was going to do¡­ ¡°Very well!¡± Xavior¡¯s magic reached out through the shield and went directly for the invisible dragon and within no time, a magical hand was formed to grab at a ¡®wing¡¯ and pulled it down, leaving a big amount of earth spray up and make the area outside of the shield dusty¡­Yet, inside the shield it was still really clear and more and more humans couldn¡¯t help but think that they were surrounded by crazy powerful people that seemed to be doing most of the work! Should they do something to help? Yet, even if some of them asked this question, no shots had been fired since the dragons came into their sight¡­ Anonym shifted out of her dragon but stayed invisible, thinking of what to do next. She didn¡¯t really need to heal herself too much, for a fall like that with something as big as she had been, she only got a few bruises on her side. Seeing that an obvious shield had been placed, the next option was to get rid of it! There was no time like now to see how far she had gone with her strength! Running towards the shield, Anonym put out her hand and punched right into it, maximizing her strength, and in the last moment became visible to use even more strength to hit the shield with¡­ With all the looks that the shield received upon seeing a crack in it, made Anonym let out a laugh, unable to stop herself from getting an ego. ¡°Idiot!¡± Switch stated, wanting to stop her from getting hit by Xavior, but before he knew it, Anonym had been magically pushed back and then put into a magic bubble. Right as Xavior was feeling quite proud of himself, stopping what he thought was the biggest trouble against them, earth inside of the shield opened up and wolves ran out, dashing towards the closest humans, bringing them down easily! The humans were still completely flabbergasted with what was going on, that they had absolutely no time to defend against the oncoming wolves that came out of the earth! ¡°Dammit!¡± Xavior stated, not wanting to let Anonym go¡­ If he lets her go, even though she¡¯s on the outside of the shield, she was still a difficult target to recapture again! But, how was he supposed to control what¡¯s going on inside of the shield! Elementress was obviously using her last trick against them! Xavior let out a huff, thinking that she probably didn¡¯t come up with anything new! Fire continued to descend upon the shield from above and wolves continued to come from the ground inside the shield, making it look like the humans were all but forfeiting their lives! Switch banged his staff down on the ground, to use and enhance gravity magically and everyone but he and Xavior fell to the floor, including the wolves. Xavior, in a moment of astonishment, looked over at Switch and felt extremely inferior to him! The magic was so extreme and concentrated that Xavior wondered how long Switch could handle not only using a shield continuously but also continuously providing some kind of magic to make it hard for others to stand! But this moment didn¡¯t last very long, as Anonym scribed herself to be immune to Xavior¡¯s magic and again rammed her fist straight into the shield. Xavior tried to catch her again, but nothing worked! He tried to contain her, to push her away, to make her turn into something else¡­But nothing¡­ What was going on!? Anonym punched the wall again, to see it crack all over and threaten to fall apart! Switch gave out a chuckle and tapped his staff on the ground to have Anonym have the same gravity problem as to what was going on inside of the shield. He really did wonder if it¡¯ll work though, because it was obvious to him already that she had scribed herself to be immune to magic, but had she been specific?If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. In all the time he¡¯d known her, she seemed to make things hard for herself on purpose and just as he thought¡­She had only scribed herself to be immune against Xavior¡¯s magic¡­ Falling to the floor, Anonym used all her strength to get up and fight the huge amount of weight upon her body. If I can¡¯t fight someone as strong as I am¡­She thought, I might as well forfeit getting my revenge! With a large cry, Anonym put all her strength into one more punch and the shield slowly shattered into pieces, disappearing into nothing¡­ Switch tapped his staff, applying another shield and raised his eyebrows at Anonym. This shield was different, not only was it again solid, but it also had fire ambers surrounding it this time¡­If Anonym wanted to punch the shield again, it would be