Xavier "Be patient, young pup. I will tell you what you want to know and more," the middle-aged man replied, his voice filled with wisdom and calmness. "There is an ancient cave known as the Demon Witch's Grave Cave, located not far from the territory of the Moonlit Grove Pack, where your stepbrother and his mother's family lived with the girl's family before she and her family moved to the city center several years ago. There was a sacred forest there called Silverthorn Forest, which was able to open a dimensional portal of divine power two years ago. When the girl arrived there for the first time, she was almost immediately attacked by rogues who sensed the spiritual power of the Sacred Moonstone that was inside of her. They wanted to take that power from her." Benjamin was silent for a moment, letting this information sink into his mind. Xavier was, of course, aware of her role as the next generation guardian of the Sacred Moonstone, able to sense the presence of the aura of th
Karenina Her eyes looked back into his, which might have been his intention, she realized. The seconds passed with a heavier feeling. "Yes, Xavier?" she spoke softly, trying to break the growing silence. He stared at her for another second or two before continuing. She couldn't interpret his look. He looked as if he was lost in deep thought. "We have a lot to talk about," he finally said, his voice sounding deep and full of hesitation. Karen was tempted to roll her eyes at his obvious statement, but refrained because she was sure he would take offense and do something she didn't like. She was sure that silence was the better part of valor in this case. But then her eyes widened as Xavier came toward her, his silken white clothes flowing around him, his silver-black hair shimmering. Her mouth seemed dry. Had she upset him with her silence? He stopped on the left side of her bed, where he was closest to the edge, and looked down at her from a height. Karen was sure her neck would
Xavier Fortunately, he accepted the request for distance and gave Karenina some room to breathe, but remained in her bed. Xavier decided to speak more honestly about some information, but still with subtle manipulation to control the outcome. "Aren't you curious how you got past the barrier I created?" "I thought you just, you know, opened the door?" Karenina tried to laugh off her nerves. "You have the energy of the werewolf lords within you, the essence that leaks out from the sacred moonstone gem stored within you." "How-how do you know about the sacred moonstone gem? And, um, Xavier? I guess I would know if I had the power of a wolf in me, even though my father was a pureblood werewolf but my mother was just an ordinary human. I mean, wouldn't I feel it or something? Wouldn't other people be able to tell?" She tried not to overlook the fact that she had only recently learned about this phenomenon. And how did Xavier know? "I always know things," he said ambiguously. "A reli
Helga Karenina was still blushing when her maid, Helga, came back into her room, her eyes glued to the floor. She was carrying another wooden tray with rags, bandages, and two bottles. Helga was afraid of her, for the spiritual power that she possessed was a deadly one. She was also a special guest of Alpha Xavier who wanted to be treated with all the respect and courtesy that a woman appointed by Alpha as a candidate for Luna deserved, which seemed like a strange order coming from Alpha. Karenina is a hybrid and also possesses pure spiritual power. Besides, Alpha Xavier does not like humans or hybrids. So why would Alpha let this girl through his gates and into the halls of this packhouse? Helga found herself wondering again. It was none of her business who Alpha wanted to take in and who he would choose as Luna. She just hoped that the girl wouldn't be rude to her after all her kindness and gestures over the years. Helga was also careful not to offend her as she was an honored gu
Karenina "Helga, what is it?" She saw that her maid was suddenly silent and stunned, as if in deep contemplation. Helga snapped out of her reverie and busied herself with removing the bandages that were still wrapped around her body. "No - it is all right, Luna," she said with a slight stutter. She realized that the future Luna was standing in front of her. Alpha Xavier had pointed her out by the obvious Alpha scent emanating from the girl's body. Karen smiled at her, trying to ease the slightly tense atmosphere. "I had a hunch there was a bad smell! Xavier's stepbrother always didn't like the smell of my blood." Although Helga didn't know which Alpha Xavier stepbrother she was referring to, she tried to comfort her by saying that the smell didn't bother her. She wanted to distract herself from this rather unpleasant situation and quickly checked the wounds on her back. "I have no business trying to understand what the Alpha does," she thought, wanting to concentrate on her task
Karenina She spent most of the time sleeping and resting, and when it was late afternoon, she finally woke up from her sleep. Helga was there to help her out of bed so she could go to the bathroom, though she noticed that this time her body didn't hurt as much when she moved. Could it be that the power of the wolf within her, which Xavier had helped to strengthen, was playing a role in this? She was grateful for the help of the Alpha of the Westwood Pack when she had expressed her desire to take a shower. If she was going to meet Xavier, she preferred to be clean and fresh, not wanting to irritate his sensitive nose with the smell of blood and sweat. "Can I help you take a bath, Luna?" offered Helga as she stood by the tub of warm water. Karen had a moment's thought of refusing the maid's offer, but she didn't feel strong enough to do it herself. The less pressure she put on her wounds, the better. With a sigh she finally agreed. "Sure, thanks, Helga." She watched as the woman ga
Xavier Their eyes met for a moment before his attention was drawn to her tangled hair. His left hand was smoothing her hair before she saw and sensed that he was using the brush to follow the same path that his hand had taken. Unlike his hand, the brush did not go smoothly, it got stuck and made her wince in pain. "Uh, Xavier? Maybe it would be easier if you started at the bottom and combed it out," she told him, finally looking away from him shyly. "Yes," he replied, but she could feel him following her instructions as he combed through her tangled hair. He learned quickly as he moved to the middle of her hair before finally starting at the top of her head and working his way down to the ends of her hair, which reached down to her waist. Two years ago, Karen had decided not to cut her hair because Rylan seemed to prefer her long hair. She knew her longer hair would make her look even more like Carolina, but Carolina's hair was straight while hers was wavy. She soon found that br
Karenina Her scent was still the scent of him he had just sensed, but no longer on the deeper level that indicated the deeper bond he desired. In just a few hours, his claim on her had vanished as if it had never existed. He no longer felt the aura of his power in her body, or the elusive radiance of the aura that the sacred moonstone released into her petite body. As she shifted uncomfortably. Several long minutes had passed since he had last moved or spoken after removing the rest of her bandages. A feeling of unease began to creep into her. Was something wrong? Hesitantly, she asked him, "Is everything all right, Xavier?" He lifted his eyes to look at her and replied calmly, "You're not completely healed." With a slightly offended tone, she said, "Of course, I may heal slower than a full-blooded werewolf, but I feel like my shoulder looks better than it did before." With great patience, he explained, "I know your body is healing quickly, but the wound on your back still shows