In a cave beneath the magnificent palace of the lycanthropes, an unknown man wearing a black cloak moved under the cover of darkness and crept stealthily down the tunnel, towards the warriors at the far end.
The warriors were obviously guarding something because a bright blue glow emitted from the cave behind them.The unknown man crept further, using the darkness of the cave as a perfect cover to shield his movements.The warriors conversed in low tones, oblivious to the man creeping silently towards them.When he was close enough, the unknown man brought out a set of tiny needles and a hollow pipe. He inserted the needles into the pipe and quietly raised it to his mouth.One by one, he blew sharply through the pipe, sending the needles flying through the air until it found its mark.Twelve lycan warriors all fell down unconscious as the needle sunk into their skins. They wouldn't die though, but they would be unconscious for about an hour.He had to move quickly.The man slipped into the cave at the end of the tunnel. Once inside, he took off the dark cloak and the glow from the room shone on his appearance.He was a shifter, but not a lycan. A common werewolf, one of the lowest rank in the shifter's hierarchy. An omega. He looked sick, skin pale from some sort of disease and his hands shook as he put the hollow pipe away.His pale grey eyes lit up with awe when his gaze fell on the glowing Gem in the middle of the cave. It was this Gem the warriors had been guarding, the sacred Soul Gem of the lycanthropes.Rumours had it that the Gem had the greatest power in the entire world. It could grant the owner his greatest desire and it was told to be a beacon for good luck. Whoever had the Soul Gem in his possession was considered blessed by the moon goddess.The Soul Gem had been in the possession of the lycanthropes and their land had been prospering wealthily. Soon enough, other creatures began to covet the sacred Gem. They wanted it for themselves.The unknown man moved cautiously towards the Gem that glowed enticingly in the middle of the cave, floating in midair.Suddenly an arrow shot out from the wall and flew through the air towards him.The man was quick enough and he dodged it. A dozen arrows followed suit, intent on killing him, but the man had already anticipated it.He shifted into his wolf, a scrawny looking brown wolf and moved swiftly across the room. The arrows all missed him and he finally collapsed close to the Gem, breathing heavily.He slowly shifted back to his human form and his weak eyes scanned the room for any more booby traps."I should have known the Gem would be heavily guarded",he muttered to himself.As he slowly pushed himself up, he raised one of his hand and stared at it. It was slowly decaying. He was dying away."I must hurry",he urged himself. "I do not have much time"He straightened to his feet quickly and hurried towards the Gem."At last",he breathed out, eyes gleaming with triumph. "The Soul Gem is mine. I shall become immortal, and rule over the entire world"He took out a pouch from his pockets and slowly stretched his hand towards the floating Gem.When his weak fingers grasped it, he gasped. The Gem was freezing cold, and soon ice began to crawl up his hand.The decay in his arms slowly healed up as power from the Gem surged into his body. The wrinkles in his body disappeared and the once haggard looking old man became as young as a man in his youth.The man stared at his strong arms in awe, his eyes gleaming with glee and triumph."The rumours were right",he whispered. "The Soul Gem holds unimaginable powers"Moving quickly, he placed the Soul Gem inside the pouch and tied the string to keep it safe.Just as he turned around to leave, the cave shook. The earth trembled violently and debris clattered from the ceiling.As quickly as it begun, the trembling subsided again."I must leave now",he whispered, his eyes darting around the cave that had gone dark with the absence of the glowing Gem.Soon the lycan warriors would awaken from the sleeping drug he injected into them with the needles. He needed to exit the cave now.He turned around and was about to hurry out of the cave when he froze suddenly.There was a woman standing at the entrance of the cave, staring at him in puzzlement. She stepped further into the cave and her eyes widened when she saw that the Soul Gem was gone.She turned her cold eyes on the man and slowly, fury took over her expression."What have you done?",she demanded in a powerful voice. "Where is the Soul Gem?"The man sneered and charged towards her.He tried to move past her and escape through the entrance but the woman was quicker. She blocked the door with her body and her hands slowly shifted, transforming into a set of sharp claws."How dare you steal the Soul Gem?",she thundered in her powerful voice."Get out of my way woman",the