obvious that she would get burnt! Letting out a small grunt, Anonym looked back at Switch and let out a deep breath. All this was just something she could use as training! Wasn¡¯t it about time she had something strong to go against!? Switch rarely sparred with her! She wanted to take this advantage to the max! She wanted as much training as she could possibly get! Turning into a dragon, that was unable to fly because of the gravity, she let out her fire and blasted it upon the shield. In turn, the other dragons hovering around continued their onslaught, even though another shield had replaced the last one¡­But, upon the shield shattering just moments ago, fire had indeed made it through and scorched a few areas before another shield went back up! A few people got burnt to cinders, others were still on fire and running around like headless chickens¡­Even two wolves had caught on fire, rolling around on the ground to stop it from burning them more¡­It was¡­A mess! The problem was, Switch and Anonym seemed to be in their own little world right about now, only worrying about each other, so the humans and wolves seemed to only have Xavior and Elementress to continue the real war that was still going on! ¡­Xavior personally had been teleporting his way towards the earth hole, killing a couple of Shifters on the way, and found Elementress mumbling to herself¡­ Xavior frowned and instead of killing yet another Shifter, he put a hand out to Elementress, to use magic to bind her tongue and fingers, but found that he was too late! All of a sudden, a vicious wind came from the middle of the humans, inside of the shield, and forced each person to fly towards the shield! If there wasn¡¯t any gravity problems, the wind would have been astronomical but the people were blown to what seemed to be in slow motion and Xavior found that it shouldn¡¯t be a problem¡­Except, the Shifter that he hadn¡¯t killed, bit him on the leg! ¡°Dammit!¡± Xavior stated, focusing his magic upon the wolf and a hand pushed upon it incredibly hard, to make the Shifter look like he got completely squashed from beneath it! Xavior frowned though, seeing earth had helped the wolf, leaving it hurt but not dead¡­ Elementress quickly sighed with relief, glad to have saved the mate of her creation and quickly went into her next part of the plan¡­Which was repeating what she had done last time¡­ Putting forth both her hands upon the ground, Elementress coughed up some blood and forced herself to use up everything she had left to win! Screaming filled the area then and Xavior looked around, to again see those damned spikes! Spikes going through the humans was Elementress¡¯s last attack on the other continent and Xavior was getting incredibly angry now, that he had not thought to defend against them once again! Looking at his woman, who fell completely to the ground and was breathing heavily, Xavior smiled. She was out of nature energy¡­ Switch, finally seeing that many humans had died, he wondered if they should still continue to fight¡­ The war was practically over now, why bother to continue it!? Besides, not only were they just visitors but that this war had nothing to do with them! Alex, Presley and Timothy were here, just like the last time, but Switch was definitely going to leave them out of the next battle! The squirming Alex had nearly gotten out of his arms twice now and was looking everywhere with eager eyes, making Switch feel frustrated in his heart! Honestly, how can such a little one be so overly keen to join in on something so gruesome as this! He¡¯s too much like his mother! This war was different to their last! Alex had been directly involved in the last one and Switch had felt like he had a heart attack because of it! Looking after both his woman and his son, was extremely taxing! Teleporting himself, and Alex, to be beside the dragon that was outside of the shield, Switch said, ¡°I think it¡¯s over.¡± The big dragon let out a roar and looked at Switch. Tapping his staff on the ground, the shield disappeared, and the gravity went back to normal. Before anything else was done, Anonym snorted directly onto Switch¡­ Smelly mucus nearly went all over him and Alex! Switch took a deep breath, before opening his eyes. ¡°Anonym!¡± Anonym shifted back to being human and bit her lip, ¡°Ah! Before I knew it¡­I couldn¡¯t stop it¡­Sorry!¡± Crying entered their ears then and Alex looked particularly cute while he was trying not to touch any of this mucus. His cries opened his mouth, so he started to cry with his mouth shut and eyes closed, holding his hands out from his body. ¡°Oh baby, I¡¯m sorry!