Axel
Thirty years ago, the Blood Venom pack made its first appearance in the world. Alpha Theodore Langston made all of the werewolf leaders and elders kneel before his feet, making him the strongest of them all.With his reign, the werewolf world was consumed in nothing but catastrophe and war, and many innocent lives were taken in the process. Life was covered in darkness, and werewolves started losing hope.Then one day, when death and demolition showed no signs of slowing down, a powerful Alpha stepped forward to end the destruction brought by the Blood Venom pack. With his great strength and skills, he was able to kill Alpha Theodore and bring peace to the werewolf world once again.The courageous man is none other than Greggory Steele, the Alpha of the Silver Raven pack, and my father. We quickly became one of the most powerful packs in the entire world, and everyone respected our clan.I still remember that day— the day when we finally triumphed in the Blood War.“When is dad coming back?” My 8-year-old self asked whilst trembling from the cold and biting wind. We didn’t have a house, just a few scraps of metal and wood pieced up together by rusty nails and frail rope.We were lucky, though. Most of the wolves these days didn’t have any shelter, some of them just dying from the harsh environmental conditions.My thin and sickly mother closed the plastic curtains when she saw me trembling from the wind. She walked to where I was and held me in her arms.“He’s coming back soon, Axel,” she said while rubbing my arms.Just then, my stomach grumbled in the cold and silent night.My mother turned to me with a smile. “Are you hungry?”I shook my head. I know that we had already eaten all our rations for the month, so I didn’t bother making a fuss. Each month, the werewolf government would give out some grains and vegetables for each family. Since the Blood Venom pack hogged almost all of the lands and resources, food and supplies were scarce in all the other packs. We’re lucky if we even get any meat for each month.My words betrayed me, however, when my stomach grumbled even louder than before. My mother chuckled and looked at me endearingly. “You should tell me when you’re hungry.” She fumbled to get something out of her pocket, and I heard the crinkles of plastic. I waited in anticipation as she brought out a colorfully-wrapped candy out of her pocket.My eyes widened in surprise, and I looked at the sweet treat in delight. “Is that candy, mom? Where did you get it?” I asked excitedly.She smiled while unwrapping the candy and placing it on my waiting palm. “Your father brought some home from his last trip. I decided to keep it for when our food ran out.”I looked at the small piece of candy in amazement and decided to split it in half. I placed the other half of the candy inside its wrapper once again and tightly held it in my palm.“Why aren’t you eating it all?” She asked, confused.“I want to eat it once more tomorrow,” I innocently said.She ruffled my hair. “When your dad comes back, he’s going to give you lots and lots of candy, okay? Then, you wouldn’t have to split your candies anymore.” Suddenly, we heard the screams of our pack members from outside of our beat-up house.“The Alpha has returned! Rejoice!” One of them shouted. My eyes widened in excitement with the thought that my dad had finally come home.My mother, who was usually calm, also stood up from her seat and tapped her foot on the ground in excitement. We were about to go out of the house, but we were already greeted with my father’s muscular figure before we could even open the door.“Dad!” I exclaimed, hugging his thighs.“Axel,” he said, kneeling down to my level. He ruffled my hair and kissed my forehead. “Were you a good boy? Did you take care of your mother?”I nodded my head. “Yes, dad! Some bandits tried to steal our food one time, but I was able to hit them with your bow and arrow.”He chuckled. “That’s great! You’re finally a big boy now.”He then stood up and looked at my mother with affectionate eyes. “Aerin,” he uttered and opened his arms. My mother jumped into his arms, and I watched as my parents embraced.“Did you win? Is it finally over?” My mother asked, worriedness evident in her voice.My father broke away from their hug and slowly nodded his head. “Yes. We won. It’s finally over.”My mother squealed in delight as she jumped into my father’s arms once again. My father twirled her around, her skirt flowing against the wind.I clapped my hands as a sign of celebration. I don’t know much about the war, but knowing that my father had won, I felt happy.“Are you not going to war anymore, dad?” I looked up to him with hopeful eyes.He turned to me with a bright smile and teary eyes. “Yes, Axel. Dad will stay here for a long time now. I’ll also build you a big house and feed you all of the food that you see only in books and television.”