PHOENIX
“Will you tell her or should I?” Lila says with a fake innocent tone. I turn to Jake expectantly and he swallows. I shake my head, not wanting to believe what I am seeing.
Not Jake and Lila. My best friend. No, it can’t be.
“Phoenix, you know I have needs.” Jake mutters, looking anywhere but my face. I stare at him, trying to see if he is joking but he isn’t.
I laugh out loud like a maniac. Trying to convince myself he didn’t just say that of all things. I would much rather believe I’m losing my mind than to find out Jake is cheating on me with Mila, of all people, he picks my best friend.
“What do you mean you have needs?” my voice is exuding a calmness I don’t feel.
I’d refused to give him my virginity before we got married. We would have before we went to college, as the future alpha of the pack he is expected to find a mate and produce an heir. We have our whole life planned, it seems like I was the only one locked in my fantasy.
“Why do you look so dumbfounded? Come on, be realistic, you knew it was going to happen sooner or later.” Lila sneers at me, her wicked tone pulling me from my stupor.
Not having anything to say to her, more than ten years’ worth of friendship flashing behind my eyes. The little jabs, the jokes, them hanging out alone or disappearing for a while. Everything was in front of my face and I’m the only fool that didn’t notice. I was so dumb and in love.
“You’re a piece of shit!” I tell him when he doesn’t say anything, my voice still calm. I have nothing better to say. The Fated Banquet sound like the worst news right now, since one of the main reasons I want to stay back has just been destroyed, and turned to nothing.
“It’s not like that, I promise you Phoenix. I’m still going to marry you, you’re the one that I lo—“
His words get cut off by the sound of the slap resonating around the room. The pain in my hand gives me a little satisfaction.
Lila’s eyes are wide, she never expected me to do that. I turn to her and snarl. Take that bitch. I could feel my wolf, clawing in my mind trying to fight for control so she can teach her a lesson.
I ball my hands into fists and keep them by my side.
“We’re over, asshole.” I say to him, growling.
I turn to walk out of the room but on second thought stop. Lila turned eighteen a week ago, the first week of the current month we are in. A wicked smile makes its way to my lips as I turn to her. “I hope you remember the score of wolves that aren’t virgins at the banquet. Good luck,” I gave her a sweet smile and turned to walk out of the room, not before I saw the flash of horror in her eyes.
I walk out of the house, my eyes burning with unshed tears, my heart is like two little fists being sliced open with a silver dagger. Every new slice shoots through my entire system. I don’t let the tears fall as I walk home, going through the woods where I sit and cry for a while. Letting the pain in my chest expel through the tears. When I finally get ready and started my walk home, my feet hurt, only then do I remember I forgot to wear shoes in my rush to get to Jake. How fucking stupid I was, to think he cared about me?
I reach my house in no time, I pause by the door and do breathing exercises, I don’t want my parents to have any inkling something is wrong. When I am sure I won’t break down into tears if anyone asks me anything, I open the door and step in.
I can hear mum in the kitchen, I pause and kick off my shoes, trying to stay silent but as soon as I close the door, I hear her voice.
“Phoenix, is that you?” she calls from the kitchen and I clear my throat.
“Yes, I’m just going to change.” I say and go to head for the stairs but she peeks from the kitchen.
“I’m making your favorite, red velvet cookies. Congratulations baby.” She sings, with a smile on her face.
“Okay, thank you mum.” I reply then run up the stairs before she has the chance to come out and find me. I don’t want her to see how messy I look, because she would ask questions and I don’t want that. When I get to my room, I close the door and undress before getting in the shower, letting the warm water wash my tears away. Not that it is helping with the burning in my chest, but it’s still better than nothing.
I stay in the shower for more than an hour. I stopped myself from crying longer than that. Jake doesn’t deserve my tears and neither did Lila. Dad came up after a few moments, when he didn’t see me, he mindlinked me and told me to come down for dinner. I didn’t know how the time went by so fast.
We eat dinner together like we always do. No one said anything about my obvious disinterest throughout, but they did try to make me feel better in their own way.
“Let’s play chess,” I find myself voicing after we were done cleaning up. My father’s smile lights up his whole face and it helps me forget everything that happened today.
“I’ll get you more cookies then.” Mum laughs as she gets up. She knows how competitive we get when playing chess, it’s one of the things I love doing most with my father.