¡± Anonym said, walking to them. Switch grabbed her and then teleported to the beach, making them all immediately wet! Letting Anonym take Alex, Switch cleaned himself, staying quiet. She had not done this since they last were in Bracabra! Hearing Alex get quieter and quieter, Switch also got cleaner and cleaner, glaring at Anonym every now and again. ¡°I told you I was sorry!¡± Anonym said, washing Alex¡¯s hair with one hand, she also wondered why he just doesn¡¯t click his fingers to clean them all up¡­It had become so much of a habit of relying upon Switch to have her fed and cleaned, that Anonym did not rush to clean the yucky mucus away. She was sure that at any moment, he would clean all of them and the job would be done¡­ She possibly will never know that Switch wanted her to feel bad for as long as possible, by cleaning himself the long way in front of her! And, on the other hand, Switch may never know that Anonym thought he was just an idiot for not thinking of doing things the easy way¡­ Switch let out a sigh and then put his head under the water, washing his own hair. Under the water, he let out a mischievous smirk and couldn¡¯t wait to ¡®punish¡¯ her! Anonym sighed and looked at her son, ¡°What!?¡± Alex didn¡¯t say anything, still having his arms out, away from his body, and just looking at her like she was the devil! ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that!¡± Dunking her boy into the water, Alex took a few breaths and put his hands out to hold onto her like a crab, it looks like he didn¡¯t particularly like getting dunked like that! ¡°Give him to me.¡± Switch said, wishing Anonym would take more care after their son. Anonym saw that Switch had finally talked to her, and smiled, ¡°He¡¯s nearly clean!¡± Giving him the boy, Anonym suddenly saw that they disappeared¡­Without her¡­ ¡­I see¡­I guess he¡¯s mad at me, uh!? Getting shivers down her spine, Anonym suddenly became aware that she might be on the bad side of Switch at the moment. She didn¡¯t like it when he was mad¡­He was scary! Anonym looked around, wondering upon what she should say when she found him. Was it, sorry for blowing mucus on him? Was he mad because of that? ¡°Ah! If it¡¯s because he lost the war, that isn¡¯t my fault!¡± Anonym played with the water, then became a bit depressed. Was that really a war? It can¡¯t be right? That was short, it was fast and¡­ Letting out a humph, Anonym shifted into a bird and flew back towards the battlefield¡­ Chapter 27 ¡°We aren¡¯t you¡¯re slaves!¡± Xavior¡¯s response to Anonym¡¯s careless question of them tagging along with them, was different to Elementress who was keen to tag along. ¡°Who said that!¡± Anonym said, looking away. ¡°I don¡¯t agree!¡± Xavior stated. Switch only looked on, not giving Anonym any kind of a helping hand. A day had passed, and they had met up once again and Switch had ignored Anonym this long. Anonym had apologized in a half-hearted way and Switch couldn¡¯t help but want more in return! He wouldn¡¯t always be mad with her, he just wanted more! Anonym was getting angrier and angrier as the time went by! She felt like she was scrummaging around like a hyena for Freedom Elixir, because Switch wasn¡¯t paying any attention to her, so she hadn¡¯t been able to drink very much in the last day! She hated apologizing, as she thinks that she shouldn¡¯t have to! She shouldn¡¯t have to ask for permission for anything! So, if she wanted to snort in Switch¡¯s face, while a dragon, she felt like she had every right to do so! But¡­She didn¡¯t like it¡­Didn¡¯t like that he wasn¡¯t talking to her and ignoring her! He was her favorite! He gave her Freedom Elixir and helped looked after Alex and¡­ Sighing, she remembered when Switch nearly died and bit her lip¡­ Why did love have to be a part of this relationship, she wondered! It¡¯d be so much easier if I didn¡¯t love him! So, she was angry because she knew that Switch would win and get her to apologize properly! Not only that but these new slaves of hers were talking back to her like she wasn¡¯t their master! Well! Let¡¯s see who has the last word! They had been invited to Xavior¡¯s and Elementress¡¯s castle, leaving the last remaining survivors of humans and Shifters to themselves back upon the land. Anonym had gotten over the castle relatively quickly, as she had ¡®castles¡¯ of her own a few times before but¡­It did hold special things that even made her greedy! But, the most important