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Ryoko AI 18

(Ethan’s POV)   Yet again, I was startled into another thing, as Damien picked me up and put me onto his lap…Reminding me that he was still naked! I put my hands to my face and felt myself stiffen up. “Now now, I want to read the rest of this first…I didn't want to be the King…And the reason why I have a family, is because I'm the King...Oh…Are you saying that…” I interrupted him in an outburst, “Do you get it now!? If I was someone else, I probably wouldn’t be with anyone! Owen made it all happen, even Chance! I’m just…” By the time I had finished my words, they weren’t just spat out, they were nearly a whisper…I had also started out looking at him angrily, but by the time I finished, I was looking down. I didn’t know who I was at the moment, was I the ‘King’ or was I the Omega? Sighing, I knew that I had said too much but…By the looks of things, I couldn’t lie to this person…I also didn’t seem to think properly either! It really seemed that…With Damien around…I was stupid! …It’s no wonder…Because all I felt…Was really happy…Just like this. I don’t think I was every so happy in my life! He was talking to me, we were together, he even had his arm around me…Ah, I will make the best of this! Feeling his arm around my waist tighten, he rubbed himself against my shoulder and sighed, “I don’t like that old man.” “He…He isn’t as bad as you think…” “Defending him, uh?” I felt him pinch my waist and I yelped to the little pain I got from it. “Hey!” Just as I was about the hit him against the chest, he caught my hand and pulled me into him. “If you are going to think about a man, think about me!” Then he kissed me! Ah… I was thinking of him before anyway! Now is no different! I wasn’t able to think of anything else! Perhaps, he was…Really greedy! Besides…I was a King, how was it ok for a King to only think of him!? …It is… My thoughts stopped, as I was overwhelmed with the power his lips had over mine…Hell, it was surprising I got even that far!   At first, we connected our lips, kissing very lightly with our tongues touching the other’s lips briefly. Then, just as I was putting a hand to his head…I felt one of his hands go up my back, under my singlet, making me arch back unconsciously, and in this case, releasing myself from his kiss. But then, I felt his tongue over one of my nipples and I let out another yelp, jumping slightly upon his lap. “You act like a virgin…Yet, before you acted all loose!” “It wasn’t my fault! When I’m on heat, it is only normal for me to act that way, but it could get even worse! You sedate me a bit…And now…Now…” “Now what?” He put his tongue over my nipple again and I clenched my hands, that were on his shoulders, “Now I’m unsure…I’m…I know that, with…” I couldn’t do it, not yet…If I told him that we hadn’t really got a future with this threat hanging in the air… As much as I wanted him with me from now on…I would prefer a million times over to protect him, as, if he was far away…He won’t be harmed. Whereas if he is close to me… Moving into him then, because I already missed him, I hugged him tight, putting my hand through his hair and taking in his smell. It was such a relaxing smell, one that seemed to help with my hunger and tiredness…My worries seemed to slip away easily, making me content and ready for anything… I must remember his smell well. I must remember what it was like to be with my mate and finally have a conversation. Remember sitting on his lap, how he had held me all that time on the plane…His hair, his…Naked body! …I want to remember everything!   “Please tell me your name…” To be honest, I was rather glad that I was able to tell him face to face, if he read more of that letter, I wouldn’t be able to have this pleasure… I licked his neck, where I would have marked him if we were a normal couple and heard his shaken breath. “…Ethan…” “Ethan? Mmm, my Ethan.” Closing my eyes to how obsessive he already is…Really worried me… If I don’t…Stop things now, he may never let me go… As much as that sounded great, I didn’t want him to die…Especially in my sight! Especially because of me! Sighing, I sat up straight and tried to get off his lap, but he didn’t let me. “What’s wrong Ethan?” Still trying to get away, not looking at him in the eyes, I simply said, “Nothing.” “Do you think I’m stupid?”   Shaking my head, finally getting off his lap, I then walked a few steps away from him, “No…” I am trying to make it easier for you to go back to your life…A life without me… Turning around, unable to trust myself even looking in his direction, I tried to focus on something through the window. I didn’t know how I was going to do this. I had no idea how he had changed into someone that wasn’t going to let me go anymore. He had walked away from me when I asked him too last time, but I knew, for some strange reason, that it wasn’t going to happen again. I loved it…Loved now that he was so open to me. That we were talking! But, now it was worse! It was so…Wrong… What was I to do? Putting my hands through my hair, I was suddenly stuck and then a voice came near my neck, “You might be easier to talk to when we are more intimate uh?” Buckling back into him, I felt his hand over my dick and I was unable to stop it, because my hands were still being held by him. “Ah! Wait…Damien!” He gently played with me, making me squeeze my eyes shut, not wanting to feel how absolutely awesome it was! My god! Against my will, I started to grow and grow, making me feel completely shameless! This wasn’t fair!   “I know you are in trouble, my precious mate, Ethan. And you must know, that nothing will stop me now from being with you!” “Ah!” After his words, he stopped holding me and I was not happy to feel the loss of his hand. “Do you understand, that there is no reason for you to push me away?” He touched me again, but this time putting his hand into my boxer shorts, making me feel much better! “Do you understand?” He licked my neck and I nodded…Not completely sure what I was nodding too. “Great!” He turned me around then and I nearly fell over to his abrupt moves. He put his hands to go to my waist and swiftly removed my singlet, as I had put my hands up without even thinking. This was bad… Taking me into his embrace, he again licked me on my neck and I moaned into his shoulder. “Is that a yes? Are you agreeing to become complete and official mates? My precious mate?” Oh man! One of his hands had taken in one of my butt cheeks and his other hand was holding my head, making me move my neck more opened for him. This was… I had never felt so happy and sad at the same time! Owen would not… “Ethan!” Not sure how to act, I move my head instead and closed his lips with mine… I don’t think I was ready for such a huge change…   I ravished his mouth, using my tongue to taste his sweetness. Wow, he tasted really good! He took over after a while, as I heard a growl and felt his hands pushing me further into him. Getting carried away, I moaned when he kissed the side of my mouth and down my neck…Down to my nipples, and sucked… Putting my hands through his black, short hair, I arched back and found myself more in his embrace, as he picked me up. When I looked down at him, his eyes were black, and he kissed my belly button…So, the sudden drop upon the bed had slightly scared me. This man, he was like magic! With another shock, he put my hardened core inside his mouth and I groaned so loudly that I was embarrassed! Never had anyone done this to me before! I had asked the Queen, but… Ohmigod! His tongue…His hand…Oh shit! “Dam…Damien!” He stopped, and I let out a few rough breaths… Why did he stop! “What do you want? Tell me?” I let out a sob and pointed…My hardened core was ready to explode, I wanted to reach the climax, I wanted him to continue! Losing all my energy, I fell back into the bed and put my hands over my face… I didn’t have the courage to demand him to continue…How sad!   “You want more?” I just nodded my head, glad that he had asked. “Let me mark you.” I sat up a bit and looked at him, then after a few seconds looked down. I didn’t know what to do anymore. I wanted him to mark me desperately! I wished it to the depths of my soul… “…I shouldn’t…If Owen sees that…” He came up to me, from being at my legs, and stared at me, being only millimeters apart. “Owen, does he have some kind of right to interfere with destined mates does he? Is he some God?” I shook my head. “Do you have absolutely no want for me to mark you?” I bit my lips and then put my head down. What a stupid question! I wanted him to mark me right this instant! “Ethan, I know there is a lot to discuss, a lot to change and get used to, but I am willing to try. I’m already there, waiting for you to join me, so that we can be together. Please, don’t make me wait any longer! Please let us live life together. We can share our burdens, I’ll help keep you protected, I’ll make sure no one is going to blame or hurt you! Please, my precious Ethan, accept me.” He put a hand to my face and his forehead was against mine. I heard the desperation in his voice, and the plea…He really did want to do this, and I knew, that it wasn’t going to be an easy road to take. “You’ll regret it.” “No, I won’t.” “You end up hating me.” “Never.” “You’ll…” I was interrupted by a voice at the door, “Your Majesty, I have come with food, no doubt you are hungry.”   “Ignore the old man.” I looked up at Damien and he sighed, tossing my boxer shorts off the edge of the bed. Oh…When did he take those off? Ah… Giving him a glare, he then stopped me again by putting his body over mine, “Now can I mark you, sweetheart?” I really started to panic… “What…You.” “I what?” “What…What if you are lying!?” I didn’t really harbor doubts in him, but…If he marks me… Putting a hand to my head, I thought of Chance, “What if you want to take the throne for yourself or for your…Pups…” Oh god, I can’t believe I just said that! “Mmm, does my mate want my pups already?” I wanted to nod. My wolf was nodding, my body was nodding… Dammit! “How…How can I trust you?” “Sweetheart, I’m yours, just like you are mine. If I ‘stole the throne’ off you…Wouldn’t I be stealing from myself!? Don’t be silly!” I glared at him! I was serious! “Okay, I will make a blood pack then! Anything for my precious mate!” He was so quick that I was unable to stop him! He pulled back and immediately cut his wrists, “Quick, accept this, before it heals.” He put his hand to my mouth and I had already taken a drop of his blood, before I pulled away and winced at his cut. Pulling his hand down, I put the bed sheet over it, to help stop the bleeding. “As you see, Sweetheart, I am ready for anything!” He then leaned over and kissed me, while I was still putting pressure onto his wound.

(Ethan’s POV)   How was he able to just… I couldn’t believe how quickly and happily he went along with what I had said! “I will not take the throne, I will not selfishly put my…Pups, onto the throne…Ok?” I opened my eyes and stared at him, thinking…Thinking that this must be a dream. It was so perfect! Then, after thinking that, I never wanted to wake up! If I woke up, will I still be just a King with a chosen mate and had never met my destined mate? Putting my free hand to his face, I gently kissed him, and he lowered himself onto me, making me lay back down and we kissed for…Well, god knows how long! I was so smitten that I didn’t stop him when he put his tongue in my mouth. His taste flowing through me, his touch… I didn’t stop him when he put himself in between my legs and started to kiss down to my neck. Ok… I kissed the side of his face and just as I was about to let him know that I was ready, another knock sounded at the door. “Your Majesty, I believe you and I should talk more about this before you make a decision!” “That old man!” Damien left me suddenly and I took a moment before I became worried as he might actually cause a fight! Sitting up in a rush, I see Damien walk into the bathroom, and turn back to me, “I’m having a shower! Tell him I’m going to put my scent all over this place!” Then he slammed the door!   He had looked so cute with his words and slamming the door, that I let out a giggle. Ah, I know it hasn’t been long, but I really liked this guy, he was great! “Your Majesty.” I looked to the door, which had been opened, and I narrowed my eyes at Owen. “Do you not know what personal space stands for, Owen?” “Not when it comes to you, my King.” I widened my eyes at him and looked away, “Damien said that…”“I heard Your Majesty…He was going to put his scent all over this place!” Seeing Owen mad, made me happier…It looked like Damien was going to put this man in his place. I was never going to do it, but I did know that…He was supposed to be a servant, a friend, a brotherly figure, even a father figure, but he has always been closer to that of a boss, rather than any of those… “Indeed.” “You…Have you forgotten, or am I to repeat things to you?” “I haven’t forgotten, but it seems he has figured out a few things…Beta Owen.” “…Beta Owen?” I took the drink off the tray in front of me and had a sip, I really was thirsty and hungry! The food looked really good! Diving right into the food, I closed my eyes to the taste… “If it is the case, then how would you explain it to others? If it is found out, that you are in fact an Omega…” “Then perhaps the Sollace family is finished and will no longer rule the Shifters.” When did I get so much courage!?   Before I could celebrate though, my food was then smashed to the floor. “Impudent! You are an Omega! The best idea is to keep it from becoming known and wait until Chance becomes of age to take the throne! You are being ridiculous!” “Me!? Don’t you think it’s about time we stop this lying! Even if I was an Omega and the packs accepted that, they might not accept the fact that we lied all these years! Did you even think of that, old man! If they don’t accept it, what am I to do!? I had been forced to become this way, yet you still think we should keep this lie until the end!? No! I don’t want Damien to leave, we will become destined mates known to the Shifters and if I have to regain loyalty, I’ll do it!” “You are such a child!” “No, I just don’t like living this way! Now that I have my mate, I want to live a better life!” “You will die to Shifters, are you forgetting the Elementalist’s!? They are our enemies, don’t make anymore!” I bit my lip and lost it…My courage was now gone… I was scared of the Elementalist’s…I didn’t need to be reminded that they were a threat to me…Us… Even Chance…My…Future pups… How would they survive!? …He was right… Right now, we could not let it become known…I will not be able to say that I was an Omega, nor that of wanting to publicly announce that Damien was my destined mate… To be together with him, wasn’t I sentencing not only him, but our pups, to death!? Was I a complete fool!?   All at once, not only did I remember why I don’t deserve Damien, my mate, but I continued to feel inferior. …It was such a good dream… Sadness rolled through me like a ton of bricks… “So, you understand?” Not having the courage to nod, because I desperately wanted Damien in my life, I instead got out of bed and put on some clothes… I couldn’t handle this… Leaving the room, I charged down the stairs and directly went to where I could run with my wolf. Neither of us where happy… My wolf didn’t want to bring death to our family, just like myself. Although I felt like the world was at an end, my wolf did get over it rather quickly and stated that we just have to be strong enough, so that our family won’t die! …His faith in us was scary!   Before even getting to the end of the hallway, I shifted into my wolf and charged out of the palace. I needed space…I needed…To… I didn’t even know what I needed to do! Running, I tried not to think of anything! I just ran, ran and ran… What do I do? What do I do!? My mate had made an oath, a blood oath! With a promise and some of his blood, he can never go back on his word! And…He’d so easily done it! Within a minute, the seal was created, and his blood connected with mine! He had called me ‘sweetheart’ and had accepted me as an Omega King, giving me hope that others could too. He said that nothing was going to get in the way, that he was ready! It was completely obvious that he meant it, he was so ready that I would have been marked right now, if it wasn’t for Owen! It really was so romantic! So brilliantly beautiful to me that I felt my heart overflowing! Never really feeling special, Damien’s actions and words gave me strength, they made me feel that the world was amazing…That life was worth living and happiness was in my grasp! Slowing down, then stopping, I panted and found myself really woozy. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that I was utterly exhausted. I had very little sleep and food in the last 48 hours…   Falling to the ground, I then let out a massive sigh and closed my eyes. Thinking about what would happen if Damien and I did what we wanted, I was worried. Chance might not feel loved if he saw that his father was with another and even having his pups…He might even eventually hate me for doing this to his mother…Dam, what would even happen to the Queen then!? Shifters…They will know that I lied, that all this time, I was an Omega… I had already hated the fact that I as an Omega was kept secret all this time, but now, I wished we had been upfront about it from the start. I wished that I had thought of this earlier and made it public, but I… As much as I wanted to state it was all Owen’s fault, because I was just a small kid placed into a position with many worries, I still felt like I was at fault too. As soon as I knew that I was holding such a secret, I should have said or done something… …Then…Another thing does worry me. How much time could Damien and I even spend together anyway!? I was a King with many problems…He was an Alpha of a pack…We could be on opposite sides of the continent! …Hadn’t I always known that life wasn’t fair? Why was everything so problematic though!? Why can’t I just… Putting a paw over my face, I just stayed there and tried to calm down. Trying not to think of the happiness I may loss, or the happiness I may never obtain. Instead, I thought of all the sadness I continued to get and all the sadness in the present and, possibly, the close future…     (Damien’s POV)   “Alpha Rendall.” Already, I hated that voice! Man, I can’t even get dressed before I’m ambushed by this old fart! “Beta Owen, tell me about these…Elementals?” Seeing the old guy smirk at me, I narrowed my eyes at him. He was picking up a few things from the floor, from having knocked over the food earlier, and said, “I will not tell you anything, ‘Alpha Rendall’!” “I will find out, I would much prefer, though, to not make my mate upset and ask him, so you can tell me!” “You are mistaken if you think I will tell you of such things!” Growling, I then angrily said, “Are you psychotic? Why would you make it harder for me to protect my mate, when he is your King!?” “He is my King, but you are nothing to me.” I really didn’t like how he had talked to my mate just now, I didn’t like it that much that I couldn’t concentrate in the shower! And…I completely hated the fact that this old man was being nasty to me! Hexxah was ready to shift and to make him kneel! The Alpha in me was completely vexed! This ‘Beta’ of the King, was…Questionable! Even more so now, that he was not accepting me in the slightest! I knew it wouldn’t be an easy road for us, but what my precious mate Ethan had said, was right, the lies should stop, and loyalty could be regain! Hell, maybe some of them knew already that Ethan was an Omega! So, why was this old fool wanting to continue to lie so much!?   “I think your stay here at the palace has come to an end, Alpha Rendall.” “Oh, has it really?” I walked over to the closet, in only a towel, and didn’t spare much of a glance at the old man. Honestly, it was taking a lot out of me not to kill the bastard! “Here I thought you knew our King, you don’t look worried at all. Do you really think that what I have said to him isn’t enough for him to stop any relationship with you?” I turned around and eyed him, whom continues to overstep his boundaries and look overly confident, “Do you even have a mate, ‘Beta Owen’?” He went silent to my question and I smirked, he was definitely hiding something! I continued to browse through my mates’ clothes, getting annoyed at only finding ‘royal’ types of formal clothing…Finally though, I found something that could fit me in a small draw. Fiddling through the clothes, I hear him stand and then say more crap to me, “Who are you to question? Perhaps I should question if you are really the destined mate of my King! It wouldn’t be the first time that someone had tried to claim themselves to be his destined mate!” I, again, turned to him and put on the shirt I picked, “Then perhaps you are the one that doesn’t know the King!” I was angry at that last statement, so I had said that quite harshly…I didn’t like the idea of others having their eye on my precious mate! Putting on some jeans…That were really tight, I then took them off, to find another pair. “You are in over your head in this, Alpha Rendall, and you look completely idiotic!” “I beg to differ…Instead…If there’s someone to question…” I turned to him, taking the towel off me, now that I found some jeans that fit me to wear, “You are the one that is questionable!”

(Ethan’s POV)   I felt so good, like I was in some alternate universe, where my ultimate love loved me back! Where my mate wanted me…He wants me! Our wolves were completely satisfied, bonding their own ways and Damien and I were able to bond ours as well. This world was amazing and happy. Where I wasn’t a King and that it didn’t matter that I was an Omega…That I had no chosen mate…It was just us, perhaps even just the two of us in the whole entire world! …Nothing else matters… Letting out a moan, to having a slight sense of satisfaction, I lifted myself and guided what I was wanking before to go directly inside of me. This is what I wanted, why hopelessly wait for it? …But…I didn’t think that it would hurt me, but I stopped when it did, feeling him breath out deeply and put his hands on my waist. It seemed so real, as the tingles crept over my skin and my heat escalated, wanting to fulfil what I had started. I felt myself start to lose what I wanted, like he was taking me off him, and I pushed down, letting out a yell to the pain, as I landed on his lap. It really did hurt…It hurt so much! But…I couldn’t control it! I didn’t want to go backwards, I wanted to go forwards!   “Dammit!” Putting my legs around him, so that he couldn’t do that again, I felt his hands try to continue to remove me from him. “No…” I state in a whisper… I was pouting…Why was my dream making me do something I don’t want to do!? “I will not go any further with you!” “This is a dream, you will satisfy me!” “Oh, just because you are the King?” “I don’t want to be King right now, I want to be your lover, your mate, your partner, your everything!” I tried to not slur my words, but I’m sure they came out a bit funny. …It was now that it starting to dawn upon me, that maybe…I wasn’t dreaming…Especially since I was still in a bit of pain for forcing him inside of me like that! Oh, it still hurt like crazy, but…I don’t want him to leave me! I took his head and rushed to silence his lips with my own, then I moved myself on top of him. Please, I silently pleaded him…Please! Both of us moaned in our kiss and I felt more comfortable. I felt completely sedated now, feeling himself twitch and hard as a rock inside me. I felt like I had been reborn, that my life was great…That everything was fabulas! I’ve never had a dream where I was on heat before…But, I never wanted it to end! Moving more, I let out another moan to the most fulfilling and completed feeling I’d ever felt in my life. The wetness from my heat helped but I was completely sure that I was happily making my own wetness due to feeling extremely gratified and happy!   Claiming his lips, it wasn’t long before I felt myself unable to concentrate enough, so I stopped and slid myself over his lap once again, lifting only slightly because I felt weak, but I started to feel an incomplete feeling overwhelm me…Even though it felt a hundred percent better then before, now I want more, I wanted him deeper inside of me! I wanted the climax as I know for sure will be a never forgetting experience. Something that will rock my world over all the other times I had finished. Breathing out hurriedly, to moving on top of him and feeling him inside me, I was lost to the amazing feeling, knowing that it wouldn’t be much longer before I would release. And dam, I wanted to release so badly! …That time with the Queen, when I had been on heat, this was so much better. So much… It was like he fit perfectly, making me feel my insides everywhere around his hardened core. My heat seemed to have calmed down, not making me hotter, yet not disappearing and it made me feel even more better, relieved, yet also unrelieved until I completed our lovemaking session. It really made a lot of sense to me then, that my heat was completely directed at him, my mate. That it was my body calling to be bonded, telling both of us that we should mate…That I was only made for him and him alone. Yet, with the way we were, he wasn’t inside of me enough! I wanted more…Needing more… I let out a little sob and put my hands to his legs, moving myself again, feeling him go a little deeper inside of me. “You little wanton!” He took me off him then and sat me back down on his lap, making me cry out to the dissatisfaction! I felt like I broke in half! Something wasn’t right! “Come on, I’ll finish you off in the shower. Can you stand?” Pouting, I then splashed the water, as he got out, giving me no chance to get any kind of urge fulfilled… This was more of a nightmare! I can’t kiss him, I can’t take him inside me, I can’t talk to him… Rubbing my eyes, I felt tiredness sweep over me and I already wanted to lose myself to it once again. But…My mate…Is here… Trying to keep awake, I found it quite hard and didn’t move because of it.   …I felt myself go into the shower, feeling cold water go over my skin and I shivered. “That’s better. Here, wash yourself.” I looked at the washer in a daze and then rubbed my eyes again… Standing still and remembering what had happened prior to coming here, I felt my breathing get stronger and I suddenly lost control of my legs, making me fall to the floor. “Hey! What’s with you!” “I nearly got buried alive!” In the next second, I was in his embrace, both of us under the shower. He held me tight and I hugged him back. I had been so scared! After running, I had lost the two guards, but Owen had been second out of the pit, telling me to run in another way and that I had a choice…I could send him back to the palace, to keep my son safe, or I could continue to follow him as we would go directly to the closest pack…Were we could both potentially lose our lives… For the first time in a long time, I knew he would stay with me, but… I told him to go…That I will run to the end and tell him everything as soon as I could…That I was going to do the best that I could to survive… The Elementalist kept chasing after me and twice I had fallen into a small empty, dirt spot and I had quickly rushed to get out of it, seeing again that dirt was filling up the hole that I fell into…It was lucky that the pits weren’t as big as the first one, because if they had been, I wouldn’t have had any hope! Luckily, by the third pit, it was smaller, and I just jumped out once again and continued to run! “Your Majesty.” Looking up, to see the man that invaded my thoughts often, I finally noticed that this isn’t a dream, or a nightmare…This was real! “Damien…”   “Are you ok?” I put my hair out of my eyes and turned away from him, wanting the water to go over my face. I nodded my head, not sure how to continue. He was naked and… Before I knew it, his hands took over and wiped me down, getting any excess dirt of me, while I stood there in a daze… …This man…He had fought off my heat last time…Just as he’s doing now… I desperately wanted to know how he did it, because…All I felt, was an urge to fulfill! And the one that could do it the best, was him! I was sure, because of the pain, that we had been at one just before…But obviously we had not finished… Stepping against the wall, feeling the cool tiles against me, I sighed to feeling a tiny bit better. “Here. It’s the least I can do.” Feeling his hand around my hardened core, I was shocked and looked directly at his eyes. He tightened his hand and wanked me a little harder, making me close my eyes and bite my lips. Even though it wasn’t the particular urge that I wanted to fulfill, it still felt pretty dam good! No…It felt great! I don’t know how he can sedate me though, just like last time, I wanted to ravage him, yet I was able to produce a few thoughts and act more human, instead of that of a wild beast… Unable to stop myself, I thought of touching his own thick and hard bulge. With him touching me and I him, before I knew it I exploded out, making me hit the tiles with my other clenched hand and let out a loud breath. It was embarrassing enough, so I held in the urge to groan or yell…But, that was the best I could do! Hell, my legs were shaking and just about ready to give out! Feeling his hand continue, I shuddered and was unable to stop a moan from escaping. Taking in deep breaths, I tried to calm down but…That…Was so good! With his hand around my shaft, I had the tingle’s seep into the skin and made my release so different to any other…So different that I did feel a small type of satisfaction, that I had negated my heat a bit, making me feel a bit of relief... “Mmm.”   Opening my eyes to the man wanking me off, I tried to glare at him, but was still lost to the sensation his hand was giving me. If my heat is somehow given relief, it won’t last as long, so, all I could hope for, is that he doing this for me, gets rid of feeling of being so embarrassed and weak. I had wanted him to know that I will hold him most dear in my heart, but there was no way I could say that to him now! Both times we had met… Now, flashing memories of him kissing me and even the very short time that he was inside me, made me rock hard again and I let out a groan to my own pictured desires inside my mind. “Are you thinking of your Queen?” “…No, I was thinking of you. Kissing, touching, you…Inside of me.” Opening my eyes, I stared at him in desire. I felt like he probably won’t believe me, but I wasn’t going to lie to him. I wanted him to know… “You are thinking of me and you go this hard?” I nod, moving my hand over his hard cock and gently start to wank it. It was thick, no wonder it had hurt me…Now that I thought about it, it was still painful, and I was surprised it hadn’t woken me up! Instead, if my memory is true, I had insisted on continuing! He moved before me and put his forehead against mine, continuing to wank me as I wanked him. I wished for more, but…It’s obvious that he doesn’t want that… It hurt to know that he had been able to lift me off him earlier…He mustn’t want me very much at all… In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he harbored hatred towards me, as that would be enough to be able to stop himself from going further.   It was really unfair, that even though I had these thoughts of him hating me, I couldn’t help but feeling his hand and still wanting him in return. I remembered the feel of him inside me and how great it had felt, how perfectly he had fit… Feeling myself nearly ready to release once again, I found the shower suddenly turn off… Looking at him, his eyes were nearly completely black! In the next second, I was then picked up and put over his shoulder, while he nearly broke down the door, to exit the bathroom. Seeing another room, suddenly wondering where I was, I then fell onto a bed and found his black eyes, this desire filled man on top of me. “Are you saying that you want me, my mate?” He was asking me this, yet, on how serious he was, I wasn’t sure. “…I wrote a letter to express myself to you…” …I didn’t know what else to say… He growled at me, “Is it that you want my dick or me!?” Feeling his finger go inside my wet, hot hole, I let out a small yell. He went to my neck and whispered then, “It’s my dick isn’t it. It’s only because you are in heat!” In the next second, he pulled his finger out, making me flinch and shudder. Then, he continued to whisper in sneers, “You even have a little boy with that woman of yours. The only use for me, would be to fulfil your heat for you, perhaps even get you pregnant, uh?” Moving slowly away from him and narrowing my eyes to his words, I glared at him and said, “Don’t bring Chance into this! And if your being like this, then just go! Leave me alone!” He surprised me by getting off from on top of me then and left, without another word.

(Damien’s POV)   With Simon already there at The History Pack, waiting for me now, I rushed towards the barrier and stated my arrival directly to their Alpha and they let me in. I was surprised that I wasn’t the only one that had come to check on His Majesty the King, as someone for The Watcher’s Pack staggered in as well, having came as a wolf and had to get clothes to change into, just like myself. “Send that to Owen…I mean…” Walking into the room, I smelt that beautiful smell of vanilla mixed with lavender but frowned upon His Majesty’s look. He had dirt all over him and seemed completely exhausted. He was…Completely dishevelled… His hair was a mess, dirt running in it everywhere. Even though it was short, and I already knew about it being brown, but it didn’t look that way at the moment. His eyes had black underneath them, stating the obvious fact that he was tired beyond belief and even his ears…How can he not get rid of the dirt in his ears? Was he that tired? I watched him rub his face and eyes, then put his head to the desk in front of him. “Your Majesty, we are not aware of where Beta Owen may be.” “Palace…” His voice could hardly be heard, even with our wolf ears, and just moments later, it looked like he’d fallen asleep. “You hear that, send this to the palace. If Owen is there, give it to him directly, otherwise, give it to the Queen or the guard in charge…No one else!” It would be simple for this note to be personally given to someone, due to having the King’s blood upon it as a seal, which made me realize how important that note is… I didn’t take my eyes of my mate, while I heard The History Pack’s Alpha make these orders. Walking in, I finally looked away, to the other Alpha, and simply stated, “I will help guard him, where can he sleep?” The other Alpha looked at me with incredulous eyes and I had no idea what he was thinking…Right now, all I wanted to do was clean my mate and put him into bed, then watch over him. …While I was here, there was no way harm would come to him, not before I got into the line of fire first! Hexxah completely agreed with me straight away…That we wouldn’t let anything happen to him…   Picking up my mate, already feeling better with him in my arms, I looked at the Alpha in expectation. “Right, come this way.” Just like me, I was sure that The History Pack was expecting the King at some stage and probably has a room prepared already. Tightening my hold over my mate, I tried not to walk to harshly, so that he could continue to sleep. Hexxah was completely satisfied now, having been as stressed out as I was, and both of us breathed out a breath, sucking in the sweet scent of our mate afterwards… He was so dirty, like dirt had tried to swallow him whole! He had dirt in all his nails and hair, yet, how could that be? Who would want to try and bury… Scared with the thought, I tried not to think further…I dearly wished that it wasn’t something like that! Looking down upon my sleeping mate, who was naked within my grasp, I desperately wanted to make him all clean again! If not because he looks more gorgeous cleaner, but to also shake my scary assumption on why he was like this in the first place…   “Here, we had arranged this for his stay for tomorrow, he was currently on his way here.” I nodded and then went straight towards the bed and put my mate down. “Get new bed sheets and put them near the door, I’ll clean him and put him to bed. Get at least two guards at the door and one to each of the windows here. I’ll get my pack to move up closer to help, setting them outside the boundary, is that permittable?” The other Alpha coughed and narrowed his eyes at me, “And can we trust you in return? You are the only one in here with the King!” I straightened up and narrowed my eyes back at him, not saying a word as my aura leaked out towards him. “I will do as you say, putting my faith in you and your pack, we will confer straight to His Majesty if there are any troubles!” He wasn’t as strong as me, yet he still threatened using the King against me…I wanted to growl to his idiocy! He had become an Alpha through title, not born one, there was a difference! Not only that…But I would never harm the King…He…Was my mate… Without further ado, I was then left alone with my mate.   Having already picked up upon his temperature rising, I picked him up once again and decided to barricade ourselves in the bathroom. Putting my mate gently into the spacious bathtub, I then grabbed a towel and put it into the crack on the bottom of the door and used another towel to do the same to the top and the side. Feeling a tiny bit better and perplexed at the same time, I finally turned to my dirty mate. A strange sense of satisfaction rose within me, when I felt like I was the only one able to help him at the moment! I wanted power over him, I wanted… Trying not to get carried away, I took off my own clothes and then gently tried to fill the bath, without making the water touch my mate if it was too cold or too hot. It wasn’t very easy… Finally, with the water going up to our chests and my mate in front of me, I started to really wash him. The water was already changing colour, but I hadn’t really done anything! Picking up one hand, I used a protruding claw to clean his nails and then I wiped down his neck, feeling the water…Slowly get hotter… That intoxicating smell went through my nostrils so severely that the hard on that I could never forget, came back! …Dammit…   Without caring now to keep my mate asleep, I emptied the water and blasted cold water once again to fill up the tub. Seeing that he hardly moved, just lightly flinched, I really wondered what he had gone through to be so out of it. It really worried me too, if I hadn’t been here…It would have been pretty obvious to those around us that he was an Omega…The King becoming known to be an Omega…I really don’t know how that would go down… Not only that…But some other person would be here, doing what I’m doing now and even just the thought of it made me angry! Breathing out a sigh of relief, I cleaned his other hand, like I did the first and became curious to the strange thing attached to his wrist…Was it ok that it was getting wet? What was it? Unable to know for sure, I did what I thought was best and removed the strange attachment, just in case it would stop working if it got more wet… Then, I started to clean his hair, feeling very uncomfortable… This wasn’t even fair now! He didn’t even know how much I wanted him! …He was sleeping like a baby! Pulling a bit on his hair, slightly wanting him to wake up, I stopped… Actually, wouldn’t I be better if he slept!? Remembering him on heat last time, he had made it so completely obvious that he had wanted me…If he were to do that… Again, I let out a frustrating sigh and finished his hair and turned off the water. For the first time ever in my life, I started to really get fascinated with another Shifter. His hair was soft, his eyelashes were long, his nose was a tiny bit big, but it did help him look male. His lips… Without thinking too much, I moved, and I moved him, so that he was now on my lap and we were in the middle of the spacious bathtub. Now, I could take a better look… His neck was completely clean now, with no mark… Putting a finger to where my wolf desired to mark him, I had to fight the urge to do just that! With his head, resting on top of mine, I could now clearly see his two perks once again…Just as I remembered them. Touching them, I felt the sparks in between us and heard him utter the tiniest noise… Moving my hands down to his waist, I then looked down at his slightly hardened core and with no reservations, put my hand around it… I agreed with my wolf at this moment and that’s why I didn’t stop myself…He was mine!   As soon as I touched him there, I felt him put his hands around my neck and I put him a better position on top of me, so that now he had his head into my neck. The water, that used to be cold, was now warm… Moving my hand up and down, I felt him start to harden some more and now heard him let out a real, audible moan. I had heard many sounds so far in my life, but by far, his moan was my favourite…It not only sounded nice but did amazing things to me that I never thought could be done! And I was the one that made him do it! …I wanted more! Pushing him with my other hand towards me, I felt him move his head looking up, then looking to me through half opened eyes… Not knowing what to say, I say nothing. I don’t have any regrets. I know what I was doing, and I know I wanted to do it! …I just can’t get too carried away… “Damien…I must be dreaming…” I smiled at him, he seemed a bit out of it, so I decided to go along with it, “Is it a good dream?” He put his head against me again and nodded, making me smile once again. “It’s a very good dream.” Rubbing his hardened core, I heard him moan again and I got his hand to touch me as well. It all seemed so unfair! I was in heaven and hell all at the same time! I loved how we were able to go this far, even though he thought he was dreaming, but realistically, he might despise me for this! With the thought of him despising me, it hurt me, and pain shot to my heart…I’ve never been so conflicted before in my life! As he touched me, I tightened my hold onto him, trying not to let the sparks and how damned good it felt get to me…But, my god, it was so damned…Hard!   That head of his moved and I looked at him. I don’t know what I should be thinking anymore. I know I shouldn’t touch him, and that he shouldn’t touch me. But…Right now, just like he thinks, I wanted this to be a dream too! If it was a dream, then it didn’t matter. There were no consequences…He wanted me, I saw it! How could I pass it up? In any time in the future, will this happen again were we are this close? Oh, how I wanted this to be a dream! Taking his mouth with mine, he tightened his arms around my neck and kissed me back. Just kissing him, just like before, I was already a goner! He showed me just what I was thinking…That he wanted me, just as much as I wanted him! Demanding to enter into his mouth, I felt him move slightly closer to me and I pushed him into me as well… This time, when his smell went into me, I did not let myself think. Right now, we were just kissing and touching…It wasn’t like I still couldn’t stop if I had too…And to be honest that thought upset both Hexxah and I…The thought of stopping…If we stopped, when will we be able to touch him again? When could we fill ourselves up with his touch, smell and the amazing feelings? The water got hotter and hotter, his smell got more concentrated and I felt completely addicted! His body was soft, his taste was perfect…I was even proud that his dick wasn’t small! I wouldn’t say it was large either, but I was proud nonetheless! When he kissed me and moves his hand over my hardened core at the same time, I couldn’t help but let out a groan in pleasure. Those times with others was nothing, nothing compared to this! And this was only touching! Wouldn’t it be even better being inside of my mate? Feeling him all around me…God dam! Fuck… Putting a finger to the wet, hot opening, my hard on just went into iron! God dammit, I wanted him! I wanted him so much! Never…Did I want anything else so fucking desperately!

(Damien’s POV)   Honestly, I found it absolutely strange… How could I, a full-blooded Alpha, protective as hell and jealous as fuck, get along with the woman across from me? It was strange and I didn’t understand it whatsoever! I knew that they had laid together, naked and touching. I knew they had simply because of Chance, but for some reason, I felt like there was nothing between them. Looking at my precious mate and back at the Queen, it was a brotherly, sisterly type relationship and that was clearly where it ended. Even before, when we had gone to her room, I knew I had over exaggerated when I spoke of him as mine. There was clearly…Nothing there between them! I felt strangely upset because of this because I knew how perfect my mate was and felt like he hadn’t been treated right, but on the other hand I felt extremely happy because if I had to fight her over him, I’d do it! But…I had no need to, so it didn’t matter! Actually, it made me feel good that I was Ethan’s first with a few things and I honestly doubted that I had to do anything extra with these two…They were friends and I was even considering being her friend as well! Strange!   Upon seeing my Ethan having seen Alpha Monk exiting the palace earlier and the way he had talked to him, I was really proud of how he handled the situation. Even if he had let out that he was doubting Owen right upfront to Alpha Monk, I would have protected him! I don’t know what it is but seeing him act as a King…Really turned me on! When he was my Omega, he was cute and fluffy. I wanted to tease him and stroke him…When he was the King, I wanted to demand his attention and do a trick to make him laugh. Thinking about it now, I honestly felt like Ethan was like two people that were mine and would keep me entertained for an eternity! It made me feel giddy to my bones! I was worried that if I walked beside him when Owen was there, I would take him into my embrace and start undressing him right there! Oh man! I never knew how hard it was when you had a mate. How hard it was to not take them whenever you want. How hard it was to stop once you’ve started! How hard it was to remember when people were around! It was a grumbling problem, really!   But, now that we had Alpha Monk on our side, I felt better. The Surveillance Pack will help now in looking after my King, as these, Elementals…Oh, Elementalist’s, are something we shouldn’t be broken apart for. We needed everyone on our side, so that no more people die, even if it was just the royal line perishing…But every wolf has a destined mate and that destined mate has loved ones, we are all connected, so, it’ll be more trouble! We must come together and unite! So, I’ve decided that my pack is dividing itself and half of it is going to help protect the King, while he is out of the palace, and the other half will continue to do as normal with my Beta for now. Knowing that Owen was already planning for my precious mate to go out and search for weaknesses with the Elementalist’s, I was all but convinced that he was someone we had to take care of right now! We should kill him, even though there’s consequences for it, I hated that he was using my mate! It was going to be hard not to act whenever I see him, in which gave me another reason to stay further back from Ethan whenever that old, sly fox was around. My precious mate needed to see with his own eyes, the deviousness of Owen, so that when it came to finding evidence, he would be ready to place that bastard in a silver cell, or better yet, get his head chopped off!   Tightening my hand over my precious mates, I stared at him for a while. I know I might look like a pervert right now, or some stalker, but I didn’t care. He was really beautiful, and I was not going to let anything happen to him… He turned his hand in mine and tightened his hold too, only making me feel like mush again. He does it to me all the time! The power my little Omega has is really something! “…Maybe tomorrow. Who knows?” I looked at the Queen, not sure on what they were talking about. “Then I’ll let the maid know.” “What are you talking about?” I couldn’t wait any longer to find out. “I’m going to sleep in Chance’s room tonight. When I leave the palace…” I watched as Ethan stopped and then after a moment started again, “I don’t know when I’ll be returning, so I’ll spend time with him…While I can…” Bringing up his hand towards my mouth, I kissed it, “We’ll be coming back, don’t worry.” Oh good, I made him smile! Don’t worry Sweetheart, we’ll come back, I promise!   “Oh, what, your too tired to eat uh? Come on…” The Queen had gotten up and picked up Chance from the highchair, then turned to us, “He’s going to bed soon.” I saw the quick motion of my precious mate as he put out his hands, then quickly wiped them clean and put them out again, getting out of his chair…So cute! I had let him go, easily knowing that he wanted cuddles, while the little one was still awake. Getting up myself, after wiping my hands, I walked around and came beside my mate. I had only seen him holding Chance once before, but it was a really nice sight. Leaning in to brush myself on the little one, who was tiredly putting his head on my mates’ shoulder, I chuckled when he moved to put his head on the other side. He wasn’t used to my scent yet, but I wasn’t going to push it. Instead, I put my arm around my mate and kissed his forehead as he continued to sing some song. Ah…Giddy…   I know we had not once used protection yet, when we made love… I knew protection could be used and was out there, but many of us don’t bother with it. It was actually uncommon for a shifter to use protection, as most of the time it didn’t matter. If one has sex with someone that isn’t our destined mate, there is a very low chance of pregnancy. On top of that, even mates could have problems conceiving pups sometimes. With Ethan as an Omega, and as a male, I wasn’t as up to date with the information, but considering that he goes into heat, I was sure that we’d have no problem with pups! We had vaguely talking about pups, but it seemed obvious that he was probably looking forward to it just as much as I was! Both of us also knew the implications towards it though, so whether we were worried or too excited, we had already stated that if Ethan was on heat, we were going to use protection then. The chances are considerably higher to conceive, when one is on heat, and knowing about the Elementalist’s out there and that Ethan was still going outside of the palace, we were just going to leave the potential of a pup to chance for now. If we conceive a pup in the meantime, I will only become more protective, I know it! But…I guess it still might be a while before we find out, having only been together for a few days…   “Give him back!” “No!” “Ethan! He’ll fall asleep and I’ll have to wake him again before I put him in the bath!” The Queen stated firmly, crossing her hands together in front of her. “I don’t want too!” Ethan said stubbornly…Ah, my precious mate, do you know how yummy you look right now! Putting my forehead on Ethan’s bare shoulder, I hid a smile…He was so cute when he acted like this that it made me want to act like a kid too! The Queen came to us then, looking angry and gently took Chance away from my mate. She was right though, the poor kid was practically asleep already! “Hey, hey, come on, I can put you to bed when you’ve had a bath.” The Queen just walked away then, talking to Chance by herself and I went in front of Ethan and put my hands around him, holding his butt cheeks… “Hey!” “Mmm.”   Leaning in, I kissed him, then kissed him again. Ah, there it is! He put his hands around my head and pushed me onto his lips. Ah, I don’t know what it was, but once I started something, he seemed to like to continue it! Within just a few moments, I pushed his bum towards me, straight into my desire, that was hardening up for him. “Your insatiable!” I heard him mumble. I let out a laugh and moved my head to his neck, licking my mark. There he goes! He buckled against me and I lifted him up to have him in my arms. “Let’s go to bed!” I said, pretty damned happy at the moment! Even though he sighed, probably because I’ve taken him so many times already, he snuggled up to me and even kissed his own mark on me… Geez… I decided to run, and even then, I wouldn’t get to the bedroom quickly enough! He was probably right…That I was insatiable! I don’t think I’d even get enough of my precious mate!     (Ethan’s POV)   I have been laying here now for a while, unable to sleep. Chance was close to me, but I didn’t take him into my arms because he was already asleep when I came here, and I didn’t want to wake him up. Behind me though, was Damien, hugging me tight and breathing his air onto my neck… How could I seriously sleep!? I was pretty tired, but with him behind me, blowing as he was, it was starting to get harder and harder not to push him away, just so I could sleep! I came here for Chance, yet, I haven’t been able to be here properly because of Damien… I sighed, moving my head a bit, trying to get comfortable. The most important people in my life were right here… Since I moved my head, Damien’s breath instead went to my back and I found that I was finally able to fall asleep…     Feeling something go up one of my nostrils, I backed away and swatted whatever it was, hearing a bang… Blinking, I finally saw Chance sitting there laughing and I turned to where the noise was, finding Damien on the floor…Oops… “What was that for!?” Damien puffed out, putting a hand to his head. “Chance…” I looked at Chance and he let out small giggles, so I said, “It’s a secret…” I wasn’t about to tell him it was his own fault for doing something to me while I was still practically asleep! Besides, it made Chance laugh! So, if he can’t figure it out, that’s his own fault! “…Some secret! I hit my head!” I panicked when hearing that and turned towards him, but after another second, finding no blood, I was back to normal, “Let me see.” He put his head down to me and I kissed where I think he was hurt. “Here!” He pointed in another place, showing a bit of anger, yet at the same time, it made me smile. So, I kissed where he pointed… “Here…” This time his voice held no anger, if anything it was full of expectation… I kissed him near his ear this time, starting to get the idea that he was playing around. “Here.” He’d moved his head now, to look at me with his gorgeous eyes, then pointed to his mouth. Yep, he was playing around! Kissing him briefly on the lips, he pushed me back into him when I tried to pull away.   Taking me by surprise, he pushed his tongue through and swirled it around my own. Even though a minute or two ago, I was asleep, I was completely awake now and getting lost within his kiss and embrace. Like every other time, he tasted so good, and it felt so good! He belonged here, just like I belonged here. We were made for each… His hands snaked to my singlet, ready to take it of, making me pull back…And then remember Chance… Breaking from Damien’s embrace, I see Chance already at the side of the bed and even getting down all by himself. “Sweetheart…” I heard in my ears. I had to take a deep breath in, to try and ignore him, and then I put a finger up, and said, “Shh.” Watching as my boy got off the bed, by going backwards and falling about five center meters, he then walked by holding the bed and then looked up at me, now that he was closer.   I smiled and bent down, so that I was closer to his height, “Come on, Chance, you can do it buddie!” With no further encouragement needed, he walked over to me, with the help of the bed, and like it was something he did every day. I knew he had walked like this earlier, it wasn’t his first time, but to me it was a first! I picked him up and laughed, “Ah, that’s my boy, you did great!” “Is it his first-time walking?” “No, but it’s my first time seeing it.” I answered in happiness. “Has he shifted yet?” Damien asked and I saw him attempt to place some of his scent on Chance, who put his head the other way, looking away from both of us. It seemed it was going to take longer then I thought for Chance to give Damien a chance… Nonetheless, I answered his next question, just as happily, “Yes, and he’s so adorable! Come on Chance, let’s go and shift!” “No! Mum…Mum!” Came Chance’s cute, little baby’s voice.

On the land of Moondrake, where there was life of Shifters, humans and other…Strange things…There was a King of Shifters and in the royal lineage, there had never been a King that was an Omega. On Moondrake, an Omega is the lowest type of Shifter, normally used as servants. They are normally weaker then that of a Beta and Alpha and aren’t looked upon well. Some Omega’s have their destined mates leave them for a chosen mate instead. Some Omega’s don’t even meet their mates at all, because of how their servant lives seclude and lock them away. The Shifters have a certain law, a law that had been enforced for many centuries, and that is…That they are to not be known to the humans. The only way for that law to be overridden, is if a mate was a human, then that human must be taken through a series of tests, to make sure that the Shifters can trust them…   There were three separate continents on Moondrake, the continent that the Shifters inhabited with the humans, was called Sollace. The name Sollace is also the royal lineage’s last name and without asking too much questions, people seem to think that this continent and the royals had started together. Shifters stay clear from the other two continents, only known to inhabit Sollace. For a certain someone, and for the time and place, we meet a new King, a King that has worked very hard to have come as far as he has. But…Not only does he have to worry about keeping the Shifters a secret from the humans…But to also keep a secret…That he is an Omega!

(Ethan’s POV)   After two days, I left the confines of my room and Damien followed close behind me. We hardly spend a moment apart. We took showers together, slept together, eat together and run together. Even now, we were holding hands… He had read the rest of my letter, we also spoke of the Elementalist’s…Even though I hadn’t much to tell him…And well, there was the cuddling and talking of past stories and favorite things in between all the…Erotic… It was about time that something was said, and first off, I should explain to the Queen, as she was right in the middle of things. I needed to tell her that she didn’t have to do anything and that she could stay where she was and who she was, that nothing was to change. Damien and I were able to have at least one conversation throughout this time and this was one thing that we had agreed upon. The Queen will remain the Queen… But…It didn’t go as I planned… As soon as I entered the room to eat lunch, she left…Leaving Owen and us alone. Damien sat down, looking at me but… Feeling bad, I wondered if I should follow her… I know that she knew I had never found my mate…But, why was she acting so strangely? I stood there for a while, trying to figure out what I should do… “As you see, my King, now you will have troubles. I am going to train Chance now.” Owen then left too, making me feel like I ruined lunch. “Ethan, sit. We will talk to the Queen together after lunch, calm down.”   Trusting Damien, I sat down. With him, I was just about ready to tell him that I loved him… With the Queen…I had no words… Damien demanded one of my hands and held it with one of his own…So, I had to eat with one hand, but we still ate in peace. I was thinking every now and again on how to talk to the Queen, but I would always get distracted whenever Damien looked up at me… After we finished, he kissed my mouth, ‘cleaning’ it for me and we made our way to the Queen’s room. I took a deep breath and knocked on her door. There was no answer, so I opened it. “No, I don’t want to talk!” As soon as she saw me, she yelled this at me and turned her back to me. Sighing, I walked up to her, taking Damien with me, as he didn’t let go of my hand. “I know you…” “What, that I’m mad!? Yes! I’m mad!” Putting my head down a bit, I put away the thought of acting ‘King’ and wanted to do this as her friend. “I’m not going to apologize for finding my mate, Eleanor. But I will apologize for not speaking to you about it until now.” “I don’t accept your apology! You know what you did!? Your mark disappeared, do you know how painful that is!?” She turned away from me again and I saw her move her hand to her mouth. I’d completely forgotten about that…   I put my hand to her shoulder, hearing a small growl from Damien, but I ignored him. “Eleanor, I’m sorry to have you go through that pain. I forgot all about it. I…” Again, she interrupted me, “So…I don’t mean anything to you now? Is he your new Queen?” Another growl from Damien, that I had to ignore, and I gave Eleanor a pleading look, “No, Damien is not going to be Queen, because I already have one.” She looked at me in shock. I smiled teasingly at her, “You will remain as Queen, mother of the next King. I will treat you as I did before…” Interrupted with another growl, I quickly added, “Except that we will no longer be intimate.” I watched as she looked from me to Damien, then back to me, “I can stay? I can stay with Chance? He…He will still be your heir?” I nodded happily, “My love for Chance can not just disappear, even if I find my destined mate. Damien here had even made a blood oath to state he will not go for the throne, leaving things as they were before.” She closed her eyes and nodded, “Thank you. I thought you would cast us away. I was already lonely, without a mate, if we were to leave, I was worried we weren’t going to be treated well.” I patted her again, but was pulled back after two pats. Rolling my eyes, I looked at Damien, “This is my destined mate Damien, and this…” I pointed to Eleanor and smiled, “Is my Queen, Eleanor.” “He’s mine!”   The Queen, her eyes watery, she smiled teasingly at Damien, “You have a feisty one there, Ethan, are you sure you can handle him?” When she looked at me and offered a small smile, I laughed, “No…I can’t handle him at all!” The Queen finally let out a real smile and nodded again, “Then…Are you telling the truth? You will not abandon us?” I shook my head, “You are the mother of Chance, my eldest child, the heir, you can’t leave!” She put her hand up to her neck then and lost her smile, “You really did hurt me!” I lost my smile too, and simply said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t even think…I never thought I’d be in the situation like that ever in my life.” “I know, Ethan. You haven’t got a lot of self-confidence, I know you didn’t mean it.” She looked at Damien then, “He was only happy here when Chance was around. Make the King happier!” Damien let out a smile and then looked at me, I was already completely embarrassed. “Oh, he’ll be happy! Just like last night and the day before!” I hit him, “Damien!”   “Ethan!” I looked at the Queen, stopping mid stride, ready to hit Damien again, “Yes?” “Please be good with Chance, I don’t want him to get upset. Don’t…Leave him alone when you…Start your family.” Before I could answer the Queen, Damien’s talked first, “Eleanor, I have already accepted Chance as my own, and it is obvious to me that Ethan adores him. Chance might be more fed up with that old bastard, before he gets fed up with me and my precious mate.” Damien’s words had shocked me when I heard ‘accepted Chance as my own’, I was filled with happiness. I…Wanted to cry! It was probably the biggest worry I’ve had since finding my mate! That I was not going to let Chance go, that we were a packaged deal…And so easily… Looking away, I swiped my eyes quickly and let out a breath as though I had been holding it in all this time… I felt…Like a load had been taken off my shoulders… My mate was really such a blessing! But…Ah, normally emotions never ruled over me like this…Since finding my mate, they are all over the place! Would I want to change it though? …Hell no! No regrets! I never felt…So alive before!   “…Old bastard?” The Queen’s voice entered my ears. “Owen.” Damien said, and when I looked at him in confusion, he just let out a small chuckle. “Oh. He’s…Always been someone I couldn’t figure out.” Looking back at the Queen, I was completely lost…What are they talking about!? “You think there’s something strange about him too?” I saw the Queen frown and have a far away look in her eyes, “I know I saw him before I became the Queen, but I can’t seem to remember when…” “I thought you did meet him before becoming Queen.” She shook her head, “No, I mean years before. He…Ah, I don’t know. I think some do know though.” “Who!?” …Hello…There’s a King here with no idea on what you are talking about… “…Ah, well, in the older generations, I’ve heard whispers. It sounded like Owen wasn’t as close to the late King as he is to you now, Ethan…I think he was…Somebody else.” Owen close to me and not to my…Father? …I wouldn’t have a clue, I know very little about the royal family. All I know is that I’m the only remaining male there was left. Owen seems to know more about them, but however often I ask, he never answers. Thinking though, now, I think it was about time that I demand some answers from my mother!   With this sudden urge to fulfill, I then looked at Damien, and said, “I have another person who I want to talk too, maybe she will know.” “Who?” Damien asked. “My mother…” I had to introduce her to Chance as well! …Should I do that with these questions at the same time? Dammit, I know I should show her Chance, but I was also keen on knowing what she knows! I felt like both Chance and this information was just as important… It sucked, that I had not seen her very much…Really, wasn’t I such a bad son… Even if Owen stopped me from seeing her and made me very busy, I still should have found time somewhere! …It really was a strange occurrence though, how nobody has opened their mouths about Owen. I’m sure there was a number of people here that were here when the late King was, but none of them had told me anything when I had asked them! Even the rare times when I was drunk and had thought of such questions, no one answered me! With an order from me personally, to anyone who works here…They still wouldn’t… I had not done anything in return back then, only thinking that perhaps they didn’t see me as a King and that I couldn’t blame them…But now…Courage went through me and I got all angry that people did not tell the King what he needed to know! Am I somebody else, or…Is somebody else the King!?   Frowning to myself, I desperately started to wonder what my mother knows, even if it was about the late King, but I’d prefer it if she would tell me more about Owen. I also still wanted to know how I was conceived in the first place as well! Why…Why had she never told me before!? Way too many questions! The Queen happily let us go, knowing now that she had nothing to fear anymore. It was good to finally be back to being friends with her, actually I thought it wouldn’t be this easy, but she told me that it was because we were never more than friends. That…If she had deeply cared for me, it would have hurt a lot more than it has. For the first time, I was glad that she hadn’t fallen in love with me or whatever. If she had, what would she be doing right now? It was sad that she had that much free time on her hands to even know this…As for me, I hadn’t thought about her feelings towards me much at all… I was not only a bad son…But a bad husband… Wait! Now I had my mate…Will I be a bad mate too? Being with your destined mate, surely one doesn’t treat them badly…That’s right, the Queen wouldn’t even be my Queen if her mate had not perished… I could only sigh, knowing that she will never be as lucky as me in that regard. I decided then that I should do my best to look after her, to keep her with Chance and not completely ignore her. After all, weren’t we friends? It sure was nice, that I had a friend here, if she had been someone else, things might have turned out differently. Perhaps, if I had another Queen, that Queen might not let me be with my mate and might have threatened me with…Well, she would probably know that I was an Omega… I shivered to the idea… There’s was no point continuing to worry about this though, as it wasn’t real… Having some doubts about things…I guess I was just questioning everything now…Which I didn’t like… I already had enough problems!

Damien’s POV   I always knew this Alpha was an idiot! What a fucking bastard! Thinking originally that he was put up to do this because of Owen, I second guessed that with Owen’s face of shock to what the Alpha just said. How the hell did this man become a leader of a pack!? He doesn’t know when to keep his mouth fucking shut! The terms of my precious mate being an Omega coming out, was going to be in our favor…Somehow…But now, everything was screwed! People have found out through what could be called evidence and could easily claim that Ethan had been lying to them this whole time! This was not part of their plan!   “Alpha Satel, do you really believe that Ethan is an Omega? Perhaps what you have found, could have been someone else’s…” Ethan’s voice cut in then, “It’s true.” “Ethan!” I snarled at Owen using Ethan’s name in a yell. Hell, even using Ethan’s name was too much! “I am an Omega and that is why I was to reproduce as quickly as possible…So that another can become King.” Ethan? Damien sighed in his heart. He wanted to protect Ethan from everything, but Ethan was always coping so much bullshit! Telling the truth like this was his Omega coming out and stating openly that he will step down…Argh! This…Is getting ridiculous! “It’s…Really true?” Alpha Satel asked in bewilderment. I walked straight up to the Alpha then, and firmly said, “What if it is!? Got something to say?” “That is uncalled for, Alpha Rendall!” Owen’s voice did not stop me from staring at this punk! I let him see who he’s dealing with if he didn’t accept this! If he so much as wanted to get everyone to freak out and start storming the palace, hell I’m down with that! “Alpha! Do you have something to say!?” I yelled at him, walking even closer to him, seeing him shrink back from me. “N…No…I don’t.” Alpha Satel muttered out. “Good!” I said, walking back to Ethan and taking him into my arms, no longer caring about what others may think of this type of action.   “Damien?” Geez, that soft, sexy way my precious mate calls my name is just…So hot! Feeling myself already calm once again, I still continued to sniff his scent and smile. “My King, can I talk to you for a moment, please!” Hearing Owen say this, I was certain that he wanted my mate alone…Without me! Hell no! “Then speak!” I said, before my mate did. “Alone!” Owen spat out, looking at me, in which I smirked to him. “…Alpha Satel, I will return in a moment.” Hey! Seeing my precious turn to me, I see his determined nod and he got out of my arms to walk to the back end of the plane, with Owen closely following behind him. Dirty piece of shit! I need to replace that bastard as soon as possible…Well, replace him without so much troubles! Having my pack go running around for some answers, it looks like quite a number of elders are keeping their damned mouths shut! If we were to replace this old man without a valid reason, shit might hit the fan in a bad way! Dammit!   “Alpha Rendall, doesn’t it…Since you are His Majesty’s mate, aren’t you then…The Queen?” Turning to Alpha Satel, seeing him stop himself from laughing, I got up and punched him in the face, seeing him fall off his chair and hit a seat on the other side of the plane. “If you want to get hit again, say another joke!” I stated, putting my hands over my chest. Even though this other bastard wanted to frig dick around…I couldn’t help but keep a close watch on Ethan’s link. ‘Ethan, are you ok?’ I focused on my mate’s link more intently, unable to stay still. ‘He wants to kill anyone who knows! I can’t believe this!’ “Dammit!” Feeling a strange sensation go through me, I frowned, ‘Ethan?’ With the silence from our link, I get up in a flash and go down towards the back of the plane. Owen was just shutting the door when I arrived and when he turned to me, he looked a bit shocked. “He is sleeping.” Punching him in the face, I then snarled at him, “Or knocked out!?” “Get your filthy hands off me!” Pfft… Kicking him away from the door and then punching him in the face once again, I then pulled him up by his collar and found a scent on him… Hexxah told me what exactly that scent was and… He’d stolen some of Ethan’s blood!   That was it! I was mad as hell! Stealing blood, my mate’s blood…My body started to tremble, but I kept myself from shifting to my wolf. I completely lost it in human form though and pummeled this Beta to unconsciousness! When he was out of it, black and blue all over, I went through his attire and finally found a small little glass tube and took it away from him. Bloody bastard! Seeing his body already start to heal, I looked around and found some boxes. Quickly searching through them, I found a rope and tied the old man up. “Alpha Rendall, what are you doing to Beta Owen!” Great! Another nuisance! “He just assaulted His Majesty and stole his blood, what do you think I’m doing!?” Turning both myself and the still unconscious old man to face the stupid Alpha, I saw him raise his eyebrows. “That’s rather hard to believe…”   Narrowing my eyes at him, I pulled tightly upon the rope and added another knot for good measure. “Oh? And why would I lie to you? If I’m not doing this because of that reason, what other reason could I have?” The stupid Alpha looked at me in a confused expression and I started to shake my head to his obvious idiocy. I desperately wanted him to fuck off! “I think it would be easier to believe that you are more so trying to manipulate the situation so that you, or your child, could become the King.” Alpha Satel’s wipe to his face and the smirk on his face nearly made me charge at him, but with the old man still in my arms, I held back. “Are you that mad that I punched you, that you’ve turned senile?” I asked in a mocking tone. “Pfft, how could I be mad at that! From what I believe, and see, this can’t be anything but a plan of yours. Taking out the King’s Beta, manipulating the King…I wouldn’t be surprised if Chance’s life is in danger next!” This was getting more and more ridiculous! I have taken Chance as my own son! What a complete and utter idiot!   Unable to stop the trembling in my body, I was already at my wits end and with the gibberish this stupid Alpha was spitting out…I was really losing control! I shouldn’t just hit randomly, I shouldn’t just hit randomly! I knew the consequences now! Alpha Satel was using my last action against me! Trying to get back at me in some form and since he’s seen me like this, he’ll probably try and make the best of it while my precious mate wasn’t here! How can I tell him now that I had no desire to forcefully take the throne from my own mate and that I had made a blood pact to show it! “Just as I thought! You look like I’ve found out your next move!” I watched as Alpha Satel went to attack me and I let go of the old man, just so that I could dodge and not get hit.   Seeing the stupid Alpha quickly attempt to untie the old man, I hissed, “Get your facts straight, blockhead! Why the hell would I want to harm my own mate! Why would I want to harm Chance!?” My questions were true, either way that the stupid Alpha was saying was something that would hurt my precious mate, so I really think that he’s gone absolutely crazy! Kicking the crazy lunatic out of the way, so he wouldn’t finish untying the first nuisance, I was then suddenly seeing the roof of the plane. Dammit! Quickly sitting up, I see that the old man was awake and looking at me and if I wasn’t put into a bad situation, I would have laughed hard at his bruised-up face! Alpha Satel untied him, while I got back onto my feet, and didn’t know how to straighten out this ridiculous situation! “Get more people here to detain him!” The old man spat. The stupid Alpha stated, “Yes, Beta Owen.” And left. What a bloody idiot! What can a Beta do against me!? But…Before I knew it, the old man entered into the room that he exited before and I heard a lock sound. Shit!   Slamming myself into the door, I hear the door hinges become unstable, but the door still did not break down. Taking a few steps back, ready to charge at it once again, I suddenly had arms around me, stopping me from going anywhere. “What the fuck are you doing!?” I yelled. “Tie him up and gag him!” I heard that stupid Alpha’s voice again and I desperately tried to get out of the two people’s grasp. “Alpha Rendall, stay calm!” “I will not! You are all idiots for going after me!” I yelled out, pushing with all my might towards the door. If the old man gets more blood and makes sure Ethan sleeps longer, then he will obtain what we need! …This was really not going well at all! “Alpha Rendall, stop fighting back!” “Idiots…” Feeling something in my mouth, I could only hear myself say what I needed to in muffled words. This was not looking any better!   “Taking him away! Don’t take your eyes off him!” I looked at the stupid Alpha and was pretty certain now that he was on the old man’s side. Perhaps they had planned this all out! But…If they had planned it out, then why was the old man wanting to kill everyone that knew my precious mate was an Omega… Then, if it wasn’t planned, then what? Was the stupid Alpha really that upset that I punched him!? Oh, I used my Alpha aura on him too, didn’t I… But seriously, can he be so immature!? This type of behavior…How the fuck did he become an Alpha of a pack!? Dammit! Why, why did Ethan go with the old man on his own!? Struggling to get out of my bindings, I was getting further and further away from my mate…Who I found through our connection to be still sleeping!   “Did he really beat up Beta Owen?” Struggling with all my might, I tried again to speak, or push out what was in my mouth, but was unable too. “Alpha Satel said he saw Beta Owen black and blue!” “Dammit, he’s so strong!” Not having the time to feel proud that three guys were having trouble with me, I continued to struggle. “Oh look, it looks like the plane is getting ready to land.” “Is the half an hour up already?” “Seems like it.” Letting out a large, muffled word, I couldn’t help but grow more and more worried by the minute. Not only because the old man was alone with my mate, but how were we to obtain what was meant for my mate now! Argh! What a stupid situation! “Just hold him here and strap your self’s in.” In just a few seconds, a voice came through the speakers about the plane landing, confirming their thoughts… Dammit! Dammit! Breathing heavily, I didn’t know what to do! I was bound, gagged and had three guys that would stop me from going anywhere!   As I tried to get my breath back, I tried to focus upon the rope binding me. With the plane landing, I fell to my side, but continued to see if I could break myself lose somehow. “Where is he!? Where’s the bastard!?” Hearing the voice of the old man, I really started to panic. How far will he go, while my mate was sleeping? He was the Beta of the King, having quite a number of allies and power, how could I stop him from doing whatever he pleased with me while the King wasn’t present!? Shit! “Ha, trying to take the throne for yourself uh? Trying to harm the Beta of the King?” “Beta Owen…Is he really taking the throne?” I started to shake, so much so that I knew that my wolf was going to come out soon. Hell, who cares if we are in an aeroplane and that it would look bad, I should have done it before! “Dammit, give him this! Quick!” “Beta Owen?” “Before he shifts! Quick!” But whatever they were supposed to do, it was too late! As soon as the binds were off me, I scooted out of the room and ran into, and past, a few people, back to my mates’ room and ramming myself so hard into the door that if it didn’t come off it’s hinges, I would have been surprised!   Going up to the bed and seeing that my precious mate was just sleeping, I then turned to the door in a vigilant manner…No one was going to get close to us! Knowing that I was letting the old man be able to get whatever The History Pack had in their hands, I still could not forgive myself if anything happened to Ethan! This was me making my stance…I was giving up what The History Pack had for Ethan because I simply could not trust a single other soul on this plane with my sleeping, precious mate! I saw Shifters come to the door and try to talk to me, but I growled at them, making them stay back. It really was a strange circumstance, as I felt it was us two against the world, but what else could I do? Not only was my precious mate going to be my savior and tell these stupid fucks that I was not going to take the throne, but he was also the only one on this plane that knew the person that ‘Beta Owen’ was!   Even though for a while the plane had landed and even parked, I did not leave Ethan’s side. It was an impasse and I was not going to be the one that would give up in the slightest! I was hoping that Ethan would wake soon, to see this predicament and call them all fucktards! That was what I was waiting for! “Alpha Rendall...I believe your time is up!” Seeing someone with a tranquilizer gun, I really did panic! Whether it was silver or wolfs bane, this was not going to be a good outcome! “Stop…Stop it!” Before I could comprehend that my mate that was next to me was awake, he had already moved…Making me realize too late upon where he moved… Not in a million years would I want my mate to take silver or wolfs bane on my behalf… Never… Seeing my precious mate once again fall unconscious, I licked him, seeing him still not awaken and then let out a huge, heart numbing howl in despair!