man snarled at her. "I didn't risk my life to get this Gem, only to be defeated by you""Give it back",the woman growled threateningly, her eyes flashing red for a brief second."Never",the man growled back at her and he moved swiftly towards her again.The woman lifted her claws and was about to strike him when she felt something stab into her side.The man had whipped out a dagger and plunged it into the woman's side, and he took a step back, smiling evilly.Scrunching up her face at the pain in her side, the woman let out a loud growl, so powerful that it shook the cave. She succeeded in striking the man backwards before she collapsed on the ground."Arrrrh!",she cried out as she pulled the dagger out. Blood slowly pooled beneath her.The unknown man chuckled as he picked himself from the ground.He dipped his hand into the pouch and took out the Soul Gem, staring at it like one possessed."The Soul Gem is mine",he gloated and laughed triumphantly."You won't get away with this",the woman snarled at him, but she could feel herself growing weaker. Her vision turned grey around the edges and it was getting difficult for her to breathe.The unknown man chuckled again and placed the Soul Gem back in his pouch."You can't stop me",he voiced out with a triumphant look. "You were dead right from the moment I stabbed you with the poisonous dagger"The woman watched in despair as the man stepped over her and walked out freely.Before she breathed her last, she tried to send a mind link to her mate but she was growing weaker. Her mind became muddled as her vision blurred and slowly faded.Slowly, death claimed her....Please vote for the story as you read. It would really encourage me. Lots of love.The mating ceremony of the lycans was in full swing that particular hour. As if honouring the celebration, there was a full moon brightening the night sky, sending its silver rays down to the earth.The kingdom of Hayden was in a festive mood as lycans from all over the realm turned up for the special ceremony.The mating ceremony was a festive occasion where lycans gathered at the kingdom of Hayden to meet their destined mates, the mates the moon goddess had chosen for them. It was a tradition in honour of the moon goddess who was mated to the god of the earth.Every one hundred years, shifters attended this celebration, bearing gifts to the Supreme Alpha and Luna of Hayden as a way of paying homage to them.As the celebrations continued, Luna Izabelle suddenly felt a change in the air. She sat upright on her throne, cocking her head to the side, trying to figure out what was out of place.Her sharp golden eyes scanned the crowd of shifters that were all in a festive mood, eating an
Alpha Xerxes stared at his son, then at the dagger Jade showed him."Who?",he grounded out."Someone from the kingdom of Northville",Jade said. "It has the symbol of Northville""An arrow in the sky",Apollo noticed the symbol. "A mere human had the guts to break into Hayden, kill my mate and steal the Gem?",Alpha Xerxes voiced out in an eerie cold voice. There was an underlying tone of rage in his voice."I don't think a human did this, father",Jade said in anger. "Yes, it has the symbol of the humans but I think someone used it to cover their tracks""What do you mean?",Apollo frowned."I mean, we have a traitor in our midst",Jade broke the news. "Only the shifters know of this powerful Gem and where to find it. The humans do not know of our existence, and they do not know of the Soul Gem""You are right",Apollo agreed, finally understanding what Jade was trying to explain. "Whoever committed this atrocity has a connection with Northville. We must find him and make him pay for his c
Jade had been traveling in his wolf form since the sun crawled out of the horizon. He travelled during the night and camped during the day, taking short naps in secluded areas before continuing his journey.He had arrived at Northville that morning and was looking for a place to camp in the forest when he heard her scream for help.The moment he heard it, memories of his mother's murder flashed in his mind. He hadn't been able to save his mother from being killed with the poisoned dagger. He hadn't been there to protect her.Now was an opportunity for him to allay a bit of the guilt he was feeling. With a vicious snarl, he shifted smoothly into his human form and raced through the trees, following the sound of the female's screams. Suddenly her scent hit him and almost made him lose concentration. It was the smell of the wild forest. Not the forest around him, but something richer and sweeter. Something that called to the beast within him.It couldn't be, he thought.With renewed v
