For weeks, Miya’s bold question kept me pondering at night. When she went home that evening, she left me with a map where she discovered a secret passage that could be accessed through my room and a location where I was supposed to head for our secret training.
I glanced at the map and tightly shut my eyes, discouraging myself from my growing curiosity. Every hour, I seemed to keep thinking about sneaking out to train with Miya. But then, I was halted by my fear and agitation. What if my father knows? He wouldn't let it pass without punishing me, that's for sure. He had planned on starving me for days, which he failed without his knowledge because of Miya's help. Truth be told, I was content being abused in our house, yet suddenly I woke up wanting more to achieve for myself.When I heard a prolonged howl from the outside, a curfew sign in the North Canidae that everybody was already in their respective house, I hastily walked towards my table to check the location Miya gave me.Miya had mentioned that they would train in the woods after the howl every night.Cautiously, I glanced at my door and picked up my courage for the first time. My knees were wobbling as I took the secret road that Miya had marked for me. And I was not familiar with the route that's why it took me an hour to arrive. Reluctantly, I examined the place and a frightened gasp escaped my mouth when I felt someone grab my shoulder from behind.I immediately raised my hands as a sign of surrender. “P-Please... I d-didn't come h-here t-t-to cause t-trouble. I don't want to die!”“I know,” answered the mysterious man with a hint of snigger playing along his voice before loosening his grip.I waited for the man to walk in front of me and he greeted me with an impish grin. “Isn't this the stuttering daughter of Alpha Antonio, huh?”My eyes dilated after I realized that the man was able to recognize me. I thought by wearing a cape and ordinary clothes would suffice my disguise when sneaking out. It turns out that I thought wrong, leading my life to uncertain danger in this stranger’s hands.Breathing heavily, the rising sense of anxiety grew only worse inside me as I was being stared at by this stranger. I was almost away to beg for my life, ready to kneel down if I was required to, when I heard a familiar voice not far from where I stood.“Aera?”“Miya!” I gasped in relief and ran towards her.“Aera, it’s good to see you sneak out finally!” she exclaimed and welcomed me with a warm hug. When Miya noticed that I was shaking, she turned to the man with her most forbidding glare. “Did you scare Aera? I thought we had an agreement, brother?”Brother? I asked myself in disbelief. For a sibling, both have contrasting attitudes and one wouldn't think that they were relatives.The man only shrugged at Miya and remained wearing a deadpan expression.“Don't worry, Aera. He was the brother I'm talking about that will train us. His name is Mason,” Miya assured me and walked with me toward his haughty brother.Due to my anxiety, I only smiled at Miya as my answer.After a quick introduction, Miya and her brother started tonight's training with a friendly wolf battle. They had the same wolf color, a tundra. They were both quick, never showing a hint of uncertainty as they attacked each other and rolled to the ground several times. For a maid and omega, I had no idea that Miya was this powerful and incredibly fast, but Miya's brother, Mason, was faster and even more powerful since he sent Miya to the ground without breaking a sweat and then pinned her using his vigorous paw.Mason's paw tightened on Miya's neck and she whimpered in pain. With that humble surrender, he released Miya and looked at me, growling, which intimated me for an instant and almost made me stumble backward. Mason and Miya shifted back to their human form after their thrilling wolf battle and wore their clothes after.The Gomez siblings have a good relationship despite their differences, I can tell. And it made me jealous for a while. It would only be in my dreams to envision me and Aena being real siblings without a pint of envy dangling in our hearts.“In fighting, you must have good reflexes and instincts," Mason pointed as he looked at me with his assertive eyes. "Basic number one rule, don't let your guard down. Always open your senses every time.”I was enjoying Mason's lecture until he darted me an arch look that made me look down when our eyes met.“I heard you can't shift without bearing the pain,” Mason said, which I immediately answered by nodding since it was the truth. “After being physically abused by your own father, you think you can't bear the pain? That was more painful.”Mason's taunting remarks made me think about that matter. And I have to admit that I never thought about it. My father always punished me and it became a daily basis. After shifting when I was fifteen, I couldn't stand the pain, that's why never bothered doing it again. But this time, I find myself wanting to shift, mainly because I wanted to prove to my father that I can, and that I have a wolf and not just Aena.“I w-want t-to s-shift,” I said in a low voice, almost just whispering to the air.