(Ethan’s POV)   He kissed me, not moving himself yet, as I kissed him back. He touched one of my nipples and I moved, making him groan. After that, he moved, slowly thrusting himself in and out, putting all my wetness onto him… Wow… That was it, I came…There was no way I could hold it back! It felt so fucking good that I arched back, releasing myself from our kiss…Feeling myself shake like I had never shaken before! Truly…There were new definitions to everything in life now! And shaking was one of them…Climaxing was another…Making love, being with my mate… “Ah!” I wasn’t even sure if that was me or not, as I felt the last part of my orgasm shudder my body further, making me dig my nails into whatever they were holding onto! What…That…Was insane! Breathing heavily, I really had no idea how to think of finally feeling utterly satisfied by my one and only true and destined mate…Well, besides that of being out of this world! …How the hell did I get through life without him all this time!? And…Now that we had gone this far…How could I ever spend a day without him now!?   Feeling myself be laid carefully on the rock that was half in the water, I felt him thrust harder into me and I let out a loud moan. “Say my name, Sweetheart. Who is it that is your real mate?” He thrusted deep into me and I yelled out his name. “Mmm…Dam…” I wondered what he was talking about, but I had no time to think as he thrusted even harder, making me moan louder and louder. I know I had already finished once, but could it really… I was ready to climax again already! Was it because I had waited my entire life for him? Had I saved up or something? Whatever it was, I was already hard and wanting more! Yet, now that I think about all the joy and crazy feelings and desire’s running through me…I suppose I’m not surprised! It was so intense that I felt like I was in another world! Even the time in the bath tub, the day before, had been at best half of what I’m feeling now! It must be because of marking one another… This man… It was nearly enough fulfillment to make me cry! To say thank you, to tell him how much I want him and that I was just as eager as he was with everything! …Geez…Dam…It’s just so fucking good!   Putting my hands onto his shoulders, I yelled out his name once again and arched even more, feeling him thrust deep inside and call my own name out with me. Feeling his hands go from my waist and up, pushing me into him as they travelled, I felt hot liquid go into me as he let out a deep enticing and sexual groan. It really was so fucking sexy and hot that I swear my orgasm was even better! His hands made it to my head, and they pushed me towards him as he kissed me. We were both shaking and trembling, probably focused upon the extreme, crazy feeling overcoming us, so our kisses were just light peeks at the moment. Finishing my orgasm, I tightened myself around him and kissed him harder. I loved feeling him shudder against me. It made me feel powerful…I wanted more…I wanted him to do it again! Moving myself, so that he felt it too, I felt him tighten his hold over me and groan loudly, “…Ethan, stay still.” Going against his order, I kissed him harder and moved myself for him, feeling his hardened core drip more hot liquid into me. He gripped onto me, like I was a lifeline, and I continued my little antic…Until I was getting carried away again… I couldn’t believe it…It really was like magic… I was so hard and happy, so full and content! Feeling him thrust into me, it seemed like neither of us were going to be finished anytime soon…   ***   Damien and I wondered into the palace, both of us in our wolf forms… I was giggling at him inside my head, as he looked funny upon having to get the clothes that he took off beforehand. He told me that they were the only ones that fit him and that it’ll only make things harder if he had to walk around naked from now on. I did ask why he didn’t borrow someone else’s, but he went all silent, only making me get an answer from Austorious, that it was because the clothes smelt like me and he very much liked that! …Seeing the clothes in his big wolf mouth, was really too funny for me! Because I knew about him liking my smell, I had thought that he was eating me, and then I remembered that he had indeed eaten quite a large amount of me…Making me blush… He had been following after me, as I made my way towards Chance’s room. We still hadn’t said very much… Ah… The memories… I knew I was in a daze…I was so much in a daze that the trip to my son’s room took twice the amount of time! Every now and again, I would feel a nudge and I would look back at the grey wolf behind me. Dam…I just can’t help but feel happiness whenever I looked at him. I never thought, I would feel so much love by one person in my entire life! Giving him a loving lick, I turned and continued, finally remembering what I was doing! Once we entered into Chance’s room, I scampered past a maid and she nearly screamed upon seeing two wolves, very close in size, enter the room. Not acknowledging her, I went to the bed and looked at my little boy…He was in deep asleep, and I sat down next to his bed, waging my tail.   “This is…Chance?” I nodded my head at Damien and then looked back at my boy. I had missed him! I also know that Austorious had as well, already wanting to put his scent over his pup. Actually, I had questioned once before why he was even more protective then me and now that I remember our little conversation, it reminded me as well of his answer…And that was because we were an Omega… Austorious seemed to already know back then that he may be in the position of personally having a pup and that seemed to bring out his protectiveness over Chance. …Feeling lucky, that I was looking at Chance instead of Damien at this moment, I tried not to think to much upon what might happen sooner rather than later… It was obvious that there was a silent agreement between us, including both Hexxah and Austorious. And just like many mates upon finding each other, it was normal to try for pups straight away. But…For me as a King…And in the predicament that I was in, with not just the threat to my life but that of the lie that I had kept from everyone…   Sighing, I tried to not think of the future right now, I wanted to be with my mate and look upon my boy. He was still such a tiny thing, even smelling still of that baby smell…Ah, those little nails need to be cleaned! I wondered if he played with dirt today, or maybe he shifted? His hair was still quite thin, but it seemed to be growing and might get in his eyes soon… I still need to fulfill my duty of making the outside a safer place for you, buddie…I’m sorry it’s taking so long… …Putting my head near his body, I watched his little stomach go slightly up and down, because of his breathing, and I felt a hand pat my head. “You really love him uh?” I turned to Damien, giving him a small nod and put my head back onto the bed. I do…I love my boy! “Ok, since you love him, let me see him.” Before I could stop him, Damien went onto the bed and picked up my sleeping boy, turning him, when Damien was sitting against the wall. Looking at Damien holding my boy, I got completely thrilled…It was…The most beautiful sight I’d ever seen in my life! It was yet another dream I never knew that I had, Damien holding my pup…Of course I knew that if it were our pup, it might mean something different, but I never wanted to forget this day, this picture, because it really did look beautiful!     (Damien’s POV)   Looking at the boy in my arms, I wasn’t sure on what to do. I had carried little ones before, as I had a younger sister…But, this one… He had tried to take my mate away from me, he… He looks a lot like Ethan… Well bugger me… Sighing to me inner delight, it seemed that I couldn’t hate this little one… Not when he looked like Ethan… Looking at the wolf not far from me, I smiled at him. “He is very good looking!” The wolf let out his tongue and then a small type of howl. The child in my arms moved and one of his hands tried to grab hold of something, so I gave him my finger. He then put his hand towards his body, taking my finger with him. I let out a chuckle and smiled, okay, fine…I guess I can figure out why Ethan loves you so much! Giving him a kiss on the forehead, I rubbed myself a bit over him, then put him down. He will have to get used to my scent… Getting off the bed, I turned to the chocolate wolf and couldn’t help but smile. I was completely devoted to this little Omega…Completely gone! He had me on his little pinkie and I never wanted to let him go…Well, I never wanted him to let me go!   Shifting back to my grey wolf, I guessed we weren’t going far for a while, and snuggled up to my mates’ fur. My mate gave me a lick, but kept his head on the bed, sitting by the side and I laid against him. I knew that he hadn’t seen his boy much lately, and now, I considered his boy my boy as well. There was just no better way to do this, so I will let him know later, that I will treat Chance like my own. Feeling light, due to being able to make my mate happy, I found myself asleep in no time. Dreams of this evening filled me and…They were the best dreams I’d ever had! Not only for the success over winning over my mate, but that of feeling like I was on top of the world! I was the man, the bomb, the King! I was my mates most precious object, my mate’s happiness, just as he was mine. This dream…Ah, it was so good! Touching him, feeling him, kissing him, wanting him, marking him, completing our bond… I was so happy! I wanted to yell to the world that I had made my mate happy, I wanted to tell them that he was mine and that he had accepted me… Dam…He was so beautiful…I wanted to brag… …Mmm     (Ethan’s POV)   Damien was really nasty to do this to me… I was getting so horny through feeling what he was feeling, that I growled… Then growled again and then once more… Seeing Damien’s wolf move, I nudged him and ran off. I couldn’t stay in my son’s room like this! I needed to run off to my room, as fast as I could! How embarrassing! I wasn’t able to control myself and I was as hard as a rock! Getting to my room, I shifted and opened the door, falling in and putting my legs up to my chest and my hands to my face, while lying on the floor. How so, very embarrassing! Earlier, I felt Damien being happy…That was fine, then I felt him possessive and happy, that was fine too. But after that, he was full of such passion and feeling, that I was unable to escape! All of his thoughts and feelings went through me and then…I smelt his desire… I had looked! His wolf was full of vigor! He was as hard as I am now!   Feeling hands go over me, I stayed still, not ready to show my face… I was completely sure that it was red! Red as a tomato! But…Kisses upon my skin…That was not going to help me at all! “Damien!” “Mmm. The water…I need to rescentalize…” Dammit… He was so fast…Does he even think about any… Letting out a moan to him wanking me, I felt his lips upon my own and I was lost once again. It almost feels like I’m in another, completely different world when I’m with Damien... I swear it was magic and I really wondered if this was what others felt, and how I never imagined it to be! Before I knew it, I was being thrust into and I never knew I’d given every action to let him do it! It was really embarrassing! But…My legs were around him tightly, my arms were around him and I was kissing him with the same urgency as he was kissing me! And my magical time at the water hole seemed to repeat itself! Well, except being marked that is! If they say nothing beats a first time, they were completely wrong, I was mesmerized, amazed and completely happy, just like the first time. In fact, this time was more realistic…A little less pain… We continued to make love for another hour before we moved from the floor and onto the bed. There was just no helping it…After a little nap and some food, our magical, sexual, erotic journey continued… …This King, was completely exhausted afterwards…But, felt very loved and special!

Ethan’s POV   “Go! Remember to hide the second copy elsewhere later!” Alpha Lorez stated, handing over the three letters inside the messenger pack. Two people put it on Beta Locky’s wolf, and he rushed off straight away. I found that Eleanor had come out, holding Chance, and she waved him off with a worried look. She turned to me and she looked like she had something to say. “He should be fine, don’t worry.” Damien stated, as he got up and moved me back to the chair. “Precious, my Beta is here too. I’ve already stated a few to follow Locky but I want to talk to him.” Seeing Damien walking off, I got back to writing up more letters, which would go to other Shifters who weren’t going to the palace. It really was a shame, that at the moment, with a summoning from Beta Owen, we didn’t know exactly where all the Alpha’s were. If they weren’t at the palace, they could be on their way there or still in their pack, just like us… So, we had three lots of groups, obviously Beta Locky was one of them, another group was to go to the in between areas of the packs and keep watch with their letters, while the other group was to go the packs directly and hope to find the pack Alpha still there.   Damien’s pack members were the ones that were going to keep an eye on the land, as they could be called in easier and were already on their way. With them looking for elders in random locations, many of them were scattered and we could already rely upon them in finding out some information, through Damien being able to talk to them in human form, but…Through them, we found that at least one Alpha had already left! It might be close but…We already feared that one Alpha would have already made a blood pact, even before Beta Locky was to get to the palace! But we found another Alpha had presumably not left, but Damien’s pack members, not looking for the Alpha, had now gone to look for him. It was Alpha Brown of The Harvest Pack and if the land wasn’t so big and with so many workers, we would feel better but…It could at least take an hour to find this Alpha personally! Then, the letter written by the King would probably take another couple of hours to reach the Alpha…Which meant that we did not expect to see any Alpha’s get here before sunset…   Preparing didn’t stop there, once I had finished the letters, I was also reminded of why I had given Beta Owen the power of becoming regent and that it might be better if I were to be seated and only state that I have started getting feeling back in my legs, instead of showing that I could walk once again. Apparently, if we were to suddenly state that I was better, and even pregnant, we could lose the trust of the Alpha’s. So, I guess it was a good idea to lie at the moment… To be honest, I really couldn’t believe that Owen had gone so far. He wanted so much, yet was he going to ruin everything to get it? Forcing Shifters, making up lies…Wasn’t he going over the line!? Yet, to a certain degree, wasn’t I doing the same thing then? I was going to lie to them, and hadn’t I forced them to come and see me? No! I was different from Owen! I had to tell them this too…I had to somehow show it! Just…How do I do that!?   I felt like I was losing, even though I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong. Perhaps I shouldn’t have given Owen the power to become the regent. Perhaps I should have just come out to people back then that I was getting better and went back to my ‘King’ duties. Getting lost in my thoughts, I wondered many ‘what if’s’, ‘but’s’ and ‘maybe’s’… In the end though, I couldn’t help but see that I feared staying in the palace. I feared that Owen might have come up with something and had gotten rid of us somehow. Was there anything else that I could do? All I’ve done is write letters but… Why do I feel so useless!   Walking into a room, I see that it was like a mini room of like the one I had in the palace. There was one chair, obviously less luxurious then the one in the palace, then there was space for people to stand in front of me but on a lower surface. It seems that this room beforehand was more of a meeting room, as there was a table to the back and to the side, with chairs stacked up against it. There was also a screen that could come down behind the ‘throne’ chair, where I’m guessing it would be used to show people of what they had ‘seen’…Actually, it is a bit freaky about how much cameras were hidden away…I guess not all of the cameras were from The Surveillance Pack… But, apparently, this was the room I was going to use today, to speak to the Alpha’s. We had news that we did indeed get to find Alpha Brown, before he had left to go see Owen, and he had arrived in the night, to sleep the rest of it here after arriving. I hadn’t seen him yet, but I’ve been told that he is not being rude and had willingly applied himself to the ‘King’s’ letter, doing what he was supposed to do. To me though, Alpha Brown was someone who liked rules and had worked pretty hard and was pretty patient to get where he is now…I guess he didn’t want to lose it and thought that accepting the ‘King’s’ words would be more beneficial to him then ‘Beta Owen’s’ words…Hell, maybe it was more of a tough choice then I thought, how could I forget all those years that I was not taken so easily as King and was never told what I needed to be told…Even though I had the name of ‘King’, I really hadn’t been much of a King, so these Alpha’s, it might be hard to choose, I suppose… …Well then, thank you Alpha Brown, for taking a chance on this King!     Damien came to inform me that a new Alpha had been initiated into The History Pack within the last two days and that Alpha had not come here and had instead went to the palace. The Treasury Pack’s Alpha was the one that had gone ahead beforehand and still did not come to us, even though it’s said that he received the King’s letter upon leaving the palace…It was pretty obvious where his allegiance lied… The Driller’s Pack Alpha was bound to come soon, but he could already be here…I wasn’t sure. So, out of all the Alpha’s who were supposed to attend, we lost two, haven’t heard from one and the rest were already here or on their way. The Heed and Call Pack…I remembered choosing a new Alpha a few months ago. Why, why hadn’t he come? Damien had not heard any news about outside of The Heed and Call Pack but Locky had gone there a few hours ago and had not informed anything new since.   Sitting down upon the minor ‘throne’, I sighed. It was only a matter of time that I had to tell the Alpha’s that came that I was better once again. My mind was back to normal and I had to somehow show that Owen wasn’t needed anymore. Damien had been brainstorming all night upon the best way to approach these Alpha’s and what we knew was what we had figured out the day before, which was to state that I was mentally aware again but not walking just yet. I was going to state that I had feeling back into my legs and that I had been able to let what happened go, which would be obvious because I would act ‘normal’ once again. Not only will the doctor state that I had gotten better when I got feeling back into my legs, but it seems the plane crash had also woken me up as well. I had taken ‘at least two weeks to get better’, from the plane crash, and that was why I had not spoken to them beforehand. Then, I was to tell them something along the lines of knowing Owen had ordered them to do a blood pact with him but to tell these Alpha’s that I didn’t want them to do any type of blood pact at all…That a blood pact shouldn’t be needed.   Damien hoped that I could gain trust within them, even though I was still somewhat lying to them about being well and even pregnant. The fact that I was an Omega had still yet to be addressed personally, instead of that of rumours, and Damien also thought that it would be better to try not to talk about that just yet but…To me, it was always so obvious and to them it’ll become obvious very soon! It would be blatantly continuing to lie, from when I had first become King, and it needs to be addressed as soon as possible! …So, not bringing up the fact that I was an Omega and admitting to it, I didn’t like it! If we weren’t going to tell them now, then, when were we? The idea of today, was to get the Alpha’s on my side but…I really…Why am I lying to then!? I wanted to tell them what Owen is doing! I wanted to state that I left the palace because I feared for my safety, as well as that of the safety of Chance, especially when I wasn’t walking very well for a while! I wanted to tell them that Owen was in fact my step, brother in law and that he has a son that is, granted, of royal blood!   I wanted to tell them outright that I was an Omega and that I was better and even pregnant! I wanted them to know where I stood and that I did not want to be a King and stand behind lies to uphold my power! But…Could I do that!? I had two pups now to take care of and honestly, I loved them too dearly and thought that doing things Damien’s way might be smarter. The problem was…I had been living like this for so long! Lying and scared of people knowing the truth! If I stood up, they’d probably know, hell…If they had known my scent before, they would know that it had changed! …I was really walking on thin ice!   For me, this was just too dangerous! Lying and not lying, both of them were too dangerous! And since it was like that, I wanted to choose right from wrong…I wanted to tell them everything and let them make up their own minds! I wanted the Alpha’s to know that Owen had something against me and that he will try to make me look bad, somehow. I wanted them to know that yes, the Elementalist’s had stopped attacking me and that I wanted them even to return to this continent because they are in danger on the other continent! I wanted all the cards out on the table and to let them know that I wasn’t just their ‘King’, but someone that was wanting to start fresh and obtain their trust once again. Someone that wanted them to know of the dangers and of what Owen has done, especially with paying off so many elders! Dammit… What am I to do? The Omega in me wants to submit all truths, whether they are believed or not. The ‘King’ in me wants whatever is best for the Shifters and would willingly lie…   ***

Ethan’s POV   I mumbled as I rolled over to my other side. I felt so comfortable that I didn’t want to get up, even though I needed to pee! ‘I think you should get up and at least eat something, Precious.’ Cuddling into the wolf, that was talking to me through my mind, I shook my head, “I don’t want to yet!” The wolf licked me on my back, and I shivered. ‘You’re sleeping too much!’ I sat up and stretched, mumbling out a, “Mmm”. With Damien in human form, now in front of me, he put out a hand for me to take it. Once I was standing, he grumbled into my ear, “I miss you.” I let out a chuckle to his pout and hugged him. “You already know that this is practically normal!” Holding me tighter, he grumbled some more into my ear, “Then why can’t our pup be an Omega then, uh? Why does it have to be an Alpha and make you so…Unlively!?”   “You forget…It might also be the…Silver.” I solemnly added. Both of us hoped that it was the pup, because at least then I could potentially change back to normal again and sleep less after the little one has been born… It had been a month since we had gotten off the plane and ran into that Elementalist. And within that first week, I was sleeping more and more. It wasn’t just an hour or two more, it was three to four hours more now After coming to The Watcher’s Pack, I had not stated much upon the Elementalist’s, simply because hatred was obviously seen in the eyes of not just the Queen but a few others too. I didn’t know what to say to them, that will get them to accept the fact that I had asked the Elementalist’s all to return to this continent. To what happened to Chance, I was glad that I had been able to get him out of there, because I knew I had almost lost him! But…Why don’t I have the same type of hatred as the Queen? I knew that I loved Chance very much, and that I didn’t want him to die! Yet, at the same time, I felt very emotional towards the Elementalist’s…   Knowing now of how they came to be, it was really…Unbelievable! The first Sollace King, had not just been a Shifter. No, they were a lot of things. Having taken out some of their magic and putting them into rocks, a whole new species had been created and they were now the Elementalist’s. Upon the first Sollace King coming to an age of death, the Elementalist’s had already been condemned to live their lives on another continent and only short facts had been written down upon who they had been. I didn’t know what was left and right, wrong or right or up or down anymore! I mean, this was like a fantasy, a dream, a made-up story! The memories from the Elementalist clearly states that the first Omega King had elemental powers, but also had other types of magic as well. I had heard of some warlocks and…Couldn’t believe that their magic originated from the first King as well! He had given a person warlock magic and from there, they had integrated with humans and I think they live in some type of mountain or in deep ground somewhere…But that was knowledge from rumors, and I know firsthand that rumors can’t be trusted…   Through the memories of the Elementalist’s, I did not get to see much of the warlocks and I think that’s because they ended up becoming a species, or race, that hides and rarely comes out but…It was the warlocks that had told the Elementalist’s of what was going on! The warlocks had said to the Elementalist’s that they are slaves and that if a King in the future is an Omega, with an Alpha, even though they would not be the first King that had created them, they will have to do as they are told, and wouldn’t they rather be free? From what I saw, I think the warlocks had cursed the Elementalist’s and then the Elementalist’s went on a rampage and killed Shifters, which in turn had made them go to the continent of Gorde in condemnation. I thought it was sad…That the first King had to see his own creations become enemies and not be able to work together. And knowing all this, what was I to do? Do I still leave the Elementalist’s on the other continent, where they were all being destroyed? To be honest, I had felt fear to the Elementalist’s but seeing them die to some golem type creature, I didn’t know who to fear more! Elementalist’s whom were from my blood, that can bury and kill Shifters, or Golems that I would not be able to control and that were three to four times bigger than us!   Since I couldn’t figure it out, I could only state that the Elementalist’s weren’t a danger to us at the moment and that we should go on with our plans. I hated the strange looks I got, but to be honest, I had troubles being in the company of Eleanor and Chance, just because I was giving the Elementalist’s a chance. By rights, if the Elementalist’s wasn’t something that came from my, great…Times a hundred, give or take, grandfather, they would be an enemy that we would have to get rid of but…Yes, I’ve thought it through, they had attacked the royal family because of me! If I had not been born, to become someone that could ‘order’ them around, would my father and his family have died in the first place!?   To the Elementalist’s…I shouldn’t have been born… Why had my father gone against them? Knowing this really made me depressed and I really did wonder if I hadn’t come to be, would the royal family still be alive today… All those years of training and exhausting myself to become something that I wasn’t, all those years of being lonely and then forced into a relationship. None of it should have happened! There would have been no attack on the royal family, well, that’s what I think! Why had he done it!? Damien told me that it did happen and that I should get over it…And that was when I got more and more tied, which helped me think of it less.     It seems that our plan, now that I was pregnant, was going to wait until I was to give birth. Before we were just going to wait it out until Beta Owen was to make a mistake and show up as soon as it happens, letting everyone know that he had gone too far and that I, the King, wanted that power that was rightfully mine back. Well, they had said something of Owen falling into a trap or something, but I wasn’t a scheming person and did not understand their plans at all. But…It hasn’t mattered at the moment. Because Owen hadn’t done anything! So, even if I wasn’t pregnant, we would still have to stay here in the dark and just waited. There was something good about this though, well a few things… One was, that we were safe! The Watcher’s Pack and The Surveillance Pack were both behind us completely and we held quite an amount of Shifters willing to wait and bring down this Owen.   To this, I had to give it to Damien, whom has gotten his pack to talk to many elders of Shifters, of all the different packs and some of them were willing to join us in bringing down of what they knew of as my real ‘step brother in law’. The elders were mostly paid off by Owen or have good ‘jobs’ that they wanted and, to be honest, Owen had done well. He had gotten to some of their weaknesses and it’s amazing how easily they wanted to keep their mouths shut! One of the elders had wanted to be in The Treasury Pack, just so they could gamble! Owen even gives this elder slightly more income than any of the others, but since it’s cash in hand, we hadn’t known anything about it! One wanted to be an Alpha and they had been the Alpha of The Driller’s Pack for years! How…How had he had all this power!? What was I doing when he paid off all these elders!? Well, nonetheless, some of those elders did come to our side, but many of them didn’t. But it wasn’t coming to our side completely, as half only stated that they will be witnesses for this information but won’t fight against Owen. …But, it wasn’t like we just had The Watcher’s Pack and The Surveillance Pack on our side, we had a few random people and then even some of The Driller’s Pack as well!   I don’t know if they all believed that Owen is trying to convert the power or not but having them take this chance and continue to give Owen vague answers to my being still alive and currently with The Watcher’s Pack, seems to be enough for them to continue doing it. I suppose it helped, that I had a blood pack with the Alpha of The Surveillance Pack, and well, the Alpha of The Watcher’s Pack wanted to show his loyalty by doing it straight away upon our arrival, but I had declined. I wanted the Shifter’s to make their own choices, but…I guess seeing what happened to those two men on the plane makes me reluctant to depend entirely upon the blood pack. When I had declined, I was looked at strangely and I didn’t even know why I had felt this way until the next day. After I told Damien and Alpha Lorez, they finally understood that I wanted to trust them without the force behind it. Just like most other times…I am thinking that a blood pact might be good in some cases, like that for the use for rogues, but in other cases, I didn’t want to lose my head to power, just because I had forced someone to become loyal to me. It just felt wrong…But I believe that was the Omega in me that feels this way though.   Another thing that has happened here, besides our safety, was that Eleanor had slowly given Beta Locky a chance and we found out that he had lost his mate about fifty years ago… I never thought he was so old… He looked young and…He has really good genes for a Shifter! That’s all I could put it down too! Yeah, it freaks me out a lot hey, he’s older than me and the Queen put together! His destined mate had an accident and died, and Beta Locky had become a rogue afterwards. He ended up in The Harvest Pack and then came into this pack, simply because The Harvest Pack did not bring him any joy. After a few years, Beta Locky came to be known as dependable and someone that Alpha Lorez wanted to stay. But it was still not quite enough, and everyone knew that it may be a matter of time that Beta Locky might leave, to try another pack…Yet, it didn’t happen… Alpha Lorez was not surprised to Beta Locky’s crush, but many others were! Of all the people that he liked…It was the Queen! They had an idea that through being able to ‘watch’, Beta Locky had found someone, but…The Queen!?   I can only shake my head and chuckle, as Eleanor really had no eyes for Beta Locky for a good week! Chance…Chance was beside her all the time and he got better slowly. He didn’t want to sleep for days and when he did sleep, he woke up screaming. Of all things we got and obtained from what happened on the way here, including that of two of us nearly getting buried alive, the worst of it was Chance’s nightmares… Eleanor made sure that Chance knew that he was safe and that there was nothing to be scared of, so Beta Locky was invisible for quite some time! It had only been in the last week of this month that Eleanor consented to Beta Locky attempting to gaining her heart.

Ethan’s POV   For a couple of days, Damien did not speak with me and I really felt lonely but…I felt strangely that it was only right to state this, to state that I was pregnant and that I was going to protect my family…But…I really didn’t do it… I stared at the letter for hours and realized that even the words were slightly different to mine, and I threw it away in fright! I hadn’t written it! Did someone else not know!? Did they not search the letter and see that the writing was not entirely my own!? It was of course my own blood, that is fact, but upon really looking at the words…They…They weren’t mine… I continued to tremble, in fact I was trembling a lot lately…I was becoming paranoid and god I was lonely…I was more lonelier then ever! I didn’t have Damien…Hell, even Owen would be good about now but…I had no one!   I was…All by myself… The yearning… As much as I wanted to think of the Shifters and what I’m supposed to do, I think I was getting confused! Perhaps Damien was right but…Why…Why can’t I talk to him about what was going on!? Now…Now even he is locking me out of his thoughts and…I was getting more and more confused by the minute! I felt like I had lost some trust…I felt like I was…Acting strangely…   Will him staying away from me and locking me out of his mind…Will I let that be the end? I can’t! I needed him! But… How could I say it? I put a hand through my hair, with shaky hands, and brought my feet up to my chest. My eyes skittered around, and I knew that I needed to do something soon, otherwise I might black out again and make things worse… Yet, just as I shakily stood up, I found even less of me there, like I was slowly fading out…Forgetting that I desperately wanted to talk to my mate…To my Damien. My want was still there, to speak with him and tell him everything, but it faded tremendously and upon ‘waking up’ once again, I got even more scared… I really…I really was a complete mess! …And as the second week after the confrontation of the Alpha’s came by…Things changed once again!   ***   The sudden urge to run came to me and that was it, I left! Did I succumb to this yearning? Did I give up? I don’t know… All I knew was…It was terribly important to run, to leave right now! Damien didn’t even know, because he was locking himself away from me, but I was already long gone and I felt a barrier between he and I, even if I tried to take it down… This was when I realized that I was being overtaken nearly completely and that I was now no longer in charge of my own body…I was being driven by someone, or something else, and I had no idea upon what it was! I was scared…Scared that I was becoming something that I wasn’t. My Omega self started to come out more and more and I found that Austorious was getting weaker and weaker…   How could this be real? Was it Owen? Was Owen wanting me to grow to become someone that can’t be depended on as a King and show the world of it? Did he get some type of power to tell me to do letter’s and show some type of authority through them with my pup? But…How was he to even know that I was pregnant? Even Alpha Monk hadn’t known, well I hadn’t told him, had someone else? …I suppose he could have figured it out though, we showed obvious signs of it when Damien would touch my tummy… But, if Owen didn’t know that I was pregnant before, he knows now! So…What was behind the want to write that letter then?   What of another way that didn’t include knowing that I was pregnant, did he make me withdrawal the Alpha inside of me, to bring out only my Omega side then? Did he poison me with something? Some type of poison that would do something to Austorious? But…Why did I feel like some part of me was willing to follow this…New controller to wherever it was that we were going? Dammit! I felt hopeless and useless! I was conflicted and confused… I was…Hiding. Yes, I was hiding. I felt like the fight in me had nearly completely left me and now I was just letting someone take over my body willingly, but why?   I believe I was traveling west, running into the wind and for some strange reason, I felt like I was slowly getting closer to something… What the hell was I doing!? But…That yearning…It got stronger…And stronger…Making me realize that there were two different things going on! The yearning had no part in what was taking over me! They were two separate things! That’s right! The yearning had no part whatsoever in all the strange things that I’ve been doing! No, if anything, now that I was able to see this, I felt like it was an Alpha…An Alpha that… Was it…By chance…My own little pup? Is that why I wanted to trust whatever that is going on?   Yet, as I thought these thoughts, I started getting distracted easily and losing my point of thinking…I was losing myself into a strange abyss…I was…I felt… As I got closer to the yearning, I was losing more and more of myself and I felt like I had scattered off into several pieces, only seeing bits and pieces of what happened afterwards… Upon a blurred event, someone was then in front of me. He looked a lot like Damien… I know I was full of agonizing pain, even unable to feel the lower half of my body, and I was just about ready to faint, but I remember that being very well! He was an adult figure, naked and looking at me with compassion and sadness in his eyes…He made me unconsciously want to protect him with my life… I saw quite an astounding amount of red all over me…But everything went blank just moments after seeing this being and then, darkness and pain overwhelmed me, and I felt like I had died…Perhaps instead, there was nothing. I’m not…Completely sure…     Third Person   Ethan’s body traveled to the sea, in the west, and that was where he was able to be guided by some earth to stand on and some water to take him on the earth across the sea faster. At first, Ethan’s body, which was in wolf form, was unable to do anything but stand there, but as time went by, earth was made in front of him and he was able to trot along the water, on top of the earth, and the water continued to help take him closer and closer to another continent. The one in lead of the body…Was the child within… The child was the beginning and the end…A child that now had connections to the Elementalist’s and memories. With the memories, the child within were now about to take back what was originally there’s and stop their creation from being obliterated from the rock golems on the continent of Gorde.   Memories had come to the child within, from when Ethan had first connected to the Elementalist nearly two months ago now. It was both unfortunate and fortunate, as the child may have grown to not know anything, yet, now that the child remembers who they are and was now again able to connect to the Elementalist, they were able to start fighting for the right to take over the body that it resided in. It was hard at first, as the child was still very small and still growing. But, as the Elementalist from just two weeks ago had come, the child was able to take that Elementalist within him, to which his father had not even known! The Alpha aura that had come out at the time, had been the child within, as Ethan had felt like a King and then gotten dizzy, the child had consumed the ‘disappearing’ Elementalist and became a bit stronger because of it, sadly not one person saw that the bump had grown slightly because of this… Ethan had been preoccupied, starting to blank out more and more often not long afterwards and even got on Damien’s bad side, not even realizing that his baby had grown slightly. On the other hand, Damien might have noticed but ‘things’ happened, and it was never talked about. …And, from there, the child within was able to start making some adjustments!   The child was completely bewildered with how others treated his father and indeed gave his Alpha power to him. He didn’t really mean for his father to grow so much courage as to speak so much of his mind, but it was probably his fault because of how he had felt at the time. To him, the child within, he was not someone to accept such treachery and deceit! Upon seeing that the child was able to do as such, through making Ethan feel his effects, it started to make plans for its arrival, by stating to everyone to take heed that he was coming! Yes! That letter about the child within Ethan, had been all him! He may not be born yet, but he won’t forget about how those Alpha’s had treated his father! But it wasn’t long after the meeting with the Alpha’s, where the connection that the child had to the Elementalist’s was calling out for him. That they were now in trouble and he had to go and save them!   It wasn’t just because they were his creations, no, it was also because if more of them were killed, then it would be useless to go and save them at all! The powers that he could obtain back from them will not be like his previous life at all! He already knew that what he will get back from them is only about half of what he used to have…If that! Nonetheless, he was going to become strong once again and put the Shifter’s back into their place, as it looked like they were falling apart! But this had to be dealt with after he saved the Elementalist’s! It seems, back when the Elementalist’s started to gather together, because of the message that Ethan had stated for them to return back to the continent of Sollace, they had gotten the rock golems attention and since then the Elementalist’s had not been able to run away successfully. Fire had not worked upon the rock golems, just like that of air and water. Earth may be able to bury the rock golems but it did not stop them from continuing to chase them when they get out from being buried…The only thing that helped them fight them off was that of metal power, yet the metal Elementalist’s had to work together to keep them at a distance, as breaking them into pieces doesn’t work… What sprouts out of the pieces of the one quite big rock golem, is that of smaller rock golems… A couple of the Elementalist’s have already been lost, just in the last two weeks, and whether they knew it or not, the child within was able to sense their worries.   The transfer was not complete, the child was still unable to take control of the body all of the time but the Alpha inside of him raged and grew as the connections were made. As he ran over the earth, that was created over the water, it was obvious that as they got closer, they were getting more and more powerful, as the child in wolf form was now no longer trotting, it was running the fastest that it could, to get to his creations faster! Most likely, the Elementalist’s were more powerful now because the child within was getting closer and closer to them… The earth wasn’t weak, just like the water power that was going across the sea, and it seemed that with the distance becoming shorter, they knew that their master was coming back! It didn’t matter if they become nothing once again, it didn’t matter if they never experienced anything else, but survival was still foremost in their minds, even though they did not feel very much to begin with. …The sea was long, but with the help of water and earth, the body of Ethan traveling over it only took a day to finally see the continent of Gorde, before it was seen in the distance!

Third Person   As the days went by, it became known to all upon what the war had done to the Shifters. One made it became known that he was now the King ‘once again’, releasing Ethan from his burden completely. Having only told his father after the arrangement had already taken place, Ethan still didn’t mind…In fact, Ethan was happy and patted One over the head, making One completely thrilled! Ethan may have been weak for a day, but he was awake a lot more after and only showing signs of getting better, expect that of the symptoms silver could be doing to his body. Damien didn’t leave Ethan’s side, becoming a happy slave and doing Ethan’s bidding as quickly as possible. Ethan felt Damien’s want to make up for what he felt like he’d done, so he felt hopeless to Damien’s consistent badgering over him. On the other hand, Owen, no longer Beta Owen, did indeed attempt to break free but it had come to no use. With Alpha Lorez being in charge of Owen, because Damien was completely detained through ‘mateship’, Alpha Lorez came up with a plan to catch everyone who was still against His Majesty and let a trap happen, to which it obviously was used.   With Owen on the death penalty, One was happy to take his life by using the magic spell of life steal! He had already gotten back what had been taken away from him, but extra is good too! Two others were shot with silver and imprisoned, and the rest where imprisoned for now but might have the chance to start again, depending upon what the King decides. The mention of the other blood of Sollace on the outside and inside of the palace walls did not come to pass for another week, when One talked about rebuilding the palace. Many had been astonished at hearing the secret hideaway, not only because it had been so obvious and open, but because that had been where Ethan had been put when he was young! Much to One’s disappointment, the discussion on rebuilding the palace had been put aside, and the subject of Ethan’s half sister and her children were talked about for over a day…   With One’s small interruption, that day later, about the female mother not being like Owen, it was finally decided that they will try and talk to her first. They never thought to kill her, but the idea of keeping her away from them was put into consideration, especially if she was anything like Owen! What they found though, was the complete opposite! Owen’s mate, after finally realizing she was safe, even though she knew Owen was dead, claimed everything that Owen did. All she wanted was to keep her babies safe… Seeing her like this, everyone was slightly disturbed. They had never thought that she had gone through so much… Owen had really made things hard for everyone, even for his own mate…   As much as some of them wanted Owen’s mate, Stephanie, to stay closer to her family, namely Ethan, she insisted to spend her days alone for now, as she really detested the throne at the moment, somewhat blaming that for her mate’s downfall…So, she was then relocated to The Harvest Pack, where many children already were, and she was given a small part of the land there, where she didn’t have to work but could if she wanted to. In time, the half sister of Ethan does grow a bit stronger and they see each other but she never returns to the palace, in fact, she cut ties to any ‘Sollace’ blood that she and her children had. For a lot of the population, they thought this as a good thing, because they didn’t want anyone with Owen’s blood to have any type of right to the throne, and so her name was taken off the Sollace family tree and she did indeed breathe easier after that. Whether it was because of the past and how ‘Sollace’ blood had changed her mate, or if it was because of the throne, it didn’t matter anymore, and she was able to move forward and watch her babies grow up with less worries.   On the other hand, One did disappear for a month, but it didn’t happen until all packs had Alpha’s once again, which included The Rogue Hunter Pack as well... Damien was still the Alpha, but now Ethan traveled alongside him, getting the rogues that had increased substantially in numbers, giving them something to do for a number of years. One had indeed gotten most of his magic back, and returned, to be the King of Sollace. …He never thought that it would happen so quickly, but one of the warlocks had been his mate and so he whisked her back to the palace, whether she wanted to come or not! He hadn’t taken her magic off her, and she was quite an interesting little minx! She was all angry about him taking magic from her family members and taking her away with force, but then One would state that they wouldn’t have magic in the first place if it wasn’t because of him! She then would use her magic to cast spells upon him, and One took on each one of them, even sometimes pretending to show that they really hurt him and as her mate, she got worried that she had indeed really hurt him… Of course, this little minx was right up One’s alley and kept him quite occupied. He spent all his spare time to coax her over to become completely his and even that took two months to do…She was quite determined and stubborn after all! All good things come after such hard work though and after two months of such taxing acts and fine speeches, One finally was able to mark his mate, making her his new Queen…   ***   It took another two years to get over the losses of the Shifters from the small but crucial war. To have had so many Shifters that could change loyalties so easily did make a slack type of leadership. If the war had not happened, then there might still be those who would be easily swayed from one side to another until a war was to happen. Even though the war wasn't very long and not much had happened over the land, except that of in the mountain area, it also stated that the Shifters were not thinking very much and had been led somewhat astray. Owen really had quite a number of belittled Shifter's under his belt and he really did make the best of them!   With this, and a declaration that Shifters needed to remember why the war happened but not who was in the war, there was a large problem afterwards... Taking all the upset and angry Shifters, One was determined to set things straight and not have another war amongst themselves but he wasn’t able to win every fight, even though he was the most powerful being on the planet… He was just in his thoughts, wanting them to know that they can't be misled so easily and that they needed to understand the idea behind leadership and what was best with the Shifters but it was still not enough and so...Again, he needed help from his new friends...   The old and new Alpha's gathered together with their new King and discussed the events with more seriousness and One relented to their ideas, again needing to know why it was such a big deal. He had lived so long, that there was indeed a negative about it, and that was how he felt about some things... Obviously, these other Shifters around him valued life a lot more than he did, well, he valued his 'favorites', but didn't understand much beyond that, having accepted death a long time! The problem was, everyone else didn’t get reborn like he did, and he kept forgetting that!   Having this meeting, everything was once again looked at from the beginning... An Alpha had been killed in the fight and the packs lost half of its members to becoming rogues and the other half wanted to fight for their Alpha’s right of not only being forced to have taken a blood pact, but also killed without being named. Over the two years, considering that the war might be over, but the grievances weren’t, the death tally ended up being 73 Shifters, but rogues rose to 276, which was the biggest number of rogues ever recorded for Shifters…Which really was a problem! Then, another 42 Shifters were imprisoned, being directly linked to Owen and then…Another strange occurrence was found out through a sad Omega…   An Omega had given birth to Owen’s child, coming out and naming herself, after running and hiding when Owen had perished. She had thought that she would be in trouble, she also did not intend to get pregnant but couldn’t help but want to keep the innocent child. One didn’t care much, as Owen was gone, why would a child be a problem? Besides, wasn’t this like the same problem with Owen’s mate, why are they making an even bigger deal about this!? What One forgot was, not only had Stephanie been royal, a Sollace like himself, but this Omega had run away! A few wanted the child to die but the others stated that the child was innocent and so, in the end, the Omega pup survived, but was given another name and was never to be told about his father. With that, it seemed to make everyone happy and One could only sigh. He didn’t think this subject was worth several hours of making a decision, he already wanted to go back to his spunky mate!   Beyond that, One tried to take his duties seriously, just like many Alpha's did, but it seemed that the King was quite the sarcastic joker and many times when they would met up to speak of something serious, One would always have a drink with them and they'd end up laughing and thinking that their problem might not be so bad. Perhaps this was One's specialty, or his downfall, but whatever it was, sometimes problems seemed to find solutions without needing too much help at all! Again, his adorable and sarcastic side seemed so unrealistic, until you met the man himself... Nonetheless, the palace was once again quite new, clean and opened to quite a few parties and the King was well respected, not only because he was powerful, but because of his nature and obvious willingness to help the Shifter's as a whole.   As for Tilda, who was indeed Ethan's blood sister, she lived, and just like her brother, she lived to have silver in her bloodstream. Both siblings did suffer to the effects, becoming weaker than their original Omega selves, but neither of them died because of it. Tilda, being confined in the palace for all her life, had not found her mate...Until that very day that she had been stabbed... Simon had indeed been quick to grab her from Owen for this exact reason! The problem was, Tilda wanted to continue to be with Chance and Simon was a good friend to Damien, wanting to stay loyal and be by his boss's side. He wasn't a Beta, he was just good friends with the man that he had grown up with and so...Both Tilda and Simon didn't know what to do! This situation ended up being quite fortunate though, as Simon would come and pick up both Tilda and Chance, to take to Ethan and Damien, so that not only would they get to see each other, but Chance would also get to see his father. This also gave Eleanor some free time to be with Beta Locky, to which they finally had their own child five years after they first mated...   (Not finished yet! Ethan's POV coming up next!)

(Ethan’s POV)   I laughed and then walked right out of Chance’s room. Chance might feel a bit uncertain because of Damien’s new scent and that he was not used to being so close to an Alpha… So, I couldn’t bare for my boy to feel unhappy and decided to do as he wanted, heading straight towards Eleanor’s room. “You, you’re not going to just…” Being outside of the Queen’s room, I guessed what Damien was asking me… I heard Damien catch up to me and I smiled at him, “It’s ok, she was the one that didn’t like sleeping naked.” “Ethan!” He stopped me, taking me into his arms, “I suggest you stay out of her room, or you’ll have hell to pay!” I stared at him for a moment, then rolled my eyes…Wasn’t he just going a bit overboard? Turning to one of the Queen’s attendants, I said, “Tilda, here, you take him to the Queen.” Tilda, the maid, took Chance and continued the rest of the way and I watched as Chance disappeared into the Queen’s room.   Sighing, as Chance was gone, I was then suddenly picked up. Oh no, not again! Last night, after dinner, this man really was insatiable and wouldn’t let me go to Chance for four hours! Then, I couldn’t sleep for…Well, I don’t know how long! Now, I just wasn’t ready, I was hungry and…Well, I… “What’s wrong?” Hearing him ask so seriously, I really started to think once again that he was completely insatiable! Then again…I was also at a loss… I felt great with his arms around me and felt that warmness in my cheeks because of it but…My tummy rumbled… I sighed, “I’m hungry!” He sighed too and then started to walk, and I was pretty sure that we were on our way towards the dining room. Half the time, previously at this time of day, I would still be in my room and even take breakfast in bed, but without him knowing this, that was ok too. I just wanted to do something…Different… “Mmm.” With a new type of life now and feeling so full and happy, I couldn’t help but mutter something… “What?” “Nothing.” I wiggled out of his embrace and he looked down at me very seriously, then I heard and smelt Owen on his way towards us…   Walking into the door that we stopped in front of, I saw Owen just doing the same from another side of the room and I didn’t look at him. I knew he’d have a few things to say to me but, so I straightened up and took my chair at the head of the table, Damien pushing it in for me… Yet, what happened next was out of my expectations. Owen always sat beside me…And so he sat down there again today… For a second, I thought Damien was going to lose it completely, and with the way Owen looked up at him with a huge amount of confidence, I don’t know how he’s still alive! Just as I went to say something, Damien did a quick movement and Owen was standing up off the chair, in another quick movement, the chair was kicked away, and Owen was kneeling in front of Damien, holding a very painful expression. Feeling Damien’s Alpha aura, I knew that if I didn’t act as King, I’d want to be kneeling there too! It really was quite a savage aura, a terrifying one!   Seeing Owen there lowering his eyes, but breathing heavily, I wondered when Damien was going to let him go… Should I say something? But…What should I say? He was my beta but damned…I really liked seeing him kneeling like this! If only it was because I had made him do it instead! I must learn from Damien! I must! …In the end though, I didn’t have to say anything…Because Damien let him go and got the chair, putting up to the table and put himself into it. He took my hand and smiled at me, like nothing had just happened. Scary…But…So handsome! …Honestly, doing someone like this to the King’s Beta most likely would obtain a punishment…But, on the same note, Damien was indeed my mate and his place was next to me, as well as the Queen. I guess our predicament was a little different because I was not going to get ‘rid’ of the Queen and keep her here…So, Owen’s place was now two chairs down and no doubt, since he doesn’t want to acknowledge Damien, he was probably quite put out…Especially since I had no reason to punish Damien for what he just did… I ogled my mate with such enthusiasm that I saw his desire well up, kicking my nose in with his turned-on scent! Insatiable! Finally, I was able to control myself and I stopped…If I continued to stare at him like that, he’d probably take me now and here! Seeing Owen standing behind Damien, I slightly narrowed my eyes to this complex relationship and problem… I should say something, because by right’s Owen was my Beta, but since no one else was here…I decided not to say a word, and simply said, “That chair will no longer be yours Beta Owen, as my destined mate should be seated next to me.”   Seeing my Beta look fierce, but then take another face to try and hide it, I watched him calm down and finally say, “You are going to let him treat me like that!?” I sternly looked at him, “If the same issue was brought to you, where your Beta sat in your destined mates chair, what would have you done?” All I could do is put what he had done back at him, to see how he would feel, otherwise…I had nothing else! Always, I had done whatever I was told by Owen, kicking and screaming sometimes, but lately I’ve been talking back and holding my own against him! A tiny, Omega feeling went through me, stating I was wrong about changing my ways with Owen but Austorious and I as ‘King’ were more thinking it was about time we had Owen stood in his rightful place! I also didn’t want to make our simple knowledge about him to become completely obvious yet…I’m glad that what I had just said didn’t imply any type of war or doubt towards him, as it was more so a common rule and that as a ‘Beta’, he should understand.   Owen put his hand to the one that Damien had held just moments ago, then took a breath and nodded to me. Even though Owen now looked compliant, I could see it, I could see that he was really angry! When he was like this, accepting whatever I said, he seemed to come across as though I should feel bad for doing it! That even though I might be doing something normal, it didn’t matter to him…Normally in a case such as this, I would give in later and either apologize or be ‘good’ and do whatever he says for a while to get him to feel ‘better’ and go back to normal…But, I didn’t want to do that now! When Owen finally took his chair next to Damien, I heard him whisper, “Poisonous I tell you…” He might have whispered these words, but both Damien and I heard them and all I wanted to say in return was something about him poisoning my mother! …I really felt like Owen had absolutely no idea that he was the bad guy at all! Wanting to wish that he wasn’t acting and think that perhaps everything bad I’ve been told was wrong, I couldn’t help but be even more doubtful instead…I just…Felt it… Not having evidence, didn’t mean that I didn’t think he was the bad guy now and it really saddened me. Perhaps…Perhaps when I do get the evidence of his treachery, I will be ready to punish him accordingly…That all the memories I have of him being proud of me and being a father figure, a brother...Actually, now that I think about it, maybe that was another one of his acts. Owen wanting me to feel close to him and what not, may have been the first step into controlling me…Perhaps from the very beginning, he had planned to be the real ‘King’, while I was just a stand in without any power…   After that, the meal was uncomfortable and silent. Damien took my hand, which was becoming a habit, so I had to get used to eating with one hand…But, no conversations were made, but a lot of different glances were. The Queen seemed to understand and stayed silent too, helping her maid feed Chase and only eyeing us when she thought that we weren’t looking. …I longed to feed my son, to smile at him and make funny noises…but didn’t… The atmosphere and silence was practically intolerable, making us all eat a bit faster! Even Chance was being a bit whiny, having a cry over not wanting a particular part of the meal…   Just as we all were ready to leave, Owen finally broke the silence and stated, “I’d like to speak with you, my King. Shall we go to your office or head over to the west wing early?” I looked up to Owen and sighed, it was a fresh day and I had things to do. This was a normal event and it was already near the time to be doing my usual ‘Kingly duties’. “Let’s head over to the west wing early.” I said, standing up, seeing Damien do the same. “I’d prefer that your mate go ahead with his normal duties, as you will with yours.” Owen stated, staring at Damien. It looked like Owen had finally calmed down and was now back to his normal self once again. Well his normal self of wanting things his way and trying to order everyone around… I suppose if he’s like this, then he didn’t suspect that my feelings about him had changed, so it was probably a good thing. Damien went to speak but I put my hand up, “I also would like to speak to Owen alone.” Seeing Owen look at Damien in triumph, I sneered inside towards my Beta…If we can keep up this charade so that he doesn’t know that we doubt him and want to find evidence to support our theory, then we’ll do it…   Damien looked at me and sighed, “Very well.” He kissed me, whispering to me to alert him if anything goes wrong, and then left. Leaving me to go in the opposite direction with Owen. “My King, I apologize for earlier, a simple habit, yet I had made you angry.” I turn my head to Owen and just nod in reply. It looks like he wasn’t going to make me apologize…Which did surprise me… Continuing our walk, Owen soon spoke again, “I have only one more pack to wait upon for a response, before you are to head out again. I had first thought that staying close to the palace would be a good idea, but then a pack has specifically asked for you to come and see them…Please advice me, my King, if you are feeling you are unable to do this.” Frowning, I could only see one answer for him in return. Not only had he stopped acting like I needed to apologize to him, now he had stated easily that a pack wanted to see me in person… It was obvious that Owen wanted me out there to help get rid of the Elementalist’s…His subtle signs seemed so obvious to me now…He wanted me on his good side when he had asked me this… “What is the reason that pack wants to see me?” I asked, not letting on that I was eager to stay or go, I remained neutral. At this point, I noticed he wasn’t very informative to me, not even stating which pack it is and I couldn’t help but dislike this person more… The more I saw him, the more obvious it was that he was against me! I really had to be extremely careful now when I’m around him!   “Ah, the History Pack had wanted to show you last time, but…Obviously that wasn’t to be so, but this time, they had suddenly found an something within the pack and are unable to bring it here into the palace…Since it seems it has something to do with the royal line, they had wanted you to see it personally.” Owen words made me frown again, as it was, I hadn’t seen very much else of royalty, besides the palace. Not many pictures, not many letters or stories…Hell, I hadn’t even seen every part of the palace! Now that something had finally shown itself! And…Owen might be using that to get me there! Was he willing to let go of this source just to get me outside of the palace? I stopped walking suddenly and looked at him, who seemed to continue walking and have a strange look on his face…It looked like he was nervous! Walking again, I couldn’t help but want to know what it was! If it made Owen nervous, could it be something I could use or learn!? The History pack was still so far away though…If I was to get into trouble… Yet, wouldn’t it be worth it? What if information about the Elementalist’s was there!? I…I guess I needed to take this chance! “My King?” “I am willing.” Was all I said, striding easily into the cold room that I hated… I will go!   As I sat upon the throne, Owen smiled up at me and said, “Very well, as soon as I get a response, I will work out the travelling arrangements. Perhaps instead, I will start the arrangements even if I don’t get a response, as The Drilling Pack would not be our first or second stop anyway…” I nodded, not showing him anything. But truthfully, I was nearly everything at once and even if I showed him my emotions, he probably wouldn’t be able to figure it out! I was scared, I was troubled, curious, hoping and willing…Scared for a few reasons, troubled for a few reasons…Ah, it was good that I had learnt how to control these emotions! …Right now, I was ‘King’ and I was once again ready to do my ‘Kingly duties’! “Start.” I said, linking my hands together and staring ahead. “My King, it’s still early.” Owen said. “I don’t care.” I stated, “Just get the first person here.”   ***

Owen’s POV   King Tailor gave Valentria the best care, attentively and obsessively watching over her like a hawk. He wrote down how different it was between the two women and knew why Valentria had been his destined mate. She had accepted what he had done, she had that specific and most beautiful scent that he loved, and she was a lot more caring then he had thought! All those years, she had done things that he only found out then, and it was because she had been watching him secretly as well! She was the one that had on purposely left the safety of her room, while she was on heat, to see if it’ll help him conceive a child. She was the one that put that little extra salt, that he liked, with his breakfast and left a satchel under his pillow to help him sleep…   After all that time, Valentria may have looked like she wanted to leave the palace, but she also didn’t want to leave at the same time! She was an Omega after all, and it was known to her that a few of her Omega friends had not been accepted because they were Omega. She felt like she hadn’t been good enough for the King of Shifters and might have put on that she was not weak, but that was not the case at all, she was instead very weak inside. She wanted him to be happy and since her staying in the palace made her destined mate happier, she did it. Through out most of her life, this was how she came across, as King Tailor had written, but he grew to know otherwise! She was not sure of herself and didn’t know how to bring something across without being misunderstood…And for a few months, Valentria was able to blossom and state what was deep in her heart, making King Tailor love her so much more deeply!   It was not long after Valentria gave birth that King Tailor took certain means to secretly place an inner wall on the palace grounds and place her hidden away on the other side of it. As people from the inside saw, Valentria was not in the palace, but…She still was inside the grounds of the palace all that time. The King had intended to no longer see her, only written often that he would go to the wall and look down upon his muchly missed family. They spoke to each other through their links, the King wrote down, but that was mostly what went on. But it is written with pure emotion upon how much he missed being with them, how much he longed for them… For the royalty’s safety and secrecy, King Tailor had decided this procedure and it had worked. The Elementalist’s did not attack for twelve long years. In the last few chapters, that I had read a couple of days ago, that was were things went sour for me… I should have known! The Valentria I had met all those years ago was a very quiet and coming across as though she was submissive! Oh, I remember! She looked eager to let me obtain the twelve-year-old Ethan, like she had hated him! But no…That…   That’s right, I also found out recently upon why she might have acted like that. The late King claimed in his last entry, that he had seen his beloved before going out on his duties…But now that I remember back, to some of those days, I finally find it fishy… Valentria had not been upset to be completely neglected or even didn’t see her little boy, no, she was willing to stay in an isolated room… All those years, the lie of the maid being pregnant and had given birth, had been wrong! When I think back to seeing the maid with a child, I had just thought it was as they had said but no… That child had been King Tailor’s! At the time that I had read and thought back to those times of taking Ethan and completely neglecting Valentria, I was pissed. How could I have not questioned it at all!? Then, it took me a while to remember what happened to that little Omega girl…   Shaking my head, as I finished making my way to my room, I couldn’t believe that it was only yesterday that I remembered what happened to that little royal Princess of the late King’s. I let the maid take the child to her family! She returned, willingly, but the child had not returned! Having looked it up, trying to find this royal little child, I found no trace of her! I had no idea upon where to look for the lost child of the late King’s! I regretted killing Valentria! Finding out about the little girl, whether she was dead or not, somewhere… I may not have been able to find out, as I’m certain Valentria would not say anything, but now, was there any way at all!? Yes, I was angry! Not only was the little brat not confirmed dead, but there had been a confirmed direct heir to the throne elsewhere! Again, I tried to forget this knowledge. I didn’t want it to become something to interrupt my fate! It was already too late anyway! What can a little Omega girl do against me, even if she does know who she is!?     I thought back to the King that became my father in law, seeing someone completely different to the one in the diary and despised him completely. He was a coward and a pussy! What King? He was weak and deserved to die! I let out a laugh and started to undress. All I needed to hear was that the brat was gone and then…If I have to, I’ll get rid of the Elementalist’s by using my mate as bait. Then, I could bring out my son with ease, even showing them that he is indeed of Sollace blood. Once the Elementalist’s are gone…The whole continent would be mine!   Walking into the bathroom, I see a worker scrubbing away at the bath. “Get…” Ah…What bad timing… I knew she was an Omega, just by the smell of her! Luckily, I wasn’t an Alpha, otherwise she wouldn’t be leaving this room. Yet… Looking at her and that obvious pre heat smell, I felt myself become interested. Knowing that the late King used this to impregnant his chosen mate, I started to ponder the Omega and them being on heat… Finally, she looked over and nearly fell over, from being startled upon seeing me. “Oh, Beta Owen! I was told you wouldn’t be back, and I just had one more job to do before leaving! I will get out of your way, I’m sorry!” She quickly went to go past me, but I couldn’t help but stop her. My mate…I haven’t seen her for a while…And, currently, right at this moment…I was horny… I vaguely heard a growl from Petro, my wolf, but I quickly told him that he’s got the wrong idea. The girl was just entertainment! Besides, both of us were a bit off just because of the smell that the girl was releasing out. I know we could handle it, but…   Closing the door, I then locked it and the put my other hand on her other side of the girl and lifted her up to the vanity. “Did you even know that you’re going into heat, Omega?” Seeing her go silent and then suddenly look at me in shock, she quickly went to get down, “I’m sorry! I…” I stopped her and parted her legs, “Too late.” To a strange degree, I was slightly delighted to this new thrill. It wasn’t like I liked or loved the girl, I was just going to purely use her to get out some frustration and get some happiness. I was also curious about this type of thing…That was all… Seeing her fight against me at first, she stopped when I touched her where I could smell where her special fragrance was coming from…Ah… Fingering her insides, I took the rest of her clothes off, as well as my own.   Just a few seconds after that, I could tell, she was losing herself to her need to fulfil what the heat was there for… She touched me, making me feel weird at first, because I wasn’t hers, nor was she mine, but…I tried hard not think that this was something wrong, because well, it’s just fun. I didn’t have any type of feelings for her…She is nothing! Petro growled louder but I refused to let him get to me over something so small. I’ll talk to him about it later! With a groan, as she grabbed my own desire, I plunged a finger into her wetness and felt how wet and hot she was… That was all I needed, I put myself into her legs and guided my dick into her pussy.   …I felt like it had been ages, as I felt her heat against me. It was different, with such a huge scent overwhelming me and to see a woman want me so wantonly! Yet, there were no tingles. It was a strange difference… I didn’t know if it was coincidence that I decided to come back to my room at this moment, to find an Omega just about ready to start her heat, but I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from enjoying it now! Taking this Omega was an interesting experience indeed! Pushing myself deep inside, I pumped myself in and out of her and fulfilled her heat wish, taking her for the whole time that she was all over me… I took her against the wall, then in the shower, feeling extremely better after climaxing twice. The first time, I did pull myself out of her, spraying my seed elsewhere. I was surprised to my quick thinking and cheered at myself as it reminded me that I had no protection with me and that getting this girl pregnant probably wouldn’t be a good idea! …Yet, the second time, I was too carried away and pushed myself hard to finish a bit sooner, spraying my entire load inside the girl’s heat. As much as I wished I could say that I regretted it…I didn’t.   Her hands clawing me, her moans and groans, her screams. Her body wasn’t that bad, and I was indeed turned on! As long as I didn’t think too deeply, I was able to stay hard and appreciate this strange occurrence. Climaxing inside her, with all her heat and own juices mixed with mine, made it all that more enjoyable! Pedro was severely upset with me, but the deed was done...I don’t even care if she really did get pregnant or not. I have no emotional attachment to her whatsoever! She was placed here at this time, why shouldn’t I take advantage of it!? And I wasn’t going to be a coward like that of the late King and the little brat…I was going to take what I wanted… It was great, not as good as my mate, but it was fun! I felt refreshed and ready to move on, possibly to think of a solution to my problems! Before sending her out, I gave her a deep look and she blinked a few times. “I…” “Don’t speak, it was fun, now go and work.” I didn’t need to explain myself…I was the regent King! The master of all the Shifters!

