Kalista couldn't believe what was happening before her. Jade was chained and dragged away and there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't place suspicion on herself my pleading for Jade's life. She had to find a way to help him. Suddenly she jerked when she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. She whirled around and came face to face with Gregory. "Kalista, dear child," he said, staring at her with compassion. "I know this is hard for you to take in, but it needs to be done. You've seen for yourself, that man is a vicious beast, one that shouldn't be in the midst of the humans"Kalista just stared at him like he had grown a second head. She was short of words. "I know you think you're attracted to him," Gregory continued, his eyes staring at the direction where Jade had been dragged through. "I don't blame you for that. Young maidens of today tend to think with their hearts, instead of their heads""You're wrong...," Kalista whispered. Gregory continued talking. Apparently
"Stop Kalista! Step away from him," a man barked in a threatening voice. Kalista tightened her hold around Jade while her eyes darted around frantically, mapping out an escape route. "Kalista!" the man snapped again. "I will not repeat myself. Step away from the monster"Suddenly angered, Kalista turned on him. "He's not a monster""We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," the man said, using his hands to communicate with the other armed men. "You have one last chance Kalista. Whatever happens next, you're going to take the full brunt of it""I don't care," Kalista snapped. "If you're going to kill Jade, then you have no choice but to kill me as well""Kalista, no," Jade pleaded. "I can't let them hurt you. Let me go, let them take me"Kalista turned and stared into his eyes. "I won't let them take you, Jade. Never"While the men slowly closed around them, a figure was seen crawling towards the crowd that had gathered. At first, no one noticed. But then a woman turned around
A year ago... Back at the realm of the lycans, a long distance away from Hayden where Alpha Xerxes ruled, there was another lycan kingdom that was ruled by a tyrant lycan. His name was Talon Darkheart, a rogue lycan that ruled a community of rogues. His rogue pack, Darkheart pack, was the only pack that adamantly refused to swear allegiance to Hayden, the Supreme Pack where Alpha Xerxes ruled. After many failed attempts to make Talon drop his rogue attitude and become part of Hayden, Alpha Xerxes decided to cut him off. But Talon committed a heinous crime years ago, one that ingnited the unbridled rage of Alpha Xerxes. Talon attacked a human city and slaughtered every single innocent soul, both old and young. This was something Alpha Xerxes couldn't forgive. He ordered his lycan army to murder Talon's wife and son as punishment, and then banished Talon to the ends of the realm, a barren land where there was no sign of life, where Talon would wallow in misery for the rest of his im
At the mention of Orion, Apollo scowled and a dark expression took over his face. Orion was their late brother, the one senior to him, the second son. Years ago, Orion had left Hayden, claiming he wanted a pack of his own. He didn't want to be under the reign of their elder brother, Xerxes. So one morning, he grabbed his things and left Hayden. No one heard from Orion for years. It seemed he had faded into the world. No one knew if he was alive or dead, or if he had succeeded in creating a pack of his own. Until one day, Orion suddenly returned to Hayden. But he didn't return alone. He came with a human girl. His mate. Xerxes had been furious with him. The humans were never meant to know about the existence of the lycans, and were never meant to have a union with one. It was forbidden. But Orion didn't care that his mate was human. He claimed that the moon goddess had given him a human as his mate, and he was ready to mate with her. Xerxes couldn't do anything about it because O
The sun was slowly crawling out from the horizon when Jade finally stopped underneath a large oak tree and lowered Kalista who was still in a deep slumber to the ground. He lowered himself beside her and checked on her wounds, but to his uttermost surprise, there was none. Her wounds were totally healed. Even the spot where she had been shot with the silver bullet was healed while his own wounds were still slowly healing. Jade knew it was because of the gem's power within her that made her wounds heal so quickly. Now that he was sure she was safe and out of danger, he allowed himself to shut his eyes for a while. "Jade," Kalista whispered, finally awake. Jade's eyes snapped open and he quickly knelt beside her, helping her sit against the tree. "Are you alright, my love?" he asked worriedly. "Are you hurt anywhere?"Kalista shook her head. She felt perfectly fine. Her complexion was okay, her wounds were healed and she was clear-headed. Jade was the one who looked terrible and ye
Jade knew instantly that something was wrong. He had scouted the surrounding forest and caught sight of a deer. Just when he was about to stalk the oblivious animal, he felt it. An uneasy feeling within him. His thoughts went straight to Kalista. Totally ignoring the deer, he turned around and raced back to the spot where he left her. As he neared the particular tree, he hoped that it was just a gut feeling and Kalista was fine. Still, his uneasiness persisted. His heart skipped a bit when he got to the spot and discovered that Kalista wasn't where he left her. The first thing he did was to sniff the air and sure enough, he caught her scent. The refreshing smell of the wild forest. Maybe she hadn't returned from gathering the twigs to make a fire. He followed her scent into the forest, calling out her name in case she was closeby. It was when he saw the scattered twigs on the ground that he knew the feeling he felt earlier was not just his gut feeling. Someone had taken Kalista aw
Jade turned fully and faced Orion, using his body to shield Kalista. He regarded Orion suspiciously and voiced the questions on his mind. "How is it possible for a werewolf pack to be in the human realm?"Orion chuckled again, his gray eyes twinkling with amusement. "A typical question every Alpha would ask""Still you haven't answered it," Jade cut in. "Living in the human realm makes it better to exist undetected," Orion finally answered. "We don't have any enemies here, and we are far away from the next human village, Northville"A dark look appeared on Jade's face when he remembered how he had gone feral, massacring the entire inhabitants of Northville. He didn't want to relive the gory sight so he changed the discussion. "Why are you away from other packs?" he asked. "I'm sure you are aware of Hayden, the werewolf community. Why cut yourself off from your own kind?"The smile remained on Orion's face but in his eyes, a strange emotion flashed past. It was so quick that it went
Jade reclined against the single seat close to the window, staring up at the full moon. The glow of the moon illuminated the golden orbs of his iris's, eyes that were slightly unfocused. He was thinking of Hayden, his home. He had been gone for more than a year, and still he hadn't been able to retrieve the Soul Gem.Without the gem, Hayden would crumble. The werewolves would be rendered homeless, becoming an easy target for vicious rogues. His mind strayed to his father, and he wondered how the Alpha King was coping with the absence of the gem. As much as he tried to avoid it, his thoughts brought back the memories of his mother. She had died protecting the gem, and if he didn't find that gem, her death would be in vain."No!" Jade suddenly snapped. He couldn't let his sweet mother's death be in vain. He would find the Soul Gem and unleash his vengeance on the murderers. He would not stop until he had avenged her death.Suddenly becoming restless, he got up from the seat and that wa