“Can you also buy me a car?” I excitedly asked.He chuckled. “I’ll buy you everything that you want.”Just then, I noticed another presence standing in our doorway. My gaze shifted to the small boy, about my age, clad in fancy clothes and accessories. “Who’s this, dad?” I asked, observing the boy that looked to be from the rich lands.My mother also glanced at the boy, then looked at my father with inquiring eyes. My dad cleared his throat and wiped his sweaty palms on his worn-out trousers. He went over to the boy and gently led him inside our house.“Axel, I want you to meet Logan. He’s going to be your brother from now on,” he said, coaxing me to shake hands with Logan.“Umm, hi,” I warily said, extending my hands towards him.He simply looked at my hand and did not respond. I retreated my hand and looked down in disappointment.“Greggory. Can I talk to you privately?” My mom said, holding onto my dad’s arm.Dad let out a sigh and let himself be guided by my mom. I frowned as I watched their retreating figures. Why would they leave me with this boy who appeared like he didn’t like me?Since the walls of our house were so thin, I could hear my parent’s argument.“Why did you take him home?” My mom exasperatedly asked.“He’s a kid, Aerin. I just can’t kill him,” my dad responded.“You know that he’s not just a kid, Greggory. He’s the son of Theodore Langston. He has our enemy’s blood running through his body,” my mom argued.“Nonetheless, he’s an innocent child. I couldn’t just kill him or leave him be. He’s the same age as Axel, so they could even be great friends.”After that, our house was covered in silence. I awkwardly looked at Logan, observing his cool clothes, so different from mine.“They hate me,” he suddenly said.I snapped my eyes to his sullen face. “What? Who hates you?”“Your parents hate me,” he said dejectedly.I shook my head and went closer to him. “They don’t hate you. My dad even came back here with you. That means he really likes you,” I said, comforting him.He sniffed. “But they don’t want me here.”I sighed and looked into his sad eyes. I retrieved the wrapper that contained half a candy from my pocket and placed it onto his palm.“Don’t be sad. I want you here. I’ve always wanted a brother,” I said with a smile.He looked up at me with hopeful eyes. “Really?”I enthusiastically nodded my head. “Really,” I affirmed.He finally smiled. “What’s your name?” He asked.“My name's Axel, and from now on, we're going to be brothers!”Axel“Hurry up, Logan! Dad’s going to beat our ass if we’re late once again,” I shouted, glancing back at Logan, who was trailing behind me. “It’s your fault!” He bit back. “If you weren’t Mister Popular and didn’t have to talk to so many people on the way, then we would have reached the training grounds by now.”I chuckled. “Don’t act like you weren’t chatting up Trina under the bleachers. I was the one who was waiting for you to finish. I’m glad that you finally had the guts to talk to her. You’ve been crushing on her since what? 8th grade?” I asked, nudging his shoulders. Ever since Logan came to our house, we’ve been pretty much inseparable. Although we weren’t brothers by blood, I felt like we were brothers by heart. We already went through a lot together—we played, went to school, endured our father’s trai
RosalindWhoosh!The long sword moved effortlessly as I lightly swung it above my head then brought it down with brute force. The branch got detached from the tree, its dry leaves scattering on the ground. The sky was dark, and only the moon served as my source of light—the sound of the owls chirping served as my audience as if cheering me on. Just like most nights, I sneaked out of the palace to practice my swordsmanship skills. I could do so in the day, but my obnoxious stepmother would probably find a way to distract me and give me some chores. I stopped swinging my sword and paused for a while to catch my breath. The silver metal glistened in the night, and I couldn’t help but smile at the sight. This was given to me by my late mother—her gift to me before she drew her last breath. I sat down under the tree, leaning on its sturdy trunk. I promised myself that I would stop getting emotional with the thought of her, b
Axel“Axel, come on! We need to hurry up, or they’ll catch up to us.” Sebastian patted me on the shoulder as I looked in the direction I came from one last time. It was way too far that I couldn't see our pack anymore, only the smoke that swirled into the sky. The place I’ve been living in for the last 20 years is about to be burned to nothing but ashes and dirt. The scarring event still lingered in my mind—seeing my father’s blood soaking the sheets on their bed and seeing my precious mother being captured by Logan. I blame myself for not waking up on time to stop the tragedy, but I know that the real villain in the story isn’t me but Logan. Tomorrow was supposed to be my coronation day—the day when I’m finally going to be hailed as the Alpha of our pack, so I opted to sleep earlier than usual. In my slumber, I remembered being woken up by Sebastian, my incoming beta.