“Ready to lose kiddo?” he asks, ruffling my hair. I duck and grumble about how he is messing my hair. “You’re pretty with your hair wild and all sweetie, so perfect.” He signs ‘perfect’ with his hand and I chuckle.
We settle at the table where our chessboard that we’ve been playing for as long as I can remember was, we keep a tally of our wins. You can read how he used to beat me when I was learning how to play and after I learned, I started beating him too. Now he rarely wins against me.
“You got schooled kid,” dad smiles smugly at me. I only laugh, shaking my head. The smile is more real than any I’ve given them tonight. It was worth losing.
“Just this once that you beat me,” I hold one finger up.
“It’s because you’re always cheating,” he grumbles, pouting like a kid. My father is the drama queen in my parents’ relationship.
Watching them laugh and joke with each other, how he sometimes reaches for her hand, just to touch her, to feel her. He has told me multiple times that he feels as though all of this is a dream, and he would wake up one day and find that he never brought her back from the fated banquet.
Yes, that is where they met. I never really asked how dad ended you there but mum had turned eighteen that month and she was asked to join. It was mostly when people didn’t realize the severity of what happened during those banquets. Mum never really told me about all that happened, but I know dad figured out she was his mate and found a way to fight for her.
Now, the fated banquet, instead of an amazing opportunity to meet your mate, they’ve entirely ruined the name, the meaning of ‘mate’ was no longer a symbol of love, of endless love and ‘fated love’. No, it was something entirely different and baseless.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” I mutter, a small smile on my lips.
“Speaking of sleep, it is getting late.” I look up at the old clock on the wall and sigh. It was almost one in the morning.
“Goodnight mum, dad. I love you.” My voice almost broke, but I managed to control it. They didn’t find it weird that I was telling them how much I loved them out of the blue. We’ve always been vocal with each other.
“Goodnight baby, I love you too.” Mum pecks my cheek and pats my hair lovingly.
“Night loser, love you.” Dad winks and pecks me too.
When I get to my room, I already know I won’t be able to sleep, not with all the things running through my mind. After staring at the wall for hours, an idea comes to me and I pick up a pen and paper from the bed.
This is the best way to not break their heart. I tell myself and start scribbling.
When I am satisfied with all I wrote, I fold the paper and keep it where I’m sure they’ll find it tomorrow.
Hopefully, when I’m long gone.
EZRAHands that have been warm all my life feel cold against my face, my heart shutters as my mother’s hand slips off my face, falling to her side.The whole world stands at a standstill, or just my world. I can’t hear anything but the entirely too loud sound of my heart breaking in my chest. I have lost the woman I love more than anything and everyone. I have lost my mother.A shuddering breath makes it past my lips and I close my eyes, feeling the burn of tears trying to make it past. I don’t let them fall, the voice of my stewardess coming to my mind, even at a time like this, the words I’ve been hearing since the day I was born stop me from mourning my own mother.“Wipe your tears, prince Ezra. You are to be a king and kings do not cry.” I hate Mrs. Penelope. I hate that even at this time I still hear her voice and more than that, I hate that it stops the tears.I get off the side of the bed, looking down at my mother’s once lively face. She looks nothing short of beautiful, and
PHOENIX‘Phoenix, where are you?’ I’m a block away from the wolf community when I hear my mum’s gentle voice in my head. It makes tears spring to my eyes but I try to keep the emotions at bay, knowing she can feel them if she is mindlinking.‘I went out with a few friends. I’ll be back later,’ my tongue feels bitter as I lie.‘Oh, alright. Have fun dear and please come back before dinner.’ I hum as a reply, not having the gall to lie to her again out loud. She cuts off our mindlink the same time I reach the building of the wolf community.There is a very long bus waiting already with a Wolf House logo on it. I suck in a sharp breath and go straight to the back of the bus. I don’t stop until I get to the last seat, not wanting to drag attention to myself.I look out the window, where a few parents are standing with their beloved daughters. Some are crying while others try to seem strong and not break down, mostly the fathers. My heart burns and the tears I’ve been trying to hold back h
PHOENIX I’m shivering like a leaf in winter by the time I get to the door that has the same number as the keypad I was give. My teeth are chattering badly. I unwrap my arms from around me and with shaky fingers, I unlock the door and push it open. A dark haired girl is sitting on the bed when I stumble into the room. She screams in horror before regaining control and moving back, like she wanted to shield herself from me. I only muster a small smile and enter the room, closing the door behind me. She is still watching me cautiously as I rest my back on the closed door, breathing heavily. Her long dark hair forms a veil around her face as she watches me from beneath her lashes. I read her nametag and nodded to myself. Jenny Green of Nightlight pack. The name is familiar to me, they are a small pack, one of the smallest in the country. Much smaller than ours. No wonder she is reserved. I offer her a smile, hoping she would see that I am harmless. “Hi, I’m Phoenix.” She eyes me wari