“What? I can't hear you, Aera. If you want me to be your mentor, talk to me without stuttering and make your voice audible. In this society full of cruel people, your first power is your voice, remember that. If you can't speak your thoughts with ease, then you might as well forget fighting.”I swallowed the lump in my throat as I prepared myself. I closed my eyes and said, “I said I wanted to shift.”When I realized that I was able to talk without stuttering, a dry flower inside me suddenly bloomed. Something inside me awaken that I can’t pinpoint what or why. I was certain that I was not comfortable with Mason just yet, but then I managed to speak my thoughts this time.“Good,” Mason said, smiling. “Remember, Aera. You are more than what you think. If you want to change yourself for the better, be courageous. I can see that you have a long way ahead of you.”An appreciative smile curved onto my lips after I heard Mason’s compliment that seemed like a lullaby, pushing my anxiety away. For the first time in my life, someone believed in my capabilities without doubting me. Just like what I requested, Mason let me shift into my wolf and I endured the pain even though it was excruciating at first and I felt like dying. He said that my wolf form was weaker than my human form, so he advised me to keep training in both forms starting tonight.On my first night of training, Mason never spared me with his massive strength. I ended up pinned on the ground, defeated, with new wounds on both my arms. But I quite find it challenging to defeat Mason. I found it encouraging to secretly train at night. Being with the Gomez siblings channels my competitiveness, which I never knew I had in me, not until I spent time with them.When the training ended, Mason required my presence just when I was about to bid goodbye.“You wanted to end your incapacitated reputation that’s why you’re here, right?” he asked with a steely look on his face.I froze. Mason was not only blessed with agility and strength, but he was also adorned with intelligence and great instinct. Lying to him would be useless now that he had figured out my notion.“Yes,” I answered and met his tenacious gaze.Mason stared at me for seconds and let out a sharp breath. “Looking at how weak and sullied your reputation was, I don’t think training for a decade is enough, Aera. I am not underestimating you; I am telling you what you should expect from now on. It’s not going to be easy... unless you kill a white stag.”If there was something I know nothing about, then that would be the existence of the White Stag and its significant purpose. When other regions said that the North Canideans believed in such a legend, I never acknowledged the idea of being one of the high believers because I thought that it was preposterous. The prophecy itself was absurd and unimaginable. That’s why most people in other regions, specifically from the Central, looked down upon us for not accepting change and refusing to adapt to modernization, unlike others who had accepted it long years ago. We, people from the North preferred to call our place Town when all of the regions upgraded theirs into a City. Our houses and infrastructure remained to be just a little wooden hut, our packhouse was some sort of old castle built centuries ago and had never been renovated even once, our clothing is perpetual, staying to be conservative, and we preserved our land by staying the way it was our ancestors left them for us. Almost a
My heart was pounding inside my chest and my wolf was getting out of hand. I could feel her swelling up together with the burning of my body. Oh, Goddess... I was no stranger to the idea of the traditional mating of wolf shifters like us, but I had no clue that depriving my wolf's needs was such a torment for both of us. At the age of fifteen, our family's duenna taught us that our duty was not only to be a good wife but also the purpose of the wolf in heat and how we are able to manage it. After the acceptance of claims during the sacred mating banquet, we are obliged to give him our first liquid release to be fully marked and imprinted forever. And then, at the mating season, we are obliged to succumb to the heat to give our mate children if required. Basically, the only way to ease the heat needed to be done by mating. Except the problem was I had no mate to ease the heat that ignited inside me. Rather, I had, but he rejected me and now I was suffering this excitement that I had
“Any luck?” Mason queried, dodging my attack when I tried to give him a swift jab in the face. He locked my fist in his palm, twisting it, forcing me to veer before pushing me as his defense. Panting, I glowered at him. “Would I be here trying to defeat you if I have?” I didn't wait for Mason to answer and charged through him, aiming to land on his face and followed by a supposed to be knockdown attack. But as quick as Mason, he predicted my offense and sent me back from my position by kicking my lower back, making me slightly wince in pain. Fortunately, I didn't lose my footing but I did felt the pain gnawing in my back. My wolf howled inside me all of a sudden, offering her strength for my assistance. If only I hadn't been attempting to defeat Mason without shifting, I would have let my wolf help me earlier. Defeating Mason is all I have wanted to accomplish since the moment I met him, now that five years had gone by and I still haven't found the White Stag, I just want to prove