Ethan’s POV (Back in time a bit)   I couldn’t believe that it had already been four months since Beta Owen died. The time had flown by and I, only now, felt like things were as they should be. Now that I wasn’t the King anymore, I had felt strange for a time, because that had been my life, but now…Now that Damien and I were heading out as The Rogue Hunter Pack and going to try and save or kill some rogues and be away from the palace…It was like my life was just beginning once again! ‘Precious?’ Ah, Damien’s voice, Damien’s smell… I forgave him straight away, obviously! I didn’t want to live without him!   Honestly though, I never thought that he had to beg for forgiveness in the first place but…We had grown a part a bit and it had taken us this long to be just as close as we were before he had gotten angry with me. I think it was a mix of Damien feeling bad and me feeling his feeling and patiently sitting there instead of… Mmm, I guess it was time that I put things into my own hands! Four months was long enough! Four months was too long! I wanted him so much that I felt like I was dying! I couldn’t believe that we had not been completely intimate with each other for this entire time! It was like we had become humans and did the ‘before sex’ actions but never went the whole nine yards! It was irritating to say the least! Especially when I had gotten my heat! Two times I’ve had my heat and Damien did not touch me! It had made me so angry and so I’ve let this go on so long!     After stopping, making the area our first location, after leaving the palace, I continued trotting, feeling Damien’s curiosity. I know he knew my feelings, I didn’t hold them back from him knowing and finding out at all! He should know that I wanted him! I was angry with wanting him! I was...Tired and exhausted from playing whatever game we were playing! If he's waiting for me to say 'Ok, I give in', then ok, I'll do it! Argh! Continuing on, leaving his pack behind and finding a nice secluded place, I stop and turn to him, hanging out my tongue. Damien stopped in front of me, then took those steps that I wanted him to take and started licking my wolf all over. We hadn’t spent much time in our wolf forms for a long time, so I was relishing this nice event. With his scent driven into my nostrils so much that I nearly got dizzy with it, I couldn’t stop myself from licking him, even though he hadn’t finished quite yet on licking me. It would be about now, that any other Shifter would know not to venture close to this area, as both of us let out our obvious aroused scents.   It was only another two minutes after that, when I had only diligently licked half of the big grey wolf, before I shifted into my human form and cuddled into its fur. In mere moments, Damien also shifted, and I felt his arms all over me, his kisses started at my mark, making me quiver. Ah, so long, so long have I waited for this! Nearly to the point of dripping liquid, I moaned impatiently, as I pushed him into me and jumped into his embrace. Putting my legs around him, I felt the ground beneath me, and Damien’s continued with his moving lips and kisses down my chest. Putting my hands around his neck, through his hair and then down his back, I heard him gasp as his arousal touched my own bare skin. How the hell had we lasted so long without mating properly!? Even he is at his limit! I can feel it!   Kissing my sweet Damien in urgency, I just couldn’t hold back my whimper. Damien pulled back and looked at me, his eyes shining into mine and I swear I saw that he was being cheeky, but I just didn’t want to question that at the moment. Slowly, too slowly, did I feel his hand go to my leg and then towards the back of the knee, gently bringing it up closer to my chest. I whimpered again, to such a slow gesture and willingly raised my legs higher for him. “My Ethan!” Damien stated, hovering himself over right where I was dripping with fluid. I nodded quickly and pushed him as much as I could into me. Damien bent down and kissed me gently, and I didn’t miss his hand going to my ass. Yes! Yes! Please!   Letting out a moan, I felt his hard erection go inside me slowly and broke our kiss, no longer able to pay attention to anything else! With each slow thrust inside me, I got more and more excited and I moaned louder and louder. It was like all those times where he had just given me a hand job had done nothing…It was like I had never been touched before! Ah! Tensing up, I moaned out quite loudly as I climaxed. Ah! My god! Arching my back, I released on top of myself and grasped onto whatever my hands could get a hold off! With each little spurt, I shivered, and upon finishing, I was trembling so much that I could no longer grasp onto whatever my hands had.   “Precious.” I was taken tightly into Damien’s hold, making me feel full and sweet, as I tried to calm my breathing and come back down to earth but I was having trouble. Heaven, it was a place of happiness and contentment and I really liked it! Just me and Damien, Damien and I…Just us two…Together! Kissing my mark on him sloppily, I continued to tremble as I felt Damien’s length inside of me and his arms tight around me. “Are you sure you’re ready, Precious?” Groggily, I dazedly looked at my mate…Not understanding what he asked. “Tell me…Are you ready?” Damien had slowed down, making me antsy, thinking perhaps I’d done something wrong. “What do you mean?” I didn’t particularly want to have a conversation right now!   “I know it, even if you don’t know it yourself, my precious mate! You have been worried…” I found myself focusing, now that Damien had stopped thrusting, even though he was still inside me. “What have I been worried about?” I asked, completely clueless upon this discussion. Damien kissed me on the forehead, making a drop of his sweat to fall onto my cheek, “Even though you barely remember it, I see it sometimes in your dreams, on how you gave birth. You’ve been scared.” Swallowing, I looked away from him and take a breath in. “Are you sure you’re ready?” Damien asked once again, in a soft voice. Looking up at the beautiful man in front of me, I smiled. I may know, deep down, that it had scared me, yes but…I wasn’t going to let it stop me from obtaining any future happiness! How could it be so bad anyway!? Our son, One, was conceived and he was such a great boy! I loved One so much, just as much as I loved Chance! So...Even if I had a bad dream, it doesn't mean that I don't realize something good came from it! Silly man! “You are mistaken! So give me everything!” I state happily. I know it was unconsciously done, to show him how scared I had been, but it didn’t mean that all this time I had given up on having a family with him! He was such an idiot!   Letting out a yelp, as Damien drove himself deep within me and then thrusted in and out in faster movements, I clung onto him as I continued to moan out how great it felt. With hardly any space between us now, Damien stopped licking my ear and I heard him say, “Good!” Another heat flooded into me then, as I heard his deep groan and finally, I felt like we had passed some type of invisible barrier… So he had been worried all this time… As I heard Damien’s heavy breathing and felt him slow to a stop, I felt almost serine as we laid there, sweat clinging to our hair and to our bodies.   “I love you, Ethan. Nothing else matters more to me then you! If you had never wanted any more children, I still would have gladly accepted it.” Hugging Damien tighter to me, I felt like heaven had descended all over again. “Mmm. But you’re an idiot to think I’d put you through that! Even I want more!” Damien pulled back to look at me and he smiled so big at me that I was again put into a daze. “With you like this, we might end up with several!” Damien laughed. I smiled back at him, putting a hand to his face and seeing him lean his face in towards it. “I love you too, Damien.” Damien kissed me then, gently at first, but as the minutes went by, the kiss grew just like our feelings, just like our want for each other…     Upon finishing our love making for the third time, night had completely fallen, and Damien sounded like he was asleep. But I, for one, was awake. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was at this moment… I was no longer carrying the burden of King. I was no longer thinking that I was no longer worthy because I was an Omega. I was able to see Chance, my eldest son, whenever I wanted, and able to see my adorable second son whenever I wanted. My blood…Was no longer a curse, something that I no longer felt that I shouldn’t possess. No…Right now, right under this beautiful night sky and next to the love of my life, I couldn’t be happier. I guess…Having gone through life hadn’t been bad at all…I grew to realize what was great and special, what was meant to be and what I wanted. Through having a chosen mate, I was granted Chance. Through having been King, I was granted loyal friends. Through having a mate, I was granted acceptance and love. It was all tangled up...But really, at the end, it’s sort of like...A harmony or understanding...Well whatever it was, life has been absolutely worth it! I think…I know that life is good, whatever and however I lived it!   THE END     (Just a few tid bits)   I didn't go into deep explanation towards the end because this was mainly about Ethan, which is why Ethan had the last bit in the story.   To be honest, I had an awesome time writing about One, even though I couldn't come up with another name...I know...It's not great but I didn't want to use First or Alpha. For the story, I felt like it had to be One, sigh...   The idea upon how warlocks came into being: First was obtaining the elemental power, from One absorbing into himself (I'm thinking because he was a rare, unique type of fish that could do so), then, in another life, One played around with his elemental power with normal fire and water and whatnot, and the effect it gave off was the 'magic'. After absorbing this neutral type of magic for so long, that was when One split it up, to help him regain his elemental power, and in so doing, he made the Shifters and also made the warlock powers.   In his first Shifter life, One made the Warlocks not long after he stopped 'life steal', which meant they were around about fifty years before his death.   The warlocks were probably the instigators for this whole story. They instigated the Elementalist's and they instigated Owen.   I was thinking of writing another story connected to this one...Thinking was as far as I got lol.   Anyway, I hope you guys liked the story, thanks for reading it!

Ethan’s POV   “My King.” Seeing Owen in front of me, while still on a bed, I didn’t feel a thing towards this familiar person at all. “I name you regent, Beta Owen. I have written here that you will have the power of a King, as long as you do what’s best for Shifters, as what is expected of such a position.” “…My King?” I didn’t want to watch his enthusiasm, nor his confusion, I just wanted to get this over and done with! “I wrote several copies for each Alpha and their packs, carrying my blood and saying the exact same thing. Here is your copy, take it and leave.” Knowing that I had a dead look, I watched as Owen breathed out after narrowing his eyes, and easily took the parchment. …It seems that his greed has made this step quite easy… “My King, with a heavy…” “Leave!” I yelled out. To be honest, it wasn’t that easy to show that I was still in despair and ready to end my life! Having to think about this person and what he does behind my back had taken me this far, but I desperately wanted him out of my sight before I let out some emotions to my newly acquired secrets!   Seeing Owen bow and leave, I then turned to the wall, seeing my mate slowly come back to me from being behind it. We would have known that Owen would have smelt him in the same room, but we decided that it would be best if Damien let me do this while he was not being seen, because it might make Owen restless or angry. It had been two weeks since I had been shot. At first, they had put me in the air again as soon as possible, and then got me back here to the palace, and with some strange luck in all that time, they hadn’t gotten attacked by Elementalist’s. I was in a low mental state for a couple of days and I think Damien was having trouble coping with it. He took all my tears and all my distant looks and faint answers and did not complain once. But it had been terrible! Upon suddenly becoming a vegetable, I still had my King duties and it only made things even worse, where upon I was yelling and showing a lot of anger.   Having to deal with Alpha Satel had not made me happier, no, it had made me sad and angry! Instead of being rational about it, I wanted his life for what he had done! I know I should have thought more towards it but if he had not shot me, he would have shot my mate and that was the basis of my reasoning for his death! Seeing the last moments of Alpha Satel’s life, it hadn’t helped me because…I was still in a wheelchair and feeling nothing in my lower half of my body! His deed was something I had to live with for the rest of my life! In that state, I had already wanted to give Owen the throne and this was how this idea of him becoming a regent came into place…But, it was just two days ago, that I had felt something! It wasn’t much, but I felt like I was regaining feeling back into my legs!   To get someone that we trusted, to give us an idea upon how long it would take to heal further, or if I was going to heal at all, I had only been able to see a doctor a few hours ago… The doctor had come from The Watcher’s Pack and they not only devotedly not asked questions but insisted that they show their devotion through a blood pack, before I could even mention it myself! Already, they knew that I wanted complete secrecy and I could not help but be overjoyed to having more on my side! A note was written to me, when this doctor came, and I was happy to know that The Watcher’s Pack had always been loyal to the King and they were willingly going to stand by my side…Even if I was an Omega… In fact, they had known for certain that I was an Omega for quite a number of years! Damien was surprised to hear this, having thought that no one from outside of the plane would ever state this so openly, even if they did know! I, on the other hand, felt a great relief that my secret had come out and that The Watcher’s Pack was still very loyal. And to this, Damien and I knew that we could count on them to start planning our comeback against Owen!   Having made some decisions, Damien and I had come to a conclusion…And that was to get Owen with his greed… I suppose our trap was set as soon as he took the place as regent, because we felt like all we had to do now was keep our safety in mind, while we wait for Owen to think he had whatever he needed… There was a ‘but’ though, and it was clearly written upon each and every piece of paper that was sent out to all of the packs! One way of trapping Owen, could be as easy as the Shifters themselves seeing that Owen was not doing what was best for them…The other traps that we had for Owen, was whether or not he would give back this power, that was lent to him in the first place!   It was a big chance that we were taking on this and we had also thought of the fact that we may never get anything from it but…We felt like this was the best road to take for Owen to show his real face to everyone else. I guess the fact that I had always had trouble being the King had come into play here and made me willing to take this chance, without too much thought of what I could lose forever because of it. We both knew that Owen would take this chance of becoming regent…But we also both knew that he will take advantage of it and that will be when we would make our move. Not only would this give me time to heal, but it would bide us some time to make sure Chance was safe as well. This was where The Watcher’s Pack was to come in!   We were going to take up the chance of leaving the palace and taking on the Elementalist’s because…We just did not feel safe here! Even if I was not to pronounce Owen as the regent, I no longer even felt safe inside of the palace! Being weak like this, with only Damien being someone I could trust, who else could I trust to keep both Chance and I safe? No, we had to either get Owen out of the palace or get ourselves out! So, since we could not even find Owen’s mate, whom we knew was in the palace somewhere, giving Owen the chance to become regent was attempting to give us time to achieve our goal of getting out but also trapping him… Not everything had been solved yet though, we just knew that the first step was to show that I was in despair and easily made Owen the regent. Perhaps he may leave us alone and think that I might do the job of ‘death’ by myself! After all, it was rare but still known that Shifters could indeed kill themselves…All we had to do was produce a claw and slash at our necks and if we mean to do it and go deep enough, we are unable to heal fast enough from it. Anyway, not all plans could be made so quickly as…We decided that even if we go to The Watcher’s Pack, it will be when I am well enough!   Yes, the doctor stated that it seems that I will gain feelings back into my legs, they just didn’t know how long it was going to take. And, it had already come to pass that I was becoming less active, by sleeping more by at least an hour or two every day, which the doctor could state as an effect of silver being in my body. I showed slight color change in my back, from where I had gotten shot, but the rest of my body seems to stay as my normal color. The doctor stated that hopefully since I’m a Shifter, not much else will happen but he did tell me about more effects of what silver could do to me and my health. Effects could be as small as the blue or grey change of color to my skin, which doesn’t mean that I’m unhealthy, to that of Lung irritation and kidney problems, so I had to keep my eye on it.   What the doctor did not know, was why I was gaining the feeling back in my legs at all, after it was obviously completely lost. It wasn’t like we had not had to use silver and wolfsbane before as punishments, but it was never something that had directly happened like this before. It wasn’t like I was the first to get shot…It was how I was shot… I had been shot directly into the spinal cord and so my case was indeed not something that we knew too much about. Nonetheless, it seems that I just needed some time… The fact that I was an Omega, might have been the case, as it could have just taken longer to see any type of results because I did not heal as quickly as an Alpha but…It was enough! My spirits rose, just by knowing that I was still healing and getting better than I was a day ago! It gave me strength and it gave me hope! The last two weeks had been terrible, as I had been mad, angry and upset most of the time. I was rather temperamental, and Damien and I had only gotten intimate only once upon returning but I had not been able to get into the mood since. I had felt like a loser, to now feeling like there was a future! It was…A directly opposite, one eighty change!   And that was why I was able to speak about the future once again! I now resided in Chance’s room, having come back here first because he made me feel better, but now…Now it was for safety reasons! For the moment, we all stayed with Chance, even the Queen was often with us and even if Damien didn’t like it, I made sure that we stayed this way as often as possible, especially now that Owen had become regent. There might be a chance that Owen would not do anything, but just in case, I wanted to make sure that we were ready to leave whenever we needed to! Relocation of the King, Queen and heir to the throne, was a complete secret, one in which was already nearly planned out! In the meantime, I was trying to give out the impression that I was still upset and just wanted to be close to my family…   To be honest with myself, now that I felt like I was getting better, I was somewhat relishing these days. I might be stuck in bed, but I was getting in lots of cuddles with Chance and Damien. They had been very careful with me and before it had made me feel worse, but now it makes me feel like I’m being spoilt! Damien has personally been feeding me, even Chance had tried to feed me, but he had needed someone’s help! What was best though, was that since I was taking up Chance’s bed, I got to sleep with not just my boy but my mate as well. I did not lack in sleep! From all the times that Damien had kept me awake before we left for my last trip out, I was making up for it in such a style that I started to worry that I was sleeping too much! It was so comfortable, being beside two warm bodies that I loved so much! Yesterday, I got another bed to come into the room, so that the Queen could also sleep here, as I wanted to keep her safe too, but she had not slept in this room once yet. It worried me but…To a prospect, it had given Damien a big amount of time to bond with Chance!

Owen’s POV   “I’d like to forego this issue until next time, my King. Especially if it is alike from the other times that we were investigated by the humans” I have too many things going on right now! I don’t need to frig dick around with some idiots that can’t handle some mother fucking humans! “When did you say I was to head out, Beta Owen?” Good boy, at least you know to ask me questions still! This is the way I like you, you little brat! “In three days’, time, my King. I will organize it for three days’ time, even if the Driller Pack isn’t ready.” I’d rather make it in two days instead, I was itching to know what The History Pack was hiding! They hadn’t sounded like it was a huge deal, so it doesn’t sound anything too special…It’s just that…Now that I think about it…Why didn’t they bring what they had to the palace? It was either something that belonged in The History Pack or…Did I overlook the fact of them only wanting the King to directly seeing it himself? I admitted to myself that I was on edge and couldn’t wait to find out what it was that The History Pack had hidden! “Then, as you said, we will forego this issue until…I return…” Looking away from Ethan, I didn’t show that I knew that he was worried about dying, and just continued, “Then Alpha Brown, we will hope this issue doesn’t escalade to become a big problem. Surely the humans will see that nothing is at a loss. If there is cause for you to worry more, please contact the Queen or even myself. Like I said earlier, we have had police and even detectives investigate us many times, but we aren’t doing anything illegal, just continue as you are doing.” Alpha Brown looked relieved, “Of course, then if there is nothing else, I will finish unloading and return back to my pack and keep an eye out.” “Mmm, do that.” I heard Ethan state nonchalantly.   Thank god it was all over! I had people to see and things to do, before we were to head out of the palace! Not long after I said my goodbyes and went to finish organizing our trip out of the palace, I heard my secret phone go off… I couldn’t believe it, it was that time already!? Getting it out of my secretly locked drawer of my office desk, I then rushed to the door to lock it, and answered the phone. Straight away I heard a voice on the other end, “I can’t find out, giving me the feeling that you may not be able to either!” Frowning, I took a deep breath, “What is it then that you think, since it will apparently stop me?” “I think it’s a blood lock, Beta Owen. You will not be able to know what’s inside until Ethan uses his blood to open it.” Putting a hand through my hair, I sighed, “And it’s too late to bring it to my mate, dammit!” I never thought using this reason to force Ethan out of the palace would completely backfire on me! Now, I wish that I had never told the brat anything!   As the phone went silent, I kept wanting to think of a strategy, to get whatever The History Pack has but can’t come up with anything now until it’s in Ethan’s hands. “Beta Owen?” Sighing, I said, “Fine, I’ll think of something while I’m there then. Have you found out why the late King made that promise then?” “With the information that I can put together, I believe it has something to do with Ethan and I’m glad you have not done anything to him!” I frowned again, “I wouldn’t have done anything to him with the Elementalist’s around!” “…Yes, but you have lost your temper lately.” The voice stated the truth. I couldn’t help it, ever since my boy was born, I got a bit antsy, but I wasn’t going to do anything drastic! “Anything else?”   “…Well…I can’t help but think of a few questions. Like why would the Elementalist’s kill the entirety of the royal family? Are they afraid? You told me that you saw one letter that the King wrote, that stated his destined mate was in fact Ethan’s mother…Right?” “…Mmm.” Was all I could reply with, I was smelling a scent in range now, if I talked for too much longer, I might be found out. “Then, I think the promise had something to do with the King being unable to be with his destined mate, which is why I stated Ethan plays a big part in this. I read something, yet am unsure of if it applies, but there is an ancient old looking book that was stating one that can be a beginning and an end.” “Beginning and an end?” I whispered…As now I was hearing footsteps, then a door opening not far away. I had to get off this phone! “…That is all I got, think about it. I’ll look into it more here also.” “Fine, we’ll make it in two weeks.” Having him call me in a week might be too early…Two weeks should be better… “Fine.” Then the line went dead… Always hated talking to that bastard!   Beginning and an end… Narrowing my eyes, I immediately understand the first part, ‘beginning’. Alpha was another term for beginning… But…Even after another minute, I wasn’t understanding ‘an end’. Yet…What has that got to do with Ethan? He wasn’t an Alpha… Pushing that thought aside for now, I immediately went to finish organizing the trip out in two days. The Driller’s pack confirmed, finally, and then I got Alpha Monk to send down some more small oxygen tanks and heat dosages. Then, just in case, I called up The Watcher’s Pack and The History Pack, to make sure that they knew that we were doing things differently this time. I know the brat had gone to the Watcher’s Pack the last time he had gone out of the palace but I wanted him to go there again, it was precisely to show him that there was nothing strange going on because with that new strange behaviour of his…I needed to keep him under my wing and showing him that I’m ‘innocent’, was the first step. As much as I hated being compliant, it looked like I had to accept that brute Damien as well, which had been completely out of my calculations! And this brute was an Alpha…   Not liking it truly, I also knew that The Watcher’s Pack were loyal to the King, and that would also help claim my innocence, even though I’d prefer that outcome to be different! I’m even having second thoughts upon if Alpha Monk is still on my side now! I have wanted to see him since I last saw him talking to His Majesty yesterday, yet I have been too busy to give him a call! I just had this feeling…That my allies had been cut short! This was exactly the reason I had put off the brat from going out of the palace! I didn’t want him to gain the trust of the other Alpha leaders! But…Since my boy had been born, I had no other choice but to try and find a way to defeat the Elementalist’s!   Since I was not ready yet for Ethan to die and hadn’t completely figured out why he could potentially be special, I had organized that we spend a lot of this time out on a plane. It’s not like we have to go anywhere, just being in the air would be enough… We will obviously have to land a few times but as soon as possible, we will go back in the air. While that brat Ethan will look like a ‘King’, I will be trying to come up with a plan to gain what it is that The History Pack has got! With the little bits and pieces that I salvaged up from the palace, before Ethan could take it, I was able to understand that the threat over the Elementalist’s was something that won’t go away, and that theory proved right when they had attacked Ethan! My boy had been born, so I was glad that I had made sure before I had done something that I would regret! Having Chance as the next King, when he was so young, would have been too much work! At least now, I knew that I had to deal with the Elementalist’s before my boy was of age… With the knowledge that Valentria had stated and the few pieces of writing from the late King, there was something special about Ethan and I had been trying to control him ever since… But…I’ve realized that things are getting that little bit harder recently!   Before that brute of a mate of Ethan’s came along, I felt like I was in control, now…Now everything seemed to have gone out of my hands! What had happened!? Sitting down and putting a hand through my hair, I breathed out deeply and felt tired. Just for a short while, I was able to calm myself and remember why I was working so hard! I was lucky! So lucky! My mate was of royal blood and had survived the burial all those years ago! I’ve thanked the stars many times because of that! Now, finally after so many years, we have a boy! Being so busy for days, weeks, months, years, I was still able to give my time to my dear mate and we have been wanting to grant ourselves this deep wish! Finally! Yet, at the moment, it seems like it doesn’t matter so much… Just thinking about my family, I felt homesick…I wanted to run towards the hideout that only the late King knew, and now only I and two other people knew…The hideout was in the palace and it had everything that his family would need!   Hearing a knock on the door, I got up and opened it, trying to hide the fact that it was locked, “Yeah, what is it Nora?” “I just found out now that Ethan had visited his mother recently. Looking on the camera’s…It seems Valentria left a note. I tried to follow them and read whatever was in there, but it seems that the Alpha by His Majesty’s side has an idea that we are watching everything…” Taking a moment to think, I then frowned, “The maid…” “We detained her before I came here. She’s currently in a cell.” Nora stated. I nodded, “I want to see her!”   Nora led the way, while I thought deeply upon what Valentria would state in the letter. If I expected the worse…Then Ethan would know about my poisoning his mother and that…I am someone she knows, most likely she figured out that I was mated with the late King’s own daughter and she could have written that information in the letter… If that had happened, it would be understandable why things have changed slightly… Picturing what the brute had done this very morning, at the breakfast table, I frowned… Yet…Even though Ethan might have changed somewhat, we were still able to speak to one another… What to do? What does the brat know? Perhaps it was just a goodbye note and that she loved him? I shook my head, putting a finger to my chin, no…I knew that woman! She would have written everything she knew! How cheeky, she had written the letter probably as soon as she found out that I started to poison her and that was why she wanted the maid to stay here. It wasn’t because the maid was shy and timid, it wasn’t because the maid was ‘going to keep her company’ or ‘wait to give my son a last goodbye message’… Ah, this maid was here only to give Ethan a letter…Now it was time to find out what she knows! Walking into the cell, a body laid out on the ground, blood was still slowly seeping away from it and spreading onto the floor… It looks like the maid will not speak upon what’s in the letter! Everything was getting out of my control! I must obtain it back! Clenching my hands into fists, I looked at the maid in determination, “Get rid of it!”   ***

Ethan’s POV   Thirty minutes later, we were all ready to jump from the plane in order, one after another. Beta Locky seemed really confident, perhaps he was the only one who had done this before, but me…As I walked up to the edge, I widened my eyes and swallowed… “It’s time, Precious.” Damien said loudly, so that I could hear him. I nodded and jumped, knowing that I just had no other choice. I wasn’t about to let this get to me either, I had gone through hell to become a King…Why would jumping out of something…So high up in the air…Be scary!? Oh…But it was! I forgot what I had to do for a moment and literally felt the pain of air getting into my eyes, making me close them. After I had closed my eyes, I felt extremely uneasy and I opened them again, only to get scared and move my body in reflex… My heart was beating frantically, and I heard something soft, then a voice in my head that helped me calm down.   Taking a breath, then another breath, I tried to steady myself and I was finally in control. Remembering what I was told, I freaked out to when the parachute opened and felt like I got whiplash! Holding tightly to the two handles that ‘guided’ me, I found that I was far from where I was supposed to be and tried to get back into line but was too scared to pull on the handles too hard… Please be over soon, please be over soon! ‘Calm down, Precious! Do you remember how to land?’ I blinked a few times and felt a bit better, hearing Damien’s soothing, patient voice in my head. How do I land again? Remembering what Beta Locky said, I nodded my head bravely, ‘I remember!’ ‘Good, calm down. Chance is fine and when I last looked back, the Queen was fine too. Don’t panic and try to get back in line a bit more ok?’ I nodded again. I can do this!   When I finally took in the scene around me, looking at how nice it was, I had calmed down but…The landing was getting closer and closer and Damien continuously felt panicked just because I did…I felt it! It really was a double panic and I honestly could hardly handle it! Austorious was getting mad at me as well because how I was dealing with this new experience, but I knew that he wasn’t that great either! Both of us seemed to prefer to have our feet on the ground! Since I was always told what I had to do with landing, simple because of Damien’s continuous voice in my head, I did what I was told and found myself covered, only feeling slight pain in my knees. …I guess I did alright after all! Getting out of the parachute, I look around and found Damien a decent distance away…And also Beta Locky, whom even was coming closer to where I was, his parachute already packed up into a big ball.   We were to leave the parachutes here, and the pilot was going to pick them up on his own way back, and I found myself wondering how he would carry them all! They weren’t just a simple backpack anymore, they were big and bulky, with… ‘Focus, precious!’ Looking up, to see Damien about to land, I shifted into my wolf form and went towards Beta Locky, whom shifted as well. Now, we were in enemy territory again…Just a different type of enemy territory. Owen was one of our own, but his hidden agenda was really just as scary as The Elementalist’s. To be honest…I don’t know which one is worse. One could change from that of an old family type figure, to an assassin in moments, and the other enemy has the power to move earth…   Seeing myself, through Damien’s eyes, I heard him say that Chance was behind him and the Queen was also running now too. The doctor was just getting out of his parachute, so he won’t be far behind now as well. I guess things worked out for the moment and for a while, we all ran at Chance’s pace in a long line towards The Watcher’s Pack. We had found ourselves close to The History Pack, which is what we thought anyway, so we would have to run to what felt like two hours, maybe less, but in that two hours… I looked around, but continued my pace… I didn’t know what was worse, the palace or here! The Elementalist’s could pop up at any time! Knowing that they could just spring up out of the ground…And I was completely surrounded by ground… I felt like I should go slower, because I didn’t trust this place at all! But really, I knew being faster was also good, because then we would be closer to our destination.   My heart was pounding in my chest, my eyes were nervously looking around and I was also keeping an eye on everyone else at the same time…It really was…A long journey! Seconds felt like minutes and small things moving scared me…Even if it was a bird flying away that we had ourselves startled! And just as I feared, the Elementalist did come! It was a good hour of being tensed up, running and nervous but none of us were surprised to the sudden attempted burial. …But we were surprised for another reason, and that was…I wasn’t the target, no…This time it was my boy!     Damien’s POV   A noise made me look back and I couldn’t help but have a terrible feeling overcome me. Having turned around, I rushed back, not holding back my speed at all and found the Queen had shifted back to human and was crying, digging through the earth. I remember vividly what this meant! ‘Get him out, Damien! Please get him out!’ I shifted and quickly started to dig along with the Queen, but I saw that Ethan had turned around and started to come back towards us. ‘Go back, go to The Watcher’s Pack!’ ‘You really think that I would run off when my child is buried alive!?’ I got angry to his anger, but I was not able to focus on that right now! I had to get Chance outta there! This plan, I knew it wouldn’t work! I should have not listened to my precious mate and just said no! Those eyes of his and his obvious flirts were just too damned agreeable! Being on edge for days now, I felt completely exhausted, but I knew it really was no time to show this!   The earth that had covered our boy was not hard and we couldn’t just step on it either, but in the process of digging, I felt like I was getting nowhere! Sobbing from the Queen wasn’t helping me either! I wish she would just shut the fuck up! She was so desperate, yelling out ‘Chance’ and tears were dropping after drops to the ground, where her dirty hands were. Dammit! But what was worse, was when I saw Ethan’s scenery, showing an Elementalist right in front of him, right in between us! I got up and turned around, seeing right in front of my eyes of Ethan stopping and shifting into his human form. “Get my boy outta there!” Ethan’s yell was followed by a run towards the Elementalist and Hexxah and I freaked out to Ethan’s unconcerned rush towards an enemy!   Was he insane!? He looked like one of those sports guys charging at someone with a ball! Before I could get mad at Ethan for doing something so extremely dangerous though, I heard noise behind me and found the earth erupting out, spilling over the Queen and making me step back. Chance came before our eyes and the Queen quickly dashed towards him and picked him up. “Chance!” Looking back at Ethan, I see him suddenly stop and I felt his relief, as he looked at Chance…Only to see him disappear! My breathing stopped and I felt like my future was tumbling away from me! No! This can’t happen, I won’t let it! Those two…I couldn’t live without them! “You dare try to bury me!?”   I had never heard Ethan so angry before, making me completely startled…He was raging inside! Hell, I was angry too! How dare they! How dare rocks try to bury my precious and pup!? …If it wasn’t a life-threatening situation, I would be all over him, saying that he was cute with his all ‘so powerful and crazy’ question towards the Elementalist! …I saw the Elementalist tremble, remembering to breathe again, and I shifted to my wolf, ready to go and pounce on it! “Get me outta here!” I heard Ethan’s yell and I stopped in my tracks, when I saw Ethan come out of the hole! What…Was going on!? “You!” Seeing the Elementalist tremble once again, I was completely dumbfounded… “Why do you keep doing this!?” Ethan stated, pointing at the Elementalist’s with a shaking finger. I felt his curiosity, but…His anger was a lot easier to distinguish! But what happened next, moved me straight into panic once again! Suddenly, Ethan was surrounded by a piece of earth that had a glowing vein in it…Then I saw words forming in Ethan’s head. ‘Revenge’.   “…What Revenge?” Ethan’s answer didn’t come straight away…No, both of us had been stunned to what the Elementalist was doing. Pictures, actually…Memories filled our heads and I stood stock still as I saw someone with these Elementalist’s and demanding them to go. There were…More… …I didn’t know how to take it in! The danger we had was because of one Elementalist, but in this ‘memory’ there were closer to fifty of them and…They were different… How could they ever fight against so many of them!? ‘Accident’. Memories evaded us once again, as we saw the Elementalist’s be coaxed into doing something that had killed a few of the Shifters and that was why they were demanded to ‘go’. It seems…A Shifter had demanded them to go to the continent of Gorde… Silence once again went over the area, only to be filled with one scream after a moment, “Chance! Chance!?” Turning around, I shifted and saw Chance being slapped lightly on the cheek by a tearing Queen.   I ran up to them and tried to focus on Chance, and not on the memories that Ethan was still currently seeing. With a scary thought, because of seeing Chance not moving, the Queen rectified it, “Breath! My baby, please breath for mummy!” Widening my eyes, I swallowed and put a hand to the small boy’s nose and found that it was indeed right…Chance wasn’t breathing! Dammit! Come on, Chance! “Come on, Buddy. Breath!” Taking the boy and laying him down, I tried to do CPR on him, to then find that the doctor was approaching in a rush, “Quick, he’s not breathing!” I moved both the Queen and I to the side, making room for the doctor. The Queen was trying to push me out of the way, but I kept her by my side, a good meter away from Chance. If there was any way that Chance would still make it, she had to let the doctor do his job! “Wait! Just…Trust the doctor!” Was all I could say, as I turned back to the doctor and held my breath… My god, today had to be the most scariest day of my life!   The doctor shifted and landed in a hurry beside Chance and opened his mouth and breathed into Chance, then did some chest pumps, and repeated the process. It wasn’t like that of doing CPR to an adult, it was a child’s CPR and I was glad that I hadn’t done this myself, what if I hadn’t thought of this!? I could have done more damage than good! I let out a sigh of relief to a doctor being close by and knowing all this stuff! “Ple…ease…Chance! Don’t…Don’t go!” I patted the Queen and watched for Chance, unable to stop myself from feeling a bit of sadness overwhelm me. “Come on, Buddy! Look…Look your mum is crying, stop her from crying!”

Ethan’s POV   The day flew by and before I knew it, Owen had done what he had said he’d do and a time to leave had been swiftly organized. I only had two days to spend time with my son and wrap up as much things as possible. Since I was now in trouble, as in my life was certainly at risk, Owen had stated that I should leave behind a note, just in case, but it only made me upset and sad…So no note was ever written… Even after spending hours on my own, at my desk, thinking of Eleanor, Chance and Damien…I didn’t get any idea on what to write, I just got sadder and sadder as the seconds ticked by. It didn’t matter who did what and how they did it, when I’d be gone, so why did I have to write this…Especially when Owen would probably not abide to it anyway! No…   I wanted to know why the Elementalist’s were after me! I wanted to know why I can’t just live my life to the fullest! Then, I even got as far as wondering what my death would mean to some certain Shifter’s? As much as I wanted to write, ‘Chance cannot become King’, in a form of trying to keep him out of harm’s way, he really was the only, obvious male Sollace that could become King…Shifters would probably except Chance as he was my son, all having somewhat met him or heard of someone who has because of that celebration. If Owen brought out his son, it really would be questionable and take time for them to adjust, especially since they know about Chance, questions would be asked. As much as I wanted to write, ‘Eleanor is to stay as Queen, until Chance has fully grown and found his mate’, I felt like I was also putting her in great danger, just as much as Chance! Nothing felt good enough to write down as my ‘last statement’…Whatever I wrote, it would not help anyone against the Elementalist’s and against Owen! In the end…I felt like it was just a waste of time…     Damien made plans to go with mine and his absolute determination of getting his pack to be my guardians and protectors, only made Owen unable to speak back. As a subject, Owen should at least look like he had hope that his King is safe and secure, so how could he speak otherwise! Especially when Damien had a sure answer to Owen, who stated that Damien should just do his job as the Alpha of The Rogue and Hunter pack and go and hunt rogues… Damien had simply answered that not only will he and his pack continue to look for rogues, but there was only one job at the moment of a single rogue being spotted and that it was already being taken care of, so in certain degree, Damien was free and since I accepted him to accompany me, Owen could only accept as well! I couldn’t help but be worried, and at the same time be entertained by the constant war between the two! They never agreed upon anything and even though one was the Beta of the King, the other was an Alpha, a destined mate of the King! Neither one of them wanted to stand down and at times that I might have frowned on the outside, I was smiling on the inside…   …So, lucky me, I was able to be with my mate! Not only that…I couldn’t help but remember what happened to me the last time I had left the palace, so having Damien by my side made me feel more determination to do as I should and continue to find a way to fight the Elementalist’s! Remembering of keeping Damien safe though, I brought this up to him yet again, for him to stay a far from me, but was completely shut down! Damien had uttered his deep and dark worry of having something happen to me and I had to coax him out of being sad… I couldn’t blame him though, as the idea of losing him made me full of an overpowering pain and talking about it further seemed to be no option…Instead, I found myself asking him how he got his scar on his shoulder blade…I knew it had nothing to do with the previous subject but being in the bath with him at the time, it was the first thing that came to mind…   Slowly, we were able to forget the issue of potentially losing one another and he told me that his scar beared his first fight with a rogue, making him realize that he still had needed more training. He told me that when he had been young, and being a son to a leading Alpha, he had gained an ego and thought highly of himself, but the fight with his first rogue and obtaining his scar, always reminding him now to never underestimate Shifters… With this small conversation and a few touching, our last conversation, that pained us both, was completely forgotten… Afterwards, he made loved to me in a different way. A way that had me clinging to him, as he clung to me… It was slow and seductive, making me want more, just as he did…Tingles shot through everywhere in my body, making me tremble more and more. With each whispered word and thrust, came this heaven and between us there was no palace, no workers or Beta’s, there was no water to drink or food to eat. Everything else was not important, well at least not for those couple of hours… I felt cherished and loved, special and sweet…It was like we were worried that the world would end tomorrow, and we were driving in our most beloved thoughts and feelings into one another…Our own personal link was completely full of how the other felt and there was no one else except us, in a place called ‘heaven’…     Like this, two days went by and we were ready to go. I had another oxygen tank strapped to my wrist, then another heat controller thing to my ankle and then a few things that I had packed each other time that I had left. With my mate never leaving my side, we were in the air and going towards The Watcher’s Pack, with a strangely acting Owen. I don’t know why he was fidgeting so much but there had to be something going on with him! Nonetheless, The Watcher’s Pack took a similar time to get there as it had the last time going from there to the palace. Knowing of the way that this visit from the King was going to happen, the Alpha from the Watcher’s pack was already and waiting to board the plane upon landing. Having meet Alpha Lorez in the last visit, I felt a bit more at ease upon meeting him this time. I also felt like that a huge amount of time had passed since then… I hadn’t been attacked yet, back then, and I was also getting more and more nervous upon finding my mate. I knew then that The Rogue and Hunter pack was going to be next on the list after The History Pack and I probably didn’t pay as much attention to Alpha Lorez as I should have. This time…Both he and I knew, just like Owen and Damien, that the Elementalist’s were after my life, quite specifically, and my destined mate was now right beside me…And it wasn’t the Queen.   “It’s you!” Turning to Damien, I see him pointing at Alpha Lorez’s Beta. “Alpha Rendall.” Beta Locky politely said to Damien. “Yes, Locky did a great job in making us prepared for you last time, Alpha Rendall.” Alpha Lorez said. I looked from one to another, to another and wondered what they were talking about. “Your telling me, that kid is fast! I want him in my own pack!” Damien chuckled. “I’m sorry, Alpha Rendall, but I am unwilling to leave The Watcher’s Pack.” Locky stated, bowing his head. Damien laughed and looked at Alpha Lorez, “Haha, you have a good kid there!” Alpha Lorez, who was twice the age of Locky, smiled, “Indeed, I am very lucky. Your Majesty, I will gladly take this chance to inform you of any recent topics of late but I’m afraid that there isn’t much of a change from normal.”   I smiled, more willing on talking about these important matters, then having Damien grow fond of some other person besides myself, “Very well, let me hear it!” We took our seats upon the plane, and as it flew around, I found that Alpha Lorez was right. Since already staying at The Watcher’s Pack, I already knew a lot and of what they were doing. They didn’t have too much new information and with that, the humans did not know of our secret. The book that the humans had written about Shifter’s was still being watched, but it seemed that as the days went by, they had to move less and less books from being on display, to putting them into the bookshelves, which was a good thing to hear. The Watcher’s Pack had stopped a director of wanting to make a movie about us, by implanting the idea that the so called ‘Shifters’ might be better as something else, like that of a vampire instead. It seems the director had gone through his notes and taken up that change…Because if he hadn’t, we would still be on his case about changing the film somehow… The Watcher’s Pack made a good impression upon me because they were sufficient in their tasks and really showed their loyalty to me…And not to Owen. They were quite down to earth too and talking to them was nice. It seems that their job of watching, seemed to open their minds up quite a lot to what happens, or what can happen, and a number of them are able to sympathize to certain types of experiences because of this. Honestly, with how polite they treated me, I wondered how much they knew about me and my life…I was sure that knowing what drink I liked the most and that I did act different when I finished my ‘Kingly’ duties, was not all that they knew…And that was a bit of a worry…   ***   Upon saying farewell to Alpha Lorez and The Watcher’s Pack, I felt like the idea upon being in the air was a lot easier to handle. I knew though…In The History Pack, I will be getting off the plane at some stage…Which brought me back to why the Elementalist’s didn’t attack the palace… It wasn’t just a question for me because I was sure that Damien had asked that…As well as Owen. Yet, at the same time, I was also sure that none of us knew the answer. Thinking of Owen now, I see that he had been extremely quiet and fidgety as the time went by, and now that we were finally heading to The History Pack, it dawned upon me of why he was acting this way! It must be because he wants to get his hands upon what The History Pack has for me!   My thoughts became a reality when we arrived at The History Pack! Owen stated that he will stay here, on the ground, and that I should have my time with the Alpha aboard the plane, where it was safe. In a moment of panic, I simply called out, “You will not!” Many looked at me and I fought to continue to act as the King, without giving too much away, “You will come with us, Beta Owen!” With that statement, everyone quietly complied, and the plane went back in the air. It hadn’t been what they had originally planned, so the plane could only fly around for half an hour, but I knew that even though I looked overbearing just before, I had made the right choice. God only knows what Owen would have done without my permission! “…Find anything.” Hearing this, I realized that I had not paid attention! Seeing many looks at me, I cleared my throat and wondered what to say. “Your Majesty?” Alpha Satel, whom I had met again earlier, looked at me expectantly and Damien leaned into my ear, “Are you ok, precious?” I nodded and turned back to Alpha Satel, “Repeat your last, Alpha.” “…On the request of Beta Owen, we have searched most of our entire history about these Elementalist’s and could not find anything.”   I nodded, “Thank you for putting in so much effort, Alpha. If there is nothing to be found, I won’t hold you accountable, be assured.” “Yes…Yes, of course, Your Majesty!” I saw Damien roll his eyes then and I frowned. Why was it that nearly everyone irritated him!? “Your Majesty, I had also wanted to speak to you in private before you see the pack.” Alpha Satel suddenly said. “What is it?” I asked. Alpha bit his lip and then said, “Rumors have gone around other packs, but I can’t help…Your Majesty…” With Alpha Satel dancing around the subject, I spat out, “What is it, Alpha Satel?” “Your…Majesty, it’s just that I’m finding it easier and easier to believe that you really are an Omega.” ‘You really are an Omega’ floated into my head and I just couldn’t get my head around it… …I might have decided that I was going to tell everyone…But never did I think that it was going to come out so blunt like this! I was shocked!   Silence might have followed after, but many faces where made! Shock, disbelief, surprise… I saw them all and had no idea on how to proceed! I didn’t want to lie, but this…This wasn’t how I was going to tell them! Damien was irritated, as was I, I felt it through our connection… We had spoken of the best time to release this news, but it looked like the idea of me being an Omega had already circulated a lot more than we had originally thought! “It is just because of finding evidence of the heat controller needle, from when you were buried, and now that you are with…Alpha Rendall…” Alpha Satel stopped speaking after that and finally understood how outspoken he had been.

(Damien’s POV)   That’s right! I don’t trust you! The old, sly fox laughed at me then and shook his head, “A real nut case indeed!” Staring at him, acting this way, I then walked past him and stopped at the door, “You…I will find out your secret!” Then I walked out! Ever since meeting this ‘Beta Owen’ I had a strange niggling feeling about him. I questioned him very much. How did he get his position? How did he find Ethan, an Omega, a child from another woman and not the King’s mate? Why does he act the way he does? I was sure, that it may look like he might have ‘the King’s’ well being at heart, but I could not believe it to be real! Yes, I was questioning him very much! Following the scent of my precious mate, I found myself outside and I ran out to see that he must have done laps. …I worried about the dirt around here, thinking that he might be in danger, I frowned. I never worried so much about anyone in my life, until my precious mate…Until my Ethan…   Oh, how mum and dad are going flip when they find out my mate is the King! It’s been months since I’ve seen them, I wondered where they were now… It was common knowledge to all Shifters, that retired Alpha’s were welcomed to travel anywhere within the continent. …So…My father could be anywhere… I thought about my younger sister and realised that she should be sixteen now, I had missed wishing her a happy birthday… Putting a hand through my hair, feeling bad, I promised to myself that I will get in contact with my parents and sister very soon, hopefully showing off my mate to them at the same time… I smiled to myself, it really did feel like a miracle had happened! No wonder I call my mate, the King, precious! No doubt about it, my parents are going to be speechless and shit their pants! I let out a laugh, continuing on following my most favourite scent. We also had to figure out what we were going to do with my pack. I don’t want to be away from my sweetheart if I can help it…Especially with that old fart hanging around, pretending to be the King in the background! Perhaps I’ll get my pack to find out about this guy, especially since not many rogues are out these days…Mmm, that’s a great idea! Having not marked Ethan yet, I was unable to speak through a mind link. Oh, I couldn’t wait… I wanted to be connected to him in every way possible! Seeing a chocolate wolf laying down, with a paw over it’s face, I knew it was my mate, but was he was sad or sleeping? …It breaks my heart to see him this way… Remembering ‘Beta Owen’s’ words, I sighed and then narrowed my eyes…I guess I’m just going to have to show him all over again at how great we are together! Running up to him, I dived into his wolf and cuddled him, I was never going to let him go!     (Ethan’s POV)   When I smelt my mate, I didn’t have the courage to move to acknowledge him. I had been thinking and thinking, but nothing had come to any use! Just as I was going to finalise my thoughts on not accepting Damien as my destined mate, my thoughts would change, and I would find myself nearly ready to go against Owen and do the complete opposite! This was…The most conflicting time I ever had in my life! But…When he jumped on me, I let out a huff and then sneezed. Even though I was bigger then him at the moment, he sure was heavy! “Sweetheart, you feel really good!” Letting out a little growl, it didn’t show that I was angry though, because I put a paw up to cuddle him back… Dam…There goes my body again…Having a mind of its own! And…He had called me ‘sweetheart’…Even the Queen, or my mother, had never called me that! My wolf was so happy, my hands were happy, I was so happy… I heard Damien’s laughter and I moved my head to him in interest…It was a beautiful sound. I wanted to hear him laugh all the time now… Sneezing again, I put my head down… I noticed my thoughts had forever changed. I wanted everything, so much…A lot more then I used too, all because of this one person! I’ve become…Greedy… I felt him move to my side and snuggle up to my fur, making me feel weird… What was he doing!? “You…I need do to do some scentalizing!” What!?   Moving around, I sat up and he was attached to me! Moving my paw, I shook him and he wouldn’t budge, but I heard him laugh… Turning my wolf head under my paw, I see him smiling hugely at me and I huffed right in his face. Seeing him glare at me, I then turned to my back and tried to pry him off me, with my paws…I made sure that I didn’t use my claws though, so I didn’t hurt him. He was…So… Dammit! I couldn’t get him off me but…His laughter had made me happy, even though I was trying to get rid of him! Letting out my tongue, I used my back leg then to try and get under his body, but even that didn’t work! He looked to my hind leg, so I then licked him, seeing him look back at me. “Mmm.” He suddenly got off me, took his clothes off and shifted, and I looked up at a beautiful grey wolf. Before I could dream further, he started to lick me, and I fell to my side, staring at his wolf. In my dreams, it was just a picture of assumption but seeing him really in his wolf form was really more amazing then I had originally thought. I could feel the bond between Austorious and Hexxah most right now, as they both wanted this and I was feeling exactly like them. I wanted his grey wolf licking me all over… For the next ten minutes, he licked me all over and I finally felt like I was becoming his. That I was his mate, his wolf, his everything.   His scent was attached now, his tongue had even done under my wolf legs where it tickles! He licked my ears, where it tickles as well, and my eyes, making me close them even if I didn’t want to! He really was… Ah… I put a paw over his big wolf head and licked him too…Both Austorious and I were high on life right now, unable to stop showing Hexxah and Damien how much we adored them. He laid down then and stopped licking me, and he just stared at me. Letting out another lick of my tongue, he pushed his head into me and I continued. Happily getting up on all fours, I took my turn and put my scent all over him too. Actually, I felt absolutely thrilled! I doubted Austorious was less thrilled then myself as we had the chance to completely claim our mate. Both of us had been lonely and had done the best we could with the cards we had, but right now, we had never felt so great to be able to do this one thing for our mate. We were ready completely to dive into this first step…Not think of the past or future…Just of now…And this mate of ours. Besides, I had never done this before! The Queen and I were…Well, we had been more like the humans then wolves, and licking my mate like this, it felt like another dream had come true…Making me realise that I never knew I had so many dreams! Diligently, I continued, I licked as much as I could, spreading my scent all over him!   After I had finished, he got up, like he knew I was done, and pushed into me again and walked off. Of course, I was mesmerised and happily followed after him. So…We ran together… I felt so great…So free… So…Happy! He hadn’t said anything, yet I felt glad and completely refreshed…Completely different! I think I loved him…My feelings were nearly making me want to cry! He nudged me, and we ran a bit further, coming up to the water hole that I had used to swim in. He stopped, but I dived right in, coming up in my human self. I saw his tongue hanging out and then he ran towards me, so I quickly tried to get out of his way! Seeing his handsome human self, I smiled at him. He smiled back at me and then swam towards me, taking me into his embrace. I freely accepted him, not thinking much about it and he kissed me straight away. Right now, this was…The best day of my life! I had never felt so wanted and happy before! Kissing him back, I felt even more happy and it strangely made me so content that I swear, that if I died…I’d die extremely happy! Putting my legs around him, he pushed me into him and he put my head to the side. I put my hands over his shoulder and through his hair, making one of my hands go to his other shoulder and push him towards me too. While we kissed, I felt the sparks between us, the obvious growing wants and desires…Also between us…   With no way of me being the one to end this beautiful union between us, I complied with sitting on a wet rock half submerged into the water, to the side, and let him kiss his way down my neck, because I just did the same. Before I knew it, I felt pain in my neck and squirmed slightly because of it. I stopped kissing him and let out a small yelp, holding him tighter unconsciously. “…Ethan…” Breathing heavily, I finally realised what had happened…He had marked me… He marked me… Hiding a smile, I licked his neck and directly inserted my own mark upon him, hearing him let out a groan in response. But…Everything…Was so much…Better! The world may have been ok before with him around…But now…The world was him, it evolved around him… It was not only touching, but scary, and I wasn’t too sure if we should have done it… But…His hand, his kisses, his bare chest against mine…It was twice the amount of sparks and happiness because of it! And…That all made it worth it! I was again, very smitten with my mate… With my…Damien…   Kissing him urgently, to show him of my feelings, he kissed me back, making me think that he was feeling the same, and I pushed him closer to me, feeling both of us so hard against each other’s bare skins. He placed a hand over my desire and I nearly stopped kissing him, to losing my concentration. Oh… I had no words… Just his hand touching me was…Really, I had no words! Since I was distracted, I suddenly felt his tongue over one of my nipples and I let out a loud moan. There was absolutely no way I could hold that back! “…Ethan…” He pushed me back onto his lips then and stopped touching my hardened core. But…In the next second, I felt his finger in my hole…And I pulled away from his lips slightly, to let out a short groan. I don’t know what happened but in the next second, I felt him penetrating me, with what I think was his hardened desire for me. I wanted him so much! Kissing him, I tightened my legs around him, that were still in the water, and tried to lower myself onto him. It did hurt but… Never, even before now, did I want something so much in my life! Marking is one thing, but completing our bond was another, and I desperately wanted to complete it! I wanted to be at one with him, my other half, my soul mate, my destined partner! And just like I wanted it, he pushed further within me and he was finally inside, making me let out a groan and hold onto him for dear life. I didn’t want to show that it hurt, I wanted to show that I wanted him… That this day… I wanted to show him that this day was the best day of my whole life!

(Ethan’s POV)   Finally, now, it was time for me to do my usual run. Life as King wasn’t as hard as I had originally thought. I’m not governing everything in the world, as the humans do their own things, we just have to keep an eye on them. Our money isn’t a problem either, because we live off the interest of what we already have. My packs are my children and they also help me with a certain different part for each of them. Just like the ‘Heed and call pack’, the other packs on Sollace do the same in a different way. Well, that’s if we need their help… With each pack having their leader and I as the law, a lot of my work is done by them. The problem was, I was the one that had to make all the hard decisions that others didn’t want to make… …And that could be painful sometimes…   If an Alpha had caught rogues but was unable to kill them, because one or two of them ended up being the mate in one of their packs, the matter would come to me to decide. If a pack is threatened by another pack, if a pack wants to move states, if an Alpha is ‘deemed unfit’… But, all in all, my job still gave me quite some leisure time and I was able to enjoy some time off from being the King. It was the best part of my day! On my time off, I did not have to be strong, I did not have to give the impression that I was the most domineering Shifter in the world. I didn’t have to be…Someone that I wasn’t…It all was built into me, that I was not the type to be the King, most likely because I was an Omega… Running towards a usual place, where I was going to take a swim, I made my chocolate looking wolf run faster. If I had been a small wolf, it would have been a lot easier to find out if I was really an Alpha or not, but luckily, because of the blood of being royal, I was quite a big wolf, easily looking down at a grown man standing. If someone knew the royal’s wolves very well in the past, they would still see a difference though, because I was still smaller then that of my father…That is what Owen tells me, so I can’t go public with my wolf, and so far, I haven’t had too. So, within the palace grounds, I was able to shift…But, that was all… My wolf was intimidating, having accepted becoming King a long time ago. He calls me weak sometimes, but I don’t care. His name was Austorious and he and I seemed to be opposites, yet, obviously, we still cared for one another…He might call me weak but he’d been with me every step of the way to this present day… I had worked endlessly hard to have a strong structure and be a good fighter. Owen hated that I had no natural talent with anything, that I was just able to do everything. I was a good fighter, not great…I was not dumb, but not smart…I was somewhat emotional, yet could hold no emotions at all sometimes… I was very average. Even though Owen didn’t like that aspect about me, but he was still proud of me, and since he was the only one that showed me his pride for me, I felt fortunate to have at least one person on my side. Officially, he was my Beta, considering that I could not ‘trust’ anyone else, but he was also my Gamma, my brother and the father that I never had… Jumping straight into the water bed ahead of me, I shifted back to my naked human self and resurfaced from under the water…   After a little swim, I’ll go check on my boy, I thought, as I floated on top of the surface of the water and looked up at the sky. My boy was my joy in my life. He was lucky to have been born! Nothing had happened between the Queen and I for four years, having married her at 33. Owen had then used my heat to try to get her to get pregnant, having heard that it could work that way. Never having a King that was an Omega, had made it difficult to get this information, but it is not uncommon information to the masses outside of the palace…Owen also had to do this without anyone knowing, because the next question would be…Why does he need to know about an Omega when he’s the Beta of the King? …It wasn’t like we Shifters couldn’t have pups with chosen mates, it was just a lot harder to conceive. I was already rare in itself, especially due to the fact that I was omega, as I probably should have been at least a Beta, having a King Alpha as my father. It was a strange, unexplainable event really. Owen himself questioned this and decided that the King must have visited my mother several times before I was actually conceived…That seemed like the only reasonable explanation, as he didn’t know either.   Prior to the late King and his members, other then myself, dying, Owen hadn’t known as much as he does now. He had found out about me through the late King’s records, and decided to do as the late King would have asked for, which was obviously to keep the royal family of Sollace to continue to sit upon the throne and be King of the Shifters… Then, I’m guessing, there was other things that he had found. I tried to not let it phase me, that I, the son of the last King, was unable to know about what Owen had found. I tried not to care either, but for some reason, I felt like I should…That if anyone should have the late King’s records, that it should have been me… Nonetheless, Owen had finally found some information about chosen mates, omega’s and pregnancy and had tried out a few of them…And, the one that had indeed worked, was when Owen had placed the Queen into my ‘cave’, while I had been on heat. But, having ravaged my Queen while I was in heat, had indeed worked and had made her pregnant, she is very much afraid of me now and we have not had sex since. I had hurt her terribly, but I couldn’t help the way of how I had felt when in heat. Heat was obviously something I want to sedate and having her in the cave, just made that happen. It was natural, but it was something I had never done before. We had sex previously, but…Sex while I was in heat, was crazy! It was also a period of where I was the most selfish, as I, till this day, don’t know if she had been able to climax at all! But the feeling was practically doubled and the want to achieve my desire had made me unable to think of anything else… I won’t tell anyone that it was a hell of a lot better. So much more intense! I won’t tell anyone, because I shouldn’t have it happen again as the Queen had been placed in care of a doctor for a month afterwards, and I knew, if she had been human, she probably would have died! But wow, it was pretty great! I do find myself wanting it again and thinking of how great it felt, unable to stop myself. I have tried to coax Eleanor into bed again, but she would run off, after panicking. …Cold showers seem to happen more and more frequently these days… I sighed, it seemed obvious that we were bound to only have one child in our marriage. The royal lineage can’t count on me, so it’ll have to count upon my poor son to have more members added to the Sollace family.   Luckily, an heir had been born now and my Beta was extremely happy! And, in fact, so was I! My son was a Beta, which Owen had not liked at first, but it’s not something that we can help when I was officially an Omega and was lucky to conceive a child in the first place. My boy was named Chance, and he was still only just a little pup, one that looked adorable! Owen was already strict with him, even though he was just learning how to crawl, but me, I would twirl him around and try to make him laugh his cute baby laugh. He brightened up my day, making me rarely think of being King since he was conceived. Having used to walk around sad and uninterested in life, it totally changed when Chance came into being! Now…Now my life was good! There were no longer wishes to change, because then, Chance wouldn’t be in my life…And I can’t have that! I felt lucky to have Chance, and luckily, now that the Queen knew of my secret, she kept it hidden just because of our son. She was quite the lady, may I add, someone that is indeed dear to me…But, I already knew that I wasn’t in love with her, well, it wasn’t like what other people say when they talk about their mates, that fact was indeed certain! What the Queen and I had, was a fortunate, happy family. One that I was willing to spend the rest of my life with! Smiling, because I was thinking about my family, I no longer wanted to wait and got out of the water, shifting to my wolf and running off, after a quick shake of my wet fur. My son loved it when I was in my wolf form, so I leisurely wondered through the palace, not shifting back to human. I was really glad that I was able to do this here, even though Owen had told me not to do it often, but…At the moment, I was dad, and I was ready to pounce on my baby boy!     So, this was how the days continued as such. I kept my secret safe, I dealt with matters for a King and looked after the law and our secret. I had some time to myself and played with my boy. Every now and again there were invitations that went out for me to attend, but Owen would never let me out! Yes, for most of my life, from the age of twelve, I had spent most of it trapped in this palace! The reason for that, I guess I understood, was because of the death of the rest of the royal family had happened and how they had gone out. It was really quite a freak accident it seems… They were all buried alive suddenly, but apparently, it wasn’t an accident…I really don’t know how else to put it though… Back before the ‘freak accident’, it was normal for a King to go out often and see his packs, but now…The only time I had left the palace, was when I had run away from Owen when I was rebelling. Oh, I was far from the good student… I had not only run away, I had learnt to yell at him and in which he would laugh and say, ‘That’s my King!’. But really, I yelled cruel and harsh words to him because I was exhausted, mad and weak! I had also played tricks on him, where he might slip over upon waking, or steal his clothes when he had shifted to his wolf… Yeah, now that I think back to it, that part of my life was a bit of fun! He was the person that spent the most time with me and I was glad for the company. Having been alone with my mother until twelve, to having an old man come in and ‘play’ with me, life did have some good in it back then. Of course, back then, I didn’t think this way. All I had thought was ‘stop, please’, ‘let me sleep!’, ‘I don’t want to be King!’ and ‘I hate you!’.