PHOENIXThe next morning, I wake up with a feeling of crippling anxiety. The breakup with Jake and Lila’s betrayal feels like nothing, the only thing that is running through my mind is what the scores would be, what the future has in store for me.My only hope right now is for my score to reach even if it’s six. That is the pass mark which would help me not end up being a breeder. I’ve never wanted to go to the palace so my prayer is to get at least six, so I can be taken by hopefully a nice man. It wouldn’t be easy and it almost seems like wishful thinking but it is my only hope and I don’t want to lose it.Jenny and I dressed in silence, both of us lost in our thoughts, knowing in just a few minutes, our lives are going to change, it would either be a good change or a bad one. One thing is certain, and that is there is nothing we can do about it.We all gather in the square like yesterday. The entire hall is quiet as a graveyard, everyone standing with bated breaths, waiting for the
EZRAI drove down to a small apartment on our way there where we changed into simple clothes. He doesn’t ask why the change until we’re back in the car and I give him one answer.“We need to blend in.” I don’t know when the date of the cursed event will be but I know I have to get there before they send the girls off to the breeding houses. The date wasn’t written on the letter but it should be very soon, since they’ll bring the winner or whatever to the palace.The car is filled with plans on how we are getting in there without any invite and since we’re hiding our identity, there won’t be any special favors. I tell him we’ll figure it out and it is the least of our problems.When the looming building comes into view, my body stiffens and my wolf shifts, seeming restless for some weird reason. Nate notices.“Are you okay man?” he asks as we exit the car. We parked a few blocks away from the building to avoid bringing attention to ourselves.“Yes,” I clear my throat and motion for him
EZRAThe chatter dies down after I say those words but seconds later, a full-blown argument breaks out in the large hall. Some are screaming yes, it is a disgusting tradition while others disagree.It’s a good thing this isn’t a public debate and it is not like I’m asking for their input. I’m going to do what I set out to do and they can’t stop me.“This is an age-old tradition. You as the prince have no right to end it just like that.” a man’s loud voice speaks from the high floors. They aren’t visible to the girls but I felt their eyes the moment I stepped into the hall.I wish I could see their faces, just so I can mark it and deal with them after.“Only the lycan king has the right to give that order.” I hold back a scoff. Well, my father isn’t going to be king for very long. They seem to keep forgetting that.I don’t bother with a response, I feel Nate shift from behind me. He hates this as much as I do.“If we allow them freedom and give them the reins to choose whatever they wa
PHOENIX My eyes snap open and I’m almost blinded by how bright the place is. I blink a few times to get used to the light and when I stop feeling like my head is going to be torn open. I turn to my left, my brows creasing when I see the unfamiliar room. It is not my room back at home, but I know I’m not at home. I’m at the Wolf House, and this doesn’t look like my dorm. I try to search through my memories for what must have happened.I remember Jenny, she was crying, she was about to be hit but I tried to cover her as much as I could with my body. I wince through that part. At least the pain I’m feeling everywhere has an explanation. Black shoes. Yes! I remember black shoes, a sweet scent before everything went black. There is no one in the room with me and it makes me more scared. Where is the man that saved me? Why did he have such a nice scent? Why do I want to see him again? My rounds of questions get interrupted by the door being opened and a tall man walks in. I’m immediatel
PHOENIX Prince Zanders throws his head back and laughs. “God, if you’re going to just claim your girls, do it. You don’t have to make stories about them being your mate.” he says, mockingly. The hands of the man behind me tighten around my waist. The tension around us is so thick that you can cut it with a knife. It feels like forever before the man lets me go and I take a step away from, then I turn to look at him purely out of curiosity. My breath catches in my throat when I see his face. His hair is dark, not as long as Zanders but longer than Nate’s, his eyes are a glowing amber and I don’t think I’ve ever seen eyes look that good. He is much taller too, towering over me completely. “Sweetheart, you can find me whenever you get bored, I’ll be waiting.” Zanders winks again then turns and walks off. The tension disappears as he does too. I look between where he disappeared and where the other man that I still don’t know the name of stands. Now that I’m much calmer, I recognize h