5 years earlier...“What?” Miya asked incredulously, as if she heard the most absurd idea she ever perceived. “You are going to what?”“Revenge,” I answered promptly, still striding towards the woods where I frequently look for the White Stag. I walked past the members who were spearing their eyes at me in contempt, so I huffed and even hastened my step. “I’m going to take my revenge on them. All of them. Aena. The high members. My mate who rejected me. Including my father.”Without looking, I felt Miya winced in disappointment when the tenor of her breathing changed for seconds, before she continue to take quick breaths as she trailed after me with long steps.“Are you hearing yourself?” Miya asked, which made my forehead crease. Not just because her query was carries a hint of inhibition but because I couldn't believe that she didn't understand my notion given the fact of my dire situation that she's been always aware of.“Of course, I am. I am never been more certain doing something
My father was smiling. Never once had he offered me a smile before whether it was fake or forced. It was the thing my father couldn't spare for his disappointment child. However, I have to admit that I reached the point when I waited for this day to happen. For the first time in my life, I finally saw him smile at me, yet it never gave me a sense of fulfillment but rage. I have hated him ever since he blamed me for the death of my mother. Even so, sometimes I found myself yearning for his appreciation as his daughter. But now that I have sought exactly what I yearned for so long, I never knew that I didn't need it. At least, not anymore. To me, it was easy to appreciate a person, to purse lips to give someone a smile. Father never had a problem giving it to Aena, but to me... I had to fucking kill an animal just to earn his appreciation. Unbeknownst to me, I got tired from doing a lot of exertion that always ends up being a futile attempt. It wasn’t worth it. I have another purpos
ALEXEI“Stop! Go back to the banquet and withdraw what you declared. Claim your mate just like what you are supposed to,” my father, Alexander Volkov said, disappointment playing along in his voice, making me halt from taking another step.I saw most of my father’s beta walk past me with concern, almost a wary expression before I glared at them to walk away, indicating that I didn’t need anyone’s pity. These betas think that they were entitled to show me mercy since I was on cue with a long chastise from my father. However, I care less about what they think. I did what I thought was right, not for myself but for the sake of Triton’s pack.With a smug expression, I turned to my father. “Father, you must have gone blind. Did you see that woman? Is that the kind of woman you want to reign alongside me? The kind of woman you want to be the mother of my child and your grandchildren?”“It doesn't matter if that woman was weak or mute or crippled. It doesn't matter if it’s from another regio
For a moment, I felt like I was struck by lightning. Alexei’s sudden appearance caused my ability to discern things to malfunction. I remained frozen as I gazed down at him, dumbfounded, not knowing what to react, think, or say. I was completely surprised, weighing down all the hatred I felt for him for the last five years.“Alexei...” I murmured, and then hated myself that his name escaped from my lips pretty naturally, as if he had never caused me pain and misery. All of a sudden, I heard haste footsteps from the door and saw Mason arrive by the door, gasping for air with a bruise on his right eye and a cut on his lips, fresh blood scattered on his chin, untidily wiped. I don't have to confirm who caused that wound because there was only one who intruded into the packhouse.Alexei.“Forgive me. I stopped Mister Volkov at the entrance of the packhouse. Unfortunately, I was defeated by the brawl initiated by Mister Volkov and I wasn't able to stop him from ruining today’s...” Mason tr
Three years earlier...“You need to choose an heir,” Diego suggested solicitously, his voice was low but vehement.I stopped taking a step toward my room when I passed my father’s office. Suddenly, I felt my wolf enlivened at the topic and forced me to stay. So instead of going on my way, I placed my ears near the open door while paying attention to my surroundings just in case someone passed and caught me listening to someone's undisclosed discussion, especially a discussion between the Alpha and his most trusted strategist.It wasn't my attention to eavesdrop. After every unjust treatment I received, nothing excites me anymore other than killing the White Stag. However, I have no idea as to why I tolerated my wolf’s inclination. I ended up taking it as my chance to find out what my father’s decision was about this important matter.At the very least, I have to admit that Diego was right and smart to have prodded this regard. At my father”s age, he was accustomed to choosing an heir