(Ethan’s POV)   I knew my temperature was still high, so I slammed myself back into the bathroom of this unfamiliar place. I blocked off the holes and went back into the shower. With cold water continuously running over my body, I lowered my head in depression. I didn’t know what to think…I was always sure that destined mates were a lot easier to get along with. They were your everything… How could he bring Chance up with such disdain!? I didn’t mind he didn’t care to much for the Queen, but Chance…He’s my life! I can’t let him speak of him like that! I couldn’t believe my destined mate was like this…So…So… Feeling like crying, I breathed out and sighed… Putting my head against the tiles, I looked down and finally saw the needle that Owen gave me, before we had left the palace to go on this trip. Actually, I wasn’t due to use it… Why had I got my heat? …I again wanted to cry…   He blamed me for the heat yet isn’t his fault I even got it!? Just like last time, I got my heat early and it was noticeably different…Was it because of him then too? And now…I wasn’t due to get it again for another couple of weeks! Yet look at me! I’m a mess! …And he can still overcome it… Fine, if he doesn’t want me, then I can’t have him near me either… …Besides…He is probably safer being away from me… Pulling out the needle, I injected myself with it and turned off the tap. Taking away the towels, I opened the door and saw him there, “Get out!” “I’m sorry.” “I don’t want to hear it! Now, get out!” “I got carried away!” “Well, let’s put this another way, I want you gone before this happens again. You brought it on, so leave, I don’t want to do that again!” “…What?” I felt the surroundings and knew that people were close by, I wasn’t going to speak of what just happened out loud, as it was, now that I thought about it, his whispers about my heat…Where they heard or smelt?   Getting my clothes, I ignored him and felt myself nearly back to normal. I was already worried that my heat might return, so I left the whole room and heard him chasing after me. I was ‘King’ now and ignored him happily. No ‘King’ answers someone who doesn’t addressed them properly! Having walked a distance, I then talked to a guard and asked, “Where is your Alpha?” I know it was rude, but at the moment I hardly knew where I was, yet alone know the Alpha’s name! “This way, Your Majesty.” I follow him, feeling that man still close by. With the way he treated me before and with my secret, I am now choosing something that he will only hate me more for, but I can’t handle it right now…Especially when I was being targeted…If he was next to me and something happens, we could both be buried alive! Just the thought of my mate dying, made me furrow my eyebrows, even though I was in a state of not showing any emotions… “What can I do for you, Your Majesty?” The Alpha was putting on a top and walking towards me. I suppose I can’t blame him, I quickly noticed that it must be in the dead of night time…Many would be asleep… “Get this man away from me, out of your boundary. I need to have a good sleep as I will need to make my way back to the palace tomorrow for some urgent business.” That man had tried to interrupt me, but I spoke louder and firmer, continuing to ignore him. “You want Alpha Rendall out of the boundary, Your Majesty?” I nodded my head, “Yes.” “Fine! I’m gone!” Hearing him stomp off, after he yelled this out at me, I sighed silently in relief. I’m sorry… Since I had gotten what I asked for, I toughened up, even though a wave of nausea threatened me, “Then I will be leaving.” “Yes…Yes, of course, Your Majesty…To…Your room?” I glared at him, “Where else am I to sleep?” “Haha, then I wish Your Majesty a good rest!” I turned around and walked away. I’m sorry Damien…   I was just too tired right now…So tired…I was also starving, and I just felt so utterly weak… I wanted to tell him everything, but I just didn’t have the power, or the strength. Right now, I really needed fight this threat! As it is…I was losing the battle… My job right now, was mostly to survive, but secondly…I was also watching this ‘rock’…Watching it and trying to find any kind of weakness. It wasn’t easy, as I hadn’t gotten anything much in the way of information, but, now that I was getting used to this…Perhaps soon I won’t be too scared to notice. One thing was for sure, and that was this ‘rock’ or ‘Elementalist’, I was certain now that it was the reason why the entirety of the royal family had died! Not only that, but it is now also certain that an Elementalist was here on Sollace continent and…I dazedly remember seeing it always connected to the earth, even when it was chasing after me. But, what I had another idea about, was that it’s ‘power’, wherever it was coming from, starts to diminish after some time, as I remembered the three dirt holes, that it had tried to capture me in, getting smaller and smaller… It was indeed a really scary type of enemy, but…I was starting to find weaknesses! And, I knew that if I put my mate in danger, just because of selfish reasons, I would hate myself more then I already do… …I wanted him to understand… It was the worst time, I knew it…And I was sure that I wrecked things between us… Thinking of what he said about Chance, I tried to have more faith in my decision, but it was hard… Taking off my outer clothes and finally laying on the bed, I fell asleep pretty quick, even though I had so many troubles…Including that of a sore bum… I needed to do so much…Yet, all I could do right now is shut my eyes and fall into a dreamless sleep…     Sadly, I wasn’t asleep for long before the window glass shattered, and a rock was looking at me. I was still half asleep, so when the floor caved beneath me, I wasn’t ready to support myself and fell down with the bed! …Hitting my head on one of the beams, I moved my hand to my head, to see blood…Then dirt started to go over my feet and I became completely awake, looking above me… The hole was deep…So deep… Looking around, I then shifted into my wolf form and decided to make another hole, whether it was to help me get to the top or to go through to the other side, I didn’t know, I just knew I had to do something! Digging, I found my back feet start to get stuck, so I kicked them and kicked them. This was…Not working! After my hind legs got stuck, I wasn’t able to do anything and shifted back to my human form, hoping I could climb better that way… Nothing worked, I had nothing to grab onto, I had nothing to jump off… Panic started to overcome me, and I looked around, feeling myself start to breath harder and harder. Just as I thought that the rock was going to win, I saw the small oxygen tank falling from the outside dirt wall and I grabbed it, putting into my mouth, turning it on quickly before…The dirt completely covered me… The hole was so deep, even if someone came right now, they would have to dig for ages… The ‘rocks’… I feared for my son’s safety… Even if I’m dead, I was sure…Sure that they…Would go after…Him… Black…That was all I saw…   Taking a breath from the small oxygen tank, I still couldn’t move, and I was glad that the oxygen tank had appeared right in front of me like it had. If it had been on my wrist, I wasn’t sure if I would have thought about using it… Thinking of why it might have come off my wrist, I could assume that it must have been Damien. Not only did I feel lucky that he had been here earlier, having saved my life because of the small oxygen tank and hiding my heat, but now I felt even more grateful that we weren’t together. …So grateful… If he had been here… Best not to think about it…He was safe… Taking another breath, trying to be resourceful, I could only wait…Wait for either death, or someone to quickly save me…I was stuck and tired, but I couldn’t sleep…I could only wait… It was the longest moments of my life!   (Damien’s POV)   I was mad as hell! Before I even left the boundary, I punched a tree so hard that I think I fractured my hand! It had taken so much effort to control myself, yet, I still had taken him to the bed like that! I was ready to make him mine, marking him and all! Questioning him was all I had left, that’s why I did it! I needed another reason to get away from him because I knew that he was another’s mate…I used that to stop myself from taking him! I was sure that when someone is marked, you are loyal to them and how could he not have marked the Queen!? How could he not even think of her at all!? I just don’t believe it! Not only that, it wasn’t something forced upon… Goddammit I was mad! As soon as I brought up his kid, he was the one that seemed to have enough guts to get away from me and I couldn’t handle that! I had earlier felt second to his Queen, but now, I see I might not even be third! Me, his destined mate, wasn’t important to him at all! I was so jealous that I had the urge to kill them, because I wanted to be his number one! And that had given me enough courage to leave and calm down. …Not long after leaving his embrace and presence, I realized that I can’t act and think this way, as he…He obviously loves them very much. It would make him sad if something happened to them and just the thought of me being the person to make my own mate sad, made me feel worse… I was stuck. Rejected by an Omega…My god, I’m glad I never told anyone that he was my mate! …How embarrassing.   Falling down against the tree, I hated myself for thinking that we might have had a small chance. He was so compliant, and I swear he wanted me, and not just sexually… What did he say, he wrote a letter? Automatically, I was eager to know what he had written. Was it that he was sorry? Was it that he agreed to what I had said to him back then, that we can’t be together? I hated this! I hated being so negative! Before I had met him, I thought anyone would be proud to have me as a mate…Now…I felt inadequate… But…I saw it earlier…He was determined to get rid of me, just because he wanted to sleep! I laughed at the thought. Here I was anxious and nervous…What a waste! What the hell was I waiting for all these years? Lifting my legs up, I put my arms on them and put my head on my arms. The pain from moving my hand and arm, actually made me feel a little better…   It really hurts… Before he wasn’t able to help from getting a chosen mate, as he hadn’t met me and so he had moved on. Having thought about this prior to his supposed visit, after I had met him, I found out that he was well into his thirties, so I can understand why had had chosen a mate, I do…Now…Now we had been together, and he was… Did I…Did I want him to leave them for me, leave his chosen mate and kid…Was that why I was acting strange? What a stupid question, of course I want my mate, he was undeniably mine already! But, even though I feel this way, I just felt like he would choose her over me…Like he has already chosen her over me… …It really did look like that I will have to find a chosen mate and start living a life without my destined mate. I knew of this before, but…It’s like I’ve finally accepted it. Well, at least the thought of it. My wolf didn’t like the idea at all though… Hearing noises come from the distance of The History Pack, I looked up and found that an alarm had gone off. People raced from different directions and I wondered what had happened. Being really close to the edge of the boundary, I could only just hear and see this in the distance and… My heart was already breaking, so the pain of my mate’s rejection didn’t help me to concentrate. “Alpha?” I turned to Simon and then nodded towards the commotion ahead, “Go and see what’s going on.” “Yes, Alpha!” I watched my man run in and stayed there, not able to find any kind of strength or enthusiasm to do anything else. I couldn’t run back to him, yet… It would be easier if I hated him…If I hated him, I could potentially move on… Maybe, after a few years…Or decades, I’d be able to forget that we had been destined mates in the past and we’d be just like how others are together, just a King and an Alpha of one of his packs…

(Damien’s POV)   Before coming to the new heir’s celebration, my life held no problems. I was strict and did the best for my pack. I was happily putting them first, even happily waiting to that of finding my long-lost mate… I had a routine, a way of life… Until… …I never knew how weak I was… Having been unable to stay put and follow everyone else, I followed His Majesty’s completely satisfying smell, and I followed him here, to this strange other place within the palace. It was in the open, yet hidden…Which was strange because it should also be easy to find my way back… The place had trees surrounding it and the gate to go inside was unlocked. I went through a side door, to find that it was a building within another building and that the inner building was what was hidden. Opening that door to the new, different atmosphere, I knew straight away on what it was. It wasn’t the first time I had seen an Omega ‘cooling’ room, as I had a few Omega’s in my pack and sometimes they were able to use other pack’s ‘cooling’ rooms. But…There he was, lying hopelessly upon the floor, squeezing his eyes shut. Before I knew it, the door slammed shut behind me as soon as I let it go, giving me a grand look upon my mate eyeing me for the first time. I was sure that he knew now…He knew that I was his mate. That I, his mate, was attending his son’s celebration. That I, his mate, was seeing his chosen mate of the Queen…That I, his mate, was obviously not even wanted…Probably not even thought of…While I had hopelessly waited for him all this time. Diligently waiting to be with him for eternity…Having been excited… …My heart was still breaking from when I first saw him till now…Breaking all my excitement into little pieces, breaking all my longing…Shattering it all in to dust!   Unable to stop myself from flinching to his obvious discomfort, I had walked all the way up to his naked body, taking him in with my hungry eyes… His body looked nicer then the average men I normally see, it seemed like it was getting the care like that of a woman yet had muscle to show that he was strong…Well, not as strong as me but he didn’t look weak. He had a few marks, but there were no big scars on him, not like one that I had down my shoulder blade. His hair looked rumbled, much different to minutes earlier when I first saw him on the staircase, and…Just seeing him so hot and heavy, ready to be bedded…Oh geez… When I touched him, when he had looked back at me, I knew it. No words had been said yet, but I knew he was my precious, destined mate and that I wanted him! The luscious body, already hard and ready for me to take it, was right there! My wolf was ravenous! Mate this, mate that! He was crazily wanting to be let out and drive his scent all over the body in front of me! Not only that, my wolf was already eager to mark and make his mate his entirely, making it extremely hard for me to concentrate… In my twenty-five years, I had never felt the urge to fulfil myself…Like this… I wanted to touch him so badly that I felt myself start to shake! …He made me feel so weak! He didn’t want me, but here I am succumbing to desire!   Kissing this King, my mind drew a blank, which doesn’t happen! I lost myself to his lips, wanting more and more…They were soft and the small amount that I could taste from him, when I couldn’t help but let him drive the kiss deeper, was unimaginably sweet! So sweet… I knew already, how perfect we were together just by kissing him. Our mouths ran away with the other and the rest of our bodies fell into suit, tingles shotting everywhere like electricity! How much I wanted more! I wanted to… His smell awoke me out of the strange, new trance that I had been in, and I was able to start to think a tiny bit clearly, able to push myself away from him… Already wanting to go back to his lips, I took a deep breath in, his intoxicating scent going through my system, making me so hard that I felt like I was ready to cum there and then! Not only was my wolf utterly excited, but I was too! It would be so easy to mark and take this beauty in front of me. It was just us and I was nearly completely absorbed into those thoughts! “I can’t!” I told myself, remembering the reason why I was here to begin with… My mate’s eyes showed confusion and I desperately wanted to kiss that confusion away! His hand upon my face, made me close my eyes and clench my fists. Unable to keep my eyes shut, knowing his sexy appearance was right in front of me, I stared at him and touched his arm, “I can’t believe I found you…But…” Never…Never had I had to do something so hard in my entire life! Hell, my life was easy, this was hard! Smelling his obvious Omega odour, making me twitch and want to remove my clothes, I instead looked away from my mate…My gorgeous mate… Getting up, unable to trust myself for much longer, I started to walk away. “I will keep your secret…Your Majesty…” “…What?” “I will keep your secret to my dying day. But, it’s quite obvious that we can’t be together. Stay well…” I quickly left, taking in as much as his beautiful smell with me, before closing the door once again…   Falling down against the door, I touched my face, remembering the pure ecstasy and happiness to him openly accepting me and closed my eyes to my inner pain. I wasn’t stupid, the King held a very big secret…Now that I knew… Without looking back, I decided to try and forget today, try and get out of here before it becomes known that I was here at all. My family were very loyal to the King, not just the King, but to the throne. They knew of the late King, having been friends, but wasn’t as close as some. Now…I was sure…I was very sure that knowing that a King being an Omega would be something that could get me killed! Not only that, even if we wanted to be together, how would that happen? This whole celebration was all about the King’s heir, he already had a family! Jealousy ripped through my heart and I felt heartbroken that he was unable to wait for me as I did him. Yes, this is what gave me the strength to leave him…Because…Isn’t that what he had done to me? There was no point anymore, in continuing to wait now for my mate to find me…Or I them… Touching my face once again, I looked down, not letting anyone see my sadness. My mate had made me the weakest I’d ever felt! I was an Alpha, I was in charge of 323 people! I can’t continue to feel like this! Walking off towards where the celebration was being held, I got my people together and only looked back once, upon leaving through a designated bush entrance.   Even if I didn’t feel like moving on without my destined mate, it was how it should be… I hated that we weren’t meant to be together, but I was determined to move on! It wasn’t a completely rare thing for people to have chosen mates and I’ve seen it, it’s just…I wanted to be with him so much! How was I to get a chosen mate when I felt this way!? I knew it…I knew I felt so fucking weak that it was pathetic but… Dammit! I got to overcome this! I have to! The time of being weak is gone, the time to continue as I was and now even perhaps find a chosen mate…To have my own heir… The thought of being with someone else, not only made me sad but made my wolf, Hexxah, angry! Yet…What was I supposed to do!? Remembering the want my mate showed me, I vaguely wondered if even we accepted each other…How could it possibly work!? …Was this…The only outcome we had? That since he had moved on from me, I could only move on as well? He already had a child for fuck’s sake! No…The only reason he wanted me, was because he was on heat…If we met in another way… Clenching my fists, I decided to use this weakness of mine, only to become stronger and be the best Alpha I can be! Even if we were to meet again, I will be strong enough to not look at him with want and desire. I won’t want him in my arms or want to live the rest of my life with him by my side…I will make sure he knows that I am happy just the way I am, just as he is without me! Trying to relax, while my third in command shifted, as I did, and led me back to my pack, I pushed all these wants to the back of my mind…But…However hard I tried, for the next few months, I never got rid of this new want… I wanted my mate, even though he was somebody else’s…I still wanted him! I didn’t even care that he was an Omega…I don’t even care that he’s the fucking King! My heart was full and there seemed no way I could fill it with anyone else!     (Ethan’s POV)   I had screamed in complete agony and sadness, after my mate had left me. I was so hot that I felt like I was in lava, I was so unsatisfied that I was hurt because of my continuous hard on and I never felt so miserable in my life! This heat had lasted for four days and by the time it was done, I was hungry, thirsty, tired and felt utterly miserable. After my body was a normal temperature again, I had fallen into a deep slumber and didn’t wake for several hours. Then, after waking, my nude body was so extremely cold, because of being damp from sweat and laying endlessly upon the cold floor, that I caught a chill. Not caring much at all that I was slightly sick, because it’ll disappear sooner then that of a human’s, I got up and found myself very weak and painful. My dick was dry, but still half hard, making me only breath out in anger. Even after my heat had gone and I had a sleep, it seemed that it was not going back to normal! It was…Painful… I knew…A cold shower after a wank was not going to help me. The pure torture of how impossibly hard the heat had hit me…How long would it take for me to finally be able to go soft!? There… Thinking of what I just thought hurt me, but… I also wanted…I also wanted someone to comfort me… Wiping my face, feeling that tears had come out at several intervals in the last couple of days, I could only quickly put on some clothes and walked straight to the Queen…She…At the moment, Eleanor was my only lifeline…Before I would run away through complete depression…That or… No…I wasn’t going to take my life! The pain of rejection wasn’t as bad as I thought…It was more of a dull headache…But, it wasn’t enough for me to just do something so stupid as to end my life. No, didn’t I know it? Wasn’t I ready to never have a mate? …I tried not to look so haggard but with all the looks that I got from the minimal people that I passed, I guess I didn’t look so good. I also felt far from good… My heart was broken…Shattered… I now understand why Owen told me to not think of my mate…And I’m glad I had tried not too, but now…Now that I had met him… I never thought I would be so plainly rejected…So easily rejected… …And I never knew how much it would hurt me…How painful it was… I knew that my life was forever changed…

(Ethan’s POV)   Yes, my past held quite a number of curses, and most of them were directed at my current Beta. As much as I had apologised, as I felt bad for it, I also came to realize that he never once apologised to me in return. I wondered why I felt like I wanted him to say, ‘I’m sorry’, as what he was doing…Wasn’t it for the best…Yet, I couldn’t help but think I deserved an apology, which was confusing… But…I figured it out a few years ago! I wanted his apology because when I am the ‘King’, I cannot handle that kind of action! I felt the Alpha that was unnaturally a part of me now, want to demand the apology out of him! If it wasn’t because I was naturally an Omega, able to hold down the threatening words wanting to be issued, I might have done something ages ago! Thinking of the past, there were also the times that Owen would also tell me that I was useless, making me train so hard that I fainted. I yelled and yelled, being told that I needed to be domineering, I needed to be the King! I had to revert all the years of being lonely, weak and innocent, to that of the complete opposite! I had to act like I owned to world, and that can be very exhausting! He had stolen me from my mother as well, making me miss her terribly, and he had told me that I wasn’t to see her until I had learnt enough to satisfy him! Actually…I still rarely see her. She is, of course, being kept hidden in the palace, as we are still unable to know of who our enemies are… Walking into a familiar corridor and through a slightly ajar door, I decided that sometime soon, I will see my mother in secret again and show her Chance for the first time…   A child’s voice was heard, and I turned my wolf head to Chance and walked up to him happily. “Your Majesty, I know he likes it when you are in your wolf form but…” I looked up at the maid, who tends to my son, and snorted. So what if I’m still a little wet and smelly! Slamming myself down onto the carpeted floor, I rubbed my back into the luxurious carpet and wagged my tail. It should smell like me here anyway! Hearing Chance’s laughter, I continued my way slowly over to him, making sure that the maid knew that I didn’t give two shits about what she wanted. Slamming my head into Chance, with probably a bit too much force, he ended up falling over and I rubbed my head into his tummy. “Your Majesty!” Oh shut it you old hag! Chance might have hit his head a bit, but we were wolves, even if there is a small bit of damage, it’ll heal quicker then that of a human. He’ll be fine! My words were right, as Chance only had time for laughing… Ah, he was just so cute! Making sure that my smell was all over my little baby, I then plopped down beside him, letting him rest against me.   “Your Majesty, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were someone else!” Looking up at Eleanor, I pumped my head again into Chance and let my tongue out. “Oh no you don’t!” She hated it when I licked him! I moved my snout to Chance, but she hurriedly picked up our boy and glared at me, “I’m giving him a bath!” I growled at her, but thought better, racing off to the place they bathed my boy. I’ll have a bath too then! “Ethan, get out!” I don’t know why, but teasing my spouse has always been fun, but I’m sure it helps our relationship too. So, I couldn’t help it, I let the fun take it’s toll and ended up in the water because well…I have my way as the King! Sometimes…It was really good to be King…   ***   It was another month before we officially celebrated Chance’s birth. Considering what had happened to the family and that he was a Beta, we were all worried about what the populace would think. But, it was all sorted now, and everyone was welcomed to attend. A few packs had to come to help and do what they did best, as well cleaning the big stage that the celebration would be held in. We had not had a celebration to this extend for a very long time and it was no wonder that the room was closed off and dusty. I walked around in it, with my royal robe hanging down to my calves and felt a bit suffocated. It wasn’t like I wasn’t dressed to complete sophistication, as I wore a suit under my robe, but… I hadn’t been able to let loss since the day before and I was hoping that the full moon in three days doesn’t bring out my heat. On the rare occasion, it does happen, so I was stiff from keeping an eye on my body temperature… The celebration was going to start in just two hours and I felt like all my muscles were sore, like I’d done a huge workout!   Sighing to my displeasure, I turned and walked out of the room, going to help my boy, since I had nothing better to do. Dressing was something simple and I never understood why a King should be late…But Owen told me that a King has every right to make people wait and I should act accordingly…But…Waiting was so boring! Jumping up the stairs, two at a time, I made it quickly to where my boy was dressed in his new celebration attire and smiled. It was about time that he was seen as the heir. Seen as the next King… I learnt everything I know from Owen, but Owen wanted to be the one to teach Chance as well. He had let slip that he was now more important then me and wanted to get Chance to grow up as soon as possible, making me feel… Well…I guess it can’t be helped, I was, after all, an Omega. While I am the King, it was still a worry that my secret was going to be found out. So, after thinking these obvious and often thoughts, I understood why Owen had said this. As soon as Chance was ready, he was going to take the throne and become the next King… It seemed, as well, that now that Chance was being recognized publicly, I was going to start something I hadn’t done before and venture beyond the palace…We needed to find out who was aiming for the Sollace family! And this celebration was the first step, the first test in that direction…   To be honest, I was ok with that. Chance deserved to be King more then I. Besides, it wasn’t like I felt he was forcefully taking it, as I didn’t really want the throne to begin with. Picking up my son, I played with him in front of the mirror, while the maids started cleaning up the mess created from getting him ready. He had one of those baby suits on, making him look way to adorable for me and there was just no way I couldn’t love him! He had his short, flimsy dark brown hair combed and even dress shoes on his feet… He was growing up quickly! Having shifted for the first time, we were all very happy and awed at his cute wolfy appearance. He was closer to black then me, which was another Sollace signature…Another reason why Owen didn’t want me to show off my wolf outside to the public… But, he wasn’t completely black, having a white patch, no doubt from his mother, and a chocolate coloured patch too. His fur was soft and addictive, making me want to run with him all the time already, even though he still wasn’t ready for that! Shifting had hurt him a lot, so he has only shifted twice so far. Hearing him scream out in delight, while I tickled him in the mirror, I turned to him and kissed his forehead. Closing my eyes, I felt like my life was worth it, when he was in my arms. I could do without even the Queen, but this boy was something that stole my heart. He made what I had done to become King worthwhile! He made me stronger! Ah, my boy, you’re overloading daddy with strength, give it, give it all to me! “Your Majesty, you are expected…” “I don’t want to!” “Your Majesty!” Sighing, I gave Chance to the Queen and rolled my eyes…Sometimes I wish I was her, she didn’t have to do too much, lazy, little… “Go! The guests have already started to arrive!” I stomped off, “Why can’t they arrive on time! Why do they have to be early!?”     It was a normal sight in that room, for me to act like a child, but as soon as I exited, I took a deep breath in and narrowed my eyes… With the slight time of not being so stiff, I felt sore all over again now… I might like Owen’s pride for me…When it was there…But there was nothing like Chance and how I can be myself with him. For many years, this side of myself had not shown itself, in fact, I never knew I could be like this…That is until Chance was born. Being relaxed and free was a great feeling, which is probably why I spoiled my pup rotten! And he loves me for it! Letting out a smirk, I continue to walk like a King towards where all the guests are piling up before the entrance of the big room, where we are to hold the celebration. Going half way down the steps, I then stopped, and the crowd went silent. “Welcome.” Silence continued as I suddenly felt strange… Trying not to let the rise of temperature to my body make me panic, I believed that I had to get this over and done with quickly. “Today we celebrate the birth of my son, the new addition to the Sollace family and also…The future King!” The crowd did a small cheer, making me a tiny bit upset, they should all be clapping and cheering louder! Feeling the heat of my body go even more higher, I really did start to panic, so I finished off with, “Please, go in and soon my son will come and you all will meet him!” I wasn’t able to wait any longer, I directly rushed towards my cave and shut the door on myself. This…This was not normal! Ripping off my clothes and wiping the sweat that had started to form, I couldn’t believe how hot I was and how quickly I became this temperature! Not normal at all! Breathing heavily, I sat down and got some water. Nothing worked…Not the room, not the water…Nothing! It has never been so… Falling to the floor, I accidentally touched my hardened core and it felt like I was deep inside of my own nervous system!   Not gain enough to touch myself again, because I knew this wasn’t normal, I fell to my back and tried to concentrate on the coolness of the floor. Breath in, breath out! Why is it so hard!? Hearing the door slam, I looked over to it and felt like time stopped… I was staring at a man whom looked like he was on the verge of shifting, but that wasn’t… Mate… Widening my eyes… Mate… I wanted to move but then felt the nerves throughout my whole body again and I cried out. Even Austorious jumping for joy inside my head was phased out and I could only think of the strange pain going over my entire body! Not only was I so hot, but any type of feeling I felt, whether it was a slight move of my hand or trying to move from the ground, I felt it very strongly! It was so intense, that it was literally painful! It was really the most uncomfortable feeling I had ever felt in my life! I felt like I was still wearing clothes, heavy winter clothes and I wanted to take them off! …I felt like I was going to die with all the strong senses that I felt going through me…Ah, but that beautiful smell!   Having my eyes closed and trying to calm down, seeing that nothing was working, I felt a touch on my arm and immediately felt my basic instinct and urge to feel more of it…Everywhere! Grabbing that hand, I pulled at it and demanded this person’s mouth, I felt his fall onto me and his weight was heavier than I thought…He was…Big! Smelling him more now, as I greedily kept taking his mouth, as though it was my own, I felt like I had waited all my life for this moment! That the heat, the smell, my existence, was to meet this person! “I can’t.” What? I could hear him, but I didn’t understand! Putting a hand to his face, in which his face had left mine, and now he was sitting straight again, I still felt lost. Frowning at his distance, it didn’t help me and the way I felt, which was the utter need and urgency to satisfy a basic need. I wanted to whimper to him, I wanted to beg him on my hands and knees. He stared at me and touched my arm, “I can’t believe I found you…But…” He got up then and I felt terrible! I know I didn’t know anything about him, all I knew, was that he made me feel better, that he was what I wanted at this very moment! I wanted to plead, plead for him not to take any more steps away from me! I wish…I wish I wasn’t in heat, so that we could have our first conversation…So that I could at least know his name!

(Ethan’s POV)   My life as a King…It wasn’t supposed to happen…That is my thoughts… My father already had his family, an heir to take his throne, even another hundred or two hundred years left before he would have died of old age. But, it seems that his rendezvous with a woman, after many years of his mate’s death, had come in handy after all. I was conceived by a lowly omega, whom was just a worker in the King’s palace. I don’t know how she had seduced my father, or how she had even gotten pregnant with me…Considering it was harder, but not impossible, to conceive a child with another besides your mate… Upon being born, I was the innocent child that I should have been and never knew that I was hidden, so that I would not remind the King of one of his mistakes. Not only was I an omega, much I’m sure to his disgust, but I was not his mate’s child. I was never able to ask to find out though, because I never met my father and my mother told me nothing. I also never met my half blood brothers and sisters either. Even now, I thought it strange that they were all easily matured by the time that I was only just conceived…But, I still don’t quite understand the idea of mate’s because…Now, at the age of thirty-eight, I still have not found mine yet. Thirty, or even fourty, wasn’t considered old to a shifter, it was more so getting into my teenage years, if we compared ourselves to the humans…So, even though at least a third of us Shifters might find their mates at the age of eighteen, it wasn’t rare to not find them until thirty or fourty years of age.   My half-blood sisters had found their mates a long time ago, most of them before I was born. Of course, even my brothers had found theirs, already living their lives, whatever they may be…I was pretty sure that at least two of them had started a family…But I was never really told much about them, even though I thought myself close to my Gamma, who is also now my Beta, who had recruited me to be King. Why did they all die? Wouldn’t it be better to just get someone else? Isn’t this a design of change that needed to happen? Have a completely new lot of royals that weren’t from the ‘Sollace’ family… These questions go through my head from time to time. They go through my head because it was still quite unbelievable that the whole royal family would perish all at once. I know one of my half-sisters had survived and had gone into hiding due to this fact, and we were still wondering if someone was going to once again try to take more lives of the Sollace family… I didn’t know of what happened, until I was twelve, and even then, I was still but an innocent child who had no idea that I had royal blood in me. But everything changed then… Sighing, I hardly reminisced these days, but I was bored in waiting for someone to appear…Sometimes…My thoughts just run away and here I am now, thinking of life and its greatness… Even though I was being slightly sarcastic, I continued to think of the past…   From the age of twelve, till now, the world did a complete one eighty. I not only found out that I was an Omega, a wolf that should only serve, a wolf that doesn’t deserve even to have royal blood…But that I…Was indeed the last remaining royal male left. From then, I had to learn to keep my ‘heat’ at bay, even though I never understood what it was back then. But that was something I was told over and over again, to never let anyone know of my status. I ask, until this day, why they had not just got someone else to become King, especially since being an omega was such a problem. I get told all the time that it’s because of my last name, and who my father was…But, why can’t that be changed? Why does it have to be the Sollace family? I’m sure I would have given up the name happily, just to live a normal life. …A normal life… Not only do I have to keep my Omega problematic ‘heat’ a secret and handle any event that may occur, I had to act like an Alpha as well…Domineering, cold and a leader! I wished, now that I had come this far and still hated that I had been forced to be here on this throne, that Omega’s could be found out easier or that they would have some kind of mark…So then, I wouldn’t have to take on such a huge responsibility…But they don’t… Besides touching or a doctor’s diagnoses, Omega’s would only give out an odour when they are on heat, and most of the time I can feel my body warm up slowly before that is to happen and I can easily get away. The only thing I’ve had to do, was to make sure that I never go into public when I was in the depths of my heat…And it was too easy for me to abide by that, so, I did as I was told…With a small part of me wishing that perhaps it should become known, but I continued to hide within my ‘cave’, where it can block out my scent… Well, it wasn’t really a cave, but that’s what I called it. It was just a room that was chillier then normal, to help cool me down, and it was in the ‘secret’ part of the palace, that only few of us in the palace knew about.   My heat had arrived like many other omega’s, at the age of eighteen, and since the information about it was carved into my brain so much, I knew what I had to do, and had been doing the same thing as back then. Once every few months, it would occur, and I will stay inside the ‘cave’ until my body was a normal temperature again. Most of the time it only lasts a day or two, so my Gamma would take over my responsibilities for me easily and wait for me to return. But…It always makes me feel extra lonely at those times…Having to endure it all by myself… From the very start, the Gamma that knew of me and raised me up since the death of the rest of the royal family, he had stated that I should never think of my mate. That if I were to have a mate, especially if it were male, it could put me in danger… I knew, from ages ago, that my Gamma and Beta, Owen, cared more about the throne then I did…The problem was, I didn’t care for much else. I had nothing else…So, that was why I did as he wished…At least then someone would be happy. So, I tried to never think of my mate…I hardly know what I am missing even now anyway. But, it seems to have worked out. I had married another, whom had ‘felt’ her mate perish at a young age and we have a friendly relationship. She was now my Queen, named Eleanor. “Your Majesty, the Alpha of the Heed and Call Pack has come at your request!” Having been daydreaming, looking out the window, I put my hand down from my chin and straightened my back. I was glad for the interruption, I no longer regret my life now…I have accepted this forced path completely…So there was no more reason for me to think of the past as something bad… “Send him in.” I was a King, I was ‘an Alpha’…I was going to keep us Wolf Shifters a secret and do the best I can to lead the populace of the Shifters…Even if I hadn’t wanted to in the past…Even if my mate comes…Even if I hold a secret that can’t be known…     “Your Majesty, it’s a pleasure to me you!” I stared down at the Alpha of the ‘Heed and Call Pack’, with narrowed eyes, saying nothing in return. Each pack contributed towards the royal pack and this pack contributed if we needed more helpers within the palace. During big banquets and celebrations, if we had them, we would first ask this pack to come and participate in helping to get everything ready…There was more, but right now, I was ‘King’… Tapping my finger on the armrest of the throne, I continued to be silent and wait…I knew people like him, he was indeed a full Alpha, I could feel his want to dominate, like he probably does with his pack. The natural instincts of an Omega, would be to bow my head and show him that I was compliant…But I have to go against them… Sadly, I was immune to the Alpha aura now, it really had frightened me to begin with, but it had been a necessary training. A training that now makes me not flinch or even feel anything from the aura of an Alpha. The training was very intense…So intense that it helped me start to already hate this position as ‘King’, before I even had taken it! For me to be a King, I had to have a more domineering aura then that of any Alpha! Owen never let me sleep very well until I was able to handle it…When he found me at twelve, I had to live on two hours sleep a day, until I could handle his aura, his voice, his eyes! And he was only a Beta…So, I had no option but to master not just my own aura but that of others…Just so I could have a better sleep…   “Your Maj…Majesty…” “Do you understand why I called you here? Alpha Mortez…” My voice was firm and calm, even with a bit of laziness added…Again, something I had to learn. I had to change everything, to be who I am today! It was something that pure instincts would not like, as it was against nature…An Omega to act as I am now, was very hard work and I was still working at it! But, over many years of enduring hardships, I had come to where I am…Able to withstand those who would want to dominant me! “Yes…Yes, Your Majesty. I will not make the same mistake twice! I will never…” I laughed, “Of course you won’t! It is our most important law after all, who would I be if I let you off! You are stripped of your title and you are to report to the main Shifter prison.” “Your Majesty, please!” I just looked at him, not in anger or pity. He had done wrong by not caring enough about our secret from the humans. He had let the matter go, and now that it was already done, changing things would only look suspicious! It was an unchangeable event, that we will know have to be very careful of…This man, this man had let a human write a book about us, Shifters, and he had reported that it was for our own good!   Even if it were to change our future to a better one, in which I doubted, this man had made this decision on his own and will now take the consequences for it! “Take him away.” I stated, waving my hand in dismissal. Sighing to the Alpha’s growls and even shifting to his wolf, I watched as he fought to get away, but…My guards weren’t guards for nothing. I had many whom were the best of the best, mainly men or women from parents of Alpha’s or Beta’s who had not found their mate’s and, or, were not going take over their pack. Actually, I did the best in what I was taught in and it seemed to have gained me my own fans. It was a good thing, one of the few good things that I had seen since…Well, since my birth…That people can be devoted upon you, just because you seemed to be ‘doing a good job’. I got off my throne, wanting to leave the feel of the coldness and darkness inside this room. I never liked this side of the west wing of the palace…Just the idea of what things had happened here in the past, makes me feel like we need to build a new one and demolish this one down! Sadly though, this room was where I spent most of my time when doing my ‘Kingly’ duties. It gave out the impression straight away that the most majestic person in the room would sit on the big chair situated on top of two steps up from the rest of the floor. There were no other chairs here, it was just a whole lot of floor and room to have quite a number of guards and people to come sit…Or Kneel, before me. Yet, this is the reason why I hated it so much…It was the room that went against my nature completely…

(Ethan’s POV)   Two days…That was all I had to annoy the maids and the Queen, and then we were off again, not forgetting a small oxygen tank that I now put around my wrist. I didn’t have to hid it, like I had to with the small needle I got attached to my ankle… …It wasn’t enough time though, to have come home, but I found myself thinking of my mate more often, while laying down with Chance. I wondered how I should act, or dress like…Would he treat me differently? Owen still didn’t know about Damien…Damien…I liked his name. Damien, I had found out, was still an Alpha without a mate. He had been mateless all this time. I felt relieved when I had heard that. I know he deserves someone to look after him and doubted that I could do it, but the idea of him being with someone else haunted my dreams. I wish I could go to him, yet…If I did…What would I say!? …Now that I was out of the palace once again, my thoughts slowed down, as I had to act as ‘King’. There was no doubt though, there was a huge chance that I will be seeing him soon! And that thought made me quite jittery…I wasn’t able to keep still for too long, nor was I able to hold a normal conversation for too long… Breath Ethan!     The first Pack to see, was The Watcher’s Pack. The Watcher’s Pack was another happy crew, as they were able to be amongst the humans. It was the Shifter’s type of ‘spies’, as we looked for ideas through the humans and made sure we stayed a secret. The Watcher’s Pack was also the people that had changed the books that the human had written about us, putting them into bookshelves instead of having it out in the open. They were also originally part of The Surveillance Pack, but had broken away about a century ago, as they had gotten too big. Most Packs have a few hundred in them, except The Harvest Pack, which has about a thousand. There was another pack I hadn’t seen yet, that had close to a thousand as well, that was The History Pack… At least I thought it was The History Pack…Dammit, there were so many packs! …So, having separated the big pack to two smaller ones, giving them half of the original work, seemed liked a good idea to me, as the more you have in the pack, the harder it was to control. It really started to dawn on me now, being in this pack, that it really helped knowing who you were, to know what pack was for you. Curious people seemed to be in this pack, food loving people in The Harvest Pack, money loving people in The Treasury Pack and intelligent people within the Surveillance Pack… I was sure it was like this everywhere, that you would most likely fit in and I was quite proud upon how my packs were being brought up over the centuries. A long time ago, the Sollace royals had made millions upon millions and had set up the packs similar to like they are now, and it seems to be still working! Hell…I even wondered where I would be, if I wasn’t the King…I didn’t care too much for food, but I was curious…Mmm…   But… My thoughts came to an end when I was on my way to the next pack, two days later…When I was suddenly getting buried by earth! That’s right, in pure sunlight and on a boring, dirt road, the car had completely fell into a hole that was so deep that I could only see dirt out of the window! Through the sudden fall, I had been winded, and the seat belt had hurt me, making me groan in pain… Afterwards, opening my eyes, feeling slightly dizzy, I saw dirt start to fill up from the bottom! At first, I couldn’t think, it didn’t make sense and my head was getting sore…But I finally realised what was going on, as the dirt filled in more and more, slowly coming in an opened door, to sit and slowly pile up upon the bottom of the car… I…Had never been so scared in my life… Perhaps I never took the threat to the Sollace family seriously… Getting the seat belt snapped that was around me, I took a while to realise that someone was yelling at me to get out of the car and run! Right…I finally snapped out of whatever I was in and realised that I had to run like my life depended on it! As it did, I knew it now, this must be the act of that rock! This was exactly what Alpha Monk had said…Buried alive! The guards used themselves as a ladder for me, helping me with their arms as well, and I didn’t think as I left and did as I was told…   I ran! I ran so fast that I had no direction in mind and no idea where I was going! But I was too scared to think about anything else but to run! Seeing only two guards following from a distance behind me, I went to slow down, so that they could catch up…But then found a strange rock pounce out of the earth…As though it was looking at me! I don’t know for sure if it was, but shivers went up to my spine because I was sure…That I was its target! It was after me! “Run, Your Majesty! Run!” I shifted into my wolf and ran as fast and as hard as I could, remembering Owen’s teachings and guidance. I vaguely remember short words with him, but at the moment, I could only think of them later… I couldn’t even question what happened to the rest of my guards or where I was going…I just ran…I ran and thought that this threat…Was true! And it was the scariest thing I’d ever encountered! And those thoughts led me to think that I needed to survive, so that I could make this place safe for my son! I had to keep sane and steady, I had to find flaws…I…Had to survive!     (Damien’s POV)   I was getting strange, and I didn’t know how to hold this strangeness at bay! Being informed that the King was seeing the packs and that he was due to see mine in a few days, had made me stress out and become strange! Seeing all the problems within my area, it being only two, I fixed them straight away! And then I saw a whole lot of other problems, as I walked around my pack, in our recent home base. Rushing people to fix things that were broken, dust things that were dusty and upgrade old things, it was becoming obvious. Putting a hand through my hair, I then breathed out and put my head on the desk before me. I was so nervous!   I had tried to move on from my mate, upon returning back here, but it never had felt right. What sucked the most, was that everyone thought I was still waiting for my mate, because I never told anyone that I had indeed found him. It really was a mess! Having been with two women prior to meeting my mate, I had tried to once again be with another, but left before any of us got too heated up, as I was unable to continue. It wasn’t the same anymore! …I could get turned on, I could happily hear the moans and spread her legs, but… Women…Or anyone…Just didn’t cut it anymore! I had tried to get it on with a male, but he ended up trying to show me how to be intimate and I got angry! I knew it was different! After I got the courage once again, I went back to him and he showed me a little more of intimacy with males and it did get me hard…Just not as hard as my sexy mate had done… No, nothing in my life had made me so fucking hard before! I could have burst so easily back then, that I remember! I was…Completely, sexually frustrated! Not only that…Which I try to ignore, I was also realising how lonely I was. I know that I mostly thought about him sexually, but I knew, that wasn’t my only problem… I want his presence, his smell, his life…I want it all… Considering that I had no idea what he was like personally, I was eager to find out! I was aching to know his thoughts, and personality… …It just wasn’t fair!   …I still very much wanted my mate by my side… Knocking my head on the desk again, I really was so nervous! I wanted to look good to him, to show him that I do my job well as an Alpha of one of his packs, but at the same time… I knew it, I wanted him to want me too! I wanted him to come to me! Dammit! I was such a big idiot! Banging my head on the desk again, I was glad I sent everyone away. I had never acted like this before and not only was it getting to them…It was getting to me as well! It was hard to be a shifter in this pack and not let anyone know about my mate, so I’ve had to block people out of my head from time to time because…How could I let them know that I, their Alpha, was rejected by an Omega!? I was acting fine before I had heard the news of the King coming here! I was looking after my pack well, just getting in a rogue and questioning them. I heard some news about another rogue and sent a one of my men to check it out, otherwise, we were happily expanding our area, which was something only our pack could do. We were able to travel anywhere and go to any boundary of any other pack and directly ask them if there was a problem. Not only were we free in this concept, but our pack was also the only one that could communicate over long distance, while not in our wolf forms… Taking a deep breath, I pulled my head up, feeling so tired all of a sudden and decided to try and sleep. I had so many worries…Even Hexxah wasn’t helping! He was just as nervous and skittish as I was…And excited…Loyal… To another degree, Hexxah was adamant on our mate and it had very much annoyed him that I had tried to move on, but he couldn’t help but let me try at the very least…Not that it mattered, both of us just weren’t ready to move on in the slightest!     It was a couple of hours, just after falling asleep, when I got one of my men inside my head telling me that he’d seen someone rush into The History Pack, just to the north of us. I asked him if he knew who it was, but he had no idea and then I told him to stick around and ask. We had the rights to do that, being the Pack in charge of rogues. In fact, we were a very nosy bunch, knowing a lot of gossip…It irritated me to no end! Again, just as I went to sleep, my man spoke back to me and said, “It was His Majesty the King, Alpha, he was attacked and lost all his guards! He looks terrible!” I sat up and then put my feet out of the blankets, anxiety running through me as the words started to make sense to me in my head, “Repeat your last, Simon!” “I said it was the King, he was attacked, Alpha!” Getting up to my feet, I felt myself feel pain where my heart was, and I looked over towards my clothes in the easily removable closest. I knew I had to get dressed and get out of here, I needed to go and see him! Just… The pain in my heart… The idea that my mate had been attacked…The fact that it was real, that it seemed he had run for his life… My natural instinct was to protect him! He must not die! Taking a few deep breaths, I then tried to forget it, so that I could move, and rushed to get out of there. I was running straight towards The History Pack like a mad rogue on drugs but….I needed to make sure that my precious mate was ok!

(Ethan’s POV)   A few weeks after I fell into this strange facade of loneliness, I finally got the guts to look this 'Alpha' up. But, without any helpers, because I was doing this in secret, it took me awhile…Because I simply didn't know his name. I was sure that I might have seen him years and years ago, but I cannot, for the life of me, remember him. It took me a whole week to finally see his face upon the papers and computer in front of me, considering this wasn't the only thing I was doing, and I finally found out that he became Alpha about a year ago. So, before when I had met him, he had only been a fledgling uh... It sucks…Finding myself unable to not stare at his picture for a minute before I snap out of my longing for him… …Now, he was well respected, and I see that his pack was the 'Rogue Hunter Pack', obviously the pack that would track down rogues for us. Now that I remembered, his father was here those years ago, because of rogues, and I had to make up my mind on what to do with them because some of them had been mates and some of them had not that killing instinct like many of the other rogues had. It had been a big investigation that I had to look into with each one of them, deciding their fate like a King... The Rogue Hunter Pack had moved after that to the south, further away from us here in the north, because there where possible rogues down there that led to water and another big human city.   Since this ‘Damien’ has become the Alpha, he has caught 22 rogues, some in which died upon capture and some he questioned. Rogues weren't really a big problem normally, that one case with his father was the first one in my reign and anything else was small... Being an Omega and unwanted, I know where rogues start from and try to put myself in their shoes, if I get the chance. Sometimes they are too feral and too far gone to even think like us anymore and are complete wolves. But we can save some of them and hope that they can come back to be Shifters again and be accepted into a pack. Seeing the number 22, in the space of just over a year, I frowned. That's a lot of rogues! Even the big problem with his father had only been about 100 or so! I was really wanting to call upon him and ask him...Yet, I already felt excited upon seeing his face and wanting to hear his voice again, perhaps if I'm lucky, even a touch of his hand! Oh, I could get him to show me his wolf, I want to see it! Is it big? Is it black like his hair? Would I be able to touch his fur? Slumping in my chair, I went against my desires, knowing full well that what was going on with the rogues didn't matter...I just wanted an excuse to see him!     Unable to stop myself, and still feeling conflicted and confused on why he rejected me, I wrote a note...Several times... I made many mistakes and had to start again! I didn't even know how to start! 'To my dearest mate' 'To my mate' 'To Damien' 'To Alpha Rendall' Then, I didn't know how to bring up my worries... 'Please don't be worried because you have gotten a letter from the King.' No! 'I noticed you've killed quite a number of rogues' Not that either. 'Please read this in privacy' Yes, but...What else...   It took me another week to finally finish my letter to my mate and it ended up like this: 'Damien, my mate. I have tried to find the exact reason or reasons that you have rejected me, and I understand why you did it. A secret, an Omega, I'm King, I already have a family... You are not at fault and I don’t blame you for the rejection, as I would probably do the same in your shoes. But, let me tell you something... I would never be able to put you to death, for knowing that I'm an Omega...Even if you told the world. I can never hate you for thinking of me as a lowly Omega, as I feel the same about myself. I didn't want to be the King and the reason why I have a family, is because I'm the King...If I had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have chosen a mate just to satisfy an old man! I know that defending myself might not mean a very much to you, but, without even knowing your name, I already wanted you beside me. Holding your hand for an instant, makes me want to do it for a lifetime...Touching your face, I wanted to touch your heart...I miss you. Miss you so much that I wish I didn't have a secret and that I wasn't an Omega...That I wasn't a King, nor did I have a Queen… I can't regret my boy though. I love my boy. Forgive me, my dearest mate. Forgive my fate. You will forever be the one that holds my heart, even if you and I aren't together. Love eternally, Ethan Sollace.'   Folding up the letter and putting my seal upon it, I put it into a draw. I wasn't ready to send it. I didn't know if I ever will send it...But, writing it did make me feel better! Finally, I went to see my boy again! I had missed him, but it wasn’t until now that I had the courage to see him once again. I think…I think that if he had not wanted me… It doesn’t matter…I was keen and while I felt this way, I was not backing out! And as soon as I saw him, I felt relief flow through me straight away. I know I was stupid for thinking he wouldn’t want me, especially now as he raises his arms and opens and closes his hands to me… I was so stupid… He was still so awesome, so adorable! I could never regret him, and I know I've been so terribly miserable lately, I was still going to be King and walk this path. I was even eager to teach my boy something! Ever since he was able to do more now when he shifted into his wolf, Chance would go under me often but always had troubles going over the top of me when I was laying down while a wolf. He wouldn't be able to make it half way, but I found it so funny that my tongue would be hanging out and I'd be snorting. When Chance gets into a bad mood, from not being able to jump on top of me, I would then shift to human and pick him up and put him on me then, he would lick me, and I'd laugh for him. We were back to being the best of buddies once again and he was now able to crawl in human form, nearly ready to walk. The Queen and I went on as before, acting like that night had not happened. She did not look at me differently, which did surprise me, but I did silently thank her for it. I didn't want her to forever be mad at me for using her like that, but I was really down that night. Having been so alone for days and having no one, she was the only one I could turn too...   ***   And so, another three months went by and we were nearly back to normal, except, I would find myself unable to stop thinking of my mate. When I was 'King' and had business, it was easy, I was used to it…But when I was 'free', he was one of the first thoughts in my head. Should I send the letter? Should I ask to talk to him on the phone? Should I try to forget him? I couldn't do any of them...None... I didn't have to courage to defend myself by sending the letter, I was far from being able to call him! Forgetting him!? No way was that going to happen...I was sure I'd never forget that small time we had spent together. I remember his smell, it was of herbal tea and eucalyptus. I wasn't surprised he smelt that way, nor why I liked it so much. He spent a lot of time in the open, and I didn't. I longed to smell all kinds of different things, like that of a normal toasted sandwich. I have had a toasted sandwich from time to time, but it was full of the best of everything, making it smell different and I was sure there could be another smell. Just a cheese toasted or ham toasted sandwich, but they never give me something so cheap! Ah, well...It's funny, because my wish of going out, comes true!     Owen made a decision and I was happy to follow through with his plan. I didn't particularly like it, but... His idea to get me to do rounds like a King, to see my fellow Shifters, wasn't rare. In the past, a King would often leave his palace, and since it had been so long since the disaster, and that Chance was growing up, Owen wanted me to go out and make sure that my fellow Shifters were loyal to the Sollace family. So, in other words, I was potentially going to be a target... Owen told me that this was a long-term plan for my son, so that Chance would not only be safe, but have loyal followers for when he takes the throne. For that, I agreed willingly. I didn't want harm to come to my boy at all and we still needed to find out who were our enemies. And since the palace was deemed to be safe, I was then told to meet all my packs and understand what they are like and how loyal they are for my son.   I had to admit, thinking that the King had so much time before, was probably wrong... So, instead of having half days off, now I'll be out for weeks at a time. Once I heard this, I was excited and scared at the same time...Mostly because my mate is in a pack...And I'm going to meet packs! I was also upset that I wouldn't be able to see my boy, so I spent some extra time with him, to make up for the time I'll be away. As long as there was nothing extremely important, I will be out as long as possible, making the enemy know for sure that I was no longer at the palace. I will have several guards with me, but most of the best guards stayed at the palace to protect Chance...His life, was now a lot more valuable than mine. I wasn't saddened, I wanted the best for my boy...I just hope...I hope he has a better reign then me. That he won't have a secret, that he won't be harmed just because he's a Beta and that he can be with his destined mate. I hope this very much!   And, within another week, I was off. I was first going to ‘The Surveillance Pack', personally going to get information from them. Owen already knows a lot, but for me to personally go there about my own family, it was probably about time to do so! Seeing that their pack had the most up to date technology that both Shifters and humans had discovered so far, I was quite interested. Walking straight in, being in a formal business suit, that didn't feel like it matched me at all, I nodded at the few people that had come to welcome me, bowing their heads in their acknowledgement. Owen walked a few steps behind me and I looked back at him, wondering if they did this for him on the short trips that he takes here. They held so much loyalty to me, that was why I questioned this... "Your Majesty, it is good to see you again! I am Alpha of the Surveillance Pack, George Monk, and I welcome you!" I nodded at him, eyeing him thoughtfully. I had met him at least twice before, but I guessed he was being extra polite because I was coming to his pack for the first time. I had wanted to come here earlier, but Owen had made me wait in the car longer...Just so that I would be late! And like every other time he had forced me to come late…It was boring! So…I was glad to be doing something! “Thank you, Alpha Monk.”

(Ethan's POV)   "Come, we have something to show you, Your Majesty." I followed after the Alpha and still didn't say a word. I was told a long time ago, that every word a King says was very important and must be spoken very well...Yeah...I fail completely with this while I'm with Chance, but I happen to become someone that rarely speaks when I'm the 'King', because of this very reason. After a good minute of walking, not once did I stop from acting the 'King'. I could feel some of the Omega's here starting to tremble to my aura…Sometimes, it was good to be like this, but then...Other times, like now, I felt bad. I was not trying to harm them, yet they feared me...I didn't like it... Upon coming into a room, I was then asked politely to take a seat and I did so. Owen sat next to me and we watched as someone wheeled something in on some cart. It looked weird and my first idea was...It was a rock... "We will obviously start with our investigation upon the deaths of the royal family. As you know, in the year 867 S, the royal family was suddenly buried alive and all but two perished. The burial site was..." I interrupted him, "Can you tell us what you have investigated beyond that day, we already know what they died from. Could we find out how or why instead?" "...Yes, Your Majesty. After that day we found this, to my right. We have finally found something that resembles what you see here, and it seems to be called an Elementalist." I looked at the 'rock' for a second time and blinked...I had no words yet and waited for the Alpha to continue. "As you see, there is a mark on the top here, and to find more evidence to suggest it is an Elementalist, there is also what they would call, veins, here." Getting up from my chair, I took a closer look and the Alpha pointed them out again for me. Scary...A rock with a symbol and a vein or two... "What does this mean?" I asked. The Alpha looked at me and sighed, "The Elementalist’s are from the continent of Gorde, they are obviously a rock looking objects that hold an elemental type of power, and the one here...Was earth. We are all but convinced that this 'Elementalist', as we call it, may have even been the most important piece of the plot of burying the royal members alive, Your Majesty."   Standing up straight, I then went to sit back onto my seat and looked back at the rock. Silence filled the room and I folded my hands in front of my chest and sighed. If this is correct, this could be a problem. We hadn't been sure for years, of what had been our enemies and who we could trust...Owen must have found out that it may not have anything to do with Shifters or humans and had wanted to see if it was safe outside of the palace for someone from the royal bloodline…To see if 'Elementalist’s' were still here... Now I understood better upon why Owen was getting me out of the palace… "Your Majesty, we have come to find that the 'rock' is not from this continent and that it was broken by Steve, brother of the late King, your uncle, may they all rest in peace...One of Royal Steve's canine teeth was stuck inside the rock and it is evidence that the tooth had broken this...'Elementalist'." Staying quiet, I had no idea on how to act. This happened so long ago now, when I was twelve. Not only that, but I never met this Steve. I felt glad that we were able to know about what may have finally happened, but I was still wondering if I should pretend to cry or something. After this talk, for the rest of my stay, it was boring. Owen thought that my 'boredom' was being uncomfortable because I might be going on 'heat', but I told him I was not. He had waited to ask me this until we were in a sealed room, and then continued to speak, as he gave me something, "This will stop your heat, take it and use it as soon as you know." I picked up the small needle, that already had some liquid in it, and raised my eyebrows at him, "Why am I only seeing this now?" Owen turned and started to unpack my things for me, making me frown, and said, "You cannot have this often, but neither can we hold off by seeing your loyal packs. I know you are due to go into heat again soon, so keep that on you, tie it around your leg, just in case.   'Just in case'...The last time he said those words to me, were about our recent training session together. We had not trained together for a while and Owen reminded me on how much I hated it. He didn't tell me much, just made me run as fast as I could, and for as long as I could, and by the time I felt dead, he finally stated that he'd prefer me to know when to run and run fast, so that I could come back alive. I guess now, I understood what he meant...Those 'Elementalist’s' might be hard to run away from, yet alone fight... Putting the little needle onto the string, that Owen also gave me, I immediately put it around my ankle, hiding it in my sock, so it couldn’t be seen. If I do this, then it’ll also be around me when I shift to my wolf. Then I looked up and Owen was looking at me in worry. "Do you understand now?" I nodded and turned. I threw the extra pillow, that was on my king size bed to the floor, and fell down upon the bed... Closing my eyes to the problem at hand, I grimaced into knowing that having the title as King, eventually meant leaving the palace. Meaning, I had to make outside safe...So that Chance could do this without a problem later when he grows up...So that his packs will forever stay loyal to him! …Perhaps, with this predicament, it was probably a good thing that I got rejected…   Our royal blood was running thin and it would be a great time to go against us! I had to keep treason to a minimum and even try to quell it altogether, I had to praise the loyalty and bargain with those who are asking for something in return. It wasn't going to be an easy task, that was for sure! Sighing, I felt my socks come off my feet and my legs getting moved, to be on top of the bed. Owen still looked after me well, not that he had a choice, as he was the only one allowed in the same room as I to slept in. Just outside the door though, were some good men and just further away was an Alpha and his pack. This pack had high technology and a lot of Shifters, so I felt pretty safe and fell asleep pretty quickly...   ***   Just like this, two months went by and I had to use that needle to stop anyone from knowing that I would be in heat, just like an Omega. It was great! It was always lonely and annoying to go through my heat and for once, I didn’t have to endure that! Owen, our guards and I saw a few other things at ‘The Surveillance Pack' and then we were off two days later. Owen had made an idea to them before we left though, getting my interest, which was a small oxygen tank that I could take along with me everywhere…Just in case… The Alpha happily stated that he had already come across such a thing and prepared to take them to the palace as soon as possible, knowing exactly what it was for… I guess I did too, as we all looked grim for a moment. The idea of being buried alive sounded almost unrealistic…But, if I was to have something to help, perhaps my life could be saved…   The next pack we visited was The Harvest Pack, whom is mostly our farmers. The Harvest Pack are quite large because they accept Shifters in their pack a lot easier than any other. In fact, I had sent some rogues here at some point… They not only need lots of workers but also guards, because not only humans steal, but rogues. Each pack has an interesting extra circumstance, so that the pack doesn't hate it there and leave. With The Harvest Pack, they have the best food than any other pack, and The Surveillance Pack gets a free phone and phone calls. The next pack we went to, was the Heed and call Pack, whom we were definitely stopping by to check upon! We had stayed with The Heed and Call Pack for a whole two weeks, trying to put things back in order, by making a few people leave and welcoming the new Alpha to take over. The human that they previously had contact with was finally dealt with, without it being obvious, and we, as Shifters, were the ones that put books onto shelves, if the book written about us was out in the open. We weren't going to buy them, because that will make the book become known and popular, so we sent a few people around to put the books out of sight, to give it less of a chance of it being picked and read. I, on the other hand, straightened out the people in the pack. It was strange how an Alpha thought himself above the law, and so his followers felt they were too! I could pick them out. They hardly needed to speak! So, those weeks were really eventful! After that, with travel time, I was only able to see one more pack before the two months had gone by!   Before we went back to the palace, for a much-needed rest and so that I could see my boy, we quickly visited The Treasury Pack, whom obviously looks after our money. Since we live on interest, the Treasury Pack is probably the most...Leisurely bunch there is! Their advantage is being able to gamble, of course though, they can't gamble a large amount. Unlike the humans, the way that The Treasury Pack gambles, is with a very little amount, so that your money does last longer…For instance, on pokies, normally people could easily spend a hundred dollars in twenty minutes, but here, in The Treasury Pack, they can make five dollars last an entire night! It was a production of us Shifters, as the King before my father was somewhat stingy but wanting to make sure that The Treasury Pack would stay loyal. Nonetheless, I thought it was a great idea! And, just like The Harvest Pack, the Treasury Pack were great to get along with and seemed happy with me as the King. So...The first get away from the palace was actually really good! I did still think of my mate but having to act as 'King' more often really did help me get through to day easier. I felt it though, I should see him soon...His pack might even be next! Being excited and scared at the same time, happened for me all over again!     Before heading back out, for another trip outside the palace, I became that annoying to the maid’s and the Queen, that I was kicked out of Chance’s room. I had declared Chance’s room mine, but since I returned, just in a couple of days, I had become an ‘eyesore’… On a rare moment, the Queen and I exchanged a mature conversation or two, and that’s when I found out that the two people that had come from other packs to find me, while I was out, had come here to the palace first. The Queen said that none of them had extreme problems and that they were happy after she had said little advice and then added that if they need my help afterwards, that I, the King, was currently out of the palace, visiting another pack. The continent was quite large, and we were spread out in amongst the middle of the land, while the humans seem to dominate the very north and south areas. So, travelling from pack to pack could be quick for us, if we travelled in wolf form, making us only take a two day travel, when it would normally be an eighteen-hour flight…That’s if we don’t stop…Obviously, we hardly get to a point where we would travel from one end of the continent to the other without any stops. So, most of the time, if one decides to travel by wolf form, it would take about a week, depending on a few things. Actually, we seemed to be the reason that humans rarely come to the mid areas of the continent. But, now that I think about it, it probably makes a lot of sense that they would be worried to lose their lives to a pack of wolves… …While I was being taken from one pack to another, we used vehicles, so that I would be guarded easier. Of course, Owen had put into account that I was unable to shift to my wolf anyway, so I had no other choice. But, since I was the King, it wasn’t looked at as an excuse, because the late King had also used vehicles to travel as well. And, since I had to keep my wolf at bay, I did do runs while my boy was sleeping, making me only leave him alone in this time. But, since it was the only time to be able to bring out my wolf, I had to make the best of it!