AxelI didn’t know how many days we had been on the road since I had already lost track of time. Has it been two days, five days, or maybe even a week? I looked at Sebastian, and he looked just as haggard as me, with dry lips and bulked eyes. We were severely dehydrated, and we needed to find water. Using his wolf instincts, he was able to locate a desolate lake.Sebastian scrambled to the clear body of water and took a good drink. I, however, sat frozen while looking at my reflection. I looked like a completely different person. My eyes are bloodshot and devoid of any emotion; my usual neatly-shaven face had become darker with the growth of my stubble; and my face looked like it had been etched with a permanent frown. With clenched fists, I hit the calm water with all of my might, making it shake like an unresting ocean. My distorted reflection looked back at me in anger, and everything that had happened was relived in my mind. Sebastian looked in my direction,
RosalindI watched as my family scrambled to get ready for the ball while I wiped the tables. You’re probably wondering why a princess is wiping the tables, but my stepmother said that this is my punishment for dressing inappropriately during my father’s announcement party.Tonight, my father arranged a ball for every royal and esteemed creature—the Unity Ball as we call it. Werewolves, vampires, witches, and every known creature out there are invited to the Unity Ball. It is held every year in different kingdoms, and this year, it is our kingdom’s turn to host the celebration. My father insisted on hosting this year’s celebration in hopes of his daughters finding their mates. Let me correct that—I bet he only wants Venice and Winifred to find their mates since I’m pretty sure that he doesn’t want me leading the kingdom.Right now, they have all been dressed up because the ball will be starting in less than an hour
AxelAm I…dead? I spread my fingers open and felt a soft and pillowy material. Fuck. I died without even getting revenge on the bastard Logan. A light and feathery sensation went over my cheek, and I felt comforted by the action.I slightly opened my eyes to see what was going on, and a blurry outline of a female face went into my view. Is this the angel that was sent down to take me to heaven…or maybe hell? The angel is currently tracing my features, and her touch feels so real. It’s like I’m still alive or something.Suddenly, my heart started pounding out of my chest. Shit. Do ghosts have hearts? How is this possible? Maybe I am still alive! Then who the hell is this woman in front of me? Did she actually save us from uncle Richard and his men? If she did, then she must be a very dangerous creature. Did she bring me here so she could kill me herself?Thinking that I couldn’t let this keep going, I used the strength left
Rosalind“This should be enough,” I muttered to myself as I walked back to my room. The Unity Ball is still in full swing at the event hall, so I didn’t have a hard time sneaking into the servant’s chambers to get some of their clothes.Just as I entered the room, I heard the bathroom door open.“Oh, good. I came right on time. I borrowed these clothes from the servant chambers, so I hope you won’t mind wearing such clothes. Well, I am giving them to you for free, so really, there’s no room for you to complain—”I stopped in my tracks when I saw a handsome and muscular man standing in front of me. He was wearing nothing but a towel, and droplets of water cascaded down his beautiful pecs and abdominal muscles, the steam from the shower emanating from his skin.My eyes trailed down to his body then up to his face. Hell. Is this really Axel? His once dirty face was now shaven clean, and his eyes we
Rosalind“That we’re mates.”Sebastian covered his mouth while Axel tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Can you repeat what you just said?”“We’re mates,” I said in all seriousness.The room was engulfed by tension, and the silence was killing me. If it is true that he doesn’t have a wolf right now, then that must be the reason why he’s not feeling the mate bond.He still didn’t say anything, so I kept on going. “That’s why I’m asking you to marry me…because we’re mates.”The silence was broken when Sebastian patted Axel on the back. “Come on. Just marry the poor girl. I don’t even know why you’re resisting. She’s too cute,” he said, pinching my cheeks.I smiled up at Sebastian. He’s such a nice person! Axel glared at Sebastian, so he let go of my cheek. Sebastian cleared his throat and rais