Kalista felt her face turn hot with a blush at his words. She carefully released his hand and tucked her hair behind her ear, keeping her eyes averted.Jade who didn't like the sudden distance between them moved closer to her and slipped his arm around her waist.Kalista stared up at him in surprise and was about to push him away when he backed her up against a large oak tree. The weirdest thing was, she didn't feel cornered or repulsed. She wanted his arms around her. She wanted to feel the texture of his lips.Jade watched as her eyes trailed to his lips and he knew she could feel the pull he felt. She didn't just understand it yet."I mean it, Kalista",he whispered to her. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever come across"And you're my mate.He said the remaining words in his mind. He wished he could tell her what he was, and what she meant to him. But it wasn't the right time yet."But... you just met me",Kalista whispered and she closed her eyes when she felt his arm tighte
Kalista let out a loud gasp and she scrambled to her feet."Killian!",she shrieked, putting herself in front of Jade in case he tried to retaliate.Jade had gone totally still after Killian's fist connected with his jaw. His eyes flickered dangerously and he shut it quickly before anyone could see how red it was.A small crowd gathered around them, mainly from the shops around the alley. Men shouted questions, demanding to know what went wrong. Kalista kept repeating what happened to the men, saying over and over again that Killian had attacked the gentleman Jade without any reason. Some of the women scolded Killian sharply because most of them knew how arrogant and rude he was.But in all this that was happening, Jade remained eeriely still with his eyes shut. His hands slowly closed into tight fists, the knuckles so white with the amount of pressure he exerted. He felt a stir within him, a sign that his beast was on the brink of tearing out. He sniffed, marking out Killian's scen
"Don't leave"Kalista felt her heart skip at the sound of his voice and his touch, and she shivered when she felt the familiar sparks tingle her body.Slowly she turned around and raised her head until she was staring into his eyes."What?",she whispered."Don't leave",Jade repeated and his arms tightened around her waist. "I don't want you to leave"As much as she tried to deny it, Kalista didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay with him. She wanted him to stare at her continuously like he was doing now, in a way that made her feel like she was the most important thing in the world to him."I...",she stuttered. "I can't stay""Why not?",Jade asked calmly.Why couldn't she stay? Kalista didn't have a perfect reason why she couldn't stay. Her thoughts were scattered.All the scattered thoughts in her mind suddenly disappeared when Jade lowered his head and kissed her.Fireworks exploded behind her closed eyelids and she sucked in a sharp breath. She didn't know when she began to kiss
Kalista rushed up the path that led to her home and knocked wildly on the door. "Mother",she called frantically, her voice shaking with fear. She stole a glance behind her, her eyes searching the dark forest."Mother, open the door",she cried and pounded on the door desperately.The door was yanked open and her mother stepped outside holding a lit lantern. She was a petite woman with a mop of light brown hair and brown eyes."Kalista, dear child. You will give me a heart attack someday",she quickly placed her arm around Kalista's shoulder and led her inside the cozy cottage. Kalista stepped into the warm living room and made her way straight to her room. The smell of baked bread and roasted beef wafted through the entire cottage, making her stomach growl hungrily, but that was the least thing bothering her that moment.She still couldn't fathom what she just experienced in the woods.Without saying a word to her mother, she stepped into her room and shut the door.Making her way tow
Kalista's heart shattered as she gazed upon her mother's trembling body, as if someone had stabbed and shredded her heart into pieces. Unaware of the burst of blue energy emanating from her body and shooting skyward, she fell to her knees and crawled toward Maria."Mother!" she screamed in agony. Her hands trembled violently as they hovered over the bloody claw wound on her mother's face.Her cries intensified as she delicately cradled her mother's head in her lap. Thunder roared, lightning bolts zigzagged across the night sky, and the moon appeared to boil in anger, its silvery glow intertwining with the blue light.Maria struggled to open her eyes, tears blurring her vision as the realization of her impending death set in. Kalista's face appeared hazy as she stared up at her and attempted to speak."Ka... Kalista..." she sputtered, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth."I'm here," Kalista whispered, closing her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks. She grasped Maria's hand