(Ethan’s POV)   I know that while I was in heat, it would have been hard to have a normal conversation. But, after awhile, I was able to understand what my mate had said to me. Even though I understand our predicament, I was really sad…So sad that I needed somebody! And all I could think of, with a problem of being painfully unsatisfied as well, was the Queen. Except, that also felt wrong and it broke my heart some more. But…I did not stop my stride as I continued to her living quarters, her room. We hardly slept together these days, but we were across from one another in the palace, with Chance’s room in the middle. I took the steps two at a time and walked straight into her room, even though it was late at night and she could be most likely asleep. I closed the door behind me and removed my clothes as I continued to her bed. Getting in under the covers, I pulled her into my embrace and nearly cried right away. For the amount of time I had woken up, I was starting to lose my demeanour as a King and just wanted somebody to hug me tight and tell me that it was going to be ok! I was forced into this life, loving Chance like crazy, but now…Now I finally found what I never had!   My mate looked like an Alpha and felt like an Alpha, making me feel even more depressed, because I felt like I didn’t deserve him at all! He had black hair mostly, a tattoo and his eyes…His eyes were blue, so blue… Putting a hand into the Queen’s attire, I finally heard her, “Ethan! I told you no!” Unable to have that as an answer, I licked my mark on her neck and felt her squirm against me. Oh, how I wish my mate and I could be this close! Is this what it is like for Eleanor then? When she is with me, is she wishing for her mate?Touching her nipple, I poked her with my hard core and she turned to me angrily. I don’t know what was written in my eyes, but she went all quiet and I put my head against her shoulder, “Please…” I felt like I was already broken, but I couldn’t handle it if she pushed me away too at this current time. We were friends, we valued each other…I needed her to accept me tonight! No…I needed to feel wanted… She turned back around and took my other hand and kissed it. It was all wrong…There were no sparks, no wants, hardly any desire…Compared to… I kissed her mark again and was finally able to stop myself from crying when her obvious want for me was smelt. Being wanted… That was what I wanted right now…I wanted to be wanted. If I wasn’t wanted by my mate… …I never thought it would hurt this much to be rejected…   As quite a number of minutes went by, I finally felt a little better when more and more desire came from her and I focused on being gentle, knowing that I still needed her. I couldn’t be harsh and fast… When she had finally become naked and I hopped on top of her, she was begging me for more pleasure and for a brief moment, I let myself smile a little smile. Thank you for wanting me, this Omega, this bastard son… I put my face to her neck once again, wanting her to want me more…Maybe I was trying to make up for my mate not wanting me, I wasn’t sure… It looked like, being slow had done the trick, as she finally took over and turned us around. In a rush, she placed herself on top of me and stopped when she saw my face. I wiped away my tears and took a deep breath, covering my face. “Ethan…” I didn’t want to think about it! Putting my hands to her hips, I moved her on top of me and tried to get caught up with what we were doing instead…But…It wasn’t easy. For the next hour, I dedicated myself to make her want me so much that she was yelling out my name. I was turned on, but I think that what I wanted most was her desire for me. Her touching me because she wanted to, her accepting me continuously thrusting into her, because she wanted too. She started a few kisses herself, touching me, like it wasn’t like we hadn’t had sex for months. This is what I needed… I wanted to feel like I was worthy in any type of regard, before I cried my eyes out…   After that hour, the room smelling of her completely, I was finally able to drive myself into her with the intend to release. I know I forced myself to do this, before I was ready to… Using her smell, her wetness and her perky chest to get me there, I finally climaxed inside her and fell on top of her in a heap. Putting some of my weight on my hand, I let out a sob… He doesn’t want me… I was told to never think of my mate, so I had tried not to. But now, that this has happened, I never thought it would hurt me so much. Letting out another sob, I felt hands go around me and I tried to hug her back, without putting too much weight on her. I’m sorry for using you, I’m really sorry… “What’s wrong Ethan?” Going on to our sides, pulling out of her in the process, I pulled her back closer to me and wiped my eyes. “I was rejected.” I heard her sharp intake of breath and saw her stare at me. “Please don’t say anything.” I pulled her into me and cuddled up to her. Even though we were chosen mates, right at this moment, I was really glad that I had her with me.   The throne meant nothing to me, the status of King meant nothing. I loved Chance and if I had to leave, I’d take him with me. I suppose the Queen can come too… But, now, I hated…Completely hated the fact that I was an Omega… Isn’t that why I was rejected? Isn’t that why he didn’t touch me? He hardly looked at me and was even able to walk away from me while I was in heat, his own mate! But…Why do I still want him? I don’t know him, he rejected me, but I still want him! So much…I wanted him so much that the world was changing… I want him by my side, I want him to hold me and tell me that it’s ok to be myself, be who I am! But that won’t happen… I was really sad. Never being this sad in my life, yet, knowing what sadness was… Mates…Destined mates, from what I’d seen, was a relationship from the gods. There was hardly a relationship that didn’t work, they were ‘destined’ for each other for a reason and now the status of being an Omega seemed to have come in between that. What if I had been a Beta or an Alpha? Would he had rejected me? Was it because I was King? Even so…   Perhaps it was…Perhaps it’s because I already had chosen a mate… I wish I knew what the reason was…Or reasons… It had been at least an hour or two after sex, and the Queen was breathing silently, sleeping away, while I was up and wondering why I was rejected. Taking myself away from her, I gently got off the bed, so I didn’t wake her up. Looking at her one last time, I felt bad. I had most definitely used her tonight… But, remembering how I had felt wanted through her, when I desperately needed it, I was also in her debt. Sighing and picking up my dishevelled clothes on the floor, I put them on and left. Before, I had accepted being King, I unconditionally loved my boy. I still love my boy, but I wasn’t too sure if he was enough to keep me here at the moment. Knowing that he was going to take my place one day, I had indeed thought of running away once again. Owen could train Chance and the Queen would help look after him, but… The only other way was to somehow feel wanted again, and the Queen seemed the best way to do that. Walking to the end of the corridor, I went into my room and waited…No doubt Owen will come as soon as someone knows that I have come here. I was going to let them know as soon as I was done with a shower, because I was starving. Light was slowly coming over the horizon, so I could see the outline of my desk and chairs, bed and door to my en suite. It was a large room, too large. I never understood why a King would need a large room when he doesn’t spend much time in it…   Having showered, I was still depressed, but now I was a clean, depressed man…Feeling clean was something I liked, especially when I had spent twelve years of being dirty, and even another year or two during intense training. The clothes never looked so boring to me…Everything was boring, as I looked at the bed too. I never thought of this after Chance was born, but now, my life had returned to being bleak…I felt no excitement for anything… Not caring what I picked to wear, I put it on and then ordered someone to come with my breakfast. Looking at food, tasting the food… What the hell!? I knew I was starving but why does even the food make me more depressed and taste like nothing!? Only having some egg and bacon, I wiped my hands out and the dishes fell to the floor. I needed to find out, find out why he choose to reject me. I was sure, at first, that it was because I was an Omega…But now, everything was trouble! Finding so much wrong, I suddenly felt more and more ill, more like my life was a scam from the very beginning! Putting my head into my hands, I wondered if there was truly something good about me. Was there really something I could offer him anyway!? Putting my hands through my short brown hair, I took a deep breath in and just lost my sense of self. To my own questioning, I suddenly realised that perhaps if I was in his position, I probably would have done the same thing. But, it hurt so much, that I felt myself want to crawl into a ball and cry…   When Owen did finally arrive, I was feeling like I was put onto auto pilot. Doing anything that I was told and not thinking about too much. I didn’t tell him about my mate, because I was so lost about it in the first place. Not that it mattered, Owen would be happy that I got rejected and that my mate said he’d keep it a secret, but Owen would, most likely, look that Shifter up and get into contact with him. But, even with what had happened, I somehow trusted my mate, perhaps that is the only thing he does for me and…I should be grateful…I really should be… Telling me that many Shifters had asked for me, especially at the celebration, Owen told me that he had to made up excuses, knowing after about an hour upon were I was. …So, it looked like my mate had been and gone within an hour…That depressed me even further…   And so, a week flew by, where I feel like I’m half dead. I did as I usually did, as business wasn’t personal and even helped me. But, when it came to being ‘free’, I spent most of my time running…Running…And more running… I didn’t see the Queen, I didn’t see Chance, I tried to not think, I tried desperately to forget about my mate, because he was continuously making it hard for me to feel worthy. I felt very insecure and unwanted… Having already used the Queen wrongly, I didn’t want to do that again, besides…It had felt wrong in another way… Which had even reminded me another reason why I was rejected…Was because I had the Queen and even a son… Was my mate unhappy because of that? …Everything sucked and just led me to believe that he had done the right thing! He had made a choice that even I would do in his position and I can’t blame him at all! I can just go more into depression about my status and who I was as a Shifter. Life started to become very lonely…And if before I hated myself, I hated myself more now. It seemed…My fate wasn’t a very nice one…

These past two weeks, Marion was tasked to join a lot of operations in the military. Although, it was all small matters and wasn't considered as highly dangerous, he still find it problematic to write a lot of reports. It isn't that he doesn't like doing his job. It is just, he couldn't concentrate because his thoughts are all in a mess these days. Today, when he's finally able to get a day off, his friend Ryan came for a visit. It was a normal thing for him to visit if he's not busy, but today, his younger brother keeps on complaining about how he feels really bored. So, Ryan suggested that Luke should invite his classmates to come over. Marion's ears perked up upon hearing that. He hasn't seen a certain little girl for two weeks, and he's been itching to see her this time. So he allowed Luke to call his friends, even though he actually hates it when it is too crowded and noisy. His brother invited three kids. The girl named Rica was the first to arrive, followed by Edmund. The last one to come is Sorcha. When she finally came, his heart couldn't help but speed up a bit. He wanted to go near her but he controlled his self not to be impulsive. He couldn't show that he's interested in a little girl. He crossed in his heart. "Little sis, wanna play with me too?" Ryan asked her. "No thanks big brother." She replied politely. "Since when did you two get close? Even calling each other little sis and big bro?" Luke on the side commented. "I was asked by her father to come to their house to tutor Sorcha before. We became closer then." Ryan patiently explained. 'This little girl, I was only away for a few weeks and she's already calling someone else big brother!' Marion thought to his self, feeling a bit sour. 'What's worse is that, she hasn't even bothered to look at me!' Marion stood up and walked towards them, he lifted Luke out of his seat and challenged his friend to a game. He arranged the chess pieces back together, then said, "Let's play." Marion chose the black pieces while Ryan chose white. Their game lasted for about fifteen minutes, as the other four kids in the room watch them while doing nonsensical chatting. The game may look simple and relaxed from how they look. But, Marion actually took the game seriously. He didn't like the feeling of losing to anyone, especially in front of the girl.  "Checkmate" He said to his friend. "I win." "Haha, I really couldn't win against you." Ryan spoke jokingly. Marion didn't answer his friend, but he's feeling quite smug right now. He glanced at the reaction of Sorcha, but he felt as if cold water was splashed towards him.  The girl didn't have any reaction! She didn't even say a single congratulations. He was instantly disappointed. He stood up, and left the room. No longer glancing at anyone. Around five in the afternoon, he noticed that the visitors has started to leave. He immediately walked towards Sorcha's car to wait for her. When he finally saw the girl, he looked at her seriously, then said, "Call me BIG BROTHER" he even emphasized the words big brother, then left without waiting for her reply. Sorcha just looked at the poor guy, as if looking at a crazy person.  While he was walking away he said to himself, 'Why do I always lose my mind everytime I am near her?!' xephyre Thanks for reading! Please leave a ♥ or comment below if you like it! Join me in discord: https://discord.gg/96fmXXb

After the test paper were distributed by the proctor, Sorcha immediately focused her whole attention on it. The first exam is Mathematics, her favorite subject. She finds it really useful, especially since people can't use their instincts all the time. Math helps you in making logical decisions. The formulas are tools for people to simplify the way of solving problems. Sorcha was able to finish the test fastly and easily. When she was done, she glanced for a bit to her friends. Luke seems to be especially troubled, scratching the back of his ears with an ugly look. On the other hand, Rica is answering the exam, though not as fast as Sorcha, but her face shows that she's still doing it with ease. Lastly, Edmund is answering the test proficiently, and is almost done as well. Sorcha stood up. She gave her papers to the proctor, who just nodded his head at her, then placed it on his table. "You'll know the results after all the exams are done." He said as Sorcha returned to her seat to take her things away. While she's walking back, she heard someone sneered at her. It was the girl a short time ago, which Sorcha doesn't find surprising. She just took her bag and went outside, to wait for her friends to finish. While she was waiting, she saw Ryan approach her. She smiled a bit then greeted him. "Hello Mr. Ryan."  Ryan smiled back and brushed her head, then asked, "How's the exam? Easy?"  "Hmm." Sorcha shrugged neither agreeing nor disagreeing. "Haha I'm sure it was easy for you." He said. Then after a short while, the three other kids finally left the classroom. They saw them talking with each other, and proceeded towards them. "Hi Mr. Ryan." Rica said happily, while Luke just nodded his head at Ryan with a dejected face. "Sigh, It was too difficult! How could they give a hard exam when they only teach us how to answer simple problems!" He complained. Edmund released a soft laugh, at him and said, "Yeah"  Edmund finally started to feel more relaxed with them. Though, he's still quiet, at least he joins in the conversation once in a while.  "See? Edmund agrees with me." Luke grumbled. "Tut-tut that's because you don't listen to class well." Rica mocked him. "Was it my fault that the lessons are boring?" Luke replied. Ryan looks at them while smiling. It feels nice to look at these children getting along well. But, suddenly he frowned. "Someone really thinks highly of herself. Only studied for the exam this morning, but she's still the first to pass her test papers." A girl said, though she didn't say it loudly, it was still heard by many. "She just probably couldn't answer anything, so she just decided to give up early." The other girl on her side said. "Heh, you're probably right." Then they walked away, after glancing at Sorcha contemptuously. "What the cow is their problem?! Sorcha didn't even do anything to them." Rica exclaimed with furrowed brows. "Just let them be." Sorcha calmed her down. Who knows? Maybe this war freak kid would suddenly lash at them. "Hmmph! They're just too irritating!" Rica replied, while gnashing her teeth. "What's happening? Are they bullying you?" Ryan asked, with a serious expression. "No. Don't worry." Sorcha said. Not really caring about it. "Tell me if they went overboard. I will not tolerate it." Ryan said, sternly. Sorcha felt warm with all her friends concern for her. She didn't want to worry them any further. It was but an act of childishness, not something worth bothering about. So she just nodded her head, then said, "Okay."

In the mountain where the Barron mansion stood and when the sun hasn't even risen yet, a girl in the age of 14 was running nonstop. "Run! Don't slow down!" The stern voice of a man was heard in the whole area. Sorcha didn't have the energy to reply to her uncle David as she continues to run. Her small face is covered in sweat, and her clothes were all drenched. She has been running for some time now. The training started at exactly 4:30 am, and her usual kind and gentle uncle has turned into a strict malevolent teacher. Not that she mind though, it was just a bit scary to look at his uncle's serious gaze. "Okay that's enough for now. We'll have training again later before dinner. This whole week, we'll focus more on developing your stamina and endurance. Go rest first and prepare for school." Uncle David instructed her. "Yes uncle!" Sorcha shouted while slightly panting, finally able to appreciate the fresh morning breeze. ~~ Pioneer high school on the same day. "Guys, let's go play together in my house. My parents have been asking me to show my friends to them." Rica said to the group. "When?" Luke asked. "Depends on you. How about today after class?" Rica suggested. "Sorry. I can't." Sorcha said with an apologetic tone. "How about tomorrow? Or on weekends?" Rica again asked. "I am not sure" "Heeey why!? What are you upto?" Luke curiously questioned. Edmund on the side quietly looked at her too. "Sigh.. It's just that I will be busy these days." Sorcha explained. She looked at Rica then added, "I'll make it up to you next time." Rica pouted, "Mm, 'kay. But you have to promise you'll come next time!" She said while tugging Sorcha's sleeves. "Okay." Sorcha promised her. "Heeeey! Don't tell me you are going on a date???!" Luke shouted, making some of the early students look at them. Sorcha and the others just rolled their eyes at this troublesome kid. Suddenly, Ryan, wearing a teacher's uniform appeared on the classroom's door and walked infront of the class. Hearing the energetic shout of Luke he laughed and said, "Haha you guys seem lively today but you should all quiet down for now. We are going to start our lesson." ~~ On the school gate. After school hours. "Sorcha, you're really not coming with us?" Rica asked again. "I will next time." She replied. "Okayyy.. then we're going now!" Rica said reluctantly. "Take care guys." Sorcha waved her hands. "Don't go on a date!" Luke said with threatening eyes before turning around, bringing the silent Edmund with him. Black lines formed on Sorcha's forehead when she heard him. 'does this kid have a loose screw?' she asked herself internally. "Haha Luke is too playful." Ryan walked near her. "Mr. Ryan" Sorcha greeted. "He is indeed." "Oh my little sis has forgotten about her big brother?" Ryan said with a teasing voice. Sorcha scratched her head. "Big Brother." Ryan laughed feeling satisfied, "how's your first day of training?" "You know?" Sorcha asked, shocked. "Haha of course. Your father told me." He winked at her. "My dad really blabbers a lot." She sighed, imagining her father's face while talking about her. "You train properly and make sure to take care of yourself." Ryan advised. "Yes." She said then glanced at the incoming family's car. "Big Brother I'm going now." "Okay. Keep safe." Ryan gently brushed her hair again. Sorcha no longer bothered in removing his hands, it looks like it has become his habit already. "I will." She turned around and entered the car.

A week passed since I enrolled in school, and today is the first day of class. I stared at my reflection on the mirror. I tied my long hair on a ponytail, exposing my face. My features is about fifty percent of that in my past life. My face is small, just a bit bigger than the palm of a hand, eyebrows are slightly curved, eyes black with a shade of grey, straight nose, lips reddish like that of a rose bud. I'm wearing a school uniform. White Long sleeve blouse and a red knee-cut skirt paired with black shoes. There's no nervousness in my eyes, instead, there's a hint of anticipation in it. Knock knock. "Sorcha, breakfast is ready" someone said outside the door. "Mm, wait just a bit." I said, then took my bag and opened the door. There I saw my nanny who's been taking care of me since I was a baby. "Good morning aunt Claire. Is mom and dad there?" I asked. "Yes they're waiting for you." Aunt Claire replied "Sorcha now has grown up to be such a beauty." "Aunt Claire, you sound like dad." I laughed. We reached the dining room where my mom and dad is sitting, patiently waiting for me. "Good morning mom and dad." I greeted with a smile. "Good morning baby." Dad said and I sighed. "Good morning Lil sorcha. Come let's eat." Mom beckoned. After eating, my dad hurried off to his work and mom stayed in the house. "Sorcha, take care of yourself in school okay?" Mom said. "Of course mom." I answered, then I left the house with uncle David. Pioneer High School- carved on top of the Gate. The surrounding is bustling as the students enter the premises. "Uncle I'm going inside." I said. "Take care young miss. We'll wait for you after class." "Mm thanks uncle." Then I smiled and entered the gate. I went straight to my class room, then casually chose a seat beside the window. "Sorcha, is that you?" Someone said. I turned my head and saw Luke by the door. He then approached and sat beside me. "Mm. Morning Luke." I said lazily. "Hey! I told you we'd be classmates!" He said enthusiastically. "Good guess" I said. "Ehm, I'm sorry for last time. I wanted to talk to you longer but my big brother wants to go home already." "Oh." I blinked and remembered his brother from before. "It's fine. He seemed busy." "Now that I saw you clearly you actually look pretty." He praised with his innocent eyes. 'This kid will grow up a player' I thought. "Thank you." I nonchalantly replied. "The teacher is coming." I added hurriedly. A man around his twenties entered the room. He looked around and went in front of the class. "Good morning everyone, I would be your class advisor from now on. My name is Ryan Darrington." "So young!" Someone murmured. "Handsome! I won't ever absent if the teacher is that handsome." A girl said. The teacher seemed to hear her. He looked at her and laughed. The girl, having been caught, blushed in shame. "Snickers~ I'm more handsome." Luke said, and I laughed as well. "You can call me Mr. Ryan." The teacher introduced himself. And the class started.

After a fast shower, Sorcha hurriedly put on her school uniform. She picked up her bag, took a book out, and glanced on the mirror quickly. Upon seeing herself presentable, she nodded in satisfaction and then ran to the dining area. She grabbed a piece of bread, took a sip on the milk beside, and said with a full mouth, "Mom, dad, I need to leave early today."  "Dear eat slowly!" Aria said to her daughter. "Sorry mom, I really need to go!" She said. She glanced at the half full glass of milk and decided to take one last gulp from the glass, then ran fastly to the car. She opened the book she is holding, and skimmed through it while eating the bread. Today, is the first day of exams. Because her time is cut half from her training, she can only spend a shorter time to review. She is not worried though, she's confident about herself. Even before in her past life, she already have a photographic memory. Even if it isn't as miraculous as remembering everything, atleast she could remember most of what she had read. After a long ride, Sorcha finally was able to arrive in school. It seems she is earlier for about thirty minutes. She put another book on her table, and crammed. Skimming through the books, and checking out her notes sometimes, she stayed like that until all her classmates arrived.  "Look, she probably didn't study at home. Just reading her books right now." A girl whispered to her seatmate. "She's probably too lazy. It's not like we do not have a weekend to review." Another girl whispered. Sorcha can actually hear them, but she chose to just ignore them. She's too old, to bother with childish students. "Hey you! So what if she's just reviewing right now!" Rica suddenly shouted and confronted the two girls. Putting both of her hands on her hips. "What? We didn't say anything wrong. Isn't she really cramming right now?" The girl retorted with raised eyebrows. "You!! It's fine if it's Sorcha because she's intelligent already! But if it's you, I bet even if you study for a year, that brain of yours will still remain as big as a pea!" She angrily said. "Hmph!" The two girls just snorted and ignored Rica. Sorcha sighed upon seeing her friend, and felt moved, "Rica, it's fine." She said. "Ah! I just hate people who have nothing else to do but speak ill of others!" Rica harrumphed. Luke then arrived, and was able to hear everything.  "Sorcha, don't mind them. But are you really only able to study right now?" He asked worriedly. Edmund also worriedly looked at Sorcha. "Yes. But don't worry, I'll be fine." She replied while smiling at them. "Hmph! Too arrogant." The girl a while ago blurted out. "Hey you pig!" Rica shouted once again. Luke and Edmund also glared at the girl, then, looked again at Sorcha. "Goodluck to us! I trust that you'd be able to pass the tests easily." Luke said to her. "Mm." Sorcha nodded to reassure her friends. xephyre thanks for reading!

The driver Sorcha left was walking back and forth nervously outside the car. His young miss have been gone for over an hour now. Because she told him to wait for her here, he has no choice but to stay there anxiously. 'What should I do? What if young miss was caught in danger?' he said inwardly making him even more nervous. After a while of waiting, that seems to be forever for him, he finally saw the silhouette of Sorcha. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he suddenly widened his eyes in horror. Sorcha whose hair is unkept, her uniform with traces of burns, and most especially with a bandaged hand walked towards him. "Young miss! What happened to you?" He said feeling his heart dropping. "Uh, I helped someone and accidentally burned my hand a bit. This is nothing." She said. "Don't worry I'm fine." 'Nothing?' shouted the driver in his mind. 'Young miss ah! I'd get a thorough scolding from boss surely!" He calmed himself then asked Sorcha, "Are you sure miss? Should we go to the hospital?" "No need. I'm really fine. Let's go home." Sorcha ordered. Once again, he can only nod his head reluctantly. The moment they stepped into the mansion, Aria instantly saw Sorcha. Panicking, she ran fast to her and made a rundown inspection. "What happened? Are you alright?" Aria said with obvious concern in her voice. "It's just a small incident that's all." Sorcha said as to not worry her mother more. "No, tell me what happened." She insisted. "Aunt Claire! Can you get my first aid kit please?" "Okay madam." Aunt Claire replied. "Mom this is really nothing. I'm only burned a bit. Besides it's already been treated." She said softly. Feeling warm in her heart. 'it really feels good when somebody looks out for you.' she thought. "What's happening here?" Anthony suddenly appeared and walked towards them. "Our daughter is injured!" Aria immediately said. Anthony tightens his forehead. "What happened?" He asked the driver. "Sir.." The driver said everything that happened nervously with his head down. The room temperature seems to drop all of a sudden. "Why did you do that?" Anthony said with anger after piecing everything that happened. Sorcha whose head was down stood there quietly. 'Father is actually angry.' "Answer me." Her dad's voice was heard again. "I.. I just wanted to help." She said while avoiding her father's eyes. "That's not what's important!" Anthony shouted. Sorcha felt scared to her father for the first time. Her father who always act the 'good father role', who has never even lifted a single finger to her, for the first time, got mad at her. "Do you know you're wrong?" He asked her. "I know." She replied with a voice barely audible. "But.. I just did what a good soldier should do." "Ha ha!" Anthony laughed in madness. "A soldier? Are you a soldier yet?" Sorcha abruptly shuts her mouth. Standing obediently there like a good child. "You haven't even experienced training and you're already playing soldier! You don't even know how to protect yourself, yet you went and saved someone else already!" Anthony's voice was shaking. "I'm.. I'm sorry dad." Sorcha said feeling guilty. Being a knight in her past life, it was instinctual for her to save someone. It's just that, she forgot that the her now, is but a fourteen year old child. "Anthony, let's make her rest first okay?" Aria tried to comfort his husband. Anthony's expression visibly soften after he heard his wife. Then he sighed and looked towards his daughter who he's always proud of. "I know that you wanted to help, but there's always another way of doing that. Remember not to do things out of your capabilities." He said. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have shouted towards you." Sorcha's eyes turned red instantly, she choked then said with a quivering voice, "No dad, it is I who's wrong. I'll remember father's teaching." Seeing his daughter trying hard not to cry, Anthony both felt happy and sad. He went and hugged his daughter. "Shh, it's fine already. I was just too worried. I'm glad you're safe." He said softly. Feeling for the first time in this lifetime the genuine love of her parents, the ice that enveloped her heart after experiencing too much pain in her past life, instantly melted. Tears that she tried hard to control, flowed continuously from her eyes. She cried her eyes out like a little kid as she hugged her father back. "I'm sorry father, mother, I'm sorry." She said. Not knowing whether she's sorry about what she did today, or about how she's been neglecting her parents all this time. She cried hard, letting out all the pent up feelings she felt inside. Her heart that's been carrying all regrets in her past life, felt lighter. Now that she have someone who loves her again, she won't feel alone anymore, she thought.

Friday night, at the Barrons' mansion. "My princess, tomorrow we'll have a visitor. I asked him to teach you the basic military knowledge that are necessary for you to learn before we start your training in a few weeks. That'd be easier than you reading all those books. I'm sure you'll be shocked when you see him." Anthony said to Sorcha while eating dinner. "Oh! What's his name dad?" Sorcha asked excitedly. "Haha you'll know tomorrow." Anthony replied. "He's a good lad. He is my friend's son, although he didn't become a part of the military, he's still knowledgeable. I used to mentor him a bit before, but he chose to quit." "Why's that?" Sorcha looked at her dad curiously. "I'm not sure. Maybe he feels that the life in the military isn't for him. Because their family has a military lineage, I heard he was only forced to train. Too bad though, he is quite the talent. Anyway, that didn't matter. As long as he can teach you well, then it's fine." He answered. "Mm." Sorcha nodded. ~~ The next morning, Sorcha woke up quite early. After fixing herself, she rushed towards her father. "Dad! What time would 'he' come?" She asked. "Oh excited are we?" Anthony laughed. "Mm." She nodded. "Haha, In just a bit. I asked him to come here around breakfast. Oh! Look he's here." He pointed at the doorway. Sorcha dropped her jaw. "Mr. Ryan!" Ryan laughed, "haha hello Sorcha. How's your morning?" "You. Why didn't you tell me it's you?" Sorcha asked. "Your father wanted to surprise you." He grinned. She then looked at her father and pouted. Anthony just laughed and said, "surprised?" "Mm." Sorcha admitted. "Ah! I remembered you said that you know my dad." She glanced again at Ryan. "Yup. He was one of my mentors before." "Un. My father told me already. Oh, Mr. Ryan have you eaten? Come join us." She said noticing that she might have been rude. "Okay." Ryan agreed. When he was sitted, Anthony said, "You should teach her well. I won't be able to join you because I still have to go to work." "I understand." He affirmed. "Good! Then I'll leave my daughter to you now." Anthony looked at his child and added, "You should listen to your teacher well." "I will." Sorcha said. "Don't worry general, she's quite the diligent kid." Ryan said. "I know! Haha, I'm leaving now." Anthony said making sorcha feel a bit embarassed by her father's unnecessary remark. "Take care honey. I'll be waiting home." Aria said then kissed him on his cheeks. "Yes yes. Of course. How about my daughter? Where's my kiss?" "Dad! We have a guest!" Sorcha grumbled. "Sigh. Our daughter now is becoming a lady. She no longer wants to kiss her father." He complained to Aria. "Mom! Will you please stop dad!" She said. "Pfft~" They laughed. Even Ryan couldn't help but to laugh as well. "Now, stop teasing her and just go to your work." Aria said. "Ay ay nobody wants me to be here anymore." He grinned then left the mansion.   Author's note: Hello! If you like the novel, please add a review! :)   Join me in discord: https://discord.gg/96fmXXb

Mr. Ryan is actually a good teacher. He handles our History lessons which I found a bit weird because of his age, but nonetheless, he teaches really well. "Although our country, Linbourne, is experiencing peace right now, all thanks to our government and military's efforts, war can still break out anytime." Ryan said. Then he sweeps his gaze towards his students and stopped for a few more seconds on a girl who looks at him seemingly interested on the topic he is discussing, noticing her twinkling eyes that hints of craftiness. 'An interesting fella' he said to himself. Then continued with his lecture. 'Is father being busy related to that?' Sorcha thought. Feeling proud about her dad's work After a few hours passed, Mr. Ryan finally said "Class dismissed." And the class cheered after he left. "Sigh~ don't you think history class is boring?" Luke by my side said. "Hey it isn't boring if the handsome Mr. Ryan is the one teaching. Interjected by the girl beside him. Luke internally rolled his eyes towards the girl. "You are not even listening to his lessons, only staring at him the whole time." He commented. Then the girl's ears turned red because of that. "So what? Atleast I do not sleep like you!" She retorted. "Hey hey! I'm not sleeping! My eyes are just resting for a while!" I laughed hearing their discussion. "Sorcha let's go eat something before going home! My treat." Luke told me. "Let me join too!" The girl said. "My name is Rica Folkerson by the way!" "Okay" I agreed "Hey you pay for your food yourself!" Luke complained. "Stingy! Are you not a gentleman?" Rica said. "Hmph next time will be your treat." "Sure thing!" Then we all laughed. They walked towards the cafeteria where they saw one of their classmates being bullied. Sorcha's eyes turned sharp because of that. "You little wimp! Not even getting the things right! I told you to buy me a red bean bread but you bought chocolate! Tell me who's gonna eat that!" A guy said angrily making his bulky nose bigger than they normally should. "But they no longer sell them." The poor guy timidly replied. "Useless thing!" The guy then reached his hand to the guys face for a slap. But before it even touched the poor guys face, they heard someone shriek. "Argh!! Let go of me!" The bully cried. "I thought you're strong because of how you bully the weak." Sorcha's voice sounded. "Dammit! Let go I said!" Sorcha then dropped his hand. "Don't do this again." She said. The guy looked at her as if not satisfied yet but in the end turned around and left. "Woah! Sorcha you're so cool!" Luke said with sparkling eyes. "You should not allow others to bully you." She told the poor guy. "Mm. Thank you." He replied weakly. "What's your name?" Rica asked him. "Edmund Nichols" he said shyly "Oh hi Edmund! My name is Rica, this guy here is named Luke, and the girl who saved you just now is Sorcha!" Edmund blushed and looked at sorcha then hurriedly dropped his face again. "Come join us to eat lunch! This Luke here is the one who's treating!" Rica said Luke rolled his eyes then said. "Mmhm my treat!" Edmund again raised his face and nodded. After eating they went outside together and looked for their own service. "Hey take my contact and give me yours too." Luke exclaimed and raised his communication watch. After exchanging, sorcha saw uncle David waving at her. "I'm going now." She said to her new friends. "Okay we're leaving too. Take care!" Luke said.

A girl wearing well-fitted black exercise shirt and pants is jogging while carrying a pail full of water in both hands around a mansion. "Huff, huff" loud even breathing was heard from the girl. The water in the bucket constantly sways inside, but it doesn't splash out. She looked straight to her path and saw her uncle waiting for her while standing straight in front of the mansion gates. He stood there wearing a plain white shirt and black shorts, with his face neutral. The uncle glanced at his watch and said, "27 minutes. Good, earlier by 3 minutes." Sorcha nodded, still catching her breath. "Drink water. Rest but do not sit." Uncle David ordered. "Yes!" Sorcha answered. She breathed heavily then walked towards her uncle, taking the bottle in his hand, before drinking several gulps of water. It has been a week since her daily training started. It was more on just running and running. Sometimes, her uncle David will also ask her to carry things like those pail of water or just attach weights on her arms and legs. There are also times when her dad Anthony would come oversee her while training. Her body may be stronger than regular people, but her uncle David still managed to find out her limit, and constantly helps her in exceeding it. After seeing her stop drinking, David said, "Soldiers need to have a sturdy and tough body. From tomorrow onwards, you'll still continue your daily running in the morning but now, we'll add self defense and physical combat on your schedule. Tough body is important but remember that combat ability is more significant, especially in the battlefield." Sorcha's head nodded heavily while listening to her uncle, keeping everything her uncle say in her mind. "Come, try kicking with your right leg." Uncle David told her. Sorcha hummed in agreement then forcefully kicked. David caught her legs and said, "Good, kick with the left." She again did as he said, and David caught it once more. "You seem to apply more force when using your right leg. We'll fix that next time. You'll have to train both, making them equal in power if possible. That should be the same with your arms." Sorcha nodded her head. "I understand." "Good!" Uncle David then laughed, returning to his gentle and kind Uncle role. "Alright! That's it for now. We'll resume training tomorrow. Haha! your mom kept on complaining to your dad about how she couldn't see you much like before. Go and spend some time with her." Sorcha scratched her head and felt guilty inside, thinking about how she really didn't spend much more time with her mother. "Then thank you uncle David for today." She said then straightened her back and bowed a bit towards him. "Let's go inside. Your aunt Claire has prepared your breakfast already." David smiled at Sorcha. 'This girl really has a tough character. She never even complained once ever since we started training." He praised her inside, feeling proud about being the girl's teacher. Sorcha smiled back at him and agreed. Both of them entered the mansion, the girl at the front and the man followed from behind. Author's note: Join me in discord: https://discord.gg/96fmXXb Thank you guys for reading!

Having cried a lot, Sorcha was able to sleep really deep that night. Waking up, she remembered how she wept like a child to her father and felt her face heat up. 'Why did I cry like that?' she asked herself and covered her face with both hands. To Sorcha who has experienced two lives already, it feels like a big lost of face. After her daily morning rituals, she left her room and went to the dining hall where Aria and Anthony was. "Good morning mom and dad." Sorcha greeted while trying to hide her embarassed face from her parents. "Good morning little Sorcha. Slept well?" Aria asked smiling. "Mm." Sorcha nodded. Anthony laughed out loud while looking at her red face. "My princess is still a child after all! Crying so hard yesterday ah!" He said, still laughing. "Dad! Can we just eat already! Stop teasing me" Sorcha said feeling aggrieved. Then all the people in the dining room, after hearing her voice filled with grievances, including her uncle David, aunt Claire, and some maids laughed at her. The mansion of the Barrons is lively that morning. ~~ At school, while Ryan is doing his lecture, he noticed that one of his student's mind is wandering elsewhere. He didn't say anything about it and focused on his lessons. After the class ended, he stood by the gates as he wait for sorcha's group to pass by. But before they came, Marion arrived. "Why are you here?" Ryan was shocked. "Can't I be here?" Marion said coldly. "Cough~ cough~ it's just that, you seem to like going here lately." Then sorcha's group came near, saving him from further embarassment. "Hello Mr. Ryan" greeted the group. "Hello guys." He said then turned his head to Sorcha, "Sorcha, I've noticed that you're not listening a while ago. Is the lecture really that boring?" He smiled as if he's not the one who's teaching moments ago. Marion raised his brows noticing that his friend looks quite close with her. Sorcha blushed in shame. "I'm sorry Mr. Ryan i didn't mean it. I was only thinking about something." She said. "Oh?" Ryan questioned, "Care to share?" "Sorcha must be in love!" Luke teased her. But instead of making the atmosphere light, it turned dark instead. Sorcha formed black lines on her forehead, Ryan furrowed his brows, and Marion emitted cold aura. 'Maybe I should teach this kid a lesson sometime' Sorcha marked in her heart. 'Is that for real?' Ryan thought inwardly. Feeling curious about her. 'Who could she be thinking?" Marion muttered to his self. A sour feeling sprouted inside him. The three people with different things going inside their brain, struck Luke with dark gazes, making him flustered. Noticing that he might have said something wrong he said,"Oh hehe! Older brother what brings you here?" hurriedly changing the topic while laughing awkwardly. The innocent face of Rica and Edmund had question marks written there. 'Is Luke sick?' they thought. Marion was the first to recover from his thoughts saying, "Do I have to tell you what I have to do?" 'Brother ah! How could you suddenly turn cold towards me!' Luke complained inside but kept the smile on his face then said, "Of course not. I'm just curious that's all hehe!" Still laughing like a retard. Marion then gave a careful look at Sorcha's hands. Then took out something from his pockets and passed it to her. "You should use that"   Author's note: Join me in discord. It's really lonely there...  https://discord.gg/96fmXXb   And if you have some spare time, please do leave a review for this novel. That will really help me!

Inside the study room of the Barrons Mansion, Anthony is sitting by his table while 'uncle' David, who's around his early fifties, has a hair that shows some strands of white, and a stubble beard, stands by his side. "Older brother, I think you already know Sorcha's desire to become a soldier." Anthony said. He calls David as older brother when there's only them present. They treat each other as bosom friends who have shared life and death together before. "Yes, I am. Younger sister Aria informed me about it." David replied. Sigh~, "What do you think about it?" Asked Anthony. "Sorcha is already on the age where she decides about what dream she wants to pursue. Having both parents in the military, I think it's normal for her to want to become like you." David expressed his thoughts. "Although I want to train her all by myself, I won't be able to focus because of all this work piled up for me. Can you help me this time older brother?" Anthony asked expectantly. David laughs, "Of course. Even if it was anyone else, they'd want to train such an intelligent and talented girl." "I know! Haha" Anthony proudly exclaimed. "Thank you brother!" "Haha then forgive your older brother's meager skills then!" He modestly said. "You're the only one who'd say that your skills are lacking!" Anthony laughed once again. "For now, help me first create the best training regimen for her. I promised that we'd start after one month. Since I already agreed about her becoming a soldier, then I'd want her to become an outstanding one. I'm even hoping she'd surpass me!" "Haha aren't you expecting too much from her?" David replied. "Older brother don't you feel the same?" "Of course." Then laughter once again filled the room. Sorcha who still doesn't know that her training schedule is already being planned by his father and uncle, is listening eagerly to the lessons in school. "Prepare for a quiz next week." Mr. Ryan announced before dismissing the class. One by one, the students started leaving the room, and only Sorcha and her little 'kids' are the only students who remained inside. Ryan then walked towards them. "Still not leaving?" Ryan asked whilst smiling. "Haha Mr. Ryan, Luke here is complaining about the upcoming quiz." Rica said. "Hey!!" Luke glared at her. "What? I'm saying the truth." Rica glared back. "Haha" Luke scratched his head then said, "Don't listen to her Mr. Ryan." Ryan laughed then turned to Sorcha, "If you have any questions about our lessons you can ask me" "Oh, then thank you Mr. Ryan." Sorcha replied politely. "Haha you guys seem to have a good relationship with each other. I as your adviser is becoming jealous." He jokingly said. "You don't have to sir. Hmm How about we eat together?" Luke suggested. "Mm. Okay my treat!" Ryan generously offered. Then Rica, Luke and Edmund laughed and cheered. Sorcha just smiled at the sight of them while thinking, 'this kids are really easy to please.'

Edmund is currently doing the English exam. He is actually good in every subject. If not for his super shy attitude, with his high intelligence, he wouldn't have been bullied. Edmund's family is a bit different than his friend's. His biological mother died early, leaving him alone in an early age. His father remarried after two years since she died. Her step mother is a good woman, and he actually likes her very much. She gives him so much attention and love, as if he is her real child.  What's unexpected is that, his father decided to leave them both. So, he is living with his step mother, while his real dad left them. Edmund's father became addicted to alcohol, since his real mother died. His mood changes really fast and is very unpredictable. He didn't even know how her good step mom fell in love with such a man. He pitied her so much, but he can't do anything, especially when his dad started to hurt them physically. He wanted to protect her, but he is too weak. So when his father decided to leave, instead of being sad, he was really happy. Atleast with him gone, her step mom wouldn't get hurt anymore. Though he is relieved, when he sees her sad eyes every time she miss him, he also feels bad. He is still useless. When Sorcha protected him from bullies that day, he felt as if he's seeing his step mom on her. Even if they're not blood related, she still protected him. His eyes were full of worship towards her.  Everytime he is near her, he gets really happy but he knew his feelings towards her isn't that of attraction towards the other gender. They're still kids anyway. It's more like loyalty and trust.  When Sorcha is with him, he feels safe and warm. As if he can go anywhere if he is with her. When he saw the girls talk bad about her on the first day of exam, he felt bad. Honestly, if Rica wasn't there to confront them, he'd go forward and lose himself. This morning, when he again heard someone ridicule her, he finally can't control his anger and snapped. He remembered when his father started hitting his step mom. He just stood on the corner crying, and didn't even tried to stop him. So when he saw Sorcha facing with undeserved ridicules, he felt that he needs to stand up for her. He didn't want to be useless again.  When he was about to hit them, he was stopped by a very warm and powerful hand. Though it was small and beautiful, it feels as if it can carry even the heaviest problem she might face. Those hands brought him back to sanity.  He knew that hurting someone is still wrong. If he did that, he'd be like his violent father, and he didn't want that to happen. He felt guilty and worried. Will she hate him?  No, she didn't. She even said that she's thankful, and asked if his hands hurt. He knew, that what he did, was worth it. xephyre span> I hope that you'd share your thoughts about this novel to me.  Got a 1 star rating. (note that I'm not sad or anything) I wish you could tell me what's the problem and if possible, provide some tips on how to improve.

Sorcha looked at the thing Marion gave her. It was a bottle filled with green-like paste that seems to be an ointment for treating scars. "You don't have to give me this." Sorcha said. "Take it." Marion declared coldly, still on a bad mood then turned to leave, not even bothering to wait for a thank you. Curious glances swept from Sorcha to Marion then from Marion to Sorcha. "He came just to give you that?" Ryan said confused. "I don't know." Sorcha answered. "We're you two close?" Luke asked bewildered. "No we're not. We just happened to bump into each other yesterday and he saw that I was hurt a bit." Sorcha explained. Ryan just looked at her still feeling confused and said to himself, 'I must be insane to think that he's interested in her' he shook his head inwardly to remove that thought. On the other hand, as if figuring something out, a light ignited at Luke's head, "Oh! so that's why." He said seriously but his gaze contained some hidden meaning. "Yes. It was really just like that." Sorcha said to make it clear, noticing the gaze Luke gave her. "Yeah it's just like that." Luke answered then whistled to the sky as if he didn't know anything. Sorcha puffed her cheeks feeling wronged about Luke's actions then said, "I'm leaving." She glared then turned around and left. Luke suddenly let out the laugh he'd been trying to suppress. "What's wrong?" Rica asked. "Pfft~ nothing." Then just continued to laugh. Rica gave him a dissatisfied look and said, "Is it just me, or you guys also think that Sorcha was cute when she puffed up her cheeks?" "She is." Edmund said shyly. 'I think so as well.' Ryan also answered in his heart. Then they left one by one, confused with their own thoughts. ~~ Remembering how Sorcha treated the others compared to how she treated him with coldness, Marion felt mad inside. 'How could she get close to them, and not to me?' He grumbled to himself, then suddenly shaked his head heavily. 'What's going on with me? I've been out of myself lately.' After that, he turned his car's engine and drove. ~~ "Mom, I'm home!" Sorcha shouted after not seeing her at the garden nor at the living room. Aria took a peek at her from the kitchen then shouted back, "Dear, come down early later ah! I'm cooking dinner." "Okay mom!" Sorcha answered then walked towards her room. 'Hmph! That Luke! I really should give that kid a lesson!' She fumed. 'And what's up with his older brother, actually giving me this?' She took out the ointment he gave her. 'It looks expensive huh, it would be a waste to just throw it.' She opened the bottle then applied some to her hand. 'Although I don't really care about having a scar, it would be better if this is effective.' she said. After that, she jumped onto her bed satisfied. "Sigh~ really comfortable ah!" She lied there, no longer thinking about what happened earlier.   Author's note: Hello! Do you like the new cover?  PS. Please, if you have time, drop a review for this novel. That'll really help! Join me in discord: https://discord.gg/96fmXXb  

"Sorchaa~" Luke's yet to mature voice was heard around the empty classroom. His eyes are sparkling, and his lips are curved mischievously. The other students has just left the room, and Sorcha was still packing her things, when Luke called her name. Sorcha just ignored the kid. This past few weeks, she didn't know what has gotten into Luke as he seemed to enjoy pairing her with his older brother. She's getting a bit annoyed by his repeated teasing so she kept on telling herself to maintain her cool. 'An adult shouldn't bother with children.' she said inwardly. She didn't even bother to give him a glance. Luke pouted, getting ignored by Sorcha, he turned his attention towards Rica who's also busy fixing her things. "Hey Rica, don't you think Sorcha and my brother looks good with each other?" Rica gazed at the childish Luke and tutted. "I really want to open that head of yours to know what's inside." "What's wrong? I'm only saying that they look good together! Besides if she get to marry my brother, wouldn't that make me her brother-in-law? That would be great right?" He grumbled. "We're still kids." Edmund on the side said softly with his head down low. When the three heard him say that, they all looked at him with interest. Their eyes all at him, encouraging him to continue speaking. Edmund felt his cheeks blushed once again because of their stares, but he still managed to get some confidence and followed, "We.. shouldn't be thinking like that now." Sorcha patted his shoulders and looked at him with a face that says, 'You did a good job!' He stiffed for a bit but soon smiled timidly, feeling good about Sorcha's action. Rica also gave him a thumb's up then said to Luke, "See? Even Edmund says you're weird." "I didn't mean that.." Edmund whispered bashedfully. Luke harrumphed. "I only want to know what Sorcha thinks about my brother." Because he keeps on mentioning his brother, Sorcha remembered Marion's bizzare action last time. She is still wondering how he could eat the food she made. She also couldn't understand why he kept on repeating his name to her before leaving the mansion. 'He is a very strange man.' She answered in her head but instead said, "Let's go home." 'I need to rest well today. Training starts tomorrow.' she added in her mind in a good mood. 'I can finally flex this bones of mine. I wonder what my dad prepared for my training?' thinking about it, she unconsciously smiled. "Look! Sorcha is smiling. She's probably thinking about older brother. Come on now, I know you're interested in him" Luke laughed. Sorcha only sighed and continued walking towards the exit. "Heeeeey~ he's really really handsome. Girls like handsome guys right? Right??~" 'Why is this kid blabbering so much? And why does he remind me of a human trafficker?' She felt her goosebumps rising when the thought came into her mind, imagining this guy selling his brother's body. 'His older brother must have it worse. Sigh. He is too pitiful.' She then walked faster to avoid Luke's further teasing.

"My baby, I thought you have forgotten about me." Aria complained to her daughter childishly. The two sat side by side on the white sofa of their living room. Aria is peeling the skin of grapes on the table, putting one on her mouth, then another to Sorcha's. "How could I, mom?" Sorcha smiled while chewing the fruit casually. It tastes sweet and fresh. "I'm just a bit busy that's all." She said in a cute voice, trying to coax her mom. "Hmph. Your father didn't even give you a break!" Aria included Anthony in her complaints.  "Mom, dad only wants the best for me." Sorcha defended her dad. "Hmph! Hmph!" Aria just snorted twice. She then looked at her daughter and asked with obvious concern, "Lil Sorcha should be tired right? You should eat a lot okay? Here open your mouth."  Sorcha accepted the grapes once again in her mouth then said, "Mom, I miss the taste of the food you cook." "Really? Then mommy should cook later for dinner!" Aria smiled happily after hearing her request. ~~ Sorcha entered her room smiling. She was able to survive her mom's long nagging.  Today is Saturday, and since her uncle said that she didn't have to train this evening, she has time to do something else. "But what should I do?" She sighed. She's no longer used in the feeling of having nothing to do. Suddenly, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw Luke calling.  "Sorcha!!~" Luke's loud voice was heard. "Mm. Why did you call?" She answered. "Hehe don't you miss my brother?" He said playfully. "Bye." Sorcha pretended to drop the call so he'd stop with his useless teasing. "Heyheyhey! Don't end it! Do you want to come at my house? I invited Edmund and Rica. Mr. Ryan is here too!" Luke hurriedly said. "Oh? What's up?" Sorcha asked. "Nothing. I was bored and since big brother Ryan is here, we thought that it'd be fun if you guys are here as well." Sorcha thought for a while. She's always trying to go home as soon as the class ended, so she wasn't able to spend more time with her friends too these days.  "Okay, I'll go there." She decided. "Really? Haha good! I'll wait for you!" Luke happily said then he ended the call. Sorcha walked towards her closet to change her clothes. She picked up a plain white shirt, a light blue knee-length skirt, and then she paired it with white sneakers. She faced her reflection in the mirror. She tied her hair up in a simple bun and smiled, feeling satisfied with how she looked. After that, she went outside her room to look for her mom. "Are you leaving baby?" Aria asked. "Yes. I'm going to my friend's house for a bit." She said. "Okay, have fun there." Her mom kissed her on the cheeks then added, "Go home early, I'm cooking dinner." "Mm. I will, mom." And after a while of further nagging, she then finally walked away. "Bye sweetie!" She heard her mom's shout before she entered the car.  She smiled and then waved her little hands to her mom.

Only Ryan, Sorcha and Aria are still on the table finishing their breakfast. After Anthony left, they talked a bit more about some random stuffs. When they were about to finish, Ryan asked Sorcha, "Where should we stay?" "Ah, is it alright in the garden?" She asked him back. "Mm. Anywhere is fine." "I'll ask Aunt Claire to prepare some snacks for you later." Aria interrupted them. "Thanks mom." "Thank you Mrs. Barrons." They simultaneously said. "No problem. If you need anything just call me, I'll be upstairs." Then they both nodded. The sweet smell of the peonies at the entrance greeted them. There are red and white orchids beside the pathway towards the table set where the two sat facing each other. A man-made pond can also be seen a few meters away which contain kois that look as if they're dancing in the water. The beautiful atmosphere in the garden made the two feel comfortable. "Your family seems to be very close with each other." Ryan smiled gently at her. "Mm we are. Please dont mind my dad's childish behavior. He's just like that with us" She said. "Haha I think your father really loves you. It's my first time seeing this other side of the General. I didn't know he can laugh like that. He always have a stern look in his face before." "Yes, I know." She smiled childishly, exposing her cute set of teeth. Ryan was a bit stunned seeing her. 'She can actually smile like that.' he thought. He always had the impression that Sorcha is too matured for her age. Seeing her now, he feels like she's finally acting like a proper child. Recovering from his daze, he said, "I was surprised when the general told me that you want to join the military." "Well, I was surprised too when I heard that you used to train for the military." She said. "I felt like I'm more suited to become a teacher. Don't you feel the same?" Ryan asked. "Mm. I think so as well. I like the you now." Sorcha casually answered. Hearing those ambiguous words, Ryan felt his mouth twitch a bit. Then he hurriedly changed the subject. "Should we start our lessons now?" "Okay." Sorcha said then focused on what Ryan's going to teach. "Let's first talk about military signals and codes..." Ryan introduced to her the basic military signals and codes, the ranking system in the military, the general orders, proper conduct for soldiers, and so on. Although Sorcha has read about some of them already, it still feels new to her when Ryan explained everything. ~~ "Thank you very much Mr. Ryan for today." Sorcha said to him. "Hey, just call me big brother when we're not in school. I thought we're quite close already?" Ryan said to her as he watch her changing expressions. "Uh, but would it be fine?" She scratched her head, hesitating. "Haha I'll feel sad if you won't. I've long been wishing to have a little sister" he told her. "Okay.. big brother." She acquiesced. Ryan laughed then brushed his hands to her head, "I'm going now. I'll go back next time." Ryan saw her pouting when he did that but she just said, "Mm. Take care." Then waved her small hand. Ryan waved back at her. 'Such a cute little sister.' he thought as he leave the mountain.   Author's note: Hello! If you like the novel, please add a review! :) You can also show your support by giving it a ❤️ Join me in discord: https://discord.gg/96fmXXb

A four story house could be seen a few meters away from the car Sorcha was in. It has the shape of a tilted letter L. The roof tiles are colored black, and the walls are painted, clean white. It was surrounded with a fair amount of pine trees, and other different kinds of plants. It really looks simple, but it still has the aura of elegance.  When they neared the gates, it was automatically opened, allowing them to enter freely. Sorcha went down the car, and Luke was waving his hands impatiently at her from the second floor balcony, motioning her to go up. Sorcha couldn't help but to pinch her temple with how this kid acts. Shouldn't he come down first to get her? She sighed and just allowed one of the maids to take her there. The inside of the house was really neat. It has a minimalist style, with only a few furnitures placed. A four meter wide stairs greeted her. The steps are all white, while the handle is painted with gold. The second floor has bigger space than the first. The maid led her to the room where Luke and the others are, before excusing herself. When she went inside, she instantly heard the boisterous laughter of the group. "Sorcha!! Come here!" Rica shouted. She smiled, then walked towards them.  "Ha-ha Luke and Mr. Ryan's been playing chess. It's the fourth time Luke has lost." Rica explained. Sorcha looked at the messy chess board, then to the smiling Ryan, and the childish Luke. She laughed when she saw the defeated face of Luke. 'So that's why he didn't come for me downstairs.' Sorcha looked at everyone. Ryan, today is wearing a casual blue polo shirt and black pants. Luke wears a printed yellow shirt and shorts. Rica is wearing a pink dress, and the quiet Edmund wears a moss green buttoned down shirt and pants. "Little sis, wanna play with me too?" Ryan asked her. "No thanks big brother." She replied politely. Then all the gazes of Rica, Luke and Edmund shifted from Ryan and Sorcha. "Since when did you two get close? Even calling each other little sis and big bro?" Luke on the side commented. "I was asked by her father to come to their house to tutor Sorcha before. We became closer then." Ryan patiently explained. "Ahhh that's why! We didn't know that." Rica on the side said while drinking a glass of juice. Edmund also nodded after hearing that. "If you two also like, you can call me big brother too, of course only during when we're not in class." Ryan with a gentle smile added, and looked to Rica and Edmund. While on the corner, a disregarded young, handsome man instantly frowned upon hearing the things they said just now. He stood up and removed the innocent Luke from where he is seated, then he said to Ryan while arranging the chess pieces, "Let's play."  Everyone curiously glanced at his sudden action. Sorcha on the other hand was a bit shocked. She knew there was another person inside, but didn't know it was Luke's older brother- Marion. Ryan looked at his friend then nodded his head and said in a playful tone, "Go easy on an amateur like me." "Let's start." Marion coldly said. xephyre Thanks for reading! Please leave a ♥ or comment below if you like it.  Join me in discord! https://discord.gg/96fmXXb

The next day, Sorcha found herself with nothing to do. She looked at the books on her table and pouted, 'I've finished them already.' She glanced around her room. On the eastern part, there is a queen size bed covered in plain white sheets, with pillows and a blanket that are colored sky blue. The curtains on the window beside the bed, are swaying slightly as the clean air permeate the room. The western side of the room has an old bookshelf standing, where I neatly keep most of my books. There is a study table made of mahogany beside it with the books she borrowed from her father on top. On the southern part, there is a wooden door leading to my own bathroom and closet. The room is painted mostly white, with blue accenting the corners. Not being able to find something interesting to do, Sorcha strolled casually outside. While taking a casual walk, she smelled something delicious from the kitchen and so, she decided to walk towards there. When she entered, Sorcha saw her mom wearing a black apron flipping something out from a pan. "Mom, what are you cooking?" she asked curiously. Her mom turned around and said, "Oh I'm making pancakes for your dad and his guest. You want some as well?" "Mm." she smiled then asked, "Can I try cooking too?" "Oh! You want to learn how to cook?" "Yes, can I?" she replied. "Of course! Come just follow what I'm doing." Aria said. ~~ "I'm sorry for troubling you this time." Anthony said to the young man beside him. "It's not troubling at all general." He replied. "Ha, my wife is cooking something. How about we go there and eat?" Anthony suggested. "Okay." When they reached the kitchen, they inhaled something that smells burned. "Is there a problem here?" Anthony asked as he entered. Aria and Sorcha was there staring at each other. "Ah, haha it's like this.. Sorcha tried cooking but it turned out burned a bit." Aria awkwardly answered. "You call this burned a bit?" Anthony looked at the blackish thing on the table. Sorcha blushed. Actually, this is the first time she ever tried cooking in both of her lives. She thought it was easy but didn't know that it could be so hard! "Is this edible?" Anthony added. She almost cried when she heard that. 'But I really tried hard doing that ah!' she thought. "Dear it's the first time you tried to cook, so it's normal to not do well okay?" Aria consoled Sorcha. Then someone else entered the kitchen. It was her father's guest. The young man looked at the 'food' on the table. One looks palatable while the other.. ehem.. doesn't look too good. Then he looked at Sorcha's face that looks pitiful, as if she's about to cry, and uncontrollably lifted his lips. "You!" Sorcha shouted. "You know each other?" Anthony asked. "No" "Yes" Sorcha and Marion both said at the same time. Then, the atmosphere suddenly turned awkward. "Cough, ah he's my classmate's older brother. But I don't really know his name." Sorcha explained, embarassed. Yes, the young man is actually Marion, Luke's older brother. Marion frowned after hearing that. 'This girl, she really didn't know my name?' "I see. Then you should get to know each other." Anthony said. "Marion, this is my precious little daughter, Sorcha. Sorcha this is Captain Marion William." He introduced. Sorcha was inwardly shocked. 'This guy is actually a captain! So young?' She exclaimed inwardly. Recovering from her thoughts she said a brief, "Hello." Marion just nodded then walked towards the 'dark cuisine' Sorcha has made and lifted the fork to taste it. Aria was just about to stop him when the food already reached his mouth. Silence.. "Ah, how is it?" Sorcha said absent-mindedly. 'He could actually eat that? Even she, didn't dare to!' "Good." He said without even changing his expression. Silence again.. 'Does this guy have an iron stomach?' "You.. you don't have to eat that." Sorcha, awakened from her stupor said. She then tried to snatch the food from Marion, but Marion didn't let her take it and just continued eating. The married couple just looked at each other thinking, 'What's happening?' "Haha" Anthony laughed awkwardly. "You must be really starving."   Author's note: Hello! If you like the novel, please leave a review! You can also show your support by giving it a ❤️   Join me in discord: (it's quite lonely there) https://discord.gg/96fmXXb

"How was your first exam?" Uncle David asked while watching Sorcha punch and kick a training dummy. "I think I did good." Sorcha answered. Her face is covered in sweat. Her black hair tied with a ponytail sways as she moves. "Really?" Anthony appeared walking towards them with Aria beside him. Sorcha stopped and smiled. She wiped her forehead then said, "Yes, father." "Haha my dear is so confident." Anthony laughed loudly. Sorcha grinned, showing her cute canines. "Of course" she said. "Aye aye since when did my daughter become so cheeky?" Aria laughed too, with a warm voice. She went near Sorcha to help her wipe her sweat. "Hey, she has the right to be confident. Just from whom did she inherit such good genes ah!" Anthony said, matching Sorcha's cheekiness. Such a warm atmosphere enveloped the Barrons' mansion during the night. "My sweetheart, stop training for today, you should rest early for your next exam tomorrow." Aria said. Sorcha and her mother looked at her Uncle David, awaiting his approval. David could just helplessly nod his head upon seeing their expectant looks. "Okay okay.. training will resume tomorrow okay?" He raised both his hands in defeat. "Good! Good!" Anthony's loud voice was heard again. Only Aria's face is not contented. "Only just for today?" She asked with a pitiful look. Her eyes seemed to be covered in mist, as if tears could fall down suddenly. Anthony and David had awkward expressions upon seeing her like that. Even Sorcha didn't have the heart to refuse her with that expression on her face.  Sorcha glanced at her father and uncle, who refuses to meet her gaze. She sighed, she was the only one who can answer her mother. "Mom, Dad and uncle only wants me to become better." She said, trying to coax her mother. Her mother only looked at her sadly. Making her at a loss, so she added, "I promise I will spend more time with you when I'm free." After hearing that, Aria's face beamed. "You promised!" She happily said. The sad look in her face vanished instantly. Sorcha nodded her head. 'why do I feel as if I fell into my mother's trap?' she sighed inwardly. "Come! Let's go inside and have some light snack." Aria said, then grabbed Sorcha's arms. David and Anthony shared looks with each other and sighed. Nobody knew better than them, how black bellied Aria could be. Poor little Sorcha, always the target of the beautiful woman. Pitying her inexperience towards her mom's tricks, the two can only sigh once again, and follow them inside. xephyre span>Hello guys!! Thank you so much for reading! Special thanks to @Tatsukichi for giving a review! Join me in discord: https://discord.gg/96fmXXb

Dust particles were floating around in a flat ground full of sand. The sun is already peeking as the light spreads in the sky. The smell of the morning breeze assaulted the noses of a group of men who are perspiring heavily from running with weights attached to their legs and arms. It's obvious that they've been doing that for quite a long time already, but you can't see a single soul complaining. The man in front gestured with his hands, motioning everyone to stop. He is not wearing any shirt, exposing his chest that is heaving up and down rythmically, and his toned upper body with a full eight-pack abs. He reached for a towel and wiped his sweaty body and shouted to the people following him. "Take a rest and go back to your posts!" They saluted to the man and shouted back, "Sir, yes sir!" The man is Captain Marion William who just finished his morning exercise with his company of soldiers. He removed the weights from his body and arranged them neatly on the side of the training grounds and returned to his room. He took a fast shower then randomly chose something to wear. It's been two weeks since he went to the Barrons' mansion. He still remembered how he ate the black pancakes Sorcha has made. At that time, he felt the urge that he must eat the food the little thing has prepared for the first time. As he expected, it tasted horrible but it still made him feel satisfied and.. to his surprise, accomplished. Although he ate the food with a composed face, he actually felt embarassed by the strange looks everyone was giving him, even making him double check his sanity. He smiled at the memory. He didn't care how the others see him as he ate that. All he know is that, he was the first one to taste her cooking, and that made him happy. These days, he has been thinking how could he be attracted to a little girl. At first, during his brother's school enrollment, he knew she was there but didn't really give her attention. Then the second time he saw her, it was when she looked at him then left as if not wanting to get near, she piqued his curiosity. During the fire incident, he developed admiration. The day he went to her school to give her an ointment, he sensed his jealousy towards her friends. From that day on, he started to feel fear. What if this little girl developed feelings for others? He was so scared, that when he knew his friend would go to the Barron Mansion to report something to the general, he convinced the other so that he could replace him, even promising him to take his shift for a day. And when he actually saw Sorcha, he thought that it was worth it. Before leaving, he even repeated his name for her and said, "Remember my name. Don't ever forget it." She just looked at him with a strange gaze and nodded her head. During these time, when he's been very busy and couldn't find a time to see her, he finally realized that he like her, and this 'like' feels as if it came within his soul. As if liking her is just natural. He no longer cared about how other people would say about him if they found out. He said to himself, 'I will wait for her to mature, but for now as long as there are no flies surrounding her, then it is fine.' He called back to his house to talk to his little brother. When he asked him to report about any 'suspicious' guy that came near sorcha, his brother on the other side looked incredulous. "Brother, you actually like her?" He gasped loudly. He knitted his brows and warned stressing every word "Do. not. tell. anyone." "You mean, my teasing really came true? But it is just.. it's the other way around.." Luke said. "What do you mean?" Marion replied to him in a serious voice. "He he.. I've been teasing her lately. Asking her if you are her type." He answered. He raised his brow and asked interestedly, "What did she answer?" Luke seemed to hesitate for a while on the phone before saying, "She said.. No. Not at all. Never." *Crushed* The pen Marion was fiddling in his hand broke.   "Brother? Are you still there?" Luke from the other line said.   Author's note: Hello! Tell me your thoughts by leaving a comment below! Join me in discord https://discord.gg/96fmXXb

Marion was driving his car home when he saw fire in a nearby neighborhood. He stopped and decided to drive there to see if he can help. When he got near the huge fire, he saw a woman wailing for help. A girl on her uniform with her back facing him walked towards that woman. After noticing that the girl managed to calm her down, he didn't get close anymore and instead looked again at the fire. A few moments later, while he's helping some of the residents carry their belongings, he again saw the back of the girl from before. But now, she's carrying a child that's attached to her body, her hair in a mess, and small part of her uniform burned out. Sirens where heard as the firemen came rushing to put out the fire. The little girl seemed to sigh in relief after hearing that. Marion walked towards her while she's also walking away bringing the child to the woman who was crying a while ago. "Ma'am here's your child" he heard her say. Giving the child to his mother after untying him from her body. The woman's eyes turned big in shock and cried again after taking her child carefully. "Thank you. Thank you." She repeatedly said. "You're welcome" the calm voice of the girl sounded once again. He saw the little girls small and delicate body going away when he turned stiff all of a sudden then furrowed his brows. He rushed towards the girl and held her hands tightly, shouting, "why are you here!" The girl is actually Sorcha who just saved the baby from fire. She flinched a bit feeling hurt by the sudden action of the guy who held her hands that are burned a while ago. She pursed her lips and said coldly, "why can't I be here?" Marion noticed the small change in her face then looked at the small hands he's holding. He saw the burns on them and his voice lowered significantly then said, "come with me, let's treat your hands." Before sorcha was able to refuse, she was already dragged away towards his car. Taking out a first aid kit, he gently cleaned the burns. After wrapping her hands with a bandage, he again spoke, "A young girl like you shouldn't be involved in this dangerous things. Look, you're injured" Sorcha frowned then said, "I am already fine." Marion just coldly stared at her in reply. His unfathomable deep black eyes were looking straight at her. "I just wanted to help alright? and I'm also not just any little girl. I'm fine now and thank you for your help." Sorcha snapped then turned her back towards Marion. 'what's with him getting angry at me? We're not even close' she thought. "I'm only concerned about you and that's what I get in return?" Marion said with a husky voice. "I know you are concerned and I'm thankful for that but I don't really need it." She turned her head for a while then continued walking away. After Sorcha left, Marion just stayed there for a while. 'the little girl seems to hate being underestimated.' Marion didn't know whether to be happy or not towards his new discovery about her. He remembered how she look outside the burning house, carrying a child she just saved, then smiled. Appreciation was formed inside his heart. He sighed then said to himself, 'What small and delicate young girl? She's like a tiger cub who's learning how to fight instead.' he laughed making the passersby stop and look at him in a daze. Some girls even looked at him with lovestruck eyes. He shook his head then went inside his car and drove away.

"Lil sorcha are you ready?" My mother Aria shouted from downstairs. "Wait mom!" I shouted back. 'sigh. Dresses in this world are not conservative at all!' I thought. I'm wearing a sleeveless dress that extends to my knees. 'If I'm in my past life, I'd be shamed by people that I wouldn't think of going out of the house for my entire life anymore.' "My lil sorcha is so pretty" My dad Anthony praised as I go down. And I felt my cheeks burn because of that. "Now now Arthur, look at your daughter blushing" said Aria. "Stop it mom" I calmly interjected. They both laughed. "You take care when you go out and be good to your mom okay?" I nodded. "It's too bad that you have to go back to work today" mother told Anthony "You know how they want to call suddenly everytime" "Mm. Okay we're going" "Take care" dad replied. My mom and I ride on a vehicle with four wheels called cars that works the same as the carriages in my previous world. My mom is going to enroll me in high school. And I'm very curious how schools work in this place since I've never been to one before because I was homeschooled. My parents said that my identity as a daughter of a general could threaten my life. Mmhm my father is a general. Although the reason for me being homeschooled is very exaggerated, I'm still moved by my parents protectiveness. I mean it's not like im really going to get assassinated or something. There's only a very small chance of that happening. "My little princess has grown up you're going to leave us already." My mom emotionally said. I internally sighed "Mom I'm only going to school." "Isn't that just the same! You're going out the house already. And you'd meet new people there or maybe get a boyfriend and then you're not going to be my sweet little daughter anymore." "Mom I'm only fourteen. What's with getting a boyfriend." I said. Of course if you added the 26 years in my past life I'm no longer a teen. In total I'd be 40 years old. I'm even older than my mother now. "Really?" My mom looked at me pitifully "Yes" my eyes tweaked. If there's one thing that I learned that I should never forget in this world, it is that when mom starts being childish in front of you, you only answer yes or else she wouldn't stop for hours. "Then you will never forget your mom?" She added "Yes" I again said "You'd still let mom hug and kiss you?" I sweated. "That.." then I saw mom's threatening looks and gulped. "Mm, yes..." I said with great difficulty. "Good! My daughter is the best! Remember if there's anyone who tries to bully you in school just punch them in the face and mom will take care of the rest!" Then I heard the driver's muffled laugh. 'Mom, that's not how you teach your child' I complained internally.

