NEILLA'S POV"Now, let's go back to your roots."Thena barely waited an extra second before she set off towards the castle. The place was unfamiliar grounds, yet it called to me, drawing me in like the calming waves of the sea."Wait up, Thena!" I called out, increasing my pace quickly in order to catch up. There was one thing I noticed as we weaved our way between the playful pups and the adult werewolves who were in their human forms watching over them:They barely spared a glance in our direction. All of them seemed to be so immersed in their individual pleasures that they refused to take note of us. Almost like we were invisible."Because we are, Neilla. We are invisible right now." I noticed Thena had fallen back into step with me. We moved side by side, me dependent on her sense of direction to move. It suddenly felt wrong to be there. We were invading their privacy without due consent, about to explore their lands unrestricted all because of the cloak of invisibility we som
NEILLA'S POVLooking around the room with a matching wicked gleam in their gazes, they stepped over the bodies in a crumbled heap in the doorway as they left the room.I stared at Napthena and in the fraction of a second, made up my mind to follow them."Neilla!"I heard her call out in a panicked voice from behind me. I skidded to a halt, throwing her an impatient look. "What?""Did you hear that?"I waited, listened for it, heard nothing. "There's no time for games, Thena. If we delay for too long, they'll be too far gone to catch up with them.""You have to put your ears to the ground, dammit!" She swore so vehemently, I flinched."B-But, there's no one else here. They killed every single person. We should see where else they are headed. Perhaps we could--"I continued on my way but she was quick to intercept, her footfalls too light for me to even notice her move."Listen, you dumbo, whatever is happening now has happened in the past. The book is doing us both a favor by letting
NEILLA'S POVI was floating on air, weightless, unable to feel my bearing. Soon, I was lowered down to solid ground once again. Eyes closed in half panic, I struggled to listen for sounds in hopes that I was back in Moonstone pack, back with the others in my room.In fact, the only sound I needed to hear in the midst of the madness was just one.The sound of Lykos's voice. Surely, I hadn't been gone a long time. He was still waiting for my arrival, wasn't he?The pounding of feet against the ground had me second guessing my decision to keep my eyes closed. In the fraction of another second, they flew open just in time to see a woman dash past with inhumane speed.My eyes captured what seemed like a wooly swaddle blanket wrapped by both of her arms as she fled deeper into the forest. Quickly thinking on my feet, I realized what that might be.It didn't take long for me to follow after her and looking behind me to find Napthena also hot on my heels, I knew I was doing the right thin
NEILLA'S POV"This baby is you!" Napthena exclaimed, taking it upon herself to spell out the obvious. We watched Mana Sylveon crouch low, doing her best to make no noise that would stir the baby awake. It was right there on her face; the look of adoration she had for the baby, like a mother who just put to bed of a baby after several hours of labor. She was proud to have me in her arms. Even though she barely let her emotions cross her face, she never failed to tell me how much she loved me.I felt the telltale burn in the back of my eyes as I watched the scene before me. With the back of my hand, I wiped the tears before they were fully formed."Shh, shh. I'm here now. The goddess did well to bring me to you." Mana Sylveon cooed in a soothing tone. "Neilla!" I turned to Napthena, blinking quickly to keep back more tears threatening to spill over from my eyelids. My lips trembled slightly in sadness.She was quietly observing Mana Sylveon hold the baby close to her with a croon i
NEILLA'S POVThe crowd was abuzz with energy, pushing and pulling even as I was snatched away from the midst of them, the cries of them that loved Zadik.The echoes of Sapphira's scream of terror at her arrival. To see your mate's head roll uselessly on the pavement like waste, humiliated by the one he had to serve, for speaking his truth.I should not have come into contact with that book like Lykos had warned. It just felt right at the time to do it.What was left of that action anyway?Letting the situation, one I thought I had under my rein, slip out of my control.I'd be damned if this doesn't fuel Venn with fresh audacity to go on a killing spree, hunting down whoever had bad notions about her.If it had been bloody before, the bloodbath was now incoming to drown all.The noise from the crowd dulled into a low unified mumble as I was pulled into a state of nothingness.Silence.Deafening silence.Silence that spoke far more words than a fully functioning tongue.The only thing t
As quick as my legs could carry, I proceeded on my way to the pack house, ignoring all other intrusive scents and tuning in to that of my mate. He promised that we'd meet the moment he finishes with the some important meeting. He didn't open up on the purpose of the gathering. Either way, I was dying to see him as our last encounter didn't go too well, he must've had a terrible fallout with his father, again.The pack house soon came into view and I slowed down, controlling my heartbeat to a steady rhythm. The lacy hem of my gown was held up to avoid it getting intertwined with twigs and roots. That was the last thing I needed at the moment, for my day to end with Mana Sylveon complaining of ruining her old dress. It was a purple beautiful thing made out of good silk, laces at the back and trimming of lace for the hem. She had given it to me when I told her of my plans to visit to Rylan. She is such a kind soul.By the time I arrived close, my labored breathing had calmed and the co
That caught my full attention. I spun around quickly. "One last time? What do you mean by that?" I whispered.He glared at the raven haired girl, "I mean it. Leave."She rolled her eyes, then with a sick smile blew him an air kiss. "Oh alright but remember to come back quickly to me. We have a recital to work on." With that and a wink, she went back the same way she'd come."One last time? What was that about?" My head felt full with complexities of questions. We were mates, soul tied by the moon goddess or so I thought. Why did he speak about meeting with me one last time. Did I do something wrong?"No you haven't, Neilla." He'd been listening in to my thoughts, another proof that we were a match made to be. "There's a lot of things going on that are out of my control. As you know, I'm not the alpha king and as heir, a lot if responsibilities are expected of me. I can't let the pack down, not after everything my father has worked so hard to build."I nodded slowly even when none of
On my arrival home, I was met with deafening silence, just the atmosphere I wanted to come home to. I needed room to think about what happened at the pack house. Everything was spinning fast out of my grip and I was only given the option of tears.Maybe it was true what they thought of me. Maybe I was really the weak one, incapable of leading alongside the alpha. The previous Luna before her passing was a firm and rigid wolf who, although not cruel, was wise to the last letter of the word.Here I was, feeling humiliated and quite the opposite. How the hell did I think I was going to be Luna to Rylan? I looked feeble and breakable, very easy on the eyes with brown hair that mirrored the natural hues of my irises."What were you thinking, Neilla? That you could be Luna?" I muttered out loud, slapping a hand on my forehead. I sighed, folding the dress Mana borrowed me back in her drawer and retiring to my room. I threw on a much more plain gown made with cotton, it was the oldest dress I