thing right now was¡­To get the immortals on her side! Anonym used her boy to irritate both Elementress and Xavior into giving up to her, but Switch interceded, by taking Alex away, so then Anonym used strength and wit to see if that would change their minds! Elementress conceded quickly but Xavior fought her day and night, making Anonym somewhat exhausted by the third day! She wasn¡¯t using all her strength, as she didn¡¯t have to! She was immune to Xavior¡¯s magic now, so whatever he did never harmed her, but he was a real tricky man and she seemed to lose to him in other ways. There was an obvious difference between them, as she might be the General, but Xavior was the strategist and it pissed Anonym off! Anonym wanted to punch Xavior in the head and then throw him out of the castle, so she could watch him as he fell to the ground! She couldn¡¯t win in chess, she didn¡¯t have the patience to find treasure and he was way too damned stubborn! She didn¡¯t particularly like stubborn people! On the fourth day, Switch relented and said, ¡°Stop playing around Xavior.¡± Anonym didn¡¯t understand¡­What was it that Xavior was playing at? Xavior rolled his eyes and stated, ¡°Fine, fine! I concede!¡± There hadn¡¯t been much he could do, since Elementress had already given in¡­So, all this time he was doing exactly what Switch had just said¡­He was playing with Anonym. And to him, he had been having quite a lot of fun. Finally, he accepted the fact that they would be better with others like themselves and was in a bit of denial on how much extra fun it was! Seeing her loss in chess and getting all angry, had satisfied him enough to give in for now! Anonym, who had no idea, had never thought that she had already gained two more friends. To her, they weren¡¯t really friends, they were like Timothy, whom hangs around and was someone that she can give an order to.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Easily, Anonym smiled and got over it! Her work was complete, she had recruited two new people with power! Switch, on the other hand, could only shake his head to Anonym getting played and that she still had no idea about it. He wasn¡¯t able to help it any longer though, and that night he decided to ¡®punish¡¯ Anonym, making her realize that she should never get her man upset again! Well, she could if she dared! On these types of rare occasions, Switch took charge and lead Anonym in a different type of happiness in bed¡­ Getting taken by Switch, even though she wasn¡¯t the one in charge, Anonym feel into ecstasy and yielded once again. Not letting Anonym off easily, Switch put themselves off limits to anyone else and even let Alex stay with Elementress and the dragons, leaving no one for Anonym to call out to for help! Well, it was more so that Alex doesn¡¯t see such a mature scene¡­ But it really wasn¡¯t a problem, the dragons liked the castle on the outside, as it seemed like one big treasure to them, and Alex was making Elementress run around like crazy as he looked at everything in the castle! So, with Switch having taken Anonym away, they were now on their own for the first time in a few days¡­ Breathing heavily, and her body a bit sore from Switch¡¯s continuous ¡®punishment¡¯ of thrusting into her, Anonym really had no care to call out for help anyway¡­But¡­She had an idea on what he was doing! She felt the difference! Just as much as Switch, she wanted this type of reunion between them. It wasn¡¯t like every other time, as though it could be counted as routine and feeling good for a few minutes, this was different. Not only was it them making up but¡­ Secretly, Anonym wondered how long Switch would have lasted before this was going to happen! Yet, in all these thoughts, Anonym was still able to loss herself to Switch, yelling out his name in the process! Switch wasn¡¯t mad at her anymore and he was looking so sexy, being the man and taking charge, that Anonym took in this so called ¡®punishment¡¯ gladly! ¡­Switch smirked at Anonym¡¯s complete acceptance and kissed her lips tenderly, breathing heavily himself. Taking charge like this had given him one chance to bring apart his unyielding beloved for a short time¡­To make a brother or sister for his son! Anonym will have to deal with it when she finds out! So, in fact, Anonym¡¯s real punishment was¡­No more Freedom Elixir! Well, not until she gives birth! And this fact, was completely missed by Anonym, she already knew what Switch was doing¡­But didn¡¯t think of the effects of it! She all but forgotten