The car stopped outside the gate of a tall building. although it looks quite old, it still feel as if it won't fall for a lot more years. There is a vast open space on the right side of it and at the back of the tall building, you can see smaller buildings with the same old style architecture. When we entered the grounds, it was silent since school days haven't started yet. You can still see a few people here and there, probably those who will enroll like me, those who guard the school, or those who help maintain it. We walked pass a hallway and entered a room which seems to be the principal's office. "Good morning Principal Bryant." My mother greeted. "Oh you must be Mrs. Barrons, and this should be your daughter Sorcha, right?" "Yes, right this is my daughter. Go greet her Sorcha. This is Mr. Bryant, the principal of the school." I bowed a little then said "Good morning principal Bryant. I am Sorcha Barrons. Nice to meet you sir." Then I stood straight out of habit back when I was a knight. "Oh you're too polite." Replied Mr Bryant. "Sorcha go outside and play for a bit. We're going to talk about your enrollment first." Mom told me. "Yes, mom." I said, then bowed again to the principal. When I went outside the room I saw uncle David guarding there. He is actually my father's friend in the military who had to retire early because of an injury. He is grateful to my dad for saving him and now chose to work as our family Butler. He already stayed with us for a lot of years, and we treat him as a family member already. Don't underestimate uncle David, although he was injured, he is still strong and able to protect us. "Uncle David I'm going to walk around for a bit." I smiled at him "Okay young miss, be sure not to go far." He said warmly. As I was walking, I reached a garden that looks as if it is being carefully tended to everyday. There's a lot of bonsai plant on the front, and flowers at the back. I stayed there for quite a while and just when I was leaving, "Hey!" Someone shouted. I turned around and saw a boy who looks the same age as me. Quite tall for our age and looks handsome. 'Neat hair, clean face, and clear eyes.' I mentally praised. "Are you a new student here?" He asked. "Mm" I replied briefly. "Great! Perhaps we would be classmates. My name's Luke William, and I just enrolled here." Then he extended his hand to me. I stared for a bit on his hand thinking what I should do with that, and tried to extend my hand to him as well. He shaked it and smiled. "You haven't told me your name yet" he added. "Uh, sorcha. Sorcha Barrons." I said confused. Then another man walked towards us. He looks older maybe around twenty. He quite have the same face as Luke but is more handsome and matured looking. He has clear black eyes with long eyelashes, Enticing red lips, Smart-looking chiseled jaw line, and exudes an aura of elegance. He swept a glace on me then turned to Luke. "Luke we're going home." His calm voice reverberated. "Yes brother." Luke replied. "Sorcha nice meeting you. I'm going now." "Okay." I stood there and stared blankly while they walk away. 'Why does it feel familiar.' I thought. "Young miss, madam is looking for you." Uncle David shouted from the hallway. 'Nevermind. We're going home' "Okay Uncle!" I shouted back.

Sorcha woke up on a Monday morning, feeling her entire body ache. She stretched out her back, creating cracking sounds that make her release a sigh of satisfaction. Yesterday was so fun for her, yet has tolled too much of energy. Uncle David and her, spent the whole day training physical combat.  Her uncle was surprised on how well she performed on the first day. She can actually exchange blows with him without losing too badly. She took advantage of her previous life experience, making her a step ahead to anyone on this world.  Her combat style, is using her flexibility to make up for her deficiency in strength. Of course her strength before was really high compared to majority, but in this life, she's just above average. Her uncle is a veteran, even with all her experiences, she couldn't defeat him with her current fourteen year old body. Uncle David is someone who would reproach, if you make mistakes. But he is also not stingy in giving praises. He repeatedly gave her words of approval especially on her unusual fighting style and fast footwork, while they are sparring. He also said that her reaction speed is topnotch in the military. His praises made her happy and proud at the same time. Still, she didn't let it get into her head. She knows that there's still a long path ahead of her. She changed her pajamas into black exercise clothes after washing her face. Then she left her room and met up with her uncle, who ordered her to jog around their mansion. While jogging, she also added shadow boxing. It is something she learned from David. Boxing is a simplified style of her previous world's martial arts. Jabs, upper cuts, hooks, etc. are simple yet effective techniques in brawling which she feels rather useful. She felt her forehead dripping in sweat, when she's almost finished running. That alone proves that her training is definitely being paid off. Before, she can already feel her body drenched in sweat when she has only covered half of the entire distance. She smiled, then ran faster towards the mansion's gate, where David is already waiting for her while carrying a bottle of water and a towel. She wiped away her sweat, then drank all the water in that bottle. "Thank you uncle!" She said sweetly. ~~ After Sorcha left for school, David went to meet with Anthony. He sat on a chair facing him. "Sorcha is too talented in combat." David reported. Anthony raised one of his brows. "Ha, she could actually make you praise her this much. How good can she be?" He asked. "Too good. She can definitely rank in top, if she's given more training." David said passionately. "Haha! I just know my daughter is talented." Anthony exclaimed. "Older brother, just tell me if you need any assistance in grooming her. Even if I'm busy, I can still find some time for her. And even if I can't, I can always ask other excellent people to teach her." "Okay. But for now, I think I'm still enough. I'll observe her first. If I am no longer able to teach her anything, I will tell you." David answered after thinking for a while. "Good! Then I will rely on you!" Anthony said. xephyre span> Thanks for reading! Please give this novel a ♥ or a review if possible! I also value your comments! Join me in discord: https://discord.gg/96fmXXb

Marion was standing by the gates of the school as he saw his friend Ryan who was huffing and puffing by the time he reached him. "Oi! Can't you walk slower? You know I don't have much endurance like you." Ryan wipes his head as he complained to Marion. "Its because you're always slacking off at your workouts." Marion said with a trace of mirth in his eyes. "Tsk! You know I'm just a weak high school teacher don't you?" Ryan exaggeratedly said. "Yeah a weak high school teacher." Marion answered back with Sarcasm. "Hey you know I quit training long ago." Ryan rolled his eyes. "If you didn't quit, following my pace isn't difficult at all." Marion said with disappointment as he recalled his friend chose to become a teacher instead of pursuing a military career like him. "Come on now, I'm better in this job than being a soldier." Replied Ryan. Suddenly they heard laughters from students coming near them. "Haha Edmund you should try talking more. You have such a nice voice you know!" Rica said Luke nodded. "He looks good too, but he keeps on putting his head down. Don't you agree as well Sorcha?" "Mm" Sorcha inclined her head in agreement. Edmund felt his face burn once again as he sneaked a glance to Sorcha. 'They are all good to me' he thought. "Guys I'm going now! Our car is here." Said Rica "Take care." Sorcha told her "I... I'm going as well." Edmund muttered. "You take care too." Sorcha again said. "How about you Sorcha? You're not going yet?" Luke asked. "I am. I'm waiting for all of you to go." She said "Oh that's for a gentleman to do!" Luke laughed. "Besides I'm waiting for my brother today so you can go now." "Oh, Isn't that Mr. Ryan and your brother?" Sorcha pointed towards the side of the gate. She squinted at the sight of them. 'I just noticed now, he has a dangerous aura.' she inwardly muttered as she looked towards Luke's brother. "Yeah you're right! Come with me, I'll introduce you to him." Luke held her hand. Sorcha hurriedly brushed off his hand and said, "Maybe next time. They look like they're talking about something. I'll go now." "Oh too bad." Luke frowned then smiled again, "see you tomorrow okay?" Then waved his hand. "Mm. See you tomorrow." Sorcha waved back then left. "Brother!" Luke shouted to Marion then scratched his head, "Hello uhm Mr. Ryan." "Haha you don't have to call me that when we're not in class! Looks like you're getting along well with Sorcha Barrons." Ryan said teasingly. "Haha well, Sorcha is kind." Luke praised her. "Mm she indeed look kind." Ryan said. Then he looked at his friend beside him and find that he's staring at the direction where sorcha left. 'Sorcha..' Marion thought, 'why does she feel familiar?' "Hey should we go now?" Ryan asked him Marion came out of his daze, "ah? Yes, Let's go now." "Oh okay." Ryan said confused. 'was he in a daze just now? That's rare. Forget it, maybe I'm overthinking."

Late evening at the Barrons Mansion. The lights in the study room of Anthony Barrons is still lit up. The scent of the books lingered in the air, making anyone feel comfortable when smelling them. Anthony is sitting on his usual place, still wearing his uniform, as he stares at his beloved daughter that is standing in front of him. Sorcha is wearing her cute pajamas bought for her by Aria, and her favorite bunny slippers, ready to sleep anytime. While Uncle David is standing on his side. "Are you already determined to walk the path of a soldier?" He asked seriously. "Yes, dad. I am." Sorcha firmly replied. But her appearance while saying that looks quite comical because of the clothes she's wearing. "Good. You didn't disappoint this old man! Haha! My daughter should always stand firm on her every decision!" Anthony heartily laughed. "You keep on saying that you are an old man. What did that make me? A foot away from earth?" Uncle David joked from the side. "Don't say that uncle David you still have a long road to take in your life." Sorcha smiled at him. "Ha! My daughter is right! Haha besides you are still going to train my baby!" Anthony said. Sorcha felt shocked when she heard that. "Uncle David will train me?" She asked with curious eyes. "Mm right." Anthony said. "Sigh, unless you don't want this uncle of yours to be your teacher?" David teased her. "Of course I want uncle to teach me! I know dad is busy so I'm not expecting him to be my teacher anyway" she answered with enthusiasm. "I'm actually happy that your father is busy. I get to be able to teach you." He grinned. "Hey, stop being cheeky. You won't be able to snatch my daughter's love from me anyway!" Sorcha and her uncle David laughed happily hearing the childish tone of Anthony. "Cough. Back on our topic. Tomorrow, you'll start training with your uncle." Anthony turned serious once again. "Okay." Sorcha answered briefly with a smooth voice. "I need you to wake up 4:30 AM everyday. We'll do your training every morning before you go to school and every night before sleeping. Do you think you can do that?" Uncle David was also serious. "Yes I can!" She replied with a nod. "Very well." David praised. "I will explain more when we start already." He added. Sorcha just continued nodding her small head. "Did you prepare yourself mentally?" Anthony interrupted them. "Yes. I am already prepared." Her eyes beaming with determination. "Good. I am expecting a lot from you. I want you to surpass me. Do you understand?" He said wanting to put more pressure on his daughter. "I won't disappoint you dad!" Sorcha promised her father. "Haha I'll remember that. Go back now to your room and rest. Prepare yourself for tomorrow." Anthony smiled gently, stood up and walked towards his daughter, giving her a kiss on her hair. "Thank you dad. Goodnight." She also gave him a light peck on his cheeks, making her ears turned red instantly. "Haha I even get to have a kiss! Your father is really happy! Go now! Go now!" Anthony again laughed merrily. Sorcha nodded with a blushing face then also said her goodnight to her uncle before leaving the study room.   Author's note: Uh hello guys? Let me know your thoughts by dropping a comment below. Feedbacks mean a lot to me.

When Uncle David and I reached the house, I saw mom removing spent flower heads from her plants, looking satisfied after she finished. I walked towards her and the sweet scent of the peonies rushed into my nose making me feel comfortable and relaxed. "Hello mom. Is dad here yet?" I asked her. She turned around and answered, "Mm he's in his study room. Do you need anything sweetie?" "No, I'm just asking. You should take a rest after you finish here." I politely told her. "I'm staying in the house all day. How could I get tired? It is you who needs rest after coming from school. Tell me, did something interesting happen in your first day in class?" She asked looking interested. My mother resigned from her job before she gave birth to me, so now, she's staying here to take care of me and the household. "Nothing much." I replied. And after a while of listening to my mom's nagging, I finally left for my room. I changed my uniform into comfortable clothes. T-shirt, shorts, and a pair of rabbit slippers. 'why is this kind of clothing not used in my previous life?' I sighed comfortably and walked towards the balcony in my room. I stared outside as I reminisce about my past. The world I was in before is completely different from this new one. In terms of clothings, females were more on the conservative style. Long sleeves, ankle cut dresses, which are quite the same as the medieval type of dresses in this world. Males on the other hand, usually wears long sleeve blouses, pants, and a coat. As a knight, I usually wear uniform. Red long-sleeve blouse, paired with black pants and black boots, and a light armor covering the right side of my upper body. Knights stood at the forefront of human society there. They are just a level lower than Kings, and can stand side by side with the princes. They have great reputations and considered as honorable people who stands by their chivalric code. That world back then is filled with war with the other races, such as beasts and half-beasts/half-human. The knights protected the weak civilians, and they were the ones who initiated peace treaties to the other races. From then on, everyone started to cohibit the world in peace. Knights no longer just protect humans, but everyone who lives. If you would ask me how to describe my world from back then with the point of view from people who live here, I'd say it is something you can only read in fantasy novels. There's no magic, no beasts, no halflings in here that they are just called as 'fiction'. So if I try telling someone about it, they'd label me as 'madman', 'crazy' or schizophrenic. This world meanwhile has an advantage in technology unlike the other world where electricity is completely unknown. The communication watch I am using is something that are similar to smart phones with the basic function of calling people who are away from you, and certain things like GPS and so on. There is this thing called internet that is spread throughout the whole world, which you can basically use from anywhere. The buildings here are quite similar in terms of some type of 'architecture' that uses cement and bricks to build. But if you go to cities, you'd see sky-high towers or skyscrapers made from glass and others with the 'modern architecture' designs. The roads and highways are wide enough to support huge amount of cars. Some of the weapons used here are guns, tanks, cannons and etc. Of course they still use knives and other traditional weapons. My country Linbourne right now is peaceful. But the military and the government is still preparing in case a war erupts. The Oakbourne, a neighbor country eyes our country's wealth. They've been wanting to control our economic gains for themselves. Linbourne is rich in oil and materials used for manufacturing. Our lands are fertile and are good for agriculture. Oakbourne on the other hand, has increasing population that the government says that their basic resources are becoming scarce. The neighboring countries of Linbourne are Oakbourne, Silverbourne, and Vertbourne, and Linbourne, although is not the weakest among the other two countries, because of our natural resources, Oakbourne has a higher chance to wage war on us.   Author's note: Please point out grammar and spelling mistakes if you see them. I'm in great need of an editor but couldn't hire one. So for now, please bear with me. ?

"Where did she go?" One of the men asked the person beside him. "I don't know. You guys go there, I'll go on the other direction." The other man suggested. "Good. Give me a signal when you find her." The man again said, then turned around with the others to continue his search. Sorcha is hiding behind the tree, trying to breathe as slow and quiet as possible. She's only a few meters away from them, thus, she heard their conversation clearly. The men separated, good news for her. She don't know if this person is just confident about himself, or if he's a fool to look for her alone. Either way, she can't afford to underestimate the enemy. She silently bent down, and picked up a pebble. When the man isn't looking at her direction, she tossed it towards the bush, creating rustling sounds. When the man heard it, he became alert and looked to where the sound came from. He smiled, then slowly walked towards the bush. "Girl, don't be scared. This uncle definitely won't hurt you." He said playfully, while approaching the bush. He didn't bother making a signal for his comrades, thinking he's enough to catch Sorcha. When the man almost reached there, sorcha shouted in her mind, 'chance!' Then she instantly jumped and ran forward to him. She lifted her legs, then kicked the man's arm, making him lose his grip to the gun he's holding. "Damn it!" He hissed. He glared at the unexpected appearance of the girl from his back, scolding his self for not being careful.  Sorcha quickened her pace then, with her other leg, she kicked the man again.. on his crotch. "Argh!!" He shouted angrily. "Girl, my patience isn't as high as you think." He gained his stance, then prepared to catch the girl. Sorcha was prepared as well. She raised her right arm, deflecting the blow. Then she put both of her hands on his shoulder to lift herself up, and used her knees to hit his jaw. 'Pang!' a crisp sound was heard. Having been hit there, the man blanked out. Taking the opportunity, Sorcha with her hands, chopped the back of the man's neck, making him completely unconscious. 'One down' she thought inwardly. She took the man by his collar, then pulled it towards the tree she was hiding from before to hide him. She's lucky, this man underestimated her. She looked around. When she deemed it safe, she once again ran to create more distance.  'Hiding the unconscious guy will only delay the time for the other men to discover him.' She calculated in her mind. 'The next time, they will no longer put their guards down.'

After just a few minutes since the car left from her school, Sorcha suddenly got a bad premonition. She looked around, and besides the new face of the person in the driver's seat, there's nothing suspicious. "Are you newly hired?" Sorcha asked the driver, her appearance is that of just a curious girl. The driver gave her a skeptical look and asked, "Yes, I am. Did Mrs. Barrons forgot to tell you?" "Oh. Yeah, it seems so. What's your name?" She asked again. "My name is Dante miss." He answered. When Sorcha heard him, she turned quiet for a while.  Dante glanced from the front mirror and questioned, "Is there a problem young miss?" "Nothing. I just felt that your name is familiar." She lied. Her instincts is telling her that this is definitely not nothing. Having been exposed to a lot of danger in her previous life, she has developed her sixth sense. Although her gut feeling is not hundred percent accurate, she still depends on it a lot. It has saved her life countless of times already.  Her parents would have definitely informed her about the change of driver, and now they didn't. Obviously, just from that fact, it was already doubtful. She took out knives from a small compartment inside the car and placed it in her body. She inserted a small one in her shoes, tucked one in her waist, and hid one in her sleeves. Her action was swift and went completely unnoticed, even by the driver. She always bring weapon with her, her pocket actually have a knife as well, but it's too small and disguised as a pen, and it didn't seem reliable in real trouble. It's not as if she really expects to encounter danger. The safe environment she experienced in this life has lessened her vigilance, though not by much, it still frustrated her. What if she's not inside the car where she hides her real knives? The pen-knife, can it even be used to intimidate someone? After doing all those, she glanced at the mirror and observed her surroundings. If a while ago she wasn't sure that there's something wrong, now she has confirmed that there is. A car is definitely following them. Although it was trying to stay inconspicuous, it couldn't hide from Sorcha's sight. "Can we go back to school?" She said, while pretending to search her bag. "Ah?" The driver frowned. "But miss, we're already too far." "I'm sorry. I forgot something." xephyre span> Join me in discord. https://discord.gg/96fmXXb

Sorcha woke up full of energy. She was able to rest early yesterday.  After her usual training in the morning, she hurriedly prepared for school.  Like yesterday, she was earlier than everyone in the class to arrive. She browsed her books again, the subject being English. She removed the hair that fell down on her face, and concentrated on reading. But when the room started to get crowded, she was again greeted by ridicule from her classmates.  "Look, still doing the same." The girls whispered. "Tsk, and she still has the guts to strut her face." "Right, once the results are out, she'd realize that she didn't have the right to be so proud." Edmund upon entering the classroom heard that. His face turned red in anger. He disliked hearing someone else talking bad about his friend. Among them, he's probably the one who can relate most in being bullied. He felt singled out, but that was before he met Sorcha.  He didn't know where he get the confidence, when he suddenly smashed his hand on the table loudly.  *BANG* The desk was shaken, and it produced a startling sound. "SHUT YOUR MOUTHS!!" He bellowed, making the girls feel scared. They instantly closed their mouths and avoided them. He breathed loudly, still feeling mad. He wanted to rush towards them, but a sudden touch on his shoulder made him return to his sanity. He immediately stopped, and turned stiff. Now, his red face didn't come from being angry, but from shame. Sorcha sighed. She was the one who held his shoulders. She didn't expect, that the first one to lose his temper would be this cute and quiet kid. "It's fine. You shouldn't mind them." She said.  "I.. I'm sorry." He said in a barely audible voice. "No. Thank you for doing that." Sorcha smiled. She was actually happy. She had found something interesting about Edmund. He may appear harmless like a bunny, but he'd bare fangs if you've hit his bottom line.  Edmund's face couldn't be any redder. He felt his face heat up. He didn't regret what he did, since because of that he finally felt that he's useful.  "Un." He bobbed his head, happily. Sorcha looked at his hand, which is a bit red. "Does it hurt?" She asked. Then she held his hand and rubbed it. Edmund stiffed once again. "N-No.." he shook his head.  "After the class, you should apply some ice on it." Sorcha said.  "I.. um.. I will" Edmund answered.

The driver, who calls himself Dante, drove the car towards the school. Sorcha still holds the knife pointed to his neck. She no longer has the time to think about who wants to plot against her father. Right now, she needs to think about how to get through this safely. The people in the car that's been following them is probably now feeling that there's something wrong. This car would definitely not arrive at the school, she thought and became worried. She has long wanted to just push the driver out the car, but the problem is, she does not know how to drive! Another thing is, she really wants to teach these bastards a lesson for wanting to harm his father. Though, she is also aware that she can't fight them alone, making her become more indecisive. Calling using her phone, is not a good idea as well. These people are obviously prepared. Who knows if it is tapped? That would only make the guys hasten their moves to get her. She looked outside the car, and estimates that it should be no lesser than fifteen minutes before it arrive at the school. She gritted her teeth and said right after the car turned, "Stop!" The driver was reluctant to follow her order, but he still stopped the car. Sorcha hit the back of his neck, making him lose consciousness. All her actions were done swiftly. When she became sure that the guy has really blacked out, she opened the door and ran fast. Not towards the school, because the people following them would probably think that they're going there. So she ran in another direction. The place she's currently at is an abandoned lot. There where broken houses, were only a few tattered walls remained. The grass was as high as her hips, and there were a lot of trees scattered around as well. Choosing to run towards a place with plenty of people might be a better choice, but she didn't want to implicate innocent civilians into this. She ran naturally, as if running quickly pose no difficulty for her. She looked behind her, and saw the people from afar stopped as well and went near her car to check her out. When they saw the unconscious driver, they instantly guessed that their plans have gone wrong. They looked around looking for her, but she's already hiding from them. Apparently, not all of them are foolish to think that she ran towards the school. They grouped themselves separately and started looking for her.  She calmed herself, and continued to run while avoiding them. At least, the good news is that, if there'd ever be a confrontation, she would not face all of them at once. She inhaled deeply, and hid behind a tree. She knows she can't run away from them, but she's hoping that she could at least outwit them.

*Huff huff*  Sorcha has been running for a long time now. Her breathing starts to become heavy. She didn't expect that the men following her, would see her in no time after she made one of them unconscious. That man underestimated her but she also underestimated the other guys. Although at the moment they couldn't see her, the distance between them has shortened a lot. She looks around her. Sorcha found a vacant, tattered house. Taking advantage of the terrain, and her still undeveloped body, she ran towards there while trying to remain hidden from their sights. Upon entering the house, she saw that it is actually cleaned up. As if the place isn't abandoned like how it's appearance suggested from the outside. She put her guard up. 'is this a trap?' she asked herself, but instantly scratched the idea. It isn't possible to be one, when their plan was disrupted by her. She carefully walked inside, looking for any signs of human presence. She looked at the table and frowned. She went near it and extended her hands towards a bowl on top of it.  'Still warm.' she noted in her mind as she observes the food inside of it. 'there definitely is someone in here.' 'should I ask for help?' 'No. What if they're just normal civilians?  They'd be in danger if I get them involved.' Sorcha played a monologue inside her head. 'I should leave.' she finally decided. But when she's about to go away, she heard the sound of footsteps coming from the outside. She halted immediately, and took cover behind a kitchen cabinet.  The sound became louder and louder, and she can finally hear their conversation clearly.  "Look around. She must be here." One man ordered the others. "Remember, do not be fooled by her weak appearance." He added. They weren't careful before making them spend so much time in searching for her. If they still can't catch her any sooner, they'll be in deep trouble. "Miss, I know you're here." One man said, his demeanor seemed more experienced than the others. His tone isn't warm, though he sound polite. 'how to leave?' Sorcha calculates in her mind the possible ways to leave the place. When she saw an opportunity to escape she calmed herself in preparation, but another sound of footsteps was heard again from the direction she's going. Her heart skipped a beat, as she stopped on her tracks once more. When she finally saw who's coming, her eyes widened.  'How could he be here?!' she exclaimed inwardly. Recovering from her shock, she hurriedly ran and pushed the person down on the ground with her. Thankfully, her actions didn't make a loud noise, and the person below also didn't produce any sound.

"What did you forget? Can't it wait for tomorrow?" The driver asked impatiently. "It is some paperwork my teacher wants me to accomplish for him, and I need to finish it today. Can we go back?" Sorcha said, pretending nothing's wrong. The driver turned silent before saying, "I'm sorry young miss. I also need to do this." He didn't turn the car, but he directed it towards the near, empty sidewalk. Sorcha calmed her mind. When the driver was about to stop the car, she suddenly launched onto him, making the driver be caught unprepared. She is holding a knife in her left hand, while her right arm is wrapping his neck. She whispered, "drive back." Her voice, though still have a hint of childishness, seemed matured and cold. She's looking at the front, and at the side mirror. Her calm appearance made her look as if she's not pointing a knife to threaten someone, but out on a leisurely trip instead. "You're still green girl. Can you really use that knife of yours?" He asked, his actions only made her think that he's buying for time. She smirked and pressed the knife harder to his neck. A bloody line appeared there and spread through the metal knife. "Don't test me." She said coldly. The driver gnashed his teeth. "Since when did you notice?" Sorcha looked at him as if she's looking at an idiot. "From the beginning. Stop dawdling and just drive back to my school." He has no other changes choice but to steer the wheel and do what she wanted. Though he's still skeptical whether the girl could hurt him, he has a hunch that if he didn't follow her instructions now he'd definitely regret it.  While the car is driving back to the school, Sorcha asked, "what are your plans?" She isn't hoping for him to say anything, but atleast it'd be better to get some things out of his mouth. Like what she thought, he just kept silent. But what she didn't expect is that he would actually say something after a while. "We do not plan to harm you." He said. Sorcha felt that he's saying the truth, but she still didn't trust him.  "Really, now?" She asked. "We only wanted to use you against your father." He answered. Now, she definitely couldn't remain unperturbed. These guys are definitely after his father. They even wanted to use her to threaten him. She instantly felt mad. The car temperature which is already low, became even colder.

"Hey Sorcha, what happened before the exam?" Luke asked, feeling confused with the gazes other students are giving them. "Why's everyone looking at our Edmund?" Sorcha shrugged, "Nothing much, Edmund has just learned how to fight back." She said in a tone that didn't suggest that she's saying anything important. "Oh." Luke was speechless for a while. Then his eyes turned large after. "You mean.. Literally?!"  "Yup." She nodded nonchalantly. Luke turned his gaze to Edmund and patted his shoulder, "Our Edmund is now growing up." Edmund's face turned beet red. "I.. I am not.. I didn't do anything.." he said while stuttering, then took a glimpse at Sorcha. "He's growing up indeed." Sorcha smiled proudly, making Edmund happy with her praise. "Hey guys, are you missing the point here?" Rica butted in. "Sorcha, who did he fight with? And why?" "Don't worry too much, they didn't fought physically." She answered. "It is those girls again, right?!" Rica fumed. "I should really teach them a lesson!" She abruptly turned around, but Sorcha stopped her from leaving. "Stop okay? It's alright now. It was no big deal." She said, while sweating in her heart. 'I just stopped one guy, and now another one is looking for another round. *Sigh* these kids, when did they learn to be so violent?' she said internally, forgetting how she fought with some bullies before. "They better stop or else, hmph hmph!" Rica answered. "Who better stop?" A gentle voice was heard from their back. "Mr. Ryan!" Rica said, feeling a bit surprised. "No one!"  Ryan raised one of his brows, but didn't pursue the topic.  "Are you leaving with us?" Luke asked. "Ah, no. Not this time. I still have things to do. I just wanted to wish you guys good luck in your next exams." Ryan explained. "Oh. Thank you sir." Luke said while grinning. "I think I need a lot of luck" The others laughed at him for a while, including Ryan.  "Then I'm going." He said after, then brushed Sorcha's hair. "Mm, goodbye." Sorcha said to the man. When they reached the school gates, Sorcha saw their family car waiting for her. 'They're early today.' she thought. "Guys, I'm leaving first. Take care of yourselves." She said. "Yeah, we will." Luke grinned while waving his hands.  She started walking towards the car and stopped when she remembered something. She turned around and said, "Edmund, go apply some ice if you're hand is hurting." She gently reminded. He covered half of his face, feeling extremely shy and happy, then nodded. "I thought they didn't fight physically!" Rica said, surprised. "N-No! I, I just hit my hand a bit.." Edmund fastly answered. "That's right." Sorcha smiled. "I'm really going now. Ba-bye!" "Take care.." Edmund said while bowing his head. Sorcha nodded, then left for real this time. xephyre Thank you for reading! ❤️

In a room filled with citrus scent that neither smells nauseating nor heavy but instead makes you feel fresh and subtle, the twenty-two year old Marion, who was sitting near a window while holding a book, stares outside in a daze. If not for the random shouts of the soldiers training outside who ruins the atmosphere, you'd think that you're looking at a painting of a handsome man who reminisces about his first love. The face of a young girl with grey-black eyes, straight nose, and a rose-colored lips crosses his mind and the feeling of familiarity he felt when he saw her again yesterday. He shook his head and laughed. If the soldiers outside were there to see it, they'd be stunned by the sight and think that it actually is possible for their slack-faced captain to laugh. 'I must be going crazy thinking about a little girl.' he told himself, then turned his attention to the upsidedown book he's holding then sighed again at his foolishness. "Sorcha was it?" He smiled then frowned once again and thrown the topic at the back of his head as he stood up and left his room. ~~ "Dad." The voice of a girl sounded across the room. "Yes?" Anthony asked lifting his head. "Can I borrow some books.. um you know, military books?" Sorcha said Anthony raised one of his eyebrows as he look at his beloved daughter. 'she's really eager huh?' he thought. As Sorcha sees his father's reaction, she hurriedly followed "you see Dad, since the training would only start next month then why don't I start reading books for now?" Anthony finds his daughter quite funny about how she's so impatient to learn about the military. He laughed then pointed at the bookshelf "Okay, take some first from there. You can always come back to get for more." He said. Sorcha stared with wide eyes at her father then bobbed her head "Okay, thank you Dad!" Then walked towards the bookshelf happily, taking some and then carrying them outside. Aunt Claire saw her as she goes back to her room and asked, "Are you reading all those?" "Yes aunt." She smiled. "Haha then let me make you some snacks for you to eat while reading." "Oh that'd be great! Thanks aunt!" Sorcha smiled wider exposing her cute canine teeth and continued her way to her room. As sorcha was reading the 'basic military' book while muching some of the food her Aunt Claire prepared, she remembered the man he saw yesterday. 'That guy, although he looks good and he's Luke's older brother, he seems to be a dangerous one' she thought. 'But why do I feel like he's familiar? Have I seen him somewhere before?' Sorcha skeptically thought. 'I still dont know his name. Oh thats not what's important. Anyway, I think it's better to keep away from him. It won't hurt to take some precautions' then she brushed her thoughts about him away. Meanwhile, a certain someone, who's still ignorant about how he's been labeled as 'Dangerous' by a little girl, sneezed suddenly. 'Am I about to get sick?' He asked himself inwardly. 'Better to take a rest for now, I don't have anything to do now anyway.' then returned toward his living quarters.

Everything is slowly fading. The family I was born in, the country I was protecting, the world I was living, they are all now gone. A few more hours, perhaps a few more minutes, I'd be following them. And I should follow them. This world has reached the end of its lifetime and perhaps only the gods, if there really are, could save us... But they won't. "Sorcha, I'm sorry I can no longer protect us." Zamir said "It's fine. Don't you think it's already time for us to join them?" I replied. He sighed and looked straight at me. His big black eyes that always look at me with calmness, for the first time, showed despair. I stared at him trying to carve his beautiful face into the deepest part of my soul. It's painful to know that it's the last time I could see him. "Mm, we should join them." He said. I held his hand and smiled. "Zamir, let's get married in our next life" I said. I felt his hand tremble. There were droplets of tears on them. He kissed me on my forehead and said, "in our next life I hope we will not be shackled by those rules." "We won't. And we will live without hiding our love for each other." "To our next lives?" He asked "Mm, let's go to our next lives." ~~ Sorcha regained consciousness but soon, confusion clouded her mind. She felt that there's something wrong with what she's seeing. A big man and woman were staring at her with a tinge of happiness in their eyes. "She looks a lot like you." The big man said. "Mm, but I hope she'd grow up wise and intelligent like you." Replied the woman. What's happening? Why are they so big? Wait. No! I am the one who's small! I was too shocked I tried talking to them. "Who are you? Where am I?" "Hey, hey little one, don't cry." 'the heck?! I'm not crying' "Miss let me take your child to get cleaned up" a girl wearing all white said. The big woman then looked at me. "Little sorcha, go with her and be good okay?" She warmly said. 'Hey! I'm still thinking here!' I tried to say, but the girl has lifted me up already.

The car Sorcha was in, is driving safely towards the direction of a mountain, where the Barrons' mansion is. Suddenly, they noticed the sky turned smoggy and people outside were running to and fro, panicking. "What's happening?" Sorcha looked at the driver. "I don't know, seeing the sky, there probably is a fire going on. Should I go and ask them young miss?" "No need. Just stop the car, I'll go." She said. "But miss what if it's dangerous?" The driver asked. "I'm only going down to check, there's nothing dangerous in that." The driver just nodded and stopped the car reluctantly. "Wait for me here" she said. Sorcha went near to a person who seems to be a resident in the area. "Sir, can I ask what's going on?" She asked politely. "Can't you see the smoke in the sky? There's a fire nearby!" The man said with panick in his eyes.Sorcha thanked him and walked towards the fire area. When she got near, she heard the wails of a woman. "My child is still there! Help me please! Help me!" She shouted towards the people leaving, but none stopped to bother about her. "Ma'am is your child trapped in the fire?" Sorcha asked concerned. "Yes, Yes! Can you ask someone to help me? I'm begging you!" Grabbing Sorcha's little hands. "Ma'am you have to stay calm." Sorcha said with the most gentle voice she can muster while helping the woman calm herself. "Can you tell me where's your child?" She asked. "Mm." The woman nodded and pointed to the direction of her house. "There. Can you see that two-story house? My child is there. Young lady, if you know someone who can help me please call him." She said trying to stay composed. She didn't ask sorcha to directly go there thinking- what could a young girl do. "Okay, just wait here and don't do anything rash." She comforted the woman. Then sorcha went to the direction the woman pointed without being noticed. She took her handkerchief and washed it on a faucet nearby, covering her mouth with it, then rushed inside the house. When she got inside, she walked calmly while trying to avoid the fire and falling debris. She observed the first floor for a while and after seeing that there's no one, she went up to the second floor. The room is filled with smoke making her choked and cough for a while. Moving slowly, she reached a room where a crib was visible. "The child is there." She said quietly then furrowed her brows. Debris filled with fire were surrounding there. "What should I do? The baby is probably already having trouble breathing." Seeing the baby not crying, she became nervous for a while then composed herself again. 'I have to stay calm.' She told herself inside. 'i need to save him' Giving up the idea of rushing towards the crib, she tried moving the debris to the side. She flinched, feeling her hands burned a bit then continued to move it away. Safely taking the child, she took the sheets then tightly attached the child to her body. The fire in the debris she moved, became bigger. She ran towards the other side, smelling the burnt scent of some of her hair. She ignored it and ran faster noticing that the fire intensified. Author's note: I'll be uploading a new cover soon! Hope you guys like it!

Having rested, I found myself walking towards my father's study room. Knock knock~ I knocked on his room. "Dad can I come in?" I said "Mm come in my princess." I heard his voice from inside. His study room looks simple but elegant. There's a mini library on the side, a few chairs for a visitor, and his own table at the back part of the room. The scent of old books permeated the air as I walk towards him and calmly asked, "Are you busy?" "No, I'm just looking at some paperworks, that's all." He said while looking at me. "So, why is my pretty daughter looking for his dad? "Oh, hmm, I'm just curious about why my dad is busy these days." He raised his eyebrows and looked at me straight saying "my smart daughter must have something to say right?" "Nope dad. I'm just really curious." I answered. He then said. "Nothing's going on, I just received quite a number of papers that needs my approval." He playfully smiled at me and added, "Still not saying what it is?" I blushed a bit. Are my thoughts really that easy to read? No.. it must be father's instincts, I guess?"Dad.. can I become like you?" I said weakly testing the waters. Then I felt the atmosphere turned serious all of a sudden. "You want to become a soldier?" He asked. His voice making me shiver a bit. "Yes." I strongly answered. I know that my parents have been overprotective to me and I feel kind of nervous telling him about this. "You are a girl, and you should know that you won't get any preferential treatment when you enter the military just because of that." I nodded. "I know." Of course I know. I thought. It doesn't really matter anyway. I'm used to facing difficulties back when I was still a knight. I murmured internally. He sighed. "Just the training alone is hard. What more after?" "I know." I repeated. And for a while, no sound was heard inside the room except for the clock ticking by the wall. Finally, he broke the silence by saying, "Fine. I'll arrange your training when I'm no longer busy, maybe next month. But you should promise me that you'd still focus on your studies okay?" "Mm I promise!" I beamed. His face turned eased and said warmly, "4 years would be training, take this one month to decide whether to continue or not." "Yes." I nod.~~After a few hours since Sorcha left, her parents had a conversation inside the study room. "Why did you allow her to follow our footsteps? You know being in the military is dangerous." Aria told her husband. Anthony sighed and replied, "Sorcha that kid, it's the first time she opened up about what she wants." He looked into Aria who chose to stay silent. "Although she's our child, it feels as if she's quite distant towards us. I know you feel it too. It's the first time that she asked me something and I couldn't bring myself to refuse." He added. Sorcha, because of the influence of her past life, still feels disinclined towards everything new to her. She thinks that it's fine as long as she treats her family with gratitude and respect, not knowing how her parents felt about it. Aria's eyes are filled with concern. "I know" she said then sighed. "Maybe it's the right path for her. We've been pampering and protecting her everytime, I think it's about time for her to know how to fight for herself. Our child is intelligent, and besides, she has our genes! Ha ha!" Anthony laughed loudly.

Sorcha, upon seeing that Edmund managed to escape safely, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Though, a wry smile formed on her face soon after. Now, she has to stop these people alone. She is aware that hiding is no longer a smart choice. They must have heard Edmund's loud steps. In order to not let them go after him, she has no other option but to show herself. Although that action seems really unwise, she needs to do it. "I am here." Sorcha said, as she slowly stand.  No fear could be seen in her eyes. Instead, if you look carefully, you'll see excitement in them. "So you're finally tired of playing hide and seek, little miss?" The same man who talked not too long ago said. He looks composed and calm, and yet the vigilance against the little girl in front of him didn't diminish upon seeing her small frame. Sorcha remained silent and chose not to bother with the troublesome talking. She hasn't experienced real fight for years after her reincarnation. With her new body, what would fighting feel like? She asked herself inside.  Her heart beats wildly, not from fear, but from extreme excitement. With the appearance of the people after her, she shouted in her mind, "bring it on!" ~~~ Edmund is trying his best to run as fast as he can. Knowing the danger Sorcha is in right now, his hands couldn't help but clench.  'Sorcha, wait for me.' he said in his mind. 'I will come back to help you.' He is running towards the direction where his companion went, while making short glimpses of his back from time to time. For his safety, and the assurance to complete the task Sorcha gave him, he needs to make sure that no one is following him. Not long after, a familiar silhouette could already be seen from the distance. Edmund rejoiced and beamed. The figure in front of him, in his eyes, appeared to be like a messiah right now. His eyes started to form mist, giving away his calm facade. After what happened, he realized that he is still but a little kid in front of real danger. Because of his total dependency on the person in front of him, he couldn't help but show his real feelings. With trembling voice he shouted, "Teacher! Please save Sorcha!"  Perhaps because of the intense feeling he have now, he didn't even stutter. He continued to run towards him.  Upon hearing the voice of his student, the man turned his head towards him. He walked hastily towards Edmund and with a worried look he asked as he patted his back, "what happened?"  "Sorcha! Sorcha is in danger!" Without bothering to catch his breath, Edmund shouted. Despite the already short distance between them, he shouted, showing how nervous he still is.

On the cafeteria, Luke and Rica sat beside Edmund on one side of the table while Ryan and Sorcha sat on the other. "So what do you think about my way of teaching?" Ryan asked curiously. "Are the food here serve as bribes so we would say good things?" Luke teased. "Haha you can be honest with me. I'm really curious since it's my first time handling a whole class." Ryan said. "I think you're really good! You think so too guys, right?" Rica said to her friends. "Mm. Mr. Ryan is indeed good at teaching." Luke answered truthfully. Edmund nodded hurriedly in agreement as well. "You are a good teacher." He said while trying his best not to stutter. "Thank you guys I appreciate your praises. It makes me feel that it's more worthwhile teaching now. Hmm, How about you miss Barrons? Do you think the same?" Ryan asked Sorcha. "Mr. Ryan it's fine to call me by my first name, that's more comfortable to hear. And yes, I also think that you're good at teaching." Sorcha praised. "Okay Sorcha, then I'll be calling you by your first name from now on. Having heard about your opinions, I am relieved." He sighed. "I'm actually nervous about how others think about me." "It doesn't matter how other people think about you. As long as you yourself think that you're doing well and that you're trying your best, then that's enough." Sorcha advised. "Haha I'm being lectured by my student now." Ryan joked while actually feeling warm after hearing what she said. Then the atmosphere turned even relaxed after that as they shared jokes every now and then. Having finished eating, they walked towards the school's exit. The three kids left after saying their goodbyes while only Ryan and Sorcha are standing side by side on the gates. "Mr. Ryan is there something you want to ask me?" Sorcha looked at the person beside her. "Oh haha, I just want to know how your father is doing." Ryan said. 'what a sharp kid' he praised inwardly. Sorcha raised her brows then asked doubtfully, "You know my dad?" "Yes. I met him before" He laughed "Can you greet him on my behalf?" "Okay." Sorcha smiled then nodded. "Is that all?" "Oh yes that's all." Ryan then raised his hands towards Sorcha's head, messing her hair playfully then said his thoughts out loud without noticing, "The general actually get to have a cute child like you." Black lines formed on Sorcha's forehead. 'cute? child? Hmph if you're not my teacher I'd already scold you.' she then brushed his hands away. Ryan turned stiff. He was shocked after being brushed off by sorcha. 'why did I do that?' he asked himself. It suddenly felt awkward. "Thank you for your praise Mr. Ryan." Sorcha said with a forced smile. "Ah, mm, you should go home now." He said after recovering. "Mm. I'm going now sir. Thank you." Then she walked away. Ryan stayed there as he wait till he no longer see her retreating back, no one knows what he's thinking.

Those big people from before are my parents in this life. As you can see, they're not big, I was just too small since I reincarnated as their baby. My new mother and father are called Anthony and Aria Barrons. Anthony is in his late forties. He has black hair and black eyes. Although he looks warm when he looks at me, he's actually a strict and strong man working as a knight or what they call military in this world. Aria on the other hand is on her late thirties. She has blonde hair and black eyes. She works as a doctor in the military. And that's where they met as well. Looking at them, I remember Zamir. We were both knights in our past lives. But unlike my parents, knights were not allowed to get married with knights as well. Once you become a knight, you can no longer leave or else you'd be treated as traitors of the country. Although it's like that, we are proud to become knights who protects everyone. I stared at the ceiling and found a small round thing which seems to be the source of light in this room. 'I actually reincarnated. Sigh..' then a beautiful man with big black eyes came into my mind. 'are you in this world too?' It's been 14 years since the day I reincarnated. And I've adjusted quite a bit already in this new environment. People here are just mortals. There's no magic or anything that makes them physically stronger. And I, on the other hand, although I can no longer use magic and my body's strength is not even comparable to the weakest people in my past life, I am still a grade stronger than the people living here. Oh of course right now, I am only comparing myself with children's of the same age as me. But I'm sure that if I train my body, when I grow up, I'd still be stronger than most people in this world. Don't ask me how it's possible. I have no idea as well. Perhaps because of my soul? Well I just proved that reincarnation is possible so even if you tell me that zombies started appearing here, I wouldn't doubt it. Let's set aside those things for now. Because my mother, Aria is going to take me out of the house. And I'm really ignorant about what's outside our humble mansion in a mountain. Yes, we are living on a mansion situated on top of the mountain. We practically don't have any neighbours or anything besides some wild animals. I don't really get why my parents chose to live in here. Well, it's not that I actually care where I live in this strange world. But I honestly think that it'd be more helpful for me if we're living on a city since I still don't know much about the world.

The person under Sorcha stiffened, obviously shocked after being pushed down suddenly. He didn't make any noise, because although he wasn't able to see properly who did this, he felt extreme familiarity towards her. Getting out from his thoughts, he looked carefully at the face which is only a few inches away from him. His cheeks turned beet red upon finally recognizing her.  'Why is Sorcha here?' he wondered. She isn't looking at him, like what he's doing. Instead, she warily looks on the other side, waiting for someone to appear.  He could feel her steady heartbeat and her warm breath tickles his face, making him distracted and not think carefully. "Edmund." She whispered. Then she looked at him with strictness in her eyes. Because of the unusual serious face Sorcha wore, Edmund finally realized that something is wrong. He also nervously looked on where sorcha was looking at a moment ago.  "What's happening?" He whispered back. "Why are you here?" Instead of answering, she returned him a question. "I.. I'm with someone." He said, not knowing what to answer her.  When she heard that he's with someone, Sorcha's face brightened up.  "Good. Look for him." She instructed. "What about you?" He said worriedly. "I'll stay. You have to leave, so you can ask for help." Sorcha isn't confident about facing those guys. Nor is she confident about whether the help would arrive timely. But because her friend is here, she didn't want him to get involved. She only said that to Edmund so she could convince him to escape. "No." Edmund said firmly. Sorcha stopped thinking and looked carefully at him.  "I.. I will help you." Losing his initial confidence, he stuttered once again upon seeing her look at him. "You can only help me by leaving." She said with a warning tone. His heart fell upon hearing her words. 'Am I really useless?' he thought. He felt really dejected upon thinking like that. Sorcha was thinking of what to say next to make him leave, when she saw his heartbroken face. The next words she was about to say were immediately swallowed back. Her face softened and she once again called his name. "Edmund." He stared back at her, wearing the same sad face. "It's dangerous here. We can't win against them even if we fight together. It's better if one of us can leave to ask for help. Don't worry about me. Those people only want to capture me, so they won't hurt me." She added. "If you see the person you came here with, ask him to call the military and look for Anthony Barrons. Tell him that I'm in danger. Do you understand?" Edmund finally sobered up. He understood now why Sorcha said those words. She didn't mean that he isn't useful. She is only thinking what's good for the both of them. He felt embarassed about thinking wrongly about her. He nodded his head, having cleared up his mind. Sorcha moved her body away, enough for him to move properly. She smiled at him and said, "run!" xephyre Is Edmund being too oversensitive? Join me in discord! https://discord.gg/96fmXXb

On the second day of class, Sorcha woke up in the morning in a good mood. She took a bath while humming a tune she remembered from the past. Facing the mirror, she said "Good morning self!" And laughed at her own silliness. While taking breakfast, she energetically eats everything her mom puts into her plate. "Is it really delicious?" Aria questioned. "Mm, it is." Sorcha replied. "You seem to be in a good mood today." Anthony noticed. "Of course dad." She answered, then looked meaningfully to her father. "Thank you." Anthony and Aria shared smiles with each other. "As long as you're happy." Anthony said. On that morning, Sorcha was the earliest to arrive at their classroom. After sitting for a while, her classmates started to come as well. The second to arrive among her friends is Edmund. He noticed her and so she gestured him to come near. "Excuse me. Can you exchange seats with my friend here? He's only sitting 2 seats away from you." She told one of her seatmate whose name, she remembered as Michael. "Oh." Michael looked at her and hesitates for a bit before nodding to them. "Thanks!" She smiled then turned to Edmund and pointed to the seat in front of her, "come seat here instead." Edmund blushed for a bit then nodded like a chick pecking grains. 'cute kid' sorcha laughed inside. They both remained silent for a moment until Rica and Luke arrived. "Good morning guys!" Rica greeted. I smiled brightly at her and answered, "Good morning Rica." "Seeing you smile like that makes me feel that it would be indeed a good morning!" Luke said to me. 'this kid really has the potential to become a playboy' I said to myself. "Stop teasing Sorcha." Rica hit him with her elbow then looked at Edmund and said, "Good morning Edmund, quiet as always I see!" She laughed. "Good morning Rica." He shyly murmured. "It's not fine for me to tease sorcha, but it's fine if you tease Edmund?" Luke complained. "It's because Edmund is cute when he's being shy!" Rica said. "Sorcha is cute as well! Although she's not the shy type!" Luke answered back. 'this kids really like to quarrel don't they?' Sorcha sighed. Then she remembered her age compared to them and thought, 'right they're just kids, they can pass up as my children.' she nodded inwardly and reminded herself to have more patience towards the little ones. ~~ After all the classes finished, Ryan stayed on the teachers office for a while. 'So that girl yesterday is actually a Barrons.' he thought as he reads the seating arrangement of his class. Then he heard someone knocking from outside. Knock knock 'who could that be?' He opened the door and found a guy with black hair, chiseled jaw line, jade-like skin, clear black eyes that shows irritation, and red lips that are curved into a frown. "I've been waiting for you outside" the cool man's voice was heard throughout the room. "Haha Marion I forgot that you're coming today. Come inside first." Ryan said. The visitor is actually Marion William, Luke's older brother. "No need, I just came to remind you about your mission." The man named Marion replied. "Really now! You only came here just because of that? You're friend's heart here is breaking." Ryan playfully answered. "Who's the one who forgot about his friend coming." Marion said with a frown. "I'm really sorry okay." He laughed and saw Marion already walking away. 'This friend of mine is always serious' Ryan sighed to himself. "Hey! Wait for me! I'm going to get my things first, let's eat together!" He shouted then took his bag and rushed towards his friend.   Author's note: If you guys noticed, I used the 3rd person pov in this chapter, and will stick to it from now on. I used the 1st person pov before since it was convenient in introducing the protagonist. I hope it doesn't affect your reading. ^~^

From here, the path of the story splits. The days are labeled with a "-#" at the end to signify what path they take part in.   Day 3-1 Today should be my last day resting in the forest if nothing goes awry. I walked down the dirt road and see the opening of the outside plains before the sun sets. There was also a merchant’s wagon heading towards this dirt road. A merchant’s wagon comes from time to time with useful goods. It’s said that there is a continent-wide merchant guild that makes these trading routes. Merchant wagons follow trade rules set by the guild and have a set price range for everything. It’s very organized. The merchant wagon that was going through the forest and through the village had a cauldron containing liquid for health potions. As magical as this concoction may sound, it is a regular work from the common herbs seen in this forest and many other areas. The herbs aren’t as effective in healing wounds unless they’re processed in a meticulous manner and can end up being harmful when used excessively. These herbs take time to mature and can be found in places filled with magic. I bought two valves to fill up with recovery liquid and placed them inside my leather pack.   Day 3-2 Today should be my last day resting in the forest if nothing goes awry. . . . The morning sky is blue and clear, and the rustling leaves on the branches of the forest trees dance alongside the wind’s gentle breath. . . . It is very peaceful today. It was actually quite peaceful these past few days. There have been no encounters with slimes and stray beasts. If it is the calm before a strong creature appears on the road, I will be lucky to leave before it appears, but hopefully, it is simply just peaceful. . . . The stars in the sky sparkle happily tonight. They seem to be brighter than usual.

Day 4-1 I’m in a . . . dangerous situation. Dungeons are magical and ancient ruins that usually hold powerful relics from the past—the age of magic before the great war that brought the years of the bright sky. Dungeons appear and fade together with the remnant flow of the deceased dragon’s magical energies. It is a peculiar event to have a dungeon suddenly appear in the middle of the open plains . . . The magical cores of creatures can be stimulated from large quantities of invisible magic energies like those of dragons, but the field here shouldn’t have a vast amount of magical energy condensed anywhere at all. That’s why the field is a great training ground for soldiers from the nearby city. That is, to say, I am stuck in a dungeon. By pure chance, after I walked out of the forest and began to move close to the city, a room of stone suddenly formed around me. The stones somehow glow to illuminate the room, and there was only one clear pathway: downstairs. I walked down. The wide stairs seem endless. It is probably night, and I am getting tired. Nothing of danger has appeared, and the glowing stones give off a warm sense of comfort. I have a couple health potions in case of heavy wounds, so I should take this opportunity to explore.   Day 4-2 I’m stuck in a very dangerous situation. Dungeons are magical and ancient ruins that usually hold powerful relics from the past—the age of magic before the great war that brought the years of the bright sky. Dungeons appear and fade together with the remnant flow of the deceased dragon’s magical energies. Dragons of the legends that were said to have great wisdom and strength. Magical power strong enough to reshape the world. Although erratic and seemingly without will, the magical energies collect themselves in clusters that attract magical creatures, and these plains definitely do not hold tremendous magical energies. It is a peculiar event to have a dungeon suddenly appear in the middle of the open plains here . . . That is, to say, I am trapped in a dungeon. By pure chance, after I walked out of the forest and began to move close to the city, a room of stone suddenly formed around me. There were no gaps to be seen. The stones somehow glow to illuminate the room, and there was only one clear pathway: downstairs. I took out a worn all-purpose dagger to test the walls of the stone, but the stone turn out far too strong to even be chipped. To be so strong and glow . . . these stones should be infused with some sort of magic, and a powerful one at that. So, I walked down. The wide stairs seem endless. It is probably night, and I am getting tired. Nothing of danger has appeared, and the glowing stones give off a warm sense of comfort. My best hope is to find an exit soon, or else I may begin to starve after a week.

Day XX There was no mistake that this was a terrible mistake. There is no time traveling to be done, no wishes to come true, and no magic to reverse things as of now. Perhaps only despair permeates through this dead-end, but even the fuel of emotions is not enough. They all do not work. The fate of this world lies in their—no, our hands, yet these hands do not move. We have gotten so far, so infinitesimally close. Our efforts in vain, the feeling of being powerless grows stronger every moment, and time feels as much of a joke as a bad pun. Exhausted. Unwillingness. In anguish. . . . Is failure the only option?

Day 1, Year 217 of the bright sky. The 301st day of the 1000-day calendar. As I left my nameless village, this journal was given to me by the village head. He told me that this journal was an extra left from his young days of adventuring, and pressed it into my hands before sending me off. It’s a little musty, but durable. Entering the forest, the villagers’ hunting grounds for meat, I cautiously follow the gently carved out dirt path. On the other side, there is a city where I plan to find a job. It will take a few days of walking to go through the forest this way, but it is the safest pathway. The path actually goes through the least dense area of the forest. Legend has it that deep enough into the forest lie magical creatures with powers far beyond the limits of a common human. I . . . would like to see new things. Explore the world. The mysteries of magic, spells, and beasts. Their history. One of these days, I would like to visit the deep forest.

Day 2 Last night, I rested beside the trunk of a tree by the side of the dirt road. Many of us villagers do this because the nearby creatures are not life threatening. Funny enough, it is daytime when the nearby and ferocious beasts are active, but the road here is usually peaceful. Most of the nearby creatures consist of slimes, and farther away from the road, armored bugs and wolves. These slimes are considered lesser slimes. Even though their squishy bodies resist sharp, cutting attacks, their only form of offense is a tackle that does little damage because of their elastic bodies. They are quite passive and hop around aimlessly unless provoked. We usually hunt these slimes for their weak magic cores. Magic cores can be found in most creatures and are the source of their powers. Even if regular humans can’t use them, the smallest of magic cores are useful to mages and wizards, people who study magic for a living. It’s a wonder how there are always plenty of slimes in the forest. Armored bugs the size of a human head and wolves are potentially dangerous. We are lucky that they reside deeper into the forest and that only strays appear on the road. With an able body and a durable tool, a single one of them can be swiftly slain. Their cores sell for a hefty sum, so I’ve heard.

“I’m sure you’ve all seen the recent surge in contracts; monsters are now systemically attacking our settlements, razing villages and sometimes even towns. From all the information that’s been gathered, I am now without doubt there is a figure organising this, and that it is the beast known as Yhaoli. We’ve lost tens of our brothers and sisters to this monster’s games, each more precious than the last, and I will not allow the last bastion of humanity to crumble like this,” Jowler bellowed. Magic had been used to create a sound bubble around the clearing, restricting the words to the Seekers. These words echoed, the cold fury within Jowler’s speech resounding through the Seekers’ minds. “But this is old news to me, and to you too, I hope. When we had our suspicions last year, Kasib was sent to the Arctic wastelands to slay it before it did any damage. Though it must have heard of his mission somehow as while he chased it north, it came south into the Empire.” Orion frowned at this. While he had known Kasib had been staying at the Zakari House to chase a monster in the north, he hadn’t known it to be the infamous one shaking the Empire. “But we don’t know where exactly,” Jowler continued, “Nor do we know many details about it. The only detail I’m certain about is that it’s dangerously strong; we all know the races of monsters can’t be charmed to work together – it’s impossible. But all of them respect strength, and since they now work united, their figurehead must be beyond any measure of strength.” As the fat Seeker continued listing other details Yhaoli was rumoured to have, Orion felt a loose clasp across his shoulder. Turning around, he saw a bald man his size with piercing brown eyes, the sort that could see right through his soul. He stared at the man slack-jawed. The man gestured him to follow, and so Orion did without so much as a question. But, just as he was about to leave the circle, Kora caught his hand, her expression perplexed. In response, he shook her hand off and walked away. She looked to Jowler, then to Orion, before hastily following the Zakari as he followed the bald man. They walked out of the clearing and a distance away, the bald man picking up a glubber’s lamp along the way, shielding them from the darkness. When they stopped, the bald man placed the lamp on the ground and rubbed his deeply calloused hands together. He observed the two younger Seekers in front of him, the male obviously with his heart in his mouth and the female catching his eye and glaring back. “When Jowler told me he had trained an exceptional Zakari, never did I think to be you, Orion,” the bald man joked, visibly releasing tension between them. “Kasib, I…,” Kasib calmly watched Orion stumble over his words. He wore a plain shirt, trousers, and boots. An orange robe fluttered over his shirt. His visible skin was riddled with scars, but still it was his eyes that demanded the most attention. They were bright and intelligent, but simultaneously sharp and wild. “I only heard about what happened to Reion and the rest of your family last month,” Kasib said, his aura taking a dejected turn. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be of help,” At this Orion broke into tears, falling to his knees as he released the grief locked up in his heart. Even as he tried to regain his composure, tears kept gushing out until he gave into his grief, softly sobbing. Kasib kneeled down and hugged the young Zakari, his hold soft and warm. Kora watched from the sidelines, unable to put any of her thoughts into words or action. This was the man Orion had been chasing; this was the man who hunted Yhaoli; this was one of the strongest Seekers ever to have existed. When the sobs eventually dried up, the bald Seeker helped Orion to his feet. “You’ve been through a lot, and I know Reion would be proud if he could see how far you’ve come. Still, even if I had been in the Empire at the time, I wouldn’t have been able to stop the massacre,” “B-but you’re…” Orion struggled to say, shocked at what Kasib had just admitted. “I feared as much. How much do you know about the massacre?” Kasib asked. “I don’t know. It just happened, and I escaped. I don’t know anything else. I was looking for you to figure out what had happened,” Kasib sighed, taking a step to the side, gazing into the skies. “Have you heard of your cousin Eira? The one that entered the Imperial Army?” Orion nodded. “Since Reion doesn’t care for the Imperial Army at all, I guess he didn’t tell you her rank. She’s a general, one of the 3 across the Empire. But I’m sure Reion has told you of her strength, I’m sure your whole family has, after all, you Zakari’s respect strength too much.” Orion nodded again, suddenly realising he didn’t want to hear whatever Kasib wanted to say next. Yet he needed to: his soul burned with anticipation. “Eira led her army from the south of the Empire towards the west, towards your House. She then massacred your family,” This dazed Orion as he fell, stumbling backwards with his arms. “What?! WHY?!” “I don’t know,” Kasib admitted. “I guess the only one who truly knows is her. Considering the fact the Piros didn’t, and still haven’t, punished her for the turmoil she brought to the Empire means they must have been desperate,” Thinking back, Orion finally realised how his family had been ambushed in the tunnel while escaping. Of course they had been, Eira had probably ordered soldiers into the secret passages around the House. And it made sense how they had been so taken off guard if it was Eira, after all, while he had never met her, he had heard enough about her to have a coherent picture. Exceptionally talented, frighteningly strong, and cunning. But if she had planned everything so well, how had he escaped? Why hadn’t the person who had rescued him ever come back? How had they escaped from Eira’s army in the first place? He briefly considered her rescuing him and placing him in Visgamar, before dropping the thought. If she was bloodthirsty enough to murder her own blood, her own father and mother, then she would have zero problems with decapitating a cousin she had never met. But then why had she attacked in the first place? Orion had wanted to take revenge, and he still did, but this was alike a strike to his head, muddling his thoughts and emotions. He had to know why she had massacred her own family! “Even if I had wanted to help,” Kasib continued, “I’m only enough to match her, not her and the legions at her beck and call. And that was in the past. If Reion and Regnar fell to her, then she has exceeded me. Either way, I’m sorry for being useless, Orion,” “I need to know, where the fuck is she?” Orion roared. This shocked Kora backwards but Kasib didn’t flinch. “She’s in your family’s lands; she’s the general stationed at the western front, against the tribes,” “I need to go, I need to go now!” “No!” Kasib said, his words pushing Orion to the ground. “You need to take into account the monster she is; she used to be stationed in the south against the Horsemen, so she’s on good terms with the Metole and as proof, they’ve gone to support her at the frontlines. The Piros allow her to run wild and topple their own Empire without punishing her, and the Cruorems fear her, and the Zakari fell to her blade. If you’re going to charge at her mindlessly, I might as well cut you down now. At least then you’ll see the rest of your family faster,” Orion smashed his fists against the ground but Kasib paid no heed, calmly pacing around. “Right now, Jowler is telling the others that Yhaoli is likely in the south, urging the Horsemen to invade. That means I won’t be able to help you as I still have a monster to cut down. Still, there’s a chance this is another diversion and it’s actually in the west, helping the tribes. That means you’ve got a chance of running into it, and I don’t know who’s stronger, Eira or Yhaoli, and I definitely wouldn’t want to see the aftermath of a battle like that. Either way, there’s a chance you’ll be against both if you go west. And while Jowler is sending half the Seekers south and half west, none of them can help you against the foes you’ve chosen, so you’re on your own. Now, do you still want to go?” “Yes, yes fucking yes,” Orion roared. “Just like Reion,” Kasib murmured. “Then go and pack up, you’ve got no more reason staying here,” Orion took this as gospel, leaving for the clearing. Just as Kora was about to follow, Kasib stopped her. “Bian, I’ve heard of you as well,” This froze her. “Caleb wants you back, and he is also against Yhaoli. In a different situation, I can see him allying with Orion but not in this one. While Yhaoli is likely south, I selfishly ask you follow Orion to the west. Neither of you will survive in the west but at least you have a fighting chance together,” She nodded wordlessly. “Also, you should be careful. Since we know about you now, so will your family. They will have sent someone to fetch you back now, so keep an eye on your back. If you two group up, you’ll be able to fight back anyone but Caleb, but it’s up to you if you want to fight your family in the first place. It can lead to some… disastrous results,” Kasib said, pausing in thought. “Either way, you should chase him down before he leaves without you. I hope you two the best,” Kora sprinted off immediately. The bald Seeker deeply unsettled her, especially the insight he held, almost as if he had read her thoughts. Kasib, on the other hand, watched her fleeing figure, sighing. He had once been in that youthful position, surrounded by strong friends and enemies who now occupied the uppermost tier of the world. But now they were all dropping like flies, and he feared his time wasn’t for much longer now.

As Skitters walked into the gloom, Kora stepped in front of Orion, whispering, “Be careful, something’s wrong,” as she passed him. Usually, he would have ignored her overly pessimistic judgement but this once, he couldn’t help but agree with her. After saving Skitters from the sailors and bandaging him up, he had believed the thief would be open and truthful to them. Instead, his allegiance to Grima was clearly greater than his gratitude to them. In fact, remembering back to how calmly Skitters had walked past the sailors to throw the flares overboard, it made Orion doubt how genuine the thief was being now, after all, he was a skilled actor. If he was playing them for fools, then following him down an inky tunnel was not the best idea. Yet, he was also their only lead to the Underking and it could be Orion was overthinking the test – maybe he really had good intentions for them. Either way, Kora seemed unruffled as she followed the thief into the dark, their dull footsteps sounding through the tunnel. Taking a deep breath, Orion moved past the brooms and followed them. The passage became devoid of light a little way in as the storage room faded away. His good eyesight meant nothing in the passage so he walked with his hands trailing the walls beside, listening to Kora’s footsteps so he didn’t bump into her - although the echoing made this a wasted effort. As for Kora, he knew she had sharper sight, especially in the dark, but he doubted she had nocturnal vision since she sounded as blind as him. “It’s not that far now,” Skitters called out, his voice travelling the train, his walking stick making dull comments on the ground. Twenty minutes later, it turned out he was flat-out lying as they were still straggling through the dark. Orion’s thoughts had made him tense but the uneventful period pushed him into a calmer state, even more so after he figured how to stop bumping into Kora. Suddenly, a click sounded from gods know where and Skitters stopped. “Remember kids, the boss knows why you wanna meet him. I say be polite to him; he lets on much less than he actually knows so you don’t wanna get on his bad side. If you become like me, you’ll benefit a lot,” he said. “Mm, we’ll tr—” Skitters ignored Kora’s words as he counted his steps. One, two, three. He did his best to step as smoothly for his fourth one, muting the fact the path fell to a lower level here. It wasn’t a large fall in height and wouldn’t cause much damage if someone did trip over their ankles, but that was the beauty of a combo-trap; it wouldn’t hurt him if he was leading someone, but if he stood in place with his dagger, then it was a whole another story for them. Kora resumed walking while talking. “try but it doesn’t sou—” She stumbled over the drop and felt her body falling face-first. Luckily Skitters caught her, his blade puncturing her lung. She gasped as he withdrew, dropping to the ground as her shirt soaked up the gush of blood. Before her partner could react, the thief flung a canister at the ground and his walking stick at her for good measure. The canister burst open, releasing a thick cloud of smoke over the Seekers. Orion’s eyes stung and he coughed desperately, barely hearing the thief’s footsteps disappear into the distance. His reflexes finally came into play as he held his breath while closing his eyes, though he still tripped over the trap and fell onto her. It seemed her reflex awoke simultaneously as she wrapped her hands around his head with faltering strength and bit, drawing blood from his neck. He initially resisted but stopped and lay in her grasp as he realised what she was doing. Seconds later, she lifted her lips and coughed, leaving him faint. He used Giah and felt the earth’s energy fill his body, exploding the anger Skitters had ignited. Picking Kora up, he sprinted out of the smoke, finally tasting the freshness of stale air. Putting his right hand down, the path in front of him became a rapidly advancing sheet of ice, letting him scan for pitfall traps. Sensing none, he said, “Transform already, he’s getting away,” She didn’t respond but he felt her muscles growing thicker next to him, and soon, the tip of one of her talons against his chest. “Fucker, the motherfucker…” she roared, her response at last resembling what Orion expected of her. “Good. Let’s go,” he said as he charged down the tunnel, bending over in order to not whack his head into a low-lying roof and collapse. She followed, her muscular legs a constant thunder behind him. They quickly made ground, going at full-force for about two minutes until they exited the tunnel. They left the pitch-black and entered a cavern dimly lit by holes above. The path they had been following forked into a dozen in front, all of them seemingly going different directions. Orion stared at the choices, lost on what to do. Luckily, Kora had other ideas as she went to each one and sniffed around, spending a few minutes in total doing this. Meanwhile, Orion stood to the side and cooled down, thinking about what had just happened. The click in the tunnel had told Skitters the trap was near, and he had been prepared to betray them as he had come with a blade and smoke grenade in hand. But why? Was he even related to Grima or was he just an ordinary conman? The pale Seeker shook his head and revaluated, wishing for some paper, ink, and time to put his thoughts down. Skitters was somehow related to Grima, after all, he had known what Rats would say and had known they would want to find Grima. Moreover, he had awaited them and called them Seekers – there was too much evidence stacked up against him. Then, if he wasn’t clean of Grima’s influence or just a simple informant, then he had to be a higher-ranking member, maybe Grima himself. But this didn’t work either since why would he put himself in such danger like on the ship and now? “It’s this one,” she finally said next to the rightmost tunnel, bringing Orion out of his thoughts, “The bastard must have dropped the dagger after stabbing me since I can only faintly smell my blood,” Orion nodded, and they resumed their chase. They continued for a few minutes until they began to hear noises from the other side, at which they sped up further. They heard Skitters shouting, followed by metallic clanging. The Seekers burst out of the tunnel, entering a Glubber’s wax-lit warehouse. The warehouse was massive with items everywhere, mostly cabinets and desks with piles of paper on top. But there were also piles of golden luxuries, lockpicks, weapons, and murky-looking drinks scattered around the place. With them in the warehouse were several tens of people, maybe 40 in total, who had frozen at the Seekers’ entry, in particular at Kora’s visage. Her curved horns, her red-tinted skin, her black neck-talons, her muscular body – they weren’t used to seeing an unchained monster so deep in their midst. They were a mix of men and women, some well-off looking while others looked like slum-dwellers. Amidst taking the sight in, Orion spotted Skitters: he stood on a raised platform, frantically gulping down a murky drink.

The Laeshi scrambled through the tunnel, going as fast he could. His lips curled into an ear-to-ear grin and his eyes gleamed with a sparkle he hadn’t felt in years. His heart thumped faster, threatening to burst out of its fleshy confines, leaving him in a state of focus. After Bian and the human had disappeared into the house, he had found a perch to watch from. But as time passed, he had gotten increasingly anxious until he gave in and risked a closer look, then an even closer one. Eventually, he found himself in front of the door with sweat rolling down his forehead. The door had been unlocked, and he had let himself in, quickly finding the opening in the storage room. His nocturnal vision had allowed him to pace through the tunnel while on the lookout for any signs of them in front. When he came to the branching passages dimly lit from above, his choice had come easy due to the fresh and heavy imprints in the ground. Not long later, he had arrived at the warehouse just as the melee was maturing, in perfect time to watch Bian fight. His vision had been blurred since he had stayed in the tunnel but he was confident from her transformation she was the missing Cruorem. But she was nothing, nothing at all next to the dazzling jewel she fought alongside. Next to a Zakari… The Laeshi had stayed for a while longer, waiting to see what other secrets he could discover, until they showed signs of wanting to leave, at which he had begun his sprint back. Seeing the end of the tunnel, he sped up and rushed out, coming back into the house. Making his way out, he sprung up and flapped his way into the sky, only stopping to rest on the top of a building a distance away. He dove into his pockets and found the curled horn. Shooting back into the air, he began to blow it, going on for ten minutes to make sure his minions heard, after all, he’d rather not lose them here after gaining such a gem. Afterwards, he sped away from the city, drool dripping down his chin. He couldn’t imagine what the Cruorems would reward him.   The Seekers made it out of the tunnel, wheezing as they had rushed through the passage. They understood the warehouse held a pivotal role in the war for Visgamar so knew Smith had to know about it as soon as possible. Kora had picked up the items she had dropped in the tunnel, though she chose to buy a new cloak after seeing the state of her old maroon one. It was while they were walking out that Kora stopped, head cast down with her eyes shut, before staring into the sky. “Can you hear that?” she asked. “What?” “That low whistle. Sounds like it’s from a pipe,” she said. He focused and heard the wind blowing in his ears. “No,” She scrunched her forehead and stayed on the spot for a few seconds, before sighing. “Forget it, let’s go,” They made their way through the streets which now lacked the thieves and murderers who made them dangerous. But this didn’t speed up their journey because as they got closer to Hexham’s road, they figured where the raucous slum-dwellers had migrated to, the streets ahead thick with screams and blood. Orion suggested the roofs and not long after, they were roof-jumping, pacing through the city. After an easy leap, he turned around to see Kora standing on the previous building, squinting into the skies again. He went back to join her. “What are you doing? We need to tell Smith,” She pointed into the air. “See that? That’s the Laeshi, you can tell from his wings,” Orion focused and discerned a dot. “And? What’s he doing?” “The whistle I told you about before, it’s coming from him.” “Are you sure it’s not the air?” Orion questioned. While he could now vaguely hear the noise, there was no difference between it and the wind’s own whistles. She shook her head. “He’s calling something,” Just as Orion was going to ask another question, the dot in the distance began to move rapidly, speeding away from the centre of Visgamar. “What the…” She opened her mouth, then shut it. “He’s leaving. Retreating maybe?” “He can’t be. I thought Rats had bought him?” She didn’t respond, instead, watching the dot until it faded. “I’m getting a bad feeling, Jax,” They stood in silence for a few moments until she sighed again. “Arghh, let’s just go and tell Smith,” It was close to an hour later when they reached the Seeker’s building. Smith sat upstairs within a mix of men and women, staring at the table with his hand clasped around his jaw as he listened to one of them talk. “Smith, we killed Grima,” Orion shouted as they made their way. The others turned towards him while the eye-patched man stayed seated, still watching the table. “You killed him, did you?” “Well, we killed them. We think that was all of them,” Kora explained. To this, Smith stood and faced them. “You’re joking. Don’t play with me, girl,” Orion shook his head and Kora shrugged. “This is your last chance. If this is a joke, say now and I’ll let you carry on with your lives. Otherwise, I’ll kill you right then and there,” They stayed quiet until Smith broke into a grin. “Well, fuck me. We’ll find out if you two just gave up your tomorrows,” He turned to the group he’d been sitting with. “Get your stuff right now. We’re gonna see if there’s any truth to this,” before turning back to Orion and Kora, “Both of you get a drink. You definitely didn’t kill them all, so we’ll have to dash there in case one of the remainers decide to have some fun in your absence,” A short rest later, the group of nine left the Seeker’s base. In the following seconds, as if by coincidence, a net of smoke swallowed them. While Kora and Orion grew tense and vigilant at this, Smith’s easy guffaw rolled through the smoke. “A fucking Cloudape to deal with me? You were better to attack the Palace instead of me, monster,” he shouted. Following the voice, Orion pushed through the smoke and glimpsed Smith slashing at air. Looking closer, he saw some smoke move as a single unit, revealing a disguised figure, but only for a moment as it disappeared again. Considering Orion was only two metres away, Smith also noticed him. “Get out of here, boy. No use to me,” he said. Listening, Orion was about to leave when he heard a scream right behind him. Jumping forward and turning around, he saw Smith’s sword stabbed into a cloud-grey fleecy arm. Just as he was about to attack, the figure disappeared again and the smoke strengthened. Realising his uselessness, the pale Seeker sprinted out of the smoke, finding Kora standing with five of the other Seekers. “Don’t worry, mate,” said the largest member, “Smith’s a 6-star. He’ll be done in seconds,” It turned out the man wasn’t overselling as the screams were frequent as they waited. The smoke kept getting thicker and spreading further but it didn’t seem to help as the Cloudape continued crying out in pain. It wasn’t much longer till the smoke cleared, revealing Smith walking towards them carrying the Cloudape with one hand. “Stupid shit kept trying to run. Rats must have told him to distract me. Stupid shit,” the eye-patched man said, his grey hair accented by the smoke. “Come on, one of you take this in while the rest of us go to Grima’s base,” he said dropping the corpse.

Hey guys, Thank you so much for reading all this way! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please take a second to leave a review.  I've currently working on a new novel. It will be coming out in July 2019 so make sure you follow me as I'll post an announcement then. Thanks, and all the best!

“Madame Rischei?” Orion asked, curious what such a problematic big-wig would want with him. “The same,” the thin man replied. “Did she also ask for a certain female Seeker by the name of Kora?” asked Kora. “She didn’t,” the thin man said. “Right,” Orion glanced over Kora and Joiroa and nodded at them. “Lead the way,” **** Lying with his feet up, Orion waited as the serving maid dropped plums the size of berries into his mouth. In truth, he wasn’t sure whether to call her a maid, after all, she wore a translucent veil over her torso, her full-figured breasts in clear view. She wore a cloudy short-skirt and dark leggings. The rest of her body was bare to see, her skin smooth and tanned. The thin man had led Orion to this most reputable building, which was obviously a brothel, and obviously a deliberately chosen location. He had passed by many a girl and man on his way up to the top floor, multiple naked girls teasing him along the way and even some who had just finished pleasuring their customer. Even now while sitting on the recliner sofa, he could tell the maid was teasing him, at times accidentally hiking up her skirt and once even swallowing a plum in the most peculiar way he had ever seen. Still, he would be lying if he said it didn’t arouse him, and he knew just as well as her that he had pitched a tent in his trousers. Yet she ignored it and never went past teasing him – she had been ordered to frustrate him, not pleasure him. “Jax, please come in,” a honey-like voice called from behind the door. He figured it was Madame Rischei and yet he couldn’t make any sense of it as he remembered her voice to be artificially sweet, not this alluring. The serving maid smiled and helped him up, accidentally loosening her veil and skirt, her goods in clear sight. She sweetly smiled as if it was off no matter while he frowned at her actions, simultaneously feeling his bulge growing. Walking through the door, he was relieved to see the Madame wasn’t in similar attire. She was dainty and wore a dark jacket and skirt pair. She wore makeup on her face but even that couldn’t hide her age. “Take a seat,” she said. She sat on a chair with another in front. The room had sunlight beaming through the window and a bookshelf to the side and portraits on the wall, but was otherwise bare. Seating himself, Orion didn’t try to hide his boner. He knew her eyes had already taken a full inventory of his body and had planned everything from the start. “Oh my, you look uncomfortable. You could relieve yourself with one of my girls, you know? Any of my girls,” He shook his head, forcing his face into a passive expression. She smiled in response as if already seeing through his tactic. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I called you here?” “Yeah, it’s about time you told me,” Orion said, biting harder than he meant to. “Calm, Tiger. Prematurity is never a good sign in my industry,” she said. “I insist,” he replied, realising his boner wasn’t going down even as his anger flared up. Had she laced the plums with something? Should he have been more careful? “Well, I can’t deny such a forceful man. It’s simple, a business deal. See, I want to know what’s happening at the Seeker’s Summit,” she said. “Can’t help you,” “Wait, you haven’t heard what you get in return yet,” she continued, “I’ve heard you’ve been wanting to enter the Seeker’s Summit from a source. I can help you get in, as long as you help me get the information out,” Realising she was being serious, Orion calmed. It seemed he had the upper hand after all. “Oh, how would you do that?” “I’ve got my ways,” she said, sensually winking. “That’s nice,” he said, getting up, “because I’ve got my ways as well. Maybe I’ll see you there,” He walked away and through the door, rushing out of the brothel. In wake of his actions, she sat there, her smile still plastered across her face. She had heard he was a young gun shooting up the Seeker’s ranks and had wanted to bring him in early, but it seemed he was out of her hands. As much as she had wanted to stand up and coax him back when he had stood, she had guessed something was wrong when he said he had another way in. Apart from her method, the only other way in was to be a 5-star Seeker. And if that was true, alongside the outdated information she had received about him, it suggested a dangerous character beyond control. Sometimes they were more trouble than their worth… **** Passing through the streets towards The Fat Munch, Orion confirmed she had fed him an aphrodisiac. He still felt horny and he still had a hard-on, despite it being minutes since he had left. It made him feel emotional, and surprisingly, or perhaps not, the first person he thought of was Kora. Arriving at the inn, he paced up the stairs and knocked on her door. She opened the door wearing a thin robe, clearly come from a shower. If it hadn’t been for the rigorous training he’d overcome during his Awakening, he would have completely succumbed to his burning urge. It felt like a yearning now. “What is it?” she asked, worried about his red eyes and his flushed skin. Looking down, she noticed his dick. He pushed her in and kissed her, taking her off guard. After a few seconds, he began tearing his clothes off, sweat dripping down. She stumbled to the side and chuckled. Putting two and two together, she guessed what had happened with Madame Rischei for him to end up like this. She had been waiting for him to make a move in forever, but she hadn’t expected it like this. And she definitely wasn’t going to let him get dominate her. Slipping out of her robe while he flustered over his clothes, she pushed him onto her bed, licking her lips. Technically, if he was going to get naughty with her, surely she was allowed to get naughty as well… **** He woke up hours later, the dusk sun burning across his skin. Kora lay on his arm, nestled across his chest. Pushing up, he realised he didn’t have the strength as he toppled back down. She brushed her hazel hair onto him but otherwise didn’t wake. Peering down his body, he noticed several bite marks across his skin. They didn’t hurt much, but he was still alarmed by the number, turning to the beast of a woman lying beside him. He gulped, realising she must have gotten intoxicated at some point and gone mad, and he must have been defenceless considering how he couldn’t even remember anything past stumbling into her room. “Shit, shit, shit,” he said, trying to getting up. “It’s not that bad,” she replied, breaking out of her act. “What the fuck do you mean it’s not that bad?! You’ve drunk me to death,” “Mmm, but considering the fact that you ploughed me to death, I feel it’s a fair deal,” she said. He gulped and felt his anger fall, instead looking at her tanned body in the sunlight. He quickly spotted signs that she might be right. “Fuck, I’m sorry. That bitch whore laced the food there,” he eventually said, feeling regret at what he had done and at the fact that he didn’t remember any of it. “That’s alright, I had my fair share of fun as well. I’m surprised though you didn’t splurge all over the ladies there though. It is a brothel house, you know? Do you know what they do in brothels?” she said. He rolled his eyes, finally finding the strength to move his body. “She wanted me to use me. No way I was going to let that happen,” Just as he was about to get out bed, she lunged forward and kissed him, this time taking his breath away. While he didn’t feel at all ready for round 2, he realised a bit more time snuggling with her wouldn’t be all bad.

The thief gulped down the potion and threw it to the side, the glass cracking against stone. He was visibly slobbering with his mouth agape as if he had swallowed fire, his chest heaving. “Kil thhem! Kill them!” he roared. Orion saw men and women pick up their weapons, their blades angled at him. “We’re only here for Skitters. Just let us get him and we’ll leave,” he shouted in response, his voice filling the warehouse and calming his armed enemies. “He’s a Zakari, a ZAKARI,” Skitters shouted, his tanned skin tinging purple. Those who had felt stoked by Orion’s naïve comment now suffered dread, and anyone near a potion sprinted over and struck the lids off. “You idiot,” Kora said to Orion, “For once listen to me. It’s your family or these scum,” It felt surreal as he looked around; he now had the reason to cut these people down, a reason he couldn’t oppose or ignore. Yet he found himself resisting, his body chilling at the thought of massacre. The adrenaline rush that had helped him kill the bandits couldn’t be felt, instead replaced by shame and fear. “THE POTIONS. DON’T LET THEM DRINK IT,” Kora’s voice sent shockwaves through his mind, warming his fingers. He acted without thought – it was all he could do. Ice spurt out of his right hand and he put his left on the ice sphere that formed. He shot a continuous stream of bullets at the glass and metallic containers, echoing the glass beaker Skitters had thrown as they shattered and tinkled. Even so, some people swallowed the putrid mix before he had a chance, in turn going into the labour that Skitters had just escaped from. The thief had completely changed now: veins protruded from across his skin, which itself had turned into a sickly mix of purple and green, and the mouth he had collared down now slobbered non-stop, his lips like the edge of a waterfall. Instead of mindlessly charging at them, he lifted a solid-oak desk, spun to build speed, then lobbed it at them. Before the table could explode into countless splinters, Kora leapt and punched it away, her fist making a wide dent as the table toppled over. “YOU CAN’T DIE HERE,” she yelled once more, before dodging another piece of furniture. “YOU HAVE TO KILL!” The words cracked Orion as he grinned despite the danger in front of him. His dad could have destroyed the entire warehouse with just one hand – he had seen his dad do similar before. And yet here he struggled against people who knew his identity, hence poisoning his plan. This was why he had wished someone else, heck, anyone else had been the last Zakari, because then he wouldn’t have to burden the murder of hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of innocents on his shoulders. But looking around for a final time, he figured maybe these people weren’t innocents. The glints of their blades, their gritted teeth, their squinted eyes, their bent brows, their tensed muscles. Anger, fear, disdain - like the Zakari name was some vile beast, like his very existence was something that had to be wiped away. Maybe they weren’t innocents, maybe they were some sort of cancer that had led to his House’s downfall. Despite his thoughts, the pale Seeker instinctively knew his anger was an irrational wind that would soon blow over as he noted the inconsistencies. But that required time and he wouldn’t have any time to think as long as these people wanted him dead. All he could do now was step back and let Kora take the controls. He had done his best to stamp out what the Zakari military training had instilled into him but right now, it didn’t seem all that bad. Skitters had lit the fuse and watched the explosion: it was now time for him to experience the flames. Orion looked up and saw a metal weight flying his way, followed by several other objects. How hurt he would be if they hit, if only. He rolled from his spot and vaulted onto a table. The woman below slashed at his ankle but he kicked her wrist, causing her to scream while tripping back. Stepping down, he picked her sword and ended her life, looking up to stare at the remaining enemies. How long would it take to kill all of them? Too long came the answer. The sword in his hand froze over and he swung it, cracking the blade at the right moment such that shards shot into the crowd, prompting several cries – it was clear the metallic shards were better than his ice. While Orion moved at his own pace, Kora moved one step faster, sprinting around and slicing as many people as she could. Even when she got hit or cut, she still went on. The unleashed blood floating behind her body must have given away her plan as the unwounded enemies began to run from her, rushing to drink the remaining potions. Contrarily, the wounded ones soon realised their predicament as the small claw scratches began to leak an awful lot of blood, the amount that would have come had someone made fountains of their bodies. As the amount of blood at her deposal grew, so did the violence of her attacks. No longer were people passively bleeding to death but now the trails of blood behind her acted as bladed hounds, hunting those close enough. But at the same time, the enemies finally got their defence in action as two men shot an unwieldy crossbow, the bolt ripping through Kora’s arm and sending it flying. The blood blades quickly retreated and engulfed her stump and formed a shield as she roared in pain, growling at the table-sized crossbow. Even then, her attention quickly turned to Orion as she realised while she could heal, one hit and he was a goner. Yet he seemed to know no better as he was crouching with one knee down, his hands flat on the ground.   Orion sensed the earth’s pulse, how it flowed through everything here but died in anything living. Adjusting to the same frequency, his Szu acted through the surrounding ground, making sinkholes from stone which swallowed the surrounding enemies and furniture. Straightening up, he noticed the menacing crossbow and the several others behind that were being loaded. Realising the threat, he sprayed the area with ice shards while moving closer. These weren’t chipped down ice spheres but instead straight from his right hand. After just a few seconds, he sensed his right arm failing as it lost strength, not long after, completely breaking down as it collapsed. Still, the pain was dull with Giah activated and the earth continued to feed him energy as he zipped around, reaping lives at an alarming pace. With the crossbows out of the way, Kora’s actions got louder and heavier as well, her blood hounds sharper as the streams grew thicker. Orion wasn’t even sure when he became aware but at some point, at some time, he realised Kora was shaking him. “Stop, Stop!” she yelled. So he listened and stopped. The adrenaline of the moment slowed as he noticed the surrounding quiet…

Orion awoke with a jolt, kicking the footboard rail of the bed he lay on. Upon calming and realising what he had just seen was a nightmare, he sighed and settled back into his blanket, its rough fabric scratching against his skin. Bleary light shone through a window, brightening the room. It was decorated plainly with at least a few years since its last lick of paint. Kora lay beside him, her caramel-brown hair splayed across the mattress. When he eventually stirred, he didn’t wake her and instead slipped out to the kitchen to put together breakfast. Minutes later, when she came over, he finished up and ate in relative quiet. “How was your night today then?” she asked. “Same old, same old,” he grumbled between a bite. “Really? I didn’t hear anything!” “You slept like a log; of course you heard nothing,” She giggled while his lips curled and his eyes gleamed. It had been four months since the Seeker’s Summit, and they were now in Yupker, a city a month or so east of the Zakari House’s ruins. Their journey to the west had been relatively calm: they had been ambushed by bandits more than once, but these fights had been alike ants against giants, the outcome always soul-crushingly obvious. While the frontlines of the war had begun at the far end of the Zakari’s former domain, the Tribes had edged into the Empire bit by bit. There was even a popular rumour in the city that Eira had willingly given away the land, the given reason being she had wanted to create a wide buffer between the Tribes and the Empire. Regardless of the validity of the rumour, this was exactly what she had done as she had ordered her soldiers to poison the wells and salt the ground when retreating. This meant two things: one, the Tribes wouldn’t be able to set up any sustainable camps in the territory they captured, which meant for every metre they captured, they would need to transport their resources a metre more. While this seemed a self-evident point, it was also awfully effective as the Tribes’ invasion had lost vigour after several hundred kilometres into the Empire as it got harder and harder for the baggage trains to arrive on time, and sometimes even arrive at all. Second: Eira had no plans of repurposing the Zakari lands into the Empire, after all, even if they did retake the ground they had lost, no man nor beast would be able to survive on poisoned land. Either way, this had resulted in Yupker, a city nestled deep in the Empire, becoming right next to the frontlines. Moreover, the dung pile of a war had attracted thousands of flies to the city, the sort that leeched off the local populace while also sustaining the war effort. These went from prostitutes to scavengers to scholars to beggars to medical men, all gathered at the frontlines for one reason or another. When Orion, Joiroa, and Kora had arrived at Yupker, things had taken another turn for the worse. Despite Joiroa’s claim that it would take Shrien and his gang a year to make the portal, Shrien had instead decided to one-up that estimate and do it in less than half the time. Following this, waves of foreigners had entered the Empire, eager to pillage and plunder. The House of Piros had reacted quick, immediately rebasing their family from the capital, Petrosa, to the east, taking to the frontlines there. Due to this, the Cruorems had also been forced into the mess, half of them ordered to go south and stop the Horsemen while the other half ordered to fight against the Tribes in the west. While these were all grand and daunting events, none of them had particularly personally affected Orion. Joiroa had left for the east ever since entering Yupker and hearing the news, and while Orion had argued for the man to stay, he had also instinctively known he had too much on his mind to truly care about Joiroa. Maybe in the future once he dealt with Eira and Yhaoli, but not now, not while his blood still roared for revenge. As Orion mused over the events that had happened, so did Kora, only focusing on a different matter altogether. Over the course of the journey, in fact ever since Kasib had named Eira to be the murderer, Orion’s core values had changed. He had grown power-hungry and the rate he had gained power over the trip frightened Kora. Well, not so much his power leaps as much as his mentality; she had always known him to be chasing after the Zakari’s executioner but now that he was so close, he seemed addicted to the sweetness of revenge. A series of knocks sounded on their door as they finished up. “Hello? Orion? Bian?” a muffled voice called. Opening, Orion saw Kasib, quickly leading him in. The bald Seeker now looked haggard and his clothes were dirty and torn. Kasib heavily breathed out while resting on a chair. “How long have you been here?” “A month or so. We’ve just been gaining a better picture of the area and its happenings,” Kora said. “And you didn’t run into it? Yhaoli?” Kasib said, calming a little. “What?” “It was a trick, another diversion. It’s here in the west, hiding somewhere here. I hurried as fast as I could but it seems no one has an exact clue of its location,” Kasib said. “But worst is what I just heard,” he continued, “They say it’s joined forces with the Tribes,” A tense silence washed over the trio. “With the Tribes? I thought they hated monsters, looked down on them like animals?” Kora asked. “No, they do. But the three biggest tribes, the Cuthla, Zyn, and Sole, the ones driving this invasion are showing suspicions signs. Jowler says the large meetings they’re having and the sudden peace right now are temporary,” Kasib explained. “Mm, that makes sense,” Orion said, “Eira has around 5 thousand troops here, you know, Kasib? But in the city, all signs are pointing towards her other forces across the frontlines taking the risk to leave their defences and charge here,” he said while glancing at Kora. She nodded. “Yeah, there’s been a lot more baggage trains moving to the war camps in the last week. We thought she was planning an ambitious attack, but if Yhaoli has teamed up with the Tribes, it sounds more like a—” “Risky defence. A desperate one,” Kasib ended. “Mm, I’ve heard all the Metoles have come here now, and maybe it’s true now,” Orion said. The other two nodded. Following this, the tense silence between them returned. It was only seconds later Orion realised he was getting tense over nothing. Sure, if Yhaoli really had teamed up with the Tribes, then it meant all hell was about to break loose, including the possibility of the Imperial army being decimated. Still, this gave him the chance he had been waiting for the entire month: the opportunity to kill Eira. “Let’s go to the markets, buy as many supplies, then leave for the warcamps. Yeah?” he said. Kasib stared at the younger Seeker, considering the possibilities of what could happen, before nodding with a heavy heart. He guessed this was it.

Orion spied a Royal toucan hopping along a branch towards its nest, which was a large hole in a tree’s trunk. Just as it was about to enter, another Royal toucan with a smaller beak popped out of the nest and screeched. Knowing its place, the male toucan stepped back and began arguing, only for the female to start right back, their domestic argument a duet to Orion’s ears. He still felt as if he was in a daze. It was similar to how he felt now looking down from the branch he was on, knowing he could jump at any moment and crack a series of bones, perhaps even die. He had felt a similar sensation ever since the Awakening, only this time there wasn’t a branch to get off and go back to feeling normal. Honestly, it unnerved him as much as it exhilarated him. Sighing, he pushed himself off the branch anyway, diving through the air. Over his soon-to-be death-spot grew an ice slide, letting him land with a thud instead of a cry. Looking up, he saw his landing had frightened the toucans out of their argument, their beady eyes staring at him through the hole. He waved and left, treading towards the Seeker’s camp. The trip was slow and calming, animals and monsters calling in the distance. He knew Kajan wouldn’t last; Jowler had informed everyone at the base the Tribes had already begun their invasion, and that the Metoles were rumoured to leave for the frontlines soon. If that was the case, the Horsemen would soon move into the Empire and make this rainforest another of their deserts. Smirking at the thought, he carried on, eventually arriving at his destination. The Seeker’s camp was being packed up, the huts already taken down with overfilled bags clumped around the area. Orion nodded to some Seekers as they greeted him, although on the large he walked in silence – it seemed they had figured he was a weird one. When he faced his own hut, one of the few still up, a myriad of emotions barrelled into him. It was mostly pain and exhaustion but deeper down he knew there was a large amount of pride. He quickly got to work, collapsing the building before packing his meagre belongings. When all was done with, he went and sat by a clump of bags, waiting for the other Seekers to finish. “Lazing off already?” Leo called, his figure casting a shadow over Orion. “Of course not, just a short rest,” “Good. I’d kill myself of grief if my star pupil became the next Jowler,” Orion chuckled. “Are you done with your packing then?” “Yep, it’s all here,” Leo said, pointing to the rucksack in his hand and the bow slung over his shoulder. “What? Just that? I thought you’ve been living here forever,” Leo cuffed him on the head before taking a seat beside. “I’m not that old. But yeah, I’m not much the hoarder, more of a free spirit I guess. Reminds me, I never asked about your plans after this,” “Hmm,” Orion realised he hadn’t thought much about it either. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll carry on with Kora – she’s good, you know? I’ve got to tell her that sometime,” “In that case why don’t you come with us? Most us are going to Petrosa,” Leo said. “Naa, not the capital,” “Oh yeah, I guess that’s too risky considering you’re a Zakari,” Leo said, the mood between them instantly chilling over. “Yeah. How did you figure?” Orion eventually asked, giving up on any impulse of killing Leo to silence him. Orion had hidden for long enough; it was time for the world to know the Zakari still existed. “Well, not by appearance. All you westerners look similar, and with that mark on your cheek, I certainly wouldn’t guess you’re a Zakari,” Orion sighed. “It’s not a mark to—” “To brand them, I know, it’s for their protection. A friend I trained with a long time ago told me that, you might know him: Kasib,” Leo said, getting a clear answer as Orion’s face lit up. “We met up some time ago, and he showed me some movements from your training. After watching you train your arse off for long enough, I realised you had the same quirks of movement as he had when demonstrating. And there’s no way in hell an ordinary westerner would be taught any Zakari arts,” Orion nodded. “I guess you’re right,” Leo continued, “Still, I wasn’t sure of your relationship with them so I asked Jowler. What a surprise that was, I mean I had my suspicions about Kora as well but to think I had been training two lordlings like you all this time. Pfft, I was shocked,” “Yeah, it was… difficult when I figured she was a Cruorem,” “You know she’s being hunted? Bian Cruorem, daughter of Caleb Cruorem, ran away from the House of Fullhorn. Every vampire, and I bet most monsters have heard about it,” There was a pause as Orion pondered. “Bian, I didn’t know that was her name. It’s nice,” “Oh, you’re not worried about them coming after her?” Leo asked, his eyebrows raised. “You’re a far cry from what you were before your Awakening but I doubt you can fight any of them,” “You haven’t seen me use Szu,” Orion said proudly. “You haven’t seen them use their Blood arts,” Leo countered, stroking his ginger beard. Shrugging, Orion gave up on the argument. Just in time too as he felt a vice grip on his shoulder, one so strong he had no question of who it was. “Arghh, get off, Kora,” She laughed, dropping him down. “What are you gentlemen talking about?” “About this cute girl called Bian,” Orion said while rubbing his shoulder. Leo immediately shook his head and stood up. “Right, I’ll see you two later,” His rushed steps made it obvious he didn’t want to be involved in any of their business. Kora glared at Orion, her lips forming a thin line. “Mm, I don’t remember telling you any of that. Who did you hear that off? Leo?” Orion shrugged as he rose, brushing off her daggers-drawn stare as he walked away. **** The Seekers moved fast that night, leaving the camp they had held for years. The journey was a lot smoother than the one the four from Visgamar had undertaken before. This was because the group’s size scared off most monsters, and any that weren’t had swift deaths as they tried to fight through several Seekers. Along the way, a few of the Seekers left the group, leaving for settlements that needed different routes. Eventually, it was Orion’s and Kora’s turn: Orion hugged Lilith. She had drunk the Siren’s Elixir and it showed as her curvaceous figure had taken an unrealistic turn. She was now lean and busty, her body catching many eyes as she moved. “We’ll meet again,” she said when they parted, to which he nodded. He then clasped hands with Cyae, who grinned at him. She had drunk the Einherz’s Elixir, and while Lilith’s changes were enchanting, Cyae’s were straight up magical. She had also become a lot more comfortable to be around and chilled after her Awakening, although Orion really wasn’t in a position to make judgements about change. “Three months,” she said. “Three months,” he repeated. Next was Leo who gave him a nod and mouthed the words “Three months” Last was Jowler, who stood by Joiroa. Over the period of their training, Orion had paid less and less attention to Joiroa until after his Awakening, when he realised the dark-skinned man had already learned the civilised tongue. Jowler beckoned Kora and Orion towards himself, away from the other Seekers. “As I promised, you can have Joiroa back now,” Orion smiled at the foreigner, who smiled back. Life had slowly been injected into his eyes, and now they gleamed red like blood. Orion had never noticed before but looking closer, he realised Joiroa was near Jowler’s age, wrinkles over his face even though his curly hair showed no signs of greying. “He’s on a mission,” Jowler said, “And you’re on a mission,” he pointed at Orion, “And you’re on a mission,” he pointed at Kora. “And they’re all big, bad problems, so I reckon you can help each other out. Either way, my time’s coming to an end,” he said, tapping his belly, “so you’ll have to deal with each other’s messes sooner or later. Turning around, he finished. “Remember, the Seeker’s Summit is at End’s edge in three months. If I don’t see you two there, Smith will be getting a stick up his arse,” he joked, laughing at his own sense of humour as he re-joined the other Seekers. “You two better hurry and become 5-star in that time,” he shouted, waving at them as the three Seekers left the group, heading towards Visgamar.

Breathing slowly with his head down, Orion heard her steps sound across the floorboards – he knew it was Kora without looking up. His self-guided tour had come to an end in the night before, him trudging back to the inn, miserable as could be. He hadn’t seen her then, nor in the morning after, but he knew had to face her now. Controlling his breath, he faced up, only to see her walk past. His expression grew strained as she began to peer around with her palm against her brow, her mouth spreading to an o as she finally spotted him. “Oh, I didn’t see you there,” she said, continuing the joke. His lips curled into a lopsided worm, too strained to be a smile. “Well, where were you? Running off without me? No note even,” “I was walking,” he said, “Looking around the city… the damage,” “Ok,” she said. Contrary to his expectations, she didn’t go on or question him further, instead, kicking back in her seat. He felt his excuses wash out of his mind as he realised she didn’t care. Honestly, her giving him space was the best outcome and yet one he hadn’t even considered. Although once he thought about it, whenever anything sensitive happened, her usual response was to close up and stay silent - she was just lucky it was the right response this time. Blowing another deep breath out, he leaned back and tried to brush the matter from his mind. They were both in the Seeker’s building, on the first floor by the contract board. As he waited, Orion saw Lilith walking up the unused staircase on the other side of the hall. She wore casual clothes today, her creamy low-cut blouse contrasting with her chestnut-brown hair that lay past her shoulders. Lilith had a curvaceous figure and a sensuous aura around her, something he was certain she put to good use. “Come on,” she called, beckoning them, “Smith’s waiting,” Following her down, they reached the basement, a wide room lit by Glubber’s candles. The room was filled by several cabinets and chests, a few armour-pieces and weapons cluttered over the closest ones. The remaining area was occupied by a large board with several chairs in front. Smith wore a bright-red eyepatch today and stood by the board, nodding as he saw them. A woman with short hair sat on one of the chairs. Once they had all sat down, he began. “I’m sure you all know what this is about. You two,” he pointed at Lilith and the short hair lady, “are both 5-stars, so ready to go through the Awakening. And you two,” he pointed at Orion and Kora,” are ready to go through it as well. Usually, I wouldn’t be able to do this as your rankings aren’t quite there yet, but times are changing,” He stopped and paused, his audience waiting with bated breath. “Basically, the Awakening is you guys training hard, drinking a lot of nasty shit, and training more. It’s terrible, believe me. I went through it two decades ago and the memories are still strong – it’s the sort of stuff you don’t forget. So, stop grinning so hard before I slap them off your faces,” he said, breaking into a chuckle. “They’ll expand on the process itself over there: I don’t know if they’ve changed anything. Anyway, look at this,” he continued, pointing at one of the pictures on the board, this one a poorly drawn beaker with green liquid in, “This is an Elixir. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumours: yes, they make you stronger, yes, they give you powers, and yes, they’re from monsters. You’ll love them afterwards but when you’re going through the process, you’ll see them as your enemies – trust.” He moved on and jabbed at another picture, this one resembling a crudely drawn map. “This is where the magic happens, Kajan. Filled with monsters and guarded by top Seekers, you won’t be able to get in without a rigorous identity check, though it won’t seem like that,” he said, breaking into another bout of laughter. “Ah, you don’t get it now, but you will get it by the end. Anyway, this is why I want you guys to go together as a group. It makes the whole process easier and makes it less likely one of you will die on the way,” He moved onto the last picture, this time a silhouette of a figure holding a sword, the Seeker’s logo. “And this is where the talk ends. Look, I know all of you have different allegiances and that, but after this you will be a Seeker first and foremost. If that’s not the case, you will be killed at Kajan so don’t bother thinking you can trick the people there.” Smith paused a while, before ending. “Alright, that’s it. Take any of the stuff on those tables if you like them and meet here tomorrow morning to set off together – I’ll give you my letter then. Jax, Lilith, Cyae, Kora, I wish you all the best and hope you’ll be sharing the Seeker’s cause soon,” he said, saluting at them in a change of tone. Cyae nodded, and promptly left, while Lilith stayed behind to chat with Smith. Orion and Kora scanned over the equipment, fully aware they wouldn’t be able to buy anything from the market. Orion picked up a new black jacket, contrasting with his light skin, and a longsword and bow with a quiver of arrows. While his strongest weapons were inside him, there was no chance he would be able to use Szu when surrounded by Seekers at Kajan. Kora picked up a yellow jacket, going back to her roots, and a greatsword that ranged almost her height. Even though she couldn’t transform at Kajan, she still retained most of her strength meaning she could use this greatsword like a shortsword They left shortly after and attracted a lot of attention on the streets due to her comically sized sword. It was while walking back to the inn that Orion realised he had forgotten about the dark-skinned foreigner. He had planned to keep him with Thimble for a while but considering the underworld had just undergone massive changes, the Sticky Fingers would soon be destroyed or start rising the ranks, meaning they wouldn’t be able to keep a dead weight around no matter what. After saying this to Kora, she agreed with him, although reluctantly as she didn’t share his massive interest in the man. Sure, he had dark skin and red eyes that made him unique in the Empire, and sure, Skitters had almost certainly joined the attack on the Saltrock’s ship for the man, but that didn’t change the fact he would continue to be dead weight if they took him in. Either way, they made their way to the slums, quickly noticing how quiet the area had become. The whole city had lost its spirit after the riots but the effect was most pronounced here. Kora spotted the watchers and waved at them as the Seekers entered the Sticky Fingers’s base. None of the people they encountered challenged them, and Orion was relieved to see there was still life in the base. They arrived at Thimble’s house, opening the door to realise it was dark inside. Going in, Orion searched around, finding no one until Kora nudged him and pointed into the darkness. Focusing, he made out the shape of a small man sitting with his head down, a blanket over his head. Orion clapped his hands together and the man turned to the sound, staring at them with red eyes which lightly glowed in the dark. “Are you ok?” Orion asked. The man didn’t reply, instead, peering at Orion’s expression for a moment, then at Kora’s. Orion turned to her. “I don’t think he still understands what we’re saying. What do we do?” “Are you sure you want to bring him? He can’t understand the common tongue, and look at his body, he can’t even fight, he’ll just be useless,” she replied. He stopped for a moment, pondering on what she had said, before deeply nodding. “Alright then,” she said,” let’s get him out of here first,” She walked to the foreigner and placed her hands on his elbow and wrist, guiding him up and out. It seemed he got the idea as he weakly shook her off, following Orion of his own accord. Leaving the building, the trio entered the sunlight, spotting Thimble running towards them in the distance, his maroon clump of hair bobbing up and down. “Lord Jax, Lord Jax!” he called. They waited for him. “I was told yer were ‘ere. Are yer ‘ere to talk ‘im?” Thimble asked. “Yeah. Why was he left in dark?” Orion said. “I tried to take him out, but he didn’t wanna. I left the curtains open for ‘im but he’d just close it when I left. I dunno about yer but he seems loony in the ‘ead,” Kora nodded. “Hmm,” Orion said, “But yeah, we’re taking him away on a trip we’re going on. What happened to your brother? We didn’t see him anywhere,” “Ginger’s dead, we think. Maybe we’ll disband soon, we’ve lost too many people, put at the front of the raid for Fatso.” Thimble said, flashing a nervous smile, his eyes teary. “Come back and visit when you’re done, right?” Orion moved forward and patted him on the back. “We will. Just make sure you’re not dead by then,” “Yes, Lord Jax!”

It was tense, as if an electric bolt had zapped through the area. Limbs moved in laboured, stiff manners, breaths came out strained and as thorny clouds, and eyes jerked from side to side, every person on edge. The thick coal clouds of war had drifted above the war camps, and the fierce bullets they rained onto the ground below drenched spirits and souls as much as hair and boots. The trio of Seekers stood in the Merchant’s circle, as it was called, although the messy formation of tents was far from that of a circle. Merchant’s circle was a leech on the warcamps and the only other camp allowed so near it. While there was an identification check at its gates, this wasn’t rigorous and the three Seekers had been allowed in without a second glance. The trio spent a good deal of time walking around, not searching for anything in particular but taking in the mood, the stiffness of the air. After this, they left with haste, hiking up to the Black forest a few kilometres away from Yupker. Despite being infested by men of different factions, the trio easily sneaked past their notices, progressing deep into the forest while looking for a post high and hidden enough to scour the lands below. The trees in the forest were large and alive, yet they didn’t seem such as they were all shades of rotten-black and had few leaves on their sickly branches. The foliage that grew around them were similarly dull in colour, making the landscape dark and bleary, instantly giving chills to anyone that entered. In the past, it had used to be a hotspot for particularly vile monsters but they had been cleaned up in a large Seeker’s expedition a couple years ago. They came upon a massive hollowed tree eventually, obviously a watchtower created by someone else. Regardless, it was in an optimal spot and Orion took the lead slipping into the tree. With his head through the bark, he spotted the sentry, surprisingly a Metole. Luckily, the woman hadn’t seen him spying her, instead, her gaze stuck fast on the plateau below the Black forest. She was perched on a wooden post, looking out through a hole in the bark. She had brown skin and wore light armour over her heavily built frame. Her arms were sculpted and muscular, her body more that of a beast’s than that of a human’s. Before Kasib or Kora had a say, Orion acted. He turned his left palm against the wooden post, sending out shockwaves which quickly toppled it. Simultaneously, thick tendrils of ice sprouted out of the ground, heading for the woman. As the post fell, the Metole swiftly reacted, though in shock. She leapt away and spun in mid-air to face her enemies. Unluckily, or luckily, this was all she had time to do as the tendrils wrapped around her limbs, pulling her to the ground with such force she crashed down. Despite being dazed and confused, she reacted as any Metole would – through strength. She used Giah with Strengthening, her eyes turning snow-white and her skin sheening over, and cracks spread across the ice tendrils as she tensed and pulled away. It was such terrible strength she upturned the ground as she tore the tendrils off herself, her eyes twisted with fury. As Orion shot more Ice spears at her, she burst from her spot, moving so fast she was in front of the trio in two seconds. Well, technically at least. Despite being in front of them, there was a spear of ice jutting out of her stomach. Blood seeped out of her wound as she snarled at the trio, figuring out their identities as more ice pierced her body. She fell in the following seconds. “Why did you attack her?!” Kora asked, straining herself to not shout in the forest. “There was no point in her being alive,” he responded. “If she had been more than a greenhorn, she would have torn off your head,” Kasib said, walking past the corpse to erect another post near the hole in the bark. “Still, I’m surprised you’re this strong,” “If she was more experienced, she would have died in a more gruesome manner. That’s all,” Orion said. While he knew his attack was too impulsive, he had lost control over his anger once he had seen it was a Metole, the same people who supported his cousin. “Hubris will be the death of you if you don’t learn how to control your impulses. Remember, the Metoles are the physically strongest, fastest, and have the best defence out of all your Houses,” Kasib said, Kora immediately agreeing with him. “Still, what’s a Metole doing scouting? I thought they were too high up the chain to be doing lowly grunt work like this,” she added. “I’m sure they’ve got normal scouts in the forest as well. It seems they’re taking no chances with an ambush, so I guess we were right. It’s going to happen now,” Kasib answered. Orion nodded, recovering from their scolding. “The atmosphere, the excessive guards and scouts: Eira knows it’s wartime,” **** Several hours had passed since their journey to the Black forest. Below the forest was a large, sweeping plateau with frosted over ground and trampled plants. Close to them in the plateau, they could see the Imperial army hastily setting up formation. Eira had somewhere between 5 thousand and 10 thousand men, all nameless dots from their vantage. In the distance, the trio could see the Tribes marching towards them. Kora estimated the Tribes had roughly 10 thousand men in their army. When about a kilometre away, when the trio expected the Tribes to set down their foundation and begin a short stare-off, the Tribes instead began their charge, the nameless dots now a tsunami as it swept towards the Imperial army. While there was shaking in the Imperial army’s formation, there weren’t any shocks as the strongest mages stepped forward, these men and women the size of two dots from the Seeker’s vantage. These mages attacked, roaring fireballs crashing into the Tribes in a dreadful manner. Still, before they hit, they clashed into an overarching golden barrier over the Tribes and fizzled out into nothing. Orion widened his eyes at this. Sustaining something of that size would take at least tens, if not hundreds of mages and even then, it would drain them rapidly. It seemed the Imperial mages knew likewise and as they began shooting the elements with frantic abandon, fire and earth and wind and water barraging the golden barrier, to little effect though. Then came tree-sized icicles which battered the golden barrier to a point the ground shook. These were not only effective but apparently effortless as they continued decimating the shield at an exhausting pace, thunder sounding out every few seconds. It wasn’t hard for Orion to figure out who was doing this as he found the shining gem on the battlefield. It hurt him to see Eira use Szu with such mastery, her ice sculptures forming so quickly and yet with such strength. Considering the fact she hadn’t set off any earthquakes to annihilate the Tribes’ army, he correctly guessed the Tribes had already set up a countermeasure. Still, they could do little but watch as she tore through their defence, her attacks puncturing through tens at once. Then the two sides made contact, the clash both bone-crunching and grief-filled. The sounds of war - of agony and fury and murder - sounded out and continuously echoed without stop as grimy blades turned bloody and as the limbed became limbless and the alive became lifeless. The thrill of war was in the gamble, and thousands of soldiers gambled with their lives as they struck and struck and struck and fell like broken toys. While the golden barrier had protected the Tribes for so long, they completely fell after the clash, liberating the men below to the catastrophic elements made by soft-handed mages. Regardless, the Tribes seemed not to care as their own mages turned their eyes towards the Imperial army, the Earth’s means of reckoning used artificially to reap lives by the tens, and sometimes even by the hundreds. Orion trembled with anticipation and fear and bloodlust as he watched. Still, he kept his feet in place as he waited for the right moment. His eyes always gravitated back to Eira no matter what happened, always back to the woman of war which dominated the field with ease. He wondered if she had been similar during the Zakari’s reckoning, and he wondered deep inside whether he could kill her. He had grown up hearing tales of her strength and cunning, and now finally witnessing them, he bought into why his uncles and dad had praised her so much. At the same time, this brought about heavy pangs in his heart as the old question repeated itself. Why had she massacred her own family? She used Szu with such pride and skill that there was no chance she was embarrassed of her heritage, so what was it? Kasib watched the scene below in mourning. He knew the danger of monsters first-hand, and so it dug into his flesh to see men do to men what they should be doing to monsters. Even then, he wondered about the missing pieces from both sides. There were few Metoles around Eira, but still only a fraction of their whole Household. So where were the rest? And where was Yhaoli and his band of monsters if not with the Tribes? Had the rumours been false? It was as he meditated on these thoughts a deep-throated voice rolled over him, tensing him even to the heart. “There you are, little one. Who knew you would wait for me, little one?” It boomed like thunder and chilled flesh like the coldest and strongest gusts of wind, overwhelming all senses at once. They barely had enough time to react as the hollow tree was uprooted and smashed onto them in a matter of seconds. Orion created an ice barrier around them just in time, and as it shattered and the dust settled, the giant looming above them became clear. It was a monster twenty metres tall with bristly fur covering its body. Its arms and legs were the size of buildings and the width of tree trunks. It was heavily muscled and almost looked like a giant human. Obsidian spikes ranged its spine and arms and it had an oversized head for its body, one as large as its chest. This head was constantly twitching and jerking, its crusted lips stretched to reveal colossal teeth dripping out yellow saliva. Despite the seizure its head was under, its eyes were focused and frighteningly arresting. Orion felt a hole being bore into his chest under the monster’s gaze. “YHAOLI!” Kasib roared, a savagery befitting a monster in his voice. “Little one,” it said, pools of yellow, sticky liquid plummeting out of its mouth.

They ran for ten minutes but what felt like twenty. Some slaves dropped down along the way, and since Orion was already full-handed, they stayed down. Eventually, the stench of rotten food and human excrement replaced that of salt and fish. “Where are we going?” Orion asked. He was lost, as it was, in the day, let alone under the veil of darkness. “The den,” Ginger replied, his voice soft and strained from panting. “What? I thought the Saltrocks were returning with more people? Why are we going to the most obvious place?” Ginger smirked. “It’s my land, I ain’t gonna lose there,” “Are you mad? It’s stupid to do this,” Nanlong added, his looming figure sneaking in between the two. “No worries, twice the gold for yer,” “Pfft,” “Three times?” Nanlong grunted and backed off. “What’s the point of killing any more of them though,” Orion said. “Else, they’ll make trouble for us later. Ain’t having that; might as well end them now,” The pale Seeker opened his mouth, then closed it and turned away. Ginger was clearly adamant about another battle, and it was now too late for Orion to back out. Either way, even if the fight turned sour, he and Kora could escape, though it would make what they had just done a waste of time. Due to Nyrtia’s blessing, there were no ambushers awaiting them when they arrived at the base. Dawn wasn’t far off and Visgamar’s famous fogs rolled out across the city, enveloping the buildings and people in another veil. Straight away, the Sticky Fingers and Nanlong’s mercenaries lit bright lanterns around the fort and took their positions, a few of them even armed with crude crossbows. The slaves were forced into a central building and put under the Seeker’s watch. As much as Ginger wanted the Seekers to man the walls, considering the aftermath he had seen on the deck, he knew it was best not to sneak any additional clauses into the deal. Orion leaned against the doorframe as he watched Kora reapply Skitters’s bandages. She then moved onto two of Nanlong’s mercenaries who were severely injured, and then the slaves. As for why there were no Sticky Fingers with them, Skitters had told them in the building by the docks that the gang couldn’t afford to take care of anyone too far gone. Instead, they helped you complete the distance. After being rebandaged, the thief lay on the ground with his eyes shut. He hadn’t mentioned Orion trying to knock him out to anyone, nor had he brought it up with the Seekers. You couldn’t survive the streets without common sense and Skitters had far more than others, enough to keep quiet about the incident. All he knew was that the two were like storms once fighting and that the mage had croaked Zakari to Jax. Orion had blanked out for a few moments, or minutes, when he saw Kora dressing the unconscious foreigner’s wounds. While it would have been impossible in the dark, now with a clear view of his skin, Kora seemed as intrigued by the man and the mage’s torture as Orion was. “How strong were they?” she asked. She ran her finger across the angular cuts drawn into his skin – the runes. “Novice work, but probably the strongest the pig had,” “Mmm,” She nodded, checked the man’s eyes, then moved on. The hours went by, and it was past dawn by the time a Sticky Fingers came in. “The boss wants y’all to come,” he said to Kora. She woke her dozing partner and everyone but the foreigner. They made it down the rubble-strewn paths and into the open aired hall, fit with wild vines growing the cracked walls and a circle of dry dirt amidst the trampled, sickly grass. There was a large fire on the dirt over which a stew was bubbling. Ginger and Nanlong sat around a smaller fire, the spaces between them filled with the higher-ups of each group, including Thimble. The slaves were made to wait by the larger fire as the Seekers and Skittles were motioned to the smaller one. “Ahh, time yer got ‘ere,” Ginger said. “Shouldn’t you be watching the walls? Or is it over?” Kora said. “It’s alright, Miss Kora. We got watchers out there,” Thimble answered. “Besides, they’d be fools to attack in this light,” Ginger finished. Nanlong put down the bread he was chewing on and strode to the Seekers. “We heard about the Mage,” The mood fell, mostly from the Sticky Fingers around the fire. Ginger had his face downcast, the shadows from fire creasing his face. “But you killed that bitch before anything else. This isn’t much but take it as thanks. Since I don’t know, and don’t want to know, what would have happened otherwise,” he continued, drawing three gold coins from his pockets and handing them to the Seekers. “Anyway, yer both earned yor place beside me at the party. Yer’ll get to see Rats,” Ginger said while facing up. “But, right now, I’ll also give yer another reward for murdering that whore,” Kora yawned with no intention to answer, and seeing this, Orion looked around and then behind him. “Could you take care of the slaves?” “As slaves? Sure can,” Ginger said, urging a round of laughter from the surrounding men. “As free men an’ women, I dunno,” “What can I do then?” Orion asked. “Yer? Nothing. Them, it depends on them,” Ginger stood, picked up his sword and walked over to the larger fire, everyone else following. He stepped in front of a slave. “Yer, will yer join the Sticky Fingers?” The emaciated man looked from the brown-haired gang leader, to the glint of the blade, to his own pathetic reflection in Ginger’s eyes. “The Sticky Fingers?” the man replied, stumbling back in fear, only to bump into one of Ginger’s thugs. “Forward, mate. Boss asked yer a question,” “Us, we’re the Sticky Fingers,” Ginger explained. “Ugh…” The man gulped and looked at the blade again, at how sharp it looked. “…Yeah, Yeah I will, I’d love to, please don’t kill me,” he said as he broke into tears, collapsing onto his knees. Orion tried to move but Kora caught his shoulder and stopped him. “Good,” Ginger said, moving onto the next person. “What about yer?” “Sir, please, I’ve got a family; I’ve got to get back to them,” the man pleaded. It was the last words he spoke as the blade struck, ripping flesh off his neck. He fell face-first, a mixture of blood and mud pasted over his eyes. Orion tried to force his way out of Kora’s grasp but she held strong, fingers digging into his flesh. “You wanted him to look after them, well, he can only look after the ones who’ll survive these ends,” Orion wanted to ask, no, shout why Ginger couldn’t let them go then? Why did he have to kill the ones with a past to get back to? But the answer came as quickly as his anger, because if he let one go, the rest would also want to go. Ginger was a cutthroat leader of the streets; he was cruel because that was how he survived each day, and the morals Orion had were simply luxuries for the brown-haired gang leader, decadent luxuries. Nonetheless, this didn’t quell Orion’s anger. What did was the question he asked himself: how else was he supposed to save the slaves? By taking them under his care, restricting his options, and risking his entire vengeance? Choosing a few strangers over the House of Zakari? No, he couldn’t, and as much as it pained him to admit, it was better for them to be under a man who would toughen them up than for them to be free in such a vicious city. Ginger moved on. “What about yer then?” he said as he swung about the bloodstained sword. “Yes,” … “Yeah,” … “Please, I need to find my daughter, I’m begging you,” a woman said. “I’ll let you do anything to me, just let me find my daughter afterwards,” While a few of Ginger’s thugs cheered at this, their leader was having none of it. He slashed as he had done before, and another corpse hit the ground as before. … “Yeah,” … “Of course,” It carried on until Ginger had asked every slave. Only two of the 30 had said no, and only two now lay on the ground. “Messy business done with, how about we eat now?” Ginger said. His men and Nanlong’s mercenaries cheered for him, while the slaves sombrely thought on their fates. “Wait, Ginger, come here,” Kora said, while the rest of the people queued for their stew. “What’s it, Kora?” She put her hand out to shake, and he did so, although confusedly. One of her nails sliced his skin and drew blood, which she rubbed between her fingers and licked. Orion glared at Ginger throughout. “There’s another one, the dark one, the foreigner. Take good care of him,” she said. Ginger wore an incredulous expression. “If you don’t, I don’t know, maybe you’ll start to feel ill or such,” Orion knew Ginger would say yes the second he felt the air thicken. The gang leader’s eyes widened and he looked at Kora in shock, before placing his hand on his forehead. He wasn’t new to this game; he knew how things worked. “You did something, you wh—” “And I can do much worse if you tempt me,” she said, revealing her perfect teeth. “Fine, I’ll make sure Thimble, that piece of shit, looks after that burnt corpse yer picked up,” “Pleasure doing business with you,” she finished with a cheerful tone. He smirked, then paced away. He would have hidden his fear too, had it not been for his visibly quivering hands and rushed steps.