what to do and what not to do while pregnant! The last time she had been pregnant with Alex, she had been completely filled with revenge and had worked hard to increase her strength, so the time without Freedom Elixir had felt short¡­And at that time, Switch had missed out on seeing her pregnant with Alex, so he was not going to miss out again! With her so called specific cultivation, this would be all that was needed, and Switch kissed Anonym once again, feeling like he had won some type of conquest! Perhaps they agreed on two things that night¡­One thing being that both of them wanted a little girl¡­ Within the next day, several dragons and a few people disappeared, only leaving behind the humans and Shifters that had been at war just a week ago and had belonged on the planet originally. There were only a couple thousand humans left, but luckily for Shifters, they had a good ten thousand left. Again, just like on the other continent, the humans and Shifters separated to once again grow and live out the rest of their lives in harmony¡­Not wanting to go to war again anytime soon! After a few years, Alarick took the survivors from his pack back to where he used to live and continued his ways. He once again became a leader, but this time he had his strange but lovable Luna by his side. Before returning back home, his family had already grown and was already going to grow again¡­They might have had a hundred upon leaving to fight for the war, losing a few in the battlefield, but now their numbers had actually risen upon the migration, instead of fallen! Quite a number of Shifters liked Alarick and respected him as an Alpha and wanted to join his family and of course, under a few questions and hearing certain answers, Alarick had accepted about sixty percent of them! Rieka loved her life. She finally felt accepted and grew to see that living in the pack that she was in, was completely worth it! For all the times that she had been lonely and had to fight to survive, she now felt loved and knew what love was. Beside Alarick, and her new babies, she grew to love each and everyone of her pack members. She knew how to play with all of the pups, just by being herself! She also let Asuna take over the Luna responsibilities and continued to think of strange ways that made Alarick fall in love with her more then he thought possible! As for Asuna, she finally got to spend a life with her mate and also being able to relax from being worried that she and Rieka will be used as a sacrifice once again. Not only did she trust Alarick and Mingan in protecting her, but there was no evidence to support the idea that a white wolf could do such a thing as become a curse or a cleanse for somebody¡­ Since Alarick, whom had fearlessly fought the humans inside the shield and had bitten one of the wizards, Shifters felt like even if there were evidence to claim Rieka¡¯s ability to state that she could cleanse or curse, they would have to think very deeply upon doing such a thing as sacrificing her, simply because of Alarick being her mate¡­ But, at least for now, the world of Altervale was now completely alone. The castle still stayed invisible, no one knowing that was were two immortals spent a lot of their days¡­ Later, when this floating castle is found, it becomes an extremely exciting event! They find treasures beyond believe and then games that sometimes were even life threatening. But, through all this, no one could speak of why it was there in the first place¡­ And¡­The Shifters still remained, even after many more generations¡­ A wizard and shaman had left behind their legacy, but now followed a new type of dream. They could finally strive to get some revenge for their fallen friends from their original galaxy, and perhaps even gain a chance of growing with their powers through their new comrades. Xavior had already wanted to learn from Switch but is not sure how to bring it up¡­On the other hand, Anonym comes up with crazy ideas that Elementress wants to try and make them a reality¡­Yet, it is not one sided! Anonym confronts both Elementress and Xavior to try and make her pets into ¡®Shifters¡¯ like that of the wolves on Altervale! And¡­Anonym orders them to tell them every last detail upon how they had become an immortal! Not only that, but the little boy Alex had more to dote upon him now and he welcomed the extra two into their entourage of universal travelers! THE END The next time Elementress, Xavior, Anonym and Switch will appear is in ¡®Spirituous, Earth beyond Condemnation¡¯