The captain was no fool; he knew straight-away the two newcomers were difficult opponents, especially the girl. That speed! “Kill him, boys with me,” he said as he pointed at Skitters but turned to the Seekers. Orion sourly regarded the captain and the eight men who had heeded his shout. From their movement, it was obvious they would be easy kills. Regardless, it would still be needless blood splattered across the deck boards. He couldn’t see Kora’s face but the reactions from the lamplit sailors told him she had smiled, putting them on edge. She burst from her spot, her steps flicking droplets as she twisted around the first sailor, toppled him by kicking his shin, ducked under a swing, then stabbed down. The man gurgled to death, blood spluttering out of his mouth. Uncaring, she clashed her bloodstained sword with another, heightening the madness. The captain and his men had turned their backs to Orion, caught up by the monster in their midst: a mistake. Orion darted across the deck, saw a man spin around, saw him raise the hammer he had hastily picked up. Skewing his sword’s path by the hairs of the hammerhead, Orion slashed into the sailor’s neck, the teary image of a murderer reflected in the man’s eyes. With no time to consider his actions, Orion leapt out of the way of another blade, rebounded off the mast and struck down with momentum. It cut into his next victim’s shoulder blade, causing the man to drop the… What was that? A steel pole? Nipping his thoughts, the pale Seeker swiftly finished the job. “ARGHH!” Orion heard a shrill scream sound through the battle roars. He saw Skitters falling back with a limp arm, his dagger useless against the metal pole and cutlass his adversaries had. Spinning past another attempt at his life, Orion bucked the sailor in the arse like a horse and hared to the higher platform, leaping up to catch the handhold. Noticing Skitters was moments from death, Orion flung his shortsword at the thief’s soon-to-be-killers, causing them to recoil back. He used this extra second to pull himself up to the platform and roll away from the soon-to-be-corpse who tried to whack his unarmed hands. The metal pole grazed his knuckles but that was manageable, so much so Orion used that very fist to uppercut the soon-to-be-corpse. Noticing his friend’s failure, the cutlass sailor slashed at Skitters’s calf, forbidding the thief from escape while he ran to his death. Orion glared at the coming enemy, side-stepped as the sailor thrust, stepped back as the sailor swung in an arc, then booted the man’s wrist, causing the blade to thud against the wet wood. While the sailor cringed over his wrist, Orion uppercutted him too, then picked up the dropped cutlass. Moments later, he walked over to Skitters and threw the bloodstained cutlass away, picking up his sword. He crouched and looked at the thief’s cuts in the lamplight: a long slit through his jacket on his arm and a gash on his calf. Shaking his head, Orion turned and jumped over the railing, landing on the lower deck. Kora was busy completing her collection, crimson-dyed corpses strewn around. A few seconds later, she faced Orion and his grim expression. “Hmm?” “Skitters is injured. Can you…” he stopped amidst his sentence. It sounded dirty considering what they had just done to a dozen innocents. She shook her head and pointed to the shadowed doorway below the higher platform. “A Mage is coming,” She didn’t have to say anymore as Orion ran up to Skitters and knocked him out. He didn’t want to kill the thief, but he would have no other choice if the thief witnessed the fight. Kora moved to the edge of the ship and leaned over the side, scanning the fray below. “At least a few more minutes,” she shouted back. “A few more minutes for what?” her reply came, the creaking of stairs accompanying the shrill pitch. Orion gulped as he heard the creaks. While Mages were a lower species, he doubted he could handle anything as lard-filled as the creaks gave image to. Hopefully, the stairs were just rotten. “Answer me, you filthy plebeian. Not only do I have to use such a dirty ship but now I have to handle you specks of dirt? Ughh,” the Mage growled as she entered the lamplight, followed by another sailor who stopped star-struck at the scene on deck. The Mage was a woman with a plump belly as if she was 6-months pregnant. Not that the Seekers were dumb enough to believe that, or that the wisps of golden light racing her figure added to that illusion. She had a bob cut and held a carved staff, more for style than for stability. It seemed the stair boards had been rotten. Perfect. “An impudent mute, it seems. Well, I’ve got ways of making you talk. You, go and block her,” the Mage said as she clanged her staff against the floor, once again for style, and began muttering with focus, fists of fire growing at the skin of her golden barrier. Her eyes simultaneously got lighter. The surviving sailor gulped and pseudo-charged Kora, raising his sword but stepping back once he was in striking distance. At this moment, Orion peered from the higher platform at the animal oblivious to his presence. Killing innocents was wrong and wasteful, but at least they knew their place, unlike Mages. They hadn’t learnt their standing yet, so he was more than happy to teach them. His eyes blanched, appearing yellow tinted due to the lamplight, and ice bloomed out of his right hand. The Mage only realised her mistake as she sensed the cold at the back of her head, rotating to face the pale Seeker. But it was too late as shards of ice barraged against her golden shield, the fireballs collapsing as her focus broke. She gritted her teeth and turned to her barrier, pouring energy into it as it struggled against the icicles. If anyone with an eagle-eye looked past the obscuring golden haze, they’d be able to see the layers of fat on the Mage sink, albeit slowly, showing inexperience and inefficiency. This was what separated the Houses from mages. Orion hopped from his spot and landed on the Mage, whacking her against the floor. Not that it hurt her though, instead, the floorboards had dented inwards under the barrier. He placed his left hand on the paper-thin barrier and felt its pulse, fuelled by the Mage’s own heartbeat. The cracks started wide but then connected, shattering the golden barrier. Before she could even catch her breath, Orion punched her face. “…Zakari…,” she croaked, her fear reflected in her eyes. This time, Orion felt no pity. “Inferior species,” He brandished his sword and chopped. Silence. Kora pushed aside the latest addition to her collection as she walked over to Orion. “Jax, let’s find a med-kit,” He stared at her, past her, then followed as they made their way down the stairs. They ransacked the kitchen, the panty, the sailors’ rooms where they found a med-kit, the Mage’s embellished room where they pocketed 15 gold coins. They were about to leave when a squeal sounded through the hatch at the end of the corridor. Orion headed to it while Kora shook her head. “Alright, Jax. You save how many ever slaves you need to clear your mind and I’ll patch up Skitters,” Ignoring her sassy comment, Orion pulled the hatch open and climbed in…

Coppery light daubed the streets as they came to Skitters’s home. Scanning over the house, Smith clicked his tongue. “It’s always simple buildings like this, always. Just a pain in the arse to deal with,” he said. Orion had figured Smith knew more about Grima than he let on from the moment he had tested their claim, and this comment made him sure of that judgement. Considering the number of passages that led into the warehouse, it made sense Smith knew about a few of them, but this then begged the question why he seemed so ecstatic about them finding the base. Was there more to this? Kora nodded while leading them to the tunnel in the storage room. “It’ll be completely dark so be careful. Also, there’s a small drop someways in so walk slowly,” The eye-patched leader slipped past her and inspected the opening. “Looks like this is an old one,” he said, before grinning, “Jeez, how did this escape us, eh?” he called to the Seekers behind Orion. They mainly grunted or shrugged their shoulders, dismissing his underlying message. “Whatever, we better hurry now. I’ll take the lead,” Smith’s footsteps showed exactly how lightly he took Kora’s warning as he thundered ahead, the others struggling to keep up in surrounding darkness. The drop in level came earlier than expected, perhaps due to the rush, as Orion fell to his knees despite heeling Smith who hopped down it as if in daylight. This, combined with how casually he had dealt with the Cloudape, made it obvious he had some sort of skill or power letting him sense his surroundings. In little time, they were at the branching paths lit from above. When everyone else caught up, they saw Smith had already made the correct choice without their guidance as he marched down the rightmost tunnel. Turning around to peer at the expressions behind him, it became obvious to Orion the rest of the Seekers were used to Smith’s work manner as they glanced back passively. Switching back to his automatic mode, the pale Seeker restarted his walk and only woke from it minutes later when he heard Smith’s laughter roll past, only this time he could sense more anger than amusement. Speeding into a run, he passed the exit and came to the warehouse, temporarily blinded by the sunlight blasting in. As his vision came back, adrenaline pumped through his body as he looked around. The massive doors to the warehouse was wide open, letting a warm current flow through the building, and there were several oil barrels broken about, releasing a unique smell that arrested him. Smith was fighting a man and woman at once, several more at his feet, while Kora chased after others near the doors and into the docks. The largest Seeker joined her while the rest stood nearby in similar situations to Orion. His adrenaline rush morphed into a mix of anger and fear, especially fear as the scene in front of him became the soon-to-be scene in his mind: the scorching flames, the thick smoke, the stomach-curdling stench of chemicals. He acted before he could think as he bolted down the distance, throwing his sword to trip one of the retreating enemies, before tackling another to the ground. He grappled with the woman, whacking her down as she tried to hit him off, eventually trying to boot his balls. Seconds later, after he managed to get her into a chokehold, she lost her chance to tap out as she collapsed unconscious. Straightening up, he cringed at how violently she’d smacked his thighs. Just as it seemed all the enemies had left, one peeked from behind the warehouse’s doors, metres away from Orion, and lobbed a molotov in. The fiery bottle zipped past before anyone had the chance to act, shattering near a broken barrel. Kora pelted after the man who had thrown the bottle while Orion shot towards the fire, his heart thumping against his rib-cage as he saw the fire spluttering and withering in a pool of blood, a remnant from their earlier fight. He kicked more blood onto the fire with two other Seekers until it fizzled out, by which time Smith started shouting orders. “Rick, Lynn, Slinker, outside right now! Watch for any more wretches and kill them if they get close enough. Orion, Kora, check around here for anyone hiding and then join them outside. Lilith and Rore, collect up the papers now!” Orion and Kora found no one in their search so went outside, standing on guard with the others. While there were many people spying the warehouse from a distance, contrary to Smith’s expectations, these people rushed off after seeing the Seekers instead of planning an attack. It was close to an hour later when Orion and Kora were called back in, Smith and Lilith still piling up papers. “Ah, help us with this task. All this is solid gold here,” he said, waving his hand at the papers. “They’re ruined,” Kora said, noting the fact most were covered in blood or oil, if not a combination. “No matter,” Smith explained, breaking into a chuckle while rubbing at his eyepatch, “We’ve got ways of recovering the writing,” “Where’s Rore?” she asked as the two of them joined the task. “Gone to the guild; I told him to get the rest of the guys. It’s a good time to pull out of the war now,” Orion stopped and stared at Smith. “You’re pulling out?! What’s going to happen then?” “Bah, it’s not our worry. We were only involved since the Imperial Guard paid us well and had that information on the monsters sneaking into the city. That’s now long passed since those monsters are either dead or escaped, and if neither Rats or Fatso are dead by now, I’d rather not waste any more of us on those whoresons. Too risky, especially considering we’re supposed to be defending against real monsters, not dying against fake ones,” Smith said, rolling over a table to scour its contents. “Don’t worry. You’re both new here so you wouldn’t know but Lord Risadro has been preparing for an attack from Rats for a long time, maybe too long. I doubt either of them will come off well from this, and that’ll give better-natured men a chance to flourish, now that the big bullies are toppling each other down,” he paused, “Though I reckon the one to benefit the most will be Madam,” “And us,” Lilith called with her hands searching through rubble. “Yeah, what in Kovas’s name did you two do here? Clearly, I underestimated you,” Smith joked. Seeing them stuck for words, he continued, “Don’t worry, I don’t actually care how you killed so many, but finding this treasure trove of a warehouse will be rewarded, mark my words. Though for your sake, it must be asked, did you do all this by yourself? Answer honestly: talking better of yourselves will hurt more than benefit,” “Yeah,” Orion said, confused at his last comment. “Yeah,” Kora simultaneously said. “Good, because you’ll soon be dealing with shit harder than anything you’ve exper--” “What the hell? Are you letting them go before me? What?!” Lilith interrupted, visibly annoyed at his decision. Smith simply laughed in response. “Just find something of this scale and I’ll push you up as well, you little devil,” Even though everything they said was going over Orion’s head, taking one look at Kora’s beaming face made him realise they were finally in for some good luck.

“Are you ok?” she asked. Due to her rushed transformation, her shirt and buttoned jacket had been ripped open, revealing her navel and hints of her breasts. Contrarily, despite being visibly strained, her trousers were still in one piece, though the same couldn’t be said for her boots or maroon cloak which she’d left in the tunnel. Orion felt his jaw quivering as he looked around, trying to take the whole scene in: the entirety of his destruction. Few furniture had survived the clash unscathed, the majority battered and coated in blood. But more than that, there was gore splattered and painted over all the surfaces. Worst of all, however, were the men and women littered like stringless puppets, their limbs bent in unnatural ways. They were a cancer that had caused his House’s downfall?! What a joke! How could a group of weaklings so far east have anything to do with one of the Empire’s pillars? With their strength, crushing an ant would be difficult, let alone the foundation of the civilised world… Despite these thoughts spreading fast, he quickly countered them. Even if he had over-villainised them in his mind, it didn’t change the fact they had pointed blades at him. It didn’t protect them from the fact they had wanted to murder him and Kora. He had done what was required of him to survive, for the last wisp of his family’s gold-encrusted lantern to shine on. Yet, this didn’t excuse him from what he had done – even if it had been a must, he had still done it. And he had to shoulder that burden for as long as he lived. And he wanted to puke. Lurching forward, he heaved his stomach out. Seconds later, with the acidic stench burning through his senses, he placed his hands on his knees and stood bent over. Kora patted his back. “It’s not your fault, he had planned to kill us from the start, you saw in the tunnel,” she said. “It’s not my fault but it’ll always be on me, in my mind,” he said in a wheezy voice. She stopped patting and rubbed his back at this, keeping quiet for a few seconds. “Why don’t you wash yourself. Maybe it’s all the blood,” He shook his head but listened regardless. He walked over to his bag, which had been sliced open during the fight, and found a dented canteen of water. Rinsing his hands in the stream, he watched the blood wash off his hands and onto the ground. It almost gave him some peace of mind until he looked up, once again meeting the carnage in mutual silence. Glancing down, he saw his hands were red again, covered and sticky. Every time he washed his hands, the process repeated until he gave up and stared at Kora, his eyes wide and shaking. “The blood, it’s not going. It won’t go, Kora, it won’t,” he said, his voice breaking. She looked down and saw the same hands he had cleaned seconds before, clear of any blood. Glancing down her own body she saw blood across her skin. Nevertheless, she stepped forward and hugged him. In little time, he placed his head over her shoulder and began to sob, letting out all the grief he had built up in his heart. It was only after his cries waned that she spoke. “Come on, you killed those bandits before and you were fine,” “That’s different, all of it’s different. They wanted to kill me because I’m a Zakari. Do you realise how many people would follow them, queue up for a chance at my House? And I have to kill all of them, all of them!” She snorted, before realising her mistake. What he needed now was support, not someone to laugh at him. “It’s all the same – no difference,” “I’m the same, no different from those who killed my mum. Cold-blooded, heartless, destr—” This startled Kora – he had never gone into detail about how his House had fallen. As much as she wanted to hear more, she knew that would only make it harder for him to bounce back. And if he truly desired to take revenge for his family, then killing a bunch of weaklings would only be the first step among the many he’d have to take. As for her, she knew, as ardently as he denied it, the Zakari had been involved with Yhaoli. He was her key to it all and some more, but he didn’t need to know either. All he had to do was recover. “You’re not one of them, Jax. Remember what you told me, you’re a Zakari, the greatest, remember?” she said. It worked as he calmed, and his breath slowed – it seemed he was as proud of his family as she was hers, despite the distasteful, and sometimes downright sour, things they did. “Alright, I can feel the heat from your cheeks, you blushing maiden. Why don’t you take a seat while I check what these bastards were up to? That way we can leave this place quicker,” she continued. While she had been joking, it didn’t surprise her when he moved back and sat down near the entrance with cheeks the colour of apples. ****** Kora walked over with several notes in her hand, mentally exhausted but also thrilled about what she had found. She had used her blood magic to clean any blood-soaked papers, although some had been too blurred to recover. Together they confessed more than she had expected. Orion lay by the entrance, his eyes shut and head facing up. She thought he was dozing since it had been hours since they had entered the warehouse, but his eyelids snapped open as she grew close, giving her a gentle, albeit, nervous smile. “Thanks for…” he paused. “It’s alright, I knew what I signed up for. But anyway, look at this,” she said while thrusting the papers into his hand, and sitting down next to him. She was now wearing looted clothes, covering her skin from the chill that nipped away. “Do you remember when Rats was talking about Grima?” He nodded. “He said him, but Madam said they – that wasn’t an accident; I think all these people were Grima, a pseudonym they wove together.” “Mmm. I figured,” “Then why didn’t you say anything?” she asked. “My mind was on… other matters,” She rolled her eyes, earning a half-smile from him. “Anyway,” she carried on, “It seems the rumour about them knowing all about Visgamar isn’t bullshit. The stuff I read, they go from small matters to massive ones. Look at this one,” she said while pinching a note from the stack, “It’s about the Honeyed Spitroast, the inn Flynn stayed. I told you the innkeeper was a dealer,” He read through the note and finally felt a crack in his cold mask. It detailed the prices the innkeeper offered, estimated strengths of his products, and other stuff like where he hid the goods and how much it would cost to bribe him. “And this is even better,” she said while handing another page. This one talked about how Rats was seen many times near Madam’s home. It went onto list approximate times, detail as to who accompanied him, and the reactions he had when leaving. While vague, although that was to be expected considering the loyal protection he had around him, it seemed to hint at a relationship or at least a casual affair. “Ok, this is clearly important stuff so why hadn’t they prepared any defences. Skitters knew I was a Zakari from the start so why did that shock the rest of them?” he asked. “I’m guessing he was hiding it from them for personal gain, but it backfired. I don’t think he figured out my identity so he probably guessed you’d stay behind to look after me after I got stabbed,” “No, I would have chased him down and killed the scum,” “Mmm,” she nodded with exaggerated vigour, mocking him. “You know what? I think you would have stayed behind to make sure I was in tip-toppity condition before you left, by which time they would have gotten those crossbows pointed at the entrance. You’re not the most unpredictable person, you know? Quite the contrary,” she replied. He grunted. “So, what now? Can we leave through those doors?” he said pointing to the far corner. “No, I checked and we’re on some run-down docks or something. Everything’s like rotten around here. It’ll be quicker if we go through the tunnel, but wait, I haven’t finished. My bag got ripped when I changed so it’s likely to have leaked by now but look at this,” she said showing a potion, “Doesn’t it look similar to the stuff Old Joe makes? Murky oily colour, gives super strength, still easy targets but…” “I don’t want to kill anyone more. I feel shit,” Orion said, looking away from the bottle. “Fine,” “Oh yeah,” he said, “Did you kill Skitters? I don’t remember doing it,” She nodded while hoisting a looted backpack over her shoulders. “I told you, still easy targets. Come on then, let’s get outta here,”

Slinking through the back streets, Orion led Kora with a wary eye. These ends weren’t his ends, and these people weren’t his people. He recalled Thimble claiming the safest way to contact him was through Old Joe, the man who dabbled in blacksmithing, alchemy, and dealing. Unfortunately, Orion only vaguely remembered Old Joe’s location. Luckily, or unluckily, Kora was similarly out of her depths in the slums and kept her cowl over her head, speaking few words. After asking a relatively clean-looking man, they were directed to take a sharp left, three rights, walk forward for 200 metres, then another right. Once there, Orion gained a greater promise of safety as he recognised the dreary red door scratched of its paint. He tapped on the door. Seconds later, Kora pushed him aside and rapped on it. This time, a series of footsteps followed, then the metal flap creaked ajar, two weary eyes looking through. “Who’s you?” a gruff voice asked. “Jax. Uhh, Thimble’s friend,” “And what you doin’ ‘ere?” “He said to find you if I needed to contact him,” Orion heard a humph from the other side as the door swung open. He was met with the sight of a portly man with frizzled white hair, a large, dotted nose, and beady eyes. “That boy, always makin’ trouble for me, he is,” Old Joe mumbled as he let them in. His house was cosy, if cheaply decorated. Pungent smells of burnt food and melted metal filled the air, despite neither of those being in sight. There were large packages wrapped in cloth facing his metre-long window in the living room, warming under the sunlight and smelling of sea salt. And of nuts. And honey… Orion put a hand to his mouth while sitting on the padded bench, forcing his mind away from the packages. “Lucky for you, he’ll be comin’ soon. He’s just makin’ a trip for me now,” Old Joe explained while relaxing into his armchair. “Oh, where’re me manners?” he suddenly said, pushing himself back up. “Why don’t you come and see me wares. Might find a thing you like,” He crossed his living room and tugged on a thick rope, heaving open a hatch that camouflaged in with the wooden floorboards. Beckoning the Seekers, he climbed down and entered his workplace. The underground hall was as big as his home and lit by glubber’s wax, the same long-lasting sort found on Hexham’s road at night. There were various beakers and bottles to the left, emanating a smell of acid and burnt food. Near the middle were crates piled upon each other, around eight in total. And to their right was a metal platform with an anvil, forge, trough, and other blacksmithing equipment. There was also a pile of weapons on the platform, some blades clearly cracked. “This is me playground. Don’t think about stealin’ none though since I’m protected by the Sticky Fingers.” Old Joe said. “What are those?” Kora asked, pointing to the beakers. “Mmm, the lady Asartit,” Old Joe replied, pouting his lips,” She came in me dreams. You know about them things the Seeker’s take, to change their bodies and that. She told me I could make them and that I should, that I would make it rich once I did,” Both Orion and Kora raised their eyebrows at this. It was well known that once a Seeker became 5-star rated, they could drink elixirs that changed their bodies. These changes made it possible for them to overcome human limits and become monsters, although it was unknown whether that was a literal description or a figurative one. Either way, this was why the Seeker’s guild had survived out of the hundreds in the past. If Old Joe could create potions even half, no, a quarter as effective, he would simultaneously become one of the richest and most hunted men in the Empire. “Do they work?” Kora asked, her excitement slipping through. “Argh, kinda. I tried them on a few kids, and they could like lift my chair one ‘anded.” He paused. “Then, they got smaller and thinner, like they leakin’ or something. Then, they died,” “How much are they?” she asked. Old Joe turned to her incredulously, then grinned at her serious face, revealing stained teeth. “Since you a mate's mate, I’ll give you two for a goldie,” Kora gave him a gold coin and got two corked beakers in return. The liquid inside was multicoloured and looked slimy, like a mixture of soap and water. “If these don’t work, I will hunt you,” she joked. “Heh heh, don’t worry. They work, just you won’t be doing much in life afterwards. Heh heh. Interested in anymore?” It was then a figure popped its head through the hatch. “Lord Ma… I mean, Lord Jax. What yer doin’ ‘ere?” Thimble called out. “About time, my boy. I’m too old to entertain your friends,” Old Joe said as he slipped the gold coin into his pocket. “Put your package in the sun, and take your friends out,” Thimble nodded, and the two Seekers climbed out, figuring Old Joe wanted privacy. They left his home and walked onto the dirty streets. “So, what do yer need, Lord Jax? I can do anything,” “We would like to meet Rats,” Orion replied. The bounce died from Thimble’s steps and he stopped, looking at them gravely. “Nothing good comes from meetin’ Rats,” “But we want to,” Kora said. The maroon-haired loudmouth looked into Kora’s eyes, then at her face, then at her figure, and his eyes lit up a little. “There are ways, Lord Jax’s pretty friend. But really, yor bettah off without meetin’ ‘im.” He paused and looked up. “Oh, this is one of yor Seeker jobs, ain’t it?” Kora snapped forward and thrust him up by his neck, pushing him against a concrete wall. “Explain!” He heaved for breath and lifted his hands up in a gesture of helplessness. “Sorri, pretty lady, yer can’t scare me more than Lord Jax,” She frowned at Orion, then put Thimble down. “Explain!” “Na worries. Since Lord Jax helped me, I’ll help you. Do you know about the Underkings?” Both Seekers shook their heads. “They’re the four bosses ‘ere. They’re at each other’s throats all the time, but a few days ago, Rats called a celebration for something an’ invited everyone, includin’ the other Underkings. It’s a week from today an’ everyones buzzin’ about it,” “So, what does that have to do with a Seeker’s job?” Orion asked. If this information was already public, then attempting to infiltrate Rats’s inner circle was suicide. “Well, I know yor a Seeker, an’ everyone knows Rats is nasty, the nastiest of the four. Yet he’s doin’ this, which is weird. I just guessed yer interested in why he’s actin’ weird,” Thimble explained. “I can help yer get in there, but yer’ll have to help me too,” he finished. “How?” “My bro, he runs the Sticky Fingers. He’s got an invite to Rats’s pavilion, an’ he’s allowed to take a few people with ‘im. We recently got in a brawl with the Saltrocks, so if yer help us with that, he’ll let yer join ‘im,” “Oh,” Orion said as he took his bag off. He rummaged in it and found his finger-to-wrist length knife. “Give me your hand,” Thimble gazed at him confused, then gulped and placed his hand forward. Orion nicked Thimble’s skin, then chanted at the leaking blood, his eyes black as he used magic without Giah. He wiped the Blood tracker onto his finger and licked it, monetarily using his Giah to pale his eyes for dramatic effect. It worked as Thimble began to tremble. “You know how it goes,” Orion said in a deep voice, “Tell anyone we’re Seekers on a job, and I’ll know you did it and where you are. Following that, you can count how many seconds it’ll take me to kill you. I swear you won’t reach a minute,” The maroon-haired loudmouth nodded several times. Kora looked on passively but was inwardly impressed by this side of Orion. Not that she’d admit it, though. “But tell no one,” Orion continued, “and I’ll wipe it away once our job’s done. And, we’ll pay you three golds, just for guiding us and keeping your mouth shut. And you know I pay generously,” Hook, line, and sinker. Thimble swallowed the bait and nervously grinned, his lips curling from joy and greed. “Go on, lead us to your brother,”

The wind was cool and sharp, pushing the winter chill deep into bones. There was little else to be heard other than its howls, although this wasn’t a surprise considering the ongoing war: men and women had flocked to it like moths to a lamp. Up above, the moon lit the world, the pale light reflecting off the gentle waves. Orion sat on a dock, his boots just above the gloomy water, his eyes set to the distant shoreline, and his mind somewhere far away. It had been a few hours since they had returned to the warehouse. The clean-up was now at full-force, tens of Seekers inside sorting through filthy notes, dirty in both body and content. Steps sounded from the docks, bringing his thoughts back. The footsteps stopped right behind him and the person stood in silence, either at peace or lost for words. He figured out who it was when they ruffled his hair, causing him to raise his hands and edge forward to escape their vicious attack. Big mistake. Luckily, the hand behind him caught his jacket, holding him up by the scruff of his neck as his feet dipped into the icy water. “Let go, Kora,” She stepped forward and flung him into the sea, though he managed to grab her outstretched arm and spun his way back onto solid ground. Seeing him glaring at her, she chortled, her laughter cutting through the wind’s cries. “They’re done in there,” she said once she caught her breath, “Smith told us to meet him like two days later since he thinks the city will have calmed by then,” “Why does he care what’s happening to the city? He’s pulling out anyway,” he replied, his frustration clear. She rolled her eyes. “You can’t blame him; it’s not his fight. None of the other guilds is getting involved either, you know,” Just as he was about to interject, she continued, “Neither Rats nor the Lord are good people, Jax. This is really the best move as it means both of them directly hurt each other without the guilds as buffers between them,” He dropped his argument and started walking, barely stifling his yawn. “Come on, I want to go home and sleep. Far too much shit today,” “Hmm, aren’t you a gentleman? Didn’t think you had been waiting this long just to chaperone me home, though it is about time you noticed my beauty,” He half-smirked, too tired to fully commit. “More the other way, isn’t it? Once them robbers see you, they’ll leave me alone,” “Hmph,” They walked for a few minutes in relative quiet, avoiding Hexham’s road which bore the largest scars from the riots. Orion enjoyed these moments, but he discovered all good things have an end when Kora opened her mouth again. It was minutes later when she was talking about something, maybe someone, maybe somewhere (he was too zoned out to care) that he interrupted her. “Wait, what is Smith going to give us again?” She stopped. “What?” “What?” he answered. “How do you not know?” “Just tell me already if it’s so obvious,” She sighed. “Think about it, he said we’re stronger than he thought we were. We’re technically 4-star Seekers now, so what happens at 5-stars?” “The Meeting? … The Elixirs?” “Boom, nice one, genius,” she said. “But we’re not 5-stars…” he replied. “Yeah, but he said it would be hard and Lilith said we were getting put ahead of her, so it’s got to be the Elixir process,” “Wait, it’s painful?” he asked. “Duh. They’re like making monsters out of their selves, of course, it involves a bit of pain,” Looking ahead, Orion saw The Fat Munch. Unlike before, the inn wasn’t lit up and instead melded in with its surroundings. Entering, they saw a scene a world away from the morning bustle. A plump woman they knew as the innkeeper’s wife stood behind a table, her eyes widening as her husband on the other side of the room picked up an iron axe. “What do you want?” he asked, anger seeping into his voice. “Rey, that’s the kids. Put your axe down,” his wife said. The innkeeper lowered the weapon but held a firm grip over its handle as he moved over to her. “Alright, you know where your rooms are. Don’t try anything funny, else,” Nodding, Orion headed for the stairs. The inn was sparsely filled with few people dining and some more talking in hushed voices, none of them looking as if they had been involved in the riots. Upstairs, he only had enough energy to lock the door and strip his bloody clothes before falling asleep.   Orion woke up to a hint of light from his curtains, realising it was early dawn. As he lay in the uncomfortable bed, his thoughts quickly turned to the fighting that had blazed on as he had slept. Pushing himself up, he took his crusted-over clothes into the bathroom and washed them till they looked clean, though they still reeked. He wrung them and hung them in his room as he bathed, before putting the wet clothes back on. Leaving the room with his things, he stepped into the hallway and looked at Kora’s room, before turning and going downstairs. He cringed away from the eastern ale and opened his bag, taking out the small amount of coffee grains he had left. Coffee made and drunk, he left the inn, taking to Hexham’s road as he walked towards the Palace. He realised knowing the damage would be bad and seeing it first-hand were completely different as sombrely passed the blood-shed streets. When he reached the market square, he saw no market - the stalls had been trampled to the ground, and the shops had become collateral once the fighting had intensified. Worst of all were the piles of bodies, all the corpses wearing masks with blank eyes and crooked lips. Orion stayed at the square for a time, not thinking but simply absorbing what was around him, what had happened. While he was alone in this task, he wasn’t alone in the square as several other people found themselves drawn by the violence, some grieving, some thieving, and some simply passing by. Once he had his fill, he followed the road up, soon arriving at the Temple. The grounds past the temple-gates were clean and green, no sign of corpses anywhere. However, there were bloodtrails on the path leading to the temple itself, something he figured were for the corpses being prayed for. Kovas’s priests were standing guard by the gates instead of Visgamar’s guardsmen, so Orion nodded to the stoic men and moved on, increasingly spotting piles of corpses until he reached what had been the thick of the fray. Here, instead of piles, was a still sea of bodies, reeking of warfare, attracting scavengers and flies. Like before, he looked around for a while, taking in the scene instead of pointing fingers. Going further up the road, he finally saw Visgamar’s guards. They stood around the Palace’s gates, which were battered and broken down, their faces haggard but their eyes sharp and vigilant, watching the crowd that had built up in front of them. As Orion focused on the guards, the whispers from around him soon reached his ears. Rats had died; Fatso had betrayed Rats; Rats had lived and taken the throne; Grima had finally revealed himself; Risadro had died to his own men. Orion gulped as he looked around, finally letting go of the reins of his thoughts. The hell he stood in right now would be nothing compared to the aftermath of his revenge, he knew it. And it hurt him so much.

Hands caressed his face, waking him. He opened his eyes and saw his family holding onto him. They softly smiled and promised him safety from the world. Yet, behind them, he could see sable helmets with scarlet visors. The shadows wore pitched cuirasses over silver hauberks. They had on pauldrons, gauntlets, chausses, graves, and boots. Their whole bodies were covered and unduly armoured. They pulled his family away from him, ignoring their struggles. Then, a figure strode to his lying body. It wrapped its gauntlets around his neck and lifted him, squeezing the air out of his lungs. The touch was rugged and the grip was tight, unlike that of metal. He began to choke, his eyes set on the bloody visor. They had slaughtered his family, they had ambushed his mum, and now they were strangling the life out of him, the last Zakari.   Despite being crusted with lead, his eyelids sprung open. He escaped his nightmare and lay there gasping for his sanity. His body was under pain but it didn’t even occur to him – his mind was busy recoiling from illusory demons. However, as with everything, time proved to be the best remedy as the material world overcame his imaginary one, flinging him from the pangs of his heart to the throbbing of his wounds. His chest ached with every heave and his limbs stung as if rubbed with salt, then dumped in vats of lemon-water. He raised his head and peered at his arms, only to smell saline. He would have been nude was it not for the layers of bandages covering him. Someone had treated him, and the only face that came into mind bore a myriad of emotions. “About time you woke,” she said. By the stained concrete skyview, Orion could tell he was still in the Korshi’s lair. The stench had either dulled, or his nose had completely given up. From her voice, Orion knew Kora was sitting by the walls. Nevertheless, he had no intention of facing her, instead, he wanted to dig a hole, jump in, then cover it over. He shouldn’t have let the Korshi use magic. He shouldn’t have attacked her. He shouldn’t have given her time to transform. He should have killed her. “You can’t curl in anymore, at least not with your condition.” She laughed. He didn’t reply. “Jax, are you actually turtling up now?” She sounded shocked. He gulped, then realised how dry his throat was. How long had it been? The tension between them grew. “I’m done with you,” she said sounding helpless. It sounded faux. The awkwardness became palpable. “Are… Were you lying when you said you knew…” he choked out, stopping just as the nightmare reappeared. “Knew why your family got killed? No, I wasn’t,” His eyes began to water, so he closed them and steeled himself. He couldn’t show weakness in front of her. “You were screaming and sobbing before, you know? Definitely not sharing a room with you again,” Shit. “Why? Why?” he asked. “Why I wouldn’t share a room with you? Pfft. Why you were crying? I dunno, probably a sob story on repeat. Or why your family got slaughtered? That’s a bit more complicated,” she said while her voice got louder. She stood over him and gazed down with pity. Perhaps contempt. She was back in her human form, and there were no signs of the battle on her except for a few faint scratches. Orion tensed his arm and lifted it so he could stroke his neck. He felt three sets of love bites; the skin was ruptured and the holes were deep, so maybe more hate than love. No wonder he felt so weak and she looked flawless. “Why did the Empire do it?” he said. The emotion drained out of her face. “They had to,” “Why, Kora? WHY?!” “There’s a war brewing. The monster attacks have gone down, but the casualties per one have gone up.” “They’re becoming organised,” he said. “No, something is organising them. Something which the countless races respect and act as thralls for. They call him, it, the Yhaoli. It contacted us, wanted us to help destroy the Empire but we were fine. We liked it the way it was,” “So were we. We were already the strongest; why would we want to hurt ourselves?!” he yelled. “Only the Zakari thought the Zakari were the strongest,” He snorted. “We might have edged around your House, but that was only because everyone noticed how power hungry your House was,” she said. “Besides,” she continued, “the House of Zakari wanted the throne. All they needed was an opportunity,” He sneered and used Giah, his eyes pale as energy coursed in. She didn’t help him, nor did she scold him for overexerting himself for a mere performance. “We were the strongest, and all of you knew it in your hearts. You feared us while we lived peacefully. You killed us for the power we held, not for any fictional danger we posed.” He was tearing up by the end, his face flushed, his fists clenched. She blankly entertained his pride and watched as he stumbled towards his clothes. “Why did you let me live?” he asked as he slowly dressed, his anger cooling. “Too many reasons to count, Jax. Why would I kill the last Zakari? I’m a Fullhorn, not a Piros. Besides, you’re too good for me to lose,” Despite facing away from her, she could the sides of his face blush. Sweet Asarte, was he snivelling again? “as a blood-source,” He blushed even brighter. Kora smiled. “What are you going to do now, anyway?” He considered her words, then looked at the layers of bandages – she had been thorough. “I need to get to the Seeker’s Summit,” She laughed. “What a coincidence, so do I. I guess we can go together.” She worded it as a statement, but it was actually a question. She hoped he’d stay with her for many reasons, not least because he was a great travel companion, but she was doubtful. He stopped dressing. He was confused at her question, confused at his lack of response, confused at the answers tumbling around his head. I need to become a 5-star Seeker, and she’s strong enough to help me, he eventually told himself. It had nothing to do with liking her, purely a working relationship. Besides, now that she had a taste of his blood, escape was essentially impossible, especially if she went and told her family. “Yeah,” he said. He was now dressed and equipped, ready to leave when he felt a tight hold on his shoulders, making him cringe and swivel around. “Are you going out like that?” She pointed at his pale eyes. “Stop using Giah and rest. I’ll wake you up if you get tangled in another nightmare,” He blushed for the third time but also conceded to her point. Having pale eyes with his Western features would attract too much attention and breaking Giah in public would probably make him collapse again. He took off his maroon bag and sat by the wall. The white diffused from his iris and pupil as his head fell and banged against the concrete. It took mere seconds before he was back in dreamland.

Orion woke up in a fit of sweat, feeling fear but not knowing why. He scanned his surroundings and calmed as he realised he was still in the Korshi’s base, Kora dosing off beside him, a streak of red coming off her pink lips. He had a sneaking suspicion and felt around his neck, finding a new set of shallow bitemarks. Rising to his feet, he told himself he wouldn’t sleep in her “protection” ever again. After rummaging dry rations from his bag, he spent the following minutes reflecting on what she had said without his volatile pride interrupting. Was it possible? Had his House actually been planning a coup? But these thoughts faded without foundation as he thought of his family: none of them had craved the Empire. While his dad hadn’t been the head of the House, he had still been the brother of the head, with enough power to stop idiocy in its tracks. Besides, his uncle hadn’t lusted the Empire either. On the other hand, he knew the monster Kora had mentioned was somehow involved in the House’s doom. Yhaoli, she had called it. It was impossible for an influential upstart to keep its grubby claws off such an apocalyptic event. There was no doubt the Tribes to the west had heard of their demise, and there was similarly no doubt an invasion was around the corner. Orion swallowed the last dried prune and rubbed his palms together, before clapping. “Come on, let’s go,” he said as he wiped his bag and wore it. “What? I thought you’d abuse the opportunity…” she mocked as she broke out of her fake sleep. “I’ll soon kill you if you keep sucking my blood,” he growled. She giggled, but he wasn’t amused. They swept through the rats and climbed out of the sewers a few minutes later, taking a taxi to Aaron’s home. The bright sun above told them it had been a full day since they had entered. While no one gave a second look to the cloaked and (mostly) clean Kora, many people peered at Orion at the various rips across his clothes, but more so at the ridiculous number of bandages he sported - his whole body was hidden from sight except his face. Aaron swiftly let them in and prepared coffee, arranging the second bout. “Must have been a hard fight,” he said as he placed Orion’s opponent onto the table. “Yeah, this idiot got caught by the Korshi,” Kora said. “Yeah, the vampire was a real bitch,” he said while dipping a finger into his bitter foe, testing the waters. “But you won, unlike the two you sent back. They left for Visgamar a few hours ago. They told me they just magically realised their boundaries, but I’ve got a hunch you kids aided them with that,” Aaron said, before downing his cup. “Ahh. But let’s forget that, why don’t you pop the head up here,” Kora complied and lifted the roped head by its cord. The oval eyes stared at Orion while Aaron inspected it. The finger-long teeth protruded out, stained by dirt and blood. Its skin was cracked like dry clay and its features seemed sculpted out of the material now. However, the worst was the smell which still carried the sewer’s spirit. “Big nose, brown hair, tanned skin. It would have perfectly fit in Lesan in just a few days,” Aaron noted, “Also, almost no cuts. You killed it cleanly, very cleanly,” “I’m sure you want your reward now, so I’m sorry to say it’s a no-go.” He continued, “The council will take a few weeks to pay up, even after seeing the head. But don’t worry, I’ll write you guys a note so you can withdraw the reward from Visgamar,” The minutes breezed by as Orion sucker-punched his coffee to oblivion and finally saw the appeal of the bitter drink. They left with Aaron’s note and bought rations, a new set of clothes for Orion, coffee grains, and a pack of cigarettes after Kora explained to him what Sophie had meant by her husband going out for “a smoke” when the Korshi had attacked him. This came to 40 silvers, mainly from the cigarettes, and totalled at 2 golds when they bought horses. While they could have found another merchant to bunker with, they realised, as a Fullhorn and Zakari, it was both safer and quicker to travel by themselves. Bullets of rain thundered against the forest floor, drowning out any cries from the outside world. The air was cold but still. Orion and Kora hid below a dome-shaped canopy while the invasive wetness flooded dry ground. Their horses grazed on dry grass by the edge of the canopy. In between them, a fire crackled, fruitlessly erupting sparks against the dampness outside. Orion sat perched on a thin boulder, joining the campfire by puffing smoke into the muted-blue night sky. He had smoked once since leaving Lesan four days ago: it had tasted like shit and its ash had scorched his skin. Now, his second experience with the chill blasting in his face and the blaze at his back was much better. “The water’s ready,” Kora called out while lying on the ground, staring up at the leaves stitched together. He had figured ever since their fight that her senses were good, as in scarily good. He flicked the cigarette out his fingers to under his feet, twisting his foot over it – still tasted like shit. Sighing, he walked over to the metal canteen and lifted it from the flames. Having practised several times now, he made two coffees in less than a minute and handed one to Kora. “Hey, you know how you Zakari mark your serfs and vassals with Szu, why are you marked?” she said after a few seconds of quiet. Orion’s mood soured, and he almost spit out his mouthful at her mentioning the scars on his face. “It was my brother’s cruel joke. He got punished,” “It felt so weird,” she continued. “Your mark, it felt so… ughh. Though, I guess that’s the reason I thought you weren’t a Zakari even when you gave away so many clues. Like, a Zakari owning a Zakari? That’s just mad!” “You know there was no need to fondle me while I slept; you could have just stroked the mark I gave you. Instead, you got rid of it without even telling me,” he teased. “Besid-” “You’re such a joker! Let me at least catch my breath,” “Besides, we don’t own them; they’re marked for their own protection. Although, I guess that doesn’t matter anymore,” he replied cheerlessly. “My gods, don’t talk about it if you’re just going to get mopey again,” “What about you then? Why did you leave your House’s lands?” “I had my reasons. They basically own all the Western Empire so I had to come East, and the capital was a no-go with the Piros there, so I came to the second biggest city instead,” “Yeah, but what are those reasons?” he repeated. She remained silent. “Is it do with Yhaoli?” “Maybe,” He eventually gave up after realising she was stubborn about the matter. “Hey, isn’t your real name Krarem or something?” he said once his flask was empty. “Cruorem,” she said, stressing the first syllable. “Fullhorn works better for humans; alcoholics are preferable to vampires.” “Interesting, Cruora,” he said, stressing the first syllable. “Are you serious? You’d be a hilarious jester with your wit, you would be.” She paused. “Also, do you think I actually used my name?” “What is it then?” “Pfft. As if I’d tell you,” “Alright,” he said, before rummaging through his bag and taking out the cloth cover to sleep on. She got a feeling he was hiding something. It was easy to beat him, but not this easy – he’d usually at least put up some resistance. “Wait, are you using a fake name as well?” she asked incredulously. “Of course,” “I thought you’d be too dumb to think that far ahead. What is it? I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours,” Her trade fell flat as he turned away from her. Her persistence didn’t help either, as mere minutes later, he was lost in his dreamland.

Silence pervaded their conversation, and Thimble fidgeted and shuffled his feet. He was obviously nervous, and eager to be free of Orion. Without a link between them, he would escape at first given opportunity, which explained the shuffling feet. Orion eased his hand and moved it away from his hidden knife – the maroon-haired urchin didn’t react. “Don’t worry, Thimble. I wouldn’t force you to do this for free. How much?” Thimble gulped. He wanted to cheat Orion but the fact he was a Mage frightened him to the point he shivered whenever Orion spoke. Nevertheless, he was a child of the streets: the scars along his cheeks hadn’t just appeared there. Losing his edge in tense situations would have starved him to death years ago, graveless and unmourned. The trick was to not push the price too far as to bud suspicions, but not low enough to be a fair price for his services. “A single silvah, Lord Magy.” he said after deliberation. Orion’s eyes widened and his eyebrows rose. What a bargain. Wait, had he undervalued his wealth? A gold coin was equal to 100 silvers, and a silver was equal to 100 coppers. Orion had never been involved with logistics at the House, but he was sure a meal was around 5 silvers. “I beg yor sorries, Lord Magy. I’ll show yer around for 20 coppahs.” Thimble hastily added, his shaky legs betraying his emotions. At this, Orion’s heart pounded and his face flushed. He had almost been cheated by an uneducated street-urchin, and he had genuinely believed it a bargain. Instead of anger, however, he suffered an attack to his ego; how could he avenge his family when he couldn’t even see through a frightened child’s tricks? He was inadequate for this, he should’ve died at the ambush instead of his brothers and sisters. In fact, he remembered he had a cousin he had never met in the Imperial Army. He didn’t know her rank or station, but she had been lauded by the entire House – even if she was chained up now, he knew such a character would escape and take vengeance. He wouldn’t be any more helpful to the process than his dead relatives. Suddenly, Orion whispered, “Calm down,” to himself, putting the maroon-haired urchin further on edge. What if his cousin couldn’t escape, or what if she had been the first to die? He knew there were techniques for scouring memories from corpses; that would explain how they had known of his family’s secrets and how they had mounted such a deadly ambush. No, he had to be the one to do his own chores, instead of continuing to be a weeping burden. Orion focused on Thimble, certain his own face was as red as a beet and his threats as laughable as jokes. “No, I won’t cheat you. A full silver, as long as you go above and beyond with your tour,” Thimble visibly relaxed, his jaw slack and eyes relieved. “Yes sur, Lord Magy,” he shouted. “That’s Orion, no, … Jax, Lord Jax to you,” Orion said, picking a name from a children’s tale. “Should we go now, Lord Jax?” “Yes… no,” Orion said, sensing greed born out of comfort inside Thimble. There were many stories of Heroes being robbed clean by Scoundrels in cities. He was too naïve; he needed to be more vigilant. “Watch,” he said. His eyes didn’t lighten, but on the ground appeared a glowing blue spot. Orion clenched his left hand and the finger-sized spot exploded, launching a ray of dust into the air. He then took out the gold coin, and making sure Thimble could see, tapped blue spots onto it, before putting it back into his pocket. “Understand?” Thimble gulped and nodded, his ambitious plans crumbling away. “Alright then. Let’s go,”   Thimble first took him to the main road. “This ‘eres the Hexham’s road. Leads from the market to the palace, to the, umm, slums, an’ docks. It connects the whole city.” Despite his self-admitted naivety, even Orion could tell his companion had a rock in his throat. “Out with it, or I’ll find another guide,” “No, no, please Lord Jax. What I gonna say ain’t good, if yer gets me. It’s what I learnt through practiss, stuff I’m sure yer have no use for,” Thimble said. Orion tried his best to give an easy smile although it still came out strained. “Why do you think I asked you for a tour?” The maroon-haired urchin thought and nodded. “It’s bettah if yer don’t mess with the guards. But if yer are gonna, do it when it’s light. Thataway, yer can run into the crowds. In the dark, more patrols, more alert, an’ more violent. Sometimes they’ll clash with Rats’s men, an’ it’s always messy, but most of the time they avoid each other.” “Who’s Rats?” “Rats? He’s the nastiest Underking. If yer love yor life, avoid ‘im at all costs.” Orion thought there had been a lot of Soldiers guarding Hexham’s road at night, and now it made sense why. There seemed to be a conflict, but also a balance, between the city’s council and the underground. The two of them walked along the road for a bit but mostly used alleyways and dirty paths. At first, Orion had been suspicious why and where Thimble was leading him, but he soon realised that Thimble was avoiding the guards. “Why are you running from every guard?” he asked. “Haha. Sorri, Lord Jax, but that’s just a dumb question. Do yer think they want my kind on this road? They wanna show the outsiders the good city, not the real city. An’ for that, they’ll beat up me nasty if they catch me.” A few minutes later, they entered a market square. “These are the markets. It’s got everything yer need, from food to weapons, although overpriced. But for yer, Lord Magy, these places ain’t good enough. See that street there,” Thimble said while pointing towards a dark-stone laden road heading up a hill,” That’s the real place for quality, but they’re even worse for yor moneybags. Though, I ain’t ever been there since yer gotta get through the guards to enter. Yer hungry, Lord Jax?” “Yeah,” “Come, I’ll show yer the tasty stuff ‘ere.” They first went towards the Bank, where Orion wiped away the lights and exchanged his gold coin for 99 silvers. The transaction cost had been 5 silvers, but when Thimble claimed Orion was a mage, and he released snow from his hand, the banker remembered the actual cost. “Don’t tell anyone I’m a mage,” Orion said as he tapped spots onto the 9 10-silver coins and 9 silver coins and put them in his bag. Thimble opened his mouth, then shut it. “Yes, Lord Jax.” Thimble then led him to many food stalls, and after seeing the prices, Orion bought two of each item for both of them from most of the stalls. Using magic without Giah, which lightened his eyes, required vast amounts of energy which taxed his body. The prices ranged from 3 to 5 copper coins. Although, in return, the food was bland and innutritious, rarely containing fats. While they were eating to the side, out of any guards’ way, Orion said: “You told me the food was overpriced. Those were all bargains.” Thimble gave him a wary look and swallowed his comment, instead saying, “It can be rough on the streets,” while subconsciously stroking his cheek-scars. After eating, Thimble pointed out the palace, showed him many shortcuts through the city, and guided him around the docks. Then, Thimble introduced Orion to dubious characters running shady businesses, namely: Skitters, who had piles of lockpicks and masks lying around; Nanlong, who led a murderous mercenary group; Old Joe, who was a blacksmith, alchemist, and dealer. Thimble claimed it was safer and cheaper to know both sides of the city rather than just the well-lit part. This took up the better part of the day, by which time the two had warmed to each other. This was because Orion’s sense of superiority crumbled over the hours as he realised how little he knew of life in cities and how double-faced people and places were. While he still looked down on Thimble’s dirtiness, mannerisms, stench, humour, and morality, he came to realise Thimble was also a 17-year-old kid like him, just raised in a different place with a lot less power. The tour ended outside the least guarded, yet least populated part of Hexham’s road. It was midway between the palace and the docks, and had a large, open steel-gate displaying Guilds. “You sure you can’t show me around here?” Orion asked, hoping to hear the secrets Thimble knew about this place. “Naa, sorry, Lord Jax. Guilds ain’t for me, and they real dangerous, ‘specially if they spot yer hanging about.” Orion nodded, and after a brief hesitation, handed the maroon-haired urchin two silvers. “Your tour is worth at least this much,” Thimble subtly beamed at this. “Hey, Lord Jax. Can I ask a question?” “Sure,” He almost swallowed down his curiosity but ultimately failed. “Where’d you learn magic, Lord Jax? Is it hard? Why’re yer so thin?” “I learned my magic from a school in the capital. It’s pretty hard, yeah, and I’m thin because I rarely use it these days. More of a fighter,” Orion said, trying to suggest an alternative reality to Thimble. “I knew yer were from a school.” When Orion raised his eyebrows, Thimble carried on. “It’s yor eyes: they paled when yer first used magic.” Orion felt a thick lump down his throat. This was why he hated gambling. “Go on,” he squeezed out. Thimble didn’t notice his expression. “No offence, Lord Jax, but I heard the schools teach yers to pale yor eyes when casting spells, ‘cause it’s used for intimidation, using the great families street-cred and that,” Although Orion hadn’t known this mockery, he still welcomed it. He was fine with lesser mages aping their magic if it allowed him to hide. Thimble nearly asked another question but managed to herd in the words before embarrassing himself. “Anyway, Lord Jax, if yer need to find me for anything, anything at all, just ask Old Joe. It’s safer than trying to find me in the slums,” Patting his back, Orion said his goodbyes before walking through the steel-gate. He passed the Golden Oxen guild-building, the illustrious Magi guild-building, the Black Hearts guild-building, and headed for the final one: the Seeker’s building.

Orion walked through the slums of Visgamar, experiencing a sharp pang inside his heart as he surveyed the damage surrounding him. The slums were now a dead town, life as rare and sparse as in the Arctic wastelands. Of course, there were still people around but these were just hopeless zombies, going about their daily lives because there were no alternatives. Kora followed him, her expression much brighter than before. She had drunk a lot of Orion’s blood, and while it had only put her into euphoria for a little while, the dulled effect still lasted now, a day later, though much weaker. While Orion felt glum, she found the situation funny. The first time they had come to this part of the city, they had been wary and careful. Now, they walked like beasts among men, her more than him. Still, she wore a pensive expression on the outside in respect for his emotions. In truth, it surprised her Orion was so emotional considering the reputation the Zakari had, but then again, he had proved himself to be an ugly duckling already. They navigated their way through, soon reaching the fort the Sticky Fingers had held. Sensing no watchers, Orion gulped, fearing for the worst. Walking forwards, his fears became a reality as he faced an abandoned fort instead of one with life. He searched for clues, anything that could tell him what had happened, and yet the Gods above seemed to bar him from even this joy. Spiritless, he eventually gave up, Kora comforting him with a hug. “Why don’t we check Old Joe or Nanlong?” she asked. Despite being devoid of hope, he followed her suggestions, first going to Old Joe’s. When they got to the old home, they could see from the outside Old Joe wasn’t in - the windows were trashed and the door was knocked down. Considering the connection he had with Grima, it was entirely possible he had also shared the identity. Most likely, he had escaped the city after they had massacred the elusive group. Heading to Nanlong’s mercenaries’ base, Orion finally felt a sprout of hope as he saw the base still had signs of life about it. The mercenaries recognised the duo at a glance and led them in, towards Nanlong, the large man smoking a sickeningly sweet joint. He was slow in his reactions, only turning around after several seconds, his eyes dazed over. “J-Jax?” he said. “Yeah,” Orion replied. Nanlong paused, suddenly smiling. “Ahh, I b-bet you’re here about that d-dumb kid, I mean dumb g-gang,” The silence was all the response the large man needed. “It happened too quickly, nothing none of us could have done. The w-whore’s gangs cleaned up, and course the Sticky Fingers was a target… They got baited and d-done in, then and there. The surviving few left their base,” “What about Thimble?” Orion asked. Nanlong took a second to process the question. He merely shook his head. After a pause, Nanlong offered his pipe. “Want a smoke? T-takes your mind off… shit,” “No thanks,” Orion talked for a few more minutes before leaving. Over the next few days, he spent his time splurging his money on equipment and items for the trip. Soon after, the two left with Joiroa for Edge’s End. **** Shielding his face with his hood, Orion surveyed the land. Edge’s End was at the edge of the Empire, on its northern front. Due to how close it was to the Arctic wastelands that followed, it meant the land was consistently harsh and cold. Orion could handle the cold, but the ice flakes which swirled around and tried their hardest to jab his eyes in strong winds were another matter altogether. He led his horse, with Kora following with hers. Joiroa had step up camp several miles behind, aware he wouldn’t be allowed into the Seeker’s Summit. The ground crunched under their steps, its colour a bleary grey. Far in the sky, hidden by cloaks of mist was the sun, a small orb barely lighting up Edge’s End. It had been three months since they had become 5-stars Seekers; while the trip had been planned to be two months long, complications with bandits along the way had put them off track. With the Pirosian Empire crumbling, soldiers who had previously served the Empire with pride now returned home to find nothing. In bitterness and due to no better options available, most of them had turned to banditry, robbing the few still lucky to thrive in the Empire. Either way, they were here now and that was what mattered to Orion. His heart was pounding, and his eyes were searching the countless wooden cabins below for Kasib. Hoping for Kasib. If he had learned anything from the Seeker’s line of work, it was that when undertaking an 8-star contract, there was a massive chance of no return. Making their way down the mountain range, they came upon the clearing where the Seekers had set up. Beyond this was the Passing sea, the icy waters like blades against the skin. As they entered the clearing, a light-footed woman skipped their way, checking their identities with scrutiny. When convinced they were who they claimed to be, they were let in and allowed to choose one of the remaining lodges. They were also told the summit all the Seekers had gathered for was tonight. After a short rest, Orion made his way to the sea, sitting by the coast for a time with his legs dipped in the water. The Passing sea continued to the west, separating the Zakari’s land from the Arctic wastelands. The further you swam across it, the thicker and colder and calmer the waters got until they morphed into sheets of ice you could walk across. It reminded him of fond memories, of the time when his family had been around him, of when he had a protective shield against the world. Looking into the horizon, he wondered if he had gotten stronger than his dad. Seconds later, he shook his head with a deprecating smile. While he had exploded in terms of strength in the past year, he was still a distance from his dad and his uncle. They had been true monsters, and they had been the foundations of the House. Somehow, they had also fallen… Eventually calming like the waves around his feet, he got up and left for his lodge. Inside, he had fun with Kora, coming out a few hours later as he glimpsed the sun’s final spurts of light before the night. Leaving with her, they joined a large circle of Seekers crowded around seemingly nothing, just a blank arena several metres in diameter. A few minutes later, a platform had been hoisted into the centre and Orion could sense the Seekers around growing impatient, not so much with irritation as with anxiety. Personally, he didn’t care and was just searching for Kasib. Half an hour later, around a hundred Seekers had joined the circle. During this time, he had spotted and waved at Smith and Maya, although Kasib was still out of sight. It was at this time he saw the crowd part for two men he knew well: Jowler and Leo. Taking to the podium, Jowler took in the scene, breathing in the same chilled air as his brothers and sisters around. “We have a problem,” he said, his voice powerful, his message resounding through the clearing, “It goes by the name of Yhaoli,”

“Alright, with me,” Skitters said. He hauled open the hatch and jumped into the tunnel, followed by Kora and Orion. The wavy-haired thief pulled out a candle and lit it, thrusting light against the darkness. “We’re gonna have to be quick,” The tunnel was as wide as a barrel but lower than head-height, so they had to crouch. Orion wondered who had built the passage in the first place, after all, it was clearly used for illicit activities but the fact there were countless easier ways than through a stuffy tunnel stumped him. “Hey, Skitters. What’s the ship carrying?” Kora asked. She had left her cloak at the Sticky Fingers’s den after they’d been told they’d be swimming. So, she was now wearing her green jacket and leather pants, which had earned her quite a few nods and ogles from Ginger’s thugs. “Heh heh, summin good for sure, considering that ship’s coming from the south,” He paused. “But if I was to say, girly, it’d be some items, mostly Gajoi nuts since that’s the craze now, or it’d be slaves. Maybe weapons cuz Visgamar is heating up,” Orion’s thoughts turned to slaves. They were legal and pretty much everywhere. Depending on where you were, there were different rules regarding them, such as cities like Visgamar frowned upon having them in public, while others considered them a show of wealth and flaunted them with gold chains and the such. Personally, the House of Zakari had kept no slaves, only servants. So, slavery rubbed Orion the wrong way since he believed while men could be lower than others, none should be low enough to be devoid of self-control, save the dead. As for Kora, he knew she was fine with them considering the House of Cruorem kept thralls. “And why’re you attacking the ship again?” she asked. “Me? I get paid for this, girly. And if I find something precious, I could get a few golds for it and buy a home out of the slums, maybe near the market. There’s always tons of rich twits strutting their purses there and if I buy some nice clothes, them Guards won’t even touch me,” He started laughing deep from his heart. “Nanlong and his boys? I dunno, probably use it on whores and booze. As for Ginger and his Sticky Fingers,” He stopped talking as they reached the end of the tunnel. He pushed forwards and moonlight entered the darkness, revealing the crate that blocked the exit and a stone platform past it. “Y’know, they shouldn’t be called the Sticky Fingers- not even half the skill I have. Anyway, I heard this job is from Fatso, y’know the Underking, since the Saltrocks left him for Madam Richy, or whatever that whore’s name is. If Ginger does this and gets out safe, I reckon he’ll be higher in Fatso’s books, if y’know what I mean,” “Wait, who’s the last Underking then?” Orion asked. “Grima. No one’s got any clue what the guy looks like, but everyone knows he runs the biggest information system in Visgamar. Don’t mess with him either: the saying is he’ll know about you coming before you even decide to,” Skitters stood on the platform and stretched, staring into the midnight-blue waves. The ship flickered in the distance. “Not that you’ll listen to me about danger, ain’t it? You wanna meet Rats, don’t you? Mad,” He scoffed and buttoned up his pockets. “Alright, then. Let’s go,” Skitters leapt into the water, the Seekers diving in after. The water was cold, a soothing cold for Orion and a freezing bite for the others, and the waves were choppy up above. The Seekers followed the thief as he circled the ship, making special care where they went up for breath. The ship was a large wooden beast 30 metres long and 10 metres tall. Its keel and hull had grown dark green with plant growth, and its figurehead showed a woman with her tits out. Classy. Once they were in position, the trio quietly trailed the ship as it sailed to the docks and anchored. Skitters occasionally sneaked closer and stabbed metal holds into the hull before diving away. They continued waiting, waiting until the first sailors stood on solid ground, waiting till the first shouts rang the night. Now. Skitters climbed the ascending holds and leapt onto the ship, his figure shivering. Kora followed with similar ease, her not-so-human body dealing with the chill better. Orion was the last up and had to claw himself up to the deck due to a few holds come loose. Once up there, he saw Skitters crouching with his chest heaving, cold water dripping onto the stained boards. They had scaled the ship behind the shadow of some stacks of crates roped to the deck and under the cover of night, allowing their entrance to go undetected. However, it obviously wouldn’t be the case for much longer as several sets of feet thundered across the floorboards, lighting up every lamp. The thief pointed behind him and whispered, “The flares, they’re over there. I’ll run and dump, you guys cover me,” He brandished a dagger, pushed it up his sleeve, and turned. As if by clockwork, a shout sounded just as Skitters got up and casually began walking. “Shoot the flares, you fucking idiots. And wake up that fat bitch,” The Seekers creeped to the corner of their cover and waited. With the lamps tearing away the night’s veil, the thief was sure to be identified as an uninvited guest. Yet, he smashed their expectations as he jogged up to the higher platform, seemingly unaffected by the pressure as he moved calmly. “Rook, why’re you wet? Get away before you fuck both of us,” said a sailor as he tried to the light a cord. The box of flares was by his feet. Skitters pointed to the cord with his left hand. “You idiot,” The sailor looked at the cord in confusion, and Skitters’s right hand came down by his neck, bearing the dagger. In shock, the sailor pushed Skitters back and tried to scream, but didn’t get far before he got stabbed once more, and another. The thief picked up the box of flares and flung them over the side. Unfortunately, his execution hadn’t gone unnoticed. Another sailor screamed in place of his mate, and the ten or so remaining men turned to face Skitters and the corpse beside him. Loud shouts came from the docks as Nanlong’s mercenaries and the Sticky Fingers finally found the hidden Saltrocks. Orion tugged on Kora and whispered, “Let’s just go. We’ll make this worse,” Their job was already done; there was no need to kill anymore sailors. She shook her head and pointed at one of the deck’s unlit areas. “There are crossbows there. Besides, these aren’t good people, you idiot. Don’t bother caring for them,” she said as she leapt from their cover, cutting down a sailor before he even considered death. Orion growled and stood, his fingers gripped around his hilt. It was an unnecessary fight but now that Kora had entered, he simply couldn’t back down.

Since their lamps were in their bags, the only light against the inky darkness came through the entrance in the form of bleak, flickering sunlight. The Rockskin rammed the cave and roared into the opening, spitfiring saliva at the two Seekers. The sunlight returned as the Rockskin withdrew, but it was dark again in a second as the monster smashed against the hole. Orion felt a slimy caress against his hand. He snapped. He struck with his sword and then pierced towards the entrance. The Rockskin shrieked in agony as light filled the cave again, Orion simultaneously being sprayed with blood. He wiped his face and looked down, catching sight of the crimson tongue squirming like a worm. He stepped onto it, then kicked it away, his foot squelching with each move. Glancing to the side, Orion saw Flynn and went to kneel by his side. The ginger-man had curled into a fetal position with his hands clutched against his stomach. “Are you ok? Let me see,” Orion said as he moved Flynn’s hands, revealing a growing dark patch. “No. Open my bag,” his companion said while feebly pushing back. Self-aware he was no medic, Orion clenched his teeth and listened, taking the bag off Flynn and opening it. “What do you want?” “Yellow… paper,” Orion found the wrapped up yellow paper and opened it, only to freeze. The cave had stunk off damp mould, then of blood and fetid saliva. Now, another smell burst open and filled the cave with a distinctive scent. Toasty, nutty, and honey-like. There was no accompanying odour of manure, but instead one of sea salt. While Orion gaped at the opened package, Flynn gained the strength to get up from the released smell and took the package from his frozen companion. He put the paper to his face, to his nostrils, and snorted. Orion woke up to the thud and looked at his collapsed companion. He moved over and stiffly took the paper, brushing his finger against it and looking at it in the cheerless light. It was powdered Gajoi nuts, ground up into salt-like crystals. He didn’t know how you could make something as soft and crumbly as Gajoi nuts into powder, but the dealers had done it. He threw the paper into the darkness and checked on Flynn. Flynn wasn’t breathing, and he wasn’t moving. Wearing an empty expression, Orion moved away and picked up his shortsword, then headed towards the entrance. Suddenly, a hand clasped his shoulder, and in shock, Orion punched. Flynn didn’t even flinch, instead he smiled. “Kill,” he said cheerfully. “No. Sit down. I’ll kill it,” Orion said, trying to gently seat him. But instead of taking the advice, Flynn pulled Orion down and walked past, picking up his longsword and pulling himself to the outside. Orion hit the sullied ground and sighed. He was sick, sick of the stench, sick of Flynn’s actions, sick of the contract. He growled as he rose; he might have been one of the weaker Zakari, but he was still a Zakari. Pride-fueled anger coursed through him, giving him a wild ferocity. He flung himself out of the cave and came into the murky-lit swamp. Flynn was a few steps ahead, wasting the air in his lungs as he cackled at the Rockskin. The monster stood on a crumbled stone-wall with its back to Orion, observing the madman. It had learnt from its mistake in the cave, so it warily scanned for any traps, its sliced tongue filling its mouth with blood. But no matter how hard it looked, the human still looked like easy prey. Besides, its patience had already thinned out. At the same time, Orion’s eyes whitened and boundless energy rushed into him. An icicle formed beside him, his right hand stretching it longer. In a matter of seconds, it was as long as a spear and reflected the foul scene back against the world. The Rockskin leapt, its gaping maw showering Marshall’s Keep with blood, its claws heading straight for the ginger human. Then, a spear pierced through its lungs and out, the momentum pulling its body away from Flynn. The monster plunged into the ground, splashing dirty water. It tried to move but its mind faltered, sending the body into spasms. The impact had felled Flynn and he now lay in the water drowning. Orion picked him up by his gambeson and dumped him on dry ground before walking to the Rockskin. He placed his left hand on the spear; the ice-spear exploded away from Orion, tearing into the Rockskin’s organs and into distant trees. He chopped with his sword and snapped the neck, plopping the head into water. The Rockskin was a 3-star monster, but that was while on dry land. Prolonged exposure to water ruined its rock-hard skin, making it an easy target. Yet, Flynn had almost died against it. Orion picked the head by its ear and walked back. He stepped on Flynn’s shield and picked it up to take a better look. Despite Flynn’s own advice, it seemed he hadn’t been wary enough as the Rockskin had whipped its tail against him, snapping the shield and tearing flesh off his stomach. This explained why he had screamed for them to retreat. Shaking his head, Orion dropped the broken shield and walked over to Flynn. He dropped the monster’s head beside his unconscious companion and slipped back into the reeking cave to get their bags. Placing the Rockskin’s head in Flynn’s bag, he used the packaged bandages on Flynn. While he wasn’t practised at dressing wounds, he did manage to treat them on a surface level. He had considered killing Flynn, ending his miserable existence, but memories of his sister had prevented him from executing the drastic action. His sister had fallen much lower than Flynn, and yet she had managed to fix her life. Ending Flynn’s life would also end any hopes of a better life for the man, something Orion couldn’t bring himself to do. He repacked the bags and placed them both on Flynn’s back, before hoisting his companion onto his back. They had only come to the outskirts of Marshall’s Keep but Orion was already eager to get out. Three hours later, he was back on the dust track, piggybacking Flynn to Visgamar, the closest settlement. His whole body ached, and his arms and legs burned with pain. Nonetheless, he continued walking, aware that Visgamar was only a few hours more. During the duration, he hadn’t come across a single traveller. But now, far behind them, he saw a small dot tracing his steps. Orion stopped and let Flynn down before stretching his numbed limbs. The figure slowed as they got closer, their cloak hiding their face and body. “Are you of faith?” Orion shouted, hoping it was another zealous farmer. The cloaked figure didn’t respond. Orion gripped his shortsword and tried again. “Do you trust in Fexa the Gracious? Please, I need your help,” he shouted. Once again, the cloaked figure didn’t respond. Instead, they took out a shortsword and paced onwards.